Broken Arrow (1950) Movie Script
bBroken Arrow/b
This is the story of a land...
...and its people in
the year 1870...
...and of a man...
...whose name was Cochise.
He was an Indian...
...leader of the Chiricahua
Apache tribe.
I was involved in the story...
...and what I am telling happened
exactly as you'll see it.
The only change will be that
when the Apaches speak...
...they will speak in our language.
What took place is part of
the history of Arizona...
...and it began for me here,
where you see me riding.
Since leaving the Army I had been
prospecting for gold off and...
...one day I heard the colonel
at Tucson wanted to see me.
The story started when I saw
buzzards circling in the sky.
The buzzard's a smart bird.
Something...
...or somebody,
was getting ready to die.
I figured it was a hurt deer
or a rabbit or a snake.
Not a rabbit...
...not a deer.
His kind was more dangerous
than a snake.
He was an Apache.
For ten years we'd been on a
savage war with his people...
...a bloody, no-give, no-take war.
Drink.
Better slow.
I could have killed you before.
A fire was dangerous
in Apache country.
But his wounds were bad and
he was running a high fever.
He had eight pieces of buckshot
in his back and I dug them out.
He was in pain but he never
let out a sound.
For the next few days I panned
the stream for gold...
...and watched the boy.
I wanted to be on the move, and
I was glad he was recovering.
Do your legs feel stronger today?
Little bit.
You've still got a limp.
Today I must leave.
No, I must go. Too soon for you.
For my legs, yes,
but for my family, no.
This is my novice time.
I am 14. So I learn to be a man.
I go on trips alone.
But I have been away too long.
In the wickiup my mother is crying.
My father looks for me, I think.
I am their only one now.
My brother and my sister were
killed at Big Creek.
"My mother is crying", he said.
It never struck me that an Apache
woman would cry over her son...
...like any other woman.
"Apaches are wild animals",
we all said.
Do you pray to Killer of Enemies?
Not even to Life Giver?
The ones up there.
We have another name.
Apaches pray for all
white men to die.
But now I pray to keep you safe.
At sunset last night, I threw pollen
to the four winds for you.
Thanks, boy.
This is very big...
...against headache and sickness.
Now it is yours.
They could have killed.
Put away your gun.
My people are watching us.
They see I am unharmed.
This is clear talk.
It says they can still kill.
This white man is my friend.
This white man is my friend.
He must not be hurt.
When did my son become a tame Apache?
Father look! He gave me life again
when the soldiers wounded me.
Where did you meet soldiers?
It will shame us to say.
An Apache should not do what
others cannot know.
This one...
- ...he was with them?
- No.
He found me later. He healed me.
It will be wrong to harm him.
You do no give orders.
You speak our tongue?
A little.
White men pay many dollars
for the scalp of an Apache.
I know.
Then why did you not take his scalp?
If I kill an Apache it'll not
be for scalp or money.
Why not? My people and your
people are at war.
It is not my way to fight.
- It is the way of all whites.
- It is not my way.
You are a woman maybe.
Apaches do not take scalps either.
And they are not women.
He hides something.
Why are you here in our mountains?
I look for gold and silver.
For what?
For yellow iron.
You did not kill.
We will not kill this time.
But not again.
Give him his gun.
They wanted to kill me, all right,
but they let me go.
I learned things that day.
Apache mothers cried
about their sons.
Apache men had a sense
of fair play.
Ambush! Run!
Two men were killed, and for
the three wounded it was worse.
But this was war, and it was
cruelty in both sides.
On one of the men
they found a pouch...
...which held three Apache scalps.
So they dug a pit and they rubbed
his face with sweet juice...
...and made me watch the ants come.
Learn it...
...learn it well, this is Apache land.
You have no right here.
Where Cochise lives,
no white man can live.
Take your weapons. Go!
Let your face not be seen again!
Howdy, gents.
Hi, Tom.
- Find yourself a gold mine?
- No.
Howdy, Terry.
Just coffee for me.
- We have smoked turkey today.
- No, just coffee, thanks.
Wipe them all out...
...but cheer them.
- Jeffords?
- Yes, sir.
I'm Colonel Bernall.
You received my message?
That's why I came.
What's on you mind?
I'm the new chief at Fort Grand.
Congratulations.
My orders are to clean out
Cochise and his Apaches.
A big order, sir.
Wipe them all out.
Butcher them like hogs, I say...
...like hogs.
This man was in a party of miners...
...ambushed yesterday by Apaches.
Where was the ambush?
Just south of here.
They wounded Cochise
and killed 12 Apaches out of 50.
There weren't 50 only 5,
and not a one scratched.
How do you know, Jeffords?
I watched it.
Watched it? Seems to me most
men would have lent a hand.
I was tied.
The Apaches got me earlier.
You fought your way out?
They let me go.
I never heard of a thing like that
happening to a white man.
- Did you, John?
- No.
- Did you, Milt?
- No.
I ran across a
wounded Chiricahua boy.
I healed him up. They thought
they owed me something.
- Apaches playing fair?
- Yes.
I don't understand.
You mean you found a wounded
Apache and didn't kill him?
That's right.
I'd like to ask you why?
What do you want from me, Colonel?
Jeffords...
...I think I know how
we can stop Cochise.
I have 250 men from Pennsylvania
and New Jersey.
They're disciplined troopers.
- Yes, I've seen them around.
- I have a good plan.
I want information from you and
I want you to do reconnoitering.
In six months the war will be over
and we'll have Cochise hanging.
No, you won't, Colonel.
Jeffords, I'm an expert
on open warfare.
- I have thirty...
- Cochise can't read a map...
...but he knows every gulley,
every mountain in Arizona.
His men and horses can go
twice as far as yours.
He can't write his name...
...but his intelligence
service knows when...
...you got to Fort Grant and
how many men you've got.
He's stopped the
Butterfield stage from running...
...he's stopped the U.S. mails
from going through.
For the first time he has all
the Apaches under one command.
You're not going to string
him up in six months.
Not in six years.
Good day, gents.
- Terry.
- Jeffords!
Will you scout for me?
- You can find somebody else.
- Maybe...
...Captain Jeffords became too
friendly with the Apaches.
Maybe he doesn't know
what side he's on.
Easy, gents.
I'm not looking for trouble but
if you don't fight them...
...you're with them.
I've got to say that.
Who says so? What's your name?
Ben Slade. I own a ranch only
a mile out from Fort Grant.
The Apaches burned my
house last month.
My wife was inside.
They almost got my boy too.
A white man should hate that.
Right. Anybody would.
Why don't you join
the Colonel's staff?
- That's private business, Slade.
- War ain't private business...
...when they kill women and kids.
At Big Creek we killed
Indian women and kids.
Cochise started this and any...
Hold on! Let's just get
the facts straight here.
Cochise didn't start this war.
A snooty little lieutenant
fresh out of the east started it.
He flew a flag of truce which
Cochise honored...
...then he hanged his brother and...
...others under the flag.
You hear all sorts of stories.
You want to know why I didn't
kill that Apache boy?
For the same reason I wouldn't kill
your boy or scout for the army.
I'm sick and tired of
all this killing.
And, who asked us
out here in first place?
I don't know, Tom.
I don't say we do right.
But we're bringing civilization here.
Clothes, carpets, hats,
boots, medicine.
Why I got a wagonload of whiskey...
...waiting in the east?
I could sell that
if it wasn't for Cochise.
It's an ambush!
Run!
Juan, come on in.
- Hi, Tom.
- Hi, Milt.
After all this time,
one single freight wagon...
...squeezed through.
Cochise didn't show his ugly face.
Are you sending your mail riders
with the military?
It'd take the Army and Navy.
No eastern mail has gone out
or come in for seven weeks.
The Apaches are shooting
my job right from under me.
Maybe there's a way to
get your mail through.
A new route?
Could I use this office
every afternoon for a while?
- What for?
- Juan.
Juan, I've got work for you.
I want to hire you for
maybe almost a moon.
I want you to teach me
to speak Apache good.
I want to learn about Apache spirits.
I want to learn about the Apache ways.
Apache in here.
No white man asks to learn
these things. Why do you?
I want to speak to Cochise.
Are you crazy, Tom?
Milt, I'm sick and tired
of being in the middle.
I'm tired of people like Lowrie,
Terry, and you...
...asking my position.
I've been willing to go
into Cochise's territory...
...to look for gold.
I've risked before.
Cochise will not speak
with white men.
We'll send up smoke signals.
He will not come to see you.
No, I want to go and see him.
- To his stronghold?
- That's right.
No white man's seen
Cochise in ten years...
- ...and lived to tell it.
- Once you could talk to him.
Don't try it, Tom.
The ants will eat your eyes.
That could happen any time.
Like the other day.
Juan, will you teach me?
I want to tell Cochise to
let the mail go through.
Maybe even about peace.
Yes...
...I will teach you, and for this
I will not take any dollars.
But I think it will end bad.
I think Cochise will kill you.
Milt, can we use the office?
It's your eyes.
Good enough. Apache eyes quick.
This says you come in peace.
They will doubt it but it'll
make them want to find out.
You've speak our language well.
You do not yet think
like an Apache...
...but you are close to.
Juan, you've been a good guide.
If I see Cochise...
...what grows from our talks
will be from you too.
Last night I heard an owl...
...the worst of all signs.
It is not yet too late.
Come back with me.
They will kill you.
I didn't hear the owl, Juan,
but thank you anyway.
Remember then:
...If you see him...
...do not lie to him.
Not in the smallest thing.
His eyes will see into your heart.
He is greater than other men.
I started into the canyons that
led into Cochise's country.
I never felt so lonely and
frightened in my life.
For three days I climbed
higher towards...
...the Apache stronghold.
On the third day...
...I was nearing the entrance
to the stronghold.
Juan had told me what to look for.
Cochise had given me
permission to enter.
I kept my hands visible...
...away from my weapons...
...and I tried to look at ease.
It is known that the chief
of Chiricahua Apaches...
...is the greatest Indian leader.
I have come to speak to him about
the welfare of his people.
It is known he respects truth...
...as he respects bravery.
You will hold these for me?
I will want them when I leave.
How do you know you will
leave here alive?
I am Cochise.
Speak.
When the Indian wishes to
signal his brother...
...he does so by smoke signs.
This is the white man's signal.
My brothers far away can look at
this and understand my meaning.
We call this mail.
The men who carry the
mail are like the air...
...that carries the
Apache smoke signals.
They seek no trouble.
Yet your warriors kill them.
I've come here ask you to let
these men travel in safety.
This mail carries war
signals against us.
No, this is used for other talk.
War signals are sent
by the military...
...by special ways.
How?
Sometimes by a thing
we call the telegraph.
Other times by men like me.
You have carried messages against us?
When I was a scout for
the military, yes.
You have fought us?
Yes.
In the battle of Apache Pass.
Come with me.
You are a brave man.
Now hear me.
I am the leader of my people.
They do not betray me and
I do not betray them.
We fight for out land against
Americans who try to take it.
You give me no reason why I should
not kill American mail riders...
...and kill you too.
You were not asked to come here.
Mail riders do you no harm.
Apaches who did your people
no harm were hanged.
One was my brother.
My people have done
yours great wrong.
I have always said this.
Do you think because I am
an Indian I am a fool?
You can trick me?
I would not have come here
if I thought that.
A fool sees only today.
Because I respect you and
your people, I think of tomorrow.
What about tomorrow?
The Apaches are warriors
without equal.
But they are small in number...
...and tomorrow they'll be smaller.
I will not talk of that with you.
Is it not possible that your
people and mine...
...can some day live together
like brothers?
That is strange talk
from a white man.
Your people do not want peace.
They have taught me that.
This mail can be the first step.
I ask you to think on it.
Why should not the
white man act first?
Am I better than the white man?
A white man has come here.
I ask you to think of your people...
...and look at tomorrow.
My mind must work on it.
You will rest here tonight.
It is my strong wish.
Walk with me so they will
see us together...
...so you will be safe here.
What is the meaning of the dance?
The Spirits of Good and
Evil are dancing.
Not everyone can do it.
If it's done wrong they
will be angry up there.
This must be the dance preceding
the sunrise ceremony for a girl.
You know about it?
A little bit.
Without words it tells me things.
You are very different from
other whites, Tall One.
You learn to speak our tongue...
...try to understand our ways.
It is good to understand
the ways of others.
I respect your people, Cochise.
You know what I am thinking?
Maybe some day you will
kill me or I will kill you...
...but we will not spit
on each other.
That is how I feel.
The girl inside the wickiup is in
the holiest time of her live.
These four days she becomes
White Painted Lady, Mother of Life.
It is good luck to visit her now.
- Would you like to visit her?
- Yes.
Were you ever wounded?
In my arm.
We will tell her.
For this night only this girl is
more holy than most, maybe...
...because she has been away
from us for a long time.
She is very old for this ceremony.
It's very special.
White Painted Lady...
...I have old wounds.
Yes...
...but each scar is a mark
of love for your people.
The path of you people is
stretched long behind you...
...and you are the head...
...and you are the heart...
...and you are the blood.
Killer of Enemies is your
father and you are his son.
You will be well.
I have brought someone with me.
Then he is welcome.
He has an old arm wound.
Give me your arm.
Does it hurt you?
Sometimes.
It will never hurt again.
Your life will be long.
The good things will be yours.
The sun will shine for you.
What's her name?
Sonseeahray.
It means Morning Star.
Morning Star.
This is called shaving.
You...
...see white men have more hair on
their faces than Indians, so...
...they cut it of instead
of pulling the hairs out.
Maybe you'd like to come closer.
Don't be afraid, Sonseeahray.
See?
I'm not afraid.
I thought you were skinning yourself.
No.
- Does it hurt?
- No.
How did you know I was there?
I saw you through this.
This is much better than looking
in a pool of water.
And now I see you.
What a thing it is.
It's yours to keep.
Well...
...if you had it you could
see how beautiful you are.
Why do you leave? Stay, please.
It is not fitting. I...
...I should have run
away quick before.
Why?
I am not married.
Are you not allowed to
talk to Apache men?
Old men.
Never young men?
Only at ceremonies or in the dancing.
I thought that Apache boys and girls
pick those they wanted.
Well, how can they do that
if they do not meet?
They meet.
- There are ways.
- What ways?
They meet by accident
where no one sees them.
Like my mother could
see me here with you.
I understand.
Now I must go. I have work
to pick juniper berries.
Where?
There.
I was going to walk up
that way myself...
...by accident.
Sonseeahray.
I walk this way because I don't
know when I may see you again.
When do you go?
I don't know. Cochise said
he would talk to me soon.
- Will you come back?
- I hope so.
I want to. It's important to me.
Why?
May I speak truly...
...from my heart?
It will be all right.
All my life I've been mostly alone.
I wanted it that way...
...but when I saw you in the wickiup
and you touched me...
...and you prayed for me...
...I felt bad being alone...
...and I knew that I needed to
see you again before I left...
...so that I could find out if
it was the same as last night.
Is it the same?
Yes.
So now when I go away...
...I'll be lonely for someone for
the first time in my life.
I have decided about the mail.
If I let the riders go in safety,
but no one else...
...there will be no loss.
It will show the whites
what power the Apache has.
It makes me laugh.
A good step. The seed is small...
...maybe the tree will grow big.
I'll be happy to tell my people.
Is it straight, Captain?
You saw Cochise himself?
That's right.
Any lad who would go into
Cochise's camp alone...
...is some punkin of a man.
Or a blasted liar!
I believe Captain Jefford's word...
...but not the word of
and Apache murderer.
Cochise said the mail
would ride safe. I believe him.
While you were up there with him...
...his men attacked a wagon train
near here and killed every one.
Another band attacked Kliner's ranch
and killed three men and a boy.
Cochise never said anything
about calling off the war.
He said the mail was safe.
Are you willing to bet on
the word of an Indian?
You name it.
Will you lay three hundred dollars...
...that five riders in succession
leave here and five come back.
You've got a bet.
The mail's piled up...
...and the route's guaranteed safe
by Tom Jeffords and Cochise.
Three days of riding in
the sunshine at high pay.
Who's first?
Looks like you'll have to
go yourself, Jeffords.
Only that won't prove a thing.
I'll go.
That'll prove something.
Duffield's back!
It's Duffield.
He's back.
Good boy!
See any Apaches?
Saw a few some signals but
not one live Indian.
Hi, Milt.
- It's all right, Tom.
- Why'd you take so long?
When I got there safe I got drunk.
Took time to sober up.
One made it but there's
still four more.
My bet's safe.
You want to double it?
After Duffield returned,
we sent out a second rider.
He saw some Apaches but
nothing happened.
The third rider, too, said it
was peaceful on the trail.
When the fourth rider went out
I was really proud of Cochise.
The days passed quietly and
on one of those quiet days...
...a wagon train left
Messilla Park for Tucson.
Colonel Bernall was in charge.
Spectacular country, isn't, General?
I wouldn't presume to tell and
Indian fighter his business...
...but we're inviting an ambush.
Apaches could be hiding over there.
I'm not only inviting ambush,
I'm praying for it.
Why?
You've only got 75 men.
My mule drivers are armed...
...and I've got 50 riflemen hiding
under blankets in the wagons.
My eyes are getting old.
Nahilzay!
Halt!
Pistol attack!
No mister, no!
Goklia! Cut them off!
They're cutting off the cavalry!
Halt!
Nahilzay! Pionsenay!
The foot soldiers!
Seize the wagons!
Cut to pieces...
...fifty dead and a hundred wounded.
Colonel Bernall killed...
...five thousand pounds of grain,
every wagon, gun, and mule.
How did Cochise know we had
men hidden in the wagons?
He knows what goes on everywhere.
Who's the spy? I say, hang him.
I can tell you.
We all can.
Who?
Duffield in here?
Yeah.
What do you want?
Your last mail rider's just
come in, safe and sound.
Thanks.
Yeah...
...where's Lowrie?
You lost your bet, Lowrie.
It don't pay to bet
with Tom Jeffords.
He's a personal friend of
that murderer, Cochise.
It was all a plot.
How was it fixed?
- I got both hands on the bar.
- How was it fixed?
I'm a rancher, not a gunner.
Slade. You got friends here.
You want to plug me.
Cochise don't do favors for nothing.
- He got something.
- What? What'd he get?
You tell us. Was it guns,
or was it whiskey?
Anybody else want to
call me a renegade?
You are not a renegade, Jeffords.
A man's a liar who says you are...
...but why is Cochise
so partial to you?
How does he let the
mail rider through...
...on the same day he wipes
out a wagon train?
Because he's a man of honor.
A man of honor?
No Indian's a man of honor.
The first peace move in ten years
and you're blind, all of you.
We'll have peace when every
Apache is hung from a tree!
Here's your 300 dollars, Jeffords.
The drinks are on me.
I don't drink on any Indian lover.
He's a copperhead. He sold us out.
String him up!
What are we waiting for?
Release that man.
Release that man.
- I'm grateful to you, General.
- I don't want your gratitude.
I won't scout Indians for
you or anybody else.
- I don't want you to.
- What then?
I want you to take me to see Cochise.
If anybody can do it, you can.
I know you have reason to be angry.
But please hear me out.
You don't like
Army officers apparently.
Does this also prejudice
you against me?
That depends on how you read it.
The Bible I read preaches brotherhood.
Suppose their skins aren't white.
Are they still God's children?
My Bible says nothing about
the pigmentation of the skin.
There was a General
served under Grant...
...the Christian General.
Yes, also Bible-Reading-Howard.
Why do you want to see Cochise?
To make a peace treaty with him.
Who sent you here?
The President of the U.S.
- With what power?
- Full power to make a fair treaty.
To be changed later.
My treaty will stand.
I have the President's word.
I'll do nothing, General,
to betray Cochise.
Why all this change of
heart in Washington?
President Grant is eager for a
fair peace with the Apaches.
- What is a fair peace?
- Suppose you tell me.
Equality.
The Apaches are a free people.
They have a right to stay free...
- ...on their own land.
- The whole southwest?
No.
No, even Cochise wouldn't ask
for that now. He's a realist.
But a clear territory
that's Apache...
...ruled by Apaches
that's what I mean.
No soldiers on it.
Yes, I'll agree to that. What else?
You can talk the rest
over the Cochise.
- You'll take me to him alone?
- Without soldiers?
- Is that the best way?
- That's the only way.
I'll go alone.
I'll see Cochise.
I'll get in touch with you.
Read your Bible for me too.
I like the way you read it.
Welcome.
Your signals were seen and they
have been told to Cochise.
He is in the other stronghold.
He asks you to wait
and be comfortable.
He will return.
I will wait.
My feet are tired from trying
to find you by accident.
Waiting for you, I...
...I have washed my hair twice
and my clothes three times.
How is this soap made?
It comes from yucca root.
We grind it up.
Sonseeahray...
...there's something I need to know.
I've been away almost a moon.
Has anything changed with you?
No.
When you went away I...
...I became frightened.
I thought...
...he won't come back...
...and if he does, when he returns
from his own people...
...he will look at me with cool eyes.
But then I...
...I stopped being afraid...
...in here.
You're trembling.
You're not frightened of me?
No.
Only you put such new
feelings in my heart.
I am trembling inside too.
Should I hide it?
No.
Tom!
Here they come and
he rides before them.
It will be told at our campfires...
...how the Chiracahuas fought.
How the great Cochise led us.
A great wagon train destroyed.
Their wagons and horses taken.
Corn for the whole winter...
...blankets, guns!
In a battle there are losses.
Some of our men have gone to
live with their fathers.
They were brave.
They died honorably.
Now for the last time,
listen to their names.
They will be angry if their names
are ever mentioned again.
Ponce.
Victorio.
Pionsenay and his son Machogee.
Naratena.
Big Chee.
No, thank you.
If I make a peace with
this General...
...can other bigger break it?
No, he speaks for the Chief.
There's no one bigger.
- Can I trust them?
- Will they trust you?
My word is my life.
I do not break it.
I know that. They do not.
There can be no peace
without good will.
Try it.
All Americans are not
like that lieutenant.
You trust me, Cochise.
There are Americans that I trust.
There are Indians that
I would not trust.
Me too.
After eating, wipe the
hands on the arms.
The grease is good for them.
Among white men we wash it off.
What a waste.
My friend, all evening your eyes
have gone to that same maiden.
You must understand...
...any man may be friendly with a
woman whose husband is dead...
...but not with a maiden
like Sonseeahray.
Cochise, I...
This girl has been asked for already.
I think she will be married soon.
You have been chosen.
It will be an insult not to go.
We should not be seen together, Tom.
If that is true, why did you
choose me to dance with?
I could not help it.
With me it's the same.
I'll speak to your parents tonight.
No, Tom. It will cause deep trouble.
- You must not.
- It causes trouble already.
You have not acted like my brother.
I told you that she is a maiden,
and yet you came here.
I want her for my wife.
I will do all the things expected
of a husband here.
I refused Nahilzay once.
I will again.
I am glad it is the right way...
...but it will not be easy for you.
You are an American.
Where will you live? Here?
Apaches who have suffered from
white men will hate you.
Tucson, maybe?
Won't the whites hate your wife for
of the color of her skin?
You will go far away maybe...
...in new places...
...but your eyes will see nothing.
Always they will be
turned backwards...
...toward home.
And you, Sonseeahray...
...they will look at you as
at a strange animal...
...and make jokes.
Hear me, Tall One...
...I ask you to think on it.
Your way will be filled
with bitterness.
Think...
...is it not better to
live with your own?
Though you are my friend, Cochise,
nothing can change it.
I will marry Sonseeahray.
What he says does not have to be.
You are young. You do not know.
With him I do not tremble...
...even before you.
I cannot say more against it.
But it won't be easy.
Her parents. You will need
a strong go-between.
Will you be my go-between?
No other can do it.
I will speak for you tonight,
otherwise it will be worse.
Already everyone knows of this.
Your secret was as quiet
as the thunder.
Also I will speak to Nahilzay.
He has bad luck. It has happened
before to other men.
You wait in your wickiup maybe.
Walk up and down.
It is good for people in love.
Well?
You have no luck with women.
They refused.
I'll take her away from here!
She'll go with me too.
They did not refuse.
I make a joke.
It is always a good joke.
It is all arranged. Three horses
and saddles to the parents.
I'll get them in Tucson.
No. You will let me
give them for you.
- No.
- No, I want to.
They're almost yours anyway.
They come from your people.
I want to do this for you.
You marry next full moon.
Why the delay?
Her mother decided. It is her right.
Listen now.
Go to Tucson.
Look into the heart of this general.
Bring him back if you believe him.
I will send out runners, Apaches
from all tribes will come here.
To talk of peace is a big thing.
I cannot decide it alone.
My people may not want it.
I make no promises.
That is not expected.
Good sleep, my brother.
Remember, no promises.
I heard noise.
It is not your knife.
It is an Apache knife.
To attack someone who has been
given safety here is forbidden.
It is a terrible wrong.
It cannot be allowed.
Nothing's changed.
Go to Tucson.
Return in ten days.
I ask you to forgive me that one
of my people broke my word.
Nahilzay.
In battle I have had no one like you.
Our lives were often mixed.
It is ended. You have
betrayed our people.
I went back to Tucson and
studied General Howard.
Before our return I learned to
respect the Christian General.
I prayed that a decent peace
would come from this.
I wanted it for my country...
...for Cochise and his people...
...and I wanted it because
I loved a girl.
I am told it is permitted to visit.
For a short time only.
My mother is inside the wickiup.
You will sit there...
...and I will keep sitting here...
...for we must not even
touch our hands.
During the days I...
...I am very busy now. I prepare
my clothes for the wedding.
I must build a special wickiup
for our honeymoon...
...away from everybody.
Our honeymoon, Tom!
I must also build the wickiup
we will live in.
In all this my mother
helps me and teaches me...
...and I try to do as I...
...I think she did when
she was a girl.
And she couldn't have done it neater.
What is that? What does it mean?
That's something Americans say.
It means that I love you and
I'll honor your parents.
You understand, Cochise,
about the signing of this map.
I will place my name upon yours...
...you will place
your mark upon mine.
What is this signing?
This is proof for all people of
any agreement that is made.
It is as we agreed yesterday.
You will explain it to the others.
The peace conference had been
going on for four days...
...and we were asked to approach
the meeting place.
We finally met the most important
men of the Apache tribes.
They had come from Arizona
and New Mexico...
...they would decide with Cochise
whether there would be peace.
My white brother
will tell you something.
I have in my hand here a map.
This is a sort of picture writing.
It shows the Apache territory,
fifty thousand square miles...
...that you have agreed upon.
This map will go back
to Washington...
...were the Chief of all
the white men lives.
If you make a treaty of peace...
...this will be part of that treaty.
If we make peace with
the Americans...
...can we still raid the Mexicans?
There cannot be war against
the Mexicans either.
Let the white eyes...
Wait. We will talk of
this by ourselves.
Now is the time only for questions.
If the chief of the white men
dies, what will follow?
His word is a bond on
the chief who follows him.
Do others wish to speak?
I have a question.
Suppose some white man wants
yellow iron and he comes into our land.
Can we kill him?
He should be captured and
given to our military.
Then he will be judged and punished.
What if he resists capture until
he has killed one of my men?
If a white man kills an Indian on
your territory we will hung him.
That will be something
for Cochise to see.
Who else?
You will go now.
I will bring you our decision.
I trust none of it.
Four days ago we were given
our territory on a piece of paper.
Today we cannot go into Mexico.
The American General says no.
Already our territory is smaller.
Where will we get horses if not by
taking them from the Mexican?
The government will give us cattle.
We will raise and trade them.
The answer of a woman.
I am not afraid.
I speak from my heart.
You speak well.
Speak more.
Apaches are not
grandmothers to cattle.
Cochise now fears battle and
is ready to surrender.
It is not this false peace
we need but a new chief.
Now I say this.
The American keep cattle but
they are not soft or weak.
Why should not the Apache
be able to learn new ways?
It is not easy to change but
sometimes it is required.
The Americans are growing stronger...
...while we are growing weaker.
If a big wind comes,
a tree must bend...
...or be lifted out by its roots.
I will make a test of
it for three moons.
I break the arrow.
I will try the way of peace.
I will give my word to the
American General tonight.
Those who stay with me
must keep my word.
Let all others walk away.
They are no longer my brothers.
If more walk away than stay...
...then I will no longer
be your chief.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
Who else comes?
Who else comes?
Who else?
Take your women, your children...
...your horses, your weapons.
Leave our territory.
I leave you my name also.
Now I am ashamed to be a Chiricahua.
I will take the name Mexican
enemies have given me.
The Whites will learn it...
...and you will learn it.
From now on...
...I am Geronimo!
If Geronimo or his followers come
to this territory again...
...let them come with weapons.
I am worried.
They're taking a long time...
...too long.
I am worried too.
This is delicious. What is it?
Pony. In you honor, General.
Pony? What kind of meat's that?
A pony is a small horse, General.
We will try this peace.
But there must be a waiting time...
...a time for testing. Three moons.
Why is it needed?
The white man has not kept
a peace in the past.
- Three month armistice.
- It's a good idea.
The first stone.
For every day without war
there will be another.
When 3 moons have passed,
the pile will be high.
Then we will place a white flag
on it and there will be peace.
My heart is glad, Cochise.
I am not yet glad.
To talk a peace is not hard.
To live it is very hard.
I will wait three moons to be glad.
Not everyone was happy
about the treaty.
Some still thought Cochise
was a liar and a murderer...
...and peace impossible
until he was dead.
But the 90 days of
the armistice began.
I saw things that never
happened before.
Near Fort Grant...
...a cavalry patrol passed
some Apaches.
They didn't talk...
...they didn't pretend
they'd become friends.
But they didn't shoot.
Two days later the first coach
in five years left Tucson.
I rode with it on my way
back to the Stronghold.
Where's that water
you said we came to?
Right down below.
That's where I'll leave you.
Time to stretch, gents.
I can believe a fellow
can ride here...
...with his liver not turned white.
Yeah. A fellow can even think about
settling down and getting married.
Take cover!
What are you shooting at?
I saw something move.
Save your ammunition!
Blast you and that murdering Cochise
both. We'll be slaughtered.
Shut up!
Keep down under cover, everybody!
Now listen to me.
This isn't Cochise.
It's a band of renegade Indians.
There're a few of them
or they'd be rushing us.
They're very badly armed too.
What they want is our guns.
Well, we're pinned here.
They're waiting for night.
So what do we do?
Wait to be butchered in the dark?
Shut up!
Who's a good shot?
I'm not bad. Here.
When I yell, you and this fellow
start firing into the hill.
Lonergan, you cover the bank.
I'm coming upstream.
- What do you do?
- Send smoke signals.
All right, start shooting!
How many rounds you got left?
Two.
One.
Those signal of Jeffords
did us a lot of good...
...a lot of good.
Listen!
Apaches protecting Americans!
I lived to see it!
Remember to talk about
it back in Tucson.
Twelve days.
I think it goes well.
There are many good signals.
It has gone well for twelve days.
I still wait to be glad.
Now you will forget
about peace and war.
Think only of your bride.
Is the ceremony a long one?
No...
...with us the ceremony of
love takes place here.
The rest is small.
Let the bride come here.
The time has come.
Let the groom take his
place beside her.
Your left hand.
Your right hand.
Kneel down upon the earth.
Now your blood mixes.
Now for you there is no rain...
...for one is shelter to the other.
Now for you there is no cold...
...for one is warmth to the other.
Now there is no loneliness...
...now forever,
there is no loneliness.
There are two bodies but now
there is but one blood in both.
Go now. Ride the white horses
to your secret place.
Look.
The evening is full and happy for us.
We will listen to the brook...
...all through the night.
And listen to the bells.
It's as though they are
singing in my heart.
Sixteen stones.
I know of the attack
on the stage coach.
It was Geronimo.
We trailed him two days but
he crossed into Mexico.
You did not follow?
We wanted to, but we did not.
Good...
...we will protect all the whites
leaving Tucson and Fort Bowie.
Also we will guard Apache Pass.
Let the whites break the peace.
It must not be Indians...
...not even bad Indians.
- You are asleep?
- No.
I'm quiet because I'm happy.
I'm afraid if I open my mouth,
my happiness will...
...will rush out in a
funny noise like...
...Yahoo!
What does that mean?
It is an American word?
I think Adam said it when he
opened his eyes and saw Eve.
Who are they?
Don't you know?
The world is so big and
I know so little.
Sometime...
...will you grow tired of me
and go back to your people?
That is a bad thought, Sonseeahray.
Never think it again.
You are my people.
Will you tell me that often?
Each day of our life together
I'll tell it to you.
I'll always remember the
moments of these days.
We will remember them together.
In the quiet of the nights
we will talk of them a little.
We will see our children ride
white horses, maybe.
I can do better myself.
By the time he is a grown man,
he will know how.
What is it?
I found this one up the canyon.
He had this.
I know this boy, Cochise.
Hello. You're Ben Slade's boy,
aren't you?
Yeah, Captain Jeffords. I've been
praying you'd be up here.
Keep calm. No one will hurt you.
Did you lose your way?
Not exactly.
You're the one who said these
Apaches wanted peace.
It's not peaceful when they steal.
What got stolen?
Two young colts of mine. Beauties.
Swiped night before last by Apaches.
I tracked them all day...
...followed their tracks
up the canyon.
I ended up out there
at dark last night.
Then that redskin
jumped me in the morning.
None of my people took them.
The boy lies.
Cochise.
I know this boy's father
hates the Apaches.
We have to show that he's wrong.
Maybe you have men like Geronimo
who would betray you.
You speak wisely.
I will see these horse signs.
All right, bub.
We'll mosey down and take a look.
See them yet, bub?
Right around here, Captain.
You call the boy 'bub'.
Is it his name?
No, it's just to be friendly.
Here they are, Captain.
Don't shoot till my boy
gets out of the way.
Cochise, they'll kill you. Run!
Get Cochise!
Run! Sonseeahray, run!
The big one is Cochise.
Somebody give me a gun.
Watch out, son,
you stay clear of this.
Slade, stay out of line.
We can't shoot.
He's out of arrows!
He got away! It's a bust!
Our whole plan's a bust!
I'm heading for Mexico.
The military will be after us, too.
What are you standing there for?
Come on.
Sonseeahray.
Sonsee...
No!
God!
Are you bad hurt?
She's dead, Cochise.
There is one who still lives.
Give me a knife and bring him to me.
It will not be done.
- Bring him to me!
- No.
It will not be done.
There are some things
a man cannot bear.
Do you hear me?
This peace is a lie!
They don't want peace!
It is not a lie. I will not
let you make it a lie.
Did you think peace would come easy?
You, who taught me so well.
Is it my brother who asks
me to spit on my word?
Why do you speak to me?
Speak to her!
When she hears, I'll hear.
You will hear me now!
You'll bear this.
This was not done by the military.
Geronimo broke the peace
no less than these whites.
As I bear the murder of my people,
so you will bear...
...the murder of your wife.
I am Cochise! I do not betray
my people or their children.
No none on my territory
will open war again.
Not even you.
I have given my permission.
They wanted to see you.
Tom...
...we've come to pay
our respects, Tom.
Thank you, Milt.
We rounded up ever man
connected with the ambush.
They're going to pay
the full penalty for what they done.
Jeffords...
...nothing can compensate you for
the terrible thing that happened.
But your loss has brought our people
together in the will to peace.
Without that will, treaties are
worth little or nothing.
His words meant very little to
me then, but as time passed...
...I came to know that the
death of Sonseeahray...
...put a seal upon the peace.
From that day on,
wherever I went...
...in cities, among the Apaches,
in the mountains...
...I always remembered...
...my wife was with me.
This is the story of a land...
...and its people in
the year 1870...
...and of a man...
...whose name was Cochise.
He was an Indian...
...leader of the Chiricahua
Apache tribe.
I was involved in the story...
...and what I am telling happened
exactly as you'll see it.
The only change will be that
when the Apaches speak...
...they will speak in our language.
What took place is part of
the history of Arizona...
...and it began for me here,
where you see me riding.
Since leaving the Army I had been
prospecting for gold off and...
...one day I heard the colonel
at Tucson wanted to see me.
The story started when I saw
buzzards circling in the sky.
The buzzard's a smart bird.
Something...
...or somebody,
was getting ready to die.
I figured it was a hurt deer
or a rabbit or a snake.
Not a rabbit...
...not a deer.
His kind was more dangerous
than a snake.
He was an Apache.
For ten years we'd been on a
savage war with his people...
...a bloody, no-give, no-take war.
Drink.
Better slow.
I could have killed you before.
A fire was dangerous
in Apache country.
But his wounds were bad and
he was running a high fever.
He had eight pieces of buckshot
in his back and I dug them out.
He was in pain but he never
let out a sound.
For the next few days I panned
the stream for gold...
...and watched the boy.
I wanted to be on the move, and
I was glad he was recovering.
Do your legs feel stronger today?
Little bit.
You've still got a limp.
Today I must leave.
No, I must go. Too soon for you.
For my legs, yes,
but for my family, no.
This is my novice time.
I am 14. So I learn to be a man.
I go on trips alone.
But I have been away too long.
In the wickiup my mother is crying.
My father looks for me, I think.
I am their only one now.
My brother and my sister were
killed at Big Creek.
"My mother is crying", he said.
It never struck me that an Apache
woman would cry over her son...
...like any other woman.
"Apaches are wild animals",
we all said.
Do you pray to Killer of Enemies?
Not even to Life Giver?
The ones up there.
We have another name.
Apaches pray for all
white men to die.
But now I pray to keep you safe.
At sunset last night, I threw pollen
to the four winds for you.
Thanks, boy.
This is very big...
...against headache and sickness.
Now it is yours.
They could have killed.
Put away your gun.
My people are watching us.
They see I am unharmed.
This is clear talk.
It says they can still kill.
This white man is my friend.
This white man is my friend.
He must not be hurt.
When did my son become a tame Apache?
Father look! He gave me life again
when the soldiers wounded me.
Where did you meet soldiers?
It will shame us to say.
An Apache should not do what
others cannot know.
This one...
- ...he was with them?
- No.
He found me later. He healed me.
It will be wrong to harm him.
You do no give orders.
You speak our tongue?
A little.
White men pay many dollars
for the scalp of an Apache.
I know.
Then why did you not take his scalp?
If I kill an Apache it'll not
be for scalp or money.
Why not? My people and your
people are at war.
It is not my way to fight.
- It is the way of all whites.
- It is not my way.
You are a woman maybe.
Apaches do not take scalps either.
And they are not women.
He hides something.
Why are you here in our mountains?
I look for gold and silver.
For what?
For yellow iron.
You did not kill.
We will not kill this time.
But not again.
Give him his gun.
They wanted to kill me, all right,
but they let me go.
I learned things that day.
Apache mothers cried
about their sons.
Apache men had a sense
of fair play.
Ambush! Run!
Two men were killed, and for
the three wounded it was worse.
But this was war, and it was
cruelty in both sides.
On one of the men
they found a pouch...
...which held three Apache scalps.
So they dug a pit and they rubbed
his face with sweet juice...
...and made me watch the ants come.
Learn it...
...learn it well, this is Apache land.
You have no right here.
Where Cochise lives,
no white man can live.
Take your weapons. Go!
Let your face not be seen again!
Howdy, gents.
Hi, Tom.
- Find yourself a gold mine?
- No.
Howdy, Terry.
Just coffee for me.
- We have smoked turkey today.
- No, just coffee, thanks.
Wipe them all out...
...but cheer them.
- Jeffords?
- Yes, sir.
I'm Colonel Bernall.
You received my message?
That's why I came.
What's on you mind?
I'm the new chief at Fort Grand.
Congratulations.
My orders are to clean out
Cochise and his Apaches.
A big order, sir.
Wipe them all out.
Butcher them like hogs, I say...
...like hogs.
This man was in a party of miners...
...ambushed yesterday by Apaches.
Where was the ambush?
Just south of here.
They wounded Cochise
and killed 12 Apaches out of 50.
There weren't 50 only 5,
and not a one scratched.
How do you know, Jeffords?
I watched it.
Watched it? Seems to me most
men would have lent a hand.
I was tied.
The Apaches got me earlier.
You fought your way out?
They let me go.
I never heard of a thing like that
happening to a white man.
- Did you, John?
- No.
- Did you, Milt?
- No.
I ran across a
wounded Chiricahua boy.
I healed him up. They thought
they owed me something.
- Apaches playing fair?
- Yes.
I don't understand.
You mean you found a wounded
Apache and didn't kill him?
That's right.
I'd like to ask you why?
What do you want from me, Colonel?
Jeffords...
...I think I know how
we can stop Cochise.
I have 250 men from Pennsylvania
and New Jersey.
They're disciplined troopers.
- Yes, I've seen them around.
- I have a good plan.
I want information from you and
I want you to do reconnoitering.
In six months the war will be over
and we'll have Cochise hanging.
No, you won't, Colonel.
Jeffords, I'm an expert
on open warfare.
- I have thirty...
- Cochise can't read a map...
...but he knows every gulley,
every mountain in Arizona.
His men and horses can go
twice as far as yours.
He can't write his name...
...but his intelligence
service knows when...
...you got to Fort Grant and
how many men you've got.
He's stopped the
Butterfield stage from running...
...he's stopped the U.S. mails
from going through.
For the first time he has all
the Apaches under one command.
You're not going to string
him up in six months.
Not in six years.
Good day, gents.
- Terry.
- Jeffords!
Will you scout for me?
- You can find somebody else.
- Maybe...
...Captain Jeffords became too
friendly with the Apaches.
Maybe he doesn't know
what side he's on.
Easy, gents.
I'm not looking for trouble but
if you don't fight them...
...you're with them.
I've got to say that.
Who says so? What's your name?
Ben Slade. I own a ranch only
a mile out from Fort Grant.
The Apaches burned my
house last month.
My wife was inside.
They almost got my boy too.
A white man should hate that.
Right. Anybody would.
Why don't you join
the Colonel's staff?
- That's private business, Slade.
- War ain't private business...
...when they kill women and kids.
At Big Creek we killed
Indian women and kids.
Cochise started this and any...
Hold on! Let's just get
the facts straight here.
Cochise didn't start this war.
A snooty little lieutenant
fresh out of the east started it.
He flew a flag of truce which
Cochise honored...
...then he hanged his brother and...
...others under the flag.
You hear all sorts of stories.
You want to know why I didn't
kill that Apache boy?
For the same reason I wouldn't kill
your boy or scout for the army.
I'm sick and tired of
all this killing.
And, who asked us
out here in first place?
I don't know, Tom.
I don't say we do right.
But we're bringing civilization here.
Clothes, carpets, hats,
boots, medicine.
Why I got a wagonload of whiskey...
...waiting in the east?
I could sell that
if it wasn't for Cochise.
It's an ambush!
Run!
Juan, come on in.
- Hi, Tom.
- Hi, Milt.
After all this time,
one single freight wagon...
...squeezed through.
Cochise didn't show his ugly face.
Are you sending your mail riders
with the military?
It'd take the Army and Navy.
No eastern mail has gone out
or come in for seven weeks.
The Apaches are shooting
my job right from under me.
Maybe there's a way to
get your mail through.
A new route?
Could I use this office
every afternoon for a while?
- What for?
- Juan.
Juan, I've got work for you.
I want to hire you for
maybe almost a moon.
I want you to teach me
to speak Apache good.
I want to learn about Apache spirits.
I want to learn about the Apache ways.
Apache in here.
No white man asks to learn
these things. Why do you?
I want to speak to Cochise.
Are you crazy, Tom?
Milt, I'm sick and tired
of being in the middle.
I'm tired of people like Lowrie,
Terry, and you...
...asking my position.
I've been willing to go
into Cochise's territory...
...to look for gold.
I've risked before.
Cochise will not speak
with white men.
We'll send up smoke signals.
He will not come to see you.
No, I want to go and see him.
- To his stronghold?
- That's right.
No white man's seen
Cochise in ten years...
- ...and lived to tell it.
- Once you could talk to him.
Don't try it, Tom.
The ants will eat your eyes.
That could happen any time.
Like the other day.
Juan, will you teach me?
I want to tell Cochise to
let the mail go through.
Maybe even about peace.
Yes...
...I will teach you, and for this
I will not take any dollars.
But I think it will end bad.
I think Cochise will kill you.
Milt, can we use the office?
It's your eyes.
Good enough. Apache eyes quick.
This says you come in peace.
They will doubt it but it'll
make them want to find out.
You've speak our language well.
You do not yet think
like an Apache...
...but you are close to.
Juan, you've been a good guide.
If I see Cochise...
...what grows from our talks
will be from you too.
Last night I heard an owl...
...the worst of all signs.
It is not yet too late.
Come back with me.
They will kill you.
I didn't hear the owl, Juan,
but thank you anyway.
Remember then:
...If you see him...
...do not lie to him.
Not in the smallest thing.
His eyes will see into your heart.
He is greater than other men.
I started into the canyons that
led into Cochise's country.
I never felt so lonely and
frightened in my life.
For three days I climbed
higher towards...
...the Apache stronghold.
On the third day...
...I was nearing the entrance
to the stronghold.
Juan had told me what to look for.
Cochise had given me
permission to enter.
I kept my hands visible...
...away from my weapons...
...and I tried to look at ease.
It is known that the chief
of Chiricahua Apaches...
...is the greatest Indian leader.
I have come to speak to him about
the welfare of his people.
It is known he respects truth...
...as he respects bravery.
You will hold these for me?
I will want them when I leave.
How do you know you will
leave here alive?
I am Cochise.
Speak.
When the Indian wishes to
signal his brother...
...he does so by smoke signs.
This is the white man's signal.
My brothers far away can look at
this and understand my meaning.
We call this mail.
The men who carry the
mail are like the air...
...that carries the
Apache smoke signals.
They seek no trouble.
Yet your warriors kill them.
I've come here ask you to let
these men travel in safety.
This mail carries war
signals against us.
No, this is used for other talk.
War signals are sent
by the military...
...by special ways.
How?
Sometimes by a thing
we call the telegraph.
Other times by men like me.
You have carried messages against us?
When I was a scout for
the military, yes.
You have fought us?
Yes.
In the battle of Apache Pass.
Come with me.
You are a brave man.
Now hear me.
I am the leader of my people.
They do not betray me and
I do not betray them.
We fight for out land against
Americans who try to take it.
You give me no reason why I should
not kill American mail riders...
...and kill you too.
You were not asked to come here.
Mail riders do you no harm.
Apaches who did your people
no harm were hanged.
One was my brother.
My people have done
yours great wrong.
I have always said this.
Do you think because I am
an Indian I am a fool?
You can trick me?
I would not have come here
if I thought that.
A fool sees only today.
Because I respect you and
your people, I think of tomorrow.
What about tomorrow?
The Apaches are warriors
without equal.
But they are small in number...
...and tomorrow they'll be smaller.
I will not talk of that with you.
Is it not possible that your
people and mine...
...can some day live together
like brothers?
That is strange talk
from a white man.
Your people do not want peace.
They have taught me that.
This mail can be the first step.
I ask you to think on it.
Why should not the
white man act first?
Am I better than the white man?
A white man has come here.
I ask you to think of your people...
...and look at tomorrow.
My mind must work on it.
You will rest here tonight.
It is my strong wish.
Walk with me so they will
see us together...
...so you will be safe here.
What is the meaning of the dance?
The Spirits of Good and
Evil are dancing.
Not everyone can do it.
If it's done wrong they
will be angry up there.
This must be the dance preceding
the sunrise ceremony for a girl.
You know about it?
A little bit.
Without words it tells me things.
You are very different from
other whites, Tall One.
You learn to speak our tongue...
...try to understand our ways.
It is good to understand
the ways of others.
I respect your people, Cochise.
You know what I am thinking?
Maybe some day you will
kill me or I will kill you...
...but we will not spit
on each other.
That is how I feel.
The girl inside the wickiup is in
the holiest time of her live.
These four days she becomes
White Painted Lady, Mother of Life.
It is good luck to visit her now.
- Would you like to visit her?
- Yes.
Were you ever wounded?
In my arm.
We will tell her.
For this night only this girl is
more holy than most, maybe...
...because she has been away
from us for a long time.
She is very old for this ceremony.
It's very special.
White Painted Lady...
...I have old wounds.
Yes...
...but each scar is a mark
of love for your people.
The path of you people is
stretched long behind you...
...and you are the head...
...and you are the heart...
...and you are the blood.
Killer of Enemies is your
father and you are his son.
You will be well.
I have brought someone with me.
Then he is welcome.
He has an old arm wound.
Give me your arm.
Does it hurt you?
Sometimes.
It will never hurt again.
Your life will be long.
The good things will be yours.
The sun will shine for you.
What's her name?
Sonseeahray.
It means Morning Star.
Morning Star.
This is called shaving.
You...
...see white men have more hair on
their faces than Indians, so...
...they cut it of instead
of pulling the hairs out.
Maybe you'd like to come closer.
Don't be afraid, Sonseeahray.
See?
I'm not afraid.
I thought you were skinning yourself.
No.
- Does it hurt?
- No.
How did you know I was there?
I saw you through this.
This is much better than looking
in a pool of water.
And now I see you.
What a thing it is.
It's yours to keep.
Well...
...if you had it you could
see how beautiful you are.
Why do you leave? Stay, please.
It is not fitting. I...
...I should have run
away quick before.
Why?
I am not married.
Are you not allowed to
talk to Apache men?
Old men.
Never young men?
Only at ceremonies or in the dancing.
I thought that Apache boys and girls
pick those they wanted.
Well, how can they do that
if they do not meet?
They meet.
- There are ways.
- What ways?
They meet by accident
where no one sees them.
Like my mother could
see me here with you.
I understand.
Now I must go. I have work
to pick juniper berries.
Where?
There.
I was going to walk up
that way myself...
...by accident.
Sonseeahray.
I walk this way because I don't
know when I may see you again.
When do you go?
I don't know. Cochise said
he would talk to me soon.
- Will you come back?
- I hope so.
I want to. It's important to me.
Why?
May I speak truly...
...from my heart?
It will be all right.
All my life I've been mostly alone.
I wanted it that way...
...but when I saw you in the wickiup
and you touched me...
...and you prayed for me...
...I felt bad being alone...
...and I knew that I needed to
see you again before I left...
...so that I could find out if
it was the same as last night.
Is it the same?
Yes.
So now when I go away...
...I'll be lonely for someone for
the first time in my life.
I have decided about the mail.
If I let the riders go in safety,
but no one else...
...there will be no loss.
It will show the whites
what power the Apache has.
It makes me laugh.
A good step. The seed is small...
...maybe the tree will grow big.
I'll be happy to tell my people.
Is it straight, Captain?
You saw Cochise himself?
That's right.
Any lad who would go into
Cochise's camp alone...
...is some punkin of a man.
Or a blasted liar!
I believe Captain Jefford's word...
...but not the word of
and Apache murderer.
Cochise said the mail
would ride safe. I believe him.
While you were up there with him...
...his men attacked a wagon train
near here and killed every one.
Another band attacked Kliner's ranch
and killed three men and a boy.
Cochise never said anything
about calling off the war.
He said the mail was safe.
Are you willing to bet on
the word of an Indian?
You name it.
Will you lay three hundred dollars...
...that five riders in succession
leave here and five come back.
You've got a bet.
The mail's piled up...
...and the route's guaranteed safe
by Tom Jeffords and Cochise.
Three days of riding in
the sunshine at high pay.
Who's first?
Looks like you'll have to
go yourself, Jeffords.
Only that won't prove a thing.
I'll go.
That'll prove something.
Duffield's back!
It's Duffield.
He's back.
Good boy!
See any Apaches?
Saw a few some signals but
not one live Indian.
Hi, Milt.
- It's all right, Tom.
- Why'd you take so long?
When I got there safe I got drunk.
Took time to sober up.
One made it but there's
still four more.
My bet's safe.
You want to double it?
After Duffield returned,
we sent out a second rider.
He saw some Apaches but
nothing happened.
The third rider, too, said it
was peaceful on the trail.
When the fourth rider went out
I was really proud of Cochise.
The days passed quietly and
on one of those quiet days...
...a wagon train left
Messilla Park for Tucson.
Colonel Bernall was in charge.
Spectacular country, isn't, General?
I wouldn't presume to tell and
Indian fighter his business...
...but we're inviting an ambush.
Apaches could be hiding over there.
I'm not only inviting ambush,
I'm praying for it.
Why?
You've only got 75 men.
My mule drivers are armed...
...and I've got 50 riflemen hiding
under blankets in the wagons.
My eyes are getting old.
Nahilzay!
Halt!
Pistol attack!
No mister, no!
Goklia! Cut them off!
They're cutting off the cavalry!
Halt!
Nahilzay! Pionsenay!
The foot soldiers!
Seize the wagons!
Cut to pieces...
...fifty dead and a hundred wounded.
Colonel Bernall killed...
...five thousand pounds of grain,
every wagon, gun, and mule.
How did Cochise know we had
men hidden in the wagons?
He knows what goes on everywhere.
Who's the spy? I say, hang him.
I can tell you.
We all can.
Who?
Duffield in here?
Yeah.
What do you want?
Your last mail rider's just
come in, safe and sound.
Thanks.
Yeah...
...where's Lowrie?
You lost your bet, Lowrie.
It don't pay to bet
with Tom Jeffords.
He's a personal friend of
that murderer, Cochise.
It was all a plot.
How was it fixed?
- I got both hands on the bar.
- How was it fixed?
I'm a rancher, not a gunner.
Slade. You got friends here.
You want to plug me.
Cochise don't do favors for nothing.
- He got something.
- What? What'd he get?
You tell us. Was it guns,
or was it whiskey?
Anybody else want to
call me a renegade?
You are not a renegade, Jeffords.
A man's a liar who says you are...
...but why is Cochise
so partial to you?
How does he let the
mail rider through...
...on the same day he wipes
out a wagon train?
Because he's a man of honor.
A man of honor?
No Indian's a man of honor.
The first peace move in ten years
and you're blind, all of you.
We'll have peace when every
Apache is hung from a tree!
Here's your 300 dollars, Jeffords.
The drinks are on me.
I don't drink on any Indian lover.
He's a copperhead. He sold us out.
String him up!
What are we waiting for?
Release that man.
Release that man.
- I'm grateful to you, General.
- I don't want your gratitude.
I won't scout Indians for
you or anybody else.
- I don't want you to.
- What then?
I want you to take me to see Cochise.
If anybody can do it, you can.
I know you have reason to be angry.
But please hear me out.
You don't like
Army officers apparently.
Does this also prejudice
you against me?
That depends on how you read it.
The Bible I read preaches brotherhood.
Suppose their skins aren't white.
Are they still God's children?
My Bible says nothing about
the pigmentation of the skin.
There was a General
served under Grant...
...the Christian General.
Yes, also Bible-Reading-Howard.
Why do you want to see Cochise?
To make a peace treaty with him.
Who sent you here?
The President of the U.S.
- With what power?
- Full power to make a fair treaty.
To be changed later.
My treaty will stand.
I have the President's word.
I'll do nothing, General,
to betray Cochise.
Why all this change of
heart in Washington?
President Grant is eager for a
fair peace with the Apaches.
- What is a fair peace?
- Suppose you tell me.
Equality.
The Apaches are a free people.
They have a right to stay free...
- ...on their own land.
- The whole southwest?
No.
No, even Cochise wouldn't ask
for that now. He's a realist.
But a clear territory
that's Apache...
...ruled by Apaches
that's what I mean.
No soldiers on it.
Yes, I'll agree to that. What else?
You can talk the rest
over the Cochise.
- You'll take me to him alone?
- Without soldiers?
- Is that the best way?
- That's the only way.
I'll go alone.
I'll see Cochise.
I'll get in touch with you.
Read your Bible for me too.
I like the way you read it.
Welcome.
Your signals were seen and they
have been told to Cochise.
He is in the other stronghold.
He asks you to wait
and be comfortable.
He will return.
I will wait.
My feet are tired from trying
to find you by accident.
Waiting for you, I...
...I have washed my hair twice
and my clothes three times.
How is this soap made?
It comes from yucca root.
We grind it up.
Sonseeahray...
...there's something I need to know.
I've been away almost a moon.
Has anything changed with you?
No.
When you went away I...
...I became frightened.
I thought...
...he won't come back...
...and if he does, when he returns
from his own people...
...he will look at me with cool eyes.
But then I...
...I stopped being afraid...
...in here.
You're trembling.
You're not frightened of me?
No.
Only you put such new
feelings in my heart.
I am trembling inside too.
Should I hide it?
No.
Tom!
Here they come and
he rides before them.
It will be told at our campfires...
...how the Chiracahuas fought.
How the great Cochise led us.
A great wagon train destroyed.
Their wagons and horses taken.
Corn for the whole winter...
...blankets, guns!
In a battle there are losses.
Some of our men have gone to
live with their fathers.
They were brave.
They died honorably.
Now for the last time,
listen to their names.
They will be angry if their names
are ever mentioned again.
Ponce.
Victorio.
Pionsenay and his son Machogee.
Naratena.
Big Chee.
No, thank you.
If I make a peace with
this General...
...can other bigger break it?
No, he speaks for the Chief.
There's no one bigger.
- Can I trust them?
- Will they trust you?
My word is my life.
I do not break it.
I know that. They do not.
There can be no peace
without good will.
Try it.
All Americans are not
like that lieutenant.
You trust me, Cochise.
There are Americans that I trust.
There are Indians that
I would not trust.
Me too.
After eating, wipe the
hands on the arms.
The grease is good for them.
Among white men we wash it off.
What a waste.
My friend, all evening your eyes
have gone to that same maiden.
You must understand...
...any man may be friendly with a
woman whose husband is dead...
...but not with a maiden
like Sonseeahray.
Cochise, I...
This girl has been asked for already.
I think she will be married soon.
You have been chosen.
It will be an insult not to go.
We should not be seen together, Tom.
If that is true, why did you
choose me to dance with?
I could not help it.
With me it's the same.
I'll speak to your parents tonight.
No, Tom. It will cause deep trouble.
- You must not.
- It causes trouble already.
You have not acted like my brother.
I told you that she is a maiden,
and yet you came here.
I want her for my wife.
I will do all the things expected
of a husband here.
I refused Nahilzay once.
I will again.
I am glad it is the right way...
...but it will not be easy for you.
You are an American.
Where will you live? Here?
Apaches who have suffered from
white men will hate you.
Tucson, maybe?
Won't the whites hate your wife for
of the color of her skin?
You will go far away maybe...
...in new places...
...but your eyes will see nothing.
Always they will be
turned backwards...
...toward home.
And you, Sonseeahray...
...they will look at you as
at a strange animal...
...and make jokes.
Hear me, Tall One...
...I ask you to think on it.
Your way will be filled
with bitterness.
Think...
...is it not better to
live with your own?
Though you are my friend, Cochise,
nothing can change it.
I will marry Sonseeahray.
What he says does not have to be.
You are young. You do not know.
With him I do not tremble...
...even before you.
I cannot say more against it.
But it won't be easy.
Her parents. You will need
a strong go-between.
Will you be my go-between?
No other can do it.
I will speak for you tonight,
otherwise it will be worse.
Already everyone knows of this.
Your secret was as quiet
as the thunder.
Also I will speak to Nahilzay.
He has bad luck. It has happened
before to other men.
You wait in your wickiup maybe.
Walk up and down.
It is good for people in love.
Well?
You have no luck with women.
They refused.
I'll take her away from here!
She'll go with me too.
They did not refuse.
I make a joke.
It is always a good joke.
It is all arranged. Three horses
and saddles to the parents.
I'll get them in Tucson.
No. You will let me
give them for you.
- No.
- No, I want to.
They're almost yours anyway.
They come from your people.
I want to do this for you.
You marry next full moon.
Why the delay?
Her mother decided. It is her right.
Listen now.
Go to Tucson.
Look into the heart of this general.
Bring him back if you believe him.
I will send out runners, Apaches
from all tribes will come here.
To talk of peace is a big thing.
I cannot decide it alone.
My people may not want it.
I make no promises.
That is not expected.
Good sleep, my brother.
Remember, no promises.
I heard noise.
It is not your knife.
It is an Apache knife.
To attack someone who has been
given safety here is forbidden.
It is a terrible wrong.
It cannot be allowed.
Nothing's changed.
Go to Tucson.
Return in ten days.
I ask you to forgive me that one
of my people broke my word.
Nahilzay.
In battle I have had no one like you.
Our lives were often mixed.
It is ended. You have
betrayed our people.
I went back to Tucson and
studied General Howard.
Before our return I learned to
respect the Christian General.
I prayed that a decent peace
would come from this.
I wanted it for my country...
...for Cochise and his people...
...and I wanted it because
I loved a girl.
I am told it is permitted to visit.
For a short time only.
My mother is inside the wickiup.
You will sit there...
...and I will keep sitting here...
...for we must not even
touch our hands.
During the days I...
...I am very busy now. I prepare
my clothes for the wedding.
I must build a special wickiup
for our honeymoon...
...away from everybody.
Our honeymoon, Tom!
I must also build the wickiup
we will live in.
In all this my mother
helps me and teaches me...
...and I try to do as I...
...I think she did when
she was a girl.
And she couldn't have done it neater.
What is that? What does it mean?
That's something Americans say.
It means that I love you and
I'll honor your parents.
You understand, Cochise,
about the signing of this map.
I will place my name upon yours...
...you will place
your mark upon mine.
What is this signing?
This is proof for all people of
any agreement that is made.
It is as we agreed yesterday.
You will explain it to the others.
The peace conference had been
going on for four days...
...and we were asked to approach
the meeting place.
We finally met the most important
men of the Apache tribes.
They had come from Arizona
and New Mexico...
...they would decide with Cochise
whether there would be peace.
My white brother
will tell you something.
I have in my hand here a map.
This is a sort of picture writing.
It shows the Apache territory,
fifty thousand square miles...
...that you have agreed upon.
This map will go back
to Washington...
...were the Chief of all
the white men lives.
If you make a treaty of peace...
...this will be part of that treaty.
If we make peace with
the Americans...
...can we still raid the Mexicans?
There cannot be war against
the Mexicans either.
Let the white eyes...
Wait. We will talk of
this by ourselves.
Now is the time only for questions.
If the chief of the white men
dies, what will follow?
His word is a bond on
the chief who follows him.
Do others wish to speak?
I have a question.
Suppose some white man wants
yellow iron and he comes into our land.
Can we kill him?
He should be captured and
given to our military.
Then he will be judged and punished.
What if he resists capture until
he has killed one of my men?
If a white man kills an Indian on
your territory we will hung him.
That will be something
for Cochise to see.
Who else?
You will go now.
I will bring you our decision.
I trust none of it.
Four days ago we were given
our territory on a piece of paper.
Today we cannot go into Mexico.
The American General says no.
Already our territory is smaller.
Where will we get horses if not by
taking them from the Mexican?
The government will give us cattle.
We will raise and trade them.
The answer of a woman.
I am not afraid.
I speak from my heart.
You speak well.
Speak more.
Apaches are not
grandmothers to cattle.
Cochise now fears battle and
is ready to surrender.
It is not this false peace
we need but a new chief.
Now I say this.
The American keep cattle but
they are not soft or weak.
Why should not the Apache
be able to learn new ways?
It is not easy to change but
sometimes it is required.
The Americans are growing stronger...
...while we are growing weaker.
If a big wind comes,
a tree must bend...
...or be lifted out by its roots.
I will make a test of
it for three moons.
I break the arrow.
I will try the way of peace.
I will give my word to the
American General tonight.
Those who stay with me
must keep my word.
Let all others walk away.
They are no longer my brothers.
If more walk away than stay...
...then I will no longer
be your chief.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
I walk away.
Who else comes?
Who else comes?
Who else?
Take your women, your children...
...your horses, your weapons.
Leave our territory.
I leave you my name also.
Now I am ashamed to be a Chiricahua.
I will take the name Mexican
enemies have given me.
The Whites will learn it...
...and you will learn it.
From now on...
...I am Geronimo!
If Geronimo or his followers come
to this territory again...
...let them come with weapons.
I am worried.
They're taking a long time...
...too long.
I am worried too.
This is delicious. What is it?
Pony. In you honor, General.
Pony? What kind of meat's that?
A pony is a small horse, General.
We will try this peace.
But there must be a waiting time...
...a time for testing. Three moons.
Why is it needed?
The white man has not kept
a peace in the past.
- Three month armistice.
- It's a good idea.
The first stone.
For every day without war
there will be another.
When 3 moons have passed,
the pile will be high.
Then we will place a white flag
on it and there will be peace.
My heart is glad, Cochise.
I am not yet glad.
To talk a peace is not hard.
To live it is very hard.
I will wait three moons to be glad.
Not everyone was happy
about the treaty.
Some still thought Cochise
was a liar and a murderer...
...and peace impossible
until he was dead.
But the 90 days of
the armistice began.
I saw things that never
happened before.
Near Fort Grant...
...a cavalry patrol passed
some Apaches.
They didn't talk...
...they didn't pretend
they'd become friends.
But they didn't shoot.
Two days later the first coach
in five years left Tucson.
I rode with it on my way
back to the Stronghold.
Where's that water
you said we came to?
Right down below.
That's where I'll leave you.
Time to stretch, gents.
I can believe a fellow
can ride here...
...with his liver not turned white.
Yeah. A fellow can even think about
settling down and getting married.
Take cover!
What are you shooting at?
I saw something move.
Save your ammunition!
Blast you and that murdering Cochise
both. We'll be slaughtered.
Shut up!
Keep down under cover, everybody!
Now listen to me.
This isn't Cochise.
It's a band of renegade Indians.
There're a few of them
or they'd be rushing us.
They're very badly armed too.
What they want is our guns.
Well, we're pinned here.
They're waiting for night.
So what do we do?
Wait to be butchered in the dark?
Shut up!
Who's a good shot?
I'm not bad. Here.
When I yell, you and this fellow
start firing into the hill.
Lonergan, you cover the bank.
I'm coming upstream.
- What do you do?
- Send smoke signals.
All right, start shooting!
How many rounds you got left?
Two.
One.
Those signal of Jeffords
did us a lot of good...
...a lot of good.
Listen!
Apaches protecting Americans!
I lived to see it!
Remember to talk about
it back in Tucson.
Twelve days.
I think it goes well.
There are many good signals.
It has gone well for twelve days.
I still wait to be glad.
Now you will forget
about peace and war.
Think only of your bride.
Is the ceremony a long one?
No...
...with us the ceremony of
love takes place here.
The rest is small.
Let the bride come here.
The time has come.
Let the groom take his
place beside her.
Your left hand.
Your right hand.
Kneel down upon the earth.
Now your blood mixes.
Now for you there is no rain...
...for one is shelter to the other.
Now for you there is no cold...
...for one is warmth to the other.
Now there is no loneliness...
...now forever,
there is no loneliness.
There are two bodies but now
there is but one blood in both.
Go now. Ride the white horses
to your secret place.
Look.
The evening is full and happy for us.
We will listen to the brook...
...all through the night.
And listen to the bells.
It's as though they are
singing in my heart.
Sixteen stones.
I know of the attack
on the stage coach.
It was Geronimo.
We trailed him two days but
he crossed into Mexico.
You did not follow?
We wanted to, but we did not.
Good...
...we will protect all the whites
leaving Tucson and Fort Bowie.
Also we will guard Apache Pass.
Let the whites break the peace.
It must not be Indians...
...not even bad Indians.
- You are asleep?
- No.
I'm quiet because I'm happy.
I'm afraid if I open my mouth,
my happiness will...
...will rush out in a
funny noise like...
...Yahoo!
What does that mean?
It is an American word?
I think Adam said it when he
opened his eyes and saw Eve.
Who are they?
Don't you know?
The world is so big and
I know so little.
Sometime...
...will you grow tired of me
and go back to your people?
That is a bad thought, Sonseeahray.
Never think it again.
You are my people.
Will you tell me that often?
Each day of our life together
I'll tell it to you.
I'll always remember the
moments of these days.
We will remember them together.
In the quiet of the nights
we will talk of them a little.
We will see our children ride
white horses, maybe.
I can do better myself.
By the time he is a grown man,
he will know how.
What is it?
I found this one up the canyon.
He had this.
I know this boy, Cochise.
Hello. You're Ben Slade's boy,
aren't you?
Yeah, Captain Jeffords. I've been
praying you'd be up here.
Keep calm. No one will hurt you.
Did you lose your way?
Not exactly.
You're the one who said these
Apaches wanted peace.
It's not peaceful when they steal.
What got stolen?
Two young colts of mine. Beauties.
Swiped night before last by Apaches.
I tracked them all day...
...followed their tracks
up the canyon.
I ended up out there
at dark last night.
Then that redskin
jumped me in the morning.
None of my people took them.
The boy lies.
Cochise.
I know this boy's father
hates the Apaches.
We have to show that he's wrong.
Maybe you have men like Geronimo
who would betray you.
You speak wisely.
I will see these horse signs.
All right, bub.
We'll mosey down and take a look.
See them yet, bub?
Right around here, Captain.
You call the boy 'bub'.
Is it his name?
No, it's just to be friendly.
Here they are, Captain.
Don't shoot till my boy
gets out of the way.
Cochise, they'll kill you. Run!
Get Cochise!
Run! Sonseeahray, run!
The big one is Cochise.
Somebody give me a gun.
Watch out, son,
you stay clear of this.
Slade, stay out of line.
We can't shoot.
He's out of arrows!
He got away! It's a bust!
Our whole plan's a bust!
I'm heading for Mexico.
The military will be after us, too.
What are you standing there for?
Come on.
Sonseeahray.
Sonsee...
No!
God!
Are you bad hurt?
She's dead, Cochise.
There is one who still lives.
Give me a knife and bring him to me.
It will not be done.
- Bring him to me!
- No.
It will not be done.
There are some things
a man cannot bear.
Do you hear me?
This peace is a lie!
They don't want peace!
It is not a lie. I will not
let you make it a lie.
Did you think peace would come easy?
You, who taught me so well.
Is it my brother who asks
me to spit on my word?
Why do you speak to me?
Speak to her!
When she hears, I'll hear.
You will hear me now!
You'll bear this.
This was not done by the military.
Geronimo broke the peace
no less than these whites.
As I bear the murder of my people,
so you will bear...
...the murder of your wife.
I am Cochise! I do not betray
my people or their children.
No none on my territory
will open war again.
Not even you.
I have given my permission.
They wanted to see you.
Tom...
...we've come to pay
our respects, Tom.
Thank you, Milt.
We rounded up ever man
connected with the ambush.
They're going to pay
the full penalty for what they done.
Jeffords...
...nothing can compensate you for
the terrible thing that happened.
But your loss has brought our people
together in the will to peace.
Without that will, treaties are
worth little or nothing.
His words meant very little to
me then, but as time passed...
...I came to know that the
death of Sonseeahray...
...put a seal upon the peace.
From that day on,
wherever I went...
...in cities, among the Apaches,
in the mountains...
...I always remembered...
...my wife was with me.