>> IT WAS A TIME WHEN TODAY'S MYTHIC COWBOY WAS REAL. TWO CATTLEMEN ARE LIVING THE HARDCORE AMERICAN ADVENTURE KNOWN AS THE TRAIL DRIVE, BUT THEY CHOOSE A ROUTE WHERE FEW OTHERS DARE TO GO, INTO A DEATH ZONE CALLED COMANCHERIA. THEIR HEROIC JOURNEY WILL INSPIRE THE NOVEL "LONESOME DOVE." FEW REALIZE IT'S BASED ON A REAL STORY THAT REVEALS A LARGER TRUTH. >> IT'S AS OLD AS AMERICA. IT'S THE STORY OF THE QUEST, THE GREAT QUEST. THEY'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING NO ONE HAS DONE BEFORE, AND IF THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH IT AT THE RISK OF THEIR LIVES, THEY'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE WEST AND AMERICA FOREVER. >> HOW DOES THIS ONE JOURNEY DEFINE THE WEST? THE TRUTH LIES IN THE CLUES THE COWBOYS LEFT BEHIND. [CAPTIONING MADE PROVIDED BY A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS] TEXAS, JUNE 1867. TWO CATTLEMEN ARE PREPARING TO SET OUT ON A TERRIFYING JOURNEY. >> TAKE GOOD CARE OF THAT. I MIGHT NEED IT. >> THEY'VE HEARD THAT AN ARMY FORT IN NEW MEXICO IS LOOKING FOR BEEF... >> I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A GOOD TRIP. >> BUT THE TROUBLE IS, THE MOST DIRECT ROUTE TO THE FORT CROSSES A REGION THAT STRIKES FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF ALL TEXANS. COMANCHERIA IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF TEXAS, ABOUT 400 MILES WIDE AND 600 MILES FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. IT'S CLAIMED BY THE COMANCHE, WIDELY CONSIDERED THE FIERCEST INDIANS ON THE PLAINS. SO COMPLETE IS THEIR HOLD OVER THIS VAST TERRITORY THAT TO ENTER IT WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION IS CONSIDERED AN ACT OF WAR. ONLY THE MOST EXPERIENCED AND FEARLESS WOULD MAKE SUCH A DANGEROUS CHOICE, LIKE OLIVER LOVING AND CHARLES GOODNIGHT. AT 53 YEARS OLD, OLIVER LOVING IS AN EXPERT ON CATTLE. 20 YEARS EARLIER, HE LED THE FIRST CATTLE DRIVE OUT OF TEXAS. HIS FRIEND CHARLES GOODNIGHT CALLS HIM "THE COOLEST AND BRAVEST MAN HE'S EVER KNOWN." GOODNIGHT IS 31. HE'S A FORMER INDIAN SCOUT AND TEXAS RANGER WHO ASPIRES TO BE A CATTLE BARON, BUT HE STILL HAS MUCH TO LEARN, AND HE KNOWS THAT LOVING IS THE BEST MAN TO TEACH HIM. >> THEY WERE GREAT FRIENDS, BUT LOVING WAS THE MENTOR, AND GOODNIGHT WAS THE STUDENT, AND IT WAS A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP. BOTH WERE VERY BRAVE, AND BOTH WERE VERY FOCUSED ON WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO, WHICH WAS SELL COWS, MAKE MONEY, BECOME WEALTHY. >> BUT IN TEXAS IN 1867, WEALTH SEEMS UNATTAINABLE. HARD CURRENCY IS AT A PREMIUM. THE CIVIL WAR EMPTIED THE STATE COFFERS. ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT'S ABUNDANT IN TEXAS IS CATTLE. WHILE RANCHERS WERE OFF FIGHTING, CATTLE MULTIPLIED INTO THE MILLIONS. WILD CATTLE NOW OUTNUMBER PEOPLE IN TEXAS 7 TO 1. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING ROUND UP 2,000 HEAD OF CATTLE. >> SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE JUST SEEN LARGE HERDS OF CATTLE, BUT GOODNIGHT AND LOVING SAW THAT THEY COULD BE TURNED INTO A PROFIT. >> THE TEXANS COME UP WITH AN ENDURING NAME FOR THE WILD ANIMALS, ONE THAT STILL RESONATES TODAY. SAMUEL AUGUSTUS MAVERICK IS A TEXAS POLITICIAN AND LAND BARON. HE HAS LITTLE INTEREST IN RANCHING, AND HIS RANCH HANDS ALLOW SOME OF HIS CATTLE TO WANDER UNBRANDED. HIS NEIGHBORS START TO REFER TO ALL WILD, UNBRANDED CATTLE AS "MAVERICKS." THE NAME STICKS. THE TEXAS CATTLE ARE DESCENDED FROM GREAT HERDS BROUGHT BY THE SPANISH. THEY'RE ORNERY AND DANGEROUS WITH HUGE HORNS THAT CAN TEAR OFF A MAN'S LIMBS. >> THESE CATTLE, WHICH ARE REALLY WILD ANIMALS, THEY'RE WILD CATTLE. THEY'RE SCRAWNY. THEY'RE STRINGY. THEY'RE MEAN. THIS IS QUITE A BREED. THE TEXAS LONGHORN HAS A REPUTATION SECOND ONLY TO THE BUFFALO FOR BEING OBNOXIOUS. >> BUT THE LONGHORNS ARE ALSO HARDY ENOUGH TO SURVIVE A GRUELING JOURNEY. >> I THINK YOU PICKED A GOOD GROUP. >> LET'S HOPE WE DID. >> TO AVOID THE COMANCHE TERRITORY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, GOODNIGHT MAPS OUT A CAUTIOUS ROUTE. IT BEGINS IN FORT BELKNAP, TEXAS, THEN HEADS SOUTHWEST, SKIRTING COMANCHERIA. TWO OTHER DANGERS LOOM LARGE--AN 80-MILE STRETCH WITH NO WATER, AND THE DREADED PECOS RIVER. FROM THERE, THE ROUTE TURNS NORTH TO FORT SUMNER IN NEW MEXICO. THE JOURNEY SHOULD TAKE ABOUT A MONTH AND HALF IF THEY SURVIVE. IT'S A GUTSY BUT CAREFULLY CALCULATED PLAN, AND WITH THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN TEXAS, THEY'RE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK. IN NEW MEXICO, 2,000 CATTLE WOULD BRING $12,000, A FORTUNE IN TEXAS AT THE TIME. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING ASSEMBLE A TEAM--A FEW SKILLED MEN, LIKE ONE-ARMED BILL WILSON, AND A COOK--BUT MOST ARE TEENAGERS. THEY EARN A DOLLAR A DAY TO SERVE AS "COW BOYS." >> THE TERM "COWBOY" IS NOW ONE OF THE MOST ROMANTIC TERMS IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE, BUT IT WAS ONE OF THE DIRTIEST, GRITTIEST, LOWEST-PAID JOBS, AND, IN FACT, THE TERM, EVEN WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, "COWBOY," IT'S ALMOST A PEJORATIVE TERM IN TERMS OF THE KIND OF LABOR THAT SOMEONE IS DOING. THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS SUCH HARD, DANGEROUS WORK. >> MOST COWBOYS DON'T EVEN OWN THEIR OWN HORSES, BUT THERE'S ONE THING THEY MUST HAVE. FROM THE BEGINNING, COWBOYS OWNED THEIR OWN SADDLES AND TOOK PRIDE IN THEM. WITHOUT A GOOD SADDLE, A COWBOY COULDN'T WORK. WESTERN SADDLES EVOLVED FROM THE SADDLES OF THE FIRST COWBOYS, THE MEXICAN VAQUEROS, WHO ADDED THE SADDLE HORN TO ASSIST IN ROPING CATTLE. A SADDLE HAD TO BE DURABLE TO SURVIVE THE EXTREME CONDITIONS OF THE TRAIL AND COMFORTABLE FOR 15 HOURS A DAY. DEPENDING ON ITS QUALITY, A SADDLE EASILY COST A COWBOY A MONTH'S PAY, $30 TO $50. HOLLYWOOD WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE THERE WERE NO BLACK COWBOYS, BUT THE REALITY IS, COWBOYS WERE A DIVERSE LOT. ON THIS JOURNEY IS A FORMER SLAVE--BOSE IKARD. >> TEXAS HAD A FORMER SLAVE POPULATION, SO THERE WERE A LOT OF BLACK COWBOYS. IN FACT, PERHAPS ABOUT, A QUARTER OF THE COWBOYS OUT OF TEXAS WERE BLACK AND HISPANIC, BUT PEOPLE GOT ALONG, AND PEOPLE HAD RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER BECAUSE IF THERE'S ONE THING A COWBOY HAS, IT'S RESPECT FOR ANOTHER COWBOY WHO HAS REAL SKILL, AND SO A YOUNG BLACK FELLOW ON THE TRAIL, A YOUNG BLACK COWBOY, A YOUNG HISPANIC COWBOY, IF THEY PROVED THEMSELVES, WERE GOING TO HAVE THE RESPECT OF THEIR FELLOWS, AND THERE WERE MANY CASES IN WHICH WARM FRIENDSHIPS WERE FORMED ON THE TRAIL. >> THE 18 COWBOYS WHO SIGN ON WITH GOODNIGHT AND LOVING KNOW THEY'LL BE FACING DANGER, BUT THEY SEE IT AS THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. [MEN WHISTLING AND SHOUTING] >> CERTAINLY, THE COWBOY WAS SIMPLY A HIRED HAND WORKING SOMEBODY ELSE'S RANCH AND SOMEBODY ELSE'S CATTLE, BUT ONCE HE MOUNTED THAT HORSE, HE BECAME A CAVALIER BECAUSE, REMEMBER, IN EUROPE AT THIS TIME, ONLY THE ARISTOCRACY HAD HORSES TO RIDE, AND SO HERE, HE BECAME ENNOBLED. >> THE KIND OF PERSON THAT CHOOSES THE COWBOY LIFE IS THE KIND OF PERSON WHO WANTS TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIDGE, WHO HAS AN ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT, SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE CALLED NERVY IN THE PARLANCE OF THE 19th CENTURY. NO FARM BOY EVER WATCHED A GROUP OF COWBOYS RIDE BY THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE WITH THEM. >> BUT FOR THE TWO CATTLEMEN, THIS JOURNEY IS A HUGE RISK. THE PARTNERS DON'T EVEN HAVE AN ASSURED CONTRACT FOR THEIR BEEF. YET, THEIR PROSPECTS IF THEY STAY HOME IN TEXAS ARE WORSE. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING THINK THEY KNOW THE PERILS AHEAD. IT'S WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW THAT WILL GET THEM IN THE END. >> WEEK ONE. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING HIT TROUBLE IMMEDIATELY. [THUNDER] FIERCE SUMMER STORMS CAUSE STAMPEDES AND SLOW THEIR JOURNEY. BY THE END OF THE WEEK, THEY REACH THE DEATH ZONE CALLED COMANCHERIA. GOODNIGHT PROCEEDS WITH CAUTION. THE COMANCHE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO STEAL CATTLE AND SCALP TRESPASSERS. THEIR BRUTAL REPUTATION IS KNOWN FAR AND WIDE. EVEN OTHER INDIANS LIVE IN FEAR OF THEM. >> THE COMANCHES ARE JUST ROUGH, TOUGH, BAD-NEWS PEOPLE. THAT'S WHY EVEN THE ARMY WAS CONSTANTLY FORTED UP IN NEW MEXICO TRYING TO KEEP THE COMANCHES AT BAY AND TRYING TO PROTECT OTHER INDIANS FROM THE COMANCHES, WHO WERE THE LORDS OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS, AND THE COMANCHES TOOK A PARTICULAR DELIGHT IN FIGHTING TEXANS. THEY JUST CALLED THEM TEXANS. THEY DIDN'T CALL THEM AMERICANS. SO, YOU'RE GOING RIGHT INTO THE HEART OF COMANCHE TERRITORY. >> DANGER LURKS EVERYWHERE, BUT GOODNIGHT AND LOVING HAVE A PLAN. TO KEEP THE CATTLE TOGETHER AND MOVING FORWARD, THEY EMPLOY A STRATEGY THAT'S STILL USED 150 YEARS LATER. RANCH MANAGER RANDY HUSTON REVEALS THEIR TACTIC. >> DURING THE HEYDAY OF THE TRAIL DRIVE, WHEN THEY WERE MOVING UPWARDS OF 2,000 TO 4,000 HEAD OF CATTLE AT ONE TIME, THEY WOULD TRY TO GET THE CATTLE TO STRING OUT, OR SPREAD OUT. THEY'LL TRAVEL A LOT BETTER. THEY'LL FOLLOW A LEADER. >> THE COWBOYS KEEP THE HERD 4 CATTLE ACROSS AND STRUNG OUT FOR ABOUT TWO MILES. >> IF WE'VE GOT THEM BUNCHED UP, THEN THEY LOSE THAT INSTINCT TO FOLLOW A LEADER, AND THEY'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO GET AWAY. >> THE SECRET IS TO PLACE EACH COWBOY AT A STRATEGIC POSITION AROUND THE HERD. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING TAKE TURNS IN THE LEAD AS TRAIL BOSS, RIDING AHEAD TO DIRECT THE HERD, FIND WATER SOURCES, AND WATCH OUT FOR THE COMANCHE. FLANK RIDERS, LIKE ONE-ARMED BILL WILSON AND BOSE IKARD, RIDE BESIDE THE CATTLE TO KEEP THEM IN LINE. THE COWBOYS AT THE BACK OF THE HERD HAVE ONE OF THE TOUGHEST JOBS. >> TYPICALLY, THEY WERE THE YOUNGER GUYS ON THE DRIVE BECAUSE THAT WAS PRETTY WELL THE NASTIEST JOB. THOSE GUYS WOULD SIT BACK THERE AND CHOKE ON THE DUST THE WHOLE WAY. >> NO WONDER ALMOST ALL COWBOYS QUIT TRAIL DRIVING BY THE TIME THEY REACHED 30. ONE SMALL ARTICLE OF CLOTHING BECOMES INDISPENSABLE--THE BANDANA. THIS SIMPLE STRIP OF CLOTH MAKES A PERFECT MASK FOR KEEPING THE DUST OFF A COWBOY'S FACE. IT ALSO COMES IN HANDY AS A TOURNIQUET OR BANDAGE, A DISH RAG, A SUN SCREEN, AND, OF COURSE, AS A DISGUISE. OUTLAWS OFTEN USE BANDANAS WHEN THEY ATTACK TRAIL DRIVES. NO COWBOY WOULD GO DOWN THE TRAIL WITHOUT ONE. THE GOODNIGHT-LOVING HERD MOVES ABOUT A MILE AN HOUR, COVERING JUST 10 TO 15 MILES A DAY, TYPICAL FOR THE TEDIOUS, AND QUIET, REALITY OF CATTLE DRIVING. >> THE HOLLYWOOD VERSION OF TRAIL DRIVING, YOU HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY, AND THERE'S YELLING AND WHOOPING AND GUNFIRE AND ALL OF THAT, AND THAT IS JUST NOT THE WAY THAT ONE DRIVES CATTLE SUCCESSFULLY. PEOPLE ARE VERY QUIET AROUND A HERD. YOU DIDN'T MAKE SUDDEN MOVEMENTS--THE STRIKING OF A MATCH, LIGHTNING, THUNDER, THE COCKING OF A GUN. >> EVEN THE SIMPLEST NOISE CAN SET THE CATTLE OFF, SPARKING WHAT CATTLEMEN LIKE GOODNIGHT AND LOVING DREAD MOST--A STAMPEDE. >> AND IT WOULD JUST BE A MINDLESS MASS. THERE WOULD BE THOUSANDS OF CATTLE FOLLOWING EACH OTHER THAT HAD NO DESTINATION. THEY JUST WANTED TO GET AWAY, SO THEY WOULD GO FULL SPEED. >> WEEK TWO. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING EXPERIENCE THEIR FOURTH STAMPEDE. >> IF YOU COULDN'T STOP THE STAMPEDE, YOU RAN ALONG WITH IT, OR IF YOU COULDN'T DO EITHER OF THOSE THINGS, YOU JUST GOT OUT OF THE WAY. >> THE PARTNERS LOSE MORE THAN 200 CATTLE BUT MANAGE TO ROUND UP THE REST. BY WEEK'S END, THEY'RE EXHAUSTED AS THEY SET UP THEIR CAMP AROUND THE CHUCK WAGON. SOME SAY THAT GOODNIGHT DESIGNED HIS CHUCK WAGON ESPECIALLY FOR THIS CATTLE DRIVE. >> SOMEONE, I THINK, HAD THE BRIGHT IDEA OF ADAPTING A WRITING DESK AND MOUNTING IT ON THE BACK OF A WAGON. WHEN YOU FOLD DOWN THE FRONT IT BECOMES A TABLE, NOT TO WRITE ON, BUT IN A CHUCK WAGON'S CASE, TO SERVE FOOD OFF OF, AND ALL OF THE LITTLE CUBBY HOLES FOR ENVELOPES AND INK AND SO FORTH WERE INSTEAD TRANSFORMED INTO PLACES FOR CONDIMENTS AND THE OTHER COOKING UTENSILS AND THE LIKE. >> LOVING INSISTS ON HAVING A FIRE. GOODNIGHT IS UNEASY, SINCE THEY'RE IN COMANCHE TERRITORY, BUT HE KNOWS THERE'S SAFETY IN NUMBERS. THE COMANCHE ARE NOT LIKELY TO ATTACK SUCH A LARGE GROUP. LIGHTING A FIRE ON THE PLAINS ISN'T ALWAYS SIMPLE. WHEN SUMMER RAINSTORMS SOAK THEIR WOOD, THE COOK RELIES ON AN UNUSUAL METHOD. >> WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS, THEY WOULD TAKE SOME CALICO CLOTH AND DAMPEN IT AND IMPREGNATE IT WITH BLACK POWDER. THEY WOULD JUST RUB IT IN AND GET IT ALL INGRAINED INTO THE CLOTH, AND THEY WOULD BASICALLY TAKE A SPANISH SPUR, AND YOU WRAP ONE OF THE TINES IN THE CLOTH. YOU WOULD TAKE YOUR PERCUSSION CAP WHICH THEY HAD FOR THEIR WEAPONS, AND YOU WOULD PLACE IT OVER THE TINE. THEN YOU TAKE YOUR BOWIE KNIFE, AND YOU WOULD LITERALLY BUST A CAP. >> THE FOOD ON TRAIL DRIVES IS BASIC AND BORING--BEANS AND RICE, BISCUITS AND DRIED FRUIT, ALMOST NO VEGETABLES, BUT ONE PART OF THE MEAL IS ESSENTIAL TO THE OUTFIT'S SURVIVAL--COFFEE. WITH SO MANY STAMPEDES, THE COWBOYS ONLY GET A COUPLE OF HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHT, YET THEIR LIVES DEPEND ON THEIR STAYING ALERT. THE COWBOYS LIKE THEIR COFFEE THICK AND BLACK. THEY CALL IT BROWN GARGLE. UP UNTIL THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, COFFEE BEANS ARE SOLD UNROASTED. THEN IN 1865, JOHN ARBUCKLE PATENTS A ROASTING AND PACKAGING PROCESS USING AIRTIGHT ONE-POUND BAGS JUST LIKE THE ONES WE USE TODAY. THESE BAGS TRAVEL ALL THE CATTLE TRAILS IN THE WEST. >> ♪ AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKIN' AS YOU... ♪ >> LOVING ALWAYS HAS TWO MEN STAY UP ALL NIGHT TO SING TO THE CATTLE TO KEEP THE HERD FROM STAMPEDING. EVEN SO, THE REST OF THE COWBOYS SLEEP WITH THEIR BOOTS ON. THE COOK IS ALWAYS THE LAST TO BED. EVERY NIGHT, HE ORIENTS THE CHUCK WAGON BY THE NORTH STAR TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS WHICH WAY TO HEAD OUT IN THE MORNING. >> ♪ AND WE'LL ALL LIVE TO SEE THE SUN RISE ♪ >> WEEK 3. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING HAVE JOURNEYED 200 MILES. NOW THEY APPROACH THE MOST PERILOUS PART OF COMANCHERIA--AN ARID PLAIN CALLED THE LLANO ESTACADO. THEIR ROUTE TRAVELS ACROSS ITS SOUTHERN TIP FOR 80 WATERLESS MILES. THAT'S 5 DAYS WITHOUT WATER UNTIL THEY REACH THE PECOS RIVER. GOODNIGHT WRITES, "IMAGINE YOURSELF STANDING IN A PLAIN TO WHICH YOUR EYE CAN SEE NO BOUNDS. NOT A TREE, NOT A BUSH, NOT A SHRUB, NOT A TALL WEED LIFTS ITS HEAD ABOVE THE BARREN GRANDEUR OF THE DESERT." GOODNIGHT AND LOVING KNOW 5 DAYS IS MORE THAN THE CATTLE CAN BEAR, SO THEY'LL HAVE TO DRIVE THEM DAY AND NIGHT. >> [SINGING] >> EVEN PEOPLE THAT HAD BEEN ACROSS IT HAD A REALLY HARD TIME FINDING THEIR WAY AND FINDING WATER, AND WATER WAS THE ABSOLUTE LIFEBLOOD OF THE COWS, THE COWBOYS, AND THE HORSES. WITHOUT THAT, THEY WOULD PERISH AND SOMETIMES DID. >> THE LOVING AND GOODNIGHT HERD GOES 3 FULL DAYS AND NIGHTS WITHOUT WATER. THEY LOSE A FEW CATTLE BUT CONSIDER THEMSELVES LUCKY. THEY'VE MADE IT OUT OF COMANCHERIA ALIVE, BUT NOW THEY MUST CROSS THE DREADED PECOS RIVER. >> THE RIVER IS DANGEROUS FOR MANY REASONS, BUT ONE OF THE BIG REASONS IS THAT CATTLE CAN SMELL WATER. WHEN THEY'VE GONE FOR A LONG WAY WITHOUT HAVING ANY WATER, THEY'LL SMELL THE WATER AND CAN QUITE LIKELY TAKE OFF AT A DEAD RUN IN MINDLESS GROUPS TOWARD THAT SMELL OF WATER. >> GOODNIGHT CALLED IT "THE GRAVEYARD OF THE CATTLEMAN'S HOPES" BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A DANGEROUS PLACE. >> THE COWBOYS, TOO, ARE TERRIFIED OF THE PECOS--FEW KNOW HOW TO SWIM-- BUT IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO GET THE CATTLE AND HORSES ACROSS. >> THIS WAS WHERE A BOY BECAME A MAN. TEAMWORK WAS ESSENTIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE OPERATION. THIS WAS A BUSINESS OPERATION. SOME OF THE WORST HAZARDS OF ALL ARE SMALL BUT DEADLY--WATER MOCCASINS. >> WATER MOCCASINS WERE A REAL PROBLEM IN THE 19th CENTURY, AND JUST LIKE TODAY, THEY HAVE A NASTY REPUTATION FOR ATTACKING ANYTHING, NO MATTER HOW BIG IT IS. IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN ONE GO AFTER A COW OR HORSE OR EVEN A BOAT--AND THERE ARE STORIES GALORE OF WATER MOCCASINS ACTUALLY COMING OFF OF THE BANKS AND GOING AFTER BOATS--IT LEAVES AN INDELIBLE IMPRESSION ON YOUR MIND. IT'S SOMETHING YOU NEVER FORGET. >> THE COWBOYS KNOW THAT IF THEY GET BITTEN OR INJURED IN ANY WAY SO FAR FROM CIVILIZATION, THEIR OPTIONS ARE FEW. WITHOUT MEDICAL CARE, TIME IS THEIR BIGGEST ENEMY. >> IN THE 19th CENTURY, THE REAL PROBLEM WASN'T THE BITE. IT WAS THE AFTERMATH OF THE BITE, AND ONCE SEPSIS, SOME TYPE OF AN INFECTION, SET IN TO THAT DEAD TISSUE, DEATH COULD EASILY OCCUR NOT FROM THE SNAKE BITE, BUT FROM THE AFTERMATH. >> WEEK 4. GOODNIGHT AND LOVING ARE RELIEVED. THEY'VE SURVIVED THE TOUGHEST STRETCHES. THEY'VE AVOIDED THE INDIANS, BUT THEY'RE BEHIND SCHEDULE. AS THEY STOP FOR THE NIGHT, LOVING TELLS GOODNIGHT THAT HE WANTS TO RIDE AHEAD TO FORT SUMNER TO ENSURE THEY GET THE BEEF CONTRACT. TRAVELING SOLO IS A BAD IDEA, AND THERE'S STILL ONE LAST PART OF COMANCHERIA TO CROSS, BUT WHAT CHOICE DO THEY HAVE? GOODNIGHT MAKES HIS FRIEND PROMISE TO RIDE ONLY AT NIGHT AND TO BRING ALONG A TRUSTED COMPANION--ONE-ARMED BILL WILSON. GOODNIGHT FEARS WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR HIS FRIEND. WITH THE COMANCHE ON THE WARPATH, IT'S A TERRIBLE RISK. >> GOODNIGHT NOW COMMANDS THE CATTLE DRIVE ALONE. HE HAS NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW HIS PARTNER OLIVER LOVING FARES. MEANWHILE, LOVING RIDES AHEAD TO FORT SUMNER. HE WANTS TO MAKE SURE THEY'LL GET A CONTRACT FOR THEIR BEEF. FOR TWO NIGHTS, LOVING AND ONE-ARMED BILL WILSON TRAVEL ONLY UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS, BUT LOVING HATES RIDING AT NIGHT, AND THEY HAVEN'T SEEN ANY INDIANS. HE FINALLY PERSUADES WILSON THEY CAN TRAVEL FASTER BY DAY. IT'S A BIG RISK THAT BECOMES AN EVEN BIGGER MISTAKE. THEY'RE ONLY 20 MILES INTO NEW MEXICO TERRITORY WHEN THEIR QUIET JOURNEY TAKES A DRAMATIC TURN. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK? >> COMANCHES. >> BELA GA! >> BACK TO THE RIVER. >> THE TWO MEN RACE 4 MILES BACK TO THE PECOS RIVER, BUT THE COMANCHE ARE EVEN BETTER RIDERS THAN LOVING AND WILSON. >> THE COMANCHE, BEING SMALL OF STATURE, WERE PERFECT JOCKEYS. IT WAS SAID THEY COULD RIDE BEFORE THEY COULD WALK, AND THEY WERE DOING ALL OF THIS WITHOUT THE KIND OF TACK WE HAVE TODAY. UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, THEY RIDE AT FULLEST GALLOP AND HANG OVER THE SIDE OF THE HORSE AND FIRE ARROWS UNDER THE HORSE'S NECK. >> THE COMANCHE ARE CATCHING UP, BUT LOVING AND WILSON MAKE IT TO THE RIVER. NOW THEY HAVE TO FIND COVER. THE COMANCHE KNOW THIS TERRITORY. LOVING AND WILSON HAVE TO OUTSMART THEM. >> WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO IS, THEY HAVE TO BACK THEMSELVES INTO A CORNER TO WHERE EVERYONE HAS TO APPROACH THEM. LITERALLY, THE MILITARY CALLS IT AVENUE OF APPROACH. WE'VE MADE IT SO THE INDIANS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A LOT OF NOISE OR DISRUPT A LOT OF GROUND TO GET AT US. >> THE MYTH IS THAT COWBOYS HAVE GUNS AND AMERICAN INDIANS HAVE ARROWS. THE REALITY IS, BY 1867, INDIANS ARE USING MORE THAN JUST BOWS AND ARROWS, BUT THEIR GUNS ARE NOT UP TO THE SAME STANDARD AS OLIVER LOVING'S. >> MANY OF THE INDIAN TRIBES HAD BEGUN TO ARM THEMSELVES PRETTY HEAVILY WITH THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WEAPONS. MANY OF THEM WERE MUZZLE-LOADING SINGLE-SHOT RIFLES LIKE THIS ONE. KEEP THAT IN MIND--SINGLE SHOT. YOU FIRE IT ONCE, AND YOU HAVE TO RELOAD IT. >> LOVING HAS A HENRY REPEATING RIFLE. IT WAS INVENTED 6 YEARS BEFORE THIS SHOOTOUT AND COMMANDS THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY. >> AT THE TIME THAT LOVING AND WILSON ARE PINNED DOWN BY THE INDIANS, WE KNOW THAT WEAPONS LIKE THIS AND BOWS AND ARROWS ARE BEING USED AGAINST THEM, BUT THIS TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL FROM THE CIVIL WAR, THE HENRY RIFLE, IS GOING TO MORE THAN EVEN THE ODDS. THIS WEAPON HAS SEVERAL ADVANTAGES. FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE MULTIPLE ROUNDS. YOU FIRE ONCE. YOU COCK IT AND FIRE AGAIN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RELOAD IT FOR 16 SHOTS. ONE SHOT, 16, VERY SIMPLE. MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT'S QUICK TO LOAD. YOU SIMPLY OPEN UP THE MAGAZINE, AND YOU DROP IN THE CARTRIDGES. 16 SHOTS IN QUICK SUCCESSION IS GOING TO BE A TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL COMPARED TO THE SINGLE-SHOT RIFLES OF THE INDIANS. MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE. >> AS TIME DRAGS ON, NEITHER SIDE IS WINNING. THE COMANCHE KNOW THEY'RE OUTGUNNED AND DEVISE A CUNNING PLAN. THEY REACH OUT IN THE PREVAILING TRADING LANGUAGE OF THE PLAINS, SPANISH, AND OFFER TO TALK WITH THE COWBOYS... >> QUEREMOS HABLAR CON USTEDES. >> BUT IT'S A TRICK. SINCE WILSON SPEAKS SOME SPANISH, LOVING ASKS HIM TO RESPOND. WILSON DOESN'T TRUST THE COMANCHE... >> THOSE FELLERS ARE PRETTY SNEAKY. >> BUT LOVING INSISTS. >> ALL RIGHT, BUT YOU COVER ME WITH THAT BIG HENRY RIFLE. >> ALL RIGHT. >> LOVING STANDS TO COVER WILSON. BOTH SIDES KNOW ONCE A MAN IS HIT, HIS CHANCES OF SURVIVAL IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS ARE GRIM. >> MR. LOVING, ARE YOU HIT? >> THE SHOT PENETRATES LOVING'S LEFT HAND, SHATTERING HIS WRIST AND THEN SLICING INTO HIS RIGHT SIDE. SOME SAY LOVING WAS HIT WITH AN ARROW. OTHERS SAY IT WAS A BULLET. THE TRUTH REVEALS THE LIMITS OF WEAPONS OF THE TIME. >> WE'RE GOING TO USE THIS HAM IN A LITTLE EXPERIMENT TO TEST THE PENETRATION OF BOTH PERIOD BLACK-POWDER, MUZZLE-LOADING FIREARMS AND ARROWS. YOU CAN NOTICE IT HAS A METAL TIP ON IT, AND THIS IS INDICATIVE OF ARROWS THAT WE FIND IN THE SOUTHWEST AT THE TURN OF THE MID PART OF THE 19th CENTURY. THE QUESTION IS, DOES THIS ARROW HAVE ENOUGH KINETIC ENERGY TO PASS THROUGH THE WRIST AND THEN LODGE INTO THE RIGHT SIDE OF A HUMAN BODY? WHAT WE SEE HERE IS, THE ARROW, IN FACT, DID PENETRATE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE BONE, BUT IT DIDN'T PENETRATE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SKIN. ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE A LITTLE MORE DENSE THAN THE HUMAN WRIST, IT'S NOT MUCH SO. THE CHANCES THAT AN ARROW COULD HAVE GONE THROUGH THE WRIST AND THEN PENETRATED THE SIDE DOESN'T LOOK, LIKE, LIKELY. NOW WE NEED TO TRY IT WITH A PERIOD MUZZLE LOADER TO SEE IF WE GET A DEEPER PENETRATION. NOW, WE'VE HIT THIS WITH THE BULLET, AND ALTHOUGH WE'VE HIT IT IN A SLIGHTLY THICKER SPOT, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE A CLEAR ENTRANCE WOUND. THE BULLET DID PENETRATE ALL THE WAY THROUGH. IT CAME OUT CLEANLY HERE, AND THEN IT PENETRATED DEEPLY INTO THIS 4x4 THAT WAS OUR BACKING. CERTAINLY, THERE'S ENOUGH PENETRATION HERE TO HAVE CLEARED BOTH SIDES OF A HUMAN WRIST AND STILL COME ACROSS AND DONE SOME DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF LOVING. IT IS LIKELY THAT, IN FACT, WE DON'T HAVE HERE AN INJURY CAUSED BY AN ARROW BUT, IN FACT, BY SOME TYPE OF BLACK-POWDER WEAPON. >> FOR OLIVER LOVING, IT'S A DIRE SITUATION. HE CAN'T SHOOT HIS RIFLE AND CAN ONLY BARELY SHOOT HIS REVOLVER. WILSON TRIES TO COVER THEM BOTH, BUT WITH ONLY ONE ARM, HE, TOO, IS AT A GRAVE DISADVANTAGE. MEANWHILE, GOODNIGHT AND HIS COWBOYS PUSH THEIR HERD TOWARDS FORT SUMNER. GOODNIGHT KNOWS LOVING IS A DARING MAN. HE WORRIES THAT TWO COWBOYS DON'T STAND A CHANCE IF CAUGHT BY INDIANS. CHARLES GOODNIGHT HAS NO IDEA HIS FRIEND'S LIFE HANGS IN THE BALANCE. THE DAY AFTER THE ATTACK, LOVING IS WEAKER AND SUFFERING FROM A HIGH FEVER. HE FEARS THE WOUND IN HIS SIDE IS CAUSING HIM TO BLEED TO DEATH. HE DOESN'T REALIZE THE WRIST WOUND IS MUCH WORSE. >> YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO GET SOMEBODY. >> HE BEGS WILSON TO GET WORD TO GOODNIGHT. >> I THINK IT'S MY ONLY CHANCE. >> WILSON IS HESITANT TO LEAVE HIM, BUT FINALLY AGREES. >> MR. LOVING, YOU TAKE MY PISTOLS. DON'T YOU WORRY. I'LL BE RIGHT BACK. >> ALL RIGHT. >> WILSON KNOWS GOODNIGHT HAS PLACED HIS FAITH IN HIM, AND HE DOESN'T WANT TO LET EITHER OF HIS BOSSES DOWN. WILSON SLIPS INTO THE RIVER TO ESCAPE AND TRY TO FIND GOODNIGHT, BUT GOODNIGHT IS EVEN FARTHER AWAY THAN EITHER MAN REALIZES. HE'D RESTED THE CATTLE FOR A DAY AND A HALF, SO HE'S NOW A FULL 80 MILES BEHIND THEM. FOR WILSON, IT'S A RACE AGAINST TIME. >> OLIVER LOVING WILL BE SHOT DEAD IF HE DOESN'T STAY ALERT. HE'S BEEN HOLED UP HERE AT THE PECOS RIVER FOR 3 DAYS SURROUNDED BY COMANCHE INDIANS. HIS FRIEND BILL WILSON HAS GONE FOR HELP. LOVING HAS HAD NO FOOD AND LITTLE WATER. HE'S DELIRIOUS WITH PAIN AND FEVER. HIS FIGHT TO LIVE WILL CREATE THE RUGGED IMAGE THAT'S COME TO DEFINE THE REAL COWBOY. >> LOVING IS A GUY WHO, FIRST OF ALL, DEFIES ALL THE ODDS. QUITE FRANKLY, HE SHOULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED ONE DAY AFTER HE RAN INTO THE COMANCHES. HE SHOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT. HE DOES. HOW DOES HE DO IT? HE DOES IT BY SHEER GRIT. HE WASN'T GOING TO DIE HERE. HE'D MADE UP HIS MIND NOT TO DIE HERE. HE MADE UP HIS MIND TO DO EVERYTHING THAT IT TOOK TO LIVE. >> VETERAN COWBOYS LIKE OLIVER LOVING HAVE GOOD SURVIVAL SKILLS. HE KNOWS HE HAS TO KEEP HIS WOUNDS CLEAN. >> THE FIRST RULE OF THUMB--STOP THE BLEEDING. THE FACT IS, IN THE WRIST AREA, IT PROBABLY COAGULATED ON ITS OWN PRETTY QUICKLY. THE SECOND THING IS, LET'S TRY AND PROTECT IT FROM BUGS, VERMIN, AND DIRT. THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT DIRT IN THE WOUND WAS NOT GOOD. SO, WE WANT TO PUT SOME TYPE OF A BANDAGE ON IT. THIS IS WHERE THESE GUYS ARE AT A TREMENDOUS DISADVANTAGE. EVERYTHING THEY HAVE IS FILTHY. AS YOU CAN SEE JUST BY LOOKING AROUND THIS AREA, EVERYTHING IS DUSTY. THAT DUST, UNFORTUNATELY, HAS YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS OF WILD ANIMAL FECAL MATTER THAT, BECAUSE IT'S VERY ARID, HAS NEVER FULLY DECOMPOSED. INFECTION IS GOING TO SET IN VERY QUICKLY, AND THERE IS NOTHING THESE GUYS CAN DO TO STOP IT. MAGGOTS PROBABLY INFESTED THAT WOUND. NOW, AS WE KNOW TODAY, MOST MAGGOTS EXCRETE JUICES, IF YOU WILL, FOR LACK OF A BETTER SCIENTIFIC TERM, THAT ARE ANTIBIOTIC IN NATURE, AND THEY CLEAN THE WOUND OF DEAD TISSUE, AND THEY PREVENT INFECTION FROM SETTING IN. HOWEVER, MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT TRAINED DOCTORS ARE GOING TO TRY AND GET THOSE MAGGOTS OUT. >> LOVING KNOWS HE'S DOOMED. IF HE DOESN'T ESCAPE, THIS HIDEOUT ON THE PECOS RIVER WILL BE HIS GRAVESITE. 40 MILES AWAY, ONE-ARMED BILL WILSON IS ALSO CLOSE TO DEATH FROM DEHYDRATION AND EXHAUSTION. AFTER TWO DAYS WITHOUT WATER, THE BODY BEGINS TO SHUT DOWN. WILSON HAS BEEN WALKING FOR 3 DAYS, BAREFOOT, ACROSS THE SUN-SCORCHED DESERT WITH NOTHING ON BUT HIS LONG JOHNS AND COWBOY HAT. HE ABANDONED HIS CLOTHES AND RIFLE AT THE RIVER. >> AS HE HEADS INTO THE DESERT, THOSE LONG JOHNS ARE GOING TO GIVE HIM THE PROTECTION HE NEEDS FROM THE SUN, BUT STILL KEEP HIS WEIGHT FAIRLY LIGHT. THE HAT PROBABLY SAVED HIS LIFE. AS HE HEADS OFF INTO THE DESERT, NOT REALLY KNOWING EXACTLY WHERE TO GO, THAT HAT IS THE ONE THING THAT'S IDENTIFIABLE IN THE DISTANCE. >> THE COWBOY HAT BECAME INVALUABLE. EVERY DETAIL SERVES A PURPOSE. THE DEEP CROWN AND WIDE BRIM CAN FAN A FIRE, WHIP A HORSE INTO ACTION, SCOOP WATER FROM A RIVER, AND SIGNAL TO DISTANT RIDERS. AT FIRST, COWBOYS WEAR ANY HAT THEY OWN, FROM DERBIES TO CIVIL WAR CAPS, BUT IN 1865,THE STETSON IS INVENTED, AND THE COWBOY HAT BECOMES NOT ONLY AN ICON, BUT OFTEN A LIFESAVER. FOR WILSON, 3 DAYS AFTER HE LEAVES OLIVER LOVING, IT'S HIS HAT THAT CATCHES THE EYE OF COWBOY BOSE IKARD, WHO'S RIDING WITH CHARLES GOODNIGHT. >> GO BACK AND GET A HORSE AND HURRY! WILSON, WILSON, WILSON. IT'S ME. >> WILSON IS DELIRIOUS BUT JUST LUCID ENOUGH TO RELAY LOVING'S PLIGHT AND THEIR FIGHT WITH THE COMANCHE. >> DOWN BY THE RIVER. >> GOODNIGHT TAKES OFF IMMEDIATELY. WITH 40 MILES TO COVER, THE QUESTION IS, WILL HE REACH LOVING BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE? THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, GOODNIGHT ARRIVES AT THE SITE WILSON DESCRIBED. HE APPROACHES SLOWLY IN CASE THE COMANCHE ARE STILL AROUND, BUT IT SEEMS THEY'RE GONE, AND SO IS OLIVER LOVING. GOODNIGHT SCANS THE ROCKS FOR EVIDENCE OF A BATTLE. FINALLY, HE SPOTS A TELLING SIGN UP BY THE CLIFF FACE. GOODNIGHT ASSUMES THE WORST. >> IT MUST HAVE BEEN A HORRIBLE BLOW TO GOODNIGHT TO REALIZE THAT HIS FRIEND WAS DEAD. HE MUST HAVE FELT GUILTY ABOUT IT. >> BUT GOODNIGHT KNOWS WHAT LOVING WOULD WANT HIM TO DO. HE HEADS BACK TO THE CATTLE DRIVE TO PUSH HIS TEAM THE 140 MILES REMAINING TO FORT SUMNER. WHAT GOODNIGHT DOESN'T KNOW IS THAT LOVING IS ALIVE AND HAS ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE. SOMEHOW, LOVING MANAGED TO SNEAK AWAY FROM THE COMANCHE AND SWIM UP RIVER. HE WAS FOUND BY MEXICANS WHO TOOK HIM TO THE DOCTOR AT FORT SUMNER, BUT NOW HIS WOUNDS ARE EVEN MORE INFECTED. THE PECOS RIVER IS POLLUTED WITH ANIMAL AND HUMAN WASTE. THE DOCTOR SEES LITTLE HOPE. GANGRENE HAS SET IN. GANGRENE IS THE DEATH OF SOFT TISSUE WHEN THE BLOOD SUPPLY TO A PART OF THE BODY IS CUT OFF. WHEN THE GUNSHOT WOUND IN LOVING'S WRIST BECAME INFECTED AND SWOLLEN, IT CUT OFF BLOOD FLOW, WHICH KEPT LIFE-SAVING WHITE BLOOD CELLS FROM REACHING THE AREA TO FIGHT INFECTION. NOW THE TISSUE IS DYING, AND THE INFECTION WILL SOON SPREAD TO LOVING'S VITAL ORGANS. UNLESS GANGRENE IS TREATED QUICKLY, IT CAN LEAD TO DEATH. GANGRENE IS COMMON WITH COWBOYS BECAUSE THEY OFTEN GET CUTS AND BURNS THAT GO UNTREATED. BY ALL ACCOUNTS, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR OLIVER LOVING. HIS BODY IS RACKED WITH INFECTION AND FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE, BUT NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A COWBOY. >> GOODNIGHT CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY TO FORT SUMNER TO SECURE THE BEEF CONTRACT, BUT THE LOSS OF HIS FRIEND WEIGHS HEAVILY ON HIS MIND. IT ISN'T UNTIL HE'S WITHIN 30 MILES OF THE FORT THAT A PASSING TRAVELER TELLS HIM THAT HIS PARTNER OLIVER LOVING IS STILL ALIVE. BY THE TIME GOODNIGHT REACHES LOVING, MOST MEN WOULD HAVE DIED. TWO WEEKS HAVE PASSED SINCE LOVING WAS WOUNDED. HIS FOREARM IS INFECTED AND GANGRENOUS. THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN HESITATING TO OPERATE, THINKING THAT DEATH IS CLOSE AT HAND... >> "NAME'S SAKE, O LORD..." >> BUT GOODNIGHT IS CONVINCED HIS FRIEND CAN SURVIVE SURGERY. HE KNOWS FROM HIS DAYS AS A TEXAS RANGER THAT AN AMPUTATION IS LESS RISKY THAN IT SOUNDS. >> ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MYTHS OF 19th-CENTURY MEDICINE IS THE IDEA THAT MEN HAD TO ENDURE VERY PAINFUL SURGERIES WITH ONLY A SLUG OF WHISKEY OR BY BITING ON A STICK OR, THE COMMON ONE FROM THE CIVIL WAR, BITING ON A BULLET. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, AS EARLY AS THE 1840s, CHLOROFORM AND ETHER HAD BOTH BEEN USED IN SURGICAL OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. >> WITH A DOSE OF CHLOROFORM, LOVING FALLS UNCONSCIOUS. >> IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE AN AMPUTATION THE WAY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFORMED IN THE 19th CENTURY, WE'RE GOING TO BE USING THIS PIG'S LEG. THE FIRST INCISION WE NEED TO MAKE WILL SIMPLY BE TO RELIEVE THE SKIN FROM THE SITE OF THE SURGERY. THE SECOND INCISION NEEDS TO BE VERY CLOSE TO THE FIRST AND, AGAIN, THIS TIME, DONE VERY DEEP, ALL THE WAY TO THE BONE. THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS, THEN, IS TO LOCATE THE ARTERIES. YOU CAN SEE HOW ELASTIC IT IS. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE TIED OFF WITH A LIGATURE SO THAT WHEN THE PATIENT'S TOURNIQUET IS RELEASED THAT THEY DON'T BLEED TO DEATH. >> AFTER LOVING'S ARM IS AMPUTATED AT THE ELBOW, HIS CONDITION IMPROVES BUT ONLY FOR A FEW DAYS. AN ARTERY RUPTURES, AND LOVING'S BLOOD BECOMES INFECTED. FOR TWO WEEKS, GOODNIGHT STAYS BY HIS SIDE. LOVING SPEAKS LITTLE, BUT HE ASKS ONE THING OF HIS OLD FRIEND. IT'S A TALL ORDER, BUT GOODNIGHT DOESN'T HESITATE FOR A MOMENT. OLIVER LOVING DIES ON SEPTEMBER 25, 1867. >> GOODNIGHT WAS A MAN OF HIS WORD. HE LOVED OLIVER LOVING. I'M SURE OF THAT. HE RESPECTED HIM. HE PROMISED HIM, AND HE FULFILLED HIS PROMISE. IT WAS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. >> FULFILLING LOVING'S LAST WISH IS NO SMALL FEAT. GOODNIGHT TAKES LOVING ON A FINAL JOURNEY THAT REQUIRES EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES. >> HE HAD A METAL BOX MADE UP. HE THEN GOT A LARGE QUANTITY OF PULVERIZED CHARCOAL. IT'LL ABSORB ANY MOISTURE THAT MIGHT COME OUT OF THE COFFIN FROM DECOMPOSITION, AND IT SHOULD ABSORB ALL OF THE ODOR. THIS MEANS THAT THE MEN HANDLING THE BODY CAN DO SO SAFELY WITHOUT DISEASE. IT ALSO MEANS THAT THE ANIMALS WILL NOT BE ATTRACTED AND, HOPEFULLY, THEN THE COMANCHE WILL TAKE NO NOTICE OF THEM. >> GOODNIGHT'S PROMISE--TO TAKE LOVING'S BODY 600 MILES HOME TO TEXAS, WHERE HE CAN BE BURIED ON FAMILIAR LAND. >> THEIR RELATIONSHIP BROUGHT THEM THROUGH. THEIR COURAGE BROUGHT THEM THROUGH. THEIR EXPERIENCE BROUGHT THEM THROUGH, ALL THE WAY UNTIL DEATH, EVEN TO THAT RETURN TRIP, 600 MILES WITH THE CORPSE OF A BUDDY, ANOTHER IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY IN AND OF ITSELF. THAT FRIENDSHIP, EVERYTHING THEY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, MADE THEM THE LEGEND THAT THEY ARE AND ALLOWED THIS STORY TO NOT BE IMPOSSIBLE AT ALL, BUT TO CHANGE HISTORY. >> CHARLES GOODNIGHT SECURES THE BEEF CONTRACT AND BECOMES A HIGHLY RESPECTED CATTLE BREEDER, BUT EVEN IN HIS OLD AGE, HE KEEPS LOVING'S PHOTOGRAPH ON HIS WALL. THE STORY OF THEIR JOURNEY HELPS ESTABLISH THE INDELIBLE ICON OF THE COWBOY. >> THE ADVENTURE OF CHARLES GOODNIGHT AND OLIVER LOVING HAS BECOME ONE OF THE GREAT STORIES OF THE AMERICAN WEST. IT'S AN IMAGE OF RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM, OF A DEDICATION TO PERSONAL FREEDOM AND A SENSE OF HONOR THAT REALLY HAS COME, IN TIME, TO DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN. IT'S MEN LIKE CHARLES GOODNIGHT AND OLIVER LOVING ESTABLISHED THAT IMAGE. EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A COWBOY.
