horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty house, Silver, the Lone Ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the mask rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past and the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver, the Lone Ranger, rides again. It was just past sundown of a crisp fall day in 1890 when a United States soldier stationed at the Darlington Agency near Wounded Knee Reservation in South Dakota knocked on the door of his commanding officer's quarters. Come in. Lieutenant Wheeler, sir. At ease, Corporal. Thank you, sir. What's the trouble? Oh, no trouble, Lieutenant. And maybe I'm making a lot out of nothing, but I can't help worrying. About what? I just came by the reservation. They've started that ghost dance again. It's been going on every night for the past month. Ghost dance? Yes, sir. If you listen to it a while, it kind of gets under your skin. I can't help thinking maybe that... Wait, you can hear it from here. Do you mind if I open the door, sir? Not at all, Corporal. Hear it? I'm surprised at you, Corporal. You've seen enough service here in the West to drown Indians not to get excited about an ordinary medicine dance. That's what I mean. This isn't an ordinary shindig. All the braves are wearing long white robes. They'll keep dancing till sunrise, then start again the morning night. Probably some part of a native religious ceremony. Yeah, but listen to the rhythm of those drums. I've never heard it sound like that before. Like a fever that keeps on growing and growing and growing. Corporal, you need a good night's sleep. Maybe. I'm sorry, sir, if I've disturbed you by talking this way. That's all right. I can assure you there's no need to be alarmed about the Indians. As you know, army regulations specifically state that we're not to interfere in any way with their religious ceremonies. I know, but this ghost dance is different. I was talking to one of the braves today. And what did he say? He claims they're dancing because at the finish of it, the great ghost is coming down and set all the Indians free. Corporal, you amaze me. A grown man and a soldier believing myths. Oh, I don't believe that part about the great ghost. But like you say, sir, I have been around Indians for a good many years. And I never heard drums sound like this. Forget it. It's nothing for us to worry about. Good night, Corporal. Good night, sir. But Lieutenant Wheeler was wrong. The ghost dance on the Sioux reservation in South Dakota had been in the making many weeks. It had its inception in the office of a wholesale commission firm in St. Louis, Missouri. Morning, Deke. Hello, Brent. Those dockhands got the riverboat loaded? All loaded and ready to shove off. Here, want to sign the bill of lading? Yeah. Let's see. Four thousand pounds of flour. That for the Darlington agency? Yeah. The boys packed all the barrels as usual. Half flour, half sand. Good. And I made a good buy on that carload of bacon that's going north this trip. The packing plant threw it out for spoilage. But those redskins will never know the difference. No. Say, did a shipment of dry goods reach the warehouse yet? I'm expecting it in from New York. Dry goods? Yeah. 10,000 yards of white mussel. Deke, are you gone loco? We've got government contracts to supply Indian agencies with food, but not... Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. What, 10,000 yards? As soon as Walkin' Wolf comes downriver for a palaver, I'll explain... Walkin' Wolf? There's an Indian waiting outside to see you now, but I... A young buck? Tall, kind of squint-eyed? Yeah? Well, that's him. Tell my ancient friend to come in. Ain't he the one who's... Never mind who he is. Send him in. We're partners in this business, Steak. I got a right to know... Sure, sure, we're partners. But I do the thinking and I make the deals. Now, tell Walkin' Wolf to come in. All right, Deke. Right in here, Indy, and Deke will talk to you now. Uh-huh. Well, sit down, Walkin' Wolf. Take a load off your feet. Me stand. Suit yourself. Well, I think we're just about set now. I ordered the muslin for the robes, and as soon as it's delivered, I'll have them made up. Huh? And you can start on a tour of all the reservations in the West. Talk to all the medicine men. Make them believe it's a real thing. When the blow-off comes, you'll get your share just like I promised. Maybe plan not so easy. Why, what do you mean? Every Indian in the country is mad about the food he's getting from the government. They'll listen to anything. Last week, me make plenty talk. Arapaho reservation. They don't believe. They say this fixin'. What's that? Just a piece of paper? You'll look. See picture on the other side. That sign of buffalo head. Sure, I see. Piece of paper with a head of a buffalo on it. Now, what's it mean? Many Indian, some big chiefs, have same sign on arm. What of it? Long time now. This sign, plenty big medicine. Red man, trust him. Ah, what do we care? That won't interfere with us. Maybe not Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Paiute, Navajo, but Sue. Won't Papa Sue always listen to counsel of Sitting Bull? Why, Sitting Bull isn't even in the country. He's up in Canada someplace. So don't you worry about him. After what he and Crazy Horse did to Custer at the Little Bighorn, he'll never come back to this country. Ah, but Sitting Bull have buffalo sign like this. Maybe bad medicine for us. Welcome, Wolf. I tell you, we have nothing to worry about. Now, you stay around St. Louis for a few days. As soon as those robes are ready, you can start being an evangelist. And so began the mysterious ghost dance. Within a few weeks, on every Indian reservation in the West, from Wounded Knee in the Black Hills of South Dakota, to the arid plains of San Carlos and Arizona Territory, red-skinned braves wearing long, white muslin robes danced in an ever-increasing frenzy. The Lone Ranger and Tonto noticed what was happening as they rode northward toward Cheyenne. Oh, it's over. Oh, boy, easy. Oh, funner. Oh, funner. There's ghost dancing, Tonto. It's been on every reservation we've passed since we left Yankton, South Dakota, two weeks ago. There's something wrong. Ah. Me talk with Pony Brave. Him say all Indian dance till great ghosts come from sky. Red men feel plenty sad. Buffalo all gone from plain. White men make them stay on reservation. Give them bad food. Oh, I know that, Tonto. Not the government's fault. Must be crooked contractors who supply the agencies. Ah. But that's hard to prove because I... What matter? I was just thinking. Supplies for the Sioux reservations in Dakota are probably freighted by wagon through Cheyenne. Ah. Ah. Well, we'll keep our eyes open when we got there. Come on, Silver. Get him up to Scotland. Brought to Cheyenne, D. It's almost Christmas and I was figuring on... Because there's no other way to reach that dumb redskin walking wolf. There's no use in writing letters to an ombre who can't read. But I was going to... Ah. Stop your beefing. We don't put this deal over. There won't be any Santa Claus for either of us. Now, get on that boat. You can take the steam train West Monahawk. Oh, all right. Remember, the date for the blow-off is the 29th of this month. I'll be sure that our last load of supplies is freighted out of Cheyenne before that time. You understand? Yeah. All right. Get going. Oh, Silver. Oh, Silver. Oh, Silver. Oh, Silver. Oh, Silver. Leave our horses here at the edge of town, Otto. Ah. I don't think we'll be noticed at this time of night if we keep off Main Street. Ah. First thing I want to do is find the wagon yard of the freight depot. See if there are any loads headed north. All right. Come on. Hey, Barkeep, give us another drink. Two more. Sorry, mister. I can serve you, but I can't sell any more liquor to the Indian. Never should have sold the first one. Ah. What do you mean? This noble red man's walking wolf, my friend. And I am print clerk at Thompson and Clark, St. Louis, Missouri. Don't care who you are. I'm not selling any more liquor to Indians. Ah. That's an insult, walking wolf. Ah. You won't give us a drink here. I know where we can find one. The drivers in our freight wagons always have a bottle stashed away under the safe. Ah. Come on. Let's go. Well, these wagons must belong to the same train, Tonto. Ah. They're loaded and ready to pull out first thing in the morning. I'd like to see what's underneath the canvas. Let's climb up on top. Ah. Hey, let me get up there. Break loose the lashing on that side. Ah. Ah. We can. Ah. Ah. There. Hmm. Plenty of boxes and barrels. Got a match, Tonto. Ah. Uh. Here. The shipping labels say Darlington Indian Agency, South Dakota. Flour, bacon. Everything seems all right unless... The heaviest barrel of flour I ever lift. Team Asambi, somebody come. Cut the light. I'll keep this barrel balanced on the edge of the wagon. We're quiet. They may not see us. Why are you worrying about sitting bull for? They told you how to keep the old buzzard quiet. He paid the Sioux Chief, named Yellowbird. Him say, maybe send young brave to Chippewa camp in the north. Maybe talk with sitting bull. Oh, there's more reason why you ought to do what Deke told you to. Huh? Walking wolf do. Now, just as soon as I rustle a bottle in one of these wagons, we'll have a... Hey, the canvas is off of this one. Somebody on top. You got your gun, walking wolf? Huh? Keep it handy till I find out whether they're... Hey, anybody up there? I'm going to let this barrel fall, Tonto. You'll jump off the other side. Huh? Yeah, there's somebody there, all right. Maybe a little leto ship. Watch out, walking wolf. That barrel's... Look, you see a marshal who's your dirty speaker. There's no other way, Tonto. We'll have to shoot it out. The Lone Ranger and Tonto are facing the guns of Print Clark and Walking Wolf. Can they shoot their way out? We'll continue our story in just a moment. Now to continue our story. Discovered while they're examining a loaded freight wagon, the Lone Ranger and Tonto are forced to shoot in self-defense. Oh, I'm here. Shootin' Indians. Nail those buzzards. Huh? This will bring the whole town down here. Over the side, Tonto, and... Oh, wait, cover me. I'm going this way. She must copy you. I've got what I want. Come on, let's run for it. Huh? What happened? Hey, a gun's by here in the wagon yard. Oh, get into him. Welcome. It's Mr. Clark. Hey, get the sheriff. Send him over here right away. I'm the sheriff. What's the trouble? Well, a couple of thieves tried to break into one of my freight wagons. Steal anything? I don't know. I haven't checked over the lobe. Well, petty thieves won't be hard to trail. Say, what's this white stuff all over the ground? That's a barrel of flour. They threw it off the wagon. A barrel? It's a funny kind of flour. Looks more like sand to me. Well, maybe it is sand. We've freed a lot of stuff for private shippers. My partner in St. Louis makes out all the bills of lading. I don't know much about it. I still can't figure why anybody would want to ship a barrel of sand out to this country. Well, ain't you going to trail those thieves? One of them was a tall hombre. He was wearing a mask, and I think there was an Indian with him. Sure, I'll trail him as soon as you figure out what they stole. Well, I'll let you know later. First thing I got to do is send a telegram and get my partner to come out here. Where's the telegraph office here in Cheyenne? I'm at the railroad station. Thanks. Come on, Walkin' Wolf. Sand and flour. That don't make sense. The name on that freight wagon was Thompson and Clark, wasn't it, Tonto? That's right. It may have nothing to do with the ghost dance, but I think my friend Colonel Forsythe will be interested in this handful of sand I scooped up. Ah. Sand that's being shipped to the Indians in a barrel labeled flour. Come on, Silver. Get him up, scout. It was three days later. The Lone Ranger and Tonto were camped near Fort Gates, waiting to see Colonel Forsythe and the 7th Cavalry, who was out on maneuvers. Meanwhile, far to the northward, Sitting Bull, exiled chieftain of the mighty Sioux Nation, talked with the warrior Walking Wolf on the small Chippewa Indian reservation. I fought when there was fighting to be done. That day has passed. It passed with the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Age has weakened you, Sitting Bull. It has brought me wisdom. But not enough to lend your support to the ghost dance. No. And I warn you, if it comes to pass, it will cause many deaths among my people. Why do you say this? Because I have heard many things, Walking Wolf. I have heard it was you who proposed the ghost dance. But I know the robes for it were supplied by white men. How could you... I even know the names of those men. And the dishonest business by which they cheat their own brothers bring discontent among my people. But I... Um. What you have heard is not true. Perhaps. My journey has been useless. I bid you farewell, Sitting Bull. Farewell. I will return to the Sioux and say... That gun doesn't frighten me, Walking Wolf. Put it away. I wanted to make sure you didn't... A gun barrel against his head makes the great Sitting Bull fall like a woman. And the white man's army will pay big bounty for his return to American soil. I came to see you for a special reason, Colonel Forsythe. Good. What is it? This. A handful of desert sand? Where'd you pick it up? A barrel that was labeled Flower. Part of a large shipment headed for the Sioux reservation. It wounded me. Special dispatch, Colonel. It just came in. Oh, thank you, Sergeant. Excuse me, I... Say, here's a bit of good news. Oh, is that so? Lieutenant Wheeler at the Darlington agency reports that he has Sitting Bull in custody. Sitting Bull? He was brought in by a Sioux Indian who received the bounty money. Isn't that good news? No, not in my opinion, Colonel. Sitting Bull is one of the wisest Indians alive today. The government should have used his influence with his people instead of exiling him to Canada. Well, maybe you're right. Colonel, do you mind if I follow through my suspicions about the ghost dents? Why, not at all. In fact, I'd appreciate your help. Good. And if you find anything definite, let me know. I will. Adios, Colonel. It was much later in the day when the lone ranger and Tonto pulled their horses to a halt not far from wounded knees. Oh, who's over? Who's gone? Who's fellow? As long as it's daylight, Tonto, we can wait here in this grove of trees until dusk. He was happy. Oh, what's wrong? You see three fellow walk a trail this way? Yes, I do. One fellow own wagon we see in Cheyenne. That same Sioux Indian with them. You're right, Tonto. They're heading right for this spot. Bring the horses. Let's get out of sight. Come, Silver. Come, Scout. Do you think Yellowbird will do it? Uh-huh. Him plenty mad. When? Yellowbird say one sun. You mean tomorrow? No. Say, Dick, you and me don't want to be here if there's going to be any fighting. Oh, there won't be any fight to it. When 3,000 Indians open up on Lieutenant Wheeler's tin soldiers, it'll be over for its start. Yeah, but we don't want to... When it spreads down south, things will be different. Maybe the army can take care of that. But our worries will be over and no chance of any kickback. Did you get the balance of the money on our contract? Got it right here in my pocket. Now, come on. I want to get back and fix a bed in one of the wagons before sundown. That proves we were right, Tonto, said a big fella. There isn't much time to reach Fort Yates. Come on, Silver. Get them up, Scout. This is a serious situation. I don't have enough men here at the fort to handle it. How many, Colonel? Well, less than a hundred. Most of them are scouts, not regular cavalry. I don't know what... Doesn't your equipment include several of the new Hotchkiss guns? You mean that rapid-firing artillery piece? Yes. Tonto and I'll help pack two of those guns. We'll have them set up for your men when they get there. Maybe we can do it with 50 men. At least we can try. Good. It was just before noon on the following day, December 29th, 1890. To all outward appearances, the little Sioux village of Wounded Knee was as sleepy as usual. Then, at a silent signal from their chief, hundreds of Sioux warriors left their teepees and gathered in a huge circle. This is it. The Sioux are going to ride to war. Hey, that must be Wheeler's men. They won't have a chance. Here, what's that? Guns that chatter fast like bark of fox. Hey, can't see any soldiers. But look what those cannon are doing to the Indians. Hey, they're on all sides of us. We're right in the middle. White man's fast gun, bad medicine. Walking, walk, go. No, don't leave us. Hit it. Hey, Brent and me can't get through these Indians without you. Meek! Meek, what do we do? It won't last long, Toto. What chance have ordinary rifles against a gun that fires 50 shots a minute? Ah, me think Kimo Sabe. What is it, Toto? Look, C2 white fellows by big wagon. Deke Thompson and Brent Clark. Ah. Battle itself is between the Sioux and the army. Ah. But those two renegades are our business. Come on, Silver. Come on, Scout. They're trying to hide in the wagon. You take that side, Toto. Ah. Hey, look. Now, Carl. Deke, it's the same one. Oh, Silver, oh. Hold the gun. I'm out of that wagon. Hey, you can't grab a gun. Meek! That's what you want. We'll give it to you. No, don't shoot anymore. Put on those guns. Stop yelling. You don't deserve it because you've been traded to your own race and to the Indians. And I'm going to turn you over to the army. No matter what penalty you pay, it won't be enough. Now, put your hands in the air. Start walking. A few minutes later, Deke Thompson and Brent Clark were in the hands of military police. Then, the Lone Ranger and Toto mounted their horses again. Eddie, Silver. Easy, Scout. Easy, brother. The battle's just about over, Toto. I think that we... Oh, wait a minute. What matter? I just remembered. Colonel Forsythe said Sitting Bull had been captured. He's probably in a guardhouse near Wheeler's headquarters. The renegade Sioux who brought him in for bounty knows that he'll... Come on, Silver. Get him out of the scout. Oh, Silver, Bull. Oh, Silver, Bull. Oh, General. Oh, General. I think this is the guardhouse, Toto. Come on. Ah. Sitting Bull. He's been shot. We've got to... Who did it, Sitting Bull? Well, just a short time ago. Walking Wolf. Walking Wolf? Who's he? Indian friend of white man. I thought so. Toto. Ah. The Indian we saw with Deke Thompson yesterday. The whole camp is surrounded. He can't get away. See if you can pick up his trail. Ah. Me catching. Here. Rest your head on my coat sitting, Bull. Ah. I heard the shots. Many foolish Sioux are dead. I'm afraid so. I warned them. No one would listen. Yes, I know. You've been misunderstood by your people as well as my people, Sitting Bull. I know you to be a great leader. They, too, will realize that someday. I go now to happy hunting ground. But first, look. See sign on Sitting Bull's arm. Yes, I see it. It is the secret sign of the buffalo head. Ah. Sign of buffalo head. It means peace. Always peace between white man and red man. You tell young men of Indians, young men of your people, about sign of buffalo head. I promise, Sitting Bull. Where they see sign of buffalo head, they find good friend. Someday, there'll be peace. I go now. A short time later, at Colonel Forsyth's headquarters. How'd you know it was going to happen, Colonel? I was warned by a man who has proved himself many times to be the Army's best friend. You mean the Indian who brought in the man that killed Sitting Bull? No, he helped. But he isn't the man I mean. Oh, if I'd only listened three days ago. Clamped down on those two white renegades. The tragedy of Wounded Knee would never have taken place. Well, maybe so. I think our Indian trouble is almost over, Colonel. And so do I. Thanks to the Lone Ranger. I'm still there. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
