An Arrest in the Nations
By
R. Earle Harris All rights reserved (c) 2015 (r dot earle dot harris at gmx dot com)
BLACKNESS
The voice of BASS REEVES, black Deputy Marshal of the Indian Territories, reads
the following:
Title Over:
"If I was made another's slave,
By Nature's law designed,
Why was an independent wish
E'er planted in my mind?
If not, why am I subject to
His cruelty and scorn?
Or why has man the will and power
To make his fellow mourn?"
As he finishes:
Title Over:
--Robert Burns
FADE IN:
EXT. INDIAN TERRITORIES, TAHLEQUAH - NIGHT
Poor Cherokee town in what is now NE Oklahoma. This is in the Cherokee Nation. Dirt
streets. Board sidewalks.
Title Over:
May 5, 1887.
EXT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
House of Jennie Schell in Tahlequah. The house has two rooms separated by a dog
run. One room is a bedroom. The other is the kitchen, which serves as a local bar.
EXT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
JOHN PARRIS rides up followed by a wagon driven by CHARLEY BOBTAIL and BUD TRAINOR.
Schell sells the illegal whiskey that Parris smuggles down from Kansas.
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
Are we still bringin' this in?
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JOHN PARRIS
Sure. What's one marshal?
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He gets down off his horse.
JOHN PARRIS (CONT'D)
JENNY SCHELL (O.S.)
INT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
JENNIE SCHELL is cleaning up the room for closing. NED CHRISTIE is sitting on the
floor, seriously drunk. Ned was one of the Cherokee's chosen leaders. He wears a
distinctive leather coat and seems better than this place as if he does not belong
here.
JOHN PARRIS (O.S)
We brought the whiskey! Three cases!
|
JENNIE SCHELL
All the way to Kansas and you only
got three?
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Parris enters with CHARLEY BOBTAIL and BUD TRAINOR. Bud and Charley carry cases
of whiskey bottles.
JOHN PARRIS
BUD TRAINOR
(To Ned.)
What's a big man like you doin' on
your floor, Ned?
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JOHN PARRIS
Well...looks like our senator is having
his own little party.
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JENNIE SCHELL
It's a quiet little party. He hardly
moves.
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Trainor sets down his big case of whiskey.
BUD TRAINOR
Charley sets down his case and walks over to Ned.
INT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
Continuous. Charley hunkers down next to Ned.
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
NED CHRISTIE
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
You okay, Ned? You're not one to be
sittin' on Jenny's floor.
|
Ned is seriously plastered.
NED CHRISTIE
Sometimes I drink. Sometimes I mourn.
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CHARLEY BOBTAIL
Ned smiles.
NED CHRISTIE
He offers Charley the bottle.
NED CHRISTIE (CONT'D)
INT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
Continuous. Jenny is with Parris and is starting to unpack the cases. Charley is
taking a drink over with Ned.
JOHN PARRIS
JENNIE SCHELL
What else would I do with them?
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JOHN PARRIS
Hide them, maybe. We heard on the
way that a white marshal is coming
with liquor writs in our names.
|
Christie overhears them.
NED CHRISTIE
JENNIE SCHELL
Liquor warrants? I'm not even goin'
to hide them. Get those bottles out
of here.
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NED CHRISTIE
INT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
Continuous. Ned's POV.
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
Don't worry about the marshal, Ned.
I help you home.
|
JOHN PARRIS
Just let him sleep it off outside.
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NED CHRISTIE
This is...Cherokee nation. Don't need
a white marshal here.
|
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
NED CHRISTIE
If our Lighthorse don't want to arrest
us, what does a marshal care?
|
INT. SCHELL HOUSE - NIGHT
Continuous. Parris's POV.
BUD TRAINOR
The Lighthorse are scared to arrest
us a real Indian.
|
JOHN PARRIS
So they run to the marshal.
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Ned gets up slowly.
JOHN PARRIS (CONT'D)
NED CHRISTIE
We are Cherokee. We have our laws.
No white marshal will put me in irons.
Tow me to Fort Smith.
|
Christie weaves his way out the door.
BUD TRAINOR
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
Christie bangs his way out the door.
NED CHRISTIE (O.S.)
JENNIE SCHELL
CHARLEY BOBTAIL
BUD TRAINOR
We can hide the whiskey at my house.
|
JOHN PARRIS
He turns to Jenny.
JOHN PARRIS (CONT'D)
Pour us all a drink and then we'll
clean up your house for the marshal.
|
JENNIE SCHELL
Pour your own - I'm leaving. That
marshal may ride faster than you three
can drink.
|
Jenny leaves.
JOHN PARRIS
BUD TRAINOR
JOHN PARRIS
Maybe we should do somethin' about
that marshal.
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Bud laughs.
BUD TRAINOR
Sure. Maybe Ned would like to help.
|
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Moonlit breaks near Tahlequah. Two men are picking their way along on horseback
above a small, wooded river.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Continuous. DEPUTY MAPLES is a federal marshal. GEORGE JEFFERSON is his posseman.
He helps guard prisoners but is not expected to fight. Both he and Maples are white.
GEORGE JEFFERSON
Are we going into Tahlequah tonight,
Dan?
|
DEPUTY MAPLES
No. We'll save the excitement for
the morning.
|
GEORGE JEFFERSON
You think there'll be shootin'?
|
DEPUTY MAPLES
Nah. They're just liquor warrants
anyway. Let's cross down there at
the ford and camp the other side.
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EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
They ride their horses down into the trees.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
They come out of the trees near the river and cross over.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Continuous. George sees the gleam of a pistol barrel.
GEORGE JEFFERSON
The assailant steps out of the trees to their front and fires, shooting Maples out
of the saddle.
GEORGE JEFFERSON
DEPUTY MAPLES
Jefferson fires back, causing his horse to buck him off.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Continuous. The assailant steps out and visible only from behind. He wears the distinctive
coat Christie had on. He and Jefferson empty their pistols at each other to no effect.
Jefferson's horse heads off into the trees.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Continuous. Maples fires a parting shot from the ground, ineffectively, as he dies.
Jefferson is frantically trying to reload.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Continuous. The assailant then moves back into the darkness and rides off.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Continuous. Jefferson is unable to catch his horse in time to pursue. He can hear
more than one horse riding off.
GEORGE JEFFERSON
Maples is dead at Jefferson's feet.
EXT. BREAKS - DAY
BASS REEVES, deputy U.S. Marshal, rides his horse along a stream. He is in his forties,
black, six feet tall, 180 pounds, with a very athletic build. Bass has on overalls,
a decent shirt, and cowboy boots.
EXT. CLEARING - DAY
First light, near a small cabin by the stream.
EXT. BREAKS - DAY
Bass dismounts, ties up his horse and watches the cabin from a distance. He hangs
his gunbelt on his saddlehorn and changes into an old shirt. He hitches up his overalls
by just one strap, takes off his boots, and puts a revolver inside his overalls
EXT. CLEARING - DAY
Bass shuffles across the open ground to the cabin, singing to himself.
BASS REEVES
Gin a body meet a body
Coming through the rye;
Gin a body kiss a body
Need a body cry?
|
EXT. CABIN - DAY
Continuous. Bass knocks on the door. There is shuffling around inside but no one
answers. Bass knocks some more.
TOUGH GUY (O.S.)
BASS REEVES
I'se looking for my mule. It run off.
|
TOUGH GUY (O.S.)
BASS REEVES
Ya'll gots some cornbread? I smells
it.
|
Door is opened by TOUGH GUY.
TOUGH GUY
We ain't feeding no lost darkies.
Now git.
|
BASS REEVES
Tough Guy draws his pistol.
TOUGH GUY
Bass grabs the barrel with one hand and knocking Tough Guy ass over elbows back
into the cabin with the other.
INT. CABIN - DAY
Continuous. Tough Guy tries to fight back but Bass easily knocks him silly.
INT. CABIN - DAY
Continuous. Tough Guy looks up from the ground.
BASS REEVES
I jes cain't stand being called darkie.
|
Bass notices a young black man in the cabin within reach of a Winchester. Bass draws
his own pistol and flips the captured gun over near Tough Guy. He speaks to Tough
Guy.
BASS REEVES (CONT'D)
I have a writ for this other young
man. But I actively dislike you now.
Why don't you pick up that pistol?
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Tough Guy declines the offer. The black young man starts to move for the Winchester.
BASS REEVES (CONT'D)
Screenplay truncated at 500 lines.
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