END OF THE TRAIL
This dramatic telescoping of history tells the story of the Plains Indians, starting in 1849 and ending with the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The Indians land was abused by the "whispering wire" of the telegraph and the "black iron snake" of the railroad, and finally usurped by the homesteader. His "commissary on the hoof" was decimated by the white man's greed, his sense of reason vitiated by the vilest of whiskies, and his freedom snatched by the white man's duplicity. His end was signalled by Custer's last stab at glory — a supreme act of vanity.
The compelling script is mostly illustrated through punts, old photographs and the few remaining documents of the period, and gives a sympathetic presentation of a misunderstood savage.
Award, Florence Festival: Certificate of Honour, American Festival.