"Mr. Melville: There's three times in a man's life when he has a right to yell at the moon: when he marries, when his children come, and when he finishes a job he had to be crazy to start."

"Simms Reeves: Plantin' and readin', plantin' and readin'. Fill a man full of lead and stick him in the ground and then read words at him. Why, when you killed a man, why try to read the Lord in as a partner on the job?"

"Title card: Among the annals of the great state of Texas may be found the story of the first drive on the famous Chisholm Trail. A story of one of the great cattle herds of the world, of a man and a boy - - Thomas Dunson and Matthew Garth, the story of the Red River D."

"And history was written that day in Abilene, August 14, 1865, a day that marked completion of the first drive on the Chisholm Trail. Excitement and wild hilarity greeted the trail weary men and cattle as they poured into..."

"One hundred days and in Matthew Garth's heart a growing fear that there was no railroad..."

"And that night they moved. The river was rising, they must get across while there was still time. In the meantime, Dunson had found men and ammunition and taken up the chase. He was determined to overtake Matt..."

"So Matthew Garth had the responsibility of a great herd - - and onward they went with the spectre of Dunson behind. He had promised revenge and Matt knew nothing in the world would stop him from fulfilling that promise. The time was coming..."

"Secretly the rest of the men hoped Teeler, Laredo and Kelsey would succeed but not Dunson. He ordered the herd to move on and move they did with Dunson driving them at every step. The Red River was not far ahead and he meant to reach it by nightfall."

"Sixty days, tired cattle and tired men. Trouble was not far off. The men sat in small groups, sullen and morose. The food became worse and Dunson was constantly on the alert for the first sign of mutiny. He felt as a man alone..."

"Thirty days on the trail and they reached the Brazos. The way now became harder. Hills and rocks impeded their progress. Each weary mile became endless. The men became morose and worried. The cattle restless and jumpy."

"The days became longer, sleep was at a premium, hard work became harder and Dunson became a tyrant. After three weeks, they reached San Sabo. Here at last was water and a place to rest tired muscles and sore aching bones."

"To Dunson it was just a job, a big job. Ever north they drove ten thousand cattle crawling through hot, dry country and by the end of the first two weeks they had covered over one hundred and sixty miles. Every mile had taken its toll --- quietly."

"And that was the meeting of a boy with a cow and a man with a bull and the beginning of a great herd. In search for land they traveled South through Texas, across arable and promising land, but weighed it and they found it wanting. So on they went on through the Panhandle ever southward seeking...past the Pecos...nearing the Rio Grande..."

"In the year 1851, Thomas Dunson accompanied by a friend, Nadine Groot, left St. Louis and joined a wagon train headed for California. Three weeks on the trail found them near the northern border of Texas. The land to the South looked good to..."

"I'm scared too. That's why I'm talking because it's the best thing to do when you feel that way. Just talk and keep on talking...I talk to myself even if I have to sit in front of a mirror and talk...You can talk to me. I'm right here. It would help. Oh please, you can tell me to mind my own business if you'd like. And if it would help any, you can hit me, like I did you right across the mouth. But it would be good for you to talk, and I'd like to talk to you...Please, I'd really like to talk to ya."

"[to Matt] I asked you before why you were so mad. Is it, is it because your cattle, the cattle Cherry told me about, might run off? Or maybe, maybe you don't like the idea of helping, helping a bunch of women."

"[to Matt] What are you so mad about? I asked you why you're angry. Is it because - because some of your men might get hurt, killed maybe?"

"[to Matt] But your heart's soft. Too soft. It may get you hurt some day."

"How can a man sleep with Indians out ahead and him behind us?"

"Which would you rather have? What's behind, or what might be ahead?"

"I've been wondering too. The way he looked when we left him. It all happened so fast. I hadn't...I hadn't started out...I couldn't let him hang Teeler and Laredo...I don't know. He was wrong. I hope I'm right. I hope there's a railroad in Abilene."

"It was all burnin', only Indians around, just all burnin' and smokin', smellin'. They were burnin' everything. I can see it. It's plain. I can see it. It was burnin' the wagons. People was screamin'."

"It's all right. For fourteen years, I've been scared, but it's gonna be all right."

"[to Bunk] Your sweet tooth is almost as bad as having a whiskey tongue or liking a woman."

"[to Bunk] I could take the end of your nose off just as easy. A man in your age stealin' sugar!"

"Lou Diamond Phillips - Jose Chavez y Chavez"

"Patrick Wayne - Pat Garrett"

"Brian Keith as Buckshot Roberts"

"Geoffrey Blake - J. McCloskey"

"Sharon Thomas - Susan McSween"

"Terry O'Quinn - Alexander McSween"

"Jack Palance - Lawrence Murphy"

"Terence Stamp - John Turnstall"

"Casey Siemaszko - Charlie Bowdre"

"Dermot Mulroney - "Dirty Steve" Stephens"

"Charlie Sheen - Richard "Dick" Brewer"

"Kiefer Sutherland - Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock"

"Emilio Estevez - William H. "Billy the Kid" Bonney"

"The odds were a hundred to one."

"Don't count the odds, count the bodies."

"Six reasons why the west was wild."

"It ain't easy having pals."

"I'm not a pistoleer or a knifesmith like that greaser Chavez Chavez over there. I'm a pugilist."

"Hey, you ain't no regulator, boy. You just stay here with the pork. They're smarter than you anyway; you might learn something."

"Did you know pigs is as smart as dogs? It's true. I knew this fella in El Capitan who taught his pig to bark at strangers."