"End of the Trail"
The synopsis of "End of the Trail" 20 October 1958:
"So that a stagecoach road through the Dakota Black Hills can be completed, Hardie arrives to negotiate with the Pawnees who have killed a crew's hunter consigning the crew to meager rations and who continually harass the crew."
The US government acquired the Black Hills of South Dakota following the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. The Sioux defeated the Cheyenne in 1776 before they were allies and took the Black Hills from them.
According to Wikipedia: "The Arikara arrived by AD 1500, followed by the Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa and Pawnee. The Lakota (also known as Sioux) arrived from Minnesota in the 18th century and drove out the other tribes, who moved west."
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+black+hills+of+south+dakota&oq=the+black+hills&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5279j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
There is no mention of Pawnees living in or owning or ruling the Black Hills in the 19th century. Pawnee territory was farther south. Pawnees would never travel to the Black Hills except to attack their enemies, the Sioux and Cheyenne.
So negotiating with Pawnees for a right of way for a stagecoach line through the Black Hills would have been like buying the Brooklyn Bridge. Well, at least Wells Fargo was willing to negotiate for the right of way instead of using force. share