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01:00:07,005 --> 01:02:30,147

[music playing]

 

2

01:02:30,281 --> 01:02:31,982

This is the novel, Red Harvest.

 

3

01:02:32,116 --> 01:02:34,852

It was completed in 1929 by

the American writer Dashiell

 

4

01:02:34,986 --> 01:02:35,886

Hammett.

 

5

01:02:36,020 --> 01:02:37,654

The novel is said

to be based loosely

 

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01:02:37,788 --> 01:02:39,256

on Hammett's experiences

while working

 

7

01:02:39,391 --> 01:02:42,359

as an operative for the

Pinkerton Detective Agency.

 

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01:02:42,494 --> 01:02:45,496

Butte, Montana was one of

the places he was assigned.

 

9

01:02:45,630 --> 01:02:47,798

The novel is regarded as a

watershed in the development

 

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01:02:47,932 --> 01:02:49,399

of the crime genre.

 

11

01:02:49,534 --> 01:02:53,237

Some have gone so far as to

describe it as revolutionary.

 

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01:02:53,371 --> 01:02:56,240

The book is marked by the

austere immediacy of its style

 

13

01:02:56,374 --> 01:03:00,411

and for its suffusion

with pitiless finds.

 

14

01:03:00,545 --> 01:03:03,247

The action is set in a

vanquished Western mining town.

 

15

01:03:03,381 --> 01:03:05,148

The town once

thrived but has now

 

16

01:03:05,283 --> 01:03:08,718

been overtaken by opportunists

and criminals of every stripe.

 

17

01:03:08,853 --> 01:03:11,955

It is in the grip

of organized crime.

 

18

01:03:12,090 --> 01:03:13,623

The catalyst for

this transformation

 

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01:03:13,758 --> 01:03:15,359

is the struggle

undertaken by those

 

20

01:03:15,493 --> 01:03:17,394

who own the mining company

against the organizing

 

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01:03:17,528 --> 01:03:19,562

efforts of a radical union.

 

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01:03:19,697 --> 01:03:21,198

Though the book is

a work of fiction,

 

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01:03:21,332 --> 01:03:23,833

there is no doubting

its real inspiration.

 

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01:03:23,968 --> 01:03:26,537

Hammett called his

fictional town Poisonville.

 

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01:03:26,671 --> 01:03:30,373

He couldn't guess how it

would resound 70 years later.

 

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[music playing]

 

27

01:03:55,599 --> 01:03:57,868

It is 1864.

 

28

01:03:58,002 --> 01:04:00,637

The Montana territory

is carved out of Idaho,

 

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and a colonial

economy is adopted.

 

30

01:04:04,442 --> 01:04:07,110

From the inception of the

territory, all of Montana's

 

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01:04:07,245 --> 01:04:10,881

[? saline ?] industries

are extractive.

 

32

01:04:11,015 --> 01:04:12,983

According to this

model, the object

 

33

01:04:13,117 --> 01:04:17,787

is to trap it, shoot it,

mine it, and get out.

 

34

01:04:17,922 --> 01:04:19,623

In the century and

a half that follows,

 

35

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this model will never be

successfully challenged.

 

36

01:04:23,728 --> 01:04:26,930

Soon after its founding, miners

from the depleted gold fields

 

37

01:04:27,064 --> 01:04:29,133

of California and

Colorado begin to migrate

 

38

01:04:29,267 --> 01:04:32,102

into the new territory.

 

39

01:04:32,236 --> 01:04:34,371

They are fueled by

unrequited dreams

 

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01:04:34,506 --> 01:04:40,611

and found a mining camp that

will one day become Butte.

 

41

01:04:40,744 --> 01:04:43,780

It is 1873.

 

42

01:04:43,914 --> 01:04:46,584

The gold boom has

fallen into a bust.

 

43

01:04:46,718 --> 01:04:48,319

The restless population

of the territory

 

44

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has now shifted to the Dakotas.

 

45

01:04:51,756 --> 01:04:53,590

Butte is described

as a deplorable place

 

46

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with no newspaper, no church,

and only a single school.

 

47

01:04:58,429 --> 01:05:00,597

It has been reduced a little

more than primitive shacks

 

48

01:05:00,731 --> 01:05:03,300

and muddy pads.

 

49

01:05:03,434 --> 01:05:12,442

The town of Butte, not yet fully

born, is nearly left for dead.

 

50

01:05:12,576 --> 01:05:14,878

It is 1882.

 

51

01:05:15,012 --> 01:05:17,714

The age of electricity is gone.

 

52

01:05:17,848 --> 01:05:19,883

A massive body of

copper is discovered

 

53

01:05:20,017 --> 01:05:22,319

below the hills of Butte.

 

54

01:05:22,453 --> 01:05:24,521

Because copper is essential

to electrification,

 

55

01:05:24,655 --> 01:05:28,525

Butte begins to boom.

 

56

01:05:28,660 --> 01:05:33,297

The town is soon crowded

with new arrivals.

 

57

01:05:33,431 --> 01:05:35,265

The company that

will soon rule Butte

 

58

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is founded and takes the

name of a famed predator. m

 

59

01:05:44,275 --> 01:05:45,509

It is 1889.

 

60

01:05:45,643 --> 01:05:49,146

The War of the Copper

Kings has begun.

 

61

01:05:49,280 --> 01:05:50,713

In this struggle,

competing owners

 

62

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try to challenge

Anaconda's domination

 

63

01:05:52,549 --> 01:05:55,218

of the mines of Butte.

 

64

01:05:55,353 --> 01:05:57,721

Soon after, the first

scheming of the Butte miners,

 

65

01:05:57,856 --> 01:06:00,624

the Western Federation

of Miners, is founded,

 

66

01:06:00,759 --> 01:06:03,761

and owners, weakened by

their internecine struggle,

 

67

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yield unprecedented

strength to the union.

 

68

01:06:07,131 --> 01:06:11,334

Butte is dubbed the

Gibraltar of unionism.

 

69

01:06:11,468 --> 01:06:14,805

It is 1903.

 

70

01:06:14,940 --> 01:06:19,242

Anaconda emerges the sole victor

in the War of Copper Kings.

 

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01:06:19,377 --> 01:06:21,211

The mines now generate

unprecedented wealth

 

72

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for the company.

 

73

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As a result, Butte has become

the political and economic

 

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capital of the region.

 

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It is said that Anaconda

is an aptly named company.

 

76

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It seeks to strengthen

its grip on the town.

 

77

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The company purchases

newspapers, rigs elections,

 

78

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and bribes public officials.

 

79

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Judges and other agents

of law enforcement

 

80

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likewise fall under

company control.

 

81

01:06:51,208 --> 01:06:54,277

Historians have said any

approximately accurate history

 

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of the state must be, in

the large part, the story

 

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of modern feudalism.

 

84

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But this is incorrect.

 

85

01:07:08,392 --> 01:07:10,126

Anaconda soon

turns its attention

 

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to the sole remaining obstacle

to its absolute domination

 

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01:07:13,197 --> 01:07:17,434

of Butte.

 

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It is 2005, and in Chicago,

a radical union is found.

 

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It will seek to organize all

workers within one union,

 

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rather than to

divide them by trade.

 

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Unity of action,

its members believe,

 

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is the key to workers' power.

 

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The radical union will seek to

organize those workers ignored

 

94

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by the other unions.

 

95

01:07:35,620 --> 01:07:38,355

Organizers will labor among

migrant farmers, timber

 

96

01:07:38,489 --> 01:07:41,058

workers, and hard rock miners.

 

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They will fight for immediate

demands, better wages, safer

 

98

01:07:44,595 --> 01:07:46,897

working conditions,

secure employment,

 

99

01:07:47,032 --> 01:07:49,566

but members of the radical union

will always fight for something

 

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01:07:49,700 --> 01:07:50,935

else as well.

 

101

01:07:51,069 --> 01:07:53,970

They will fight for a

different kind of world.

 

102

01:07:54,104 --> 01:07:57,040

The union calls itself

the IWW, the Industrial

 

103

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Workers of the World.

 

104

01:07:59,044 --> 01:08:02,111

But its members are also

known as the Wobblies.

 

105

01:08:02,246 --> 01:08:05,782

The new union adopts as

its symbol the black cat,

 

106

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and this is appropriate.

 

107

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The cat is an animal

with which we do not have

 

108

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a master-servant relationship.

 

109

01:08:18,429 --> 01:08:20,597

It is 1912.

 

110

01:08:20,732 --> 01:08:24,301

Anaconda has wrested control

of the union from the miners.

 

111

01:08:24,435 --> 01:08:26,703

The rustling card has

replaced the union card

 

112

01:08:26,838 --> 01:08:29,772

and is issued only to the most

responsible men, men who are

 

113

01:08:29,907 --> 01:08:33,110

not disturbers and agitators.

 

114

01:08:33,245 --> 01:08:36,880

Anaconda can withdraw the card

at any time for any reason.

 

115

01:08:37,015 --> 01:08:40,283

For example, 500 miners

are fired summarily

 

116

01:08:40,418 --> 01:08:42,719

after being labeled socialists.

 

117

01:08:42,854 --> 01:08:46,190

Thus, the black list is

first implemented in Butte.

 

118

01:08:46,324 --> 01:08:50,393

Meanwhile, laws regarding

safety in the mines are ignored.

 

119

01:08:50,528 --> 01:08:52,429

Tuberculosis accounts

for nearly one third

 

120

01:08:52,563 --> 01:08:54,230

of all deaths in Butte.

 

121

01:08:54,365 --> 01:08:56,299

The miners and their

families live and work

 

122

01:08:56,434 --> 01:09:01,705

in deplorable conditions.

 

123

01:09:01,838 --> 01:09:03,139

It is 1914.

 

124

01:09:03,274 --> 01:09:06,442

The transformation

Butte continues apace.

 

125

01:09:06,577 --> 01:09:09,913

The once mighty union has now

been purged from the mines.

 

126

01:09:10,048 --> 01:09:13,650

The town has been partitioned

into two distinct encampments.

 

127

01:09:13,785 --> 01:09:16,787

A few reside in a bustling,

cosmopolitan, and prosperous

 

128

01:09:16,921 --> 01:09:20,056

enclave, while the sector

populated by Butte's majority

 

129

01:09:20,190 --> 01:09:23,860

is overcrowded,

unsanitary, and dangerous.

 

130

01:09:23,995 --> 01:09:26,162

Federal forces and the

declaration of martial law

 

131

01:09:26,297 --> 01:09:28,899

have been deemed

necessary to quell unrest.

 

132

01:09:29,033 --> 01:09:32,002

The town remains under

military occupation.

 

133

01:09:32,137 --> 01:09:34,671

While the price of copper

has increased fourfold,

 

134

01:09:34,806 --> 01:09:38,341

wages remained unchanged

since the previous century.

 

135

01:09:38,476 --> 01:10:26,022

The cost of living in

Butte is impossibly high.

 

136

01:10:26,156 --> 01:10:27,457

It is 1917.

 

137

01:10:27,591 --> 01:10:30,393

The transformation

of Butte is complete.

 

138

01:10:30,528 --> 01:10:33,964

From closed shop to open

shop, from union card

 

139

01:10:34,098 --> 01:10:37,367

to rustling card, from

collective bargaining

 

140

01:10:37,501 --> 01:10:40,637

to individual bargaining,

from trade agreements

 

141

01:10:40,771 --> 01:10:45,041

to no agreements whatsoever,

from mutual need and good will

 

142

01:10:45,175 --> 01:10:48,311

to riots and

militia-patrolled streets,

 

143

01:10:48,445 --> 01:10:53,050

from cooperation and affection

to hate and mistrust,

 

144

01:10:53,184 --> 01:11:00,890

from 17,500 union miners to

17,500 disorganized miners.

 

145

01:11:01,024 --> 01:11:03,794

It is summer.

 

146

01:11:03,928 --> 01:11:07,097

Washington has

joined the Great War.

 

147

01:11:07,232 --> 01:11:09,599

Copper is essential to the war

drive, and the mines of Butte

 

148

01:11:09,734 --> 01:11:12,769

produce 10% of the

world's copper.

 

149

01:11:12,904 --> 01:11:16,573

Thus, the war is generating

millions for the company.

 

150

01:11:16,707 --> 01:11:20,810

Nonetheless, the opponents

of war are numerous in Butte.

 

151

01:11:20,945 --> 01:11:23,313

Many are Irish immigrants who

detest the thought of fighting

 

152

01:11:23,447 --> 01:11:26,282

on behalf of their colonizers.

 

153

01:11:26,417 --> 01:11:31,087

Others blame the war on the

greed of war profiteers.

 

154

01:11:31,221 --> 01:11:32,856

Consider the following.

 

155

01:11:32,990 --> 01:11:35,025

At the height of the World

War, the mines of Butte

 

156

01:11:35,159 --> 01:11:37,794

produced more than 30%

of the nation's copper

 

157

01:11:37,929 --> 01:11:40,664

and more than 10% of

the world's copper.

 

158

01:11:40,798 --> 01:11:42,599

Copper is essential

to the war drive

 

159

01:11:42,733 --> 01:11:45,568

no less than

munitions or bodies.

 

160

01:11:45,703 --> 01:11:47,904

Because Anaconda owns

the mines of Butte,

 

161

01:11:48,039 --> 01:11:50,640

the company wields tremendous

power on a national scale

 

162

01:11:50,774 --> 01:11:52,009

as well.

 

163

01:11:52,143 --> 01:11:54,244

The company uses this

considerable influence

 

164

01:11:54,379 --> 01:11:57,647

to inflate the price of

copper sold to the government.

 

165

01:11:57,782 --> 01:11:59,883

Copper is essential

to the war drive,

 

166

01:12:00,017 --> 01:12:04,021

no less than munitions or

bodies, so the government pays,

 

167

01:12:04,155 --> 01:12:05,922

and Anaconda extracts

millions from what

 

168

01:12:06,056 --> 01:12:08,125

is needed to wage war.

 

169

01:12:08,259 --> 01:12:10,793

This is what is meant by the

old fashioned phrase, war

 

170

01:12:10,927 --> 01:12:12,428

profiteering.

 

171

01:12:12,563 --> 01:12:14,731

And how can a company

making millions from war

 

172

01:12:14,865 --> 01:12:18,301

ever oppose such a war?

 

173

01:12:18,435 --> 01:12:20,270

Such explanations of

the First World War

 

174

01:12:20,404 --> 01:12:22,472

are now said to be inadequate.

 

175

01:12:22,606 --> 01:12:24,474

But even now, who

can truly explain

 

176

01:12:24,608 --> 01:12:27,210

the causes of that war in

which the cold efficiencies

 

177

01:12:27,344 --> 01:12:29,245

of industry finally

collided head

 

178

01:12:29,379 --> 01:12:36,419

on with the savage

capacities of humankind?

 

179

01:12:36,553 --> 01:12:38,955

The rate of mortality is

higher in the mines of Butte

 

180

01:12:39,089 --> 01:12:42,158

and in the trenches of Europe.

 

181

01:12:42,293 --> 01:12:47,063

Production continues as the

town remains under occupation.

 

182

01:12:47,198 --> 01:13:00,343

Xenophobia and a constant fear

of violence pervade Butte.

 

183

01:13:00,477 --> 01:14:53,757

[music playing]

 

184

01:14:53,891 --> 01:14:56,692

It is the 8th of June.

 

185

01:14:56,827 --> 01:15:02,299

Fire is triggered in a

shaft called the Speculator.

 

186

01:15:02,433 --> 01:15:04,801

Flames spread rapidly

through ventilation shafts,

 

187

01:15:04,935 --> 01:15:08,504

and the Speculator

is soon engulfed.

 

188

01:15:08,639 --> 01:15:10,406

Word of the fire

reaches town quickly,

 

189

01:15:10,540 --> 01:15:13,442

and thousands make

their way to the site.

 

190

01:15:13,577 --> 01:15:19,449

The rescue work

continues for days.

 

191

01:15:19,584 --> 01:15:22,418

In order to keep the work going,

rescuers are offered whisky

 

192

01:15:22,552 --> 01:15:24,287

at the mouth of the mine.

 

193

01:15:24,422 --> 01:15:27,057

They will discover the dead

piled against cement bulkheads,

 

194

01:15:27,191 --> 01:15:30,493

and most are charred

beyond recognition.

 

195

01:15:30,627 --> 01:15:32,395

State law specifies

that the bulkheads

 

196

01:15:32,530 --> 01:15:35,298

must have doors which can be

opened in the case of fire

 

197

01:15:35,432 --> 01:15:37,434

or collapse.

 

198

01:15:37,568 --> 01:15:42,305

The fingers of the dead are

said to be worn to the knuckles.

 

199

01:15:42,440 --> 01:15:50,847

It is clear-- the law is

ignored in the minds of Butte.

 

200

01:15:50,981 --> 01:15:53,816

164 finally perish in the fire.

 

201

01:15:53,951 --> 01:15:58,688

It is the worst mining accident

in the nation's history.

 

202

01:15:58,822 --> 01:16:00,924

Butte has for some

time been a volcano

 

203

01:16:01,058 --> 01:16:03,260

on the point of eruption,

and the heavy toll

 

204

01:16:03,394 --> 01:16:05,428

of life in the

Speculator catastrophe

 

205

01:16:05,562 --> 01:16:11,634

proves to be the flaming torch.

 

206

01:16:11,768 --> 01:16:14,304

It is the 11th of June.

 

207

01:16:14,438 --> 01:16:17,807

The mines are idled

by a massive strike.

 

208

01:16:17,941 --> 01:16:21,611

The miners are joined on the

pickets by the trade unions.

 

209

01:16:21,745 --> 01:16:23,880

A new miners' union is founded.

 

210

01:16:24,014 --> 01:16:28,118

The Metal Mine Workers Union

soon issues its demands.

 

211

01:16:28,252 --> 01:16:33,123

16,000 workers

observe the pickets.

 

212

01:16:33,257 --> 01:16:34,791

Company papers assert

that the strike

 

213

01:16:34,925 --> 01:16:37,160

is part of a conspiracy

led by German agents

 

214

01:16:37,294 --> 01:16:40,963

with the intention

of aiding the enemy.

 

215

01:16:41,098 --> 01:16:44,367

Company papers predict

violence, yet no violence

 

216

01:16:44,502 --> 01:16:49,905

among the strikers is

seen or is reported.

 

217

01:16:50,040 --> 01:16:53,309

Nevertheless, Anaconda refuses

to recognize the new miners'

 

218

01:16:53,443 --> 01:16:55,478

union.

 

219

01:16:55,613 --> 01:16:58,314

It will close the mines

down, flood them, and not

 

220

01:16:58,448 --> 01:16:59,815

raise a pound of

copper before it

 

221

01:16:59,950 --> 01:17:05,489

will recognize the anarchist

leaders of the new union.

 

222

01:17:05,623 --> 01:17:07,390

The company then seeks

to isolate the miners

 

223

01:17:07,525 --> 01:17:09,926

by offering better contracts

to the trade unions,

 

224

01:17:10,060 --> 01:17:13,496

and the trade unions

accept the offer.

 

225

01:17:13,630 --> 01:17:15,398

The workers of

Butte are divided,

 

226

01:17:15,533 --> 01:17:18,134

and Anaconda seems

poised for victory.

 

227

01:17:18,269 --> 01:17:25,208

But a new factor is

introduced to the equation.

 

228

01:17:25,341 --> 01:17:27,010

It is 1879.

 

229

01:17:27,144 --> 01:17:29,579

An agitator is born in Oklahoma.

 

230

01:17:29,713 --> 01:17:31,848

He is named Frank Little.

 

231

01:17:31,982 --> 01:17:34,717

There are few extant

details of his life.

 

232

01:17:34,851 --> 01:17:37,887

He is born of a white father

and a Cherokee mother.

 

233

01:17:38,021 --> 01:17:40,523

He will later be described

as half white, half Indian,

 

234

01:17:40,657 --> 01:17:43,092

and all IWW.

 

235

01:17:43,227 --> 01:17:45,261

He joins the radical union

and dedicates himself

 

236

01:17:45,395 --> 01:17:46,996

to the class struggle.

 

237

01:17:47,131 --> 01:17:48,731

He has three brothers

and two sisters

 

238

01:17:48,865 --> 01:17:51,301

who will join him as agitators.

 

239

01:17:51,435 --> 01:17:54,603

He is a fearless and

indefatigable organizer.

 

240

01:17:54,738 --> 01:17:56,606

His name is inseparable

from the struggles which

 

241

01:17:56,741 --> 01:18:01,010

marked the era, Bisbee, the

Great Central Valley, the Iron

 

242

01:18:01,145 --> 01:18:03,813

Range, and finally, Butte.

 

243

01:18:03,947 --> 01:18:05,915

He is jailed repeatedly.

 

244

01:18:06,049 --> 01:18:10,053

He connects the fight for free

speech with the class struggle.

 

245

01:18:10,187 --> 01:18:12,055

Because of the role of

money in our society,

 

246

01:18:12,189 --> 01:18:14,023

free speech is not free.

 

247

01:18:14,158 --> 01:18:16,526

If we cannot speak,

how can we discuss?

 

248

01:18:16,661 --> 01:18:20,296

And if we cannot discuss,

how can we invent?

 

249

01:18:20,431 --> 01:18:23,599

Frank Little is an outspoken

opponent of the Great War.

 

250

01:18:23,733 --> 01:18:25,034

War will mean the

end of everything

 

251

01:18:25,169 --> 01:18:27,303

he has ever fought

for-- free speech,

 

252

01:18:27,437 --> 01:18:29,505

a free press, free assembly.

 

253

01:18:29,639 --> 01:18:32,108

He will take the

firing squad first.

 

254

01:18:32,242 --> 01:18:34,310

While agitating among

the miners of Iron River,

 

255

01:18:34,444 --> 01:18:36,413

his future is foreshadowed.

 

256

01:18:36,547 --> 01:18:37,880

He is assigned by

the radical union

 

257

01:18:38,015 --> 01:18:40,350

to agitate among

the miners of Butte.

 

258

01:18:40,484 --> 01:18:43,119

He departs from Montana

at the age of 38.

 

259

01:18:43,253 --> 01:18:50,459

He bears the scars of

struggles elsewhere.

 

260

01:18:50,593 --> 01:20:58,921

[music playing]

 

261

01:20:59,055 --> 01:21:02,792

It is the 18th of July, 1917.

 

262

01:21:02,926 --> 01:21:16,972

The Agitator arrives by train.

 

263

01:21:17,107 --> 01:21:18,841

The day after his

arrival, he is invited

 

264

01:21:18,975 --> 01:21:21,411

to speak to a gathering

of the striking miners,

 

265

01:21:21,545 --> 01:21:25,681

and more than 6,000

come to hear him speak.

 

266

01:21:25,815 --> 01:21:27,416

He addresses immediate goals.

 

267

01:21:27,551 --> 01:21:39,362

He describes an image of

a different kind of world.

 

268

01:21:39,496 --> 01:21:41,030

Company papers

describe his remarks

 

269

01:21:41,164 --> 01:21:43,666

as a treasonable tirade.

 

270

01:21:43,801 --> 01:21:46,935

Under a headline which reads,

"Soldiers called armed thugs,"

 

271

01:21:47,070 --> 01:21:50,272

they write, "Frank Little,

Arizona strike leader,

 

272

01:21:50,407 --> 01:21:52,408

practically threatened the

United States government

 

273

01:21:52,542 --> 01:21:54,377

with revolution."

 

274

01:21:54,511 --> 01:21:56,745

6,000 men filled the

bleachers to overflowing

 

275

01:21:56,880 --> 01:21:59,148

and listened to

Little's remarks.

 

276

01:21:59,282 --> 01:22:02,685

The frail man worked

himself into a maniacal fury

 

277

01:22:02,820 --> 01:22:06,656

as he denounced the capitalists

of every class and nationality.

 

278

01:22:06,790 --> 01:22:08,591

Little intimated a

worldwide revolution

 

279

01:22:08,725 --> 01:22:12,828

of the working classes.

 

280

01:22:12,962 --> 01:22:14,830

After Little's first

appearance, the papers

 

281

01:22:14,964 --> 01:22:19,569

reiterate their

prediction of violence.

 

282

01:22:19,703 --> 01:22:21,970

On July 25th, the

Agitator is invited

 

283

01:22:22,105 --> 01:22:25,408

to address closed meetings

of the miner's union.

 

284

01:22:25,542 --> 01:22:27,042

These meetings are

said to be comprised

 

285

01:22:27,177 --> 01:22:32,114

in equal parts of laborers

and company spies.

 

286

01:22:32,249 --> 01:22:34,951

The Agitator discusses tactics.

 

287

01:22:35,086 --> 01:22:38,153

We have no set rules to go

by, but we are organized,

 

288

01:22:38,288 --> 01:22:40,156

and when we call a strike,

we must use any means

 

289

01:22:40,290 --> 01:22:42,158

necessary to win that strike.

 

290

01:22:42,292 --> 01:22:44,059

That's the reason the

boss doesn't like us.

 

291

01:22:44,194 --> 01:22:46,395

He can't handle us, and he

knows that we will handle him

 

292

01:22:46,529 --> 01:22:47,930

in the near future.

 

293

01:22:48,064 --> 01:22:49,732

Use any means necessary.

 

294

01:22:49,867 --> 01:22:52,235

It doesn't matter what those

means are, but use them

 

295

01:22:52,369 --> 01:22:56,405

to win your strike.

 

296

01:22:56,540 --> 01:22:59,074

On July 27th, the

Agitator is invited

 

297

01:22:59,209 --> 01:23:01,844

to address the miners

for a second time.

 

298

01:23:01,978 --> 01:23:06,982

On this occasion, 6,500

are said to attend.

 

299

01:23:07,117 --> 01:23:09,518

He addresses immediate goals.

 

300

01:23:09,653 --> 01:23:14,557

He describes an image of

a different kind of world.

 

301

01:23:14,691 --> 01:23:16,826

He is said to have described

Woodrow Wilson as a lying

 

302

01:23:16,960 --> 01:23:18,093

tyrant.

 

303

01:23:18,228 --> 01:23:20,129

He is said to have claimed

that the radical union was

 

304

01:23:20,263 --> 01:23:22,832

willing to go to war against

the capitalists but not

 

305

01:23:22,966 --> 01:23:24,199

the Germans.

 

306

01:23:24,334 --> 01:23:26,803

He is said to have claimed that

the Constitution of the United

 

307

01:23:26,937 --> 01:23:29,672

States was nothing more

than a scrap of paper, which

 

308

01:23:29,807 --> 01:23:32,108

can be torn up like any other,

when the authorities deem

 

309

01:23:32,242 --> 01:23:34,844

it necessary.

 

310

01:23:34,979 --> 01:23:36,579

All of the accounts

of the public speeches

 

311

01:23:36,713 --> 01:23:39,214

of the Agitator and all of the

accounts of the closed meetings

 

312

01:23:39,349 --> 01:23:42,885

of the union come from company

papers and company spies.

 

313

01:23:43,020 --> 01:23:46,021

Thus, company history

becomes official history.

 

314

01:23:46,156 --> 01:23:49,124

There are, however, texts

written by the Agitator.

 

315

01:23:49,259 --> 01:23:50,760

Perhaps, they more

accurately represent

 

316

01:23:50,894 --> 01:23:58,467

what he might have said

to the striking miners.

 

317

01:23:58,601 --> 01:25:40,402

[music playing]

 

318

01:25:40,537 --> 01:25:43,906

Within days, Anaconda seeks

to silence the Agitator by use

 

319

01:25:44,041 --> 01:25:46,409

of the Espionage Act, but

discovers that he cannot be

 

320

01:25:46,543 --> 01:25:48,944

prosecuted under existing law.

 

321

01:25:49,078 --> 01:26:17,773

Company papers then

run the headline.

 

322

01:26:17,907 --> 01:26:37,159

[music playing]

 

323

01:26:37,293 --> 01:26:41,129

It is the early morning

hours of August 1, 1917.

 

324

01:26:41,264 --> 01:26:45,567

Anaconda fulfills its

prophecies of violence.

 

325

01:26:45,702 --> 01:26:48,370

Informants reveal where

the Agitator can be found.

 

326

01:26:48,505 --> 01:26:50,139

He sleeps among the

workers in a boarding

 

327

01:26:50,273 --> 01:26:53,743

house known as the Steel Block.

 

328

01:26:53,877 --> 01:26:57,947

Six masked men emerge

from a large black car.

 

329

01:26:58,081 --> 01:27:01,017

They enter the boarding house

and awaken the landlord.

 

330

01:27:01,151 --> 01:27:04,386

They say, "We are officers,

and we want Little."

 

331

01:27:04,521 --> 01:27:07,456

The landlord points

towards room 32.

 

332

01:27:07,590 --> 01:27:09,324

The door is kicked in.

 

333

01:27:09,459 --> 01:27:12,260

The Agitator is dragged

to the waiting car.

 

334

01:27:12,395 --> 01:27:16,432

He remains silent and

offers minimal resistance.

 

335

01:27:16,566 --> 01:27:18,167

Still dressed in

his underwear, he

 

336

01:27:18,301 --> 01:27:21,603

is tied to the

bumper of the car.

 

337

01:27:21,738 --> 01:27:23,706

The car then drives to

the outskirts of the city,

 

338

01:27:23,840 --> 01:27:47,462

dragging the Agitator

the full distance.

 

339

01:27:47,597 --> 01:27:52,434

Bruises on his skull indicate

that he was beaten severely.

 

340

01:27:52,569 --> 01:27:54,971

Before being hanged

from a railroad trestle,

 

341

01:27:55,105 --> 01:27:57,172

a placard is pinned

to his underwear.

 

342

01:27:57,306 --> 01:27:59,174

It bears the

inscription, others take

 

343

01:27:59,308 --> 01:28:06,182

notice-- first and

last warning-- 3-7-77.

 

344

01:28:06,316 --> 01:28:09,017

The numbers are said to date

from the territorial era

 

345

01:28:09,151 --> 01:28:11,787

and to represent

vigilante justice.

 

346

01:28:11,922 --> 01:28:13,555

They are the

dimensions of a Montana

 

347

01:28:13,690 --> 01:28:20,662

grave-- three feet wide by seven

feet long by 77 inches deep.

 

348

01:28:20,797 --> 01:28:24,133

The Agitator had come to Butte

to speak to the striking miners

 

349

01:28:24,268 --> 01:28:27,569

and to describe an image of

a different kind of world.

 

350

01:28:27,704 --> 01:28:32,174

He is lynched by

persons still unknown.

 

351

01:28:32,309 --> 01:28:34,710

All that we know of Frank

Little's time in Butte and all

 

352

01:28:34,844 --> 01:28:36,311

that we know

regarding his murder,

 

353

01:28:36,446 --> 01:28:39,682

comes from company

papers and company spies.

 

354

01:28:39,816 --> 01:28:45,788

Thus, official history

is company history.

 

355

01:28:45,922 --> 01:28:48,390

It is the aftermath

of the murder.

 

356

01:28:48,524 --> 01:28:50,459

As the Agitator is

laid to rest, the town

 

357

01:28:50,594 --> 01:28:54,296

is suffocating under a constant

threat of escalating violence.

 

358

01:28:54,430 --> 01:28:57,266

Some say every man, woman,

and child in the country

 

359

01:28:57,400 --> 01:28:59,701

knows who perpetrated the crime.

 

360

01:28:59,836 --> 01:29:04,840

Some say the Indians of Montana

are again rising in rebellion.

 

361

01:29:04,974 --> 01:29:06,642

Some say, good work.

 

362

01:29:06,776 --> 01:29:13,849

Let them continue to hang

every IWW in the state.

 

363

01:29:13,984 --> 01:29:17,486

As many as 8,000 people march in

the largest funeral procession

 

364

01:29:17,620 --> 01:29:19,822

in the history of the town.

 

365

01:29:19,956 --> 01:29:22,157

The coroner's jury reports

that the Agitator was

 

366

01:29:22,291 --> 01:29:24,760

murdered by persons unknown.

 

367

01:29:24,894 --> 01:29:28,030

No one is ever

arrested for the crime.

 

368

01:29:28,165 --> 01:29:30,766

All of the documents relating

to the murder, including

 

369

01:29:30,900 --> 01:29:36,072

the coroner's reports

themselves, have disappeared.

 

370

01:29:36,206 --> 01:29:37,840

It is said that the

murder was carried out

 

371

01:29:37,974 --> 01:29:41,076

to provoke the

miners into violence.

 

372

01:29:41,211 --> 01:29:43,178

It is said that the

authorities sought a pretext

 

373

01:29:43,312 --> 01:29:45,814

for the imposition

of martial law.

 

374

01:29:45,949 --> 01:29:48,183

Among the striking miners

and their supporters,

 

375

01:29:48,317 --> 01:29:51,087

no violence is seen

or is reported.

 

376

01:29:51,221 --> 01:29:55,257

Nonetheless, martial law

is declared in Butte.

 

377

01:29:55,391 --> 01:29:57,760

Leaders of the radical

union are arrested.

 

378

01:29:57,894 --> 01:29:59,695

With the assistance of

the occupying forces,

 

379

01:29:59,829 --> 01:30:04,199

the strike is crushed, and

thus, the future of the town

 

380

01:30:04,333 --> 01:30:47,910

is nearly settled.

 

381

01:30:48,044 --> 01:30:51,046

Did the workers of Butte support

the ideas of Frank Little?

 

382

01:30:51,181 --> 01:30:55,217

This is difficult to say,

but consider the following.

 

383

01:30:55,352 --> 01:30:57,219

Little was one of

many union organizers

 

384

01:30:57,354 --> 01:31:00,889

who came to Butte during

the strife of 1917,

 

385

01:31:01,024 --> 01:31:02,624

but he was the only

outside organizer

 

386

01:31:02,759 --> 01:31:04,693

invited to address

large public gatherings

 

387

01:31:04,827 --> 01:31:07,796

of the striking miners

and their supporters.

 

388

01:31:07,931 --> 01:31:10,666

On both occasions, he

spoke publicly in Butte.

 

389

01:31:10,800 --> 01:31:12,735

It is reported that more

than 6,000 people were

 

390

01:31:12,869 --> 01:31:14,870

present to hear his remarks.

 

391

01:31:15,004 --> 01:31:17,906

Further, Frank Little was

the only outside organizer

 

392

01:31:18,041 --> 01:31:20,976

allowed to attend and to speak

at closed meetings of the Metal

 

393

01:31:21,110 --> 01:31:22,911

Mine Workers' Union.

 

394

01:31:23,046 --> 01:31:27,015

Finally, Frank Little's funeral

was and remains the largest

 

395

01:31:27,150 --> 01:31:30,152

funeral in Butte history

with as many as 8,000 people

 

396

01:31:30,286 --> 01:31:32,321

participating.

 

397

01:31:32,456 --> 01:31:37,058

Did the workers of Butte support

the ideas of Frank Little?

 

398

01:31:37,192 --> 01:34:45,547

[music playing]

 

399

01:34:45,681 --> 01:34:47,115

The murder of the

Agitator becomes

 

400

01:34:47,250 --> 01:34:50,785

a pretext for expanded violence

against the radical union.

 

401

01:34:50,920 --> 01:34:54,155

First, the union hall is

raided, and the local leaders

 

402

01:34:54,289 --> 01:34:55,924

of the union are jailed.

 

403

01:34:56,058 --> 01:34:58,360

Then 15 members of

the radical union

 

404

01:34:58,495 --> 01:35:01,963

are shot while picketing

along Anaconda Road.

 

405

01:35:02,098 --> 01:35:05,033

But these local acts

are only a prelude.

 

406

01:35:05,168 --> 01:35:08,036

First, the Montana

Espionage Act is rewritten

 

407

01:35:08,171 --> 01:35:10,305

into the Montana Sedition Act.

 

408

01:35:10,440 --> 01:35:13,008

Then the Montana

Sedition Act is rewritten

 

409

01:35:13,142 --> 01:35:15,844

to become the

National Sedition Act.

 

410

01:35:15,978 --> 01:35:18,947

According to the new laws,

members of the radical union

 

411

01:35:19,081 --> 01:35:21,150

or similar organizations

can be arrested

 

412

01:35:21,284 --> 01:35:24,252

and deported as enemy aliens.

 

413

01:35:24,387 --> 01:35:27,489

Strikes that interfere with the

war drive are made criminal.

 

414

01:35:27,624 --> 01:35:30,625

Sedition is defined as

uttering disloyal words

 

415

01:35:30,759 --> 01:35:32,927

and is made criminal.

 

416

01:35:33,062 --> 01:35:37,098

Thought, belief, and

association are made criminal.

 

417

01:35:37,233 --> 01:35:40,802

Mass arrests and deportations

begin almost immediately.

 

418

01:35:40,936 --> 01:35:43,205

Mere weeks after the

murder of Little in Butte,

 

419

01:35:43,339 --> 01:35:46,542

the radical union is targeted

in a massive indictment.

 

420

01:35:46,676 --> 01:35:49,277

As if to assist us in

connecting the dots,

 

421

01:35:49,412 --> 01:35:51,880

though Frank Little is

already cold in the ground,

 

422

01:35:52,014 --> 01:35:55,484

his name is included

in the indictment.

 

423

01:35:55,618 --> 01:35:58,753

More than 100 Wobbly organizers

are convicted of espionage

 

424

01:35:58,888 --> 01:36:00,655

and sentenced from

five to 20 years

 

425

01:36:00,789 --> 01:36:02,824

in the federal penitentiary.

 

426

01:36:02,958 --> 01:36:05,494

In the following year,

the Palmer raids begin,

 

427

01:36:05,628 --> 01:36:08,096

and the repressions

become more acute.

 

428

01:36:08,231 --> 01:36:11,433

In January of 1920 alone,

more than 10,000 members

 

429

01:36:11,568 --> 01:36:15,337

of radical organizations are

arrested in raids on 70 cities.

 

430

01:36:15,471 --> 01:36:19,107

Hundreds of foreign born

members are summarily deported.

 

431

01:36:19,242 --> 01:36:21,843

American members face

trial, massive fines,

 

432

01:36:21,977 --> 01:36:23,945

and lengthy prison terms.

 

433

01:36:24,080 --> 01:36:25,747

Should we still

miss the obvious?

 

434

01:36:25,881 --> 01:36:27,882

History offers us a

clue as to the nature

 

435

01:36:28,017 --> 01:36:30,052

of the repression set into

motion in the hard rock

 

436

01:36:30,186 --> 01:36:32,387

mines of the American West.

 

437

01:36:32,522 --> 01:36:34,222

Among those named

in the indictments

 

438

01:36:34,357 --> 01:36:36,725

and later sentenced to

five years in Leavenworth

 

439

01:36:36,859 --> 01:36:45,767

is a man named Joseph McCarthy.

 

440

01:36:45,901 --> 01:36:47,702

That which we call

McCarthyism existed

 

441

01:36:47,836 --> 01:36:50,839

both before and

after its namesake.

 

442

01:36:50,973 --> 01:36:52,841

Its sharpest effects

were felt in the arenas

 

443

01:36:52,976 --> 01:36:56,512

of public discourse, in the

schools, and in the theaters.

 

444

01:36:56,646 --> 01:36:58,913

It was and is,

first and foremost,

 

445

01:36:59,048 --> 01:37:01,016

an impulse towards the

suppression of ideas

 

446

01:37:01,150 --> 01:37:10,024

themselves.

 

447

01:37:10,159 --> 01:37:13,395

That which we call

McCarthyism is with us still.

 

448

01:37:13,529 --> 01:37:15,530

It is present in the

mutilated landscapes

 

449

01:37:15,665 --> 01:37:19,400

of our industrial past and

in the impoverished discourse

 

450

01:37:19,534 --> 01:37:22,204

regarding our future.

 

451

01:37:22,338 --> 01:37:25,574

It is 1917, and the

nation has for some time

 

452

01:37:25,708 --> 01:37:28,276

been a volcano on the

point of eruption.

 

453

01:37:28,411 --> 01:37:32,213

The murder of the Agitator

proves to be the flaming torch.

 

454

01:37:32,348 --> 01:37:35,784

It now seems clear-- the

journey towards McCarthyism

 

455

01:37:35,918 --> 01:38:36,111

passes along Anaconda Road.

 

456

01:38:36,245 --> 01:38:39,281

And in this manner, the

black heart of Montana

 

457

01:38:39,415 --> 01:38:42,417

becomes the black heart

of the nation, or to put

 

458

01:38:42,552 --> 01:38:44,686

it another way,

in a rare instance

 

459

01:38:44,821 --> 01:38:47,555

of a slogan made

literal, an injury to one

 

460

01:38:47,689 --> 01:39:00,869

becomes an injury to all.

 

461

01:39:01,003 --> 01:40:30,124

[music playing]

 

462

01:40:30,259 --> 01:40:34,028

It is 1951, the

height of McCarthyism.

 

463

01:40:34,163 --> 01:40:35,731

The crime novelist

Dashiell Hammett

 

464

01:40:35,865 --> 01:40:38,966

is jailed for refusing

to name names.

 

465

01:40:39,101 --> 01:40:41,636

He had once served as

an agent of Anaconda.

 

466

01:40:41,771 --> 01:40:44,606

Now he is labeled

a traitorous red.

 

467

01:40:44,740 --> 01:40:47,075

His closest friend, the

playwright Lillian Hellman,

 

468

01:40:47,209 --> 01:40:50,178

later explains.

 

469

01:40:50,313 --> 01:40:53,214

"During his Pinkerton days, an

officer of the Anaconda Copper

 

470

01:40:53,349 --> 01:40:58,886

Company had offered Hammett

$5,000 to kill Frank Little.

 

471

01:40:59,021 --> 01:41:01,022

It seems one can

date Hammett's belief

 

472

01:41:01,157 --> 01:41:05,593

that he was living in a corrupt

society from Little's murder.

 

473

01:41:05,728 --> 01:41:08,730

In time, he came to the

conclusion that nothing less

 

474

01:41:08,865 --> 01:41:11,532

than a revolution could

wipe out the corruption.

 

475

01:41:11,667 --> 01:41:14,936

Sometimes in complex minds,

it is the plainest experience

 

476

01:41:15,071 --> 01:41:22,810

that speeds the wheels that

have already begun to move.

 

477

01:41:22,944 --> 01:41:28,783

[music playing]

 

478

01:41:28,917 --> 01:41:31,252

It is November, 1995.

 

479

01:41:31,387 --> 01:41:37,692

A large flock of migrating geese

is overtaken by a sudden storm.

 

480

01:41:37,827 --> 01:41:40,194

In these circumstances,

it is the instinct

 

481

01:41:40,329 --> 01:41:50,104

of geese to set down on

the nearest body of water.

 

482

01:41:50,239 --> 01:42:00,114

Anaconda has long since

abandoned the town.

 

483

01:42:00,249 --> 01:42:04,586

Butte was once called the

richest hill on Earth.

 

484

01:42:04,720 --> 01:42:07,054

It is estimated that

at least $25 billion

 

485

01:42:07,189 --> 01:42:15,463

have been extracted

from the mines Butte.

 

486

01:42:15,598 --> 01:42:31,679

When Anaconda fled, it carried

those billions with them.

 

487

01:42:31,814 --> 01:42:34,749

Likewise, it took the

thousands of jobs once created

 

488

01:42:34,883 --> 01:42:52,233

by the mines.

 

489

01:42:52,367 --> 01:42:55,636

But the company did

leave something.

 

490

01:42:55,771 --> 01:42:58,306

The town now has the distinction

of being the most polluted site

 

491

01:42:58,440 --> 01:43:01,309

in the nation.

 

492

01:43:01,444 --> 01:43:06,380

The ecological catastrophe is

embodied by the Berkeley Pit.

 

493

01:43:06,515 --> 01:43:09,384

Though it was once the world's

largest open pit copper mine,

 

494

01:43:09,518 --> 01:43:13,521

the pit now lies unused.

 

495

01:43:13,656 --> 01:43:15,490

In the last years

of its operation,

 

496

01:43:15,624 --> 01:43:18,693

it quite literally began

to consume the town.

 

497

01:43:18,828 --> 01:43:20,227

Where the pit now

stands, there were

 

498

01:43:20,362 --> 01:43:23,631

neighborhoods of modest

homes and a beloved park.

 

499

01:43:23,766 --> 01:43:28,736

Now they're gone, and the pit

sits idle like an open wound.

 

500

01:43:28,871 --> 01:43:33,475

Slowly but surely the pit

is filling with water.

 

501

01:43:33,609 --> 01:43:35,242

The so-called Lake

Berkeley is now

 

502

01:43:35,377 --> 01:43:37,312

the largest body of

severely contaminated water

 

503

01:43:37,446 --> 01:43:41,382

in the United States.

 

504

01:43:41,517 --> 01:43:45,320

Standing nearly a mile wide

and more than 900 feet deep,

 

505

01:43:45,455 --> 01:43:50,558

the water is laced with copper,

cadmium, zinc, nickel, lead,

 

506

01:43:50,693 --> 01:43:53,961

arsenic, and sulfates in

concentrations several

 

507

01:43:54,095 --> 01:43:55,896

thousands of times

more than most

 

508

01:43:56,031 --> 01:43:59,200

found in uncontaminated water.

 

509

01:43:59,334 --> 01:44:02,904

The pH level of the

water is around 2.5,

 

510

01:44:03,039 --> 01:44:08,076

roughly comparable

to battery acid.

 

511

01:44:08,211 --> 01:44:11,346

There is now a proposal,

only partly ironic,

 

512

01:44:11,481 --> 01:44:14,983

to have Butte named the First

National Environmental Disaster

 

513

01:44:15,116 --> 01:44:29,530

Monument.

 

514

01:44:29,665 --> 01:44:33,968

Yet despite everything

the town endures,

 

515

01:44:34,103 --> 01:45:12,273

many of Butte's inhabitants

have been forced to move on.

 

516

01:45:12,407 --> 01:45:15,910

But a resilient few

have chosen to remain.

 

517

01:45:16,045 --> 01:46:36,524

Like people everywhere,

they labor, they play,

 

518

01:46:36,658 --> 01:46:56,911

they do what they

must to survive.

 

519

01:46:57,046 --> 01:46:58,713

The town's residents

continue to dream

 

520

01:46:58,847 --> 01:47:02,283

of a different kind of

future, but sometimes, they're

 

521

01:47:02,417 --> 01:47:04,451

still forced to

contend with the past

 

522

01:47:04,586 --> 01:47:09,957

and with the predator that

left their town for dead.

 

523

01:47:10,092 --> 01:47:13,995

For example, it is said that

until recently, cats could not

 

524

01:47:14,129 --> 01:47:15,930

survive in Butte,

because the dirt they

 

525

01:47:16,065 --> 01:47:18,900

cleaned from their fur

was poisoned with arsenic.

 

526

01:47:19,034 --> 01:47:22,803

For example, it

is November, 1995.

 

527

01:47:22,938 --> 01:47:25,539

The geese have begun

their seasonal migration.

 

528

01:47:25,674 --> 01:47:29,443

A large flock is overtaken

by a sudden storm.

 

529

01:47:29,578 --> 01:47:31,579

In these circumstances,

it is the instinct

 

530

01:47:31,713 --> 01:47:37,551

of geese to set down on

the nearest body of water.

 

531

01:47:37,686 --> 01:47:41,256

The morning following

the storm, 342 geese

 

532

01:47:41,390 --> 01:47:44,892

are discovered floating

dead in the water.

 

533

01:47:45,027 --> 01:47:47,895

The carcasses are found

with their feathers matted.

 

534

01:47:48,030 --> 01:47:50,264

They are blistered with

lesions and are suffering

 

535

01:47:50,398 --> 01:47:52,200

from a range of

internal injuries,

 

536

01:47:52,334 --> 01:47:56,570

including corroded

esophagi and trachea.

 

537

01:47:56,705 --> 01:47:58,339

Their livers and

kidneys are bloated

 

538

01:47:58,474 --> 01:48:07,515

with toxic levels of copper,

manganese, zinc, and cadmium.

 

539

01:48:07,649 --> 01:48:09,783

The predator has

itself been consumed,

 

540

01:48:09,918 --> 01:48:16,757

and a new company, Arco, now

owns what is left of the mines,

 

541

01:48:16,892 --> 01:48:19,527

but some things haven't

changed, and representatives

 

542

01:48:19,661 --> 01:48:21,395

of the new company

assure residents

 

543

01:48:21,529 --> 01:48:24,265

that the water is safe.

 

544

01:48:24,400 --> 01:48:31,939

They are certain the geese died

because of something they ate.

 

545

01:48:32,074 --> 01:48:33,474

Others have

attributed the deaths

 

546

01:48:33,608 --> 01:48:39,347

to a new phenomenon

called pit effect.

 

547

01:48:39,482 --> 01:48:43,284

Dashiell Hammett had called

his fictional town Poisonville.

 

548

01:48:43,419 --> 01:48:48,389

He couldn't guess how it

would resound 70 years later.

 

549

01:48:48,523 --> 01:48:50,591

The history of

the events of 1917

 

550

01:48:50,725 --> 01:48:52,893

is difficult to reassemble.

 

551

01:48:53,028 --> 01:48:56,331

Much of the evidence has been

destroyed or has disappeared.

 

552

01:48:56,465 --> 01:48:58,099

This includes all of

the files pertaining

 

553

01:48:58,233 --> 01:49:01,135

to the murder of Frank

Little, the police dossier,

 

554

01:49:01,269 --> 01:49:03,871

and the coroner's report.

 

555

01:49:04,006 --> 01:49:07,041

On order of the federal courts,

all of the documents pertaining

 

556

01:49:07,176 --> 01:49:09,610

to the mass arrests and

prosecutions of the leadership

 

557

01:49:09,744 --> 01:49:12,579

of the IWW were burned.

 

558

01:49:12,714 --> 01:49:14,882

Dashiell Hammett's role in

the murder of Frank Little

 

559

01:49:15,017 --> 01:49:17,751

likewise remains an enigma.

 

560

01:49:17,886 --> 01:49:20,255

All of the documents pertaining

to the role of the Pinkerton

 

561

01:49:20,389 --> 01:49:22,556

Detective Agency in the

sabotage of the labor

 

562

01:49:22,691 --> 01:49:25,593

movement, including the

case reports of Hammett,

 

563

01:49:25,727 --> 01:49:28,129

were said to be lost in a fire.

 

564

01:49:28,263 --> 01:49:30,231

Much of the evidence

has thus been destroyed

 

565

01:49:30,366 --> 01:49:38,505

or has disappeared--

much, but not all.

 

566

01:49:38,640 --> 01:49:40,942

As the geese helped to

demonstrate, history,

 

567

01:49:41,076 --> 01:49:44,845

in this case, cannot be

so easily expurgated.

 

568

01:49:44,980 --> 01:49:47,614

In an act reminiscent

of a mass suicide,

 

569

01:49:47,749 --> 01:49:49,851

the geese hurled themselves

into the open wound

 

570

01:49:49,985 --> 01:49:55,856

in the heart of the town.

 

571

01:49:55,991 --> 01:49:58,626

Perhaps using the

only manner they knew,

 

572

01:49:58,760 --> 01:50:00,194

these creatures were

trying to tell us

 

573

01:50:00,329 --> 01:50:04,665

something, because it seemed

to have escaped our notice.

 

574

01:50:04,799 --> 01:50:07,301

They were directing us

to the scene of a crime.

 

575

01:50:07,435 --> 01:50:14,776

[geese honking]

 

576

01:50:14,910 --> 01:51:41,729

[music playing]

 

577

01:51:41,863 --> 01:51:44,165

The Berkeley Pit,

started in 1955,

 

578

01:51:44,299 --> 01:51:47,534

was a large truck-operated

open pit copper mine

 

579

01:51:47,669 --> 01:51:50,104

until mining closed in 1982.

 

580

01:51:50,238 --> 01:51:53,641

By 1980, nearly one and a

half billion tons of material

 

581

01:51:53,776 --> 01:51:57,111

had been removed from the

pit, including more than 290

 

582

01:51:57,245 --> 01:51:59,180

million tons of copper ore.

 

583

01:51:59,314 --> 01:52:03,284

The pit is 7,000 feet

long, 5,600 feet wide,

 

584

01:52:03,418 --> 01:52:07,421

and 1,600 feet from the high

wall on the north side just

 

585

01:52:07,555 --> 01:52:09,023

below the Kelley Mines.

 

586

01:52:09,157 --> 01:52:11,358

During underground mining,

water from the mineshaft

 

587

01:52:11,492 --> 01:52:12,727

was pumped to the surface.

 

588

01:52:12,862 --> 01:52:16,097

When Anaconda shut down its

underground operations in 1982,

 

589

01:52:16,231 --> 01:52:18,666

the pumping system

was abandoned.

 

590

01:52:18,801 --> 01:52:21,535

Ground water began to rise

through the several thousand

 

591

01:52:21,670 --> 01:52:25,139

miles of interconnected tunnels,

many combing the Butte Hill,

 

592

01:52:25,273 --> 01:52:26,741

seeping into the pit.

 

593

01:52:26,876 --> 01:52:29,844

The pit waters the city due

to the contact of the water

 

594

01:52:29,978 --> 01:52:31,378

with mineralized ore zones.

 

595

01:52:31,513 --> 01:52:34,315

To keep birds from landing on

the water in the pit, players,

 

596

01:52:34,449 --> 01:52:37,518

shell crackers, and electronic

noisemakers are being used.

 

597

01:52:37,653 --> 01:52:41,688

The pit water at the moment

is about 950 feet deep.

 

598

01:52:41,823 --> 01:52:43,123

Toward the mountains

on your right

 

599

01:52:43,258 --> 01:52:45,759

is the continental pit, which is

being mined seven days a week,

 

600

01:52:45,894 --> 01:52:49,263

24 hours a day for

copper and [inaudible].

 

601

01:52:49,397 --> 01:52:51,733

Welcome to Butte.