If there is a single episode that established the series The High Chaparral as an immortal western classic, then this is the one!
Ride the Savage Land went well beyond a stereotypical portrayal of Apache versus settlers and army. It delved into cultural mores who's differences formed the bulk of the conflict that raged across Arizona territory during this time.
The story is about people who care and want to do the right thing, surrounded by a hostile land where violence is as plentiful as the thorns of the sparse foliage. In southeastern Arizona, even the vegetation has to defend itself against attack!
It should be no surprise then that the group of people who established dominion over this land were harsh, uncompromising, and perfectly willing to use violence to subjugate and establish their will over others. And that is the one searing commonality between the Apache and the Americans who were the only culture able to defeat the Apache.
What separated The High Chaparral from other westerns is their desire to delve deeper into the cultural values of the Apache. What this series showed is that people willing to work with the Apache on their terms could find a degree of common interest and mutually agreeable solution, even if the path taken was alien.
The Apache test of courage was a rite of passage for a boy to become a man in their culture, and this is why the episode showed a celebratory dance carried out before the ritual was applied to Manolito.
The Apache were fiercely independent and perfectly willing to employ violence to defend their land against anyone they did not want on it. That reality was driven home in this episode by how the Army Signals detail was dealt with.
One cannot find a better written nor acted western. Ride the Savage Land put The High Chaparral on the map as a serious and timeless TV classic. It should be watched by all.
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