Learning is a process of life wherein one takes from experience and applies it to a given problem. This is the foundation for the story of Joe Bass, (Burt Lancaster) mountain man and fur trapper. Although a simple man, uneducated and unread, he nevertheless has the wherewithal to overcome the trials of nature and succeed where few men can. Into his unencumbered life enters a Kiowa Indian by the name of Two Crows (Armando Silvestre) and his band, who trades him a black slave for his winter's trapping of furs. Reluctantly, Bass is stuck with a house slave named Joseph Lee (Ossie Davis) who possesses what few men have in 1860, an education. He is talented, cultured and able to learn quickly. In addition to trading his furs to the Indians, they in turn lose them to a marauding gang of murderous Scalphunters, led by their leader Jim Howie (Telly Savalas). Vowing to recover his goods, Bass and Lee start after the scalp-hunters and along the way discover that racial superiority is not only a fallacy, but a hindrance to a much needed partnership. The film is truly enjoyable and a good example of what men can accomplish when they work together. Look closely and you'll see Shelley Winters as Kate, Dabney Coleman as Jed and Nick Cravat as Yancy. Great fun. ****