In this western game, you play as Kenneth Johnson, the sheriff of Tucson. Bandits robbed the Bank, but when you pursued them, you fell into their trap. They tied you up and left you to die under the unforgiving summer sun. Free yourself, find water, then find those bandits and mete out justice.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game. Then it was hastily updated for Release 2 at the last minute.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
After you and your horse have drunk water at the basin, you no longer need to worry about dying of thirst.
You can map the desert by leaving the blanket, horse, rope, saddle bag, pemmican, canteen, and dynamite in different otherwise ambiguous desert locations to make them distinguishable.
Map 2: Sedona, Plains, and Plateaus
You cannot take your horse to the bottom of the crevasse, and you cannot take your horse across the rope bridge.
Map 3: Tunnels, Gorge, and Pueblo
Walkthrough
Huge Rock Walls
Thirst is a problem. Don't waste turns.
> blow coals. burn rope.
> take blanket. tie rope to horse.
> w. w. w.
Desert (at horse carcass)
> x carcass. take bag. open it.
> n. n.
Desert (at basin of water)
Your horse drinks some water automatically on arrival.
> drink water. fill canteen.
> w. e.
Desert (at wagon)
> search wagon. take dynamite.
> take pemmican. eat it.
> mount horse. s. s.
Sierra Sedona (north side)
A sierra is a mountain range. I'm less sure what "sedona" means, but in context, it seems to mean the red rocky landscape found near Sedona, Arizona.
> s.
Sierra Sedona (south side)
With thirst no longer a problem, SAVE, relax, and look at stuff.
> save.
> stand. take branch.
> x me. x clothes.
> x horse. x rope.
> x branch. x tree.
> x canteen. x bag. x dynamite.
Leave your horse here by the dead tree until you need him again. Things are just simpler without it.
> drop rope.
> w. s. d.
Bottom of Crevasse
> x headdress. take it.
> u.
Edge of Crevasse
In version 1, Apaches were now here, but you could ignore them.
> n. e. s.
In Front of Teepee
> x fire. x teepee.
> x Indian. talk to him.
> ask him about bandits.
> ask him about Apaches.
> ask him about smoke signals.
> give headdress to him.(He gives you a knife.)
> x knife.
> n. w. s. e.
Sandy Terrain
> x man. cut ties with knife.
> take canteen. revive man.(He gives you a rifle.)
> look.
> x rifle. x branches. x stake. x man. x ties.
The ties are only useful for mapping the desert, and the stake can't be taken.
> take branches.
> w. n. e.
Sierra Sedona ((south side)
> mount horse.
> e. s. s.
Rocky Path
> x snake. shoot it.
> u. e.
South Edge of Chasm
In version 1, Apaches block your way across the bridge. In version 2, they are absent. In any case, you cannot ride the horse across.
> dismount.
> n. n.
Large Plateau
In version 2, the Apaches are here.
> x Apaches. n.(no: they block you)
Return to the teepee:
> s. s.
South Edge of Chasm
> mount horse.
> w. d. n. n. w. s.
In Front of Teepee
> stand.
> burn branch.(using the fire; it's now a torch.)
Return to the plateau:
> mount horse.
> n. e. s. s. u.
Plateau
> dismount.
> drop branches.
> burn branches.(using the torch; they're now a makeshift fire.)
> make smoke signal.(using the blanket)
And just like that, the Apaches are gone.
> e. n. n. n.
End of Plateau
> x landslide. x hole.
> put dynamite in hole. light it.(with torch)
> s.
Large Plateau
> z. z.(KABOOM!)
> n.
End of Plateau
> x debris. x hole.
> n.
Large Gash in Tunnels
Version 1 mentioned an east tunnel that isn't here. Version 2 fixed that error.
> n.
Mining Tunnels (first)
> listen.(The dripping is to the northeast, but no tunnel goes that way.)
> n.
Mining Tunnels (second)
> listen.(The dripping is to the north.)
> n.
Tunnel / Darkness
> x hatchet. take it.(Your torch goes out!)
> s.
Mining Tunnels (second)
If this is version 1, in the darkness, you can now see the outline of a door in the east wall that wasn't visible before:
> x door. chop door with hatchet.
Either version, continue east.
> e.
Mining Tunnels (third)
In version 2, in the darkness, you can now see cracks of light to the south:
> x cracks. x boards. chop boards with hatchet.
Either version, continue south.
> s.
North Side of Gorge
> x bridge. x trees.
> chop tree with hatchet.
> s. s.
Campfire among Rocks / Clearing in Rocky Area
> x fire.
> e. n.
In Front of White Buildings / Abandoned Pueblo
> x trough. fill canteen. x rails.
> n.
Inside Old Building
> x fire. x beams. x window.
You suddenly hear people and horses outside.
> x window.(repeat until the game suggests shooting through the window)
> shoot through window.(version 1)
> shoot bandits.(version 2)
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
Your horse is your faithful stallion. You can tie a rope to him to lead him when you don't want to ride.
A rattlesnake blocks your way on the Rocky Path. (Introduced in Version 2.)
A group of Mescalero Apaches either prevent you from crossing the rope bridge (in version 1) or prevent you from progress further after the bridge (in version 2).
An old Indian warms himself in front of a fire singing the ancient songs of the Navajo people.
A man you find on the sandy terrain is tied to a stake with some leather ties, another victim of the bandits.
Bandits robbed the Bank of Tucson and tied you up when you tried to pursue them. You eventually catch up with them at game's end and deal with them.
Cameos:
A vulture may be seen flying high above the desert.
A bug scitters across the desert for a moment.
A coyote barks in the distance in the desert.
Found dead:
The carcass of a horse lies abandoned in the desert.
Mentioned:
Your wife and daughter are mentioned in the prologue. This is a reference to the events of Wild West, the first game in this series.
Herds of bison are known to roam the Great Plains, but you don't see any when you pass through.
Credits
This is the response to CREDITS:
Original story and map by Gentili Gian Paolo.
Adaptation and programming by Bonaventura Di Bello.
Technical support by Max Di Bello.
Translation to English by Garry Francis & Google Translate.
Game redesign and coding by Garry Francis & Gianluca Girelli.
Play testing by Garry Francis, Piergiorgio D'Errico, Jade, improvmonster, Robert Eggleston, and RJ Kowalski.
Endings
You have died
if you die of thirst in the desert sun.
if you try to attack or shoot the Apaches.
if you're too close to the dynamite when it explodes.
if you shoot the bandits when you're outside the the building. There's too many of them to shoot at without first concealing yourself for your own safety.
if you miss your only opportunity to kill the bandits. This failure doesn't end with your death, however.
You have won
if you kill the bandits by shooting through the window of the building you're in.
Inventory
your clothes. You're wearing them.
Ignore them. You won't remove them.
a rope. You're tied up with it.
Blow on the coals to set them aflame, then burn the rope (with them) to free yourself.
Tie the rope to the horse so you can lead him around. The rope is now styled as the end of a rope tied to your horse. Whenever you don't want the horse to come with you, drop the rope. And, of course, pick the rope up again when you do want to lead the horse somewhere.
The rope is not used in any other way in this game. Note also that the rope can only be tied to one thing at a time. For example, you cannot have one end tied to the horse and the other end tied to a tree.
an old blanket. It's near you at the huge rock walls.
After making a fire on the plateau (see branches and torch), MAKE SMOKE SIGNAL to convince the Apaches to leave and no longer guard the rope bridge.
Amusingly, after using the blanket to make a smoke signal, the blanket is now listed in your inventory as an old blanket (now stinking like a barbecue).
a saddle bag. It's beside the carcass of a horse in the desert.
Take it and open it. It contains some pemmican and a canteen.
You don't need the bag itself. Feel free to just take the pemmican and canteen then leave the bag behind.
On the sandy terrain, after cutting the ties that bind the man to the stake, REVIVE MAN (using the canteen filled with water). You must hold the canteen directly, and afterwards, the canteen no longer has water.
If you wish, re-fill the canteen at the not-actually-empty watering trough in front of the white buildings.
Note that the canteen is poorly and confusingly coded. Although the canteen is coded as an openable container, the canteen's water is just another property of the canteen and is not coded as an item inside it, so even when the canteen has water, the game claims the canteen is empty. If you want to drink water from the canteen, say DRINK CANTEEN; there's no "water" object inside it to drink.
a stick of dynamite. Find it by searching the overturned wagon in the desert.
At the end of the plateau, put the dynamite into the hole, light it (with the torch), then retreat to the large plateau and wait for the "kaboom". The explosion removes the landslide and replaces the small hole with a huge hole. You can now enter the tunnel.
a large branch. It's attached to the dead tree in the sierra sedona (south end). You can just take it.
At the teepee, light the branch (using the fire there). Your branch is now styled as a crude lit torch.
On the plateau, drop and light the branches with the torch, then make smoke signals with the blanket to make the Apaches go away.
At the end of the plateau, after putting the dynamite into the hole, light the dynamite with the torch then retreat to a safe distance and wait for the explosion.
The torch provides light inside the tunnels until you take the hatchet. When you obtain the hatchet, you simultaneously slip in the mud and your torch goes out; it's now a large branch again.
Oddly, you cannot re-light the branch at the campfire among the rocks.
a Navajo headdress. It's at the bottom of the crevasse.
At the teepee, give the headdress to the old man. He gives you a knife in exchange.
a Navajo knife. The old man at the teepee gives it to you in exchange for the headdress.
On the sandy terrain, cut the leather ties (with the knife) to free the man who's tied to the stake.
a Winchester rifle. On the sandy terrain, the man gives you his rifle after you free and revive him (see knife and canteen).
[Version 2] On the rocky path, shoot the rattlesnake.
After you've been inside the building for three turns, you hear the bandits outside. SHOOT THROUGH WINDOW (with the rifle) before they leave to win the game.
some dead branches. They're on the sandy terrain.
On the plateau, drop the branches and light them with your torch. Then MAKE SMOKE SIGNALS (with the blanket) to convince the Apaches to leave the rope bridge.
some leather ties. They're binding a man to a stake on the sandy terrain.
Cut the ties with the knife to free the man. The ties fall to the ground.
Unless you're planning to map the desert, you don't need the ties.
a Navajo hatchet. It's in a muddy northern tunnel.
When you take the hatchet, you simultaneously slip in the mud and your torch goes out.
[Version 1] In the tunnel south from where you took the hatchet, you see the outline of a door in the east wall. This door is only seen when you no longer have the torch. Chop the door with the hatchet.
[Version 2] In the tunnel south and east from where you took the hatchet, you see the cracks of light through boards to the south. These cracks are only seen when you no longer have the torch. Chop the boards with the hatchet.
On the north side of the gorge, chop a tree with the hatchet. The tree falls across the gorge, giving you a way across.
