Luke and Josh Macahan were called Seth and Jed in the pilot.
The first shot of the title sequence where the camera zooms over the treetops of Oregon's Rogue River was first used in Gunsmoke (1955), season eighteen, episodes one and two, "The River: Parts 1 and 2", which was filmed along the Rogue River.
The Russian hunting expedition that served as the basis for conflict with the Sioux tribes of the Dakotas in this mini-series, was based on an actual highly publicized state visit to the U.S. by Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia in 1871 to 1872. This mini-series fictionalized the historic meeting amongst the Sioux, the visiting Russians, and their U.S. Army hosts into fabricated subplots of hostility and violence that devolved into a melodramatic tale of poaching, kidnapping, murder, political crisis, warfare, and genocide before the absurdity reaches its climax with a ritual suicide. Thankfully, history records a far more benign encounter with the Sioux during the Grand Duke's visit. U.S. Army preparations for the hunt were conducted well in advance of the Russian hunting expedition. The assistance of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was employed in negotiations with the Sioux. Rather than being itinerant poachers on Sioux lands, as utilized in this mini-series, the U.S. government provided the Sioux tribes under Chief Spotted Tail with a wagon train containing tons of coffee, sugar, tobacco, and other provisions in exchange for the use of the Sioux hunting grounds. Chief Spotted Tail and hundreds of warriors greeted the expedition at its camp, and received the Grand Duke and his party as guests of the Sioux nation. Not only did the Sioux approve of the hunt, they participated in it, being eager to demonstrate their style of horsemanship and marksmanship to the "great white chief from across the water."
This mini-series starred James Arness, who played Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke (1955). The narrator was William Conrad, who had originated the role of Marshal Matt Dillon on radio's "Gunsmoke".
The DVD's are confusing to follow which episode is which since many of the Season 2 episodes are blended into a single Part 1, Part 2 etc. The first two discs have 3 hr run-time, which connects several episodes together without being clear what the titles are. This was perhaps to save money.