Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers and that's with the US Marshal and the smell of Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, the story of the violence that moved west with young
America, the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
Mind if I sit here and watch the plaza with you, Mr. Dillon?
Oh, sure, sure. Sit on, Chester. Sit on.
I got spring fever, I guess.
I guess everybody has.
That'll change soon enough.
It will?
Sure. As soon as the first trail herd hits Dodge.
Yeah, I suppose.
Them Texas cowboys.
Mr. Dillon, they all ought to be hobbled and have one arm tied behind their back all the time they're here.
Oh, I don't know, Chester.
They're just troublemakers, sir. They're bad enough at home, but they're worse away from it.
Well, there are plenty of bad men who never saw Texas.
Yes, and there are darn few Texans who ain't bad.
Um, where'd you say you're from, Chester?
Well, Waco, but that don't change my opinion one bit, Mr. Dillon.
In fact, it just proves I know what I'm talking about.
Here comes a Texan now, Chester. Look at his rig.
Yes, sir, it sure is.
Now, what's he doing here?
Looking for somebody to shoot, according to you.
Do you know him?
No, sir, I don't.
But then most everybody I knew in Texas has been hung by now.
I'm looking for a U.S. Marshal.
You're wearing a star, so maybe you're him.
Well, sit down, stranger.
You Matt Dillon?
That's my name.
All right.
I'm Phil Jacks. I'm with the herd of 3,000 sand sabre cattle about five days' drive from here.
Name of the trail boss is Dolph Quince.
Dolph Quince? He was up here last year.
Give him my regards, will you?
You give them to him, Marshal.
Well, I'll be glad to.
He'll be here in about five days, you say?
He will if we don't run into any more trouble.
He said for you to ride back with me, Marshal.
No?
Why did he say why?
Didn't say nothing except for me to ride into Dodge and find you.
Well, can you tell me what this is all about?
It's about Kansas, Marshal.
Kansas?
We don't like it.
Well, for heaven's sake, if you don't like it, why don't you stay in Texas instead of coming up here raising all kinds of trouble, getting people's backs up, rinking, shooting, carrying on.
I haven't even said hello to you, mister.
Oh, I know it, and let's leave it that way.
Chester. What's got into you anyway?
It's been mighty peaceful around here lately, sir.
Now the first Texas herd ain't even over the horizon, and already there's trouble.
Why don't you people drive your old mossy horn steers to California anyway?
Why'd you leave Texas, mister?
What?
I know a Texan when I see one.
You all riled up because you don't like Kansas, and nobody else does.
Yes, and I don't like Texas neither.
Texas is sure rough on women and dogs, ain't it?
My gracious, I ain't heard that since I was a boy.
All right, you got me pegged, I'll shut up.
Now we're getting someplace.
You ready to go, Marshal?
Well, Dolph Quince is a good man. He wouldn't have sent you here without a reason.
Yeah, but Mr. Dillon, you can't be...
Chester, suppose you take Jax over to the Dodge house for a good feed, huh?
Looks like he could use it. I'll get ready and I'll meet you there in about an hour, huh?
Yes, sir, but what about me?
Like you say, there won't be any trouble till the Texans arrive.
I'd like for you to stay here anyway.
Yes, Mr. Dillon.
Come on, Jax, it's just down the street.
Oh, don't shoot him, Chester, I'll never find that herd alone.
I ain't gonna buy him a drink first, Marshal, and just temper him down a little.
Now, say, that's not a bad idea at all.
Take your pick, Mr. Jax. We have a goodly number of varied choice saloons here.
I hadn't been out on the prairie for some weeks, and I found its usual monotony broken a little by the freshness of spring,
with great patches of green standing out against the natural sunburnt color of last year's grass.
We rode over about 30 miles of it before dark, and Jax figured we'd find the Sen Sava herd by evening the next day.
And sure enough, an hour or two after we'd crossed the Cimarron next afternoon, we spotted the herd's dust ahead of us.
We rode up to the chuck wagon just as the cook was hollering for the men to come and get it.
Just drop your saddle anywhere, Marshal, I'll turn your horse in with a remuter.
Yeah, all right, thanks, Jax.
Now, Prince will be over there by the fire somewhere.
Yeah, I'll find him.
All right, come on. Come on.
What's he doing? I don't know. I can't understand it.
Ah, hello, Dolph.
How are you, Marshal?
His fresh meat and camp asked the cook for a plate.
Ah, thank you.
Yeah, I'll go with you. I need some more coffee.
You like Buffaloville? One of the boys roped in a shot of calf this morning.
Sure, I like it fun.
Guess it was Buffalo that scared our horses last night. Old remuter broke loose.
Hey, Cook, give this man a plate of meat.
Sure thing, Doc.
That looks mighty good.
You know, Jax and I haven't eaten since morning.
Give me some coffee, will you?
Yep.
Thanks, Cook.
Nester woman came to the bedground for daylight this morning.
Huh?
Yeah, I had a boy with her driving a wagon.
I ask if we had any little calves that had been dropped during the night.
Well, she probably picks up calves from all the herds that pass this way, huh?
Yeah, we'd have to get rid of them anyway, so I let her have them.
Even if she was at Kansas.
Oh? Where was her husband?
Dead according to the boy.
I see.
You know, if there'd been a Kansas man as for calves, I don't think I could have talked these boys into allowing it.
Oh, is that so?
It sure is, Marsha.
Say, you got any tobacco mines that might dry?
Oh, yeah, sure.
Here, take yourself a smoke.
Thanks, Marsha.
Tell me, John, have you seen any Kansas Jayhawkers on the way up?
How do you know, Marsha?
Well, just a guess.
Two nights ago, some MJ Hawkers managed to sneak up on Snider over there when he was out on guard.
They stripped him and flogged him and then stampeded the cattle.
We had our hands full for the next few hours, or we might have caught up with them.
I see.
Any trouble since?
Not yet.
Dolph, a ordinary Kensington hates Jayhawkers as much as you do.
They're nothing but shifty, murderous criminals.
They got started on the Missouri border during the war, and they got the taste of blood in their mouths.
Well, now it's like they got no place to go.
We can show them a place.
They're bandits, that's all.
You got bandits in Texas.
That doesn't make every Texan one, does it?
It's kind of hard to make the men see that, Marsha.
Yeah, I know.
I'll join you, if you don't mind.
Sit down, Jack.
Yeah.
I've been complaining to Marshal about our welcome here.
Yeah.
I hear the trail drivers buying off Jayhawkers, two or three dollars a head.
You see, three thousand head, that cost us a lot.
I ain't paying nobody nothing.
Well, they ain't asked us yet, but I'll kill the first one I see anyway.
Maybe they won't bother you again, huh?
Marshal, every dollar I got's in these cattle, and all the money my relatives and friends could raise, too.
We've come a long way from the San Simon, and we're almost to Dodge.
I'd hate to lose now.
Well, Dolph, I don't know quite what I can do.
Raise the posse?
No, not for this sort of work.
There'll be herds coming up from now into September.
What about the Army?
They're out chasing the Indians, as usual.
Well, figured that had to ask, anyways.
One reason I wanted you to come down here was to ride with us a few days, get to know the boys a little.
They're in a bad temper, and when they hit Dodge, they're going to be looking for Kansas Scouts.
Not all right, William.
I figured you would.
You see, Marshal, the way we look at it, the good citizens of Dodge are out to fleece us anyway,
and on top of that, they hire gunfighters to shoot us as soon as we kick up our heels a little.
All in all, it makes for bad feeling.
Well, there's some misunderstanding on both sides, I guess.
Yeah, you and I know that. But they don't.
Oh, say, Dolph, I nearly forgot.
What?
Stranger rode up the remute over there and asked for a job.
I told him to eat first.
Must be crazy.
Where is he?
Go get him.
Dolph, I'd like to stand guard tonight, huh?
No need for that.
Well, if I'm riding with you, I'll do my share of the work.
All right. You go out with a sec and watch. The Wrangler will give you a night horse.
Thanks.
Here he is, Dolph.
This here's Dolph Quince, trail boss.
Mr. Quince.
Quince will do.
Well, my name's Studer, Carl Studer.
You lost?
I don't know what you mean.
Well, do you know we're only four days' drive out of Dodge?
I was wondering if you could use a hand.
For four days?
That'd help.
You must be awful hungry.
I thought maybe you'd be driving past, Dodge.
Well, I'm not.
We'll feed you from here to Dodge if you work.
I won't pay you anything, though. I haven't got the money, and I don't need a hand anyway.
Thank you.
Hey, by the way, where are you from?
Colorado.
Then you ain't a canceling.
No.
Good.
Maybe the boys won't tear you apart.
You'll be on the third watch tonight, Studer.
All right.
There's the sort of man spends his whole miserable life just looking for salt pork and sundown.
Yeah.
If that's all he's looking for.
What do you mean?
Just an old habit of mine, Dolph.
I wouldn't still be alive if I trusted everybody on the first sight.
You don't trust this fella?
No, he's probably all right.
Still, I'd keep him in camp unless it's daylight.
How come?
I wouldn't put him on night guard, Dolph.
All right.
Marshal, I always thought I led a hard life.
Till now, I think you beat me.
Well, I got shot at more than you, that's all.
Maybe that's it.
You better stretch out somewhere.
You'll be out singing to those cow brutes in two hours.
Yeah.
Well, I'll see you later, Dolph.
Breakfast at four.
You'll find it don't take long to stay all night at this ranch.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment.
But first, right now, our country is engaged in an all-out effort
to fight aggression and preserve our democratic freedom.
The future of America concerns us all.
That's why we should all help to make that future as bright as possible.
By buying United States savings bonds, you can help make American freedom secure,
and at the same time, you'll be automatically saving for your own financial security.
Buy an extra bond for your future and Uncle Sam's.
Now the second act of gun smoke.
I didn't have much chance that night to get to know the boys.
On guard, two of us rode around the herd in opposite directions,
saying in our hummin' a little to let the cattle know where we were.
And after two hours, we were relieved by the third watch.
But at breakfast the next morning, the men treated me a little less like a gunfighter
hired to shoot them when they got to dodge.
After the cattle had grazed for a few miles and we got them on the trail,
I started to forget I was a lawman myself.
Jackson and I were riding the swing of the herd when Dolph Quince looked up behind us.
Hey, how's it feel to be a trail hand, Marshal?
There's nothing to it.
I could sleep all winter like you do.
When would you spend your money?
I already offered to trade jobs with a Marshal.
Dolph, you know where I found him in dodge.
Hanging a horse thief, I hope.
Yeah, not likely.
Setting idle in a chair, taking in the sun like an old man.
Don't let it fool you, Jax. I've seen him move.
Hey, you two crossed the Cimarron yesterday. What's it like?
The other water's gone down. You won't have any trouble.
I was also thinking about the sand.
It was sound where we was, Dolph.
Then we'll cross right there.
You go up ahead and ride point, Jax. Lead us to it.
Take that new fellow Studer with you.
I don't need him.
I want him up front where I can see him.
Okay.
First crossing I tried last year. He had a quicksand bottom. It would bog a saddle blank.
Nah.
Did you lose many cattle?
30 head. Couldn't even dig your tails out.
Nah.
You know, Dolph, I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to you, driving cattle up here.
Texas is bankrupt, Marshal. The war broke us.
All we've got is these wild, long-owned cattle.
Yeah, I know.
But maybe there'll be an easier way someday.
We'd starve waiting for the railroad.
I suppose so.
Anyway, this son subah heard of yours is the first to reach Dodge this year.
The prices are high.
He ought to profit $20 a head.
I hope so.
What's Dodge like now?
Been a year since I was there.
Well, it's, uh...
It's double its size.
They got a new restaurant.
A place called Delmonico's.
Got about five new saloons.
Well.
And a new barber shop.
With money in your pocket, Dodge could offer high-class entertainment.
Almost anything you want.
The boys would be glad to know.
Hey, that's up ahead. Come on.
Hey!
Look, they got a blanket. It's starting to stampede.
Yeah. Is that Jack's horse running loose?
Yeah. There's Jack's lying on the ground.
They shot him, Marshal.
Yeah. The man with the blanket, that's Studer.
I'm going after him, Dolph. You take care of Jack's.
There goes the cattle.
Get him, Marshal. Get him alive.
I'll get him.
As I followed Studer, a few shots whippe past my head that they didn't come from him.
They came from behind a small rise he was headed for.
Whoever was shooting was still too far away for me to worry about.
I wanted to take care of Studer first.
Slowly the distance between us closed.
I pulled my rifle out of the boot and I snapped one off at him.
He was dead.
I was going to kill him.
I pulled my rifle out of the boot and I snapped one off at him.
He threw up his hands and pitched forward out of the saddle.
I glanced at him as I rode past and crossed him off as one Jayhawker less.
When I reached the rise, I jumped off my horse and ran up it on foot.
Near the top I got down and I crawled.
When I poked my head over, there was only one man in sight.
The other Jayhawker's effort, Benany, had disappeared.
This one was afoot and he was running for his horse.
I took my time and put a shot into the candle of his saddle.
And the horse bolted.
The man dropped behind a rock and lay there.
He was only half covered so I stood up.
And a step at a time started toward him down the hill.
That's far enough, mister.
Go on back.
You're in pistol range now.
Stand right there, you.
All right, fella.
Put down and come forward.
All I want's a horse, and I'll get out of here.
We won't bother you no more.
You sure won't?
Just leave me on the horse.
Now listen to me.
I'm a United States Marshal.
You give up and I promise there'll be no lynching.
You'll get a fair trial.
No!
If you don't give up, you're gonna die.
Right where you are.
Let him go. I'm warning you.
I'm coming after you.
You just had to try it, didn't you?
You'll leave a bloody trail, Marshal.
Yeah.
I brought Snyder with me.
After the whipping they gave him the other night,
I figured he deserved to be in on this.
Guess I'm too late.
Looks like the Marshal's done taking care of everybody.
Be glad you don't have to kill a man, son.
I don't think I'd mind, Marshal.
Yeah, I know.
Tell me, Dorff, how's Jax?
Dead.
No.
Studer shot him in the back of the head.
He was a good man.
The boys have got the lead cattle turned.
We'll let them mill around for an hour and then graze them out.
Good.
I left my horse over the rise there, Snyder.
Would you get him for me, please?
Yeah, sure.
Come on.
Looks like you walked right down onto this man.
I tried to take him alive, like you asked.
Guess I just wanted to hang him myself.
Anyway, I'm glad he's dead.
Yeah.
Marshal, we'll be burying Jax out here.
I'm wondering if you might know how to do it, maybe a prayer or something?
Well, I...
I'm not...
I'll try, Dorff.
Let's get back in.
When we got back to where Jax had fallen, the cook had driven the chuck wagon up and was busy fixing coffee for the men, even though it was far from noon.
The cattle were spread out and feedin' now, and one by one the men rode up sober and quiet with just a glance at Jax where he lay covered by his saddle blanket.
The grave was soon dug and with the end gate of the chuck wagon for a headstone, Phil Jax was placed in the ground and covered with prairie earth.
There hats in their hands that Texas men watched in silence.
If you will, Marshal, we're ready now.
Yeah.
We brought nothing into this world. Neither may we carry anything out of this world.
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Even as it pleaseth the Lord.
Yeah. Even as it pleaseth the Lord, so cometh things to pass.
Blessed be the name of the word. Amen.
Amen.
Oh, Snyder?
Yeah?
I want you to do something for me, if you will.
What?
Well, I smuggled a quarter-wagon yard whiskey out of Dodge when I came down here. The cook's got it hid in the chuck wagon.
Well, now, Marshal...
It's not much, but it'll cut the alkali in your drinkin' water. Why don't you get it and pass it out to the men, huh?
Might have decent of you, Marshal.
All is once a drink of the Marshal's whiskey. Get on over to the chuck wagon.
There's times when a drink's good for a man's soul, Marshal. I guess this is one of them.
I think Jax would approve.
He sure would.
By the way, Marshal, the boys all know how you handle them Jayhawkers.
Huh?
It ain't changed their mind about Kansans much, but maybe they think a little more highly of the law around here.
Of the kind of gunfighter hired by the law, anyway.
That's good.
Of course, it don't mean they won't hurrah at Dodge Little when we get there.
I expect that.
Sure.
Come on, we got a drink comin' out of that bottle, too.
Three days later, the Sansabah herd reach Mulberry Creek, about ten miles south of Dodge.
And Dolph Quince decided to hold it there and we got it sold.
So I said goodbye to the men and rode on into Dodge ahead of them.
We'd meet again.
In the plaza at the Texans Trail, at the Alifraganza.
And I was sure of one thing.
Short of gunplay, that particular bunch of Texas cowboys
were gonna be allowed to hurrah at Dodge Unmolested.
Music
Gunsmoke Under the Direction of Norman MacDonald stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Tonight's story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston, with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin and Harry Bartel, with Sam Edwards, Jack Crouchon, and Jim Nusser.
Parley Bear is Chester.
Gunsmoke is heard by our troops overseas through the facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal,
fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke.
Music
Tomorrow evening, the Edgar Bergen Show with Charlie McCarthy presents a drama titled The Blue Egg of Happiness as its own comical Easter observance.
Edgar's daughter, Candy Bergen, age six, visits the show, and we'll also hear from Jack Kirkwood, who plays a bear,
Arthur Q. Bryan, who plays the Easter Bunny, and bandleader Ray Noble, who plays a skunk.
Remember, it's Bergen and McCarthy tomorrow night on most of these same stations,
bringing you laughs along with Jack Benny, Amos and Andy, and the rest of your Sunday nighters on CBS Radio.
George Walsh speaking.
America's 45 million radio families listens most to the CBS Radio Network.
Music