This is William Conrad. Well, tonight's the night for Gunsmoke on television, and
one of Hollywood's biggest stars, John Wayne, will be on hand for the premiere.
Be sure and watch Gunsmoke tonight over the CBS television network at 10 p.m.
Eastern Time. Gunsmoke, brought to you by L and M Filters. This is it. L and M is
best. Stands out from all the rest. 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 transcribed story of the violence that
moved West with Young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. I'm that
man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal, the first man they look for and the last
they want to meet. It's a chancey job and it makes a man watchful and a little
lonely.
Oh me. What was that for, Chester? Oh, I don't know. I just want to make a noise, I
guess. It's a blame quiet out here on the prairie. You've been mighty quiet
yourself. I guess I run plum out of conversation back a couple hours ago. It
ain't I'm unsociable, Mr. Dillon. Yeah, I know, Chester. It's been a long ride, but we'll be in
dodge by dark. Yes, sir. This in time would go to bed. You didn't have anything
better to do, did you? I guess not. Game of checkers with Doc, maybe. Oh, that man
plays the dog-gone-this-craziest game of checkers. Hey, Chester, over there. What?
That smoke, Mr. Dillon. Yeah. Must be a grass fire, huh? Oh, was smoke that black?
What is it then? Isn't there a ranch over in that direction? Well, now, yes, sir, there is.
Not far, neither. A fellow named Claiborne, as I remember. Come here from Indiana about
four years ago, him and his wife did. Awful nice fellow. Come on, Chester. Planted corn the
first year, but didn't turn out very well. Come on, Chester, we better take a look.
Oh, my gracious, Mr. Dillon, the house burned everything. Yeah, there's not much left, is
there? Pretty close could have happened. Yeah, there's one thing for sure. It wasn't an
accident. Look at the tracks, horses, the whole milling around. There's sure a lot of them.
Well, I don't understand either. Where is Mr. Claiborne? Here's his house not hardly
burnt to the ground yet. Take a look over there, Chester. Mr. Dillon. Come on. Oh, no.
Yeah, he should have stayed in Indiana. And his wife, too. I didn't even know they had
a little one, Mr. Dillon. It's like they were trying for cover in that little crick bed
there. Well, we can only do one thing for him now. Maybe there's a shovel left back
there. Mr. Dillon, who could have did a thing like that? That's plain enough, isn't it?
Yes, but I didn't hear no Indian trouble right now. I didn't either. Mr. Dillon? Yeah. If
them Indians were just here not very long ago, they couldn't have gone far. That's right,
Chester. They couldn't. All right, come on. Let's look to that shovel. Oh, Mr. Claiborne.
Look out there, Mr. Dillon. What? Planted corn again, and it's doing real well, too. Yeah.
Now, wait a minute, Chester. Listen. Horses. A lot of them. Yeah. You think it could be
them Indians coming back? It could be. Get the rifles, and we'll try a run for the creek
bed. Too late, Mr. Dillon. They're coming over the rise. Well, Mr. Dillon, it ain't
Indians. It's the Bluecoats. Yeah. The patrol, a whole company of them. Oh, my, ain't they
a welcome sight? Yeah. Come on. Let's go meet them.
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What are you doing out here, Marshal? We were riding in from Pawnee and we saw the smoke,
Lieutenant. We were a little too late. So I see. Where are they? Oh, we're there. All
three of them. They're pretty close on that trail now. Maybe we can get them before they
find another ranch. Oh, from the prints. I figured them for Kyla. But I didn't know there
was any trouble. There isn't. With a tribe, these are just renegades. Not more than eight
or ten of them. If that all fired up and jumped the agency. Fired up with cheap whiskey. Maybe.
But we can't be more than about half an hour behind them now. With luck, we'll get them
before nightfall. I sure hope so. Marshal, we'll take over here for you. The horses need
a few minutes rest. Then we'll go on. All right, Lieutenant. We'll head on in a touch.
Keep your eyes open, Marshal, on the way. Yeah. Yeah, we will. You know, what you're
dealing with, it's a cussed crying shame. Them Indians can be as peaceful as anything. And
then some ornery white man comes along and sells them some of that red eye and they just
go hog crazy. Chester and Indians, no different from anybody else, with too much to drink.
Now the problem's deeper than that. What do you mean? Well, the Indians are lost a lot.
They're a conquered people. It doesn't sit well with any man, Chester. And there are
times when it makes him mad. Yes, sir, that's so. I guess maybe you can't blame them entirely.
We'll see now. That's a pretty little valley. Hey, look, there's somebody down there. Yeah,
it looks like settlers. They do indeed with that pong stove wagon. They build a massage hut too.
Well, it looks like we got neighbors we didn't know we had, Mr. Dillon. Or maybe we're losing
them before we get to Nome. They seem to be packing the wagon. Maybe they heard about the
Indians. That's likely. Now come on, we'll write down, say hello. Afternoon. Howdy. I'm Matt Dillon,
U.S. Marshal out of Dodge. This is Chester Proudfoot. I'm Sam Fraser. This is my ma. This is my wife,
Alice. How do you do? This is Tad, my kid brother. Nice to meet you. We're headed for Dodge ourselves.
Now it looks like you got settled here. Well, we ain't staying, Marshal. We're going on west.
Chasing rainbows, Marshal. Farm folks like us. Now, ma. Don't you now, ma me, Sam Fraser. If
your pa was still alive, he wouldn't be leaving. Well, yeh. And it's up to me to do the deciding now.
If you'll excuse me, Marshal, I'll get back to loading up.
Chester, I can give you a hand. No thanks. Tad and me will manage.
That's a real nice hut, Miss Fraser. It's kind of too bad to go off and leave it.
My husband built it. Not him. Now, ma, Sam, help.
Marshal, what do you think of a son that goes against his father's wishes and him not hardly cold in his grave?
Ma, please. Three days now, Marshal. He's buried right over there under that cottonwood.
I'm sorry, ma'am. He hadn't been here more than a week.
Come all the way from Ohio, looking for a spot of good ground to till, looking for a home, Marshal.
And he found it here. It sure is a pretty little place.
Sam will call it Pleasant Valley. Said he'd be grateful to settle here and spend his days.
Only the Lord didn't leave him any days. Denied him, like Moses, come to the promised land.
That would make a nice homestead for you folks. It would. But some folks have ideas.
Oh, my layoff. Mr. Fraser. What?
Look, I know this is none of my business, but is there some reason why you want to give up this land and go on?
Reason enough.
It's because of me, Marshal.
Now, Alice, you ain't to blame.
Yes, I am. It's because Sam is worried about me, Marshal.
No Indians would scare him off if it was just these folks, but it's me he's scared for. Me and the one coming.
And what better reason? You think I want my wife and my child living in danger of murdering savages?
Now, Mr. Fraser, this is just a bunch of renegades. The cavalry will get them soon and the danger will be over.
And who's to say what they'll do before the cavalry gets them?
Now, Marshal, my family's going to grow up in a safe place.
My ma born me in the middle of the Ohio woods, thick with Indians as fleas on a hound.
We was made us turner stuffing them days.
Maybe, but my wife ain't going to live like that. Now, come on, Ted, hand that up. We're losing time.
You going on west?
Aye, to California, he says. Might even look for gold instead of harmony, he says.
Oh, my, I reckon most of that gold out there is already clean. Twenty years or more. Of course you might have luck.
We can always find a piece of land.
Yeah, maybe you can, but nothing better than this.
Nothing half as good. This dirts Richard and molasses in the cook pot. If it was me, I'd...
Well, it ain't. Now hoist.
If I was just a few years old...
I said hoist.
You see how it is, Marshal?
Yes, and... maybe he's right. California might work out fine.
Only it's a long way, and with Miss Fraser expecting, it's going to be kind of a hard trip.
I know all that, Marshal. We'll stay in Dodge till the baby's born. It won't be long now, and then we'll go on.
I just want to say one thing, Mr. Fraser, as a lawman in this territory.
We have some troubles now and then, sure, but it's not as bad as you think.
And in a few years, it'll be as safe here as it is in Ohio right now, or California.
And it's going to be a prosperous country.
My mind's made up, Marshal.
Well, all right. We better help you get loaded, then, so you're safe in the Dodge.
The worst place to be right now is out on the open prairie.
All right, that's it. One more shot.
Good. That should ride easy.
Well, that's the last.
All right, then, we're all ready. Might as well get started. It's getting late.
You got them all hitched, Ted?
They're ready.
Where's Ma?
She's over by the cottonwood.
Oh, crying, I suppose, to shame me.
Sam.
Well, tears don't do no good.
She ain't crying. She's just standing, staring.
I tried to get her to come away, but she wouldn't.
Marshal, maybe if you were to talk to her, you know, a stranger.
All right.
Why, sure, ma'am.
Ah, Miss Fraser.
He's there, Marshal. Right there. We fixed up a cross.
Yes, ma'am.
Maybe if you was to pass by this way again, you'd just take a look. See the marker still standing?
Well, that sure it will, ma'am.
Twenty-five years, Marshal. And all I ever asked was to lie there beside him.
A lonely place.
Mm-hm.
But it's no lonelier than any other, Miss Fraser.
High in the springtime, this whole meadow is covered with a blanket of sunflowers.
Pretty as you ever saw.
Thank you, Marshal.
I can go now.
Ma'am.
Ma, I'm sorry.
No need, boy. We all do what we have to do. You're no different. Just help me up.
Oh, here, ma'am.
All right. Now let's get this girl into town. Her time's almost come.
Okay, ma.
Hey!
All right. Come on, Chester.
I want you to ride the point. Keep a good watch ahead and to the north, huh?
All right, sir.
I'll cut up to the top of that hill and take a look, and then I'll ride south flank. Cover that side and behind.
Ah, Mr. Dillon, it sure does seem a shame.
Wait a minute, Chester.
Oh, my gracious. Coming over the hill?
Yeah.
Them ain't blue coats.
No, they're not, Chester.
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Frazer! Frazer, turn around, go back!
What?
Look up there!
Get him!
Get back to the hotbed!
Use your rifle, Chester.
It goes too far to hit him.
It'll let them know they got a fight.
Yes, sir.
Now they've turned on.
I thought they would.
All right, let's get back to the Frazer's. Come on.
All right, hurry it up. Let's get those women into the hut.
We're trying, Marshal, but Alice got choked up some with us going so fast.
Well, we'll carry her. Come on.
You all right, Marshal?
Sure you will, ma'am. Hang on, now.
There we go.
Over here, right here, Marshal. Put her down gently.
Yes, ma'am.
Alice.
No, Sam, don't you worry. I'll be all right.
You go on. Do what needs to be done. I'll be all right.
Go on, boy.
You got a rifle, Sam?
Yeah, yeah, the sharps in the wagon.
Well, that'll give us three.
I ain't got one, Marshal, but I can load for you.
All right, son, there'll be plenty to do.
They're still up there, Mr. Dillon. Having a powwow, looks like.
You figure they'll rush us, Marshal?
No, they know we got rifles.
There are only eight or nine of them, and the ground's too open. They'll either go on and leave us alone, or they'll wait till the sun goes down and come in in the dusk.
There's nothing to do but wait.
We can use the time to unload part of the wagon and adjust the things they'll need in there, though.
Then we'll drive it off and cut the horses loose. We don't want them milling around in case of a fight.
Sam.
What, Ma?
Get water from the creek. Make a fire, quick.
Ma.
Don't stand there, you heard me. Get moving.
Get some.
Relax, Frazier. She's gonna be all right.
Sure, sure. Out here in nowhere with them up there. This is just what I was afraid of.
How plenty of them born this way. You might have been yourself, you know.
I know, but...
Tad, where you going?
Down to the creek. Ma wants more water.
You better go with him, Chester.
Yes, sir.
I should have gone two days ago. I wanted her to have the best. Nothing but the best.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
That's why I talked about hunting gold in California.
You know something, Sam? A man can waste a lifetime looking for gold when it's right in front of his eyes.
Where?
You're looking at it. There's wealth here for a man, too.
I know it, but I'm sorry.
Tad!
Yeah, come on.
Tad.
You all right, Mr. Dillon?
Yes, sir, Nick. When I'm snuck up close to the house, I'm gonna get a little help.
When I'm snuck up close, I chased him off.
Tad.
I'm all right, Sam. Just a priest, ma.
It's bleeding.
We'll fix it when we get him back to the hut.
There you go. There's a tight enough sun.
Sure, sure, Marshal. It's okay. How's Alice?
I don't know. Ma chased me away. I'm worried, Marshal.
And I'm more worried about those Indians. It's gonna be dark soon.
Mr. Dillon, that patrol ought to be around here somewhere.
Yeah, I know. I was hoping they'd show up.
Well, they can't be far. They was on the trail. Maybe pass through right out.
Now there's a better way, Chester. Signal them.
How?
There's a sign they've been looking for and hoping not to see. Smoke.
You mean set the grass a fire?
No, that'd smoke us out, too.
No, the wagon.
But, Marshal...
Yeah, I know, Frazer, it's like burning your bridges behind you, but it's the only thing we've got.
All right. All right, we'll burn it.
That's almost out. It sure sent up a lot of smoke while it lasted.
You reckon the Calvary saw it, Mr. Dillon?
It's hard to say, Chester.
If it did, I hope they're hurrying. Sun's most gone, all but the tops of the hills.
The valley's getting mighty charley.
We'd better set in a circle. Each one watch his side.
Marshal, out there... was that...?
What?
No, just one of the horses, son, but you keep looking.
Marshal, Marshal, listen. Look, up there, it's the Bluecoats. They're here.
Oh, ain't that a welcome sight?
They're charging the engines, running them off.
Marshal, we're gonna be all right.
Yeah, Frazer, they'll get them now. Maybe if we...
Sam, get in here!
Alice.
Well, what are you staring at?
The body'd think it'd never seen a strapping healthy baby boy before.
Alice?
I'm all right, darling.
They're both all right. I told you, you didn't need to worry about us.
All right, now, you men folk, get on out of here. Go on, skedaddle.
Yes, ma'am.
You too, Sam Frazer.
Well, I'll be quick.
Well, Sam, Chester and I'll be getting on in the Dodge. We'll send a wagon up for you.
What?
I reckon we won't be needing the wagon, Marshal.
Sam, you mean we're staying?
Well, we buried one here and we born one here.
And we shed Frazer blood in this dirt.
And it is good dirt, Marshal. And it is a pleasant place.
Yes, it is.
You'll be welcome here any time. Both of you.
Thank you, Mr. Frazer. Welcome to Kansas.
And now our star, William Conrad.
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Remember, as I told you earlier, gun smoke goes on TV tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern Time over the CBS television network.
Subassurance, Gunsmoke's TV premiere tonight.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The special music for Gunsmoke was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns by Bill James and Ray Kemper.
Featured in the cast were Vic Paran, Helen Cleave, Eleanor Tannen, Sam Edwards, and John Daner.
Harley Bear is Chester.
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Gunsmoke again next week, transcribed for L&M Filters.
Thank you for watching.