Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers and that's where the US Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun Smoke starring William Conrad, the 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.
You don't have to walk me all the way Doc.
Oh, it's a pleasure Kitty.
I don't often get to be seen with a beautiful woman.
Now Doc.
Yeah, that's true.
And what's more, you know it.
Oh, there you go.
And I was just beginning to enjoy myself.
Oh, there's Matt.
Just came out of his office.
Let's go say hello to him.
He's sitting down.
We better hurry before he falls asleep.
Wish I had a job like his.
Say, where's Chester these days anyway?
Well, he's still visiting a friend out at Fort Dodge.
Some old army pal from the war.
Is he ever coming back?
Of course he'll be back.
True, as he gets tired of the cooking out there.
There's Matt.
You've got company.
Hello Matt.
Hello Kitty.
Doc, why don't you sit down?
Just for a minute.
I got to get to work pretty soon.
You been shopping?
Yeah, but I just got off work.
I'm going to the store.
I'll be right back.
Yeah, but I didn't buy anything.
Where are all those clothes and stuff you told me you ordered?
Well, that's different.
It is?
Well, sure.
No, no, no, no.
Don't explain it to me now.
It's too hot today.
Who's this?
I don't know.
He's a stranger to me.
Well, he's from Texas, that's for sure.
Look at that rig.
I'm looking for U.S. Marshal.
You're wearing a star, maybe you're him.
I sat down, Stenger.
You Matt Dillon?
That's right.
Oh.
Well, I'm Phil Jacks, Marshal.
You're the herd of 3,000 Sans-Sabbot Cattles, about five days' drive from here.
Name of the trail boss is Dolph Quince.
Dolph Quince?
Well, he was in here last year.
Give him my regards, would you?
He says for you to ride back with me, Marshal.
Huh?
That's all he said, for me to bring you back.
Well, can't you tell me what it's all about?
It's about Kansas, Marshal.
Kansas?
We don't like it.
Oh, you're running into trouble, huh?
We're about to quit driving cattle and turn into an army, Marshal.
Yeah.
You go get yourself a drink, Jacks.
Meet me here in about a half hour.
I'll go with you.
You just drop your saddle anyway, Marshal.
I'll turn your horse in with a remuter.
All right.
Thanks, Jacks.
It will.
And Dolph Quince will be over there by the fire somewhere.
Okay.
I'll find him.
How about that?
How are you, Marshal?
Good to see you again.
Hey, it's fresh meat and camp.
Ask the cook for a plate.
Oh, thanks.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Thanks a lot.
I'll go with you.
I need some more coffee.
You like Buffalo Veal?
Huh?
One of the boys broke and shot a calf this morning.
Sure.
I like it fine.
I guess it was Buffalo that scared our horses last night.
His whole remuter broke loose.
Hey, cook, get this man a plate of meat.
Yeah.
Sure thing, Dolph.
It looks mighty good, doesn't it?
Give me some coffee, will you?
Yeah.
Thank you.
Sure.
And Esther Woman came to the bed.
the bed ground for daylight this morning and ask if we had any little calves that
have been dropped during the night.
She probably picks up calves from all the herds that pass this way.
We'd have to get rid of them anyway.
So I'll let her have them even if she was a Kansan.
You know, if it had been a Kansas man asked for calves,
I don't think I could have talked these boys into allowing it.
How is that so?
It sure is, Martin.
Tell me, Dolph, have you seen any Kansas Jayhawkers on the way up?
How'd you know?
That's a pretty good guess.
Two nights ago, some of them Jayhawkers managed to sneak up on Snider over there
when he was out on guard.
They stripped him and flogged him and stampeded the cattle.
They had our hands full for the next few hours or we might have caught up with them.
Aren't they troubled since?
Not yet.
You know, Dolph, the ordinary Kansan hates Jayhawkers as much as you do.
There's 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.
Now it's like I got no place to go.
We can show them a place.
They're bandits, that's all.
You've got bandits in Texas, but that doesn't make every Texan one, does it?
It's kind of hard to make the men see it that way, Martin.
Well, I know it is. I just hope they understand it before a regular war breaks out.
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsythe.
Overhead the moon is beaming.
Hold it, Daphne, hold it.
Oh, hi, Joe. Guess what, honey? I'm trying out for the operetta.
As what?
A singer.
You could have fooled me.
I was just practicing one of the songs.
Well, I don't think you quite fit the role.
Why not?
Well, if this version of the student prince is like the version I know,
that particular number is sung by a tenor.
Oh.
Not that you don't come close, but I think you'd better stick to being a housewife.
But I want to be a singer.
Daphne, honey, a singer you'll never be.
I could take lessons.
Yeah, but lessons cost money. Money better invested for us in savings bonds.
You and your old savings bonds.
I can't help it, honey. I just can't get over the way those savings bonds pay off.
Four dollars for every three. That's what I call an investment.
What good do they do me now?
A lot. The money we put in those bonds every payday helps keep America strong
and protects you and me.
No bonds, maybe no operetta. Ever think of that?
I still want to be a singer.
Well, when those bonds start bringing in the green,
if you still want to sing, they'll pay for the lessons and more.
Good. Gee, if those bonds mature as fast as you say,
I better start practicing now just so that I'll be ready.
Overhead the moon is beaming.
Daphne, did anyone ever tell you you have a bad voice?
Everyone.
Hello, Dahl, Marshal.
Jax.
Join you if you don't mind.
Sit down, Jax.
I've been sitting here drinking coffee complaining to Marshal
about our welcome in Kansas.
Yeah.
I heard the trail drivers buying off them Jayhawkers.
Two, three dollars a head.
Now, let's see. Three thousand cattle. It cost us...
I'm paying nobody nothing.
Well, they ain't asked us yet,
but I'll kill the first one I see anyway so...
Marshal, one reason I wanted you to come down here
was to ride with us a few days.
Get to know the boys a little.
You're in a bad temper, and when they hit Dodge,
they're gonna be looking for Kansas Scouts.
All right, I'll ride with you.
I figured you would.
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.
Now, all in all, it makes for a bad feeling.
There's some misunderstanding on both sides, I guess.
Yeah, you and I know that, but they don't.
Oh, say, Dolf, I nearly forgot.
What?
Stranger just rode up to the commute over there
and asked for a job. I told him to eat first.
Where is he?
I'll go get him.
Say, Dolf, I'd like to stand guard tonight.
There's no need for that.
If I'm riding with you, I'll do my share of the work.
All right, you go out with a second watch.
Frank will give you a nighthawk.
Thanks.
There he is, Dolf.
This here's Dolf Quince, trail boss.
Mr. Quince.
Quince'll do.
My name's Studer, Carl Studer.
You lost?
I don't know what you mean.
Well, you know we're only four days' drive out of Dodge.
I was wondering, could you use a hand?
For four days?
That'd help.
You must be awful hungry.
I thought maybe you'd be driving past Dodge.
I'm not.
But we'll feed you from here to Dodge if you work.
I won't pay you anything, though.
I haven't got the money. I don't need a hand anyway.
Fair enough.
Hey, by the way, where are you from?
Colorado.
And you ain't a canson?
No.
Good. Maybe the boys won't tear you apart.
You'll be on the third watch tonight, Studer.
All right.
This sort of man spends his whole miserable life
just looking for salt forking sundown.
Yeah. If that's all he's looking for.
What do you mean?
Just an old habit of mine, Dolph.
I wouldn't be alive if I trusted everybody on first sight.
You don't trust this fella?
Oh, he's probably all right.
Still, I'd keep him in camp unless it's daylight.
I wouldn't put him on night guard.
All right.
Marshal, I always thought I led a hard life.
Till now. I think you beat me.
I just got shot at more than you, I saw.
Maybe that's it.
Hey, 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.
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,
singing or humming 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, we got them on the trail
and I started to forget that I was a lawman myself.
Jackson and I were riding the swing of the herd
when Dolph Quince loped up behind him.
Hey, how's it feel to be a trailhead, Marshal?
There's nothing to it if I can sleep all winter like you do.
Well, would you spend your money?
I already offered to trade jobs with him, Dolph.
Hey, look, you two crossed the simmer on yesterday.
What's it like?
The water's gone down. You won't have any trouble.
I was also thinking about the sand.
It was sound where we were down there.
We were going to get some water.
You go up ahead and ride Pointe, Jacks, and lead us to it.
Take that new fellow Stooder with you.
I don't need him.
I want him up front where I can see him.
Oh, okay.
First crossing I tried last year had a quicksand bottom
and bog a saddle blanket.
Lose many cattle?
I don't know.
I couldn't even dig your tails out.
You know, Dolph, I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to you
driving cattle up here.
Well, Texas is bankrupt, Marshal.
War broke us.
All we got is these wild longhorn cattle.
Yeah, I know.
Maybe there'll be an easier way someday.
We'd starve to death if we didn't have a cattle farm.
I suppose so.
Anyway, this Sant Saba herd of yours is the first to reach Dodge this year.
The price is pretty high.
You ought to profit about $20 a head.
I hope so.
Money in your pocket, Dodge, could offer high class entertainment.
Almost anything you'd want.
Well, the boys will be...
Hey, that's up ahead. Come on.
Look, he's got a blanket. He's starting to stampede.
Yeah, is that Jack's horse running loose?
Yeah, and here's Jack's lying on the ground.
They shot him, Marshal.
That man with the blanket, that stouter.
I'm going after him, Dolph. You take care of Jack.
You can do the cattle there off.
Get him, Marshal. Get him alive.
I'll get him.
Helen. Helen. Helen. Helen.
Hi there. What are you doing?
I'm memorizing my wife's name.
You, a memory expert?
What happened?
I called her Joanne.
What?
I was nearly a hospital case.
Which brings us to the subject of Medicare.
I knew you'd work it in somehow.
Why not?
Sooner or later, Medicare comes into the lives of every serviceman and his dependent.
Well, you sure got it into mine a lot.
Excuse me, I got to get back to my memory work.
Hazel. Hazel. Hazel.
You know, I've got a hunch somebody's going to need medical care real soon.
To learn how Medicare helps your family, get the pamphlet, Dependence, Medical Care Program.
Maryland. Maryland. Maryland.
As I followed Studer, a few shots were past my head, but 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 from me for me to worry about.
I wanted to take care of Studer first and slowly the distance between us closed.
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 was going to get him out of the saddle, but I couldn't.
He threw up his hands and pitched forward out of the saddle.
I glanced at him as a road passed and crossed him off as one Jayhawker less.
When I reached the rise, I jumped off of my horse and I 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 Jayhawkers, if there had been any, had disappeared.
This one was a foot and running for his horse.
So I took my time and I put a shot into the candle of his saddle.
Horse bolted and the man dropped behind a rock and lay there.
He was only half covered, so I stood up.
A step at a time, I started to tour him down the hill.
That's far enough, mister.
Go on back. You're in pistol range now.
All right, fella, put down and come forward.
All I want is a horse, and I'll get out of here.
We won't bother you no more.
Yes, sure won't.
Just let me on the horse.
Listen to me, I'm a United States Marshal.
You give up and I promise you 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 me go. I'm warning you.
I'm coming after you.
No.
You just had to try it, didn't you?
You leave a bloody trail, Marshal.
Yeah.
I brought Snyder with me.
At the whip and they get me out of the 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?
There.
Now.
The dude has shot him in the back of the head.
He was a good man.
The boys have got the lead cattle turned.
Let them mill around for an hour and then graze them out.
Good.
Snyder, I left my horse over the riser. Would you get him for me?
Yeah, sure.
Looks like you walked right down onto this man.
I tried to take him alive, like you asked.
I just wanted to hang him myself. Anyway, I'm glad he's dead.
Yeah, sure.
Marshal, we'll be burying Jax out here.
I'm wondering if you might know how to do it.
Maybe a prayer or something?
I'll try it, Dorff.
Get back in.
Well, 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 feeding 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,
so Jax was placed in the ground and covered with prairie earth.
Their hats in their hands, the Texas men had watched the service in silence.
When it was done, they turned and walked away.
Oh, uh, Snyder.
Yeah?
I want you to do something for me, huh?
What?
I smuggled a quarter-wagon yard of whiskey out of the Dodge when I came down here.
The cook's got it hidden in the chuck wagon.
Well, now, Marshal...
It's not much, but it'll cut the alkali in your drinking water.
Why don't you get it and pass it out to the men, huh?
Might have decent of you, Marshal.
All who wants a drink of Marshal's whiskey, get on over to the chuck wagon.
There's times when a drink's good for a man, Marshal.
I guess this is one of them.
I think Jax would approve.
He sure would.
By the way, the boys all know how you handle them Jayhawkers.
Oh?
It ain't changed their minds about Kansans much,
but maybe they thank love 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 Dodge low when we get there.
I expect that.
Sure.
Come on, we got a drink coming out of that bottle, too.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald,
stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The script was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Crutchfield,
with editorial supervision by John Meston.
The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Sound patterns were by Ray Kemper and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Parley Bear as Chester,
Howard McNeer as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.
George Walsh speaking.
Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on Gunsmoke.
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.