Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there is just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with the U.S. 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, the 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.
Stokes! Dan Stokes! Stokes, quit your hiding. Come on out. We've got business to take care of.
You just keep on riding, old hawker.
Well, come on out that barn, Stokes. You've got to settle up.
I ain't doing no business with you, old.
You lost the right to be choosy when that fire burned your feed crop, and you know it.
I can't see how that fire is any affair of yours.
You borrowed money in that crop of yours, didn't you?
Sure, from your pa.
Well, you can just pay it back to me.
I ain't going to do it. Your pa's waited a long time, but he'll get his money. He ain't the kind to come riding up here a week after the fire to collect it, neither.
You don't have to. I'm doing it for him.
Well, you ain't going to get it from me.
Now, you listen here, Stokes. I took over pa's business. Everything that's coming to him is coming to me now.
You mean you foreclored on your own pa?
Yeah.
I got a paper here all stamped legal, says I can collect what's owing to pa right now.
Not for me you can't. I ain't got it.
Well, now ain't that a shame.
I guess I'll just take along something, make up for it.
Have you no care, old?
I ain't got much around here, Stokes.
Yes, I'll take a look around, maybe out back, out the corral, maybe.
Now, you stay away from my horses.
And to recollect, you got yourself a pretty good stud horse.
Well, you mean to look...
And to recollect, I made you an offer for him about a week back, a good fare offer.
I wouldn't sell you one of my horses if I had the story for you.
You ain't going to worry about selling me nothing. I'm just going to take that horse.
You can't do it with...
You'll call that dead old square, Stokes. I don't want to have to call the law down on you and take over your land.
Well, I ain't going to allow it.
You ain't going to do nothing but go on in there and leave me out that horse.
No, but it ain't right.
It's just right as it's going to get.
The law is with me, Stokes. Go on, get along now.
Well, fetch me that horse. I'll go in there and fetch you myself.
I've been wanting to throw a rope on him.
All right, I'll get him.
It's more like it.
But don't let me hear about you mistreating him like you do your other horses.
But you do about it.
I'll come and get him. I'll take him back.
Not after he's mine.
You hurt him and I'll come and get him. I'll get him if I have to kill you.
Because Elijah Cuddlestone was what you might call a grassroots politician, his support was constantly in demand.
Here's part of his public reply to one such request.
I will not climb aboard his bandwagon.
I say his bandwagon is one I will never be on.
I mean, I won't support a man whose policies never have, that is, they have never reflected the will of the people.
Well, Elijah laid it right on the line, didn't he?
The phrase on or aboard the bandwagon that he used had a political origin that was literal.
Politicians and local leaders actually would climb aboard the bandwagon that carried the band and various vote for type signs used by campaigning politicos and parades and so forth.
In this manner, they physically displayed their support for the individual and his cause.
Even though the band, the wagon, and the practice were long familiar to pre-election politics in America, the phrase dates only from around the turn of the century.
Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon. Yes, sir, like you say, there's times when a man just sort of sinks back into his self and thinks about things, you know.
Yes, sir, it comes over me every so often.
There's a time when I get to studying and figuring and don't want to talk much.
Just kind of lost in thoughts, you might say.
Yeah.
And I declare sometimes I go on being quiet like this for days and days at a time.
I don't hardly say nothing at all.
Just sit back and think about the world and all that.
Don't hardly talk at all.
Do you ever get that way, Mr. Dillon?
Not talking?
I guess you didn't hear me, Mr. Dillon.
I asked you a question and I say, do you ever get that way?
I'm sorry, Chester.
I guess I was just sunk back in myself thinking and not talking.
Well, now you see, that's what happens to me, too.
I get to be...
Is somebody sure riding up front's feet awful fast, anything?
Yeah.
That's a runaway horse, Chester.
Come on, let's catch him.
Get him!
Hey, hey!
Hey!
Grab him, grab him!
Hey!
Get him!
Yeah!
Yeah, slow down, boy.
Come on.
I got him.
Slow down.
Ah.
Where he going?
He was heading out of town.
Yeah.
I sure was.
Ah.
No wonder.
Look.
My goodness.
He's been beat where somebody like to kill him.
Yeah.
Them quirt marks go right through his hide.
Those aren't quirt marks, Chester.
This horse has been bullet-whipped.
Now who would do a thing like that?
I don't know, but I'm sure going to find out.
Come on, let's take him over to the livery stable.
Yes, sir.
Come on.
Come on, old man.
We'll get you patched up the good as new.
Oh, my.
Hello, man.
Chester.
Oh, Doc.
Doc.
Yeah.
What are you?
That's it.
Oh.
Somebody did quite a job on that horse.
You know who it is?
No, Doc, I don't.
I just found him running.
And whoever it is, I think he'd be ashamed to claim him.
Are you taking him over to the stable?
Yeah, I figured I'd leave him there and see who comes after him.
Good.
I'll come along.
I think I have some stuff that'll make him feel better.
Oh, you have?
Oh, that's fine, Doc.
A man who would do a thing like that ought to be whipped himself.
Yeah.
And I wouldn't mind doing the job.
I'll take him on over, Chester.
You go down after the mail, will you?
Yes, sir.
I'll meet you back at the office, huh?
All right, sir.
Come on.
Hello, Marshall.
Doc.
Hello, Moss.
Moss.
Where'd you get that one?
I was hoping you'd know where he came from, Moss.
He's a runaway.
I ain't never seen him before.
He sure carved up some, though, ain't he?
Yeah, Doc's gonna look him over.
I'll put him in a stall for you.
All right.
I'm gonna leave him here with you, Moss.
I figure his owner will come and claim him.
All right, Marshall.
I want you to do something for me, if you will.
What's that?
I'm gonna take his saddle and his bridle.
Why, sure, Marshall.
And whoever claims the horse, you send him over to me to pick him up, huh?
Because I want to meet that man.
Do you want another beer, man?
Uh, no, no, thanks, kiddie.
Besides, if the rachers sell him at tonight, looks like he might run out.
The boys have worked up a real good thirst, all right.
Now, that doesn't exactly make you mad, does it?
No, not as long as they can pay for it.
Marshall, Marshall Dillon.
Oh, hello, Dan.
Uh, kiddie, you know Dan Stokes, don't you?
Oh, sure.
Hello, Dan.
Have a chair.
Thank you, ma'am.
You want a beer, Dan?
No, no, thanks, Miss Kitty.
Marshall, I got something to ask you.
What is it, Dan?
I want to know something, Marshall, legal-like.
I'll help you if I can.
I want to know, can a man come up with a paper in his hand and take your horse?
Can he do that, Marshall?
Oh, that depends, Dan.
Did you owe him something?
No, not him, Marshall, not ever him.
He just wanted that stud horse.
Oh, you better tell me about it.
Well, it's that old hawker.
I never owed him nothing, but I did owe his paw.
He said he took over his paw's business and he come with a paper and took my horse.
Had he tried to buy your horse?
Yeah, he sure had, but I wouldn't sell, not to him.
Oh, why not?
Because he's a mean man, Marshall, a mean man with animals.
I don't sell my stock to people like him.
Now I'm going to get him back.
I'd like to do it legal-like, but I ain't too particular.
Yeah.
Dan, what did your horse look like?
Oh, he was a real good stud horse, Marshall, a big grown with a blaze.
I raised him from a foal.
No man's going to harm him.
Yeah.
Well, I'll tell you, Dan, I'll look into it.
Now, Harker may be within his rights, but I'll see what I can do.
Marshall, you know old Harker?
You might say that we've had kind of an introduction, yeah.
Well, I'd like to stay on the right side of the law,
but I don't aim to have that horse hurt, and that's for certain.
Well, thanks, Marshall.
Goodbye, Miss Kitty.
Goodbye, Dan.
So long, Dan.
Matt, was that the horse you told me about, the runaway from this one?
Yeah.
Are you going to tell Dan Stokes about it?
I'm going to wait and see if old Harker shows up to claim him, Kitty.
Hey!
Why don't you watch what you're doing?
I was just walking in the wrong door, and you just happened to walk in at the wrong time.
Where's the Marshal?
He's down having some breakfast. I expect he'll be back in a few minutes.
Go on, get him.
Well, now, just a minute.
I said go on, get the Marshal.
You look to hear who you're telling to go and get somebody.
Somebody want to see me?
Mr. Dunn, this man says you...
Never mind, never mind. I'll do my own talking.
Suppose you do it then, Mr. What do you want?
You've got my saddle and bridle.
In a mode, Harker.
How do you know?
Now, you've got quite a reputation, Mr. Harker, for handling horses, anyway.
Well, it's my business.
Where's my saddle?
I want to ask you something, Harker.
Did you give that horse a beating?
What a man does to his horse is his own business, ain't it?
You got something to prove, but he's your horse.
Old man Stokes come crying to you, huh?
All right, Marshal, I got this paper.
There you go, look at it.
All drawn up by lawyer Reeves.
Good paper.
Uh-huh.
You really hog-tied old Stokes to get that horse, didn't you?
I get what I want.
Yeah.
So you can half kill it.
Marshal, that's my horse.
What I do to him is my affair.
Now, you just give me my saddle and my bridle, I can get out of here.
All right, so is your horse, but I want to tell you something, Harker.
If I ever hear you beating him or any other stock of yours, I'm going to come after you.
You got a law about a man and his horse?
I'll find one.
Chester, give him his saddle.
Yonder it is.
Now, you get out of here.
Sure didn't know you had such a kind heart, Marshal.
Mr. Doon, is that horse sure enough he is?
That's what the paper said, Chester.
Morning, Matt.
Chester.
Say, Matt, who's that father that came out of here carrying a saddle and a bridle?
That was old Harker, Doc.
He's on his way over to the livery stable to get that runaway.
It's his horse.
Well, he's too late.
What do you mean?
The horse is gone.
What?
I went over there a little while ago to see how he was coming along, and he wasn't there.
Where is he?
Stolen, according to Mars Grimick.
But it seemed to me he didn't care at all.
He said he figured the horse would be better off back where he belonged.
Now, all right, come on, Chester.
Get your stuff together.
Yes, sir.
You know where you're going, Matt?
Yeah, Doc, and I just hope I'm not too late.
Home towns in America have a lot in common, yet they're each one of a kind.
Take, for example, Pulaski, Virginia.
Every day is another day of sawdust in the air at Pulaski, but it's clean and fine and
white.
And besides, the Pulaski and Coleman furniture companies are mostly what make Pulaski go.
If you're driving down from Washington on U.S. Highway 11, you'll pass right through
Pulaski, and you can stop at Don Keester's Gap Restaurant for that good Virginia country
ham, sliced thick.
The weather finds Piedmont Airlines touching down at New River Valley Airport, nearly two
hours closer than the old Roanoke Terminal.
If you're in Pulaski at the right time, you can catch a ballgame between Pulaski and Dublin.
Or, if you're staying longer, a season ticket to the concert in Blacksburg at BMI are just
the thing.
And those Civil War cannons still need a nice-sized park.
But, if your hometown is Pulaski, you already know this.
We only wanted to remind you, it's still here.
I don't know, Chester.
Old Harker had a few minutes on this, and that's all he'd need.
Right on out to the corral.
Wait, Mr. Dillon.
Look over there on the ground.
That's old man Stokes?
Yeah.
Dan?
He's all beat up, Mr. Dillon.
Dan.
It's Matt Dillon, Dan.
Can you get on your feet?
Sure.
Here, let me help you.
Sure, Marshal.
Old Harker, do this for you.
Keep him away from my horse, Marshal.
He's back there with my horse.
If you kill that horse, you'll...
Are you all right?
Oh, yes, I'm all right.
You go get him, Marshal.
Keep him away from my horse.
All right, Dan.
All right, you just stay here and take it easy, huh?
Come on, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Look there, he was right.
Old Harker's in the crowd after that horse.
From here, it's hard to tell who's after who.
That stud's really going after him.
Harker's going to have trouble roping him.
That horse has gone plum crazy, Mr. Dillon.
Hey, Harker.
He found that Dillon in my horse.
I'm going to get out and go through it.
Harker, that horse will kill you.
Yeah.
No horse living, I can't handle.
Yeah, Mr. Dillon, get him.
Mr. Dillon, he's working him right back into that loose fence here.
Yeah.
Harker.
Look out, Harker.
They're down, Mr. Dillon.
They're both down.
Oh, come on.
Looks like the horse got a broke leg.
Yeah.
I would try to drag Harker out from under him.
Yes, sir.
You got to run that side.
A little more.
Come on.
He's gone.
Come on.
Yeah.
He's dead, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah.
Yeah, he sure is.
It wouldn't have been much good living the way that horse left him.
Oh, sure.
Well, we'll borrow a wagon from Dan and take him back to town.
What about the horse?
Pretty bad cripple.
Yeah.
I guess there's only one thing to do.
Marshal.
Wait a minute, Marshal.
Wait a minute.
What is it, Dan?
That horse.
Don't, don't shoot him.
That horse.
Oh, not Dan.
He's got to be put away.
He's got a broken leg.
You know, you can't leave him like this.
Yeah, but Marshal, if he's got to be shot, I'll do the shooting.
He, he's still my horse.
All right, Dan.
Come on, Chester.
You don't, you don't seem fair that you had to suffer.
I'm, I'm awful sorry, boy.
I'm sorry.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon,
U.S. Marshal.
The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Sound patterns were composed by Ray Kemper and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Parley Bear as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as
Kitty.
George Wolfe speaking.
Join us again next week for another story of the Western frontier of America in the
1870s on Gunsmoke.
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Thank you.