Daniel and Mingo are on an expedition into Huron country (which would place them southeast of Lake Erie). Their paths intersect with an escaped slave girl, Onatha
(Lila Perry), who has become separated from her party of African-American escapees heading north to Canada, and a pair of slave-catchers tracking them. They attempt to lend a hand.
DB mirrored its decade, and by 1966 the civil rights movement was in full swing; from this point on the series would feature more diverse casts and stories. Virginia Capers (107 film acting credits) and Raymond St. Jacques (whom action fans will recall from 1968's "The Green Berets") perform serviceably as Onatha's parents; Perry's acting career apparently trailed off after a few roles.
A proportionate amount of action for a mid-level budget episode. The Hurons, former Northeastern Woodland Indians turned Midwest exiles, have taken the usual turn acquiring folkways from the Plains tribes. A little more backstory on the escapees would have added some color, and the ending reflects a writers room trying to hurry up and get home for the weekend.
Historical dramatization is stretched well past the breaking point here. Due to the lack of Revolutionary references, the story can be placed roughly 1785-1800. Although slave escapes (mainly to Spanish Florida) were attempted throughout the 18th century, Canada as an asylum draw and the supporting operations of the Underground Railroad did not develop in earnest until after the War of 1812. Also notable is the failure to mention the real Boone's slaveholding background, though such would have been nearly impossible for a network family series to nuance; in its place is the Fess Parker Crockett-Boone persona presented as a neo-abolitionist.
A noble early attempt by the series to depict a more diverse frontier, but one marked firmly by an "experimental" stamp.
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