Reports of Pawnee raiding homesteaders around Dodge City are rampant. When they attack, they leave no one alive. The victims -- even the children -- are all scalped.
Matt finds the news about the raids suspicious. Much of the evidence left behind after the attacks is not in keeping with normal Pawnee practices. For example, young, pre-teen boys have been killed, but Matt knows the Pawnee normally take younger boys captive and assimilate them into their culture. Matt contends the raids are being conducted by white men, and they are attempting to make it look as though Pawnee are responsible.
An inexperienced Calvary officer has been dispatched from Fort Dodge to try to eliminate the threat from the Pawnee. Matt convinces Captain Starr the slaughter is not the work of the Pawnee. The furious Marshal sets a trap for the raiders using himself and Chester as bait.
There are a couple of early scenes that have little to do with the primary story, but they are nice touches. Chester Goode and Doc begin by chatting casually as they often do. Chester is sweet on Arie O'Dell, whose father is a blacksmith. When Chester sees Arie outside a Dodge storefront, he begins to tell Doc how nice she is. The subsequent scene between Dennis Weaver and Fintan Meyler is charming. Meyler appeared in three Gunsmoke episodes and can be seen in several westerns.
Actor Dick Rich makes his first Gunsmoke appearance with this story. He plays the frightened homesteader Sam Butler. Rich would play roles in six more episodes over the next few years.
Herbert Rudley plays the Calvary Captain Starr. Rudley appeared in this and one other Gunsmoke episode later in Season 2. Mickey Simpson makes his only Gunsmoke appearance as the character known as Stapp. Simpson and Rudley also appeared together in an episode of The Rifleman.
The evolution of the Gunsmoke characters is on full display here. James Arness imbues the Matt Dillon character with a range of emotion that was missing in most of the Season 1 episodes. Dennis Weaver was such an underrated talent, and it is on full display in this story.
One of the great aspects of these early season episodes is the lack of convention present as compared to other series and even later installments of Gunsmoke. It is difficult to imagine Matt Dillon of Season 20 doing what he does in this episode. It is shocking. There is a definite "the ends justifies the means" element involved, and it raises the question of whether law enforcement officials should be able to do what Matt does. It makes for fascinating, thought-provoking material.
(U. S. Marshals had to prepare reports for actions they took, especially where someone was killed by their actions. What did Matt say about his actions in this situation?)
This is the first Gunsmoke episode broadcast where Norman MacDonnell is credited as the sole Producer. Charles Marquis Warren had produced every episode broadcast in the series prior to this installment. There would still be two more episodes shown where Warren was the Producer because the episodes were not always broadcast in the order they were produced. For the same reason, this episode is the second in production order where MacDonnell is credited as the sole Producer. "Cholera" was the first, but it was broadcast later. MacDonnell had been credited as Associate Producer in the other Season 2 stories where Warren was the Producer.
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