Wells Fargo wants to put in a road through the Black Hills in Dakota, but Pawnee attacks on the construction crew have become frequent and deadly. The killing of a hunter seeking game to feed the crew has resulted in meager rations, and Jim Hardie is sent to look into the matter. When a young Pawnee, Little Wolf, out for his first kill is captured by the workers, Hardie sees an opportunity to broker a peace deal. Hardie frees Little Wolf and returns his knife, and asks for one thing in return - a meeting with his father, Chief Iron Hand.
This is another plot from the Golden Age of TV Westerns viewers encounter frequently, where a peace deal is possible between an organization and the indigenous population. Sometimes it's the Army, as in Cheyenne S3, E11, Renegades. This time it's Wells Fargo. The details are varied, but there are some things that seem to be consistent in the scripts. It's not uncommon for the Chief of the Nation to be open to negotiations of peace, but there is typically one brave who harbors hatred towards the white man and desires only war. Occasionally it's the son of the Chief, as in Renegades. And it's very common to see a fight between this brave and the star of the series, as we did in Renegades as well as this episode.
Another typical plot device in these scripts was an impending conflict instigated by a hotheaded person back in camp. In Cheyenne's Renegades, it was an aggressive Army commander. In this episode, one member of the Wells Fargo construction camp took it upon himself to lead an armed party to rescue Hardie when he is late returning.
I can't say that writers Berkeley and Reynolds script was the highpoint of the series, and the dialogue did get considerably sappy at episode's end. Director Earl Bellamy does his usual competent job at the wheel. The episode didn't include a lot of action, other than a couple fights between Hardie/Costa and Hardie/Big Wolf.
The cast is basically unknown today, although a couple stand out. Frank DeKova appeared as Chief Iron Hand, and had a very long resume. He was always a competent member of any cast. William Benedict appeared as Pringle, and had been a regular member of the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys. Abel Fernandez appeared as Big Hawk, and had been a regular cast member on The Untouchables. A lastly, Jerry Summers appeared as Little Wolf. He had a modest career, and had appeared as a ranch hand in 20 episodes in the first season of The High Chaparral.
Well, I can't rate this one very high on the scale, but Jim Hardie is always a good watch. EWIBIG, y'know...
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