Festus is nearly rundown by a speeding wagon on the trail between Hays City and Dodge. He soon finds the wagon further up the trail with a broken wheel. Here he meets Angus McTabboot and his 'unofficial' nephew Jock. It turns out that Angus is on his way to Dodge to open a newspaper and winds up hiring Festus as a reporter, with Jock as his aide to read and write for him. After digging three bullets out of the back of Angus' wagon, Matt speaks to Angus and discovers he was run out of Hays City for printing "the truth about people," regardless of the consequences. The first thing Festus writes about is how local rancher Merl Benlan got his start by rustling cattle down in Texas. Merl gets pretty upset and goes after Festus and Angus. Then, when Angus explains the concept of advertising to Festus, he creates a price war between Mr. Jonas' and Clab Chummer's general stores, which gets seriously out of hand. Things eventually deteriorate and Festus runs a front page

The episode was rated 7.10 from 10 votes.

Judd Print and his two boys, Verlyn and Coy, have met Wade Bonney, his 12 year old son Homer, and his gravely ill wife on the trail and traveled together for a few days. After Mrs. Bonney dies, Judd shoots Wade in the back and steals all of his valuables. Verlyn knows what happened, but Coy doesn't because he was off looking for Homer at the time. From a hilltop Homer had witnessed the murder. Hiding, and refusing to come down for fear of being killed himself, he is left there to die of exposure. But, instead, Homer finds his father's gun and heads across the prairie to hunt Judd and his boys down. Doc runs across Homer while on the trail, gives him some water, almost gets shot, and takes him back to Dodge to tend his minor scratches and get some food into him. He also hides Homer's gun. When Homer sees Judd and Verlyn in town he searches Doc's office, finds the gun and goes after them. Not realizing that Doc removed the bullets, he gets cornered in Moss Grimm

The episode was rated 7.14 from 14 votes.

Gorman, Mandee, Keys, and Torreon break out of Leavenworth Territorial Prison and abduct Matt while he's on his nightly rounds. A note is found on the telegraph office door from Gorman explaining that they've got Matt and he won't be harmed if they get to the Mexican border unmolested. The instructions in the note call for the Dodge telegrapher to wire all towns south, between Dodge and the Oklahoma border, and inform all peace officers to stay out of their way or they'll kill Matt. Festus has gone to Jetmore to pick up some horses and Doc and Kitty send Thad to tell him what's happened. When Thad catches up with him and they head out after Matt. Then, things get tense when the gang finds one stubborn lawman and nineteen deputies in front of them only a few miles from the Oklahoma border.

The episode was rated 7.17 from 12 votes.

Frank and Edmund Dano arrive home after six years in prison for rustling cattle. Considering Frank the bad seed of the family, and the evil influence that got the younger Edmund sent to prison, Mr. Dano gives him a not-to-warm reception. Frank wants to leave, but because his mother is ailing with a bad heart, he stays at her request. As the situation deteriorates between Frank and his father, Edmund offers to tell their parents that it was he who was mixed up with the rustling and that Frank only got into trouble trying to get him out of it. Frank says no to prevent further disappointment for their parents and moves to a farm house on some nearby land that his father purchased. Edmund takes up with Elise Howell, a clerk in the freight office. After $20,000 is stolen from the Garden City stage, recovered, and returned to the freight office, Edmund talks Elsie into helping him steal it. Things don't go as smoothly as planned and Elisie's employer, Mr. Daniels, get

The episode was rated 7.29 from 14 votes.

Thad goes to the marshal's office to get Festus (Matt's out-of-town) and tells him there's a problem at the Long Branch. When they get there, Kitty tells them she got rid of the two brothers that were drunk and disorderly. As her and Sam are closing up, Sam takes a crate of empty bottles to the cellar and Kitty goes up to her room. Waiting there is Richard Strom, one of the brothers, who gags her and starts beating her. A window breaks in the struggle and brings Festus, Thad and Sam running. Richard Strom shoots Festus and is killed by return fire. Several days later Oklahoma judge Calvin Strom shows up in town with his two remaining sons, Mark and Cal, Jr. (the one that was with Richard the night of the shooting). Judge Strom wants charges brought against Festus for murder and against Kitty for conspiracy to commit murder, but Matt refuses and orders the judge and his two sons out of Dodge. That night Mark ambushes Matt and puts a bullet in his leg while his fa

The episode was rated 7.30 from 10 votes.

Matt is riding along when he's confronted by Miguel Samando, a bandito who wants to kill the "famous Matt Dillon." Miguel isn't as fast as he thinks he is and is killed. Immediately thereafter another rider shows up, but this time is Matt's old ex-lawman friend Jack Pinto. Jack has decided to give up law enforcement and head to California to make his fortune. They drape Miguel over his horse and head for Dodge. Festus notices a rough looking character ride into Dodge and stop at the Long Branch. Failing to find Matt, he decides to check things out for himself. He goes to the Long Branch and finds three gunslingers; Doyle Phleger, Al Tresh and Billy Coe. Playing the role of a dim-witted hick in need of a drink, Festus makes friends with Al Tresh. A bottle or two later he gets Tresh to admit that he was offered $25,000 to kill Matt. It turns out that Miguel, Doyle and Billy were made the same offer. When Matt gets into town Festus fills him in. Jack offers Matt hi

The episode was rated 7.33 from 15 votes.

Ed's gang robs the bank in Dodge City and kills a customer. During their escape Billy, Ed's younger brother, is wounded and arrested. Matt took off after the gang but lost them. That evening, while dinning with Kitty, Thad introduces his friend, Will Taylor, to Matt. It's apparent that he idolizes the marshal and offers to help in any way he can. Later that night the four outlaws return to Dodge, one of them becoming deceased in a failed attempt to break Billy out of jail. The next morning Matt leaves Thad in charge of the jail while he and Festus try, yet again, to track Ed and the rest of the gang down. In the meantime, Doc had to pay a visit to an expectant mother on one of the outlying ranches. On his way back to town he's stopped by two of the gang members, beaten, and given a message to deliver to Matt that all of his friends will meet the same fate, or worse, if he doesn't let Billy go. Doc finds that Matt isn't back yet when he gets to town. Ed rides into

The episode was rated 7.40 from 10 votes.

Murdering sidewinder Del Ordman heads to Dodge to kill the marshal for killing his brother, but Matt had to go out-of-town and asked Festus to keep an eye on things. As Matt's leaving, Malachi Harper, a buffalo bone scavenger, arrives in town. He finds a letter waiting for him informing him that his brother Ethan, a well-to-do businessman from Baltimore, is coming through Dodge on his way to San Francisco. Malachi hasn't seen his brother in 35 years but wrote him once and told him that he was the marshal of Dodge City. Festus, Doc and Kitty play along with the charade. Ordman, not knowing the marshal by name, confronts Malachi and tries to kill him. When Matt comes back Festus fills him in on what's going on, while Ordman is facing Malachi down at the Long Branch!

The episode was rated 7.58 from 12 votes.

Kitty inherits a gold mine from a friend who passed away. She wanted Matt to accompany her to the town of Pickaxe to register and transfer the deed, but he had to go out-of-town on business. A bit miffed, she decides to make the trip alone. After the stage drops her off in the middle of the prairie by a pile of crates and barrels, she waits in the hot sun for the freight driver from Pickaxe. He is not helpful; she has to put her own luggage in the wagon and climb up on her own. When she arrives in Pickaxe she finds the local citizenry even less helpful, with the exception of Richard Danby, a young mute boy. When Matt finds out she made the trip on her own he sends Thad to check on her, and send a letter back on the stage concerning her welfare. After Thad arrives, dead tired from riding all night, Richard takes him and Kitty up to the mine. There they find Pa Gibbijohn and his two boys, Jud and Ed, jumping her claim. They manage to chase the rascals off, but when

The episode was rated 7.70 from 10 votes.

Festus sees Lambert, Emery and Sweet Billy Haggen on a farm outside of Dodge, grabs a well bucket, puts it over his head and starts running off into the fields for fear of getting his ear shot off; not the whole ear, just the little hangy-down part (refer to episode #364 "Eliab's Aim" for details). Sweet Billy shoots the bucket, they catch up to Festus, and then explain that the only reason they're there is to find Sweet Billy a wife. Festus reluctantly agrees to help and starts lining up local gals for Sweet Billy to meet. The one prerequisite that Sweet Billy has is that the woman he marries must be able to read and write. It happens that Pony Beal and his daughter Orabelle are in town, and when she sees Sweet Billy she decides to go after him. Sweet Billy is also quite taken with her and, when he finds that she can read and write, decides to marry her. With his three uncle's permission they go to see Orabelle's father, who also agrees, provided they pay him a

The episode was rated 7.80 from 10 votes.

Woodley and Cantwell get into a fight over splitting up the money they earned from trapping and gambling. Matt breaks it up and they go their separate ways for the night. As Cantwell is walking down an alley, Claude and Ab Benteen, the sons of a local rancher, rob and kill him. Woodley is accused, tried, and sentenced to hang in a month. During this time, Ab's conscience is bothering him and drives him to drink heavily. In a drunken stupor he draws on a cowboy in the Long Branch and is shot. He makes a death confession to Matt that he and his brother really killed Cantwell. With Woodley scheduled to hang the very next day, Matt tries to telegraph the sheriff in Hays City but the telegraph lines are down due to a raging storm. He then has to go to his old friends, Adam and Clara Benteen, to explain what happened to Ab and take Claude into custody. Fighting time to get to Hays City to stop the hanging Matt is faced with a rifle-bearing Adam, trying to set his son

The episode was rated 7.88 from 16 votes.

Jeb Crater and his prospecting partner Sholo are camping when Stretch Morgan rides up. Jeb invites him to share a cup of coffee and is impressed with his prowess with a gun. Explaining that they've finally struck it rich, Jeb hires Stretch as a bodyguard. Arriving in Dodge, Jeb tells everyone he's going to throw a party at the Long Branch. After bathing, Jeb and Stretch hide the gold pouches in the ground under the bath tub (Jeb doesn't trust banks), not telling Sholo because he might reveal its location if he has too much to drink. After the party Jeb is hit on the head and the search is on for Stretch.

The episode was rated 8.00 from 11 votes.

Matt has to get Dodge City back from outlaws.

The episode was rated 8.00 from 27 votes.

Holly and Walker, two bounty hunters, come across a dead sheriff and his prisoner. The prisoner, John Drago, is still alive, but badly injured from his horse throwing him. Holly finds a wanted poster in the sheriff's pocket indicating the reward for Drago, dead or alive, from the Mexican authorities is thirty-thousand dollars. They take Drago into Dodge for medical treatment. Doc and Matt insist on keeping Drago under guard in a hotel room until he's fit to ride. Local farmer Austin Boyle's wife is under Doc's care because she's having a difficult time carrying her baby and, knowing he could use the money, Festus suggests that Matt hire him as a guard. A Kansas City Beacon Newspaper reporter, George Flint, is in town and keeps stirring up trouble between the bounty hunters and Matt to create an interesting story. Flint eventually plants the idea in the bounty hunter's minds to offer Boyle three-thousand dollars to kill Drago so they can quickly get to Mexico and

The episode was rated 8.10 from 10 votes.

Turner's called in from the range to talk to his boss, Chris Thornton. Upon his arrival Thornton tells him he knows his name is really Luke Frazer. He tells Thornton he'll be gone by sundown, but Thornton has different ideas. He shows Luke a wanted poster of Otto Fry, the man who killed Thornton's son. He tells Luke he'll give him a thousand acres as a place of his own if he'll track down Fry and kill him; he can even keep the $600 reward! Frazer heads out looking for Fry and lands in Dodge. Wouldn't you know, he's an old friend of Festus'. It turns out that Fry is better known around Dodge as local rancher Lon Jensen. Matt gets to him first and puts him in jail where Frazer can't get to him. He then sends a telegram to the sheriff in Buckland and learns that the charges had been dropped when Thornton's son made a deathbed confession, admitting to assaulting Fry's wife. When Frazer learns that he's been set up to commit murder he heads back to Buckland to deal w

The episode was rated 8.27 from 15 votes.