Gunsmoke: Buffalo Killers

one-dod city in the territory on West. There's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with the U.S. Marshall and the smell of gun smoke. Starring William Conrad, the story of violence that moved West with young America.

The story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshall. Party Marshall! Hello, Mr. Big. Can I give you a hand? Oh, no, this is the last batch. Yeah, where the flies get to these buffalo hides in the morning to be enough vultures overhead to keep the place in the shade for a week.

Yeah. You know, you sure have your hands full by tomorrow night. Yeah, it looks that way. These boys turn them hides into cash. They'll bite the forks out of every bottle and pound. Some of them look mean enough sober.

Yeah. Well you better bed down and get some sleep Mr. Big. Where are you boys? I'm old. Jeff had some trouble with the dry axle up near Pawnee Rock and Boaz stopped to help him fix it but...

I don't know. He shouldn't be this long behind me. Well if I see him I'll tell him where to find him. You can tell Jeff with Boaz he ain't even gonna hear you. Oh, why?

What's the matter with him? Oh, he's right and higher than he goes. You know that white buffalo you've been hearing about? The albino was just Indian talk. Oh, you think so. Well, if it is, boy, sure shot himself a mighty scared bubble.

White is borax. I'd rather fetch a price. Hey, anybody seen Martin Deon? Over here, Chester. You better saddle up, Mr. Dylan. What's the matter, Chester? The Indian trouble. Two men dared and a couple of wagons burned up out there.

I found this. The war rattle. Made out of buffalo toes. Arapaho. Well, they haven't been making any trouble. Police did. I was poppin' here when I saw the wagons go up and fire. It was Indians, all right. I saw one eye at all.

That's funny. I never heard of arapaho's attackin' at night. How far out, Sheriff? Ten mile, maybe. George Pawnee Rock. Pawnee Rock. Marshall. My son's here's comin' from there. Easy, Mr. Tracy. Lots of wagons in the church.

Marshall. I didn't see another wagon between here and Pawnee, except the ones we had, but the Indians killed my boy. There's only one way to make sure Mr. Big saddle up and ride over to my office.

I'll be with you as soon as I can get my horse. I cut back to those button-wheels over there when I spotted the wagons being fired. We must be close to it then. Yes, over there.

Right down here, under seeing him? Yeah, I'm dismounted. The last glen to hope and Mr. Big's eye has died. his boys were there alright and it wasn't nice to see I'll get him please I'll make every wetspin in the character we got to bring your sons and mr. Bigs you know what the morning is

gonna be like you don't want to leave them out here I'm able to scream they're not saddle horses mr. Bigs mr. Bigs you recognize those horses down there yeah I know him.

Teams belong to boys and Jeff. Indians risk kind of losing the wagons before they fire. Doesn't that seem curious to you, Chester? In what way, Mr. Bill? Why didn't they take our horses with them?

Yeah. What are you thinking, Russia? No burned hides in those wagons. So they stole them? Yeah, they stole them. But Boaz and Jeff both have their rifles there beside them beside him and the horses are left behind too.

Horses and guns are the first things Indians that go for. What are you looking for Mr. Dylan? Those buffalo hides weren't carried off without wagons. Yeah, here. Mark's the two other wagons here and they're fresh.

I didn't see any other wagons only these. Well, they'd finish and gone before you got here, Chester. Oh, yeah, but I'd have caught up to any wagons on the trail to dodge. You go by regular trail?

Well, no, I... I figured the Indian I saw wasn't alone. I didn't want to get bushwhacked further on. You didn't see any Indian Chester. But Mr. Dillon just has claimed... No Indian that leave guns and horses.

This job was done by white men. It didn't take anything that could be recognized or identified. You mean if... Somebody's in dodge by now... With the hides my boys work... And sweated to get. I'm afraid so, Mr. Bigs.

There'll be more than 300 buffalo hunters there by morning. It could be any of them. We'll find our right one. Oh, how? The albino, whoever killed your sons will have that white buffalo hide. It was almost sun-up when we got back to town.

And more wagons that jammed the main street lining up for the unloading barns. I rode down the line looking them over one by one. How do you marshal? Some of the men that take their money, drink it up and drift away.

Few would stay long enough to be buried on Boot Hill. Then suddenly a wagon driver up ahead pulled out a line. Hey, where's the men at you? Hold the gun. Take your hands on that seat.

I'll take my hands off since you get back to your plate. Hold my hand. I'll wait and I'll look for that. Bit miss. Don't do that, stranger. Get your hand away from my gun. Well, now...

...knows any law around you. There is, so don't try making your own. You got no right grabbing my team. I got plenty right when it's dressed. Hold it in front of me, Marshall. That's a lie, Marshall.

Never mind. You both want to cool your heads out in jail. Now, what's your name? Tennessee is good enough. A lot of people from Tennessee coming into the territory. Most of them are pretty peaceful.

That sounds like you're saying I'm not. You move pretty fast for that gun. The man can lose his temper. You lost yours four times, according to the notches you've carved into that gun, but don't try for number five, not here.

Now, about you. What do you call? Charlie Kell? Charlie Kell, huh? They ever called you Chuck? No. Heard of a Chuck Kell couple of years back come from Kentucky. Not me. Man, I heard about was a gunfighter.

fighter. So he never wore gloves. See you don't either. You're rough on the hands. Thanks, Marshall. I'll make sure to take better care of him. Yeah, do that. I'll be around a while, Marshall. Maybe we can have another talk. Anytime. They'd need watching. But what I wanted now was a white buffalo hide. Searching the wagons wouldn't do. There wasn't time, and

The search had let the killers know that something in the hides they'd stolen could be identified. It's time to find out it'd be when the buyers checked them. I got bigs and Chester to cover two of the unloading barns and I covered the third woman.

And finally, daylight came. And the haggling started. You want to steal all those hides? And then how to handle these skin and they flew very well. As good as any. I'll pull a hose, then.

Maybe $4 a hike for the bunch. You gave that last call of eight. He looked tougher than you. Six. I'll take six. Four. You think it can rob me, mister? What's your mouth, Poaira? Here, not that easy, son.

No! I may have my gun, don't show you. You won't be tipped. There, that's better. Give me that. Give it back. You can pick it up at my office whenever you're ready to leave Tom.

You look like a city boy to me. Where are you from, St. Louis? None of your business. When something's got your beats on, there's no shame to admit nothing going home. Sometimes that takes a real man.

Don't tell me what to do. Why don't you watch your own job? Why don't you leave me alone, Marshall? I ain't got a white buffalo hide. What'd you say, boy? You heard me? What do you know about a white buffalo hide?

What everybody else knows, that you're looking for one. Everybody in town knows how. Because the old man whose sons were bushwax all leckered up over the other barn, shooting off his mouth. Mr. Biggs wasn't at the barn where I'd left him.

I got through an alley to front street and headed for the saloons. I never got to him. Mr. Dillon? Mr. Dillon? What's the matter Chester? Oh man Biggs. Where is he? I'm looking for him.

So he was over the barn and I was walking drunk, going through the wagon. Yeah, I know about that. How? Kind of getting him to go back to his own barn, but all of a sudden he took off.

Or where? I don't know. But there was one wagon he was watching in particular. He had drive and walked away from him with a package of some kind. That white hide. It could have been, I don't know, but Big Short thought so.

He leered out after fella with blood in his eye. Which way? Down there where the boy's been hitching the empty wagon. Well, let's go. Oh, boy's drunk. Make trouble, he's liable to kill somebody. Or get killed.

Who made him feel it? Yeah. It came from there behind that row of wagons. You stay here Chester. Be careful, Mr. Dylan. When I rounded the corner wagon, Mr. Bix was sprawled across a wagon, tongue his eyes dead and open, staring at the ground.

And standing over him was Tennessee, a smile on his face. And his gun extended to me but first. Looks like I'm in the mighty trouble, Marshall. He's dead, Tennessee. That's more in a mite. You take my gun for a while.

You mean until after you hang... Wasn't figured to be that serious. Not when a drunk follows me out, he throws down on me. If you're figuring on self-defense, forget it. Look at his gun, it isn't even caught.

What's out of his holster, Marshall? That's enough. Lord, don't say you have to wait till he kills me. You have to make a jury believe that. No, I shouldn't have much trouble doing that, Marshall.

What are you doing here, Mr. Kell? Oh, I just happened to follow Tennessee, Anthony. Why? Well, you broke up our little argument in town. Thought I'd get him alone here. See if maybe he was still nursing a grudge, he wanted to settle.

But the old man beat me to it. Now, Tennessee here ain't exactly a friend of mine, as you know, but... I'd hit see any man hang when he ain't killed him. Is that your personal verdict, Mr. Kill?

That's right, Marshall. Old man threw down on him, and Tennessee had to kill him in self-defense. Chester? Yes, Mr. Dillon? Which one of them had the package? Listen, this the fellow the old man was after.

All right, Tennessee, where is it? I don't know anything about a package. Look in the wagon, Chester. Anything? Nothing here. Here, Rick and you can give my gun back to me now. Thanks, but if you decide to use it again while you're in Dodge or any place else in Kansas, I hope I'm there when you do.

Well, now don't you, Fred Marshall. I'm sure you will be. We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment. But first, action excitement thrills. That's gangbusters.

Gangbusters helps to fight crime by fearlessly naming the criminals. Listen for it later this evening on CBS Radio. Now the second act of gun smoke. Just before sundown we buried old man Biggs and his two sons up on Boot Hill.

And the time the service was over and I rode down, darkness had fallen. And everything was going full blast. The town was roaring. It seemed like a good man. Old big. He was Chester. So are his boys.

You know, but there are too many men like Tennessee and Cal coming in, Miss Bill. They won't last Chester. They'll keep coming, but they won't last. They'll take a gun and go against a man, but they won't sweat.

They won't take root and build. We're still gonna look for that hide. Yeah. Just what do you want me to do, Mr. Dylan? Tennessee and Kell will be in town, but their wagons are back there with the other empties.

Right back and look them over. They might have had somebody carry that package off for them. You might be, but they don't seem like partners, Mr. Dylan. From what I heard you've stopped them from gunfight.

Took more than one man to kill the big boys, and more than one man and more and one wagon to cart the hides in. Well, you mean they staged that trouble just for you? Just for me.

After they heard, I was looking for that white hat. Well, why do you figure that, Mr. Dylan? When gun fighters start for their guns, nothing stops them, Chester. They both started, but they both stopped.

I reckon you better take a look through those wagons. Yes, Mr. Dylan? Well, I meet you. I'll be checking the saloons. One by one I made the stops, the long branch, the allofraganza, the Texas Trail.

And one by one they got quieters I went in, as though each place is holding its breath. Waiting for something to happen. The last place was a Mexican hangout. A long, dark walk. Oh, Marshall?

Can't see me, can you, Marshall? No, no, I can't see you son. Too bad. Cause I got another gun. They sell him around here. And I ain't going back to St. Louis. You'll fire once son, and if you don't kill me with that, then I'll kill you.

I'll gamble on that Marshal. You're smart! He lurched from the shadows into the street. Staggard. And fell. Then he rolled over on his back and his eyes struggled for a minute like they were trying to remember something Then he went blank.

And he's right about one thing. He wasn't going back to St. Louis Well, what do you know? The Marshall's real handy with a gun. Stay out of this kelp, but I may have something to talk over with you later.

You mean what? If you don't know, then you got nothing to worry about. I've been hearing a lot about how fast you are with a gun, Dylan. Anything to it? I'm still alive. Yeah. This your hobby?

Shooting kid? He was old enough to try to kill me. I don't like it, Marshall. That's so bad, Mr. Kell. The Chuck Kell I heard about would have loved it. They said he'd kill two kids under 16, one of them his own brother.

Yeah, you didn't hear the whole story, Marshall. Story Marshal. The kill you heard about killed a Marshal too. You made the bed, Mr. Kell. You got a gun. Use it or I'll take it away from you.

Common get it. Anytime. Here it is. Feeling Mr. Dillon. I'm all right, Chester. Doth fixed your head. Wasn't much you could do for Kell, though. I hit him.

If you didn't, he sure died for nothing. He was fast, all right. Boys, say you made him look like a sleepy burrow. Never even cleared his holster. And my head says different. You didn't get that from Cal.

What do you mean? Tennessee was up the street with a rifle. He creased you. Huh? Where is he now? I don't know, Mr. Dunn. He rode out of town before I could stop him. I was the only one who saw him.

I was coming up street to find you. All right. Let's get out of here. You'll find anything in the wagon, Snowster. But I found Tennessee's wife. Wife? That's right, Mr. Dillon. In a small wagon next to his.

He's a small man. His wife's an Indian giraffe. Let's find her. All right, Chester. Which way? Edgytown, Mr. Dillon. Well, let's go. You talk to the wife? Yes, sir. Find out Tennessee and kill word friends, all right?

They left her here not before last. There ain't a meter here today. She said they were driving empty wagons on the left her. Ask her what tribe she belonged to. Didn't have to ask Mr. Dylan.

I could tell by her beads. She's in a wrap-a-hole. She was there, all right. Crouch by the wheel of a wagon. Her face was bloody. And she stared into a small campfire. He was not.

Rockin' back and forth without a sound. She wasn't beat up when I left you Mr. Dylan. Where's your husband? He. Gone. Gone. Tell me which way he went. I'll bring him back to you. No.

No. Your husband had a white buffalo hide, didn't he? Tell me. No. Other man killed what buffalo. Then your husband took the hide away from him. Well he died. He's by hide. He didn't buy him.

He killed two men to get him. He killed with Indian paint on his face. He left in a Rapahoe war rattle. He wants the blame to come to your people. If the white men think the Rapahoe's on that war path, the soldiers will come.

No. Arapaho, peaceful. Where is the White High? What's your husband do with it? He tell me. Where? Where is it buried? There. But the... the... the... the... the... the... the... the... the... the... the...

the... the... the... the... Now tell me which way you went. You let him go. He's not come back. I can't let him go. If I do, the soldiers will come after your people. He beat you and he ran away from you.

Now he'll bring death to your tribe unless I get him. Where did he go? He... he arrived to my moon sleep. Tennessee had had about an hour's start, hour start but I figured to make up most of that before sunrise. The prairie was open and flat except for an occasional roll and the Arkansas River keep him from cutting south.

His best bet for a fresh horse would be kensley and I rode hard for it. It was just turning daylight when I rode in. Well, how'd he merchandise him? Morning? Good morning. Got a place I can water my horse.

Draw right there. Just let him lose. He'll find it. Like it. Looks like you come a long way. Dodge. Now the fella here just few minutes ago been riding hard, too. He come from a ponyway, though.

Tall. Dark riding a vinegar roll. Yeah, that's right. You get a fresh horse here. And send my boy out to Crow to get one for him. He'll be back soon. You mean he's still here in town?

Yeah, asked about breakfast, so I send him over to the Winter Hillards Place, right over there, across the road. Thank you. I'll be back. You after that fellow, Marshal? Understand your servant breakfast, man. I sure think, Marshal.

Dylan! That's right. Out the door. Or I'll kill you. Come by me, Tennessee. I'll come show that's all right. But just be sure you get me this time. All right, Marshall. He looks kind of dead.

Yeah. Bad one. Yes, son. Gunfighter. Thief. What's your name, Marshall? Dylan, ma'am. Matt Dylan. I am. I'm sorry about the show. When my husband brought me out here 15 years ago, Indians burned this place down three times.

I'm used to killing. You want to carry him out? I'll go fix you that breakfast. Thank you, ma'am. That's a long ride back to Dutch. Oh, Franz cried under the direction of Norman McDonald's Star's William Conrad is Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall.

Tonight's story was specially written for Gun Smoke by Joel Murkoth of the whole Mercoth with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Featured in tonight's cast were Stan Waxman, John Dayner, and Larry Dobgen with Sam Edwards, Julian Biaff, Tom Holland, and Mary Lansing.

Wally Bayer is Chester. Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, US Marshal, fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in gun smoke. Something new in CBS Radio Newsroom coverage, World News with Robert Trout presents a special weekly feature, An interview with the crack CBS radio news correspondent.

This correspondent flies in from his post overseas to give you his authoritative eyewitness viewpoint on latest developments. Tomorrow afternoon on most of these same stations, World News with Robert Trout. This is Clarence Cassell speaking.

And remember, from now to November, you'll find intensive impartial campaign coverage on the CBS radio network.