The Massacre: Fort Laramie (August 5, 1956)

“The Massacre” is an episode of Fort Laramie, the old-time radio show, first broadcast August 5, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Captain Quince rides from Fort Laramie under a white flag to meet with White Dog, a Shoshone chief who has led his people away from their reservation in the desert. The captain finds the tribe camped peacefully in a canyon, weakened by their hard journey but hopeful of reaching their ancestral home in the Wind River Mountains. Quince offers them safe passage and peaceful escort to Fort Lyon, where orders await them.

The Shoshone encampment in a canyon near a stream in the mountains, near Fort Laramie

Characters: Captain Quince, White Dog, Harrison, Mr. Cybert, Neenambia

Listen for: The tense but respectful encounter between Captain Quince and White Dog as they negotiate peaceful passage for the Shoshone people; the captain's reflection on the rare moment of peace between white soldiers and Native Americans.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.