Buffalo Killers: Gunsmoke (June 7, 1952)

“Buffalo Killers” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast June 7, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Matt Dillon investigates the deaths of two buffalo hunters, Boaz and Jeff, and the burning of their wagons near Pawnee Rock. Initially suspecting Indians responsible for the attack, Dillon discovers the real culprits are white men who stole the valuable buffalo hides, particularly a rare white buffalo hide that serves as the key to identifying the killers. As buffalo hunters converge on Dodge City to sell their hides, Dillon sets up surveillance at the unloading barns to find who has the stolen white hide.

Dodge City and the surrounding Kansas territory, in the buffalo hunting grounds near Pawnee Rock

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Mr. Biggs, Tennessee, Charlie Kell

Listen for: The search for the distinctive white buffalo hide that will identify the murderers; tense confrontations between Dillon and suspicious buffalo hunters arriving in Dodge City.

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.