Grass: Gunsmoke (July 11, 1953)

“Grass” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast July 11, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A Boston transplant named Harry Pope, grieving his dead wife, has settled on the prairie four months ago and built a sod hut to farm. Terrified by mysterious sounds at night that he believes are Indians threatening his livestock, Pope asks Marshal Dillon for help. When the Marshal advises him to get a gun and stand his ground, Pope takes matters into his own hands with tragic consequences.

Dodge City and the surrounding prairie in Kansas territory

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Harry Pope, Doc Adams, Ned Honeyman

Listen for: A newcomer's fear and misunderstanding of frontier life leading to a fatal mistake; the Marshal's attempt to help through practical advice; the revelation of what really happened the night before.

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.