Jayhawkers: Gunsmoke (April 4, 1953)

“Jayhawkers” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 4, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshall Matt Dillon meets Phil Jackson, a scout for trail boss Dolph Quince's incoming Texas cattle herd of 3,000 head. When Dillon rides out to the camp, he learns that Jayhawkers have already struck, flogging a guard and stampeding cattle, and that the outfit fears further trouble from these Kansas raiders who demand payment to let the herd pass.

Dodge City and the Kansas prairie, with a Texas cattle drive camp

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Phil Jackson, Dolph Quince, Cook

Listen for: Matt Dillon's measured approach to the conflict between Texas cattlemen and Kansas Jayhawkers, and his efforts to understand both sides of the growing tension.

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.