Yorky: Gunsmoke (April 6, 1958)

“Yorky” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 6, 1958. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When a rancher brings a wounded young white boy to Marshal Dillon, the boy proves to be a feral child who has lived with the Apaches since early childhood. Named Yorkie, the boy speaks English and remembers little of his past, but is consumed by the need to return to his Apache tribe and complete a dangerous ritual to restore his honor after his role in their raid was discovered.

Dodge City and a ranch in the Kansas Territory

Characters: Matt Dillon, Mr. Brand, Yorkie

Listen for: The tense interaction between the marshal and the wild boy who has been raised by Apache Indians and now struggles between two worlds; Yorkie's insistence that he must return to the tribe to make a coup or face death.

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.