Bonanza (1959)

1 - Invention of a Gunfighter

Joe teaches Johnny Chapman how to use a gun for defense. What Joe doesnt see is the deadly consequences that it has in the long run when Johnny becomes a gunfighter.

1 - Second Chance

Renegade Indians have been on the rampage attacking settlers and raising havoc in the West. Joe and Hoss have gone to warn the settlers when Joe is shot with an arrow. Hoss tries to remove the arrow, but the shaft breaks and it is imbedded in Joes shoulder, leaving Joe gravely wounded. Hoss desperately searches for help and comes upon a wagon train with an odd assortment of people. There are two women, a thief, a dying doctor, and a coward on the wagon train.

1 - She Walks in Beauty

Hoss wants to marry mysterious Regan Miller, a woman with less than a pristine past. When he thinks Adam is trying to steal her away, he loses control and beats Adam up.

1 - The First Born

Clay Stafford signs on to work for the Cartwrights and shortly afterwards shoots and kills a man who accuses him of cheating at poker. The miners warn Clay to leave town, but it appears he killed in self-defense. Surprisingly, he tells Little Joe that he is his half-brother, and Marie was his mother. Ben listens to his story and takes his word for it, but Adam and Hoss think he should wire the judge in New Orleans to confirm Clays real identity. Meanwhile, Clay and Joe develop a close relationship, but the vengeful miners still want Clay out of Virginia City and their first warning, is when Joe is beaten up by them. Ultimately, Clay decides life on the ranch is not for him.

1 - Something Hurt, Something Wild

The Cartwrights friendship with a neighboring rancher is threatened by his mentally unstable daughter.

1 - The Smiler

A drunk is killed in a saloon brawl with Hoss, and though the mans brother insists there are no hard feelings, he is actually a silver-tongued devil bent on revenge.

1 - Showdown

A young bank robber hires on at the Ponderosa in order to keep his gang informed of the laws efforts to discover their whereabouts.

1 - The Debt

Wiley and Annie Kane arrive at the Ponderosa to work off their fathers debt to Ben. It seems as though the elder Kane once swindled the Cartwright patriarch.

1 - A Rose for Lotta

Lotta Crabtree is hired by mining tycoon Alpheus Troy to lure one of the Cartwrights into town and hold him for ransom in exchange for Ponderosa timber rights.

2 - The Hostage

Outlaws capture Ben and hide him in an abandoned mine, holding him for a ransom. The boys must come up with a plan to save him before its too late.

2 - Sense of Duty

Ben, Hoss and Little Joe help the Virginia City militia escort a renegade Indian, who believes he is the Almighty, through hostile Indian territory to prison.

2 - A Passion for Justice

Renowned English novelist Charles Dickens comes to Virginia City. In short order, he is accused of a crime he didnt commit. The problem then becomes how to convince the stubborn author to defend himself.

2 - The Quest

Determined to prove he can succeed at something without the help of his Pa, Hoss, and Adam, Joe sets out on his quest and wins a timber contract for Ponderosa timber, and later discovers that having a family to rely on can definitely be an asset.

2 - Horse of a Different Hue

So the Cartwrights will not be killed, one of Bens oldest friends must make sure Joe does not win a horse race.

2 - Springtime

A friend of Bens (Mr. Milbank) arrives at the Ponderosa at a bad time...when the Cartwright boys are fighting in the mud. Mr. Milbank, who is injured by a flying log during the fight, gives an assignment to each of the three boys. Can they fulfill the assignments, or has Springtime gotten to them all?

2 - The Mission

Filmed almost entirely outdoors, this is more like a feature than a series. Captain Pender is looking for a scout to lead him and his company of men across the desert, along with a currency shipment they are carrying to another army fort. Charlie Trent, a former scout and now a drunk, still blames himself for his troops being led to massacre. Hoss sees that this is Charlies opportunity to redeem himself and win back his honor. Meantime, Captain Pender is having trouble with Cutter, another scout who is a devious and cunning bear of a man, who agreed to lead him across the desert, but Pender lets him go and with Hoss suggestion, Captain Pender agress to have Charlie be their scout.

2 - The Dilemma

Ben helps a convict win a parole only to have the man later become the chief suspect in a bank robbery.

2 - Death on Sun Mountain

Greedy opportunist Mark Burdette and his accomplice Early Thorne stir up trouble between the Paiute tribe and the citizens of Virginia City. Ben discovers Burdette and Thorne are selling antelope beef to the miners and finds the price too high. He offers the miners beef at a more reasonable price. Burdette and Thorne retaliate by framing the Paiutes for attacks, by dressing as them and killing ranchers. Based on a factual accounting. Lorne Greenes first voice-over narration, and no landing constructed yet for the Ponderosa stairway.

3 - The Wild One

Lafe Jessup doesnt really want to be married, and now hes about to be a father! The horse wrangler finds a fight with Hoss at his reluctance to perform his duties.

3 - The Conquistadors

A band of Mexican kidnaps Little Joe for a $25,000 ransom. A group of cowboys plan to rescue Joe, kill him and claim the gold for themselves.

3 - Rain from Heaven

A destitute rainmaker and his family arrive in drought-stricken Virginia City. While Ben tries to help him make rain, Hoss tends to the mans seriously ill little girl.

3 - The Artist

Ben helps Matthew Raine, a famous painter who has gone blind and now wallows in self-pity, discover a new purpose in life. However, Raines employee Gavin has other ideas.

3 - A Time to Step Down

After the Cartwrights put wrangler Dan Tolliver out to pasture, the embittered old man plans to take part in robbing the Ponderosa.

3 - The Honor of Cochise

The Cartwrights and a bigoted army captain are pinned down by Cochise and his braves, who claim the officer poisoned 30 of their people.

3 - Badge Without Honor

Adams life is saved by an enigmatic U. S. Marshal who has come to Virginia City to arrest a friend of the Cartwrights.

3 - The Brass Box

Juan Ortega claims he has a land grant which gives him ownership of the entire Nevada Territory.

3 - The Newcomers

John Pennington and his crew want to mine the Ponderosa land by hydraulic means. Ben is totally against this method and evicts them in short order. Hoss is given the task of telling Penningtons men to leave, but soon has a moral dilemma on his hands when he meets Penningtons beautiful sister, Emily. He soon discovers a heartbreaking secret...shes terminally ill; but their relationship soon leads to plenty of trouble for the Cartwrights.

4 - Thanks for Everything, Friend

After inadvertantly falling into the river, Adam is rescued by Tom Wilson. Wilson has feelings for Sue Miller, which bring him into trouble after her father is killed.

4 - Judgment at Olympus

Candy is arrested for committing murder in the town of Olympus. He is accused of killing Jed Wheelock, the son of wealthy A. Z. Wheelock. He insists on finding his sons killer but he wants a fair trial for Candy. Joe accompanies Candy to make sure things go smoothly, but when Joe is accused of killing a witness who claims he saw Candy kill Jed, Joe is locked up for murder with Candy, and it is up to Hoss to find the killer.

4 - Twilight Town

Joe is bushwhacked in the desert and awakens to find himself in Martinville, a town that may or may not be populated by ghosts. An errie, surrealistic and well-produced episode.

4 - A Hot Day for a Hanging

Hoss is jailed for robbing the bank in Dutchman Flats, a town on the brink of economic collapse, even the sheriff knows he is innocent, but a lynch mob gathers and Hoss fate is not good.

4 - The Pursued (1)

A Mormon with two wives is badgered by the towns people and then things get much worse.

4 - The Lonely House

Little Joe pays a visit to the widow Lee Bolden, and brings her a bank draft for her husbands investments with Ben. Actually, the investments were losing propositions. Ben just wanted to help out his friend. During his visit, a wounded man stumbles into the house, and Joe recognizes him as Trock, who had just robbed the local bank. Lee Bolden was a nurse to her husband physician, and removes the bullet from Trock. Joe soon learns that Lee is in love with Trock, and that is the only thing standing between him and an early grave.

4 - The Mill

The Cartwrights construct a grist mill to provide income for a crippled rancher who blames Ben for his predicament. Ben has to contend with the mans depraved caretaker, and finds himself attracted to his wife. Sons cant be everything, Ben tells her.

4 - The Other Son

A mule skinner and his two sons are hired by Ben to transport nitroglycerin to California.

4 - The Paiute War

Trader Mike Wilson attempts to escape punishment by the Paiute Indians after mistreating two of their women, by placing the blame on Adam. A fierce war between the Paiutes and the California militia follows, and the Paiutes seize Adam as hostage. Very impressive battle scenes in the this first mini-epic of the series. This episode did all it could to stage the real thing; 50 Indians were used and 50 cavalry actors and extras were used, and the production involved three days of shooting on location. This episode encompassed both the biggest cast and most costly stunts. This episode is based on the factual accounting that occured in May and June of 1860.

5 - Logan;s Treasure

Sam Logan is released from jail after serving his twenty year sentence for stealing $100,000 worth of gold dust. He is followed by a bounty hunter who believes Sam will lead him to where the gold is buried.

5 - Night of Reckoning

A sadistic outlaw named Dibbs along with his gang, take siege of the Ponderosa, holding Joe, Hoss, and Candy prisoners. Their foreman, Donny Buckler, has stashed $60,000 dollars and Dibbs will stop at nothing short of murder to get his hands on it.

5 - The Toy Soldier

Adam encounters drunken artist James Callan, branded a squaw man because he is married to an Indian, and whose talent is going to waste in the town of Sheep Head.

5 - The Deserter

An Indian-hating officer, Colonel Edward J. Dunwoody, comes to the Ponderosa looking for army deserter Bill Winters, who is a good friend of the Cartwrights. Bill happens to be his son and is married to an Indian. It seemed Bill deserted when he was ordered to massacre the Shoshone, by poisoning their food and water, genocide. The Shoshone find out and abduct Bills father.

5 - The Pursued (2)

As the persecuted party awaits Ben and Hoss return, Herber is shot and killed. Joe retaliates and shoots Herbers assassin.

5 - The Burma Rarity

In this comic episode involving a precious emerald and the sweet widow, Clemantine Hawkins who is attracted to Ben, turns the tables on a pair of land swindlers.

5 - The Hopefuls

Adam guides a wagon train of Quakers and falls for the leaders daughter, Regina. The force Adam must employ to protect them, conflicts with their passive philosophy of life.

5 - The Lonely Runner

A judge awards itinerant horse breeder Jim Actons beloved mare to rancher Sam Whipple. Jim tries to buy her back, but Whipple refuses his offer, after which a fight ensues and Jim kills Whipple in self-defense. The Cartwrights want to bring Jim in to make sure he receives a fair trial, but an ambitious and overzealous deputy doesnt care how he brings him in.

5 - Enter Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City to write for the Territorial Enterprise at the same time a crooked politician tries to lay claim on the Ponderosa.

6 - The Scapegoat

Hoss hires Waldo as a ranch hand after keeping Waldo from killing himself. Hoss soon learns that Waldo is lousy at his job and only causes problems for everyone else due to his clumsiness. Although Hoss is willing to defend him, he soon finds out a secret about Waldo.

6 - False Witness

While at the bank in Sandust, Little Joe and the banks secretary witness an armed robbery. During a subsequent gunfight, the main culprit kills the banker, but is quickly brought to justice. Joe, Hoss and Candy agree to be witnesses but must avoid being killed in the meantime.

6 - A Question of Strength

Hoss and a pair of nuns, the younger one having a difficult time training for the order, are robbed and stranded at a way station.

6 - The Way Station

With a storm brewing, Adam takes refuge at a way station, run by cantankerous Jesse and his young grandaughter Marty, who yearns to see what exists away from the way station. The station is also visited by Luke Martin, a killer who is running from a posse. He makes Marty an empty promise to take her with him and see the world together, but Adam steps in and suggests Luke let her alone. Everybody but Marty is relieved to see him go, but he quickly returns and holds everyone hostage to protect himself from the posse.

6 - To Bloom for Thee

Hoss is engaged to Carol Attley, a troubled woman with a past darker than he imagines.

6 - Broken Ballad

Adam tries to help a reformed gunman who wants only to live peacefully near Virginia City. Good story without a tidy ending. Pernells first chance to sing on the series.

6 - Denver McKee

While celebrating the return of his daughter Connie, former lawman McKee is asked to assist in the capture of an outlaw gang. While Joe is courting Connie, no one realizes that McKee is involved with the outlaws.

6 - Devil on Her Shoulder

Ben is attracted to Sarah Reynolds, a member of a religious order led by her fanatical uncle. When she is accused of being a witch, the Cartwrights step in.

6 - The Julia Bulette Story

Little Joe is infatuated wih saloon owner Julia Bulette, whom he imagines is like his late mother. First episode to reveal backround details concerning Marie Cartwright, and inspired by the true story of a Virginia City madam. Also, the first episode to showcase Michael Landon.

7 - A Dime;s Worth of Glory

An author is inspired to write about the heroic Cartwrights after watching first-hand as they fight off an attempted robbery of a stage. As Ben and Adam see no use for the glory of such a novel, they turn the writer down forcing him to turn to the sherriff who quickly accepts.

7 - The Gentle Ones

Most people consider Mark Cole a coward, but he does not hesitate to step forward when his brother attempts to break a horse by torturing it.

7 - Calamity over the Comstock

Joe has a run-in with Calamity Jane, and takes her home with him after promising her dying father to take care of her. At first the Cartwrights (besides Joe) think Cal is a boy, but they soon find out differently. Cal begins to fall in love with Joe, but Joe finds her attentions unwanted...especially when Cals boyfriend, Doc Holliday, has it in for Joe.

7 - The War Comes to Washoe

The Civil War once again divides the citizens of Nevada, as well as Adam and Joe Cartwright. One of season fours highlights, the plot involving British spy Bill Stewart, based on historical fact.

7 - Credit for a Kill

Though his friend is badly in need of the reward money, Joe insists it belongs to him, to protect his friend from the dead outlaws brothers.

7 - The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch

Hoss and Joe become involved when Bullethead Burke vows revenge on an old man he claims cheated him in an investment deal.

7 - Day of Reckoning

Prejudice erupts on both sides when Ben gives an Indian named Matsou and his wife, some of his land, after saving Bens life from a renegade Indian who almost killed him on the Ponderosa. An intense and magnetic performance by Ricardo Montalban.

7 - Found Child

Hoss comes upon an overturned stagecoach and discovers a little girl suffering from shock. After the Cartwrights suceed in bringing her around, Hoss is disappointed she has relatives and cannot stay. The girls uncle turns out to be the enemy and Hoss saves her.

7 - The Saga of Annie O;Toole

Adam defends the mining claim of Annie O Toole in a court presided over by Judge Ben Cartwright. Annie comes to the Washoe Diggings with a claim to a mine filed by her beau, Swede Lundberg. Swede has two claims and sold one to an acquaintance of theirs named Gregory Spain, creating confusion, that only Judge Ben Cartwright can make a ruling on.

8 - Square Deal Sam

A conman heads into town and takes advantage of the Cartwrights with a fake land deal. The conman ends up staying in Virginia city to run an orphanage.

8 - Desperate Passage

Driving horses to Utah, the Cartwrights and Candy discover only two people left in a town wiped out by rampaging Paiute Indians. Together, Mary Burns and Josh Tanner must travel through hostile territory, along with the Cartwrights and Candy.

8 - Journey Remembered

Ben finds an old journal that he kept while in a wagon train travelling from St. Joseph, Missouri to Ash Hollow. As he is reading it Ben remembers the journey he undertook with his wife Inger and a young Adam. During the trip Hoss is born and they have trouble with some Indians.

8 - Knight Errant

Hoss volunteers to pickup an injured neighbors mail-order bride, but by the time they return, she has fallen in love with Hoss and a price is put on Hoss head.

8 - Four Sisters from Boston

The Cartwrights come to the rescue of four inexperienced homesteaders, when devious cattle ranchers try to run them off their property.

8 - The Friendship

Joe befriends and takes responsibility for an ex-convict named Danny. Danny loves horses and is not used to peoples ways on the outside of jail. Will his rough jailhouse upbringing mar any hopes of friendship?

8 - The Abduction

Hoss and Joe take their sweethearts to a colorful and strange carnival for the day. Joes recent girlfriend Jennifer Beale is abducted by the sinister owner, Philip Reed and his accomplice Gerner. Her father is Joshua Beale, the richest man in the Comstock. Gerner convinces Reed to hold her for a $1 million dollar ransom, and her father will gladly pay them to ensure her safe return. Reeds girlfriend Della Thompson is jealous of Jennifer and has second thoughts about the abduction. Hoss and Joe take notice of Jennifers disappearance and travel deep into the bowels of the carnival, meeting fierce resistance from the carnival people at every avenue. They come up without a trace of finding her.

8 - The Meredith Smith

Ben must determine who is the rightful heir to a fortune that includes water rights vital to the Ponderosa.

8 - The Phillip Diedesheimer Story

Adam and Hoss assist a German engineer in developing the concept of square set timbering in the mines. Based on fact, and the first episode not to include all four Cartwrights. Hoss refers to the character, Emily, with whom he was in love with in, The Newcomers.

9 - Between Heaven and Earth

When Joe and his friend Mitch go after a puma, Joe climbs a big peak and throws his gun up higher, intending to crawl up after it. But as he looks down, things begin to spin. He realises he cant go any higher, and he retreats down the hill. Needing to prove himself, Joe spars against Mitch.

9 - The Sure Thing

A young girls ownership of a beloved stallion is jeopardized by the big plans of her scheming father.

9 - The Quality of Mercy

Joe struggles to understand whether his friend was right in killing a dying man who pleaded to put out of his misery.

9 - The Beginning

Billy Horne is a white man who was captured by the Shoshone when he was six. He comes into Ben & Joes campsite one night uninvited. They capture him and take him to town. Roy Coffee wants to put him in jail for safekeeping, but Ben says hell take him to the Ponderosa. They buy Horne clothes and become friends to him. A guy named Milton Tanner says the deed to the Ponderosa is weak and tries to take a third of it. Billy goes to Tanners ranch and warns him that he will kill him if he tries to take the land. Tanner turns his dog loose on Billy. Billy kills the dog and then Tanner, who is going for a gun. Billy pleads guilty, but breaks out. Eventually he goes back with Joe and tells what really happened.

9 - Old Charlie

A young cowpoke is killed during a fight with Hoss, but the old blowhard who runs the Virginia City stables, takes the credit, placing him in danger from the dead mans brothers.

9 - The Countess

A woman Ben once loved, Lady Chadwick, returns and attempts to trick him into marrying her by ruining his business. Ben says almost losing the Ponderosa will make him and his sons appreciate it more.

9 - Breed of Violence

Joes friend Dolly Kincaid is the daughter of the sheriff and shes always getting caught up with the wrong crowd. When she gets close to Vince Dagen, Joe gets worried and tries to intervene.

9 - Mighty is the Word

Virginia Citys newest preacher is an ex-gunfighter who wants only to build a new church, but the brother of one of his victims has other ideas. The blueprints for the church are said to be a gift from Adam.

9 - Mr. Henry Comstock

In a flashback, the legendary prospector arrives on the Ponderosa and participates in the founding of Virginia City. Coincidentally, guest star Jack Carson played a teller at the Comstock Bank and Trust in the 1942 film, Gentleman Jim. This early classic was the second episode filmed.

10 - Old Sheba

As payment for a performance in a circus, Joe and Hoss are given an elephant. They want to keep it but encounter opposition from Adam and Ben.

10 - Showdown at Tahoe

A career robber who claims to be a lumber man, and his gang plan to use Bens new freight paddleboat to haul a $1 million currency shipment to San Francisco.

10 - The Waiting Game

Adam becomes involved with the recently widowed Laura Dayton and her little girl, Peggy.

10 - The Deadly Ones

The Ponderosa becomes a war zone when it is invaded by a detachment of Mexican mercenaries under General Diaz. The general is furious when one of his men, Forsythe, disobeys his orders to get a hostage peacefully, and instead shoots Little Joe in the back. Diaz forces Ben to lead his men over the back roads of the Ponderosa, so they can ambush a gold train led by Emperor Maximilians men.

10 - Ballad of the Ponderosa

A young troubadour, who blames Ben for the death of his father, returns to Virginia City. In one scene, Ben says the young man is welcome to use Adams guitar.

10 - The Horse Breaker

A professional wrangler working for the Cartwrights is paralyzed when thrown by a particularly mean bronco. The woman nursing him was once engaged to the late son of a neighboring rancher out to get Ben.

10 - The Last Viking

Gunnar Borgstrom is the leader of a vicious band called the Commancheros. They burn houses, kill people and steal anything of value. When the Commancheros get to Nevada, Gunnar decides to visit his relatives, the Cartwrights. Meanwhile the gang capture Little Joe and his girlfriend. When Gunnar returns to the gang, he has no idea who Joe is because hed never met his nephew before.

10 - The Strange One

Hoss and Joe find a woman abandoned by a wagon train because her gift of prophecy is considered a curse. Wouldnt it be wonderful, says Ben, if eveybody made a real effort to understand whatevers strange and unfamiliar rather to fear it and try to destroy it?

10 - The Magnificent Adah

Virginia City is visited by actress Adah Issacs Menken, who happens to be an old acquaintance of Bens. Joe is badly beaten by Adahs jealous suitor, John C. Regan, who is bested in a fight with an enraged Hoss.

11 - A Man to Admire

Hoss relies on clever attorney Whitney Parker, who has a drinking problem, to clear him of a murder charge.

11 - Six Black Horses

Bens old friend has stolen money from corrupt politicians in New York and plans to invest in Nevada.

11 - The Legacy

Adam, Hoss and Joe mistakenly believe their father was murdered. They split into 3 different directions to confront the supposed killers. In his heart, Ben knows his sons will not act outside the law; but he is not 100% sure that Joe will behave correctly.

11 - Gallagher;s Sons

Hoss helps Charlie and Will (Charlotte and Willomina), two young girls who just lost their father. They go on a journey to find their only nearby relative, Aunt Cloe. Charlie takes with her a stolen sack of money that her father gave her and tries her best to lose Hoss. Four bandits show up looking for the loot Charlie has. In the end, Hoss finds out about the stolen money and talks the girls into giving it back. He puts them in dresses and sends them off to Boston on a stage, telling them they did the right thing and will probably get the money back as a reward for helping capture the bandits!

11 - The Oath

While in another town, on business, Ben runs into a saloon employee who is a big figure, and after he kills an old miner, who has burned down his house, Ben takes him into the sheriff. He is sentenced and hung. Before his departure, Charlie Monahan, has made his half-breed son, Charlie Two, swear an oath to kill Ben. Little Joe is made aware of this and must track him down to prevent him from carrying out his oath against Ben. Charlie Two is unaware that Joe is Bens son, as they meet on the trail.

11 - Day of the Dragon

Joe wins a card game and an unexpected prize...a young lady. She goes to the Ponderosa and serves them, not wanting to be set free. Meanwhile, an army is looking for her and the Cartwrights.

11 - The Trail Gang

On a cattle drive back to Nevada from Texas, Ben hires a young man who is both an outlaw and the son of the sheriff whose town the Ponderosa cowhands are entering.

11 - The Reluctant Rebel

The Generation Gap, Western-style, as Hoss tries to bring a young man and his father closer together.

11 - The Truckee Strip

Luther Bishop and Ben Cartwright have had an ongoing land dispute for a number of years, over a small tract called the Truckee Strip. One of Bishops employees has a grudge against the Cartwrights and wants to stir up the feud again, while also harboring designs on Bishops pretty daughter, Amy.

12 - The Underdog

Little Joe convinces Ben to hire Harry Starr, a half-Indian who is accused by other ranchers of being a chronic horse thief. Joe sets out to prove the others wrong, but is the youngest Cartwrights trust misplaced?

12 - Check Rein

An injured rancher, who has enlisted the aid of the Cartwrights to buy back one of his horses after his farm is foreclosed, must avoid getting killed by his ruthless uncle, who will stop at nothing to gain full control of the ranch.

12 - Hoss and the Leprechauns

In what is arguably the best comedy of the series, Hoss swears he has seen green elves running around the Ponderosa and a smooth-talking Irishman complicates matters even worse.

12 - The Decision

Hoss is seriously injured internally and Ben seeks help from the only doctor within 50 miles, who happens to be in prison for murder. Ben talks to the judge, and with some convincing, talks him into letting the doctor look at Hoss. Danny, who works for the Doctor, tells Ben what he saw about the murder. Ben discovers what really happened and proves to the judge that the doctor really is innocent. The judge stops the hanging and Hoss survives.

12 - A Real Nice, Friendly Little Town

When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward, in a very tense-filled episode.

12 - The Frenchman

An irritating man who boasts of being the reincarnation of French poet Francois Villion shows up causing trouble for the Cartwrights.

12 - The Savage

Adams life is saved by a woman known to the Indians as White Buffalo Woman, but who is actually the daughter of Norwegian immigrants.

12 - Five Sundowns to Sunup

The mother of a young outlaw condemned to hang, threatens to have her gangs hostages killed if her son is not set free. One of the hostages is Joe.

12 - The Hanging Posse

Adam and Joe reluctantly join a group of vengeful townsmen, who are out to lynch the three men who supposedly killed Vannie Johnson. The posse is run by Paiute Scroggs and Flint Johnson, the dead womans husband. When Adam and Joe clash with them, they both separate and try to reach the three men before the posse does. This episodes storyline is a variation of the 1943 film The Ox-Bow Incident.

13 - A Knight to Remember

Two robberies take place on stagecoaches that Adam is traveling on, and both times a knight in shining armor scares the robbers away. Adam is accused of robbery, and his story about the knight is none too helpful.

13 - Justice Deferred

An anguished Hoss discovers that his testimony helped hang an innocent man accused of murder. As he struggles to bring the real killer to justice, Hoss must also combat the cowardice of another witness and the jury foreman, an influential banker.

13 - The Prime of Life

Ben becomes irritable and reckless when the completion of an important timber contract is hindered by an old rival.

13 - The Good Samaritan

Hoss decides to help out Wade Tyree and introduces him to Abigail and her daughter, Bonnie. Hoss hopes this will stop Wades constant drinking. Wade soon marries Abigail, but when things dont go his way, he goes back to drinking. Hoss helps out by helping the new family plant crops. When no rain comes, Hoss introduces them to irrigation, and Abigail faints while watering the crops. Wade realizes he has been a terrible husband and father, but gets a second chance when Abigail finds out she is going to have another child. Abigail and Bonnie both forgive Wade and a new family is born!

13 - The Bridegroom

Joe plays matchmaker in this story of a rancher attempting to marry off his supposedly unremarkable daughter.

13 - The Tin Badge

Joe accepts the job of temporary sheriff in the town of Rubicon, unaware he is being used to facilitate a scheme involving murder.

13 - Silent Thunder

Captivated by the pretty, deaf-mute daughter of a reclusive mountain man, Little Joe teaches the young woman sign language. Thrilled with her newfound ability to communicate, Annie mistakes her gratitude to Little Joe for love, much to the chagrin of Albie, who is determined to have her for his own.

13 - A Natural Wizard

Hoss finds a kindred spirit in Skeeter Dexter, a lonesome young man who feels closer to animals than most people.

13 - Vendetta

In a variation of High Noon, Ben and Hoss must face a gang of outlaws practically all alone when most of Virginia Citys citizens go into hiding. The most action-filled episode since The Paiute War.

14 - The Saga of Squaw Charlie

A peaceful Indian is framed for the kidnapping of a young girl, a stunt which ends of tragedy.

14 - The Gold Detector

Hoss wants to buy a mine thought to be worthless and orders a fancy invention to prove it isnt and becomes the local laughingstock in town

14 - The Lila Conrad Story

Joe and Adam protect a saloon girl, who has killed in self-defense, from an angry lynch mob. The accompanying Judge, along with his wife, takes a liking to Lila, and before it is all over, he and Lila discover much more about themselves.

14 - The Jury

When Hoss is responsible for causing a hung jury, Ben tells him, a man is never wrong doing what he thinks is right, and Adam attempts to validate his brothers reasonable doubt.

14 - Tommy

The Cartwrights protect a woman and her deaf-mute little son from the boys outlaw stepfather.

14 - Gabrielle

In this Christmas story, inspired by Johanna Spyris Heidi, Hoss and Joe come across a blind girl whose family has been killed in a wagon wreck, learning later that her grandfather is a bitter hermit who spent 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

14 - The Ape

Hoss becomes friends with dull-witted Arnie Gurnie, who is a brute of a man with the mentality of a child. His temper scares everybody, including the Cartwrights.

14 - All Ye His Saints

In this series highlight, little Michael Thorpe heads to the high country to ask God to spare his critically wounded father, believing he has found Him in the form of longtime fugitive Tom Cain.

14 - The Sisters

This episode begins with Adam defending the honor of Sue Ellen Terry in a duel. No one gets shot because the other man misses Adam and Adam generously shoots in the air to end the duel. Sue Ellen lives with her sister, who seems nice but turns out to be fairly evil, consumed with jealousy because shes getting older and her sister is a young beauty. When Adam drops Sue Ellen off after a date one night, half way through this episode, someone shoots her dead, and Adam becomes a suspect and is thrown in jail. When the sheriff suggests that Adam escape, he does it, but when he walks out, someone tries to shoot him. He chases after them but doesnt find them, and soon after hears Sue Ellens sister scream. He runs up the stairs to find her dead, and of course, is then suspected of that murder as well. Of course, his family helps him during the last half hour, and it all turns out that someone we should not have suspected did all the murders, but that he actually wasnt trying to hit

15 - The Flapjack Contest

Hoss unknowingly enters a flapjack contest and Joe puts Hoss on a diet which Hoss doesnt care for. Joes betting on the flapjack contest could get him into some trouble and will he ever succeed in getting the window pane his Pa wants?

15 - The Trackers

A man, recently released from prison for bank robbery, is accused of robbing the same Virginia City bank and gunning down a teller. The Cartwrights try to protect the accused man from a posse that intends to lynch him before his trial.

15 - Ponderosa Matador

Adam, Hoss, and Joe vie for the attention of a pretty young lady named Dolores. Hoss talks Joe into entering a bull fight, but it doesnt work out quite as planned.

15 - The Colonel

Frank Medford, a figure from Bens wild, misspent youth, shows up in Virginia City, and though down on his luck, creates troubles for the Cartwrights by claiming to be a successful businessman.

15 - A Christmas Story

Warbling Andy Walker returns to Virginia City a big success, along with his shifty Uncle Thaddeus.

15 - Land Grab

The Ponderosa is overrun with settlers bearing phony property deeds, and one of Bens oldest friends is responsible.

15 - The Blood Line

Ben feels responsible for the son of a man he was forced to kill, but the young man is determined to get even. A professional gunman offers to do the job for him.

15 - The Dublin Lad

After sitting on a jury that has convicted Terrence O Tool of murder, Joe has second thoughts about the verdict and decides to do some investigating of his own.

15 - The Last Hunt

Hoss and Joe come across a pregnant Indian woman while hunting bighorn sheep and must deliver her baby. Despite touches of humor, including a scene in which Joe refers to a meal as cattle fodder, the story does not have an altogether happy ending.

16 - The Far, Far Better Thing

On their way to prevent a young woman from encountering the renegade Indians, Joe and Tuck are captured, and in order to save them all, Joe must fight Sharp Tongue, who is the leader of the band who went to school with Joe as a youth.

16 - A Girl Named George

Trick photography is employed to help a killer beat a murder rap, to prove he was not there at the time of the murder he committed. However, the camera also proves to be his undermining.

16 - My Son, My Son

Bens plans to marry Katherine Saunders are upset when her son Eden is accused of killing his former girlfriend.

16 - Song in the Dark

Adams guitar-strumming friend, ranch hand Danny Morgan, is arrested on suspicion of murdering and robbing the Widow Baker. Someone had reported hearing Danny singing outside her place at the time of the murder. More, importantly, Morgan has bad scratches on his arm, and the widow was found with human skin under her fingernails. Adam is thoroughly convinced that Danny couldnt have done it; the two became friends after Danny saved Adams life a few years ago.

16 - Ponderosa Explosion

Two Virginia City old-timers fool Hoss and Joe into raising rabbits, and the Ponderosa is overrun with paws and whiskers.

16 - The Tall Stranger

Hoss plans to marry Margie, a pretty blonde, but Margie becomes fascinated with a tall, traveling stranger named Mark Connors. Margie marries Mark but soon finds it was far from a match made in heaven.

16 - The Courtship

Hoss plans to marry the widow of one of Bens friends, not knowing she is a compulsive gambler and refusing to believe it when the other Cartwrights confront him with the truth.

16 - To Kill a Buffalo

Hoss finds a wounded young Indian on the prairie, who is torn between accepting the ways of the white man or returning to his old life.

16 - El Toro Grande

Ben sends Hoss and Joe to Monterey to purchase an expensive seed bull. The first of Blocker and Landons many comic misadventures, although the casual use of violence, as in the rapier fight, is oddly uncharacteristic for the series. Hoss reveals his real name to be Eric for the first time.

17 - Woman of Fire

Bens friend, Don Miguel, visits the Ponderosa with his two daughters, Margarita and Elena, and Elenas two very anxious suitors. Their mission? Theyre on their way to California to meet Margaritas suitor, Don Luis. Trouble is, Margarita is a woman of fire who manages to scare away all suitors with her hot temper. Since Margarita is the older daughter, she must be married before Elena. Elenas two suitors are quickly losing their patience, and Don Miguel fears his name will be disgraced if Margarita rejects Don Luis.

17 - The Thirteenth Man

The ranchers are once again losing stock to rustlers and not everyone agrees with range detective Marcus Alleys preventive methods.

17 - Alias Joe Cartwright

A man who looks similar to Joe uses Joes name and gets Joe in the position of facing the firing squad.

17 - Elegy for a Hangman

A stranger, Bob Jolly, arrives in Virginia City to accuse a drunken Judge Harry Whitaker of sending his innocent father, Carl, to the gallows. Adam defends the judges honor because of his long friendship with the Cartwrights. After Adam talks with Jolly, he begins to believe his story. Upon further investigation, Adam discovers that Senator Cal Prince and Hobie Klinderman as well as the judge might have had a lot to gain from Carl Jollys murder. In an attempt to learn what really happened, Adam organizes an informal meeting in the saloon.

17 - Justice

When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward.

17 - The Lady from Baltimore

An overbearing friend of the family tries to force her daughter into marrying Joe, though she does not love him. The situation grows more complex when Adam stumbles onto the scheme.

17 - The Spitfire

Joe becomes the target of a tough and vengeful Kentucky family, after he kills one of them who almost sets the Ponderosa on fire and the Cartwrights take in the dead mans daughter.

17 - Ride the Wind (1)

The Pony Express sets up office in Virginia and Joe is one of the first to join up. Ben also decides to invest in the fledgling enterprise. However, troubles soon plague the Pony Express with the Paiutes and a newspaper reporter, both trying to get their own agendas across.

17 - The Outcast

Because she is related to criminals, a young woman is ostracized by everyone but the the Cartwrights. She unwisely seeks solace with an ex-con friend of Joes, Clay Renton, and its up to Ben to straighten everything out. First episode to have a chapter title after the cast credits.

18 - The Ballerina

Kellie Conrad dances and her father plays the fiddle to earn a living. Hoss feels a sense of guilt after he unintentionally hurts the arm that Kellies father uses to play the fiddle, in a saloon fight with some roughnecks. He gets them to stay at the Ponderosa while the girls father recuperates. While there, Ben introduces Kellie to his friend Paul Mandel, a ballet star before an explosion cut his dancing career short.

18 - The Gentleman from New Orleans

The new stranger in town claims to be the famous pirate Jean Lafitte, and Hoss believes him.

18 - Half a Rogue

In this entertaining episode, laced with humor, Hoss first meets mountain man Jim Leyton. Bing Russell makes his first appearance as Deputy Clem Foster.

18 - A Bride for Buford

Dolly Bantree has a crooked manager Blackie, who blackmails Dolly to fleece newly rich miner Buford out of his newfound wealth. Hoss suspects something and gets all duded up to pose as a rich mark to test Dolly.

18 - The Ride

Adam races against the clock to prove a man who was once his friend is guilty of robbery and murder and Adam is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt he is guilty.

18 - Ride the Wind (2)

Conclusion to the previous-weeks episode, where the Cartwrights provide needed assistance to the Pony Express.

18 - The Bride

The Cartwright boys are surprised to find that a woman, claiming to have recently married their father, shows up on their doorstep. When Ben gets home, he is just as surprised as they are. Has the lady been swindled by a con-man, or is she something of a con-woman herself?

18 - A House Divided

As the Civil War approaches, Adam and Joe clash over which side to support. The situation is complicated by the arrival of Frederick Kyle, a Southern sympathizer. He was an old friend of Joes mother and viewers also discover that Joes middle name is Francis.

19 - The Flannel-Mouth Gun

Adam becomes involved with a quick-triggered range detective hired by the Virginia City Cattlemans Association to find out who is responsible for all the rustling going on in the area.

19 - The Last Haircut

A vain outlaw murders a man in front of witnesses, including Joe, but a clever lawyer is able to get him acquitted. Though enraged, Joe has to convince the dead mans son it is wrong to take the law into their own hands.

19 - Black Friday

In the town of Chiso, Joe encounters a former Ponderosa cowhand who is now a gunfighter and expecting to be killed on Friday the 13th. John Saxon makes the first of his three appearances in the series, in this episode as Steven Friday.

19 - The Storm

Joe plans to marry Laura White, daughter of a man Ben once sailed with, but she is fatally ill. Ben consoles him with words spoken years before, by the father of Adams mother.

19 - Destiny;s Child

After his only friend is killed, the Cartwrights take in a slow-witted man, who Roy Coffee informs them, is wanted for murder by Arizona authorities.

19 - Bank Run

When they rob the bank in Virginia City to save depositors from being cleaned out by its president, Hoss and Joe wind up wanted by the law.

19 - The Gunmen

In the first all-out comic episode of the series, Hoss and Joe travel to Kiowa Flats, Texas, where they are mistaken for the notorious Slade Brothers, also played by Blocker and Landon.

20 - The Ponderosa Birdman

Professor Klump and Amanda pull Hoss into their flying machine scheme. The Hoss-mobile doesnt seem to be destined for a great take-off.

20 - Bullet for a Bride

While out hunting for a mountain lion, Joe accidently shots Tessa Caldwell causing her to go blind. As a result of his guilt, Joe ends up proposing to the girl. However, other circumstances arise that cause Tessa to make a rash decision - one that both her and Joe may regret in the future.

20 - Marie, My Love

When Cochise falls on Joe, Ben cannot help but remember that is how Marie Cartwright was killed. He thinks back to meeting her in New Orleans in a rather confusing story not quite in synch with details discussed in The First Born.

20 - The Unseen Wound

Ben discovers that his friend, Sheriff Paul Rowan, is suffering from stress brought on by his wartime experiences.

20 - The Auld Sod

The Cartwrights pretend the Ponderosa belongs to the town lush, when his aging mother from Ireland arrives.

20 - Peace Officer

While Sheriff Coffee is in Saint Louis, the Morrisey bunch decides to work off excess energy by wrecking the saloon in a violent spree. When Deputy Bill Harris tries to arrest them, they hit him on the head with a whiskey bottle, accidentally killing him. All of them get away except Cliff, who is put in jail. He refuses to say the names or locations of his friends. Mayor Garrett holds an emergency meeting of the Virginia City town council.

20 - The Fugitive

Adam goes to Mexico to find out how the son of a family friend was killed, only to learn the man is still alive.

20 - The Fear Merchants

The Cartwrights encounter racial bigotry in Virginia City and end up protecting a Chinese boy from mob violence. Victor Sen Yung, in his largest role to date, speaks normally in the presence of his fellow countrymen, but reverts to broken English when with the Cartwrights.

21 - The Search

Adam sets out to track down the man who has been impersonating him to clear his reputation.

21 - King of the Mountain

When mountain man Jim Leyton decides to marry, he chooses Hoss as his best man. Julies father, Grizzly, does not agree and Hoss must come to the rescue.

21 - The Hayburner

For a change, it is Adam rather than Joe who becomes mixed up in one of Hoss funny exploits. Together they purchase a thoroughbred horse, and end up competing against their little brother in the big Virginia City race. This is Pernell Roberts favorite comedy episode.

21 - Journey to Terror

Joe visits his married friends in Arizona Territory, only to discover the husband has become a criminal and is secretly part of a notorious gang.

21 - Gift of Water

The Cartwrights dig a well, build a rig and a windmill for a drought-stricken farm family.

21 - The Code

Joe is goaded into facing gunman Dan Taggert, unaware there is more to be prearranged than he realizes.

21 - Vengeance

Hoss accidentally kills a drunk he was trying to disarm. The mans brother bushwhacks Hoss, who has lost the will to live. Joe makes a promise to Hoss that he will kill Red Twilight, the vengeful brother who bushwhacked Hoss, no matter what happens, and will not let Adam stand in his way.

21 - The Spanish Grant

In The Spanish Grant, a young bargirl, Rosita Morales is pretending to be a Spanish noblewoman named Isabella Marie Inez de la Cuesta and at the end of the story, its revealed she is really Rosita Morales, but on the other hand, is she really Rosita Morales? This little twist at the end is simply entertaining everytime its viewed, with the viewer able to determine the young womans real identity at the end of act four.

22 - The Deadliest Game

The Cartwrights play host to Guido Borelli, a world renowed aerial acrobat who once saved Bens life in Italy. Borellis troup is beset by internal strife, and is performing in Virginia City.

22 - Love Me Not

While talking with an Indian, Ben is given an unexpected present...a woman. She is a young white woman named Joan who has lived with the Indians since she was a little girl. Through a humorous learning experience, Ben tries to teach Joan how to behave like a white woman. In the process, Ben finds himself in an awkward situation.

22 - Amigo

A wounded comanchero sides with the Cartwrights when the rest of the gang, led by Captain Fenner, shows up to burn and rob the Ponderosa.

22 - The Actress

Joe becomes romantically involved with a woman who considers herself a serious dramatic actress. Unfortunately, she is the only one who does.

22 - The Jackknife

Adam gives a second chance to a family man he suspects is one of the rustlers who has been hitting the Ponderosa herds.

22 - Three Brides for Hoss

Not one, but three mail-order brides show up unexpectedly at the Ponderosa, all of them believing they are to marry Hoss.

22 - The Tax Collector

The kindness Hoss extends to shiftless Jock Henry is not exactly repaid when Henry becomes an assistant assessor and raises the Ponderosas annual tax bill from $375 to $1700.

22 - Blood on the Land

A shiftless sheepherder, Jeb Drummond, encroaches his herd of sheep on the Ponderosa and refuses to budge. He resists all of Bens attempts to throw him off his land and finally resorts to taking Adam prisoner in exchange for ownership of the ranch.

23 - Once a Doctor

Hoss latest acquaintance, an Englishman named Professor Poppy, is actually Percival Alexander Mundy, M.D., who has given up the practice of medicine. However, when Hoss is shot in the back, only Mundys skill can save his life.

23 - The Pure Truth

Hoss is suffering from spring fever, goes to the wrong town and is accused of bank robbery.

23 - A Woman in the House

Mary Wharton, an old friend of the family, comes to live on the Ponderosa with her shiftless husband. When Ben learns Mary is the victim of domestic abuse, he sends Russ packing.

23 - A Stranger Passed This Way

Hoss develops amnesia after being bushwhacked and hit over the head by two outlaws and moves in with a Dutch couple. The woman regards him as a substitute for her dead son, and unless he recovers his memory, the other Cartwrights fear he will leave them forever.

23 - The Guilty

When Ben fails to prevent the death of a friends son, Adam and Joe, concerned by their fathers depression, attempt to prove there was nothing he could have done.

23 - The Emperor Norton

Joshua Norton, an eccentric and formerly wealthy San Francisco merchant who considers himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, comes to the Ponderosa. Authorities want to have him committed, and Ben contacts Mark Twain to testify to Nortons sanity.

23 - The Rescue

The Cartwright boys are concerned that Ben might be getting on in years, yet it is he who saves them from cattle rustlers.

23 - Desert Justice

When a tough U.S. Marshal from California arrests a Ponderosa hand, Dave Walker, for murder, Adam and Hoss go along to make sure their employee reaches Los Angeles alive. In one scene, Adam is dressed in black for the first time. In another, Hoss, upon seeing Southern California for the first time, remarks, It sure aint never gonna amount to much. Later, Adam makes an amusing reference to the chow Joe says he was forced to eat in The Last Hunt.

24 - No Less a Man

The town council feels Roy Coffee can no longer do his job, and with the notorious Wagner gang on their way to rob the bank, everyone is in a panic. Ben and Adam disagree with the town council and do what they can to help Roy out.

24 - Judgment at Red Creek

Hoss and Joe have their doubts as to who really robbed a way station, suspecting the two men they captured are innocent.

24 - The Way of Aaron

Adam takes a shine to Rebecca Kaufman, the daughter of a Jewish peddler, and bandits are convinced the Kaufman wagon is worth robbing.

24 - The Wooing of Abigail Jones

In order to keep peace on the ranch, Hoss and Joe try to help ranch hand, Hank Meyers woo the the plain-looking schoolteacher, Abigail Jones. When their first plan backfires, they convince Adam (who doesnt want to get involved) to help and this makes things worse because Abigail believes it is Adam who is wooing her and Hank Meyers believes Adam wants to steal her away.

24 - Her Brother;s Keeper

Ben and Claire Armory fall in love, but their future is jeopardized by her disabled brother.

24 - The Dark Gate

Adam is confused by the sudden behavior of his good friend, Ross Marquette. He beats up his wife, Delphine, after accusing her of having an affair with Adam. He also joins a group of rustlers and killers and helps rob a gold shipment. Adam thinks Ross is suffering from insanity, in this highlight of season two.

24 - The Stranger

Nevada Territory is awaiting statehood, and Ben considers running for governor until he learns he is wanted for murder in New Orleans. Inspector Charles Leduque arrives and says Ben is wanted for commiting the murder 20 years earlier, and after Joe kills his bodyguard in self-defense, Inspector Leduque makes it appear the other way around. Ben has no choice but go with Leduque, to clear his name in a very suspense-filled episode. Once again, there are several references to Joes mother, and viewers are shown Maries grave near the shore of Lake Tahoe.

24 - Right Is the Fourth R

While working as a substitute teacher, Adam uncovers an ugly secret about the territorys past that others prefer remain hidden.

25 - Return to Honor

Ben must travel to pay his respects after he learns of the death of his nephew Will. When he visits the grave, he finds his nephew barely alive with a bullet wound. He takes him to a doctor and Will insists that he leave, but Ben refuses. Will explains that the men after him must believe that he is dead. Ben decides his best bet is to take Will home. He and Will are followed by the same men who are interested in some valuables Will is carrying.

25 - Joe Cartwright, Detective

Joe becomes fascinated by detective literature and drags Hoss into the picture when he suspects the bank is going to be robbed.

25 - A Woman Lost

Bens attempt to rehabilitate an alcoholic singer he knew in better days are complicated by her involvment with a former prize fighter.

25 - The Lawmaker

Ben supports the appointment of Asa Moran as Virginia Citys temporary sheriff, but Moran goes overboard with his authority, jailing Adam in the process and pistol-whipping a Ponderosa hand.

25 - The Trouble with Jamie

The Cartwrights attempt to straighten out the snobbish young son of Bens cousin.

25 - The Duke

Hoss takes on The Duke Of London, an arrogant, abusive bare-knuckle fighter, though his brawn is no match for the Dukes agile skills.

25 - Escape to Ponderosa

After Adam is bushwhacked by three army deserters, Ben tracks them down, and tackles the brutal Captain Bolton who is pursuing them.

25 - Hound Dog

Cousin Muley Jones returns to the Ponderosa, along with a pack of noisy hound dogs, in this funny sequel to The Saga Of Muley Jones.

26 - The Saga of Muley Jones

The Cartwrights are visited by their second cousin, Muley Jones of Weedville, Missouri who sings with a window-shattering voice and stirs up trouble with Indian negotiations that Ben is trying to ensure.

26 - Dark Enough to See the Stars

Young Billy Wilcox wanders onto the Ponderosa, sick, hungry, and alone. Ben finds him, and after he regains his strength, offers Billy a job. Jennifer Yardley, who with her father is visiting the Cartwrights, is interested in Billy. Billy is more concerned about a lawman that has come to town because he has a past that could be problematic: he killed a man in self-defense and ran.

26 - Any Friend of Walter;s

Classic comedy in which Hoss first meets prospector Obie and his lazy but allegedly brilliant mongrel dog, Walter.

26 - Look to the Stars

A young genius, Albert Michaelson, vies for a scholarship. Adam assists Albert in the boys experiments. Albert only needs the school teachers approval to be granted a scholarship-which will be very difficult to get considering Albert was expelled from school.

26 - Shining in Spain

Young, adoring Wendy Daniels has come to Virginia City to meet up with her father, Taylor Daniels, who has been traveling on business for the last five years. Joe is attracted to Wendy, but he faces stiff competition for her affections. She idolizes her father and cannot stop talking about his great business visions, although she has not seen him in five years.

26 - Cutthroat Junction

When freight company detective Jed Trask is fired after a decade of service, he joins the thieves preventing supplies from reaching Virginia City.

26 - The Avenger

A restaurant owner whom Ben and Adam have confronted over stolen Ponderosa beef ends up dead one night. His daughter, Sally Byrnes runs the cafe and in her resentment, wrongfully accuses Ben and Adam of murdering her father and they are sentenced to hang. A rancher by the name of Hawkins is also jealous of the Cartwrights and has hired his men to stop the town from helping Ben and Adam, ensuring they hang. Hoss and Joe are willing to stop them, but Ben insists they stay within the limits of the law.

26 - The Trap

One of Joes old girlfriends thinks he killed her husband so they could come together. Unfortunately, that is what her husbands twin brother also believes.

27 - The Roper

Will is having second thoughts about staying on at the Ponderosa, and outlaws hit the ranch and take him with them. The leader, Lee Hewitt, is a young killer and plans on robbing the Ponderosa, so Will must take action to save himself, Hewitts wife, the doctor, and his newfound relatives, the Cartwrights.

27 - The Deed and the Dilemma

Ben assists Georgio Rossi in his battle for water on adjoining property.

27 - Mirror of a Man

The peaceful world of a Ponderosa hand is disturbed by the arrival of his no-good father and twin brother, who is a wanted man.

27 - The Gamble

In the town of Alkali, the Cartwrights are jailed on false charges of robbery and murder, but Joe escapes and returns with an army of Ponderosa hands.

27 - The Genius

Hoss chooses a difficult path when he decides to rehabilitate a famous poet, Will Smith, who is really William Warlock Evans, who spends too much time drinking and eventually his wife arrives at the Ponderosa.

27 - The Gift

While crossing the desert to Yuma, Arizona with a white stallion intended as a birthday present for Ben, Joe runs into a pack of merciless comancheros. His companion, a former comanchero, Emiliano, who raised the horse, must get he and Joe through safely.

27 - The Last Trophy

Adam takes Bens friends, Lord Marion Dunsworth and Lady Beatrice, on a hunting expedition, and they are captured by a gang of crude thieves and murderers. During one early scene, after listening to Ben reminisce, Hoss says, Always like to hear Pa get wound up. He dont do it often.

27 - Dead and Gone

Adam tries to find the good in Howard Mead, a talented troubadour who refuses to stay on the right side of the law. Dramatic debut of singer/songwriter Hoyt Axton. Last episode Pernell Roberts worked on, although he appears in the next two, that were made prior to this episode and aired afterwards.

28 - A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay

A headstrong Chinese girl (Marlo Thomas) visiting the Cartwrights incites labor unrest among local workers.

28 - The Prince

The Cartwrights play host to Russian royals, who are the target of jewel thieves.

28 - My Brother;s Keeper

While hunting for a wolf, Joe is attacked by the wolf. Adam also hunting for the wolf, hears Joe struggling with the wolf comes to Joes aid. He fires his rifle but the bullet hits Joe. Adam hurries over knocks the wolf off Joe, shoots, and then kills the wolf. The damage has already been done with the wolf bite and Adams bullet in Joe. Adam has to rush his little brother back to the Ponderosa. Will he make it back to save Little Joes life, since the wolfs bite is fatal?

28 - The Crucible

Adam is left to die in the desert after two thieves take $5,000 and his horse from him. Near death, he stumbles into an old prospector named Kane who offers to lend him a mule and supplies in exchange for three days work at his mine. Kane, however, turns out to be a demented madman. He holds Adam prisoner and tortures him to prove his theory that anyone could be driven to kill, even a man as rational as Adam. This is Pernell Roberts favorite episode along with The Wooing Of Abigail Jones.

28 - The Unwritten Commandment

Everyone feels Andy Walker is an outstanding singer but his father, who feels the boy should concentrate on ranch work instead. Joe mentions receiving a letter from Adam, currently in Paris.

28 - The Rival

Jim Applegate, Hoss rival for the affections of Cameo Johnson, is a member of a vigilante group who lynched an innocent man and his wife.

28 - San Francisco

In this comic episode, the first to take place far from the ranch, Ben, Hoss, and Joe deliver a herd to San Francisco. Although he warns his sons to be careful in the big city (This is not the Ponderosa!), Ben is the one who is shanghaied and must be rescued.

28 - A Good Night;s Rest

First Bens sons are making lots of noise, so he goes into town to sleep in the hotel. Then, various noises and things interrupt Bens sleep. Will he ever get his desired good nights rest?

29 - The Companeros

Mateo Ibara and his wife Carla visit the Ponderosa. Ibara asks Will to return to Mexico with him. Ibara and Will fought together for Juarezs cause and Ibara saved Wills life. For this reason, Will feels obligated to Ibara, but Ben is suspicious of the mans motives.

29 - A Man Without Land

The foreman of a neighboring ranch frames Joe for murder as part of a scheme to get his employers property.

29 - Five into the Wind

After their stagecoach crashes, a group of rag-tag passengers and Joe must get out of the desert alive. One of the passengers may or may not be a murderer and Joe is accused.

29 - Inger, My Love

Ben indulges in a nostalgic reverie about Hosss deceased mother. Having worked his way west to Galesburg, IL., Ben is befriended by a girl named Inger, the fiancee of the tavern owner who gave him a job.

29 - Big Shadow on the Land

Italian immigrants are determined to establish their own vineyard on Ponderosa property.

29 - The Infernal Machine

Hoss believes in his friends primitive version of the automobile in this lighthearted, yet sad episode. When the car uses up the last of its fuel, Hoss remarks, Dadburn it, I still say it woulda worked.

29 - Bitter Water

Len Keith, a miner, wants to purchase some land adjacent to the Ponderosa from rancher Andy McKaren. Andys son, Tod, is anxious to sell. Keith has offered him a partnership,and more importantly, he is in love with Keiths daughter. When Ben warns Andy that a mine on the property would foul up Ponderosa water, Andy agrees not to sell the land. Len Keith, determined to get that land, plants tick infested cattle in a Ponderosa herd to turn Andy against the Cartwrights.

29 - To Own the World

One of the wealthiest men in the world, Charles Augustus Hackett, offers to buy the Ponderosa, price no object. Ben says the ranch is not for sale and Hackett refuses to give up.

30 - Enter Thomas Bowers

After a triumphant tour in Europe, a famous Negro singer encounters racial prejudice in Virginia City when he arrives for a concert.

30 - Napoleon;s Children

A gang of juvenile delinquents, led by an intelligent runt, who calls himself Napoleon, terrorizes Virginia City and the Ponderosa as well.

30 - Saga of Whizzer McGee

Hoss becomes concerned for the welfare of an insecure, belligerent fellow who is as small as Hoss is large. Interesting blend of comedy and pathos that ends unpredictably.

30 - Blessed Are They

When two feuding families argue over the custody of two orphaned children, a reluctant Ben is called upon to straighten out the situation before real trouble erupts.

30 - The Fighters

Feeling guilty for unintentionally ending the career of a professional boxer, Hoss vows never to fight again. But things change when Joe is nearly beaten to death.

30 - The Thunderhead Swindle

With Virginia City on the verge of economic ruin, out of work miners put their hopes in word of a strike at a mine everybody believed was played out. Ben suspects the new owners have been stealing silver from an adjoining mine also thought dry, and resolves to prove it.

30 - Feet of Clay

Hoss takes Billy Allen, the young son of a convicted felon under his wing, then is forced to kill his father and Billy will not forgive him. The most emotional Hoss story since The Newcomers and one of Blockers best.

30 - Lothario Larkin

Ladies man Lothario Larkin creates havoc whenever he hits Virginia City, so Roy Coffee orders him out of town. Naturally, Hoss takes him in.

31 - The Dark Past

Moody bounty hunter, Dev Farnum, shows up on the Ponderosa, where the Cartwrights are harboring the wife of the man he is after.

31 - The Wormwood Cup

A woman - convinced Little Joe intentionally killed her brother - offers $1,000 to the man who kills the youngest Cartwright in what she deems a fair fight. Joe, meanwhile, must overcome his guilt over killing another man in self defense while trying to avoid the dead mans bitterly grieving father.

31 - Thunder Man

Little Joes 19-year old girlfriend is killed by a good samaritan, an explosives expert who had stopped to render aid to the womans uncle after he suffers a stroke. Unable to talk, the only clue he can offer the investigating Cartwrights is a scrawled title of the song the assailant was whistling — New Orleans Woman.

31 - The Dowry

The Cartwrights get mixed up in the romance of a phony heiress and an equally phony land baron.

31 - Home from the Sea

A sailor, claiming to be one of Adams closest friends, is given a warm welcome by the Cartwrights, who have no way of knowing the man and his accomplice plan on robbing them.

31 - The Secret

Joe is the victim of an elaborate frame-up, accused of murdering a pregnant girl. When Ben is asked if Joe is telling the truth, he replies, If I were to start doubting my son at this point, everything Ive lived and worked for would be lost.

31 - Dark Star

Joe falls in love with Tirza, an undeniably strange gypsy girl who says she is cursed and never does seem to snap out of it. The first episode of the series with a supernatural flavor, directed appropriately enough, by Lewis Allen, who made the classic ghost film The Uninvited.

31 - The Return

No one in Virginia City is happy to see ex-con Trace Cordell, especially the man he crippled in a gunfight, now married to Cordells former girlfriend.

32 - The Pressure Game

Laura Daytons Aunt Lil comes to visit and quickly decides its time she help the hesitant Adam propose to her favorite niece. Her plan is to make Adam jealous by using his cousin Will but it doesnt go exactly as planned.

32 - Clarissa

The Cartwrights cousin, Clarissa visits. Her assertive, snobbish ways result in nothing but trouble for Ben and his sons.

32 - Rich Man, Poor Man

Claude Miller, the laughingstock of Virginia City, gets even with everyone who made fun of him when he strikes it rich.

32 - The Long Night

Ben, Joe and Adam travel to Bowleg to pay the yearly taxes on the Ponderosa. After the transaction is completed, Ben and Joe ride over the summit to join the cattle drive. Adam is on his way to Genoa and is carrying a $10,000 bank draft his father has given him. A prison guard rides into town and announces two hombres have broke out and escaped who are holdup men and killers. Elmer Trace and his partner Poindexter were assisted by a guard in escaping prison and they betray him on the trail. Trace takes his clothes, horse and firearms, leaving Poindexter with only a rifle and rides off. Meanwhile, the Sheriff of Bowleg organizes a posse immediately.

32 - The Last Mission

Ben and Hoss unwittingly aid a vengeful army colonel who plans to wipe out every Indian he can with a Gatling gun.

32 - The Dream Riders

To finance his dream of constructing an airship capable of crossing the Atlantic, Bens old friend plans to rob the Virginia City bank while diverting the citizens attention with a hot air balloon.

32 - Death at Dawn

Virginia City is plagued by organized crime, Sam Bryant and his gang. One of his men, Farmer Perkins, kills a storekeeper, and at his trial, the wife of the store owner is afraid to testify. When Perkins is sentenced to hang, Bryant kidnaps Ben and wants to exchange Ben for Perkins, which leaves Adam with the most difficult decision of his life. A stellar cast.

32 - Jonah

The Ponderosa hands are upset when new hand George Whitman is hired on, it is rumored he is a jinx. Hoss tells George to ignore such foolishness, but a gypsy fortune teller says otherwise.

33 - Triangle

Adam and Laura are finally engaged. Adam is secretly building a house and planning for the future. Laura realizes that its Will she is in love with. Adam is then confined to a wheelchair after falling from a ladder and out of guilt, Laura and Will deny their feelings.

33 - Maestro Hoss

Hoss is conned into buying a violin from a gypsy fortune teller, and everyone on the Ponderosa--except for Hop Sing--suffers the consequences.

33 - The Boss

Ben regrets that he helped Tom Slayden start a freight hauling business when Slayden sets out to ruin all the competition, and Joe is shot in the process.

33 - The Mountain Girl

Joe promises a dying sheepman he will make sure the old mans granddaughter gets her rightful inheritance from a wealthy San Francisco family. This episode was filmed immediately after Inger, My Love, which explains why Blockers arm is still in a sling.

33 - A Dollar;s Worth of Trouble

Hoss finds himself in another mess, this one involving a beautiful blonde, a moonshiner, and a nearsighted outlaw who is allergic to chocolate and flowers.

33 - Elizabeth, My Love

At the bedside of a seriously ill Adam, Ben thinks back to his days as a first mate in the merchant marines and his marriage to Adams mother, Elizabeth Stoddard.

33 - The Spotlight

Ben invites opera singer Angela Bergstrom to perform at Virginia Citys anniversary celebration. She accepts, but does not tell him that her famous singing voice is long gone

34 - Walter and the Outlaws

Hilarious sequel to Any Friend Of Walters in which Obie leaves Walter in Hoss care. The three outlaws, Macy, Teague, and Willard, kidnap Walter and hold him for ransom, leaving Hoss and the returning Obie to rescue him, but matters turn out the other way.

34 - The Greedy Ones

The Ponderosa is in danger of being overrun by gold hunters.

34 - Little Man... Ten Feet Tall

When a Italian immigrant comes to the Ponderosa, he decides he wants to give up the guitar to become a cowboy.

34 - The Miracle Maker

Hoss blames himself when a young woman is crippled in a wagon accident, and hopes a faith healer can help her walk again.

34 - Sam Hill

Blacksmith Sam Hill fights to keep the land on which his mother is buried, after his drunken father signs the deed over to Colonel Tyson and his private army. Poetic episode written by John T. Kelley and directed by Robert Altman.

34 - Patchwork Man

Hoss befriends a self-demeaning recluse named Patch, who makes the best apple pie Hoss has ever tasted. Hoss is so impressed with him, especially his pie, that he hires him to work on the Ponderosa. Ben, however, is unimpressed with Hoss new friend when the Cartwrights get into a gunfight with a mining outfit, and Patch cowers. He has a deepseeded fear of violence stemming from an incident in his teen years, but he knows in order to survive in the West, he must overcome it.