Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 10, Episode 9 - Jonah Hutchinson - full transcript
An old rancher returns home after many years in prison, ready to reclaim what is his by any means necessary, including burning out the squatters on his land.
(theme music playing)
(both guns fire)
ANNOUNCER: starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.
♪♪
(hissing)
All I'm asking for is a
little dab of fire, Comanche,
to put this thing together.
Festus, it's gonna take
more than fire to fix that.
I'm gonna have to put
a sleeve on either end.
A sleeve?
Well, that probably cost
a heap of money, huh?
Well, about two dollars.
- Two dollars?!
- Yeah, two dollars.
Well, golly Bill, I was
figuring to sell it for three.
What do you want to fool around
with a busted lightning rod for
when I sell brand-new ones
right here for five dollars?
Five dollars.
That means you
could buy mine for three
and still come off
with a whopping profit.
Well, I guess I could
if I was in the business
of buying and selling
used lightning rods.
(scoffs)
(stagecoach approaching)
Hey.
Got time, Quint, to change
the axle pin before I leave?
That's all the
matter with it, Joe.
I guess it's only the pin, but
you might check that collar.
Can I have my bag there?
Well, the stop's further
up the street, mister.
Well, I got a mind to walking.
Thank you.
- Be back as soon as I unload.
- All right.
Giddyap.
Be obliged to help you, mister.
Oh, no. No, thank you.
I'm being met by my son.
I'm Jonah Hutchinson.
Festus Haggen.
Howdy.
Funny thing.
That old man said it like
I'd ought to blink my eyeballs
when I heard his name.
What's his name?
Jonah Hutchinson.
(wagon approaching)
Sure walking slow this
morning. What's the matter?
Well, I'm just
tired, that's all.
Tired? What are you tired from?
Well, I've been up
all night, that's what.
Hmm.
You tried working a little,
you'd know what
it is to get tired.
Well, you're sure
looking poorly.
I'll tell you, if, uh... if there
was a doctor in this town,
I'd recommend you to see one.
You gonna buy me that coffee,
or were you lying about that, too?
I'll buy it for you.
I'll be along in a minute, Doc.
Mr. Hutchinson?
Yeah, I answer to that.
My name's Matt
Dillon, Mr. Hutchinson.
- Well.
- I'm the marshal here.
Mighty glad to
know you, Marshal.
Yes, your, uh... your
stage got in a little bit early.
I know your boys were
planning to come in and see you.
I'm used to waiting.
It don't bother me none at all.
Yeah, I walked up
the street for old times.
I'd say that back in '39,
me and the boys were
the first over this section.
Right here where
you laid in the street.
We looped north of the
Santa Fe with our herd,
and we saved a week's time.
Sure. It was the old cut-off.
Mm-hmm.
(chuckles) I shot buffalo
on maybe this same spot.
- Yeah, there was a lot of them around.
- Yeah.
Say, how about having a beer
down at the Long Branch
while you're waiting?
It might cut the dust.
Yeah, it might go good.
Fine.
Pa, there's the
stage. It's in already.
Whoa. Howdy, Quint, Festus.
- Howdy, Sam, fellas.
- Hello, Sam.
How long the stage been in?
About ten minutes, I guess.
Did you see our grandpa on it?
Your grandpa?
Hutchinson.
Well, sure, I ought
to have guessed that.
Well, looks like we
missed our chance
to give him a whooping welcome.
Well, you should
be able to catch him.
He's just down the
street someplace.
Thanks, Quint.
You bet your life you
don't find it that way today.
People talk about the
old days, you know.
They forget that bread
earned with a sweatier brow
was not just an expression.
No, sir. Lot of times,
bread was all people got.
- Mm-hmm.
- Hello, Kitty.
- Hello, Doc. Matt.
- Kitty.
Kitty, I want you to
meet Jonah Hutchinson.
- This is Sam's father.
- Hi, ma'am.
I should have recognized
you, Mr. Hutchinson.
Sam takes after you.
Thank you, ma'am.
Can I buy you a
homecoming drink?
(chuckles): Well...
it'd be the first time
that a lady ever, uh...
Wh-What's the matter with him?
It's a painting of the
fight at Hutchinson house.
Hmm.
Must bring back
memories for him.
Artist passing through
here about five years ago
paid off his debts with that.
It's kind of been
a favorite of mine.
Yeah. It's a long time ago.
You can have the painting.
Oh, no. No, thank you.
It belongs where it is.
Uh, sort of belong to everybody.
Your grandpa's
right over there, boys.
- I'm Franklin, Grandpa.
- Well.
(chuckles): Franklin.
Well, what do you know!
- What do you know.
- This here's Steven and Aaron.
- Steven.
- Hi, Grandpa.
- Aaron.
- Grandpa.
Oh, I can pick you
boys out anywhere.
You got the shoulders
of Hutchinsons. (chuckles)
Well, it sure is great to see
you home again, Grandpa.
Oh, it's good to be back.
It's real good to be back.
You still look just like
your picture, Grandpa.
Well, I probably got
a gray hair or two.
(Jonah laughs)
Franklin, will you go
over there and get my bag,
and we'll be on our way?
I'll meet you boys outside, hmm?
Sure, Grandpa.
Miss, uh...
I've been trying to think
of something special
to do with this.
Little over 30 cents a year.
Money that hard to come by...
It ought to be put to
some special purpose.
I'll tell you what.
You set up drinks
for the first man
to come in here tonight
with empty pockets,
and then keep filling them up
for him until this is gone, hmm?
If you say so, Mr. Hutchinson.
Thank you.
Marshal. Thank you for the beer.
- Pleasure, Mr. Hutchinson.
- Uh-huh.
Doctor.
Mr. Hutchinson.
I'm glad you're home.
Samuel.
Hey, look at this.
Ten dollars.
30 years out of a man's life.
Yeah, it's a long time.
(clicks tongue)
You know something I
didn't know till tonight?
That that picture up
there had anything to do
with the fight at
Hutchinson house.
I didn't know that.
It's not too accurate, either.
There'd be seven dead men
lying in front of the house,
and two lawmen
still on their feet.
Looking at the old man now,
it's hard to believe he was
so ruthless in those days.
Well, I don't know if "ruthless"
is the word, either, Kitty.
You know, in those
days, it was a question
of might was
right a lot of times.
The only way a man
could hold his property
is if he had the most guns.
Now, Jonah's only mistake was,
he didn't realize the law
had moved in for good.
We, uh... we've got a good
horse broken in for you, Grandpa,
if you'd care to do some riding.
I'll be doing plenty
of riding, Steven.
Bet on that.
How's it feel to have leather
in your hands again, Grandpa?
Feels real good,
Franklin. Real good.
One job you appear to
have done real well, Samuel,
is to raise five boys.
Guess you always were
kind of a hero to them, Pa.
Fine boys.
Might make it
easier at home if...
you and me was
to forget old times,
start over with a handshake.
Real fine boys.
Whoa.
"Double Bar S"?
Seems to me our south boundary
come down further than here.
Had to sell off a
piece or two, Pa.
We've had some hard years.
Giddyap.
(chickens clucking)
You better anchor this place
down before it blows away.
I know you expected
us to be better off, Pa.
I'll be right back.
Want to go over and pay a
visit to the Hutchinson house.
Giddyap.
Going over to look at the ruins.
Wonder what he'll say
when he sees them.
He called it "the
Hutchinson House,"
like it was really
still a house.
Should have met
him at the prison,
had a long talk on the
way down, explain things.
He didn't want me to meet him.
He didn't want any visitors.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(wind whistling)
Yes?
Yes?
Who is it?
Who's there, I say?!
(wind continues whistling)
Pete?
Warren?
Is that you?
Alex?
Alex?!
Supper's ready, Grandpa.
Was that you calling
me just now, Franklin?
I guess it was me
you heard, Grandpa.
They're all dead, Franklin.
All dead.
30 years ago.
Such a long time.
We better get along
to supper, Grandpa.
Yeah.
- Sam?
- No, thank you, Phoebe.
More coffee, Grandpa?
Huh? Uh, oh, no.
No, thank you, Phoebe.
- Boys.
- No, Mom.
Pa... you've got
to know how it was.
Had some hard
years, no price for beef.
We had to sell
land to keep going.
And those title
fights... Lots of them.
People were claiming that
your land markers were no good.
Title fights? How
hard did you fight?
Pa... I know you're
disappointed,
but we do well
in providing here.
40 years ago, I
come up the Santa Fe,
and I put my name on a
half million acres of land!
If you'd had any spine,
these boys of yours
would have a legacy today.
Oh, maybe I
overplayed my hand a bit,
but when I went to prison,
I left you with two feet
standing on the biggest
spread in the country.
Pa! I'm trying to tell
you, people came in!
"People came in"!
Was you looking them in
the eye, or did you run again?
Grandpa, you're not being fair.
Sam's worked hard at
keeping the land we got.
All right.
All right, it's my
last word on it.
How many head
are we grazing now?
Well, uh, we market
maybe 50 a year, Grandpa.
In a good year, 60.
On my way back from
the Hutchinson House,
heard you call it
"the ruins" now.
Didn't see any point
in finishing the house,
Pa, the way things were.
You didn't see much point
in finishing anything
that I started!
I was about to say,
I seen more than 500 head
grazing west of the canyons.
Nobody bothers with
fences over there.
You let anybody graze
on Hutchinson land
that has a mind to?!
Pa, the land's no good.
(wagon approaching)
MAN: Whoa.
It's Mr. Gorth.
I got just one more question.
Does our land still
take in Canyon Creek?
Still takes it in.
40 years ago, I noticed
that where that canyon
bent to the south...
Well, hello. Well, glad to see
you made it all right. (laughs)
Gorth. Joe Gorth.
Nearest neighbor, I reckon.
Have a cup of coffee
with us, Mr. Gorth.
No, thank you, Phoebe.
Just passing by to
welcome Jonah here home.
Now, uh, don't tell
me you can't play,
because that don't
make no difference.
Joe Gorth is the
greatest teacher there is.
Now, we can swap riding over.
One day, you ride over my
way, next day, I ride over this way.
What are you talking about?
Checkers! Passing
the time of day.
Ever since old Turley died, I
had no neighbor to play with,
but now I figure
that you and me...
Get this old fool out of here!
Mr. Gorth means...
I've spent 30 years of
my life passing the time.
Get him out of here!
- Get out of here.
- Oh, I...
- Now!
- I didn't mean to offend you...
Get out!
Mr. Gorth is a good
neighbor of ours.
The word "neighbor" is somebody
sitting on land belonging to me.
Don't you tell me
about neighbors!
They stole from you!
They destroyed you!
There's other ranchers
grazing on my land!
Squatters make
a living off of it!
People shouting to the world
that the name
"Hutchinson" is less
than the dirt that
they're walking on!
Well, that's being changed!
Come over here
and sit down, Aaron.
Boys, my life is almost through,
and your pa's is
more than half over,
so what we do now,
we're doing for you boys.
You're old enough to
make your own decisions,
so I'm asking you.
Do you want to see the JH
brand mean something again?
No, no.
Now, it's you boys
that I'm talking to.
You're the Hutchinsons that
are gonna be running things.
Well, your grandpa's
right about one thing.
This land will be yours one day.
What are we doing
first, Grandpa?
Well, the first thing we're
doing is breaking out any bottle
of whatever you got stored
away for a winter's cough.
And then we're drinking
to the Hutchinsons
holding their heads
high again in this county.
(laughs) I'll get it, Grandpa.
Hello, boys.
- Howdy, Marshal.
- Howdy, Marshal. -Hi.
Well, you got a need for
all those guns, have you?
Handguns, Marshal. First
time we ever had any of them.
Get up there, Franklin.
Mount up, boys.
Well, Mr. Hutchinson,
you're not planning
to start some kind of
war out there, are you?
Let's go. Hyah.
My gosh, Marshal, he just about
cleaned me out of everything...
Rifles, guns, shells.
Well, did they say why
they were stocking up?
Well, the old man was in no
mind to answer any questions.
Bought dynamite,
too... Three cases of it.
Enough to blow up
the whole county.
If you ask me,
looks kind of funny,
but it's none of my
business; I just sell it.
(cattle lowing)
Hyah! Hyah.
Get him back in
with the herd, boys.
They'll never let you
get away with it, Pa.
Putting your irons
on calves not yours.
There's no law against
branding mavericks.
Since when did any calf
being suckled by a
branded cow a maverick?
People treat our
land as open range,
they can do it
at their own risk.
They don't like it,
let them build fences.
Pa, ain't nothing illegal
with what we're doing.
They could even be our
calves for all we know.
Except you know
they're not, son.
I see that you've all chosen
to start wearing guns...
on our land.
♪♪
Howdy, boys. Mr. Hutchinson.
You Lefferts?
You might call me Dan
like everybody
else, Mr. Hutchinson.
Long time since I
heard my last name.
Starting today, you're paying
lease money for this land...
$100 a year.
I just never heard any
leasing money, Mr. Hutchinson.
Well, now you're hearing.
First of the month will give
you time to get the money up.
Now, just a darned minute!
I've been here 17, 18 years.
Ask the boys.
Take your hand off my horse!
Steven, tell your grandfather.
I've been 17, 18 years.
Well, maybe you should have
been paying for all them years, Dan.
This here land's just sitting.
Be sitting here till doomsday,
nobody ever using it.
You'll pay up or get out.
I ain't doing neither.
I got rights, now.
Anybody coming around
here with his hand out
can start looking
for my squirrel gun.
That your last word?
You bet your doggone life it is!
I ain't about to
knuckle down to no...
- Burn it.
- Just plumb crazy.
Boy, you back away.
- (gunshot)
- (groans)
Get on with it!
(lamp shatters)
♪♪
I guess we won't get
too many arguments
from the rest of them
on paying lease money.
There's a real good
lesson for you, boys.
You want to take something and
the law is a shade on your side,
you go ahead and take it.
You take it, and let the lawyers
and the judges argue over it.
They'll go on arguing the
right and the wrong of it
till the day you die.
But... the thing you
wanted done, you done.
I'll say this... For the
first time in my life,
I feel like we're headed
in the right direction.
Like we'll finally get a
chance to get up off our knees.
I kind of like the feeling.
Well... Grandpa's sure
right about one thing:
Hutchinson name's gonna
be known all over this county.
(groaning)
I know that's hurting a little.
Feels like you're yanking
a tooth out through my leg.
Oh, for heaven's
sakes, it's not that bad...
It's just under the skin.
Now, hold still a
minute, and I'll-I'll have it.
- There we are.
- (groans)
That's it.
(panting)
Well, is he gonna make it, Doc?
Oh, he'll be all right.
I'm mad, Marshal,
just burning mad.
DILLON: Well, I don't say
I blame you for that, Dan.
When you putting that
crazy old fool behind bars?
I'm afraid it's not
quite that simple.
You know, when you grabbed
that axe and started for Steven,
you lost some of the law.
I was burned out,
Marshal, burned out.
I had lots of law.
You got more sympathy
than law right at the moment.
Now, old Jonah came in to see me
and he told me, as far
as he was concerned,
he was getting rid of a
nuisance on his property.
Said he was perfectly
willing to go to jail
if I thought that was necessary.
The fact is that
everything he did was legal.
Legal? You call shooting
a man... (groaning)
You just quit squirming
around and yelling,
you'll be a lot more
comfortable, I'll tell you that.
Matt, what's this I hear
about branding calves,
stealing them and so on?
Well, several of the ranchers
came to see me, Doc.
They claim old
Jonah's put brands
on about 200 of their calves.
Was he within his rights?
Well, these ranches are
without fences, you know?
They have to go more or
less by the Golden Rule.
There's no law against branding
calves on your own property.
Just depends on how
neighborly you want to be.
(chuckles) Kind of makes a
difference if you got a neighbor
like Jonah Hutchinson
though, don't it?
Yeah, well, I'm gonna
go out and see him,
see what he's got on his mind.
And you ain't arresting him?
Dan, I hate to arrest a man
and have to turn him
loose again the same day.
Doc, I'll see you later.
Hope the leg mends up.
Fine, Matt. See you.
- Here now, Dan, sit up there.
- (grunts)
That's gonna be hurting a
little; you have to be careful.
"Hope the leg mends up."
Real consolation. (scoffs)
Well, you've got to obey
the law, too, you know.
What's it cost me, Doc, the leg?
Well, I get five dollars
for removing bullets now.
Pistol or rifle?
Nobody ever asked
me that before.
A pistol makes an
easier job, don't it?
How much easier do
you figure it ought to be?
Oh, maybe a dollar?
All right, a dollar easier.
Hey, sure looks like it
all went off, Grandpa.
Now get down there and
get busy with them shovels!
- Mr. Hutchinson.
- Yeah?
Does this here mean
what I think it means?
We're turning this creek
down the west slope.
But keeping water
away from your neighbors
just so it can go to waste
doesn't make much sense.
Well, maybe not, if
it was going to waste.
But turning that creek
down the west slope
spills it out on
Hutchinson Flats.
- Yeah, where it sinks into the dirt.
- For a time.
But water and dirt
eventually make grassland.
Take a lot of imagination
to figure that scrub section
of yours is grassland.
Maybe so, Marshal,
but all I'm concerned with
is keeping that creek
water on Hutchinson land.
It starts on our land, and I
see no reason to let it run off.
Did you ever stop to
think what's gonna happen
when the ranchers south
of here run out of water?
Well, you might say I
ain't interested, Marshal.
You see, I become kind of a
stickler for abiding by the law,
and I'm hoping other
folks will do the same.
And what takes place
on Hutchinson land
is mostly my business.
There might come a time when it
gets to be everybody's business.
I came out here to try
and talk some sense to you,
but it could be I'm
wasting my time.
Now, that might be
the case, Marshal.
That might be the case.
It's like I said, boys, when
a thing is done, it's done.
(chuckles) You let the
other fella worry about it.
Now get busy with them
shovels and let's finish this up.
Golly Bill, you can't
say it won't work, Doc,
if-if nobody ain't
never tried it.
Of course it won't work.
It's the craziest
idea I ever heard of.
- Well, why?
- Well, because.
Because, well, selling
wooden lightning rods
is worse than trying
to sell wooden bullets.
What's the matter with you?
Well, it ain't
gonna be all wood.
The tippy-tip would be made
out of iron or tin or something...
Enough to trap the lightning,
like it's supposed to do.
I'm gonna try to explain
this one more time to you.
The reason lightning
rods are made out of metal
is because the lightning
goes down through the metal
into the ground,
like it's supposed to.
That's where it's trapped.
Now, if... well, if
there was wood,
uh, the wood would be just
burnt to a cinder, I'll tell you that.
And your tippy-tip would, too.
Wouldn't just trap
the lightning, huh?
I'm afraid not.
Well, have you
ever saw it happen?
Have I ever saw what happen?
A wood lightning
rod burnt to a cinder.
No.
No, and because...
There never was...
Nobody would be...
If I bought you another drink,
would you just
change the subject?
Well, whatever you think's fair.
Whiskey.
Mr. Hutchinson, how are you?
Offhand, Doctor, I would say,
who's even
interested in knowing?
I'd ought to have knowed
you when I first seen you,
Mr. Hutchinson.
I didn't mean to be impolite.
Hutchinson.
I want you to know, if the
water drains off my north section,
I'll be doing
something about it.
Is that so?
I can spare those
calves you stole.
But if I start losing
my grass in the spring,
I'll be paying a visit
to that canyon creek.
Mm. Figure on turning
it back the other way?
Way it's been flowing
for 100 years or more.
Well, I guess I wouldn't have
the manpower to stop you.
I'd just have to run to the law.
And I hear you got pretty
good law in this county.
You looking for trouble along
our boundary, Hutchinson,
you'll be accommodated.
I think you people
got a lot more worries
on the way than fence worries.
You're all sitting on land
that I put my land markers on.
A lot of it you
bought from my son
during the hard years.
Now, it just might be
that a bill of sale without my
name to it isn't worth much.
Samuel sold that land
with the power of attorney,
signed by you.
How do you know
it was my signature?
I wasn't even there.
Now, it just may be
that some smart
lawyer that I might hire
will find it worthwhile looking
over those titles of yours,
especially when I don't remember
ever signing anything away.
What's gotten into him?
Why doesn't he just sit on
his front porch and sun himself?
Well, I don't know.
He's got that choice,
or he can pick up
where he left off.
Well, that's gonna get him
nothing but hard feelings.
Kind of sounds to me like
that's exactly what he's after.
You keep swinging
that sledge, Grandpa,
there ain't gonna be
a wall left standing.
Well, whatever comes down
don't deserve to be left standing.
S-Sure gonna be a
powerful lot of work
we're putting in here, Grandpa.
You won't mind the time, Steven.
Once you see a
roof going into place,
see a house being built that
your grandchildren can live in.
Yeah, maybe even their children.
We each really gonna have a
room to ourselves, Grandpa?
You'll have all that and more.
And later on, we'll add wings,
so's when you boys take wives,
why, you'll all be
Hutchinsons living in one place
and working to keep that
name known in these parts.
Now come on.
Let's get back to work;
we'll never get done.
We're getting visitors, Grandpa.
Six, maybe seven of them.
What kind of visitors?
Ranchers. They were
all collecting at the saloon,
all coming out here.
Heard one of them say,
you'd be talking sense
or getting yourself buried.
We'll be ready for them.
We got thick walls
to stand behind.
Well, who's all
coming, Franklin?
Mr. Dobkins, Mr. Swenson,
Higher brothers,
even Mr. O'Neil.
He was talking about
a shooting being better
than getting walked
on by Grandpa.
Well, we've been doing
things only on Hutchinson land.
I guess we can get
as hardnosed as them.
Come on inside. We'll
set up your positions.
Was about here that
Alex took his spot.
This'll be yours, Franklin.
Mine, Grandpa?
Yeah.
Alex was a man you boys
would have been proud of.
Smile on his face,
gun in his hand.
He was a man that you took to.
You had to like him.
He had a way with him.
Steve,
this'll be your place
right over here.
Now, remember... you
keep your head down, boy.
There was five of them
came up here with me.
Five of the best.
We come up that Santa
Fe asking no favors
and sure not giving any.
Men, boys.
All men. Oh, no
older than yourselves.
But nobody with
a hand out. Oh, no.
Gun on your side there,
muscle in your shoulder.
That was what counted.
You didn't ask for nothing,
because you knew beforehand,
nothing was gonna
be given to you.
You just ate the dirt,
you sweated it out,
and you built the land.
This won't come
to guns, Grandpa.
Well, we know
most of these people.
Maybe all of them.
Whatever it comes to,
they'll be
Hutchinsons here, boy,
ready and waiting.
Bring that wagon around the
side, we'll get her unloaded.
♪♪
- Samuel.
- Hello, Matt.
- Phoebe.
- Morning, Marshal.
Your pa seems to have a lot
of people bothered these days.
It's his own doing,
not mine, Matt.
Well, he's a pretty old man.
Maybe he needs some advice.
That'll be the day when my
pa takes advice from anybody.
Well, all right, then maybe
"advice" isn't the right word.
Maybe he needs to be
taken in hand by his son.
My pa taken in hand?
That some kind
of a joke, Marshal?
It's no joke, Samuel.
Not when there's a
range war about to start.
It's his own doing.
You've always been a man
that's taken pretty
good care of his sons.
I don't recall your boys
being in any scrapes.
Now, suddenly,
you turn them over
to a man that's liable
to get them killed.
I don't understand it.
My boys are old enough
to make their own
decisions, Matt.
Oh, do you think they're
making their own decisions,
or are they just
following the advice
of somebody they think
is wiser than they are?
Where's your pa?
He's at the ruins.
Samuel, he's gonna get
himself killed one of these days.
He's gonna be riding over
that scrub section of yours,
and somebody's
gonna pick him off.
There's nothing I
can do about it, Matt.
He can't do any of
the things he's doing
without your boys' help.
Now, I figure a good
man is always able
to handle his own sons.
And I figure you for a good man.
Phoebe.
Marshal.
How long do we go on living
with the ghost of
30 years ago, Sam?
♪♪
Stay right there, Marshal.
We were expecting
a different breed.
Something change their plan?
I ran into them outside of
town; I told them to go back.
Weren't very strong in
their convictions, were they?
Jonah, I'm gonna
have to take you into jail.
You got a charge?
I talked to Judge
Brooking about that.
He said we're gonna
charge you with inciting to riot.
Inciting to riot?
Now, just what does that cover?
Diverting water that's
used as range water,
shooting a man,
burning his house down,
branding cattle
that aren't yours.
Isn't a one that'll make
stick, and he knows it.
I wouldn't count on that.
You're gonna have
to convince the judge
you're not deliberately trying
to start a range war out here.
Marshal, you come on a bit light
to take me off my own property.
Samuel, I was hoping I could
bring Jonah in peaceable.
Oh, you did, did you?
Well, you better get, before
we send you on your way.
You boys there... how do
you feel about those guns?
They feel like I
say. Now you get!
Mr. Hutchinson, this
doesn't make sense.
What you're doing now,
what you've been doing.
It doesn't make
any sense at all.
Just like it didn't make
any sense 30 years ago.
There are some things best
left unsaid by you, Samuel.
Boys, I want you to
take off your gun belts.
We don't use handguns
on our own land.
I'm making them into
Hutchinsons, Samuel.
Except for having that name,
you wouldn't understand
what that means.
I told you boys to get
rid of your gun belts.
Maybe it's about time these
boys heard the truth about you.
Time to figure out just how
much respect you've got coming.
Your grandfather's talking about
the fight at
Hutchinson house here.
I ran out on him and the others.
You ran and hid, like
a spineless coward.
You were afraid!
Our pa's no coward, Grandpa.
Isn't he? Isn't he?!
Well, ask him! Ask!
I guess, Pa, I'll
never know why I ran.
I was 15.
Maybe I was afraid.
Or maybe I saw you
in the wrong again.
Maybe I got fed up
seeing you killing people,
keep them off the land.
Land, land.
Nothing but land.
Spreading the Hutchinson name.
Always the name...
Jonah Hutchinson.
Sniveling like a coward.
Not crying for myself, Pa.
I was crying for you.
Like the way I feel now.
You're always using people, Pa.
Like now.
You come back here thinking
that the whole territory has
the name "Jonah Hutchinson"
on their lips.
You find out they don't.
So you're aiming to fix that.
Gonna start using people again.
But, Pa... you're
not using my sons.
Franklin, you come out here!
Hey, now don't listen to him.
You're a Hutchinson!
I want you to take off your
gun belt and get on your horse.
He ran!
Your father ran!
He's got no rights!
Franklin.
A boy becomes a man in two ways:
in his shoulder and in his head.
One without the other,
and he's still a boy.
I want you to take
off your gun belt
before I prove you're
a boy both ways.
Pa, I think we know...
The trouble is, Franklin,
you haven't been thinking.
Now, you boys whip me,
you have a right to stay here.
But whipping me you're
gonna have to do first.
No. Boys, he ran!
Your father ran, boys!
Listen, he's got no rights!
Don't listen to him!
Running! Running!
You're all running!
- Samuel?
- Mm?
You think you can
handle your father,
I'll let you take him into town.
I-I'd hate to put him in jail.
(gunshot)
(Jonah panting)
I come mighty close...
to being the biggest.
Don't you ever
forget that... boy.
♪♪
Well, I'd say this is
pretty easy to figure.
He just had two choices.
He could... sit
in a rocking chair
and be an old man and
sun himself there, you know,
or he could give up his
life right there in that house,
go out being an important man,
at least in his own eyes.
Well, I just can't believe
he would deliberately
set out to end his own life.
Well, Kitty, he must have known
that he could only push
people around here so far
till he'd have his
back against the wall.
No, sir. I figure
he meant to die,
and he just chose a
time and a place to do it.
You know, I always
liked that old picture.
It was like a little
bit of the past.
Folklore, almost.
I don't know now.
Just seems like an old
man causing a lot of trouble.
Well, I don't know, Kitty.
There's another
way of looking at it.
He may not have been the wisest,
but don't forget, he was
the first man up this way.
First man to see this
country was worth settling.
He planted a marker
100 miles from the sound
of the nearest human voice.
Good or bad, I got to
drink to a man like that.
(both guns fire)
ANNOUNCER: starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.
♪♪
(hissing)
All I'm asking for is a
little dab of fire, Comanche,
to put this thing together.
Festus, it's gonna take
more than fire to fix that.
I'm gonna have to put
a sleeve on either end.
A sleeve?
Well, that probably cost
a heap of money, huh?
Well, about two dollars.
- Two dollars?!
- Yeah, two dollars.
Well, golly Bill, I was
figuring to sell it for three.
What do you want to fool around
with a busted lightning rod for
when I sell brand-new ones
right here for five dollars?
Five dollars.
That means you
could buy mine for three
and still come off
with a whopping profit.
Well, I guess I could
if I was in the business
of buying and selling
used lightning rods.
(scoffs)
(stagecoach approaching)
Hey.
Got time, Quint, to change
the axle pin before I leave?
That's all the
matter with it, Joe.
I guess it's only the pin, but
you might check that collar.
Can I have my bag there?
Well, the stop's further
up the street, mister.
Well, I got a mind to walking.
Thank you.
- Be back as soon as I unload.
- All right.
Giddyap.
Be obliged to help you, mister.
Oh, no. No, thank you.
I'm being met by my son.
I'm Jonah Hutchinson.
Festus Haggen.
Howdy.
Funny thing.
That old man said it like
I'd ought to blink my eyeballs
when I heard his name.
What's his name?
Jonah Hutchinson.
(wagon approaching)
Sure walking slow this
morning. What's the matter?
Well, I'm just
tired, that's all.
Tired? What are you tired from?
Well, I've been up
all night, that's what.
Hmm.
You tried working a little,
you'd know what
it is to get tired.
Well, you're sure
looking poorly.
I'll tell you, if, uh... if there
was a doctor in this town,
I'd recommend you to see one.
You gonna buy me that coffee,
or were you lying about that, too?
I'll buy it for you.
I'll be along in a minute, Doc.
Mr. Hutchinson?
Yeah, I answer to that.
My name's Matt
Dillon, Mr. Hutchinson.
- Well.
- I'm the marshal here.
Mighty glad to
know you, Marshal.
Yes, your, uh... your
stage got in a little bit early.
I know your boys were
planning to come in and see you.
I'm used to waiting.
It don't bother me none at all.
Yeah, I walked up
the street for old times.
I'd say that back in '39,
me and the boys were
the first over this section.
Right here where
you laid in the street.
We looped north of the
Santa Fe with our herd,
and we saved a week's time.
Sure. It was the old cut-off.
Mm-hmm.
(chuckles) I shot buffalo
on maybe this same spot.
- Yeah, there was a lot of them around.
- Yeah.
Say, how about having a beer
down at the Long Branch
while you're waiting?
It might cut the dust.
Yeah, it might go good.
Fine.
Pa, there's the
stage. It's in already.
Whoa. Howdy, Quint, Festus.
- Howdy, Sam, fellas.
- Hello, Sam.
How long the stage been in?
About ten minutes, I guess.
Did you see our grandpa on it?
Your grandpa?
Hutchinson.
Well, sure, I ought
to have guessed that.
Well, looks like we
missed our chance
to give him a whooping welcome.
Well, you should
be able to catch him.
He's just down the
street someplace.
Thanks, Quint.
You bet your life you
don't find it that way today.
People talk about the
old days, you know.
They forget that bread
earned with a sweatier brow
was not just an expression.
No, sir. Lot of times,
bread was all people got.
- Mm-hmm.
- Hello, Kitty.
- Hello, Doc. Matt.
- Kitty.
Kitty, I want you to
meet Jonah Hutchinson.
- This is Sam's father.
- Hi, ma'am.
I should have recognized
you, Mr. Hutchinson.
Sam takes after you.
Thank you, ma'am.
Can I buy you a
homecoming drink?
(chuckles): Well...
it'd be the first time
that a lady ever, uh...
Wh-What's the matter with him?
It's a painting of the
fight at Hutchinson house.
Hmm.
Must bring back
memories for him.
Artist passing through
here about five years ago
paid off his debts with that.
It's kind of been
a favorite of mine.
Yeah. It's a long time ago.
You can have the painting.
Oh, no. No, thank you.
It belongs where it is.
Uh, sort of belong to everybody.
Your grandpa's
right over there, boys.
- I'm Franklin, Grandpa.
- Well.
(chuckles): Franklin.
Well, what do you know!
- What do you know.
- This here's Steven and Aaron.
- Steven.
- Hi, Grandpa.
- Aaron.
- Grandpa.
Oh, I can pick you
boys out anywhere.
You got the shoulders
of Hutchinsons. (chuckles)
Well, it sure is great to see
you home again, Grandpa.
Oh, it's good to be back.
It's real good to be back.
You still look just like
your picture, Grandpa.
Well, I probably got
a gray hair or two.
(Jonah laughs)
Franklin, will you go
over there and get my bag,
and we'll be on our way?
I'll meet you boys outside, hmm?
Sure, Grandpa.
Miss, uh...
I've been trying to think
of something special
to do with this.
Little over 30 cents a year.
Money that hard to come by...
It ought to be put to
some special purpose.
I'll tell you what.
You set up drinks
for the first man
to come in here tonight
with empty pockets,
and then keep filling them up
for him until this is gone, hmm?
If you say so, Mr. Hutchinson.
Thank you.
Marshal. Thank you for the beer.
- Pleasure, Mr. Hutchinson.
- Uh-huh.
Doctor.
Mr. Hutchinson.
I'm glad you're home.
Samuel.
Hey, look at this.
Ten dollars.
30 years out of a man's life.
Yeah, it's a long time.
(clicks tongue)
You know something I
didn't know till tonight?
That that picture up
there had anything to do
with the fight at
Hutchinson house.
I didn't know that.
It's not too accurate, either.
There'd be seven dead men
lying in front of the house,
and two lawmen
still on their feet.
Looking at the old man now,
it's hard to believe he was
so ruthless in those days.
Well, I don't know if "ruthless"
is the word, either, Kitty.
You know, in those
days, it was a question
of might was
right a lot of times.
The only way a man
could hold his property
is if he had the most guns.
Now, Jonah's only mistake was,
he didn't realize the law
had moved in for good.
We, uh... we've got a good
horse broken in for you, Grandpa,
if you'd care to do some riding.
I'll be doing plenty
of riding, Steven.
Bet on that.
How's it feel to have leather
in your hands again, Grandpa?
Feels real good,
Franklin. Real good.
One job you appear to
have done real well, Samuel,
is to raise five boys.
Guess you always were
kind of a hero to them, Pa.
Fine boys.
Might make it
easier at home if...
you and me was
to forget old times,
start over with a handshake.
Real fine boys.
Whoa.
"Double Bar S"?
Seems to me our south boundary
come down further than here.
Had to sell off a
piece or two, Pa.
We've had some hard years.
Giddyap.
(chickens clucking)
You better anchor this place
down before it blows away.
I know you expected
us to be better off, Pa.
I'll be right back.
Want to go over and pay a
visit to the Hutchinson house.
Giddyap.
Going over to look at the ruins.
Wonder what he'll say
when he sees them.
He called it "the
Hutchinson House,"
like it was really
still a house.
Should have met
him at the prison,
had a long talk on the
way down, explain things.
He didn't want me to meet him.
He didn't want any visitors.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(wind whistling)
Yes?
Yes?
Who is it?
Who's there, I say?!
(wind continues whistling)
Pete?
Warren?
Is that you?
Alex?
Alex?!
Supper's ready, Grandpa.
Was that you calling
me just now, Franklin?
I guess it was me
you heard, Grandpa.
They're all dead, Franklin.
All dead.
30 years ago.
Such a long time.
We better get along
to supper, Grandpa.
Yeah.
- Sam?
- No, thank you, Phoebe.
More coffee, Grandpa?
Huh? Uh, oh, no.
No, thank you, Phoebe.
- Boys.
- No, Mom.
Pa... you've got
to know how it was.
Had some hard
years, no price for beef.
We had to sell
land to keep going.
And those title
fights... Lots of them.
People were claiming that
your land markers were no good.
Title fights? How
hard did you fight?
Pa... I know you're
disappointed,
but we do well
in providing here.
40 years ago, I
come up the Santa Fe,
and I put my name on a
half million acres of land!
If you'd had any spine,
these boys of yours
would have a legacy today.
Oh, maybe I
overplayed my hand a bit,
but when I went to prison,
I left you with two feet
standing on the biggest
spread in the country.
Pa! I'm trying to tell
you, people came in!
"People came in"!
Was you looking them in
the eye, or did you run again?
Grandpa, you're not being fair.
Sam's worked hard at
keeping the land we got.
All right.
All right, it's my
last word on it.
How many head
are we grazing now?
Well, uh, we market
maybe 50 a year, Grandpa.
In a good year, 60.
On my way back from
the Hutchinson House,
heard you call it
"the ruins" now.
Didn't see any point
in finishing the house,
Pa, the way things were.
You didn't see much point
in finishing anything
that I started!
I was about to say,
I seen more than 500 head
grazing west of the canyons.
Nobody bothers with
fences over there.
You let anybody graze
on Hutchinson land
that has a mind to?!
Pa, the land's no good.
(wagon approaching)
MAN: Whoa.
It's Mr. Gorth.
I got just one more question.
Does our land still
take in Canyon Creek?
Still takes it in.
40 years ago, I noticed
that where that canyon
bent to the south...
Well, hello. Well, glad to see
you made it all right. (laughs)
Gorth. Joe Gorth.
Nearest neighbor, I reckon.
Have a cup of coffee
with us, Mr. Gorth.
No, thank you, Phoebe.
Just passing by to
welcome Jonah here home.
Now, uh, don't tell
me you can't play,
because that don't
make no difference.
Joe Gorth is the
greatest teacher there is.
Now, we can swap riding over.
One day, you ride over my
way, next day, I ride over this way.
What are you talking about?
Checkers! Passing
the time of day.
Ever since old Turley died, I
had no neighbor to play with,
but now I figure
that you and me...
Get this old fool out of here!
Mr. Gorth means...
I've spent 30 years of
my life passing the time.
Get him out of here!
- Get out of here.
- Oh, I...
- Now!
- I didn't mean to offend you...
Get out!
Mr. Gorth is a good
neighbor of ours.
The word "neighbor" is somebody
sitting on land belonging to me.
Don't you tell me
about neighbors!
They stole from you!
They destroyed you!
There's other ranchers
grazing on my land!
Squatters make
a living off of it!
People shouting to the world
that the name
"Hutchinson" is less
than the dirt that
they're walking on!
Well, that's being changed!
Come over here
and sit down, Aaron.
Boys, my life is almost through,
and your pa's is
more than half over,
so what we do now,
we're doing for you boys.
You're old enough to
make your own decisions,
so I'm asking you.
Do you want to see the JH
brand mean something again?
No, no.
Now, it's you boys
that I'm talking to.
You're the Hutchinsons that
are gonna be running things.
Well, your grandpa's
right about one thing.
This land will be yours one day.
What are we doing
first, Grandpa?
Well, the first thing we're
doing is breaking out any bottle
of whatever you got stored
away for a winter's cough.
And then we're drinking
to the Hutchinsons
holding their heads
high again in this county.
(laughs) I'll get it, Grandpa.
Hello, boys.
- Howdy, Marshal.
- Howdy, Marshal. -Hi.
Well, you got a need for
all those guns, have you?
Handguns, Marshal. First
time we ever had any of them.
Get up there, Franklin.
Mount up, boys.
Well, Mr. Hutchinson,
you're not planning
to start some kind of
war out there, are you?
Let's go. Hyah.
My gosh, Marshal, he just about
cleaned me out of everything...
Rifles, guns, shells.
Well, did they say why
they were stocking up?
Well, the old man was in no
mind to answer any questions.
Bought dynamite,
too... Three cases of it.
Enough to blow up
the whole county.
If you ask me,
looks kind of funny,
but it's none of my
business; I just sell it.
(cattle lowing)
Hyah! Hyah.
Get him back in
with the herd, boys.
They'll never let you
get away with it, Pa.
Putting your irons
on calves not yours.
There's no law against
branding mavericks.
Since when did any calf
being suckled by a
branded cow a maverick?
People treat our
land as open range,
they can do it
at their own risk.
They don't like it,
let them build fences.
Pa, ain't nothing illegal
with what we're doing.
They could even be our
calves for all we know.
Except you know
they're not, son.
I see that you've all chosen
to start wearing guns...
on our land.
♪♪
Howdy, boys. Mr. Hutchinson.
You Lefferts?
You might call me Dan
like everybody
else, Mr. Hutchinson.
Long time since I
heard my last name.
Starting today, you're paying
lease money for this land...
$100 a year.
I just never heard any
leasing money, Mr. Hutchinson.
Well, now you're hearing.
First of the month will give
you time to get the money up.
Now, just a darned minute!
I've been here 17, 18 years.
Ask the boys.
Take your hand off my horse!
Steven, tell your grandfather.
I've been 17, 18 years.
Well, maybe you should have
been paying for all them years, Dan.
This here land's just sitting.
Be sitting here till doomsday,
nobody ever using it.
You'll pay up or get out.
I ain't doing neither.
I got rights, now.
Anybody coming around
here with his hand out
can start looking
for my squirrel gun.
That your last word?
You bet your doggone life it is!
I ain't about to
knuckle down to no...
- Burn it.
- Just plumb crazy.
Boy, you back away.
- (gunshot)
- (groans)
Get on with it!
(lamp shatters)
♪♪
I guess we won't get
too many arguments
from the rest of them
on paying lease money.
There's a real good
lesson for you, boys.
You want to take something and
the law is a shade on your side,
you go ahead and take it.
You take it, and let the lawyers
and the judges argue over it.
They'll go on arguing the
right and the wrong of it
till the day you die.
But... the thing you
wanted done, you done.
I'll say this... For the
first time in my life,
I feel like we're headed
in the right direction.
Like we'll finally get a
chance to get up off our knees.
I kind of like the feeling.
Well... Grandpa's sure
right about one thing:
Hutchinson name's gonna
be known all over this county.
(groaning)
I know that's hurting a little.
Feels like you're yanking
a tooth out through my leg.
Oh, for heaven's
sakes, it's not that bad...
It's just under the skin.
Now, hold still a
minute, and I'll-I'll have it.
- There we are.
- (groans)
That's it.
(panting)
Well, is he gonna make it, Doc?
Oh, he'll be all right.
I'm mad, Marshal,
just burning mad.
DILLON: Well, I don't say
I blame you for that, Dan.
When you putting that
crazy old fool behind bars?
I'm afraid it's not
quite that simple.
You know, when you grabbed
that axe and started for Steven,
you lost some of the law.
I was burned out,
Marshal, burned out.
I had lots of law.
You got more sympathy
than law right at the moment.
Now, old Jonah came in to see me
and he told me, as far
as he was concerned,
he was getting rid of a
nuisance on his property.
Said he was perfectly
willing to go to jail
if I thought that was necessary.
The fact is that
everything he did was legal.
Legal? You call shooting
a man... (groaning)
You just quit squirming
around and yelling,
you'll be a lot more
comfortable, I'll tell you that.
Matt, what's this I hear
about branding calves,
stealing them and so on?
Well, several of the ranchers
came to see me, Doc.
They claim old
Jonah's put brands
on about 200 of their calves.
Was he within his rights?
Well, these ranches are
without fences, you know?
They have to go more or
less by the Golden Rule.
There's no law against branding
calves on your own property.
Just depends on how
neighborly you want to be.
(chuckles) Kind of makes a
difference if you got a neighbor
like Jonah Hutchinson
though, don't it?
Yeah, well, I'm gonna
go out and see him,
see what he's got on his mind.
And you ain't arresting him?
Dan, I hate to arrest a man
and have to turn him
loose again the same day.
Doc, I'll see you later.
Hope the leg mends up.
Fine, Matt. See you.
- Here now, Dan, sit up there.
- (grunts)
That's gonna be hurting a
little; you have to be careful.
"Hope the leg mends up."
Real consolation. (scoffs)
Well, you've got to obey
the law, too, you know.
What's it cost me, Doc, the leg?
Well, I get five dollars
for removing bullets now.
Pistol or rifle?
Nobody ever asked
me that before.
A pistol makes an
easier job, don't it?
How much easier do
you figure it ought to be?
Oh, maybe a dollar?
All right, a dollar easier.
Hey, sure looks like it
all went off, Grandpa.
Now get down there and
get busy with them shovels!
- Mr. Hutchinson.
- Yeah?
Does this here mean
what I think it means?
We're turning this creek
down the west slope.
But keeping water
away from your neighbors
just so it can go to waste
doesn't make much sense.
Well, maybe not, if
it was going to waste.
But turning that creek
down the west slope
spills it out on
Hutchinson Flats.
- Yeah, where it sinks into the dirt.
- For a time.
But water and dirt
eventually make grassland.
Take a lot of imagination
to figure that scrub section
of yours is grassland.
Maybe so, Marshal,
but all I'm concerned with
is keeping that creek
water on Hutchinson land.
It starts on our land, and I
see no reason to let it run off.
Did you ever stop to
think what's gonna happen
when the ranchers south
of here run out of water?
Well, you might say I
ain't interested, Marshal.
You see, I become kind of a
stickler for abiding by the law,
and I'm hoping other
folks will do the same.
And what takes place
on Hutchinson land
is mostly my business.
There might come a time when it
gets to be everybody's business.
I came out here to try
and talk some sense to you,
but it could be I'm
wasting my time.
Now, that might be
the case, Marshal.
That might be the case.
It's like I said, boys, when
a thing is done, it's done.
(chuckles) You let the
other fella worry about it.
Now get busy with them
shovels and let's finish this up.
Golly Bill, you can't
say it won't work, Doc,
if-if nobody ain't
never tried it.
Of course it won't work.
It's the craziest
idea I ever heard of.
- Well, why?
- Well, because.
Because, well, selling
wooden lightning rods
is worse than trying
to sell wooden bullets.
What's the matter with you?
Well, it ain't
gonna be all wood.
The tippy-tip would be made
out of iron or tin or something...
Enough to trap the lightning,
like it's supposed to do.
I'm gonna try to explain
this one more time to you.
The reason lightning
rods are made out of metal
is because the lightning
goes down through the metal
into the ground,
like it's supposed to.
That's where it's trapped.
Now, if... well, if
there was wood,
uh, the wood would be just
burnt to a cinder, I'll tell you that.
And your tippy-tip would, too.
Wouldn't just trap
the lightning, huh?
I'm afraid not.
Well, have you
ever saw it happen?
Have I ever saw what happen?
A wood lightning
rod burnt to a cinder.
No.
No, and because...
There never was...
Nobody would be...
If I bought you another drink,
would you just
change the subject?
Well, whatever you think's fair.
Whiskey.
Mr. Hutchinson, how are you?
Offhand, Doctor, I would say,
who's even
interested in knowing?
I'd ought to have knowed
you when I first seen you,
Mr. Hutchinson.
I didn't mean to be impolite.
Hutchinson.
I want you to know, if the
water drains off my north section,
I'll be doing
something about it.
Is that so?
I can spare those
calves you stole.
But if I start losing
my grass in the spring,
I'll be paying a visit
to that canyon creek.
Mm. Figure on turning
it back the other way?
Way it's been flowing
for 100 years or more.
Well, I guess I wouldn't have
the manpower to stop you.
I'd just have to run to the law.
And I hear you got pretty
good law in this county.
You looking for trouble along
our boundary, Hutchinson,
you'll be accommodated.
I think you people
got a lot more worries
on the way than fence worries.
You're all sitting on land
that I put my land markers on.
A lot of it you
bought from my son
during the hard years.
Now, it just might be
that a bill of sale without my
name to it isn't worth much.
Samuel sold that land
with the power of attorney,
signed by you.
How do you know
it was my signature?
I wasn't even there.
Now, it just may be
that some smart
lawyer that I might hire
will find it worthwhile looking
over those titles of yours,
especially when I don't remember
ever signing anything away.
What's gotten into him?
Why doesn't he just sit on
his front porch and sun himself?
Well, I don't know.
He's got that choice,
or he can pick up
where he left off.
Well, that's gonna get him
nothing but hard feelings.
Kind of sounds to me like
that's exactly what he's after.
You keep swinging
that sledge, Grandpa,
there ain't gonna be
a wall left standing.
Well, whatever comes down
don't deserve to be left standing.
S-Sure gonna be a
powerful lot of work
we're putting in here, Grandpa.
You won't mind the time, Steven.
Once you see a
roof going into place,
see a house being built that
your grandchildren can live in.
Yeah, maybe even their children.
We each really gonna have a
room to ourselves, Grandpa?
You'll have all that and more.
And later on, we'll add wings,
so's when you boys take wives,
why, you'll all be
Hutchinsons living in one place
and working to keep that
name known in these parts.
Now come on.
Let's get back to work;
we'll never get done.
We're getting visitors, Grandpa.
Six, maybe seven of them.
What kind of visitors?
Ranchers. They were
all collecting at the saloon,
all coming out here.
Heard one of them say,
you'd be talking sense
or getting yourself buried.
We'll be ready for them.
We got thick walls
to stand behind.
Well, who's all
coming, Franklin?
Mr. Dobkins, Mr. Swenson,
Higher brothers,
even Mr. O'Neil.
He was talking about
a shooting being better
than getting walked
on by Grandpa.
Well, we've been doing
things only on Hutchinson land.
I guess we can get
as hardnosed as them.
Come on inside. We'll
set up your positions.
Was about here that
Alex took his spot.
This'll be yours, Franklin.
Mine, Grandpa?
Yeah.
Alex was a man you boys
would have been proud of.
Smile on his face,
gun in his hand.
He was a man that you took to.
You had to like him.
He had a way with him.
Steve,
this'll be your place
right over here.
Now, remember... you
keep your head down, boy.
There was five of them
came up here with me.
Five of the best.
We come up that Santa
Fe asking no favors
and sure not giving any.
Men, boys.
All men. Oh, no
older than yourselves.
But nobody with
a hand out. Oh, no.
Gun on your side there,
muscle in your shoulder.
That was what counted.
You didn't ask for nothing,
because you knew beforehand,
nothing was gonna
be given to you.
You just ate the dirt,
you sweated it out,
and you built the land.
This won't come
to guns, Grandpa.
Well, we know
most of these people.
Maybe all of them.
Whatever it comes to,
they'll be
Hutchinsons here, boy,
ready and waiting.
Bring that wagon around the
side, we'll get her unloaded.
♪♪
- Samuel.
- Hello, Matt.
- Phoebe.
- Morning, Marshal.
Your pa seems to have a lot
of people bothered these days.
It's his own doing,
not mine, Matt.
Well, he's a pretty old man.
Maybe he needs some advice.
That'll be the day when my
pa takes advice from anybody.
Well, all right, then maybe
"advice" isn't the right word.
Maybe he needs to be
taken in hand by his son.
My pa taken in hand?
That some kind
of a joke, Marshal?
It's no joke, Samuel.
Not when there's a
range war about to start.
It's his own doing.
You've always been a man
that's taken pretty
good care of his sons.
I don't recall your boys
being in any scrapes.
Now, suddenly,
you turn them over
to a man that's liable
to get them killed.
I don't understand it.
My boys are old enough
to make their own
decisions, Matt.
Oh, do you think they're
making their own decisions,
or are they just
following the advice
of somebody they think
is wiser than they are?
Where's your pa?
He's at the ruins.
Samuel, he's gonna get
himself killed one of these days.
He's gonna be riding over
that scrub section of yours,
and somebody's
gonna pick him off.
There's nothing I
can do about it, Matt.
He can't do any of
the things he's doing
without your boys' help.
Now, I figure a good
man is always able
to handle his own sons.
And I figure you for a good man.
Phoebe.
Marshal.
How long do we go on living
with the ghost of
30 years ago, Sam?
♪♪
Stay right there, Marshal.
We were expecting
a different breed.
Something change their plan?
I ran into them outside of
town; I told them to go back.
Weren't very strong in
their convictions, were they?
Jonah, I'm gonna
have to take you into jail.
You got a charge?
I talked to Judge
Brooking about that.
He said we're gonna
charge you with inciting to riot.
Inciting to riot?
Now, just what does that cover?
Diverting water that's
used as range water,
shooting a man,
burning his house down,
branding cattle
that aren't yours.
Isn't a one that'll make
stick, and he knows it.
I wouldn't count on that.
You're gonna have
to convince the judge
you're not deliberately trying
to start a range war out here.
Marshal, you come on a bit light
to take me off my own property.
Samuel, I was hoping I could
bring Jonah in peaceable.
Oh, you did, did you?
Well, you better get, before
we send you on your way.
You boys there... how do
you feel about those guns?
They feel like I
say. Now you get!
Mr. Hutchinson, this
doesn't make sense.
What you're doing now,
what you've been doing.
It doesn't make
any sense at all.
Just like it didn't make
any sense 30 years ago.
There are some things best
left unsaid by you, Samuel.
Boys, I want you to
take off your gun belts.
We don't use handguns
on our own land.
I'm making them into
Hutchinsons, Samuel.
Except for having that name,
you wouldn't understand
what that means.
I told you boys to get
rid of your gun belts.
Maybe it's about time these
boys heard the truth about you.
Time to figure out just how
much respect you've got coming.
Your grandfather's talking about
the fight at
Hutchinson house here.
I ran out on him and the others.
You ran and hid, like
a spineless coward.
You were afraid!
Our pa's no coward, Grandpa.
Isn't he? Isn't he?!
Well, ask him! Ask!
I guess, Pa, I'll
never know why I ran.
I was 15.
Maybe I was afraid.
Or maybe I saw you
in the wrong again.
Maybe I got fed up
seeing you killing people,
keep them off the land.
Land, land.
Nothing but land.
Spreading the Hutchinson name.
Always the name...
Jonah Hutchinson.
Sniveling like a coward.
Not crying for myself, Pa.
I was crying for you.
Like the way I feel now.
You're always using people, Pa.
Like now.
You come back here thinking
that the whole territory has
the name "Jonah Hutchinson"
on their lips.
You find out they don't.
So you're aiming to fix that.
Gonna start using people again.
But, Pa... you're
not using my sons.
Franklin, you come out here!
Hey, now don't listen to him.
You're a Hutchinson!
I want you to take off your
gun belt and get on your horse.
He ran!
Your father ran!
He's got no rights!
Franklin.
A boy becomes a man in two ways:
in his shoulder and in his head.
One without the other,
and he's still a boy.
I want you to take
off your gun belt
before I prove you're
a boy both ways.
Pa, I think we know...
The trouble is, Franklin,
you haven't been thinking.
Now, you boys whip me,
you have a right to stay here.
But whipping me you're
gonna have to do first.
No. Boys, he ran!
Your father ran, boys!
Listen, he's got no rights!
Don't listen to him!
Running! Running!
You're all running!
- Samuel?
- Mm?
You think you can
handle your father,
I'll let you take him into town.
I-I'd hate to put him in jail.
(gunshot)
(Jonah panting)
I come mighty close...
to being the biggest.
Don't you ever
forget that... boy.
♪♪
Well, I'd say this is
pretty easy to figure.
He just had two choices.
He could... sit
in a rocking chair
and be an old man and
sun himself there, you know,
or he could give up his
life right there in that house,
go out being an important man,
at least in his own eyes.
Well, I just can't believe
he would deliberately
set out to end his own life.
Well, Kitty, he must have known
that he could only push
people around here so far
till he'd have his
back against the wall.
No, sir. I figure
he meant to die,
and he just chose a
time and a place to do it.
You know, I always
liked that old picture.
It was like a little
bit of the past.
Folklore, almost.
I don't know now.
Just seems like an old
man causing a lot of trouble.
Well, I don't know, Kitty.
There's another
way of looking at it.
He may not have been the wisest,
but don't forget, he was
the first man up this way.
First man to see this
country was worth settling.
He planted a marker
100 miles from the sound
of the nearest human voice.
Good or bad, I got to
drink to a man like that.