Fans continue to witness the daily adventures of the fictional Cartwright family as Bonanza, the hit Western television series, launched its second season on September 10, 1960, with its first episode, Showdown, written by Dean Riesner.

Sam Kirby (Ben Cooper) and his gang of outlaws hide out on the Ponderosa as they evade the law. Sam finds work as a ranchhand at the Ponderosa, disguising under a false name to keep track of the sheriff and any posse that may discover their hideout. Everyone on the ranch is happy to have the friendly stranger join them, except Joe Cartwright, who found Sam suspicious.

Ray Teal plays Sheriff Coffee for the first time in the series. Other actors, like Jack Lambert, acting as Pardo, and Jody Warner as Ellie, joined the cast. 

Read the storyline and some interesting trivia, or watch the episode below.

Watch the Full Episode of Showdown

Watch the Full Episode of Showdown:

Main Cast

Showdown, the premiere episode of Bonanza’s second season, featured some of the program’s recurring and supporting cast members. The entire cast of the episode consists of:

• Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright
• Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
• Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
• Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
• Ben Cooper as Sam Kirby
• Jack Lambert as John Pardo
• Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
• Jody Warner as Ellie McClure
• John Maxwell as Tom McClure
• Norman Leavitt as Rudy the Telegrapher
• Boyd ‘Red’ Morgan as Link (as Red Morgan)
• Bill Clark as Fight Spectator at Picnic (uncredited)
• Chuck Hamilton as Fight Spectator at Picnic (uncredited)
• Cactus Mack as Cartwright Ranch Hand (uncredited)

Full Story Line for Showdown

John Pardo and his gang of outlaws rob the Virginia City bank. They later decided to hide in the Ponderosa, sending Sam Kirby to work as a ranch hand to be on the lookout if ever the town decided to form a search party or summon a platoon from the army.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe Cartwright are riding horses when Sam arrives at the Ponderosa ranch. Sam’s laughter draws the horses’ attention when one of the horses throws Joe. He asks for a job, but Joe claims he and his brothers are taking care of all the tasks in the Ponderosa. After successfully riding the horse that threw Joe and declaring a reference from a former Ponderosa hand, Adam offers him a position on the ranch, which he accepts immediately.

Sheriff Coffee arrives at the Ponderosa to notify the Cartwrights about the robbery at Mr. McClure’s bank.

Ben decided to start searching the area before it got dark. Joe informs him about their new hire, but Ben and Adam shrug it off since they believe their former ranch referred him.

To cover more ground, Ben sends the boys to different areas in the Ponderosa in pairs. When Sam realizes Hoss is heading towards the gang’s hideout, he volunteers to accompany him. Sam suggests returning, making an excuse that it’s getting late. However, Hoss finds some suspicious markings and starts examining them further. Seeing his words not stopping Hoss from investigating, Sam tried to draw his gun. Joe shows up in time to stop him. Joe claims he saw Sam pulling his weapon, but Hoss doesn’t believe him. Meanwhile, Sam argued he only reached for his gun upon hearing somebody coming. They leave the area, and Joe starts to find Sam suspicious.

Ben reports to Sheriff Roy regarding the areas they covered. Adam and Sam arrive shortly after, and the sheriff thinks Sam is familiar. He asked when the Cartwrights hired him and where he was during the night of the robbery, to which he replied that he was on the trail. The Cartwrights, except Joe, believe there’s nothing wrong with Sam. A telegraph arrives at that moment, stating that the army will come into town. Joe noticed the telegrapher’s doubtful look at Sam, so he went outside to ask. The telegrapher informs him that he might have seen Sam with two other men that night a gang robbed the bank. Although the telegrapher is unsure about what he saw, Joe becomes increasingly suspicious of Sam.

At the picnic party, Hoss introduces Sam to Ellie McClure, daughter of the bank’s owner. Sam becomes friendly with Ellie, helping her set up one of the picnic tables. Ellie expresses her dismay about the bank robbery and how her father feels responsible, even if it wasn’t his fault that some robbers stole the money. However, she’s happy to hear about the upcoming arrival of the army. Pleased to meet Sam, Ellie invites him to the Thursday dance.

Joe suddenly comes back, believing Sam’s getting Ellie from him. A fight erupts, and Sam’s shirt gets ripped at one point, exposing whip scars on Sam’s back. Feeling angry and humiliated, Sam insisted on leaving. Adam hands him his vest to cover his back. Ben, Hoss, and Adam want to know why Joe acted that way towards Sam. Joe reveals what the telegrapher, Rudy, told him about Sam, saying he won’t be surprised if Sam has a connection with the robbery. However, Ben believes it wasn’t enough evidence to conclude that. Joe feels bad and says he’ll apologize to Sam.

Sam returns to the gang’s hideout and reports about the army troop’s arrival and the posses’ location. Pardo noticed Sam’s vest and asked about it. He tells him that Adam gave it, and Pardo’s impressed, even amused, to see how the Cartwrights trusted Sam. Despite Sam’s objections, Pardo insists he returns to the Ponderosa.

Joe followed Sam’s trail, which eventually led him to their hideout. Two of the gang members brought him in, and there he saw Sam. When Sam is about to leave, Joe hits him, so Pardo punches him back, knocking him down. Pardo tried to hit Joe more, but Sam stopped him. Pardo thinks Sam’s going soft for the Cartwrights, then sends Sam back to find out more about the army troops.

Adam asks about Joe upon hearing about Sam’s arrival. Sam claims he hasn’t seen Joe, much to Adam’s surprise, since Joe left immediately after Sam to apologize. Hearing this makes Sam feel even worse. Adam considers him a friend, but Sam says a man’s sole friend is himself. Adam doesn’t argue and calmly informs Sam that the sheriff is inside to see him.

Sheriff Roy states he sent a telegram to the ranch hand in Arizona. Although they know Sam, the ranch fired him when they discovered he had a prison record in Texas. Sam admits to killing his stepfather in cold blood several years after his mother’s death. Growing up, his stepfather consistently beat and whipped him, causing scars on his back. Sam waited ’til he was big and strong enough to fight back, then served his time in prison. Ben thinks the sentence he faced was enough, but Roy wants to take Sam with him. He refuses to let Sam go with the sheriff, so Roy tells him he’s now responsible for Sam. Although Ben treats him kindly, even offering a home for him in the Ponderosa, Sam leaves and tells him not to expect any from him. Adam believes Sam’s not used to the kind of treatment Ben gave him.

Adam visits Sam in the bunkhouse that night. He sees Sam preparing to leave, wondering if their kindness and friendship overwhelmed Sam. Adam was about to reach for his vest when Sam knocked him out before leaving.

Ben finds Adam leaving the bunkhouse. They realize the sheriff and Joe was right about Sam the whole time.

Sam goes back to the gang. Pardo fails to get information from Joe, so he asks Sam to do it for him. Sam refused, so Pardo accused him of softening since he lived in the Ponderosa. Sam argues that Joe will never reveal the details, considering Joe’s a Cartwright. Pardo orders his men to kill Joe, but Sam persuades him to do otherwise. He says they’ll get away with Joe riding upfront, so he’ll die if the Cartwrights start shooting at them. The idea satisfied Pardo. When the men go to pack up, Sam aims his gun at Pardo’s head. A scuffle ensues, giving Joe the time to obtain a gun and shoot Pardo. At the end of the fight, Joe assures Sam that he has friends now.

The following morning, the Cartwrights are searching the area when they see Joe and Sam leading the gang toward them. There they realize that they misjudged Sam Kirby.

Full Script and Dialogue of Showdown

[Music]

let it go

[Music]

hurry up make it fast this whole town

ain't deaf

well it looks like we made it clean

portal this sure sleeps on to virginia

city don't they let's go

[Music]

sam ponderosa's off in that direction

well i reckon i can find it

you know what you're gonna do when you

get there we've been over it 97 times

pardo

just once more all right i go to the

ponderosa and i hire on as a hand and i

keep my ears open

and if a search party comes down this

way i'll let you know first

especially if it's a platoon from the

army then what

well then when things quiet down i come

on back and we light out

mark that big old dead tree we'll be uh

a mile and a half south of here you'll

see a big granite boulder

leads into a box canyon that's where

we'll be waiting

you just let old sam take care of it

you're my eyes and my ears

i'm dependent on you sam let's go

sam cover up those hoof prints

they probably want to know where you

came from tell them about that ranch you

used to work on

that fella was always talking about the

ponderosa that ought to convince him

what if it doesn't what what if somebody

starts getting extra nosy

you got a gun haven't you sam

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

ah

[Music]

hey riding cowboy come on stick with him

adam

[Music]

i know i told you it was too much horse

for you

now you're next broncbuster that's what

they call me hey

joe you ain't been making no rash

promises to ellie mcclure have you

i ain't had a chance are you sure

because there comes a point in the

sheriff right now

hey i wonder what they want i don't know

but now me

always sort of went for june wedding for

lots of apple blossoms

yeah well you know a fella could do a

lot worse than ellie mcclure

oh excuse me all the pieces

well you gonna ride this thing or not

coming up

if you'll excuse me ladies it's time for

your writings

now we'll see some fun

stay with him boy ride him

[Laughter]

well i'm glad somebody enjoyed it i'm

sorry i didn't know it showed

what can we do for you well you wouldn't

happen to have an easy job in a cool

place now would you

yeah but my brothers and i take all of

those what else you do

well i've accidentally managed to break

a horse or two in my day

and well we just happen to have one on

hand yeah well i was hoping you'd take

my word for it

now what's this cowboy wants to try his

luck in that hammerhead

you ever busted any broncs before a

button

one or two i guess well if you ain't for

sure

right now it'd be a real good time to

back out

well no i don't reckon i'd want to do

that

you think we should let him do it well

it's his hide

some fellas have to learn the hard way

job

oh

[Music]

that's what i call riding the horse oh

you gotta admit i tired him out a little

bit

well you might as well face it joe some

people just better with horses than

others

nice ride kid i'm out of cart right sam

kirby

these are my brothers uh horse and

little joe hey

hi pleased to meet you you uh looking

for a job sam

well ed limp said you might be hiring

some hands ed limp you friend of his

well he ram-ratted an outfit i worked

for down in arizona the barbie

i see yeah i'd give you a letter to show

well yeah i uh i got it uh packed in the

saddle bag there if you really want to

see it if you say you got it you got it

high's old lead in here

oh he's meaner than ever still thinks

mighty higher the ponderosa though

well we uh pay 30 a month bunking beans

well you just hired yourself a hand

now as far as posses are concerned we

got them here

here and up here looks like they're well

covered

now i've been on a telegraph to every

long man in the territory so i believe

we got him pretty well sealed in

that is within this general radius yeah

oh boys

come in please you know mr mcclure share

of coffee

yeah sure if i can't honey hey mr

mcclure

are we getting all set for that birthday

party sunday i'm hoping we'll be able to

have a birthday party little joe

well why what's the matter uh mr

mcclure's bank was robbed last night

i thought that bank was pretty near

robert proof yeah so did i how much they

get away with

just about all there was right now we'd

be lucky if we could pay off five cents

on the dollar

uh boys that information is not to leave

this room

you mean the people don't know about it

well they know we've been hit but they

don't know how bad

we can't afford to have a run on the

bank right now if we can get that money

back by the first of the month we got a

chance to weather it

you'll be fine tom any idea who did it

sheriff

yeah it could have been the john potter

bunch he pulled a job just about like

this something but last year

well what are we waiting for oh wait a

minute joe the sheriff has plenty of

help up north he's holding us

responsible for the ponderosa

chances are they'll hole up for a while

anyway this thing cools down a bit

i want to see to it that they don't hold

up on our land so keep your eyes open

for anything unusual

you know smoke tracks that hadn't ought

to be there drifters that got a lot more

money than they ought to have

anything like that well we'll let you

know if we see anything roy

uh much blood she ben more than likely

they won't come down this way at all

but it don't do no harm to make sure no

it doesn't bye

hello hi mr mcclure i sure hope ellie

can have that birthday party

i hope so too little joe we're waiting

to hear from fort mckay

we're trying to get help from the army

well i'm sure they'll want to help so do

we tom

then when i think about some of the

small ranchers around here i

i'm just not man enough to tell them

that they've worked five 10 15 years for

nothing

it's a tough thing to face up to no not

tom that's enough of that kind of talk

they'll find pardon his outfit you mark

my words i hope so

thank you ben

[Music]

let's finish breaking those horses pop

now forget about the horses for now

there's still time to do some looking

before it starts getting dark

you boys saddle up and tell a horse in

the men hey bob i was uh i was just

thinking about what the sheriff said

about drifters

huh what about him well we just hired

one a little while ago

i just thought i'd mention it come on

joe just because he out roger doesn't

mean he's a bank robber

look i told you to stop kidding me wait

a minute now wait a minute

what about this new man well ed lamp

sent him he's all right

followed there by the corral sam kirby

in the gray shirt

well if that lamp watches for a man

that's good enough for me

tell her the vendor satellite uh we'll

cover more ground if we split up in twos

joe you take the arroyo and everything

east

right phi horst yes sir you get out

south as far as the wash

adam and i will take the west spot all

right take a minute let's get busy

okay yeah let's bird dog i'm out of

there come on

so

oh i don't know about you i think i'm

going to stretch him out

well uh don't you think it's getting

kind of late shouldn't we get back yeah

that's how i work out 15.

wonder how the others are doing i don't

know

i hope they're doing better than we are

[Music]

it's funny you find something

yeah this bush here

it's been broke all fresh you wouldn't

have that come to

me well a stray maybe

[Music]

well i don't see no tracks

in it well it uh

it's deer brush maybe some indian took

it for his fire

maybe that's me and you take a look

around in here

[Music]

plus

what's trouble joel ah nothing i guess

it's from back there it looked like he

was drawing down on you

oh say i'm here well i just heard

somebody coming i

just want to be sure joe you're letting

this whole thing spook you boy

yeah i guess so i reckon he was right

about that deer brush

boom let's get on in for supper

[Music]

i sure will find something tonight i

never had roast beef that good in my

whole life

get your gear stowed away no i i better

get to it

want some help no thanks i don't have

that much

if you need anything sam just holler

do you uh suppose it's something serious

i don't know i think the cat's got his

tongue

no i was just thinking about l.a mclaren

no doubt

uh no doubt

now i was thinking about sam kirby well

now you

can't still be stealing about him

breaking that horse this morning

no i told you that had nothing to do

with it no it's like i was telling you

before a supper he's all bothered

because he thought he caught old sam

drawing down on me out there in a wash

forget that joey told you how that

happened didn't he

yeah he told me what's the matter with

you then

i don't know i was just do something

about him

well on friday we we covered the south

and the west part

then yesterday we took the east and this

morning we split up and swept north

no luck huh ah not unless adam found

something i didn't

oh it kept you well sam saw some uh

smoke up around bitter creek

turned out to be ollie ludlow's posse

always been watching the dayton road

don't i know you son i couldn't say

sheriff

i don't think i know you roy this is sam

kirby

he's working for us now since when

since friday all right on friday huh

where were you thursday night sam

you mean the night the bank was robbed i

was on the trail

you can prove that of course not unless

you want to take the word of my horse

sam's all right sheriff he had limps in

him up here from the barbie

oh how's old ed

meaner than a snake

well i guess sheriff the tariff got a

message for you from fort mckay

thanks rudy get my glasses come to town

for the picnic mr cartwright

oh you mean uh ellen mcclure's birthday

party uh that was being called off

wasn't it

looks like they call it back on again

you know about ladies and parties and

such

they say it's gonna be a real dew hot

dogs that's what i call real good news

and here's some more good news

the army's gonna bust loose for the

whole troop of horse soldiers says

they'll be here tomorrow afternoon

tomorrow well that is good news sheriff

that changes things considerably

now we can organize a search that'll

really mean something well tom mcclure

be happy to hear about that

what's up rudy who's that young feller

in there joel that's the new hand we

hired why

well nothing i just thought maybe i saw

him in town with two other men the night

the bank was robbed

are you sure well he sure looks like the

fella i've seen

hell maybe you ought to come in there

and tell the sheriff oh no wait a minute

i ain't that sure anyway it was kind of

a dark night that night

[Music]

well i'll see you back at the ponderosa

mr cartwright all right sam

aren't you going to the picnic sand no

no i'm not much good at picnics well you

ain't never seen the kind of big mix we

have around here

well i think i just ride on back to the

ranch house why don't you come on it'll

do you good

well some other time oh joe and me are

gonna look pretty silly packing you all

the way over there

ain't we oh maybe he's got something

better to do

all right you win i'll go well

hope she's got some of that blueberry

pie

yes sir i sure relish a couple of them

blueberry class full supper

now for the team of adam cartwright and

troy fuller adam cartwright

come on

all right come on boys

ellie i wouldn't do all this work for

just any girl i hope you know how much i

like you

you mean i'm the only girl you ever

carried a picnic basket for a little joe

let's just say you're the only girl i'd

carry one for now

little joe cartwright right in front of

all these people

yeah well you know we could go behind

that wagon

all right all right i'll get the rest of

the groceries

the pickle fork pickle fork where did i

put that

health card right ma'am

it was a great big old horse fly here

and i i i i was just i know what you was

just

you cartwrights if it isn't one thing

it's the other

there'll be no refreshments served until

after the games

yes miss ellie

ain't that your pickle fork over there i

don't see any

horse card right remember ma'am i'm just

a growing boy

hey sam hey sam come in

what you doing setting off over there

all by yourself i'm just

watching well that ain't no way to do it

at a picnic you got to get around here

and meet some of these pretty gals oh no

don't bother

i'm fine yeah but you'll be a lot finer

when you meet some of these gals come

here

miss ellie miss ellie i i want you to

meet a friend of mine this here sam

kirby

how do you do mr kirby my pleasure man

you better be nice to miss ellie her

father owns a bank

is that so

oh you two will excuse me i i better

find pulling at them and learn them

something about shooting them horseshoes

you like picnics mr kirby well i don't

exactly know

you don't know you see this is the first

one i've ever been to

didn't they have picnics where you grew

up not hardly

what kind of a place was that i don't

think you'd much want to hear about it

i'm sorry i didn't mean to be

inquisitive it's my fault i

i didn't mean to give you a short answer

that's all right

if you'll excuse me i've got to finish

setting this table is there anything i

can do to help you

thank you

i didn't think i was gonna have a party

today at all that's all

you heard about the bank being robbed

yeah

i heard pop has been awfully upset

and mom and me too naturally i guess you

would be

so many people trusted papa

the wilsons and ludlows even the

cartwrights

i think it would just kill papa if they

were to lose everything

well i i don't see where it's his fault

he feels responsible to his friends

it doesn't matter now anyway we had some

real good news today

i suppose you mean about the army coming

in yes isn't that wonderful

yeah wonderful ellie

have you seen the napkins yes miss you

maker they're in that basket over there

well come on girl the party can't wait

all day you mind setting them out

of course not me shoemaker

it was nice meeting you mr kirby i hope

to see you again

thank you ma'am well as a matter of fact

there's a dance next thursday

it doesn't amount to much but the

cartwright boys usually come

why don't you come along with him

well thank you ma'am i think i'd like

that

thirsty then yes ma'am

oh let me get that

[Music]

what are you trying to do kirby

i wouldn't say i was trying to do

anything

now little joe mr kirby and i were only

talking yeah sure i saw the way he was

talking

and it looked at me like he was trying

to put his arm around you joe cartwright

what business is this of yours carter

i'm making you my business kirby

just because i've gone on with you once

or twice it doesn't give you the right

to think of me as your personal property

now you stay out of this ellie there's a

lot of questions i

wanted to ask you kirby now's as good a

time as any well i'm not answering any

questions

you know you're gonna answer this one

where were you thursday night

joe

mr kirby please

[Music]

make it

[Music]

it's all right folks everything's all

right boys who are just getting a little

hungry that's all

i think uh mr mcclure would like us to

adjourn to the tables for a little food

yes friends over here we have fried

chicken

sam we didn't mean no harm we we didn't

know your back was scarred up like that

he's supposed to be all right if i went

along now

where do you want to go sam back to the

ranch

if it's all right of course it's all

right

sam little joe didn't mean nothing

we just want you to have a good time

that's all horse

sam put this on

it'll cover your back

[Music]

well it wasn't much of a picnic for him

paul

you reckon what to do a man's back like

that

but the only thing i could figure is

bullwhip

[Music]

what are you all looking at oh forget it

joey nobody looking at you

well all right what was i supposed to do

you didn't have to poke him oh i didn't

have to poke him look he's the one who

threw the first punch

come on now you've been down on him ever

since he rode that horse

i told you that's got nothing to do with

it well what is it then joe

what do you got against that boy all

right i'll tell you rudy told me he saw

him in town thursday night

i wouldn't be surprised if he had

something to do with a bank robbery

hey joe that's going a bit too far in it

boy

it's a pretty serious charge joe you

have any real evidence

to support it

already told me thought he saw him in

town he thought

he saw him in town and you call that

real evidence

i guess not

i'm sorry paul i should have known

better

look maybe i better ride after him tell

him i'm sorry yeah

good idea

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

come on coach

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

me sam

[Music]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

so oh

hello sam how's the boy just fine carter

thing's quieting down no

you're getting hot there's an army troop

of cavalry headed in from fort mckay

yeah when i only do in virginia city

tomorrow afternoon

what time i'm afraid i didn't say that

oh well we'll have plenty of time

where are the bosses well i got them all

spotted

yeah you sure i had a good long look at

the map in the sheriff's office

sheriff's office they must have trusted

you pretty good

yeah they trusted me fine why

no reason where'd you get the new vest

adam cartwright he uh

he gave it to me he gave it to you i

gotta hand it to you

you sure got away with your sam yeah

all right we'll take out of here in the

morning before the cavalry pulls in

[Music]

now what's so funny i got right fella

given you is best

[Music]

brahmos

[Music]

there's one thing still left for you to

do sam

i want you to go back to ponderosa

spend a little more time with your

friends why

now for one thing you might want to

return that vest

you're thinking of turning on me sam you

better forget it and what makes you say

that

i don't know i just said it now get back

to that ranch and find out which way the

soldiers are coming in

[Music]

pardo do i have to go back there yeah

you have to go back there

[Music]

where'd you find him looks like he was

trailing sam

remus and me thought you might be

interested you know him

yeah it's joe cartwright

it's a small world in it kirby i thought

you said you had him fooled

no not all of us what's that mean

nothing just keep him here

i'm going back to the ranch

leave him alone

are you going soft sam good time up

get on back to ponderosa before those

cartwrights get suspicious

and find out which way those horse

soldiers are coming in you're here

i hear you

[Music]

that's you little joe oh it's me sam

oh i thought uh joe would be with you

but you thought wrong it's funny you

rode out of town right after you did

he uh felt kind of bad about what

happened at the picnic today he

went after you to tell you he was sorry

oh

well you tell him i said not to lose any

sleep

sam i haven't known you for very long

but i uh conscious a friend

let me tell you something a man's only

got one friend

one guy in the whole world he can count

on who'll go out on a limb for him

and that's himself

all right the sheriff's inside

sheriff wants to talk to you sam

but why me

why don't you ask him about yourself

[Music]

that headlamp i tried to convince him to

stick it out in this territory but

he never did think this country to mount

to much hired out to arizona

did pretty well out there had all that

golden silver right here under his feet

yeah and the lumbered cattle

oh sam

when uh you know the sheriff

yeah um i said i'm saying

no thanks

sheriff tells me he has some uh

information about you

i thought you'd want to be here when he

told us

that's nice to you mr cartwright seems

uh

sheriff coffee here got to worrying

about you this morning after we left his

office

well that was real nice of you too

sheriff i sent a telegraph message about

you down to barbie ranch

old ed limp here's the answer

it says they'll let you go more than six

months back on account of your prison

record in texas

to check on that too didn't have to

is that the whole story

funny thing about a prison record mr

cartwright

they say you do your time and you pay

your price

but don't you believe it

sam did you serve your timeout eight

years

and i was pardoned i suppose they left

that out

it's all there now roy what's all this

about

since when do we hound a man has paid

for his mistake

it wasn't exactly a mistake

now just what does that mean he murdered

his father in cold blood

is what he's saying true

yeah some

he was my stepfather and he needed

killing

nobody needs killing he did

i was six years old when my mother died

you know what he did when we come back

from the funeral

he took a whip to me just to show you he

says

just to show you things are going to be

different from now on that was my

stepfather

see from then on he beat me every day i

can remember

except when he was too drunk

and it was he who did that to your back

he did

[Music]

so i waited i waited till i figured i

could handle him

[Music]

and i waited till he was stoned cold

sober

i wanted him to know what was happening

and who was doing it

that's premeditated murder yeah

[Music]

and then one night he came for me and i

was ready

and i killed him

[Music]

i was 14 years old

and that's what you served your sentence

for

for 10 years

i served eight i think you'd better come

along with me boy

i'm not going anywhere with you

kirby you haven't got a chance against

the four of us

sam

all right now what's the charge against

him

no charge don't need any he can't prove

where he was thursday night he's got a

prison record

that's enough to take him in that's not

enough to take a man off this ranch

now what does that mean ben roy half the

people in this territory couldn't prove

where they were thursday night

let's remind having a prison record once

he served his sentence his debt is paid

and that's it

boy stays here you're refusing to

cooperate with the law

i'm refusing to allow to lock the boy up

without a valid reason

no law in the world says you can do that

i could deputize some men well sure if i

reckon you better get you a whole bunch

of them

all right ben but it's your

responsibility

then you're sticking your neck out a

country mile because if you've made a

mistake you're gonna have to account for

it

uh

well sam looks like little joe and the

rest of us owe you a new shirt

yep you go down and get the best one you

can find sam with pearl buttons and all

sam and what's been said here has been

said and that's the last of it

i want you to know that you have a home

here in the ponderosa for just as long

as you want it

uh paul you'll have to excuse sam he uh

has some theories about people going out

on a limb

i guess they kind of fell apart huh

that's where you're mistaken y'all just

made me see how right i am

so i got a home in the ponderosa have i

well i can't use it sam

look what do we say that forget it just

don't you do me any favors

and don't you expect any

oh what got into him i guess he's not

used to being treated like a human being

why little joe didn't come back with him

oh boy he probably got

halfway out and decided to go back and

make up to ellie

should have been home hours ago

strange boy that sam kirby

man i guess that's what happens when you

never been given a helping hand yeah he

got himself so far out on that limb he

didn't quite know how to get himself off

well it's been a hard day pie

i better get to bed don't worry about

little jimmy paul

he can take care of himself yeah

goodnight house good night adam good

night good night paul

he's sure enough worried about joe wadey

yeah well

you know how he always is about him

hey where are you going and i'll be

right back

you think you'll need any help

so

couldn't even wait till morning huh why

you so touchy sam

no reason i just want to get out of here

but nothing my father said made any

difference to you why don't you

cartwrights leave me alone i'm full up

to here

and here's your vest i don't want it

sam is it really the kindness that's

killing you or is it something else

i just don't like a lot of people asking

me questions

why not what have you got to hide who

says i got anything to hide

little joe right about you all alone is

that what bothering you sam

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

adam

[Music]

adam are you around

what's my i got hit in the head kirby

slammed into me and ran off i guess he

had his whole food

and particularly me i think the sheriff

is right about him

little joe too

he might have the answer to joe's

whereabouts let's get awesome get

settled

up and pick up this trail since it turns

light

all right once more you're wasting your

time

which way

about time you were getting here we got

to get moving what are you doing to him

how'd you find out did you find out

which way the horse soldiers were coming

in

no i didn't get a chance uh maybe we

still have a chance

he probably knows which way they're

coming in

why don't we just have you make him tell

us

yeah why don't you make me talk sam

go on after all you're practically one

of the family

oh what are you waiting for

you asking that living with the

cardroids is making you go soft

it's his kind that put you in jail and

took eight years out of your life you're

forgetting that no i'm not forgetting

that

but i know that carter cartwright's well

enough to know that he won't talk now if

we stay here any longer we'll never get

out of here let's get going now

he'll never get out of here when my pond

brothers find out i didn't come home all

night then the cavalry will be all over

the place

you're not gonna make it uh maybe we

won't

but you won't be alive to know it kill

him hold it link

he he just gave us the answer yeah yeah

take him with us joe cartwright riding

out there in front

and if we get trouble from any of the

other cartwrights he gets a bullet right

in the back

might work promise

go get andy saddle up the horses

blank get the money out of the cave all

right pardo

[Music]

plano

[Music]

you sure waited long enough you took 10

years off my life

well i just hope i didn't take 10 years

off my life too

don't worry you got friends now

friends that'll stick by you

i know that i'll be all right

what about those other two yeah let's

pick them up

[Music]

[Music]

it looks like little joe didn't wait for

the army hey he's got sam with him

looks like he was wrong about sound paul

yeah

looks like we were all wrong about sam

kirby

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

you

Behind the Scenes of Showdown

This episode is the first one with Sheriff Roy Coffee. It also marks Ray Teal’s first out of 88 appearances in the series.

Sheriff Roy Coffee gave the Cartwrights the written report on Sam Kirby’s past. Ben picks up the piece of paper, glances at it, crumples it, then throws it into the fire shortly after. He missed throwing the crumpled paper, leaving it in front of the fireplace and between Hoss and Adam. Ben gazes into the fire, pretending to watch the paper burn, then walks over to Hoss and Adam’s position. By that scene, the paper has disappeared.

Ben was laughing for a moment before quickly returning to his serious face during Sam and Joe’s fight scene at the picnic.

There were initially a series of law enforcement officials in Virginia City (one marshal, nine sheriffs, and three deputies) during its first season. For its second season, the show has settled on a permanent sheriff in the form of Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee. Meanwhile, law enforcers outside Virginia City in the first season included one Texas sheriff, a marshal from Los Angeles, and a police sergeant from San Francisco.

Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?

All 14 seasons of Bonanza are worth watching by yourself or with the family. The program ran under the NBC network’s production from September 1959 to January 1973. Showdown is the 31st episode out of 430 and the first for the second season.

You can find more about any of the 430 Bonanza episodes here>>