The Thunderhead Swindle Full Episode – Bonanza, Season #02, Episode #30

Bonanza, a 14-season American Western television series, told the story of the Cartwrights, played by Lorne Green, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, and Pernell Roberts. Gene L. Coon wrote Bonanza’s sixty-second episode, The Thunderhead Swindle, which aired on April 29, 1961. Ross Elliot played Watkins, while Vito Scotti played Leon Flores.

Scruffy prospectors Cunningham (Parley Baer) and Furnas (Walter Coy) arrive in town, claiming to have discovered a valuable silver lode at Thunderhead Mine. Ben Cartwright finds this suspicious, so he starts investigating. Later, Ben learns Jim Bronson (Judson Pratt), the mine’s former owner, has been killed. The situation made Ben wonder if the two prospectors were to blame or if there was another sinister figure behind the murder.

Read about The Thunderhead Swindle, including behind-the-scene facts, or watch the episode below.

Watch the Full Episode of The Thunderhead Swindle

Watch the Full Episode of The Thunderhead Swindle:

Main Cast

The cast members of The Thunderhead Swindle, Bonanza’s thirtieth episode for its second season, are as follows.

• Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
• Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright (credit only)
• Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
• Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright
• Parley Baer as Jack Cunningham
• Judson Pratt as Jim Bronson
• Vito Scotti as Leon Flores
• Ross Elliott as Watkins
• Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
• Walter Coy as Frank Furnas
• Harvey Stephens as Jock McPherson
• Michael Hinn as Thornton
• William Flaherty as Wheeler
• Charles Horvath as Howell
• Chet Brandenburg as Miner (uncredited)
• Bill Clark as Bully (uncredited)
• Frank Ellis as Miner (uncredited)
• Betty Endicott as Brunette Townswoman (uncredited)
• Raoul Freeman as Miner (uncredited)
• Joe Garcio as Bartender (uncredited)
• Herman Hack as Miner (uncredited)
• Chuck Hamilton as Possible Investor (uncredited)
• Al Haskell as Miner (uncredited)
• Bob Hoy as Small Miner on Street (uncredited)
• Ethan Laidlaw as Miner (uncredited)
• Kermit Maynard as Miner (uncredited)
• Bob Miles as Miner with Club (uncredited)
• Rex Moore as Miner (uncredited)
• Boyd ‘Red’ Morgan as Henchman (uncredited)
• Charles Morton as Miner (uncredited)
• John Rice as Possible Investor (uncredited)
• John Roy as Possible Investor (uncredited)
• Jack Tornek as Possible Investor (uncredited)
• Sailor Vincent as Miner in Thunderhead (uncredited)

Full Story Line for The Thunderhead Swindle

The Cartwrights find a group of miners sharing a steer. Understanding their desperation to feed their families, Ben allows them to continue what they are doing. He also warns them that he doesn’t tolerate any stealing, whether that involves rustlers or miners.

Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe visit Sheriff Roy to offer a few cattle to help the people of Virginia City get through the depression in the city.

Meanwhile, there’s a strike or deposit at the Thunderhead, a mine supposedly a dead hole. Ben finds this news suspicious, close to unbelievable, as the owner, Jim Bronson, the best mining man in Comstock, declared it dry.

Ben visits Jim to ask about the Thunderhead. Jim sold the mine, so he tells Ben it’s no longer his business. Moreover, the new owners, Frank Furnas and Jack Cunningham offered Jim to join them, but Ben argues there’s no strike in the mine. Jim tells him he’s only doing it for the miners. However, Ben believes it’s a bad idea, helping Jim change his mind.

Later that day, Jim tells Furnas and Cunningham that he won’t be joining them since there’s no silver in the Thunderhead. His answer disappoints both prospectors, leading them to hire Horton to murder Jim. They made it appear like the murder was a robbery.

The next day, Sheriff Roy delivers the sad news to the Cartwrights. Roy believes it’s a robbery, but Ben argues that the Thunderhead situation led to his death. Still, Roy refuses to unfold the truth about the Thunderhead strike just yet.

Ben finds that Jock McPherson of the Gould & Curry mining company thinks there’s also silver in the Thunderhead mine. Jock tells Ben that he demanded proof, advising Ben to come to the Thunderhead shaft the next day to see it too.

The following day, the prospectors brought out an ore cart from the mines. The proof they’ve laid out convinced Jock to recommend the mine to the San Francisco branch for investing. Meanwhile, Ben is still suspicious about the strike.

Ben visits Leon Flores, Jim’s foreman, to tell him about the Thunderhead strike. Leon thinks it’s impossible since they’ve always seen Thunderhead as an empty hole. Ben believes that Furnas and Cunningham are pulling off a scam, leading to Jim’s death, since he knew much about it. Leon, who knows the Thunderhead like the back of his hand, suggests they see the mine themselves to verify Furnas and Cunningham’s claims.

Ben and Leon enter the mines from an old air shaft that only a few people know. They did find rich silver ores in the mines, but Leon believes it’s someone else’s ores. Unfortunately, Furnas and Cunningham recognized them.

Ben and Leon return to Leon’s home, where they suspect the silver ore they found was from the adjacent mine, the Gould & Curry land. Confirming their suspicions would require hours. In the meantime, the two called it a day, planning to continue their venture tomorrow. However, Horton murdered Leon later that night.

The following day, the Cartwrights and Sheriff Roy discover Leon’s dead body. Still, Roy couldn’t arrest the prospectors since Ben’s evidence didn’t suffice. Ben plans to visit Jock McPherson to tell him about the mines.

Cunningham tells the people of Virginia City that Ben will gain the most if the city falls to its doom. His statement makes it seem like it was Ben’s reason for taking the Thunderhead strike down, causing the townspeople to ridicule the Cartwrights.

Ben consults Watkins, the resident engineer for the Virginia City area, to check the Thunderhead area. However, doing so would require Watkins to ask permission from Cunningham and Furnas. After further convincing and thinking about his friends, Jim and Leon, Watkins agrees to check the mines with the Cartwrights.

Watkins checks an area near where Ben and Leon found the silver deposit. It appears they’ve crossed the boundary line of the Gould & Curry area, confirming that Furnas and Cunningham were stealing from the adjacent mining area.

Furnas, Cunningham, and their men heard a noise, which prompted them to check the mine for any trespasser. A shooting ensues.

The Cartwrights and Watkins manage to escape, then tell Jock about the real bonanza in the Gould & Curry area. They find that the mineral deposit will bring prosperity back to Comstock, enough for the miners to live better once again.

Full Script and Dialogue of The Thunderhead Swindle

[Music]

so

and you may know there's a law against

wrestling well if you're going to hang

us you might as well go get your rope

it won't do you no good though there'll

be more of us

amaz got to eat a man should be able to

eat without stealing

that's easy for you to say mr cartwright

some of us been out of work for over

four months

any money we had went to feed our

families a long time ago

you're miners aren't you we were

we ain't thieves mr cartwright we just

can't get any work

more men being laid off every day ain't

a mind working in virginia city

it's pretty bad all over the comstock

ball

i know wheeler there he ain't no thief

he used to be foreign curry

i know i know

all right you killed that steer better

take him with you

but pass the word along we won't stand

for anybody stealing our beef

rustlers or miners

they're getting pretty desperate hungry

men can cause a lot of trouble

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

so

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

i'm sorry it happened man i'll get some

warrants worn out and well roy we we

didn't come here for that reason

oh he can't blame a man for wanting to

feed his family to keep his children

from starving we gotta take him in if we

don't you'll start losing cattle by the

hundreds

we got an awful lot of men out of jobs

here yeah we saw most of them as we was

riding in while ago

then mines don't pick up soon well that

many idle men spells trouble

roy we don't want to get anybody

arrested all we want to do is

we'll tell you that we'd we'd like to

offer a few head of cattle maybe every

day to help tight things over

and we'd like to do it through you i

know it's not much

well it's a lot it'll keep them people

from going hungry i'm able to keep the

rustlers off our land too

yeah we'll take them ben and be obliged

here

well you know roy whatever whatever

happens to virginia city

affects our ranch too sure is a big way

of looking at it take it easy roy

bye boys

[Music]

nobody if you know something why don't

you tell us

yeah tell us what's going on no i

haven't been down on the thunderhead

but there is a shift down below ain't

there and they got the shift locked in

and they're sending food down to them

ain't that right of course

all right i guess that's no secret

oh we uh we delivered that stock oh good

good we'll uh we'll bring in a few more

head tomorrow

what's going on it seems there's a lot

of talk about a strike in the thunder

here

the thunderhead you sure you're not

mistaken yeah

no mistake about it paul wait a little

adam gets back from san francisco and

he's about this he always swore there

wasn't nothing in that thunderhead but

sand and gravel yeah

hey you know it's a shame it's not a

next door and a golden curry you got

some stock in that one don't you find

uh not thinking about the stock i just

hope that the talk about the striking

thunderhead is true well let's go down

what more do you want the thunderhead

owners are trying to keep the news quiet

why else would they keep a shift locked

down below yeah

all i know is that frank furnace knows

his mining and he don't go around buying

dry holes

i just don't understand this why paul i

think the first time

bonanza's been struck on the comstock

yeah all right

hey roy mr cartwright mr cartwright

dog connect you won't have to worry

about them critters or yours no more

the thunderhead hit it big

roy sure is exciting in it yeah it's

what i want to talk to you about can we

talk inside your office sure

good boys uh i'll be a little while with

the chef i'll meet you back at the hotel

later okay

see ya right let's right here and see

what's happening

what's on your mind van well

just talk about the strike and the

thunder head now that's beginning to

shape up like a lot more than talk

this is the best news to hit the

comstock more in six months

yeah yes you're right there's any truth

in it

now what makes you say that roy

jim bronson ran the thunder head for

five years right

yeah now he's the best mining man of the

comstock load

pretty good he told me that the thunder

head was a dead hole

now his foreman liam flores told me the

same thing oh they could both be wrong

guess they could but jim seemed pretty

positive

maybe jim's just sour cause he made the

mistake of selling too soon

yeah maybe

i'm gonna ask him again just make sure i

heard him right

i'll see you

[Music]

yeah you heard me right ben

and all this talk about a new strike is

just a pack of lies i sold the

thunderhead it's none of my business

oh jim i i wasn't making an accusation i

i was just asking well what do you

expect me to do most people out there

are friends of mine you have seen them

they've been dead men for months now

they're coming alive now there'll be

something to live for

jobs maybe ben

ben at least they got hope do you want

me to destroy that

jim

what do you plan to do

can't decide furnace and cunningham i'm

up to something

they offered me ten thousand dollars to

go along with them to say that i went

down the thunderhead and seen a new

strike

well did you go down did you see the

news i told you there's no strike in the

thunderhead

jim if you need money for that thinking

about myself i'm thinking about those

miners out there

i'm thinking about the whole town ben do

you know what happened if even a false

boom started

san francisco money would start coming

in and maybe some of the closed minds

will get a little courage and open up

there's a lot of men out there that need

work some of them would get it

now do you want me to go out and tell

them there's no possible chance of any

silver in the thunder head

do you want me to take away their last

hope

uh jim jim you're

he's so right about virginia city

into the bad way it's

it's tottering but it hasn't fallen

you give it a false boom

you give it a a few months of false

prosperity based on nothing

and you'll be giving it a final push and

virginia city will really collapse only

it won't be a depression

it'll be a catastrophe

yeah thought of that too

have you given bonus and cunningham

their answer

oh they're coming over this afternoon

what are you going to tell them

i've been honest all my life man i guess

i'm too old to change now

they're not gonna like it but don't

worry man i get into it and i'll get out

of it

but thanks ben thanks for coming by

i needed somebody to talk to

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

mr bronson i thought we had come to an

agreement about this i told you i'd

think about it

i have the answer is no

aren't you being pretty high-handed

about this mr furnace here i believe has

just as much knowledge about mines as

you have

he says he's found plenty of silver in

the thunderhead and i say if there's any

silver in the thunderhead

who's hauled in from somewhere else and

that makes the whole deal crooked

gentlemen the answer is still no mr

bronson

you're making a sad mistake

he's on to us jack he just blew the

whistle on the whole deal

oh did he important jack

do we have to do it this way do you want

bronson talking all over town

jordan you know what you have to do

that's what i'm paid for horton

be careful sure and i always

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

let's get out of here take it easy get

his money i want this to look like a

robbery

come on

never at the bottom of a depression like

this it's the worst i've ever seen

all right hi roy whatever it was i

didn't do it you sure look guilty to me

ben all right come on in sit down have a

cup of coffee no

thanks well what's on your mind

did you see jim bronson yesterday

afternoon yeah i had a long talk with

jim

i got some bad news ben jim's dead

gyms it was knifed last night right

outside his office

looked to me like robbery

roy roy that whole thunder head

the strike there's no strike there the

whole thing's a phony it's a swindle

jim told me that furnace and cunningham

offered him ten thousand dollars to say

there was silver down at the thunder

they're so silver though he told me so

himself he was waiting for them to come

over so he could tell he wanted no part

of the deal

man that's a pretty serious accusation

you got any more than that to go on

well how much more do you need to go on

well man

ever since the mine started closing down

there hasn't been a week go by but what

at least

two men have been killed and robbed sure

on the divide or down on d street but

but not right downtown

in in in an office building royal bait

youth bonus and cunningham had

killed in order to shut them up just to

protect a phony silver promotion

yes just to protect a phony silver

promotion

man i i don't know what's been going on

down the thunderhead but

i'm sure it's going to help virginia

city now what you have is

just an unproven story that you say was

told to you by a dead man

i don't feel like going out and telling

them miners to give up hope and to sit

back and start starving to death

they're going to start stopping to death

when the news comes out that the whole

thing is a phony

what are you trying to do make an excuse

for murder of course i'm not and you

know it

i'll investigate it but until i got a

lot more to go on i'm going to keep

still about it

are you are you sure about what you said

yeah yeah i'm sure

i'll royal look into it

i'm gonna look into it too listen i

think you'll let the sheriff take care

of it

i don't want to talk jim into turning

down the deal

that makes it my responsibility

[Music]

better

hunter head's going crazy up to 23. with

no salary

[Music]

burn i don't blame sheriff coffee we're

not going to get in front of that crowd

well if paul thinks it's true he's going

to have to sooner or later

well just soon they calmed down a little

bit first trampled a man to death they

tried to spoil her fun now

hey you know what i was thinking you

know swindler knows swindling man ought

to put some

money in that stock you know what joe

you just sat right down

stay right here just like paul told us

thank you beer

yes and gentlemen as i was saying i'm a

very careful man

if i didn't believe frank furna's theory

about there being one continuing vein of

silver somewhere in the load

i wouldn't have put five cents into the

thunderhead

but now i'm glad i trusted him and

gentlemen i'll tell you something

if you can find some thunderhead stock

buy it

buy it while you can still afford it how

do you say we have something to eat

let's make it all the sheriff well i

doubt if there's a more honest man alive

than roy coffee but he just won't budge

until he has more evidence

he's got your word any paul yeah oh i'm

sure roy believes me but

he claims it isn't enough i'm afraid

he's right

he's there i'll i'll get you a barrel no

let's take a sip of yours

what are you doing hmm oh what i was

just figuring

i i don't mean to be disrespectful paw

but but swindler no swindle i i think it

fell out of pick up a couple of shares

of that stock

hey you see what i mean hey eighty

dollars a share bob eighty dollars a

share now i got some money on my own

paul i think he might be right i got a

couple of dollars listen to me both of

you

keep out of the market unless you want

to be buried in worthless paper

eighty dollars a share awesome come on

i'll buy you a dinner

well mr cartwright i've been wanting to

talk to you

gentlemen i'm listening

you've heard what's happening in the

thunderhead

i've heard a lot of wild rumors

where there's smoke there's fire isn't

that right frank

i've been in this business a long time i

know silver when i see it

mr cartwright i understand you own quite

a bit of stock in the golden curry

i suppose i do that's right i was just

going to advise you to

hang on to it if the deal i'm working on

goes through you may be able to trade it

for some thunderhead stock

mr cunningham i don't believe there's a

single solitary ounce of silver in the

thunderhead

mr cartwright i think you'll admit that

mr jack mcpherson of the

gulen curry knows a little bit about

mining too

you have enough respect for him to buy

some stock in his mind

what's jack mcpherson got to do with

this mr mcpherson thinks we have silver

in fact he feels so strongly about it

he's considering merging the golden

curry with the thunderhead

i don't believe a word of that why don't

you ask jack mcpherson

i'll do that

[Music]

that's quite a story cartwright and you

think it comes out fraud huh

i don't know of anything else you can

call it and i don't know then

nine tenths of virginia city's labor

force is hanging out on street corners

our economy is coming to a standstill if

there's one chance in the hundred that

it's not fraud

and that we can break out of our

depression i'm willing to take it and

put good money behind it

you knew jim bronson now bronson knew

the thunderhead like the back of his own

hand he told me there wasn't an ounce of

silver in it anywhere

i'm no fool i've demanded proof and

cunningham said he'd give it to me

tomorrow morning at the thunderhead

shaft

why don't you come out too

all right i will chuck

i will i'll see you in the morning

folks

well jack we're not producing much as

yet we're in the same boat you are

we've got to have capital before we can

expand our operations

here comes frank with the orcar

gentlemen he'll be able to answer most

of your questions

let's take a look

i sure hope pot enough to eat his own

words yeah cunningham seems mighty sure

of himself don't we

mm-hmm all right gentlemen take a look

hey that's good fantastic

where are bots in the mind did you say

this came from

[Laughter]

mr mcpherson if this was the golden

curry

would you answer that question

well just how much is this stuff worth

well we figure about 2 500

a ton well mr cartwright

no silver in the thunderhead

can't you believe your own eyes

do you mind if i help yourself well jack

you've seen it and you've heard my offer

we'll sell your company a half interest

in the thunderhead for fifty thousand

dollars cash

i'll have to take it up with the board

of directors in san francisco

you'll have your answer in a week you'll

recommend it

well if it assays as rich as you say it

as

i'll recommend it

this is beautiful beautiful pictures

well you can't lose for winning

thunderhead and bonanza and gould and

curry teaming up with them

[Music]

what's happening for you where the

little ones where's your family oh i

send them away

i i send them to my wife's sister of a

cousin

to carson city they have a nice little

rancho place there the goats milk it's

good for the children

excuse me sit down my friend excuse the

house the way it is leon

uh i want your opinion about something

see

what do you think of that

good huh good as rich as anything i ever

seen in my life

where you get this from the thunderhead

right here it's impossible i just cannot

be

that's gonna bring up a whole cart of

this this morning

four years four long years jean bronson

and myself we work every foot of the

thunderhead

is basically you you know what means

yeah empty worthless was is and will

always be

that came from the thunderhead

somebody put it there i mean i know

that's on their head like

little like i know my own house

you think the mine was salted i don't

know

what else can one thing

i think that furnace and cunningham are

trying to pull off a swindle

i think that jim bronson was murdered

because he knew what they were up to

my friend jim bronson

my fairness and cunningham

i think i i have no proof see your

country look

if it's true what you are thinking i'm

leon

how can we find out for sure about this

there's only one way will you go

inside the thunderhead with me oh

sure i will but they're not going to let

us go into the thunderhead have guards

posted around the entrance to the mind

leon knows another way

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

home

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

what is this this is an old air shaft

that will get us down to the first level

does anybody else know about this no oh

you're just a man who helped us you know

today never happened

once don't know nothing

[Music]

[Applause]

so

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

[Applause]

i thought there was a full ship locked

up down here there are only five men in

there

you sure we're going in the right

direction i follow the

overflow of the orcard that's why i know

that this is the right direction

what's the matter

what is it silver or isn't it

all my life i have mine silver in peru

in one hour all my life

i have never seen such so you're cut

right

this is bonanza the real bonanza

is magnifico

i don't see how you you and bronson

could be so wrong about the thunderhead

i don't know maybe

maybe we were not so wrong about the

thunderhead

this is silver isn't it see this is

silver

but but who's silver

huh what do you mean who's silva

what are you talking about

i will tell you in the morning thomas

[Music]

[Applause]

he is that you pete

pete somebody in the mind

come on

hey there's somebody in the mine well

there can't be we've been here all the

time

we can't take any chances come on

[Music]

so

oh what's wrong we heard someone in the

tunnel and thought they was going out

this way

jack somebody made it down to the

working face you'll never get out to

tell about it

all right some of you man check the

other tunnels come on let's get back

outside

look there they are

[Music]

so

[Music]

anybody recognize him not the little one

but the big one looked like old man

cartwright

hey hey frank what's this

air shaft to one of the upper levels

probably been there two three years

who laid out the first diggins bronson

and

leon flores and it had to be florey's

and flores is a friend of cartwright's

got flores

no jack not flores i know him i've

worked with him he's a good man

every cent we own is sunk in this rock

pit either we're ruined or we're

millionaires right now before he gets

the chance to put two and two together

how about cartwright

i'll handle cartwright

this is the map of the whole virginia

city

and this is the map of the

thunderhead right here now this is the

golden curry where the first

uh bonanza was this is the savage mine

belcher and this is the thunderhead

the packets are here and here

this is the boundary

that is between the golden quarry and

the thunderhead

now i think that this is where we saw

the silver

just below the boundary line and you do

think we were on golden curry land

it's a possibility but how can a man be

sure

i first must get the legal description

and and check it against the man

how long would that take five six hours

that long ah but then we can be sure

and if it does check out that we were on

gould and curry land i can take that

information to the

government engineer and have cunningham

and company blown right out of the

comstock

i hope so then i'll see you in the

[Music]

[Applause]

morning

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

poor leon he was a good man now do you

believe me

man i never did say i didn't believe you

i just said i couldn't arrest anybody

without sufficient evidence and we still

haven't got it

there's enough evidence there for me man

you're not the law now don't get the

idea that you are

if there was a shred of evidence to go

on i'd follow this thing through all the

way even if it meant killing the best

news this town has had in months

but i haven't got it and neither of you

so you stop pushing me and we gonna lock

horns

i'll find you the evidence you do that

and the sooner the better but make sure

it's proof

what do you think now what do you want

us to do paul

i'm writing you to see jack mcpherson

take care of things here

i'll see you in time later right

chuck i tell you there is a bonanza

there but it's not in the thunderhead

it's in your own mind oh ben i'm a

mining man

the indications are not right for oral

on that side of my mind don't you think

i haven't checked that out

i have seen it with my own eye all right

ben

i hope you're right it would be the

greatest thing that ever happened to the

golden curry

well as soon as i hear from my board of

directors you've got to wait to hear

from your board of directors and it

matters important i'm only the

superintendent

i only last week they were threatening

to close down the gulen curry entirely

i couldn't buck furnace and cunningham

on my own

and then find that i'm wrong i'm trying

to tell you that you're not wrong i saw

the silver in there with my own eyes

all you have to do is demand a survey

well i'll do that ben just as soon as i

hear from san francisco just as

well i've got to think of my job and

i've got to think of two friends

both of them dead

[Music]

friends there's scarcely a man here who

doesn't own stock in the thunderhead

and if you don't own stock you all have

your own businesses around town

but every one of you stands to gain from

what we've found in that mine

but there is one man who stands to

benefit enormously

by seeing virginia city fold up and

become a ghost town

but a man who would like to extend his

tentacles and devour everything on this

side of the washoe

the same as he's eating up everything on

the other side of it well

the man who stands to gain the most

by spoiling virginia city's greatest

boom

is ben cartwright

you're cartwright ain't you that's right

what about it

where do you get off talking down this

thunderhead strike

look mister we don't want trouble with

you you don't huh

well you're gonna get it and you better

tell that stupid old man of yours if i

catch him around here again i'll bash

his brains out

what'd you say he said i'll bash his

brains in

that's what i thought he said

all right all of you get this straight

if any of you's got any notions about

bashing anybody's brains out

especially our paws and you got us to

contend with first

[Applause]

[Music]

now who else do you want me to turn to

watkins you're the resident engineer for

the virginia city area

i'm not arguing that point ben of course

you turn to the right man that's why i'm

here well

but you're making some pretty serious

accusations and furnace and cunningham

are important men

now i've got to have something more

concrete the flores had those charts

he and bronson shotted out the whole

thunderhead area do you believe that of

course i believe it i've got copies of

those charts it's a government

regulation

what else do we need ben the federal

government cannot move on mere suspicion

now look i have reason to believe that

the thunderhead is

tapping a rich pocket in the ghoul and

curry mine

the only way that can be proven is by

making an underground survey now i have

no idea how to make an underground

survey you know how to do it that's your

job isn't it well of course it's my job

but ben

i cannot go into that mine without the

express permission of cunningham and

furnace now that's the law

you're telling me you won't go into the

thunderhead i'm telling you i can't go

into the thunderhead

not legally well how about illegally

now look watkins you've known me for a

long time i'm not the kind of man who

goes around breaking laws but we've got

to get to the truth of the matter

i don't know that mine's got to be

well-guarded ben well ian and i got into

an old abandoned air shaft

yeah i know about that air shaft oh

they've got to have a guard on that by

now

now look suppose we take horse and joe

with us if they can

distract that guard long enough for us

to get into the air shaft

well you're treading on dangerous ground

man

but german leon will my friends do

you make the survey and i'll probably

live to regret it

[Music]

they just come back from checking that

air shaft

this would be a good time for us to get

started then yeah

we shouldn't be too long but if that guy

goes back to check the air shaft

we'll take care of him yeah you two be

careful

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

this side

[Music]

[Applause]

this side

[Music]

what are you doing

we just crossed the boundary line of the

golden curry are you sure of this i've

been down here a dozen times this is

where the old tunnel ended

this is new shoring that explains that

silver deposit

that stopped in the thunderhead it's in

the golden curry that's what it looks

like come on let's take a look

you better let me get a fix on this our

face man we'll need it for evidence

this virginia city will boom after all

huh yeah so your golden curry stock

okay on this side hurry up don't want to

get caught down here

you know from the look of it first i'll

be able to break through into this from

right here

i'm almost kidding

[Music]

where'd that come from sound like the

north section trouble

oh come on

otto take a couple of men and check the

time entrance

the rest of us will check the lower

levels and the ore face come on phil

look there they are

[Music]

[Music]

let's move it

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

yeah i'm all right i have a new tour all

right

how are you yeah fine

you better get some help with those men

down here right

i will go see my person i tell him he's

got a real bonanza

i don't know how thick it is but it's at

least 150 feet wide

that's quite a hunk of silver jack and

20 000 people will live better

men women and children prosperity's back

on the comstock

wonderful eh what's the matter with you

huh i don't know about horsey i'm just

wondering why i didn't buy some of that

ghoul and curry stock when you did bob

well i've been trying to tell you you're

just not as smart as your old man

come on i'll buy you a drink with part

of my profits

come on charlie get the right

come on

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?

Set your leisure time to watch Bonanza alone or with your beloved ones. It’s a 14-season television series produced by NBC, aired on their network from September 1959 to January 1973. The Thunderhead Swindle is episode 62 out of 430 and the thirtieth for season two.

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