
Lijah Full Episode – Gunsmoke, Season #17, Episode #09
Lijah, a wandering mountain man, stumbles upon a gruesome scene: the aftermath of a brutal attack on the Ezra Parker family, leaving only ten-year-old Rachel Mae alive. As Lijah begins to bury the deceased, Hale Parker, Rachel Mae’s dubious uncle, arrives at the scene. A scuffle ensues, resulting in Hale being rendered unconscious by Lijah, who is suspected of the crime. Sensing impending danger, Lijah flees with Rachel Mae to protect her from the unknown threat.
Upon regaining consciousness, Hale travels to Dodge City to relay the events. Upon hearing the news, Marshal Matt Dillon assembles his team and investigates the situation. Gunsmoke Lijah aired on November 8, 1971, delivering a tale of mystery and survival in the Old West.
Explore Lijah’s storyline and fascinating trivia, or watch the complete episode below.
Table of Contents
Watch the Full Episode of Gunsmoke Lijah
Watch the full episode of Lijah:
Gunsmoke Lijah Cast
The individuals listed below performed in the Gunsmoke episode titled Lijah:
- James Arness as Matt Dillon
- Milburn Stone as Doc (credit only)
- Amanda Blake as Kitty
- Ken Curtis as Festus
- Buck Taylor as Newly
- Denny Miller as Lijah
- Harry Townes as Hale Parker
- Erin Moran as Rachel Parker
- William Wintersole as Will Standish
- Tom Brown as Ed O’Connor
- Woodrow Chambliss as Lathrop
- Pat Hingle as Dr. Chapman
- Lane Bradford as Dump Hart
- Howard Culver as Howie
- Herb Vigran as Judge Brooker
- Pete Kellett as Frank
- Glenn Strange as Sam Noonan
- Charles Wagenheim as Halligan
- Ted Jordan as Nathan Burke
- Dan Flynn as Tack (as Dan Flynn Jr.)
- Hank Wise as Hank (as Henry Wise)
- Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
- Donna DeLacey as Saloon Girl (uncredited)
- Len Felber as Townsman (uncredited)
- Duke Fishman as Townsman (uncredited)
- Bob Harks as Townsman (uncredited)
- George Hoagland as Bailiff (uncredited)
- Louise Lane as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Ethelreda Leopold as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Bert Madrid as Juror (uncredited)
- Jimmy Noel as Townsman (uncredited)
- George Tracy as Townsman (uncredited)
Full Story Line for Lijah
The destiny of a mountain man rests in the hands of a jury.
Full Script and Dialogue of Lijah
♪♪ I want you to stay right here, and don't come out. Oh. Where you going? You best be a-coming with me, Ladybug. Well, don't you think that there's a smart idea, Matthew? Wouldn't that be just the very thing? You've heard... You never have heard no idea... Festus, look, I hate to throw cold water on your idea, but... Well, what... Doctor? Doctor, could you come in here for a minute and that tell Matthew that this here's a good idea that I got? Just tell him it's a good idea. What's that, Festus? What's a good idea? Well, I had me that chicken with the runny sauce all over it and Delmonico's for supper last night, and I figure that that's what brung on this here dream that give me this here idea, that I'm fixing to get one of them things from Washington from that guarantees you that nobody can't slip up behind your back and steal your idea. - You mean, a patent? - Yeah. You got an idea you want to get a patent on? Wood trains. - Wooden trains? - Yeah. Trains made out of wood, don't you see? I didn't quite catch on with it either, Doctor. Well, don't tell me you don't understand neither, Doc. A fellow with all your book learning, why I figured you'd get that quicker than a pup would get a beefsteak. What is there to get about wooden trains? Well, don't you see? Wood trains could float right across the rivers. Wooden trains that float across the river. That's it! And you could put paddles onto the drive shafts, help drive the train across the river in case there was a strong current. Why, you blame-sure could. Doctor, that's a very T.I. inktum dinktum. That's a good idea! Matthew, see what I told you? Uh, yeah, that's right, Festus. Congratulations, Doctor, you, uh, you catch onto things fast. You know, it takes some people quite a while. Festus, there is just one little change that I'd make if I were you. Yeah? What's that, Doctor? Wouldn't it be cheaper to make the rails out of wood? Let 'em float on top of the water, let the trains go across on them? No, no, Doctor, that there wouldn't work. Don't you see, you lay them wood rails across the river, they'd be all wobble-ty. You couldn't never hold them steady. All right, but what if you was to take these big posts and drive them down into the river bed and then attach the rails onto the posts? They wouldn't be wobble-ty then, would they? Well, they blame-sure wouldn't. I believe that would work. That would hold them steady as a rock. I've even got a name for that kind of rail. Yeah, what's that? A bridge. Marshal, there's a man out here talking about some people being murdered. Biggest man I ever seen in my life. We fought, him and me. Then he reached down and picked up a big tree limb, about big around as your arm, it was. While my back was turned. I was turned around to make sure poor little Rachel was all right. That's when he let me have it. Hale, what's happened here? Marshal, I was just coming to get ya. He killed them, Marshal. Sit down, let me take a look at that. Now, who are you talking about? What happened? I went out to my cousin's to borrow some grain. When I got there, there was this big man out there. Bigger than a tree, he was. M... Meaner looking than Old Nick himself. Must have been that madman that killed that family in Hays. A man like that on the loose, we're all in danger. All right, boys, now hold on a minute here. I don't follow you. What happened exactly? I got there in the nick of time, Marshal. He had poor little Rachel trapped down in the root cellar, and he had a gun and he was a-gonna kill her, too! - I know it! - Man: A little girl? All right, now wait a minute. Where were Rachel's parents and her brother? Marshal, I forgot you wasn't here when I told the rest of the folks. They was dead. I got... when I got there, he'd already done killed all the rest of the family. Well, let's get a posse and get out there! - It can't be too soon! - Yeah, we're wasting time, Marshal. Man: I think we'd better go, boys. We haven't got much time. ♪♪ You ain't thirsty? Your folks, was they? Happened to me too, Ladybug. My folks got killed off when I was a youngin'. Now, you're gonna be all right. I'm fixing to help you, see you don't get hurt none. Ladybug, I never killed your folks. And I ain't gonna hurt you. You hurt my Uncle Hale. Just trying to save my own life. That's all in the world I was a-doing. I meant him no harm. He was fixing to shoot me. Why aren't we going into Dodge City? 'Cause me and cities don't get on too good. Fact is, me and people don't get on too good. Back in Dodge they'd just say I was the one who killed your people. They wouldn't be paying me no mind... excepting to hang me. You didn't hurt my folks, did you? No. No. God's truth. You never saw who done it? I couldn't see nothing. I could only hear noises. You could hear. It would make my life a heap easier if you could have seen, though. There's a road 10, 12 miles further on. We'll be hitting it come sunup tomorrow. I'll leave you there. There's three freight wagons pass there every day. Run you right into Dodge. Thank you. Lijah. That's my name. Thank you, Mr. Lijah. What's the matter, Tack, you feeling all right? I never saw dead folk before. It's crawly. Who could do something like that? It's got to be that Hays family killer. And there ain't no way to tell what a man like that's going to do. That wild man has been doing all those killings... - Right. - Way back to Missouri? Hale, you should have shot him like a rabid dog. I didn't want to take no chance on shooting with the child so close-by. So I just jumped on him from horseback when I come up. I think I could have taken him, too, except that I had to keep... That David and Goliath ruckus wasn't a spit in the ocean to what he done. But he sure has got a lump on the side of his head, Festus. Ah, fiddle. That there ain't no lump. He's got so blame-much brag inside of him it's starting to pooch out that swole-up head of his, is what it is. Well, let's not worry about Hale, now, we've got to find that girl. Did you see anything out back? We're looking for a big man and a little girl, ain't we? Well, I've seen their tracks heading right out that way when we rolled in. They're afoot, we can catch them in no time at all. I'll get the posse mounted up. Now, hold on, Newly. Don't say anything about the tracks, Festus. Well, why, Matthew? They're plain as the sun in the summer sky. Yeah, they're there, all right. But I want you to head the men east. - East? - That's right. I'm gonna follow the tracks alone. Scared men are liable to be trigger-happy and that can be dangerous. We don't need that when there's a little girl involved. It's very good. Well, it's hot, stick to your ribs. Aren't you hungry? Get enough to eat? Yes. Is this how you sleep? I mean, don't you have a house, Mr. Lijah? House? No. No house, Ladybug. Where do you live, then? Up high in the mountains. Where the wild things stay. Deers? No, no. Deers is most tame, Ladybug. Come down and lick salt with the cattle. No, there's places where I live that the eagle ain't never seen. Is that where you'll go? I know them mountains. I'll just go up high and... wait till they gets tired of looking for me. That's God's land, Ladybug. Ain't no men up there to ruin it. Well... I talked too much. Ain't used to talking. Best you get to sleep. We'll leave at first light. Get you safe in Dodge before the day is out. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless Mommy and Daddy... Amen. Amen. I said you best sleep. You ain't asleep. I'm not sleepy, that's all. A mite scared, are you? No, I'm not scared. I'm hardly a bit scared. Now, you best get to sleep, Ladybug. It won't be so bad come sunup. When we used to have thunder and lightning storms, my mom would come upstairs and sing with me. That's real nice. Do you like to sing? No, I... ain't much for that. We use to sing the "Jesus Loves Me" song. You know that song? No, no I don't. You don't? I thought everybody knew that song. I don't know many songs. It... It just ain't the kind of thing for folks like me. Been so long, I... don't think I know what singing is no more. You want me to sing for you? I sing in Sunday school choir. Sure. If you want. ♪ Jesus loves me, this I know ♪ ♪ For the Bible tells me so ♪ ♪ Little ones to Him belong ♪ ♪ They are weak, but He is strong ♪ ♪ Yes, Jesus loves me ♪ ♪ Yes, Jesus loves me ♪ ♪ Yes, Jesus loves me ♪ ♪ The Bible tells me so ♪ ♪ Yes, Jesus loves me ♪ ♪ Yes, Jesus... ♪ Hold it! Get your hand away from the gun. ♪♪ Man: Hey, they got him! They got the fellow! The one that killed the Parkers! Man: They got the guy that killed all those people! Here comes the posse! Don't worry, folks, she's just fine. She's just scared a little bit, that's all. I'm gonna be looking after her real good. So don't you worry none, she's just fine. Ain't that right, Rachel Mae? Man: They finally got them. Morning, Miss Kitty. Good morning. You know him? I've never seen him before in my life, that I know of. He sure acts like he knows you. Come on, we ain't got all day. Lijah. Yeah, same on this. What's your last name, Lijah? Name's Lijah, that's all. No last name? A name's to answer to. I answer to Lijah. Want a cup of coffee? Friendly type, ain't he? - Hi, Matt. - Hello, Will. - Newly. - Mr. Standish. That the man in there? Marshal: That's him. You want to talk to him? Yeah, if you don't mind. Lijah, this is Will Standish. He's the prosecuting attorney for the state of Kansas. You know what a prosecuting attorney does? You'll see I get hanged. If you're guilty. Then you'll see I'm guilty. I've come here to tell you that papers are being drawn up, and you're being charged with three counts of premeditated murder. I ain't surprised. Trial will be sometime next week. I'll be here when it comes time you want me. Marshal? Coffee? Will, has the court appointed a lawyer for this man, yet? Well, we're trying, Matt. But it ain't easy. You know, the lawyer who takes this case is gonna make himself a lot of enemies. You can count on that. Well, regardless of that, a man can't stand trial for murder without a lawyer. I know that. I left a message with Homer Wayne. Homer Wayne? He's only handled land deeds and wills. He's never been in a courtroom. Well, Homer Wayne's available now. The sooner we get this trial going, the better. You know, frankly, half this town don't give a tinker's damn whether this man gets a fair trial or not. Well, that doesn't matter. He's entitled to the best defense we can get him. I'm not disputing that. Homer Wayne's it. Well, Homer's a good man, but he's over 80 years old. What are you suggesting, Matt? Well, I think maybe we got a better choice. Newly here's read law. Do you think you're qualified? No, sir, I don't. I'm not a lawyer. I only read law for a few months. Well, Newly, if a choice between you and old Homer, I think you're the man. Matt, I can't do it. Now, wait a minute, Will. If it's agreeable with Lijah, and Judge Brooker doesn't object, will you clear him? Yes or no? Well, frankly, I don't think Homer Wayne will do it anyway. And the longer we wait on this trial, the harder it's going to be to keep the lid on in this town. We'll keep the lid on, don't worry about that. Well, you got yourself a client, Mr. O'Brien. Newly, I want you to get a wire off to the state house right away. Get all the information you can on those other killings, especially the description of the killer. We got to see if any of it fits Lijah. Yes, sir. - Good evening, Doctor. - Hello, Matt. Any answer yet on this inquiries into the murders or on Lijah? Not yet, nothing on him. He sure is a strange one. Well, he couldn't possibly be sane and commit all those murders. What do you think, Marshal, do you think he's sane? Well, I'm not sure. I'll tell you one thing, though, he knows what he's charged with. Will Standish was telling him and he understood every word of it. It's peculiar though. What do you mean? Well, there's just something about that man I don't understand. You know, I feel the same. The day you brought him into town, he picked me out of a crowd and stared at me like... Oh, it was just like he knew you. It was just like that. I tell you something, Doctor, I'd feel a whole lot better if you'd look him over. I want to. I'll do that right now. I'm gonna walk over to the jail and see him. To see Lijah? Yes, why? Well, I'd rather you didn't. Would you mind telling me why not? No, not at all, Doctor. This is the list of the men called to serve on jury duty. That's your name right on top. Well... - Tack: Night, Mr. Parker. - Hale: Good night, Tack. Man: Oh, you're sure welcome. - Goodnight. - Night, Hale. - Goodnight! - Thanks, again. - Sure. Goodnight. - Come to our place one of these times. - Do that. - Night, Hale. Good night. Thanks, again. Hello there, sweetheart. You... you still awake? I wasn't sleepy, Uncle Hale. Oh, maybe we was too noisy for you outside, huh? No, it didn't bother me. They was just some good friends of your Uncle Hale's come by to wish me well. To wish us both well. That was nice of them. Oh, people is gonna be awful nice to us now, sweetheart. We're what you call "people of property," like the fellow says. I ain't just some rump-busted pony-pusher no more, honey. No, siree. I've got that nice spread of your pa's to look after now. And I've got a fair-sized amount of investing to do. And I've got you to look after, too, bless your little heart. Oh, what's the matter, there? Ain't you got a kiss for your poor old Uncle Hale? You smell like whiskey. Your pa never did hold that too much, did he? Well, you'll get used to it. It ain't all that bad. Uncle Hale? Yes, sweetheart. Why did you lie to Marshal Dillon? What are you talking about, Rachel Mae? Well... you told everybody how you and Mr. Lijah fought and fought, and you didn't fight hardly at all. You walked around the barn and he hit you with a shovel. And that was all there was to it. Now, you was all excited, Rachel Mae. You don't know what you seen. Yes, I do so. You both ran for the gun. Rachel. Now, Rachel Mae Parker, you just listen to me now. I'm the last kin you got in the whole world. Your ma and your pa wouldn't like it if you went around making people laugh at me, now would they? Besides... don't you want your ma and your pa and your big brother to get into heaven? Yes. Well, you sure ain't acting like you do. Now, you listen to me. You was all excited, Rachel Mae, and you don't know what you seen about him and me fighting. But that man killed your ma and your pa and your big brother, and he was a-gonna kill you, too. Until I come along and stopped him. He was going to skin you alive and feed you to his dogs, is what he was going to do. And folks around here wants to see him dead, and it's our duty to see that they gets their wish. We owe that to your ma and your pa. 'Cause you know your ma and pa is looking down on you right now? They are? Yes, they are. But they ain't in heaven, oh, no, Rachel. They's a-waiting outside the gates, and they ain't gonna get in. Until vengeance is done on that man. They're gonna wait outside there forever... till that man hangs. You just think about that for a while. See if you don't remember something more, hm? Now, don't you forget what I told you. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? - I do. - Be seated. State your name and place of residence. Hale Parker. Living on Oak Fort Road, out near Spring's Crossing. Mm-hmm. - Now, Mr. Parker, - Yes? I want you to tell the gentlemen of this jury what you first saw when you arrived at the Ezra Parker home on the morning of the 13th. Yes, I'd be pleased to. Well... I tied up out in the corral, and I started toward the house. Hadn't gone more than two steps when... I seen poor Ezra and his boy. Were they dead? Yes, sir, dead. Stone dead. Mr. Parker, I want you to tell this court what happened next. Well... I looked up then. I seen that man there. - The accused? - Yes, sir. And he had a gun. Did you say, Mr. Parker, that that gun was loaded? I'm sure it was. Now, Mr. Parker, you say Lijah threatened your niece. Was she harmed in any way? Well, no, but he chased her, and she'd have been dead if I hadn't stopped him. Lie! He lies! Look, Lijah, you've got to trust me to handle this thing. We'll get to the truth in due time, I promise you that. But you can't go calling a man on the witness stand a liar. I can't call him liar? How come he can call me murderer? Your witness, Mr. O'Brien. - Mr. Parker. - Yes. Why were you out at the ranch that day in the first place? Hale: Well, I needed me some seed grain and some sourdough starter. Cousin Ezra was doing good enough to let me have some, so I just figured I'd go out and ask him for some, is all. Now, Rachel, I want you to relax... and take your time... and think back... and tell the jury what happened that morning. Well... Mama and I were in the cellar putting away jelly. And there was some shooting. Mama told me to stay where I was and not make a sound. She went out. Then there was more shooting. Then it got quiet for a long time. I must have made a noise and he heard me and found me in the root cellar there. Who heard you, Rachel? Who found you? That man Lijah. He said he'd killed Mama and Papa. And he said he'd kill me and feed me to his dogs. Lie! That there's a lie! - It ain't true! - You'll ruin your chances. - I ain't killed nobody, I ain't! - Stop! We can't turn this into a circus. Help him! Order! Ah! Get the cuffs on him, Festus. - You all right, Newly? - Yes. - Doctor. - Evening, Marshal. Well, get locked out of your office? No, I just came out to try to cool off a little. Well, it's a warm night all right. I was thinking about going down to the Long Branch and having a beer. - You want to join me? - I'd like to, yes, but I'd better not. Everybody and his brother will be over there wanting to talk about the trial, and I'm not allowed to discuss it. I think I'll stay where I am. Something bothering you, Doctor? I'll tell you, Marshal, one of the things a man learns after a lifetime of tending to people is how to read their eyes. Sometimes a patient is too young, too old, too sick to tell you where it hurts, how bad it hurts, and you learn to read it in his eyes. It's a sense that you develop. A pretty good one, too. And that Lijah... I have caught him staring at me a couple of times. I can't figure out why. It's like he wants me to read something in his eyes, but for the life of me, I can't. The only thing I can figure is that I look like somebody he knows or knew, or... Well... too bad you can't go over and have a talk with him. I'm afraid if you did that Judge Brooker would declare a mistrial. Well... Well, I don't know what to do. Well, about all you can do is... listen to the evidence and try not to let anything else influence your vote. Yeah. Well. I'm tired, Marshal. I think I'm gonna go on up to bed. Excuse me. Goodnight. Goodnight, Doctor. O'Brien: If he did kill those people, why didn't he kill the little girl? Instead, he was taking care of her when the Marshal found him. I don't know who did this thing, but I do know they haven't proved it was Lijah that did it. He's a man that come to the wrong place at the wrong time and because he's different, because he wants to live apart from everybody else, by himself, people are saying he did it, but nobody saw him do it. He didn't have no reason to do it. That's why we don't have a real reason to hang him. God help us all if being different is a hanging offense. Judge Brooker: Gentlemen of the jury, you've heard the testimony, you've heard the summation. If you have any questions as to the technicalities of law, let's hear them now. It is not your place here to decide on sentence. That is the function of the court, it is not your responsibility. It is your solemn obligation, however, to pass judgment on that man Lijah. Guilty or innocent? On the basis of the testimony as you've heard it and understood it. You may retire now, gentlemen, to do you duty. We await your verdict. Dr. Chapman: "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Not guilty." - Huh? - What? Now, what jackass thinks that yahoo is innocent? Why, that man gunned down three people. - And he'd of killed that little girl, too. - Yeah! Gentlemen! Gentlemen. I'm the one that voted "not guilty." - What? - Doc, you? You mean, you think he's innocent? No, I don't think he's innocent, but I'm not convinced he's guilty, either. I'm willing to listen to you gentlemen, I'm willing to be convinced, but until I am, my vote remains the same: not guilty. Doc, you heard the testimony! Defending a wild man. A man who lives in the hills, who has no family and no work, and who lives like a wild animal. I'm not defending him, I'm just not willing to hang a man when I'm not convinced he's guilty. And how a man lives doesn't have one thing to do with this. As Newly O'Brien said, "God help us all if we"... And another thing, that Newly O'Brien is no more qualified to act as an attorney... Oh, Howie, Howie. What's that got to do with anything? Just the same, a man never seemed more guilty. - That's right. - Hale saw him there. With the Parkers laying dead! But Hale didn't see him kill anyone. Well, if he was innocent, Newly should have proved it. Yeah! And besides, if the man is innocent, he don't need a lawyer. Gentlemen, I would imagine that someone said the same thing to Pontius Pilate a few centuries back. I just don't happen to agree, that's all. Doc, I... I don't think you know how we do things here in Dodge. Ain't much like New Orleans, I reckon. This has nothing to do with New Orleans, Dodge City, or anyplace else. This has to do with me. Well, now, I'll tell you what I think. All right, you tell me. I think that Lijah's put the evil eye on you or something. Ah, Dump, even you can't believe that. Well, he was always looking at him, a-staring at you. You got any explanation for that? No, I haven't. Huh. Now, what's he tried to do, Doc? Tried to scare you, tried to get you to vote his way? Yeah, that's maybe just what he's done, huh? Well, Doc, what do you say? Don't you think we ought to take another vote? Not much point, Mr. O'Connor, unless you've changed your mind. - Well, we'll be here another day. - What's it gonna take? Pretty busy here today. Well, it's usual for a trial. Especially when there's a hanging coming up. Are you that sure they'll find him guilty? Aren't you? Well, they've been locked up in there all day. Somebody's not going along. I got a pretty good idea who it is, too. The last man that called me a liar was my father, and he was right, and I still took a swing at him. - All right, all right... - I did not call you a liar. - Halligan... - But ever since this thing started, I've been trying to avoid calling you a liar. - Cool down, Halligan. - Oh, all right... You can't tell us you truly believe that Lijah ain't battier than... Wally Binder's silo. I can tell you that, and I am telling you that. I think we're all getting a little tired. Yeah, well, it seems to me, men, what we all saw in that courtroom ought to prove one thing to the doctor: that man is dangerous. Doc, he's got a temper like a rattler at shedding time. Doctor Chapman, didn't you see how he went after Newly? Almost choked him to death right there in the courtroom. Yeah, and all Newly done was say, "Don't turn this trial into a circus." Well, the whole trial's been nothing but a sideshow anyway. Mr. O'Connor. Go get the bailiff. Tell him I want to talk to Matt Dillon right now. What for? Because I know who Lijah is. And it might just have a bearing on this case. Here it is, by glory, here it is. His name's not Lijah, it's Elijah. I treated him over 20 years ago. He was just a little boy then. That's why he recognized me and I didn't remember him. Doctor, what did you treat him for? His father worked at one of the sulfur mines outside of town, and one day Lijah and his mother, they had taken his daddy's lunch out to him when a donkey boiler blew up. Both parents were killed. Well, that's probably where he got the scar then. That's where he got the scar. And that's how he lost his hearing. The man is stone deaf, Matt. Deaf? Are you sure? I couldn't be more sure. I spent the better part of a year teaching him how to read lips. And his aunt, she was taking care of him, she figured there wasn't any sense wasting any more time on him, so she sold him to the circus. Sold him to the circus? As what? They used him as the "Wild Boy from Borneo." Glued hair all over his body, locked him up in a cage, made him bite the head off of chickens. Maybe that's why he remembered me. Maybe I was the last person in this world that ever showed any concern for him. Well... I can understand why he'd prefer living in those God-forsaken hills to being around people. Matt, wire just came in from Salt Springs. They're holding a man who confessed to the murders. Also said he did the killings at Joplin and Hays. Uncle Hale? Yes, sweetheart. Uncle Hale, are Mama and Papa in heaven now? Now that we took "revengeance"? Yes. They sure are, honey. They's just as happy as can be. They know I'm looking after their precious land. And I'm gonna take real good care of everything. Lijah: Lie! I never killed your people, child. How come you lied? Because... Uncle Hale said you did it. Mama and Papa wouldn't get into heaven if I didn't say it. They'll be folks out to kill me on account of what you made this child do. You best go in now, Ladybug. Ah! Don't! Don't hurt him. I'll tell you the truth! I'm sorry! Don't hurt him! I'll tell you the truth! No! She's fallen in the well! Rachel! No, don't! We got to help her! No! No! Rachel's done fell in the well! She's hurt herself bad! Rachel! In the well! I'll get a rope. That thing's full of rattlers. I'm coming, Ladybug! Don't you worry now! Can't you hear me? There's rattlers down there! Don't you worry now, Ladybug. Marshal! Marshal, little Rachel's done fell in that well there. And that mountain man's gone after her. That place is full of rattlesnakes. I told him that, Marshal, but he wouldn't pay me no mind. He can't hear you, Hale, and he can't hear those rattlers either. Festus, get a rope. Ah! Be there in no time at all. Gonna be over in just a bit, Ladybug. - Are you all right? - Yes. You all right? Rachel's all right, Marshal. I got snake bit. Marshal, I'm deaf. I can't hear 'em. The place is crawling with rattlers. Grab ahold of the rope and we'll pull you out of there. Come on. Get under here. It's hide. You're going to be all right. All right, Ladybug. Here we go. Heave away, Marshal! Back, Ruth. Back. Back. Pull back. Ah! - Hang on, Festus, harder. - Back! Festus: Back. Back. Back up. Back. Back. Back. Back. Hey. You all right, Rachel Mae? Go get Doc! Hyah! Come on, Ruth. Hyah! Hyah, Ruth! Hyah, Ruth! He didn't kill my folks, Marshal. Uncle Hale made me say it. We know that, Rachel. And he's gonna have to answer for it, too. I'm sorry for what I said, Mr. Lijah. Please don't die. I've been bit before, Ladybug. I ain't gonna die. I ain't gonna die.
Behind the Scenes of Lijah
The horse-drawn mower depicted in the yard as the scene unfolds is from 1920 or later.
Looking for More Gunsmoke Episodes?
Gunsmoke is an excellent choice for solo viewing or family entertainment. This American Western television series, broadcast on CBS, captivates audiences with its compelling narratives. One notable episode from Season 17, Lijah, awaits viewers with its thrilling storyline and iconic characters.
You can find more about any of the Gunsmoke episodes here.