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>>