Old Time Radio Westerns

“Dangerous Round-Up” | Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (11-06-53)

Host: Andrew Rhynes
Original Broadcast: November 6, 1953
Podcast Release Date: November 22, 2025

Overview

In this rip-roaring episode of Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok—“Dangerous Round-Up”—Marshal Wild Bill Hickok and his ever-loyal deputy Jingles get enlisted to help their friend Stormy Evans during a gritty and perilous cattle roundup. Open-range lawlessness pits them against mean cattle, a rough rival named Whip Willard, and a scheme that threatens to ignite a range war. Through thrilling chases, gunfights, and a daring nighttime stand, the frontier’s most famous lawman and his comic sidekick must restore order and justice to the open prairie.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Opening at Round-Up Time

• [04:15–05:48]
  • Wild Bill Hickok and Jingles help Stormy Evans rope and brand a wild longhorn that’s evaded capture for four years.
  • The trio laments the old days of working cattle, feeling both nostalgia and the fatigue of hands-on ranch work.

2. Stormy’s Troubles with Whip Willard

• [05:01–07:13]
  • Stormy describes escalating harassment from Whip Willard—fires, threats, and beatings that drove all his hired hands away.
  • Whip Willard’s ambition: seize the open range by intimidation and lawlessness.
  • Bill explains the need for proof before the law can intervene:

    “Can’t do that, Jingles, till we can catch him with some of his dirty work. Once we got proof enough, we’ll put him away for a nice long stretch.” – Wild Bill Hickok [06:55]

3. Stampede!

• [07:44–08:42]
  • Willard’s men stampede the cattle herd, sending the terrified animals charging straight for Bill, Jingles, and Stormy in a narrow canyon.
  • The three barely escape the onrushing longhorns by leading their horses up a steep hillside trail.

4. Confrontation at Whip Willard’s Ranch

• [13:06–17:19]
  • After losing their supplies in the stampede, Bill’s party pays a “friendly” supper call to Willard’s ranch, met with rifle shots instead of hospitality.
  • Whip Willard boasts of his control:

    “I’m running things here my way, and if you think you’re gonna stop me, you’d better bring an army with you.” – Whip Willard [15:32]

  • A fistfight ensues between Bill and Whip, with Bill proving himself the tougher man.
  • Willard, unbowed, vows escalation, ordering his men to get ready for violence:

    “Maybe I lost a fist fight, but that big talking marshal is liable to lose his life.” – Whip Willard [17:29]

5. Nighttime Plot & Counterplot

• [17:56–19:07 / 21:32–23:31]
  • Willard and his gang plan to stampede the Evans herd over the sleeping protagonists in the canyon, intending fatal consequences.
  • Jingles, hungry and restless, insists on riding for food. Instead, the trio spots Willard’s men preparing their attack.
  • Bill devises a bluff—making their small group sound like a full posse by firing rapidly and shifting positions among the rocks.

6. The Showdown: Outlaws Routed

• [23:55–25:54]
  • In a confused, moonlit battle of gunfire and galloping cattle, Bill’s plan works. Willard’s men panic and flee, believing they’re outgunned.
  • Whip is thrown from his horse and wounded; Jingles and Stormy disarm the remaining outlaws.
  • Bill pronounces the end of Willard’s outlaw reign:

    “You’ll see [your gang] again, all right. We’ll round ‘em up and bring ‘em to the same jail you’re gonna be in.” – Wild Bill Hickok [25:48]

  • Jingles, ever the comic, closes the skirmish with a complaint about missing meals and a resigned readiness for even the jail cook’s food.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jingles’ Reluctant Heroics:

  “If I ever meet up with that Willard, I’ll punch him right in the snoot and then start looking around for some proof.”
  – Jingles [07:02]

• The Open Range Code:

  “The law says all this land is open range.”
  – Wild Bill Hickok [15:19]

• Bill’s Frontier Justice:

  “If you think you can start a range war and get away with it, you better think again.”
  – Wild Bill Hickok [17:03]

• Big Talk, Bigger Trouble:

  “Maybe I lost a fist fight, but that big talking marshal is liable to lose his life.”
  – Whip Willard [17:29]

• Outnumbered, Not Outwitted:

  “We keep both guns smoking and keep jumping around in those rocks, we can sound like eight or ten men at least.”
  – Wild Bill Hickok [23:14]

• Jingles on Frontier Justice and Food:

  "Everything’s winding up just right, Bill. We put a stop to the range war. And the jail’s closer than Stormy’s ranch house... Well, it means that we’ll get to the jail a lot quicker. There’s food at the jail and I’m so hungry by now that, well, I can even eat the sheriff’s terrible cooking and like it too."
  – Jingles [26:10, 26:17]

Pacing & Tone

The tone throughout is classic Western adventure—bracing, brisk, and laced with the humor and camaraderie of its leads. Jingles’ comic timing plays perfectly against Bill’s steady confidence. The peril is real, but always buoyed by ingenuity and old-fashioned Western justice.

Key Segment Timestamps

• Rope and Brand the Wild Steer: [04:15–05:01]
• Stormy Explains the Feud: [05:01–07:13]
• Stampede Sequence: [07:44–08:42]
• Face-Off at Willard Ranch: [13:06–17:19]
• Willard’s Night Attack Plan: [17:56–19:07]
• Bill’s Final Stand and Bluff: [23:00–25:54]
• Closing Banter and Wrap-Up: [26:02–27:30]

Final Thoughts

“Dangerous Round-Up” is packed with hard-riding action, folksy banter, and the unbreakable frontier code of Wild Bill and his crew. For fans of classic Western drama, it’s a reminder of why Hickok’s legend endures: quick thinking, a steady hand, and justice meted out with as much wit as skill.