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Commercial Narrator
Foreign.
Andrew Rines
Welcome to the Old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host Andrew Rines and let's get into this episode. This episode is going to be Gunsmoke Original Air Dates Aug 25, 1957 and the title is Grass. Hope you enjoy. And again, thanks for listening.
Narrator
Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers and that's with a U.S. marshal. And the smell of gun smoke.
Matt Dillon
Gun Smoke.
Narrator
Starring William Conrad. The story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it.
Matt Dillon
I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal. The first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancy job and it makes
Narrator/Interjection
a man watchful and a little lonely.
Matt Dillon
What's up everybody?
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Kitty
There he is. Matt. That's Harry Pope at the bar there. Little short fella.
Matt Dillon
Oh yeah. Where did you tell me he was from, Kitty?
Kitty
Boston, or near there.
Matt Dillon
He's a long way from home.
Kitty
Well, he told me his wife died and he wanted to move someplace else. So he came out here about four months ago and built himself a little sod hut out in the prairie. Planted some corn, he's trying to raise a few pigs, that's all.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Matt Dillon
You say he's scared to death, huh?
Kitty
Yeah, that's what he told me.
Matt Dillon
Well, maybe it's all in his head.
Kitty
Come on Matt, walk over with me, huh?
Narrator
Okay.
Harry Pope
Hello Miss Kitty.
Kitty
This is Marshall Dillon. Harry Pope.
Matt Dillon
How are you Mr. Pope?
Harry Pope
Friend, nobody ever called me Mr. Marshall.
Matt Dillon
Oh, all right. Kitty here tells me that you've been kind of worried lately.
Harry Pope
Well, it's the Indians, Marshal. They come scratching around at night and they hoop and holler some too.
Matt Dillon
Tell me, do they do this every night?
Harry Pope
No, sir, but maybe once a week they do.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Matt Dillon
What makes you think they're Indians?
Harry Pope
Well, I can hear them. That's why I got a good stout door or they'd have been in on me long ago.
Matt Dillon
Look, Harry, if what you'd been hearing was Indians, you'd have been done for a long time ago. Indians just don't scratch around at night. And they don't come whooping and hollering either. Now, you probably heard talk about Indians and you're scared of them. It's probably your imagination that's done the rest of it.
Harry Pope
No, sir, they're Indians all right. They're right there. I can hear them talking.
Matt Dillon
Then why don't you shoot them?
Harry Pope
Well, I don't have a gun.
Matt Dillon
Then maybe you better get one. Man needs a gun out here.
Harry Pope
But if I kill any of them, don't you think they'll go after the whole tribe?
Matt Dillon
No, Harry, I don't think they will.
Harry Pope
Well, all right, Marshall, I'll try it. I'll get me a gun today.
Chester
See, I nearly forgot. Matt Chester said not to wait for him. He'd have supper later.
Matt Dillon
Now what's he doing, Doc?
Harry Pope
He's talking.
Chester
Talking to a girl, Matt.
Ned Honeyman
Pretty girl, too.
Chester
And he was doing all the talking when I left. She just stood there shaking her head.
Matt Dillon
Smart girl.
Narrator/Interjection
I don't know, man.
Ned Honeyman
Marshall. Dylan.
Matt Dillon
Oh, hello, Honeyman. You know Doc Adams here. Ned Honeyman.
Ned Honeyman
Are you Doc?
Matt Dillon
Why don't you sit down?
Narrator/Interjection
Yeah.
Ned Honeyman
Marshall, you know that new fella, Harry Pope?
Harry Pope
Pope?
Matt Dillon
Yeah, I met him a couple of days ago.
Narrator/Interjection
Why?
Ned Honeyman
He killed Joe Carter last night.
Narrator/Interjection
He what?
Ned Honeyman
Carter's worked for me a long time. He was one of the best friends I ever had. We buried him this morning.
Matt Dillon
Did they have a fight?
Ned Honeyman
Pope shot him in cold blood, that's all. Out near that hut of his. Blasted easterner. I'm looking forward to seeing him hung.
Matt Dillon
Were you there, Honeyman?
Narrator/Interjection
No.
Ned Honeyman
Earl Brandt was there. He brought Joe's body back to the ranch.
Matt Dillon
Brandt works for you too, doesn't he?
Ned Honeyman
Yeah, but not as long as Joe.
Matt Dillon
Tell me what happened.
Harry Pope
I did.
Ned Honeyman
Pope murdered Joe Carter. They were riding by that dirty little sod Buster's hut last night and he come out and shot Joe and killed him.
Matt Dillon
Maybe it was a mistake.
Ned Honeyman
Honeyman, you don't kill men by mistake. Marshall. Now are you gonna arrest him?
Matt Dillon
Well, I'll. I'll ride out there first thing in the morning.
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Matt Dillon
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyth.
Daphne Forsyth
Joe. Joe. Joe, stop reading that paper and talk to me.
Chester
I'm listening. Go ahead.
Daphne Forsyth
Well, I was talking to Mrs. Snider today. You know, she's the one whose boy had 31% less cavities.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Daphne Forsyth
Well, she thinks that we should buy bigger savings bonds.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Daphne Forsyth
She says that when people can afford it, it makes more sense. Oh, she says there are a lot of different denominations. They start at $25, but then there are 50, 100, 200 and even $500.
Chester
Is that so?
Daphne Forsyth
And then with the ones we've already bought through the payroll savings plan, we'd have quite a nest egg.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Daphne Forsyth
Are you listening to me?
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Daphne Forsyth
Did you know that the total accumulated compounded semiannual interest of the Series E Savings Bond will amount to 93 and a third percent of the original purchasing price.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh huh.
Daphne Forsyth
I thought so. Joe, what did I say?
Chester
You said that United States Savings Bonds are a safe, easy way of investing.
Daphne Forsyth
I did.
Chester
That they help guide our country's freedom and they're the best investment in America's future.
Daphne Forsyth
I said something else too.
Chester
Oh yeah, you said that the total accumulated compounded semiannual interest of the Series E Savings Bond will amount to 93 and 1/3% of of the original purchase price.
Daphne Forsyth
Well now, how did you do that?
Chester
Husband's trade secret.
Harry Pope
Hello, Marshall.
Matt Dillon
Harry.
Harry Pope
Well, Marshall, them Indian was back again. All right, not for last, but I came outside and shot at him like you said. And they rode off. I just Hope the whole tribe don't come after me.
Matt Dillon
Now, Harry, how many Indians were there?
Harry Pope
Just two. That's all I saw anyway.
Matt Dillon
Now, you say you shot at him.
Narrator/Interjection
Did you hit him?
Harry Pope
Well, I couldn't tell. It was too dark. I tried to, though.
Matt Dillon
Tell me what happened, huh?
Harry Pope
Well, sir, I heard him just like before. But this time they put a couple of shots in my hut there. I opened the door a little and I heard one riding off right over that away. I took a couple of shots at him, and then the other one started shooting at me from somewhere. So I ducked inside again and waited. But they didn't come back.
Matt Dillon
They weren't Indians.
Harry Pope
You always keep saying that, Marshall, but I know better.
Matt Dillon
There were two men who worked for Ned Honeyman. One of them, Joe Carter you killed. Earl Bryant was the other man. He took Carter's body back to the Honeyman ranch. Oh, my. I'm afraid you made a bad mistake, Harry.
Harry Pope
Oh, but how. How do you know about this, Marshall?
Matt Dillon
Ned Honeyman told me.
Narrator/Interjection
Well, he.
Harry Pope
He could be lying.
Matt Dillon
Honeyman has his faults, but Lyon isn't one of them. Harry, has there been any trouble between you and these men?
Harry Pope
Oh, no, sir. I hardly know them. Well, they've ridden by a few times, that's all. But I wouldn't have shot at him if I'd known who they was. Except it couldn't have been. They were shooting at my hut first. Just don't make no sense at all. You going to arrest me, Marshall?
Matt Dillon
Look, Harry, the Indians that you've been hearing around your place don't exist. Indians just don't act that way. But I believe that you think you've been hearing them. Now, maybe it's getting worse with you. And so the other night you heard those men riding by and you just started shooting.
Harry Pope
You think I'm crazy, don't you?
Matt Dillon
I don't think you intentionally murdered Carter, if that's any help.
Harry Pope
Then you. You ain't going to arrest me?
Matt Dillon
No, I'm not. Not now. I'm gonna talk to Brandt and Honeyman. But in the meantime, don't get scared and try to run, Harry. Cause you wouldn't get very far.
Harry Pope
All right.
Ned Honeyman
Morning, Marshall. This here is Earl Brandt. I brought with me. Marshall, I figured you'd want Brandt's report for the trial.
Earl Brandt
Me and Carter was good friends. I aim to see that Yankee sod Buster hung.
Matt Dillon
All right, Brandt, tell me about it.
Earl Brandt
Nothing to it, Marshall. Me and Carter was riding past his place and he come out and started shooting at us.
Matt Dillon
He killed Carter.
Earl Brandt
I Took a couple of shots at him and drove him back inside that hut of his. And I packed Carter onto the ranch.
Matt Dillon
Will you swear to that in court?
Earl Brandt
Why shouldn't I? Marshal, that little murderer been telling you something else?
Matt Dillon
Yeah. He thought he was shooting at Indians.
Ned Honeyman
Indians? Why, that miserable dog.
Matt Dillon
You weren't there, Honeyman. How do you know what happened?
Ned Honeyman
Brandt told me what happened. Who else would have shot Carter?
Narrator/Interjection
Brandt?
Matt Dillon
Why do you think Pope shot at you?
Earl Brandt
Well, I don't know, Marshall.
Chester
He's crazy, I guess.
Matt Dillon
Is that all?
Ned Honeyman
That's enough, isn't it? He killed Joe Carter. What difference it make?
Matt Dillon
The difference between murder and something else.
Ned Honeyman
Well, bring him in here and ask him. I'll beat the truth out of him if he lies.
Matt Dillon
He isn't here.
Harry Pope
What?
Matt Dillon
I didn't arrest him.
Ned Honeyman
Why not, Marshall?
Matt Dillon
He said he thought they were Indians and I believe him.
Ned Honeyman
Marshall, no man can kill a friend of mine and claim he thought he was shooting Indians. Now, if the law won't see justice done, we will.
Matt Dillon
I'm warning you, Honeyman. You try to kill Pope and I'll arrest you. And if you do kill him, you'll hang for it.
Narrator
We're wasting time.
Matt Dillon
My guess is you and Carter have been hounding that man, making him think there have been Indians after him.
Harry Pope
Why
Matt Dillon
are you trying to drive him out of the country?
Earl Brandt
Your talk gets crazier all the time, Marshall.
Ned Honeyman
For the last time, Marshal, you gonna do anything about Carter's murder?
Matt Dillon
It wasn't murder, Honeyman. Don't you see that?
Ned Honeyman
He's dead and Pope shot him. That's all I know. That's all I need to know. Come on, Brent.
Matt Dillon
What's up everybody?
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Matt Dillon
Until you crash?
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Matt Dillon
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyth.
Chester
Hey honey, I'm home. Daphne.
Daphne Forsyth
Drop dead.
Narrator/Interjection
Uh oh.
Chester
What's the matter honey?
Matt Dillon
That afternoon I rode out to see Pope. It was a bad situation and I did a lot of thinking about it. There was only one solution I Could figure out, and I wasn't sure that that'd work. I found Pope Wheaton. A few miserable rows of corn that he planted out in front of his hut.
Harry Pope
Well, you told me a lot, Marsha, but I don't understand it all.
Matt Dillon
Look, Harry, I don't know why they did it, but Carter and Brandt were the Indians that you thought you heard.
Harry Pope
I know.
Narrator/Interjection
You what?
Harry Pope
Well, I figured that you know what Indians are like and that you wasn't lying to me. So it must have been Carter and Brandt.
Narrator/Interjection
Oh,
Matt Dillon
look, Harry. Honeyman and Brandt want you arrested. They're threatening to take it into their own hands.
Harry Pope
I see.
Matt Dillon
Listen, you're not gonna like this, but. Well, it'd be better if you left here now. It isn't your fault, but you got enemies now, and you'd be a whole lot safer somewhere else.
Harry Pope
No. No, I won't leave. Let him come. I'll fight it out with him.
Matt Dillon
It doesn't mean more bloodshed.
Harry Pope
Like you said, Marshall, I ain't done nothing wrong. The man's got a right to defend hisself.
Matt Dillon
I know, but you won't have any peace here.
Harry Pope
I won't leave, Marshall.
Matt Dillon
All right, Harry, but think it over anyway, huh?
Harry Pope
I have.
Matt Dillon
I. I'm sorry about this.
Harry Pope
Thank you, Marshall.
Matt Dillon
So long.
Narrator/Interjection
Goodbye.
Matt Dillon
Pope went back to weeding his corn and I rode off past his little hut and around the narrow bluff he built it against. I'd gone maybe a half a mile beyond when I heard two rifle shots behind me. I turned and raced back to the bottom edge of the bluff, where I dismounted and walked up to where I could see around it. And just then I heard a horse coming along the trail and I stepped back and waited. Whoever it was had passed within a few feet of me. Bryant, hold.
Earl Brandt
Don't shoot. Just keep your hands up.
Matt Dillon
Now throw one leg over and slide off slow.
Earl Brandt
How long you been here, Marshall?
Matt Dillon
Turn around. All right, you can put your hands down now.
Earl Brandt
I might as well tell you, Marshall. I just shot that Yankee sod, Buster.
Matt Dillon
Now, that's something to be real proud of, Brent.
Earl Brandt
He killed a friend of mine.
Matt Dillon
Hope meant no harm to either one of you. What were you trying to do to him? You and Carter?
Earl Brandt
We were just having a little fun.
Matt Dillon
Fun?
Earl Brandt
Well, we'd have a drink or two and ride over now and then, give
Matt Dillon
him a few war hoops.
Earl Brandt
He'd just sit in his hut and shake. One night, I sneaked up to the door and I could even hear him crying inside. He was sure scared that time.
Matt Dillon
That must have Been a lot of fun.
Earl Brandt
Not as much as next day when we'd ride back and hear all about how the Injuns was after him.
Matt Dillon
Yeah, he'd been all right if he
Earl Brandt
hadn't gone and bought himself a gun.
Matt Dillon
I advised him to.
Ned Honeyman
You did?
Matt Dillon
I'm sorry if I spoiled your fun. Brent Carter's dead because of you. Does Hanuman know about this?
Earl Brandt
I told him I was gonna get Popizzle.
Matt Dillon
And he agreed?
Earl Brandt
Well, he just said he sure hoped somebody'd get him.
Matt Dillon
All right, Brant, let's go bury him. I ain't gonna bury him.
Earl Brandt
Let him rot.
Matt Dillon
Bryant, you will bury him or I'll
Narrator/Interjection
bury both of you.
Matt Dillon
Now you take your choice. Sure, It was too late to try to teach Brant anything. But Ned Honeyman was a different matter. I wanted to be sure he understood what really happened. Otherwise he'd spread the word against me and against the law. And there were a lot of men who'd be glad to listen to. We buried Pope near his little hut and then rode on into Dodge. I kept off Front street and rode up to the jail from the rear. Chester told me Honeyman was up at the Long Branch. So after Brandt was locked up, I went on to the saloon. Hello, Honeyman.
Ned Honeyman
What do you want, Marshall?
Matt Dillon
I've been talking to Brant. He's told me the whole story.
Ned Honeyman
Where is he, anyway?
Matt Dillon
He told me that he and Carter had been having fun, as they called it, with the Pope, making him think they were Indians.
Ned Honeyman
I don't believe it. But even if they had, is that reason enough to kill a man?
Matt Dillon
Pope was acting in self defense. He wouldn't have shot Carter otherwise. It was a mistake. But Carter brought it on himself. I don't believe it. Honeyman, do you want law in this country or don't you?
Ned Honeyman
Well, maybe that depends on who's representing it.
Matt Dillon
That doesn't matter. The law's the same.
Ned Honeyman
The law says you can't kill a man and go free, doesn't it?
Matt Dillon
It says you can't murder a man.
Ned Honeyman
Who decides which it is, Marshall?
Narrator/Interjection
You or me?
Matt Dillon
I'd like you to decide this time, Honeyman.
Ned Honeyman
All right, Marshall. Go arrest Pope and get him hung. That's how I decided.
Matt Dillon
Pope's dead. You wanted him killed. He's been killed.
Narrator/Interjection
What do you mean?
Matt Dillon
You said this morning you'd take justice into your hands, didn't you? Well, yes, but he was out weeding that little patch of corn of his he planted and he took two rifle bullets in the back.
Ned Honeyman
Who did it?
Matt Dillon
Are you satisfied? Honeyman is that how you wanted it? All Pope had was a sod hut and a few pigs. He didn't know what this country was all about. He might have learned, but your friends got him so scared that he'd sit in his hut and cry.
Ned Honeyman
Marshall.
Matt Dillon
And then one night he loaded his gun and went outside to fight. It took a lot of courage, Honeyman, for a man like Pope. But he did it today. I told him that he'd better leave his place. That you and Brandt had threatened him and give him trouble.
Ned Honeyman
What'd he say?
Matt Dillon
He said he wouldn't go. He said he'd stay and fight. He didn't get a chance to fight. What's a man like Pope know about protecting himself? Brant shot him in the back twice. And all Pope had in his hands was a hoe.
Ned Honeyman
Marshall, I don't know what to say.
Matt Dillon
Brandt's in jail. I'll see him tried for murder and he'll be hung.
Ned Honeyman
I guess I'm as guilty as he is.
Matt Dillon
You could have stopped it, but you encouraged it. You wanted justice, Don Honeyman, and fast by.
Ned Honeyman
I didn't understand.
Matt Dillon
You didn't take time to. The law was too slow for you. Well, the law is new out here, Honeyman. And sometimes I think the only time people want it is when it seems to act the way they'd act themselves if there weren't any law. But it won't work that way. According to the law, you're right or you're wrong. You're guilty or you're not guilty. People out here are having a hard time accepting that. But there won't be much law till they do. And men like Pope will go on dyin no matter how many Brants get hung for it.
Narrator/Interjection
Marshall,
Ned Honeyman
I'm not very proud of what happened. Would it help the law if I get up in court and take my share of the blame for this?
Matt Dillon
I don't know, Honeyman. But it might.
Ned Honeyman
And I'll do it.
Narrator/Interjection
Good.
Ned Honeyman
Good night, Marshall.
Matt Dillon
Good night, honey.
Kitty
Hey everybody.
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Oh, no.
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Narrator
Gun Smoke Produced and Directed by Norman McDonnell. Stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, US Marshal the music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns were composed by Ray Kemper and Bill James. Featured in the cast were Parley Baer As Chester, Howard McNear as Doc and Georgia Ellis as Kitty. George Wolf speaking. Join us again next week for another story of the western frontier of America in the 1870s on Gunsmoke. This is the united states armed forces radio and television service.
Chester
Foreign.
Andrew Rines
This has been a presentation of otrwesterns.com and we hope you enjoyed. Please take some time to like and rate our shows in your favorite podcast application. Follow us on Facebook by going to otrwesterns.com Facebook subscribe to our YouTube channel by going to otrwesterns.Com YouTube and send us an email podcasttrwesterns.com you can call and leave us a voicemail. 707-986-8739. This episode is copyright under the Attribution Non Commercial Share Like Copyright. For more information go to otrwesterns.com copyright have a great day and thanks for listening.
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In this classic episode of Gunsmoke, titled “Grass,” the storytelling gravitates around themes of fear, justice, prejudice, and the harsh realities of frontier life. The host, Andrew Rhynes, introduces a digitally restored audio adventure where Marshal Matt Dillon is caught between a frightened, isolated homesteader and vengeful neighbors determined to take justice into their own hands. As suspicion, misunderstanding, and frontier “justice” escalate, the episode explores just how difficult (and deadly) it is to settle the untamed West.
| Timestamp | Segment / Event | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | [03:01] | Kitty introduces Harry Pope and his fears | | [05:54] | Ned Honeyman accuses Pope of murdering Carter | | [10:04] | Pope describes the fatal encounter at his hut | | [12:10] | Matt explains the reality to Pope; shows empathy | | [13:03] | Brandt’s version; calls for vigilante justice | | [14:00] | Matt refuses to immediately arrest Pope | | [16:38] | Matt advises Pope to leave for his own safety | | [16:52] | Pope refuses to abandon his farm | | [18:36] | Brandt confesses to killing Pope | | [20:56] | Matt confronts Honeyman with the facts | | [22:07] | Matt describes Pope’s death to Honeyman | | [23:12] | Matt’s reflection on law, justice, and the frontier | | [23:44] | Honeyman promises to take responsibility in court |
The episode is steeped in the gritty, measured dialogue Gunsmoke is famous for—laconic, pragmatic, and haunted by moral ambiguity. The pacing moves from nervous tension to bleak inevitability, with Matt Dillon’s slow, thoughtful investigation giving way to the harsh, non-negotiable outcomes of the American West.
This episode is a powerful meditation on fear, misunderstanding, and the meaning of justice on the lawless frontier. Harry Pope’s naïveté and loneliness are contrasted with the cruelty of bored local ranch hands and the impatience of those who’d rather take the law into their own hands. Matt Dillon stands as the lone advocate for legal justice, but even he cannot prevent tragedy when community cruelty and ignorance prevail. The final moments—with Matt and Honeyman pondering blame, justice, and what law really means—underscore the ongoing struggle to civilize the Wild West, hinting that real law will take root only when everyone accepts its rules and responsibilities.