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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. Originally, it's March 24, 1957 and the title is Saddle Sore Sal.
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Gun Smoke 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. Gun Smoke Starring William Conrad. The story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it. 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
D
a man watchful and a Little lonely, I think.
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That come from down there someplace, Mr. John. Well, let's take a look. By golly, I don't know. There sure ain't no sign of nobody. Now, that was in back of the Dodge house between it and the livery stable. Come on. Sounded like it. What in the thunder they shooting at? I don't know. It sure did sound like somebody yelled after that first shot. Look, Chester, wait here and keep an eye on the street. I'm going to walk on toward the back of the livery stable, huh? Well, all right, but you be careful back in the dark now. Oh, no. No call to get spooked. All right, come on out of there, you hear me?
D
You go mind your own business. You better drift, mister, if you buy more trouble than you can handle. Let's go with me.
B
Give me that gun.
D
I've no right would you throw a
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rifle on somebody, young lady? It'd scare them more if you close the breach bl and reload it. Maybe when it's a single shot.
D
Oh, dern. Single shot. I'd have got him hadn't been for that. That in a bad light.
B
Got who?
D
None of your goddurn business.
B
It might be. I'm the U.S. marshal here in Dodge. Marshal Chester. Coming, Mr. Dillon. How old are you, young lady?
D
Well, I've passed my teens.
B
You don't live around here, do you?
D
I wouldn't live up here if I owned it. I'm panhandle and proud of it.
B
Long way from home, aren't you?
D
Depends on what you call law.
B
What's your name?
D
Sally Berkoff, if it's any of your business.
B
My gracious, it's a girl. She done that shooting.
D
Did she?
B
Yeah, it looks that way. Who was it yelled when you fired that first shot?
D
Sully, maybe. It was me.
B
It was a man's voice.
D
God damn. Single shot rifle.
B
Who's with you? Who'd you come up from the Panhandle with?
D
Nobody.
B
How'd you get here?
D
I ripped my horse. How'd you think?
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Where is it? In the stable.
D
I ain't got money for stables. He's bedded down back there under a tree.
B
Well, what did you bring? Hay along with him?
D
Some fell out through the fence there.
B
Fell out through the. A horse that's been rode hard needs grain. Some grain. Fallout, too, does it?
D
There's some left in the feed box over there.
B
I see.
D
Probably draw damp and spoiled for a morning. Other horses in the corral had already ate.
B
When's the last time anything spilled out for you to eat?
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Sully, it's my business.
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You gonna tell me who it was you shot at?
D
No, I sure ain't.
B
All right, come on.
D
I ain't done nothing. Marcy Moss.
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Gremic owns the stable. He might disagree with you.
D
It was going to waste. Where you taking me?
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To Fiji. Then we'll see about putting you out for the night.
D
Put me up where?
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The only place where I can be sure of finding you come morning. In jail. In the early days of World War II, an organization was born. An organization which offered benefits to all members of the United States Armed Forces. It was formally opened in April 1942 at Madison, Wisconsin, and called the Army Institute. Its mission was to provide educational opportunities for millions of American youths entering the armed forces. The response from servicemen and women was immediate and enthusiastic. Later that year, the facilities were made available to the Navy, and in February 1943, the name was changed to United States Armed Forces Institute. This was the first usafi. Today there is a bigger, improved USAFI with five branches in various areas of the world. But the mission is still the same. The number one client is still the United States serviceman, receiving an opportunity to develop power through knowledge with usafi. Oh, my, that sure was a fine meal.
D
I'll bet. Better.
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Was that so? Well, just tell me where.
D
At home, that's where.
B
Oh, well, that's different.
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At home. My ma's too old and broke down for any other kind of work. She's a goddurn. Good cook when there's anything to cook.
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Been kind of hard going, huh, Selleck?
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It's my business.
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Yeah, I figured it would be. Well, here's your hotel, young lady.
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Sure ain't much of a jail.
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You been in better ones, have you?
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I ain't never been in none before. I don't want to go to jail.
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Ah, come on. It's not as bad as it sounds. Just haven't got any other place to put you. Hello, tiger. Marshall, I want to report a. Shoot him.
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Give me your head.
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You let go of that.
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Ow. You hurt me.
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Now you sit down in that chair and you stay there. There's your gun, Chester. Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Dillon. She grabbed it before I knocked her. What's all this about? She tried to kill me. Now, you saw her do it. And that's the third time tonight. I was waiting here to tell you. First time was about an hour ago near the Dodge house. Yeah, I know. Why is she trying to kill you? Just crazy, I guess. How would I know why?
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You know why, all right. You sneakin Yellow Dog.
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Sit down, Sully.
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He stole money from me and Ma all we had. $600.
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That ain't so. Wait a minute, Tucker. What happened, Sally?
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He come up through the Panhandle last fall. Fetching a trail herd from East Texas. Fine breeding stock, he said they was. And he sold me a hundred head for $6 a head, $3 under the go in price.
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There, you see? Nobody stole nothing from her. I remember that drive of yours last fall, Diker. You started out with 2,500 head and didn't get here with more than about 400. I just had some bad luck, was all.
D
Sure them cattle had the chokes was all through the herd.
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Cowbox, huh?
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They was dying on him before he hit the panhandle. Only I didn't know it. And he seen a chance to unload a hundred of them on me. They started dropping before he was gone three days. Last one died two weeks ago. When the chokes gets in a herd, they ain't nothing you can do.
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It's one of the risks of the cattle business. You can't blame me for it.
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You know. They had it when you sold them to me.
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I don't suppose you told her that, did you, Decker? Of course not. When a man's out to make a deal, he don't have to tell what he ain't asked. Even when the buyer's a girl. That was a legal sale. Now, whose side are you on, Marshall? I come here for protection. You mean to have the girl locked up or run out of town? Maybe? I sure do. All right, Decker, you've made your complaint. Now get out. Well, now, wait a minute. Get on. Marshall, I'm just going to hold you responsible for anything she does. You do that fine standing up for that little wild cat. Sally, if I was to let you go, what would you do?
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Have another try at shooting Clem Diker.
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That's what I thought.
D
Ain't likely to miss him four times in a row.
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All right, Chester, take her back and get her settled in one of those cells. Yes, she.
D
What are you aiming to do with me, Marshall?
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I don't know, Sally. I just don't. Matt, you look worried about something.
D
Oh, it's that young kid. Sally Berkoff, right?
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Yeah, Kitty. I'll be darned if I know what to do about her. Well, Matt, as far as the letter of the law goes, yeah, sure, let her stand trial. She's guilty of stealing from the livery stable. She's guilty of attempted murder. She'll probably go to prison.
D
Well, she's Young Court might consider that.
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No, she's had a raw deal, Kitty. They're just three of them. Her and her mother and her eight year old brother. They couldn't make a go of farming their place, so she thought she'd try running cattle on it. Losing that money wiped him out. That Clem Diker ought to be strung up. Yeah, but like he says, the deal was perfectly legal. Oh, Matt. Hey, you want to play some draw poker with me and chester and Miles McTagg? Oh, not tonight, Doc. Why not tonight? I've been working all week on my bottom of the deck deal and my up the sleeve holdout. All right, I'm ready for you, Matt. That's what I'm afraid of. Is he going to join us, Doc? No, he says not. I think he's just sitting here worrying about that little Sally Berkoff. I guess I don't blame him too much. Well, you might as well sit in, Matthew. I likely lose to everybody at that kind of a day. What do you mean? You remember them ore concentrates, iron pyrites? The stuff I took in on account when the Black Hawk Mine closed down? Yeah, a couple of tons or so, wouldn't it? Three tons. And they allowed $150 for them. Figured they might run twice that than silver. Well, I got the assay report from Iola today. Now, what are they worth? Less than $50. Wouldn't even pay to ship them to the smelter. So you better come get in on the game, Matthew. My day for losing. Wait a minute, wait a minute, Miles. Here, just a minute. I'm getting a lovely idea here.
D
Hmm?
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Yes, lovely. Does anybody else know about that assay? Well, not yet, Doc. Why? How would you like to get your $150 back? I have a due and proper respect for money. Good, good. Are you willing to let any money over that go to a worthy cause? If I get my 150, I won't even ask whether it's worthy. What are you talking about, Doc? Now, who could I get to help? You know, a sort of kindly swindler who could fool somebody.
D
Good.
B
Now look here, Doc. There's just one person. Me. Matt, it couldn't work without me. I'm not sure what couldn't work, Doc, but from the look on your face, it's larceny. Come on, Miles, we've got work.
D
To.
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Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyth. Hey, honey, I'm home. Daphne.
D
Drop dead.
B
Oh, what's the matter, honey?
D
Don't you speak to me, you.
B
You Don Juan Don Juan Daffy. I'm no Don Juan. No habil espanol.
D
Very funny. Ha ha ha.
B
Well, it was no prize winner, but
D
neither are you, you, you Lothario.
B
I've often wondered, what's a lothario?
D
I don't know, but that's what the wives on TV always call their husbands. I guess it applies.
B
Do you want me to go out and come in again?
D
As far as I'm concerned, you can go for a long walk, preferably on a short pier. Well.
B
Oh, come on, Daphne. What's wrong?
D
Your good friend Harry called and he spilled the beans.
B
Which beans?
D
He said, quote, tell Joe he was right about those blondes. They're great. Unquote.
B
Blondes?
D
That's what he said.
B
Well, he didn't say blondes. He said bonds. Savings bonds.
D
What?
B
Sure, I buy them on the payroll savings plan. And I told Harry he ought to do it too. Savings bonds have a guaranteed interest that pays back $4 for every three, which is a pretty good investment.
D
That's a pretty good story, too.
B
It's true, so help me. That's why Harry's so happy. Savings bonds are great.
D
Well, maybe you're right. You wouldn't really fool around with blinds, would you? You're too faithful and sweet and kind and fast talking. Sam.
B
Well, it's had plenty of time all the way around, Mr. Dillon. I just don't reckon Doc's little Dido is gonna work. Well, there's nothing certain in this world, Chester. Doggone it, I sure wished it had, though. Do my heart good to see that low down diker get here. Are you gentlemen alone? Well, come on in, Myles. Come on in. Well, I'd never have believed it. I figured Doc and me ought to team up and do this every week or so. Well, you do and I'll jail both of you. How much? You wouldn't loosen up, would you, Matthew? Maybe let me take out just a little profit. You get $150. Now let's have the rest of it. There you are, $820. And I think he'd even have gone another hundred if I'd held out. Oh, this is enough. And it gives her a couple of hundred dollars extra to pay for her trouble. Oh, he was hopping from one foot to the other. I never saw a man in my life with so much larceny in his soul. Chester, go get Sally, will you? Yes, Babe. He had three men in a wagon waiting outside. They started loading up the concentrates to Holloway the minute he paid me. I told the clerk to Wait till he'd got them all on the wagon before he gave him that assay report from Iola. I figured he ought to have it, seeing that he owns the concentrates now. That was real generous of you, Miles. Well, at least I got my 150 back. I think I'll kind of lay low for the rest of the day. Matthew. He's going to be maddering a hornet when he finds out. Yeah, I expect he will. I'll see you later, Miles.
D
Yep.
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Cry on in there, young lady.
D
Wong. What are you aiming to do, Marshall? You gotta turn me loose.
B
Well, that depends, Sully. I can't very well turn you loose and have you walk right out of here and start shooting at Clem Diker again, now can I?
D
Then you might as well take me back to that cell.
B
Now, wait a minute, Sally. Suppose that you did kill him. It wouldn't get your money back, would it?
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No, but it sure give me a deal of pleasure.
B
Now, suppose you had your $600 back with a couple of hundred to boot.
D
Oh, fair chance of that ever happened.
B
Yeah, but suppose it did. Would you be willing to get on that horse of yours and hightail it back to the Panhandle?
D
Marshall, you don't mean he's going to give that money back?
B
Here it is, all of it. And $220 besides.
D
You mean it's mine? I can take it?
B
You can take it and get. And good luck to you.
D
I'm not happy. So am I. Busting in on something.
B
Now, come on in, Doc. Sally's just leaving to ride back to the Panhandle. The Panhandle? Is that so, girl? Well, you be mighty careful. There's a lot of mighty desperate characters down that way.
D
Oh, don't you worry nothing about me, Sally.
B
You get my regards for your ma and Billy.
D
Yes, I will. Thank you, Marshall. Bye.
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Goodbye. Well, Matt, it was hook, line and sinker. I never saw a man get taken in so easy in my life. How's that so? Yeah, you know, I was born for that kind of a game. I may give up my practice and just start scheming my way through life. That's a good idea, Doc. I hear that they need a doctor at state prison. Marshall, I've been robbed by a pair of sweedlers. Oh, how did it happen? You ask him how it happened. He's one of them. Him and that. That storekeeper, Miles McTagg. $970. Why, Diker. Now, all I did was come and asked you to loan me a thousand dollars. Now you Talked like you'd found a good thing. Something you could buy cheap because the owner didn't know what it was worth. And then you let that phony assay report fall out of your pocket when you let. Oh, why. Oh, now, that was just scribbling it. It wasn't a real report. I know that now. $900 a ton, it said. Why, them concentrates ain't worth $50. I just saw the real report after I bought the whole three ton. Well, my, my, my. Well, you certainly did jump to a hasty conclusion, didn't you? Marshall Miles knew they was worthless when he sold them to me. Now, and I want him arrested. Did you ask him if he'd had a massade, Decker? Well, of course not. If I had, he'd have known. Well, he'd have known that you were trying to swindle him. And Doc, too, huh? I'm sorry, Doctor. I don't see that you've got much of a case. But he knew that I thought it. Wait. I should have known I'd get no satisfaction here. Well, it depends on whose ox is being gored, doesn't it? I'm going over and talk to Judge Bent. Yeah, you do that. Oh, and by the way, Diker, you can stop worrying about the girl. I just ran her out of town. I don't care if you, ah, wonder how she'll make out down there in the Panhandle. Don't you worry, Chester. That kid will make out wherever she is. That old political character, Elijah Cuddlestone, was tremendously proud to be a part of the government of the United States. That pride shows through in this excerpt of one of his speeches. And it is my sincere belief, I say, I believe that the United States of America is without doubt, indisputably the most successful experiment in democracy, that is, in democratic rule, that the world has ever known. Well, democracy, of course, means rule of the people. It's from the Greek demos, people, and kratos, meaning rule, strength or power. Most forms of government owe their names to the Greek. For instance, anarchy is from the Greek word anarchia, composed of an, meaning no, and arcos, ruler. An anarchist wants no king, emperor or president above him. An oligarchy is a form of government where a restricted few have supreme power. Oligarchy comes from the Greek oligos, meaning few, and arco, which means rule. Rule by a few. The Greek word de heros meant holy, and the word hierarchy once meant a government by officers of the church. Hierarchy now represents a system of graded authority. And the strange word olocracy means mob rule in Greek. Olos means crowd or mob. Words like these literally make politics Greek to most of us.
D
Sam.
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Gun Smoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U S Marshal the script was specially written for Gun Smoke by Les Crutchfield with editorial supervision by John Meston. The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns were by Ray Kemper and Bill James. Featured in the cast were Parley Bear and as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc and Georgia Ellis as Kidding George. Walsh. Speaking. Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on Gun Smoke. This is the united states armed forces radio and television service.
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Please visit mentallyhealthynation.org to learn more.
Host: Andrew Rhynes
Original Air Date: March 24, 1957
Podcast Release Date: March 14, 2026
Featured Drama: “Saddle Sore Sal” (Gunsmoke)
Restoration: Digitally enhanced audio
This episode dives into a classic Gunsmoke radio drama titled “Saddle Sore Sal.” Marshal Matt Dillon finds himself confronting not only frontier lawlessness but also the shades of justice found in desperate circumstances. The listener is taken through the struggles of a young woman, Sally Berkoff, whose hard luck and determination throw Dodge City into a moral quandary—raising questions of fairness, legality, and compassion in the untamed West. Blending suspense, clever plotting, and moments of warmth, this episode is both a showcase of vintage radio storytelling and a testament to Western themes of justice, survival, and redemption.
Marshal Dillon and his deputy Chester hear a shot and investigate near the livery stable.
They discover a young woman, Sally Berkoff, with a single-shot rifle—reluctant to explain her presence or actions.
Sally is tough, independent, and evasive about who she’s after or why she’s in Dodge.
"You go mind your own business. You better drift, mister, if you buy more trouble than you can handle."
– Sally Berkoff (04:55)
Dillon, recognizing she can't afford even a horse stall, questions her hard life and motivations.
Brought to the jail, Sally clashes with Clem Decker, a cattleman who accuses her of trying to kill him.
Sally reveals Decker swindled her and her family by selling diseased cattle—wiping out their savings.
"He stole money from me and Ma—all we had. $600."
– Sally Berkoff (10:30)
Decker counters that the sale was legal, despite knowing the cattle were sick.
"When a man's out to make a deal, he don't have to tell what he ain't asked. Even when the buyer's a girl."
– Clem Decker (11:32)
The conflict pits legal technicality against moral injustice.
Dillon discusses Sally’s case with Kitty and Doc, torn between enforcing the law and recognizing Sally’s desperation.
Kitty empathizes with Sally's plight, while Doc and others debate the limits of justice.
"She's had a raw deal, Kitty… Losing that money wiped them out. That Clem Diker ought to be strung up."
– Matt Dillon (13:10)
Doc, Dillon, and storekeeper Miles devise a plan to swindle Decker out of his ill-gotten money via a "reverse con" with some worthless ore concentrates.
They successfully dupe Decker, retrieving Sally's lost cash and even a bit extra.
"There you are, $820. And I think he'd even have gone another hundred if I'd held out."
– Miles (19:10)
The team’s satisfaction is evident; justice is served through cleverness rather than strict legalities.
Dillon offers Sally not just the full $600 lost but an extra $220 for her troubles, on the condition she leaves Dodge peacefully.
"Here it is, all of it. And $220 besides."
– Matt Dillon (20:17)
"You can take it and get. And good luck to you."
– Matt Dillon (20:23)
Sally is grateful, ready to return home with resources and dignity restored.
Decker returns, irate after learning he was conned, but is rebuffed by Dillon and the others who point out he fell victim to his own tricks.
"You ask him how it happened. He's one of them. Him and that… that storekeeper, Miles McTagg. $970!"
– Clem Decker (20:52)
The law sides with “frontier justice,” emphasizing poetic payback for Decker’s cheating.
“It’s a chancy job and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely, I think.”
– Matt Dillon (03:29)
“Suppose you had your $600 back, with a couple of hundred to boot… Would you be willing to get on that horse of yours and hightail it back to the Panhandle?”
– Matt Dillon (20:08)
“That kid’ll make out wherever she is.”
– Chester (24:50)
The episode skillfully blends rugged humor and compassion, characteristic of Gunsmoke’s best scripts. Dialogue is gritty, with a dash of dry wit, and performances—especially by William Conrad as Dillon—sell both the tension and tenderness of Western frontier living. The digitally restored sound effects—clopping hooves, distant gunfire, creaky doors—immensely enhance immersion.
“Saddle Sore Sal” is a stand-out Gunsmoke episode that threads moral ambiguity, justice, and humanity through a compelling narrative. Marshal Dillon, wrestling with what’s right and lawful, finds a creative solution that restores what’s been lost without betraying his own code. The episode remains relevant, offering both a gripping Western tale and thoughtful commentary on fairness and retribution in lawless times.