Criminals have taken over Virginia City and are forcing citizens to pay for protection lest they suffer an "accident". A store owner who didn't pay is murdered by gang member and the sole witness, the victim's wife Beth, is offered protection at the Ponderosa. For his trouble, Ben is kidnapped by th
Little Joe comes upon a gypsy girl. Frightened, she runs and falls becoming unconscious. When she wakes, they discover that she believes she is bewitched and so do her people who banished her. Her birth under a dark star has fostered this belief. Little Joe, smitten, must rescue her from this belief
Charlie Trent used to be an Army scout. Now he's the town drunk. Hoss helps him regain his self-esteem when he has him volunteer to lead a gold-bearing troop through the desert where there's very little water. An Army wagon train carrying gold is in Virginia City getting supplies. When their scout,
The Cartwrights come to the aid of a Chinese-American stable hand accused of murder. Opposing them is a manipulative mayoral candidate who wants all "foreigners" to leave Virginia City. After Hop Sing is beaten in Virginia City, the Cartwrights realize the prejudice against the Chinese in Californi
Adam, Hoss, and new friend Sam Board act as escorts for a wagon train of Quakers who are heading to California to purchase land for their settlement. While Adam falls for the group leader's daughter, Reginia, Board plots to rob the group of its life savings. A wagon train of Quakers from Ohio are p
Hoss and Joe get themselves involved in a family feud in a small Texas town when they are mistaken for bloodthirsty hired killers. Ellen Corby, Henry Hull, and George Mitchell guest star. On a cattle buying trip to Texas, Hoss and Little Joe are mistaken for a pair of hired killers recruited by a f
Adam's life is saved by an enigmatic U. S. Marshal who has come to Virginia City to arrest a friend of the Cartwrights. Adam is rescued from an ambush by Gerald Eskith, a lawman who is on a mission to Virginia City. He's looking for Jackson Blaine, a friend of the Cartwrights, claiming he needs Bla
Hoss falls prey to the wiles of a beautiful woman with a gambling addiction and refuses to believe she's only interested in his money in spite of Adam's proof to the contrary. Hoss and Little Joe travel to Sacramento to help the widow of an old friend of the Cartwrights. Hoss discovers that the wid
A neighboring rancher, Andy, is good friends with Ben, but his son (Todd) wants to sell their land for mining operations which will spoil the water rights agreement that Andy and Ben made years ago. Ben and Adam find their neighbor Todd McCarren surveying the property line. Todd says, rudely, that
Jeb Drummond is a murderous sheep herder that has Adam taken hostage to try and force Ben to sign over a large section of Ponderosa land to him. Jeb Drummond is driving his herd of sheep across the Ponderosa when the Cartwrights ride up. Ben politely tells him to leave. Jeb asks for permission, he'
Angry with the way a beautiful deaf girl is treated by her father, a sheepherder living in a remote mountain cabin, Little Joe takes it upon himself to teach her sign language, so they can communicate better. His plan backfires when the young woman falls in love with him and the girl's brutish neigh
Lord and Lady Dunsford arrive at the Ponderosa to visit their old friend Ben. Adam finds himself the object of Lady Dunsford's attentions when she deems him to be a braver man than her husband. Adam then takes the couple on a hunting trip, where Lord Dunsford freezes while attempting to shoot a coug
