Gunnar Borgstrom is the leader of a vicious band called the Commancheros. They burn houses, kill people and steal anything of value. When the Commancheros get to Nevada, Gunnar decides to visit his relatives, the Cartwrights. Meanwhile the gang capture Little Joe and his girlfriend. When Gunnar retu
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'
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
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
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,
Adam rides up on some Indians wanting to harm a white woman they believed was a mountain spirit. He kills them but not before they wound him. The woman nurses him back to health but the rest of the tribe is still out there looking for her. While traveling, Adam is wounded by Indians and left for de
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
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
After Joe kills a man in self-defense who tried to set fire to the Ponderosa to clear himself some land, he has to take his lively, feisty, wild, daughter home, and she, and her relatives, are now determined to kill Joe. Joe tries to stop a homesteader he finds starting a fire on the Ponderosa and
Inspector Leduque comes from New Orleans to Virginia City to take Ben Cartwright back for a 20 year murder. When Ben declares publicly that he is withdrawing from the Governor's race, the townsfolk are upset not just about this but Little Joe has also been accused of gunning down Leduque's deputy in
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
