Adam is bushwhacked by three deserters from the Army who are hiding out on the Ponderosa. When Ben pursues them, he is hindered by a Captain Bolton, the arrogant commander of a military posse who is also after the men. Three army prisoners have escaped Ft Dayton. Mertz still has chains around his w
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
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
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
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
Joe and Hoss take their dates to a bizarre traveling carnival and Joe's girlfriend Jennifer disappears. She's abducted by the evil owner, Phillip Reed, and held for one million dollars ransom. Reed's girlfriend Della is jealous of the attractive hostage and spills the beans to Joe. He and Hoss tear
When an Indian saves Ben Cartwright's life from a near fatal knife attack by another Indian, Ben later gives the Indian and his pregnant wife a strip of fertile farming land. Unfortunately the land is next to a very racist farmer and things turn deadly. Ben is ambushed on his own property by the so
About to set out on a cattle drive, Ben hires a young drifter named Sam Jackson as one of his drovers. What he doesn't know is that Jackson is really outlaw Johnny Logan, who signed on to the drive because he knew it was going to pass near the town of Waycross, and Logan is determined to kill the Wa
Ben and Adam are locked in jail, about to hung for a crime they didn't commit. Joe and Hoss must find out why the witnesses to the alleged crime have perjured themselves before the execution takes place. They receive help from an unexpected source, a drifter called Lassiter who is searching for the
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
The Cartwrights take young Billy Allen to the Ponderosa following the death of his mother. Hoss is the only one that is able to penetrate the boy's hostility and bitterness. As the two begin to get close, Billy's father Vance breaks out of prison and comes for the boy. A young boy named Billy Allen
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
