Festus Haggen takes refuge in a cave during a thunderstorm and finds an incredibly old American Indian inside. The man is in obvious poor health. Festus decides to take the man back to Dodge City for medical attention, as he does not realize the old man is following old customs of his people.
Dr. John Chapman and Matt Dillon attempt to tell Festus it would have been better if he had left the old man in the cave to die as he wanted, but Festus is too compassionate to accept such an outcome.
The episode deals with the various attempts by Festus to care for the dying man, despite the man's refusal to accept any help. Festus encounters obstacles from the people of Dodge, too, because many refuse to see the old man as a person.
Actor John Dierkes is credited as the unnamed "Indian" character in this episode. It is an interesting part because the character never speaks. The last appearance for Dierkes in a Gunsmoke episode is way back in Season 2. Longtime Westerns fans may remember Dierkes as the character Morgan Ryker in the George Stevens 1953 classic film Shane, or as Jocko Robertson in The Alamo with John Wayne. He also played the town blacksmith in a couple of episodes of The Rifleman in 1958. It is worth noting in an episode that so prominently featured an American Indian character, the character was played by a white man.
Pippa Scott appears in this story as a Dodge resident named Sarah Mather. Gunsmoke fans may remember Scott from her only other Gunsmoke appearance where she plays a woman that was taken captive by American Indians in Season 7's "Indian Ford" episode.
This is the last of eight appearances in a Gunsmoke episode by character actor Malcolm Atterbury. He plays another older man named Cob. Cob relates to the plight of the old man Festus wants so badly to help, because he is also advanced in age and often feels useless.
This is a slow, memorable, often touching story with moments of subtle humor. As all Gunsmoke fans know, the Festus Haggen character would often shift between being a conscientious deputy with shrewd tracking abilities and sharp instincts and being a loudmouth, bumbling fool providing comic relief. In this story, he is perhaps the most truly human we have ever seen the character portrayed. Although the viewer suspects Festus knows his efforts to help the old man are futile, his humanity is such that he seemingly has no choice in the matter.
With that said, it is easy to understand this episode might not please everyone. There is nothing in the way of the kind of action we often see in Gunsmoke episodes. It is an extremely simple, sentimental story, but it is an honest, sincere sentimentality.
