Ben puts aside his feelings about a supposed Army deserter (Robert Lansing) when the man submits the lowest bid to haul Ponderosa timber.
Ben tries to get the town's only doctor (DeForest Kelley), accused of murder, released from jail to treat Hoss' punctured lung.
A young bank robber gets a job on the Ponderosa to prevent the sheriff from finding the other members of his gang.
Hoss befriends a former Army scout (Henry Hull) who drinks to forget the massacre of his troop.
A Deputy U.S. Marshal arrives to escort a man to California to testify against a gang; guest Dan Duryea.
A hired hand (Claude Akins) victimizes the Cartwrights' disabled neighbor (Harry Townes).
Outlaws plot to steal a trunk containing the savings of a religious group heading for a new life in the West.
The Cartwrights' neighbor (Franchot Tone), a former soldier and lawman, seeks security for his daughter.
Hoss' bandit uncle (Neville Brand) decides to bypass the Ponderosa, but his gang disagrees.
Hoss and Little Joe spend a most unforgettable night at the carnival when Little Joe's date disappears.
A sheriff's daughter runs off with her boyfriend (John Ericson), unaware he is a murderous bank robber.
Ben gives farmland on the Ponderosa to an outcast Indian (Ricardo Montalban) who saved his life; guest Madlyn Rhue.
An outlaw joins the Cartwrights' cattle drive, knowing it will take him to the town where his father is sheriff.
Attacked by Shoshones while crossing a burial ground, Adam discovers that the "Indian" woman tending him is white.
Adam and Little Joe try to warn Hoss when he befriends a violent man (Cal Bolder).
Adam tells betrothed Hoss his intended is a compulsive gambler who caused her husband's death.
A Kentucky mountain clan swears revenge on Little Joe after he shoots a family member for arson.
A potential mayoral candidate attempts to stir up trouble between majority and minority groups in town.
A former dance hall girl poses as a Spanish heiress to claim a land grant that includes part of the Ponderosa; guest Sebastian Cabot.
A shepherd ignores the Cartwrights' warning not to drive his flock across the Ponderosa; guest Everett Sloane.
A disabled New Orleans police inspector (Lloyd Nolan) comes to arrest Ben on a 20-year-old murder charge.
Adam is taken hostage by a band of U.S. Army prisoners who have escaped and sought refuge on the Ponderosa.
A wanderer seeking his parents' lynchers, arrives in Virginia City as Ben and Adam are convicted of murder.
Two British socialites find that they still have a lot to learn when they visit their friends, the Cartwrights.
Two traildrivers are shanghaied shortly after the Ponderosa cattle herd arrives in San Francisco.
When a neighbor agrees to sell his property, the Cartwrights fear the loss of water rights for their cattle.
The Cartwrights befriend a boy whose father has been sent to jail and whose mother has recently died.
Little Joe falls for a Gypsy who believes she is a witch and, therefore, an outcast.
The deputized Cartwrights sentence a murderer to hang at dawn.