Episode Details

Originally Aired: May 10, 1958

In Gunsmoke #317, "How to Die for Nothing," Marshal Matt Dillon faces a deadly standoff when he's forced to shoot a drunken Texas cowboy in self-defense. The young man and his friend ride into Dodge firing their guns and declaring their intention to tear the town apart. When one of them draws on Matt after his companion is disarmed, the Marshal has no choice but to kill him. The dead man's brother, Howard Beulow, arrives in town bent on revenge, threatening to bushwhack Matt from an alley or shoot him in the back. Matt jails Beulow to protect himself and give the man time to cool off.

The situation escalates when Will Jacqueline, trail boss of the Drag Red outfit, demands Beulow's release. Jacqueline arrives with eight armed men and threatens to return with his full crew of eighteen to break Beulow out of jail and destroy Dodge City. As frightened townspeople like Mr. Riesling plead with Matt to surrender his prisoner, the Marshal and Chester take their positions on the street with shotguns ready. When Jacqueline and his Texas cowboys ride into town, Matt must stand firm against overwhelming odds while an angry mob of trail hands threatens to turn Dodge into a battlefield.