Episode Details

Originally Aired: October 19, 1958

Gunsmoke #341, "Kick Me," presents a tense situation when two drifters, Weiser and Durbin, come to Marshal Matt Dillon reporting that an old Indian named Tabil is threatening to kill them. The trouble began when the pair played a cruel joke on the aging former Army scout, giving him a letter of recommendation that he believed would help him find work guiding cattle herds. Instead, the letter described Tabil as a liar, beggar, and thief, humiliating him when he tried to use it. Now Tabil shadows the two men through Dodge City, claiming they will die by his medicine.

When Weiser turns up murdered, stabbed and scalped in an alley, all evidence points to Tabil. His knife is present, and Weiser's scalp is found drying outside the old Indian's shack. Despite Tabil's insistence that he killed no one and that his medicine alone was responsible for Weiser's death, Matt must determine whether the proud old scout has committed murder or if something else is at work. With Durbin convinced of Tabil's guilt and demanding justice, Matt faces the challenge of uncovering the truth.