Episode Details

Originally Aired: November 16, 1958

Gunsmoke #345, "Brush at Elkader," begins with the cold-blooded murder of Ben Williams on the streets of Dodge City. When Marshal Matt Dillon returns to town at midnight, he finds Doc Adams and Chester crouched over the dying man, who manages to whisper only one clue: Elkader. The killer is identified as Lou Shippen, a wanted man from Wichita, who called Williams out of the Long Branch Saloon and shot him twice without warning before riding off into the darkness. Kitty Russell witnessed the murder but couldn't provide a description in the dim light.

Dillon and Chester ride a hundred miles north to the remote town of Elkader, where they encounter a wall of fear and hostility. From the stable owner to the hotel clerk to the telegraph operator, every citizen refuses to help the lawmen, clearly terrified of Lou Shippen. Unable to get a description telegraphed from Wichita and surrounded by suspicious townspeople who might be sheltering the killer, Matt realizes Shippen has the entire town under his thumb. With danger lurking around every corner and no way to identify his quarry, Dillon must find a way to smoke out the murderer before Shippen strikes again.