Episode Details

Originally Aired: May 10, 1959

Gunsmoke #370, "Dowagers Visit," finds Marshal Matt Dillon facing an unusual challenge when Mrs. Junius Chamberlain, widow of a late senator, arrives in Dodge City demanding his help. The formidable dowager is searching for her runaway grandson, Junius Chamberlain III, who has left Yale College to seek adventure out West. When Matt refuses to organize an official search party for a young man who hasn't broken any laws, Mrs. Chamberlain decides to take matters into her own hands, vowing to stay in Dodge until she finds the boy herself. She begins canvassing the town like a determined Pinkerton detective, questioning everyone from bartenders to business owners.

Meanwhile, a young drifter appears in the Long Branch trying to join a poker game, offering a solid gold watch fob as his stake. When the other players doubt its authenticity, Kitty Russell confirms the valuable piece is genuine gold. The situation grows more complicated when Mrs. Chamberlain confronts Kitty at the Long Branch with a description of her missing grandson, little suspecting that the young man she seeks may be closer than she realizes.