Episode Details

Originally Aired: April 17, 1960

Gunsmoke #419, "Solomon River," presents Marshal Matt Dillon and Chester with a grim discovery along the riverbank while transporting prisoner Ben Crown to Dodge. The lawmen encounter Letty Thatcher, a woman nearly dead from exhaustion, desperately trying to dig a grave for her husband Luther in the punishing prairie heat. Inside her isolated cabin, they find Luther's body has been lying dead for days while Letty, too weak to bury him, has slowly been starving. Despite Dillon's urging to come with them to Dodge City where he can help her start over, Letty refuses to leave. She reveals the heartbreaking reason for her stubborn determination: buried near Luther's fresh grave are five small mounds, the graves of her babies who died during their years of hardship on the desolate prairie.

The lawmen reluctantly continue their journey with Crown, leaving Letty alone at her homestead. Chester remains troubled by her situation, leading him to seek Doc's help in obtaining a tonic, though the deputy's awkward attempts to keep Letty's identity secret frustrate the physician.