Lotta Crabtree is hired by mining tycoon Alpheus Troy to lure one of the Cartwrights into town and hold him for ransom in exchange for Ponderosa timber rights.

Greedy opportunist Mark Burdette and his accomplice Early Thorne stir up trouble between the Paiute tribe and the citizens of Virginia City. Ben discovers Burdette and Thorne are selling antelope beef to the miners and finds the price too high. He offers the miners beef at a more reasonable price. Burdette and Thorne retaliate by framing the Paiute's for attacks, by dressing as them and killing ranchers. Based on a factual accounting. Lorne Greene's first voice-over narration, and no landing constructed yet for the Ponderosa stairway.

John Pennington and his crew want to mine the Ponderosa land by hydraulic means. Ben is totally against this method and evicts them in short order. Hoss is given the task of telling Pennington's men to leave, but soon has a moral dilemma on his hands when he meets Pennington's beautiful sister, Emily. He soon discovers a heartbreaking secret...she's terminally ill; but their relationship soon leads to plenty of trouble for the Cartwrights.

Trader Mike Wilson attempts to escape punishment by the Paiute Indians after mistreating two of their women, by placing the blame on Adam. A fierce war between the Paiutes and the California militia follows, and the Paiutes seize Adam as hostage. Very impressive battle scenes in the this first mini-epic of the series. This episode did all it could to stage the real thing; 50 Indians were used and 50 cavalry actors and extras were used, and the production involved three days of shooting on location. This episode encompassed both the biggest cast and most costly stunts. This episode is based on the factual accounting that occured in May and June of 1860.

Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City to write for the Territorial Enterprise at the same time a crooked politician tries to lay claim on the Ponderosa.

Little Joe is infatuated wih saloon owner Julia Bulette, whom he imagines is like his late mother. First episode to reveal backround details concerning Marie Cartwright, and inspired by the true story of a Virginia City madam. Also, the first episode to showcase Michael Landon.

Adam defends the mining claim of Annie O' Toole in a court presided over by Judge Ben Cartwright. Annie comes to the Washoe Diggings with a claim to a mine filed by her beau, Swede Lundberg. Swede has two claims and sold one to an acquaintance of theirs named Gregory Spain, creating confusion, that only Judge Ben Cartwright can make a ruling on.

Adam and Hoss assist a German engineer in developing the concept of "square set timbering" in the mines. Based on fact, and the first episode not to include all four Cartwrights. Hoss refers to the character, Emily, with whom he was in love with in, "The Newcomers".

In a flashback, the legendary prospector arrives on the Ponderosa and participates in the founding of Virginia City. Coincidentally, guest star Jack Carson played a teller at the Comstock Bank and Trust in the 1942 film, "Gentleman Jim". This early classic was the second episode filmed.

Virginia City is visited by actress Adah Issacs Menken, who happens to be an old acquaintance of Ben's. Joe is badly beaten by Adah's jealous suitor, John C. Regan, who is bested in a fight with an enraged Hoss.

Luther Bishop and Ben Cartwright have had an ongoing land dispute for a number of years, over a small tract called the Truckee Strip. One of Bishop's employee's has a grudge against the Cartwrights and wants to stir up the feud again, while also harboring designs on Bishop's pretty daughter, Amy.

Joe meets and falls in love with Amy, in spite of the family differences and the two want to marry. Just when it looks like the feud will end with the union of the two young people, Bishop's man attacks Amy and Joe must come to the rescue.

Adam and Joe reluctantly join a group of vengeful townsmen, who are out to lynch the three men who supposedly killed Vannie Johnson. The posse is run by Paiute Scroggs and Flint Johnson, the dead woman's husband. When Adam and Joe clash with them, they both separate and try to reach the three men before the posse does. This episode's storyline is a variation of the 1943 film "The Ox-Bow Incident".

In a variation of "High Noon", Ben and Hoss must face a gang of outlaws practically all alone when most of Virginia City's citizens go into hiding. The most action-filled episode since "The Paiute War".

This episode begins with Adam defending the honor of Sue Ellen Terry in a duel. No one gets shot because the other man misses Adam and Adam generously shoots in the air to end the duel. Sue Ellen lives with her sister, who seems nice but turns out to be fairly evil, consumed with jealousy because she's getting older and her sister is a young beauty. When Adam drops Sue Ellen off after a date one night, half way through this episode, someone shoots her dead, and Adam becomes a suspect and is thrown in jail. When the sheriff suggests that Adam escape, he does it, but when he walks out, someone tries to shoot him. He chases after them but doesn't find them, and soon after hears Sue Ellen's sister scream. He runs up the stairs to find her dead, and of course, is then suspected of that murder as well. Of course, his family helps him during the last half hour, and it all turns out that someone we should not have suspected did all the murders, but that he actually wasn't trying to hit

Ben sends Hoss and Joe to Monterey to purchase an expensive seed bull. The first of Blocker and Landon's many comic misadventures, although the casual use of violence, as in the rapier fight, is oddly uncharacteristic for the series. Hoss reveals his real name to be Eric for the first time.

Because she is related to criminals, a young woman is ostracized by everyone but the the Cartwrights. She unwisely seeks solace with an ex-con friend of Joe's, Clay Renton, and it's up to Ben to straighten everything out. First episode to have a chapter title after the cast credits.

As the Civil War approaches, Adam and Joe clash over which side to support. The situation is complicated by the arrival of Frederick Kyle, a Southern sympathizer. He was an old friend of Joe's mother and viewers also discover that Joe's middle name is Francis.

Hoss-t és Joe-t összekeverik pár vérszomjas gyilkossal egy kis texas-i városkában, amelyet két viszályban lévő család ural.

A Cartwright testvérek egy kínai- amerikai istállósegéd segítségére sietnek, akit gyilkossággal vádolnak. Egy manipulatív polgármesterrel állnak szemben, aki azt szeretné, hogy minden "idegen" eltűnjön a városból.

Spanyol cowboy-ok erőszakkal akarnak megszerezni egy földet. A ház urát megölik, felesége pedig várandósan magára marad, ráadásul otthonából is el akarják üldözni. A Cartwright testvérek a nő segítségére sietnek.

Jeb Drummond egy gyilkos hajlamú pásztor, akl foglyul ejti Adam-et. A férfi így akarja rákényszeríteni Ben-t arra, hogy írssa át Ponderosa egy részét a nevére.

Ponderosa egyik munkását gyilkosság vádjával letartóztatják, majd Los Angeles-be viszik tárgyalásra. A gyanakvó Hoss és Adam egy orvossal és gyönyörű lányával követik őket egy postakocsin, hogy biztosak

Leduque nyomozó New Orleans-ből érkezik Virginia városába, hogy Ben Cartwrigt-ot visszavigye magával egy 20 évvel korábbi gyilkosság miatt. A városi kedélyeket azonban nem csak az borzolja fel, hogy Ben visszalép a

A hadsereg börtönéből három fogoly szökik meg, és Ponderosa-ban találnak menedéket. Amikor a Kapitány keresni kezdi őket, Ben összetűzésbe kerül a férfival.

Ben és Adam börtönbe kerülnek és akasztás vár rájuk egy olyan bűntett miatt, amelyet el sem követtek. Joe és Hoss megpróbálják rávenni a vádló Sally Byrnes-t, hogy vonja vissza vallomását.

Egy fiatal angol pár érkezik vakációra Ponderosa-ba. Az ijfú feleség azonban kezd rádöbbenni, hogy a valamikor nagy vadász hírében álló férje mára már egy békeszerető ember. Véleménye akkor változik csak meg, amikor

A Cartwright fivérek befejeznek egy szarvasmarha- hajtást San Fransisco-ban. Ben figyelmezteti az embereket a nagy város veszélyeire, ennek ellenére páran naivan bedőlnek, majd két béresnek is nyoma veszik, akiket végül a...

Andy, a szomszédos farmer és Ben jóbarátok, azonban Todd, Andy fia el akarja adni bányának a földet, amely sértené apja és Ben között az ivóvízre kötött régi megállapodást.

Egy nő meghal, férje börtönben van, a seriffnek pedig találnia kell valakit, aki gyermeküket gondozza, amíg annak nagybátyja meg nem érkezik. Cartwright-ék vállaják a feladatot. A fiú Ponderosa-ban tudja meg apjáról az...

Little Joe belebotlik egy cigánylányba, aki menekülés közben elesik és elájul. Amikor felébred, azt hiszi megátkozták. A lány sötét csillagzat alatt született, ezért hiszi róla mindeki, hogy a sötét oldalon áll. Little Joe...

Bűnözők kerítik hatalmukba Virginia városát, és védelmi díjat követelnek a lakosoktól. Egy boltos ezt megtagadja, az egyik bandatag pedig megöli őt az egyetlen tanúval együtt. Az áldozat felesége, Beth a Ponderosa-n talál...