Trappers Revenge

Originally Aired: April 5, 1959 Gunsmoke #365, "Trappers Revenge," When young Tom Carl reports hearing strange moaning sounds in the willows by the river, Marshal Matt Dillon reluctantly investigates what seems like a wild goose chase. Instead, he and Doc Adams discover Tug Marsh, a trapper they met months earlier, barely clinging to life with horrifying wounds. The old mountain man has crawled for miles on his hands and knees, somehow surviving injuries that should have killed him days ago. Tug claims a grizzly bear mauled him down in Indian Territory, but his real fury is directed at his partner Billy Adams, who left him for dead in the wilderness without even the mercy of a quick knife thrust. As Tug makes a miraculous recovery under Doc's care in Dodge City, his true intentions become clear. He's survived through sheer force of will, driven by one purpose: finding Billy Adams and exacting a slow, brutal revenge. Matt warns Tug that he'll face arrest for murder if Adams shows up in Dodge, but the vengeful trapper seems determined to settle accounts, no matter the cost.