Bonanza

Hoss comes to the defense of Widow McClure who is being harassed by Arthur Bolling. During the scuffle, Arthur Bolling's gun goes off and he accidentally kills himself. At the funeral, Arthur's brother comes in search of his brother's killer.

It's spring and the boys are irritable after a long, rough, hard winter. Another dispute lands the three of them in a mud wrestling match and Ben's visiting friend Jedidiah Milbank is injured in the ruckus. Ben offers to have his sons take care of Milbank's affairs while he recovers. Adam, Hoss and Joe set off in different directions to carry out the tasks assigned to them.

The Cartwrights come to the defense of Army Captain Moss Johnson who is running from an Apache attack.

Joe stops to visit the Widow Bolden, but his visit is interrupted when a wounded man arrives. Joe realizes the man wanted for bank robbery is named Trock. He is unsure whether he should tell Mrs. Bolden and things grow more complicated when she falls in love with the man while tending him.

Two con artists visit Virginia City. Their first two victims are a former circus performer and owner of the local boarding house, Clementine Hawkins. Clementine is sweet on Ben Cartwright. When Ben calls on her, he finds that she has purchased a gem from the outlaws. Ben, thinking she has a fake, tries to switch the gems.

Gunfighter Ed Payson returns to Virginia City after his father dies to claim his father's place. He isn't welcomed with open arms -- especially by Will Cass, a local storeowner whose son Dave was killed by Payson in a gunfight. Adams befriends Payson after seeing the cold reception he receives. As their friendship develops, Adam learns that Payson has given up his gun and wants to live peacefully now. Adam decides to help but this proves difficult when Cass uses everything in his power to try and run Payson out of town.

Gideon Flinch and his niece Jennifer check into the hotel with Flinch using the alias Homer T. Cranston. He is a meek man and hopes to elude a man named Bullethead Burke who lost $5,000 on advice from Flinch. When Jennifer finds out what her uncle is up to, she comes up with a plan to trick Hoss into posing as her uncle.

The Cartwrights have prisoners working on the ranch, putting down rail ties. Joe is saved by Danny Kidd, a young man who was orphaned very young and in the prison system most of his life. Joe offers to repay him and when kid says he wants his freedom, Joe manages to get it for him. Now he must help Danny cope with life on the outside.

The Ponderosa is visited by an old friend who is now Lady Linda Chadwick. Twenty years ago she and Ben were in love and the widowed Chadwick tries to rekindle the flames. When Ben doesn't appear to have any interest in her, she decides to use her wealth and influence to break him so he will have to turn to her for help.

Ponderosa horse-breaker Johnny Lightly is paralyzed in a fall from a horse and is moved to the house to begin his therapy with doctor's assistant Ann Davis. Johnny likes Ann, but due to a past experience, she does not respond to his attention. After Ben's sons leave on a cattle drive, Ben is confronted by a man with a grudge.

Joe accepts a bet during a poker game, not realizing the ante is a Chinese slave girl named Su Ling. Joe brings her to the Ponderosa and when she refuses to be set free, Joe turns his problem over to Pa. No one is aware that Su Ling belongs to General Tsung who will do anything to get her back.

A man comes to town with his sister and claims to be the reincarnation of French poet Francois Villon. When his irritating' behavior gets him kicked out of the local hotel, Joe and Hoss bring them to the Ponderosa. Joe falls for Francois' sister Eloise and his relationship with her may be the only way of keeping her brother from dueling with Hoss.

While in the town of Rubicon, Joe is set up to win a fight and then offered the job of Sheriff. Joe tells his family about the offer and becomes angry when his brother refuses to take him seriously He decides to accept the job.

Joe and Hoss come upon an accident and find a couple dead. The couple's blind eleven year old daughter survives.

Ben plays host to an old friend and ex-Army officer named Bragg. What Ben doesn't know is that Bragg is posed as John Polk and has sold Ponderosa land to settlers who now show up to claim it.

Hoss is in love with Margie Owens and is about to propose when Mark Connors comes to town and fills her head with tales of adventure. Margie falls in love with Mark and they are married. After the wedding, the two leave town and Hoss tries to get on with his life. Some time later he is summoned to Carson City where Margie is alone and about to have a baby.

The Ponderosa is visited by the wife and daughter of Ben's old friend Horace Banning. Deborah Banning has a plan to have her daughter Melinda marry a Cartwright and escape poverty. She poses as a woman of wealth and Joe falls in love with Melinda as planned. The problem is Melinda doesn't love Joe-she loves Adam.

While Adam is at the Goat Springs station, the place is robbed and line manger Toby Barker is killed. Adam is convinced he knows who the killer is.

Terminally ill Laura White persuades her father to take her to the Ponderosa so she can see her childhood friend Little Joe. While there, she and Joe fall in love and plan to get married.

Town drunk Danny Lynch has been writing his mother in Ireland about the fabulous ranch he owns in Ponderosa. The Cartwrights are dumbfounded when she comes to the ranch to visit. They must make Danny tell her the truth.

While on his way home, Hoss stops for water at the homestead of Jason Gant. Gant is one of several drought stricken families in the flatlands. Jason is trapped in a well cave-in and Hoss comes to his rescue.

After a rash of cattle rustling, the Cartwrights set out to find clues. During his travels, Adam comes upon an injured Matt Grant and takes him home to his family. Adam suspects he is one of the rustlers and tries to get him to confess and turn himself in.

Ben is a helpless witness when the son of former lawman Lem Partridge is shot and killed by Jack Groat. Jack Groat is the same man who went to prison for killing Lem's wife.

Ponderosa ranch hand Hank Myers is in love, but the object of his affection pays him no mind. Hoss and Joe decide to help Hank get her attention. As a last resort, they turn to Adam for help, but the plan backfires when Miss Jones falls in love with Adam.

After Sheriff Coffee is injured, Virginia City needs a new Sheriff.

Ben is puzzled when the son of his friends is expelled from school. Ben knows that young Albert Michelson is very bright, but the teacher has him pegged as a troublemaker. When Ben investigates further, he finds more students expelled from school. When Ben realizes the truth about the teacher he must make a difficult decision.

The Cartwrights are framed for a bank robbery and murder. They are thrown in jail, but Little Joe manages to escape. It is up to him to get help before his family is hung unjustly.

When Adam and Joe go to Eastgate after a cattle drive, they decide to meet at Signal Rock in three days. Plans are altered when Adam is robbed on the way and left for dead.

While Ben is waiting for Adam and Hoss to return for Hoss' birthday, he reflects on first meeting Hoss' mother.

Ben is appointed to decide who will get custody of the twin grandchildren of two feuding families. It is a decision that Ben tries to make with the help of Reverend Jordan, the new minister.

While hitching a ride with the stage, Joe is caught in a holdup. One of the passengers is shot trying to defend his daughter's dowry. Joe brings the injured man, his daughter and her betrothed to the ranch. While there, further attempts are made to steal the dowry and Ben begins to wonder how the robbers always seems to know where to find the dowry.

Adam is attacked and forced to switch clothes with an escaped convict name Poindexter. Adam catches up with him kills him in self defense. He is caught by a posse that mistakes him for the convict.

Joe finds an injured man and brings him back to his sheep camp where his granddaughter Trudy Harker is tending the flock with the help of her beau Paul. Trudy was raised by her grandfather after her mother's death, and now her dying grandfather makes Joe promise to take care of Trudy and see that she is introduced to her other grandfather, a wealthy San Francisco man. Joe agrees to do it but must first teach Trudy how to fit into San Francisco society.

A faith healer visits Virginia City where he meets a young girl who is paralyzed. He falls in love and promises to heal her if she will marry him. Hoss knows Garth is a phony.