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Directed by ALAN CROSLAND, Jr. Guest Cast
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Peter Brown & Clint Walker |
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Directed by ALAN CROSLAND, Jr. Guest Cast
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Peter Brown & Clint Walker |
In this episode of Cheyenne, Peter Brown plays another of our favorite "boy becomes a man" parts as Jed Wayne, the son of a calvary sergeant who died a hero saving his unit, including Cheyenne. Before he died, Sgt. Wayne made Cheyenne promise to check on his son who will be old enough to enlist when he turns 17 in a few months. Jed has been boarded out with strangers since his mother died. All he has from his father is a horse, a saber, a medal and one months back pay. He's been running wild and is serving 10 days for disturbing the peace Cheyenne tells him his father's last wish was for him to enlist.
Cheyenne locates Jed in jail |
Jed shows bravado about being an orphan |
Cheyenne tells Jed of his father's wish |
Things don't go well at the fort for either Cheyenne or Jed. Colonel Donovan expects Cheyenne to help negotiate a treaty with Little Elk which will force the Comanches to move hundreds of miles to the southwest to desert country. Cheyenne knows that the Comanche cannot agree to these terms and that many settlers will be killed in the war which will inevitably follow an attempt to make a forced move.
Jed enlists, then immediately tries to resign when he's told he can't keep Glory, the horse his father gave him. They compromise by allowing him to sell the horse to the cavalry for the remount pool for assignment to Jed. However, Jed is not two minutes out of Cheyenne's sight when he's in a fight with another soldier who made fun of Glory by decorating him with flowers. In the review the next day, Jed falls off Glory during a cavalry exercise neither of them is trained for and Glory suffers a bowed tendon. The only bright note for Jed is a flirtation with a pretty girl who asks about Glory. But even that turns sour when he finds out she's the Colonel's daughter.
Colonel Donovan |
Jed enlists |
Glory decorated with flowers |
Jed tries a calvary exercise on Glory |
and falls |
Jed is worried about Glory |
Kathy inquires about Glory |
Jed is defensive about Glory |
In the end they charm each other |
When Jed finds out the army vet plans to shoot Glory, he takes off with him into Indian Country where he runs into Chief Little Elk. Little Elk admires a man who cares more for his horse than for himself. He takes Jed to the Comanche camp where Little Elk's lovely daughter gives him some Indian herbs to help Glory's tendon.
Jed refuses to let Glory be killed |
Jed meets up with Little Elk |
Little Elk approves of Jed |
Little Elk's daughter approves of Jed |
When Cheyenne catches up with him, Jed makes a show of holding him off with a rifle, but Cheyenne doesn't buy the bad boy act. And when Jed realizes his presence will make trouble for Little Elk's people, he agrees to go back to the fort, leaving Glory behind. Little Elk and a few of his men go with them for the peace talks.
Jed holds Cheyenne at gunpoint |
Cheyenne faces Jed down |
When Little Elk's son Yellow Lance leads a band of renegades against a wagon train, the colonel decides to evacuate the women and children from the fort. He also takes LIttle Elk prisoner and threatens to hang him if the others don't surrender. The evacuees are set upon by Yellow Lance who takes the colonel's daughter Kathy.and Cheyenne hostage to trade for Little Elk. However, once the trade is made, he intends to attack the fort. Cheyenne is left behind when Yellow Lance rides to the fort to make the exchange. Cheyenne must get word to the fort about Yellow Lance's plan. Little Elk's daughter frees Cheyenne but the only horse left in camp is Glory. Cheyenne rides Glory 100 miles back to the fort, where Glory collapses, dead.
Yellow Lance |
Kathy as prisoner |
Cheyenne rides Glory |
Jed mourns his dead horse |
In the end, Cheyenne must kill Yellow Lance. The colonel realizes that Little Elk is not just a savage and agrees to send a report which recommends that the Comanche be allowed to remain where they are. Jed seems set for a happy career in the army. Glory although dead, has died with - glory.
Yellow Lance gets a lance through the heart |
The Colonel makes nice |
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This episode shows the difficulty of dealing with Indians in these old Westerns. [The term Native American did not exist then.] They made natural bad guys, but even in the 50's and 60's there was some recognition of how badly the Indians had been treated. This episode followed a common pattern. Cheyenne's character is accorded respect as an honorable friend to the tribe, but he has to answer to soldiers or politicians who think of all Indians as savages. The chief is a wise leader who wants peace. The Indians who do the killing are young warriors who rebel against the chief and become renegades. The local situation is usually resolved honorably, with a peace agreement or renewal of a fair treaty. Episodic TV was incapable of dealing with the big picture because each episode required a happy resolution of all conflicts.
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