Grass: A Sod-Hut Stand and a Coward’s Courage

Originally Aired: August 25, 1957 In Gunsmoke #281, “Grass,” Matt Dillon encounters Harry Pope, a skittish Easterner trying to start a quiet life on the prairie. But Pope’s isolation and fear of Indians are not all in his head—he’s the target of cruel harassment by local cowhands Joe Carter and Earl Brant. When Pope defends himself one night with deadly results, Marshal Dillon finds himself weighing the difference between a frightened man’s self-defense and cold-blooded murder. As tensions boil and frontier justice looms, the truth behind the torment reveals a bitter commentary on cowardice, cruelty, and what it really means to be brave in the Wild West. Cast: William Conrad, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear Tags: Western, drama, frontierjustice, Gunsmoke, WilliamConrad, sodbuster, prairie, mistakenidentity, selfdefense, vigilantejustice, 1950sradio, classicwestern, oldtimeradio, mentalhealth, loneliness, moralconflict, grass