The Gift

EPISODE: The Gift

Episode 59, Season 2, Originally aired April 1, 1961

Guest Stars: Martin Landau, Jim Davis

Written By: Denne Petticlec, Thomas Thompson

Directed by: William Witney

SUMMARY:

The episode opens with shirtless Adam, water dripping from his face and chest, asking for a towel from his brother Hoss. As Adam dries his face and puts on his shirt (at this point, Adam fans begin losing interest in this episode), he and Hoss discuss how their father is fretting over the fact that Joe didn’t meet them in Tyson Wells, the fort where they are currently staying. Hoss, the family worrier, is disturbed that Pa is upset and expresses some concern about Joe’s absence. Adam reassures Hoss that Joe can take care of himself (well, may not). He and Hoss then gleefully talk about what Joe is bringing with him, dropping hints that it’s a big surprise for Pa.

Suddenly, Adam and Hoss’ attention is drawn to a wounded man riding into fort and the ensuing uproar this causes. After riding for miles with an arrow in his back (this guy had lots of determination), the wounded man announces that the Apaches are on the warpath, killing every white they can find. Ben, worried about Joe, wants to ask the man about his youngest son, and is told that the Apaches have killed just about everyone in the area. Distressed by this news, Ben rushes up to the room where Adam and Hoss are staying.

In the room, Ben rants about Joe not doing what he was told and about how none of his sons listen to him. Hoss and Adam finally calm him down enough to explain why Joe wasn’t in Tyson Wells: he went to get a stallion the boys had bought as a birthday gift for Ben. Adam and Hoss almost reluctantly declare that the horse represents a token of their love for their father. Stunned by this revelation and embarrassed by his ravings, Ben mumbles that “old fools make poor fathers” and hurries out of the room. He asks the Army for help to search for Joe, but learns he can’t expect any assistance for awhile. As Ben makes preparations to leave Tyson Wells to search for Joe on his own, Adam and Hoss insist on going with him. Ben warns his sons that there is a possibility they all could be killed. That doesn’t deter Adam and Hoss; they declare that they need to do this search as a family (the family that searches together stays together). Ben reluctantly agrees and the three older Cartwrights leave to search for Joe.

Meanwhile, Joe is riding through the desert on his pinto (more about Cochise’s fate later) with a vaquero named Emiliano. Emiliano is leading a magnificent white stallion, which is the boys’ gift for their father. Joe and Emiliano arrive at a burned out ranch house and discover the well from which they had planned to get water is fouled (being sensitive to their viewers, Bonanza never says exactly how the well is contaminated but it’s implied that the dead bodies of the people from the ranch were thrown into it). Emiliano has a little water, which he shares with Joe and with the stallion. When Joe questions why Emiliano would give the last of his water to the horse (note Joe didn’t share any water with HIS horse), the vaquero explains that he loves “the big white one” more than anything else and he is happy to sacrifice his water for the horse.

Joe then points out that he and Emiliano are in trouble (you think?). They don’t have any water, they’re surrounded by Apaches, and there’s nowhere else to go. Emiliano suggests that they ride to the camp of a group of Commancheros led by a man named Sam Wolfe. He admits he used to ride with Sam Wolfe’s gang until he was rescued by the man who bred the stallion. Having no other options (except, as Joe points out, to ask the Apaches for water), Joe and Emiliano head for Sam Wolfe’s camp.

As Joe and Emiliano ride into the camp, Sam Wolfe spots the white stallion they are leading and immediately decides he wants the horse. His younger brother argues that he wants the horse too, but Wolfe makes it clear to his brother that he’s taking the stallion for himself. In the camp, Joe offers all the money he has for some water, but Wolfe declares he’ll only give the pair water if he can have the stallion. Joe firmly rejects the offer, but Wolfe decides to take the horse anyway. A brief fight ensues during which Joe and Emiliano are knocked out (after all, they were outnumbered about 4 to 1, and even a Cartwright can’t fight those odds).

Locked in a room, Joe and Emiliano discuss their situation, which looks pretty dire until the vaquero shows Joe a knife that Wolfe’s men neglected to take away from him. Sam Wolfe then enters the room. He offers Emiliano the opportunity to re-join the gang while telling Joe that he’s going to be the target in their “turkey shoot”. He leaves to let Joe and Emiliano think about what’s going to happen. Joe, in a shaky voice, advises Emiliano to take Wolfe’s offer, but the vaquero is insulted that Joe would think he’d join the gang again. He explains he is touched that Joe wants to give the stallion to his father as a gift, and adds that he’d never let Wolfe have his beloved white horse. Encouraged by Emiliano’s determination to rescue the stallion (and themselves), Joe bravely declares it’s time to escape.

Emiliano kills the guard outside the door of their room, and unlocks the door, letting himself and Joe out. Joe grabs the holster from the dead guard, and fiddles around with it because it’s a right-handed holster and he is, of course, left-handed. Finally, he and Emiliano head for the corral where the stallion is being kept.

In the corral, Sam Wolfe’s younger brother is abusing the stallion, whipping the horse to try to keep it under control. Joe rushes in and tackles the younger brother. As the two fight, the stallion is rearing and screaming (apparently wanting to get into the fight). Joe knocks the man into the path of the stallion and the white horse promptly stomps him to death (making the point not too subtly that bad things happen to people who do bad things, like abuse horses). Joe grabs the stallion (who is perfectly willing to let the handsome young Cartwright ride him – the horse has good taste) and takes off, leaving Cochise behind. (It’s a little known fact that Cochise was in a contract dispute with the studio at the time, and the producers were threatening to write him out of the series. He was left behind in the story to show that Bonanza could do without him. Cochise finally agreed to a new contract and showed up in later episodes). Emiliano grabs another horse (not Cochise) and rides after Joe.

When Sam Wolfe discovers his brother’s dead body, he angrily declares he’s going after Joe and Emiliano (and the stallion); he orders all his men to saddle up and ride.

After riding hard for awhile, Joe and Emiliano (and the stallion) stop to rest in some rocks. They see Wolfe and his men coming after them, and are surprised when the group splits up. Emiliano figures out that half of the men are going to charge them from the rear. Joe decides the two would be better off fighting the men who are coming up from the rear, because they would have the element of surprise. He and Emiliano (and the stallion) race down to meet the men and they manage to kill a couple of them. But now they are trapped. Sam Wolfe and half his men are still coming, and the other half of the men have Joe and Emiliano pinned down. While they are trying to figure out what to do, Joe tells Emiliano that he’s going to give the vaquero the first colt which the stallion produces (implying this is a reward for his loyalty). Emiliano protests that this is too much and that Joe’s father won’t agree but Joe assures him that his father won’t mind. Moved by this gesture, Emiliano decides he must save both his horse and the young man who is with him.

Emiliano’s plan is to have Joe ride through the gunmen on the white stallion while he provides cover fire. Joe protests, knowing this will probably mean Emiliano will be killed. But the vaquero insists, threatening to shoot Joe if he doesn’t take the horse and go. Joe finally agrees. As Joe charges through the gunmen on the back of the white horse, Emiliano provides cover but, as Joe feared, he is shot. Luckily, however, Ben, Adam and Hoss hear the sound of the gunfire (what are the odds that they’d be in just the right area of the desert at the right time to hear the gunfire?) They ride up to the rocks, and fight their way through the gunmen, reaching Emiliano as the vaquero is dying. With his last breath, Emiliano tells Ben about Joe riding out through the desert, and then once again declares his love for the white horse.

Meanwhile, Sam Wolfe has spotted Joe making a run for it. He takes two of his men’s horses and water, and chases after Joe.

Back in the rocks, the Cartwrights discover they now have a problem. They want to go after Joe but they’re pinned down by the gunmen (who apparently had orders to stay until everyone was dead, regardless of who they were). As Adam and Hoss discuss how to get out this situation, Ben charges off on his horse. Adam and Hoss provide covering fire for their father (who rides through a hail of bullets untouched, providing the gunmen were really bad shots). They linger behind the rocks long enough to finish off the last of the outlaws who couldn’t shoot straight and then ride off after Ben.

Now the chase is on. Joe is riding the white stallion at a gallop, followed by Sam Wolfe, who changes horses in order to have a fresh (or at least fresher) mount to try to keep up with Joe. Ben is following Wolfe and Adam and Hoss are following Ben. Meanwhile, the Apaches apparently are ignoring all the gunfire and people riding through the desert (they took probably decided all those white men were crazy, and figured the best thing to do was ignore them all).

Sam Wolfe decides he can’t catch Joe, so, being the nasty person that he is, he shoots the stallion. The horse falls, badly injured and unable to get up. Joe has only two bullets left in his pistol (he didn’t have his magic gun which has an unlimited supply of bullets). He uses one to force Wolfe back and then fires the second one to mercifully kill the injured stallion. Joe looks at the stallion with regret for a moment, then sets off on foot through the desert. Wolfe watches Joe from afar with a malicious smile on his face, because he knows he now can catch Joe.

Joe stumbles through the desert, all hot and sweaty and without water (but, unfortunately, still wearing his shirt). He falls into some grass and realizes that where there is grass, there is water. Looking up, he spots a small stream a few yards away. Joe runs toward the stream but before he can reach the water, Wolfe, who has been waiting for him, lassos Joe and hog-ties him. He leaves Joe unable to move but able to see the water only a few feet away (not a very nice thing to do).

Back in the distance, Ben has found the dead stallion and spots Joe’s tracks leading through the desert. He decides his own horse is just about spent, so he leaves his buckskin and starts after Joe on foot.

At the stream, Joe is staring longingly at the water and struggling to free himself so he can get to it. Wolfe laughs, kicks Joe, and then goes to fill his own canteen. As Wolfe bends down to the stream, a shadow crosses over him. Wolfe looks up and sees Ben standing above him. Not knowing who Ben is, Wolfe explains that he caught a horse thief and is about to finish him off. When Ben calls him a liar, Wolfe angrily declares again that Joe is a horse thief.

Ben glares at Wolfe and announces “He’s my son”. Joe, hearing his father’s voice, looks up and whimpers “Pa”. Frowning at sound of the word “Pa”, Wolfe decides Ben is telling the truth. He goes for his gun, but Ben is faster; he kills the outlaw with one shot.

Rushing to Joe, Ben cradles his son in his arms as he gives Joe some water from a canteen. Joe tries to talk, but Ben tells him to wait. However, Joe insists he has to talk. In a weak voice, he explains about leaving Emiliano behind. Ben replies he talked to Emiliano and knows what happened. Thinking his friend might have survived, Joe is elated at first but then is devastated when Ben admits Emiliano died. In a tearful voice, Joe tells his father how much the vaquero loved the white stallion as well as how he did his best to save the horse.

(Now comes the best part) Joe, with tears in his eyes and in choked voice, explains he did his best to save the stallion because he wanted to give the horse to Ben as a gift. In response, Ben pulls Joe close to him and murmurs, “I have my gift”. He holds Joe tightly, kissing his son on the top of the head and rubbing his cheek against Joe’s hair. (A real “ahhh” moment).

Just then, Adam and Hoss ride up. Ben, seeming almost embarrassed by his show of emotion, quickly sniffs and begins to untie Joe. He hands Joe the canteen as he announces to Adam and Hoss that Joe is all right (yeah, he’s only dehydrated, been kicked around and had to walk through the burning sun). As Adam and Hoss help their younger brother to the horses (there’s a nifty moment in the background when Hoss helps Joe to mount and Joe thanks his brother by squashing his tall white hat), Ben walks over to the stream to refill the canteen. On his knees by the stream, Ben looks toward the sky and says in a soft voice, “Thank you”. Then he hurries to join his three sons.

REVIEWS:

“While some unrealistic coincidences occur in this story (mostly Ben arriving at just the right time at various places), this episode still is one of my favorite. It's probably the most openly emotional episode of the series. Every character in this episodes has a moment (or more than one) when they express a deep, heartfelt emotion. The topper, of course, is when Ben clutches Joe to his chest, declaring he has his gift (his son returned to him) and kisses Joe on the head.” Susan Grote

“…the moment when Ben tells Joe that he already has his gift and kisses him, is a favorite of mine. I also love the bit when Adam and Hoss explain that the stallion is a gift for Ben, to show them that they love him, waah, or what? The relationship that develops between Emiliano and Joe is a sweet one, and I like the way Emiliano is touched by the obvious love that Joe has for his father. The vaquero is determined that Joe and the horse make it, and Joe was lucky to be with such a man, otherwise he might not have survived I do wonder quite what possessed Adam and Hoss to send Joe off to get the horse, on his own, as the area was a dangerous one, but there you go, if they hadn't, there wouldn't have been a story. This ep is definitely in my top ten…when Ben's shadow falls over Wolfe, to me that is a classic Western moment and the way he says, 'He's my son' that too makes me shiver.” Little Joe forever Lynne

“I love this episode. It is one of the few that I vividly remember watching on black and white TV as a kid....Martin Landau's death with his eyes open was etched in my mind. I love the episode with all four Cartwrights and that invincible "We will risk our lives to stick together and protect each other!" And "Pa will find his missing boy on top of a mountain, in the middle of the desert or if he has amnesia!" theme. Seeing it as an adult in color, I liked it even more.” Robin

“This too was one of my favorite episodes. Such emotion from all the Cartwright's. The most memorable moment for me, the scene at the end with Pa finding Joe and the pure, raw anger he conveys toward Wolfe. Then the tender reunion and seeing the love and relief between Ben and Joe. For me being the spiritual person that I am, as well as a parent, when Ben raises his head and thanks the higher powers above, that is just gut wrenching. Always sends shivers down my spine.” Nancy