Top photo: NBC Television / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A different kind of trouble for the Cartwrights
For anyone who remembers settling in to watch a Western on television, Bonanza brings back a familiar world: the Cartwright family, the Ponderosa and the challenges of life around Virginia City.
In the second episode of the first season, “Death on Sun Mountain,” the family becomes involved in a dispute that reaches beyond the ranch. The story centers on antelope herds, the people who depend on them for food, and men who see an opportunity to make money from the animals.
The episode originally aired on September 19, 1959. It is listed as Season 1, Episode 2 by TVmaze, TV Guide and IMDb.
Two men see a business opportunity
The episode introduces Mark Burdette, played by Barry Sullivan, and his associate Early Thorne, played by Leo Gordon.
Their plan involves selling antelope meat to miners in the Virginia City area. According to the episode guide published by TV Gems, Burdette hopes to sell the meat at inflated prices.
The antelope herds matter for a reason beyond business. The Paiute people rely on these animals as a food source. The slaughter of the herds therefore creates a serious problem for the community.
That conflict gives the episode its central issue: the pursuit of profit is putting pressure on people whose food supply depends on the animals being protected.
Ben Cartwright takes a different approach
Ben Cartwright, played by Lorne Greene, responds to the situation by offering the miners beef at a much lower price.
This decision challenges Burdette’s business plan. TV Gems describes how Burdette and Thorne respond by stirring up trouble between the Paiutes and the miners.
The Cartwrights find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict that could become a war between the two groups.
It is a story built around more than a disagreement over prices. The episode connects the treatment of wildlife, the needs of a community and the consequences of people trying to profit from a difficult situation.
The actors behind the episode
The familiar Cartwright family is represented by its four principal performers:
- Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
- Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
- Dan Blocker as Hoss Cartwright
- Michael Landon as Little Joe Cartwright
TVmaze also lists Barry Sullivan as Mark Burdette and Bek Nelson as Glory.
TV Gems provides a longer guest cast list, including Karl Swenson as Carl Harris, Leo Gordon as Early Thorne, Harry Bartell as Chief Winnemucca, Ron Soble as Tukwa, Jeanne Bates as Stella Harris, Robin Warga as Michael Harris, Jay Hector as Harold Harris and Zon Murray as a miner.
The episode’s production credits list Gene L. Coon and David Dortort as writers, with Paul Landres directing.
A story remembered by its title
“Death on Sun Mountain” is also known as “The Sun Mountain Herd,” according to TV Gems.
Its subject gives it a distinctive place in the early run of Bonanza. Rather than focusing only on a personal disagreement, the episode builds its conflict around the consequences of exploiting a natural food source and the tensions that can follow.
The Cartwrights’ involvement puts the family between the Paiute people and the miners, while Burdette and Thorne’s actions threaten to make the situation worse.
For viewers revisiting the first season, this episode offers another look at the kind of moral conflict that could unfold around the Ponderosa.
Do you remember “Death on Sun Mountain”?
The early episodes of Bonanza introduced viewers to the Cartwright family and the problems that came with their life in the West. “Death on Sun Mountain” added a conflict involving business, food and the danger of a dispute between communities.
Did you watch this episode when it first aired, or did you discover it years later in reruns? Which early Bonanza episode do you remember most clearly?
