Rawhide was a very popular TV series during this era of Gunsmoke, and this episode is a pretty good rip on the Rawhide cast and their typical problems. The trail bosses are fighting over a swimming cow, because Tush, played by Lane Bradford (who was a guest on Gunsmoke thirteen times), comes to the conclusion that the other trail boss murdered Onie and his cow. Anyone that has seen Rawhide a few times can connect that character to Rowdy Yates (played by Clint Eastwood), who had a tendency to make accusations and start fights based on circumstantial evidence. The other trail boss is played by Robert Karnes, who appeared on Gunsmoke eleven times. Also in a small role is Ron Hayes, a very good actor who was on Gunsmoke eight times. The drover characters, their arguments and fights, are pretty entertaining.
The story is not so good when it focuses on Onie (played by Raymond Hatton) and his cow. Onie looks like he never washed, and he walks like he has some crust up in his pants. Raymond Hatton was 73 in 1960, and this was his only appearance on Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke really worked hard to depict the majority of the people of the Old West as ignorant and dirty. Les Crutchfield and John Meston wrote a lot of the Gunsmoke scripts, including this one. Crutchfield was born in Kansas, and Meston was born in Colorado, so they both must have known the kind of people that they were writing about.
When it comes to lead swimmer cows, there is no such thing as a cow who has to go into the water first, to lead the other cows to cross a river. A herd has its own hierarchy, so they are not going to follow a strange cow that is brought in just to swim across the river. If you have ever seen cows crossing a body of water, they all go in as a group, not single file. There is no swim team captain.
Cows are not only good swimmers, but also untiring as well. Since cows move on their four legs, they are able to swim just in the same way. Their big bodies provide them with the flotation that they need. Cows normally cross lakes, streams, rivers and other water bodies every year in search of new grazing grounds. Cows are known to travel long distances while swimming.
The story is not so good when it focuses on Onie (played by Raymond Hatton) and his cow. Onie looks like he never washed, and he walks like he has some crust up in his pants. Raymond Hatton was 73 in 1960, and this was his only appearance on Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke really worked hard to depict the majority of the people of the Old West as ignorant and dirty. Les Crutchfield and John Meston wrote a lot of the Gunsmoke scripts, including this one. Crutchfield was born in Kansas, and Meston was born in Colorado, so they both must have known the kind of people that they were writing about.
When it comes to lead swimmer cows, there is no such thing as a cow who has to go into the water first, to lead the other cows to cross a river. A herd has its own hierarchy, so they are not going to follow a strange cow that is brought in just to swim across the river. If you have ever seen cows crossing a body of water, they all go in as a group, not single file. There is no swim team captain.
Cows are not only good swimmers, but also untiring as well. Since cows move on their four legs, they are able to swim just in the same way. Their big bodies provide them with the flotation that they need. Cows normally cross lakes, streams, rivers and other water bodies every year in search of new grazing grounds. Cows are known to travel long distances while swimming.
