Sat, Jan 10, 1970
Ben needs to transport three large timber beams but the local freight company won't do it. When a new independent freight hauler is approached for the job, Ben recognizes "Gunny" O'Riley, a former soldier in the Mexican-American War, but on the opposite side. Ben finally puts his differences aside and helps Gunny win a lucrative government contract.
Sat, Jan 17, 1970
Candy quits his job at the Ponderosa after inheriting a fortune from an old Indian friend. He takes a job as vice president of a land development and promotion firm, unaware that the president is defrauding customers by selling barren desert land in lieu of the fertile farmland he promised them. Candy soon finds out and recruits the Cartwrights to expose the fraud.
Sat, Feb 7, 1970
The daughter of Ben's friend Harry Collier, Jennifer, develops a huge crush for the Cartwright patriarch. Ben notes that Jennifer is the same age as oldest son (and long-since departed Adam), but that doesn't matter. It soon does matter when Jennifer's ex-fiancé, a wealthy banker from San Francisco, shows up demanding to take her back - or else it will be the end of the Ponderosa.
Sat, Feb 14, 1970
A temporary schoolhouse is opened on the Ponderosa, and one of the students is an angry teen-aged boy named Billy Burgess. After a difficult day at school, Billy angrily wishes that his teacher would die. Sure enough, the teacher is found murdered and Billy is fingered as the suspect. Ben, who has been working to counsel the teen and get at the root of his anger, knows the lad is innocent and comes to his aid - even if Billy insists that he killed his teacher.
Sat, Feb 21, 1970
A ruthless meat packer named Emmett Whitney schemes to monopolize the local cattle industry by buying the rail line that is used to transport the cattle to market, then force the cattle farmers to sell at deeply reduced prices. Ben, championing the smaller farmers and knowing that Whitney could drive many of the Cartwrights' friends out of business, devises a plan to drive Whitney out - even if it means he will lose the Ponderosa if his plan fails.
Sat, Feb 28, 1970
Eleven years after Lotta Crabtree's last stop in Virginia City caused trouble for a young Joe Cartwright, actress Lotta Crabtree's daughter returns for another engagement in the Nevada town. This time, it's Hoss who finds himself in the thick of a murder case when he is accused of killing daughter Lotta's co-star during a performance.
Sat, Mar 14, 1970
While in Los Robles, Mexico, Ben is critically wounded by the town's cruel boss, John Walker. Ben manages to shoot and kill Walker, but now his son - the splitting image of his father - is hellbent on revenge. While Joe tends to his father's care, he tries in vain to embolden the town's residents, who for years have been intimidated into submission by Walker and his cronies. Eventually, Joe's efforts pay off and the Los Robles residents mount a stand against Walker's gang.
Sat, Apr 18, 1970
Alone at the Ponderosa while everyone else is away on a cattle drive, Joe suffers a compound fracture in his left arm when he is kicked by a horse spooked by a severe thunderstorm. Joe fights to stay conscious and treat his wounds. When he becomes delirious, he fears that gangrene has infected his arm, leaving Joe with a difficult decision: amputate, or not amputate?
Sun, Oct 4, 1970
A murder suspect escapes a prison wagon. Sheriff Price Buchanan, who covets an appointment to Deputy U.S. Marshal, finds an injured Hoss. Buchanan, knowing his career is at risk if he fails his appointed duty, arrests Hoss and plans to substitute him in as his prisoner. Hoss befriends a fellow prisoner named Madge Tucker who knows Hoss was falsely arrested. Together, the two scheme to escape the wagon and Buchanan's clutches.
Sat, Oct 10, 1970
Ben and Joe Cartwright are part of a posse that is after Davis, who shot and killed an Army colonel. When Ben and Joe capture Davis in the desert, they are attacked by a rogue Indian tribe, and Ben is seriously wounded. While Joe crosses the desert on foot to seek medical attention (for his pa) and the posse (to take Davis into custody), Ben and Davis must set their differences aside to survive their hostile surroundings.
Sat, Oct 31, 1970
After Ben is seriously injured in a horse-riding accident far from home, Joe seeks help from valley settlers who are terrified of a corrupt rancher, Dawson, and his foremen. While Ben suffers from recurring nightmares of Joe being unable to help, Joe tries to persuade Ed Thornton to do the right thing.