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Not great Gunsmoke, but worth an "8" for novelty and the priceless interplay between Dee J. Thompson as Big Lena, and Dennis Weaver (Chester), who keeps inadvertently drawing her ire and quickly learning to regret it. Very unusual in 1955 to have a woman physically intimidating a town full of macho men.

Chill Wills' finest moment as an actor as well. The soliloquy where he reflects on his struggle to survive as a Mountain Man, his dead wife and infant son, and plans to join them in eternity is unforgettable. I strongly disagree with the one negative review here. The mountain man's use of the word "quintessence" was great because it was unexpected rather than cliched. It emphasized that there was more to this man than meets the eye. The depth of feeling displayed was incredible. It completely changed my evaluation of Wills as an actor. He was grossly underused and misused throughout his career. This episode demonstrates what a great actor he was when he had a truly talented writer (John Meston) and director (Andrew V. McLaglen). This is as good as it gets.