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Tales of Wells Fargo Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
14 Episodes 1957 - 1957
Episode 1
The Thin Rope
Mon, Mar 18, 195730 mins
Jim Hardie is a special agent for Wells Fargo. The Rimrock stage was hit by bandits with the driver killed but the wounded shotgun Button Smith gets the gold and stage to Willow Creek. There a doctor tends to Button while the Sheriff locks the gold in his jail and notifies Well Fargo in San Francisco about the attempt. Wells Fargo Manager Jefferson decides to give Button an award for saving the cargo and to send Jim Hardie to help by riding shotgun with Button as driver. Button recently transferred from the Wyoming branch of Wells Fargo so Jim is not familiar with him. On the way to Willow Creek Jim stops at the relay station outside San Francisco telling them to expect the stage the next day and to have horses ready. Jim tells Button about his plans which surprises Button. As they leave Willow Creek three other men ride out. When they stop for water, the three unmasked men hold them up. Jim with Button helping is able to jump, draw and shoot all three men. That evening while camped Jim learns Button has no vices but has an interest in Jim's revolver. After their stop at the relay station, Jim and Button prepare to arrive in San Francisco or do they.
Episode 2
The Hasty Gun
Mon, Mar 25, 195730 mins
When long-time Antioch Marshal Tom Ogburn kills the son of a prominent citizen after a Wells Fargo robbery, one of the town's shady businessmen, Webb McCloy, convinces the city counsel to replace the veteran lawman with the local casino's bouncer, Nick Breese. Jim Hardie, Special Investigator, is sent by the Fort Worth office to investigate the robbery and try to recover the stolen money. He knows the history of Ogburn as well as many of the other people involved. He suspects that the young man who was known to be honest and hard working was actually part of the hold-up gang and the star packer was tricked into killing him.
Episode 3
Alder Gulch
Mon, Apr 8, 195730 mins
Jim Hardie is called to the San Francisco office where manager John Carter assigns Jim the job of going to Alder Gulch, Montana where outlaws have taken over. They rob every coach and freighter that has gold or money on it. Jim's job is to create law and order where there is none. He takes the stage into Alder Gulch which happens to be held up due to a man carrying a large amount of money. Normally only outgoing coaches are held up. Jim notices that one of the passengers who gives up the other man's money is wearing a gun belt like one of the robbers. In Alder Gulch the sheriff says he is helpless with only two deputies. Entering a saloon Jim notices two of the holdup men and offers to buy them a beer with money he hid saying they look like they have had a hard ride. They of course deny being out of the bar. Jim makes contact with the local Wells Fargo agent Parker. He then buys a gun belt matching the one wore by the outlaws and infiltrates the gang to determine the leadership.
Episode 4
The Bounty
Mon, Apr 15, 195730 mins
A miner, Lon Ellwood, claims to have killed an outlaw, Clete Miller, who was wanted dead or alive by Wells Fargo, who jumped his mining claim. When he demands the $5,000 reward Wells Fargo offered, Jim Hardie is ordered to Moose Creek, Canada from Denver by George Curtis to identify the body, as he is the only man alive who knew what Miller looked like. Hardie becomes suspicious when he learns the corpse's face had been blown off by a shotgun blast. The only other identifying mark is a missing finger shot off by Hardie. Secondly, a young woman claims the dead body is that of her missing brother who was to meet her. They were going to open a business. While Hardie tries to learn more, the criminals plot to kill the only man who can identify Miller.
Episode 5
A Time to Kill
Mon, Apr 22, 195730 mins
Sam Craig has died and thought by many in his hometown of Calico that he held up a Wells Fargo stage alone getting $10,000. He was known to have told his sister he made a big deal before he died and deposited $10,000 in the Calico bank. He died leaving a young son Jason and sister Ellen who both believe Sam was innocent. After Sam's funeral Jason finds a Wells Fargo strong box in the attic while picking up his dad's things. Ellen goes to the main Wells Fargo office in San Francisco where she tells Jim Hardie about the find but that Sam had been very sick before his death and he had told her he had made a big deal in Virginia City. Hardie agrees to pick up the box and investigate but that any new findings must be based on hard evidence and so far it looks bad for Sam. When Jason learns of Hardie's arrival, he hides the box and refuses to return it until he fills it with the $10,000. Hardie stays at a hotel owned by Frank Finley who is the only friend of Jason and Ellen in Calico. Hardie finds the evidence still points to Sam Craig until Jake Porter's arrival stirs a memory in his mind and Ellen makes a discovery storing Sam's clothes.
Episode 6
Shotgun Messenger
Tue, May 7, 195730 mins
With a new gold strike near Pleasant Valley, Carter, the San Francisco Wells Fargo manager, calls Sam Flagg, a driver, into his office with Jim Hardie to announce that he is the depot manager in Pleasant Valley, a promotion for Flagg. Hardie will be going with him to help and primarily to hire a new shotgun guard for the route.Flagg, initially resentful that Hardie is going, soon relents. Sam and Jim get the new office setup but still need a shotgun. A man by the name Ed Brink applies but Hardie turns the experienced man down due to his history. A young man, Tad Cameron, who admits to being only 18 applies after hearing Brink turned down. Flagg blows him off but Hardie likes the idea of a green hire. After a shooting test in the back with a tin can, Hardie hires Tad. After Tad leaves, Jim and Sam realize he might be the son of Chuck Cameron who was crippled on the job at Wells Fargo and accused of conspiring with outlaws. With no driver yet, Hardie drives with Tad as shotgun. They are attacked and Tad shows brave skill and is slightly wounded. However, the same men who approached his dad, approach him.
Episode 7
The Lynching
Mon, May 13, 195730 mins
Jim Hardie is on a stage with a Basque, Pablo, and his brother, Manuel. Pablo who speaks English has brought his brother to the U.S. to take a job as a shepherd but Manuel speaks no English. It is clear to Jim that Manuel is exited about being in the U.S. and felt it is his chance for a great life. However, upon learning that Pablo is dropping Manuel in Sentinel to take a job alone, he mentions to Pablo that Manuel needs to be taught some English. Pablo and Hardie are going to Daly City. Hardie will be returning from Daly City with a gold shipment via Sentinel so he promises Pablo he will check on Manuel on the return trip. Manuel is given a job in the mountains with a sheep herd and only a collie for a partner. The collie spots a young, sick girl who wanders into camp. Manuel picks her up, gives her some food, and puts her in the wagon to sleep. He heads for his horses when three men ride up. Led by acting Sheriff Bill Egan they spot the girl in the wagon who has been missing. They assume Manuel kidnapped her and one of the men, Ralph, wants to lynch him there but Egan stops them. In town Ralph is pushing the town for quick justice when Hardie comes into to town with the gold shipment. When he learns what is happening, he steps in but needs help.
Episode 8
Renegade Raiders
Mon, May 20, 195730 mins
Jim Hardie is sent to investigate why Wells Fargo stations are being wiped out by Indian attacks. He can understand them stealing horses, guns, and other supplies but he is finding they are stripping stations including the cash for which Indians have no use. At one burned out station he finds manager Aaron Rose who had run out of ammo alive hiding in a cellar. They agree things seem strange with the Indians. Jim decides to leave the experienced Aaron to keep an eye on the local Cheyenne while he heads to St. Joseph, Missouri. They agree gunrunners are selling guns to the renegade Indians who use their new weapons to attack Wells Fargo stagecoaches, wagon trains and relay stations. Because all wagons are thoroughly searched in St. Joseph, Missouri, Hardie suspects that the arms are placed in the wagon on the trail and goes undercover to expose the culprits. He must undergo the arduous training session led by Jack Powers at St. Joseph.
Episode 9
Rio Grande
Mon, Jun 3, 195730 mins
Jim Hardie has been sent to the Matamoras, Mexico Wells Fargo Office from Laredo to pick up a shipment. In the early 1870s there was a revolution in the area which made living there and travel dangerous. Ship Captain John Plumber enters the office looking for Jim Hardie. He has arrived with the cargo sent to Hardie by Wells Fargo - $500,000 in paper money for Laredo, Texas. At least not being in gold he can carry it as his only transportation is by canoe and mule. The cash can be redeemed for gold so it is valuable even to the bandits in the area. Besides the money, the Captain has brought his daughter, Lillian Barkley, a newlywed who wants to meet her husband in Texas. She has a note from Wells Fargo authorizing Jim to take her. He tries to dissuade her but she refuses to not go. This is followed by another man, William Dodd, a surveyor for a new railroad to Laredo who also has a note from Wells Fargo telling Hardie to take him on. The arrangements Hardie made for transportation break down immediately when no help shows up. Then they find a man in chains with a woman left by bandits at a stop. They eventually must travel on foot while fending off the bandits.
Episode 10
Sam Bass
Mon, Jun 10, 195730 mins
Sam Bass has made some small stagecoach robberies around Deadwood and then hits it big with a $60,000 Union Pacific train robbery. He and his gang move to Texas where they hide out in a remote area only known well to them. They strike from there but return to hide from the Texas Rangers who have been unsuccessful in capturing them. Jim Hardie is sent by Wells Fargo to Texas to see what he can do. He contacts the Texas Ranger office at Denton where he meets Capt. McNelly. The Captain explains how Bass always returns to an area they call the brush and makes fun of the rangers. Hardie tells them his plan which starts with him attempting a robbery at Round Rock where he is chased by the Rangers into the area where Bass is at. After eluding the Rangers, he is found by Bass' men. Their hideout is in a camouflaged cave. The carefree Bass likes Hardie who tells Bass he is Jim Harmon, an outlaw from Mexico. Bass takes in Harmon who replaces the young Jackson who Bass wants to go straight before it is too late. Hardie then must let the Rangers know about Bass' next job.
Episode 11
The Hijackers
Mon, Jun 17, 195730 mins
Jim Hardie likes to take his vacations in new places and has gone to the Dakota Territory. He is in Hill View on one side of the Rocking Horse Hills badlands escorting lady friend Caroline on a buggy ride when during their return Wells Fargo agent Frank Jeffers asks to see Jim. The stage from Prairie City which crosses the badlands is missing but was carrying no money. They agree Jim should backtrack the route to see if it broke down. Although he is shot at by three men in the badlands, he finds no trace of the stage. At Prairie City he learns it left with Billy Thompson, son of a wealthy rancher, and his fiancee Jeannie Wilcox. He decides to retrace the route following the stage wagon wheel tracks. He is roped by Chris, one of the three men he saw on the first trip. He breaks away and follows the man's horse to a ghost town where he finds the stage and trouble he is in.
Episode 12
Stage to Nowhere
Mon, Jun 24, 195730 mins
Outlaw Dan Lingle captured in Painted Rock is being transported for trial by Jim Hardie on a Wells Fargo stage coach. Besides the two of them there is a reporter and a woman and her son on the stage. When the reporter tries to talk to the other passengers, no one responds so he tries striking up a conversation with the boy. The reporter says he was in Painted Rock because he had heard there would be a story about Dan Lingle but he never showed. After making some disparaging remarks about what he would do if he met Lingle, Hardie removes the coat covering the handcuffs on him and Lingle. When the reporter learns who the prisoner is, he wants off the stage as he is afraid with good reason that Lingle's gang will attack the stage to rescue Lingle. Hardie refuses as they are too far away to walk anywhere but he agrees about the attack potential. When they are attacked, his plan surprises everyone and the woman tells the boy the truth about Lingle - his dad.
Episode 13
Jesse James
Mon, Jul 1, 195730 mins
In the sprint of 1882, the Kansas City Special was held up near Knob Point, Missouri. Jim Hardie's friend, Pat McNeal, a messenger on the train was killed trying to save the money. Hardie is sent to find the Jesse James gang and the money but he knows Jim Hardie would be killed so he arrives in Independence, Missouri posing as a cameraman under the alias Jim Henderson. Forced to buy a horse and buggy when he says he is looking for the Jesse James farm, he makes his way there. As he nears the farm, he is stopped and told to turn around by Tom Rankins, a member of the gang. Jim gets by Rankin and makes it to the farm where he is met by Ma Samuel, Jesse's mother. He tells her he is a photographer and wants to write a book about the real Jesse James. Jesse likes Jim but the other four gang members don't. He soon finds what he is seeking but it isn't Jesse.
Episode 14
The Silver Bullets
Mon, Jul 8, 195730 mins
In mining town Rainbow's End at the local casino run by Gurney Cassell and Martin Yates, Roy Fulton is playing roulette but never wins nor is anyone else. He believes the wheel is rigged but when he tries to look the guard Bart Kellam knocks him down. Fiulton and Kellam shoot each other with both dying. Yates later tells Cassell he searched Fulton and found his key to the safe in the Well Fargo office. They steal the $15,000 in the safe but Wells Fargo isn't satisfied with what they are told so the company orders an investigation. Jim Hardie isn't convinced Fulton died of natural causes and believes the money was stolen by whoever was responsible for his death. He gets the dead Bart Kellam's job as guard in the local gambling hall to learn more about the man or men who could have been responsible for the crimes. When miner Joe Kennelly is killed after Hardie helped him, things come to a head when Kennelly's daughter Lydia arrives on the stage with a package for the casino owners.