Greed is the theme of this adventure, which takes place at Thistle Creek in the Yukon in a nice summer day in 1998. Someone has been sabotaging the Hog Back Mining Company. Before the show is half over, we find out who it is and why. Basically, it's a plot similar to many I've seen in old TV westerns and adventures: a man discovering a lode of valuable ore (gold, silver or whatever) and trying to get it all for himself, or themselves..
The latest "accident" costs an Indian man his life. Sergeant Preston vows to get to the bottom of this. After first investigating the death of the man, he finds out it was no accident and then quickly deduces the series of bad luck that affected the mining company is anything but luck.
One of the villains, "Conway," is shown early on as a bully and a racist. This show, along with The Lone Ranger, and many others in the 1950s, had similar themes which made the Indians, now referred to as "Native Americans," often victims of prejudice. Of course, white men played these TV roles, but at least Hollywood's heart was in the right place.
(Note: Steven Ritch, who played "Swamp Fox" in this episode, was a Caucasian, but did marry a Native American woman.)
The latest "accident" costs an Indian man his life. Sergeant Preston vows to get to the bottom of this. After first investigating the death of the man, he finds out it was no accident and then quickly deduces the series of bad luck that affected the mining company is anything but luck.
One of the villains, "Conway," is shown early on as a bully and a racist. This show, along with The Lone Ranger, and many others in the 1950s, had similar themes which made the Indians, now referred to as "Native Americans," often victims of prejudice. Of course, white men played these TV roles, but at least Hollywood's heart was in the right place.
(Note: Steven Ritch, who played "Swamp Fox" in this episode, was a Caucasian, but did marry a Native American woman.)
