Our ranch is 4 miles south of North Fork. As we were arriving at our new 'Home Ranch,' two cowboys dropped by to pay us a visit.

They wanted to make sure that we knew we were not welcome here. The cowboys were employed by Oat Jackford, who is use to having things his own way, and doesn't intend to give up any land that his cows have been grazing on. The cowboys made it clear that they are a big outfit and didn't intend on getting any smaller. When I refused, they lassoed me - then dragged me with a rope.  Then they burned down our ranch. As the men rode out they took my rifle and left the message....."McCain's get out!"

With our new home burned to the ground, Mark was upset and discouraged.  "Pa.....it's just not fair!" "We ride half way across the country looking for the right place, and when we finally got it.....well look what happened!" "Looks to me like the Lord is 'dead set against us having our own place'!"  Mark was practically in tears.  I realized I must restore his faith in the Lord.  I told him a story from the Bible about Job's trouble with the devil and how the Lord had blessed him for not losing his faith in him in times of trouble.  "Help me saddle up boy.....I want to tell you a story. Come on....."  "Along time ago in a country so far west, it's almost due east of here.....lived a big stock man with a beard so long it reached down to his belly button." "His name.....was Job." "Now Job had seven sons and seven daughters.....over seven thousand head of fine cattle and sheep. Not to mention a considerable amount of camels." "Now Job was top dog with the Lord because he was so hard working, righteous. The Lord never lost a chance to brag on him.....made a point to tell the devil about the old man.....about how he hated evil, temptation and most important.....how he never lost his faith in God."  "Well the devil swished his tail and laughed and he allowed that Job was such a good man because everything was going his way. Just give him some trouble and he'd switch sides in a hurry."  "Well the Lord thought this over.....and then he said he'd give the devil a hard dollar against a penny's worth of brimstone that Job would keep faith with his maker no matter what trials were put upon him." "Well the devil sent some rustlers on to the old man's stock  Then he called up a big wind that knocked down his house and killed all his children. The old man's beard turned white with grief. But he held stead fast. So the devil reared back and saddled him all over with festers and boils. "Mark.....Job was a miserable as a man could be. He got himself a piece of broken jug.....sat out in the corral doctrine his boils and shaken ashes over his head and bewailing his faith.....wondering why the Lord has forsaken him until finally three of his friends came up, and they told Job that wailing about the situation only made it worse and it looked to them like he sinned somewhere along the line and why didn't he repent. Job jumped right back at them.....he said he'd repent when he had something to repent about. He knew he'd been good and righteous and while he might complain about his life, he had not lost faith with the Lord.  "Oh that my words were now written and printed in a book.....graven with chisel and granite rock forever.....for I know that my redeemer liveth.....and that he shall stand beside me later on.....that's how the old man put it!" "Well Mark.....the devil was plum wore out so he just tossed in his chips and quit the game. The Lord was so proud of Job that he restored all the old man's children and his house and his camels and sheep and he gave him over twice as many cattle as he had before. And Job lived a hundred and forty years happy as a birddog and finally died being old and full of days,"  Mark though about what I had just said.  "Makes our troubles look kind of piddlin' don't it?"  I nodded.  "But I guess if we were to come down with boils we'd know where to put the blame," said Mark.  I laughed.  "I don't think Jackford can go quite that far son."  "I guess we're gonna keep this ranch!" Said Mark.  I then told him....."Well I guess we're gonna try!"  Mark knew then that we could overcome any kind of obstacles as long as we keep our faith in the Lord and faced them together.

I rode out to track the men - sneaking into their camp and regaining my rifle.  I quietly approached Billy and Sam and tied them up.  I had them lie in their bedrolls so it would look like they were sleeping when the other men would ride in.  Pablo rode into camp, and he wanted one of the men to relieve him so he could get some rest.  He noticed Billy and Sam were tied up.  I approached him with my rifle and tied him up too.  Now all I had to do was wait for Jackford. 

Jackford and Clyde went looking for the herd.  Jackford was upset, because the heard was scattered around and no rider.  Clyde suggested maybe the herd got away from the others.  "If those boys went to sleep and left my cattle drift, I'll nail their hides to the wall," said Jackford.  Jackford and Clyde rode into their camp, where he found his men tied up.  "Well if this ain't somethin'," said Jackford.  "That's far enough. Evenin' Mr. Jackford," I said while holding my rifle on them.  Jackford went for his gun and I shot at him.  I told Jackford and Clyde to drop their guns and step away.  "Old man if you wasn't so slow you'd be wearin' a brokin' wrist."  He asked me what I wanted.  I told him who I was and that his two boys tried to push me off my place this morning.  "I came up to tell you it can't be done!"  He knew right away I was the one who bought the Dunlap Ranch.  "I bought it and I plan on keepin' it."  He asked me how much I wanted for the ranch.  "You can't by it for money, marbles or chalk Mr. Jackford!"   "Maybe I ought to rope and drag you for a while. A mouth full of foxtails might teach you some manners. It taught me!"  He told me I had my say and I was to get on my horse and ride out of there.  "We got another thing to settle.....your boys burnt down my house!"  That made him mad.  "They had no call to burn your house. I'll pay you for your loss. I've got plans for that ranch and I plan to keep 'em."  Jackford told me to get out.  "Not until you build what you burnt down!"   As I started to put the rifle down.  Jackford hit me.  I fell to the ground.  He said he was going to wrap my fancy rifle around a tree.  I grabbed his leg and knocked him to the ground.  We kept hitting each other again and again. We we're both tired.  He reached out his hand for me to help him up.  He had a rock in his hand and I hit him and knocked him to the ground again.  Clyde picked up the gun and held it on me.  "That's far enough mister!"  "Well tell him to shoot! If you've got guts enough! You better do it Jackford or I'll be waitin' out in the brush every time you step out the door! I'll kill your stock and I'll burn your barn! I'm gonna pay you back Mr. Jackford! Now what's it gonna be?"   "Alright.....we'll build you a new house," said Jackford.  Jackford walked over to me.  "Alright mister.....you've got yourself a ranch.  Whether you keep it is something else. You step out of line or you make one mistake.....your finished! I'll be watchin' and waitin'! Waiting for a reason to come after you with a gun and when I do, I won't be alone. Remember that Mr. McCain!"  I rode off.

Jackford kept his word.  The next day Jackford's men rode in with a wagon load of wood, ready to start our new home!

"The McCain's are here to stay!"
 

---

The Book of Job

 *Sam Peckinpah was the creator of "The Rifleman" and wrote 'The Sharpshooter' ~ 'Home Ranch'
 He wrote & directed 'The Marshal' ~ 'The Boarding House' ~ 'The Money Gun' ~ 'The Babysitter'

 *Checkout odds n' ends3 to see just who did Oat Jackford hit in the tummy!

piddlin' stuff.....Harold J. Stone played Oat Jackford in this episode of  'Home Ranch'.  He was the wealthy cattleman, who had been using the Dunlap Ranch for grazing his cattle, and demanded that Lucas move out.  In 'Trail of Hate' he played Ben Stark.  He was the older brother and brains of the gang who used Mark as a pawn in a bank robbery scheme.  'The Bullet' as the Marshal who tried to use ballistics to hold a gambler who had attempted murder.  The old west just wasn't ready for this kind of evidence.
 The initial "J" in Harold's name stood for Jacob.
 He is one of those faces you see over and over again from 'The Untouchables' to "The Rifleman".  "I tip my Cowgirl hat to you!"

 Oat Jackford is later played by Bert Freed in 'The Money Gun.'  A rancher suspects his bookkeeper, Asa Manning of embezzlement, and tries to contact a professional gunman to get rid of the problem.

Steve Rowland played Billy Lehigh in 'Home Ranch'.   He was one of Jackford's bullies.  He helped burn down the McCain's home.   He played Buddy Link in 'The Coward'.  He's the one who beat on Georgie Boy Collins in the saloon and Lucas at his ranch.  In both episodes, his initials were B. L.  He has appeared in several westerns and movies.  He also appeared in "Battle of the Bulge." 
 Today Steve is a record producer.  He lives in London England.

When I asked Steve about his experience working on the set of "The Rifleman," this was his reply....."My experience when shooting those two episodes was a great deal of fun. I had met Chuck Connors before at one of the many parties that I attended in Hollywood back there in the 50s. We hit it off straight away---probably because of our mutual interest in sports. I was into motor racing and he had been a star baseball player. When they started production on "The Rifleman" I was called by the casting director to read for a part on 'Home Ranch.' I got the part. They must have liked my performance because they cast me in 'The Coward' soon after. Chuck and I had a lot of laughs on the set during the shooting. I really can't remember much more. It was too long ago."

"I do remember, however, that I got the chance to meet one of my heroes, Sam Peckinpah."  Check our Steve's website — You'll be surprised what all this guy has achieved!

Lee Farr as Sam Montgomery.  He was the one who dragged Lucas with the rope.  He also was in another episode of "The Rifleman," 'A Friend in Need' as Carl Avery.  He's the one who held Mark for ransom.
He had appeared in—"Bonanza"—"Cain's Hundred"—"Emergency!"—"Have Gun, Will Travel"—"Lancer"—"Lawman"—"Mission: Impossible"—"M Squad"—"Perry Mason"—"Richard Diamond, Private Detective"—"SurfSide 6"—"The Invaders"—"The Millionaire"—"The Restless Gun"—"The Rockford Files"—"The Rookies"—"The Walter Winchell File"—"Trackdown"—"Wanted: Dead or Alive
He was a regular on the TV series "The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor" as  Det. Lt. James Conway. 

Rudolfo Hoyos Jr. appeared in two episodes of "The Rifleman".  He played Pablo in 'Home Ranch.'  He was one of Jackford's men, the Mexican.  He played Luis in 'The Prodigal'.  He was Billy St. John's sidekick. 
 He was a regular on the short lived TV series "Viva Valdez", he played Luis Valdez.  A familiar face.  I'm sure you've seen him in many shows. 

Don Kennedy played Clyde.  He was the Cowboy who rode into camp with Jackford.  He also appeared with Chuck in "Arrest & Trial." 
No wander this guy looked familiar, he has appeared in "The Messenger" ~ "To Hell and Back." It looks like he appeared in just about everyone of our TV western series!
 

What names did Jackford's men call Lucas?

The old Dunlap place was burned and replaced with
the house we came to know & love. If you remember, the rebuilt house was the
same house Lucas had back in Enid, Oklahoma. As Luke said to
Mark...."Same house, same barn and except for the cross that bears
your Mother's grave at the create of that hill, same hills".
'The Sharpshooter' episode #1 versus ''Home Ranch" episode #2

How old was Mark in Home Ranch?

'Home Ranch' episode #2 — who is this guy that Jackford is hitting in the tummy?  It's suppose to be Lucas McCain—"WhatsayU?" 

What three things did Lucas mention as examples when he told Jackford he could never buy the 'McCain Ranch?'  What other episode did we hear these three things mentioned?

Money, Marbles and Chalk
(written & first recorded by Pop Eckler) 1949

There's an old saying that's been all around
I heard before I could walk
How some's got wealth and some's got health
Others money, marbles and chalk

CHORUS
I've got money, marbles and chalk sweetheart
But I still feel like I am poor
For my money won't spend and my marbles won't roll
And my chalk it won't write anymore

While you were here I was happy and gay
Your presence made me for another one day
But you left me for another one day
Now I feel so alone in a crowd

* Refrain
Money, marbles and chalk is alright
For a miser who loves only gold
But give me a chance to save our romance
For I love you with all of my soul

* Refrain
I walk in the rain and I feel no pain,
I'm lost and I'm lonely and blue.
I can't sleep at night and nothing seems right
And I worry a lot about you.

* Refrain

The Rifleman Trivia Index

Trivia—Home Ranch

*If anybody has any information on any of the stars, and would like to share it, please get in touch with

End of a Young Gun