The Pilot
Episode Synopsis


    Up on a mountain in the frontier territory near Seattle, Washington, busy loggers are interrupted when the alarm bell is rung.
    Jason Bolt, the tall, good-looking logger who's been up a tree, comes down to be told by one of his workers, "Your brothers— there's some trouble with your brothers..."
    "Trouble? What trouble?"
    "I don't know. Some town guys. They're talking about stringing somebody up."
    Jason doesn't wait to hear any more; he races into the town—a few houses, muddy streets—and calls his brothers' names.
    "Joshua! Jeremy!"
    Jason's brothers run up to him and Jason's relief is apparent. They inform him that it is not they, but Big Swede who is in trouble. As the three Bolt brothers walk to the jailhouse, the rest of the loggers from the mountain follow.

    We can see that Aaron Stempel is an important person by his fancy business suit and confident air. He's locking up the tall blonde logger when Jason and crew arrive. Jason inquires about the charge and is told that Swede has attacked a woman.
    The woman is diminutive, meek Miss Essie, the local schoolmarm. Jason is able to persuade her that his logger was actually bashful and needed to drink to get up the courage for courting. The charges are dropped and Jason is relieved that he and his men can go back to work.
    But, things are not so simple. First Swede says that he is going to go elsewhere since there are not enough women in Seattle. Then the other loggers chime in complaining about how much the lack of women in town is getting to them, too.
    To Jason Bolt, this is a very simple problem-he will simply go get some "fancy" women and bring them back to Seattle. What appears at first to be a simple solution is complicated when the saloonkeeper, Lottie Hatfield, persuades him to look for the "marrying kind" of women back East where the war has created the opposite population imbalance that Seattle has.
    The townspeople are in support of going East for ladies, but their plan may not work unless the Bolt brothers can get enough money to pay for their trip. Aaron Stempel steps in, striking the deal that becomes the premise of the show: he will help with the financing and the Bolt brothers will bring back one hundred "marriageable" women who must stay in Seattle for at least one year or until they marry. If they fail, then Aaron will win the only thing that the Bolt brothers own: their mountain.

    The Bolt brothers head east, winding up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. They pass out handbills and hold a meeting where Jason describes the virtues of Washington Territory. The women, however, are more interested in the virtues of the men. It does not take much convincing; soon one hundred ladies have signed up.
    The "brides" are dismayed to find that the transportation to their new home is a mule ship and that their quarters are mule stalls. A brief attempt at mutiny, led by the feisty Miss Candy Pruitt holding a gun, is thwarted by Jason who asks them if they got scared.
    "We didn't get scared, we got swindled!" Candy replies.
     Jason tells the women that he has done the best he could and sits down to eat with his brothers and Captain Clancey.
    The women are unconvinced and it is the youngest brother, Jeremy, who suggests to Joshua that he say grace. Joshua passes the suggestion to Jason, and after indicating he's not sure how, starts off with a very loud "prayer" that appeals to the women's pride and dreams:

"Dear Lord...we thank thee, Lord for all thy blessings
Don't exactly know why you served this stinkin' mess, Lord,
But if you say we got to eat this slop,
We'll eat it and us men, we won't complain.
And as to the women,
They're sailing halfway around the world.
For what reason? To be married; to be wives.
That means making a home where-ever they are....
And the first nag who lets out a squawk—
Well, Lord, you see to it that she don't find no husband..."


    Most of the women are mollified by Jason's "prayer", but it takes Jeremy going over to Candy and removing the gun from her hands to gain Candy's support.
    Candy Pruitt organizes the brides into making the mule ship a home and the voyage becomes much more pleasant. Meal preparation is now taken over by the women, curtains placed over portholes, etc. and things settle into a routine.

    Joshua clearly enjoys the voyage with the women. He plays a game called "Kiss or Guess" with several of the brides. Jeremy, on the other hand, is much shyer. He declines an invitation to dance with one of the brides and is teased about his speech impediment by one of the crew.
    Joshua drops what he is doing and runs to defend his brother. Jason, who has been piloting the ship, comes out and calls both of his brothers in. Jeremy expresses anger at Joshua's behavior with the women and Joshua is annoyed that Jeremy doesn't realize that he could be having the time of his life. Jason resolves it by sending Jeremy out to talk to someone, "a girl, if possible."
    Jeremy chooses to talk to Candy Pruitt. He is shy and nervous, but finally manages a casual pose and a "hey". Candy ignores this, saying "hey" doesn't require an answer and he ends up confessing to her that he stutters.
    "I bite my nails," she responds.
    "You bite to much, you'll bleed to death."
    "You stutter too much, you'll choke."
    The ship rocks suddenly and Jeremy prevents Candy from falling. Their brief contact startles them and they quickly start hanging the laundry, but it is obvious that there is an attraction between them.

    After the long journey from New Bedford, Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington Territory, the ship finally arrives. The loggers and townspeople are delighted at their arrival and a big party is thrown.
   Aaron questions Jason as to which women remained marriageable during the trip, nearly causing a fight. Lottie interrupts, and an uneasy peace is brought between the two men. She voices to Jason her opinon about his accomplishment at bringing one hundred women to Seattle, "I don't know how you did it, but it's done!"

    To see what transpired during the time that the Bolts were away, read Just Business