Dale Robertson starred as Agent James "Jim" Whitcomb Hardie, a rugged troubleshooter for Wells Fargo, a gold transport company based in the 1860s town of Gloribee near San Francisco.

Well Fargo used the Overland Stage Lines and the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to transport its gold through the Old West and other parts of the country. 

Besides his responsibilities with Well Fargo, Jim was a cattle rancher. He owned the Haymaker Farm, located near Salt City.

Jim Hardie's friends and acquaintances included:

• Jack Ging as Beau McCloud, Jim's assistant
• William Demarest as Jebediah "Jeb" Gaines, Jim's foreman on the Haymaker Farm. He owned a horse named Snowball. Jeb hated trespassers, especially Mary Gee, the neighbor's daughter who liked to ride her horse across his property.
• Virginia Christine as Widow Ovie, a neighbor
• Mary Jane Saunders as Mary Gee, the widow's younger daughter. She had a crush on Jim.
• Lory Patrick as Tina, the widow's older daughter.
• Steven Darrell as the town Sheriff

Working for Well Fargo, Jim encountered a broad spectrum of frontier folk, including Army deserters, homesteaders, rowdy cowpokes, Mexican bandits, hostile Indians, Gypsies, outlaws like Cole Younger, Tom Horn, Butch Cassidy and John Hardin, and even a vengeful man who offered a reward for Jim's death as punishment for a prior arrest.

Jim assignments took him to many place, including:

• Willow Creek - Accompanies a gold shipment.
• Aulder Gulch, Montana - Rids a town of outlaws.
• Moose Head, Canada - Identifies the body of an outlaw.
• California Gold Fields - Setups a new stage route.
• A Ghost town - Rescues two hostages from outlaws.
• Dry Creek, Colorado - Investigates a robbery, and the murder of a close friend.
• Walking Mountain - Investigates reports of a gold strike.
• Town of Madden -  Finds saboteurs of Wells Fargo wagons.
• Wyoming - Recruits recently pardoned outlaw Butch Cassidy to track down members of his Hole in the Wall Gang.
• Arizona  - Investigates a 50,000 dollar robbery.
• New Mexico - Transports an outlaw to Santa Fe for trial.
• Tubac, Arizona - Riding shotgun on a stage.
• Indian Territory - Negotiates with an Chief Pochalo for permission to run Stagecoach lines through his lands.
• New Orleans - Jim's assistant, Beau McCloud thwart a robber's plan to steal a package being transported by stagecoach.

When required, Jim went undercover on a case:

• In Texas, Jim poses as an outlaw to search for Sam Bass.
• In San Francisco, Jim poses as a seaman retrieve a Jade figurine.
• Jim poses as a prisoner to find stolen money.
• Jim poses as outlaw Jesse James to find a man who killed a Wells Fargo agent.
• Jim goes undercover to find a gang of counterfeiters based in a gambling hall in El Paso, Texas.

Memorabilia

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TRIVIA NOTE:  The series pilot "A Tale of Wells Fargo" aired on SCHLITZ PLAYHOUSE OF STARS (12/14/1956). The program expanded from 30 to 60 minutes in 1961. These episodes were filmed in color. 

Obituaries: Steven Darrell: 08/14/1970; William Demarest: 12/28/1983; Virginia Christine: 07/24/1996;

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External Links

• Tales of Wells Fargo (IMDb)

 

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