Originally Aired: March 8, 1959

Gunsmoke #361, "Maw Hawkins," presents a peculiar predicament for Chester Proudfoot when he boards the Hayes City stage back to Dodge. The journey turns dangerous when a nervous young outlaw named Raz Hawkins attempts to rob the coach, forcing Chester and the other passengers to surrender their valuables along with twenty thousand dollars in bank money. The reluctant holdup man takes Chester hostage to help carry the heavy loot, leading him to a ramshackle cabin that serves as the Hawkins home.

There Chester discovers the truth behind this unlikely robbery: Maw Hawkins, the family matriarch, has been pushing her sixteen-year-old son into a life of crime. With her husband and older sons all serving prison sentences, Maw sees the stagecoach holdup as young Raz's necessary initiation into the family business. Chester finds himself caught between a domineering criminal mother determined to corrupt her son and a boy who clearly lacks the heart for outlawry, creating an unusual hostage situation where the real danger may not be who it appears to be.