Daniel and Mingo intercede to rescue an unknown tribesman, Zapotec (Henry Silva) from a Shawnee war party. Being of Aztec descent, Zapotec is trying to find ancient Sun God totem left in Kentucky by Aztec ancestors before they moved south - but it is likely in a Shawnee-guarded and forbidden valley.
Season 2 returns to outdoor action-adventure, albeit with an unusual storyline. Silva enjoyed a very long run as mainly heavies and villains in TV and film before sadly passing in 2022; he was at the top of his form in the 1960's. He is twinned here with the period-ubiquitous Simon Oakland as a Shawnee leader, and he will be back for a couple more turns in the series.
Another episode filmed in part at the Kanab set in southern Utah, and while the summer photography is among the series' best (and ideal for a midwinter view!), the clearly Southwestern locale of the fort set is clearly incongruous with the thickly-forested Appalachian frontier. And, it takes an overly-long time to set up the treasure trek, which might have been better used to develop Silva's character. The screen Daniel is at least period correct when he notes helping Zapotec's quest and de-sanctifying the valley "will open up a lot of territory" - but also allow the Shawnee to access more game. Well, do well by doing good.
The belief that the relatively advanced Aztecs had significant connection with the subsistence-level tribes north of the Rio Grande was apparently seen favorably by 1960's screenwriters, making its way tangentially into a couple more DB episodes, a "Wagon Train" hour, and a Yul Brinner feature film. Silva appears in pristine Montezuma-era armor and references specific points of geographic interest to the Aztecs. Of course, the Paleo-Indian peopling of the Americas commenced for all at the Bering Land Bridge and spread south to Tierra del Fuego as various groups stopped and developed permanently along the way. But if any archaeological evidence exists that the Aztecs held ancestral affinity or traded substantially with the tribes to the north, it has been very well concealed.
Of note, the Shawnee get a more nuanced portrayal this week than the series usually allots. Some better reference and use might have been made of the actual Mound Builders, the pre-Columbian tribes of the Midwest and South who built the prominent earthworks still preserved today in Ohio and other locales.
Although the material is a bit exotic, the Southwestern photography and a fair component of action make this a fairly decent Season 2 outing.
Season 2 returns to outdoor action-adventure, albeit with an unusual storyline. Silva enjoyed a very long run as mainly heavies and villains in TV and film before sadly passing in 2022; he was at the top of his form in the 1960's. He is twinned here with the period-ubiquitous Simon Oakland as a Shawnee leader, and he will be back for a couple more turns in the series.
Another episode filmed in part at the Kanab set in southern Utah, and while the summer photography is among the series' best (and ideal for a midwinter view!), the clearly Southwestern locale of the fort set is clearly incongruous with the thickly-forested Appalachian frontier. And, it takes an overly-long time to set up the treasure trek, which might have been better used to develop Silva's character. The screen Daniel is at least period correct when he notes helping Zapotec's quest and de-sanctifying the valley "will open up a lot of territory" - but also allow the Shawnee to access more game. Well, do well by doing good.
The belief that the relatively advanced Aztecs had significant connection with the subsistence-level tribes north of the Rio Grande was apparently seen favorably by 1960's screenwriters, making its way tangentially into a couple more DB episodes, a "Wagon Train" hour, and a Yul Brinner feature film. Silva appears in pristine Montezuma-era armor and references specific points of geographic interest to the Aztecs. Of course, the Paleo-Indian peopling of the Americas commenced for all at the Bering Land Bridge and spread south to Tierra del Fuego as various groups stopped and developed permanently along the way. But if any archaeological evidence exists that the Aztecs held ancestral affinity or traded substantially with the tribes to the north, it has been very well concealed.
Of note, the Shawnee get a more nuanced portrayal this week than the series usually allots. Some better reference and use might have been made of the actual Mound Builders, the pre-Columbian tribes of the Midwest and South who built the prominent earthworks still preserved today in Ohio and other locales.
Although the material is a bit exotic, the Southwestern photography and a fair component of action make this a fairly decent Season 2 outing.
