The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: The Prizefighter

Jim Bridger encounters a young Wyatt Earp working in a railroad gang and participating in bare-knuckle fights to earn money. When the impetuous Earp sets out to kill a man who cheats him in a fight, Bridger intervenes to stall Earp with one of his famous tall tales. As the story goes, Bridger is leading a trapping expedition when he discovers that his second-in-command, Bob Bullock, has crossed the line from maintaining camp discipline to outright brutality. One day, Bullock beats a man for stealing food, leading to a violent confrontation in which the thief is killed. Though he believes his actions are justified, Bullock is wracked with guilt when he learns that the thief had been stealing the food for a pregnant wife hiding outside the camp. Moved by the tale, Earp realizes that having the right to seek revenge doesn't mean it's always the right thing to do.