Ep 3. Rain from Heaven

In Bonanza season 5 episode 3, entitled Rain from Heaven, the Cartwright family faces a severe drought. The episode opens up with Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe struggling to plan their next moves as their cattle are dying, and their fields are parched. The family has been enduring a prolonged drought, and they are desperate for rain. Their only hope is a rainmaker who promises to bring rain to the parched land.

A neighboring farmer named Gib Dawson approaches the Cartwrights and tries to convince them to hire the rainmaker, Walter Prescott. Ben is skeptical of the rainmaker's abilities and is hesitant to pay a large sum of money for his services. Gib, who is desperate for rain, offers to split the cost of hiring the rainmaker with the Cartwrights. The Cartwrights eventually agree to hire the rainmaker, and they hope that he can bring much-needed rain to their land.

As the rainmaker arrives at the Ponderosa, the Cartwrights notice that he is not what they expected. Walter Prescott is an old man and seems frail and weak. The Cartwrights and Gib Dawson are skeptical of his ability as a rainmaker, but they still hope that he will be able to deliver the rain they need. Walter Prescott sets out to perform his rainmaking ritual. His ritual involves tying a rattlesnake to a pole and swinging it back and forth while chanting a prayer to the gods, hoping that they will send rain.

The Cartwrights and Gib Dawson watch anxiously as the rainmaker goes through his rituals. As they wait for the rain, tensions rise in the community. Some townspeople begin to doubt Walter Prescott and start to blame the Cartwrights for bringing him to the area. One of the townspeople, Ed Payson, is angry that they hired Walter Prescott and believed that he's a fraud. Ed sees the Cartwrights as being responsible for the drought, and he is determined to see them suffer.

Days pass, and there is still no sign of rain. The Cartwrights' cattle are dying, and their fields are becoming increasingly dry. Meanwhile, Walter Prescott keeps performing his rainmaking rituals, believing that eventually, the rains will come. The Cartwrights struggle to keep the faith, and they begin to doubt Walter Prescott's abilities. The tension in the community continues to rise, and it becomes clear that something has to be done to resolve the growing conflict.

As the drought continues, the Cartwrights' hope for rain starts to fade. It seemed like Walter Prescott’s rainmaking rituals were useless, and the money spent on him was just a waste. However, a surprise rainstorm suddenly settles in on the Ponderosa, and the Cartwrights finally receive the rainfall they have been praying for. The rain comes just in time to save their crops and revive their cattle from the drought.

As the storm intensifies, the Cartwrights realize that Walter Prescott's rainmaking ceremony was not the reason why it rained. Rather, a simple quirk in the atmosphere had occurred, and the drought had been broken. Though the rainmaker had done his best, it was unexpected rain that had truly saved their land. In the end, the Cartwrights learned that a little bit of faith, combined with a bit of science, led to the success of their land. Rain from Heaven is a wonderful episode that shows how, under difficult circumstances, people can keep their faith and overcome challenges that are beyond their control.