Season 1-14 (1959-1973)

Episode 1-4:

• "A Time to Remember" – The Cartwrights come to the aid of Leta Malvet when she is ostracized by the community after her father and brother are hanged by a lynch mob for killing two men while trying to rob the stagecoach.
• "The Way Station" – Ben tries to uncover the reason gold and silver exporter, Frederick Kyle, has befriended Little Joe before the shadowy businessman's hidden Civil War agenda tears Virginia City apart.
• "Homecoming" – Hoss and Little Joe are mistaken for bloodthirsty hired killers in a small Texas town dominated by two feuding families.
• "Grassroots" – The Cartwrights come to the aid of a Chinese-American stable hand accused of murder. Opposing them is a manipulative mayoral candidate who wants all "foreigners" to leave Virginia City.

Season 1-14 (1959-1973)

Episode 5-10:

• "The Gunfighters" – The Cartwrights try to disprove the validity of a Spanish land grant to stop the De La Cuesta family from seizing part of the Ponderosa and all of the Carson Valley settlers' homestead lands.
• "Jeb Drummond is a Murderous Sheep Herder that has Adam Taken Hostage to Try and Force Ben to Sign Over a Large Section of Ponderosa Land to Him" – As is often the case on Bonanza, things are not always as they first seem. Hoss and Adam eventually learn who is the good guy and who is not.
• "Inspector Leduque Comes from New Orleans to Virginia City to Take Ben Cartwright Back for a 20-Year-Old Murder" – When Ben declares publicly that he is withdrawing from the Governor's race, the townsfolk are upset not just about this but Little Joe has also been accused of gunning down Leduque's deputy in cold blood.
• "Three Deserters Escaped from an Army Stockade to the Ponderosa. When a Captain Comes Looking for Them" – Ben realizes what they've had to deal with and promises to let his good friend in charge of that fort know the real truth.
• "Ben and Adam are Locked in Jail, About to Hung for a Crime They Didn't Commit" – Joe and Hoss must find out why the witnesses to the alleged crime have perjured themselves before the execution takes place. They receive help from an unexpected source, a drifter called Lassiter who is searching for the men who committed a lynching in Kansas years ago.

Season 1-14 (1959-1973)

Episode 11-15:

• "English Couple Comes to Ponderosa on Vacation, but the Wife Slowly Makes it Clear that She is Disappointed That Her Husband, a Great Hunter and 'Action Man' is Becoming More Peaceful" – Though things may change for her after they are kidnapped for ransom along with Adam Cartwright.
• "Two of Ben's Hired Hands Get Shanghaied and So Does Ben in the Process of Looking for Them" – While in San Francisco, two of Ben's hired hands get shanghaied and so does Ben in the process of looking for them.
• "Neighbor Rancher Andy is Good Friends with Ben, but His Son (Todd) Wants to Sell Their Land for Mining Operations Which Will Spoil the Water Rights Agreement that Andy and Ben Made Years Ago" – A neighboring rancher, Andy, is good friends with Ben, but his son wants to sell their land for mining operations which will spoil the water rights agreement that Andy and Ben made years ago.
• "Woman Dies. Her Husband is in Prison, and the Sheriff Needs Someone to Look After the Boy Until the Boy's Uncle Can Come to Claim Him" – The Cartwrights begin to take care of the boy at the Ponderosa. When the boy arrives at the ranch, he does not know that his father is in prison. The boy learns the truth about his dad, and news reaches the Ponderosa that the convict has escaped from prison. The Cartwrights deal with the possibility that the boy's father may be coming their way.
• "Wolf Hunting" – Little Joe finds a gypsy woman who has been rejected from her people because she is believed to be a witch.

Season 1-14 (1959-1973)

Episode 16-20:

• "Powerful Gang Plagues Virginia City with a Murderous Protection Racket, the Cartwrights are Determined to Stop It Even as It Threatens Them" – A powerful gang plagues Virginia City with a murderous protection racket, the Cartwrights are determined to stop it even as it threatens them.

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References:

• Bonanza episode guide (1959-1973) – IMDb
• Bonanza Wiki – Fandom

Note: The above article is a summary of the first 20 episodes of Bonanza, which aired from 1959 to 1973.