Matt Hays

Matthew Hays is a minor character featured in the Rawhide series. Originally from Mississippi, Hays was arrested for producing alcohol illegally on Native American land. He was portrayed by Maurice Manson.

Biography
Hays was likely born sometime around 1820 in the Mississippi region of the United States of America. During his adulthood, he began producing and selling alcohol on Native American land until he was arrested sometime around 1865.

Appearances
Hays appears during the episode Incident of the Tumbleweed Wagon, during which he is one of seven prisoners in a tumbleweed wagon being escorted to trial by Marshal Wilt Jackson and his deputy, Art Gray. The group sets up camp next to a watering hole alongside cattle drovers led by Gil Favor. However, two of the prisoners, Lennie Dawson and Jed Ryan, ambush the lawmen and attempt to escape; while Ryan succeeds, Dawson and Dallas Storm are recaptured by nearby cattle drovers led by Gil Favor. The wounded Jackson convinces Favor to escort him and the remaining prisoners to Fort Craig. Favor chooses ramrod Rowdy Yates to assist him in the quest.

Later, after notorious outlaw Luke Storm and his gang catch up to the wagon, Hays survives the ensuing gunfight and is presumably brought to trial in Fort Craig. His subsequent status is unknown.