An Indian chief of the Arapahoe escapes the reservation where he has been living and takes along some of his warriors. The cavalry is sent out for them.
Dolly Mainard, en route to her father, a major at Fort Blaine, is escorted through dangerous Sioux territory by a cavalry detachment and Army scout Jim Cardigan. When Captain Blackwell offends some braves of Chief Gray Wolf's tribe, Jim is sent ahead to the Indian camp to ask for peace. Imprisoned by the Indians, he sends a message to Blackwell not to advance; Donlin, a renegade scout, tears the note in such a way that the message is distorted, and the entire force is killed. When Jim escapes, he is accused of treason by Blackwell, court-martialed, and sentenced to death; however, he escapes and rescues Dolly, her father, and Blackwell from Donlin's band of renegades. Jim discovers the missing portion of the note in Donlin's hat, proving his innocence. Dolly remains to become his wife.
A damsel-in-distress Western melodrama and a stirring picture of railroad construction and the mining country, with a Snidely Whiplash villain performing dastardly deeds, a spunky and gritty Polly Pureheart heroine and a brave Handsome Harry hero...and filled with action, romance, adventure, bravery...and perils.
Mollie Owens, engaged to sheriff’s deputy Dick Calvert, is taken captive by outlaw Monk Turgis and imprisoned in the "death cabin” so called because everyone shunned it after of two mysterious murders were committed there. Turgis and his friend try to scare money out of Mollie's mother, but Dick sets out on their trail. He sees one of them enter the cabin and immediately investigates.
Jim Blake, the playboy son of a New York millionaire, heads west to prove himself a man. He goes to work on his father's ranch in Wyoming, and eventually wins over the locals by turning the tables on a town bully and trying to collect damages from a railroad magnate, whose trains have killed many of the Blake ranch's cattle. When the railroad refuses to pay, Jim comes up with a plan that will make them pay far more than they originally had to. Problems arise when he falls in love with Alice, the railroad magnate's daughter.
The sheriff loses his office and a new sheriff comes in. Now the ex-sheriff is going bad, drinking, etc., with no ambition. The tough guys take advantage of his loss of ambition and indignities pile up on him and he makes no protest. He meets the new sheriff's little boy and they become fast friends.
Jerry Kane, a man down on his luck who inherits money but selflessly gives most of it to Maizie Wallace and her sick father. The money is then stolen by two crooks, Pinny Falk and Big Dan Jaffry, leading to a series of events involving a pursuit, mistaken identity, a fight, and a rescue by a posse. Ultimately, the crooks are captured, the money is recovered, and Jerry and Maizie agree to share their future together.
Discouraged by the loss of his job and unable to find another young shipping clerk Clark heads west, promising his mother that he will send for her when he finds a decent job. Instead, he falls into bad company. Finding it hard to make money he first works in prospecting without success until finally securing a job in a mine.
Mining foreman Jimson is fired by Pedro and Madro when they falsely accuse him of trying to steal ore. When they attack him, he is forced to strike back, and they swear revenge. Their enmity intensifies when Jimson rescues Nina, a Mexican girl, from Pedro's unwanted attentions.
Deputy Sheriff Martin of Arizona is in love with Lola a waitress at the Gold Dollar restaurant. However, complications arise when Martin encounters James Kinney, a wanted murderer working under an assumed name in the local mine. Deputy Martin discovers that Kinney is also interested in Lola, fueling a rivalry between the two men. During a mine accident, Kinney is placed in a dangerous situation and Martin must decide whether to act on his personal feelings or uphold his duty as a lawman.
Jeremy Dexter, Sheriff of Sherman County, warns Lanky Mason to leave town after being involved in a shootout the night before killing a Mexican. The sheriff tells Lanky that although he remembers that Lanky had saved his little daughter's life by swimming across a stream during a flood and that Lanky's heroic work during a time when the smelter caught fire had saved the town from destruction, it was imperative for the good of the town that Lanky leave.
Miner Jim Mann is indifferent to the new baby and sees him as nothing more than an additional burden. His wife Lucy looks after the baby and is unable to help much with the work, and Jim's dinner is often late. He grows to dislike the child and refuses to hold or pet him. Dawson, another miner, and his wife and their small baby occupy the cabin on the adjacent claim.
Miner Holton lives and works with his daughter Leota near Stormy Creek. Leota loves Dick Raleigh, though her father objects. When prospector Tom Andrews is injured near their home Leota and Dad nurse him back to health and give him work in their little mine. In repayment he intends to steal from them taking advantage when Holton is hurt while Leota is away but Dick thwarts him and he and Leota are united with her father’s blessing.
Miner John Walsh leaves his wife and baby behind on his barren claim taking their small store of gold to the settlement and gambling it away. He becomes embroiled in a fight with cowpuncher Burns and is killed. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Walsh, weakened by her attempt to work, her husband's claim collapses. The doctor declares only a transfusion can save Mrs. Walsh's life. Burns, now a fugitive, appears and volunteers. Mrs. Walsh's life is saved, but Burns, weakened by hunger and exposure, succumbs, happy in having made amends for his crime.
Dan Melton is in love with Daisy Dale, who, being of a coquettish disposition, permits herself to become infatuated with Soapy Smith, gentleman gambler. Sheriff Melton is greatly worried by the continual holdups committed by Black Jack, a desperado, who has become the terror of the mountains. His excursions in quest of the bandit compel him to neglect Daisy somewhat. One day Daisy meets with an accident while riding and applies for assistance at a lonely shack in the hills. To her astonishment Soapy Smith opens the door. She accepts his invitation to enter. Once she is inside, however, Soapy betrays his real character and attacks her. Daisy's screams are heard by Morristette, a Mexican, who rushes in and intervenes. Smarting under the blow Soapy deals him, he gallops to town and informs the sheriff. On arriving at the shack to rescue his sweetheart Melton finds that Soapy Smith and the long-sought desperado. Black Jack, are one and the same.
Owner of a fashionable gambling den John De Forrest seeks out wealthy people and lures them to his gambling den with the help of Lil, a beautiful but heartless blonde once there they trick the moneyed suckers into losing their fortunes. When the joint is raided and a policeman accidently killed the pair take it on the lam and head towards very different destinies.
A girl's father cannot afford a train ticket, so he ships his daughter by Wells Fargo & Co. Express. He loses his money to a villain and cannot claim his "shipment." The villain attempts to claim her, but the Wells Fargo agent foils the plot and claims her himself.
Secret Serviceman Allen takes a job at Bart Stevens' mine in order to find evidence proving that Stevens is a mail robber named Smoke Gublen. He does - but by then, he is in love with the man's sister - and to make things harder, Stevens saves his life...
The Northwest Mounties are after Cheyenne Harry for the murder of an Indian boy, and the only witness to the crime is a priest - who can't tell what he saw because the real killer, Black Michael, has confessed to him.
A western settlement of pioneer descendants is threatened with the loss of its water supply through the encroachments of nearby townspeople.