The film follows the title character—a legendary frontiersman—as he seeks retribution against outlaws. It served as a direct sequel to How Richard Harris Became Known as Deadwood Dick (1915) and was followed by Deadwood Dick and the Mormons (1915).
William S. Hart directs and stars in a film that is a typical Western of the era. He plays Jim, a prospector who lands in the town of Broken Hope, and the name pretty much describes its inhabitants. Jim meets and falls in love with Jennie (Margery Wilson), whose father (Walt Whitman) is gravely ill. Jim rounds up a reluctant doctor from another town to tend to the old man, but he dies anyway. The doctor, however, gains Jennie's trust and she runs off with him. Only then does he tell her he's already married. She leaves immediately, but is too proud to go home so she finds work as a dance hall girl at Tacoma Jake's saloon. Jim, meanwhile, finds gold near Broken Hope, which raises its inhabitants' attitudes considerably. But the bad element is still there, and Jim is chasing after a group of kidnappers when he enters Tacoma Jake's saloon and sees Jennie. Jim not only overcomes the bad guys, he gets the girl, too.
John Found, a well-educated American Indian, works as an interpreter on an army post in the West. Although John Lane, a post officer, loves Katie O'Day, a rancher's daughter, he becomes the amorous target of the widowed Mrs. Van Allen. To rid herself of Katie, Mrs. Van Allen starts a rumor that Lane has a wife in an insane asylum.
Agnes Cuyler, a cabaret singer in New York who loathes her work, is fired for slapping Grant Haywood, a customer from the West who tries to kiss her. Haywood begs forgiveness and after glorifying the clean Western life, proposes. To escape her circumstances, Agnes accepts, but soon learns that Haywood is a brutal drunkard.
When a cowpoke steps into a fight and saves the life of a disreputable gambler, the gambler decides to reciprocate by revealing to his new-found friend the truth about the cowpoke's fiancée.
A love quadrangle in a Western mining town leads to fisticuffs and reconciliation before the fade out.
The famous black cowboy Bill Pickett shows his prowess in rodeos. Only small parts of the film survive.
Lightning Bill Lewis sets out to capture Gómez, the leader of a ruthless gang that has been tormenting a border town. He prevents Gómez from kidnapping his girl, Mary, but Gómez escapes. With the aid of Captain Duerta, Lightning Bill pursues the gang, and when it is captured by Mexican soldiers he is free to marry.
Dennis Terhune, ranch foreman for John Morgan, an eastern capitalist, discovers that there is oil on Morgan's ranch shortly after Morgan has deeded the ranch to Daley, western manager for the Morgan properties. Dennis rides after Daley and retrieves the deed, saving Morgan's ranch and securing for himself the love of the financier's daughter, Eunice.
Sheriff Jack Harkins seeks vengeance against Red Saunders, who caused the death of Harkins' sister. Saunders, after terrorizing the area, attempts to force his attentions on Matilda Ann Carter, a wealthy young heiress. When Harkins catches up to Saunders and beats him, Saunders fakes his own death to frame the sheriff for murder. The ruse is exposed, leading to a happy conclusion.
Cowhand John Marvin, in a cattlemen-vs-sheep-men range war, comes to the aid of a pretty and defenseless young sheepherder, Kate Bowers. This angers the other cattlemen, especially Palque Powell, who employs deceptive methods against Kate, while pretending to help her.
Ranch owner Tex McCloud is convinced there is oil under his property and brings in a drilling rig and equipment to drill for it. But a gang who wants the property wage a sabotage and theft war against him.
Pinto Ben is a pink-nosed cow-pony. A hundred head of cattle are rounded up for beef to be shipped alive to Chicago. Ben and his master, with Segundo Jim, are put in charge. In the Chicago stockyards, men who don't know range-bred cattle from a herd of mountain goats, calmly inform Jim and Ben's master that the steers are to be driven into the big pen. At the same instant two or three stock hands run behind the herd and begin shouting and waving their arms to start the cattle. The beasts, a thousand strong, with horns and hoofs beating the air, bellowing their rage, glaring with bloodshot eyes, thunder into the chute. The two men in front prepare for their death ride. Suddenly Pinto Ben flattens himself before a high, iron-bound gate, and leaps. The pony cleans the gate. The great wave of scorching breath falls back on the other side. Ben's master finds himself sitting on the ground, the head of his dying horse in his lap.
A description of the surviving scenes: Two girls are dancing in the inn, one wearing a white dress, the other in black - a bandit arrives - the bandit has an argument with another guest about one of the girls - the fight continues on the rocks - the bandit throws his rival off the cliff - the girl in black mourns the dead man - a cowboy appears on a horse - the girl in black laments the crime to him - the cowboy catches up with the bandit, he disarms him and ties him to a tree - the old man who is to watch over the captive gets drunk and falls asleep - the girl in white, armed with a revolver, frees the bandit, her lover, and they both tie the watchman to the tree instead - the cowboy returns and again fights with the bandit - the girl in white is accidently shot during the ensuing duel - the cowboy leads the handcuffed bandit away.
The sheriff is in love with a beautiful widow. The widow has a brother who is in secret a rascal and a member of a gang of bandits. The sheriff and the widow have arrived at an understanding and she is wearing his ring. One day four masked men ride into the village, loot the bank, terrorize the community and ride away with a big sack of gold. The sheriff goes in pursuit, and after a lot of shooting, fast riding and acrobatic horsemanship, the bank looters are caught. When the masks are removed, the sheriff discovers to his consternation that the brother of the handsome widow is the chief of the band. Duty stares at him with unsmiling face.
The Ranchman's Daughter
A man almost loses his fortune, not to mention his fiancée, to a society scion.
Early silent screen leading man Roy Stewart played a dual-role in this independently produced "Northwestern" about identical twins, separated at birth, who grow up on opposite sides of the law.
A young woman inherits her father's large Texas ranch and plans to begin a cattle drive to Abilene, Kansas, 1000 miles away. The crooked State Treasurer plans to attack the cattle drive and steal all of the stock so he can gain control of her ranch.
Only 2 minutes survive of this Texas Guinan western