Broncho Billy, a doctor and minister in the far west, is overwhelmed with grief one evening when he returns to his home to find a note from his wife stating that she could not bear the loneliness any longer and had gone to town with the man she loved. A few years later she is forced to her bed where she finally dies of a broken heart. Broncho had been told of her condition and hastens to her in time to kiss and forgive her. The negligent husband returns and Broncho Billy forgetting himself, is about to slay the man, when he suddenly remembers the note his wife had left for him, with these words, "Never forget your duty to your God."
For five years Dorothy had put up with her husband although all his refinement, delicacy and love had long since been drowned in drink. Dorothy had reached the turning point. She answered an advertisement calling for a leading woman to accompany a repertoire show west. She was given the position and that night left.
Jim Woods, a tractable old sheep runner, dwells with his daughter, Beth, in a mountain cabin and does his best to keep his wandering flocks from infringing upon the meadows claimed by the cattlemen.
Marguerite becomes weary as the hours and the Overland Limited roll on. Her trip from New York to the far west was a tedious one, and it is with a sigh of relief that she steps from the observation platform to pluck some flowers. The train had stopped for water. Marguerite wanders into the woods and when she returns, discovers that the train had pulled off. She is alone in a new country, without friends or funds.
A man is a fugitive from the law. A reward of $2,000 is offered for his capture. A large posse is on his trail. Weary, hungry and haunted, the refugee is slowly but surely being hemmed in.
John Wilson had driven the stagecoach for years. When his daughter, Marguerite, became old enough, he allowed her to make an occasional trip with him. It was when she was about 19 that she had the terrible experience. Her father and the express messenger bad gone into the general store. Marguerite remained on the coach to watch the horses, four of them. A shooting contest a few feet away frightened the horses and they bolted. On a gallop they dashed down the road. Marguerite screamed for her life.
Broncho Billy is a typical bad man. The story opens with him shooting up a small town in the west, and scaring the inhabitants nearly to death. The sheriff with his deputies order him out of the country. Sunday morning, the congregation is in church singing. Boardman, another bad man, and his protégés, break up the meeting. The preacher is ousted.
Broncho Billy, an express messenger, saved the life of Geraldine Burke, a school teacher. They learned to love each other and later married. One day, the village gossip informed some of the cowpunchers about town that Geraldine was entertaining a gentleman in her home. Broncho Billy was soon given the news and determined to settle with the critter immediately
Thomas Lattier is a well-to-do westerner in the cattle business. One fine day he sells a herd of cattle, receiving for it cash payment in bills of large denomination. He proceeds to town alone to deposit it in his bank. Two bad men, Bretall and Hayes, have learned of the deal and trail him with a view to securing the money.
Jack Holmes, a squatter, and his daughter, Margaret, settle on land owned by Harry Rawlins. Broncho Billy, gunman, is engaged by Rawlins to eject the squatter or put him out of the way. Broncho is wounded by a half-breed and Margaret nurses him back to health. The gunman then refuses to turn Holmes out.
Broncho Billy and his pal, Carl Stockdale, are in love with Peggy Adams. The two men receive a letter from the girl to the effect that the one who reaches her first shall be her husband. Broncho and Carl cut cards to see who will go, and the former wins. On the way, Broncho Billy is shot by a half-breed who has a grudge against him.
The Spoilers is a 1914 film directed by Colin Campbell. It is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with William Farnum as Roy Glennister, Kathlyn Williams as Cherry Malotte, and Tom Santschi as Alex McNamara. The film culminates in a spectacular saloon fistfight between Glennister and McNamara. It was adapted to screen by Lanier Bartlett from the Rex Beach novel of the same name.