Hank Kinney, a ranger, witnesses the accidental death of a man and the survival of a motherless infant. Kinney asks the county sheriff to process adoption papers and goes with the child to take up the mining claim left him by his father. Sam Bruce, the richest and most hated man in Copperville, tries to jump the claim and swears vengeance when Kinney kicks him off the property. Kinney strikes up a friendship with Ruth Buxley, daughter of the general store proprietor; and Bruce, who covets the girl, instigates a rumor that Hank is unfit to rear a child and sends the sheriff's posse to get the the baby.
A longstanding friendship between Julius Decker and Joe Billings, neighboring ranchers, is broken by a series of mystifying occurrences, and their relationship ultimately develops into a feud.
Bandits kidnap an old prospector, threatening to let him starve if he refuses to reveal the location of his gold mine. The old man's partner, hoping to get a share of the loot, tells the place to the crooks.
Bill's father is murdered by Hawley, one of Dykeman's henchmen, who steals a map proving Farley's claim to rich gold claims. Bill, who is engaged to Helen, Dykeman's daughter, routs the gang when they try to dispossess settlers and subsequently eludes a large posse. Later, when Hawley steals a gold shipment, Bill captures him and returns the gold to the Blue Ridge settlers; he is then accused of the robbery, but again he escapes. Disguised as a Spaniard, Bill meets Hawley and discovers him to be his father's murderer; a fight ensues, and Hawley recovers the map and kidnaps Helen in a stagecoach. Bill gives chase, overpowers the villain, and rescues Helen from the burning stagecoach.
While he goes to his lender to repay his debts, Sam Perry is robbed. He decides to hunt down the bandit, whose description corresponds strangely to that of Dutton, known as "Dude".
This silent Western featured a group of Basque settlers terrorized by a greedy land baron (Joseph W. Girard). Jones played Buck Kildare, who, after falling for Basque beauty Natalie Joyce, comes to the aid of the settlers. On his sterling horse Silver, Kildare goes after the villain, who, it turns out, is the very same man who murdered his brother Tom (William A. Steele).
"Side Show" Saunders gains the respect of shopowner Holly Farrell and the townsfolk when he gives up entertaining with his trick horse and dog and goes to work in the general store.
Jack Howard, returning from the war, learns that his father, Sheriff Howard, has been killed by an unknown assailant, and he induces the mayor of Gold Strike to swear him in as sheriff.
Cowhand Tom Rawlins inherits a ranch but there are some double-crossing lawyers who are out to take it from him. It is up to him to prove his identity but the lawyers and their henchmen have his identification papers and he is in jail. Maybe pretty Sue Conway, the sheriff's daughter, will help him.
A cowboy begins to do such un-cowboylike things as dressing up and taking baths in order to impress a pretty young girl. He sees that a citified "dandy" is also after the girl, and the dude seems to be scoring some points with his "civilized" demeanor.
When his horse is conscripted by the government for service in France, Buck Thomas enlists and becomes the orderly to the captain entrusted with the horse.
At a trading post in the Northern Dakotas, Hawk Lespard, an unscrupulous trader, is opposed by Jack Jessup, posing as a gambler but actually a scout for the Overland Stage Co., and Kunga-Sunga, a wizard with the lariat.
Following a political coup in the Balkan kingdom of Roxenburg, young King Alexis and his American governess Janet Holbrooke flee to America. Out west, Tom Potter, a rancher, gives them shelter.