Fatty steals a ride on a train, discovered, and put off in the middle of nowhere. He stumbles along over the hot desert and finally passes out. A very plump Indian woman finds him and takes him to her tepee, woos him and finally, in desperation, Fatty agrees to marry her. While the tribe is preparing for the marriage ceremony, Fatty attempts to escape but is caught.

Mickey, an orphan who has been brought up in a mining settlement, is sent to New York to live with her aunt.

Tom Chatterton is called a coward because he will not enlist in the Home Guard during the Civil War -- his mother is dying and he does not wish to leave while she is still alive. When she dies and the Yankees attack, he seizes command of the Home Guard and leads them to victory, proving himself a hero and dying in the process.