Medicine show proprietor Doc Lattimer has in his possession a map showing the location of a cache of stolen gold. His son Don favors keeping the gold rather than returning it to the express company to which it rightfully belongs, and steals the map, only to find himself menaced by outlaw leader Cal and his gang.

A group of cowboys ending their cattle drive in Abilene find that cattle prices are being kept artificially low, driving down the price they'll get for their beef. They set out to change the situation.

As a 32nd cousin of the recently deceased Silas Stockton, Fuzzy heads for the reading of the will. The bad guys are after the Stockton estate and plan to kidnap Helen Stockton, the primary heir, and replace her with a stooge. When the henchmen catch her she is with Billy and Fuzzy so they kidnap them also. But the three escape and Billy then heads out to find the culprits.

Chicago detectives in the 1880s head west to find the killers of their colleague.

After the North defeats the South, Union Maj. Jeff Clanton heads to Missouri to provide the Confederacy's Quantrill's Raiders a chance to claim allegiance to the Union, thereby clearing their wanted status. But standing in Clanton's way are the corrupt lawmen Joad and Fowler, who would rather keep the men outlaws to collect the reward on their heads. After Joad and Fowler frame Clanton for murder, he manages to escape, becoming an outlaw himself.

A woman reminisces about her childhood on a Prairie farm during the Depression. Her memory album is a collection of watercolours by artist/filmmaker Blake James that describe a family's struggle to survive despite drought and poverty. The film is a historical account of the land and the times, simply told through paintings that are alive with warmth and colour.

Shannon wants Hank Stoner`s land for the vanadium ore it contains. He has chemist Wainwright, who can change the ore into gold, held prisoner. But the Frontier Marshals are on the job. Art and Bill have infiltrated the gang and are getting messages to Lee as to the gang`s plans.

Two unemployed cowhands help a pill-popping rancher find the nasty varmint who's been rustling cattle.

Wild Bill Hickok (Bill Elliott) leads a wagon train of settlers from Kansas to Colorado. Along the way, they cross a group of Indians who don't want any more settlers on their land.

At the request of settler boss Miles Forman, Natty Bumppo leads his trek to Michilimackinac, accompanied by Chingachgook. The group of settlers includes the criminal Bush family. After a few days, the wagon trail meets the Pawnee Indian tribe, whose chief Weucha knows Natty and by whom the settlers are warmly received. On the onward journey, the Bush sons veer off to seemingly hunt but sell the Sioux weapons they had stolen from a fort before leaving. On the way back to the trek they are surprised by two hunting Pawnees. In the following fight, one of the Bush sons is killed. The archer is immediately shot, and the other Indian is supposed to be lynched in the camp of the whites. Chingachgook, however, cuts the rope with a bullet. Later, Father Ismael Bush incites the peaceful Pawnees and Sioux against each other by having a Sioux killed and leading suspicion to the Pawnees. The Sioux attack and destroy the Pawnee village.