Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
to
to
Exclude
Only includes titles with the selected topics
to
In minutes
to
1-50 of 370
- About 1722, Spain, in her command of Texas (named from a confederation of Indians, who called themselves Tejas), established the Franciscan mission of San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo). Around this mission was built the pueblo (village) and presidio (barracks), which formed the nucleus of the present city of San Antonio. In 1824 Texas withdrew from Mexico and formed a separate republic, and the Mexican general Santa Anna, the self-styled Napoleon of the West, was sent to force her back into allegiance. At San Antonio in 1836 Col William B. Travis was in command of the fort. With him was Col. William Bowie, David Crockett, Lieut. Dickenson and a small force. He received word that Santa Anna, at the head of a Mexican army of several thousand, was advancing to take the city. Travis dispatched a message to Gen. Sam Houston for aid, sending Lieut. Dickenson and taking his force of 140 men and women of the city, among whom was Dickenson's wife, Lucy; he retired to the Alamo. On February 23, Santa Anna sent a message to surrender, and upon the brave refusal of Travis, he attacked the place. Travis held the Alamo until March 6, 1836, his little force constantly diminishing. On that day, when all seemed lost, Travis drew a line with his sword down the center of the room and asked all who would die with him to cross to his side. All crossed save one, Rose, who announced his determination to try to escape. He succeeded in leaving the building but was never heard from again. A breach was made in the wall by the cannon of Santa Anna, and the Mexicans entered to find all the men dead except Travis and four companions. These were immediately slaughtered on the spot, and Lucy Dickenson, with two other women and three children, were all to leave the Alamo alive.
- Denton, a young easterner, arrives in the gold-fields, looks about for a "find" and a partner. Entering a saloon, he partakes of some refreshment, watches the patrons of the place and studies their characters, while thus engaged a young miner, named Harper, somewhat prejudiced against easterners, engages in a quarrel with a Mexican who is about to plunge a knife into the miner when Denton seizes his wrist and wrenches the weapon from his grasp. Harper thanks Denton, and after learning the eastern man's desire to find a prospecting partner, Denton loins forces with him and they start in to work a lead and strike paying dirt. They have hardly started operations when Denton meets with a serious accident and again Harper shows the manner of man he is by nursing his pal back to health and strength. This brings about a strong friendship and they go to work with a will and it is not long before they strike it rich. Weighing up their gold-dust they find they have a handsome pile and are now on easy street. Harper goes out to work and has proceeded but a short distance when he is seen by the treacherous Mexican who stealthily watches him on his way and then makes tracks for the pals' shack. Just after Harper leaves the shack Denton receives a telegram from his wife telling him that his mother is sick and advising him to return home at once. He leaves a letter for Harper with the dispatch stating that he will leave the gold dust intact as he has sufficient cash and the message will explain the cause of his hasty departure. The Mexican can be seen peering through the window watching Denton and the hiding of the dust in the chimney. Denton then hastily exits and hurries for the train. The villainous greaser enters the cabin, steals the gold and destroys the letter and telegram and replaces them with a note saying Denton had gotten tired and skipped. When Harper returns and finds the note he is furious, tells the sheriff and follows Denton east. Arriving at Denton's home town he traces him through an accident to a little child who happens to be Denton's own daughter. He carries the child home and the next day calls to see the little girl, and while he is sitting by her bedside Denton comes in. It is a dramatic situation, but after explanations and the reception at that moment of a "wire" from the sheriff in the gold-field announcing the confession of the Mexican, all is understood and once more the two men become pals and renew their bond of friendship.
- Ranch hand Jim is a friend to a boy named Billy at the corral he works for. When a Mexican gets fresh with a lady, he socks him, but the fight is broken up. Later, on the trail, Jim sends Billy to the store where he overhears the Mexican and his gang plot revenge.Jim's kidnapped and tied in the path of a large rock they plan to roll over him, but Billy rouses the other hands to ride to a rescue.
- Mr. Mott, who all his life has plowed the soil of California for his living, suddenly comes into a fortune, and Mrs. Mott induces him to take a trip to the South Sea island of Tahiti. They board ship at San Francisco, and during the voyage the sailors revive the ancient customs observed when crossing the line of the Equator. The custom was prevalent in the days of sailing vessels, when passengers and sailors crossing the line for the first time were baptized or initiated. Neptune comes on board attended by his heralds, lieutenants, servants, etc., and takes complete command over the ship during the crossing of the line. Mr. Mott is arrested in the name of Neptune and brought before his majesty for sentence, which is, to be shaved by the monarch's barber with a razor of rough wood; dipped thrice in sea water; ride the greased pole, etc., much to the discomfiture of Mr. Mott, but to the amusement of the sailors. The island of Tahiti is at last sighted and the pair disembark at Papeete, the capital. They witness the reception tendered by the natives to the French Governor, Monsieur Geraud, and to the ex-queen, Maoao, a great spectacle of its kind. Then they go sight seeing over the island, witnessing the odd costumes and sports of this people of a tropical country. The film pictures the coral reef which surrounds Tahiti, and many customs and picturesque spots of the island, rightly termed "The Garden of the Pacific."
- John Henson and his sister Mary are surprised one morning in learning that they have new neighbors in Mr. Gray and his son, Danny. Danny is taught to say the Lord's Prayer every night and to practice its principles in his daily life. In his play one day, Danny is hurt and the father, in distraction, calls upon Mary for aid. She gives the care that only woman can give to a sick person, and the acquaintance commences, so that later, when Mr. Gray is seriously injured at the stone works, she nurses him back to health. It is plain to be seen that Mr. Gray is beginning to evince more than admiration for his pretty neighbor. Mary takes Danny to town on the day that a theatrical troupe arrives and one of the actresses recognizes in the lad her little son. She tells Mary and is taken to Mr. Gray's house, but he will not receive her, because shortly after Danny's birth she left his home and went astray. Danny is soon taught by Mary to love his mother, but the kind neighbor is not equally successful with the father. Finally Danny brings about an unexpected meeting between father and mother, and, on bended knee repeats the prayer his daddy had so often taught him: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive . . ." The father touched by these words from his son, repents his sternness and receives his wife once more unto their home.
- Captain Dixon, receiving a message from the custom office that there is a band of smugglers operating on the islands off the coast, bids his wife good-bye and goes on the assignment. At the island wharf he inquires of an old sailor for the most quiet lodgings in the place and is led to a hut where lives an elderly man, supposedly s fisherman, and his pretty daughter, Bess. The old man does not at first want to admit the stranger, but the sight of handsome board money quickly changes his mind. Bess leads him to his room. That night Dixon is still unpacking when a noise downstairs arouses his suspicions. He goes down and discovers the old man leaving the house stealthily with several rough-looking strangers. He follows them and learns that they are the smugglers for whom be was sent in quest, and Bess' father the leader of them. Hurrying back to the house, the captain discovers Bess waving a red lantern in the window (the secret danger signal), for she had heard him depart and suspected his mission. She had also learned through a photograph in his room that he was married. Dixon attempts to remove the light, but is forced by Bess at the point of a revolver to wave it. The smuggler and Bess' lover, heed the signal, and, returning, put Dixon out of the house. The latter, however has formed a wild desire for Bess and, meeting her on the beach, attempts to force his love on her. Failing in this he sends her a note to the purport that if she does not meet him on the pier at once he will expose her father. Bess' love for her aged father is stronger than anything else, so she sadly decides to sacrifice herself to save his life. She had not left the house long, however, when her father and Ned find Dixon's vile note. They hurry to the pier in time to frustrate the captain's designs, but in the melee, the officer falls into the sea.
- This photoplay was produced in beautiful Tahiti, one of the South Sea Islands, termed "The Garden of the Pacific," because of its wealth of vegetation and of everything that is beautiful and romantic. Here palms grow upon the very streets of the villages and the tall, graceful coconut trees may be seen long before one reaches the island. The lives of the natives are romantic and equally so are those of the colonists. Wilkins, a colonist planter, casts aside his native mistress to propose to Grace, the pretty daughter of a neighboring planter. When not accepted, he attempts to win her love by fraud, making believe that it was he who saved her life when her boat upturned. Out of gratitude she consents to marry Wilkins, but at the opportune moment a Kanaka (a native), brother of his mistress, reveals the trick, points out the real hero, and Grace's love is then bestowed on the rightful owner.
- Danny, the little eight-year-old cowboy, while amusing the boys with his lariat, is interrupted by the arrival of Dick, the artist, to whom Mr. Wilson introduces his daughter, Bee. The artist falling in love with her, wins Bee away from Jake, her fiancé. Jake seeks revenge and with Slim, steals the proceeds of a sale of cattle made by Bee's father, and kidnapping Dick, forces him to sign a note, saying that he stole the money, after which Jake's gang intend to compel him to quit the country. Bee's father suspects Dick, owing to his disappearance, and Danny, sent to get Jake's help to capture the thief, discovers the plight of the artist and tells Bee. The two ride to the rescue and with their pistols drawn compel a surrender. Releasing the artist who, with Bee's assistance, binds Jake and Slim, Danny rides for help. The cowboys, led to the appointed meeting-place, capture the whole gang and Danny receives the congratulations of the ranchers for ridding them of the band of horse thieves who had so long remained undetected.
- An historic temple whose ruins are considered one of the great sights of the universe. They are shown here in complete detail.
- In the days when Indian uprisings in the west were common, there took place a massacre near an old California Mission, in which all were killed save a tiny girl, who slept safely in her dead mother's arms. Mission Fathers, on their way to vespers, heard the child's cries, rescued it and adopted it. For seventeen years she waited upon the aged fathers faithfully, at the end of which period, a tragedy occurred that broadened her life considerably. Captain Courtesy, a bandit, had held up some cowboys, who when free, gathered a posse and followed him. The captain held them all at bay, and by a clever ruse, escaped and sought refuge in the Mission. The Mission fathers received him graciously, and the girl admiringly. He hid his identity, and soon became a favorite at the Mission, especially with Mary, the one-time waif. It was her first love. One day, while walking, Mary read a sign, offering a reward for the person dead or alive, of Captain Courtesy, distinguishable by a crescent-shaped scar on his forehead. She took no notice at the time, but upon arriving at the Mission, Courtesy declared his love to the girl, and she, in response, placed her hands upon his head to imprint a kiss. Her fingers slightly disarranged the hair, and there was exposed to view the crescent-shaped scar. The truth of the situation came to her and she ordered Courtesy from the room, but by no means dispelling the affection from her heart. Courtesy had not proceeded far when he discovered another and still greater Indian uprising than had caused the extermination of Mary's family. His first thought was of the Mission and the girl it harbored. He reached the old structure just in time to warn Mary and the fathers, who escaped into an underground passage. Courtesy remained to defend the Mission. From the subterranean passage Mary gained access to a camp of cowboys and called them to action. After a fierce conflict, the Indians were put to rout. Mary and the fathers emerge from the cellar and begin the search for Courtesy. He had been killed defending the girl he loved.
- In a western saloon, Pedro and the boys are playing cards and drinking, when one cheats and there is a gunfight. It all happens so quickly that no one knows who to blame until Pedro, knowing that he shot at least one man, steals quickly from the place and rides furiously off. The others see him go and at once decide he started the fight and is responsible for the probable loss of life. They mount their horses and pursue him. Meanwhile Pedro has succeeded in reaching a spot not far distant. Here he meets his sweetheart, Melita. They both hear the approaching pursuers, and Melita, fearful for her lover, jumps on the same horse and they ride away. Reaching a barn, Melita changes clothes with Pedro, and after telling him to hide in the barn she rides away to mislead the pursuers. They follow her, thinking her Pedro, but at last find out their mistake when they overtake her. Forcing her to go with them, they search farther and find Pedro in the barn just after he has subdued a young girl and her mother who had entered to collect eggs. Pedro is imprisoned in the sheriff's house as there is no jail in town. Melita frees him in a novel way and bids him fly to Mexico. The sheriff suspects Melita knows Pedro's whereabouts, and she, offering to show them where Pedro lives, leads them there, knowing he is even now on his way to Mexico. Returning to town in disgust with Melita accompanying them, they are just in time to see, with the aid of a field glass, Pedro crossing the boundary in the valley below. A week later Melita receives a letter from Pedro asking her to join him that the Padre may make them one.
- Mr. Mason adopts Robert, son of his former partner, and rears him as his son. Later Mason marries and has a daughter Stella. On Robert's twenty-first birthday Mr. and Mrs. Mason tell him that he is but an adopted son and that the little five-year-old Stella is the real heiress to their estate. Robert becomes furiously jealous. He wanders to the beach and little Stella follows him. Here an idea comes to him. He puts Stella in a boat and casts her adrift. All night long the anxious parents search for their dear one, but in vain, and Robert denies any knowledge as to her whereabouts. Far, far from home, Stella is picked up by some kindly fishermen, who adopt her and rear her to girlhood. The only mark of identification on her is a birthmark on her neck. At her benefactor's death she goes forth to earn her living. Her father has died in the interval and Robert, as the prospective heir, is managing the estate for his mother. Through an advertisement Stella secures a position as a companion in her own mother's house. Arthur, the foreman of the estate, falls in love with Stella and she with him. Robert, too, is smitten with her beauty and tries to act the libertine, much to her annoyance. It is while Stella is bathing in the surf that that Mrs. Mason recognizes the unmistakable birthmark and claims her joyfully as her long-lost child. Robert is indeed discomfited at this unexpected turn of affairs and tries to get Stella to marry him. But she declares her love for Arthur, whereupon Robert discharges the foreman. Mrs. Mason, however, on hearing the true facts of Robert's character from Stella, sternly orders him from the house and reinstates Arthur to his position. Even more, by a look and smile she signifies her comprehension of the amorous situation and graciously gives her consent.
- A moneylender kidnaps the young son of an rich widow as part of a plot to cheat her of her fortune. The boy is sent away on a fishing boat with the intention of drowning him, but a kindly old fisherman intervenes.
- John Stuart, the young Londoner, who received a monthly remittance from the estate of his late uncle, found life rather boresome, now that all his whims were satisfied by the aid of plenty of spending money, and as a last recourse, decided to go to America and buy a mine. In a lonely spot in Colorado, far from the usual path of any "pale face," sat Starlight, only daughter of White Buffalo, the dead chief, mourning his death. At his resting place she remained until bodily wants overcame her and she sank in a faint. Stuart, the miner, in search of a suitable location, found the girl exhausted and carried her to his cabin. In a week or so Starlight became better and Stuart thought it time she return to her camp. The Indian girl was surprised. Was she not by every Indian right bound to marry Stuart? Could an Indian maiden return to her camp alone? With the fervor of her youth, she clasped Stuart about the neck and begged him. The marriage over, the little cabin soon gave evidence of her housewifely skill. All was happiness and bliss until one day Stuart received word from his London solicitors that, his aunt was now dead, he sole heir to his uncle's estate and to come to London at once. Stuart left Colorado hurriedly and secretly, lacking courage to bid Starlight farewell. In England a grand reception awaited the heir. Ambitious mothers with marriageable daughters flocked about him galore. They bored him with their attentions. They asked him about his life in America, which suddenly brought back to his mind visions of his little cabin in the woods, and of his little Indian bride. He realized he never should have left her, that she might now be dying, waiting for him. It was the call of the wilderness. He returned with all speed to the little Colorado town, hastened to his cabin, but it was empty, and devoid of all evidence of recent habitation. He roamed the woods, calling: "Star-light. Star-light," but there came no answer. Suddenly he thought of the dead chief's grave. He rode like mad to the spot, and there lay Starlight, almost gone. He clasped her to his breast, gave her drink and warmed her hands. Finally she opened her eyes and recognized her husband. With a last feeble effort she once again clasped her arms around his neck and drew his face close to hers for a kiss. And then, with a contented smile, she sank back in his arms. A broken heart had been given eternal rest.
- Grace and her lover, Graham, being caught in the rain while riding, Graham begs her wait beneath a tree while he searches for a place of shelter. When, however, he does not return in due time she becomes alarmed and follows the path he took. Peering in the window of a house she discovers a man dead and her lover embracing a prostrate woman. Her conclusions are that her lover has committed murder, and in a fit of jealousy, she informs the authorities. Graham is captured and about to be lynched when remorse fills the heart of Grace. Perhaps he has some explanation. She pleads with the lynchers and obtains a hearing for her lover. Graham explains that the woman he embraced was his sister; that he had arrived at the hut just after she had been choked to death by her husband, a gambler, who had forced her to marry him to pay a gambling debt of Graham's; that in a conflict that followed between himself and the gambler-husband, the latter was killed. The lynchers are convinced by this story and Grace reconciled.
- Robert Burton was an only son and his indulgent mother had spoiled him. Bob was not all bad, but he was woefully weak and could not stick long at any one task. Also he paid more attention to rolling cigarettes than he did to his work. One day he was discharged by the foreman of the crockery store where he worked and appeared at home disgusted and sullen. His mother tried to comfort him, but the boy was anxious to have his way and announced his intention of going west, where he thought there would be better opportunities for him. Poor Mrs. Burton, who was a widow, was horror-struck at the idea of letting her only child away from her, but habit was too strong and so she gave in to Bobby in this as in other things. She supplied him with money from their meager store, and he arrived in the west and was fortunate enough to secure work on a ranch. His idea of his own important did not appeal to the cowboys, however, and they hazed him in a pretty rough manner. Bob left that job and a number of others, and since he was unpopular, he took to drink. One day, when all his money was gone and he was desperate, as he had received no reply to the letter he had written his mother for aid, he held up the mail carrier and escaped with the mailbag. The sheriff was soon on his trail, but Bob eluded him and sought refuge in a dilapidated cabin where he had a chance to open the letters he had stolen. From one there fell a ten dollar bill, and the boy's amazed eyes caught his own name and his mother's familiar handwriting. He suddenly realized how no-account he was, and how little he deserved the mother he had. Seized with a sudden determination, he gave himself up and served hi term in prison, after which he returned to his aged mother, who had never failed to ask each day for "the letter that never came."
- A compete and wonderful picture of the now most beautiful ruins in the world. Produced at Angkor, Cambodia, French Indochina. Construction of the buildings and temples of Angkor was commenced in the ninth century A.D. by the Khmers, who migrated from India. The city reached the zenith of its power in the eleventh century. In the thirteenth century its population, supposed to be more than a million, was completely wiped from the face of the earth, how, nobody knows exactly, leaving only a mass of beautiful remains to set the world awonder.
- Sam, a young fisherman, and his wife, Molly, lead a simple, happy life on a little fishing island. One day a yacht anchors off the island and a party of city folks lands for luncheon. Molly wanders toward the group and Jack, one of the party, is smitten with her beauty. Unconsciously she is attracted by his clean-cut city appearance and returns home thinking of him. The party needing water, Jack and several others call upon Sam. Sam introduces them to Molly, who directs them to the nearest spring. Returning from the spring, Jack calls upon Molly and escorts her to the luncheon party. They offer champagne, which she at first refuses, but after much persuasion, tastes. Then Jack, by flattery and caresses, induces her to accompany them back to the city. But hardly are they aboard the yacht when Jack forces his kisses upon Molly, who then divines his evil intent. Meanwhile Sam has returned broken-hearted to find his wife gone. But his sorrow is not of long duration, for Molly has demanded her release and returns that evening, takes up her duty of mending Sam's fishing nets, and so he finds her, truly repentant for her mistake and still his loving wife.
- Jean Dyer, an old one-legged hermit who lives in a mean abode on Lonely Mountain, has the villagers all guessing as to where he gets his gold, for whenever he comes to town he spends freely. The villagers appoint Jimmie, a genial cowboy, to visit the old man, get him "full," and pump him as to the location of the mine. Jimmie wins the old man's confidence and liking, but in a terrific storm that comes up, a tree crashes through the roof and mortally wounds Dyer. His last words are an endeavor to locate the mine so that Jim might have the benefit. He dies before he finishes. The news of the death stirs all the villagers to an organized hunt for the gold mine, but their efforts are in vain. Jim buries the old man respectably, and when a few days later he visits the grave, finds there Dyer's old burro which had been his only chum. An idea comes to Jim. He puts on the old hermit's wooden leg, mounts the burro in the old man's way, kicks him with the wooden leg, as was Dyer's wont, and is led to the very entrance of the mine. The villagers would share it with him, but "Findings is keepings" is the unwritten law of the west.
- Mary Jane had nursed Black Bill's wife through a spell of fever and Bill was grateful with all the fullness of his rough nature. He sent Mary Jane a necklace and a note in which he promised on his honor to someday discharge his debt. It happened later, that one of Bill's horses was stolen. Bill and his friends found the thief, and were bringing him into town to a handy tree, when they passed Mary Jane, drawing water from the old well. Bill had a drink and Mary, in pity, raised the cup to the lips of Bob Ford, the horse thief, whom she had never seen before. He was in the stupor of despair and drank greedily, but with no sign of intelligence. Moved by a sudden womanly feeling which she could not classify, Mary Jane leaned forward, and in a great wave of sympathy, she pressed a kiss full upon the lips of the thief. The effect was like an electric shock to him. He raised his eyes and looked upon a girl who was fair and sweet. He, who had been about to die, felt the warm blood of energy and ambition coursing through his veins. Watching his chance, he slipped his bonds, felled one of his captors with a blow, ducked the shots of the others, and putting spurs to his horse, dashed madly to the cabin of Mary Jane for one more look before he died. She found him and secreted him in her bedroom just before the lynchers arrived. Her furious anger at their intrusion drove them out, but Ford had heard their conversation and knew that his presence there had endangered the good name of the girl he had come to love, so he quietly stole from the window and allowed himself to be captured in the timber. Mary Jane saw him being led to the nearest tree. She suddenly thought of the necklace and Bill's promise and dashed after him. Thus importuned, Bill lived up to his obligations like a man. He not only forced the boys to give up their "lynching bee," but he paved the way for Ford to leave the country with Mary Jane, knowing that she would make a man of him.
- Foezel, a dim-witted police officer, is persuaded to loan his trousers to an actor who is playing a cop in a movie.
- John Burton met Bessie Fields on her way home one day, and was for making love to her right then and there, but for the interruption of Crazy Joe, a half-witted boy, who always seemed to get in wrong. Burton was incensed, and, although Bessie protested, applied his whip to the demented boy, when Steve Ross, Bessie's sweetheart, happened along and rushed to the boy's rescue. Steve saw that Burton's attentions were not welcomed and ordered him off the scene. Next day, both went to Mr. Fields, and proposed for Bessie's hand. When Burton learned that Steve had been accepted, he rushed from the house, fired back upon it, and fled. Of two shots spent, one hit and killed Mr. Fields. Steve, who was nearby, shot at the fugitive, but missed him. Burton hastened to a saloon, but missed him, were gathered, and hatched a plot to accuse Steve of the crime on circumstantial evidence. The sheriff was called and decided that Steve was guilty. But Burton was not satisfied. With his friends, he raided the jail, and made away with Steve, with the intention of hanging him. Meanwhile, Crazy Joe, in his ramblings, discovered a bullet lodged in the casing of the door, which had not penetrated the house. With this bit of evidence, Bessie, to whom he imparted this news, rode like mad to free her lover, as only one shot had escaped from Steve's revolver. The sheriff joined in the ride to save a life. Steve was already roped about the neck when they arrived. Happiness was his, indeed. But who was the guilty one? A hasty examination of the guns on those present, disclosed the fact that the bullet corresponded with those used by Burton. He shrunk beneath their gaze, which was evidence enough for cowboys. Steve was given freedom, Bessie happiness, and Burton jail.
- Bob Ford, a young college graduate and a man-about-town, self-willed and wild, who tries his father's patience and generosity by going the limit, is called to a sudden halt by the old gentleman and sent out west with his valet to work on Jones' ranch in Texas and prove to his father that he is not a hopeless renegade. Bob arrives in Texas with his valet, whom he tells to take his place and pretend that he is Bob while he, Bob, will pretend to be the valet. Mr. Jones has a very pretty daughter, Flora, for whom her father feels some anxiety about coming in contact with a young city fellow, college bred like Bob, fearing that she will fall in love with him. Jenkins, the valet, presents the note from Bob's father to Mr. Jones, and the valet is received as Mr. Ford's son, while Bob is treated as the valet. The "Boys" about the ranch lay plans to put Jenkins through a course of sprouts and the way they do it would do credit to a "hazing bee." Bob runs against a snag when he meets Langdon who has the reputation of being a "bad man," in a fight and tries to put is "all over" the tenderfoot. Bob is game and tells Langdon, if he wants to fight like a man, to put down his gun and put up his fists. They get busy; Langdon is put "down and out" and loses his reputation as a terror. From that time on, Bob is one of the most popular men on the ranch. He falls in love with Flora and Flora doesn't object. From this point on, Bob has easy sailing and when his father comes to visit him at the ranch he is delighted to find his boy in good shape and a man among men, and just as happy when he learns that Bob is engaged to Flora Jones.
- The setting is in old California when it was under the rule of Mexico. Don Hernando is a powerful feudal lord who is arrogant and cruel. Padre Ernesto is a noble priest, greatly beloved by his congregation. In trying to save Pepe, an Indian slave of Don Hernando's, from being punished by the latter, the Padre is struck and mistreated by the Don. He bears no resentment, however, and later, when the Don is stricken with the dread disease, smallpox, it is none other than the Padre himself and Pepe who risk their lives to nurse him back to health. But just as Don recovers, the Padre is himself stricken with the disease, to which he succumbs. Pepe is heartbroken, and from that moment swears to avenge himself for the Padre's death by taking the life of the Don. Pepe brings up the rear of the funeral procession, but instead of entering the Mission, lays in wait for the Don. Don Hernando comes and pauses. Pepe sneaks up behind him and raises high in the air the knife that is to strike the blow. With full force he brings it down, but at that very moment the Don falls upon his knees in prayer, truly repentant of his crimes, and an almost supernatural power stays Pepe's arm. Master and slave are reconciled and lead different lives under "the new light."
- When Bob Stanley from New York arrives in Sulphur Mountain he gets mixed up in a fight with Jose, a Mexican, and is injured. Joe, a miner, takes Bob home where his wife dresses the wound, and offers him shelter until he shall become well. Joe mistakes Mary's sympathy for Bob for love and decides to put himself out of their way. He causes an explosion, at the mine, leaves his hat and coat and makes it appear as though he has been killed. But Mary loves Joe, and her grief at his apparent loss is great. Six months later Joe, in rags and with beard, comes back to the scene of the explosion. But his mind does not recall everything perfectly, for in his brooding he has become mentally deranged. Miners see him, and believing him a ghost, flee in fear. Bob heads a party to investigate the place of the reported apparition and in a most unexpected manner comes face to face with his old benefactor. The man's mind slowly regains balance and he remembers that he has a wife. Bob persuades him to come back, but as they approach the house they discover a doctor just leaving. Joe enters to find his wife still longing for him, and to share with her the joy that has just come to them both, an offspring.