Greed for gold, this is what has dragged many a man downward. Skinflint, a miser, not satisfied with the gold he boards, tries to make a practice of selling whiskey to the Indians, taking from them practically all the gold they possess for just a few glasses of the fire water. Skinflint might have succeeded had it not been for Bill Riley, a prospector, who quickly takes the bottle of intoxicating liquor from the Indian and smashes it on a nearby rock. Skinflint becomes enraged and determines to get even.