Buster Keaton stars in this comedy as the captive of hostile Indians. His captors tie him to a stake and prepare him for death by fire. Keaton moves with the stake as the Indians try frantically to place the firewood around him. When he survives the flames due to his fire-resistant clothes, Keaton is made a member of the tribe and named Little Chief Paleface. He then foils the scheme of unsavory oil speculators to steal the land from his Indian companion.