Crooked "Petroleum sharks" led by a man named Hunt have stolen an Native Americans in the United States tribe's lease to their land and given them 24 hours to vacate. Furious, the Indian chief orders that the first Caucasian race man who enters their encampment be killed. A butterfly collecting (Keaton) unwittingly wanders in while chasing a butterfly. They tie him to a stake and collect wood. When he frees himself, the Indian warriors give chase. During the pursuit, he finds some asbestos and fashions himself some fireproof underwear. As a result, when they catch him and try to burn him at the stake, he remains unharmed. Awed by this, the Indians adopt him and give him the title "Little Chief Paleface".