The Rustler Sheriff (1911)
The citizens of San Juan County are very much aroused by the repeated depredations of a gang of cattle rustlers. Posse after posse, led by the sheriff, followed the rustlers into the mountains, but the outlaws always managed to elude their pursuers. Charley Walton surprises the rustlers in the act of running off his stock and opens fire. One of the rustlers turns in his saddle and fires point blank at Walton, killing him instantly. Shortly after, Maud Walton, his daughter, accompanied by her lover, Jack Beemis, riding along the boundary, comes upon the ranchman's lifeless body. The distracted daughter kneels beside her dead father and her lover, deeply distressed by her grief, swears to track down the men who committed this crime and bring them to justice. The rustler who fired the fatal shot, rides to a secluded spot, and removing his false beard, and pinning on a star, transforms himself into the sheriff. When Jack arrives in town to notify the sheriff of this fresh depredation he finds him delivering a harangue to the boys about the rustlers, and insisting that if they will only follow him he will round the outlaws up. Jack leads the sheriff and the posse to the scene of the recent crime, and shows the sheriff the trail as indicated by the trampled grass and hoofmarks of the cattle. The sheriff disregards Jack's advice, claiming that it is a rustler's trick to disguise their real trail, and he leads the posse in the opposite direction, toward the timber land. Jack becomes suspicious of him, and when their search ends in failure, he determines to play a lone hand and locate the rustlers himself. He calls at his sweetheart's home, and obtaining her father's gun, he starts for the mountain country, riding along alert and watchful, he sees a man disappear into a secluded glen. Dismounting, he approaches carefully, and sees the sheriff disguising himself into the outlaw. Following him, he sees him join the gang and obtain his share of the booty. The sheriff plans a raid on the Bar X cattle, but his followers are afraid to attempt the job. He laughs contemptuously, and assures them that there is nothing to fear, as he himself will lead the pursuit. Jack quietly steals away, and riding to town, ho notifies the boys of what he has seen and heard. They plan to ambush the rustlers and capture them if possible. The surprise is complete and the rustlers badly defeated. The wily sheriff escapes and the cowboys pursue him to the mountains. Up the steep and rocky mountainside he runs, followed by the cowboys, now on foot. They lose track of him entirely, but continue their search, knowing that he cannot be far away. They are startled by a rumbling sound, and looking up, they see an enormous rock come rolling down the slope. When all is quiet they rush up to find the rustler pinioned beneath the tons of rock. Jack Beemis steps up and removes the false beard, disclosing the face of the sheriff, and the cowboys turn away in awe, feeling that divine retribution has overtaken the evildoer.
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GenresShort
Western
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Allan Dwan | Director |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| J. Warren Kerrigan | |
| Pauline Bush | |
| Jack Richardson |
