Stampede

Two brothers, Mike McCall and Tim McCall, own a large cattle ranch situated in a valley in Arizona. Back when their father built the ranch, he dammed the river on their property to create Spirit Lake, and thus the McCalls control all the water in the valley. The land surrounding the ranch belongs to business partners LeRoy Stanton and Stanley Cox, who begin selling it to various settlers from Indiana and Illinois. However, when the settlers arrive, they find the land bone dry because of the dam, and their discontent jeopardizes Stanton and Cox's larger plans to profit from the development of the local town, where they also own most of the land. Settler John Dawson and his daughter Connie Dawson complain to Sheriff Aaron Ball about the water situation, but he has no legal remedy. Connie strongly resents the McCalls despite her peaceable father's desire to get along with his neighbors, but over time, a romance kindles between her and Tim.