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As homesteaders entered the scene of the wild West, the situation threatens to explode into a range war. Lone Ranger meets a pioneer family who are headed back East, after their failure in conquering the frontier. The masked man learns of the unexpected challenge that Jeb martin and his family have faced. Despite being granted land by the US government, a holder of a Spanish land grant, Ortega, is ready to defend his claim with gun fire. With encouragement from Lone Ranger, Jeb turns back to the West, but what plan does the masked man have up his sleeve?
Ortega has a huge ranch on his Spanish land grant, and he refuses to budge, or share his holdings with the new settlers. Lone Ranger rides in to force Ortega to see the ways of progress and the Westward movement. Since the United States now owns the land from the Louisiana Purchase, the law is on the side of the homesteaders.
Will there be a gun battle, or will the Lone Ranger be able to settle this land grab in a more civilized manner?
PS: Hey, isn’t that a little unfair to take away Ortega’s land? He was there first. The problem that isn’t mentioned in the drama is that the land grants issued by Spain became invalid with the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase. It still doesn’t sound fair to me, but that’s the way the government saw it back then. You would think the land holders would be given first right to maintain the cultivation of it, instead of forcing them to give it up.
