Vigilantism in Montana

In Bannack,  Montana, the story of vigilantism is best told in a book titled Vigilantes of Montana by Thomas Dimsdale in 1866. The book was the first book published in Montana/Idaho Territory. 

It's the story of Henry Plummer who first arrived in gold country in 1852 as a teenager.  He settled in Nevada City.  He visited many mining camps before coming to Bannock, ran professional gambling houses and organized a group of men who preyed on people moving in and out of the camps. In nearby Lewiston,  Plummer was an established merchant when gold was first discovered in Montana July 1862, at Grasshopper Creek. The discovery site quickly became the town of Bannack. In October 1862,  bandits robbed a pack train of 14 pounds of gold and were hanged in Lewiston.

Plummer moved to Bannack and organized a new group of highwaymen in April 1863. He got elected Sheriff of Bannack. On May 24 1863 another deposit of gold which was later proved to be the greatest of the world, was discovered at Alder Gulch, 80 miles from Bannack - later to be Virginia City. Meanwhile, it was decided that one Sheriff would be over all camps east of the Bitter Root Mountains - including Bannack, Lewiston, and Virginia City. Plummer got the job.

It didn't take long for Plummer's highway men to plunder the gold being shipped out of these new found deposits of Montana. Plummer discovered it was more profitable to mine these shipments than to mine the streams, and made his headquarters at Rattlesnake Ranch where his arsenal and hideout were. His cover was a signpost for practicing marksmanship. Interestingly,  Plummer could draw and shoot 5 bullets from his pistol in 3 seconds. He had the reputation of the quickest shot in mountains. 

His men also used the ranches of  innocent people who were not foolish enough to even

hunt at what was going on. A conservative estimate based on bodies actually found was that Plummer and his men murdered some 102 people, not counting those whose remains were never found.  Plummer was the sheriff and three of his highwaymen were his deputes -  Jack Gallagher, Buck Stimson and Ned Ray. The one honest deputy Dillingham was murdered  by his "deputies" in cold blood.

Next time - Community Reaction Part 2

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Today in Pioneer History: "On July 27, 1921, scientists successfully isolate insulin,  a drug they believed could prevent diabetes, at the University of Toronto, Canada.  Frederick Banting and Charles Best saved countless lives within a year of their discovery.