Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-01-21

crimes thst followed each other il
daily succession, but nobody uttered
their suspicious or proclaimed theil
know'dge. 10 skeak out was to in.
vite sudden death. There Was no Law
10 aTp'al to. The only constituted
authority was a sn-cslled sheriff
Nothing better illustrates the coDdi-
tons Of society st that time and place
than the circumstance that the office
OF sheriff, both st Bannsck and Vir.
ginia, wus held by Henry Plummer
himself, and that his deputies were
Buck Siinton, Ned Ray and jack
Gallagher, three accomplished de-per-
sdoes, selected Oh civil service reio NJ
principles from bis own band Of high
wavmeD.
Under Plummer's mastery leader.
ship were associated, besides the men
already mentioned, Ersstus Ysger,
known a. Red G. w. Brown. Geo.
Lane, or Club Foot George Frank
Parish, Haze Lyons, Boone Helm, Bill
Bunton, Cyrus skinner, Bill Hunter,
Alex Carter, Joe Pizanthis. or
Greaser Joe, and many other es.
peradoe- whose nam's ore famous in
the early annals Of Montana. The
gang had its headquarters at Rattle
snake Ranch, aud its wakiups and
places Of rendezvous everywhere. The
reign # terror had reached the stage
where no mans life was safe for q
single day. In few months preced-
ing the time If the first urr sing
against the power Of Henry Plummer
not less than one hundred aud two
known murders had been charged Ia
the account Of this gang. The extent
of the lit OF undiscovered or improved
crimes, OF disspp.arauces where the
fate OF the victim wss never kn,wn
aud his corpse rever fou nd, can only
be matter Of conjecture.
"The murder of q German named
Nicholas Tbalt in the S,inkingwater
valley for the price oftwo mules which
he had been sent to buy. was the i'm
mediate cause of the organization Of
the Mootsus vigilantes. Geo. Ives
wss caught red-hsnded. Twenty-Five
citizens dragged him ont Of vakiup
near Dempsey's ranch. and escorted
him to Nevada City. 1t was charsc.
teristic of the times that on their way
back to town the party should organ
ize q series of scrub races, In which
captors and prisoner compared the
speed OF their csyuse- in the most
friendly way. and during which Ives
almost escaped. The news Of impend
ing proceedings .presd rapidly, and
people fiocked into Nevada from
every part Of the surrounding coun.
try. The situstion WAS not regarded
as serious for Ives. less: of all by
the murderer himself. Pr, sscutions
under such circumstances he'd end d
10 farce over and over again. This
time the miners sent for Col. Sanders
to take charge of the prosecution.
"A miners jury OF twelve men from
Nevada City and twelve from June.
tion was appointed. The trial oc-
Cured late In the afternoon OF Dec. q /.
1868, before a huge bonfire In the
open air, and in the presence Of the
whole body Of citizens. Ives Gas
chained with logging chain to two
ether men accused OF participation in
the murder Of Tbalt. The judge sat
in q wagon. With an ability and a
courage that are still remembered In
Montana, Col. Sanders presented the
csse agsinst the murderer, and when
the verdict was returned moved that
Ives be hung on the spot. The prose-
cutors hold on life seemed for time
even more precsrious than that OF the
prisoner, for the crowd around the
bonfire was full Of the friends OF the
gang, and Plummer's arrival iron
Bannsck with rescuing force was
momentsrily expected. Part Of the