Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-10-04

bfluSts anu Nrltttn u MfS. Iolt.D
A t the time of the discovery of gold
u in Montana. Idaho included Montana
1 L and Wyoming. with Lewiston as the
capital. Lewiston, on the Snake river,
was the head of navigation and accessible
from the Columbia by small steamboats,;
it became the port for the Idaho gold
fields of Orc Elmo, Elk City and Florence
and grew rapidly in population.
Most of the houses were constructed of
scantling or poles covered with common
factory cloth; seen from a distance the
town appeared to be built of white mar
BILE. and at night the houses served as
great lanterns that lighted the town.
In the spring Of 1861, among the daily
arrivals at Lewistown was a young man
of gentlemanly appearance, who took
quarters at the pest hotel in town. His
character as a gambler was soon under
stood and he early formed the acquaint-
ance Of many %congenial spirits. Henry
Plummer, for that was his name, was an
eastern man who had gone to California
a few years before, where he lived q
checkered career, killing at least two men
for which he was sent to the peniten-
tiary; his friends, however, succeeded in
getting him pardoned out on the grounds
that he was a consumptive. While in
Lewiston he became the leader of an or
ganized band of road agents, the num-
Der Of whose robberies and murders will
never be known.
Arrival of Plummer
With the stampede from the Idaho
mines to the later discoveries in Mon
tana, Plummer drifted to Bannack, as did
also some of his former associates.
Although known as a professional gam
bier in Montana, he succeeded in gaining
the confidence of the community to such
an extent as to be elected sheriff.
Virginia City was now at the height of
its boom. The people were shocked and
alarmed at the crimes of both robbery
and murder that were being perpetrated
by ~highwaymen out on the lonely roads,
and obscure mountain passes; stage
coaches were held up by masked men
and individuals who were known to have
money disappeared or were found dead
and their money gone.
Plummer confessed himself much puz-
zled and his efforts to apprehend the
bandits or road agents were futile. Crime
increased and no man felt that his life
was safe. 1t now became apparent that
the road agents lived among us, and
Plummer, the sheriff, began to be looked
upon with suspicion. 1t seemed impos-
sible that with the facilities he had at
his command he could get no informa-
ton and accomplish nothing.
Organization of Vigilantes
The law abiding citizens now ook the
law INTO their own hands and organized
vigilance committees One of these COM
mittees was organized in the back of cur
store. My brother John wrote the test
oath, which they all signed. These COM
mittees gathered evidence, made arrests,
and all who were found guilty were
hanged. 1t developed, as nae been sus-
pected, that Henry Plummer was the
leader.
Shortly before the organization of the
Vigilantes in the fall of 1868, / found 1t
necessary to go to Salt Lake City to buy
goods for store at Nevada in Alder
gulch. A company was going from Ban
mack which / was to join. In order to
protect themselves against the Indians,
trips to Salt Lake City were made in or
ganized companies, we'll armed. l had
$l0,0 900 in gold dust that I was taking to
pay for the goods l would buy in Salt
LAX City. Part of 1t was sewed in a
belt and worn around my waist, but the
bulk of the dust was in buckskin pouches
in a pair of saddle bags tied to the back
of my saddle. In order to elude the road
agents, / thought it best to go on horse
back to Bannack, which was 10 miles
from Virginia City. We were very careful
to say nothing about my going and sup
posed that nc one except my brother
John and myself knew anything about it.
Chased by outlaws
My horse stood in readiness In a shed
at the back of the store with his hoofs
muffled in gunny sacks, and at 3 O'Clock
in the morning, while it was still dark,
l slipped out of the back door. Instead
OF taking the street or main road that
went down the gulch, / led my horse and
picked by way carefully across the gulch
between the sluice boxes and gravel bars
until I reached the foothills on the other
side. Finally removing the mufflers and
mounting my horse, / still kept under
cover in the foothills above the Ruby
valley for several miles. Meanwhile day
was breaking, and feeling myself safe
from pursuit, I came down on the main
road. l had ridden several miles, and
dismissed all thought of trouble, so had
taken a steady gait and was in no hurry.
Happening to look back when had
reached an elevation In the road, I saw
what appeared to be two horsemen in
the distance. did not consider this
anything out of the ordinary and felt no
uneasiness, as there was much travelling
done on horseback. However, / discovered
on glancing back from time to time, that
they were rapidly gaining on me. The
t0a6A& vel SOll tAlCN NC iOdQ
agentsP" I now put spurs to my horse
whenever I lost sight Of them, being
careful to take a more moderate gait
when they came in sight again.
Bandits Gain on Him
| soon found this would never do, as
they came rapidly OF 1 urged my horse
to his utmost speed, regardless of every
thing except to get away. But they still
gained ground. Their horses were fresh
er than mine, although l had q good
mount, but my weight. together with the
5O pounds Of gold dust that / carried
was beginning to tell. He was becoming
SO fatigued that he often fell to his
knees, almost throwing me over his head,
but he scrambled up again and was off
as though he sensed the danger.
AS we dashed on / became more and
more apprehensive. There could be no
doubt that they were In pursuit and de-
termined to overtake me. / now felt
sure they were road agents and were
after my money. They were near enough
that / could see they were not masked
In that case, should they be road agents
1t meant death for me, for they would
never risk being identified, and dead men
tell no tales.
My horse was a lather of sweat, pant
ing n breathing heavily. We were rae
ing along the bank of the Beaverhead
river, under the bluff and approaching
the gap near the B%eaverhead rock,
through which the river passes. On the
other side OF the gap l must make my
stand-it was two against one, but l was
determined to die fighting. CHANGING
back | saw them coming around the last
point. They were SO near ! could see the
u1aarnfn1 80 thotr attar n,,l ~nrAr.4voy