Plummer's Gold

**Plummer's Gold** is the 1st episode in Season 3 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates sets off for gold rush country to search for the lost fortune of a Montana sheriff. During his investigation, Gates explores hidden cave systems and blows open a mine that's been sealed for over a century.

## Historical Context

"The year is 1862. A major gold strike in the Montana Territory gives rise to boomtowns and bandits. Enter Henry Plummer, a mine owner who gets himself elected sheriff and promises to bring law to a lawless land. But when the gold heists and gangs get worse, some begin to suspect that Plummer himself is the ring leader. Soon, a so-called vigilante committee is formed and within weeks, they arrest Henry Plummer and drag him to the gallows. But before they can lynch him, legend says he tries to make a desperate bargain. If the townspeople will spare him and bring him a horse, he claims he can return in two hours with his weight in pure gold. The vigilantes decline the offer and Plummer hangs."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh goes to Virginia City, Montana and meets Gay and Kay Rossow, saloonkeepers at Montana's oldest bar. They give him background on the Plummer story. Josh drives to Bannack, Montana where Plummer was elected sheriff in 1863. He meets Darren Wedding, a treasure hunter, at the old jail and they ride an hour out into the Montana countryside. They explore a search grid and rappel into a cave. They find an old metal can and use handheld LIDAR to 3D map the cave. They find a passage with old writing from explorers and bandits one of which says "Plumer 1865." However, it's referring to a different Plummer.

The next day, Josh meets John Dixon, a treasure hunter, and they head to a lake which relates to a shootout between some of Plummer's friends who were given gold shares. They use a molecular resonator and it points to sagebrush, another part of the legend. They use a dredge to search the shoreline and find a lead bullet.

Josh goes to meet Rob Towner, a prospector, and Bob, Rob's associate outside of Bannack. They go to an old mine and blow it open with dynamite. Inside the shaft, they find gold in the walls but none of it is Plummer's. The following day, Josh goes to the Beaverhead County Museum in Dillon, Montana where he meets Mark Weber, a historian. Mark has historical documents which show vigilantes got the property of those that they lynched. Plummer signed part of his lucrative mine over to a "friend" of his and then his friend, who was actually a vigilante, hanged him not long later.

## Final Words

"Was Henry Plummer really innocent of the crimes for which he was hanged? Was his promise to return with his weight in gold the last act of a desperate but honourable man? We may never know for sure. But the many highway robberies around Bannack were real and a fortune in gold was never recovered. And as I've galloped across the pages of Plummer's story, I've discovered the unknown in hidden caverns where lasers are creating a 21st-century map of natural treasures. The chilly waters have yielded up evidence of bygone ballistics, clues that link us to Plummer's legend. And I even got to blow stuff up helping to rediscover a lost tunnel to the past that's still lined with riches. As for Plummer the man, he remains just out of reach, a character who gave rise to a mystery and inspired a legendary treasure hunt for the ages."

~ Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "This book will reveal nine secrets to gold panning. Secret number one, immerse the pan into the water-"
* "That is the thing from Ghostbusters that catches ghosts, correct?"
* "And that is to shrink people down to ant size, is that correct?"
* "Magic is real, ghosts exist, UFOs are everywhere. My whole world just came unhinged."
* "Instead of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to find our way home, we have glow sticks which is the first time I've ever seen them used for anything productive."

## References

1. ↑ https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2016/10/24/1/TEXU301H\_240114\_858382.1400629.JPG.rend.hgtvcom.966.644.suffix/1491593454678.jpeg