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A tsakanin 1863–1864, 'Yan Bindiga na Montana sun bi tsarin Kwamitin Kula da Gaggawa na San Francisco wanda ya wanzu a shekarun 1850 a California don kawo tsari ga al'ummomin da ba su da doka a cikin da kewayen filayen zinare na Alder Gulch da Grasshopper Creek. Akwai kiyasin cewa an kashe mutane sama da 100 a cikin fashin " wakilan hanya " a kaka ta 1863. Kwamitin Kula da Gaggawa na Alder Gulch ya shirya a watan Disamba na 1863, kuma a cikin makonni shida na farko na 1864, an kama akalla jami'an hanya 20 na ƙungiyar Plummer mai suna, wanda aka sani da " Masu Rashin Laifi ", kuma ƙungiyar ta kama su kuma ta rataye su. Dokar yanki ta hukuma ta isa Alder Gulch a ƙarshen 1864 tare da isowar Alkalin Yankuna Hezekiah L. Hosmer kuma ayyukan 'yan banga sun daina aiki a yankin.

As the gold fields of Alder Gulch and Grasshopper Creek declined in 1865, prospectors and fortune seekers migrated to newly discovered areas in and around Last Chance Gulch (now Helena, Montana). As lawlessness increased, vigilante justice continued there with the formation of the Committee of Safety in 1865. During the period 1865–1870, at least 14 alleged criminals were executed by Helena's vigilantes. In 1884, ranchers in Central and Eastern Montana resorted to vigilante justice to deal with cattle rustlers and horse thieves. The best-known vigilante group in that area was "Stuart's Stranglers", organized by Granville Stuart in the Musselshell region. As formal law enforcement became more prevalent in the region, vigilantism fell into decline.

Vigilantism in pre-territorial and territorial Montana has been written about, romanticized and chronicled in personal memoirs, biographies, documentary and scholarly works, film and fiction for well over a century. The first book published in Montana was Thomas J. Dimsdale's 1866 first edition of The Vigilantes of Montana, which was compiled from a series of newspaper articles he wrote for the Montana Post in 1865. Historical analysis of the period ranges from disrepute to heroism, with debates over whether the lack of any functioning justice system and the understanding of due process at the time meant the vigilantes acted in a way they thought was best for their communities or if modern standards of due process should govern analysis of their actions.

Bannack and Virginia City

Bannack, Montana (2005)

On July 28, 1862, gold was discovered along Grasshopper Creek, a tributary of the Beaverhead River, in a remote part of eastern Idaho Territory, leading to the establishment of the town of Bannack. Bannack was a gold rush boomtown that was the first territorial capital of Montana Territory for a brief period after the territory was established in 1864. Less than a year after the Grasshopper Creek find, on May 26, 1863, gold was discovered along Alder Gulch, a tributary creek northeast of the Ruby River that lies between the Tobacco Root Mountains and the Gravelly Range and 70 miles (110 km) east of Bannack. The Alder Gulch find became one of the largest placer mining gold fields in the western U.S. The mining settlements of Virginia City and Nevada City, Montana, which sprang up in Alder Gulch, boasted thousands of prospectors and fortune seekers by the end of 1863. These new settlements generally lacked justice systems found in populated portions of the territory, such as in the territorial capital in Lewiston, Idaho. In 1863, gold was the preferred form of currency in western frontier communities and had a value, fixed and guaranteed by the U.S. Government, of $20.67 per ounce. Almost all economic transactions in western mining communities were accomplished with gold nuggets, flakes or dust as currency and not surprisingly, the more gold one had, the more wealth one possessed. During the early years of the territory, there was no secure way to transport wealth out of the region. The only means of transporting wealth out of the Alder Gulch gold fields was via horseback or slow moving wagons and stagecoaches on a limited number of trails and primitive roads leading south and west to Salt Lake City and San Francisco or east to Minnesota. Roads and trails leading to Alder Gulch included the Bozeman and Bridger Trails connecting to the Oregon Trail from the east, the Mullan Road from points west and from Fort Benton, Montana the head of navigation on the Missouri River and the Corinne Road from Corinne, Utah and points south. Additionally, there was a single track, 70 miles (110 km) stage road that connected Alder Gulch with Bannack. Several commercial freight and two passenger stage companies, Peabody and Caldwell's and A.J. Oliver's, operated on this route. Stagecoaches had to stop at several different ranches during the trip to water and change horses, feed passengers and provide overnight lodging. One of these ranches, the Rattlesnake Ranch, was owned by Bill Bunton and Frank Parish, who were later hanged by the vigilantes as road agents and members of the Plummer gang.

B&W image of a man with short hair and a long goatee beard

Henry Plummer

In a region where valuable gold was plentiful, transportation was insecure and effective law and order was lacking, travelers became easy prey for robbers. By late 1863, thefts and murders along the routes in and around Alder Gulch had become common. In their writings about the vigilantes, Thomas Dimsdale and Nathaniel P. Langford estimated that at least 102 travelers were killed by robbers in the fall of 1863. Many more travelers left the region and were never heard from again. As this became a more frequent occurrence locals began suspecting that these crimes were being carried out by a single group of outlaws, known as "road agents", under the control of Bannack sheriff Henry Plummer. The gang became known as the Innocents because of their passwords, I am innocent.

Notorious robberies, attempted robberies and murders in 1863

• On October 13, 1863, Lloyd Magruder was killed by road agent Chris Lowrie. Magruder was an Idaho merchant leaving Virginia City with $12,000 in gold dust from goods he had sold there. Several of the men he hired to accompany him back to Lewiston, Idaho were in fact criminals. Four other men in the party were also murdered in camp - Charlie Allen, Robert Chalmers, Horace Chalmers and William Phillips - by Lowrie, Doc Howard, Jem Romaine and William Page.
• On October 26, 1863, the Peabody and Caldwell's stage was robbed between the Rattlesnake Ranch and Bannack by two road agents believed to be Frank Parish and George Ives. Bill Bunton, the owner of the Rattlesnake Ranch who joined the stage at the ranch was also complicit in the robbery. The road agents netted $2,800 in gold from the passengers and threatened them all with death if they talked about the robbery.
• On November 13, 1863, a teenage Henry Tilden was in the employ of Wilbur Sanders and Sidney Edgerton to locate and corral some horses owned by Sanders and Edgerton. Near Horse Prairie, Tilden was confronted by three armed road agents. He was carrying very little money and was allowed to depart unmolested, but with the warning that if he talked, he would be killed. He did not heed the warning and told Sanders' wife, Hattie and Sidney Edgerton that he had recognized one of the road agents as sheriff Henry Plummer. Although Tilden's report was discounted because Plummer was respected, this incident led to increased suspicion in the region that Plummer was the leader of a gang of road agents.

1907 Painting by John W. Norton of Henry Plummer's gang holding up and robbing a stagecoach

• On November 22, 1863, the A.J. Oliver stage was robbed on its way to Bannack from Virginia City by road agents George Ives, "Whiskey Bill" Graves and Bob Zachary. The robbery netted less than $1,000 in gold and treasury notes. One of the victims, Leroy Southmayd made the mistake of reporting the robbery and identifying the road agents to Bannack Sheriff, Henry Plummer. Members of Plummer's gang confronted Southmayd on his return trip to Virginia City, but Southmayd was cunning enough to avoid injury or death.
• In November 1863, Conrad Kohrs traveled to Bannack from Deer Lodge, Montana with $5,000 in gold dust to buy cattle. A conversation with Sheriff Plummer in Bannack led Kohrs to believe he might be robbed while on the trail back to Deer Lodge. While in an overnight camp his associates located road agents George Ives and "Dutch John" Wagner surveying the camp, armed with shotguns. A day or two later, Kohrs was on horseback returning to Deer Lodge when Ives and Wagner gave chase. Kohrs' horse proved the faster and he evaded confrontation before reaching the safety of Deer Lodge.
• In early December 1863, a three wagon freight outfit organized by Milton S. Moody was going to Salt Lake City from Virginia City. Among the seven passengers was John Bozeman. The freight wagons were carrying $80,000 in gold dust and $1,500 in treasury notes. While camped on Blacktail Deer Creek, road agents "Dutch John" Wagner and Steve Marshland entered the camp, armed and ready to rob the train. Members of the camp had armed themselves well and Wagner and Marshland were able to escape, claiming they were just looking for lost horses. Two days later, Wagner and Marshland were both wounded in an unsuccessful attempt to rob the wagon train as it crossed the Continental Divide at Rock Creek.
• On December 8, 1863, Anton Holter (who later became a Montana Power Company executive and had Holter Dam named for him), who was taking oxen to sell in Virginia City, survived an attempted robbery and murder. When road agents George Ives and Aleck Carter, whom Holter recognized, discovered Holter was not carrying any significant wealth, they tried to shoot him. He was able to avoid being shot and escaped into the brush.

The failure of miners' courts

Prior to the creation of the Montana Territory on May 26, 1864, and the arrival of the territorial courts, the only court system available for the residents of Bannack and Virginia City were the informal miners' courts. The miners' courts were a vehicle of the organized mining districts to resolve mining claims and disputes between miners in the district. When confronted with a major crime such as murder, they usually proved ineffective at resolving the crime to the satisfaction of the community.

 

Another powerful incentive to wrong-doing is the absolute nullity of the civil law in such cases. No matter what may be the proof, if the criminal is well liked in the community 'Not Guilty' is almost certain to be the verdict, despite the efforts of the judge and prosecutor.

— Vigilantes of Montana, Thomas Dimsdale, 1865

While there are not many accounts of early courts in Alder Gulch, probably due to their informality and short existence, John X. Beidler recalled a murder trial in the Virginia City miners' court in his memoirs. The trial was in the fall of 1863 and concerned the murder of J.W. Dillingham. The trial was held outside, due to the fact that every resident took part. In the end all three defendants were set free. The first, Charley Forbes, was freed after he gave an eloquent and sentimental speech about his mother. The other two, Buck Stinson and Haze Lyons, were convicted and set to be the first men executed in what would become the state of Montana. However, at what would be a very public hanging friends and sympathizers of Stinson and Lyons convinced the crowd to vote again on the execution. Two attempts at counting the vote were made according to Beidler. The first people voting 'hang' were to walk up-hill while those voting 'no hang' were to walk down-hill. This vote was rejected and the next attempt had four men form two gates and people would cast their vote by walking through the 'hang' gate or the 'no hang' gate. Beidler claims that friends of the condemned men simply walked through the 'no hang' gate repeatedly casting fraudulent votes that possibly allowed two murderers to walk free.

On December 19–21, 1863, a public trial was held of George Ives, the suspected murderer of Nicholas Tiebolt, a young Dutch immigrant. Hundreds of miners from around the area attended the 3-day, outdoor trial. George Ives was prosecuted by Wilbur F. Sanders and Ives was convicted and hanged on December 21, 1863. Sanders played a prominent role in Montana history and eventually became the first U.S. Senator from Montana when the territory gained statehood in 1889. While the Ives trial resulted in an execution many residents were frustrated by a cumbersome process that could easily be manipulated. This sentiment is illustrated by a quote from Thomas Dimsdale who wrote the first published account of the Montana Vigilantes, originally written in 1865 as a series of articles for the Montana Post and later compiled into a book.

We the undersigned uniting ourselves in a party for the laudable purpos [sic] of arresting thievs [sic] & murderers & recovering stollen [sic] property do pledge ourselves upon our sacred honor each to all others & solemnly swear that we will reveal no secrets, violate no laws of right & never desert each other or our standard of justice so help us God as witness our hand and seal this 23 of December ad 1863

— From original signed oath document held by Montana Historical Society

Formation of the Vigilance Committee

On December 23, 1863, two days after the Ives trial, a group of five Virginia City residents, led by Wilbur F. Sanders, and including Major Alvin W. Brockie, John Nye, Captain Nick D. Wall and Paris Pfouts organized the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch. The committee was organized similar to the earlier San Francisco Committee of Vigilance (1851–56) in California of which some of the Alder Gulch organizers were familiar with. The original committee oath signed by its earliest members was:

It shall be the duty of members to attach themselves to some company and whenever any criminal act shall come to their knowledge to inform his Captain or Lieutenant of the same, when the officers so informed shall call together the members of his Company, (unless the Company has chosen a committee for such purpose) when they shall proceed to investigate the case, and elicit the facts and should the said company conclude that the person charged with any offense should be punished by the committee, the Captain or Lieutenant will first take steps to arrest the Criminal and then report same with proof to the Chief who will thereupon call a meeting of the Executive Committee and the judgement of such Executive Committee shall be final. The only punishment that shall be inflicted by this Committee is death.

— By-laws of Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch (1863)

Paris Pfouts was elected as the president of the committee which drafted and adopted a comprehensive set of by-laws establishing a formal structure and process. The by-laws established the position of president, an executive officer, an executive committee, a secretary, treasurer and positions of captains and lieutenants of companies. The most relevant process contained in the by-laws was:

Prominent members

John Bozeman

Although the vigilance committee started as a small secret institution in Virginia City, knowledge of it soon spread in the territory and membership grew. As a secret organization, exact accounts of membership vary, but many members became prominent in the history of the territory and state. Among those who were members include Wilbur Sanders (1st U.S. Senator from Montana (1890)), Sidney Edgerton (first Governor of Montana Territory (1864)), Nelson Story (famous for his 1866 cattle drive from Texas to Bozeman and prominent Bozeman merchant), John Bozeman (founder of Bozeman, Montana (1864) and the Bozeman Trail), Nathaniel P. Langford (first Yellowstone National Park superintendent (1872–1877)), James Stuart (brother of Granville Stuart, who would form the Stuarts' Stranglers in 1884), Tom Cover (one of the Alder Gulch prospectors who discovered the first gold there and alleged murderer of John Bozeman (1867)) and Thomas Dimsdale (editor of Montana's first newspaper, the Montana Post and author of The Vigilantes of Montana (1866)).

Due to the secret nature of the organization it is difficult to be sure when an execution was carried out by the vigilance committee or another group of motivated citizens. In the months following the Ives trial many suspected road agents were hanged. Notable among those hanged was Henry Plummer, the sheriff of Bannack, who was suspected by many of being the ringleader of the road agents. The Montana Vigilantes hanged men using the testimony of other men who faced their imminent executions as the sole evidence. Of the few accounts of the early actions of the Alder Gulch Vigilantes, Beidler and Dimsdale are the most complete, although they give little information about the secret trials conducted by the vigilantes. Estimates vary, but noted vigilante historian Frederick Allen believes that between the years 1863 and 1865 somewhere from 15 to 35 people were killed due to the actions of the Alder Gulch vigilantes.

Vigilante justice

Over a course of approximately six weeks between December 1863 and February 1864, vigilante companies located, arrested and executed suspected members of the Plummer road agent gang in Bannack, Virginia City and Hellgate, Montana.

Shortly after its formation, the Vigilance Committee dispatched a posse of men to search for Aleck Carter, "Whiskey Bill" Graves and Bill Bunton, known associates of George Ives. The posse was led by vigilante Captain James Williams, the man who had investigated the Nicolas Tiebolt murder by George Ives. Near the Rattlesnake Ranch on the Ruby River, the posse located "Erastus Red" Yeager and George Brown, both suspected road agents. While traveling back to Virginia City, Yeager made a complete confession, naming the majority of the road agents in Plummer's gang, including Henry Plummer. After obtaining the confession, Yeager and Brown were found guilty by the posse and summarily hanged from a cottonwood tree on the Lorrain's Ranch on the Ruby River. On January 6, 1864, "Dutch John" Wagner, a road agent wounded in the Moody robbery was captured by vigilante Captain Nick Wall and Ben Peabody on the Salt Lake City trail. The vigilantes transported Wagner to Bannack where he was hanged on January 11, 1864. By this time, Yeager's confession had mobilized vigilantes against Plummer and his key associates, deputies Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. Plummer, Stinson and Ray were arrested on the morning of January 10, 1864 and summarily hanged. On January 11, 1864, "Greaser Joe" Pizanthia, a road agent on Yeager's list, was located in his cabin just outside Bannack. A gunfight ensued that took the life of one vigilante, George Copley. Pizanthia's cabin was bombarded with three shells from a mountain howitzer belonging to Sidney Edgerton. The bombardment severely wounded Pizanthia and he was shot and killed as he was removed from the wreckage of the cabin.