|
|
|
|
Cover Story |
June 3rd, 2010 | ||||
Bannack, Montana, in the 1860’s, was a typical boomtown. The town was full of hastily-built structures, tents, and brothels, peopled with all sorts of transient young men with all kinds of get-rich-quick schemes. Practically everyone in town engaged in some form of mining, and thousands of claims were scattered all over the hills. Each new strike also brought another saloon or gambling hall. As fortunes were made, hundreds of others arrived wanting in on the action. It was absolutely the wildest and woolliest town in the whole Idaho Territory with outlaws totally out of control and raising hell. Holdups occurred daily, and killings were just as frequent. No one was safe. The outlaws took what they wanted and killed all the witnesses. In sheer desperation, the harassed citizens finally decided they needed a lawman...one who would protect them from “The Innocents,” the meanest, most cursed road agent gang in the annals of crime. In May of 1863 Mr. Plummer, with a background in law enforcement, and who was now living in Bannack, Montana, why, he just up and gets himself elected as sheriff of Bannack. Imagine that. Yes, he was elected Sheriff of Bannack and all gold camps southeast of the Bitterroot. That same year, on June 29, Chief Deputy Donald H. Dillingham of Virginia City, becomes the first lawman killed in the line of duty, assassinated in broad daylight on Virginia City’s Main Street by two of Plummer’s deputies. The ambitious sheriff soon extended his operations to Virginia City when he was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal for the region of Idaho Territory east of the mountains in August of 1863. However, even though Plummer was the Sheriff of Bannack, Montana, and the US Marshall for the Idaho Territory, the following winter the stage was robbed twice, an attempt was made to rob a freight caravan, and a man was murdered. By December, one account alleges there were 102 known killed and over a quarter million dollars in gold (at 1863 prices) stolen by Plummer's alleged "Road Agents" gang. By December, 1863, the citizens of Bannack and Virginia City had had enough. Men from Bannack, Virginia City and nearby Nevada City met secretly and organized the Montana Vigilantes. Masked men began to visit suspected outlaws in the middle of the night issuing warnings and tacking up posters featuring a skull-and-crossbones or the "mystic" numbers "3-7-77." While the meaning of these numbers remains elusive, the Montana State Highway patrolmen wear the emblem "3-7-77" on their shoulder patches today. The residents were divided on whether or not Henry was part of the murderous gang. But one night after heavy drinking in a local saloon, the vigilantes decided that Henry was guilty and tracked him down. On January 10, 1864 fifty to seventy-five men gathered up Plummer and his two main deputies, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. Vigilante Hanging The three were marched to those very same gallows that Plummer, himself, had built. Ned Ray was the first hanged, followed by Buck Stinson--both men spewing epithets every step of the way. According to one legend, Plummer promised to tell the vigilantes where $100,000 of gold was buried, if they would let him live. However, the vigilantes ignored this as they gradually hoisted him up by the neck. The Montana Vigilantes became an admired group in Montana history. Beginning in the late 20th century, that view has been widely challenged. Books have appeared depicting Plummer as an innocent victim. In recent years, many historical researchers have come to question the "traditional" histories relating to Henry Plummer, most of which were written by Masons. Given that the Masons played a critical role in the hanging of Henry Plummer, and further, that political ambitions clearly were the predominant force underlying the hangings, there is strong reason to believe that Henry Plummer was not implicated in a "road agent" gang. Historical fiction writers, too, have examined the issue. The most recent is the historical novel by James Gaitis, entitled "A Stout Cord and a Good Drop" (Globe Pequot Press 2006). In contrast, Frederick Allen, in his highly praised 2004 book, "A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes," goes somewhat against this trend. He believes there is considerable evidence of Plummer's guilt, and he suggests the early phase of the lynchings was a widely supported response to a real breakdown of law and order, and a fairly measured response for its time. Allen does believe, however, that the movement later degenerated into a campaign of terror that still haunts the state.
Since this trial, more evidence has come to light to support Henry Plummer's innocence. He was dying of TB when he was hung without the drop, therefore he died slowly and in agony, strangling to death. Is there a stolen treasure, estimated at $6 million dollars in gold nuggets, coins, and gold dust still hidden in the stark Montana hills? Those are questions that may never be answered. Only the ones who participated in the gold frenzy days of Bannack know for certain and they, too, lie buried somewhere in the Montana countryside. The historical town of Bannack was placed under the protection of Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks in 1954. That means that anyone without a special permit is barred from digging for gold on state-controlled land. But since no one knows exactly where Henry Plummer buried the gold---if he did, indeed, bury any---the search still continues nearly a century and a half later. On May 26, 1864, Montana Territory was officially created by act of President Abraham Lincoln, Bannack was chosen as the first Territorial Capitol. The first newspaper, the Montana Post, published in Virginia City that same year. In 1865 Montana's first U.S. Marshal was appointed by President Lincoln: George M. Pinney, serving from 1865 to 1867. Pinney first sets up his office in Butte, later moving to Helena. In 1870 the open-range cattle industry begins on Montana Prairies. In 1872 Congress creates Yellowstone National Park. In 1873 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police begins its campaign to "destroy illegal whiskey trade and lawlessness" caused by the "Whoop-Up Trail" operation from Fort Benton into Canadian Northwest Territories, the "Trail" having been created by Fort Benton's first sheriff, and subsequently participated in and protected by five of his successors. On June 24, 1876, one of Montana’s more notable historic events occurred. The Sioux Indians defeated Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn River. Another historic event followed that: The Nez Pierce Indian Chief Joseph leads his people out of Oregon into Montana, outwitting superior U.S. Army forces, until his surrender in 1877 near Bear's Paw Mountains in northern Montana. The cattle industry had already begun in Montana by now. But now, in 1877, another new venture was to contribute to the economy of Montana. Copper Mining. Significant copper mining begins in Butte. In 1880, another new adventure begain to build in Montana. The Utah and Northern Railroad entered Montana. By 1883 the Northern Pacific Railroad had completed its route through Montana. That same year the town of Anaconda and its smelting works was founded. On November 8, 1889, Montana becomes the 41st state of the United States under President Benjamin Harrison's administration. There were 16 original counties established, and 16 sheriffs appointed by the new state government. In 1910 Congress establishes Glacier National Park; from 1910-1918 the Homesteading boom peaks on Montana's plains. In 1914 Montana women receive the franchise (right to vote). In 1916 - Jeanette Rankin was elected the first woman in the U.S. Congress. In 1917 she would vote against the US entry into World War I. In 1930 tourists learn about Yellowstone National Park, about Glacier National Park, and about the “Custer’s Last Stand” battleground. All generate a significant tourist industry in Montana. In 1941 - Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin votes against U.S. entry into World War II In 1951 - The petroleum boom begins in eastern Montana. In 1988 the U.S. and Canada initiate a Free-Trade Agreement, directly affecting Montana's economy; In 1995 - wolves are returned to Yellowstone National Park, where they thrive. Montana! |
 |
|
|||
In May 1993 a posthumous trial on Plummer resulted in a mistrial because of a split verdict. Had a trial been held when Plummer was still alive, and had a mistrial been declared, he would have walked out of jail, a free man.