USA > Montana > Yellowstone County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
USA > Montana > Park County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
USA > Montana > Dawson County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
USA > Montana > Rosebud County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
USA > Montana > Custer County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
USA > Montana > Sweet Grass County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
USA > Montana > Carbon County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 18
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Butte. As far as ore is concerned there never was a camp like Butte and may never be again. The whole district is laced by mineral veins.
In May, 1864, G. O. Humphreys and Wil- liam Allison came to this now renowned spot and camped above where Butte now stands on what is known now as Baboon gulch, and prospected for a month in the vicinity. At that time there were no stakes struck nor any signs of work having been done in the camp, except upon what is now known as the Origi- nal lode, where there was an old hole sunk four or five feet. Near the hole were some elk horns, which had evidently been used for gads and handspikes. From all appearances the work had been done years before. By whom this work was done there is no telling, nor will it probably ever be known. Humphreys and Allison returned to Virginia City for provi- sions, and early in June came back to their old prospecting grounds. Near here during the month of May Charles Murphy, Major Wil- liam Graham and Frank Madison prospected and staked the first claim in the vicinity -- named by them the Deer Lodge lode, but later known as the Black Chief. This was an enormous ledge, extending for miles.
Humphreys and 'Allison discovered and staked the Missoula, Virginia and Moscow leads. During the months of June and July they ran a tunnel upon the first named, and organized what was known as the Missoula company, consisting of Frank and Ed Madi- son, Dent, G. Tutt. Col. R. W. Donnell, Swaope, Hawley, Allison and Humphreys. Soon after the discovery of the Missoula lode Dennis Leary and H. H. Porter, who were fishing on the Big Hole river, followed the wagon tracks of Humphreys and Allison into camp and were favorably impressed by the ap- pearance of the ore from the Missoula lode.
Copper was soon found in the foothills in the same vicinity and soon a camp of seventy- five or a hundred men was in existence on Silver Bow creek-the foundation of the city
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HISTORY OF MONTANA.
of Butte. Although mineral was found in plenty the miners had neither mills nor smelt- ers, and had it not been for the finding of good placer diggings by Felix Burgoyne, the camp would probably have been abandoned. As it was the miners stayed in the vicinity, and in 1866 a furnace for smelting copper was erected by Joseph Ramsdall, William Parks and Por- ter Bros.
But the times were not prosperous in the camp and the original locaters of the claims did not have confidence enough in them to do the assessment work. In 1875 the time ex- pired when the discoverers could hold their claims without doing the assessment work fixed by a law of congress, and the discover- ers not appearing to make these improvements, WV. L. Farlin relocated thirteen of the quartz claims located southwest of Butte, erected a quartz mill and infused new life into the camp. Five years later a substantial city, with five thousand inhabitants, occupied the place of the former shabby array of miners' cabins. Twenty mills, arrastras, roasters and smelters were in existence and $1,500,000 was being an- nually turned out.
For the early history of the other import- ant mining districts we quote again from the history of H. H. Bancroft :
Cable district. Cable district, twenty-five miles northwest of Butte, took its name trom the Atlantic Cable gold mine, which yielded $20,000 from 100 tons of quartz, picked specimens from which weighing 200 pounds contained $7,000 in gold.
Algonquin district: Northwest of the Cable dis- trict was the silver district of Algonquin, on Flint creek, where the town of Phillipsburg was placed. Here were the famous Algonquin and Speckled Trout mines, with reduction works erected by the Northwest Company. In 1881 a body of ore was found in the Algonquin which averaged 500 ounces to the ton of silver, with enough in sight to yield $2,000,000. The Hope. Comanche and other mines in this district were worked by a St. Louis company, and produced bullion to the amount of from $300,000 to $500,000 annually since 1877. The Granite furnished rock worth $75 a ton.
Phillipsburg district : Phillipsburg was laid out in 1867, its future being predicated upon the silver
bearing veins in its vicinity. The first mill, erected at a great expense by the St. Louis & Montana Mining Company, failed to extract the silver, which for years patient mine ownerrs had been reducing by crude arras- tras and hand machinery to prove the value of their mines, and the prospects of Phillipsburg were clouded. A home association, called the Imperial Silver Mining Company, was formed in 1871, which erected a five stamp mill and roaster, and after many costly experi- ments, found the right method of extracting silver from the ores of the district. The stamps of their mill being of wood, soon wore ont, and the company made contracts with the St. Louis Company's mill to crush the ore from the Speckled Trout mine. the machinery having to be changed from wet to dry crushing, and two new roasting furnaces erected, the expense being borne by the Imperial company. The process which was adopted in this district was known as the Reese river chloridizing process. The cost of milling and roasting the ore was $40 per ton, and the yield $125. Eight tons per day of 24 hours was the capacity of the works. In 1876 the St. Louis company took $20,000 worth of silver bullion from 157 tons of the Hope ore, and the average yield of medium ore rated at $65 per ton. As a result of the profitable working of the mines of this district, the population, which in 1872 was little over 200, by 1886 had doubled * ₭
Lewis and Clark county : In Lewis and Clark county the quartz gold mines held their own. The Whitlatch-Union, after producing $3,500,000, suspended that its owners might settle some points of difference between them, and not from any want of productive- ness. About 25 miles northwest of Helena was the Sil- ver Creek or Stemple district, the most famous of whose mines of gold is the Penobscot, discovered by Nathan Vestal. who took out $100,000, and then sold the mine for $400,000. The mines in this district pro- duced by milling about $10 per ton on the average. The Belmont produced with a twenty stamp mill $200,- 000 annually, at a profit of nearly half that amount. The Bluebird, Hickory, Gloster and Drum Lemond were averaging $10 to $12 per ton.
Jefferson county: Silver mines were worked at Clancy, eighteen miles south of Helena. At A. Wickes, 25 miles south, were the most extensive smelting works in Montana, erected by the Alta-Montana company, which had a capital stock of $5,000,000, and calculated to treat all classes of ores in which silver and lead combined.
Clark's Fork : Silver was discovered on Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone in 1874. and F. D. Pease went to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1875 to arrange for erecting smelter works; but Indian troubles prevented mining in that region until 1877. when the Eastern Montana Mining and Smelting Company erected fur- naces. In 1873 the famous Trapper silver lode was dis- covered, followed immediately by others in the vi- cinity.
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HISTORY OF MONTANA.
The product of gold and silver from Mon- tana mines during the first nineteen years after the discovery of gold, according to figures con- tained in Strahorn's "Montana," was as follows :
1862
$ 600,000
1863
8,000,000
1864
16,000,000
1865
18,000,000
1866
17,000,000
1867
16,000,000
1868
15,000,000
1869
II,000,000
Madison
$79.500,000
1870
9,000,000
Lewis and Clark
29,000,000
1871
8,000,000
Deer Lodge
26,367,000
1872
7,000,000
Meagher
13,000,000
1873
5,200,000
Beaver Head
19,500,000
1874
4,000,000
Jefferson
5,500,000
1875
4,100,000
Missoula
1,000,000
1876
4,500,000
Gallatin
650,000
1877
$3,750,000
1878
4,867,000
1879
5,000,000
1880
6,500,000
Total
$164,517,000
According to the same authority these sums were divided among the several counties as they existed at the time as follows :
CHAPTER VIII
THE REIGN OF TERROR.
The history of Montana would be woefully incomplete without the narration of the law- lessness in the different mining camps in the early sixties and its suppression by a bold band of the best citizens from the several camps, who styling itself a vigilance committee, hung the worst of the offenders, banished others, and in a short time restored compara- tive order where before murder, robbery and social vice had brazenly presented an organized front and offered open contest for supremacy.
The history of civilization has demonstra- ted that society cannot exist without laws ; that whenever even a few have gathered in one lo- cality, some one must take the reins of govern- ment and administer justice; that without or-
ganized principles civilization cannot prosper. Man in his most savage state lived without any form of government. However, during times of scarcity of food he would organize war parties, some one being chosen chief, that he might capture other human beings for food. From this beginning of organized government there has been a steady advance toward a higher organization, which has resulted in modern policies of government, where every subject is assured the protection of life, the security of property and the pursuit of happi- ness.
There have been times in the newly settled portions of our country when the government was not adequate to cope with the lawless ele-
94
HISTORY OF MONTANA.
ment, when the lives of subjects were im- periled, and when property was subject to no protection. During such times the law abiding have found it necessary to put into execution stich measures as would provide protection, and such organizations in our western country were known as vigilance committees.
In no other portion of the civilized world were the lawless in such complete control of affairs as they were in the mining comps of Montana before the vigilantes organized. When gold was discovered here the most des- perate characters swarmed in. Most of these first came from the mines of Idaho, where they had bad records. Having committed desperate deeds in other places and finding public senti- ment against them, they had come to the new "diggings," well aware that if they were taken prisoner and removed to the places where their criminal acts had been committed, the law would have no mercy upon them. Others flocked into the new country whose past re- cords were not stained by nefarious deeds, but whose temperaments were such that when brought face to face with the opportunity of acquiring a fortune without labor and with little liability of punishment, and when coming in contact with men of a lawless nature, they needed but little encouragment to induce them to become members of the outlaw class. Such men as these are known to all new mining countries.
We of today can hardly realize to what ex- tent these desperadoes gained control of the early mining camps of Montana. Never be- fore, since man became civilized, had the law- less gained the upper hand in a civilized com- munity to such an extent as they did here. The work of this class is generally done by stealth. in darkness, and as far away from society as it is possible to get. Here it was in the open. Men openly boasted of their crimes and feared not punishment. Think of a community of several thousand people in which the criminal element is greater than the peaceful element
and you may be able to realize something of the condition here. When the Montana vigi- lantes entered upon their work they did not know how soon they might have to encounter a force numerically greater than their own-and the committee was composed of nearly all law abiding citizens of the territory. For a long time no organized effort was made to bring about a change of condition for the reason that the friends of law and order believed the power of evil to be in the ascendant and that it would be impossible to check the lawlessness. Thus encouraged, the ruffian power increased in audacity and threatened all that portion of the community which did not belong to its or- ganization. "An issue involving the destruc- tion of the good or bad element actually ex- isted at the time that the people entered upon the work of punishment," says Mr. Nathaniel P. Langford in "Vigilante Days and Ways."
As Bannack was the first Montana camp, here the desperadoes came first. Early in the winter of 1862 from the mines west of the Rocky mountains came Henry Plummer, soon afterward elected sheriff, Charlie Reeves, Cyrus Skinner and Augustus Moore. These were the van guard of the desperate characters to come to Montana. They no sooner got the lay of the country than they began operations. These ruffians served as a nucleus for the or- ganization of an outlaw band, composed of all the disloyal, desperate and dishonest of the camp. The condition of affairs in Bannack at that time is very entertainingly told by Mr. Langford as follows :
The very composition of the society of Bannack at the time was such as to excite suspicion in all minds. Outside of their immediate acquaintances, men knew not whom to trust. They were in the midst of a peo- ple who had come from all parts of the country and from many of the nations of the old world. Laws which could not be executed were no better than none. A people, however. disposed to the preservation of order and punishment of crimes, was powerless for either so long as every man distrusted his neighbor. The robbers. united by a bond of sympathetic atrocity, assumed the right to control the affairs of the camp by
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HISTORY OF MONTANA.
the bloody code. No one was safe. The miner for- tunate enough to accumulate a few thousands, the merchant whose business gave evidence of success, the saloonkeeper whose patronage was supposed to be pro- ductive, were all marked as victims by these lawless adventurers. If one of them needed clothing, ammuni- tion or food, he obtained it on a credit which no one dared refuse, and settled it by threatening to shoot the person bold enough to ask for payment. Such a con- dition of society as all foresaw, must sooner or later terminate in disaster to the lovers of law and order or to the villains who depredated upon them. Which were the stronger? The roughs knew their power, but their antagonists, separately hedged about by suspicion as indiscriminate as it was inflexible, knew not how to establish confidence in each other upon which to base an effective opposition. Meantime the carnival of crime was progressing. Scarcely a day passed unsignal- ized by outrage or murder. The numerous tenants of the little graveyard had all died by violence. Peo- ple walked the streets in fear.
The roughs kept the law abiding citizens in a constant state of terror; wanton and un- provoked murders were the order of the day. But there was method in their lawlessness. The more daring of the rough element organized as a band of road agents. After other camps were established and communication was es- tablished, these robbers systemised a plan of highway robbery. Members of the band were in both Bannack and Virginia City and cor- respondence was constantly kept up. The roads throughout the territory were under the surveillance of members of the gang and to such a system was their work reduced that horses, men and coaches were marked in some understood manner, to designate them as fit objects for robbery. When a coach or "train" was about to leave a town some member of the road agents was always on hand to get the particulars of its destination and amount of gold carried, and with the system of markings those who were lying in wait received all the information necessary.
Thomas J. Dimsdale, in "The Vigilantes of Montana," tells of the usual method of operating : "The usual arms of a road agent were a pair of revolvers, a double-barreled shot gun, of large bore, with the barrels cut down
short, and to this they invariably added a knife or dagger. Thus armed and mounted on fleet, well-trained horses, and being disguised with blankets and masks, the robbers awaited their prey in ambush. When near enough they sprang out on a keen run, with leveled shot guns, and usually gave the word, 'Halt ! Throw up your hands, you - = this latter command were not instantly obeyed, that was the last of the offender; but, in case he complied, as was usual, one or two sat on their horses, covering the party with their guns, which were loaded with buck-shot, and one dismounting, disarmed the victims and made them throw their purses on the grass. This being done, and a search for concealed property being effected, away rode the robbers, reported the capture and divided the spoils."
From the confession of Erastus Yaeger, commonly known as "Red," at the time of his execution by the vigilantes, the members of the band became known for the first time. Henry Plummer was chief of the band; Bill Bunton, stool pigeon and second in command; George Brown, secretary; Sam Bunton, roadster; Cyrus Skinner, fence, spy and roadster; George Shears, horse thief and roadster ; Frank Parish, horse thief and roadster ; Hayes Lyons, telegraph man and roadster; Bill Hunter, tel- egraph man and roadster; Ned Ray, council- room keeper at Bannack City; George Ives, Stephen Marshland, Dutch John (Wagner), Alex Carter, Whiskey Bill (Graves ), Johnny Cooper, Buck Stinson, Mexican Frank, Bob Zachary, Boone Helm, Clubfoot George (Lane). Billy Terwilliger. Gad Moore were roadsters. "Red" was also a member of the band. According to this statement these men were bound by oath to be true to each other, and were required to perform such services as came within the defined meaning of their sep- arate positions in the band. The penalty of disobedience was death. If any of them, un- der any circumstances, divulged any of the secrets or guilty purposes of the band, he was
96
HISTORY OF MONTANA.
to be followed and shot down at sight. The same doom was prescribed for any outsiders who attempted an exposure of their criminal designs, or arrested any of them for the com- mission of crime. Their great object was de- clared to be plunder, in all cases without taking life if possible; but if murder was necessary, it was to be committed. Their pass-word was "Innocent." Their neckties were fastened with a sailor's knot, and they wore mustaches and chin whiskers.
Henry Plummer, the leader of the gang, was no ordinary criminal. When he first came to Bannack he held the esteem of all citizens. So popular was he that he was elected sheriff, which office he held for a long time. Con- cerning this man, who finally met death at the hands of the vigilantes, Mr. Langford, who was intimately acquainted with him, has said : "He possessed great executive ability-a power over men that was remarkable, a fine person, polished address, and prescient knowl- edge of his fellows-all of which were mel- lowed by the advantages of a good early edu- cation. Withal the concerns of a mining camp experience had made him familiar, and for some weeks after his arrival in Bannack he was oftener applied to for counsel and advice than any other resident. Cool and dispassionate, he evinced on these occasions a power of analy- sis that seldom failed of conviction. He speed- ily became a generad favorite. We can better imagine than describe the mixed nature of those feelings, which, fired with ambitious de- signs and virtuous purposes, behield the way to their fulfilment darkened by a retrospect of un- paralleled atrocity. So true it is that the worst men are the last to admit to themselves the magnitude of their offences, that even Plum- mer, stained with the guilt of repeated mur- ders and seductions, a very monster of iniquity, believed that his restoration to the pursuits and honors of virtuous association could be established but for the possible exposure by some of his guilty partners. He knew their
watchful eyes were upon him; but they were ready to follow him as a leader or crush him as a traitor." Professor Dunsdale has written of the chief of road agents: "Plummer was a man of most insinuating address and gentle- manly manners under ordinary circumstances, and had the art of ingratiating himself with men and even with ladies and women of all conditions. Wherever he dwelt, victims and mistresses of this wily seducer were to be found. It was only when excited by passion that his savage instincts got the better of him and that he appeared in his true colors-a very demon."
Space prohibits our telling of the many crimes committed by the lawless element of Bannack in 1862, all of which were unre- strained. Not even a protest of any kind had been made against this state of affairs-the law abiding believing the lawless to be the numerically stronger, and that any attempt to bring any of the outlaws to justice would re- sult in disaster to all who took part in the pro- ceedings.
The first attempt to mete out punishment was early in the year 1863, and was brought about by one of the most atrocious and un- provoked crimes that had yet been committed. Charley Reeves, a member of the gang, had bought a squaw from the Sheep Eater tribe of Bannacks. She refused to live with Reeves, claiming that she was ill treated, and returned to live with her friends. The tepee in which she was stopping was located on an elevation south of that portion of the town known as Yankee Flat, a few rods to the rear of the street. Reeves proceeded to the tepee to compel the squaw to return with him. She refused and he then used force. An old chief interfering, a scuffle ensued and in the melee the chief re- ceived a blow from Reeves' pistol, one barrel of which was harmlessly discharged.
The next evening while intoxicated, Reeves and Moore entered Goodrich's saloon and de- posited upon the bar two double barreled shot
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HISTORY OF MONTANA.
guns and four revolvers, declaring that if the people of Yankee Flat were afraid of the In- dians, they were not and that they would soon set the ball rolling. They carried their implied threats into execution, and going to the rear of the houses, opposite the Indian camp, they emptied their weapons into the tepee. The result was highly unsatisfactory to the desper- adoes, only one Indian being wounded. They then returned to the saloon, where they boasted of what they had done, and took several more drinks. Then, accompanied by William Mitchell, they went back to the vicinity of the Indian camp determined to complete their mur- derous work. All three fired a volley into the tepee with the result that there were killed the old chief, a lame Indian, a pappoose and a Frenchman by the name of Cazette, who had come to the tepee to learn the cause of the firing. Several other persons who were there for the same reason were wounded. When the murderers were afterward told that they had killed white men, Moore with a profusion of profane appellations said "they had no business there."
For the first time in the history of Bannack indignation was aroused to such an extent that the matter of punishing the perpetrators was discussed. A mass meeting of citizens was held the next morning and guards were ap- pointed to prevent the escape of the murderers. Moore and Reeves, hearing of the contem- plated action, fled on foot in the direction of Rattlesnake. Henry Plummer preceded them on horseback, evidently to provide means for their protection, but as he afterwards asserted through fear that in the momentary excitement the people might hang him for the shooting of Jack Cleveland, which crime had been com- mitted only a short time previous. When it was found that Moore and Reeves had gone volunteers were called for to pursue and ar- rest them. Messrs. Lear, Higgins, Rockwell and Davenport offered their services and came up with the fugitives about twelve miles from
town, where they were hidden in a thicket of brush near the creek. They at first refused to surrender, but aiming their pistols at the ap- proaching party ordered them to approach no farther if they valued their lives. The pur- suers were entirely at the mercy of the murder- ers, who could easily have shot down every one of the attacking party. A parley ensued in which the position of both parties was fully discussed. The attackers admitted that it would be impossible for them to effect a cap- ture, but they argued that ultimate escape was entirely out of the question, as their failure to return with the prisoners would result in the sending out of such a party that the capture of the criminals would surely result. An agree- ment was reached by the surrender of the fugi- tives upon the express condition that they should be granted a jury trial. All then re- turned to Bannack.
Plummer was put upon trial immediately and was acquitted, the verdict apparently meet- ing a popular approval, the claim being made at the trial that the shooting was done in self defence. Early the next morning the whole population of Bannack assembled for the trial of Reeves, Moore and Mitchell. Business in the camp was suspended. The miners quit their work, the stores and hotels were aban- doned, and the whole population, numbering at least four hundred people, assembled at the large log building which had been designated as the place for conducting the trial.
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