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 20
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 20
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 20
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 20
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 20
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 20
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 20
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Before ten o'clock on the morning of the 19th fifteen hundred or two thousand people had gathered in the town of Nevada to partici- pate in the trial, and the camp took on holiday appearance. After considerable discussion it was determined that the trial should be held in the presence of the entire asssemblage, the miners reserving the right of final decision on all questions. An advisory commission or jury of twelve men from each of the two dis- tricts were also provided for. Col. W. F. San- ders, a resident of Bannack, but at the time so- journing at Virginia City, was sent for to con- duct the prosecution and he was assisted by Chas. S. Bagg. Messrs. Smith, Ritchie, Thurmond, Colonel Wood and Davis appeared for the prisoners. It was decided to try Ives first, and that gentleman, secured by chains, was brought before the miners' court.
Late in the afternoon of the 19th the trial began and it continued until after dark of the 2Ist. A strong defense was made and the ar- guments of the attorneys at times were long and eloquent. On the evidence of George Brown and "Honest Whiskey Joe," Ives en-
deavored to establish two alibis, but because of the poor reputations of the witnesses the attempts failed. Long John testified under the rule admitting the reception of state's evidence and told a straightforward story, although he was not an eye witness to the killing. He swore that Ives had boasted to his companions after this fashion: "When I told the Dutch- man I was going to kill him, he asked me for time to pray. I told him to kneel down then. He did so and I shot him through the head just as he commenced his prayer." The testimony was not restricted to the crime in question, but evidence was admitted showing many past crimes which he and his friends had committed, and this evidently had considerable weight in determining a verdict. As a result of this evi- dence, also, several of the desperadoes whose names were brought into conspicuousness hastily departed the territory. Prof. Dimsdale thus graphically describes the scene at the trial :
The crowd which gathered around that fire in front of the court is vividly before our eyes. We see the wagon containing the judge and an advocate plead- ing with all his earnestness and eloquence for the dauntless robber, on whose unmoved features no shade of despondency can be traced by the fitful glare of the blazing wood, which lights up at the same time the stern and impassive features of the guard, who, in every kind of habiliments, stand in various attitudes, in the circle surrounding the scene of justice. The atten- tive faces and compressed lips of the jurors show their sense of the vast responsibility that rests upon them, and of their firm resolve to do their duty. Ever and anon a brighter flash than ordinary reveals the expect- ant crowd of miners, thoughtfully and steadily gazing on the scene, and listening intently to the trial. Beyond this close phalanx, fretting and shifting around its outer edge, sways with quick and uncertain motion the wavering line of desperadoes and sympathizers with the criminal ; their haggard, wild and alarmed count- enances showing too plainly that they tremble at the issue which is, when decided, to drive them in exile from Montana. or to proclaim them as associate crimi- nals, whose fate could neither be delayed nor dubious. A sight like this will ne'er be seen again in Montana. It was the crisis of the fate of the territory. Nor was the position of prosecutor, guard, juror or judge one that any but a brave and law-abiding citizen would choose or even accept. Marked for slaughter by des- peradoes, these men staked their lives for the welfare
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of society. A mortal strife between Col. Sanders and one of the opposing attorneys was only prevented by the prompt action of wise men, who corralled the com- batants on their way to fight. The hero of that hour of trial was avowedly W. F. Sanders. Not a despera- do present but would have felt honored by becoming his murderer, and yet, fearless as a lion, he stood there confronting and defying the malice of his armed ad- versaries. The citizens of Montana, many of them his bitter political opponents, recognized his actions with gratitude and kindly feeling. Charles S. Bagg is also remembered as having been at his post when the storm blew loudest.
It was dark when the evidence was all in and the arguments had closed. The advisory jury retired and within a half hour returned with a verdict of guilty, only one of the twenty-four jurymen voting for acquittal. "Thank God for that!" "A righteous verdict!" and other like expressions broke from the lips of the as- sembled crowd of miners, while from the outer edge of the crowd, where were collected the friends of the criminal were heard curses, exe- crations and howls of indignation, the quick click of guns and revolvers. One of the ruf- fians exclaimed, "The murderous, strangling villains dare not hang him, at any rate." The motion prevailed, with some opposition from Ives' attorneys, that the assembly adopt the verdict of the jury.
Then came the crucial test. Prompt ac- tion was necessary; in the previous murder trials justice had been defeated because of lack of it. Col. Sanders moved that "George Ives be forthwith hanged by the neck until he be dead," and the motion was carried almost unanimously. Then came pleas for delay until morning for the execution. The appeals for mercy and delay were piteous, but they lost much of their weight when some one in the crowd said, "Ask him how long a time he gave the Dutchman."
Preparations for the execution were made at at once, A. B. Davis and Robert Hereford preparing the scaffold. The butt of a small pine, forty feet in length, was placed on the inside of a half enclosed building standing near, under its rear wall, the top projecting over a cross-beam in front. Near the upper end was fastened the fatal cord; a large dry goods box, about five feet high, was placed beneath for the trap. Accompanied by the whole crowd, Ives was taken to the place, and after only a short delay came the command, "Men, do your duty!" The click of a hundred gun locks was heard as the guards brought their weapons to the shoulder and leveled them upon the crowd to check any possible attempt at rescue. The box flew out from under the feet of the murderer, and the first member of the road agent gang was launched into eternity.
George Hilderman was put upon trial at once, found guilty, and banished from the ter- ritory. Long John, having given state's evi- dence, was allowed his freedom. Nothing ap- pearing against "Old Tex" at the time, he was released.
Ives' execution had a terrifying effect upon the desperadoes, though a few of them put on a bold face and were as loud in their threats as before. Intense popular excitement pre- vailed throughout the territory immediately following the hanging of Ives. Those who participated in the trial were threatened with death, as had been those who took part in the trial of Moore and Reeves. The prominent ones were singled out for death, and the ven- geance of the ruffian horde would doubtless have been as great as in the former case, had not events so shaped themselves that the road agents and murderers had other business to at- tend to than seeking vengeance.
CHAPTER IX
THE VIGILANTES.
In the preceding chapter we have told of the state of society in the mining camps of Montana prior to the beginning of the year 1864. The ruffians had complete control, and the law abiding were apparently powerless to bring about any kind of order. Now we shall tell of a complete reversal of conditions, brought about by the vigilantes of Montana.
Going a little ahead of our story, we shall here tell of the results of the organization of the vigilantes. Within one short month the gang of murderous road agents was entirely broken up, and all but one or two of the mem- bers were hung. This was accomplished by an organization comprising nearly every good man in the territory-an organization which promised to, and did, render impartial justice to friend and foe, without regard to clime, creed, race or politics. It became known that the voice of justice, so long stilled, had spoken in tones that must not be disregarded. The face of society was changed as if by magic. In the words of Professor Dimsdale : "The vigilantes, holding in one hand the invisible yet effectual shield of protection, and in the other the swift descending and inevitable sword of retribution, struck from his nerveless grasp the weapon of the assassin, commanded the brawler to cease from strife, warned the thief to steal no more, bade the good citizen take courage, and compelled the ruffians and ma- rauders who had so long maintained the 'reign of terror' in Montana to fly the territory, or meet the just rewards of their crimes."
Between the first of the new year and the third of February the following members of the gang which had so long terrorized the people met untimely deaths at the hands of the vigilantes on the dates and at the places
mentioned : Erastus Yager (commonly called Red) and G. W. Brown, Stinkingwater valley, January 4, 1864; Henry Plummer, Ned Ray and Buck Stinson, Bannack City, January 10, 1864; John Wagner (commonly called Dutch John) and Joe Pizanthia, Bannack City, Janu- ary II, 1864; George Lane (commonly called Club-foot George), Frank Parish, Hayes Ly- ons, Jack Gallagher and Boone Helm, Virgin- ia City, January 14, 1864; Steven Marsh- land, Big Hole Ranch, January 16, 1864; William Bunton, Deer Lodge valley, January 19, 1864; George Shears, Frenchtown, Jan- uary 24, 1864; Cyrus Skinner, Alexander Car- ter and John Cooper, Hell Gate, January 25, 1864; Robert Zachery, Hell Gate, January 25, 1864; William Graves (commonly called Whisky Bill), Fort Owens, January 26, 1864; William Hunter, Gallatin valley, February 3, 1864. By discoveries of the bodies of the vic- times, the confession of the murderers before execution, and other reliable information se- cured by the vigilantes, it was determined that the men had taken the lives of 102 people in different places. That is the record deduced from reliable information. However, it is not believed that that number any where near covered their actual murders. Scores of unfortunates had undoubtedly been murdered and their bodies buried, whose fate were never definitely ascertained. All that is known is that parties had started, with greater or less sums of money for various places and were never heard of again.
The following were banished from the ter- ritory : Judge H. P. A. Smith and J. Thur- mond, the road agents' counsel ; H. G. Sessions and H. D. Moyer, manufacturing and circulat
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ing bogus gold dust ; a man named Kustar for reckless shooting.
On December 22, 1863, the day after the execution of George Ives, was taken the first step toward the organization of the vigilance committee. The state of the public mind was excited, brought about by the disclosures made at the Ives trial. Alec Carter's name had been frequently mentioned in connection with the Tbalt murder, and the miners determined that he should be brought to justice. Stinson and Lyons, the murderers of Dillingham, had es- caped punishment, and their death was also decided on.
The scheme of organizing to bring the mur- derers to justice was originated by five men in Virginia City and one man in Nevada City. On the 22nd these gentlemen met and talked over plans, and before the close of the next day a league had been formed to carry out the plans of dealing justice to the cummunity and bring- ing to a close the reign of terror.
The birthplace of the Montana vigilantes was a back room of a store owned by John Kinna and J. A. Nye on Jackson street, op- posite the gambling house and saloon known in those days as "No. 10." In the "Story of Montana," McClure's magazine, August, 1906, Mr. C. P. Connolly has described this initial meeting. He states that Mr. Paris S. Pfouts was elected president, Colonel W. F. Sanders official prosecutor, and Captain James Wil- liams executive officer. After this election the candles were extinguished, and standing about the room in a circle, with hands uplifted, the assembled company took this oath :
"We, the undersigned, uniting ourselves together for the laudable purpose of arresting thieves and murderers and recovering stolen property, do pledge ourselves on our sacred honor, each to all others, and solemnly swear that we will reveal no secrets, violate no laws of right, and never desert each other or our standard of justice, so help us God."
One of the by-laws adopted by the vigilan- tes read as follows :
"The only punishment that shall be inflicted by this committee is death."
A few days more and such strength was secured as promised the best of success. Be- fore the organization had been completed a new incentive was given the people for desir- ing the punishment of the roughs. This was the cold blooded murder of Lloyd Magruder on his way home to Lewiston from Virginia City.
Prof. Thos. J. Dinsdale has written : "The reasons why the organization was so generally approved and so numerously and powerfully supported were such as appealed to the sympa- thies of all men who had anything to lose, or who thought their lives safer under the domin- ion of a body which, upon the whole, it must be admitted has from the first acted with a wisdom, a justice and vigor never surpassed on this continent, and rarely, if ever, equalled. Merchants, miners, mechanics and professional men alike joined in the movement, until, with- in an incredibly short space of time, the road agents and their friends were in a state of con- stant and well-grounded fear, least any re- marks they might make confidentially to an acquaintance might be addressed to one of the much-dreaded committee."
The committee mustered in a party of twenty-four men, which set out on the 23rd to capture Alec Carter and such others as were believed to be implicated in murder. The mem- bers of the party were armed with revolvers, rifles, shot guns and rope. Liquor was for- bidden and only light rations were carried. Carter was known to have left Alder gulch im- mediately after the trial of Ives, in company with Bill Bunton, Whisky Bill Graves and sev- eral others, fearing arrest because of the dis- closures made at the trial, and was supposed to have crossed to the west side of the range. The pursuers followed on his trail and as rapidly as possible into the Deer Lodge valley.
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HISTORY OF MONTANA.
On Deer Lodge creek the party came upon Red (Yager), who had just warned Carter and his associates that the vigilantes were after them. None of the party were acquainted with Red and his mission was not known at that time. He informed the party that Carter, Bun- ton, Graves and others were lying at Cotton- wood (now Deer Lodge City) drunk. The next day the vigilantes proceeded to Cotton- wood, where they expected to surprise and capture the ruffians without great difficulty. What was their great surprise to find that Car- ter and his companions had fled. It afterwards was learned that the intelligence of the pur- suit by the vigilantes was sent them from Vir- ginia City. Red was the messenger and George Brown the writer of the letter that gave the warning. The scouts, thoroughly disheartened, now returned to Beaver Head rock, determined to arrest both Brown and Red, if possible, for their interference.
They stayed at Beaver Head two days, suffering much from cold and hunger. Being informed that Red was at Rattlesnake, volun- teers were called for and dispatched to accom- plish his arrest, while the rest of the party, on the homeward march, stopped at Dempsey's to await the return of the volunteers who had gone after Red. The small party captured Red without any trouble and brought him to the rendezvous. Brown, who was acting as bar keeper at Dempsey's, was also taken into custody. The men were accused of being members of the gang, which they both emphat .. ically denied. The scouts gave them a trial and decided that there was no doubt as to their guilt. A vote being taken it was unanimously decided that the two men should hang.
The culprits were taken to Lorrain's ranch, on the road to Virginia City. Here at ten o'clock that night preparations were made for the execution of the two men. Red made a full confession of all his crimes and told of the secret workings of the gang, of which he ad- mitted he was a member. He gave to the vigi-
lantes the names of all the members and the history of their crimes. The substance of this confession has been given in the preceding chapter.
Less than a quarter of a mile from the Lorrain ranch, on a beautiful curve of the Pas- sam-a-ri (or Stinkingwater), stood several large and majestic cottonwood trees, and from two of these trees was executed the sentence of the two criminals. The lower branches were clipped from the trees, ropes were suspen- ded, and two stools placed one upon the other served the purpose of a drop. Brown met his doom first. With the petition on his lips, "God Almighty, save my soul," the stools were jerked from under him, and he died without a struggle. Red was unmoved by the death of his comrade. When it came his turn, he shook hands with all his executioners and said, "Let me beg of you to follow and punish the rest of this infernal gang." Then, just before the drop, he cried, "Goodbye, boys; you're on a good undertaking. God bless you." The stools fell, and another of the Plummer gang had gone to meet his reward. On the back of Red was pinned this label, "Red! Road Agent and Messenger." The other corpse was given the inscription, "Brown! Corresponding Secre- tary." The bodies were left suspended, and were not buried for several days afterwards.
The little band now returned to Nevada. Here they found the vigilantes more thorough- ly organized than before their departure, and that their execution of Red and Brown was highly approved. The crisis was past, and the law abiding were no longer in fear of their lives for telling what they knew of crimes that had been committed. A meeting of the com- mittee was at once called to learn of the dis- closures made by Yager, and to act upon the information received. It was decided to pur- sue the criminals and not cease operations until every one of the gang was hanged or had fled the country.
There was consternation among the rob-
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bers when it became known that two of their number had met death at the hands of vigi- lantes, and it would have been much greater had they known of the revelations made by their messenger. Many, both at Bannack and Virginia City, fled at once ; others, not antici- pating treachery from their comrades, believed themselves safe. So strong was the Plummer gang in the belief that evidence could not be brought against them that very few members of that order left the county, and so, almost without exception, all those who had been listed because of Red's disclosures were captured and summarily executed.
The news of the hanging of two of the gang and the fact that the vigilantes were de- termined to rid the country of the lawless char- acters of course reached Bannack as soon as horsemen could carry it. There Plummer and his road agent friends learned which way the wind was blowing and thought best to leave the country, although as yet they had no direct information that they were marked for slaugh- ter. On the ninth of January an effort was made to organize a vigilance committee int Bannack. A public meeting was called to dis- cuss the question and many looked upon the formation of a committee with favor. Among others present were Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. One energetic citizen present, knowing these men in their true light, threw cold water on the proposition, deeming it best to carry out the plans more secretly, and the meeting ad- journed without anything definite being done.
At midnight that same night four vigi- lantes from the Virginia City organization ar- rived in Bannack, bearing the information of the organization and work of the order at that place, and asking the co-operation of the miners of Bannack in carrying out the work of rid- ding the country of the rough element. A few trusted ones met with these men, and before daylight of the Ioth a branch organization was organized in the older mining camp. The four vigilantes from Virginia City bore an
order for the execution of Plummer, Stinson and Ray as leader and members of the road agent band. The newly organized branch colt- curred in the decision of the older organiza- tion that these men must die. It was resolved that the next day, which was Sunday, should be spent in increasing the membership of the order; no great progress was made in this, however.
Sunday night three horses were brought into town and were recognized as belonging to the three men slated for execution. It was good enough evidence that the murderers were about to leave the country, and their immediate arrest and execution was decided upon, the de- cision being reached at a speedily called meet- ing. Squads were detailed to arrest the three men, which was accomplished without much difficulty. Under a formidable guard the men were marched to the gallows, a structure which had been erected the year before by Plummer, and from which had been hung one John Horan. The pleadings of the chief of the road agents were piteous. He begged to be chained down in the meanest cabin : offered to leave the country forever ; wanted a jury trial ; implored time to settle his affairs; asked to see his sister-in-law ; declared that he was too wicked to die. "Do with me anything else you please," he said. "Cut off my ears, and cut out my tongue, and strip me naked this freez- ing night, and let me go. I beg you to spare my life. I want to live for my wife-my poor ab- sent wife." . Again : "I am too wicked to die. I cannot go bloodstained and unforgiven into the presence of the Eternal. Only spare me, and I will leave the country forever." Mean- time his companions in crime and misery dis- charged volley after volley of oaths and vile epithets at the vigilantes, employing all the of- fensive language of their copious vocabulary. Pleadings and curses alike failed to move the men who had set out to do the work.
The first rope being thrown over the cross beam, the command was given, "Bring up Ned
.
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Ray." Struggling wildly and cursing fear- fully, he was strung up. Being loosely pin- ioned, he got his fingers between the rope and his neck and so prolonged his misery. It was necessary to grasp his hands, and by a violent effort to draw his fingers from between the noose and his throat. Stinson was soon dang- ling besides the first.
Then came the order, "Bring up Plum- mer." The fatal noose being adjusted several of the vigilantes lifted the frame of the un- happy criminal as high as they could reach, when they suddenly let it fall, and Henry Plummer, the chief of the road agents fell to the death which he was so justly entitled tu die. The guards remained at the scaffold un -. til satisfied that death was certain; then they quietly withdrew. A large number of people gathered at the hanging, but there were no at- tempts at rescue, the friends of the criminals not being so vociferous as on former occasions.
The execution of these men produced a marked tone for the better in public sentiment. Men breathed freer, for the sheriff and his deputies were feared by nearly everyone in camp. Plummer was known as a wily, red handed, and politely merciless chief. Ray was a brutal murderer and robber. Stinson was especially dreaded. Professor Dimsdale has described him as belonging to that type of brutal desperado whose formula of introduc- tion to a western bar room was: "Whoop! I'm from Pike county, Missouri; I'm ten feet high; my abode is where lewd women and licentious men mingle ; my parlor is the Rocky mountains; I smell like a wolf; I drink water out of a brook like a horse. Look out, you -, I'm going to turn loose." Public sen- timent sustained the vigilantes, and the order was rapidly increased in numbers.
The next day, January II, the vigilantes of Bannack executed two more men. The first one of these was Jo Pizanthia, a Mexican, who lived in a little cabin on a side hill overlooking the town. "The Greaser," as he was called,
was not a member of Plummer's band, but he had borne a shady reputation since coming to Bannack. It was decided to arrest him and in- vestigate his career since coming to the terri- tory. The party started for his cabin, and upon reaching it, demanded that the inmate come out. There was no answer, and Smith Ball and George Copley entered, contrary to the advice of the rest of the party. They had no sooner entered than they received the fire of the concealed Mexican. Copley was shot through the breast and died within a few minutes. Ball was not so seriously wounded.
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