Montana Vigilantes

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Photo showing two men (Arthur Compton and Joseph Wilson) being executed on a tree during a vigilante justice in Helena, Montana, in 1870.

The history of vigilantism ( Latin vigilans , watchful ) and Montana Vigilantes began in 1863 in what was then a remote part of eastern Idaho . The activities of followers of this type vigilante who "took law into their own hands" that the so-called vigilantes , sat down, if somewhat sporadically, during the entire period of the Montana Territory continued until the area on November 8, 1889 State Montana was in the northwestern United States . Vigilantism arose because territorial law enforcement and the courts had very little power in the remote mining camps during the territorial period.

Origin and background

In 1863–1864, the Montana Vigilantes followed the model of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance , which existed in California in the 1850s , to bring order to the lawless communities in and around the Alder Gulch and Grasshopper Creek gold fields. There are estimates that in the autumn of 1863 over 100 people were killed in robberies by highwaymen and robbers . The Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch organized in December 1863 and during the first six weeks of 1864 that at least 20 robbers of the infamous Plummer gang, known as The Innocents , were caught and hanged by the organization. The formal territorial law reached Alder Gulch in late 1864 with the arrival of the territorial judge Hezekiah Lord Hosmer (1814-1893), which resulted in the cessation of vigilante justice in the region.

When the gold fields of Alder Gulch and Grasshopper Creek in 1865 in the state in the northwest of the United States (still Montana Territory from 1864 to 1889 ), gold prospectors and adventurers migrated to newly discovered areas in and around Last Chance Gulch (today Helena (Montana ) ) from. As lawlessness increased there, vigilante justice continued with the formation of the Security Committee in 1865. Between 1865 and 1870, at least 14 suspected criminals were executed by Helena's security committee. In 1884 ranchers in central and eastern Montana resorted to vigilante justice to crack down on cattle and horse thieves. The most famous vigilante group in this area were the Stuart's Stranglers , who were organized by Granville Stuart (1834-1918) in the Musselshell River region . As formal law enforcement took hold in the region, vigilantism declined.

Vigilantism in pre-territorial and territorial Montana has been written, romanticized and recorded in chronicles for well over a century in personal memoirs, biographies, documentary and scientific works, film and fiction. The first book published in Montana was Thomas J. Dimsdale's 1866 first edition of The Vigilantes of Montana , compiled from a series of newspaper articles he had written for the Montana Post in 1865 . Historical analysis of this period ranges from disrepute to heroism, with debates over whether the lack of a functioning judicial system and understanding of due process at the time meant that the vigilantes acted in what they believed was best for their communities or whether modern standards of due process should dictate the analysis of their actions.

Bannack and Virginia City

Image of Montana ghost town
Bannack ghost town, Montana

On July 28, 1862, gold was discovered along Grasshopper Creek, a tributary of the Beaverhead River , in a remote part of eastern Idaho , resulting in the establishment of the city of Bannack . Bannack was a gold rush boomtown that was the first territorial capital of the Montana Territory for a short time after the Territory was established in 1864. Less than a year after the discovery of gold on Grasshopper Creek, on May 26, 1863, was along the Alder Gulch - (Gulch; German: Gorge ) - a tributary northeast of the Ruby River, between the Tobacco Root Mountains and the Gravelly Range (a Mountains) and 110 km east of Bannack, gold discovered. The find in Alder Gulch became one of the largest fields of soaps - deposits in the western US, where gold was mined. The Virginia City and Nevada City, Montana mining communities that sprang up in Alder Gulch boasted thousands of prospectors and fortune seekers in late 1863. These new settlements generally lacked the legal systems found in populated parts of the territory, such as the territorial capital in Lewiston, Idaho. In 1863, gold was the preferred currency in the western frontier communities and had a US government-set and guaranteed value of $ 20.67 an ounce . Almost all economic transactions in the western mining communities were conducted with gold nuggets, gold flakes, or gold dust as currency, and it is not surprising that the more gold you owned, the more wealth you got. In the territory's early years, there was no safe way to move one's assets out of the region. The only means of moving his possessions out of the Alder Gulch goldfields were horse-drawn or slow-moving wagons and stagecoaches on a limited number of trails and primitive roads going south and west to Salt Lake City and San Francisco, or east led to Minnesota . The roads and trails that led to the Alder Gulch included the Bozeman and Bridger Trail, which joined the Oregon Trail from the east , the Mullan Road from points to the west, and Fort Benton, Montana , the main port for the Shipping on the Missouri River , and the Corinne Road from Corinne in Utah and Points to the south. In addition, there was a single-lane 110 km long stagecoach path that connected Alder Gulch with Bannack. Several commercial freight and two passenger stagecoach companies - Peabody and Caldwell's and the A. J. Oliver's - operated on the route. The stagecoaches had to stop at several different ranches during the journey to take in water , change horses , feed the passengers and provide overnight accommodation. One of these ranches, the Rattlesnake Ranch, was owned by Bill Bunton and Frank Parish (1825-1864), who were later hanged by the vigilantes as muggers and members of the Plummer gang.

Robbers, highwaymen and the Plummer gang

B&W painting of men robbing a stagecoach
1907 painting by John W. Norton of Henry Plummer's gang raiding and robbing a stagecoach

In a region where precious gold was abundant, transportation was unsafe, and there was a lack of effective law and order, travelers became easy prey for robbers. By late 1863, thefts and murders had become common along the routes in and around Alder Gulch. In their writings on the vigilantes, Thomas Dimsdale and Nathaniel P. Langford (1832–1911) estimated that in the fall of 1863 at least 102 travelers were killed by robbers. Many more travelers left the region and were never seen again. As this occurred more often began locals to suspect that these crimes from a single group of outlaws , called the Road Agents (German: highwaymen ), under the control of the Sheriff of Bannack, Henry Plummer were committed. The band was because of they use password "I am innocent" as The Innocents (German: the innocent ) known.

Notorious robberies, attempted robberies and murders in 1863

  • On October 13, 1863, Lloyd Magruder was killed by the mugger Chris Lowrie. Magruder was an Idaho merchant who left Virginia City with $ 12,000 in gold dust for goods he had previously sold there. Some of the men he hired to take him back to Lewiston, Idaho, were actually criminals. Four other men in the group; Charlie Allen, Robert Chalmers, Horace Chalmers and William Phillips were also murdered at the camp by Lowrie, Doc Howard, Jem Romaine and William Page.
  • On October 26, 1863, Peabody and Caldwell's carriage between Rattlesnake Ranch and Bannack was ambushed by two muggers, believed to be Frank Parish and George Ives. Bill Bunton, the owner of the Rattlesnake Ranch, who joined the carriage at the ranch, was also involved in the raid. The robbers stole 2,800 dollars in gold from passengers and threatened them all with death if they talked about the robbery.
Edgerton
Plummer
  • On November 13, 1863, young Henry Tilden was employed by Wilbur F. Sanders and Sidney Edgerton to locate some of the horses owned by Sanders and Edgerton. Tilden was confronted with three armed robbers near Horse Prairie in Beaverhead County . He had very little money with him and was allowed to go unmolested, but with the warning that he would be killed if he spoke. He ignored the warning and told Sanders' wife, Hattie and Sidney Edgerton that he had recognized one of the robbers as Sheriff Henry Plummer. Though Tilden's report was dismissed because Plummer was respected, this incident raised suspicions in the region that Plummer was the leader of a band of robbers.
  • On November 22, 1863, the A. J. Oliver carriage was ambushed on its way from Virginia City to Bannack by the muggers George Ives, Whiskey Bill Graves and Bob Zachary. In the attack less than 1000 dollars in gold and Treasury notes were (German: treasury bills ) captured. One of the victims, Leroy Southmayd, made the mistake of reporting the robbery and identifying the robbers to the 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 the cattle baron Conrad Kohrs (1835-1920) traveled from Deer Lodge (Montana) with $ 5,000 in gold dust to Bannack to buy cattle. A conversation with Sheriff Plummer in Bannack led Kohrs to believe that he might be robbed on the way back to Deer Lodge. In an overnight camp, his staff found the muggers George Ives and Dutch John Wagner, who armed with shotguns were guarding the camp. A day or two later, Kohrs was on his way back to Deer Lodge on horseback when Ives and Wagner took off in pursuit. Kohrs' horse turned out to be the faster, however, and he evaded the confrontation before reaching the shelter of Deer Lodge.
  • In early December 1863, a freight company organized by Milton S. Moody drove three cars from Virginia City to Salt Lake City. John Bozeman (1837-1867) was among the seven passengers. The wagons carried $ 80,000 in gold dust and $ 1,500 in treasury bills. While camping on Blacktail Deer Creek (a tributary of the Beaverhead River) in southwest Montana, muggers Dutch John Wagner and Steve Marshland entered camp, armed and ready to rob the company. Members of the camp had armed themselves well so Wagner and Marshland escaped, later claiming they were only looking for lost horses. Two days later, Wagner and Marshland were wounded in an unsuccessful attempt to rob the wagon train as it crossed the American continent's continental divide near Red Rock River, Montana .
  • On December 8, 1863, Anton Holter (who later became a senior executive of the Montana Power Company (MPC) and namesake of the Holter Dam) escaped attempted robbery and murder while on his way to Virginia City to oxen there Offer sale. When the robbers George Ives and Aleck Carter recognized Holter, they discovered that Holter did not have any significant fortune, but they tried to shoot him. He was able to avoid being shot and fled into the undergrowth.

The failure of the miners courts

Prior to the creation of the Montana Territory on May 26, 1864 and the arrival of the Territorial Courts, the informal miners courts were the only court system available to residents of Bannack and Virginia City. The miners' courts were a means for organized mining districts to resolve mining claims and disputes between the district's miners. When faced with a serious crime, such as murder, they usually proved ineffective in solving the crime to the satisfaction of the community. Although there are not many reports of early courts in the Alder Gulch, which is probably due to their informality and short existence, John X. Beidler (1831–1890) recalled in his memoir a murder trial in the Virginia City Miners Court. The trial remembered by Beidler took place in the fall of 1863 and concerned the murder of J. W. Dillingham.

Since all residents wanted to take part, the process took place outdoors. In the end, all three defendants were released. The first, Charley Forbes, was released after delivering an eloquent and sentimental speech about his mother. The other two, Buck Stinson and Haze Lyons, were convicted and would be the first men to be executed in what would later become the state of Montana. However, with an expected public execution, friends and sympathizers of Stinson and Lyons convinced the crowd to vote again on the execution. According to Beidler, two attempts were made to count the votes. The first people to vote “hang” went uphill while those who voted “not hang” went downhill. This vote was rejected and on the next attempt, four men were formed into two gates and people cast their votes by going through the "hang" or the "no-hang" gate. Beidler claims that friends of the convicts simply walked through the “no-hang” gate, casting fraudulent votes several times, potentially allowing two murderers to be released.

Wilbur F. Sanders

From December 19 to 21, 1863, a public trial of George Ives (1834-1863), the alleged murderer of the young Dutch immigrant and orphan Nicholas Tiebolt, was held in Virginia City. Hundreds of miners from around the area took part in the three-day outdoor trial. George Ives was prosecuted by Wilbur F. Sanders, and Ives was convicted and hanged in neighboring Nevada City on December 21, 1863. Sanders played a prominent role in the history of Montana, eventually becoming the first U.S. Senator from Montana when the area gained statehood in 1889. While the Ives trial resulted in an execution, many residents were frustrated by a cumbersome process that was easily manipulated. This sentiment was illustrated by a quote from Thomas Dimsdale, who wrote the first published report of the Montana Vigilantes, originally written as a series of articles for the Montana Post in 1865 and later compiled into a book.

“Another strong incentive to misconduct is the absolute nullity of civil law in such cases. Whatever the evidence, if the criminal is popular in the community, "not guilty" is almost certain that the verdict will be passed despite the efforts of the judge and the prosecutor. "

- Thomas Dimsdale : Vigilantes of Montana, 1865

Formation of the vigilante committee

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

“We, the undersigned, who have united in a party for the laudable purpose of arresting thieves and murderers and recovering stolen property, pledge ourselves in our sacred honor to all others and solemnly swear not to betray any secrets, no laws of To violate the law and never to abandon us, so help us God, as a witness of our hand and our seal on December 23, 1863. "

- From the original signed oath in the possession of the Montana Historical Society

Paris Pfouts was elected President of the Committee, which had drawn up and adopted comprehensive statutes with a formal structure and procedure. The statutes established the positions of the president, an executive officer, an executive committee, a secretary, a treasurer, and the positions of corporate leaders and their deputies. The most important passage contained in the statutes read:

“It is the duty of the members to join a company and whenever they come to their knowledge of a criminal act, to inform his captain or lieutenant when the officers so informed call the members of his company together (unless the company elected a committee for that purpose) if they are to investigate the case to establish the facts, and should said society conclude that the person charged with a misdemeanor should be punished by the committee, the The captain or lieutenant will first take steps to arrest the offender and then report the offender with evidence to the chief, who will convene an executive committee meeting, and that executive committee's verdict will be final. The only penalty imposed by this committee is death. "

- Bylaws of the Alder Gulch Vigilance Committee (1863)

Prominent members

B&W image of a man with oiled hair and a wide mustache
John Bozeman

Although the Vigilance Committee began as a small secret society in Virginia City, knowledge about it soon spread throughout the territory and membership increased as a result. As it was a secret organization, the exact details of membership vary, but many members have become known throughout the history of the territory and the state. Members included Wilbur Sanders (first US Senator from Montana (1890)), Sidney Edgerton (first governor of the Montana Territory (1864)), Nelson Story (famous for his cattle drive from Texas to Bozeman in 1866 and prominent trader from Bozeman) , John Bozeman (founder of the town of Bozeman , Montana (1864) and the Bozeman Trail ), Nathaniel P. Langford (first superintendent of Yellowstone National Park (1872–1877)), James Stuart (brother of Granville Stuart, who founded the Stuarts in 1884 ' Stranglers), Tom Cover (one of Alder Gulch's miners, who first discovered gold there and allegedly murdered John Bozeman in 1867) and Thomas Dimsdale (editor of Montana's first newspaper, the Montana Post and author of The Vigilantes of Montana from 1866).

Because of the secretive nature of the organization, it is difficult to be certain when an execution was carried out by the Vigilance Committee or any other group of motivated citizens. Many suspicious muggers were hanged in the months following the Ives trial. Notable among those hanged was Henry Plummer, the sheriff of Bannack, who was suspected by many of being the leader of the muggers. Montana vigilantes hanged men using the testimony of other men facing their impending executions as the only evidence. Of the few accounts of the early actions of the Alder Gulch vigilantes, those of Beidler and Dimsdale are the most complete, though they say little about the secret processes of the vigilantes. Estimates vary, but noted vigilante historian Frederick Allen suggests that between 15 and 35 people were killed by the vigilantes' actions at Alder Gulch between 1863 and 1865.

Vigilante justice

During a period of about six weeks between December 1863 and February 1864, self-protection groups searched for, arrested, and executed suspicious members of the Plummer gang in Bannack, Virginia City and Hellgate, Montana.

Bannack

Shortly after its inception, the sent vigilance - Committee (German: about Wachsamkeitsausschuss or self-protection committee ) a posse of men to search for Aleck Carter, Whiskey Bill to seek Graves and Bill Bunton, known supporters of George Ives. The contingent was led by Captain James Williams, the man who investigated the murder of Nicolas Tiebolt by George Ives. Near Rattlesnake Ranch on the Ruby River, the search party located Erastus Red Yeager and George Brown, both of whom are suspected robbers. On his return trip to Virginia City, Yeager made a full confession and named the majority of the other members of Plummer's gang, including Henry Plummer. After obtaining the confession, Yeager and Brown were found guilty by the gang and unceremoniously hung from a poplar tree at Lorrain's Ranch on the Ruby River.

On January 6, 1864, the robber Dutch John Wagner , who was wounded in the Moody robbery, was captured by vigilante Captain Nick Wall and Ben Peabody on the Salt Lake City Trail. The vigilantes brought Wagner to Bannack, where he was hanged on January 11, 1864. By this point, Yeager's confession had already mobilized the vigilantes against Sheriff Plummer and his main allies, his two deputies Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. Plummer, Stinson, and Ray were arrested and unceremoniously hanged on the morning of January 10, 1864. On January 11, 1864, Greaser Joe Pizanthia - a mugger on Yeager's list - was in his cabin near Bannack. There was a shootout in which the vigilante, George Copley, was killed. Pizanthia's hut was bombed with three shells from a mountain howitzer belonging to Sidney Edgerton. Pizanthia was badly wounded in the bombardment, and when he was pulled from the ruins of his hut, he was shot.

Virginia City

After Wagner's execution on January 11, 1864, the vigilantes, mostly made up of men from Virginia City, returned there to deal with the remaining muggers of the Plummer gang. On the evening of January 13, 1864, the Vigilance Committee decided six robbers (Frank Parish, Boone Helm (1828–1864), Hayes Lyons, Jack Gallagher, George Clubfoot Lane, and Bill Hunter) believed to be living in Virginia City to arrest and hang. On the morning of January 14, 1864, five of the six robbers in the city were tracked down and arrested. They were all unceremoniously hung from a beam in a building under construction on Wallace Street. Bill Hunter escaped capture in Virginia City, but was later arrested in a shack on the Gallatin River and hung from a tree in Cottonwood on February 3, 1864. Following the January 14, 1864 executions, the vigilantes left Virginia City in search of the remaining robbers on Yeager's list. The first to be found was Steve Marshland, who hid in a hut on the Big Hole River and was hanged on January 16, 1864. A contingent led by Captain Williams found Bill Bunton at his Cottonwood Ranch on the Ruby River and hanged him on January 18, 1864.

Hell Gate

After Bunton's execution, the self-protection committees regrouped and rode 140 km to Hell Gate, Montana, where they believed more muggers were hiding. In Hell Gate, the committee led by Captain William, Cyrus Skinner, Aleck Carter and John Cooper located and arrested. A vigilante trial against Skinner and Carter was held on January 24, 1864 in the haberdashery of Francis Worden (1830-1887) and Christopher P. Higgins (1830-1889). Both men were found guilty and hanged outside the shop. Later that day, Cooper was tried, sentenced, and hanged. On January 25, 1864, the vigilantes found Bob Zachary in a cabin outside Hell Gate and George Shears in another cabin in the Bitterroot Valley in southwest Montana. Zachary was taken to Hell Gate and hanged. Shears was hanged outside the cabin where he was captured. When the self-protection committees left Hell Gate to return to Virginia City, they received word that Whiskey Bill Graves would be in Fort Owen, Montana. Three vigilantes found him and arrested him on January 26, 1864. He was hanged the same day.

Known muggers executed by the Alder Gulch Vigilance Committee

  • Henry Plummer, Sheriff of Bannack, executed in Bannack on January 10, 1864
  • Erastus Red Yeager, mugger and messenger, executed on the Ruby River, January 4, 1864
  • George Brown, mugger and gang secretary, executed on the Ruby River, January 4, 1864
  • Dutch John Wagner, mugger, executed in Bannack, January 11, 1864
  • Ned Ray, executed at Bannack, January 10, 1864
  • Buck Stinson, executed at Bannack, January 10, 1864
  • Greaser Joe José Pizanthia, mugger, shot dead in Bannack, January 11, 1864
  • Frank Parish, mugger, executed in Virginia City, January 14, 1864
  • Boone Helm, mugger, executed in Virginia City January 14, 1864
  • Jack Gallagher, mugger, executed in Virginia City, January 14, 1864
  • George Clubfoot Lane, road worker, executed in Virginia City, January 14, 1864
  • Hayes Lyons, mugger, executed in Virginia City, January 14, 1864
  • Steve Marshland, mugger, executed near the Big Hole River, January 16, 1864
  • Bill Bunton, mugger, executed on the Cottonwood Ranch at Deer Lodge on the Clark Fork River, January 18, 1864
  • Cyrus Skinner, mugger, executed at Hell Gate, January 24, 1864
  • Alex Carter, mugger, executed at Hell Gate, January 24, 1864
  • Johnny John Cooper, mugger, executed at Hell Gate, January 24, 1864
  • George Shears, mugger, executed in the Bitterroot Valley, January 24, 1864
  • Bob Robert Zachary, mugger, executed at Hell Gate, January 25, 1864
  • Whiskey Bill Graves, mugger, executed near Fort Owen, January 26, 1864
  • Bill William Hunter, mugger, executed in the Gallatin Valley, February 3, 1864

More executions

  • An unknown 19-year-old boy was hanged in Virginia City on February 17, 1864 for shooting an unarmed man in a tavern.
  • Chris Lowrie, Doc Howard and Jem Romaine were convicted of the Magruder murders by an Idaho Territorial Court in Lewiston and hanged on March 4, 1864 based on the testimony of William Page. Page was not executed.
  • On March 10, 1864, vigilantes hanged J.A. Slade in Virginia City for serious drunkenness, breaking the peace, and recklessly playing with weapons that endangered community citizens.
  • James Brady was hanged by vigilantes in Nevada City on June 15, 1864 for shooting another man.
  • Jem Kelly was arrested near present-day Jackson , (then Idaho Territory ) on the Snake River , by Montana vigilantes for a series of minor thefts in the Alder Gulch. He was hanged on September 5, 1864, on the Snake River, Idaho.
  • On September 17, 1864, vigilantes hanged John The Hat Dolan in Virginia City for stealing $ 700 from a roommate.
  • On October 31, 1864, vigilantes captured and hanged J.C. Rawley in Bannack for allegedly espionage on behalf of the mugger gang in 1863. This was the last execution carried out by the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch.

Exiles and escapes

Another tactic used by the vigilantes was to be banished from the area. It is unknown how many men received a warning to leave the area or otherwise be executed for their misdeeds. Alexander Toponce (1839–1923), at that time a merchant in Bannack, thought the number of bans was too high, but wrote the following in his autobiography: Reminiscences of Alexander Toponce (1923):

“I don't think they [the vigilantes] made a mistake in hanging someone. The only mistake they made was that about fifty percent of those they had merely banned should have been hanged instead, as quite a number of these men ended up being hanged. "

- fist

Some of the robbers in Plummer's gang or on Yeager's list escaped vigilante justice by fleeing the area. Notably, among these men were Augustus Gad Moore, Billy Terwilliger, William Mitchell, Harvey Meade, Rattlesnack-Dick , Cherokee Bob , Tex Caldwell, Jeff Perkins, Samuel Bunton, Irwin of the Big Hole , William Moore, and Charles Reeves.

Establishment of territorial law

In summer 1864 Richter worked Hezekiah Lord Hosmer (1814-1893), a lawyer from Ohio , for the Committee on territories of the House of Representatives of the United States. After serving on the committee on the formation of the Montana Territory, he was formally appointed as the first Chief Justice of the Montana Territory. He arrived in Montana in October 1864. Prior to the first session of the Territorial Legislature, which met in Bannack on December 12, 1864, Hosmer announced that he would enact Common Law as the primary criminal and civil law and Idaho Territorial Law as the basis for criminal and civil law. On December 5, 1864, Hosmer courageously convened a public meeting of the Grand Jury in Virginia City and announced that the vigilantes had served their purpose and that from that day onwards, unilateral actions by the vigilantes would be considered criminal acts.

Vigilantism in Helena from 1865 to 1870

B&W photograph of a sprawling town of wooden buildings in a valley
Helena Montana 1870

On July 14, 1864, four prospectors - John S. Cowan, John Crab, Bob Staley, and Daniel Jackson - found gold in a small ravine they called the Last Chance Gulch . As news of the find spread in the area, prospectors and adventurers, including many from Alder Gulch and Bannack, migrated to Last Chance Gulch and the town of Helena, Montana, founded in the same year. By mid-1865, many prominent Alder Gulch vigilantes, including Wilbur Sanders, John X. Beidler, and Anton Holter, had moved to Helena. When the area was formed, three judicial districts were established. The first district belonged to Judge Hosmer and included the towns of Bannack, Virginia City, Nevada City, and Deer Lodge. The third district included the cities around Helena. From July 1864 to August 1865 the only judicial system was the Miners Court; the Third District did not receive its first chief judge until August 1865, when Judge Lyman Munson arrived from the east.

On June 8, 1865, John Keene and Harry Slater, two men who had an unresolved dispute from their time in Salt Lake City, met in Sam Greer's saloon on Helena's Bridge Street. Keene shot Slater in the head and killed him on the spot. Keene surrendered to the Helena Sheriff, George Wood, and voluntarily admitted guilty of the shooting. A two-day trial followed, in which a number of jurors, two previously known vigilantes from Alder Gulch, participated. In the absence of an official trial judge, Stephan Reynolds, a respected member of the Helenas parish, presided. At the end of the trial, the jury unanimously found guilty and Keene was hung by a solitary pine tree outside town. The big tree was one of the few that stayed near Helena because most of it had been felled for lumber, later the tree came to be known as the Old Hangman's Tree . Although Keene's trial and execution were not viewed as vigilantism, the Helena community, much like the Alder Gulch community in 1863, saw the need to create a more reliable means of law and order.

Security Committee

B&W photograph of a street of ramshackle wooden buildings
Diamond City in Confederate Gulch, 1870

The vigilante justice in Helena followed a similar pattern as in Alder Gulch. Immediately after Keene was hanged, leading members of the Helena community formed the Helena Committee for Safety, much like the Alder Gulch Vigilance Committee. Although there is no record of committee memberships or charter, Nathaniel Langford (who had been asked to head the organization but declined, serving on its executive committee) reflected in his book Vigilante Days and Ways that crimes such as horse theft , Murder and road robbery would be punished with death.

In July 1865, the Helena vigilantes captured Jack Silvie in Diamond City, Montana, and charged him with various robberies. Before his execution by hanging at Hangman Tree of Helena confessed Silvie to have been a member of the hijackers of Virginia City and to have committed at least a dozen murders in the area.

Shortly after Judge Lyman Munson's arrival in Helena, he convened a grand jury on August 12, 1865. Unlike Judge Hosmer in Alder Gulch, Munson made no comments about vigilantism, nor did he threaten vigilantes with prosecution if they continued their activities. The vigilantes showed little respect for Munson's court and carried out at least 14 extrajudicial executions. Among them, in January 1870, was the Chinese worker Ah Chow, who shot and killed the white miner John R. Blitzer after he caught Blitzer trying to rape his wife. No member of Helena's vigilantes was ever charged by Munson's grand jury with executions carried out by the Helena Security Committee. The last execution by the Helena vigilantes took place on April 27, 1870, when Joseph Wilson and Arthur Compton were hanged on the Old Hangman's Tree for the robbery and attempted murder of George Leonard. The double execution is significant because it was photographed at the time and the image, which was widely used, had the effect of dampening public sentiment for vigilantism.

Pax Vigilanticus

In the 1870s, Montana as a whole experienced what the Montana historian Frederic Allen called a kind of pax vigilanticus . Allen claims this was due to the reputation for fast-track executions, but also with the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory . This pulled many of the camp's prospectors and supporters out of Montana, reducing the portion of the population more closely associated with crime.

Ranchers' associations

Photograph of a large yellow pine that was believed to have been a gallows tree in Jefferson County, Montana near Clancy, although there is insufficient documentary evidence to prove or disprove the legend.

In the 1870s, livestock and related ranching was a big and thriving business in Montana. Cattle and horses were valuable commodities and always subject to theft by thieves. After 1879, as the threat from the Indian Wars subsided in the plains of Montana, livestock and pasture farms moved east to central and eastern Montana. Owned by Samuel Hauser , Andrew Davis, and Granville Stuart, DHS Ranch was founded in the Musselshell River region of central Montana in 1879 and grew to become one of the largest free range ranch in Montana. The first Montana rancher association was formed in Virginia City in 1873. The association was formed to discuss branding standards, how to deal with cattle theft, and how to influence the territorial legislature to pass laws that would be beneficial for the cattle industry. This association did not last long, but in the following years it led to the establishment of other organizations. In 1878 the Montana Stock Association of Lewis and Clark County was founded. One of its most prominent members, Ross Deegan, issued an editorial on the need for extra-legal action if the territorial legislature failed to legislate to protect the livestock industry:

"Will [our legislature] protect us or will we be compelled against our will to become judges and executors of what we deem appropriate punishment for committing such a violation of property rights?"

- Helena Ross Deegan : Weekly Herald. January 9, 1879

A Territorial Ranching Association was formed in July 1879, which eventually resulted in a number of small county or county-based associations throughout Montana. By 1883, Montana cattle were valued at more than $ 25 million, and annual cattle theft losses exceeded three percent. In the summer of 1884, ranchers revived vigilantism to deal with cattle thieves. The first recorded execution took place on July 3, 1884 at Fort Maginnis, in what is now Fergus County , Montana, when Reese Anderson, a foreman at the DHS ranch (DHS; Davis, Hauser, Stuart), and several other ranch workers hanged Sam McKenzie for stealing horses .

Stuart's Stranglers vigilante group

B&W photograph of a gray haired man with a full beard.
Granville Stuart in 1900

The execution of Sam McKenzie and other civil rights activists in early July 1884 caused many thieves and cattle thieves to leave the territory. However, a large gang of horse thieves were still operating in the Musselshell region. With the tacit approval of the ranchers' associations, Granville Stuart (1834–1918) organized a small intelligence network and mobilized forces to pursue the thieves. This group included many of Stuart's ranch helpers and cattle detectives who worked for various ranchers' associations. The vigilantes known as Stuart's Stranglers (German: Stuart's Würger ) were responsible for the recovery of dozens of stolen horses and the death of at least 20 thieves in July 1884 by hanging, shooting or fire. The last execution by hanging took place on August 1, 1884. In July 1884 Theodore Roosevelt , who later became the 26th  President of the United States , ran a cattle ranch in Medora, North Dakota , along the Little Missouri River , in collaboration with the cattle dealer Marquis de Mores (1858-1896) . His ranch also suffered from cattle theft. Both Mores and Roosevelt offered their services to the Stranglers, but Stuart declined the offer to avoid the undue notoriety it would bring with it. From that point on, cattle detectives employed by the various ranching associations took responsibility for enforcing ranching laws and deterring cattle theft. Although there was little public outrage over the murders, none of Stuart's “strangler killers” were ever brought to justice for their actions, and editorials in regional newspapers praised their efforts. General approval of Granville Stuart's actions was reflected in his election as the first president of the Montana Stockgrower's Association in late July 1884.

3-7-77

According to tradition, 3-7-77 was a symbol used by the Montana Vigilante Committee in Virginia City, Montana. People who found the numbers “3-7-77” painted on their tent or log cabin knew that it was better to leave the area or that they would have to fear the vigilantes for their lives. However, the meaning of the number symbol is unclear, although many theories have been put forward to explain what it symbolizes, but none is conclusive. Possible reasons include a. called; English dimensions for a grave (3 feet wide × 7 feet long × 77 inches deep), the time a villain was given to leave the city, Masonic symbols, details of a membership structure (3 lawyers, 7 traders and 77 miners) or just a simple copy of an icon from organizations in Colorado and California. Although it has been linked to vigilantes in the Alder Gulch, this is not supported by historical evidence. The first documented evidence of the use of the symbol in a vigilante scenario was found in Helena in November 1879 when it was mentioned in a newspaper article. A dissertation from 1914 noted that it was only used as part of a meeting note. In 1956 it was included in the uniform badge of the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP). The administrator of the MHP, Alex Stephenson, designed the insignia and declared: "We chose the symbol to keep the memory of this first police force alive".

historiography

The first written account of the vigilantes was about Thomas Dimsdale's Vigilantes of Montana , which first appeared as a series of articles in the 1865 edition of the Montana Post , Virginia City's and Montana's first newspaper. Dimsdale was a member of the Alder Gulch Vigilance Committee and editor of the Montana Post . His early accounts of the vigilante justice in the Alder Gulch were widely cited, and the book version of his articles, the first book published in the Montana Territory in 1866, has been extensively reprinted since its first edition.

“The value of Dimsdale's work lies in the fact that the band is initially a series of articles for its own newspaper, The Montana Post. Truth is always stranger than fiction, and no glorified old west romance has ever managed to resonate as authentically. What we have in “The Vigilantes” is the statement of the fact before it becomes fiction, the unvarnished moment in the story before hearsay, the popular imagination and the storyteller weave it into a saga. "

- Howard W. Troyer : Book Review, 1953
Nathaniel P. Langford

John X. Beidler, one of Alder Gulch and Helena's vigilantes, wrote about his vigilante activity in his personal notes. They were not available until long after his death when Helen F. Sanders, Wilbur Sanders' daughter-in-law, finally had them published in 1957. Nathaniel Langford, also a member of the vigilantes and co-discoverers of Upper Yellowstone (in 1870), and first superintendent of Yellowstone National Park (1872–1877), territorial tax collector (1864–1869) and author, published Vigilante Days and Ways-Pioneers of the Rockies in 1893 after returning to his Minnesota home . In a 1912 address to the Montana Historical Society, Western historian Olin Wheeler commented positively on the Alder Gulch vigilantes in a tribute to the life of Nathaniel Langford.

“Under the rule of the vigilantes, the desperados were hanged or banished, crimes were punished effectively and quickly, lives and property were brought to safety, and society was saved from a state of anarchy . Some of the best citizens of the territory were vigilantes. .... Fortunately, Mr. Langford himself has provided, in the introduction to his Vigilante Days and Ways and an extremely valuable chronicle of the time it is about, a presentation of the facts and arguments used to justify the vigilante justice methods that is impartial, honest, sound, forceful and is persuasive of an open and discriminatory mind. These men deserve honor and praise instead of negative criticism, and no apology is needed for what they have done and dared. "

- Olin D. Wheeler, 1912

Another report that was not published until 1982 is that of former Montana Supreme Court Justice (1922–1935) Lew L. Callaway. Edited by his son Lew Callaway Jr., Montana's Righteous Hangmen: The Vigilantes in Action dates back to Callaway's association with vigilante Captain James William in the late 1800s. Lew Callaway wrote extensively on the vigilantes and his stories, which contain further intimate details about the way vigilantes work, which is recorded in this volume. Although some vigilante activities during this period were criticized by citizens and civilian leaders, there was general confirmation of their purpose and contribution to law and order in a growing territory. Mark C. Dillons Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows (2013) concludes that given the lawless environment and criminal activity in Alder Gulch and Helena at the time, the lack of a functioning judicial system and the then Understanding due process, acted in what they believed was best for their communities. He claims that it is problematic to judge the vigilantes according to today's understanding and standards of due process.

Justice Dillon's book is the first of its kind to explore western vigilante history through the prism of substantive law, procedural and constitutional law, and the role lawyers and judges ultimately play in restoring a credible criminal justice system in the region to the end of the decade. ... Universities only publish books that have passed rigorous peer reviews. Historian Paul R. Wylie, who was among the historians who reviewed Dillon's manuscript, predicted that the book would be "the best work on the Montana vigilantes, and likely to exist for years." Wylie describes the book as a 'thorough, informative, legal concept that is well-written and very readable "and that, to the best of his knowledge," there has never been a work in the field like this. "

- Book Announcement Rockland County Bar Association (2012)

In 2004, Frederick Allen, journalist and historian, published A Decent and Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes as an up-to-date, balanced account of the history of vigilante justice in Montana (1864-1870). Allen's book reaffirms the motivation and methodology of the earliest vigilantes at the Alder Gulch while also commenting on the growing contempt for vigilantism in the late 1860s. More general works on the history of Montana, such as those by Merrill G. Burlingame's The Montana Frontier (1942) and Michael P. Malone's Montana - A History of Two Centuries (1991), adequately summarize the vigilante era, relying largely on earlier accounts by Dimsdale , Langford and Beidler. There are also many current stories about Montana, such as that of the writer and Montana historian Dan Cushman's Montana: The Gold Frontier (1973) also deals with the period of vigilante justice.

Some works published in the late 20th century on vigilante activity at the Alder Gulch portray the vigilantes and their leaders as political-motivated conspirators rather than restorers of law and order, arguing that and the victims were not given due process prior to their execution There was insufficient evidence to prove their guilt or innocence. Two works, by Ruth E. Mather and F. E. Boswell, Hanging the Sheriff - A Biography of Henry Plummer (1987, 1999) and Vigilante Victims: Montana's Hanging Spree 1864 (1991) have been criticized as negationist and received bad reviews from Montana historians such as Michael P. Malone (1940-1999) and Richard B. Roeder. Further criticism came from later authors such as Mark C. Dillon and Carol Buchanan.

R. E. Mather, F. E. Boswell Hanging the Sheriff - A Biography of Henry Plummer Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

“In Hanging the Sheriff, R. E. Mather and F. E. Boswell radically redrawn the portrait of Sheriff Henry Plummer and effectively challenged the conventional justification of the Montana vigilantes of 1863-64. The authors reject the claim by the vigilante defenders that Plummer's reign of terror required the formation of a vigilance committee to bring law and order to the area. Initially, the law in Bannack was created by the Miners' Court, the election of Plummer and the arrival of Judge Edgerton in September 1863. Second, Plummer's alleged conduct of the street agents was based on an unfounded and unverified allegation. "

- Review, Frank Grant, Western Historical Quarterly, 1988
Mather, R. E .; F. E. Boswell (1991). Vigilante Victims: Montana's 1864 Hanging Spree . San Jose, CA: History West Publishing.

“This is a“ revisionist ”story by the vigilante movement which claims that the muggers were the victims of a plot that resulted from a power struggle between two factions, one favoring the north and the other the south. It overlooks cooperation between Pfouts, a strong Confederate and Sanders, a abolitionists of the Union , in guiding the vigilantes and Jack Gallagher was a sympathizer of the Union, while Boone Helm died and cried, "Hurray for Jeff Davis!" "

- Carol Buchanan : Swan Range, the writings of Carol Buchanan (2012)

Another report by John C. Fazio, who writes for the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, claims that the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch had more to do with national politics than dealing with criminals. He claims that Sidney Edgerton and Wilbur Sanders were pawns of Abraham Lincoln and other unionists trying to find ways to rid the Montana goldfields of southerners and Confederate sympathizers . His views have been refuted by the writer Carol Buchanan.

Fake trial of Henry Plummer and Plummer's pardon

Madison County Courthouse

On May 7, 1993, the Twin Bridges public schools, Montana, held a mock trial of Henry Plummer in the Madison County Courthouse in Virginia City. The process attracted national media interest. Adults and students alike played the roles of Dimsdale, X. Beidler, and Langford in the events. After a six-hour trial, the jury, consisting of four men and eight women with 6-6 votes, was in a stalemate. The student who played the role of Henry Plummer was told he was free . Based in part on the notoriety of the bogus trial, academics sympathetic to Plummer's innocence petitioned the Montana Pardon and Parole Board for a pardon. Despite the support of a number of prominent historians and scholars, the pardon was refused by the committee because Plummer was never actually convicted of a crime in Montana and therefore the committee had no authority to act.

In popular culture

  • Ernest Haycox 1942 novel Alder Gulch portrays Bannack Sheriff Henry Plummer as a cold and calculating murderer and thief.
  • John Dehner played Henry Plummer in an episode of the 1950s western television series , Stories of the Century , and is told by Jim Davis .
  • Montana Territory is a 1952 western film starring Wanda Hendrix , Clayton Moore , Hugh Sanders and Lon McCallister . It's a classic western film, with bandits, a corrupt sheriff [Plummer] and a hero who falls in love with a beautiful woman.
  • An episode of the Overland Trail TV series , The Montana Vigilantes , that aired on April 3, 1960. Overland Trail - The Montana Vigilantes in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  • In the on April 11, 1961 NBC broadcast television series Laramie Two for the Gallows (German: Two for the Gallows ) the serial character Slim Sherman (is John Smith ) hired under false pretenses to a "Professor Country Field" (played by Donald Woods ) to bring them to the Badlands in search of gold. In reality, however, Landfield is Morgan Bennett, a member of the former Plummer gang who has escaped from prison. Two for the Gallows - Laramie in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  • Duel on the Missouri is a 1976 American western action film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson , depicting cattle theft and retribution in eastern Montana in the 1880s. The Missouri Breaks in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  • A historical-fictional novel. Michael Edward Little: Twelve Quiet Men: The Story of the Cowboy Vigilantes Known as Stuart's Stranglers at War with the Outlaws of Montana and Dakota in 1884 . Inkwater Press, ISBN 978-1-59299-548-6 (English).
  • Scottish folk act The David Latto Band wrote a song about the story of Henry Plummer called Plummer's Song , which was released on their debut album of the same name in 2012. It describes the song from the perspective of a member of the Bannack congregation who had reservations about Plummer's alleged crimes. The David Latto band at Discogs (English)

literature

  • Thomas J. Dimsdale: The Vigilantes of Montana-or Popular Justice in the Rocky Mountains . State Publishing, Helena, Montana 1915. (1st published in 1866) (English)
  • Nathaniel Pitt Langford: Vigilante Days and Ways-The Pioneers of the Rockies . DD Merrill, New York 1893. (English)
  • Beidler, John Xavier; Helen F. Sanders; William H. Bertsche Jr .: X. Beidler Vigilante . Ed .: University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. 1957, OCLC 20733303 (English).
  • Lew L. Callaway: Montana's Righteous Hangmen - The Vigilantes in Action . University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Okla. 1997. OCLC 253867998 (English)
  • Frederick Allen: Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes . University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Okla. 2005. OCLC 318456476 (English)
  • Donovan, Tom D .: Hanging Around the Big Sky: The Unofficial Guide to Lynching, Strangling and Legal Hangings of Montana . Portage Meadows Publishing, 2007. OCLC 173375321 (English)
  • Clyde A. Milner II and Carol A. O'Connor: As Big As The West-The Pioneer Life of Granville Stuart, Comprehensive account of “Stuart's Stranglers” (1884) . Ed .: Oxford University Press. 2009, OCLC 748888536 , p. 219–248 (English, archive.org [accessed July 8, 2020]).
  • Dillon, Mark C .: Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows . Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah 2013. OCLC 935988676 (English)
  • Robison, Ken: Montana Territory and the Civil War: A Frontier Forged on the Battlefield . The History Press, Charleston, SC 2013. OCLC 876376401 (English)
  • Donald E. Crosley: Hang 'Em: Montana Vigilantes Vs. Henry Plummer . Independent Publisher, January 1, 2013. (English)
  • Ken Egan: Montana 1864: Indians, Emigrants, and Gold in the Territorial Year . Riverbend Publishing, September 8, 2014. (English)
  • Carl Joseph Friedrichs (Author): Notes from my life , 1886 Frankfurt / Main, pp. 165–171,
  • Stephan Tournay: Die Mahnhand von Cochem , 2018, pp. 134-139, pp. 178, 188 and 190 ( online ) OCLC 1112608543

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Postmortem Echo of Times Past , The Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870: Gold, Guns and Gallows , University Press of Colorado, 2013 in Google Book Search USA
  2. ↑ Jeffrey J. Smith: The Montana Book of Days: The Short Course in Montana History . Ed .: Historic Montana Publishing, Missoula, Montana. 2004, OCLC 51293921 , pp. 277 (English, goodreads.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  3. ↑ 1st gold strike in territory that became Montana was 150 years ago, Kim Briggeman, Missoulian, July 28, 2012 (English)
  4. ^ History of Virginia City and Nevada City. Retrieved July 2, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Jeffrey J. Smith: The Montana book of days: the short course in Montana history . Ed .: Montana: Historic Montana Publishing. 2003, OCLC 51293921 , pp. 149 (English).
  6. ^ The First Factor Leading to Vigilantism in the Region - The Absence of Police, Prosecutorial and Judicial Authority , Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows, Dillon, Mark C., Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2013 in der Google Book Search USA
  7. ^ The Second Factor Leading to Vigilantism in the Region - The Value of Gold and Silver , Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows, Dillon, Mark C., Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2013 in the Google Book Search - USA
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k The Third Factor Leading to Vigilantism in the Region - The Insecure Means of Transporting Wealth , Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows, Dillon, Mark C., Utah State University Press , Logan, Utah, 2013 in Google Book Search USA
  9. ^ Frank Parish, In: Findagrave
  10. ^ Emerson Hough: The Story of Outlaws . The Outing Publishing Company, New York 1907, pp. frontispiece (English, archive.org ).
  11. ↑ Dimsdale, Thomas J .: The Vigilantes of Montana; or, Popular justice in the Rocky Mountains; being a correct and impartial narrative of the chase, trial, capture, and execution of Henry Plummer's road agent band ... 1915, OCLC 763172163 , p. 21 ff . (English, archive.org [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  12. ↑ Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman, by Rich Aarstad, Ellen Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene L. Porsild, Brian Shovers, Montana Historical Society, 2009 in the Google Book Search USA
  13. ^ Public Act of the Thirty-Eighth Congress of the United States, XCV An Act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Montana . US Congress. Pp. 85-93. May 26, 1864. (English)
  14. ^ Morriss, Andrew P .: Hayek & Cowboys: Customary Law in the American West . Ed .: New York University. (English, nyu.edu [PDF; accessed July 7, 2020]).
  15. ↑ Anderson, Terry L. and Hill, P.J .: An American Experiment in Anarcho-Capitalism: The Not So Wild, Wild West . Ed .: The Journal of Libertarian Studies. 1978 (English, mises.org [PDF; accessed July 3, 2020]).
  16. ↑ 1831 Montana “Vigilante X” is born. Stagecoach Guard and Deputy US Marshall John X. Beidler. ( history.com ( memento of April 10, 2019 in the Internet Archive ), in English, accessed on July 3, 2020)
  17. ↑ Beidler, John X. (1831–1890) born in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. US Marshall John X. Beidler Montana Post from Virginia City, In: Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement, by Mitchel P. Roth, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, London 2001 in the Google Book Search USA
  18. ↑ a b Beidler, John Xavier: X. Beidler: Vigilante . Ed .: University of Oklahoma Press. 1957, OCLC 20733303 (English).
  19. ↑ George Homer Ives at findagrave.com
  20. ↑ The Hanging of George Ives, In: reginaldstanley.com (English)
  21. ↑ The Murder of Nicolas Tiebolt and the Trial and Execution of George Ives , Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows, Dillon, Mark C., Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  22. ↑ Dimsdale, Thomas J .: The Vigilantes of Montana; or, Popular justice in the Rocky Mountains; being a correct and impartial narrative of the chase, trial, capture, and execution of Henry Plummer's road agent band, together with accounts of the lives and crimes of many of the robbers and desperadoes, the whole being interspersed with sketches of life in the mining camps of the “Far west”. , Third. Edition, A. J. Noyes, 1915, p.  14 . (English)
  23. ^ A b c d e The Formation of the Vigilance Committee , Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows, Dillon, Mark C., Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  24. ^ Vigilantes records, 1863-1884, The bylaws and official oath of allegiance of the vigilantes of Virginia City and surrounding area, (German: The statutes and the official oath of allegiance of the vigilantes of Virginia City and the surrounding area (English, mtmemory.org ).
  25. ↑ Appendix B Bylaws of the Vigilance Committee , Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows, Dillon, Mark C., Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  26. ^ A b Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Montana Vigilantes and the Origins of 3-7-77
  27. ↑ a b The Hanging Spree Begins , The Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870: Gold, Guns and Gallows , University Press of Colorado, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  28. ↑ a b c d e f g h i The Bloody Drama Moves From Bannack to Virginia City , The Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870: Gold, Guns and Gallows , University Press of Colorado, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  29. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Bill Bunton 1864 Montana, A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes, by Frederick Allen, University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 2004 in the Google Book Search USA
  30. ↑ a b Due Process and Procedure: Vigilante Sentences , The Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870: Gold, Guns and Gallows , University Press of Colorado, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  31. ^ John Dolan, 1864 Montana, A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes, by Frederick Allen, University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 2004 in the Google Book Search USA
  32. ^ The Establishment of a Territorial Court at Alder Gulch , The Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870: Gold, Guns and Gallows , University Press of Colorado, 2013 in the Google Book Search USA
  33. ↑ a b c d Dillon, Mark C .: Vigilantism Migrates North to Helena, 1865-1870 . In: Montana Vigilantes 1863-1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows . Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah 2013, pp. 194-230. (English)
  34. ↑ His Death Avenged! : Empowering Students as Historians on a Global Scale, by Mark Johnson, July 1, 2012, In: academic.oup.com (English)
  35. ↑ Montana Vigilantes and the Origins of 3-7-77
  36. ↑ Jared Keller: Pax Vigilanticus: Vigilantism, Order, and Law in the Nineteenth Century American West . Ed .: Wesleyan University. 2009, p. 86 (English, wesleyan.edu [PDF; accessed July 7, 2020]).
  37. ↑ a b c d A Call to Order: Law, Violence, and the Development of Montana's Early Stockmen's Organizations (English)
  38. ↑ Granville Stuart of the DHS Ranch, 1879–1887 (English)
  39. ^ A b c Mueller, Oscar O .: Rustlers, Renegade and Stranglers - Ridding the Range of Renegades . In: Kennedy, Michael S. (Eds.): Cowboys and Cattlemen: A Roundup from Montana: The Magazine of Western History . Hastings House, Publishers, New York 1964, pp. 240-252. (English) OCLC 122591334
  40. ^ Roger L. Di Silvestro: Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands: A Young Politician's Quest for Recovery in the American West . Ed .: Walker & Company. 2011, p. 99 (English, scribd.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  41. ^ A b c d Postmortem Echos of Times Past , The Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870: Gold, Guns and Gallows. University Press of Colorado, 2013 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - USA )
  42. ↑ a b Zee Creative: 3-7-77 . Ed .: Association of Montana Troopers. 2020 (English, montanatrooper.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  43. ^ A b Rex C. Myers: The Fateful Numbers 3-7-77: A Re-Examination . In: Montana: The Magazine of Western History . tape 24 , no. 4 . Montana Historical Society, 1974, p. 67-70 , JSTOR : 4517928 (English).
  44. ^ Howard W. Troyer: Book Review - The Vigilantes of Montana by Thomas J. Dimsdale . In: Midwest Folklore . tape 6 , no. 4 . Indiana University Press, 1956, pp. 246-248 , JSTOR : 4317606 (English).
  45. ↑ Nathaniel Piit Langford: The Discovery of Yellowstone Park - Diary of the Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in the Year 1870 . Frank Jay Haynes, St Paul, MN 1905. (English)
  46. ^ A b c Olin Dunbar Wheeler: Nathaniel Pitt Langford-Vigilante, Explorer, The Expounder and Superintendent of Yellowstone Park . Ed .: Montana Historical Society. April 8, 1912 (English, archive.org [PDF; accessed July 7, 2020]).
  47. ↑ Review: Montana's Righteous Hangmen: The Vigilantes in Action by Lew L. Callaway (English)
  48. ^ Dillon, Mark C .: Conclusion . In: Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870 Gold, Guns and Gallows ( English ). Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah 2013, pp. 390 f.
  49. ↑ Book Announcement, Publisher, Rockland County Bar Association (PDF) ( Memento from September 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  50. ^ Moses, Norton H .: Review - A Decent and Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes by Frederick Allen . Ed .: Western Historical Quarterly, Utah State University, volume 37, number 1. 2004, p. 85–86 (English, goodreads.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  51. ^ McCann, Brett D .: Dan Cushman Reader . Ed .: University of Montana. 2001 (English, umt.edu [PDF; accessed July 7, 2020]).
  52. ^ Review of Montana: The Gold Frontier by Dan Cushman
  53. ↑ MT.gov (Ed.): More On Vigilantes / Vigilantism . (English, mt.gov [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  54. ^ Review-Hanging the Sheriff: A Biography of Henry Plummer by RE Mather; FE Boswell (Historians writing on Montana, border crime, and vigilantism in particular, have long proclaimed the need for a biography of Henry Plummer, the notorious Western lawman and alleged outlaw, based on the thin spread of historical sources available and also on Based on RE Mather's genealogical expertise (acquired from the Salt Lake Genealogical Library), this short volume attempts to meet this considerable challenge, but its success in doing so has been debated. Hanging the Sheriff is a self-proclaimed revisionist biography The popular view from the 1850s and 1860s that Plummer was a violent, murderous, perhaps even psychopathic man, instead argue that his highly civilized and meek image - an image he could undeniably project - was real the real man was).
  55. ↑ Reviewed Work: Hanging the Sheriff: A Biography of Henry Plummer by RE Mather; FE Boswell (English)
  56. ↑ Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870, Gold, Guns and Gallows , Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2013, Due Process and Procedure: Vigilante Arrests and Trials, S 310 (English)
  57. ↑ a b Annotated Bibliography, Buchanan, Carol, July 2012, In: swanrange.com (PDF, accessed July 6, 2020)
  58. ^ RE Mather, FE Boswell Hanging the Sheriff - A Biography of Henry. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, 1987 (English, archive.org ).
  59. ^ Hanging the Sheriff: A Biography of Henry Plummer by RE Mather; FE Boswell Review by: Frank R. Grant
  60. ↑ John C. Fazio, In: ohiohumanities.org (English)
  61. ↑ The Case for Union, by John C. Fazio, In: clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com (English)
  62. ↑ The Vigilantes of Montana Revisited, by John C. Fazio & Carol Buchanan, The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, 2011, In: clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com (English)
  63. ^ John C. Fazio: The Vigilantes of Montana . Ed .: The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. 2005 (English, clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  64. ^ John C. Fazio & Carol Buchanan: The Vigilantes of Montana Revisited . Ed .: The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. 2011 (English, clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).