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| Present Day Bannack, Montana |
Gold was discovered on July 28, 1862, alongside Grasshopper Creek in the far west portion of the Idaho territory. Not long after the Montana Territory came into being and gold was discovered in a place called Alder Gulch with Bannack becoming the first capital of Montana. Bannack was only the capital for two years before Virginia City cropped up at Alder Gulch and took over as the capital. Alder Gulch became one of the largest gold finds in the western United States in 1863 bringing thousands of gold seekers to the area and others looking for their fortune as saloon keepers, hardware stores, and others, as was said, those businesses mined the miners.
In 1863-64 the only means of transportation was by wagon, stagecoach, or horseback over horrible rough roads which caused slow travel. This situation became very tempting for road agents who began preying on gold shipments as well as travelers within the area. As the frequency of holdups and murder grew, the locals began to suspect Henry Plummer, the Sheriff of Bannack to be the ring leader because he knew when the shipments would be sent. It was claimed that over one hundred men had been killed by road agents. Who really knows except god, numbers such as these were overstated many times back then.
On December 23, 1863, The Vigilance Committee Of Alder Gulch was organized by the Virginia City residents. The founders of this group were Wilber F. Sanders, Major Alvin W. Brockie, John Nye, Captain Nick D. Wall, and Paris Pfouts. Some of these men had been involved with the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in California and used that as their guidelines. Paris Phouts was elected president of the committee and along with some of the other voted-in officers they wrote their by-laws. Below are those by-laws:
It shall be the duty of members to attach themselves to some company and whenever any criminal act shall come to their knowledge to inform his Captain or Lieutenant of the same, when the officers so informed shall call together the members of his company, (unless the company has chosen a committee for such purpose) when they shall proceed to investigate the case, and elicit the facts and should the said company conclude that the person charged with any offence should be punished by the committee, the Captain or Lieutenant will first take steps to arrest the criminal and then report same with proof to the Chief who will thereupon call a meeting of the Executive Committee and the judgement of such Executive Committee shall be final. The only punishment that shall be inflicted by this Committee shall be death.
Now, those by-laws meant business, I would hate to have had a finger pointed at me for something I didn’t do back then, That would not have been good. All in all and as far as we know the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch had executed twenty-one men of the Henry Plummer gang in 1884. The names of these men are, Henry Plummer, the sheriff of Bannack, Erastus “Red” Yeager, George Brown, “Dutch John” Wagner, Ned Ray, Buck Stinson, “Greaser Joe” Pizanthia, Frank Parish, Boone Helm, Jack Gallagher, George “Clubfoot” Lane, Hayes Lyon, Steve Marshland, Bill Bunton, Cyrus Skinner, Aleck Carter, Johnny Cooper, Bob Zachary, George Shears, “Whiskey Bill” Graves and Bill Hunter.
Other executions committed by the Vigilance Committee include an unknown nineteen-year-old who was hanged for shooting and killing an unarmed man in one of the saloons.
Doc Howard, Chris Lowery, and Jem Romaine. All three were hung for robbery and murder.
Jack Slade for breach of the peace while firing his revolver errantly and could have possibly killed someone.
James Brady for shooting a man. The man didn’t die.
Personally, I have been to Virginia City and Bannack Montana, and should you ever get the chance to be within that area of Montana, I would highly suggest visiting these old west towns. You won’t regret it, they are still original for the most part.
Terry McGahey
Associate Writer/ Old West Historian
Terry has been a working cowboy, a writer, and an Old West historian. He is best known for his fight against the City of Tombstone and its historic City Ordinance Number 9.
He was instrumental in getting the famous Tombstone City Ordinance Number 9 repealed while at the same time forcing the City of Tombstone to fall in line and comply with the laws of the State of Arizona.
If you care to read how he fought Tombstone's City Hall and won, check out:
In 1863-64 the only means of transportation was by wagon, stagecoach, or horseback over horrible rough roads which caused slow travel. This situation became very tempting for road agents who began preying on gold shipments as well as travelers within the area. As the frequency of holdups and murder grew, the locals began to suspect Henry Plummer, the Sheriff of Bannack to be the ring leader because he knew when the shipments would be sent. It was claimed that over one hundred men had been killed by road agents. Who really knows except god, numbers such as these were overstated many times back then.
On December 23, 1863, The Vigilance Committee Of Alder Gulch was organized by the Virginia City residents. The founders of this group were Wilber F. Sanders, Major Alvin W. Brockie, John Nye, Captain Nick D. Wall, and Paris Pfouts. Some of these men had been involved with the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in California and used that as their guidelines. Paris Phouts was elected president of the committee and along with some of the other voted-in officers they wrote their by-laws. Below are those by-laws:
It shall be the duty of members to attach themselves to some company and whenever any criminal act shall come to their knowledge to inform his Captain or Lieutenant of the same, when the officers so informed shall call together the members of his company, (unless the company has chosen a committee for such purpose) when they shall proceed to investigate the case, and elicit the facts and should the said company conclude that the person charged with any offence should be punished by the committee, the Captain or Lieutenant will first take steps to arrest the criminal and then report same with proof to the Chief who will thereupon call a meeting of the Executive Committee and the judgement of such Executive Committee shall be final. The only punishment that shall be inflicted by this Committee shall be death.
Now, those by-laws meant business, I would hate to have had a finger pointed at me for something I didn’t do back then, That would not have been good. All in all and as far as we know the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch had executed twenty-one men of the Henry Plummer gang in 1884. The names of these men are, Henry Plummer, the sheriff of Bannack, Erastus “Red” Yeager, George Brown, “Dutch John” Wagner, Ned Ray, Buck Stinson, “Greaser Joe” Pizanthia, Frank Parish, Boone Helm, Jack Gallagher, George “Clubfoot” Lane, Hayes Lyon, Steve Marshland, Bill Bunton, Cyrus Skinner, Aleck Carter, Johnny Cooper, Bob Zachary, George Shears, “Whiskey Bill” Graves and Bill Hunter.
Other executions committed by the Vigilance Committee include an unknown nineteen-year-old who was hanged for shooting and killing an unarmed man in one of the saloons.
Doc Howard, Chris Lowery, and Jem Romaine. All three were hung for robbery and murder.
Jack Slade for breach of the peace while firing his revolver errantly and could have possibly killed someone.
James Brady for shooting a man. The man didn’t die.
Personally, I have been to Virginia City and Bannack Montana, and should you ever get the chance to be within that area of Montana, I would highly suggest visiting these old west towns. You won’t regret it, they are still original for the most part.
About the Author
Terry McGaheyAssociate Writer/ Old West Historian
Terry has been a working cowboy, a writer, and an Old West historian. He is best known for his fight against the City of Tombstone and its historic City Ordinance Number 9.
He was instrumental in getting the famous Tombstone City Ordinance Number 9 repealed while at the same time forcing the City of Tombstone to fall in line and comply with the laws of the State of Arizona.
If you care to read how he fought Tombstone's City Hall and won, check out:
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