A Miner Problem

WEBVTT
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Welcome to Red Herrings.
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I'm Jacoa, Master's student in law and human rights, host of True Crime Club Newcastle, and creator of True Crime Forum Newcastle.
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Hi, I'm Brittany.
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I have two degrees in history and 15 years experience in genealogy.
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We're the red herrings.
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Well, well, well.
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What do we have here?
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Two red herrings and the catch of the day.
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Don't forget about me.
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Hi, Chris! We're the red herrings.
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And Chris.
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I have a question for you guys before we begin.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Have you ever found a treasure map?
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Or have you ever wanted to find one?
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What would you do if you found one?
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I go and go and dig it up.
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What if it had no X on it?
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Oh, well, it's not much of a treasure map then, is it?
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I don't know.
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What what would you do in any of those situations?
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I've never found a treasure map, but I do play video games with treasure maps in them.
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They count.
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So technically, I actually found treasure today in that game.
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I'm so proud of you.
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Thank you.
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What'd you find?
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$15 whole dollars.
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What game is this?
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Red Dead Redemption 2.
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I'm a cowboy.
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It's very fun.
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Oh, you're gonna love this one then, right?
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Brittany's a cowboy too.
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Cowgirl.
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Thank you.
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At least get it.
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Only on his birthdays.
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Okay, so no ex I'm a I'm intrigued.
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Well maybe there is an ex.
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I don't know.
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Well, there should be if it's a treasure map, as Chris so rightly stated.
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Right?
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Absolutely.
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So would you go and and dig it up?
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Would you tell anybody?
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Oh, that's a good question.
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What would you do if you found a bag with a million dollars in?
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Oh would you turn it in or would you keep it?
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Am I gonna get in trouble for keeping it?
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I don't know.
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Why would someone leave a bag with a hundred you know, a million quid in?
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Maybe they come up with it.
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None of my business.
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Well, yeah.
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It's mine now.
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Well, if it was tracked, like you know, DB Cooper's cash was tracked, they know then I'd turn it in.
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But how would you know until you start spending it?
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Because oh, they did release saying that they tracked the money.
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Like if it was known publicly, I'd turn it in, but I don't know.
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Well, surely once they told you it was tracked, when you turn it in, you're gonna be like, oh so we do know from a very brief mention a few episodes ago that if you find treasure you have 14 days to tell the coroner here.
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Ah but that is well then it the definition of treasure is one pound notes and a million quid treasure, or are we talking old stuff has to be treasure?
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I don't know what the definition is.
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If I found a treasure map that had an X in it, and I thought we could find it, I would get us together.
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Oh, that'd be so much fun.
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That'll be a lot of fun.
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And I would have a metal detector.
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We'll split whatever we find, but you guys have to so we'd use Brittany with her genealogy and historical knowledge.
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I thought you were gonna say, well, she's international, she'll get away with it.
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She can just say she didn't know about the law.
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We'll use Chris because he's so good at geography.
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Or he would have me think in this podcast.
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I know where Aberdeen is, listeners.
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Um me just, you know, I'm the face of the campaign.
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Oh, beautiful one.
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And um our very good friend knew her.
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Very good friend.
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Very good.
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Yeah, snacks.
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Oh, snacks and drinks.
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Yeah.
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And and maybe oh, maybe it would lead us to anywhere where she needs to speak the language.
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Right.
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True.
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And morale, she would be good at that.
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She would be good at morale.
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She would be such a good champion.
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She'd be like cheerleading us the entire way.
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Love it.
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While probably complaining about being tired, but yeah, I mean I would too, but yeah.
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Capricorns, what do you expect?
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Uh oh yeah, Capricorns.
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But then I have the Taurus over here who's notoriously lazy.
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How dare you!
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And then well, then you've got me who's notoriously Spitfire.
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So I I think God, what freaking good team.
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Oh my gosh.
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I know.
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Which is what are you?
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Are you a fire sign?
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Is that a fire sign?
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I'm not I don't really know many things about zodiac signs, but I know things about mine.
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And that was a pure guess on yours.
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Oh, oh, was it?
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Yeah.
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Because you said Spitfire, I was like, oh fire, but I wouldn't have known otherwise.
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Okay, yeah.
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Yeah.
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If I hadn't said that, would you have guessed fire?
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Probably, because I know we're Earth, and then I didn't think you were like a fish, like a water sign.
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No, no, no.
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And then what's the other one?
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Air?
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Yes.
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It's like Avatar or something.
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Wind?
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Anyway.
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Anyway.
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Are we ready?
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Yeah.
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On a freezing night in January 1864.
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Amazing.
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Sheriff Henry Plummer stood beneath the gallows he had built himself and offered the vigilantes a deal.
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Oh.
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Give him a horse and two hours, and he would return with his weight in gold.
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What?
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They hanged him anyway.
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You have a picture of Henry Plummer.
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Fantastic beard.
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I always have to say hotter than bango.
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Yeah, and I I'm a sucker for a man with a beard.
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Oh, okay.
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No, I would.
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You would?
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Yeah, insane.
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I'm sorry, but that nose is perfect.
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Good for riding, yeah.
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Huh?
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The nose?
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You know when you sit on their face, Brittany.
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I know, I know.
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I know.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, he's okay.
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He's I think he's the hottest one we've ever seen.
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Right?
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Right, yeah.
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Okay.
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So what do you think about this?
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Give him a horse in two hours, and he'd return with his weight in gold, and they hanged him anyway.
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So at the end of the day, you're giving him a horse.
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So once he's got the horse, you're not gonna find him.
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So he's gone.
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And according to legend, somewhere in the mountains and gulches of Montana, that gold is still waiting to be found.
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To this day.
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For more than 160 years, treasure hunters, historians, and storytellers have searched for the hidden fortune of Henry Plummer.
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Wow.
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A man remembered as both a respected frontier lawman and one of the most feared outlaws of the American West.
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Wow.
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Can you be both at the same time?
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Yeah.
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Have you heard of this guy before?
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Have you heard of this guy before?
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No.
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Before I mentioned him.
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No.
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If you talk to me about a plumber, I'd assume it was just that, a plumber.
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Okay.
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Obviously.
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Obviously.
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Is it a plumber with a B?
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No.
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I didn't think it was.
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Two M's.
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Yeah.
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Depending on who you believe, Plummer was either the ruthless leader of a murderous gang known as the Innocents.
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Oh.
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Or the victim of one of the most controversial vigilante executions in frontier history.
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I mean, he doesn't look like a ruthless murderer.
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I disagree.
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You think?
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I don't know, mate.
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I think he looks like someone who would like pay someone to kill people for him and then eat the bodies.
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But um cannibal.
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Do you not think?
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Yeah.
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Either way, his death gave rise to one of Montana's most enduring legends.
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Ooh, it is enduring as well.
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The story begins in the early 1860s when the discovery of gold transformed the Montana territory.
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In 1862, rich deposits were found along Grasshopper Creek, where a rough mining camp called Bannock quickly sprang up.
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The gold was unusually pure and words spread fast.
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Thousands of miners flooded into the region hoping to strike it rich.
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Of course they did.
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You have a couple photos now.
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You have three photos from Bannock.
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I could only date the first one to about the 1860s.
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I think the next two are probably around the same time.
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And then I found this just yesterday.
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That is a map, also dated from the 1860s.
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And when you zoom in, it's really funny, like some of the things that are written.
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So this town looks a bit like um Ashington.
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Never been.
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Well, it's just sort of a mining town that's kind of falling apart.
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Oh.
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Do you not think?
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I've never been.
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Have you been?
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To Ashington.
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Have you been to Ashington, actually?
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Yeah.
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I've driven through it.
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No.
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You don't want to start.
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Been in a long time.
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But you can see the mine up there, right?
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On the second photo.
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Yes.
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Right?
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Is that what that is?
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Yes.
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Mm-hmm.
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This is exactly what Red Dead Redemption looks like, by the way.
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Really?
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I was like just there today.
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Oh.
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Killed a lot of people for their money.
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You must have like manifested this case.
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I know, dude.
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Mm-hmm.
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And I'm I'm the kind of video gamer as well where I will go really, really long time not playing anything, and then I'll have like a solid couple of weeks where I can't stop.
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And Sims, I've not played in over a year.
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But the thing is, like, what's putting me off is I know I'm gonna have so many updates.
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That's okay.
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I know.
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But I go for it for like a full week of just hardcore Sims and then I don't touch it for a year.
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Yeah, we do this.
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I love Sims.
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That's my only like does that count as a video game?
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Yeah, of course it does.
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You're a legit gamer by playing Sims.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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I know all the cheat codes and everything.
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So do you like my map?
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Yes.
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Yeah, great.
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Thank you.
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I notice on the map it says Okay, yeah, I know what you're gonna say.
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I don't know if this is acceptable to say.
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House where we got the Mexican.
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It does say that.
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Ah, yes.
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Um besties with besties!
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Oh yeah, yeah.
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Tacoya place.
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Yeah.
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What else do we have?
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I saw there was a lot of meat shops and bakeries.
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Also, there seems to be a BS shop.
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There's two BS shops.
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Ah.
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Do we know what that stands for?
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No idea.
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French home.
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Meat shop, grocery, lots of groceries.
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Chief Justice Edgerton.
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Glad to point out the stables.
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To Marysville.
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Houses all the way down for five miles.
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That's a lot of houses.
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Saloon.
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In the middle, I swear it says Christmas store.
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It does.
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Thank you.
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Yes, Christmas store.
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Or is it Chris?
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Chris's mum's store.
00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:52.399
Chris Mayon store.
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Chris Mam's.
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Christmas.
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Christmas store.
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George.
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George Christmas store?
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Is that what it says?
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Ah.
00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:00.960
Could be George, not yes.
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Yes.
00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:04.480
Bowling alley hottie?
00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:06.799
That's so no, I think it's hotel, right?
00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:08.080
Yeah, it's hotel.
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Bowling alley.
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Law office, very important.
00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:12.399
That's so funny.
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They had a bowling alley.
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Thompson's.
00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:16.960
I don't think that's your like Thompson's.
00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:18.080
I actually have no idea what that is.
00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:19.600
You're thinking of Thompson's.
00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:20.879
Ah, thank you.
00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:22.320
So I do see an ex.
00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:23.279
Do you?
00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:24.399
Because I didn't.
00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.000
We've solved it.
00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:32.879
That question at the beginning was just like pure fun, had nothing to do with the games.
00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:34.799
Do we know where this is?
00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:36.799
Because I think we should go dig up that house in the exit.
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:38.159
In the middle of Montana.
00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:39.120
I think we solved it.
00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:39.840
I think we solved it.
00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:40.720
I think it's worth the flight.
00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:42.159
Yeah, right.
00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:49.120
But along with prospectors came gamblers, drifters, civil war deserters, and criminals.
00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:51.039
Bannock exploded.
00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:51.679
Bang!
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:52.799
Sorry.
00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:54.159
Wow.
00:10:54.480 --> 00:11:07.840
Bannock exploded into a lawless boom town almost overnight where wealth existed not as paper currency, but as gold dust, nuggets, and coins carried along remote trails through the mountains.
00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.159
Those trails quickly became targets.
00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:17.039
Yeah, I was gonna so much crime, so much stealing, so much murdering people for what you think might be gold.
00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:18.480
Half the time it probably isn't.
00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:20.399
Yeah, and it's still like that to this day.
00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:20.960
Is it?
00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:22.240
Yeah, America in general.
00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:23.279
Thank you for that.
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:24.720
This is what I'm led to believe by the city.
00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:25.360
Very important.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:26.480
Yeah.
00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:37.200
Stagecoaches and freight wagons moving between Bannock and Virginia City were forced through isolated passes where robberies and disappearances became increasingly common.
00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:41.679
By late 1863, fear had spread among the mining camps.
00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:54.240
According to some estimates, more than 120 travelers and miners had been killed, and large amounts of gold had been stolen in a matter of months, the equivalent to six million dollars today.
00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:56.000
I'm not surprised in the slightest.
00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:56.960
No, not at all.
00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.720
And suspicion increasingly centered on one man.
00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:01.600
One?
00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:02.480
Who do you think?
00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:03.279
Plummer.
00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:04.000
Plummer.
00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:04.720
Oh shit.
00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:08.000
Henry Plummer had arrived in the West years earlier.
00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:15.120
Born in Maine around 1832, he traveled to California during the Gold Rush at just 19.
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:21.360
Intelligent, charismatic, and ambitious, Plummer quickly built a respectable life for himself.
00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:22.720
See this again.
00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:29.840
Isn't it wild that people who were like 18, 19 were just moving to another state making a life for themselves?
00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.279
Like what were we doing at 18?
00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:34.240
You couldn't get farther away in the US.
00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:37.679
So Maine is like all the way northeast, touches Canada.
00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:39.360
All the way to California.
00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:40.879
Like that's insane at 19.
00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:43.120
And he went, I don't think you went with anyone with this family.
00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.399
I don't know if he went by himself, but context though.
00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:50.399
I mean, these are the days where you need to chase the opportunities.
00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.200
Like nothing is given to you at all.
00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:57.519
Like if you need dinner, you slaughter it yourself and cook it yourself.
00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:01.919
Like and I just know this from my Red Dead Redemption days in the output.
00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:03.200
She's a real cowgirl.
00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:03.759
She is.
00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.159
But at the same time, this is like the Victorian era.
00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:10.480
It's not like it's 1860s, but think it's still he's going.
00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:14.480
So in Maine, right, maybe it Maine is more settled at this point.
00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:18.159
But California, people went out there because of the gold rush.
00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:20.639
I think it's in it was in 1849.
00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:26.720
So that's only I mean, he would have been 17, so let's say he went out in 51.
00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:28.480
Like it's still developing.
00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:29.600
There's nothing out there.
00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:31.759
These are territories, they're not even states.
00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:37.279
Like you have the Native Americans who are living there, but that's a completely different lifestyle than what these people are used to.
00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.000
Love it.
00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.639
Should I take my bit out about killing your own dinner?
00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:41.840
Do I sound stupid?
00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:42.399
No.
00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:43.919
No.
00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:49.360
I mean, I just point out there are grocery stores on that map.
00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.159
Yeah, you're right.
00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:50.399
Okay.
00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:51.279
True.
00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:51.919
Yeah.
00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:52.320
Yeah.
00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:53.840
But not like fast food.
00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.240
Unless it counts well, it could have been the BS shop.
00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:57.039
We still know it was that we're going to be able to do that.
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:00.960
Hang on a second.
00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.360
Wasn't California part of Mexico at that point?
00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.240
I don't know if it was at that point.
00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.240
I had no idea they were next to each other.
00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:09.759
Mexico and California.
00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.440
I thought Tesco Tesco.
00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.440
For fuck's sake.
00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:16.720
Tex-Mex, right?
00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:18.000
Oh, that was in the 1840s.
00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:19.600
Okay, so this was just after.
00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:20.480
Yes.
00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.360
So maybe there were some interloping Mexicans.
00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:24.080
Maybe.
00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:25.679
Well, maybe that's fair enough then.
00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:27.840
Maybe that wasn't just a random link lynching.
00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:30.480
Maybe it was actually a How do we know they were lynching?
00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.039
Yeah, they mean Mexican.
00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:40.720
Within only a few years, he owned a ranch, a bakery, and mining interests around Nevada City, California.
00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:45.360
He was elected marshal and gained a good reputation, but violence followed him.
00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.919
Any guesses on what this violence is?
00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:56.879
Or was he just holding wagons up and shooting them, saying he was a policeman and you have to get out and this is before he moved to Montana though.
00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:58.399
Oh, this is in Maine?
00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:00.799
No, sorry, this is still in California.
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.159
So he goes from Maine to California to Montana.
00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:05.759
Sorry, so this is in California?
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:06.159
Yes.
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:08.080
Was it like highwayman stuff then?
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:09.679
Is that your is that your guess?
00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:10.480
Well, I guess.
00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:10.960
Yeah.
00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:16.879
On September 26, 1857, Plummer shot and killed John Vedder.
00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:23.759
According to Plummer's supporters, he had been helping Lucy Vedder escape what was described as an abusive marriage.
00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:24.320
Okay.
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:25.759
So he was a feminist.
00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.799
Plummer insisted he acted in self-defense.
00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:32.720
A jury disagreed and convicted him of second-degree murder.
00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:33.279
Oh.
00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:42.320
He successfully appealed the verdict and won a new trial, but was convicted again and sentenced to ten years in San Quentin prison.
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:42.799
Oh shit.
00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:44.879
San Quintin Tarantino.
00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:46.960
You have a picture of that prison.
00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:48.080
Yes.
00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.799
So glad to go and drop my point for that.
00:15:58.159 --> 00:15:59.200
What were you gonna say?
00:15:59.519 --> 00:15:59.759
No, no.
00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:01.440
The moment is fast.
00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:06.000
That dates from about the 1850s, 1860s-ish.
00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:08.320
That is a really intimidating looking building.
00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:08.799
Right?
00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.120
I would think it was a factory, but I've been told by the internet that that is a prison.
00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.279
It looks like an old workhouse or something, doesn't it?
00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:17.360
It does say state prison on the side.
00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:18.399
Does say that.
00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:31.519
In August 1859, two years after the killing, supporters petitioned the governor for a pardon, citing Plummer's previous civic service, good reputation, and deteriorating health.
00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:37.120
At the time he was suffering from tuberculosis, a disease that was effectively incurable.
00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:39.039
That's all we hear about tuberculosis.
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:40.639
He I don't know what happened with that.
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.120
Vaccine was invented at some point, but I mean with him, no idea.
00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.720
Not in 1850, though.
00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.879
Well, at some point in like the 1900s, yes.
00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.600
But I'm saying personally with Plummer.
00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:52.320
Right.
00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:53.200
He got better.
00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:54.080
He must have.
00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:54.559
Nice.
00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:55.279
Good for him.
00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:56.480
Misdiagnosed.
00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:57.759
Maybe he prayed.
00:16:58.000 --> 00:16:58.399
Maybe.
00:16:58.559 --> 00:16:59.039
That works.
00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:00.320
That does work.
00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:07.920
The governor ultimately granted the pardon, allowing Plummer to be released after serving only a fraction of his sentence.
00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:16.960
After leaving prison, Plummer drifted through the Western Territories, moving between mining towns across Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.
00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:24.240
It was a world of gamblers, prospectors, and fugitives, where violence was common and law enforcement was limited.
00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.680
You have a map just kind of for like perspective.
00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:33.920
Those are the territories, so it's all basically from like the center of the US, westward.
00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:39.119
Those are like modern state lines, not territory lines at the time.
00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:40.640
There you go, just for context.
00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:48.400
So he was over in California and he makes his way west, kind of going northwest, Idaho, and then eastward into Montana.
00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.559
That's quite a lot of territory to cover though.
00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:51.039
Right?
00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.960
Like I if you're riding a horse, how far can you travel in a day?
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.599
Like I wonder continuously for like.
00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:58.480
And I don't know.
00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:02.000
Like this could be out here, out there, and I just haven't like read it.
00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:03.440
I don't know if he went alone.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:12.319
I don't know if he went with other people, if there's kind of like because there's think like all these mining camps are all over, so there's probably groups of people moving between them all the time.
00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:13.200
I don't know.
00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:15.279
But yeah, it's a lot of land to cover.
00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:25.039
Some accounts place him in repeated violent confrontations, while others describe him simply as one of many drifters trying to survive in unstable towns.
00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:34.720
It is said that he traveled through the Washington Territory during another gold rush and became involved in further disputes and gunfights that added to his growing notoriety.
00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:39.599
By the time he made his way to Montana, his reputation was clouded by rumor.
00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:48.240
While traveling near Fort Benton, he met James Vale, who was recruiting men to help protect a mission settlement near the Sun River.
00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:52.559
With no other options for passage, Plummer agreed to join them.
00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:59.359
Among those at the settlement was Jack Cleveland, a horse trader who had known Plummer in California.
00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:05.119
While there, both men became connected to Electa Bryan, Vale's sister-in-law.
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:08.400
Plummer won her affection and the two became engaged.
00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:11.680
The timing seemed promising.
00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:19.759
Gold had recently been discovered at Bannock, and Plummer believed he could earn enough money there to build a future for himself and Alecta.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:20.400
Lovely.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:24.079
They headed for the mining camp with Cleveland following behind.
00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:24.640
Right.
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:28.240
However, the friendship between the two men soon deteriorated.
00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:30.160
Did he fancy Alecta too?
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:41.039
In January of 1863, Cleveland, reportedly jealous of Plummer's relationship with Alecta, forced a confrontation inside a crowded saloon.
00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:47.920
Witnesses later agreed that when the fight ended and Cleveland lay dead, Plummer had acted in self-defense.
00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:48.880
Again?
00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:50.559
He was not convicted.
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:51.920
Coincidence?
00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:52.640
Right?
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:53.759
Bit weird.
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.759
How many times does that have to happen before you're the problem?
00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:58.960
Right.
00:19:59.440 --> 00:19:59.839
Right.
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:00.880
I got to that point.
00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:02.720
I was like, okay, this explains a lot.
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:03.759
Okay.
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:08.640
This is just one example of how the town was desperately in need of order.
00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:13.279
Lawlessness was rampant, and residents wanted a strong sheriff.
00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:16.400
Despite his past, Plummer was well liked.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:23.279
Witnesses described him as polite, handsome, educated, and unusually refined for a frontier mining camp.
00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.960
I was gonna say sounds a lot like me.
00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:25.519
Does it?
00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.880
Unusually refined.
00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:28.079
Polite?
00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:29.359
Oh yeah.
00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.759
And so the citizens elected him sheriff in May 1863.
00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:34.799
Alright.
00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:39.839
To many people, Henry Plummer looks like the answer to the town's problems.
00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:40.640
Did he?
00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:46.559
According to local historian Dick Pace, Plummer was a very pleasant-looking individual.
00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:52.400
He was the only man in Bannock that always tipped his hat to a lady when he saw her on the street.
00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:56.480
How many times have you got to do that in a day if he's just a lot of ladies?
00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:56.960
No.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:58.079
Some were just wenches.
00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:01.359
Yeah.
00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:05.119
You could call him the consummate con man of his day.
00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:10.480
So he was able to con people into thinking he was a competent man to be the sheriff.
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:15.359
And of course, he knew that being a sheriff would give him a perfect cover.
00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:15.839
Yep.
00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.839
So these people elected him as the sheriff, despite him being like a major criminal.
00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:20.799
Love it.
00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:22.160
Because he was hot.
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:22.720
Yeah.
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:23.119
Yeah.
00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:24.000
And tipped his hat.
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.480
It's a good job that never happens anymore.
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:33.759
Almost immediately after being elected, rumors of organized road agents began to circulate.
00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:47.599
Accounts of robberies and killings became entangled with claims of a coordinated criminal network called the Innocents, operating across the region, though the true extent and structure of the group remains heavily disputed.
00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:55.119
The group allegedly operated from a base known as Rattlesnake Ranch, located roughly twelve miles from Virginia City.
00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:56.880
I swear these place names are made up.
00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:57.680
That's such a crazy.
00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.440
Well, yeah, I guess.
00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:02.559
You have another map.
00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:05.359
I put this in before I found the previous one.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:08.880
So that way, that's why this one is so like zoomed out.
00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:15.519
But essentially, if you zoom in, you can see Bannock, and then to the right, that pin is Virginia City.
00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:19.279
In total, they are 83 miles apart for context.
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.319
That's not far.
00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:27.440
Originally, when I did this, I just typed in Virginia City and it popped up was somewhere in Nevada and it was 12 hours driving today.
00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:29.039
And I was like, is this it?
00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:29.759
This can't be it.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:32.480
Like I had to go and I was like, is there a Virginia City, Montana?
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.359
It's like, oh yeah, okay, this actually makes a lot more sense.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:43.119
So the idea is that he's been elected sheriff and then he's got all his criminal friends together to kill and rob.
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:49.039
Because he probably got like a bunch of information as well as being sheriff, and then he's trusted as well, and he just knows everything.
00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:52.240
So he's like, right, guys, go and yeah, go and do your worst.
00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:52.559
Okay.
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.480
And no one's gonna s exp suspect him as the front man because he's the sheriff.
00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:56.960
Exactly.
00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.079
What does the sheriff do?
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.119
Are they like head policemen or are they in charge of prosecuting?
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:02.960
No, like police.
00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:03.519
Okay.
00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:06.319
So if he doesn't arrest anyone, they'll just get away with it.
00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:06.880
Yeah.
00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:07.599
I don't know.
00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:09.599
If he's choosing who he's arresting.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:10.480
I think so.
00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:10.880
Okay.
00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:13.440
And he's not gonna arrest his own mates.
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:13.920
Mm-mm.
00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:17.119
So yeah, that's quite a good little situation.
00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:17.759
Right.
00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:18.400
Smart.
00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:25.759
At its peak, the organization was said to include around 100 agents spread throughout the Montana territory.
00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:35.599
Some worked as spies in saloons, gambling halls, freight companies, and mining offices, gathering information about gold shipments and wealthy travelers.
00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:37.119
I would love that job.
00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.480
I'd be a great spy.
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:39.200
Right?
00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.599
I would love to just chill in a gambling hall.
00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.319
Right?
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.440
Or a saloon.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:45.759
That'd be so good.
00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.759
Oh, why don't we live in the 1850s?
00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:48.160
It'd be great.
00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:49.920
I think we'd all die in tuberculosis.
00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:51.680
So that's okay.
00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.799
You with you do the stoning.
00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:58.160
I'd be the handsome sheriff.
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:02.160
By the way, your to be wife is also quite opinionated and vocal.
00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:04.160
I was gonna say, I'd be burned as well.
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:04.880
You kidding me?
00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:07.039
They burned everyone with green eyes.
00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:08.000
Oh, did they?
00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:09.359
Well, at least in Salem.
00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:12.480
Salem which well, maybe not in Salem actually.
00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.519
Why are your eyes, Chris?
00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:14.000
Blue.
00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:14.960
Are they?
00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:15.680
They're quite a dark.
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:17.680
They're dark blue, yeah, they're very pretty.
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:18.400
Interesting.
00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:19.839
Yeah, I do say so.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:20.880
I like them.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:21.920
Anyway.
00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:27.599
Using secret passwords and signs, the gang was able to coordinate the robberies and killings.
00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:28.880
Do we know what that gang's?
00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:30.400
Yes, but I did include it in.
00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:39.519
It was okay, so I don't know if it was a sign, but it was something like three seven like three dash seven dash seven dash three seven seven seven dash between the numbers.
00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:41.440
No one knows what it means.
00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.880
Maybe it's coordinates.
00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:45.680
Maybe it's actually L-L-L.
00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:46.720
I doubt it.
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:51.440
It's lower left Louisiana, and that's where they buried the gold.
00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:52.000
Okay.
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:55.920
Seven three seven seven seven.
00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.440
Oh, three, seven, seven, seven.
00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:57.839
Yeah.
00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:59.920
Seven three seven seven seven.
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:00.720
No, no.
00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:01.599
Three.
00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:02.640
Three.
00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:03.119
Okay.
00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:04.000
No, start over.
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:04.880
Start over.
00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:10.079
Three, seven, seven, seven.
00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:12.559
No one knows what it means.
00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:14.880
And well, how would they use this?
00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:15.519
They don't know.
00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:16.960
I didn't actually write this part down.
00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:21.200
They would write it to each other, or sign it to each other, or they would say it to each other.
00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:22.160
Maybe tattooed.
00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:22.880
I'm not sure.
00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:23.839
A tattoo.
00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:24.559
I don't know.
00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:25.920
But it was pretty interesting.
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:27.359
That is pretty interesting.
00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:34.000
And as sheriff, Plummer knew exactly when gold shipments would travel between Bannock and Virginia City.
00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:37.519
You now have a fun little graphic of a highway robbery.
00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:38.319
That's cute.
00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:41.279
Why is he pointing his gun at his Oh, he's got two guns.
00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:46.480
So that this was like a f what This isn't like a re uh it's just like an artist's interpretation.
00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:47.440
That's all it is.
00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:49.359
But it's a fun little thing after win.
00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:51.359
Yeah, it look makes sense to me.
00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:52.079
What's your issue?
00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:55.599
Well, I was thinking, why do they like leave the people alive?
00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:56.880
Like you're in the Wild West.
00:25:57.279 --> 00:25:59.519
They usually didn't Ah, okay, gotcha.
00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:02.640
Like I'm thinking, what's the point in wearing the mask if they're gonna kill them?
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.319
I yeah, they usually killed them.
00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.359
Oh, we're going into that now.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:05.759
That's good.
00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:09.359
The mask is to just intimidate them, isn't it?
00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:19.759
In October 1863, merchant Lloyd Magruder was murdered alongside four companions while transporting thousands of dollars in gold dust.
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:26.319
Oh my god, like you would have to be paid at this point so much to do this, like traveling with all that gold.
00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:28.400
Like, cause you know you're a target.
00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:32.799
But there's always gonna be people out there that would risk everything to get some cash.
00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:33.599
Yeah.
00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:35.119
It's a wild west, my dude.
00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:35.920
Yeah, you're right.
00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:43.759
In another robbery, armed agents stopped a stagecoach and stole nearly$3,000 in gold.
00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.279
That was$3,000 at the time.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:47.440
I didn't do the conversion of what it is now.
00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:48.000
A lot.
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:48.480
A lot.
00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:49.279
It's probably a lot.
00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:55.519
Other miners narrowly escaped attacks after spotting armed men watching their camps from the hills.
00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:57.519
Oh my god, you'd be terrified.
00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:58.079
Right?
00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:02.000
I mean, you'd be terrified even if you were driving through and you saw some people in the hills watching you.
00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:03.359
Imagine you can't actually run away.
00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.319
Why didn't people start arming themselves, or did they?
00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:07.680
I think they started to.
00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:08.000
Yeah.
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:09.920
Were you allowed to just oh yeah.
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:10.880
Well, yeah.
00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:11.279
Right.
00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:13.839
There's no law, as we've clearly found out.
00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:14.400
Yeah.
00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:16.000
That's America for you.
00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:18.799
Watch it.
00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:25.519
One teenager claimed he recognized Sheriff Plummer himself among a group of armed agents near Horse Prairie.
00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:27.279
Oh shit, so he was involved himself.
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.519
He wasn't just like sending his goons.
00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:31.519
According to some eyewitnesses.
00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:32.079
Right.
00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:40.079
Though widely disputed, the accusation further damaged his reputation, and the violence kept escalating.
00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:47.599
The mining camps existed in a legal vacuum, and this pattern was repeated across much of the American West.
00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:58.400
Settlers called on Washington for greater law enforcement and protection, but the Civil War, which was happening at the same time, consumed the federal government's attention.
00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.519
So basically they were like, don't really care about the West.
00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:02.480
Got it.
00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:07.599
In Montana, formal law enforcement remained scarce and often ineffective.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:11.680
Frustrated residents began taking matters into their own hands.
00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:12.240
Oh.
00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:16.400
Their turning point came in December 1863.
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:26.000
A young Dutch immigrant named Nicholas Tybolt was murdered, and suspicion quickly fell on a notorious road agent named George Ives.
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:35.759
From December 19th to December 21st, hundreds of miners gathered in Virginia City for a public trial conducted by a miners court.
00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:36.400
Ooh.
00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:41.359
The proceedings lasted three days and attracted spectators from across the region.
00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:43.039
Sorry, what is a miners' court?
00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:45.200
So basically they just created their own.
00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:48.880
Like they were sick of waiting on the government and they got nothing.
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:50.720
Like a vigilante kind of thing.
00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.119
Well, hence the vigilantes at the beginning, I assume.
00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:54.160
Yep.
00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:54.640
Okay.
00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:55.119
Exactly.
00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:58.160
Keep up there, Christopher.
00:28:59.119 --> 00:28:59.440
God.
00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:00.079
Men.
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:05.119
Ives was convicted and hanged on December 21st, 1863.
00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:12.400
The trial convinced many residents that a larger criminal organization was operating throughout the territory.
00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:18.079
The committee quickly established its own system of what became known as mountain justice.
00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:20.319
Which is Oh, that sounds so scary.
00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:21.680
Basically, what it is.
00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.799
So it says, um, it says, I wrote this.
00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:36.000
Suspects were often arrested, questioned, and subjected to makeshift trials before being either banished from the territory or sentenced to death.
00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:36.559
Jeez.
00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:40.960
I mean, if you're a vigilante group, I get banishing, but the death one.
00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:44.880
There must have been so many miscarriages of justice as well.
00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:47.680
Oh, unbelievably so, yeah, like, oh god.
00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:57.599
According to historian Dick Pace, they formed a posse, and during the next six weeks, the vigilantes were picking people up, giving them a trial.
00:29:57.759 --> 00:29:58.319
Oh no.
00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.839
And we know they hanged about 22 men at least.
00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:02.640
Wow.
00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:04.480
But what was the sheriff doing about this?
00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:08.799
Surely he should be keeping like law and order, or is he like tacitly supporting them?
00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.240
I don't so Plummer was the sheriff in Bannock.
00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:12.960
Right.
00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:17.839
And later in the story, I don't know, I think maybe he was a sheriff somewhere else in another town.
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:19.519
Maybe it was I I don't know.
00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:25.200
But this is not just the town, like it's the entire region, and Virginia City is bigger than Bannock.
00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:28.480
So I think in a way, like he was just overpowered.
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:36.319
And this essentially, if you remember when I first started this, he was hanged in January of 84, and this only started in December of 83.
00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:38.319
So he really didn't have time to do anything.
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:39.200
I see.
00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:47.519
It is still not known how many others were banished or hanged, but the campaign reshaped the territory sense of justice.
00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:49.200
Can I ask a quick question?
00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:51.039
If I don't ask it now, I'm gonna forget.
00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:53.759
How do we know about the 22 hang-ins?
00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:55.920
Were they recording them as they were doing them?
00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:56.799
Wow.
00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:01.119
We kind of touch on that very, very briefly at the end, but yes.
00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:02.880
That's cool.
00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:03.440
Yeah.
00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:04.880
That's crazy, isn't it?
00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:15.599
Among those accused and arrested was Erastus Red Jaeger, who reportedly implicated Henry Plummer as the leader of the alleged innocence gang.
00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:23.759
Whether Jaeger told the truth or simply tried to save himself remains debated, but his confession sealed Plummer's fate.
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:24.640
Really?
00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:28.799
Supporters of the vigilantes pointed to one fact.
00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:34.319
After the arrests, stagecoach robberies and violent crime sharply declined.
00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:40.000
To many residents, that was proof enough that the committee had targeted the right men.
00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:46.240
You can now see a picture of the original jail in Bannock where some of these uh people were held.
00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:49.359
That's the original! That's amazing.
00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:49.920
I know.
00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:50.880
That's pretty cool.
00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:52.559
Looks like our shed.
00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:54.319
It really does.
00:31:55.119 --> 00:31:57.680
Without the windows, just add another door.
00:31:58.160 --> 00:31:58.960
That's really cool.
00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:01.519
Imagine sitting in there thinking, oh fuck.
00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:04.319
I mean, you could just scrape your way out the wall, couldn't you?
00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:05.759
Yeah, it was wood.
00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:15.680
On January 10th, 1864, vigilantes arrested Henry Plummer, along with his deputies, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray.
00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:18.480
They'll have been absolutely shitting themselves.
00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:19.519
Devaz.
00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:23.839
Road.
00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:33.200
I just love with the the glee that you say it and how you can't help yourself but giggle after.
00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:38.240
There was no trial, no defense, no appeal.
00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:39.119
Oh god.
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:41.359
I mean it sounds like he was guilty, so fair enough.
00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:46.160
They were marched to the gallows in Bannock, and that's a picture of the original gallows.
00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:48.559
So they weren't the most handy people in the world then.
00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:49.039
Mm-mm.
00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.319
It's quite tilted.
00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.519
I don't know when that was like I don't know when that photo was taken.
00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:54.799
It's definitely old.
00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:58.559
It looks like two fence posts and like a crossbar on the top.
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:00.720
Well, yeah, that's really all you needed.
00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:02.640
How did they get up there?
00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:10.640
Uh they probably had like um no, like probably like a little, not like a step stool, but like they probably had like wooden step stool.
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:12.319
Oh my god, terrifying.
00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:15.599
Until the end, Plummer maintained his innocence.
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:16.799
Well, he would.
00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:17.279
Yeah.
00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:19.119
He definitely did all of this.
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:24.720
But according to legend, as the noose was placed around his neck, he offered one final bargain.
00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:25.759
Oh yeah.
00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:30.000
A horse and two hours in exchange for his weight in gold.
00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:32.160
The offer was refused.
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:34.240
I bet he did know where that was.
00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:36.640
I bet that is absolutely out there.
00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:38.559
Do you think he'd have come back though?
00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:39.119
No.
00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:40.319
You think it'd have been out there?
00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:41.680
I think he would have just fled.
00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:42.240
Fair.
00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:43.119
Of course he would have.
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:46.160
Yeah, you don't have any um any reason to come back, do you?
00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:47.440
No, absolutely not.
00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:51.359
You change your name, go to like Texas or something, they have no idea who you are.
00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:51.920
Mm-hmm.
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:56.079
Just the fact that he thought of it though makes me think it's probably there.
00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:59.839
Could he have got into Texas without a Tesco club card?
00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:04.640
Well, considering we don't have Tesco, that's comedy goals bringing that background.
00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:12.159
According to some accounts, Plummer's final words were give me a high drop, boys.
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:19.199
Oh man, iconic.
00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:24.239
Plummer, only 32 years old, was hanged alongside his deputies.
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:25.760
Oh my gosh.
00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:36.320
Their bodies reportedly remained suspended overnight in freezing temperatures before being buried in shallow graves near what would become known as Hangman's Gulch.
00:34:36.719 --> 00:34:39.760
And with Plummer died the secret of the gold.
00:34:40.480 --> 00:34:42.800
Or at least that's the legend.
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:50.639
In the years following Plummer's death, stories about his fate and burial began to take on a life of their own.
00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:59.039
Like many figures of the frontier, he became the subject of competing legends that blurred the line between fact and folklore.
00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:03.360
His wife reportedly believed in his innocence until her death.
00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:12.719
Meanwhile, the narrative of Plummer as the mastermind of a vast criminal organization began to face increasing scrutiny from later historians.
00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:27.840
Many pointed out that much of the original account of the road agents came from vigilante-era publications, particularly those written or influenced by individuals aligned with the Montana Vigilante Committee.
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:37.760
Some argue the scale and organization of the alleged gang were greatly exaggerated, and that the vigilantes played a major role in shaping the historical record.
00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:51.760
There's a bit, I think there's a bit of truth in that as well, because even just earlier with the way you were describing it, I was thinking like, how's anybody like surviving, or like how is anything getting done, or like so yeah, maybe there was a bit of hyperbole there.
00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:53.039
Exactly.
00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:58.719
The truth of what happened in Montana remains one of the most debated chapters of frontier history.
00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:06.239
Almost immediately, rumor spread that Plummer and the road agents had hidden caches of stolen gold throughout the mountains.
00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:07.760
I mean they definitely did.
00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:08.320
Right?
00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:09.119
They must have.
00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:10.719
Where else would you store your gold?
00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:11.840
Not in the bank.
00:36:12.239 --> 00:36:12.480
Right?
00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:18.400
I mean it's not like you can just say, oh yeah, surprisingly, I've got three thousand pounds worth of gold dust.
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.360
Exactly.
00:36:19.599 --> 00:36:20.480
What do you do with it?
00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:28.320
Stories emerged of buried treasure, secret stashes, and lost loot still waiting to be found between Bannock and Virginia City.
00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:35.840
One legend tells of mysterious men in the early 1900s arriving in the town of Ennis with a heavy box.
00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:40.320
They asked a local store owner if they could store it overnight in the vault.
00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:45.280
One of the men reportedly stood guard over it with a shotgun all night long.
00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:49.360
By morning, both men had disappeared without explanation.
00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:56.960
Locals immediately suspected they had uncovered part of Plummer's lost treasure, but no proof ever surfaced.
00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:06.639
Over the decades, treasure hunters have continued to search the region using everything from shovels to modern scanning equipment, but nothing has ever been proven.
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:11.119
Some believe the gold was divided and hidden in multiple locations.
00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:14.079
Others believe it may have never existed at all.
00:37:14.320 --> 00:37:15.039
I think it did.
00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:15.679
Me too.
00:37:16.639 --> 00:37:21.679
Much of what people believe about Henry Plummer and the road agents comes from a single source.
00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:32.159
In 1865, Thomas Dimsdale began publishing a series of articles in the Montana Post, chronicling the Vigilantes and their campaign.
00:37:32.559 --> 00:37:35.280
So this was like a year after Plummer died.
00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:48.719
Those articles were later expanded into the Vigilantes of Montana or Popular Justice in the Rocky Mountains, published in 1866 and often regarded as the first book published in Montana.
00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:59.039
Dimsdale's account helped shape the popular image of Plummer as the mastermind and the vigilantes as frontier heroes, delivering justice where law had failed.
00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:10.480
Freight hauler and merchant Alexander Topens had lived in Bannock during the period, later wrote in his autobiography, I don't think they made any mistake in hanging anybody.
00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:16.960
The only mistake they made was about 50% of those whom they merely banished should have been hung instead.
00:38:17.199 --> 00:38:17.519
Huh.
00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:18.159
Uh-huh.
00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:18.880
Wow.
00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:27.280
His view reflected the opinions of many settlers who believe the vigilantes had saved the mining camps from lawlessness and violence.
00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:28.320
And did they?
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:29.760
Did the lawlessness stop?
00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:31.440
No, it didn't.
00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:32.320
It didn't.
00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:35.360
To me, it just sounds like turf walls and gangs.
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:37.679
Like one gang took out another gang.
00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:46.480
That's like because they if they know that they've just taken the head off one of the biggest criminal gangs, they're just gonna like that high.
00:38:46.960 --> 00:38:50.000
Yeah, and and take over the missing gap.
00:38:50.159 --> 00:38:52.000
Like they're just do you know what I mean?
00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:58.400
Like I something just niggling tells me that these weren't Robin Hood type people.
00:38:58.639 --> 00:39:00.239
They were maybe Plummer was.
00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:01.679
Yeah, maybe Plummer was.
00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:09.119
The legend only grew stronger as later historians began questioning whether Henry Plummer was guilty at all.
00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:10.400
I mean, I think he was.
00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:12.320
Plummer never received a trial.
00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:13.360
I think he was too.
00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:17.679
There was almost no fiscal evidence directly linking him to the robberies.
00:39:18.239 --> 00:39:25.360
Many accusations came from confessions extracted from terrified prisoners already facing execution.
00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:33.840
Some historians pointed out that robberies continued even after Plummer and the gang members were dead.
00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:35.360
Well, they they would.
00:39:35.679 --> 00:39:36.320
They would.
00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:40.079
Like I felt silly writing that, but I I you know I want to show both sides.
00:39:40.159 --> 00:39:41.280
So of course they would.
00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:43.119
Someone's gonna fill the vacuum, you know.
00:39:43.199 --> 00:39:45.760
Like there's loads of unprotected carriages going around.
00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:46.159
Yeah.
00:39:47.440 --> 00:39:48.079
Yes, exactly.
00:39:48.400 --> 00:39:58.559
At this you know, at the same time, I can see how being a sheriff at the age of like what 30 that's a lot of responsibility and that's a lot of information that's coming to you.
00:39:58.639 --> 00:40:03.519
I I can see why someone who wasn't up for doing that role would use that information in a bad way, you know?
00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:08.400
It's a lot of temptation when you know there's three thousand pounds of worth of gold traveling under your nose.
00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:09.280
But no.
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:12.719
I mean, I do think he was doing that.
00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:14.000
I I agree with you.
00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:17.599
Political tensions may have also played a role.
00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:24.719
Plummer was a self-described Democrat who publicly supported the rule of law and opposed vigilanteism.
00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:36.000
He tended to associate with miners, laborers, and ordinary wage earners, while many of the territory's most influential Republicans were wealthy merchants and businessmen.
00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:42.880
During the Civil War era, political divisions between Democrats and Republicans were often bitter and personal.
00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:52.960
Newspapers openly attacked political opponents, accusations of disloyalty were common, and violence between rival factions was not unheard of.
00:40:53.199 --> 00:40:59.599
Some modern historians argue that Plummer may have been the victim of a politically motivated execution.
00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:02.639
Others point to another suspicious detail.
00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:13.599
Vigilante policy often included confiscating the assets of those they executed, supposedly to cover the costs of persecu of prosecution and burial.
00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:18.639
Plummer was known to own mining interests and was considered relatively wealthy.
00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:24.639
Yet there is little surviving documentation showing exactly what became of his estate after his death.
00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:31.280
I don't know if that's just because it was like 160 years ago, or if they just didn't record it, or if it was suspicious.
00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:32.559
Like genuinely, I'm so torn.
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:43.440
Is that just, I guess, from doing genealogy, like I know there's gaps in records due to them over time being destroyed purposefully or not, or did they just never record it?
00:41:43.519 --> 00:41:44.559
I I don't know.
00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:46.079
And they didn't look.
00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:48.880
Would it just go to his wife?
00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:50.719
Ah, so I didn't include this.
00:41:50.800 --> 00:41:52.480
I had it in originally, but I took it out.
00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:53.760
His wife left him.
00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:58.320
At some point, though they were technically still married, she left him and moved east.
00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:01.280
Um I that's all I know.
00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:03.679
I'd never looked further into her at all.
00:42:03.840 --> 00:42:07.119
Um maybe smelled that something was gonna kick off soon.
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:10.320
Although you said she did say he was innocent until she died.
00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:11.199
When did she die?
00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:11.840
I don't know.
00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:17.840
I didn't look it up because I think it was by 61 or 62 they had settled in Bannock.
00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:20.960
I think it was 62, and then he died in January of 64.
00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:22.480
Maybe she was the mastermind.
00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:26.960
Maybe she got out of there and was like and dubbed him in.
00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:29.519
I hadn't thought of that.
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:32.000
That'd be during the vigilante.
00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:35.119
Why does it always have to be about sex with YouTube?
00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:45.679
In 1993, more than a century after his execution, Henry Plummer finally received something resembling a trial.
00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:55.280
In Virginia City, an historical reenactment organized by local students staged a mock retrial using surviving historical evidence.
00:42:55.519 --> 00:42:59.599
The jury deadlocked 6-6, and it resulted in a mistrial.
00:42:59.920 --> 00:43:00.400
Wow.
00:43:01.679 --> 00:43:06.960
Even in death, nobody could decide if Henry Plummer was innocent or guilty.
00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:12.239
Today, Bannock stands as a ghost town preserved inside Bannock State Park.
00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:17.760
Weathered wooden buildings still line the dusty streets, and the old jail remains standing.
00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:24.719
A replica gallows overlooks Hangman's Gulch, where Plummer and his deputies died on that freezing January night.
00:43:25.039 --> 00:43:25.360
God.
00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:31.440
And somewhere beyond those hills, hidden gold may still rest beneath the Montana wilderness.
00:43:31.760 --> 00:43:33.440
You have quite a few photos.
00:43:33.519 --> 00:43:36.639
I think it's the last five or six photos.
00:43:36.800 --> 00:43:43.039
That is lit that is the town of Bannock still standing 160 years later in Bannock State Park.
00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:44.719
Oh my god.
00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:47.119
The only replica is the gallows.
00:43:47.440 --> 00:43:47.920
Everything in the game.
00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:48.719
Can you go there?
00:43:49.679 --> 00:43:50.079
Yeah, I need to be.
00:43:52.079 --> 00:43:53.039
Yes, it's like beamish.
00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:54.159
It's eight bucks.
00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:55.280
And it's like, I'd pay that.
00:43:55.679 --> 00:43:56.320
Eight bucks?
00:43:56.400 --> 00:43:56.559
Yeah.
00:43:56.639 --> 00:43:57.199
Are you kidding me?
00:43:57.280 --> 00:43:58.800
You get the whole state park and a ghost town.
00:43:59.039 --> 00:43:59.760
Isn't Mexican too?
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:03.760
I read if you camp, it's free entry.
00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:04.320
Oh.
00:44:04.880 --> 00:44:06.400
I'm sorry, can we do this?
00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:06.800
Yeah.
00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:07.360
Absolutely.
00:44:08.239 --> 00:44:09.119
I've never been to Montana.
00:44:09.920 --> 00:44:11.679
We can take us to America because she can speak the language.
00:44:12.079 --> 00:44:12.880
Amazing.
00:44:13.599 --> 00:44:14.800
Yes, please ignore them.
00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:16.559
I'm so sorry they didn't tip you.
00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:17.840
Take my$50.
00:44:19.760 --> 00:44:22.639
And just constantly walking around behind us, just apologizing.
00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:24.320
Sorry, sorry, ignore them.
00:44:24.400 --> 00:44:25.119
They're English.
00:44:25.599 --> 00:44:27.840
Please, like, they don't know manners.
00:44:28.239 --> 00:44:31.360
And wait, so do all of you have to be camped to get in for free, or?
00:44:31.679 --> 00:44:32.800
They'll never know.
00:44:35.599 --> 00:44:38.960
I'm wondering if some of Red Dead Redemption was based on this story.
00:44:39.280 --> 00:44:40.400
It could have been.
00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:46.159
I wonder if I get to a storyline where like find the missing gold or plant the missing gold or something.
00:44:46.400 --> 00:44:47.440
I mean, he's not the only one.
00:44:47.519 --> 00:44:49.039
There's like I chose one story.
00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:51.679
There's so many stories out there about missing treasure.
00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:53.199
One day you're gonna finish that game.
00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:57.760
I swear every time we've been around to your house, it's been like on the on the PlayStation.
00:44:58.079 --> 00:44:58.559
Has it?
00:44:58.800 --> 00:45:00.400
It's it's unfinishable.
00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:01.360
Is it unfinishedable?
00:45:01.599 --> 00:45:02.960
Yeah, well yeah, it's like huge.
00:45:03.280 --> 00:45:04.079
It's like Sims.
00:45:04.400 --> 00:45:07.599
Like you just play always things to find.
00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:10.719
I've got like 12 dinosaur bones.
00:45:11.039 --> 00:45:12.480
There are dinosaurs in the world.
00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:14.239
I've never played the game, but that's so cool.
00:45:14.639 --> 00:45:14.960
Bones.
00:45:15.360 --> 00:45:15.599
Bones.
00:45:16.079 --> 00:45:18.880
An archaeologist has asked me to find the bones.
00:45:19.119 --> 00:45:20.559
I am that archaeologist.
00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:21.199
Yes.
00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:28.639
And I think it's like a 50 mile square map, so I've got a lot of time to bones to find.
00:45:28.880 --> 00:45:32.400
Brittany can actually trace our ancestry back to Tyrannosaurus Rex.
00:45:34.079 --> 00:45:36.239
That makes the little arms make loads of sense now.
00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:36.960
Right?
00:45:38.239 --> 00:45:38.960
But yeah, how cool.
00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:40.000
That's really cool.
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:44.559
I had no idea it was still like See, I thought that was just a regular American high street.
00:45:44.800 --> 00:45:45.519
Ha ha ha.
00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:47.679
Yeah, we don't call it high street, we call it Main Street.
00:45:47.920 --> 00:45:48.400
Oh, sorry.
00:45:48.559 --> 00:45:50.880
Even still, you're very rare to find that nowadays.
00:45:51.760 --> 00:45:57.440
Treasure hunters continue searching old mines, caves, creek beds, and abandoned trails.
00:45:57.920 --> 00:46:08.000
Television crews have repelled into caverns, scanned hillsides, dredged lakes, and blasted open forgotten mineshafts looking for evidence of the lost gold.
00:46:08.960 --> 00:46:11.280
So far, nobody has proven they found it.
00:46:11.760 --> 00:46:17.920
Maybe Henry Plummer truly was the mastermind behind one of the deadliest outlaw gangs in frontier history.
00:46:18.639 --> 00:46:24.480
Maybe he buried a fortune stolen from murdered miners somewhere between Bannock and Virginia City.
00:46:25.199 --> 00:46:31.199
Or maybe the entire legend was born from fear, greed, politics, and frontier paranoia.
00:46:31.679 --> 00:46:34.000
Nah, I don't I think there's truth in what he said.
00:46:35.199 --> 00:46:37.039
But the legend survives.
00:46:37.360 --> 00:46:43.039
And in Montana, the story of Plummer's Gold still refuses to stay buried.
00:46:43.360 --> 00:46:43.840
Wow.
00:46:44.159 --> 00:46:44.559
Amazing.
00:46:44.800 --> 00:46:45.280
Do you like it?
00:46:45.679 --> 00:46:47.280
Oh, I had a lot of fun doing that one.
00:46:47.599 --> 00:46:51.039
I think it's already been found and just dishes.
00:46:51.280 --> 00:46:52.559
You wouldn't feel about it, would you?
00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:55.360
You just quietly take it down, melt it up.
00:46:56.559 --> 00:47:03.519
I wonder, like the men who discovered it in the 1900s, sorry, not discovered it, had a box of something.
00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:09.280
Obviously, it could absolutely be nothing, but I don't think anyone's really like looked into it because there's nothing to look into.
00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:12.400
Like there's no documents, it's just eyewitness accounts.
00:47:13.360 --> 00:47:18.000
It'd have to be a lot for you to stay up all night with a shotgun when it's already in a bank's vault.
00:47:18.320 --> 00:47:18.880
Right?
00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:20.159
Yeah.
00:47:20.400 --> 00:47:22.159
That that's where I'm like, hmm.
00:47:22.320 --> 00:47:24.159
I'm not saying it's Plummer's gold.
00:47:24.559 --> 00:47:26.159
It's not gonna be like used underwear, is it?
00:47:26.239 --> 00:47:29.440
It's gonna be some something good, like rubies and diamonds.
00:47:31.199 --> 00:47:32.239
Yeah, we're true.
00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:34.079
How do you think we paid for this place?
00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:36.639
You not me.
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:38.079
So what do you guys think?
00:47:38.239 --> 00:47:40.239
Okay, we have two questions here.
00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:44.159
One, do you think Plummer was guilty or innocent?
00:47:44.320 --> 00:47:46.400
Was he in charge of that or was he just a sheriff?
00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:49.440
And two, did he ever bury gold?
00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:50.639
Is it still there?
00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:52.000
Has it been found?
00:47:52.320 --> 00:47:54.000
Did he not do it at all?
00:47:54.320 --> 00:48:10.559
He did it, he was part of the criminal gang, he was the headpin, they got the right guy, he did have the gold, it definitely was somewhere, it has since been found and just has ended up here, there, and everywhere over hundreds of years.
00:48:11.920 --> 00:48:12.159
I agree.
00:48:12.320 --> 00:48:13.119
Yeah, I agree as well.
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:25.760
Sorry, what JCB uh diggers like a John Deere Sure.
00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:27.119
An excavator.
00:48:27.360 --> 00:48:27.760
Yeah, I think.
00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:41.440
So well back then now, because I watched, sorry, I watched Expedition Unknown and they used LIDAR, which is maybe they didn't in this one.
00:48:41.599 --> 00:48:43.039
They use LIDAR in a lot of a second.
00:48:43.119 --> 00:48:43.679
What's LIDAR?
00:48:43.840 --> 00:48:50.800
It's basically like this thing you like run over the ground, it shoots lasers into the ground, it like maps out of anything like big, like an anomaly.
00:48:51.280 --> 00:48:51.599
Yeah.
00:48:51.840 --> 00:48:52.000
Wow.
00:48:52.159 --> 00:48:53.760
You should watch Expedition Unknown.
00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:54.559
Alright.
00:48:55.039 --> 00:48:58.880
But like LIDAR in general, though, there is a like a Google Maps layer you can look at.
00:48:59.280 --> 00:48:59.679
Oh, can you?
00:49:07.039 --> 00:49:11.519
Let's match that map with the X on top of Google.
00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:13.679
Yes, and see if anything comes up.
00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:14.480
That'd be cool.
00:49:14.639 --> 00:49:15.519
That'll be so cool.
00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:21.679
So, or imagine he's found a cave, he's put the gold, earthquake, stone falls over it.
00:49:21.840 --> 00:49:22.719
You're never gonna know.
00:49:22.880 --> 00:49:23.519
You're never gonna know.
00:49:23.840 --> 00:49:25.760
So they did explore a cave in that episode, right?
00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:26.719
I'm sure yeah.
00:49:28.320 --> 00:49:28.880
There's so many caves.
00:49:31.119 --> 00:49:31.360
Right?
00:49:31.519 --> 00:49:31.920
Exactly.
00:49:32.239 --> 00:49:32.480
Yeah.
00:49:32.639 --> 00:49:33.039
Mm-hmm.
00:49:33.199 --> 00:49:33.679
Yeah.
00:49:34.079 --> 00:49:34.800
It's so cool.
00:49:35.039 --> 00:49:35.840
I like that theory.
00:49:35.920 --> 00:49:36.079
Yeah.
00:49:36.159 --> 00:49:37.360
I'll read my sources.
00:49:37.679 --> 00:49:41.760
Unsolved.com, history.com, true West magazine.
00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:44.800
Don't know how um accurate that is, but I thought I'd throw it in there.
00:49:44.960 --> 00:49:46.960
Distinctly Montana.com.
00:49:48.000 --> 00:49:48.719
So distinct.
00:49:49.039 --> 00:49:50.079
Find a grave.
00:49:50.320 --> 00:49:56.639
Legendsofamerica.com, Expedition Unknown, and Rare GoldNuggets.com.
00:49:56.960 --> 00:49:57.440
Love it.
00:49:58.320 --> 00:49:59.440
It was a fun one.
00:49:59.599 --> 00:50:00.559
And that's it for you.
00:50:02.559 --> 00:50:05.679
Tune in next week for a real good tale.