You might want to look at the terrain map of the area from Bannack on the west to Virginia City on the east.

It is simply not known when Henry Plummer first visited Virginia City, nor how often. A first hand account of his appearance there as sheriff is given by W. Y. Pemberton, who wrote his own reminiscences many years later. At the time, about October 1, 1863, Pemberton was a young lawyer recently arrived in Virginia City. Pemberton's client stood accused of stealing some gold dust the night before, and Sheriff Henry Plummer, who happened to be in town, arrested him. Judge Bissel, presiding in Miners Court, found the defendant not guilty, and assessed costs against the plaintiff, whose horse was sold, but did not bring enough to cover the legal fees. So Pemberton demanded and got as payment the defendant's horse, a fine animal, but the livery stable demanded a payment of $19 for keep, which Pemberton refused to pay. So, Pemberton started to file a suit against the livery stable.

At this point, Pemberton relates, Sheriff Plummer interceded to suggest that the defendant's horse be sold at auction to pay the legal fee. This was done, and none other than Henry Plummer bought the horse for $221, and all but the plaintiff and defendant went away pleased. It also makes clear there were greedy lawyers even then.

This is one case where there is another more or less first hand version available. I say "more or less first hand" since very little in the Henry Plummer story is documented by eyewitness accounts, written down at the time of happening. Paris Pfouts, who played a pivotal role in the formation and operation of the vigilantes, arrived in Virginia City the day before the trial cited by Pemberton. He recorded his observations in an article written in 1868, only five years after the incident. Through the efforts of Tom Sargent, the complete journal has been transcribed and put on the Web, The Journal of Paris Pfouts Here is the part about the trial.

The day after my arrival in Virginia City was Sunday, and I began to realize the true character of the people among whom I was about to cast my lot. The City, for it was called such, embraced forty or fifty log houses, and contained between four or five hundred inhabitants. Early in the day the miners and others began to assemble in the street and drinking houses, and before the sun had attained its meridian several fights had occurred, in some of which pistols were resorted to. No one was killed this day, but several persons narrowly escaped with their lives.

There were no laws in force, save such as the miners had adopted in public meetings, and which were changed or annulled as suited the exigencies of a case as it arose. Dr. Bissel, formerly of Connecticut, was judge of the miners' court and held the scales of justice in equal poise.

Sunday was his regular court day, and I passed some time in his court room during my first day in Virginia The plaintiff swore that he believed the defendant stole some gold dust from him the night previous, but failed to prove the allegation. The Sheriff searched the defendant but did not find any amount of money corresponding with the amount said to have been stolen.

After long speeches by the attorneys on both sides, the Judge declared the defendant not guilty as charged in the indictment. The costs in the case were enormous, and were assessed against the plaintiff. The plaintiff's horse was seized by the officers and immediately sold at auction in the streets, but not bringing enough to pay the expenses of the suit, the Judge issued another execution against the defendant for the remainder of the fee bill.

The defendant's horse, a very valuable one, was levied upon and sold for about one-third its value, the Sheriff being the purchaser. This is an instance of what constituted law and justice in Montana at that day, but not the only one by many.

Little Mollie Sheehan arrived in Bannack with her father and step-mother in May of 1863; shortly thereafter they moved to Virginia City. In 1929, she recounted her experiences to her daughter, Mary Ronan. While she didn't actually meet Henry Plummer, she did have this to say about him.

Henry Plummer was only a name to me, but after his execution I heard him discussed at home—when he had last come to Virginia City, how picturesque he was in appearance, how gentle in manner.

There is one last sighting of Henry Plummer in Virginia City albeit an important one when assessing his guilt or innocence of the charge of leading a gang of road agents. But that is the substance of the narrative of Map Station 12.