I came to Bannack, September 8th, 1862, with Woodmansee Brothers' train -- ten teams. These were loaded smith flour, supplies, vegetables, etc. There were no houses in Bannack. Neil Howie was one of our party. We crossed at Meek's Ferry, on the Snake.
I do not remember who it was that built the first cabin in Bannack, as none were built until it began to get cold. Then everyone commenced to build. It would certainly be hard to say who was the first. The man who panned out the first gold on White Bar, Charlie Reville (as near as I can spell it). He got one dollar, using the lid of a camp kettle for a gold pan. William Still was also of this party. His name was not Still, but only a nickname.
We met Bill Hickman on the Snake River Valley, going back with horses, which he claimed to have recovered from some one who had stolen them. I was with Charlie Brown when he arrested Williams, the driver of the stage that was held up at Port Neuf, near Denver, 1865, late in the fall, November or December.
The first lumber was cut in Lumber Gulch -- a gulch that comes into the Grasshopper, between Bannack and Marysville. This was cut by a man named Cris. I got my claim, on Jimmie's Bar -- Jim was named Griffeths, or Adobe Jim. He came to the country with Jim darby, Smith Ball and Billy Simpson. Phil, the Cannibal, he was General Harney's scout, was there also. He got his name, as he told me, in the following way: He killed a man in Philadelphia, and left for the west, where he became a squaw man. He and an Indian were sent to a post on the Yellowstone. They run out of provisions. Phil got to the fort, and made his report. After he was through, they asked him what had become of his companion. "Part of him is hanging on my saddle," he said. He had lived 11 days on rosebuds. Hc was killed by the fall of a cabin in Virginia City. He seemed a harmless old fellow and would never refuse a drink.
At Green River, in August, 1862, a party of soldiers were crossing, swimming their horses behind the ferry boat. I recall that Jim Bridger came up to me, as tickled as a small boy, because his pony was making such nice progress in his attempts to swim over. Jim was a little dried up man.
Plummer had no sister in Bannack. He may have been arrested at his sister-in-law's. His wife was east when he was hung and never came back.
I was the guard over John Wagner the time he was at Sayer's corral, as Howie had sent for me. I also took him to get his meals.
In the middle of the night, two men came to the corral and wanted to come in, and I got up and let them in. They had come from Alder. They soon explained what they wanted. They took Howie, and went out and organized the Bannack Vigilantes. They left me in charge of John. I did not get to see John hung, as I was too busy at something else.
When we were going west in 1861, at a post made at Rocky Point, Wyoming, we found a party of hostile Indians, at the station. The driver said that he had never seen any there before. The party was large enough to take us, had they wished. I had the only rifle in the crowd. There was some talk as to what we should do -- stay or get the mules and run. We had not been able to get the Indians to speak to us, so we concluded to go on; but some of the boys got out and walked on one side, as they did not wish to be caught in the coach. I got up with the driver, who said, "There is no use in trying to run, unless we are compelled to." Then I will hit this old mule with this buffalo robe, we will sure do something. We were not molested. When I came to Montana, I was told that I had saved the coach.
In the summer of 1864, a party kept a ranch on Grasshopper. A French Canadian with a squaw. A white man, by the name of Roup, and a young cowboy, they made up their minds to go over to the Bitter Root, and steal horses. They accomplished the end, and were returning to the Grasshopper, and were back near the Point of Rocks, but up near the timber, when the Indians from Bitter Root came in pursuit. The horses were running as fast as possible. There was one Indian who was a splendid shot with bow and arrow. Roup had stayed behind to use his revolver on the Indians, when he was shot off his horse by an arrow. He crawled back into the timber. The Indians came to town, and reported what they had done, and a young man by the name of Richardson, and myself, went to find Roup. We found him as described, with the addition of a wound in the eye, which looked as though he had been shot with an arrow, and that it had been pulled out of the wound, also bringing the eye with it. Roup had been almost stripped -- had on a pair of pants with the pockets turned inside out. We reported that we had found him, and a couple of his friends went up and buried him where he fell.
Johnnie Grant was probably the biggest stockman of Montana in those days. I remember that we depended on that bunch of cattle for our food supply, if need be. Granville Stuart kept a butcher shop in those early days in Bannack.
Sanders' Quotation -- From King Lear.
"Give us a King, let his name be Harry." The cause of that remark was as follows: When Plummer, Ray and Stinson were hanged, Ray made the most trouble, and Little Harry King was behind him with a gun. He poked Ray in the back, and said: "You know what is behind you, and if you don't go ahead, you'll get it."
After the hanging of these men, they had a big public meeting and nearly all of the miners up and down the gulch joined. It was at the meeting that Sanders quoted the above. Harry King was a very active member of the Vigilantes. Mr. Innes joined them at this meeting, and was placed at the head of a company to try and round up some of the highwaymen. His command went to Horse Prairie, but did not succeed in grabbing anyone.