. One of the band by the
name of Red Yager, in company with yet another by the name of Brown,
had been concerned in the murder of Lloyd Magruder, a merchant of the
Territory. The capture of these two followed closely upon the hanging of
George Ives, also accused of more than one murder. Ives was an example
of the degrading influence of the mines. He was a decent young man until
he left his home in Wisconsin. He was in California from 1857 to 1858.
When he appeared in Idaho he seemed to have thrown off all restraint and
to have become a common rowdy and desperado. It is said of him that "few
men of his age ever had been guilty of so many fiendish crimes."

Yager and Brown, knowing the fate which Ives had met, gave up hope when
they fell into the hands of the newly organized Vigilantes. Brown
was hanged; so was Yager; but Yager, before his death, made a full
confession which put the Vigilantes in possession of information they
had never yet been able to secure. *

* Langford gives these names disclosed by Yager as follows:
"Henry Plummer was chief of the band; Bill Bunton, stool pigeon and
second in command; George Brown, secretary; Sam Bunton, roadster;
Cyrus Skinner, fence, spy, and roadster; George Shears, horse thief and
roadster; Frank Parish, horse thief and roadster; Hayes Lyons, telegraph
man and roadster; Bill Hunter, telegraph man and roadster; Ned Ray,
council-room keeper at Bannack City; George Ives, Stephen Marshland,
Dutch John (Wagner), Alex Carter, Whiskey Bill (Graves), Johnny Cooper,
Buck Stinson, Mexican Franks Bob Zachary, Boone Helm, Clubfoot George
(Lane), Billy Terwiliger, Gad Moore were roadsters." Practically all
these were executed by the Vigilantes, with many others, and eventually
the band of outlaws was entirely broken up.

Much has been written and much romanced about the conduct of these
desperadoes when they met their fate. Some of them were brave and some
proved cowards at the last. For a time, Plummer begged abjectly, his
eyes streaming with tears. Suddenly he was smitten with remorse as
the whole picture of his past life appeared before him. He promised
everything, begged everything, if only life might be spared him--asked
his captors to cut off his ears, to cut out his tongue, then strip him
naked and banish him. At the very last, however, he seems to have become
composed. Stinson and Ray went to their fate alternately swearing and
whining. Some of the ruffians faced death bol