Robbers Roost Hidden Gold Cache

bill crane

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Feb 26, 2014
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Robbers Roost (Madison County) also once known as Pete Daly's Place the old stage stop said to have been where Henry Plummer had hid around $300,000 in gold which he offered in exchange for his life at the time he was being lead up the hill to hang at Bannack. Does it exist or not? The Montana Historical road sign there claims the building did not exist at the time of Plummer. Some internet sites claim that it did and some claim it did not. Still the claim is that $300,000 was buried within 100 yards of one of the corner posts of the coral. I think the sign was intended to deter folks from digging and the site is off limits. Still 1882-1883 William Owsley (vigilante) Democrat became the mayor of Butte Montana and claimed Plummer offered to show him the location of the gold. Owsley also said he spent part of several summers digging for the gold himself.
But my research has disclosed there is gold hidden at the location, but it was not by Henry Plummer. Anyone interested in who hid the gold?
 

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bill crane

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Feb 26, 2014
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In an earlier post I mentioned that forgotten treasure leads are hidden in seldom read sources of local history. Tomarrow if time permits I will tell what I learned in Madison Counties "Trials and Trails" an early history of Madison County.
 

vhakra

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Mar 31, 2013
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I'm always interested in a good story! Sometimes those are better than a find.
 

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bill crane

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According to the first volume of Madison county history there was an interesting bit of information about the Daly family. Now the book lacks anything about Plummer or any of the ones said to be in his gang. I think they wanted to get past all of the lynching memories. Well anyway in the section on the Daly's, Pete was said to have been a heavy drinker and gambler and it was his wife who took care of the rooms and meals for the travelers who spent the night. The travelers were said to have tipped her with a pinch of gold dust and she had to hide her accumulated gold dust from her husband. It went on the say she lived in a smaller cabin out back and when she died no one knew what happened to her cache of dust.
 

IAMZIM

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Here is a theory that I have. THIS IS JUST SPECUTALTION! I believe that Henry Plummer was employed by William Clark. All the gold he stole? Where did you think it went? My theory is most of it probably went to Clark. Clark had access to smelters that he could have easily used to melt any gold down if he had to hide it.... or, he could have books doctored, or other avenues to hide the money. Plummer stole so much gold and money, and almost none of it found. Would be interesting to do some more research on the possible ties these two had to support this theory, wish I had more time.....
 

jeff of pa

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The Butte inter mountain. (Butte, Mont.), 05 Oct. 1901.

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Yada Yada Yada

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Yada: The Butte inter mountain. (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, October 05, 1901, Page 18, Image 18 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress
 

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Tiredman

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Here is a theory that I have. THIS IS JUST SPECUTALTION! I believe that Henry Plummer was employed by William Clark. All the gold he stole? Where did you think it went? My theory is most of it probably went to Clark. Clark had access to smelters that he could have easily used to melt any gold down if he had to hide it.... or, he could have books doctored, or other avenues to hide the money. Plummer stole so much gold and money, and almost none of it found. Would be interesting to do some more research on the possible ties these two had to support this theory, wish I had more time.....

W.A. Clark started as a placer miner at Horse Prairie south of Bannack at the time period of Plummer. Clark's fortune started with his shoveling gravel into a sluice box. He at the time did not have $100 to his name. I will include this info in an upcoming book. Glad I seen your theory on a connection.
 

Tiredman

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Then there is the article on a poke of dust found in a chimney. There were two articles dated around 1935. One claimed $4,000 the other $8,000 in value. One claimed Plummer hid it. The other believed it was hidden by a victim of Plummer.
 

Tiredman

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Then there is the possibility that the gold Plummer offered in exchange for his life that was at robbers roost could have been at a different place known as Robber's Roost. There was an elevation called that where they would watch for travelers and coaches and ambush at road agents rock.
 

Tiredman

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Plummer At The Gallows
Robbers Roost cache
Owsley swore Plummer told the truth about the gold hidden at robbers roost and that the building still stands. Which should settle once and for all that the current building is one and the same in reference to the location of the hidden loot.
 

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