Some thoughts on the vigilantes

Have you ever read a historical account of something and wondered- how can this be?  That is what I experience every time I come across another book or paper or article about the vigilantes in Virginia City and Bannack during the winter of 1863-64.  I know that most historians agree that the men who were executed or banished by the vigilantes got what they deserved, but there has always been some doubt in the back of my mind about the actions of the self-appointed justice system that prevailed at that time.

• Many accounts of the road agents and vigilantes mention that more than 102 people had been murdered by the road agents during their "reign of terror".  Who were all of these people?  I have never seen any lists of the victims of the road agents.  How did historians arrive at this number?
• How is it possible for twenty-one or more violent, dishonest people to organize into a cohesive group? Why would these men trust each other?  The expression, "there is no honor among thieves" comes to mind.
• It seems that the organization of the so called road agents, with secret handshakes and code words seems more like the characteristics of the vigilantes, who were reputed to be largely Masons, than those of a bunch of rough, uneducated cutthroats. 
• I find the hanging of Henry Plummer, the sheriff at Bannack, most disturbing.  The damning evidence against him was that he was allegedly named as the leader of the road agents by a man facing his own execution.  The only men who were witness to this revelation were the men who were out to clean up the area. The condemned man reported listed all of the other road agents, conveniently giving the men a list for their killing spree.
• According to one account, Plummer was suspected of criminal activities as early as late November, 1863 when he was identified by a young man who was accosted by some road agents. He claimed that he recognized Plummer by the red lining of his coat. The incident took place after dark, making it nearly impossible to distinguish colors. 
• Historians have justified the work of the vigilantes by implying that there was no other law enforcement or courts, other than the miners courts set up by the miners to resolve mining claim disputes.  That is not completely correct.  Sidney Edgerton, who later became the first territorial governor of Montana, held the position of Chief Justice of the Idaho Territory during that winter. It would seem that had he chosen to, he would have had authority to try anyone charged with a crime.

I am certainly not the only one who has reservations about the accepted accounts of the actions of the vigilantes and road agents. R.E. Mather and F.E. Boswell wrote two books, Hanging the Sheriff and Vigilante Victims that address the possibility that there a another side to the story.