1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,200 You literally have a treasure map. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:05,200 We have a treasure map. 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:09,200 Holy, check it out. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:10,200 Look at this place. 5 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,200 There's something here, dude. 6 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,200 There's something that'll here for sure. 7 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:22,200 Hey, Josh, I got something, man. 8 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:23,200 What do you got? 9 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:24,200 Hey, hey, hey. 10 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:25,200 This is what you call discovery. 11 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:32,200 I think this could be it. 12 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:41,200 Fire in the hole. 13 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:51,600 I'd like to introduce you to a man named Henry Plummer and the story of a hidden fortune 14 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:57,600 in Wild West Gold that's still waiting to be found. 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,600 The year is 1862. 16 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:07,600 A major gold strike in the Montana Territory gives rise to boom towns and bandits. 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:13,600 Enter Henry Plummer, a mine owner who gets himself elected sheriff and promises to bring 18 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:15,600 law to a lawless land. 19 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:21,400 But when the gold heists and gangs get worse, some begin to suspect that Plummer himself 20 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:23,400 is the ringleader. 21 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:28,400 Soon, a so-called vigilante committee is formed, and within weeks, they arrest Henry Plummer 22 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:33,400 and drag him to the gallows. 23 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,400 But before they can lynch him, legend says he tries to make a desperate bargain. 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,400 If the townspeople will spare him and bring him a horse, he claims he can return in two 25 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,400 hours with his weight in pure gold. 26 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:50,400 The vigilantes decline the offer. 27 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,400 And Plummer hangs. 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:59,400 Ever since, stories of Plummer's hidden stash of gold have haunted the hills of southwestern Montana. 29 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,400 But finally, there's new evidence and several promising breaks in the case. 30 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:09,400 A successful modern-day gold prospector just gained the rights to search long, forgotten mines. 31 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:14,400 A treasure hunter has other evidence that may lead to a watery hiding spot. 32 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,400 And one man is retracing Plummer's own footsteps all the way to the lost fortune. 33 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:31,400 After 150 years, Montana is getting a second gold rush, and I'm staking a claim. 34 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,400 My name is Josh Gates. 35 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:34,400 Look at that! 36 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:39,400 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for exploration. 37 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:43,400 I have a tendency to end up in some very strange situations. 38 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:44,400 This is horrible. 39 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,400 This is officially horrible. 40 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,400 My travels have taken me to the ends of the earth. 41 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,400 As I investigate the greatest legends in history. 42 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:54,400 We're going to try, let's go. 43 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,400 This is Expedition Unknown. 44 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,400 Welcome to the West, Montana to be exact. 45 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,400 150 years ago, none of this was a state yet. 46 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,400 It was all just a territory. 47 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,400 But it was also the home of one of America's richest gold strikes. 48 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:26,400 And that's why in the 1860s, thousands of people from all over the world rushed into this flawless land. 49 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,400 Untold tons of gold were yanked from these hills. 50 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:35,400 And I'm traveling the very same way it did, and on the very same road. 51 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:37,400 They used to call this Hell's Trail. 52 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:45,400 Bands of armed thugs called road agents routinely held up stagecoaches carrying shipments of gold. 53 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,400 And according to legend, the ringleader of this group was none other than the local sheriff around these parts, 54 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,400 a man named Henry Plummer. 55 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,400 This road leads to my first stop in a search for Plummer's Hidden Gold. 56 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:03,400 The famous mining town of Virginia City, where I hope to find new clues to the mystery. 57 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:13,400 Well, in the year 1863, gold was discovered in the streambed near here. 58 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,400 Turned out to be the largest gold strike in Montana territory. 59 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,400 And seemingly overnight, thousands of people from around the world came here. 60 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:25,400 Today, Virginia City is only home to about 120 people, 61 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,400 but they're working hard to keep alive what was once one of the wildest towns in the West. 62 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:36,400 Along the main street of town, people are living and working much as they did over a century ago. 63 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:41,400 In the well-preserved Gypsy Arcade, the old-fashioned player piano offers up a tune. 64 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:47,400 And if you peek into the handcrafted mutiscopes, you can still watch the 19th century version of YouTube. 65 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,400 Wait a minute, grandma? 66 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,400 There's even a scene depicting a stagecoach robbery from Plummer's Time. 67 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:57,400 Entertainment was a lot simpler back then. 68 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,400 In the nearby general store, I think about a career change. 69 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,400 If you're looking for work, there are a few job openings here. 70 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,400 They have an opening for a sheriff. 71 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,400 Or, of course, it could be the town brothel inspector. 72 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,400 I'm not saying which is a better job, but... 73 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,400 This book will reveal nine secrets to gold panning. 74 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,400 Secret number one, immerse the pan into the water. 75 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,400 My mission in town is to learn more about Henry Plummer and the legend of his gold. 76 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,400 To do that, I put my head into the Bale of Hay Saloon. 77 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:34,400 It's the oldest bar in Montana, run by a couple of friendly proprietors named Gay and Kay. 78 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:36,400 You two look very similar. 79 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:37,400 Are you twins? 80 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,400 She's 59 minutes older than me. 81 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,400 I'll always be the older, wiser one. 82 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,400 I'm here in town because I'm investigating the story of Plummer's gold. 83 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,400 I'm not sure if I'm the only one who's ever seen it. 84 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,400 I'm here in town because I'm investigating the story of Plummer's gold. 85 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:54,400 What's the word on the street here in Virginia City about Henry Plummer? 86 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,400 Well, we thought he was a dirty sheriff who was stealing the gold from all the stagecoaches. 87 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,400 Yeah, so he's the bad guy through and through. 88 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,400 Absolutely. 89 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:10,400 Henry Plummer comes from California, where he killed two men and briefly served time in San Quentin before being pardoned. 90 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:18,400 In 1863, he swept up in the Montana gold rush and uses his ample charm to get elected sheriff in the nearby town of Bannock. 91 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,400 And if the stories are true, he sat in this very saloon to case potential robberies. 92 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:29,400 So we think that he was sent in his henchmen in here, and they were getting all the stagecoach drivers drunk. 93 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:35,400 And then he was finding out when they were transferring gold, and it was making it easy to steal the gold. 94 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,400 So Henry Plummer or his gang, they could have been sitting right where I'm sitting? 95 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:40,400 I'm positive of it. 96 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,400 Any question in your mind that he was the ringleader of all these robberies? 97 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,400 None. No, I'm positive he was. 98 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,400 The twins aren't the only ones convinced of Plummer's guilt. 99 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,400 They connect me with an expert in a nearby town where Plummer may have hidden his loot. 100 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:59,400 It's an 80-mile drive from Virginia City to Bannock. 101 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:05,400 Back then, it took a day to make the trip by horse, but I'm adding about 250 horses to the mix. 102 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,400 Bannock really is the heart of the Plummer story. 103 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:17,400 This is the boom town where he was elected sheriff in 1863, and where he ultimately met his demise. 104 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,400 As a town built on gold, Bannock was a wealthy place. 105 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,400 Personally, I'm just looking forward to experiencing one of the swankiest towns in the West. 106 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:39,400 Maybe people are sleeping in. 107 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,400 Hello! 108 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,400 In its heyday in the 1860s, Bannock was a rowdy and wealthy city. 109 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:53,400 But times change, and today, Bannock is more ghost than town. 110 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,400 Every step forward here carries me deeper into the past. 111 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:03,400 I peer into the old buildings, many of which are now a part of the city. 112 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:07,400 I peer into the old buildings, many of which are perfectly preserved. 113 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:13,400 The town hotel seems ready to receive guests, and the silent church waits patiently for a congregation. 114 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:19,400 But I'm most interested in the old jail where Henry Plummer ruled as sheriff, 115 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,400 and was believed to have been the mastermind of a vicious gang of bandits. 116 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:29,400 Legend says he can look up at the location of his stolen treasure from the window of the jailhouse, 117 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,400 and later, as a vigilante gang drags Plummer to the town gallows, 118 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:39,400 he claims that if they give him a horse, he can return with his weight in pure gold in two hours flat. 119 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:45,400 It's the tent pole of the legend, but it's never been fully vetted, until now. 120 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:51,400 I grab my finest Montana headgear from the truck and meet a guy named Darren Wedding by the old jail. 121 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,400 Are you Darren? Yeah, I'm Darren. Nice to meet you, man. 122 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:57,400 Darren is a treasure hunter who aims to put the Plummer legend to the test, literally. 123 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,400 So the question is, do you have an idea where Plummer's gold might be? 124 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,400 Yeah, I have a theory. He said he'd give me two hours, I'll bring you back my weight in gold. 125 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,400 Okay. Which means you can't ride more than an hour there and an hour back. 126 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:07,400 Right, maximum. 127 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,400 Maximum. Okay. So basically you're trying to establish a search grid? 128 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:15,400 Yeah, search grid. And once we get it narrowed down, we can just really hit that area hard and maybe find where to put it. 129 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:23,400 Various historic sources claim that Plummer likely hid the gold underground, either in a mineshaft or a cave, but exactly where. 130 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,400 That's what Darren's hoping to hone in on. 131 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,400 Let's do it, man. All right, man, let's do it. 132 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,400 We load up the horses near the site of the old gallows, then we do what Plummer would have done. 133 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,400 Ride like our lives depend on it. 134 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,400 We race out from Bannock to see how far our horses can carry us in an hour, 135 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:50,400 which means that for the next 60 minutes, I get to feel like an American outlaw. 136 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,400 That's 20 minutes, Darren. 137 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:04,400 We cross buried terrain, including chilly streams and rugged ridges that look unchanged in a century. 138 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,400 That's 40 minutes. 139 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,400 Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's an hour. 140 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,400 Okay, where are we? 141 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,400 Let's find out. I got a GPS here. 142 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,400 Almost exactly 10 miles out of Bannock. 143 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:31,400 From the gallows, we've galloped 10 miles, which means we've established a 20-mile search diameter around the town. 144 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,400 Okay, so where in this 20-mile diameter do we look? 145 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,400 His best view from the jail would have been south or east, so it's going to be right over here in this area. 146 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,400 And I've actually heard there's some caves up in there. I haven't really been explored. 147 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:43,400 And that falls inside the search grid? 148 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,400 That falls right inside the search grid. 149 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:46,400 So south and east? 150 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:47,400 South and east. 151 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:54,400 Our 20-mile diameter search area is further narrowed by areas that Plummer could have seen from the jailhouse. 152 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:59,400 So we tie up the horses and head out on foot, looking for any signs of mines or caves. 153 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,400 Man, it's like a whole different world up here, though. 154 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,400 Yeah, it is. A lot of trees, more foresty for sure. 155 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:10,400 You can hide anything up here. 156 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,400 Darren and I split up and search every nook and cranny in sight. 157 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,400 Don't see nothing in there. 158 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,400 But even with our experiment having narrowed the field, there's a lot of wilderness out here. 159 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,400 There's so much area to cover. 160 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,400 I got so excited at first when we said it was only a 20-mile diameter. 161 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:39,400 We search for hours in the afternoon light, but the mountain isn't giving up any secrets, 162 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,400 until we trip over a lead big enough to swallow us whole. 163 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,400 Dude, look at this. Look at that. 164 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,400 I'm in the hills of southwestern Montana, looking for the hiding place of Plummer's Gold, 165 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:58,400 a fortune rumored to be concealed underground by a crooked sheriff in the 1860s. 166 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:04,400 I'm working with treasure hunter Darren Wedding, and we've just discovered a cave in a promising search area. 167 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,400 Oh, dude, look at this. Look at that. 168 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:08,400 Oh, wow. 169 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,400 I mean, that is legit, right? 170 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,400 Yeah, that is. 171 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,400 That goes down way deeper than I thought. 172 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:15,400 Yeah, it does. 173 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:16,400 You get us down? 174 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:17,400 Yeah. 175 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:18,400 Then back up again? 176 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:19,400 Sure can. 177 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:20,400 Let's do it. 178 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:21,400 All right. 179 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,400 Luckily, Darren doesn't just hunt for treasure. He also rock climbs. 180 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,400 So we unpack helmets, harnesses, and carabiners. 181 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:33,400 Soon, we've got an anchor in place, and we're ready to lower ourselves into the unknown. 182 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,400 All right, let's do this. 183 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,400 The cave entrance is a long plunge straight down. 184 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:43,400 So getting in will require a tricky repel into complete darkness. 185 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:45,400 Looking good, man. 186 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,400 How's it look down there? 187 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,400 It's getting pretty icy down here. 188 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,400 Just take it slow, man. No worries. 189 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:54,400 All righty. 190 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:57,400 You OK? 191 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:58,400 Yeah, I got it, man. 192 00:12:58,400 --> 00:12:59,400 You OK? 193 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,400 Slippery down there. 194 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:04,400 Darren, you down? 195 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:07,400 I made it down. It's looking great. 196 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,400 All right, man, I'm coming down. 197 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,400 Once Darren reaches the bottom, it's my turn. 198 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,400 It's slippery as can be down here. 199 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,400 I was prepared to deal with just about anything in my search for Plumber's Gold. 200 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:22,400 And it's a long climb. 201 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:23,400 I'm going to go down. 202 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:24,400 I'm going to go down. 203 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:25,400 I'm going to go down. 204 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:26,400 I'm going to go down. 205 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:27,400 I'm going to go down. 206 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:28,400 I'm going to go down. 207 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:29,400 I'm going to go down. 208 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:30,400 I'm going to go down. 209 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:31,400 I'm going to go down. 210 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,400 Plumber's Gold, and this is just pure ice. 211 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,400 But subterranean snow was not something I had anticipated. 212 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:38,400 It's looking good. 213 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,400 Whoo, this place is incredible. 214 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,400 There's just so much going on down here. 215 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,400 Let's see what's down here, man. 216 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,400 Look at how big this place is, dude. 217 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,760 It is a huge cave. 218 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:01,600 Oh my god. 219 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,120 I mean, this room must be 30, 40 feet tall. 220 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:15,000 Now that we're down here, what's the plan? 221 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,600 I think the plan should be looking for any kind of evidence 222 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:18,800 of people being down in here. 223 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:19,440 Uh-huh. 224 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:20,360 Just to see. 225 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:21,600 Yeah, anything man-made. 226 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:22,840 Yeah, anything man-made. 227 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:23,600 OK. 228 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,760 And then I also have a metal detector with us. 229 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:27,040 OK, cool. 230 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,000 Well, it looks like this may go back over here to the right. 231 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:30,600 Yeah. 232 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:31,600 And then at the end of this chamber, 233 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,000 it definitely looks like it keeps going, yeah? 234 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:33,880 Yeah, for sure. 235 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:35,400 OK, let's get the detector up. 236 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:36,000 OK. 237 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:36,600 You check over there. 238 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:37,320 I'll go back here. 239 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:38,120 All right, sounds good. 240 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:39,120 All right, come on. 241 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,120 Deep in the mountain, it should be simple for Darren's metal 242 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,920 detector to register signs of the treasure. 243 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,800 The challenge is that the caves are seemingly endless. 244 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,120 The gold could be anywhere. 245 00:14:58,040 --> 00:14:59,800 Hey, Josh, I got something, man. 246 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:00,720 What do you got? 247 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:02,240 I don't know what it is, but it's loading it out. 248 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:05,800 It's right here. 249 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:09,240 Yeah, there's something here, dude. 250 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:10,600 There's something metal here for sure. 251 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:19,600 Ooh. 252 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:23,840 Could be something hiding in there. 253 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:24,640 Look at that. 254 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:26,520 Look at that big old metal can. 255 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,520 It's been down here a long time. 256 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,200 Long time. 257 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:31,720 Nothing too fancy, but still fine. 258 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:32,840 Oh, but look, man, this is. 259 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:34,720 Someone's been here for sure. 260 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:35,720 It is super old. 261 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,480 So now we know that folks were down here, 262 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:38,920 and they were down here a long time ago. 263 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,720 Question of the day, what's this doing down here? 264 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,320 Yeah, who was here and what were they doing? 265 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:48,640 We continue sweeping the cave, but it turns out 266 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,200 this place is huge. 267 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,600 And with just flashlights, we're looking for a place 268 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,040 that's super huge, and with just flashlights, 269 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,520 we're lost in a maze of tunnels. 270 00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,800 But Darren has packed a state-of-the-art tool 271 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,040 to give us an edge in the darkness. 272 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,160 That is the thing from Ghostbusters 273 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,000 that catches ghosts, correct? 274 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,000 No, not quite. 275 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,800 It's actually a handheld LiDAR unit. 276 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:12,520 It's like a rangefinder on steroids. 277 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,520 It shoots out 90,000 laser pulses per second. 278 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:17,440 I'm sorry, per second? 279 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:18,320 Per second. 280 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,400 This thing is doing super accurate 3D mapping in real time. 281 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,360 It's probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. 282 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:24,960 All right, let's see it work. 283 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,000 Darren flips a switch, and away we go. 284 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:30,480 The device is silent. 285 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,320 Honestly, if it wasn't for the spinny part, 286 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:34,200 I wouldn't even know it was on. 287 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:37,400 But for two long, cold hours, we trudge through the cave, 288 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,720 looking for clues, and letting the LiDAR scanner do its thing. 289 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:43,800 Super muddy here, careful. 290 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:44,640 Oh, yeah. 291 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:48,680 When we're finished, the result is this. 292 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,040 Fully rendered 3D map of the entire cave system. 293 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,880 I'm astounded by the Bruce Wayne-level technology. 294 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,720 But also, how little of this place 295 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,800 we were actually able to see with our own eyes. 296 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:00,640 Wow, that's cool. 297 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:01,640 It is so cool. 298 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:02,960 So this really shows us 299 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,040 that there might be another passage over here 300 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:06,440 that's worth exploring. 301 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:07,800 That looks like it shoots off, yeah? 302 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:08,680 Yeah, it does. 303 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,000 For sure, no, we haven't been there yet. 304 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,160 Okay. 305 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:13,000 Let's go check that out. 306 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:13,840 Yeah, let's do it. 307 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:15,240 All right, I love this thing. 308 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:16,560 I'm definitely stealing it from you. 309 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:17,400 Yeah. 310 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,160 Our fingers are going numb from the frigid air 311 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:23,840 as we venture back through the cave 312 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:26,240 to a passage that we missed on our first sweep. 313 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,800 In this new branch, we see rock formations 314 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,600 unlike anything in the main tunnel. 315 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:35,480 Look at this. 316 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,120 Just beautiful. 317 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:39,400 And then we see something else. 318 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:40,360 Oh, look at this. 319 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:41,280 Writing. 320 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,720 This part of the cave is littered with historic graffiti. 321 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,040 The fingerprints of old West explorers, 322 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:48,640 or perhaps bandits, 323 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,280 who ventured down in here a century ago. 324 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,200 But why and how did they make it down here? 325 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:56,920 We push deeper though we've seen no sign of plumber 326 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,480 or his gold, but all that changes in an instant. 327 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:02,320 Look at this. 328 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:03,600 Hey, look at this. 329 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:11,480 Deep underneath Montana, 330 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,920 treasure hunter Darren Wedding and I are scouring 331 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,640 for evidence that old West sheriff, Henry Plummer, 332 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:18,840 used these caves as a hiding place 333 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,280 for his cash of stolen gold. 334 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,240 A high-tech scan has led us to a concealed chamber 335 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:26,720 and now we've found a literal sign 336 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,840 that we might be in the right spot. 337 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:29,960 Look at this. 338 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:31,040 Look at this. 339 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:33,400 Plummer. 340 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:36,400 1865. 341 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:37,800 1865. 342 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,200 Look at that. 343 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,280 I got some bad news here. 344 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,920 This is two years after his death. 345 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,520 He died in 1863, right? 346 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:47,360 Yeah. 347 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,600 And I think he had one M in his name, not two. 348 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,080 Yeah, it's a spell word, P-L-U-M-E-R. 349 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:53,480 Wrong spelling, wrong year. 350 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:54,320 But. 351 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:55,160 Different plumber. 352 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:56,000 Different plumber, I guess, 353 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,480 but what a crazy coincidence. 354 00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:58,840 That is definitely really weird, man. 355 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:00,160 I mean, that's nuts, right? 356 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,200 That's literally a million to one. 357 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:07,200 Even though the date isn't right, 358 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,360 we continue to search the chamber. 359 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,560 In the end, we found the name, but not the gold. 360 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:13,960 Let's head for the surface. 361 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,760 Still, we've performed the first ever 3D mapping 362 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,920 of this remote cave, discovered historic writing, 363 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,800 and given Darren a search area and wished to keep looking. 364 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,680 But what if not all of Plummer's stash 365 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,880 made it to his final hiding spot? 366 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:29,480 There's another treasure hunter in town 367 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:30,960 who believes he's very close 368 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,040 to finding the true hiding place of Plummer's gold. 369 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:40,840 The next morning, I hook up with John Dixon. 370 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,240 And, well, he's in a hurry to get where he's sure 371 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:44,640 that the gold is buried. 372 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,360 I'm flying with my feet, I'm flying down the country highway 373 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:52,160 Why don't I run free from fear? 374 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,840 We've got this, I'll do it my way 375 00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:01,840 In my big, dark, near. 376 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:03,040 I like the way you travel, John. 377 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:04,680 I like your style. 378 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,760 Yeah, you got to have the right vehicle for it. 379 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,840 You got that, man. 380 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,240 John's chasing a new aspect of the Plummer legend. 381 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,280 Recently unearthed historical documents 382 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,880 indicate that three members of Plummer's gang 383 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,360 buried their share of the gold in tin cans 384 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:22,600 near the shoreline of a local lake 385 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:24,600 and marked the spot by making four 386 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,040 clearings in the sagebrush. 387 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,240 But when one of them turned on the other two, 388 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,120 they shot him and buried him right on top of the gold. 389 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,080 Not long after, the two remaining thieves 390 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:37,360 were brought to justice, 391 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:39,600 leaving nobody to retrieve the hidden treasure. 392 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:44,920 Based on the accounts which mention a nearby canyon 393 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,600 and sagebrush along the southern edge of a lake, 394 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,920 John believes this is the place in question. 395 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:52,960 The only one within 10 miles of Bannock 396 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,560 that fits the profile and could contain the treasure. 397 00:20:57,560 --> 00:20:58,840 We made it. 398 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,960 All right, well, fun's over, now the work begins. 399 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,320 John and I unload the ATV, which is filled 400 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,240 with treasure hunting gear, most of which 401 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:09,520 is familiar, but there's one piece of equipment 402 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:11,480 that I have never seen before. 403 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:12,320 Okay, so what are we using? 404 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:14,000 We've got a standard metal detector. 405 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,560 Correct, yep, and then I have a molecular resonator. 406 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:20,440 I say, oh, sorry, say what now? 407 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,400 It's a molecular resonator. 408 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,200 And that is to shrink people down to ant size, is that correct? 409 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:27,520 No, that's not the answer. 410 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,400 It turns out I don't know what a molecular resonator is. 411 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:31,280 Right, let me show you. 412 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:32,120 Okay. 413 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,360 John claims, and let me stress, this is all John, 414 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,160 that the resonator is tuned to the frequency of gold. 415 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:41,880 By placing the stakes in the ground, 416 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:43,760 he sends out a signal that's picked up 417 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:45,600 by brass divining rods. 418 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,280 When the rods move in your hands, 419 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,760 well, that's your trail to follow. 420 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:54,640 Now, I don't want to say that I doubt you. 421 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:55,480 Right. 422 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:58,640 But that sounds like a lot of... 423 00:21:58,640 --> 00:21:59,760 Telling like a barge. 424 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:01,640 Are you telling me that this works? 425 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:02,480 Yes. 426 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:03,920 If it finds gold, I'm in, let's do it. 427 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,400 You bet, all right, sounds good. 428 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:06,400 Okay, sounds good. 429 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,520 We walk the clearing with the divining rods 430 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,720 until they actually begin to cross in John's hands. 431 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,960 Wherever they do, we place a flag to mark the trail. 432 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,720 See, then they start crossing. 433 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:20,280 Uh-huh, so right here. 434 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:21,120 So right in here? 435 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:22,200 Uh-huh, yep. 436 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:25,800 Can I try this? 437 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:26,640 Absolutely. 438 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:30,920 Since I don't really think this works anyway, 439 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:32,920 I might as well make it not work myself. 440 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,960 They really... 441 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:38,800 I'm not doing that. 442 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,240 I'm not doing any of this. 443 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,040 Magic is real, ghosts exist, UFOs are everywhere. 444 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:45,920 My whole world just came unhinged. 445 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:46,880 These things work. 446 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:50,560 After half an hour in the clearing, 447 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,080 a pattern actually emerges. 448 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:54,960 I mean, it's a perfect line 449 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,560 and it is literally pointing straight to that sagebrush. 450 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,480 Following the trail of flags with metal detectors, 451 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,320 we find ourselves at the shoreline of the lake. 452 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:06,080 That doesn't mean John is through looking. 453 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,040 He has a secret weapon he wants to use to keep going. 454 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,160 I've been dying to ask you, what is this thing? 455 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,080 All right, this is a three inch suction dredge. 456 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,880 So the dredge is gonna be used in the water. 457 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,120 The lake itself, the shoreline, 458 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:23,760 may not be in the same spot it was 150 years ago. 459 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,360 What's underwater now may have been dry land then. 460 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:27,200 Okay. 461 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:28,480 So yeah, we take the dredge 462 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:30,640 and we use it to excavate just offshore. 463 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,400 This is the foot valve. 464 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:33,240 Uh-huh. 465 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:34,360 But you'll need to put it in the water 466 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,480 in order to prime the pump. 467 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,280 When you say you'll need to put it in the water. 468 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:39,240 I'm going in? 469 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:40,800 Well, yeah, I thought it's what you wanted to do. 470 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:41,640 Of course. 471 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:42,920 I just wanted to find gold. 472 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:44,560 I'll direct you and kind of help you find 473 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:45,400 the spot that we need. 474 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,560 Oh, that's good of you, yeah. 475 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,320 I wade into the lake, which is colder than it looks. 476 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:51,160 Hi! 477 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,320 Oh my God, that's warm. 478 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,720 It's actually colder than Norway looks. 479 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,720 The suction dredge is an underwater vacuum 480 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,560 that filters away mud and catches heavier objects 481 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:01,840 in a box at the back. 482 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:03,640 She's alive! 483 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,640 Like a tin can full of gold nuggets, I'm hoping. 484 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,120 All right, guys, how's it going? 485 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:11,960 How's it going? 486 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:14,400 It's going great, John. 487 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:15,240 It's going great. 488 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,240 Quick update, this is horrible. 489 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:28,800 I'm gonna say, John, the molecular thing 490 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:30,160 was a lot more fun. 491 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:31,160 It was really good. 492 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:33,760 Let's see if you can come over here and try 493 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:34,760 and shove us in. 494 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,280 Finally, after feeling the mud creep into places 495 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,560 where you do not want mud, I take a break 496 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,840 to see if this is getting us anything. 497 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:44,840 What do we got here? 498 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:48,800 Oh, it looks like Leverite. 499 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:49,680 What is Leverite? 500 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:51,800 Leverite is you leave it right where you found it 501 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:53,920 because it didn't worth anything. 502 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:55,360 Okay, I see. 503 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:57,120 I see what you did there. 504 00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:58,360 All right, moving on. 505 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:01,640 So, state of affairs, what do we got in here? 506 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,360 Well, it looks like we mostly got gravel. 507 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:05,160 We're working right down where we've got our hit, 508 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,120 but I think we need to go a little bit deeper. 509 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:07,960 Deeper? 510 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:08,800 Deeper. 511 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:09,640 How does that work? 512 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:12,160 I had to ask. 513 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,400 Armed with a breathing mask called a hookah, 514 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,760 which right around now I'm wishing was filled with opium, 515 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:18,520 I decide to get really uncomfortable 516 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,640 and go down to scour the lake bottom. 517 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,480 I operate the vacuum in 50-degree water without a wetsuit 518 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:33,040 and while I can't see much, 519 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:34,800 I do have a permanent ice cream headache 520 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,760 that's drilling into my skull. 521 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,200 Finally, after thoroughly scrubbing the shallows, 522 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,240 I head topside to see the results. 523 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:48,800 Big rocks back here. 524 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:52,160 What's that made of? 525 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,840 Looks like it's got a little bit of quartz on it here. 526 00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:59,080 Nothing much happened in there. 527 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:00,600 Oh, okay. 528 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:03,480 What's that? 529 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,480 That shiny ball, what did you get? 530 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:07,480 The shiny one is heavy. 531 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,480 I'm freezing my butt off in a Montana lake 532 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,480 on the Hunt for Plumbers gold. 533 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,480 150 years ago, a shootout among gold thieves 534 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,480 allegedly took place here, 535 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,480 and we're dredging the shoreline in search of the loot. 536 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,480 Oh, wait, what is that? 537 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:30,480 That's shiny. 538 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:32,480 Oh, what is that? 539 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:33,480 Wow, it's not gold. 540 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:34,480 You see that? 541 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:35,480 Yeah. 542 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:36,480 What is that? 543 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:37,480 No, you know what that is? 544 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:38,480 Lead. 545 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,480 That's a lead shot from a pistol, a mini-ball. 546 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:43,480 That's from a pistol? 547 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:44,480 Yes. 548 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:45,480 That is insane. 549 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,480 How old do you think that is? 550 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,480 Probably about the 1800s, somewhere around that era. 551 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:51,480 That's completely crazy. 552 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,480 Falls in line with what we were detecting, like we said, 553 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:54,480 this could have been dry land here. 554 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:55,480 Right. 555 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:56,480 There was a gunfight here, 556 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:58,480 and who knows, maybe Plumber's Gang. 557 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:00,480 That could have been from their gun. 558 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,480 I obviously would love to have found gold out here, 559 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,480 but I'll tell you what, man, this is a start. 560 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:05,480 That's it. 561 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,480 Today, a bullet, maybe tomorrow, a gold. 562 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:09,480 Definitely leads us in the right direction. 563 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,480 If you find the motherload up here, you give me a call, yeah? 564 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:13,480 I'll sure do that. 565 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,480 Hey, I really appreciate it. 566 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:16,480 This is yours. 567 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:17,480 All right. 568 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,480 So far, I've retraced Plumber's journey with one treasure hunter 569 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,480 and discovered evidence of a shootout with another. 570 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,480 Now, I'm driving through big-sky country to meet Rob Towner, 571 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,480 a real-life 21st-century gold prospector 572 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,480 with a long and distinguished resume of mining gold 573 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,480 less than an hour's ride from the Bannock Gallows. 574 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,480 So why here? Why are you interested in this spot? 575 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,480 We're standing right on the edge of the Dakota Load. 576 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:48,480 The Dakota Load was the richest mine in this entire area. 577 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:49,480 So this is gold country? 578 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:50,480 This is gold country. 579 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:52,480 This is what you call the motherload. 580 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,480 When did you start mining in there originally? 581 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:56,480 In 1986. 582 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:57,480 What'd you pull out of it? 583 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,480 In 1988, we got 1,700 ounces right here. 584 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:01,480 Right here? 585 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:02,480 Right here. 586 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:03,480 Worth about how much? 587 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,480 Well, today, probably well over 2 million bucks. 588 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:07,480 I'm in the wrong business. 589 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:08,480 Yeah. 590 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:09,480 I like it. 591 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:10,480 Yes, yes, you are. 592 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,480 But Rob hasn't excavated the area under our feet, 593 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,480 an old mining claim that might just be the jackpot. 594 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,480 From the research that I've done, 595 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,480 this mine was a time of Henry Plumber. 596 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,480 And in the courthouse, there's records with his name 597 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,480 tied to the Dakota Load. 598 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:28,480 His signature is right there. 599 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,480 Plumber was here, and this would have been an ideal spot 600 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:34,480 for him to hide his gold in one of these shafts. 601 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,480 And they've all been explored except for this one. 602 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,480 I've been waiting for years to get permission to come up here. 603 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:41,480 And now I got it. 604 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:42,480 OK. 605 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:43,480 Let's do it. 606 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:44,480 Are you kidding? 607 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:45,480 I was doing it. 608 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:46,480 I'm ready. 609 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,480 This is an unprecedented opportunity to explore a long-sealed mine, 610 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:52,480 associated with Henry Plumber. 611 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,480 We hiked down to a deep gully where we meet Rob's associate, Bobby, 612 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,480 a mining engineer who's here to help Rob reopen the mine shaft. 613 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:00,480 Nice to meet you. 614 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:01,480 Josh, how are you? 615 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:02,480 I'm good. 616 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:03,480 I'm good. 617 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:04,480 Well, Josh, this is it. 618 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:05,480 This is it. 619 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:06,480 This is it. 620 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,480 I'm not an expert, but I do not see a mine. 621 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,480 You've got to look through the eyes of a miner. 622 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:13,480 OK. 623 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:14,480 And what would I see? 624 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:15,480 Hey, Bobby, do you got that map? 625 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:16,480 Map, yep. 626 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:17,480 We got a map here. 627 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:23,480 150 years ago, this was an open shaft, and we're going to try to find where the opening 628 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,480 of this shaft that goes inside to all these old workings. 629 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,480 There's a maze of workings going through here. 630 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:34,480 Rob's been basing his research on a historic survey map that's over 150 years old. 631 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:36,480 And you're saying all of this is inside the hill? 632 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:39,480 This is inside the hill, and we're going to get inside there and find out if this is 633 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:40,480 for real or not. 634 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,480 I mean, you literally have a treasure map. 635 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:43,480 We have a treasure map. 636 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:44,480 How do we get to it? 637 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:46,480 Well, that's what we got Bobby here for. 638 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:47,480 We're going to do some probing here. 639 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:48,480 All right. 640 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:51,480 See if we can locate where the opening is on the other side of this. 641 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,480 If we do find the old shaft, we can put a charge in there and try to get some of this 642 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,480 overburden out of the way. 643 00:29:57,480 --> 00:29:59,480 And when you say a charge, you mean an explosive? 644 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:00,480 Absolutely. 645 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:01,480 Mining explosive. 646 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:02,480 You didn't tell me we were going to blow your ass up. 647 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,480 I can't tell you everything. 648 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:04,480 Now we're talking. 649 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,480 Yes, we're having fun. 650 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:07,480 Oh, I like this. 651 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:08,480 All right. 652 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:09,480 So let's get into it, yeah? 653 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:10,480 Yeah, yeah. 654 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:11,480 Go, sir. 655 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:12,480 Just start digging. 656 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,480 Grabbing our tools, we start to probe the hillside. 657 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:25,480 After two hours under a blazing sun, frankly, it starts to feel like a wild goose chase. 658 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:33,480 Got it. 659 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:34,480 Got it. 660 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:35,480 You got it? 661 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,480 Something just gave in right there. 662 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:38,480 Oh, yeah. 663 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,480 That's collapsed right there. 664 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:42,480 Going down into something. 665 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,480 All right there, Josh. 666 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:49,480 What do you think, Rob? 667 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:50,480 Let's blow this son of a... 668 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:51,480 Got it. 669 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:52,480 I'm ready. 670 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:53,480 Come on. 671 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:54,480 Love this guy. 672 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:03,480 Even though we're casually talking about blowing stuff up, this actually requires a lot of precision. 673 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:08,480 Bobby determines the exact amount of explosive to use and places it specifically in the one 674 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:13,480 spot where the blast will open the mine without causing it to collapse again. 675 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:18,480 Once the charges are set, we hike back to a nice safe distance from the mine and then 676 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:19,480 the moment of truth. 677 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:20,480 Here we go. 678 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,480 Fire the hole. 679 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:33,480 Near the mother load of Montana's Gold Rush Country, prospector Rob Towner has a theory 680 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:38,480 that Plummer's infamous stolen fortune is hidden in a mine only a few feet below us. 681 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:39,480 Rob's solution? 682 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,480 It's as simple as three, two, one. 683 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:45,480 Fire in the hole. 684 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:00,480 That was a good one. 685 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:02,480 Hit the... 686 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:05,480 Here we go. 687 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:07,480 Guys, we might have been a little close. 688 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,480 That was just Claude's dirt. 689 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:10,480 Don't worry about it. 690 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:11,480 Just get the bare rock. 691 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:21,480 When the dust settles, we go to look into our newly opened mine shaft, which isn't quite open yet. 692 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:26,480 Well, everything we blew out, a bunch more fell on top of it. 693 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:27,480 Yeah. 694 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:28,480 That's pretty much the way that went. 695 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,480 We tried dynamite, now for the mining equivalent of a scalpel, a backhoe to scrape away the last 696 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:42,480 tons of earth separating us from what is hopefully Henry Plummer's secret stash of gold. 697 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:50,480 Got to be getting close. 698 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:53,480 He's on the right angle. 699 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:54,480 Yeah, I don't know. 700 00:32:55,480 --> 00:33:00,480 Holy f***, I think we hit the son of a... 701 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:02,480 You got it! 702 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:03,480 Come on, check it out. 703 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:04,480 Holy... 704 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:05,480 Josh... 705 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:06,480 Bobby... 706 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:07,480 Right there, yeah? 707 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:08,480 Look at this. 708 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:09,480 There's a big crack right there. 709 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:10,480 Look at that. 710 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:13,480 The son of a f*** doesn't open in a hundred years. 711 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:19,480 You're close, buddy. 712 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:22,480 Look at that. 713 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:23,480 Look at that. 714 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:24,480 There's a mine down there. 715 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:25,480 Yeah. 716 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:28,480 Look at that, Josh! 717 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:29,480 Woo! 718 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:30,480 Hey, hey, hey! 719 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:31,480 Nice work, dude. 720 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,480 This is what you call discovery. 721 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:35,480 We don't want to waste any time. 722 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:40,480 As soon as we've checked to make sure the opening will hold, Rob and I venture into the mine. 723 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:45,480 Josh, can you believe this? 724 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:46,480 Look at this. 725 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:48,480 Check it out. 726 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:49,480 Look at this place. 727 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,480 You're seeing a place that nobody has laid eyes on for a century. 728 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:59,480 And there's a potent feeling of possibility and danger as we move deeper inside. 729 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:01,480 Look how far back it goes. 730 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,480 What a great place to hide something. 731 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:05,480 Oh, for sure. 732 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,480 Plumber wasn't just a sheriff. 733 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:10,480 He was a mine owner. 734 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,480 His name is Anna Dakota Lowe. 735 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:13,480 He was part of it. 736 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:14,480 Right. 737 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,480 This tunnel is part of what he owned. 738 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,480 What a great place to hide your gold. 739 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:19,480 Right. 740 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:20,480 This is where I'd look. 741 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:21,480 Okay, I'm totally convinced now. 742 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:22,480 Let's go get ready. 743 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:29,480 We keep going, but as we travel through the mine, a sobering thought occurs to me. 744 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:31,480 It's like a maze down here. 745 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,480 Are you remembering where we are? 746 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:36,480 Yeah, kinda. 747 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:38,480 Kinda, kinda. 748 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:39,480 Okay. 749 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,480 I mean, it's really easy to get turned around. 750 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,480 I have been lost underground before. 751 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:46,480 Is now one of those times? 752 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:48,480 Well, you know, it wouldn't take much longer. 753 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:50,480 Okay, good. 754 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:52,480 Good, good, good to know. 755 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:53,480 Good to know. 756 00:34:55,480 --> 00:35:00,480 Instead of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to find our way home, we have glow sticks. 757 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,480 Which is the first time I've ever seen them used for anything productive. 758 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,480 Soon, we begin to see signs that this was once an active operation. 759 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:15,480 There are old rail tracks everywhere, and the passages here just keep going. 760 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,480 Give or take the occasional dead end. 761 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:21,480 End of the line in this tunnel. 762 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:28,480 We've been underground for hours, when it suddenly occurs to us that even though we haven't found Plummer's treasure yet, 763 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,480 we may be surrounded by the raw material. 764 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,480 This place looks like it could still have un-mined gold. 765 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:35,480 What's this? 766 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,480 Ooh, this is where you find the gold at. 767 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:38,480 What is this stuff? 768 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:39,480 This is limonite, Josh. 769 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:40,480 Limonite. 770 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:44,480 And that's what carries the gold bearing solutions that enrich this whole Baelic area. 771 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,480 So where you find this, you find gold. 772 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,480 Usually you always find gold where you find this limonite. 773 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:58,480 We begin scraping at the walls, and soon I understand how people get so caught up in this. 774 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:00,480 I feel a primal need to keep searching. 775 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,480 Perhaps it's this feeling that drove Henry Plummer to commit the heinous act of which he was accused. 776 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,480 Either way, I just really want to find some gold. 777 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:12,480 That is limonite there. 778 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:14,480 That's shiny under it. 779 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,480 See that behind it, behind the quartz there? 780 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:17,480 Wow. 781 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:19,480 That's kind of glinty. 782 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:21,480 Something there, Rob. 783 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:25,480 It's shiny. 784 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:27,480 Yeah, I think this could be it. 785 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:28,480 Is that limonite? 786 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:29,480 Look at that. 787 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:30,480 That's gold. 788 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:32,480 Ooh! 789 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:50,480 In share of Henry Plummer's own gold mine, some thereof, my desire to find his cash of stolen loot has been put aside for a moment, because I may have just found my own treasure. 790 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:51,480 Is that limonite? 791 00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:53,480 I think he got a piece of gold there. 792 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:54,480 Shut up. 793 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:56,480 I think it is. 794 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:58,480 Josh, it is. 795 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:00,480 That's gold? 796 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:01,480 Yep. 797 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:02,480 That's gold. 798 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:03,480 That's real gold. 799 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:04,480 He just found some gold. 800 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:05,480 Some real gold. 801 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:06,480 Are you f***ing kidding me? 802 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:07,480 I'm telling you, that's gold. 803 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:08,480 That's it? 804 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:09,480 Yeah. 805 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:10,480 I quit. 806 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:11,480 I quit the show. 807 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:12,480 Thanks everybody. 808 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:13,480 Thanks for tuning in. 809 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:14,480 Hope you enjoyed it. 810 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:15,480 How much is this worth? 811 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:16,480 A hundred bucks. 812 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:19,480 Okay, I'm going to still be hosting next week. 813 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:20,480 I think. 814 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:21,480 I'll still be here. 815 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:24,480 Well, no sign of Plummer's treasure down here. 816 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:27,480 This is certainly not a man's weight in gold. 817 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:28,480 No. 818 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:29,480 But I'll tell you what. 819 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:30,480 It's a start. 820 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:31,480 It's a great start. 821 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:32,480 Yeah, it's a great start. 822 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:33,480 I'm going to get you a new one. 823 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:34,480 I got my knife. 824 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:35,480 I want to dig some more. 825 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:36,480 So that all came right out of here. 826 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:37,480 Your eyes are better than mine. 827 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:38,480 Okay, I'm going in. 828 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:39,480 Give me a light. 829 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:42,480 And that's how Rob and I spend the night. 830 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,480 Deep underground with a full blown case of gold fever. 831 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:50,480 By the light of a new day, 832 00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:52,480 I've got a few more flakes of gold in my pocket 833 00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:55,480 and one last stop on my expedition. 834 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,480 A historian has come forward with an explanation 835 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:00,480 for why no one in the last 150 years 836 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,480 has brought home the prize. 837 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:04,480 To hear his solution to the Plummer puzzle, 838 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,480 I go to the nearby Beaverhead County Museum 839 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:08,480 in the town of Dillon, 840 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,480 where mining records going all the way back 841 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:13,480 to Henry Plummer's Day are curated by Mark Webber. 842 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:15,480 I am really excited to see what you've got to show me. 843 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:17,480 Yeah, well, I got to show you this book. 844 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:20,480 This is an incredible volume that's been hidden 845 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:21,480 for a long time. 846 00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:23,480 A lot of historians don't know about it. 847 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:24,480 And where does it come from? 848 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,480 It comes from the county records. 849 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:28,480 It's a collection of records of different things 850 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,480 that the sheriff would have done 851 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:32,480 of different deeds that were recorded. 852 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:33,480 What year are we in here? 853 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:35,480 1863 to 1865. 854 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:38,480 Wow, and these are all original pages handwritten. 855 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:41,480 The documents not only refer to Plummer by name, 856 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,480 but they also mention the vigilantes. 857 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:45,480 The citizens of Bannock that banded together 858 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:48,480 accused Plummer of mastermining the local robberies 859 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,480 and dragged him to his execution. 860 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,480 One of the really shocking things 861 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,480 that the Historical Rical reviews 862 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,480 is that there is a motivation for the vigilantes 863 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,480 and the motivation is that they can get the property 864 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:01,480 of those that they hang. 865 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:02,480 Wait a minute. 866 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:04,480 So you're saying that the vigilantes as a group, 867 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:06,480 when they hang somebody, they get their stuff? 868 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:08,480 Yeah, they get their stuff. 869 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:12,480 That seems like a crazy, dangerous system. 870 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:15,480 So far from being the righteous agents of justice, 871 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,480 the vigilantes were seizing the property of their victims, 872 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:21,480 making the line between them and the local bandits 873 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:23,480 a blurry one indeed. 874 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:26,480 What we're looking at here is Henry Plummer 875 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:28,480 owned the Dakota Mine, 876 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:31,480 and he gave half of that mine to his good friend, Chrisman. 877 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,480 So it turns out Chrisman was a vigilante. 878 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,480 The documents show that Plummer signed over part 879 00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:38,480 of his lucrative stake in the local mine 880 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,480 to one of his friends, or so he fought. 881 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,480 Plummer's thinking Chrisman is a good friend of his? 882 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:46,480 No. 883 00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:49,480 So he signs it over to one of the vigilantes, 884 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,480 and then not too long after the vigilantes hang Plummer. 885 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:53,480 Right. 886 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:55,480 Very suspicious timing. 887 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,480 Yes, it is. 888 00:39:57,480 --> 00:39:59,480 By arresting Plummer, his supposed friend 889 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:01,480 and the rest of the citizen vigilantes 890 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:04,480 could have taken complete control of his holdings 891 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:07,480 and hanged him without so much as a trial. 892 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:10,480 This is incredible because it takes this story 893 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:12,480 and turns it entirely on its head. 894 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,480 I mean, it may be that every element of this, 895 00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:16,480 we've been looking at the wrong way. 896 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:18,480 Absolutely. 897 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,480 If Plummer was killed for his gold claims 898 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:22,480 and not for his crimes, 899 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,480 he would have hanged as an innocent man. 900 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,480 If Plummer's innocent, do you think there's no gold 901 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:33,480 up in them, their hills, as it were? 902 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,480 No, I think there may be gold up there, 903 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:37,480 and there was a lot of gold taken out of the mines. 904 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:38,480 Right. 905 00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:40,480 But it's not here any Plummer's. 906 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:42,480 So why do you think everyone is so convinced 907 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:44,480 that Plummer's the bad guy in all this? 908 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,480 Well, they're convinced because that's what all the books say. 909 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,480 But unfortunately, history is told by those who survive, 910 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:52,480 not those who are hanged. 911 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,480 Was Henry Plummer really innocent 912 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:58,480 of the crimes for which he was hanged? 913 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,480 Was his promise to return with his weight in gold 914 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,480 the last act of a desperate but honorable man? 915 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,480 We may never know for sure, 916 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,480 but the many highway robberies around Bannock 917 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,480 were real and a fortune in gold was never recovered. 918 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,480 And as I've galloped across the pages of Plummer's story, 919 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:18,480 I've discovered the unknown in hidden caverns 920 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:22,480 and lasers are creating a 21st century map of natural treasures. 921 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:26,480 The chilly waters have yielded up evidence of bygone ballistics, 922 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:28,480 clues that link us to Plummer's legend. 923 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,480 And I even got to blow stuff up. 924 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:32,480 Fire in the hole! 925 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,480 Helping to rediscover a lost tunnel to the past 926 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,480 that's still lined with riches. 927 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,480 He just found some hole. 928 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,480 As for Plummer the man, he remains just out of reach. 929 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,480 A character who gave rise to a mystery 930 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:49,480 and inspired a legendary treasure hunt for the ages.