Granville Stuart and the Montana Vigilantes of 1884

Abstract

In the summer of 1889, Granville Stuart, pioneer gold-miner, trader, merchant, politician, rancher, and man of letters led one of the most deadly vigilante episodes in American history. Like the leaders of the 1862 Bannack-Virginia City vigilantes, Stuart was a Mason. He entered into the booming range cattle industry in 1879 by becoming the manager of the DHS ranch in east central Montana Territory. But by 1884, the ranges were becoming overcrowded, calf increase was down, and stockmen were becoming increasingly concerned with the depredations of rustlers. As part of a general understanding among cattlemen, Granville Stuart led a secret vigilante campaign which claimed the lives of from nineteen to twenty-three alleged horse thieves. Subsequent operations probably pushed the number of victims as high as thirty-five. The success of the Montana vigilantes may have inspired Wyoming cattlemen during the Johnson County War in 1892.