THE LOST TREASURES OF MONTANA: Russell Country, by Peter NetzelThe Lost Treasures of Montana is a series of books on the lost treasures that can be found in Montana, by region. Covered in this edition of The Lost Treasures of Montana is RUSSELL COUNTRY, the fourth in this series of books. This volume covers the Russell Country region of the state, which is comprised of the counties: Blaine, Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Hill, Judith Basin, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, Toole, and Wheatland. It is a compilation of the legends of lost silver and gold mines in this region of Montana. Details and background of locations of buried loot and hidden caches are covered in the stories in this book. There are many maps included, along with rich details of the colorful history that took place in this section of the Old West in the wild, exciting days of its gold and silver rushes. I have been researching old treasure legends for over a decade and have been successful in pinning down the locations of most of them on topographic maps. I include these detailed maps with the stories in this series. In addition to pinpointing actual locations, I have even found a few lost treasures never before presented in books! Portions of the Russell Country region of Montana are where the Henry Plummer Gang is alleged to have operated. There were other outlaws active in Russell Country in the 1800's and early 1900's also. The most common and repeated crimes involved cattle rustling; horse stealing; and robbing stagecoaches, banks, and trains. During the short reign of terror by Plummer and his road agents, it is believed that they hid much of their loot. Some sources believe it more likely that they spent it as fast as they could on whiskey, wild women, and gambling. Several of the treasures that are claimed to have been hidden by Plummer are said to lay in this region. He and his accomplices were lynched for their crimes in the early days of Montana history. Years later, books were written averring that Henry Plummer was innocent of the crimes of which he was accused. Nonetheless, his life was cut short by vigilantes. Not all lost treasures covered in this book were the result of outlaw gangs hiding loot. Some of the hidden caches concern lost mines and rich gold and silver ledges which were never found a second time. The purpose of this book is to look at all of these lost treasures and see if they could be real or not. Some, I have my doubts about; and some accounts seem to hold water. It is up to you, the reader, to come to your own conclusions. No matter what you decide you will find the history of the Old West interesting.Stories of likely locations of hidden treasure covered in this book include: Chased To Montana, which explores the question of whether Kid Curry, his brothers, and the other gang members have loot stashed in the Russell Country region of Montana. Gold Butte Lost Lode tells of a rich gold deposit in the Sweet Grass Hills, at Gold Butte, the source of which was never found. It is said that every state that had a mining boom, has at least one tale of a rich, lost mine. Fergus County, Montana, has the legend of Kelley's Lost Mine. There are several intriguing stories of places throughout Russell Country where Henry Plummer, and his gang, had loot buried. Plummer could have stashed stolen loot in multiple caches. Henry Plummer's Lost Loot, Cascade Cache, St. Peter's Mission, Searching The River Banks, and Ever Hear Of Dearborn offer details of the locations of some of Henry Plummer's possible hidden loot caches. You do not have to be an avid treasure hunter in order to enjoy the books in The Lost Treasures Of Montana series. Anyone will enjoy reading about the colorful characters and rich history of Montana's early days.