In the 1860s, before it became a state, Montana, like many territories in the western U.S., was home to "vigilance committees" who meted out their own brand of justice. Since a formal infrastructure for keeping the peace had not been established in most of the territory, these committees enjoyed a fair amount of popular support.
The Virginia City vigilance committee employed a unique system for warning their targets. The malefactor would find the numbers 3-7-77 chalked on his door. At that point, the villain had two choices: get out of town, or be the guest of honor at a necktie party. But what did these numbers represent? Were they the dimensions of a grave (3 feet wide, seven feet deep, 77 inches long)? Did the numbers represent the time left to get out of town (3 hours, 7 minutes, and 77 seconds)? Or did the numbers originate with the masonic lodge to which many committee members belonged? Thanks to the committee's code of silence, the significance of the numbers remains a mystery.
While the vigilance committees have disappeared, their legacy lives on in Montana. In 1956, the Chief of the Montana Highway Patrol redesigned the agency's patch. As a tribute to Montana's "first people’s police force”, he included the numbers 3-7-77 on the patch, which Highway Patrol Officers wear to this day.
Further reading:
Association of Montana Troopers - 3-7-77
Montana Vigilantes and the Origins of the 3-7-77
Wikipedia - 3-7-77
2 comments:
Awesome.
Sally Anne,
I thought so too. I'm going to have to get my hands on one of those patches.
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