George Lane, better known as Clubfoot George, was an alleged outlaw who was hanged on January 14, 1864 in Nevada City, Montana. Lane was later alleged to have been a member of a criminal gang known as the Gang of Innocents and sentenced to death. The execution was carried out by the Montana Vigilantes, a committee which functioned during Montana's gold rush in 1863 and 1864. Early life and journey west Lane was born in Massachusetts and suffered from a congenital deformity in his foot. He was a laborer from Massachusetts who traveled to the Western United States to find work. Lane then worked several jobs in California, Idaho, and Montana but was haunted by persistent allegations that he was a horse thief. Sometime between 1848 and 1855, during the California Gold Rush, Lane moved west. This was then a common practice among adventurous men. While in California he worked at a farm in Yuba County and later as a store clerk in Calaveras County. In 1860, Lane moved to Washington Territory following the path of gold miners. Two years later he was accused of "running off horses" in Idaho and turned himself in to the commander of Fort Lapwai. Lane was sentenced to do construction work. The next year he was accused of stealing horses again, but escaped the town before he was caught. Lane then moved to Virginia City in Montana, another common destination for gold miners. Virginia City Lane came to Virginia City in the fall of 1863, the same year that the Montana Vigilantes Committee was formed. In Virginia City, Lane became a boot maker working for Dance and Stuart's Store. His employers respected him as a hard worker. In December 1863, a member of the Innocents gang, George Ives, was subjected to a vigilante trial in Nevada City, Montana. Lane rode to Bannack, Montana in order to inform Bannack sheriff Henry Plummer of the trial. Lane's aim was to convince Plummer that he should request a civilian trial for George Ives. After he learned that Plummer was absent, Lane spoke with two of Plummer's deputies. He complained to them of the common vigilantism in Virginia City. His sentiments were seen as suspicious by the deputies, who soon had Lane arrested. He was told that he was arrested because he was "a road agent, thief, and an accessory to numerous robberies and murders on the highway".