Panning for Gold

Faces of the Gold Rush

What's the meaning?

You be the Judge...

Thompson River First Nations

This came about as a result of a reception the Magistrate gave to which he invited about a score of the merchants and more prominent residents of Yale, including the late D.W. Higgins, Nelson, Kurtz, E. C. Johnson and others. During supper Whannell became inebriated and when called upon for a speech sprang up, drew his sword, and with a shout "Me voice is in me sword!", began lashing the air, the blade coming periously near Higgins' head, who ducked and ran for the door. Others also took flight. leaving hats, coats and lanterns, plunging down the snowcovered banks putting as much space as possible between them and the drunken Magistrate, who stood In the door yelling and shouting. The next day they went to the Magistrate's house to recover their belongings - the Magistrate being absent, but his wife, a big buxom Scotch woman, received the visitors and apologized for "His Worship', as she called him, stating that his antics were due to a sabre cut he received on his head during the Crimean war.

The incident resulted in McGowan and his cohorts losing any fear they had regarding the Magistrate, and when they came to Yale again, instead of stepping aside when the sworded official came, they elbowed him aside, and insulted him whenever he appeared. Again end again the Magistrate suggested to Higgins and others that he send a messenger 'down the river' to ask Governor Douglas to send a force of troops to preserve order, but thev invariably laughed him from the idea.

Then one Christmas Day, in the year of our lord, 1858. Richard Farrell, one of McGowan's followers came from Hill's Bar to Yale to celebrate, and imbibed freely at various saloons. He was an American and held the feeling which many Americans - particularily those from the south - held concerning negroes and their equality under the British Flag. This was before the Civil War in the United States. Dickson, a colored man was standing at the door of his barber-shop, and Farrell seized him and dragged him into the street and proceeded to beat him up.

When news of the actions and unprovoked assault on the colored man reached Hill's Bar the Magistrate there, Perrier, a French-Canadian issued a warrant for arrest of Farrell, taking the ground that Farrell was a resident of Hill's Bar and though the assault had been comitted at Yale, it was nevertheless under the jurisdiction of Perrier. He forthwith despatched a constable - one of MoGowan's men - to Yale to arrest Farrell.

Meanwhile Capt Whannell had arrested Farrell and incarcerated him in an outhouse which he maintained as a lock-up. The constable from Hill's Bar presented Perrier's warrant and demanded that Farrell be turned over to him. Words insued, and Whannell arrested the constable from Hill's Bar, charging him with contempt of court for entering Yale to arrest persons within Whannel's bailiwick. Farrell he arraigned and sentenced to three month's imprisonment.

Ned McGowan prevailed upon Perrier to issue another warrant - this for the arrest Of Capt Whannell charging the Yale Magistrate with contempt of Magistrate Perriers court in arresting his constable; and McGowan was charged with the service of this warrant. Armed with the warrant, McGowan gathered his cohorts to form a posse end siwashes ferried them in canoes to Yale where they promptly seized Whannell, broke open his lock-up and released Farrell and the constable, and took all three to Hill's Bar. The procession through Yale was a march of triumph. McGowen paraded the unfortunate Magistrate along Front street while occupants of the saloons and gaming housed surged out to see the parade - Whannell being in a great state of perturbation.

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