Panning for Gold

Faces of the Gold Rush

What's the meaning?

You be the Judge...

Thompson River First Nations

Arrived at Hill's Bar the court of Magistrate Perrier was convened forthwith on McGowan's claim, and Farrell and Whannell brought before the Hill's Bar magistrate. Farrell was fined for assaulting the negro, and Capt Whannell was fined twenty dollars for contempt of court by his fellow magistrate, which he paid, and was ordered, for his safety, to leave Hill's Bar immediately. McGowan and his men, however, determined to escort Whannell back. They elbowed him to a canoe and with a flotilla of canoes the posse returned to Yale where they pat Whannell ashore and, firing their rifles in a noisy salute, returned across the river.

Whannell hurried to his house and indited a letter full of alarming statements to Governor Douglas. There was, he wrote, at Hill's Bar, a notorious lawbreaker who had been hounded from California by the Vigilantes, one Ned McGowan, who was the leader of a considerable following which overran Yale, broke open its jail, released prisoners, and threatened a conspiracy to overtake Britiah power in the colony and annex it to the United States. There would, he said, be a war unless a force of troops was despatched without delay.

Governor Douglas took the Magistratege letter as one demanding immediate action. The Ned McGowan war to supplant British authority, he considered, should be promptly combatted, and the Governor promptly requisitioned a force of marines and bluejackets from a warship at Esquimalt. With a landing gun, a nine-pounder drawn by the bluejackets, they were hurried to Fort Langley, where Capt Grant and Capt Larson's of the Sapper's and Miners had the advance guard of that force - the main body not having arrived and with this force, Col Moody, the newly arrived commander ot the Sappers and Miners, accompanied by Chief Justice Begbie, was hurried to Yale to preserve order.

The news from Magistrate Whannell of the disturbance at Yale created considerable excitement at Victoria. Liet Richard Manye, of H.M.S. Plumper, who accompanied the expedition, wrote;

This individual, Edward McGowan, had spent some time in California where he had become very notorious, and had been honored with special emnity of the Vigilance Committee of San Francisco. Nor without good cause. He had, I believe, the misfortune to kill several of his comrades in these little personal encounters reported in American papers under head of 'shooting' or 'cutting affairs'. The act for which the Vigilantes sought him was killing a man in cold blood at San Francisco. That such a man was known to be at Hill's Bar, where he had a rich claim. and have with him, under his influence, a strong party as bold and lawless as himself, might well give the authorities concern".

It did. Not only was Col Moody sent forth from Fort Langely with the 25 Sappers and Miners, but also, Governor Douglas called upon Capt Provost of H.M.S. Plumper to send a party to aid. Reaching Fort Langley this party found that Col Moody had taken the Steamer Enterprise, the only steamer on the river able to proceed above Fort Langely, where the Plumper anchored, and there being no other way of sending up the marines and bluejackets than by canoe, Lient Mayne was sent with Indians by canoe...to follow Col Moody and inform him the force waited his instructions at Fort Langely. The canoe was wrecked near Murderer's Bar, and Lient Mayne and Mr Lewis, who accompanied him, made their way by trail to Fort Hope, where they found Col Moody, Judge Begbie and Hudson'a Bay Officials.

At Fort Hope the Colonel Of the Sappers and Miners, had learned that the alarming massage had been greatly exaggerated, and Col Moody decided to leave the Royal Engineers at Hope and go on himself with Chief Justice Begbie and Lieut Mayne, who was to return if troops were found necesarry, to order them to Yale. Reaching Yale next day Col Moody was received with cheers and found the town carrying on its lawful occasions normally - and, it being Sunday, the Colonel decided to hold a church service at the courthouse, the first held at Yale. The service over, he proceeded to investigate the troubles, and promptly dismissed both Magistrates to the glee of McGowaqn and his associates. McGowan was summoned to give an account of his doings and made an elaborate and successful defence of his conduct in connection with the squabble over magisterial dignity. He was freed, and started forthwith to celebrate, with the result that while Col Moody and Chief Justice Begbie were still at Yale that afternoon he outraged the law unmistakably by an unprovoked assault. With his cohorts McGowan was going from saloon to saloon, causing considerable trouble, making threats, and Col Moody, thinking that the followers might break insubordination decided to order his troops to Yale. Acordingly Lieut Mayne was despatched in a small canoe under cover of night to inform Capt Grant to start with the Engineers from Hope and bring the Marines and bluejackets from Fort Langley.

When the Engineers, followed by the Marines reached Yale, McGowan paid the Commissioner a formal visit and apologized for his brawling, and stated that his actions in connection with the rival judges had been to preserve the law. As for the assault, he had been drank when he cormitted it, and - well, the Commissioner could deal with him on that account. He was fined for the assault, exonerated from previous misdemeanors, and next day when the officials visited Hill's Bar invited them to luncheon, where they drank champaigne with about a dozen of McGowan's friends; and, Lieut Mayne records: "whatever opinion the Vigilance Committee of San Francisco might entertain of these gentlemen, I, speaking as I found them. can only say, that all things considered, I have rarely lunched with better spoken, pleasanter party."

So ended "the Ned MCGowan war" - as the incident was named by the old-timers; a name which suggests far romantic and exciting occurrences than these which actually marked it.

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