They recognized Mesah-chie’s cruel
brand .with much uneasiness, since out-
rages became so numerous, that wide-
spread alarm was felt.

The country-side was now in an uproar,
as a highly respected settler, Harry Mel-
ville, had disappeared completely from
his farm near Sumas Prairie. He was
known to have considerable money in
his shack, but when it was searched, it
too was found to be gone.

Near the house were two deep mud
holes—deep oozing mud, which never
dried up the year around. The Indians
helieved that Mesah-chie had murdered
him, and buried him, weighting his body
with stones, into the mud, but no trace
was ever found of the body.

However they could never prove
murder against Mesah-chie, for how could
there be a murder without a body ?

Fleet-footed Mesah-chie slipped in and
out of the Sumas district after each con-
quest, with his stolen loot cunningly con-
cealed under his blanket. With the stoical
face of the Indian he seemed quite uncon-
cerned, while all the time he was furtively
watching for an opportune moment to add
his latest loot to the already rich hoard
of hidden gold nuggets, buried in the un-
penetrable gloom of the giant cedars, on
the fringe of the Sumas Prairie.

And so it grew to be a treasure which
nature guarded well.

Although the Indians knew the treasure
was there somewhere, they failed to find
any trace of it, after spasmodic searches
for it—for Mesah-chie was too clever for
them—and for the white man, too.

His secret hoard of gold still lies today
somewhere in Sumas, waiting for the
hand of the discoverer!

Then came a strange anti-climax to an

———————

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exciting life of crime. It was expected
that he would meet a violent end. He was
finally arrested, yet only convicted of
cattle killing, which enabled them to hold
him in gaol, and so end his killing
rampage.

The records of the British Columbia
Penitentiary at New Westminster, dis-
close that Mesah-chie was received there
on December 2nd, 1882, having been sen-
tenced to five years by Mr. Justice Crease,
at the New Westminster General Assizes
for killing cattle. The date of this sen-
tence was November 20th, 1882. An
additional sentence of two years was im-
posed on May 2nd, 1883, by Mr. ‘Justice
Gray, for escaping custody.

Messah-chie dreamed of the day when
he would have a wild spending spree of
his hidden cache of ill-gotten gold, after
he got out of gaol, but he was doomed
to disappointment.

Cooped up in a white man’s cell, after
the wild life, was more than he could
endure. After a lingering illness of two
years, he died of tuberculosis in the pen-
itentiary on April 3rd, 1885—wwhile in the
great open spaces beyond, law and order
were beginning to appear in the Crown
Colony—in the last great frontier of
the West.

CAMPBELL RIVER
SHOE REPAIR

QUALITY WORK
BEST IN SHOE REPAIRS

CAMPBELL RIVER

B.C.

CAMPBELL RIVER MEAT
MARKET

E, LAMBIE and HERB. HIQUEBRAN, Props.

Government Inspected Meats

Phone 45
CAMPBELL RIVER, B. C.

Allan‘’s Cash Grocery and
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CAMPBELL RIVER

Prompt Deliveries |

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PHONE 10
Campbell River

B. C.

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O. F. Thulin E. Anderson

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Quinsam Meat Market

A. C. Clinton, Proprietor
Quality Meats, Fish and Poultry

e
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B. A. Products, Triton Oil
Lubrication and Welding

Gunnarsen’s Garage
Complete Automotive Repairs
Telephone 49 P.O. Box 79 |

Campbell River Bac:

QUINSAM HOTEL

JIM ENGLISH, Proprietor |
| Loggers’ Hotel |
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Ernie's Gcneral Store

E. CURTIS, Proprietor
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Fishing Supplies

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Page Forty-four

THE SHOULDER STRAP