on two other occasions scaffolds were erected
in the gaol exercise grounds in readiness for
executions. In both cases the death sentence
was commuted to life imprisonment. After
Oakalla Gaol was built all prisoners under
sentence of death were transferred there for
execution.

There is also an instance where an attempt
was made to break from the gaol. The guard,
in making his rounds just after midnight,
received a blow on the head with a club.
The guard did not have his gun with him
but with great presence of mind pointed his
large gaol key, which he held in the palm
of his hand as if it were a gun, and shouted
to the two men who intended to break out,
“TIL get you both, get back in your cells.”
The men, without hesitation, obeyed and
by the time the other guards had responded
to the alarm they were safely locked up.
This calm, cool guard was no other than
Arthur Pitchford, who served some 27 years
as a guard at the Nelson Gaol: a man who
was held in high esteem and, like Jarvis, is
now enjoying a well-earned rest in Nelson.

Although several attempts were made by

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prisoners to escape, only one person is known
to have successfully made his get-away. This
man happened to be a lumberjack, and after
slowly proceeding south managed to enter
the United States and was never heard of
again.

Several amusing incidents occurred dur-
ing Warden Jarvis’ term, but one which he
likes to bring to mind is a certain prisoner
who was brought to the gaol in a state of
D.T.’s, and when he was recovering from
this he complained of not being able to sleep
and asked the guard for a sleeping powder.
It being late at night and the man’s condi-
tion not warranting anything special with-
out a doctor’s prescription, the Warden told
the guard to get some empty capsules and
fill them with flour, which he did. Warden
Jarvis then went into the cell and told the
prisoner he would give him a pill to help
him go to sleep but he had better get into
bed as they were very powerful. The man
got into bed, took the pill and was asleep in
a very short time. The next night he asked
for another pill and got it and told the War-
den that he had had lots of pills from doc-
tors, but none had worked on him so fast
as the Warden’s and insisted on learning
what the prescription was before he left the
institution.

Just one more yarn—this time it relates to
the old days—in 1898 Jack Devlin, known
as the Gunner, was arrested at Nakusp,
charged with drunkenness and sentenced to
the Nelson Gaol. He was taken by a pro-
vincial constable to Nelson—in those days

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the steamers on the Arrow Lakes had saloons
—the constable and the Gunner got in
ebriated, so much so, that the Gunner got
the warrant of commitment from the con
stable. On arrival at the gaol the Gunner
handed over the constable to the guard. The
constable, sobering by this time, got quite
indignant and it was only the timely arrival
of Warden Fitz-Stubbs that saved the con-
stable from being incarcerated in the gaol,
the Warden recognizing Gunner as being a
former inmate of the gaol.

Numerous instances could be recorded of
amusing things which occurred, for a gaol
is a place were one meets all kinds of human-
ity—the sulky, sullen prisoner who feels ag-
grieved, of the cheerful, happy-go-lucky
type who doesn’t mind taking his medicine—
gaol is a place where man meets man, for
men from all walks of life are found there,

However, as long as a prisoner behaves
himself he is given every consideration and
every effort is made to improve his viewpoint.
When he leaves it is usually with the feeling
that he has had a square deal.

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