A HISTORIC B.C. GAOL

By GEORGE D. BROWN, Jr.

Kamloops Gaol Only a Log Cabin in the 1870’s—Judge Begbie Termed It “Not

of Much Account’—Court Day Was Sort of Village Festival—Hangman Not

Welcome in Local Hostelries—Passes” in Demand to Witness Hangings—
Condemned Man “Stalls” His Own Execution—A Veteran Guard.

THE GOVERNMENT offices and gaol for
-he Province of British Columbia at Kam-
oops were first built two doors west of the
Cosmopolitan Hotel in the early 1870's.
There, Mr. George Christie Tunstall held
‘orth as Government agent, mining recorder,
issuer of marriage and mining licences, as-
sayer and collector of customs.

_ The log cabin, whitewashed, with cells
ypening direct into the confined space that
served as a courtroom, served its purpose in
its day and age according to local conditions
in the great Thompson River district. Many
matters of grave moment went before judges
of both County and Supreme Courts during
those pioneer days.

Court Day in the village was deemed a
sort of festival, and the coming to the settle-
ment at the “meeting of the waters” of a
Supreme Court judge (and Mr. Justice
Walkem was the favourite) was looked for-
ward to with a zeal that is not seen in the
present and more prosaic age.
| These first gaol premises were abandoned
in the year 1885, when Mr. Tunstall pre-
vailed upon the Government of the day to
build a court house further east, and a sep-
arate provincial gaol.

Although business was carried on in
routine provincial government matters at the
new premises, the old lock-up in the town
was used occasionally—for most of the city’s
business was still in the west end. The first
log gaol remained intact, and, on occasion,
was used for Kamloops’ brass band practice
purposes. All remaining now is a vacant
lot, piled high with cordwood, in the China-
town district. The famed Cosmopolitan
Hotel, two doors east, was burned down in
the year 1902, and the old Government
buildings have long since disappeared.

The second location of the provincial gaol
was immediately to the south of the still
standing former wooden court house, at
First Avenue and Victoria Street. The gaol
on this location passed into the hands of
the city after the city incorporated in the
year 1893, and city offices were built in front
of the old gaol cells. When the third pro-
vincial gaol was built in 1897, on Columbia
Street, the second gaol continued to be used
up to June, 1938, when the Provincial Police
Detachment took over the policing of the
city. Immediately following this step, taken
by authority of the City Council, the cells
at the rear of the present city hall were de-
molished.

SUMMER EDITION

“PASSES” IN DEMAND

™
Wentworth F. Wood, appointed Sheriff

for Yale County in June, 1905, pensioned
from that position when aged 81, after serv-
ices of over twenty-nine years, stated he
witnessed seventeen hangings in the Provin-
cial gaol yard at Columbia Street, out of
eighteen carried out during his tenure of
office.

In the earlier days, according to old-timers,
there was much morbid curiosity. “Passes”
to witness hangings were at a premium.
Hangmen often had trouble obtaining room
and board and Hangman Radcliffe once had
to sleep in the Isolation Building at the
hospital, being refused admittance to any
hotel.

The last execution by hanging at the Pro-
vincial gaol is said to be the hanging of one
named Clinger, in the year 1916.

Provincial Government land stretches
from a point at Sixth Avenue, where are

Provincial Police Offices, Kamloops.
—Photo by R. W. Amess.

situated Public Works Department build-
ings, westward to the new Provincial Office
buildings, completed recently. Imme-
diately west, over Peterson Creek, are Pro-
vincial Police offices and gaol. Adjoining
these are the power plant, and the Provincial
home for aged men. All these buildings face
Columbia Street, but are outside the City
limits, bounded on the west by the Royal
Inland Hospital.

Ten acres of farm land, south of the Police
buildings and Provincial home for aged men,
is worked by prison labour. North of Colum-
bia Street is a lovely residential district,
where boulevarded, well-kept streets slope
towards the railroad yards and Thompson
river.

Housed under the same roof at the Pro-
vincial Police building are Divisional head-

quarters, City Detachment and District
Police headquarters; general police offices
and living quarters for officers are also in-
cluded in the building. At the rear is the
gaol, with a capacity of twenty-six prisoners.
Here “short-time” prisoners from the City
and district, as well as “short time” pri-
soners from Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon
Arm, serve time on conviction for periods
up to three months.

Inspector J. Shirras is head of the Divi-
sion, and Warden of Kamloops gaol.

Provincial gaols have improved a great
deal since that day in July, 1885, when Judge
Begbie wrote, while returning from Farwell
(as Revelstoke was first named, after its
founder): “Nothing, in fact, beyond the
simplest kind of lock-up exists beyond Kam-
loops gaol and that is not of much account!”

FIFTEEN YEARS As GUARD

Alexander G. Brown, born April 10th,
1857, near Renfrew, Ontario, arrived in
Kamloops July 17th, 1896. He is now rest
dent at Albert Canyon, B.C.

The late Judge George C. Tunstall recom-
mended Brown as temporary guard, taking
prisoners out to work, at a salary of $2.50
per day. In the fall of 1897, Captain J. R.
Vicars was appointed warden, and Brown
received his appointment as guard in charge
of the Old Men’s Home Farm (with prison
labour) purchased from the John Roper
estate.

He recollects some interesting events in
connection with his work as guard for fifteen
years from the year 1897. Martin Beattie
was chief constable, provincial assessor and
collector. Jim McLaren was head guard, and
Bill McIntyre was city police night constable.

During Brown’s long term of office
there were eleven single and one double
hangings, the latter being two Indians.

SPECIAL PRIVILEGES BEFORE HANGING

A coloured man in the Kootenay had shot
a woman and was to be hanged. Eighteen-
pound irons were rivetted with half-inch
rivets to his legs, and chained at his waist
to his belt. The condemned man was exer-
cised one and one-half hours in the morning
and afternoons in the Provincial Gaol yard
enclosure. The morning he was to be hanged,
the condemned man could order what he
liked. He had beefsteak, eggs and hot cakes
with syrup. Cold chisels were sharpened to
cut off the iron rivets before hanging, which
was to take place at the usual time, 8 a.m.

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