Train robberies--British Columbia

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Train robberies--British Columbia

29 Archival description results for Train robberies--British Columbia

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Bill Miner excerpts : #1 - #2

SUMMARY: Excerpts from oral history interviews about the famous B.C. train robber Bill Miner. The source tapes are unidentified items in the collection of the BC Archives -- probably interviews by CBC producer; Imbert Orchard.;

Carl Dorin interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1 & 2: Mr. Carl Dorin discusses rodeos and various ranches. He did a lot of work with Joe Coutleu; he describes Chinese blasters; outlaws; Suicide Valley, Bill Miner; Joe Graves and the posse that caught the outlaws at Mary's Creek.

"Dear Kinnie"

Item is a copy of a letter from Thomas Kilpatrick, CPR engineer, Kamloops, May 15 [1906] describing the capture of Bill Miner and his companions. Addressed to "Kinnie", his wife (Elsie, nee McKinnon).

Desmond Vicars interview

CALL NUMBER: T0405:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Colonel Desmond O. Vicars offers details about his father, John Richard Vicars, who came from Dublin to Ontario and became a surveyor; 1878, went to Peace River country; 1890, went to Vancouver; 1896, went to Kamloops area; became warden of the Kamloops jail; married his wife in 1892; discusses old timers and old miners; J.A. Marrow; anecdotes about Indians who died of smallpox; Rose Shubert; transportation along the Fraser River; pack trains; the Fortune's ranch; overlanders; John Tate; mining around Kamloops; some characters in the area who liked to mine; the CPR and its effect on the area. TRACK 2: Colonel Vicars continues with a story about Andrew Onderdonk; an old timer named Antoine Allen; Colonel Vicars discusses Kamloops as it was when he was born; a private school that started in 1893; several stories about Bill Miner and about Miner's partner, Shorty Dunn.

CALL NUMBER: T0405:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Colonel Vicars continues to discuss characters associated with Bill Miner, including Jack Budd; more on his father and the Rocky Mountain Rangers; and militia units. [TRACK 2: blank.]

From the mountains to the sea : Nicola country

SUMMARY: "Nicola Country", number 5 in the series, tells the story of the cattle country south of Kamloops, something about Kamloops itself, and the story of the train robber Bill Miner. Voices heard include: Bill Brennan, Doug Palmer, Alex Bulman, Fred Irwin, Gerald Guichon, Wentworth Wood, Colonel D.C. Vicars, F.W. Pinchbeck, Martin Starret and Louis Lagace.

F.W. Pinchbeck interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Fred W. Pinchbeck describes his father, William Pinchbeck, who came from England and settled a ranch and roadhouse above Williams Lake in the 1880s; Indians and other local ranchers; his own life with his widowed mother at Victoria and Kamloops; and Bill Miner stories. TRACK 2: Mr. Pinchbeck continues with more Bill Miner stories; work at Wilcox Hardware in Kamloops; the first cars; in the area; blacksmith work; local characters; bars and sporting houses; the McLean brothers; more blacksmith work; and railway construction.

Garnet Willis interview

CALL NUMBER: T1096:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-05-28 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Garnet E. Willis talks about his father and the people of the Chilliwack and the Similkameen region, 1894 to 1916. He describes how his family farmed near Sardis; what Chilliwack was like in his youth; steamboats on the Fraser; Harrison House; hard work on farms; school days; stories about Bill Miner; stories about John Ryder and his family; the Nelson brothers; how his father hauled freight; his father's background with the fur brigade; a discussion of the brigade route; details of his father's travels in Fort Garry, California and BC; his father's claims in the Cariboo; how his father logged on the present site of Vancouver; and John Beatty. TRACK 2: Mr. Willis continues with a story about an old man; the circumstances by which he came to the Similkameen area with his father in 1914; an anecdote about his father and the farm at Sumas; a comparison of Chilliwack and Similkameen areas; cattle and cattle drives over the Dewdney Trail; several stories about travels on the Hope Trail; a discussion of Herman Grell, known as "Shorty" Dunn; Jack Budd; and train robber Bill Miner.

CALL NUMBER: T1096:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-05-28 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Willis continues with more on Shorty Dunn of Bill Miner's gang; a story about Pat Kennedy of Princeton; Jim Slater; a story about Charlie Rheinhardt; Price Chandler; the beginning of Keremeos; Keremeos centre; the town of Loomis, Washington; a description of Princeton in 1913; Bill Allison; Mr. Willis' own place near Princeton; several stories about August Carlson; a story about Steve Mangat; the Olalla Mine; other mines and drilling. TRACK 2: Mr. Willis offers a story about Duncan Woods of the Hedley Mascot Mine; a discussion of his wife's uncle, a packer named John Worth; Bill Bristol and his stopping house east of Hope; a discussion of "Colonel" Robert Stevenson and his tall stories; a story about tracking lost cattle; more about Stevenson; more about Jack Budd and Bill Miner; and a story about a foot race in Montana.

Kamloops and the Bill Miner story

SUMMARY: Stories about the early days of Kamloops, the importance of the CPR and the stockyards, and the hunt for Bill Miner, the legendary train robber. The voices heard are: Colonel D.C. Vicars; F.W. Pinchbeck; Wentworth Wood; Bill Brennan; Alex Bulman; Fred Irwin; and Doug Palmer.

Maisie Hurley interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-04-10 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Maisie Hurley begins this interview with anecdotes about Vancouver; first impressions; the old CPR Station; the old Vancouver Hotel; English Bay; her family; and squatters in Stanley Park. ;She talks about local Indians; the Capilano Indian reserve; Mary Capilano and Big Joe Capilano; Chief Kitsilano; the Indian village in Stanley Park; the Black Fish tribe; Supple Jack; Hastings Park; the start of horse racing in Vancouver; Pat O'Hara; Aspen Grove, BC; and Bill Miner, aka George Edwards. TRACK 2: Maisie Hurley continues with her recollections about Bill Miner in Aspen Grove, BC; ';Dad' Allen, partner to Bill Hickock; the escape tunnel and the train robbery. She talks about her adventures living in the Kootenays, where her father was a geologist; her family history; trips back ;to England; and schools in Vancouver.

Martin Starret interviews, 1963-1964

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0001
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Martin Starret, born July 17, 1888, describes his family background, starting with his maternal grandfather, Captain Henry Smith. His grandmother's family name was Stevens. He describes a trip with his uncle, C.V. Smith, to Hazelton in 1909 to learn the fur trade. He discusses a shipment consisting of seventy tons of alcohol for a man called Blackjack MacDonald. He offers a description of Hazelton and his first recollections upon landing there including specific people and events. He discusses his mother and his father, born in 1850 in Brampton Ontario, who was a surveyor. His father also mined gold with a man named Metcalf, and Jack Kerkup who later became the Gold Commissioner at Rossland. His father and a man named Flood, who was from Woodstock Ontario, and a man named Corrigan went from Hope to Skagit in Washington to mine gold. He describes their adventures on the trail to Skagit. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues with the story. One of the men began to miss a few things out of his bag such as salt and bacon. The man accused was a Chinese miner and he was required to cut off his hair to be set free. His father returned to Silver Creek, a couple of miles below Hope. Mr. Starret describes Hope, BC, and its residents in the 1890s. Stories of Bill Bristol who had the contract of cutting cords of wood for the steamboat company for a dollar and a quarter per pile. Bristol was born in Syracuse, NY. He worked in the mines in San Francisco in 1849 and came to Hope in 1858. Mr. Starret describes the naming of Catz Landing, Bristol's Landing and a few more places. Bristol used to carry mail from Westminster to Yale in the season when the boats could not run. More stories about Bristol.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0002
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes cattle drives and cattle trains near Hope in the 1890s. He offers anecdotes about William Yates who was a worker for Hudson's Bay Company, the man for which Yates Street in Victoria is named. He describes work at the Whitworth Ranch in the Skagit Valley in 1907, a man named Bob Hume who claimed that he was the first white man born in BC, who also worked there. Hume told Mr. Starret the story of Simon Gun-an-noot, an Indian outlaw who killed two white men in Hazelton, including Alec MacIntosh, in October 1907. Gun-an-noot eventually gave himself up because there were no witnesses. Starret tells stories of the famous packer Cataline, whose real name was Jean Caux, and discusses Cataline's drinking habits. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells a story about Cataline taking the horseshoes off a horse who was carrying eggs, so that the horse's feet would get sore and he would walk lightly, so as not to break any eggs. More anecdotes about Cataline. Steve Tingley was an old timer who owned a ranch and his wife was killed on a horse. Stories about other packers and old timers such as Ned Stout, Bob Steveson, and John Allway who died in September 1908. He discusses W.W. Walkem who wrote about the first Fraser River bars, and mentions a man named Pete Toye. Mr. Starret offers anecdotes about his mother's experience as a school teacher, and a hike with his father to Eureka mine near Silver Creek in 1897.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0003
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret discusses early white settlers in the Babine Lake region. Stories about Walter Williscroft who lived outside Hazelton, and had to turn back along a trail to find his dog. A story about contractor Duncan Ross and his dealings with a Chinese blacksmith. A packing contest which a Mongolian won. A story of the "Bell Mare", an Indian woman who carried a bell and when the bell would ring the horses would think there was another horse up ahead and rush to get there. Mr. Starret offers a detailed description of packing methods. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret discusses early settlers at Hope in 1900: Yates, Alvarez and Wardel. Feed for the horses was the biggest drawback of Hope. The benefits of Hope from a geographical point of view. Hazelton got busy in 1910 because of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Men from Ontario seemed to be best adjusted to life out west. More on Hope. A story of Bill Miner, a famous train robber and a Robin Hood type figure, who was also a prospector. After one train robbery, Bill Miner rode a split-hoofed horse from the scene; the police tracked the horse and caught Miner in 1903. More stories about Miner and his generosity. Mines in the area are overviewed. A description of the survey of Allison Pass in 1906.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0004
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with his story about surveying Allison Pass near Princeton around 1905/1906. He describes the Whitworth Ranch in the Skagit Valley in 1907 at the time of a gold strike. He mentions several prospectors and discusses how Indians burned off the sides of the mountains to create easier passage to Gibson Pass. Whitworth lived in the Skagit Valley from 1903 to 1910. More stories about prospecting for gold around Yale and taking up land and prospecting at Stuart Lake. He describes what kind of man a prospector is: an optimist. The weather around Hope and how it affects the people working. The "Mill Run" around Hope is a ditch which runs at the foot of the mountain for irrigation. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues with more on Hope. He describes the school at Hope with stories about families such as the Bears, how the children dressed, and stories about what the day consisted of. Mr. Starret offers other childhood memories such as milking cows, learning to hunt, sapping trees, a particularly harsh winter, and life in the summer as a child.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0005
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with more stories about growing up in Hope in the 1890s, such as planting potatoes, riding horses, getting water for his mother with his brother Bill, turning hay and swimming. Then he tells a story about going up to the Nicola country to turn hay with his brother when he was twenty-one. He eventually got a job for Harry Gibbs at the Babine Salmon Hatchery in 1911. He tells a story about ordering a pipe to repair a leak and life at the hatchery that summer. Mr. Starret describes how flat boats took supplies all over the province. Mr. Starret tells the Indian (Babine Tribe, Stuart Lake Tribe) story about the legendary figure Astace and the creation of the Skeena River, as it was told to him. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues with his narrative about the origin of the Skeena River. Mr. Starret describes the landscape around Hazelton and the Skeena River. He discusses the differences in how white people and Indians treat their animals, such as pack dogs and horses. He talks about native people greeting Father Nicholas Coccola at Babine, and the schools, people and reserves in the area.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0006 track 1
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret discusses boats: every boy knew how to row; all the fishing boats passing through Hope to get to Westminster; and native people's boats. More on mining in the area and the origins of names of places in the Hope region, with a description of the geography and people. He supposes that Hope was established before Yale and offers an explanation as to why. Soon after Yale became a more significant town. Mr. Starret tells stories of crossing lakes with Indians as guides. [end of 1963 interview]

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0006 track 2
RECORDED: Silver Creek (B.C.), 1964-07-02
SUMMARY: TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells stories about Bill Bristol, a mail carrier from New Westminster to Yale, who employed an Indian crew to work with him. Mr. Starret describes Bristol's physical appearance and the way he acted. Mr. Starret tells a story Bristol told him about Mr. Starret's father as a young prospector who discovered a lead near Hope. More stories about Bristol.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0007
RECORDED: Silver Creek (B.C.), 1964-07-02
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes Bill Bristol's daughter, Maisie, who was sent to a private boarding school in Hope; she later married an old sailor named Bears and had six or seven children, all boys but one. He discusses Bristol's death in early winter 1909/1910. Mr. Starret offers anecdotal material about residents of Hope in the 1890s, such as Mrs. Flood (a school teacher), and physical features of Hope, such as the characteristics of picket fences. Mr. Starret offers further description of the Babine region while he lived there from October 1909: the Hudson's Bay posts and activities such as fur trading, the gold rush on McConnell Creek in 1908, stories of old timers; stories of getting into the area along the Fraser River and Dewdney Trail; more about the geography around Babine; mail carriers and what was involved in such an enterprise, a story about an old time prospector named Jim May who worked on Tom Creek and more old timers. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret talks about trading posts on the Skeena; the Babine Indians and times they had been attacked, raids, and a story an Indian woman told his mother about catching a wolverine. Mr. Starret tells an involved story of a trip he took one spring near Hazelton to locate a homestead, and experiences with Indians, including detailed geography. Then he tells the story of a journey to Round Lake to look at some land for his uncle which was being sold, including characters he met along the way and some geography.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0008
RECORDED: Silver Creek (B.C.), 1964-07-02
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret tells a story about 'Blaze' Rogers who blazed all the roads around Hazelton, and trips around the Babine region in all kinds of weather. Stories about life with his uncle, C.V. Smith, in Hazelton in 1909, including stories his uncle had told him about the Indians at Babine. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0009
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes the landscape and roads around Hope in 1900 by comparing it to what it is like in 1964. In his description, he offers several anecdotes including one about a Chinese man who died, Cariboo Joe Tunnel near Chapman, a dig of ninety feet below water to get to bedrock, men, Bill and Joe Lapworth and the Johnson family, who worked on the railway at Hope Station when he was a child in the 1890s, and stories involving the boat that the Johnson family used to get to school. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues his stories about the boat in which the family thought one of their uncles had died, but he returned. Mr. Starret describes the first roads built in the 1870s at Hope which went around the lake to Chilliwack, and the first settlements he can remember including Jones Hill, and names of local Indian reserves. Mr. Starret tells the story of how Catz Landing got its name by Captain John Irving and the story of Murderer's Bar in 1858. Stories of old timer Manuel Alvarez, who was from Chile and married an Indian woman, and his eldest son Tom Alvarez, and the first mail carriers in the area. The history of mail carrier Bill Bristol including his real first name, events in his life, land given to him as a wood yard, his route from Westminster to Yale until the railway came in 1885.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0010
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: More stories about Bill Bristol and how he used to canoe to Yale before the road was built, and how he disliked paddling downstream. As a testament to Bristol's faithfulness as a mail carrier, he was given a watch with an inscription when he retired. Anecdotes about Steve Tingley who worked for the Barnard Express. Mr. Starret tells a story about the log cabin in the Otter Valley where Ed Tingley (Steve's nephew) lived. Mr. Starret learned to dance there in 1905. More on Bill Bristol and his problems taking a canoe upstream. More stories told to Mr. Starret by Bill Bristol, such as a bear shooting a man in a tree in Tete Jeune Cache during the gold rush. He describes the area where he believes Simon Fraser first landed. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells the story of a Hudson's Bay company worker named Greenwood, the man whom Greenwood Island is named after, and a story of Mr. Yates who was a clerk in the 1880s. Stories of reactions to the first telephone in the area, followed by a description of Mr. Yates and more stories about him. Mr. Starret describes the development of Hope and the migration route. He discusses cattle drives on the Yale road, and the need to burn timber to create land to feed the cattle in the 1860s.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0011
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with more on cattle drives near Hope in the 1890s including how the cowboys dressed. Mr. Starret discusses the layout of Hope from his earliest memories, his family's ranch outside of Hope, old timers, the mill at Hope, and wagons used at the time. He describes the oldest hard rock mine in BC, which is nine miles outside of Hope, mined in the 1860s and called Silver Creek, and the trails nearby. The twenty-mile belt-line from Silver Creek to the railroad was built in 1906 by a man who died on the Titanic. Mr. Starret describes sporting events in the area, such as the horse races on May 24th. He tells a story of how sixteen-year-old Luke Gibson, of the Chilliwack Gibson family, was racing a horse whose leg broke in the race. More stories about race-day and killing a bear in Hope. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells a story about waiting for a steamboat and he mentions several characters in Hope such as Mr. Wardel. More on Murderer's Bar and the river nearby, the Walkum family and their land on Murray Creek; a ditch that collapsed and killed some Indians; Hope Mountain and the surrounding landscape. Mr. Starret offers his first impressions of Silver Creek and stories of how ore was discovered in the 1860s; Hugh Stoker was one of the first investors. A description of the mountains, Silver Peak and Holy Cross, and how they were named. Mr. Starret describes a hike up to the Eureka Mine with his father and his neighbor Fred Bears in August 1897, including details of the supplies they brought with them, plants they encountered such as hemlock bark, the campsite, the trail they traveled, and a stump they encountered which had a mark in it (which was still there when he revisited 50 years later).

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0012
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with his story up to the Eureka Mine with details of the meals they ate, more on the forks and geography of the trail, the cabin at the mine, dynamite and how to light it, spending the night in the cabin, morning at the cabin, the trail to the Victoria mine, Fred slipping on the hard snow, finding crystallized quartz and copper ore, searching out the Eureka tunnel, going home and details about Fred Bears. Mr. Starret discusses other camping trips and other thoughts looking back on the Eureka trip. He discusses how his father spent time looking for an ore vein, and the differences in the smells from a hay field to the timbers of the mountains. Mr. Starret discusses other mountains and roads near the Mr. Starret ranch. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret discusses weather: clouds on the mountains as compared to those in the northern interior, and a story about a dance and a hard snowfall of four feet, eight inches. Mr. Starret tells a story about being afraid of animals at night and details of beds, bedding, night clothes and customs when he was a child. He offers insight into freedoms and restrictions of his life as a child, such as what would be eaten for breakfast and the tap used for water.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0013
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues describing a typical day of what life was like in Hope as a boy in the 1890s: his father would get up and light a fire first thing in the morning and make coffee, shoes they wore as compared to shoes of the 1960s, feeding the chickens and ducks, and breakfast. Mr. Starret digresses and discusses his father's eating customs and his appearance, and Mr. Starret's impressions of his father when he was a child. Mr. Starret then discusses his mother's appearance, and her life as a teacher. Mr. Starret describes what life was like while he lived alone on the ranch with his father while his mother taught in Victoria. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells a story about when he and his brother Will were working on a ranch in September 1909 when his mother asked one of the boys to join her in a trip to Hazelton to stay with her brother. Mr. Starret joined his mother and explains details about the trip and what Hazelton was like in 1909, when he was twenty-one, his uncle's home, stories about what his life was like in the area, and traveling in the winter to establish a ranch.

May A. Fenwick-Wilson interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-11-03 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. May A. Fenwick-Wilson came to Canada in 1910 from Devonshire to join her brother in the Kettle Valley. She and her brother made a living by supplying fruit to British settlers. She describes leisure activities including skating, tobogganing and her brother's polo club, which had its own rules. She tells about the war experiences of British men she knew (e.g., Captain Hessinger), most of whom returned to England to fight in World War 1. She tells stories of people who were in the area in the post-war era, including one about a man whose family was murdered by Indians, and details about a man named Strong. She tells many stories about miners, people in Rock Creek, and a family named Lynch, whom Lynch Creek was named after. She discusses her life back in Devonshire and Ireland. She comments on how much she enjoyed the country in Canada and her experiences with cattle and horses.

TRACK 2: Mrs. Wilson continues about cattle ranching and compliments the marksmanship of various people. She discusses early settlement and how much harder it was for the women than for the men to settle in a new country. She talks about the appeal of the country to the British people, most of whom were retired Army and Navy officers, and how they adapted to rural life. She mentions the Bill Miner train robbery and log drives up the river. She tells about the tragic romance of a; man named Sidley and his wife, about whom she is writing for the BC Historical Society. Mrs. Wilson talks about several places that served as social halls. She tells a story of a man named Larson who was a bartender.

Nicola country

SUMMARY: A cassette copy of the 1967 CBC Radio program "Nicola Country", which includes a discussion of Bill Miner's time in the Kamloops area.;

Philip Luce interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Philip Winter Luce came to Canada in 1900, lived in Winnipeg, and worked as a junior reporter. By 1904, he moved to New Westminster to continue his journalism career. This tape begins with ;Mr. Luce's recollections of the home he shared with five other bachelors in New Westminster in 1910; he talks about their Chinese servant, "One-Two", and various incidents that occurred during their o;ne-year tenancy. Mr. Luce continues with recollections about Bill Miner and various incidents at Haney, Hedley, Kamloops, and Douglas Lake. He relates information about the Ducks train robbery, and ;the subsequent trial and incarceration of Bill Miner at New Westminster. TRACK 2: The interview continues with Mr. Luce recounting incidents surrounding Bill Miner and Shorty Dunn; the New Westminster Penitentiary; and the escape of Miner. Mr. Luce talks about his impressions of New Westminster when he arrived in 1904, including roads; buildings; stores; the real estate boom; Jim Cunningham; Mayo;r Carey; old families; old timers; Pete Biladeau; Joe Armstrong; May Day celebrations; fishermen; the library; CPR trains to Coquitlam; saloons; hotels; Oriental exclusion; horse racing; and George Kennedy.

Reward poster

The item is a reward poster put out by the Provincial and Federal Governments for the capture and arrest of the men who held up the train between Ducks and Kamloops on May 9th, 1906. The men were Bill Miner, William "Shorty" Dunn and Lewis Colquhoun.

Rupert Duck interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-11-01 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Rupert Duck discusses his grandfather's brother, Jacob Duck, who went out to Monte Creek to mine gold in 1862, and bought the deeds to some land; he was the first one in the family to co;me to Canada; Rupert's father came out in 1883; the suspected origins of Monte Creek; more on Jacob Duck, including details on his character and his ranch; other families that came to the area, includ;ing the Harper brothers; his father, who was Albert William Duck, and details about his coming to Canada to work for his cousin; several anecdotes about characters, including one about a remittance ma;n; then evolution of the town at Grand Prairie into Westwold; more on Westwold, including people who lived there; a man named Whittaker who bought most of the land at Westwold around WWI; more characters in the area; details about Bill Miner from his own memory, including his recollections the trial and the holdup. TRACK 2: Mr. Duck continues with more on the arrest of Bill Miner; details on the holdup from two years later near Monte Creek after Miner's jailbreak; what life was like in these days; more on ranches in the area; sections which he has written for ranching books about the area; details about Mr. Bostock; other characters and anecdotes; a woman named Edith Morley.

The grey fox

Feature film. "The year is 1901. Bill Miner, the legendary American stage-coach robber, nicknamed the 'gentleman bandit', has just been released from San Quentin. During his 33-year imprisonment, the 20th century and industrialization have arrived. His trade is now obsolete. Without skills, he eventually moves to the last frontier, the Canadian Northwest. Settling in the Nicola Valley, south of Kamloops, British Columbia, he adopts the identity of George Edwards, rancher. But, inspired one day by a screening of Edwin S. Porter's "The Great Train Robbery" at a local nickelodeon, he adapts his skills to the new era and begins robbing trains." (NLC description)

The grey fox

Feature film. "The year is 1901. Bill Miner, the legendary American stage-coach robber, nicknamed the 'gentleman bandit', has just been released from San Quentin. During his 33-year imprisonment, the 20th century and industrialization have arrived. His trade is now obsolete. Without skills, he eventually moves to the last frontier, the Canadian Northwest. Settling in the Nicola Valley, south of Kamloops, British Columbia, he adopts the identity of George Edwards, rancher. But, inspired one day by a screening of Edwin S. Porter's "The Great Train Robbery" at a local nickelodeon, he adapts his skills to the new era and begins robbing trains." (NLC description)

The Hornby collection : The fellow who looks like me

SUMMARY: "The Hornby Collection" is an anthology of plays, documentaries, interviews and selected fiction for radio -- all written, prepared and produced in British Columbia. A sketch of BC's most enigmatic villain and hero, Bill Miner. Written by Brenda White, it features Robert Clothier and other seven voices.

William Brennan interview

CALL NUMBER: T0667:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-01 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. William Brennan discusses his early years; coming to Kamloops because of lung troubles; Kamloops described; cattle drives to the railroad; joined survey for CNR along the North Thompson; driving logs down river. TRACK 2: Brennan describes cattle drives from Nicola country; cows; horses; Sam Pau, who was an Indian cowboy; an incident with cattle on a bridge; pre-war Englishmen in BC; Fruitlands Company buying up ranches; Roper of Cherry Creek; Bill Miner trial and escape; Bill Miner's life as a prospector and church supporter; and Bill Fortune's comments.

CALL NUMBER: T0667:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-01 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Brennan continues with anecdotes about Bill Fortune and his wife; Bill Miner stories; Haney brothers train robbery; remittance men in Kamloops; Rideau school at Musian Flats; Father Morice and Father Le Jeune, who gave Indian names to CPR stations. TRACK 2: Talented priests; Indian quest in Red River rebellion; passion play; Indians then and now; Father Le Jeune's Chinook newspaper;, "Kamloops Wawa"; the Indian schools then and now; more on Bill Fortune and ranches.

Witness statements from CPR train robbery

  • GR-4041
  • Series
  • 1909

This series consists of multiple copies of transcripts of statements regarding the events of at CPR holdup and attempted robbery on 21 June 1909. There are three statements from different CPR employees recalling the details of the event which occurred outside Kamloops at Ducks. The holdup may be attributed to Bill Miner. The three employees are Mathew Fulton Crawford, Engineer; Harry Carpenter, Fireman; and Charles Lawrence, Car Repairer.

British Columbia. Provincial Police Force