As "Black Harris" rounded the corner by Theater Royal at as full gallop, 'Raven' spotted the crowd and came to a grinding halt. A lesser horseman would have bitten the dust, but Tim Cushman, playing the role of "Black Harris", the most famous outlaw in the Cariboo, had a serious mission and was not about to let a little stage fright stand between his temperamental horse and the payroll that had just blown into town on the B-X Stage.

On Labour Day weekend....1988, thirty invited guests (relatives of the original cast) and approximately 500 unsuspecting tourists were about to be treated to a new page of Barkerville History.....the re-enactment of "The Great Barkerville Stage Coach Hold-up" of 1938.

In fact....50 years ago (to the hour) a few members of todays cast were playing the same roles. "Goldpan" Bill Ward was the Master of Ceremonies for the Labour Day celebrations while Judge 'Hub' King, Q.C. served as the only lawyer in the community of Barkerville in the 1930’s....by sentencing the nefarious "Black Harris" after his timely capture.

It all began in the mid-1930's when a group of 'winter bound' townsfolk decided to form the B.R.A. otherwise known as the Barkerville Recreation Association. Hubert 'Hub' King, was a young lawyer at the time was quite active in the community. He and a few others decided that Barkerville needed a little culture and set about the task of generating community spirit. During the snowbound months, they put on plays at Theater Royale, organized dances and generally made Barkerville and interesting place to be 'stranded' for the winter.

To quote 'Goldpan' Bill Ward, who was a resident during the Dirty Thirties Barkerville is one of those few places in the world "at the end of the road". Nestled in the mountains sixty miles east of Quesnel, the town of Barkerville was indeed at the end of the road!

When jobless men were riding the rails or standing in soup lines during the Great Depression, one could at least wrestle a little wealth from Mother Earth with a pick and a goldpan in the Cariboo. My father, Alex McLeod was one of these men. Although lured to Barkerville by tales of the illusive yellow metal, he soon found that prospecting was the stuff of solitary men. He was too much a social animal to be moiling on the creeks.

In those days, according to Ward, "....you were either a Campbell man or a McKinnon man"...a delineation created by the two general stores in Barkerville. When a new prospector arrived with visions of nuggets the size of golf balls and a fortune waiting to be scooped up from one of the creeks in the area, his first stop was the General Store. Few of these adventurers had the funds to secure the necessary provisions, but this was in the day of sterling integrity...when a man's word was his bond. Ken Campbell and competitor Lottie McKinnon were keen judges of character. More often than not, they would 'Grubstake' the prospector until he could tuck enough into a poke to clear the bill. Until this debt could be repaid, his soul was indentured to the general store.

In 1955, Barkerville was designated a Provincial Park. The stores are located directly across the street from one and other under the designations of Kelly's General Store and Mason & Daly's. These names relate to the 1870's when Barkerville was the largest city west of Chicago and north of San Francisco.
Enough gold was gleaned from the creeks...that the resulting taxes collected would pay for the construction of Victoria's' magnificent parliament buildings....but that's another story altogether!

Bill Ward, an employee of Campbell's store, resided in a room above the facility. Above and behind the McKinnon store was a bunkroom affectionately referred to as the 'Ram's Pasture'. Alex McLeod, Bill and Walter Kelly (Lottie's sons from a previous marriage) and Howard Harris all drove for McKinnon and called it home.

During the summer months, these dashing young adventurers would ply the trail between Barkerville and Quesnel hauling freight into the supply hub of this booming mining center. In the winter months, when Devils Canyon was snowed in and the route to Quesnel closed, the boys would load up the cat trains (known as Barkerville Choo-choo's) and haul the stockpiled supplies out across the Snowshoe Plateau to the Cariboo Hudson, Antler Creek and various other mines in the area. Little was thought of a two day trip in -40 below weather to deliver foodstuffs, lumber, electrical supplies and the odd passenger who would be bundled up in bearskin robes and perched atop the load.

Barkerville spawned characters like the Lucky Swede, Roughouse Red MacLean, "L.C." McCarthy, Bob Calder (known affectionately as the Mayor of Whiskey Flats), Jimmy Gibson (the town drunk) and, of course, Cold Ass Marie (the proprietress of the local 'Sporting House').

When Alex's younger brother Don arrived in Barkerville in 1938, it was explained that there were three places in town where a man couldn't buy a drink; St. Saviors Anglican Church, the Jail or the Gold Commissioner's office. Jack Stead ran the 'Good Eat's Cafe'......a restaurant on the front...and a bootlegging operation in the back (separated by a mere curtain).

The long arm of the law was ably represented by the B.C. Provincial Police under the direction of Reg Welsman and later by Alex Duncan and Archie McGillivray (who eventually ran away with and married Marie Roth....alias Cold Ass Marie).

Now that I have provided a bit of background, let's get on with the Great Barkerville Stage Coach Hold-up.

Labour Day was always a big day Barkervillians. The beginning of the end of the mining season, kids going back to school, new people arriving and the less hardy summer folks heading back to warmer climates or back to school somewhere 'outside'. The town of Wells (5 miles west of Barkerville) had just been born, a company town for the Cariboo Gold Quartz Company.
There were pie eating and gold panning contests, a greased pig chase, the pole climb (in pursuit of a bottle of good Scotch) and a number of other activities to make Labour Day a festive occasion.

In that they were promoting the 'Spirit of '69' and Barkerville's heyday, why not stage a mock hold-up? Back in the old days...the Barnard Express (known as the B-X Stage Line) ran the longest route in North America from Yale to Barkerville hauling passengers into and gold out of the Cariboo.

As fortune would have it, Howard Harris owned a horse...and was knowledgeable in equine ways. Jack Stead knew a bit about law (having spent several years bootlegging) was to play the role of Sheriff and took young Alex McLeod under his wing to serve as Deputy. Bill Ward, a delightful Welshman with the 'Gift of Gab' would serve as Master of Ceremonies. Hub King, would serve as magistrate for the event.

Alex McLeod, Bill Kelly and Charlie Reiver managed to unearth enough parts from Malcolm McKinnon's supply shed to create a replica B-X stage.
The stage was set. Labour Day, dawned a bright sunny day for the festivities. All was ready for the the Great Barkerville Stage Coach Hold-up of 1937. At 2:00 pm, the B-X stage rolled up in front of the Post Office. In a flurry of activity, the nefarious "Black Harris" appeared on the scene wielding a 45 Colt and demanding the mine payroll from Bill Kelly, the stage driver. Kelly handed over the satchel and Harris made good his escape...at full gallop down the main street and around the corner by St. Saviors church.....Sheriff Stead and Deputy McLeod in hot pursuit.

Within moments, the lawmen arrived back in town with Harris in tow. A quick trial was held and the outlaw sentenced to hang.

Deputy McLeod fashioned a hangin' rope and suspended it from the Esso sign in front of Campbell's store. The noose was placed around Harris's neck and the knot tightened. In the flurry of activity, McLeod inadvertently pulled the noose too tight....but the only one who noticed it was Howard Harris who was now helplessly dangling from the end of the rope with just he toes touching the ground....trying desperately to get someone's attention.

Next event was the gold panning contest. The crowd, thinking that Black Harris had been brought to justice, began to move down the street to the next venue. It was a member of the local constabulary who noticed that Harris's face was changing from it's normal colour to a brilliant shade of blue. Set in manacles, there was little he could do to help himself.

Constable Alex Duncan of the B.C.P.P. picked up on the problem and cut the noose from Howard Harris's neck allowing McLeod an opportunity to make good his escape while Harris was given a few minuted to 'cool' off.
It was decided at the next meeting of the B.R.A. that this hanging business was a little too risky. If they were going to restage the event in 1938, it would have to be done without a hanging!

Another year passed, Wells was beginning to boom. There was word about the possibilities of a war in Europe....but that was a world apart.
Labour Day 1938 was drawing near. I new plan of action was devised that would minimize the possibility of disaster. This year, "Black Harris" would engineer an escape plan.

In 1937, a young lady from Quesnel entered and won the annual street race on a beautiful black thoroughbred horse. She insisted that Harris's pinto just didn't strike enough of a sinister image...and that he should use her horse instead. With some degree of reluctance Howard agreed to ride the big black horse.

Jack Stead passed the Sheriff's job over to Alex McLeod who in turn selected a deputy...apparently a trick roper who hailed from Calgary. Bill Ward was again the M.C. and Hub King would serve as the Magistrate. With a little coercion, Bill Kelly would again drive the stagecoach....with some apprehension as the gunshots from the 1937 event tangled his 4 horse team almost resulting in a serious accident.

This time, all foreseeable wrinkles were ironed out well in advance, or so it was thought. At 2:00 pm, just as the B-X stage rolled up in front of the post office, Harris was given the signal. He was to bound onto the scene from between two buildings. Approaching the point of entry (at a full gallop), he was shocked to see a car parked right across the entryway. In the spirit of the moment, he spurred the horse and cleared the obstacle. A perfect jump...with all the aplomb of Tom Mix in a Hollywood western.

With his six gun drawn, he fired a few rounds in the air just for effect and held up the stage. What he didn't know was that someone had put a weight into the mail bag. Now he had a gun, an overweight mailbag and the reins of the horse with which to contend. He immediately put the reins in his mouth and spurred the horse in the direction of St. Saviors Church. What an exit!

In that this was the horses first shot at acting, he just wasn't sure when the show was over. As soon as Harris was out of sight of the crowd, he attempted to rein the horse to a halt. No deal. With the disposition of a true thoroughbred, this animal had taken flight and wasn't about to take any orders. Finally, about a mile out of town, the horse was ready to stop but now Harris had his dander up...and was going to show the horse a thing or two.

About three miles later, Harris was on the back of a tired but obedient horse.
In the meanwhile, Sheriff McLeod and the Deputy were desperately searching for Harris who was supposed to have waited at a predesignated spot for his untimely capture. Once Harris returned, the program was back on track. Under arrest, Harris, McLeod and the Deputy rode up main street amid the crowd for the trial. Someone on a roof top got a great photo which has appeared in many books and publications.

Everything was going according to plan. The judge (Hub King) went into a harangue about the evils of a criminal career and sentenced the culprit to hang. Long about that time, an accomplice was to surface....hold the crowd at bay and toss "Black Harris" a rifle with which to make is 'get-away'. Sure enough the accomplice tossed Harris the gun....but somewhere between there and his horse, the outlaw encountered another wild card!

A drunk meandered out of the crowd. Unaware of what was in progress, he decided to save the day and capture this outlaw singlehanded. He wrestled our beloved outlaw to the ground and locked a scissor-hold on Harris's leg. In the heat of battle, Harris managed to complicate things even a little further by getting the rowel on his spur caught in the man's pant leg. B.C.P.P. again to the rescue......Constables Alex Duncan and Archie McGillivray extricated the drunk and hauled him off to jail amid screams of injustice. "Black Harris" was then finally able to make good his escape and swore that this was his last performance as the infamous villain of the Cariboo.

Stay tuned for the next stirring chapter...50 years to the hour...in 1988...the Great Barkerville Hold-up was re-inacted by two of the original players and a few descendents from the original cast!

To view more pictures from the 1930's, visit the gallery by clicking here.