Videos Galore!

"Keep in mind I am a amateur film maker this was my first video ever," writes gold hunter and adventurer Daryl Friesen inviting to watch his videos on YouTube. Looking at these videos and those of Evan H's I am always glad that it is not me who has to crawl into black holes, get wet and cold and out of breath climbing yonder hills, and stumble around in wilderness around us to find my treasures. Libraries, archives and the Internet are more my hunting grounds. Please do go and have a look. 

Digging for Gold in British Columbia

The Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Part I

The Lost Mines of Pitt Lake Part II

The Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Part III

Terrarosa Hike 2009

With his friends Kevin and Adam, fellow British Columbian Evan H. (who lives and works in of Sydney, Australia) made a trek into the Terrarosa area. Evan was the chief prospector and satellite navigator, Kevin the driver and the head of jokes and Adam was responsible for the production of a video record and  bear protection. Evan H, is one of the most faithful visitors to this blog and the Slumach Web site. Click here to admire their adventures.

Audio/Visual on the BC Prospector site

Rob (R.W.) Nicholson has posted "Curse of the Indian Gold" (Mineworks Film) and some excerpts of his conversations with Stu Brown on a new page "Audio/Visual" on his new BC Prospector site. Click here.

The B.C. Prospector Magazine keeps coming and coming!

Ever since October Rob Nicholson is producing new issues of his fascinating B.C. Prospector Magazine. The December issue (No. 3) is just out and it is as an interesting read as the previous issues. I have found a place for his publications in the right-hand column of this blog. Just click on the issues to download. Issue No. 1 is free and the following issues are just US$3.25 a copy! Image credit

Saga Magazine, August 1973 Curse of Slumach's Gold Canyon

On my wish list for quite some time was the August 1973 issue of Saga Magazine, True Adventures for Men. Recently I did get hold of a copy of this manly magazine. Here is the cover and I thought you'd like to see the back page as well. The Slumach article, written by a Robert A. Davidson (about whom I know nothing yet) is posted on the Slumach Web site. Click here.
Click on the pictures to get a better look at the cover.

Sheridan Hill

The Pitt River Quarries gravel mine in the Pitt Polder hopes to expand its operation further into the rock face of Sheridan Hill allowing Lafarge Canada Inc. to continue mining at the site for another 10 to 15 years. The City of Pitt Meadows will be telling the province it doesn’t support the expansion. Sheridan Hill is one of several locations purported to be the site of Slumach’s lost gold mine. This from articles in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News from October 27 and October 29.

Slumach and Timbuktu at Coles in Seven Oaks

On Saturday December 12, between 1:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon, Brian and Rick Antonson will be on hand at Coles in Seven Oaks Shopping Centre in Abbotsford for a signing of their best seller Slumach's Gold, in Search of a Legend and Rick's fabulous To Timbuktu for a Haircut.

Bullshit or Fact?? Have you heard of this?

Mr. Bill Payne of Ontario sent the following e-mail:

I just checked out your web site, very interesting. I was just in BC on assignment fighting some of the wildfires around the Garibaldi Park/Pitt Lake area when I was told of this legend by a local helicopter pilot. I spent about 10 days with this pilot and we flew a few of the drainages that flow into Pitt Lake, very beautiful, rugged and impressive. My pilot was very familiar with the area as he mentioned that a few years ago he had been hired by an American to investigate the area in search for the illusive mine. It seems that the wealthy american had spent a great deal of time investigating all of the publishings, stories, etc... that pertained to this story. They spent about 4 weeks in the area searching all of the topographical features that he figured were clues and hints imbedded in some of the older stories he had dug up.After the 4 weeks he was empty handed but felt he was close to the secret mine.

The pilot I was with also made mention of a mini excavator that was slung into the area many years ago by a helicopter. The man in charge was also searching for the mine. My pilot did mention that they had found mounds of earth that they believed had been the work of the excavator.

Bullshit or Fact?? Have you heard of this?

The pilot was probably Paul Copeland of Blackcomb Aviation (see image)

In 1977, N.L (Bill Barlee) published a facsimile of a transcript of part of the “Jackson” letter. (click image to see the full page).

I've tried to find out where the original "authenticated oldest" copy of the “Jackson letter” from which this transcript was made would be today. An unexpected answer came from the transcript of a recorded telephone conversation between Barlee and Daryl Friesen quoted as follows in Friesen's Spindle Quest

-- Well the reason I am calling you is because you were the first person to ever publish a story which contained the Jackson letter. I was kind of wondering where you got it from.
-- Volcanic Brown gave it to my father.
-- Really, the old prospector who died on Stave Glacier?
-- That’s right, my father showed it to me when I was 20 and I made a copy.
-- Where is the letter now?
-- My father sold it to a collector, some rich American I believe.

That is a surprising answer from a collector of everything to do with the past. I am inclined to read in this that there never was a “Jackson letter” attributed to Volcanic Brown in the Barlee household or that an anonymous "rich American" to buy that letter ever existed.

Spindle Quest

Daryl Friesen's well-known e-book Seekers of Gold was recently recasted under the title Spindle Quest. This new incarnation focuses on the adventures of Friesen and his daredevil friends, chasing for Lost Creek gold. Some interesting new material has been added.

As the authors of Lost Creek Mine (Rob Nicholson) and Forbidden Treasures (Mike Boileau) did before him, Friesen agreed to make Spindle Quest available in its entirety on the slumach Web site.

Click here to find the digital versions of these three interesting books.

Mr. Cooke's letter

A few months ago an octogenarian friend gave me a copy of two pages of a letter. One page is shown here (click to enlarge). I understand from my friend that a Mr. Cooke in Kimberley placed ads in the newspapers looking for people interested in Pitt Lake's Lost Creek Mine and apparently sold these pages to interested parties.

Daryl Friesen has another version with practically the same text but with a few more map details on it. Click here to have a look.

I wonder if anyone can tell more about Mr. Cooke and this letter.

Website Award

At the annual conference of the British Columbia Historical Society in Nelson (May 14-16) Greg Nesteroff presented a Website Award to Fred Braches's standin, Brenda Smith. Photo by Alistair Fraser

Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Society meets at Katzie

On this sunny day Cyril Pierre and his relatives and friends at Katzie hosted fellow members of the legendary Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Society. A great feast was offered with freshly caught salmon and bannock as main dishes. A warm thank you goes to all our hosts and the expert cooks!

It was a great day to renew our friendship and continue our discussions that started in January. We learned about efforts made in the Katzie community to commemorate Slumach freed from the legends that obscure his real self. A monument is planned at Katzie for this much maligned man and research is done how otherwise to right the wrongs done to this victim of the early colonial laws and legal system.

The photograph shows us in front of the Swan-e-set Longhouse. Klick on the image for an enlargement. Click here for more photos.

Slumach Web site wins award!

This just in:

Dear Fred Braches:
As chair of the BCHF website prize committee, I am pleased to let you know that the committee has chosen Slumach as the 2008 winner of the federation's website prize.
Congratulations!
The committee was very impressed with the site's careful design and impressive research. Well done.
The prize will be presented at the upcoming federation convention in Nelson in May. An officer of the federation will contact you about the details of the prize and when it will be presented.
Sincerely,
Duff Sutherland
Chair, BCHF Website Prize Committee

This award is sponsored yearly "to recognize web sites that contribute to the understanding and appreciation of British Columbia's past" by The British Columbia Historical Federation and David Mattison, creator of The British Columbia History Internet/Web Site, and its succesor the British Columbia History Portal .

Judge Montague William Tyrwhitt Drake

Just noticed that in 1879, Judge Tyrwhitt Drake was one of the owners of the Moodyville Sawmill Company. Aside from being a barrister and judge of the Supreme Court of B.C. Montague William Tyrwhitt Drake was also a mayor of the City of Victoria (1876-1877)

Is THIS Slumach's mine?

Don Waite recently confided to me that on a hunch as a result of his 1974 interview with Aunt Mandy Charnley, he and his two sons had checked out a bench-shaped outcropping just above the hot springs at Second Canyon gorge on the Upper Pitt River. Sure enough, the site had quartz that was extremely rich in gold. It took the three a couple of days to hack out chunks of the gold-bearing rock, including the specimen he shows here. The trio managed to sell everything through a dealer in Vancouver just after Christmas of last year.

Unbelievable!

Slumach's Gold is on the brink of crossing the 7,000 copy sales mark this spring, a nice slice into Heritage House's recent THIRD printing of this BC Classic...

R.W. Nicholson's Lost Creek Mine

It's with great pleasure that I accepted Rob Nicholson's invitation to make text and illustrations of Lost Creek Mine available at no cost to readers and researchers. Click here to access the page on the Slumach Web site.

The book itself remains for sale in a downloadable and a printed format at R.W. Nicholson's Lulu Storefront

New Canadian Television Series

From Danny Sayson, a former students of Brian Antonson at BCIT and now a TV producer, the following:

I thought I'd let you know that the TV series I produced called, WEST COAST ADVENTURES got picked up by PBS and it is set to premiere this Wednesday the 25th at the terrific time slot of 7:30 PM with a repeat on Sundays at 6:30 PM. This show is one of the very few Canadian Productions that have been given a prime time slot on PBS.

Interestingly, one of the segments in our premiere episode is on canoeing at Widgeon Creek. Of course we mentioned about the legend of Slumach's Gold. I know you recently wrote about this in your book.

Check out the website below to watch a short exciting preview of the show. http://www.westcoastadventurestv.com/ The show can be seen on PBS stations across the Pacific Northwest and Alberta. In Vancouver, it is airing on KCTS 9 (Channel 27 for Shaw Cable and Novus Cable subscribers, Channel 23 for Telus subscribers).

First broadcast of each episode - Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. (beginning March 25, 2009)
Repeat broadcast of each episode - Sundays at 6:30 p.m. (beginning March 29, 2009)

After the each episode airs on PBS, the videos will be available online on this web site: http://www.westcoastadventurestv.com/

Slumach and the law

Professor Hamar Foster teaches Legal Process, Property, Criminal Law, the Law of Evidence, Legal History and Aboriginal Law at the University of Victoria.
He kindly provided an answer to the questions in the blog entry of 15 February: “If Canada's first criminal code came into force in 1892, under what code was Slumach tried and convicted. Was the death by hanging the penalty for all culpable homicide without distinction? Was there an equivalent to "manslaughter?”

The short answer to your question is that between 1849 and 1871 English criminal law, as modified by the colonial legislature and by local circumstances, applied in the colony of BC. Between 1871 and 1892 English criminal law continued to apply in BC, but as modified by dominion (federal) criminal legislation (some of which was not made to apply to BC until after 1871). This means that someone charged with (for example) murder in BC between 1871 and 1892 would be charged under dominion legislation if there was any, or charged with the common law crime of murder if there was not.
I would have to check for the precise time period, but generally in those days there was simply murder and manslaughter. Murder carried a mandatory death penalty, manslaughter did not. The accused could not give sworn testimony until 1892. And until the 1930s, once the crown had shown the deceased died as a result of an act of the accused, the burden shifted to the accused to show, on a balance of probabilities, that the killing was not intentional or that he had some other affirmative defence.

I am bound to say…

Shumah, the jury have found you guilty of the wilful murder of Louis Bee I am bound [?] to say. I therefore pronounced sentence of death to take place on 16 January next." [Judge Drake's Bench Book, 15 November 1890]

Hamar Foster, Professor of Law at the University of Victoria advised:

If Slumach was charged with murder and convicted, the judge had no option other than to impose the death penalty. This is something many people do not understand.
For example, although I have often heard Begbie described as a “hanging judge,” that is accurate only in the colloquial sense, i.e., that he was impatient with lenient juries or juries he felt were not doing their duty (and even then some of his irritation was for show).
What I mean is that Begbie did not arrest the accused, lay the charges, prosecute the case or even convict the accused (the jury did that). And in a murder case he had no choice but to sentence a convicted murderer to death. His only role in sentencing was confined to recommending to the executive that the death penalty be commuted or that the law “be allowed to take its course.”
And Begbie recommended commutation in many cases, especially those involving aboriginal prisoners. The most notorious exception was in 1864, when he decided not to recommend clemency for the Tsilhqot'in chiefs who were tried and convicted for their role in the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) war of earlier that year. But this was a highly political case, and it seems likely that any recommendation for clemency would have been ignored.

In Slumach’s case there is no evidence that Judge Drake made a recommendation for leniency.

The Good Life with Jesse Dylan

Yesterday Jesse Dylan, host of the online show "The Good Life". interviewed Brian Antonson about Slumach's Gold. If you want to listen: click here. and look for "Your files" where you'll find the file to open.

Dr. Richard E. Walker

Dr. Walker, who did the post mortem on Louie Bee in 1890, became Grand Master for the Province of BC (1899-1900). Donald Waite provided the photograph from that period.
From the British Columbia Medical Association Archives comes the following biography.

Dr. Richard E. Walker was born in Orillia, Ontario on December 26, 1864. He studied at Trinity College, Port Hope, Ontario, prior to attending Trinity Medical College in Toronto, from which he graduated in 1888. After two years of post-graduate work at the Universities of Edinburgh and London, he received an LRCP&S from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons at Edinburgh. He arrived in New Westminster in 1890 and entered private practice, initially in partnership with Dr. C.J. Fagan. Dr. Walker was elected twice as president of the BCMA, in 1901 and 1922. He was a member of the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, serving as president of that body in 1903, 1907, and in 1911. He also served on BC's first Board of Health and was representative for BC on the Medical Council of the Dominion of Canada, being elected president of that body in 1920. Dr. Walker served as a director for several companies in BC, was a member of the Senate of the University of British Columbia, and was a prominent Mason, serving as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia. He died in New Westminster on August 27, 1923.

On 28 December 1893 Richard Eden Walker married Helen Mathilde Homer.

Canada's first Criminal Code: 1892

If Canada's first criminal code came into force in 1892, under what code was Slumach tried and convicted. Was the death by hanging the penalty for all culpable homicide without distinction? Was there an equivalent to "manslaughter"?

Duhaime.org

When the Provinces of Canada were confederated in 1867, the first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald was adamant that Canada would not suffer the disparate criminal law system inherited from England for long (at that time, each province had its own criminal law). Macdonald believed strongly in the need for a single, uniform regime of criminal law for the entire country. In fact, the Canadian constitution which he helped write, gave the federal government the explicit authority to codify the criminal law. An initial set of nine statutes was passed by the federal House of Commons in 1869 to at least consolidate the law for coinage offences, forgery, offences against the person, larceny, malicious injuries to property, perjury and procedure.

A complete Criminal Code was finally achieved in July, 1892, under the leadership of the Minister of Justice and soon-to-be prime minister Sir John Thompson. This was a major event in Canadian legal history. "Just think of it," wrote one judge to Prime Minister Thompson, "Canada in the van! The first to enact a complete codification. It is far and away the best measure of the kind ever submitted to any legislature."

Congratulations to David Webb for "Slumach's Gold"

PRAXIS, SFU's Centre for Screenwriters shows as one of the "Current Winners" of the 2009 Screenwriting Competition the feature-length screenplay "Slumach's Gold" by David Webb. To read a brief outline of the screenplay and a biography click here.
David writes on his blog: "Hundreds of writers enter this competition, and winners have gone on to see their works produced for film and television. I will be heading to Vancouver from March 3 to 6 to workshop the screenplay with an industry expert and speak to a producer."
Go here for David's Webb site

The Peak

In the latest issue of The Peak, SFU's independent newspaper Vol. 131, Issue 5, of 2 February 2009, is a review by Gordon J. Stewart of Slumach's Gold. Click here for the link. If it seems familiar, the same review appeared in The Peak of 31 March 2008

Liquor rather than gold?

A year ago I found out that Seymour was involved in the illegal trade of liquor with the "Indians" and that he was sentenced for that to six month hard labour in 1882. Click here for that story.
I suspected something similar about Bee, who was known to police in New Westminster. He was indeed in the same business as his friend Seymour. Following from The Daily Colonist of 10 June 1887--

Louis Bee, a half breed, was arrested some days ago for supplying liquor to Indians, and was this morning sentenced by the police magistrate to six months imprisonment with hard labour.

And these two rehabilitated convicts were camping right in the middle of Pitt Meadows with no other purpose than fishing sturgeon. Do you believe that?

Daryl's Playground

Daryl Friesen drew this map five years ago when he was "bored of work." Said Daryl: "The map shows some little-known locations such as the Shaman Cave up near Vickers Creek as well as the lost placer near Clearwater Creek, a treasure on its own, covered by Charles Miller in The Golden Mountains." Click on the picture for an enlargement.

B25 bomber at Spindle Canyon

Daryl Friesen acquired this Historical Record of the RCAF Station Saskatoon" for the period 1 December 1952 to 30 May 1953. He thought that, even if it is not related directly to Pitt Lake gold, it may still be interesting for some of us, and I agree.

The report mentions loss of the loss on 29 January 1953 of the then still missing aircraft. Click on the image for an enlargement.

Mike Boileau's report shows photographs of the wreckage.

Pitt Lake may be the next of the great gold fields

Victoria’s Colonist, made available in digital form by UVIC, provides a digest of news from the mainland. Under the above heading, the Colonist of 8 November 1903 reports that Mr. George Moody of New Westminster, described as “…a very trustworthy man, of Indian extraction, but possessed of no wealth in money or chattels,” came back to from Pitt Lake with a “vegetable can full of gold dust” worth $1,200. Secretive about the location of his find he was trying to organize an expedition to return to the find. It is probable, says the dispatch, “…that the next stampede will be to the Pitt Lake district.”

Nothing of that kind happened but the sequel is the archetype of the "Jackson" story in the Colonist of 19 December 1905 telling that “three years ago” an Indian came into New Westminster no less than three times and exchanged gold from Pitt Lake placers for money. This man died from the exposure to the rough elements, but before he died he drew a map for a relative, who, joined by a white man, couldn’t find the placers, whereupon the secret, “no longer of the same value," was "...told to several but without avail.” Two search parties for the "lost placers" were arranged for 1906.

Is it not interesing to find George Moody, the witness in the Slumach trial, at bottom of this story? Nothing about this found in the New Westminster Columbian.

William Moresby

British Colonist 17 November 1896

On Sunday morning [15 November] Mr. William Moresby, warden of the penitentiary, died after an illness of five days, aged 49 years, of inflammation of the lung. He came to British Columbia by sailing vessel from England in 1861, and joined his father, who was then practicing law in Victoria. In 1863 he went to Cariboo gold hunting. but returned to the Coast and entered the provincial police in 1868 at New Westminster. he continued in this service for twenty-seven years, before being appointed governor of the Westminster jail in 1877, and warden of the penitentiary in June 1895. He leaves a widow and two children. The funeral will take place tomorrow.

Did not survive Slumach by many years. Note his five-year Cariboo gold hunting background. If there was any connection between Slumach and gold Moresby would have known.

Census of Canada 1891: Moresby, William and Mary A. , both born in England of parents born in England. Son William C.[Charles], 14years,and daughter Marguerite N. [Noel], 2 years, both born in BC.

The Road to Stu Brown's Gold?

In April of 1986, Stu Brown disclosed in a private conversation with Don Waite the location of his fabulous gold discovery. It is not certain if Stu Brown really gave his secret away, but it seemed plausible enough for Don to sketch the above map from memory immediately after the conversation, just to make sure that he wouldn't forget what Stu Brown had told him.

The map shows the location of a "deep sink hole" that "has gold," two-and-a-half hours walking from the Terrarosa Glacier. The sink hole. according to what Don was told, is visible from the air (yellow in colour). He was also told that going up Sloquet Creek is just too hard. There are reports that the location is covered under some 25 feet of snow most of the year. Late July or early August offer the best chances.

Warning: From everything anybody's ever said, it's pretty dangerous country out there even for experienced hikers and climbers.

Click here and look for "Stu Brown's correspondence" to read his letters about this find. A copy of Don Waite's sketch map and notes are also there.

Moody and Florence Reed

On November 14, 1890, the defence applied for postponement of Slumach's trial until the next assizes on grounds of the absence of "Moody, an Indian" and Florence Reed, two "necessary and material witnesses."

The judge did not object, but the governor of the jail, William Moresby, who had led a fruitless hunt for Slumach at Stave Lake, was not agreeable and promised that he could produce the missing witnesses.

The two witnesses were present when the trial resumed the following day, but they were not called to the stand. Why not? Nothing they said could have saved Slumach from the gallows. Canadian Law dictated that death by hanging was the punishment for all murders, even if the murder was in self defence.

What was behind this "absence" of the witnesses? By rescheduling the trial to the spring assizes, the defence hoped to avoid an undignified death at the gallows. The expectation was that the elderly Slumach would die in prison “from natural causes” before the spring.

Slumach Baptism and Interment Records

Courtesy Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. Click on image for enlargement.

A Long Time Coming

"This has been a long time coming," said Cyril Pierre as we walked up the slope at St. Peter's Cemetery in Sapperton. Finding Slumach's grave has been one of his lifetime goals. With the visit to the grave the process of returning Slumach to the fold of his family and the Katzie has started.

Photo: Saturday, 17 January 2008. Garnet, Willie and Cyril Pierre at Slumach's grave. Click on photo to enlarge.

Remembering Slumach

Brian Antonson writes:
At 8:00 a.m., 118 years ago today, January 16 1891, a man recently named "Peter" Slumach died "at the wrong end of a 5-strand rope", hanged in New Westminster's Provincial Gaol (jail), as a capital punishment for the murder of Louis Bee the previous September. He had been known variously as "Slummock", "Slumah", and "Slumach". An hour before he died, he was baptized in the Roman Catholic faith, and given the Christian name "Peter".

118 years later, his name lives on, forever entwined with legends of lost gold somewhere in the vastness surrounding Pitt Lake, "Slumach's Gold".

He's been a huge part of MY life over the past half-century...and OUR lives, as a result of our various connections.

This morning, Fred and Helmi Braches and I visited his unmarked grave in New Westminster's St. Peter's Cemetery, laid cedar sprigs atop the white blanket of snow that covers it just now, and recognized in our own way his passing. The mists of a foggy January morning hung about the place, the frigid air enveloped us, and we had "a moment" with the spirit of a man with whom OUR lives have become entwined.

Tomorrow, Fred and Helmi will return to the site with members of the Katzie Nation, of whom Slumach was one.

I'm sharing a picture of the site as it was earlier today.

Second Meeting of the Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Society

From left, standing: Don Waite, Willie Pierre, Greg Henderson, Mike Boileau, Daryl Friesen, Fred Braches and Brian Antonson. From left, sitting: Cyril Pierre, Stuart Pierre and his wife Alida, and Rick Antonson. Off-camera: Tina Waite and Helmi Braches (who took the photo).  

More than 20 years ago Don Waite called the Society's first meeting. This second meeting called by Don was held on Thursday January 8th at the Braches home in Whonnock. The meeting was enriched in particular by the presence of members of the Pierre family, relatives of Slumach, who gave depth and meaning to what was said and thought.

In the photo Brian Antonson is holding a copy of a calendar produced to commemorate the occasion. Click here to look at or download the calendar. For printed copies e-mail: webmaster@whonnock.ca.

Stu Brown's Letters

Stewart Brown's letters are well-known from Rob Nicholson's Web site and publications. Don Waite's collection, recently rediscovered, included a full set of copies of Stu Brown's letters written to the government--copies he received from Stu Brown--and correspondence with Don Waite himself. Don Waite agreed with the posting of the letters on the Slumach Web site and, when asked, Rob Nicholson kindly agreed to go ahead.
The letters are in three different pdf files. Click on the name of the group to open the corresponding pdf file.

(1) Authorities August 1974 - September 1975
(2) Authorities: August 1978 - September 1980
(3) Correspondence with Don Waite

Garibaldi Trip August 1940

Click here to read or download a fascinating story told by Arthur Wellesley ("Dick") Carter published here with kind permission of his son Jim Carter.

Mike Boileau's Quest for Gold

"Forbidden Treasure: One Man’s Quest for Slumach’s Lost Gold Mine of Pitt Lake" by Mike Boileau is now on the Web as well. Click here to read or download his fascinating stories looking--and finding--gold in the Lost-Creek Valley.

Jackson's Letters

The text of A.W. (Dick) Carter's 1940s transcript of the Jackson letter, the only complete text that seems to have survived,is now posted on the Web site.
Click here to read only the text
Click here to read my commentary and the text.

Peter Slumach (continued)

Click here for the last entry on this subject. The archivist of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver will be back to work next week. She promised a transcript of the baptism register of Slumach that should confirm that he was given the first name Peter. In anticipation of a message from the archivist, Archie Miller surprised me a few hours ago with the following transcript in his collection of that entry "from research done some time ago in Catholic records"

Baptism, January 16, 1891, Petrum (Slumach Indian), In gaol immediately before execution, New Westminster Catesy Indian, W.M J Morgan O M I

This confirms that Slumach was given the name Peter just before he died. Thanks to Archie Miller for sharing this with us.

Pitt Lake Reserve 29 April 1914

Preliminary Hearings and Assizes, November 1890

Submissions at the Assizes included records of the preliminary hearings. The whereabouts of the originals of these records are unknown but Duncan McPaden made transcripts that have survived as photocopies in Don Waite's recently recovered collection. These copies are now available on the "Transcripts from Legal Records" page on the Slumach Web site. Click here to open the page or open the individual pdf files by clicking on the descriptions below.

10 September 1890 — Information and complaint for indictable offence.
3 November 1890 — Disposition of witnesses
3 November 1890 — Statement of accused
12 November 1890 — Indictment for murder L.P. Eckstein, Crown Counsel
13 November 1890 — Affidavit Slumach
14 November 1890 — Affidavit Annie
14 November 1890 — Affidavit A. O’Connor
14 November 1890 — Jurors verdict
12 and 14 November — Proceedings Reg. vs. Slumach