EVOLUTION OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
A REMARKABLE STAGE ROBBERY.
The Prince Albert mail stage was robbed in July, 1886. The incident
has an added interest from the fact that the late ex-speaker J. F. Betts
of Prince Albert was held up with the stage. On the 17th of JulY Mr.
John Scott, contractor, pulled out of Qu'Appelle station and took the mail
as far as Fort Qu'Appelle, about 18 miles, having two passengers, Mr.
Betts and a Prince Albert farmer named Edward Fiddler. At Fort Qu'Ap-
pelle he handed the outfit over to a man in his employ named Harry Tel-
ford, who took it on to Salt Springs, which was about 80 miles from the
railroad, where the party rested for the night. Telford passed the stage
over to John Art, another employee, and the mail was away early in the
morning. After driving about 20 miles, and being now about 25 miles
south of Humboldt, and in a bluffy country, a voice out of the bluff shouted
"stop". Art's evidence at the trial was: "I looked and saw a man on
the edge of the bluff pointing a double barreled gun. The man next
said "Hands up". I threw my hands up. He said "Jump off your wag~n".
The two passengers jumped off, but I did not. He then said "Jump or I'll
shoot". I jumped. He then ordered us away from the wagon and told
us to get down on our knees. I got down, and he tied my hands with a bed
cord. I saw him have a revolver in his hand. He tied Mr. Betts and made
Fiddler drive the wagon. He got up on the wagon and said ~'Now driver
you will save yourself some time by telling me where the box with the
lock on it is". I told him I did not know of any box. When he could not
find the box he cut open the mail bags, and put some of the letters in his
shirt. He then said "I am done with you fellows". I said I felt a bit cheap
to have one man hold up three. He said "you needn't feel cheap for I and
my partner held up a bigger crowd than you this morning", meaning
Swanston's party. I did not see any partner. I saw the robber at Salt
Springs with haymakers on the previous evening at Skunk Bluff. I started
to put up my tent. One of the haymakers helped me and while I was
doing this the robber left, going north on horseback. He was sure the
prisoner was the man who held up the mail. Mr. Betts' evidence was cor-
roborative. When the robber told them to jump off the wagon he thought
the man was joking and asked him what he was up to. The man said "Get
down out of that quick or I'll soon show you what I am up to". The rob-
ber asked him how much money he had and he said very little. He took
witness' knife to cut the mail bags open, and also his roll of money, but he
gave him his roll back, and said he didn't want his private money. There
was "permit" whiskey in the wagon, and prisoner had one drink. When
he was through the robber backed away and disappeared behind the bluff.
Evidence was given to show that the prisoner held up a camp of four
men at daylight on the previous morning and secured some money but
not much. The robber was unknown and a reward of $250 was offered.
Art the mailman, was on the street in Prince Albert when he recognized
the prisoner and secured his arrest by the Mounted Police. An extra-
ordinary part of the affair is that the prisoner, whose name was Garnett
was a man of blameless reputation who ran the ferry at the South Branch
of the Saskatchewan, about a hundred miles from the scene of the robbery.
He left the ferry with a horse, cart and double-barreled gun on the 12th
of July and hired a man to run it in his absence. He returned on the
eleventh morning after he left. Witnesses for character were called at
the trial, from which it appeared that he was a Canadian from Ontario.
One witness said he had known him all his life; he was a married man,
and his character was not only good, it was exemplary. Judge Richard-
son sent him down for fourteen years.
Even after his sentence Garnett maintained that he was innocent. Of
his guilt there can be no possible doubt on the evidence; and so the motive
which induced this man of good character to leave his ferry, and become
for the time being a bandit remains a mystery.
The reader will note that the sentence was very severe. During the
early days, when most of the property in the country was practically de-
fenceless, and liable to be raided by desperadoes from across the border, it
was necessary to act towards offenders with severity, in the public protec-
tion. Anything in the way of horse stealing, highway robbery, banditry
or gun-play was invariably visited with severity by the judges.
Bibliography follows:
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