BAD MEN—AND MAD MEN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 205, 30 August 1941, Page 11

BAD MEN—AND MAD MEN

and romance crowded the days of the Royal North - West Mounted Police in the early days of this century. Few civilians could find, in a life so neatly weeded of excitement, so bright a flower of adventure as did any constable going forth to make his first arrest.

By P. Owen Wheatley

The Mounted Police records show that it was in May, 1903, that a J.P. of Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Canada, decided, just before nine o'clock at night, that he had had all he could stand of an individual from Montana and Idaho, who liked to be known as the Idaho Kid, so the J.P. sent this wire to the nearest Mounted Police detachment at Halbrite:

"Come up next train, party running amok with revolver."

"Running amok" is a strong expression. but it scarcely reveals all that the citizens of Weyiuirn had had to endure that day from the Idaho Kid, who (as his wife warned everybody; "would shoot every time." Idaho Kid's Terrorism The upheaval had begun with some revolver practice at a hotel verandah. When the first citizen leaned out of a window to object, the Kid told him to duck in again or he would "make him into a sieve." The Kid saw a second citizen, more prominent than the first, coming up the street and ordered him to hold out his hat while he riddled it.

The second citizen complied, but told the Kid to keep fiuiet or he would be run in. The Kid replied that no man on earth could run him in, that he was a bad man of the variety that could never be taken alive, that no sheriff in Montana had ever dared tackle him. The second citizen said that if he did not quieten down they would have to call the constable from Halbrite.

The Kid said ho would die in his boots sooner than be arrested by a -Mounted Policeman—and ho did not stop at this, but bet 25 dollars that lie was too hard and wild for any policeman. It was about this time that the J.P. at Weyburn sent his wire. Captured by Constable Constable Lett was stationed at Halbrite. He was reliable, steady and of correct courage, fie had been six years in the Mounted Police. When he received the call the train had gone. It was too far to ride. There were excuses for inaction on every hand, but he did not accept them.

He flagged a freight train, and on arrival found the citizens of Weyburn thoroughly under the .-pell <>f the Idaho Kid. Lett induced the J.P. to stand within calling distance of the room in which the Kid was carousing. When the door opened and Lett strode at him. the Kid must have wondered if he had been rash.

The Kid. when he realised that a sound and healthy Mounted Policeman was after him. made a move to draw his sun. Constable Lett made a quick move and closed with his man. drawing the Kid's revolver from his hip pocket and covering him with it. .

There was a struggle. the Kid's wife joining in the fray, but Lett handcuffed the man and finally landed him in the barrack cell. There is much left to one's imagination in such details of Mounted Police reports, but between the words "his wife came at me" and "finally" sufficient action took place to make Lett a corporal. Stalking a Lunatic Veritable lunatics observed no seasons, and the force's most dangerous. most unpleasant duty was to retrieve them without hurt and convoy them to asylums. For 67 years this function has quietly gone on. The wastes of the Yukon never fail to send out on the first spring boat, one or more of those unfortunates who have lost their reason. Con-

stables have been shot down bv those they sought to help: havq been put to weeks of strain and disappetising toil: and some have even none mad themselves after delivering their insane charges.

Perhaps a clearer picture of this dangerous and unpleasant duty which is undertaken by the Mounted Police is shown in an account of Constable Sutherland's effort in the bush near Fort Saskatchewan in 1002. Sutherland was a handsome youth from a family of distinction in Montreal. He was detailed in great haste to a lonely place where a lunatic had been observed. His orders were to get the man safely and wait for a team.

He reached the shack at dusk and found several men doing sentry duty. They had first bound the madman, but he had turned rational again, and they had let him loose to help with the chores. Once loose he had bustled them outdoors, barricaded himself in. and promised a violent death to the first man appearing.

This situation Constable Sutherland had now to solve. He sent one man for a lantern, procured an axe. and as everything was quiet in the shack, detailed a neighbour named Heddill to smash in the door, whereupon Sutherland would rush in and handcuff the madman while another followed with a light. The door yielded. and the madman looked so placid that Constable Sutherland did not think it was necessarv to go through with the scheme. Struggle in Shack The lantern-bearer asked the madman how he was feeling. The lunatic jumped up before another word could be uttered and extinguished the light with one kick. He then threw himself on the bed. At that moment Heddill struck a match, and there followed instantly a rifle report from the bed.

Heddill staggered, dropped the match and fell? Twice more the gun clicked as Sutherland threw himself at the madman while the other men rushed in panic from the shack.

Constable Sutherland and the lunatic fought on the bed and on the floor, the man biting, kicking and scratching and the constable pounding in as near the same spot as possible in the hope of knocking him out. The man clutched Sutherland so close that the policeman could not draw his arms back far enough to hit hard. Finally, the madman gripped Sutherland with his teeth just behind one ear. but the constable then caught the man by the throat with his left hand and with his right hand pressed back on his forehead until quite suddenly he let go his hold and lay perfectly still.

Heddill was shot through the forehead and Constable Sutherland had a piece bitten out of the back of his neck. They moved the madman and. making a straight-jacket of i>otato sacks, strapped him to a mattress and then drove miles home!