Olden days crimes

Hi Everyone,

Well, here's me surfing and browsing online again. I found this "a bit different than usual MLU fare" site by accident and thought it would be interesting and fun to post in here to see what sorts of things were considered lawbreaking and chargeable way back when and during the North West Mounted Police early days ... and lord how I wish these days were as simple as back then ...

Karmen

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibiti...entures/crime/

Most crimes committed in the early years of the NWMP in the Yukon were minor, primarily offenses of selling liquor to First Nation people and theft at mining camps. In 1895, the usual sentence for selling liquor to Indians was a fine of up to $100 plus judiciary costs or three months hard labour. Hard labour at the time was chopping wood, construction work, helping with the cooking and carrying cargo for the posts.


During the near famine of 1897-98, the NWMP did not arrest people if they did not have enough food to bring to jail, as the police had to share their rations with prisoners. If the person did not have enough food they were not arrested but were periodically checked on.

With the flood of gold seekers rushing to the Klondike Goldfields, the number of crimes increased as well as the seriousness of the crimes. Crimes such as murder, theft, assault, robbery and possession of firearms occurred. Convicted offenders were dealt with promptly; they were either placed under guard or ordered out of the territory or even the country. This was known as receiving a “blue ticket,” a one-way steamship fare out of the territory.

As the population grew, Sam Steele recommended in his annual report for 1899, that lunatics and long-term prisoners not be sent out to penitentiaries, as the work they did at Fort Herchmer in Dawson City (e.g. wood cutting, building construction, street repair and improvement, snow shoveling, kitchen work, building their own lunatic asylum etc.) was necessary to the NWMP.

In efforts to rid the territory of all crime, any person found committing even the smallest offence was brought before the Police Magistrate for trial and sentencing. As a result, the unlawful citizens of the late 1800s and early 1900s were charged with a number of unusual and uncommon offenses. Perhaps the strictest law was the Sunday Law, where it was illegal to do work on Sundays, including personal work. Superintendent Sam Steele arrested a man for cutting his own firewood on the Sabbath.

The following list of offenses and sentences were common occurrences reported in the NWMP annual reports between 1895 and 1904.

Offence: Sentence

Lunatic: Confinement under guard
Destitute and Troublesome: Ordered out of Territory or Country
Nuisance, premises in filthy condition: Dismissed, premises cleaned up
Damage to raft: Fined $5 and value of logs
Keeping House of ill fame: Fined $50 & $10 cost or 2 months hard labour
Inmate of house of ill fame: Fined $50 & $10 cost or 2 months hard labour
Frequenting a house of ill fame: Fined $5 and costs or 14 days hard labour
Stealing a dog: Costs and ordered to return the dog
Wounding a dog: Fined $5 and costs or 14 days hard labour
Killing a dog: Fined $125 and costs or 2 months hard labour
Refusing to work: Two days confinement, bread and water
Refusing to work at a fire: Cautioned
Letting out bush fires: Fined $25 and $50 Gov’t reward
Ordered to leave town and did not go: Six months hard labour
Selling Liquor on a Sunday: Fined $50 and costs
Fishing on a Sunday: Fined $2 and costs or 7 days hard labour
Illegal gambling: Fined $50 and costs
Disorderly house (Saloon, Theatre): Fined
Loitering and obstructing the side walks: Fined
Furious Driving: Fined
Allowing female in a bar: Fined
Polluting streams: Fined
Selling bad food not fit for human consumption: Fined
Unlawfully practicing medicine: Fined $25 and costs
Bad language on the streets: Fined $5 and costs
Using vile language: Fined $10 and costs or 2 months hard labour
Vagrancy: Fined $50 and costs or 1 month hard labour
Cheating at play: Fined
Muting on river steamer: N/A
Stealing ride on steamer: N/A
Running track on side walks: N/A
Neglect to clean snow off sidewalks: N/A
Allowing horse to run at large in city limits: N/A

There were a series of crimes committed in the early years and the following section details some specific incidents.