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Suggest pagesAllan McLean (outlaw)
| Allan McLean | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1855 Thompson's River Post, New Caledonia (Canada) |
| Died | January 31, 1881 New Westminster, B.C. |
| Cause | Hanging |
| Charge(s) | Murder |
| Parents | Donald McLean & Sophia Grant |
Allan McLean (1855 – January 31, 1881) was a Canadian outlaw, born in Thompson's River Post (now Kamloops) New Caledonia (now British Columbia.)
Contents |
[edit] Early years
His father Donald McLean, a Hudson's Bay Company chief trader, had taken charge of the company post at Thompson's River in 1855. The previous year he had married Sophia Grant, a Colville Indian. Following Allan McLean's birth, two daughters and two sons, Charley and Archie, were born.
Donald McLean died in the Chilcotin War in 1864. The family was then ranching near the village of Cache Creek. His widow received a small pension for 5 years, but in 1867 she sold the ranch and moved to Kamloops. McLean's sister refused to recognize his Indian marriage and claimed her brother's estate, which caused legal arguments for years. Until it was settled, the family was on its own resources. The sons grew up in the saddle, working at ranches mainly as horse breakers and as jockeys.
[edit] The outlaw years
The depression of 1877 hit Kamloops hard, and the McLean brothers turned to crime. They were joined by Alex Hare, who was wanted for assault and cattle rustling.
Johnny Ussher, the constable and jailer, had little incentive to chase them, knowing they could easily break out of his jail. The Wild McLean Boys’ contempt for the law grew with threats to local dignitaries, including John Andrew Mara, who had seduced their sister, Annie McLean, and fathered her child.
On December 3, 1879 the gang stole a stallion from rancher William Palmer, who reported it to John Ussher. Justice John Thomas Edwards issued a warrant for the arrest of the McLeans and Hare, with rewards offered. Ussher, Palmer, and John McLeod set out to arrest them and found the outlaws on December 9 at their camp at Long Lake near Quilchena. The outlaws resisted and both John McLeod and Allan McClean were wounded. Constable Ussher was killed.
The McLean gang fled to the Nicola Valley Indians, stopping at ranches along the way to steal firearms. They killed one rancher, a man named James Kelly. Allan McLean, who was married to a daughter of Chief Chillihetza (son of the famous Chief Nicola), tried to gain their support and revive an abortive uprising planned by the Interior First Nations in 1874. Chilliheetza refused, knowing McLeans' motivation was not political, and chastised them for their criminal behaviour. The outlaws then took refuge in a cabin near Douglas Lake.
The citizens of Kamloops formed posses to capture the fugitives. About 70 men besieged the cabin and on December 13, the outlaws surrendered. They were brought to the British Columbia Penitentiary in New Westminster. A preliminary hearing under Clement Francis Cornwall committed them to New Westminster jail, charged with the murders of Constable Ussher and James Kelly.
On March 13, 1880, the trial of the McLean brothers and Hare opened. Judge Henry Pering Pellew Crease stressed the plight of fatherless mixed race men as outcasts, but a guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion. On March 20, they were all sentenced to hang. Since no proper commission had been issued for the special assize, matters came to a halt. On June 26, the British Columbia Supreme Court decided unanimously that the assizes were invalid. The outlaws endured a second trial on November 10 and were again sentenced to death. They were hanged on January 31, 1881, at Westminster.
Allan McLean's widow and two children remained with the Nicola Valley Indians. His son George McLean was decorated in 1917 for exceptional bravery at Vimy Ridge, where he single-handedly killed 19 attacking German soldiers.
[edit] Cultural Representations
George Bowering's 1994 novel Shoot! tells the story of the wild McLean gang, their exploits and hanging, highlighting issues of racism and disenfranchisement of the "halfbreed" brothers, as well as the remembrance and writing of history in Canada's West.
The Canadian folksinging duo Ian and Sylvia recorded a song about the McLean gang. Called "Four Rode By", it details the action that led to "the wild ones" being captured.
[edit] References
- Balf, Mary (1982). "Allan McLean". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. XI. ISBN 0-8020-3351-2. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=5695&&PHPSESSID=s1v920cehtdusnbl0f70ne2if0.
- Robin, Martin (1976). The Bad and the Lonely. James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 0-88862-121-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=UdjpRZmqvK0C.
- Rothenburger, Mel (1973). We've Killed Johnny Ussher!. Mitchell Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=wOicGAAACAAJ.
- Lindsay, F.W. (1963). Outlaws in British Columbia. http://books.google.com/books?id=eUnDGwAACAAJ.
