When the bank in Dawson is robbed, Barclay assumes he will be put on the case, but his superior gives Barclay the job of bringing in a mad miner who seems to be suffering from cabin fever.
The Klondike Gold Rush is a fascinating event, so fascinating in fact that it also played a big part in my Sherlock Holmes book, Cold-Hearted Murder.
The journey took place in the summer of 1886. The train left Ottawa on 13 June. There were many stops along the way and Sir John would greet his constituents from the platform of his car, The Jamaica.
Outside of Calgary, Sir John met with the chiefs of the Western tribes.
At Laggan, Alberta, Lady Agnes Macdonald decided to get a better view of the landscape by riding on the cowcatcher of the engine.
On 27 July, the train pulled into Port Moody, BC, the most western terminus of the CPR.
Finally, on 30 August, the Macdonalds arrived back home in Ottawa.
One of the real-life characters Barclay encounters is Plains Cree chief Pihtokahanapiwiyin also known as Poundmaker (1842-1886).
Poundmaker was described as "tall and good looking, slightly built with an intelligent face, in which a large Roman nose was prominent; his bearing was so eminently dignified and his speech so well adapted to the occasion, as to impress every hearer with the earnestness of his views."
Poundmaker was arrested and imprisoned for participating in the 1885 Rebellion. He was tried and sentenced to prison. In poor health he was released after one year, Four months laterPoundmaker died of a lung hemorrhage.
Barclay of the Mounted can be found on Amazon!
In the chapter entitled 'Battling' Barclay, we see Henry Barclay competing for the title of the boxing champ of the North-West Mounted Police.
We also see real-life boxing champ George 'Little Chocolate' Dixon of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dixon, a Featherweight and Bantamweight, stood 5ft 3 1/2 inches (1613cm) and began his career weighing about 87 lbs (39 kg).
George Dixon won the Bantamweight title in 1888, and in 1890 he was officially considered the champion after knocking out Nunc Wallace of England.
Dixon is credited by some for developing shadow boxing, was named a National Historic Person by the Government of Canada, became the first-ever black athlete to win a championship in any sport, and was the first Canadian-born boxing champ.
Barclay of the Mounted can be found on Amazon!
Those who followed the sport knew the names Dempsey, Tunney, and Schmeling, so naturally, there was a market for these stories.
In Barclay of the Mounted, there is a chapter where Barclay is competing for the 1888 boxing title in the North-West Mounted Police. Here is the opening paragraph of 'Battling' Barclay.
MALONEY’S RIGHT UPPERCUT caught me squarely under the chin and
sent me back on my heels. The roar of the crowd—half cheering the other half
awestruck—sounded muffled to my ears as if from far away across the prairie. I
recovered quickly, shaking my head to clear it. Through bleary eyes, I looked
across at my opponent. Maloney grimaced. He obviously thought that last blow
should have had me down and out, but it did not. He waded in slowly and
carefully. He was a brawler, with little scientific skill in the art of boxing,
but that made him no less dangerous in the ring. I jabbed at him with my left
to keep him at bay. It had no effect, and Maloney moved in. I read the
bloodlust in his eyes. He swung his huge right fist in a deadly sweeping arc at
my head. I ducked just beneath it and delivered two strong blows to his side.
It felt like hitting ribbed stone. He bellowed in rage and brought his left
around. It whistled past my ear. If that blow had landed, it would have been the
end of the match. Maloney now had me in the corner and there was nowhere to go.
He began to deliver punches, most of which I avoided, but I knew I could not avoid
them much longer.
Barclay of the Mounted can be found on Amazon!
This incident is of course based on the true historical event in 1877 when, after defeating the U.S. Army under General Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull sought refuge in Canada.
The Sioux stayed for four years in Western Canada---or what they called the Grandmother's Country, the reference meaning British Queen Victoria---until circumstances forced the Sioux back to the United States.
Barclay of the Mounted can be found on Amazon!
Though he is my own creation, readers first met Henry Barclay in The Canadian Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, when, in 1897, Holmes and Watson encountered adventures in Canada. In the chapter entitled Murder on the C.P. R. Holmes and Watson are travelling east by train after their cross-country journey across Canada and meet Barclay of the NWMP. A passenger is mysteriously murdered and the detectives join forces to solve it.
In my second Sherlock Holmes book, Cold-Hearted Murder, Holmes encounters a series of murders in London that has its origins during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon Territories. Barclay is stationed in the Yukon at the time and plays an integral part in the story.
All of Stephen Gaspar's books can be found on Amazon!
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