The Sheriff and the Slip-Up at the Border
A two-year-old political scandal re-emerges regarding the escape of two fugitives from Sheriff McGraw's custody in British Columbia.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Following accusations of corruption against Sheriff McGraw, the newspaper provides a detailed account of the events surrounding the 1885 escape of prisoners Frank L. Bash and Charles W. Mullen. In November 1885, McGraw traveled to Red Bluff, California, to arrest the men for forgery. While transporting them back, legal complications arose in Victoria, B.C., where local attorneys attempted to use a writ to free them. Amidst the tension on the steamer 'George W. Elder', the prisoners escaped. McGraw insists he made every effort to keep them, including spending his own money to hire a private detective to track them. He has now brought a libel suit against the editors of the newspaper that alleged he conspired with the fugitives.
“I have no doubt that if the prisoners were brought into court they would be released to my utter ruin.”
This story highlights the perennial tension between municipal law enforcement and the shifting legal jurisdictions of the Pacific Northwest. Like modern debates over extradition and cross-border cooperation, Sheriff McGraw's dilemma mirrors how local officials often find their authority challenged by complex, transnational legal maneuvers.
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