iW ! ll | tt io . Was located on the CENTENNIAL EDITION Hanceville Named after early pioneer Hanceville, Dow just a the Guest Post office adjacent to Ranch, perpetuates the name of Tom Hance, an Oregonian who followed the gold rush and arrived a little late to get in'on Hearing about the Chilcotin valley to the west that had never been settled, Tom Hance around 1875 crossed the Fra- Ser at Soda Creek and aided by friendly Indians, made his Way to the Indian village that present site of Hanceville. : The new settler was soon in the thick of the fur trading business, and later, in partner- ship with famous Pioneer ‘Doc’ English of Ashcroft, he began ranching in a big Way. The firm operated a Pack train once a year to take the furs to Yale, and on one of these trips English found he had used all the proceeds from the furs and sold his interest in the firm to square the debt. WED AT VICTORIA On one of Tom Hance’s trips to Victoria he married 16-year- old Nellie Verdier, who rode back to Hanceville with him and was at the time of her ar- rival the only white woman in the Chileotin. As settlement progressed, a Post office was established and the place given its name in 1899. Hance became postmas- ter, bringing the mail from Soda Creek by pack horse. As the route became unsuitable, he constructed the “Hance timber road” around 1900. LEADING SETTLERS In 1893 the British Colum- bia directory listed Hanceville as being “the leading settle- ment in the Chilcotin: valley, and the furthest inland settle- ment of the north west in the province of British Columbia. It’s population is 150.” The original ranch is still Operated by the Hance family, with Tom’s three sons running it in partnership. The original store still stands, and in the old black- smith shop a huge hand-oper- ated bellows points at the forge the bonanza. as it has done since the early days. What was once a two- cell jail is now a garage. Around the turn of the cen- tury the Hance children were “taught in the office of this jail. School classes were held throughout the winter, but in the spring teacher would take off on his summer prospecting jaunt. A flour mill was also opera- ted here in the early days, 7 ORIGINAL BUILDINGS Overlooking the lovely Chilcotin valley are the TH ranch buildings, and the original store and post office that formed the centre of Tom Hance’s early empire. At the right is the old blacksmith shop, with its large forge still used. Family business catered to Chilcotin travellers Another country store which has withstood the test of time, and is still catering to the tourists on their way through the famed Chileotin country, stands by the roadside at Redstone. Carry the family business started by her uncle, ing on in Stuart, in 1916 is Miss Christine Stuart who is cap- ably managing the store. But the name which has been synonimous with the Red- stone store for the past 40 years and is best \known throughout the Cariboo, is that of A. L. “Andy” Stuart. When his brother Peter was killed in a car accident in 1919 while visiting in Vancouver, Andy came up to the Chilcotin on a temporary visit to settle his affairs. But he liked the country so well that he never went back to his printing bus- iness in Vancouver, and, has never regretted it. The Stuart brothers came from pioneer stock. Their tather, Janves-Stuart, came~to Vancouver shortly after the famous fire of 1886, and he was purchasing agent of the city from 1905 to 1930. He died at the age of 90. When Mrs. Stuart came up to join her husband, she be- came one of the very few white women in the Chilcotin. She remembers vividly that first journey which ‘took her from Monday until Sunday to reach Redstone. She started out on the P.G.E. which had the an- noying habit of going off the track often, thus lengthening the journey. Days later she got off at Onward where she saw her first Indians. It was a great shock to the city-bred girl “I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.” BREAKFAST IN TENT She recalls having breakfast in Williams Lake in-a tent, the only place there, before start- ing on the trip out to Red- stone which was an overnight journey in those days. Andy Stuart, who was 80 in November, has retired from the active life attendant on the busy flow of traffic past his door during the summer. With their daughter running the store and their son, Harold, handling the garage and re- pair business nearby, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart can now sit back and quietly the “good old days.” remember The corset just had to Sometimes applied psycho- lagy was a necessary art in the early days of the Cariboo. Take the story concerning the late Albert Patenaude, who as a youth of 18 was clerking in a Clinton store in the ‘90's, One day a mail order was handed to him. for processing, The lady sending the order wanted a large corset and en- closed a piece of string to give her exact measurement. a = A. L. “Andy” STUART who operated the family business for the past 40 years. 2. which fit 2. Young Patenaude took down the largest corset in stock but whem he tried the string against it he found it was very evident the lady was far more ample than the corset would accommodate. Albert scratched ““Bishead=for—2--while--befeze—C Solving his problem. He just cut the string to fit the cor- set circumference and mailed both corset and string away to the customer. No complaint ‘was ever registered. NEIGHBORING TOWN Head of the original Harrison trail and Mile “‘O” on the Cariboo Road was well-known Lillooet. This early picture shows the land. setting on the Fraser town in its picturesque River bench Chinaman died while dancing to tune of bullets Tom Hance, the original settler at Hanceville, jy - besides his normal job of running a ranch and store, was also justice of the peace, jailer and policeman. A story still told of Hance, the policeman, is typical of the Tough and ready manner in which law was maintained in those tlays. The story concerns Chief Quilt of the Stony In- dian tribe. = It seems there was a Chin- ese prospector mining on the banks of the Fraser from whom the Stonies were in the habit of cadging small things like tobacco. On one occasion, the Chinaman, probably think- ing he had been generous enough, declined to give out any more gifts. The Indians were hurt and argued the point. Both sides grew louder and finally the prospector cussed his visitors out in a vigorous mixture of Cantonese, _pidgen_Englis Siwash. Still angry, the Stonies left, but after getting some dis- tance away their indignation rose, and they decided to re- turn with the intention of tell- ing off the Chinaman for his parsimony. : By the time the Stonies had returned to the Chinaman’s cabin they were so angry the Oriental became alarmed and withdrew inside, locking his cabin door. This didn’t stop the Indians. UNFORUNATE ACCIDENT Having heard how the Bar- kerville miners used to make Chinese “dance” called by bullets, the Stonies climbed on the roof and began firing through the smoke open- ing. Just as they expected, the poor harrassed Chinaman was soon hopping around in a wild effort to avoid the bullets. All might have been well, _ but the cabin was dark inside, and, unfortunately, a mistake was made. The Chinaman was shot and killed. After cleaning out the China- man’s scanty stock the Stonies travelled to Hanceville, and to a tune, there Chief Quilt informed Constable Hance of the unlucky occurrance. Tom told the Chief “When the grass turns green” Chief Quilt would have to go to Ashcroft and stand trial at the assizes. COURT AT ASHCROFT Nothing more was done un- til spring, when, sure enough, the chief returned, and with Tom Hance, by saddle and pack horse, travelled to Ashcroft. After all the evidence had been given, and Tom Hance and the priest had testified to his good character, the court asked Chief Quilt for his statement. Through the interpreter the court was informed by Chief Quilt that, “AN my life I be good Indian. Never kill white man or Indians. Only coyotes and Chinaman.” He was acquitted and re- turned to Chilcotin with Tom += Hance to spend the remainder of his years as a law-abiding citizen, highly respected for Ais. good influence over the Stony Tribe. “Our Customers’ are also ‘Our Friends’ PHONE 131 illiiams Lake Motors Limited