126: The Legend of Simon Gunanoot (BC)

Episode 126 – On the morning of June 18, 1906, on the trail on the west side of the Two-Mile House, a drinking establishment outside Hazelton, B.C., the body of local tough guy, Alex McIntosh, was found. He had been ambushed and shot through the back. A short time later on the trail to the east of the Two-Mile House, the body of a labourer, Max Leclair, was discovered. He’d died in exactly the same manner. As McIntosh and an indigenous business man named Simon Peter Gunanoot had had a brutal fight only hours prior, suspicion fell on Gunanoot.

When the posse went to arrest him he had already taken off into the wilderness and would lead police on the most expensive manhunt in B.C. history. Gunanoot managed to evade capture for over a decade and was not brought in until he was ready to turn himself in.

Sources:
[Simon Gunanoot – Chasing Shadows by Monty Bassett]
[Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada]
[Kispiox Band Site]
[Gitxsan Nation Site]
[Emily Carr paintings near Kispiox – Contact Sheet]
[Simon Gunanoot – Wikipedia]
[Newspapers.com search – Simon Peter Gunanoot in Canada]
[Echoes of British Columbia by Robert Budd – goodreads.com]
[My Country by Pierre Berton – goodreads.com]
[100 years since the surrender of Simon Gunanoot – BC Local News]
[The man who stayed invisible for thirteen years | Maclean’s | JULY 5, 1958]
[HistoricPlaces.ca – Simon Gun-an-noot’s Grave]

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