William Carter



William Carter
April 30, 1964 - William Carter was a Royal North West Mounted Police officer who helped cut the Peace-Yukon Police trail built in 1905-06 to facilitate policing in the gold fields. The trail led the North-east through Fort St. John. Following the completion of the project in 1907, Bill returned home to England and shared his stories of adventure on the trail with his fellow countrymen. When he returned to Canada after his vacation, he had only 50 cents in his pocket.

In 1908 after he finished his five year term with the RNWMP, Bill came back to the Peace River country to trap for two winters. He took up a number of other jobs in the country, including one spring job building a bridge. It was at this camp that he met "Deadly" Shaw, the camp cook. It is said that Dudley kept the camp supplied with a brew he made from prunes and raisins so was quite a popular fellow. Both Bill and Dudley later settled in Hudson's Hope in 1912.

From 1912 on, when other settlers were just beginning their adventures, Bill Carter's most exciting days lay behind him. When consulted as to his early days in the Peace River country, he was always ready to finish his story about 1912. His years in the police force made a deep impression on him and were always uppermost in his mind.

In 1964, when he drove to Fort St. John to the hospital in a taxi, his police dress hat, which he was no longer accustomed to wearing, lay on the seat beside him. He left it there when he went in to the hospital where he soon passed away.



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