Yesterday Charley and Bert escaped into Canada and began a chain of burglaries in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They were confronted after only four or five days of larceny, and fostered a running gun battle with Canadian constables through the streets of Winnipeg. "Gun battle" is a misnomer, since the Mecums had the only guns, two each. The constables, by law, were armed only with truncheons--"billy clubs"--and rocks they picked up along the way. They pursued the Mecums for at least a mile, all the while being fired upon an estimated 35 times. Civilians joined in the chase and the Mecums were swarmed and subdued (again with the billy clubs, well laid on.) Later, after his bruises and broken bones healed, Bert claimed they had deliberately missed with their shots, since "they really didn't want to hurt anybody."

After the incident, public outcry forced the police commissioner to arm the constables, and from that time on--August, 1911--the Winnipeg police constables have carried sidearms (thanks to my two great uncles!) What a story! It gets better every day.