The Murder of Chief Alexander Main

Alexander Main was officially appointed Chief Constable of Steveston Village in 1899. In 1900, he was murdered while investigating a series of thefts from local farms.

Note: This story includes historical depictions and stereotypes which may be considered negative, offensive, and/or racist, of both peoples and cultures. The articles are provided as they were originally written, and contain outdated cultural chronicles.

The depictions of Chief Main’s death may be graphic and disturbing to some readers.

Steveston was founded by William Herbert Steves in 1890, after years of obtaining Crown grants and purchasing land plots, along with his parents, Manoah and Martha Steves.

The first police constable of the village was Herbert Charles Drummond, hired without salary, to keep law and order. High priority for Constable Drummond was the collection of fines, fees, and taxes. Needless to say, there was frequent turnover; twelve different men found law enforcement employment within the first decade of existence.

Alexander “Sandy” Main, born in Nairnshire, Scotland, emigrated to Canada circa 1890. He is listed on the June 1891 census as single and a fisherman. He married Margaret Ralph on November 5, 1891, in Vancouver, stating his trade as seaman. It may have been his experience with this rough trade, or his credibility that landed him the office of police constable on June 12, 1897, at a salary of $75 per month.

As early as 1898, Main is noted in newspaper accounts at the rank of chief constable; according to Richmond archives, he was officially appointed as such on April 1, 1899, and reappointed on January 31, 1900. Steveston consisted of 350 residents living and working the farms, canneries, and shops of the area. There was a further transient population with large numbers of fishermen and cannery workers, predominantly Japanese, Chinese, First Nations, and some Europeans.

On Saturday, April 14, 1900, Chief Constable Main, wearing his second-best suit (no uniforms issued at the time), was investigating a series of thefts from a local farm. Having received some intel that a group of known thieves were responsible, Chief Main set out to confront them. The reputation of these three men was not even favourable within their community.

The suspects’ shack was located in a cleared area of bush, less than half a kilometre from the beach. Main had been to this shack previously and felt safe enough going alone in daylight, unarmed except for handcuffs, and his dog at his side.

Main was expected home by noon, but no-showed. This was not unusual, often being away for an entire day during his investigations. The next morning, he still had not returned home, and had not sent word, something he always did. His wife canvassed the neighbours and friends to no avail.

Main had suffered from a weak heart, his wife feared that he may have dropped dead in the bush or road somewhere. If that were the case, the dog should have returned home. Word got out to Steveston, Eburne (area encompassing Sea Island, Brighouse and Marpole), and Vancouver. A search party was organized.

Vancouver’s Chief Constable John Stewart, hearing of the situation, immediately notified the Department.

Alexander Main and his wife Margaret were good friends with Vancouver Police Detective Thomas Wylie and his wife.

Prior to joining the Vancouver Police, Wylie had been a member of the Steveston Police.

The Chief approved Wylie’s request to assist in the search for his friend.

 

 

 

Two days after Main had gone missing, the Vancouver Daily World reported that his dog returned home with obvious injuries. Detective Wylie had been made aware of Main’s theft investigation, as well as who he had centred on as suspects, one of them being 45-year-old Luck Yip (aka Yip Luck, Leck, and Leuk).

On April 16, one of the search parties went to the cabin, finding three men inside. Luck Yip was reportedly the “boss of the shack,” with the other two deferring to and clearly fearful of him. The suspects admitted they had seen the Chief, but that he had not entered their cabin.

Throughout the day, the area around the shack was “besieged” by searchers. A pipe and blue overalls were located, items that were known to be stolen. Detective Wylie felt he had sufficient evidence to arrest on the charge of possession of stolen property, and would further develop the case. Everyone knew without a doubt, that the Chief had been murdered.

Wylie and two special constables surprised the inhabitants of the shack at midnight. Luck Yip was handcuffed and taken outside. Another man, Chung Yee was also taken into custody, and later turned witness. A third man had escaped prior to their arrival.

One hundred searchers went out again, this time taking a bloodhound with them. A scent was picked up from the shack towards the beach, where a fresh disturbance in the earth caught the searchers eyes. Buried six inches down, a piece of bone and fabric were found. Digging deeper, the body of the missing man was extricated, along with his dog. (Several news clippings state that the dog was found in the grave alongside his master. The Vancouver Daily World had earlier reported the dog had returned home with injuries.)

The Chief had been tied with rope, his head nearly severed, his lower limbs removed, and as a large man, was folded in on himself and thrown into the grave.

Wylie, with the help of an interpreter (Lee Koy), confronted the men with their grizzly discovery. Luck denied any knowledge, however a fearful Chung Yee shouted out in Chinese “He killed him…he killed him with the axe.”

Chief Main’s body was removed from the scene and brought into town, to a little building next to the police station.

BC Provincial Constable Campbell and interpreter McLean interviewed the prisoners. Chung’s admission caused for a more thorough search for evidence. A long pole and a curved brush hook (scythe-shaped axe) were found, with spots of blood on them. Chung admitted that the latter was used on the Chief, when his back was turned.

The manhunt for the third suspect continued, and on April 20, Wylie apprehended him; arrested was Chang Ah Won.

An inquest was held that night; it took one-and-a-half minutes for the verdict to be voiced. The deceased came to his death at the hands of some person or persons at present unknown, the case being one of wilful murder.

It was reported that crowds had gathered outside the inquest, and a large contingent of Japanese fishermen were want to carry out vigilante justice on the Chinese suspects. The Japanese posse made no bones about the fact that they had liked and respected the Chief — a good fellow who allowed them lots of leeway, gave sound legal advice, and had written letters in English for those who needed them.

Towards 9 p.m. that evening, while the inquest was still in session, the crowd became threatening and Detective Wylie and Constable Campbell had the prisoners removed to spoil a potential lynching.

Detective Wylie was tireless in his mental and physical work to recover the Chief’s body and run down the murderers, and he neither thought of eating or sleeping till success crowned his efforts. He had not closed his eyes for nearly 48 hours.

Chief Constable Alexander Main’s funeral was held in Vancouver on April 19, 1900. Six Vancouver policemen in full uniform acted as pall bearers. These were Officers Waddell, Baynes, Grady, Park, Preston, and McKeown. It marked one of the largest turnouts of citizens that had taken place in Vancouver, with more than 1000 persons present.

“The respect that was paid to the late Chief was but one instance of his popularity and the universal esteem in which he was held by all who knew him.”

In October 1900, Luck Yip pled guilty in the murder of Chief Constable Alexander Main. The second suspect, Chang Ah Won, was found guilty. The third suspect, Chung Yee, had died at the BC Penitentiary in August 1900, of illness.

The Honorable Judge Paulus A. Irving sentenced the accused Yip to die on the gallows on Friday November 16, 1900.

After many days of heavy rain, the hanging of Luck Yip was to take place in the yard of the New Westminster jail, witnessed by 40 persons. At 8:10 hours, the murderer of Chief Main was described as being in excellent spirit and quite talkative, calmly declaring he was not afraid to die, knowing he would go to heaven.

He confessed that the murder had been pre-determined some time before the actual commission, with an accusation that Main was extorting from Steveston’s Chinese residents, particularly from the Highbinders of whom Yip was a leader. He also confessed to two other murders.

The condemned man proceeded to the gallows and up the 15 steps to the scaffold. The cap was placed over his head and the rope adjusted.

With rainfall hitting the scaffold for days, the wood had expanded, and the trapdoor failed to open. A second attempt was made, but it remained stuck.

The third time released the door, and Yip dropped to his death. He was pronounced in 11 minutes. Luck Yip was reportedly the first man in B.C. to plead guilty to the murder of a policeman. Yip was buried outside the penitentiary walls in New Westminster.

Epitaph: it would take a century to recognize Chief Constable Alexander Main as a Fallen Officer. His name has been engraved on the Police and Peace Officer Memorial at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

References

McNulty’s Meanderings – Murder in Steveston; Richmond Councillor Bill McNulty, undated (c2023)

Royal BC Museum – genealogical archives; death registrations: Main, Yee, Yip

UBC Souvenir Booklet – 1901 – Vancouver Police

Province Newspaper, April 18, 1900, pages 1 & 8

Murder Most Foul – The Weekly New-Advertiser, April 24, 1900, page 11

Province Newspaper, October 22, 1900, page 9

The Assizes – A Career of Crime – The Weekly News-Advertiser, October 23, 1900, page 12

Ah Sam Will Go Free – Province Newspaper, November 2, 1900, page 2