Ah Soy
As part of the Chinese Historical Wrongs Legacy Initiative, we’ve digitized a small selection of inquests and inquiries from 1872 to 1934, found in series GR-0431. These were chosen to reflect the experiences of early Chinese immigrants to B.C. – their living and working conditions, and their unfortunate accidental or unusual deaths. They range from a woman working in a brothel in Barkerville who died of natural causes to three sawmill workers who died from malnutrition. Learn more.
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Current Page Transcription [edit] [history]
Ah Leong staid at my house about two hours he then returned to [h̶i̶s̶] my ranch to continue he’s work digging potatoes. He came back to my house [a̶t̶] in about a quarter of an hour after work and informed me that the cows [h̶a̶d̶] were in the garden eating the turnips. He stated that when he got near [t̶o̶] the ranch he saw the cows in the garden and shouted or called to Ah Soy to drive out the cattle. He stated that he did not received any answer from Ah Soy and when he got to the garden gate he found the deceased lying in a pool of blood - I went down to the ranch quickly and when I got there I found the deceased Ah Soy lying on the ground in front of the house near the gate. I felt the body and found it hard and stiff. The blood on the hat was congealed and thick. The body was not warm. I noticed a wound on the head of the deceased it was above [o̶v̶e̶r̶] the right eye. I came back to Hope quickly and informed Mr. Yale of what I had seen. Mr. Yales and my self and Ah Leong and Ah Wou then returned to the ranch and we all examined the ranch and saw the body of Ah Soy and then came back to Hope - Ah Leong has worked for me for the past four months and has acted as foreman where I have had others
BC Archives GR-0431 Box 3 File 7 / BRITISH COLUMBIA. ATTORNEY GENERAL. / Inquisitions/inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia