William
Billy
Foster was a central figure in the conflict that came to be known as
McGowan's War.
On
24 December 1858, at the height of the
Fraser Canyon gold rush,
Foster, who co-owned a
saloon
at
Yale, shot and killed a British gold miner named
Bernard Rice.
Rice, who friends said
hapent to be little in lickuire at the time,
had refused to pay for his drinks and was forced
by Foster to leave.
McGowan later wrote that
Rice soon returned with a pistol in his hand, and pointed it at
Foster, who immediately drew on him, and shot and unfortunately killed him.
Attempts to apprehend Foster, who
went to Hill's Bar and hid for a few days, and then went down the
river in a canoe, and finally made his escape out of the country,
sparked a confrontation between rival groups in the area that was swiftly
resolved by the appearance of
Col. Moody and the Royal
Engineers.
On
12 March 1859,
Victoria's
British Colonist
newspaper confirmed that Foster had arrived safely in Nevada.