Ot-cha-wun was a Lamalcha (now known as the Hwlitsum First Nation; their village was
located on
Kuper Island) man and the brother of
Sha-na-sa-luk. He was charged with manslaughter for killing a British serviceman,
Charles Gliddon, during the Lamalcha war, when the HMS
Forward exchanged fire with Lamalcha villagers while searching for several suspected murderers.
1 Ot-cha-wun,
Sha-na-su-luk and
Qual-a-tutlm were tried at the Assizes held on 24 June 1863. Ot-cha-wun was vilified in newspapers
as the
chief pirate
leader of the three men and the
great pirate robber.
The trial became a large controversy, as the men were provided with no legal council,
and the trials were translated using chinook jargon, a language too simple to translate
complex British legal terms. Ot-cha-wun claimed he never fired at the
Forward; this claim was supported by eyewitnesses who testified in court. Nevertheless, the
jury presented a guilty verdict, recommending mercy. The three men were sentenced
to death, as a warning to other First Nations people to not rebel.
3 One hundred and fifty citizens of
Victoria signed a petition to commute the death sentence, due to the unjust way their trial
had been conducted.
4 The men were hung for the murder of
Gliddon on 4 July in front of the
Victoria police barracks.
5