Some people thought he was a fool and crazy but he was a clever. Although he never went to school much. He was one of the best self-educated men in the town. He was so interesting, you couldn't mention a book that he couldn't tell you who wrote it and everything in it. The Bible, the Koran. He received his education from books and could quote from plays, poetry and history.

Not only was he clever but a superb shot as well. With a revolver he'd cut thread from a needle and puncture silver balls and pennies in the air. Everyone knew he was a perfect shot and he often assisted the police on their manhunts. If they were looking for someone with a gun, a murderer, or robber, they'd come and ask for his assistance.

He met Buffalo Bill Cody on the circuit but was never in his show. He loved and admired Buffalo Bill and it was one of the greatest things in his life when they met.

The Chief was a barber in his early days and he had a shop on Front Street next to Blair's who ran the Walkerly. Saturday night was a busy night and he stayed open until 11 o'clock. The men would come in for a shave on their way uptown. If they got a shave late Saturday night they could go to church Sunday without having to shave.

A story is told that one day one of the fellows in the shop was annoying the Chief by putting his feet on the rungs of the chair, leaning back and then letting the chair come down with a bang. He was shaving someone and he'd jump everytime. "You're going to keep up until I'm going to fix you," he said. But the fellow kept on. So, he turned and in a flash grabbed his gun from the shelf and shot the heel off the man's shoe.

Being an expert on Winchesters, he trained the police in St. Catharines. He had his regular belt on with his guns at his side, his 10 gallon hat, and his boots were the prettiest things you ever laid your eyes on.

He managed to fool the public for years during the first part of the war (W.W.I). He was eligible for conscription but didn't want to go. He would duck over to Read's Island, and as he knew every knoll and crevice, they were unable to find him. When they gave in to him he began training the men on how to shoot firearms, his specialty. [He became a sniper in W.W.I and there were very few then.]

According to the Chief, another Port resident "Buckshot Howe" would have been as good a shot as he was if he hadn't given it up. "Buckshot Howe" worked the tugs for his relative Johnny Harrigan who owned the Austin House. They called him Buckshot because when he was a kid he was always looking to see if you had any buckshot you would give him. A gun exploded on him one time and I think he lost the sight in one eye. That kind of discouraged him from being a marksman. The Chief praised him as a remarkably good shot, but after the accident he never touched a gun again.

When the Chief went on the vaudeville tour. He started out in the Old Griffin Theatre in St. Catharines. Griffin used to have a string of theatres throughout Canada and the United States. And he was smart. Griffon would hire actors and act as their agent. He had movie theatres but pictures weren't that far advanced at that time. He had vaudeville and moving pictures. By being your agent, if he hired you and paid you twenty dollars a week, well he took his ten per cent of that. Chief went on the vaudeville tour with him.

"The Chief had a Winchester and a Remington and for a percentage he represented those companies on his vaudeville circuit. When he got up to shoot he'd say, 'Now I'm going to do this shot with a Remington rifle and I'm also going to use Remington ammunition, which is very good ammunition. I use nothing else but Remington ammunition in a Remington rifle.' Then he'd do a few shots, lay down that rifle and pick up the other and he'd say, 'This is a Winchester rifle. It's a very fine rifle, and I use exclusively Winchester ammunition because that's the only ammunition I'd touch.'

He considered himself to be a ladies man and tried to impress the tourists. In the summer he'd dress in his cream pants, white shirt, stetson and cowboy boots.

He had a few expressions that he used over and over again. He called the old Welland Canal 'the Local Ganges'. Often he'd be talking about something and he'd say, 'There I was like Mohammed's coffin; suspended between heaven and earth.'

Many people vividly remember the night he died and it's felt that he went out in a blaze of glory—the way he lived. As the sides of his place were boarded up with cardboard, it didn't take long for the walls to go up in smoke. The heat was so severe that it singed the clothes of those who tried to climb down the steps to his place. He'd been up in St. Catharines with some friends celebrating the 17th of March, St. Patrick's Day. He caught the last bus and said he was going home to light his fire. He was always a nighthawk. When he got home he must have lit his fire because it was cold and instead of it burning, as it should have, it got out of control.

The flames were shooting up and they couldn't save him. He almost got out you know. His place had two doors and he was found between them. As the smoke was so great, he couldn't reach the latch. There was nothing the firemen could do. He had a lot of ammunition and the Firemen were afraid to have anyone go near as the bullets were exploding with the heat.

His home and all his beautiful books were destroyed and to this day there is some question as to the fate of his fine collection of pearl handled guns and rifles. Strangely enough they were never found in the debris.

There was not another character in the history of Port Dalhousie that could compare with Chief James Smiley. His familiar figure, sometimes dressed in western clothing and highheeled boots, and other times in blue blazer, white pants and sneakers, was greatly missed by many. As well as being a learned man, an excellent marksman, and proficient with the bullwhip, he was also a skillful canoeist. He helped chart the regatta course for the C.A.A.O. (Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen), assisted in the annual preparation of the course for the Henley Aquatic Association and entertained the crowds with his guns.
Those who were fortunate enough to know him have kept his memory alive by recounting tales of his prowess, ingenuity, versatility and innocent chicanery.

Recalling the exploits Jim
By HENRY P. NICHOLSON (ST. CATHARINES STANDARD)

My telephone rang and I answered it. A lady's Voice on the other end said, "Mr. Nicholson, I enjoy your many articles in the MEMORIES column. Why don't you write about some of the old familiar characters that graced the streets of St. Catharines many years ago?"

"Like who?" I enquired.

Back came the answer, "Hi Diddle Diddle, do you remember her?"
I replied I did, and mentioned Pop Johnson, Auntie Devaux, Bill Juby, Rastus Cain, Mike Cooper and Irish Mary, I informed the lady that while I recall seeing them I do not remember them closely. These characters, while a little unusual in their behaviour, were harmless, and often were made fun of by young boys.

THIS CONVERSATION OPENED up a few pages of may memory and I recalled a familiar character but of an entirely different, type and personality. One who was never shabbily dressed or groomed. A well-read man who could entertain you to some length and you enjoyed him.
This was Jim (Chief) Smiley of Port Dalhousie.

When I was quite young, three of us boys, had walked to Port Dalhousie to go swimming. As we were going between the two buildings of the rubber works, Jim Smiley passed us on his bicycle. He wore a wide brim black hat, a clean white shirt, dark pants; a belt with two holsters holding a pair of revolvers. The three of us were used to playing cowboys and Indians. What a pleasant surprise to see a real cowboy with two guns. This was right up our alley.

Then I made a mistake. 1 said to my chums, "Desperado, eh," Jim heard me, turned around and came back and gave us a real lecture. He didn't realize, I was payingj him a compliment,| was scared and afraid he would shoot the dirt from under my feet. He went on his way back to his barbershop.

JIM SMILEY RAN A BARBER shop in Port Dalhousie. The story I get was that he cut hair in the mornings, then used the money to buy .22 calibre cartridges. In the afternoons he and his partner, Miss Button, would paddle in his canoe up to the Martindale Creek, some distance above the little bridge on the old road, to a certain tree on which they placed their targets for practice. I have seen this tree many times. The hole behind the bulls eye was not two inches wide but six inches deep, showng the accuracy of their shooting.

After some years of practice Jim Smiley and Miss Hutton were sponsored by the Winchester Arms Company and for many years performed on the vaudeville stage in many theatres in Canada and the United Staes, under the name of "SMILEY AND HUTTON." Their performance included .22 rifle shooting and revolver shooting. Jim was a perfect showman and always dressed up.

TO BE EDITED
it and rented space for 12 canoes, mostly to members Of the Pastime Club who camped on the lake at Welland Street. Here again I come in contact with Jim Smiley and over the following years became good friends.
There is a long story, too long to go into details, about Jim not wanting to enlist and go overseas in the First World War. He evaded the provincial policfe all winter, hiding on Reid's Island (Henley Island) and up in the Martindale, but later gave in.
JIM WENT OVER TO ENGLAND With the a rmy. They took him to the rifle range and told ihim to be flat on the ground and fire at the target. He couldn't hit it at all. He asked them to let him shoot standing up; they did, and he soon showed them his marksmanship. He showed them how to shoot with a revolver ahd got himself a job teaching officers how to handle a handgun.
In 1920 the Rowing Club built the shell house at the foot of Ann Street; It was not 10 feet from my boat house. In'due time Jim Smiley was made custodian of the Rowing Club and we saw much of each other. He often said to me, "Why don't you build a room on top of your boat house and stay all night. You're down here five nights a ;week." • .-' -•••'... ,• '. .. • . . x JIM HAD A BEAUTIFUL VARNISHED canoe called "CORSAIR", always kept in good condition until that winter he was in hiding when .the ice on the canal marked it up badly and he painted it white for the first time.
I owned a sailboat and would take the mast down and open a pair of doors and float it into my boathouse. I also had a canoe and a little two-wheel cart to transport it over Lock One into the harbor. Jim became quite interested in the little cart and often put on a bathing suit to dive under my doors to get the cart4to takie his!canoe over the lijck- In time I let him keep it in the Rowing Club because he used it more than myself,
Jim Smiley was a well-read man. In his quarters Ovei: his boat house he had only the best of literature, no cheap trash, and he remembered what he had read. During the time he was in hiding the only book he had with him was the Bible. He told me he read it from cover to cover three times. It was always interesting when a discussion was going on among the oarsmen, when things were getting exciting, that Jim in his humourous way would enter the discussion by quoting passages from the Bible. He would say something like this — "As Exekiel said to Jeremiah in chapter 10, verse 5," then quote the passage work for word, to put his point across. He knew his Bible well and the characters that were in it Likewise, he could quote Tennyson, Shakespeare, Dickens4 Robbie Burns to suit the occasion. He was a grand entertainer.
SOME PEOPLE OFTEN SAID that his fancy shooting was a fake. This I know to be wrong.
Manv tim«a« T uratphprl him in nraptipp iiist nut-JIM SMILEY RAN A BARBER shop in Port Dalhousie. The story I get was that he cut hair in tfte mornings, then used the money to buy .22 calibre cartridges. In the afternoons he and his partner, Miss Button, would paddle in his canoe up to the Martindale Creek, some distance above the'ljttle bridge on the old road, to a certain tree on which they placed their targets for practice. I have seen this tree many times. The hole behind the bulls eye was not two inches wide but six'in-hes ;deep, showng the accuracy of their tooting.
! After some years of practice Jim SiMey and Ass Huttpii were sponsored by the Winchester Anns Company and for many years performed on the vaudeville stage in many theatres in Canada and the United Staes, under the name of "SMILEY AND BUTTON." Their performance included .22 rifle shooting and revolver shooting. Jim was a perfect showman and,always dressed his part as a rifleman. Miss Hutton was his equal in her Wes, fern riding outfit. I, have seen them perform in the old Grand Opera House and other places. Often dressed in his wide brim, black hat, his long but well-trirrimed hair, a white shirt and black trousers, his belt with two revolvers around his waist, he rode to St. Catharines on his beautiful horse. To paddle a canoe was no effort pn his part. THREE TO FOUR YEARS have now passed ;nce my experience with Jim/Smiley at Port, ilhousie. I am spending my summer holidays t Niagara-on-the-Lake. I'caddied on the golf ourse where I made many friends to chum with, Wng them Ed Curtis (who later worked at 't?'s Funeral Home). This day Ed said to me .^c/Canadian Indians", a trap-shooting association, were holding their annual trap-shoot on the golf course opposite the Oban Inn. So we went down to see the show. ;
The Canadian Indians, (they are not real Indians — it wa§ just the name of their trap-shooting association) were using shotguns and clay pigeons. To my surprise I saw Jini Smiley and Jiis partner Miss Hutton. They had been in-viled td put on a show of rifle shooting. Jim had been keeping-score for the trap shoot when someone objected, keying he made msitakes. They then had him pulling the trap and again someone-found fault with the way he was releasing the birds; so he was replaced.
TO THOSE WHO KNEW JIM, he was quick tempered, and this day he and Miss Hutton picked up their rifles and equipment and went -down the course about one hundred yards or so and started shooting with .22 rifles. They stole the show. In no tome the crowd left, the trapshooting and came down to watch' 'SMILEY and HUTTON", an outstanding rifle team.
Before I realized it, I was in the action. Ed Curtis told me that Miss Hutton was his cousin a nd in no time the two of us were throwing small : balls in the air for them to break. We even _ the black balls on a sucker stick while they Ishot them off. Miss Hutton had a row of balls on her coat as buttons/and Smiley Would shoot them off. This was a great day for me, considering the experience I had had some years before in Port Dalhousie.
JIM SMILEY HAD A BOAT HOUSE with living quarters over it, at the end of Ann Streejon the canal, where he rented space to others to keep their canoes. My father bought a boathouse from Mr. Abbery about 1914, about 75 feet from Jim's boathouse. After my borther and I returned fri^m the war, we added an addition to
——i——L^
ell and Grontham I all 934-3369 I
..„_ ., ,,*;u.-Lcau man. in Bis quarters over his boat house he had only the best of literature, no cheap trash, and he remembered what he had read. During the time he was in hiding the only book he had with him was the Bible. He told me he read it from cover to cover three times. It was always interesting when a discussion was going on among the oarsmen, when things were getting exciting, that Jim in his humourous way would enter the discussion by quoting passages from the. Bible. He would say something like this — ''As Exekiel said to Jeremiah in chapter 10, verse 5," then quote the passage work for word, to put his point across. He knew his Bible well and the characters that were in it. Likewise, he could quote Tennyson, Shakespeare, Dickens* Robbie Burns to suit the occasion. He was a grand entertainer.
SOME PEOPLE OFTEN SAID that his fancy shooting was a fake. This I know to be wrong. Many times I watched him in practice just outside my boathouse. One thing I still remember was putting out two candles with one shot. On his stand he placed two lighted candles about one foot apart. Then he placed a knife with a. sharp edge between the candles and out in front a t an accurate measured distance. When he shot at the knife, it split the lead bullet in two, each piece cutting off the wicks of the candles.
One day I came down to my boathouse with a new Savage .22 calibre rifle. Jim always used Winchesters. Jim said, "Got a new rifle, Henry?" I replied in the affirmative. He came over and took a good look at my rifle. He picked up a small medicine bottle from the bank. He laid the rifle on my dock, threw the bottle in the air, picked up the rifle and smashed the bottle to pieces. He had never seen or handled that rifle before. It was different from his own, but he knew how to aim a rifle.
Jim Smiley put on many shows to assist organizations in Port Dalhousie. For several years he performed at regattas on a barge in front of the old grand stand. He was good at that time. The last time I saw Jim putting on a show was in the separate school in Port Dalhousie.
JIM WAS USING A REVOLVER. He did several simple acts, then came to a favorite but difficult one, -that of cutting a moving black thread. I had seen him many times at practice to perfect this shot and he had mastered it. this consisted of a black ball tied to a black thread, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. When he cut the thread, the ball fell to the fbor. This night he fired three shots, and missed. Jim stood dumbfounded, and tears came to his eyes. He had failed.
One must realize that Jim was not as young as when he was travelling on the vaudeville stage. Like all people in differeent sports, "father time" takes his toll his eyes, his senses and his hand were not the same. In his effort to assist some local organization he had tried, but failed. It hurt him badly.
March 18, 1948 was, a sad day for many who h ad known Jim Smiley, when news spread that as the result of an early morning fire at his boat house, he had been overcome by smoke and did not make the exit." "
There are many people like myself, who as a boy knew Jim Smiley, as a cowboy on a horse. He was a colorful person who has been missed from the streets of Port Dalhousie. There must be hundreds of oarsmen who trained at the Rowing- Club who have known him./erijoyed his friendship, and still have fond memories of Jim (Chief) Smiley.