The bandit believed to be first to order innocent victims to raise their hands over their heads before stealing their money and valuables was Bill Miner. Although he was an American, Miner certainly left his mark in Canada, at one point being the subject of a heated debate in the House of Commons. But more on that later.

To determine who first uttered the command "hands up," we turned to the writings of three reputed old west crime authors. Their answers were less than definitive but the lore surrounding the exploits of Miner has all sorts of Canadian connections.

In Tales of the Golden Ears, Illustrated by Don Waite, the author writes: "The soft-spoken command `hands up,' followed by several apologetic remarks during the actual holdup, became a Miner trademark and earned him the nickname `Gentleman Bandit.'" But in the much more detailed book The Grey Fox, authors Mark Dugan and John Boessenecker wrote: "Legend has it that Miner was the first to use the term `hands up!' but detailed accounts of his first robberies provide no evidence to support this assertion."

So, the jury is still out. But the verdict is certainly in on Miner's contribution to early crime in Canada. And he's as guilty as can be.

Miner, who was born on the outskirts of the town of Onondaga, Michigan on Dec. 27, 1846, is known as one of the great bandits of his time and to this day, remains a legend in the Pacific Northwest. In the eyes of some, Miner, who came to be known as "the last of the old-time bandits," was close in popularity to Robin Hood, Jesse James and Billy the Kid.

His wasn't an entirely successful career, however: >From age 18 when he pulled his first job - the theft of 21 horses and a mule on July 31, 1863 from a prosperous Los Angeles County ranchero - he spent 37 years in prison, with some of his jail time behind bars in Canada. "As Miner's time in prison attests," write Dugan and Boessenecker, "he was good at being caught."

In a career of crime that spanned more than 45 years, Miner made a name for himself as a robber of stage coaches and trains but he also stole clothing, watches and robbed houses. He never killed anyone and in the public eye was a folk hero, who on occasion was cheered by the public, because he robbed only corporations.

It was a robbery involving a venerable Canadian corporation that helped Miner enter Canadian folklore. On Sept. 10, 1904, he and two accomplices robbed a Canadian Pacific Railway train at Mission Junction, B.C. 40 miles east of Vancouver. Their take was $7,000 in money and gold and $300,000 in bonds and securities (worth more than $5 million in today's dollars.) It was Miner's first successful train hold-up and Canada's first train robbery. And during the robbery, according to Dugan and Boessenecker, Miner used the command "Hands Up!"

Within days, the CPR and the B.C. government had offered rewards totalling $11,500 for the arrest of the bandits. On May 9, 1906, Miner and two helpers robbed a Canadian Pacific train at Ducks, B.C., 16 miles east of Kamloops, B.C., leaving the scene with only $15.50. Less than a week later, on May 14, 1906, Miner and his fellow desperadoes were captured near Douglas Lake, B.C. On June 1, 1906, all three were tried and convicted in a courtroom at Kamloops, B.C. and Miner was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was 57 years old at the time.

As happened many times in his storied career, Miner wasn't in jail for long. On August 8, 1907, according to The Grey Fox, Miner, partly crippled and 61-years-of-age, was allowed to escape from the Canadian prison as part of a deal with prison authorities and the CPR for the return of the $300,000 in securities. The escape raised the hackles of Parliamentarians in the House of Commons in Ottawa when Wilfrid Laurier was prime minister, with allegations flying every which way over allegations of coverups and collusion.

In a speech in the Commons, Laurier said: "It was a shock when we heard, and we heard it with a good deal of shame also, that he (Miner) had subsequently been allowed to escape from the penitentiary." Shortly after, however, the government refused to institute a full inquiry into Miner's escape, saying vague rumours were not grounds for investigation.

Bill Miner was never caught in Canada and the missing securities were never recovered, according to Dugan and Boessenecker.

In the spring of 1910, Miner and two accomplices robbed a train in Georgia and made off with about $2,200. Four days later all were caught and on March 3, 1911, at age 64, Miner was sentenced to 20 years in a Georgia prison. After two more escapes, Miner died on Sept.2, 1913, at age 66 at Milledgeville prison farm in Georgia, never having killed anyone or fired a shot from a gun.

As a show of support for the man with the dim view of big business, the citizens of Milledgevile paid all of his funeral expenses. The local citizenry had never before bestowed such treatment on a prisoner.

The story of Bill Miner was later made into a movie The Grey Fox by Mercury Pictures Inc. of Vancouver, starring Richard Farnsworth as Miner. It was also chronicled in a song written by Canadian singer Ian Tyson.