B.C. author's debut novel brings outlaw Belle Jane, head of a cattle thieving ring, to life

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Natalie Appleton is utilized to penning astir her ain beingness — successful 2018, the B.C. writer released her memoir, I Have Something To Tell You, detailing her travels done Thailand connected a travel to fig retired who she is, and wherever she belongs. 

But now, she's penning astir idiosyncratic else, with a fictional twist.

Her debut novel, I Want to Die successful My Boots, focuses connected Belle Jane — besides known arsenic Belle Willard, Mrs. B.J. Dale and Mrs. William Kinnick — who Appleton says was a notorious cattle thief successful the 1920s. 

Appleton's involvement successful Belle Jane came astir erstwhile she work an obituary that pointed her successful the absorption of a past publication astir southwest Saskatchewan. 

"I conscionable became truly enchanted with the place," said Appleton, who grew up successful Medicine Hat, Alta., astir 53 kilometres westbound of the Saskatchewan border. 

She stumbled upon an relationship astir a pistillate named B.J. Dale, she told CBC's Daybreak South impermanent big Sarah Penton.

"It said thing to the effect of she was the astir colourful pistillate to walk done this state — charming, intelligent, besides known arsenic the caput of a pack of cattle thieves for which she enactment successful time," Appleton said.

"Of course, I was a small spot starry-eyed and truthful funny and began to hunt up clues astir who this singular pistillate mightiness be. I didn't truthful overmuch hunt retired to find her, but I consciousness similar she benignant of recovered me."

LISTEN | Natalie Appleton connected her caller book:

As is often the lawsuit for writers, Appleton got deep into researching the woman, who she said was calved successful Nevada and grew up successful Montana. 

"Her dada ran a saloon, and I deliberation that's wherever she started to summation immoderate of her skills arsenic an entrepreneur," Appleton said.  "She, I think, had a kid young. I recovered a paper clipping that she really was sent to Rossland, B.C. erstwhile she was 19 for six months."

The pistillate went connected to person a ranch of her own, Appleton said, and was joined respective times. 

"Some of them I could find the matrimony and divorcement records for. Some of them I couldn't. She took the sanction of 5 husbands. She had truthful galore names, archetypal names, past names, galore variations successful betwixt arsenic she crossed borders, matrimony certificates, she would prevarication astir her age, each these kinds of things. She was elusive." 

In 1924, Belle Jane was convicted and sentenced to jailhouse clip successful Saskatchewan for her engagement successful a cattle thieving ring, Appleton said.  

"There was what they called the beef situation astatine the time. Everyone was huffy for steak, but determination wasn't capable cattle to spell around. So they, I think, realized that determination was rather an accidental successful being capable to bargain cattle from the many."

Through extended probe and a fewer embellishments, Appleton has pieced unneurotic a fictional retelling of what this Belle Jane's beingness could person been like. 

"I'm truthful excited for different radical to get to spell connected adventures with her. It was truthful joyful to walk clip learning and penning astir her life, and present I'm thrilled for others to person the accidental to locomotion [her] communicative with her."