A False Alarm

The British Columbian, June 4, 1864

We find in the Victoria papers of the 1st inst. an account of the massacre of McDonald and eight of his party by Chilicooten Indians somewhere in the vicinity of Benshee Lake. This information is said to have been received by Judge Brew at Bute Inlet from two friendly Indians who came down from Bentinck via Benchee Lake, and moreover, it is added that Mr. Brew expressed his conviction of the truth of the report. This report, which is said to have been brought to Nanaimo by the Forward on Monday last, naturally caused intense excitement in Victoria, and resulted in a public meeting, representations to Governor Kennedy and the opening of a recruiting office, to which hundreds rushed, eager to enlist.

We are happy to be able to state that the thing is all mistake. No such information was received by Mr. Brew, and no such information was conveyed to Nanaimo by the Forward. We would advise our Victoria contemporaries to be careful about how they admit such rumors into their columns just now. The truth is bad enough, and to aggravate the matter by publishing such groundless rumors as the one alluded to is unpardonable, whether the blame rests with the too eager publisher or the unprincipled newsmonger.