The rancheria on Indian island was attacked on Saturday night by an unknown party of men & with the exception of three or four that escaped, the whole tribe, with many Mad river Indians stopping there were killed.
It may well be imagined that the unexpected attack on the diggers so near town, accompanied with such a terrible & indiscriminate slaughter, produced considerable excitement here on Sunday evening. In the midst of it, news reached town that the ranches on South Beach had also been attacked the same night, & the whole numbers of diggers there, exterminated. Since then it is reported that a considerable number of Indians on Eel river were killed the same time. The ranches at Bucksport & on Elk river were not disturbed as there were only squaws & children at these places, except two old bucks, it would seem that the design at first was only to kill the bucks. The killing appears to have been principally with knives & hatchets, or axes. The whole number killed at the different places on Saturday night, cannot fall far below a hundred & fifty, including bucks, squaws & children.
These simultaneous attacks, at different points, show clearly that this new plan of operations against the Indians, has been adopted by a large number of people in this county, & they act in concert. It is generally supposed that the sufferers from Indian depredations in the Bald Hills, on Eel river, & the lower part of the county, are at the bottom of it.
There are men in this county, as there may be elsewhere, where the Government allows these degraded diggers-to roam at large, & plunder & murder without restraint, who have become perfectly desperate, & we have here some of the fruits of that desperation. They have friends or relatives cruelly & savagely butchered, their homes made desolate, & their hard-earned property destroyed by these sneaking, cowardly wretches; & when an attempt is made to hunt them from their hiding places in the mountains, to administer merited punishment upon them, they escape to the friendly ranches on the coast for protection. When appeals are made for aid in protecting their lives & property, they are met by contumely & reproach. Their brethren in other parts of the State, many of whom approve of hanging up white men without "due process of law" for much less crimes than these diggers have comitted, heap ridicule upon them & shed crocodile tears over the "poor Indians."
Smarting under these great & grievous wrongs, we are prepared to overlook much that would otherwise be unjustifiable, but we cannot approve of the indiscriminate slaughter of helpless children & defenseless squaws. We cannot conceive of any excuse for such killing unless it be acciental, & will not suppose that anyone in his sober moments will attempt to justify such a thing.
If in defense of your property & your all, it becomes necessary to break up these hiding places of your mountain enemies, so be it; but for heavens sake, in doing this, do not forget to what race you belong.
We say this in all kindness, & sincerely hope that such an indiscriminate slaughter may never occur again in this county.
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