The False Rumor of a 'Doc' Griswold Shooting
A street rumor concerning a fatal card game dispute in New Westminster turns out to be a total fabrication.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It was rumored on the street yesterday that a letter had been received from a party in New Westminster, that Ed. Griswold, better known as 'Doc,' had been killed, and Johnnie Boyle, another sporting man, fatally wounded by Jack Kendall. The trouble arose over a game of cards, the letter stated, and 'Doc' drew his revolver, when Kendall commenced firing, and both were mortally wounded. Officer Woolery telegraphed over to the chief of police to find if there was any truth in the report, and received an answer from Griswold stating that he was alive and well; hence it looks as though the whole affair was a hoax.
“It looks as though the whole affair was a hoax.”
Rumor-mongering was as much a part of 1880s Seattle street life as it is today, though the medium has shifted from word-of-mouth telegram checks to digital misinformation. This incident highlights the Victorian era's fascination with 'sporting men'—a common euphemism for gamblers and denizens of the city's nightlife—and the local police's role in fact-checking the daily gossip.
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