King of Knaves

After tales of a disastrous shipwreck, a tragic love affair, and the evil Agnus MacVee, it’s time to lighten up a little! 

So, for a change of pace, a look at one of the most outrageous characters ever to set foot in Victoria.

Many of our pioneers could lay claim to being different. But, more than a century and a-half later, John Butts still stands out, head-and-shoulders, over his fellow eccentrics. In the words of an exasperated newspaper editor of the day, he was “a greater scourge than cholera or smallpox”!

Think about that for a moment.

You’ll meet the incredible and inimitable John Butts in next week’s Chronicles.

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PHOTO: Victoria artist Dean Lewis’ depiction of John Butts based upon contemporary descriptions. —Author’s Collection