Massacre at Hells Canyon is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2016.
The topic of this film is a dark chapter of American history: the Massacre at Hells Canyon, AKA the Snake River Massacre, AKA the Massacre at Deep Creek.
What happened?
Who was responsible?
Where and when did it happen?
Answer # 1
As many as 34 Chinese immigrants who were prospecting for gold by a river at a remote location were killed.
Answer # 2
The crime was committed by a gang of seven white men who were known as horse thieves.
Answer # 3
The crime was committed in Oregon over two days: 27 and 28 May 1887.
The Massacre at Hells Canyon was and still is one of the worst violent incidents in Chinese American history.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Writer, producer and director: Kami Horton
** Editor: Bruce Barrow
** Narrator: Bruce Locke
** Production: Oregon Experience (OPB) and the Oregon Historical Society
** Language: English
** Subtitles: English
** Available on the PBS website
** Run time: 27 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (in alphabetical order):
** Garry Bush = Historical Tour Operator
** Chui Mei Ho = a historian and an author
** Doug Kenck-Crispin = a public historian
** Marcus Lee = Oregon Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
** Betty Luke = the Luke Family Association
** Patricia Hackett Nicola = a research volunteer, the National Archives
** R. Gregory “Greg” Nokes = a reporter, The Oregonian
** Rich Wandschneider = Director of the Alvin M. and Betty Josephy Library of Western History and Culture
** Lyle Wirtanen = a historian
** Marie Rose Wong = Associate Professor, Seattle University
What happened to the seven perpetrators when they were identified?
At first, they denied every accusation. But in March 1888, Frank Vaughn, one of the seven suspects decided to make a full confession on one condition: that he was granted immunity; that he was allowed to go free.
Frank Vaughn implicated the other six members of the gang.
Frank Vaughn explained how the gang had come across the Chinese immigrants who were prospecting for gold by a river at a remote location. They had ambushed them and killed them to make sure that they could not report the crime to the authorities.
Once the truth came out, three members of the gang managed to escape and disappear. They were never caught. The names are:
** Bruce Evans, the leader of the gang
** J. Titus Canfield
** Homer LaRue
The remaining three members of the gang were charged with murder, but at the end of the trial they were found not guilty. The names are:
** Robert McMillan
** Hezikiah Hughes
** Hiram Maynard
In the end, nobody was held accountable; nobody was punished for the murder of 34 Chinese immigrants, even though the identity of the killers was well-documented.
The story of the attack and the subsequent trial of the killers was reported by the local media at the time, but soon it was all forgotten.
In 1995, some historical files about the case were discovered in an old safe that was donated to a local museum. These files shed new light on the case and this moment was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the massacre.
The episode was covered by local and national media and this time it was not allowed to be forgotten:
** In 2005, the area where the crime was committed was renamed Chinese Massacre Cove.
** In 2012, a historical marker was placed on the site of the massacre.
The short text on the historical marker is written in three languages: English, Chinese, and Nez Perce (a language spoken by a local tribe of Native Americans).
What do reviewers say about this documentary film? This question is not easy to answer. The film is listed on IMDb but there is no rating. There are no reviews.
What do I think about it? In my opinion, this is an important film about an important topic.
The story of the 1887 massacre of the Chinese immigrants who were prospecting for gold in a remote area of Oregon deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
“Files Found in Oregon Detail Massacre of Chinese,”
The New York Times,
20 August 1995
** Michael J. Nove,
“Ambushed: The Hells Canyon Massacre of 1887,”
Oregon State Bar Bulletin,
November 2007
** Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon by Gregory Nokes (2009) – the author appears in the film – his book is available on Amazon where it has a good rating
** Raymond Douglas Chong,
“The Forgotten Chinese Massacre at Hells Canyon,”
Asian American News (As Am News),
14 September 2020
Marina Manoukian,
“The Hells Canyon Massacre Explained.”
Grunge,
1 March 2022
*****
The historical marker placed
at Chinese Massacre Cove
in June 2012
*****
Massacred for Gold:
The Chinese in Hells Canyon
by R. Gregory Nokes
(2009)
*****
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