Armed Raid on Chinese Camp at Hangman Creek
A group of three men attacked a Chinese wood-chopper camp, resulting in a death and the displacement of the survivors.
Last Saturday evening a party of three Indians raided a camp of Chinese wood-choppers located about two miles up on Hangman’s creek. The bold enterprise was ventured into for the purpose of robbery, and the Indian brigands succeeded in securing some $200. They dashed into the camp with the persuasive gun in hand, and at their coming the occupants of the ranch flew in every direction. We are informed that one Chinaman was killed in the melee. The celestials were frightened almost out of their seven senses, and several of them did not stop running until they reached this city. A party of white men visited the camp, at the solicitation of the Chinese, but did not discover the perpetrators of the crime. The wood-choppers would stand no more chances so far from white protection and so moved their camp into Spokane, where they have since been recuperating.
“The wood-choppers would stand no more chances so far from white protection and so moved their camp into Spokane.”
This incident reflects the pervasive climate of violence and exclusion faced by Chinese immigrants in the Pacific Northwest during the 1880s. While the report frames the event as a robbery, it highlights the vulnerability of Chinese laborers who were forced to seek refuge in urban centers to escape targeted attacks in rural areas.
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