R. Gregory Nokes’ “Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon” is published by Oregon State University Press

In 1887, more than 30 Chinese gold miners were massacred on the Oregon side of Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America. They wanted the gold dust that the Chinese had painstakingly accumulated. Historians and scholars debate the exact number of miners. Only 11 names are known. The gold was never recovered.

The crime was discovered weeks after it happened, but no charges were brought for nearly a year. Six men and boys in northeastern Oregon were charged — three fled and the others were found innocent.

A cover-up followed, and the crime was all but forgotten for the next 100 years, until a county clerk found hidden records in an unused safe. R. Gregory Nokes, a former reporter and editor for The Associated Press and The Oregonian, was the first to write a story about the murders of the Chinese miners in his 1995 article. His extensive reporting on the subject was a personal mission. This year, he detailed the information he uncovered about the massacre in his book, “Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon.” Continue Reading