Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE CHINESE MASSACRE
Mining was essential to the ultimate success of the Union Pacific Railroad: Closed
mines threatened coal supplies, which would be disastrous because trains required a
steady supply of fuel to meet their schedules. In 1875, when miners in Rock Springs
and Carbon organized to demand better wages, their strike shut down Union Pacific's
two largest mines. It was no surprise that the railroad looked for a quick yet cheap
solution. Until this point, all the miners in Rock Springs had been white, but two
weeks after the strike started, Union Pacific brought in 150 Chinese men to work the
mines. By month's end, some 50 white miners had returned to work, strike organ-
izers had been fired, and the two races were expected to work side by side. Although
there was underlying resentment and racism—Chinese miners worked for less and
were therefore more employable, plus this was the era when the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1882 was passed—tensions did not come to a head until a decade later.
By 1885 the number of Chinese miners at Rock Springs had increased to 331,
nearly double the number of white miners. Since the miners were paid by the ton,
mine assignments were important. On September 2, some white miners were upset
that Chinese miners had been assigned to prime areas. They met the Chinese men
outside the mine and prevented them from entering. The altercation quickly turned
violent, with one Chinese miner dying from his injuries.
The mob mentality quickly picked up momentum, and soon many more white
miners were vengefully hunting down Chinese miners. Many victims were scalped,
mutilated, dismembered, and even burned alive. In an effort to escape the violent per-
secution, many Chinese miners fled into the surrounding desert.
The white miners entered Chinatown, attacking its occupants and setting fire to
the buildings. The entire neighborhood burned to the ground: 79 homes were des-
troyed, 28-51 Chinese were killed, and 15 were injured. The violence shocked the
nation, but it also ignited anti-Chinese violence in other small towns in the West. Re-
action in Wyoming was mixed. The local newspaper supported the attacks; other pa-
pers criticized the massacre while empathizing with the plight of the white miners.
The territorial governor, Francis E. Warren, requested federal help to restore peace.
Federal troops entered Rock Springs on September 5. Troops were also deployed
to Evanston, where many of the Chinese had fled. Emergency troops were pulled out
