Seven members of the Truckee Caucasian League
50-521: Six Chinese woodcutters The Trout Creek Outrage , also known as the Truckee Outrage or Trout Creek Murder , was an example of anti-Chinese violence in California which occurred on the night of June 17–18, 1876. White residents of Truckee, California set fire to two cabins along Trout Creek that housed six Chinese immigrants working as woodcutters approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) northwest of
100-653: A contender in the disputed state election of 1872, in which both parties claimed victory. In the New Orleans " Battle of Liberty Place ", 5000 White League members overwhelmed 3500 troops of the Metropolitan Police and state militia. After demanding the resignation of Republican governor William Pitt Kellogg , the White League took control of Canal Street, the city hall, statehouse and arsenal. This armed rebellion finally forced President Ulysses S. Grant to respond to
150-706: A large riot against the Chinese occurred in Redlands . In response to rising anti-Chinese sentiment in California and other Western states, the U.S. enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 to ban Chinese immigration to the U.S. for 10 years and later enacted the Scott Act in 1888 to prohibit Chinese laborers from re-entering America. The passage of both laws lead to mass celebratory demonstrations in California. Coushatta massacre The Coushatta massacre (1874)
200-469: A young local woman. Her family taught him about cotton farming. In 1870, Twitchell was elected as a Republican to the Louisiana State Senate . He appointed his brother and three brothers-in-law (the latter natives of the parish) to local positions, including sheriff , tax assessor and clerk of court. Twitchell worked to promote education and to extend public representation and civil rights to
250-591: The Knights of Labor were created. The violence against the Chinese started soon after they began arriving in California in significant numbers. One of the earliest known instances occurred in 1856 when white miners destroyed property in Yreka 's Chinatown. The Chinese also faced restricted rights in California as few of them spoke English or were U.S. citizens and were forced to live in segregated communities. Anti-Chinese violence became more prevalent and severe in California in
300-649: The Red Shirts and other "White Line" organizations, they were described as "the military arm of the Democratic Party ." In the period after the American Civil War , Marshall H. Twitchell , a Union veteran from Vermont who had led United States Colored Troops , passed an administrative examination and came to Red River Parish , Louisiana to become an agent for the Freedmen's Bureau . He married Adele Coleman,
350-755: The coroner's jury on August 14, implicating F. Wilbert, G. W. Mershon, James Reed, Frank Wilson, and J. O'Neal; McCullough's testimony was corroborated by a statement from Getchell. At the inquest, forty witnesses from Truckee came to the defense of the accused, including Caucasian League president Hamlet Davis. In addition, the five accused were characterized as "old residents of Truckee, [with] good reputations [to-date]". The men were indicted and held for trial. On Thursday, August 17, 1876, Leonard Harris separated Getchell and McCullough, jailing them in Sacramento to keep them safe from harm and prevent them from conspiring with their five fellow co-defendants. The trial began in
400-629: The 1870s, partly as a result of the Long Depression , which many American workers blamed on industrialists using cheaper Chinese labor. On October 24, 1871, the most deadly act of violence against the Chinese in California occurred. Around 500 white and Hispanic men attacked Los Angeles' Chinatown after a white civilian was shot to death by a Chinese man. The mob looted Chinatown and lynched nineteen Chinese civilians, all of them male immigrants. Eight suspects were convicted of manslaughter but later had their convictions overturned. San Francisco, which had
450-535: The 1890s. In 1892 the Geary Act , named after California representative Thomas J. Geary , extended the Chinese exclusion act and added new restrictions on Chinese, such as requiring them to carry a resident permit at all times. 1893 saw a wave of anti Chinese riots in California, partly because of an increase in unemployment due to the Panic of 1893 . Fresno and Riverside both expelled their Chinese populations that year and
500-598: The 19th century. The attacks on Chinese were often sparked by labor disputes. In the 1880s alone, Chinese communities were attacked in 34 towns in California, often resulting in the local Chinatown being looted and burned. California was annexed by the United States from Mexico after the Mexican–American War in 1848. At the same time the California Gold Rush brought hundreds of thousands of settlers from
550-1078: The American west. Among the most notable of these violent events was the September 1885 massacre of 28 Chinese miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming and the November 1885 expulsion of Chinese Americans from Tacoma, Washington . On February 6, 1885, Eureka councilman David Kendall was accidentally shot and killed by a Chinese man. The shooting served as pretext for expelling all Chinese residents of Humboldt County to San Francisco. Del Norte County similarly expelled its Chinese population in January 1886. 1885 and 1886 saw an unprecedented wave of violence against Chinese Americans in California. Arroyo Grande , Marysville , Merced , Nicolaus , Pasadena , Redding , Red Bluff , Riverside , Truckee and Tulare all expelled their Chinese populations in those years. The Truckee expulsion
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#1732851827405600-466: The Chinamen a scare". After the meeting, seven men met at the cabin of Frank Wilson, where they armed themselves with guns and proceeded to sneak up on the Chinese camp on the west bank of Trout Creek. The encampment was approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) northwest of Truckee, and the Chinese immigrants worked as woodcutters. The ambushers arrived at approximately 1 a.m. There, O'Neal and Getchell set
650-705: The Eastern U.S. in search of gold, allowing California to become a state in 1850. The United States saw its first major wave of Chinese immigrants as a result of the gold rush. Most of these immigrants entered the country through the port of San Francisco and by 1860 Chinese immigrants had settled in all but 5 of California's counties. The Chinese quickly took up work in many industries after arriving in California. The Chinese faced racial discrimination from white workers who perceived them as being more willing to work for lower wages. Chinese immigrants began to be known as " coolies ". Additionally many anti-Chinese labor unions such as
700-626: The Fourteenth District Court in Nevada City on September 25, 1876, under Judge T. B. Reardon. Because most of the witnesses subpoenaed failed to show up, the start of the trial was delayed to September 27. An all-white jury was selected. California Attorney General Jo Hamilton and District Attorney E. H. Gaylord asserted the attack was coordinated by the Caucasian League and presented the prosecution's case through September 29. Two of
750-531: The bravest, wilted in [Reed's] presence" and refused to identify him in court. Another fire in October 1878 destroyed the Truckee Chinatown; this time, Chinatown was relocated south of the river. In 1886, citizens of Truckee organized a boycott of Chinese-owned businesses and white-owned businesses with Chinese employees; the so-called "Truckee Method" was successful in driving the remaining Chinese immigrants from
800-554: The completion of the First transcontinental railroad in 1869, some of the Chinese who had emigrated to California settled in Truckee and continued their work for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad , despite efforts to displace them. Other Chinese immigrants in Truckee worked as woodcutters, merchants, laundrymen, doctors, and prostitutes. By 1870, Truckee's Chinatown had 407 residents; for comparison,
850-673: The crime; their confessions were taken while miles apart, but their stories were almost identical. Five men were arrested for arson and murder on August 8, 1876 and jailed in Nevada City. George W. Getchell was arrested in Lake Tahoe on August 10; the arrests were made by Captain S. Deal, Leonard Harris (deputy sheriff of Sacramento County and detective of the Central Pacific), and Truckee Constable Jake R. Cross. Calvin McCullough testified before
900-774: The defendants were acquitted. McCullough was characterized as an ex-convict and Getchell was said to be drunk on the night of the murder. Under cross-examination, McCullough's criminal record as a boot and horse thief was exposed, along with interim reward payments that Cross had made to him prior to the trial. The defense called fifty witnesses who provided alibis for each defendant on the night in question. In addition, several witnesses testified that Getchell had stayed in Andy Johnson's saloon, intoxicated, between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Other witnesses recounted that Cross offered US$ 500 (equivalent to $ 14,300 in 2023) to multiple people to corroborate McCullough's statement. In addition, it
950-464: The demand with the guns of our men-of-war. Editorial, Sacramento Daily Union (June 21, 1876) The first reports were made on June 18; later, details of the crimes were published the next day, and early speculation was that "vagabonds, inflamed by liquor, committed the deed." The editors of the Sacramento Daily Union called upon Governor William Irwin to offer a "heavy reward for
1000-410: The discovery and arrest of the Truckee criminals", adding "the reputation of California is at stake". Less than ten days later, the combined reward was US$ 2,500 (equivalent to $ 70,000 in 2023). Both Calvin McCullough and George W. Getchell loudly had declared their intentions to claim some the reward and reportedly said they would fabricate a story to satisfy the Chinese, then leave after receiving
1050-634: The editor of Grass Valley Daily Union wrote "the Defendants who were indicted were not connected, by the evidence, with the acts of murder and arson. Indeed the testimony in the case showed, with great preponderance, the contrary state of facts." The Trout Creek outrage was compared to the Hamburg massacre . In March 1877, a similar anti-Chinese shooting occurred in Chico, California ; the Trinity Journal wrote "Had
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#17328518274051100-608: The fire, but no humans. After the fire, a meeting of property owners agreed the Chinatown should be rebuilt on the south side of the Truckee River . Although the initial effort was unsuccessful, broad streets were planned, which would "confine [the existing] Chinatown proper within reasonably narrow limits" and by June 3, concerned citizens had collected enough money to purchase the original land on which Chinatown stood and obtained an agreement with D. H. Haskell, Town Site Agent, to prohibit
1150-493: The first (upstream) cabin on fire; two others shot at the escaping residents while the remainder stood guard. In the first cabin, two Chinese immigrants (Ah Joe and Ah Lang) were sleeping, but woke after the cabin was doused in coal oil and set on fire. Ah Lang attempted to subdue the fire with a bucket of water, but was shot and injured, then fell and laid quietly in a hole while waiting for the raiders to leave. 48 pellets were removed from his body. The marauders then proceeded to
1200-596: The former slaves, known as freedmen . The White League arose in the Red River valley in 1874, first in Grant Parish and nearby parishes. It was a group of Confederate veterans whose stated purpose was "the extermination of the carpetbag element" and restoration of white supremacy . Most had been with the white militias that had taken part in the Colfax Massacre , but units later arose in other communities across
1250-546: The freedmen arrested by the White League, were hanged by Dick Coleman and his mob. Although twenty-five men were arrested for the massacre , because of lack of evidence, none were brought to trial. Violence continued throughout the state. The Coushatta massacre was followed shortly by a large White League insurrection in New Orleans , where they hoped to install the Democrat John McEnery as governor. He had been
1300-490: The governor's request for reinforcements to Louisiana. Then, within three days, Kellogg was back in office due to the arrival of Federal troops. The White League disappeared before they came. More troops arrived within a month to try to tame the Red River Valley. Grant's decision to send troops was probably too late to prevent further consolidation of Democratic power. In the 1876 election, white Redeemer Democrats gained
1350-436: The ground, resulting in three deaths. Anti-Chinese violence continued into 1887, with arsonists targeting a number of Chinatowns across California, including those of Chico , Fresno , and San Jose . As a result of anti-Chinese laws and violence in the 1880s, California's Chinese population declined by 37%. The Chinese had been 8.7% of California's population as of the 1880 census . Anti-Chinese violence continued into
1400-400: The indicted men, Getchell and McCullough, testified for the prosecution on September 27 and 28. The prosecution rested on the morning of September 29, and the defense began calling their witnesses. The defense, led by Charles McGlashan , successfully attacked the characters of the prosecution's witnesses and advanced a theory that a competing group of Chinese had perpetrated the attack; all of
1450-472: The largest Chinese population in the country, was also hit by a major anti-Chinese riot in 1877 . On July 23, 1877, unemployed white workers gathered for a socialist meeting and began attacking Chinese immigrants, killing four, as they blamed them for their economic woes. At the same time, anti-Chinese violence was spreading to smaller cities such as Chico , Weaverville , and Yreka . In June 1876, two cabins housing Chinese woodcutters were set on fire during
1500-472: The last Chinese immigrants from the city, which previously had been the home of the second-largest Chinatown in the western United States. As the Central Pacific Railroad were pushing over Donner Pass , Chinese laborers began settling in Truckee as early as 1868. Truckee's original Chinatown was north of the town's namesake river , centered at Spring and Jiboom streets, behind Front Street. After
1550-543: The night in Truckee ; after emerging to fight the flames, one woodcutter was shot and killed. The widely-reported incident, known as the Trout Creek Outrage , resulted in seven men being arrested and charged with murder and arson, but the jury found one defendant not guilty of murder after nine minutes of deliberation and the remaining charges were dismissed. In September 1876, the entire Chinese population of Placer County
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1600-645: The night of August 25, 1874, Thomas Floyd, an African-American farmer, was murdered in Brownsville . Members of the White League subsequently arrested several White Republicans and twenty freedmen, accusing them of plotting a "negro rebellion". Among the White Republicans were Sheriff Edgerton, William Howell (the parish attorney), Robert Dewees (De Soto Parish tax collector), Homer Twitchell (a tax collector and Marshall Twitchell's brother), and three brothers-in-law, Monroe Willis, and Clark Holland; Marshall Twitchell
1650-557: The participators in the Trout Creek affair of last Summer met their deserts [ sic ], it is not probable that we should have to record the Chico tragedy at this time." James Reed, one of the accused, served as the Constable of Truckee from 1878 to 1890. Reed shot and killed Constable Jacob Teeter, who had succeeded him, in 1891 after "nearly twenty years [of] bad blood"; the shooting
1700-402: The reward money. According to J. B. Harris, McCullough approached him on July 4 and said he was planning to take a position as night watchman for Chinatown; after that "he would tell the Chinamen a plausible story, and wanted [me and Conard] to corroborate it; if we would we could get the reward, and he would divide with us, and we could take a walk". McCullough and Getchell separately confessed to
1750-625: The sale or rental of any lots within to the Chinese. Nevertheless, the Chinese rebuilt on the burned site. The Truckee Caucasian League was formed soon after the fire. The Caucasian League was in communication with the San Francisco Anti-Coolie Club, also known as the Young Men's Universal Reform Club. In a May 1876 meeting, the Anti-Coolie Club endorsed the recent forced relocation of Chinese immigrants from Antioch on April 29 and
1800-404: The second (lower) cabin, approximately 3 ⁄ 4 mi (1.2 km) downstream, where four men were sleeping; it was similarly soaked in kerosene and put to the torch. The first to escape, Ah Ping, was shot by the waiting men. According to the statement of Ah Fook, who also lived in the downstream cabin, Ah Ping had left the cabin with a bucket to retrieve water from the nearby creek when he
1850-607: The state. Unlike the secret Ku Klux Klan , the White League operated openly and were more organized. They intended to overturn Republican rule. They targeted local Republican officeholders for assassination , disrupted political organizing, and terrorized freedmen and their allies. One historian described them as "the military arm of the Democratic Party." In Coushatta, the White League criticized Republican leadership. Members publicly accused Twitchell and his brothers-in-law of inciting what they termed "a black rebellion." On
1900-437: The town itself totaled 1,467. It was the second-largest Chinese community on the west coast. In late May 1875, Truckee's Chinatown was wiped out completely by a fire that started in a restaurant. The fire destroyed forty Chinese buildings and four houses on Front Street; the latter were mostly insured, though, and losses totaled US$ 60,000 (equivalent to $ 1,660,000 in 2023). It was estimated that up to thirty hogs perished in
1950-556: The town. When the last left later that year, Truckee held a celebratory parade. The sole remaining trace of Chinatown in Truckee is the Chinese Herb Shop at 10004 South East River Street, which dates to 1878. Anti-Chinese violence in California Anti-Chinese violence in California includes a number of massacres, riots, expulsions and other violent actions that were directed at Chinese American communities in
2000-443: The town; as the woodcutters fled the fires, the Truckee men shot them, killing one and wounding another. Seven men were arrested two months later and tried for arson and murder in September 1876, but the lone defendant for the murder charge was found not guilty by an all-white jury after nine minutes of deliberation, and the arson charges against the men were dismissed. Ten years later in 1886, the citizens of Truckee succeeded in driving
2050-493: The trial, Dr. Curless testified the wound, caused by a bullet passing from left to right through Ah Ping's abdomen, "was severe, but not necessarily fatal", but carrying the stricken Ah Ping over 2 to 3 mi (3.2 to 4.8 km) of "rough road" and subsequent treatment by a Chinese doctor may have exacerbated the injury. Such a crime will be as fruitful of mischief and embarrassment as the Coushitta massacre [ sic ]
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2100-418: The use of violence in general to expel Chinese immigrants. By June 7, it was reported the Caucasian League had 200 members, actively intimidating Chinese immigrants in town and warning them to leave. According to the sworn statement of Calvin McCullough, the Caucasian League held a meeting from 8 to 10 p.m. on the night of June 17, 1876; some of the attendees lingered and discussed how they planned "to give
2150-633: Was an attack by members of the White League , a white supremacist paramilitary organization composed of white Southern Democrats , on Republican officeholders and freedmen in Coushatta , the parish seat of Red River Parish, Louisiana . They assassinated six white Republicans and five to 20 freedmen who were witnesses. The White League had organized to restore white supremacy by driving Republicans out of Louisiana , disrupting their political organizing, and intimidating or murdering freedmen . Like
2200-555: Was expelled after a Chinese cook named Ah Sam murdered three white people near Loomis . White gunmen shot and killed four Chinese men in Chico in February 1877 and later unsuccessfully attempted to burn the town's Chinatown to the ground. Anti-Chinese violence and sentiment in America reached a peak in the 1880s. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which served as a pretext for violent actions against Chinese communities across
2250-714: Was in New Orleans at a Republican state convention. Within two days, hundreds of armed Whites arrived in Coushatta. After holding their hostages several days, the captors forced the officeholders to sign a statement saying they would immediately leave Louisiana. While travelling out of the region, six white captives were murdered by a band of armed whites led by Dick Coleman . Elsewhere in Coushatta and nearby, Whites attacked numerous African Americans, resulting in at least four deaths. Levin Allen had his arms and legs broken before being burned alive. Louis Johnson and Paul Williams, two of
2300-422: Was noted that Ah Fook had testified at the coroner's inquest that he kept kerosene in the camp in unlabeled bottles. The defense rested on October 2. After deliberating for nine minutes, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty for defendant O'Neal on October 3. District Attorney Gaylord made a nolle prosequi motion to dismiss the remaining indictments the next day. In an editorial published on October 6, 1876,
2350-444: Was particularly brutal. White residents had previously attempted to expel the Chinese population of Truckee in 1875, 1876 and 1878 but failed each time. In early 1886, white residents began boycotting local merchants who sold any goods to Chinese people. Every single business in Truckee quickly stopped selling any supplies to the Chinese and most Chinese residents left. A few remained, but the remaining buildings in Chinatown were burnt to
2400-435: Was ruled to be justifiable self-defense. Their animosity dated back to the time when Teeter had arrested Reed in 1876 in connection with the murder of Ah Ling, and the two men competed regularly for the elected office of Constable after that. Reed died in 1905; according to the obituary printed at the time, his role in the 1876 outrage was never proven because "[a prosecuting witness] being of powerful frame, fearless and brave as
2450-408: Was shot by two men. Ah Ping returned to the cabin and the woodcutters inside protected themselves with blankets until the heat became too intense, forcing them out. They carried Ah Ping across the creek and concealed him in the bushes. At daybreak, they took him to their employer, Joseph Gray, who sent for treatment by Dr. William Curless. However, Ah Ping died at approximately 4 p.m. on June 18. At
2500-658: Was to the Southern Democrats , and it will also be regarded as a complete proof that our claims of superior intelligence and civilization are preposterous and impudent. ... If a party of Americans in China had been attacked as the Truckee miscreants attacked the Chinese, the press of the United States would have been in arms at once, and the Government would have been called upon to demand instant indemnification from Peking, while it would have been thought perfectly justifiable to back up
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