R. Gregory Nokes' book "Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon'' is the first authoritative account of the little-known massacre of as many as thirty-four Chinese gold miners in Oregon's Hells Canyon in 1887. The killers were a gang of horsethieves and school boys living in what is now Wallowa County, none of whom was ever convicted. The massacre was the worst of the many crimes committed by whites against the tens of thousands of Chinese laborers who immigrated to the American West in the 19th century to mine gold and build the nation's new railroads. The author goes behind the massacre to explain why the Chinese came, how they were treated and what happened to them. Nokes has traveled the world as a reporter and editor. He worked for The Associated Press in Salt Lake City; New York City; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Buenos Aires, and Washington, D.C. He joined The Oregonian in 1986, from which he has since retired. Nokes' assignments for The AP included Chief State Department Correspondent during which he covered trips abroad by Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan. In Puerto Rico, he served as Chief of Caribbean Services, responsible for AP's Caribbean news and business operations. His news assignments have taken him to more than fifty countries, including three trips to China. A native of Oregon, Nokes attended Willamette University in Oregon, graduating in 1959. He was awarded a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University in 1971-1972. He was a contributing author to The Media and Foreign Policy, published by St. Martin's Press in 1990. Nokes was interviewed on-camera about the Chinese massacre for the Bill Moyers' three-part PBS series, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, which aired in 2003. He also wrote an article about the massacre that appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly entitled "A Most Daring Outrage, Murders at Chinese Massacre Cove, 1887.'' The article won him an honorable mention for the 2007 Joel Palmer Award from the Oregon Historical Society. At The Oregonian, he worked in various capacities, including reporter, national correspondent, Oregon roving correspondent, and assistant managing editor. It was during Nokes' work as a roving reporter that he learned of the discovery of hidden documents, which shed new light on the massacre. He retired from the newspaper in 2003 to research and write his book.

Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon (Paperback)

By R. Gregory Nokes

$18.95

ISBN-13: 9780870715709
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Oregon State University Press, 10/2009

---