The New York Daily Tribune of Nov. 11, 1871, also carried an account of the massacre.

Chinese Massacre Part 1 | Part 2| Part 3

Wong Chin, a merchant, was the first victim of the hanging. He was led through the streets by two lusty Irishmen, who were cheered on by a crowd of men and grownup boys, mostly of Irish and Mexican birth. Several times the unfortunate faltered or attempted to extricate himself from the two brutes who were leading him, at which a half-drunken Mexican in his immediate rear would plunge the point of a large dirk-knife into his back.

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Here’s the San Francisco Bulletin’s Oct. 25, 1871, coverage of the massacre, as republished in the Carroll (Iowa) Herald on Nov. 22, 1871. [This link works now but it may be broken eventually as Google tinkers with its newspaper archives]. Until these newspapers were digitized, it was almost impossible to read any coverage of the incident – all the average person had is what was written about it later in books.

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I hadn’t planned to get into the Chinese Massacre until I wrapped up the Zoot Suit Riots, but Google’s recent changes in its news archives pressed me to get the material online before the newspapers disappear.

For decades, the average reader has had no recourse but later accounts of the 1871 Chinese Massacre. Recent innovations in digitized newspapers, however, allow anyone with a computer — and lots of patience — to access the original stories.

Several months ago, in rummaging around in online newspapers, I found this stunning coverage of the massacre, filed as it occurred, with breaking updates. In reading these paragraphs, the intervening 140 years evaporates and the slaughter becomes fresh and immediate once again.

Even more incredible, the story appears in the Daily Southern Cross of Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 9, 1871, which shows just how far newspapers were circulated in the 19th century.

Here’s a sample:

Horrible beyond description has been the history of these last few hours. Chinamen, helpless, torn and mangled, more dead than alive, have been dragged by an infuriated, senseless and reckless crowd, through our peaceable streets, in the very face of the better portion of the community, to finish what little was left of their agonized existence at the end of the rope, amidst the exultant shouts and jeers of the mob.

Notice the references to “Negro Alley,” where the massacre occurred.

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