The
Hells Canyon massacre (also known as the
Snake River massacre) was a
massacre where thirty-four Chinese goldminers were ambushed and murdered in May 1887. In 2005, the area was renamed
Chinese Massacre Cove because of this. Two groups of Chinese miners, led by Chea Po and Lee She, departed
Lewiston in October 1886 and headed upriver along the
Snake into Oregon's
Hells Canyon to search for gold. Chea's group stopped on the Oregon side of the Snake, near Robinson Gulch and the cove where Deep Creek empties into the Snake. Lee's group continued upriver to Salt Creek. Chea Po had chosen a location just upstream of Dug Bar, a
ford used by horse and cattle thieves to cross the Snake. Estimates of the value of gold stolen range from $4,000 According to a modern account, Vaughn stayed behind to prepare dinner while the other six rode to ambush the miners. McMillan minded the horses; Canfield and LaRue shot from the rim of Robinson Gulch, while Evans shot from the river level; Hughes and Maynard were positioned upstream and downstream to catch any miner who tried to flee along the river. Their surprise attack was successful, and all ten of the miners at the camp were killed, the last with a rock after the gang had run out of ammunition. Horner and Findley were both schoolboys at the time of the massacre but their accounts had glaring discrepancies. Findley believed the massacre was a planned event with more than just a motive to steal gold from the Chinese miners. He believed the arrested culprits wanted to eliminate the Chinese miners from the area as well, which they successfully accomplished. In contrast to most accounts, Findley recalled only 31 confirmed victims, and there was no mention of a trial. On the other hand, Horner believed that the event was a spur-of-the-moment event and affected 34 confirmed victims. The schoolboys initially only planned to steal horses, but they experienced difficulty crossing the river with the stolen horses. When the Chinese miners refused to loan their boats, the boys decided to take the boats by force. Other local Chinese Americans believed that all Chinese miners along the Snake had been killed once the mutilated bodies began to surface. Initially, "a thorough investigation" described in a July 17, 1887 article concluded the Chinese had been murdered by rival Chinese miners, since the victims had been "shot in the back and mutilated by cleavers, a weapon in general use by the Chinese." George S. Craig owned the Douglas cabin and discovered numerous skeletons in the area when he returned to winter his stock in the fall of 1887. In follow-up testimony given on April 16, Vaughn blamed Evans, Canfield, and LaRue for the massacre, and said that he, Hughes, Maynard, and McMillan had not participated. The trio were arraigned on August 28, 1888, and pleaded not guilty on August 29. Their testimony was consistent with Vaughn's, namely, that blame for the crime fell squarely on Evans, Canfield, and LaRue, all absent. The jury found the three men not guilty on September 1, 1888, following a short trial. • J. T. Canfield was imprisoned in
Kansas for stealing mules and returned to
Wallowa County to search for gold after his release. He was noted to be in the area during the trial, and moved to
Texas before settling in
Idaho and opening a
blacksmith shop as Charley Canfield. • Bruce Evans was arrested within a week of the massacre on an unrelated
rustling charge. He escaped from custody two weeks later, possibly with the help of Hughes and Vaughn. When he fled, he left two children and his wife behind. His name is engraved on a
memorial arch in the courthouse square of
Enterprise, Oregon, honoring the early pioneers of the county. • C. O. LaRue was rumored to have died in a dispute over a card game in
California. • Robert McMillan died of
diphtheria in 1888 at the age of 16. ==Memorials and remembrance==