In the July 2010 Issue...

July 2010 COVER STORY:

Chinese Farming, Industry and Exclusion

An excerpt:

ore than 10,000 strong, the Chinese laborers on the Central Pacific Railroad worked 12 hours per day, six days per week. They were soon expert in all facets of construction and worked under every imaginable condition.

Some were tethered to cliffs hundreds of feet tall in which blasting holes had to be drilled. To speed construction of one particularly long tunnel near Donner Summit, the workers blasted a shaft at the midpoint so that boring could occur from four points at once.

Against better judgment, the Central Pacific insisted on advancing the project during the brutal Sierra winters. Some workers lived in igloos as they faced the imposing Sierra and its storms.

An account by James Strobridge, the CP’s construction superintendent, recalled one aspect of the work during the winter of 1866-67: “We hauled over that snow to Donner Lake the material for a railroad track of forty miles, with all the trimmings, three locomotives and forty cars.”

In congressional testimony, Strobridge said, “a good many men…were lost during construction.” According to an exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, Calif., more than 1,000 workers might have perished during the construction.

Despite the perils, Chinese workers poured into California during the railroad period. In 1868, 11,000 arrived in San Francisco and 4,200 departed. In 1869, there were 15,000 arrivals and 4,900 departures. In 1870, the year after the “golden spike” was driven at Promontory, Utah, 10,800 Chinese came and 4,200 left. After that, Chinese emigration to California fell sharply.

For the most part, the Chinese who made the trip did so under the credit-ticket system. The CP hired at least two firms, Sisson, Wallace and Co. and Pacific Chinese Employment Co., to recruit workers. Recruiting stations were opened in China. Those destined for work in California agreed to repay $75 for passage.

Others might have arrived under the auspices of Cornelius Koopmanschap, a Dutch immigrant who once boasted to bringing 3,000 Chinese who were “employed on railroads, in mining, in agriculture and as domestics.” He made the remark in Tennessee in 1869 while appearing at a convention to discuss if Chinese labor might be substituted for labor of former slaves.

According to one historian, emigration became “the major industry” in China’s Siyi district. California offered higher wages. While earning up to 10 times more than in China, China nonetheless had a much lower cost of living. Chinese earned between $30 and $35 per month in California had living expenses of $15 to $18 per month.

So what became of their discretionary income? In an 1878 report on Chinese emigration, the California Senate concluded: “The Chinese have earned $180 million, of which only a trifling percentage has been spent here.” The report said the average Chinese worker sent $30 per year to his home district. Private postal couriers were used to send money home. Remittances may have helped to offset a severe trade deficit in 19th century China, but to what extent is not known.

Beyond the Sierra

rmed with the experience gained from running the rails across the Sierra, Nevada and a good bit of Utah (including a phenomenal 10 miles of track in a single day), the Chinese went on to work in other major railroad projects. Their labor sent the rails south to Bakersfield, Calif., across the Tehachapi Mountains to Southern California, east to Yuma and Tucson, Ariz., to El Paso, Texas, and north to Portland, Ore.

“Patient docility and remarkable facility of imitation…mechanical exactitude and singular carefulness in performing their tasks…constant industry…no wasteful habit” ‒ these descriptions of Chinese labor were contained in an 1871 report by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Yet the role of the Chinese in the development of California agriculture often is overlooked. A chief reason for this, according to historian Sucheng Chan, is that agriculture was an occupational area where the Chinese did not encounter extreme hostility from whites.

Chinese agriculturalists were entrepreneurs. Starting as gold seekers, they soon found that farming could become a profitable activity. Early on, Chinese gardens produced vegetables for personal use. Gardeners could save money and sell any surplus crops for a small profit. Over time, Chinese farmers learned to adapt to new conditions ‒ differences in climate, soils and markets. They moved into all phases of agriculture, including truck gardening, tenant farming, large-scale farm ownership, brokering, harvesting and packing.

Our other July features…

Chinese Experiences in Arizona – Chinese workers began to trickle into Arizona after 1863, settling in Prescott, Tucson, Nogales and Tombstone. Sing Choy, better known as “China Mary,” and Quong Kee were two of Tombstone’s prominent Chinese residents – Mary as the guardian of Chinatown and Quong Kee as the proprietor of the famous Can-Can Restaurant.

Historic Testimony at Tombstone Courthouse – In November 1881, a lengthy preliminary hearing was held to determine if the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday should face murder charges in the killings of three cowboys near the O. K. Corral. The dramatic proceedings recently were re-enacted at Tombstone Courthouse State Park by an all-star Arizona cast.

Crossing Very Bad Land in New Mexico – The lava flow near Grants, N. M. was called El Malpais, or bad land, by the Spanish. And for good reasons – it is a tough surface to cross on foot and it’s easy to get lost amid the folds and cracks of the volcanic rock. The well-marked Zuni-Acoma Trail helps guide visitors across the lava flow, but it is very slow going.

Beyond Gold, Good Hunting in Alaska – Gold, of course, was the bounty sought by the many men who stampeded to Alaska in 1898. But other things were in the sights of the gold seekers: Alaska proved a hunter’s paradise with bear, moose, caribou and fox among other game. If they tired of hunting, visitors could study the Eskimos and try their hand at driving dog sleds.

And Much More – Our regular features, including Frontier Fare, YesterWest, The Adventures of Randy Jones and Booger Red, Twisted Tails, and the antics of the Buffalo Gals.

New Feature: Just Around the Bend, a free listing of upcoming Old West events. For more information, contact Gary Ledoux at epitaphads@tombstoneepitaph.com