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Chinese Prisoner Was Taken from the Sheriff and Hanged

Date:June 22, 1874
Location:French Creek, Idaho
Event Type:Lynching
Victim Names:Unnamed
Victim Gender:Male
No. of Victims:1
Accusation:Attempted murder and robbery
Killing Method:Hanging
Occupation:Cook
Compiled By:Kevin Hegg

Narrative

In June 1874, a Chinese man accused of attacking August Berg with a hatchet was arrested after turning up wounded in Florence. The Idaho Signal described the assault on Berg and the suspect’s arrest. Later, The Idaho World reported that the prisoner was taken from Sheriff McDonald by disguised men and “suspended by the neck at the wire bridge on Salmon River.” The case became a classic frontier jail seizure in which a criminal accusation ended in mob hanging rather than trial.

Related Newspaper Article(s)

Attempt to Murder and Rob

Idaho Signal (Lewiston, Idaho)

June 27, 1874

Account of the hatchet attack on August Berg at his Salmon River home: Berg suffered severe wounds (both thumbs cut off, a deep side wound), pursued the assailant, and later a wounded Chinese suspect was arrested in Florence; robbery is suggested as the motive.

Chinaman Suspended By Neck

The Idaho World (Idaho City, Idaho)

July 18, 1874 (Page 2)

A Chinese prisoner accused of attacking August Berg was seized from Sheriff McDonald by disguised men and lynched from a wire bridge over the Salmon River; Berg’s recovery was deemed doubtful.