Ping Ling Was Killed During the Tonopah Anti-Chinese Purge

In September 1903, Ping Ling was killed during a violent attack on Tonopah’s Chinese quarter, part of a broader anti-Chinese purge in the mining camp. The Bremen Enquirer reported that a coroner’s jury charged seventeen men with his murder, including leaders of the local American Labor Union. The Tonopah Bonanza dedicated a full four columns to the riot. Describing the fate of Ping Ling, it said "Ping Ling, however, suffering, bleeding, and bewildered, and probably thinking that his tormentors were still after him, continued his course in the direction of Sodaville, sometimes keeping to the road, and then staggering off into the brush, almost every step he took being marked by splotches of blood" (September 19, 1903). A few days later, The Morning News noted that China was seeking damages for the Chinese “lynched out in Nevada,” showing how quickly the Tonopah outrage became an international issue.