1 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: Rudyard Kipling once wrote, oh, east is east and west 2 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: is west, and never the twain shall meet. But that 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: all changed in the mid to late eighteen hundreds, when 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: thousands of immigrants flocked to the New Frontier in search 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: of an opportunity, a golden one, you might say. It 6 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 1: started with the eighteen forty eight California gold Rush. Soon, 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: though miners were seeking other states to find their fortunes, 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: they arrived in South Dakota on sacred Lakota land. As 9 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: you might imagine, people stealing indigenous property caused quite a 10 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: few skirmishes. By eighteen sixty eight, the Treaty of Fort 11 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: Laramie ensured that everyone knew that the Black Hills of 12 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: South Dakota belonged to the Indigenous people already living there. 13 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: But settlers thought that if the Lakota people considered the 14 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: Black Hills sacred, it had to have some sort of 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: value other than spiritual. Then, in eighteen seventy four, Lieutenant 16 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: Colonel George Custer found gold aloe on the French Creek. Naturally, 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: word got out and caused a sudden influx of fortune hunters. 18 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: American and Chinese miners from California quickly set up camp 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,479 Speaker 1: that they named Deadwood after a number of fallen trees 20 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: found in a nearby gulch. But Deadwood's reputation as a 21 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: place of lawlessness grew as quickly as the population, which 22 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: swelled to over five thousand. The next big growth spurt 23 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: happened when a pair of brothers found one of the 24 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: largest veins of gold bearing ore in American history. As 25 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: a result, Deadwood skyrocketed from five thousand to twenty five thousand. 26 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 1: Murders became common, opium was freely traded, Fights broke out regularly, 27 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: and while settlers clashed with each other, they also had 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 1: plenty of run ins with the Lakota tribes and the 29 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: Chinese prospectors for familiarity and protection. These Chinese miners formed 30 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: a tight knit community that other settlers referred to as Chinatown. 31 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: These immigrants established businesses that catered to the prospectors and others, 32 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: including restaurants and houses of gambling. It was East meets West, 33 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: give and take, friend and stranger, all made possible by gold. 34 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: I'm Aaron Mankee and welcome to the Wild West. James 35 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: Wilson Marshall had come to Colomba, California from New Jersey 36 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: in search of work. He'd been hired to build a 37 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: water powered sawmill for his boss, John Sutter. The job 38 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: wasn't easy, but at least he was paid. Unlike the 39 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: Native Americans that Sutter enslaved, Sutter controlled the colony and 40 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: everyone in it. Marshall spotted something shining in the riverbed 41 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on a 42 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: clear January day in eighteen forty eight. He scooped out 43 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,239 Speaker 1: a handful and stared at the gold flakes. To his delight, 44 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: the whole bed sparkled with gold. At first, Marshall and 45 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: Sutter tried to keep the discovery a secret, which meant 46 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,839 Speaker 1: that before along everyone along the entire western coastline knew 47 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: about it. In San Francisco, storekeeper Sam Brannon debated only 48 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: a day or two before setting out to see if 49 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: the rumors were true, and they were. Brandon returned with 50 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: a vial of gold flake not long after that. He 51 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: was wealthy, but his fortune didn't come from the gold. 52 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: It came from selling shovels and other tools to prospectors. 53 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: By mid June, most of the city's male population had 54 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: bought supplies and headed to Coloma in search of gold. 55 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: By August, four thousand prospectors had gone, each seeking to 56 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: strike it rich. Ships arrived from everywhere, Chile, Hawaii, Peru, 57 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: and China. Those in Boston choosing to travel by ship 58 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: had to take a fifteen thousand mile eight month trip. 59 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: The journey by land was faster and shorter, taking six 60 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: months in between two and three thousand miles, but it 61 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: wasn't without risk or hardship. Travelers faced steep mountains and 62 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: swift river currents. Some faced starvation and attacks from indigenous people, 63 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: and even others. Those on the East Coast could hardly 64 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: believe the news coming from out west. It seemed too 65 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: good to be true. A letter from one prospector to 66 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: the editor of the Philadelphia North America read, your streams 67 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: have minnows and ours are paved with gold. In December, 68 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: President James K. Polk confirmed in his State of the 69 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: Union address that California did indeed have gold. Time was 70 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: of the essence. Though everyone knew that there wasn't enough 71 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: for everyone to flock to California. Men abruptly left their 72 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: jobs at factories and shops. They took their life savings 73 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: and headed west, leaving their wives and families behind, promising 74 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: to return once they had struck it rich. And this 75 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: flood began to arrive in California by eighteen forty nine, 76 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: earning them the nickname the Minor forty nine ers. And 77 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: as you might imagine, these mining towns boomed overnight shops, saloons, 78 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: and gambling establishments all sprang up. Towns were overcrowded almost immediately, 79 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: and often without any sort of law enforcement, making them 80 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: the perfect place thieves and outlaws. Women who were left 81 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: behind on the East Coast struggled to support their children 82 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: or to work the farms. Finding employment outside the house 83 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: was difficult. Even if they managed to find a place 84 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: that hired women, the pay wasn't good enough to support 85 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: an entire family. Some of these women made their way 86 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: west to be with their husbands. Others believed that the 87 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: move would offer a change of pace and a bit 88 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: of adventure compared to their everyday lives back home. And 89 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: then there were the women who saw a way to 90 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: make their own fortunes in a town where everyone couldn't 91 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: be a miner. Out west, jobs were more plentiful. They 92 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: could be shopkeepers, cooks, and teachers, just to name a 93 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: few others took a more entrepreneurial route, studying up boarding 94 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: houses or becoming hotel proprietors. Due to the need for 95 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: these services, women had more societal power than they did 96 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,919 Speaker 1: back out east. Out West, they could own property and 97 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 1: run a business. But life wasn't all gold and riches 98 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: when people moved from one mining town to another. Business 99 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: has failed as the populations moved on, and without access 100 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: to as many doctors, illnesses and injury killed many of 101 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: the new residents. In reality, those seeking a glamorous life 102 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: were unlikely to find it, but as long as the 103 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: mountains and rivers had gold, they would keep on trying. 104 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: If there were fortunes to be had, people would keep coming, 105 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: creating new opportunities and then, of course, dashing those dreams. 106 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: Chinese immigrants, which happened to be all men at that time, 107 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: started out as entrepreneurs while others worked for the miners. 108 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: Discrimination kept them from living among the white residents, but 109 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: they set up their own city within San Francisco. Like 110 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: the area in South Dakota, the settlers there called it Chinatown. 111 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty nine, twenty year old Ah Toy stepped 112 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: off a boat traveling from China. She was a foreign woman, 113 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: alone in a foreign land. San Francisco was already a 114 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: bustling town, but like the Chinese men who came seeking gold, 115 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: Ah Toy was determined to make her mark. It's unclear 116 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: if the ship arrived from Hong Kong or another port. 117 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: She arrived alone, though, although there seems to be a 118 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: couple of theories about why that is. In one story, 119 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: a Toy was the captain's mistress. He offered her safe 120 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: passage and enough money to start a life in San Francisco. 121 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: Another story is that her husband died during the travel, 122 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: leaving her alone to navigate a new life on her own. 123 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: Regardless of how she came to America, some believed that 124 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: a Tooy arrived with her feet bound, a common practice 125 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: in China's upper classes. Where Victorian England coveted women with 126 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: tiny waists, Chinese men preferred those with tiny feet. A 127 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: foot size no more than three inches was prized the most. 128 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: Those with feet longer than five inches or more were 129 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: considered undesirable. Binding became a way of preventing women's feet 130 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: from growing longer, although it also left them disfigured. With 131 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: a new life came new freedom and a toy removed 132 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: her bindings. Without a husband, she needed to find work, 133 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: which wasn't exactly plentiful for women, especially minorities, but she 134 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: managed to find employment with the trader who hired her 135 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 1: as his servant. The gold rush brought thousands of immigrants 136 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: from China. Soon enough, one third of San Francisco's population 137 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: was Chinese. American miners found the increasing numbers posed too 138 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: much competition for the gold that they wanted, so in 139 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty, California enacted a law requiring all immigrants to 140 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: pay a twenty dollars per month foreign miners license. Additionally, 141 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: racial minorities, including Native Americans, Mexicans, African Americans, and Chinese 142 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: immigrants were limited in their right to vote, to own property, 143 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: or even participate on juries. Marriages between races were absolutely prohibited. 144 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,719 Speaker 1: Mining became too expensive for Chinese miners, and those who 145 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: stayed in the area had little choice but to find 146 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: other ways to earn a living. One of the most 147 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: common occupations was doing laundry for the prospectors. This allowed 148 00:08:58,000 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: them to keep any gold dust or flakes that they 149 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: found on the miner's clothing or in the washing water. 150 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: Some of them, though, pivoted to other businesses, opening restaurants, 151 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: gaming halls, retail shops or shoe repair A few ran 152 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: opium houses or pharmacies, and those who still hoped to 153 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: strike it rich left California for other states that did 154 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: not require an expensive license. Black Hills, South Dakota became 155 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: one of those popular destinations. But women in the West 156 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: didn't have the same opportunities as men. Longing for a 157 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 1: life that didn't continue to leave her in poverty, a 158 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: toy noticed how other women were earning a living with 159 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: limited opportunities. Some of them had turned to sex work. 160 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: She noticed that there was no shortage of men willing 161 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: to pay, driving the price for their services higher than 162 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:49,239 Speaker 1: other forms of employment. Their lifestyle was purely for economic reasons, 163 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: so the women kept the liquor flowing at saloons and 164 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: dance halls. The average age of a customer there hovered 165 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: around twenty, although some were as old as fifty, others 166 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 1: were just thirteen. Regardless of though, the women all have 167 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: the same goals make money, marry well, and get out 168 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: of the business. This was more difficult, if not impossible, 169 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: for minority women. Now the number of men in relation 170 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: to the available sex workers determine the price in a town. 171 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: Sometimes the women made ten dollars or the approximate equivalent 172 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: of about four hundred dollars today. At night, the women 173 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: worked in bordellos. The money and the opportunity to find 174 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: and marry a rich prospector brought in women from all 175 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 1: over Europe. Ah Toy watched these women rise in society. 176 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: The most beautiful European and American women worked in the 177 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: better parlor houses and bought the finest dresses. They entertained 178 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 1: the most influential and wealthiest men in San Francisco. Sex 179 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: work was a profitable business in mining towns, but it 180 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: was also dangerous, and while some women earned enough to 181 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: make a fresh start elsewhere, ah Toy realized that the 182 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: real money was in the running of the brothel. She 183 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: decided to set her goals high. One day she would 184 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 1: run a brothel of her own, but first she needed money. 185 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: A Toy set up her shop in a shack just 186 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: four feet wide by six feet tall in Chinatown. Her 187 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: slender body, good looks, and infectious smile allured many men. 188 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:18,680 Speaker 1: While most of her clients were miners, she kept some 189 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 1: of San Francisco's social elite company as well, including a 190 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: French writer living in the area and California's Senator David Broderick. 191 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,079 Speaker 1: Broderick's fixer, Charles Dwayne, was quoted as saying that a 192 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: Toy was the finest looking woman he had ever seen, 193 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: and that made her stand out, which was important. San 194 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: Francisco was home to nearly twenty five thousand people. A Toy, though, 195 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: was the only Chinese sex worker in the city, which 196 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: made her popularity grow. More Chinese women came in on 197 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: steamships and men lining the harbor streets to greet them. 198 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: The women were auctioned to the highest bidders willing to 199 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: pay for their services. For a Toy, business was more 200 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: than good. In a year, she opened her own parlor, 201 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,959 Speaker 1: hiring women knew to the city. San Francisco had plenty 202 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:07,199 Speaker 1: of brothels and enough customers to go around. San Francisco's 203 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: first Madam, Irene McCready, owned two previous establishments that burned 204 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: to the ground. When she rebuilt a third time, she 205 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: chose a brick building and if they weren't going there, 206 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: they were going to. Another famous madam, Belle Cora, who 207 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: ran a posh bordello on DuPont Street. Now there were 208 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,199 Speaker 1: other brothels in town, although perhaps not as stylish as 209 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,679 Speaker 1: MacCready's or Cora's. The lesser establishments kept to the basics 210 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,679 Speaker 1: of furnishings a wash bowl, a chair, and a bed. 211 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 1: Like the more upscale Madams, A Toy wanted a more 212 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: upscale business at Tooy's first parlor house, opened on Pike Street. 213 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: Instead of the basics, she insisted on stylish furniture and 214 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: embroidered cushions. She was a shrewd businesswoman with a reputation 215 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,719 Speaker 1: for being tough, and frequently took clients who refused to 216 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: pay right to court. The problem was that technically her 217 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: establishment wasn't legal, so when a Toy took dead beats 218 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 1: to court, she had to choose her complaint care carefully, 219 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: citing failure to make appropriate compensation for services rendered. But 220 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:08,959 Speaker 1: it turned out that a Toy wasn't the only entrepreneur 221 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: in Chinatown. Chinese gangster Ye A Tai offered protection to 222 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: businesses that paid him, and trouble for those who didn't. 223 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: He should have known that when he tried to extort 224 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: a Toy, she would fight back. Yi Aah demanded that 225 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 1: a toy pay him a protection tax, and she declined. 226 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: If she wanted protection, she knew exactly where to find it. 227 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: The police station was just down the street from her parlor. 228 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: Although the court dismissed her lawsuit, ye A quickly found 229 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: himself behind bars for assault and grand larceny. When he 230 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 1: was released a year later, he never bothered a toy again. 231 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: The law changed for Chinese immigrants in the mid eighteen fifties. 232 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: The taxes loving on immigrants and minorities forced many of 233 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: them to move. Miners, fishermen, laundry operators, and brothel owners 234 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: earned less income as a result. A Toy, who operated 235 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: so vereral brothels across the city began to feel those effects. 236 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,439 Speaker 1: The source of her problems was a group of Protestant 237 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: men who formed the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance in 238 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty one. Their mission was to stamp out prostitution 239 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: along with other unregulated vices. Although they were a small 240 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: subset of the city, they had connections with prominent and 241 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: highly influential people in authority. In eighteen fifty four, the 242 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: city passed in ordinance against brothels Mexican and Chinese brothels 243 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: were the first to be shut down, and authorities arrested 244 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: A Toy. She was released a short while later, but 245 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: the city was changing. Soon there would be no more 246 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: minority owned brothels left. Then, in eighteen fifty five, the 247 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: gold Rush officially ended in San Francisco. Although many of 248 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: the better known brothels managed to stay open, there was 249 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: no longer room or clientele for entrepreneurs like a Toy, 250 00:14:52,600 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: so she shuddered her business then returned to China. In 251 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty, San Francisco began reinventing itself from a wild 252 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: West mining town to something more upscale. Authorities cracked down 253 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: even harder on Chinese brothels, passing eight new codes against 254 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: prostitution between eighteen sixty six and nineteen oh five. Chinese 255 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: women were jailed for five days and fined upwards of 256 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: fifty dollars that's roughly eight hundred dollars today. White sex workers, 257 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: though mainly seemed to be exempt. A Tooy did return 258 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: to the United States in eighteen sixty. Although she could 259 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: no longer work in her former profession, she enjoyed the 260 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 1: companionship of several long term partners, and yet she never 261 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 1: married any of them. Why what Laws known as anti 262 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: missagenation laws prevented those in mixed race relationships from marrying, 263 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: and those laws remained in effect until nineteen forty three. 264 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: More regulations and laws followed to curb the influx of 265 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: Chinese laborers immigrating and mass to the United States. President 266 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: chess U A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 267 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty two, setting a ten year ban on workers 268 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: coming from China. Although she may not have come to 269 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: the United States seeking gold, at Toy did earn a 270 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: considerable fortune. She also made her mark on history. She 271 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: was the second ever Chinese woman to arrive in San 272 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 1: Francisco and became the first Chinese sex worker. It said 273 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 1: that miners often raced to her shanty and that the 274 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: men standing in line wrapped around the block. A Tooy 275 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,000 Speaker 1: had become San Francisco's first Chinese madam and opened several brothels. 276 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: She managed to navigate life in one of Chinatown's most 277 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 1: dangerous locations too. Most brothels were tucked away in alleys 278 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: with opium houses. As far as the city was concerned. 279 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: If the establishments were not on the main roads, they 280 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: would turn a blind eye. But there's a darker side 281 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: to that. While many Chinese women who came to the 282 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: United States to work in brothels did so willingly, others 283 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: did not. You see, some were kidnapped back in China 284 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: and then sold into the business. Then in America, brothel 285 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: owners and wealthy men seeking a mistress would buy them 286 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 1: at an auction. It was horrifying, an alternate version of slavery, 287 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: and deeply dehumanizing. In the end, the crackdown on sex 288 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 1: work ended a Toy's livelihood. And while many a miner 289 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: lost and found a fortune during the gold Rush, it 290 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: seems that ah Toy was wise with her money. Reportedly 291 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: she had earned and saved a considerable fortune. Ah Toy 292 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: lived a quiet life after closing her business and disappeared 293 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,360 Speaker 1: from the spotlight. The last time her name was recorded 294 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: it was in the nineteen twenties to announce the news 295 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: of her death. But she lived a life that stood 296 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 1: out from the crowd. Like Belcorra, Madame MacCready, and other 297 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,360 Speaker 1: women of the Wild West who were denied a way 298 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 1: to earn a living, ah Toy quickly learned how to 299 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: command power and financial security in a strange New Land. 300 00:17:50,880 --> 00:18:00,919 Speaker 1: For them, the West was won with sex. The story 301 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: of San Francisco and the gold Rush certainly takes on 302 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: a new appearance when viewed through the lens of the 303 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: immigrants who played a key role from service jobs to 304 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: sex work. The Chinese experience was bleak, always uphill, and 305 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: usually surrounded by prejudice. But of course there is always 306 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,880 Speaker 1: more to the story. Stick around through this brief sponsor 307 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 1: break to hear my teammate Ali Stead tell you one 308 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:30,400 Speaker 1: more tale from San Francisco. 309 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 2: In the years since the gold Rush, Chinatown continued to grow, 310 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 2: so much so that the boom in population would present 311 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 2: a problem. Throughout the late eighteen nineties, San Francisco's Chinatown 312 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,680 Speaker 2: had become a bustling neighborhood filled with shops, restaurants, and homes. 313 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 2: That was all about to change, though. In March of 314 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,639 Speaker 2: nineteen hundred, forty one year old Wongchut King, a Chinese 315 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 2: immigrant who had come to America nearly two decades earlier, 316 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 2: wasn't feeling well. He worked hard at the lumber yard 317 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 2: not far from his home. Home, however, was a generous 318 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 2: word for his living conditions. The dank room he and 319 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,679 Speaker 2: several other men shared wasn't fit for the rats that 320 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 2: frequently visited, much less other human beings. The men rented 321 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 2: the space from the Globe Hotel on DuPont Street. Small 322 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 2: and dank, the men took turns sleeping on the floor 323 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 2: and mere feet away. Wong and the others had dug 324 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 2: a small pit to use as a toilet. They had 325 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:31,439 Speaker 2: no other options. Chinatown residents were busy celebrating the lunar 326 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 2: New Year, and ironically, it was the Year of the Rat. 327 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 2: Wong wasn't up for celebrating, though, he had come down 328 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 2: with a fever, chills, and body aches. He consulted a 329 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 2: Chinese doctor, who could do little for the swollen lymph 330 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 2: nodes in Wong's neck and groin. Soon, his fever raged 331 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 2: higher and he couldn't keep food down. Before long, he 332 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,879 Speaker 2: slipped into a coma and passed away. When the city's 333 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,640 Speaker 2: undertaker received his body, he faithfully reported Wong's symptoms, which 334 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 2: prompted city health officials to come down and inspect the body, 335 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 2: and what they found horrified them. Wong had died from 336 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 2: bubonic plague, and officials now had a problem on their hands. 337 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 2: Board of Health members met and debated late into the night, 338 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 2: finally deciding to quarantine Chinatown, hoping to stop the spread. 339 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 2: The root cause of bubonic plague had only been discovered 340 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 2: a few years prior. Until then, people believed that the 341 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 2: plague was transmitted from germs through open wounds or food, 342 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 2: or even bad air. The real cause was a tiny 343 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 2: bacterium spread by rats, or more precisely, the fleas than 344 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 2: infested those rats. Within a week, eight more people in 345 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 2: Chinatown had died, though that number might have actually been higher. 346 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 2: Doctors converged going door to door searching for potential victims, 347 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 2: but their search turned up empty. Doctors did report on 348 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 2: the deplorable conditions families were living in, all of which 349 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 2: were the perfect breeding ground for the plague. They also 350 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 2: believed that residents were hiding sick family and friends, rightfully 351 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 2: fearing racial backlash and poor treatment. Public health officials initiated 352 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 2: a massive clean up effort, but it was too little, 353 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 2: too late, and the death toll continued to rise. Doctor 354 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 2: Joseph J. Kinyon, a leader in disease prevention, wanted to 355 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,880 Speaker 2: warn San Francisco residence of impending infection. Politicians and business 356 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 2: owners did not. A senator from San Francisco even stood 357 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 2: on the Senate floor and shouted that doctor Kenyon should 358 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 2: hang for spreading disinformation. These upstanding citizens, however, did not 359 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 2: fear the disease. They feared economic loss, and a smear 360 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 2: campaign to discredit Kenyon's reputation began in earnest newspapers claimed 361 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 2: that the doctor and city health officials were spreading fear 362 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,919 Speaker 2: of plague in order to fleece taxpayers out of money. Meanwhile, 363 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 2: government officials, including the governor himself, denied the outbreak even existed. 364 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,400 Speaker 2: Doing otherwise, they feared would undoubtedly harm the state's produce 365 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 2: industry worth over forty million. Governor Henry Gage proposed that 366 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 2: it be made a crime for anyone to publish reports 367 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:19,359 Speaker 2: or articles about the plague outbreak without express written permission 368 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:23,119 Speaker 2: from the California Board of Health. Doctor Kenyon, of course, 369 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 2: would never receive such permission. Over the next fourteen months, 370 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,439 Speaker 2: the city covered up more deaths, plague or not. The 371 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 2: public was beginning to panic, and many blamed the Chinese 372 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,160 Speaker 2: community for the outbreak. In April of the following year, 373 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: United States Surgeon General doctor Walter Wyman ordered doctor Kenyon 374 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 2: to leave San Francisco, though Gage continued to protest, Some, 375 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 2: like the governor of Texas, didn't believe him. He threatened 376 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 2: to stop all trade with California until they had the 377 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 2: outbreak under control, and asked federal investigators to step in. 378 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 2: Gage intended to declare the state had eradicated the disease, 379 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 2: if only to save face, But in early July, another 380 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,879 Speaker 2: resident of Chinatown died, and by summer's end a dozen 381 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,719 Speaker 2: more were dead. The federal government descended to investigate and 382 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,879 Speaker 2: began to prove Governor Gage was covering up the truth. 383 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 2: Gage insisted the federal government was wrong and that men 384 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 2: had died from syphilis, but as more deaths occurred, voters 385 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,719 Speaker 2: were losing faith in him, and they showed their disapproval 386 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 2: by voting against him in the nineteen oh two election. 387 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 2: The succeeding governor, George Pardie, eventually put an end to 388 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 2: the epidemic. In nineteen oh four, Grim. 389 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: And Mont Presents The Wild West was executive produced by 390 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: me Aaron Manky and hosted by Aaron Mankey and Alexandra Steed. 391 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo, with 392 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Cassandra de Alba, and 393 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: Harry Marx. Fact checking was performed by Jamie Vargas, with 394 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: sensitivity reading by Stacy partial Jensen. Production assistance was provided 395 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: by Josh Thain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 396 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 1: To learn more about this and other shows from Grim 397 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:46,399 Speaker 1: and Mild and iHeartRadio, visit Grimandmild dot com