I also wish this were a thing of the past. It is not.
But where there is darkness, there is often light, no matter how small. Father Terence Caraher was known by San Francisco as the ‘militant priest.’ He served at St. Francis from 1896 to his death in 1914, where he waged unrelenting war on organized vice in San Francisco. His life was threatened numerous times, but he never backed down from his fight.
As one Call article put it: He has met and conquered municipal bossism and graft, corrupt men on the bench and of the bar, all welded by the common cause of greed.
After being mired in legal battles, shut down and reopened numerous times, the Nymphia was eventually closed for good in 1903. It was sold, and the massive U-shaped building on Pacific Street still appears to be standing today, as a block of apartments.
Father Caraher was also instrumental in halting the blasting and quarrying that threatened the destruction of Telegraph Hill in the early 1900s. So we have him to thank for the half-quarried iconic landmark of San Francisco.
For anyone wondering if I came up with the method of murder using a handkerchief and a carpenter’s pencil all on my own… I didn’t. I found two such incidences in newspaper archives. The victims were women, and the man was eventually caught.
During my research into the Pinkerton’s Detective Agency and the famous detective James McPharlan along with the Molly Maguires, I came across a number of interesting facts. The entire infiltration of the Molly Maguires by the Pinkerton’s came about as a result of a wealthy mining magnate, Franklin Gowen, who wasn’t satisfied with what he had. He wanted it all. So he skillfully maneuvered and manipulated the railroads, mines, and workers to dominate the anthracite (also known as hard coal) market, in what was one of the first recorded cases of industry-wide price fixing in the U.S.
Gowen squeezed every last penny out of already overworked and starving miners so he could grab more wealth to add to his already significant holdings. But it eventually backfired on him when J.P. Morgan ousted him as president of the Reading Railroad. He later died by a gunshot wound to the head. There is some controversy on whether it was self-inflicted or payback by the Molly Maguires.
I also came across numerous references to “various people impersonating Pinkerton’s agents” in my research. I found an image of an old six-pointed bronze star on an antique site with the label “fake Pinkerton badge.” The site claimed there was an agency, circa 1900, that used the Pinkerton’s famous name to drum up business, and that the fake agency was eventually sued by the real Pinkerton Agency.
Further digging turned up a burglary gang who were in possession of a fake badge. The Call article said that “Superintendent W.H. Fields of the Pinkerton agency saw the badge and said it was issued by a man named Pinkerton in Chicago and Milwaukee, who advertises for detectives and gives applicants a fake Pinkerton badge for a small sum.”
Although I don’t know if these two references are related, they do provide plenty of fodder for a mystery writer’s overactive imagination. What with all the subterfuge and manipulation of America’s wealthy elite, the Anti-Pinkerton Act, and the Pinkertons laying the foundation for the CIA—it certainly makes one wonder.
Acknowledgments
A huge thanks to you, dear reader. I definitely wouldn’t still be writing without your support. And I’m continually awed that people want to read what I write.
And to the usual suspects…
To Merrily Taylor for taking out the time to read a messy first draft in the middle of a move. She’s been along for every word of the journey, and hasn’t kicked me to the side of the road yet.
To Alice Wright for her eagle eyes and prodigious memory. I can always count on her to find a forgotten detail about a character that’s hidden somewhere in eight books. For this book she found me Bill Cody. How could I forget that dirty little kid’s name?
To Lyn Brinkley-Adams for her kindness and support. (I don’t think you realize how much it means to me!)
Thanks to Erin Bright and Rich Lovin, who keep reading the rough drafts I write. And finally to my line editor Tom Welch, who is a joy to work with and polishes every manuscript to a shiny gleam.
Also by Sabrina Flynn
Ravenwood Mysteries
From the Ashes
A Bitter Draught
Record of Blood
Conspiracy of Silence
The Devil's Teeth
Uncharted Waters
Where Cowards Tread
Beyond the Pale
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Legends of Fyrsta
Untold Tales
A Thread in the Tangle
King's Folly
The Broken God
* * *
Bedlam
Windwalker
www.sabrinaflynn.com
About the Author
Sabrina Flynn is the author of the Ravenwood Mysteries set in Victorian San Francisco. When she's not exploring the seedy alleyways of the Barbary Coast, she dabbles in fantasy and steampunk, and has a habit of throwing herself into wild oceans and gator-infested lakes.
Although she’s currently lost in South Carolina, she’s lived most of her life in perpetual fog and sunshine with a rock troll and two crazy imps. She spent her youth trailing after insanity, jumping off bridges, climbing towers, and riding down waterfalls in barrels. After spending fifteen years wrestling giant hounds and battling pint-sized tigers, she now travels everywhere via watery portals leading to anywhere.
* * *
You can connect with her at any of the social media platforms below or at www.sabrinaflynn.com
Glossary
A man for breakfast - a murdered body found in the streets at dawn.
Avó - grandma in Portuguese
Bai! - a Cantonese expression for when something bad happens (close to the English expression, ‘shit’)
Bahba - Dad
Banker - a horse racing bet where the bettor believes their selection is certain to win
Between Hay and Grass - teenager
Blind Pig - an illegal drinking establishment
Bong 幫 - help
Boo how doy - Hatchet Man - a hired tong soldier or assassin
Bull - an officer of the law
Capper - a person who is on the lookout for possible clients for attorneys
Chi Gum Shing 紫禁城 - Forbidden Palace
Chinese Six Companies - benevolent organizations formed to help the Chinese travel to and from China, to take care of the sick and the starving, and to return corpses to China for burial.
Chun Hung - a poster that puts a price on someone’s head
Dang dang - Wait!
Digging into your Levis - searching for cash
Din Gau 癲狗 - Rabid Dog
Dressed for death - dressed in one’s best
Faan tung 飯桶 - rice bucket or worthless
Fahn Quai - White Devil
Kwei - Foreign Devil
Fence - a person who knowingly buys stolen goods to sell at profit.
Graft - practices, especially bribery, used to secure illicit gains in politics or business; corruption.
Hei Lok Lau - House of Joy - traditional name for brothels at that time
Hei san la nei, chap chung! 起身呀你個雜種！- Wake up, you bastard!
Highbinders - general term for criminals
Kedging - to warp or pull (a ship) along by hauling on the cable of an anchor that has been carried out a ways from the ship and dropped.
King chak - the police
Lardon - a thief
Lo Mo - foster mother
Mien tzu - a severe loss of face
Mui Tsai - little Chinese girls who were sold into domestic households. They were often burdened with heavy labor and endured severe physical punishments.
Nei tai - you, look
Neta - Portuguese for granddaughter
Ngor bon nei - I help you
No sabe - Spanish for ‘doesn’t know’ or ‘I don’t understand’. I came across a
historical reference to a Chinese man using this phrase in a newspaper article. I don’t know if it was common, but it is a simple, easy to say phrase that English speakers understood.
Pak Siu Lui - White Little Bud
Sau pan po - ‘Long-life Boards’ - coffin Shop
Si Fu - the Master
Siu wai daan 小壞蛋 - Little Rotten Eggs - an insult that implies one was hatched rather than born, and therefore has no mother. The inclusion of ‘little’ in the insult softens it slightly.
Speeler - a gambler
Slungshot - a maritime tool consisting of a weight or "shot" affixed to the end of a long cord, often by being wound into the center of a knot called a "monkey's fist." It is used to cast a line from one location to another, often a mooring line. This was also a popular makeshift (and deadly) weapon in the Barbary Coast.
Sock Nika Tow - Chop Your Head Off - a very bad insult
Wai Daan 壞蛋 - Rotten Egg
Wai Yan 壞男人 - Bad Men
Wattles - ears
Wu Lei Ching 狐狸精 - Fox Spirit
Wun Dan - Cracked Egg
Wun… ah Mei - Find Mei
Yiu! 妖! - a slightly less offensive version of the English 'F-word'.
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