Prostitutes
in Gold Rush California
nProf.
Patricia Nelson Limerick
nThey look so charming in the movies. . . . The
stories seem to be close to pure misery:
miserable living conditions, risk of physical
violence every working moment, wretched
rate of pay, drug addiction, alcoholism.
Suicide was a common way for
a prostitute's life to end. It's a very grim, stark pushed-to-the-edge kind of life.