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An Open Secret: The Story of Deadwood’s Most Notorious Bordellos along with a Kindle
Prostitutes, by nature of their profession, often find themselves in trouble with the law. It was not uncommon for a nineteenth-century harlot to be accused of blackmail, theft, or even murder. Such was the case of a soiled dove in northern California. The curious criminal proceedings were held before Justice John Anderson in 1852, and an article in an August edition of the Union Times attempted to unravel the mystery for its readers:
“A public woman, popularly known as “Old Harriet,” kept a saloon on Broad Street in Nevada City, overlooking Deer Creek. She had a man who kept bar for her and did any necessary fighting. Opposite her establishment was a dance house. A man named Pat Berry was mining on the opposite side of Deer Creek at Gold Run. Owing to a recent freshet there were no bridges at the foot of the town, but a tree had been cleared of limbs and felled across it, over which foot passengers made their way. The stream was still high and raged among the naked boulders and logs which were then innocent of tailings.
“On Saturday Berry came over to town, having made some money during the week, and rigged himself out with a new outfit. He spent the evening until late at the dance house and then went over to Old Harriet’s place, which was the last ever seen of him alive.
“In the course of the night a man in the neighborhood heard what he took to be a cry of “murder,” but he may have been mistaken. Two or three days after, about six miles below Nevada City, in an eddy in the creek, Berry’s body was found, completely naked. On the forehead was a large, extravagated wound, the blood discoloration proving that this wound was given while the person was alive. Finding him in this condition led to a search for previous traces of him; and it was discovered that he had spent the evening at the dance house, and then gone to Old Harriet’s, where all further traces of him were lost.”
Harriet and her fighting man were arrested and charged before the justice with murder. Other victims were discovered when authorities further investigated the incident. But was Madam Harriet guilty?
To learn more about soiled doves like Madam Harriet read
An Open Secret: The Story of Deadwood’s Most Notorious Bordellos.
