ica as a slave, and auctioned off to a Chinese saloon keeper in an Idaho mining camp. She later married Charlie Bemis, who won her in a poker game, and the two homesteaded on twenty acres of land along the Salmon River. Twice she saved Charlies life, and many times she nursed neighbors back to health. She was so well respected that when she died in 1933, members of the Grangeville City Council served as her pallbearers and the creek running through her property was named Polly Creek in her honor. A number of established institutions responded to the plight of Chinese prostitutes. For many years the Chinese Six Companies, the governing body in Chinatown, sought to have prostitutes and their procurers deported and worked with the authorities to eradicate the problem. American newspapers frequently ran stories about the evils of prostitution, but almost always in a sensation way, using headlines such as Story of Girl Shows Workings of a Chinese Ring, Confession of a Chinese Slave Dealer, Her Back Was Burnt With Irons, and Chinese Girl Flees to the Mission From Inhuman Owner. Presbyterian missionaries also made in their crusade to rescue Chinese prostitutes. In 1874 the Womens Occidental Board established the Presbyterian Mission Home as a refuge for Chinese girls and young women in San Franciscos Chinatown. The home remained in operation until 1933 when the last major anti-prostitution trial took place. The directors, Maragaret Culbertson and Donaldina Cameron, successfully conducted numerous rescue raids with the help of the police, using the press coverage of the raid to turn public opinion against Chinese prostitution. Between 1874 and 1908 approximately one thousand mistreated mui jai and prostitutes were rescued, housed and educated at the home. Some, unaccustomed to the restrictions and austerity of the home, ran away and returned to their former status. Others chose to return to China or stay and later married Chinese Chr...
