Are you the owner, ma'am? A man with long, silvery hair stands in the doorway You vaguely recognize him, but it's been ages As far as you can recall, he's a police officer and a former client Well, lovely to see you, Sergeant, please come on in He shoves past you and enters the small foyer, then flashes the badge Not a sergeant anymore, a U.S. Marshal now Well, Marshal, I'm not, I appreciate you wiping your boots before you walk on my carpet Ma'am, you're about to have a lot bigger problems than a dirty carpet I'm shutting the whole place down You've got the right to do that Besides, why would you want to do that? I seem to recall you enjoying this place Not anymore, ma'am, I've been born again I now follow the teachings of Jesus Christ And it's my duty and my job to uphold federal law Including statutes against prostitution So now, please, go tell everyone to clear out No, no, no, you can't just shut me down like that, where will my girls go? That is not my problem Oh, you dirty hypocrite No, no, no, you just get out, get right out of my house The man goes red-faced, and his features twist into a sneer Well, ma'am, I've given you the chance to do this quietly But now, I guess, we'll just have to do it my way He stomps over to the door and yells out into the night You realize he's summoning other officers You run to the door and try to push the Marshal out and lock it He grabs you, slams you against the wall Before you know it, a dozen other marshals are storming past you into the parlor Rumor, ruffs, and chaos As they begin grabbing your girls and your clients, trying to arrest everyone It's a full-on raid, and all you can do is watch As they tear your business apart Increasingly, new arrivals to San Francisco didn't appreciate the city's loose morals in fast ways These newcomers intended to put down roots in the city And to do that, they began clearing out tent neighborhoods and constructing brick buildings They organized a proper police force and fire department And lobbied federal marshals to shut down brothels and other illegal businesses Instead of saloons and gambling dens, they opened concert halls, ballrooms, and theaters In the summer of 1851, they also formed an anti-crime organization called the Committee of Vigilance The committee's charter promised that its members would safeguard the peace and good order of society And preserved the lives and property of the citizens of San Francisco Ironically, a leading member of the committee was Sam Brannon, the hype man who had helped ignite the gold rush in the first place By parading through the streets of San Francisco with a jar of gold dust The committee began a powerful vigilante law enforcement group Sometimes they seized suspects and handed them over to the police, but more often than not, they would try suspects in their own kangaroo courts And dole out their own special justice A well-known madam named Belle Cora learned this first hand Cora ran her brothel from a resplendent mansion filled with fine furniture and served rich food and expensive wine Her client list was reported to include some of the most powerful men in San Francisco But when Cora's lover was charged with murdering a U.S. Marshal, she used her wealth and connections to hire the best lawyers for his defense And at first, it appeared that her efforts paid off The jury at the trial couldn't reach a verdict, and Cora's lover went free But the committee of vigilance was determined not to let the city's most notorious madam escape justice They hauled her lover out of jail, held a hastily conducted second trial, found him guilty, and erected a gallows There before an angry mob, the committee granted the condemned man one final request The committee summoned a preacher to unite him in Cora in marriage, and they hanged him Cora went from a wife to a widow in just

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