0:00

Now this is an unbelievable story.

0:03

A minister's daughter, Belle Cora, was

0:05

pregnant at 17, then a gold

0:07

rush prostitute, aka a soil dove,

0:10

then with the support of her

0:12

gambler boyfriend, one of the most

0:14

successful and richest Madams in San

0:16

Francisco, and finally tied to two

0:19

notorious murders. All that before

0:21

her death at just 34. I'm

0:23

Patty Steele, making a fortune

0:25

and losing your life in the sex

0:28

trade. That's next on the Backstory. This

0:31

show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Can you believe

0:34

we're already almost halfway through 2024? It's actually

0:37

a great time to take a look at what you've

0:39

accomplished and also what you want to do with the

0:42

rest of the year. Now here's the thing, if you're

0:44

like me, you forget to give

0:46

yourself a pat on the back, right?

0:48

Celebrate your wins so you feel good

0:50

about what you're capable of moving forward.

0:52

One of the best things about therapy

0:54

is taking a deep dive into who

0:56

you are with a terrific professional who

0:58

helps you recognize all your positives and

1:00

helps you set achievable goals. For

1:03

instance, I spent a lot of time

1:05

beating myself up for indulging my love

1:07

of history when it had nothing to

1:09

do with my career at the time,

1:11

but my therapist said, Patty, that's what

1:13

makes you who you are. Follow your

1:15

passion. It was such a relief. It

1:17

encouraged me to make some happy adjustments

1:19

in my career. Therapy isn't just for

1:21

people who've experienced major trauma. It's a

1:23

way to find joy and peace in

1:25

your life. The therapist I met through

1:27

BetterHelp is warm. She listens. She asks

1:29

eye-opening questions. Try BetterHelp. It's entirely online

1:31

on your schedule, super convenient and flexible.

1:34

Just fill out a quick questionnaire to

1:36

get you matched with a licensed therapist

1:38

and you can switch therapists anytime you

1:41

want for no extra charge. Take a

1:43

moment. Visit betterhelp.com/backstory today to get 10%

1:45

off your first

1:48

month. That's

1:50

betterhelp.com/backstory. Hey

1:52

there, I'm Dr. Maya Schunker and I'm

1:55

a scientist who studies human behavior. Many

1:57

of us have experienced a moment in our lives. that

2:00

changes everything. A moment

2:02

that instantly divides our life into a before

2:05

and an after. On

2:07

my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans,

2:09

I talk to people about navigating these

2:11

very moments. The last couple

2:13

of years has been the hardest season of our marriage for

2:15

sure. I'm surprised our marriage

2:17

survived it. I think we both are. I think we

2:20

both were barely holding on. Nothing

2:23

compares to how hard this is. Their

2:25

stories are full of candor, awe, and

2:28

hard-won wisdom. And you'll hear

2:30

from scientists who teach us how we can be

2:32

more resilient in the face of change. True

2:35

behavior change is really identity

2:37

change. Every action you take is a

2:39

vote for the type of person you wish to become.

2:42

Listen to A Slight Change of Plans

2:44

on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

2:46

or wherever you get your podcasts. The

2:54

Backstory is Back. Belle Cora

2:56

was born in Baltimore in 1832, or perhaps 1828. It's

2:59

not very

3:02

clear. She was the child of a

3:04

minister and his wife. Belle was

3:06

a beauty with long dark hair,

3:09

pale skin, hazel eyes, and a

3:11

voluptuous body. And she

3:13

wanted adventure. At 16, she fell in

3:15

love with an older man. And

3:17

by 17, she was pregnant.

3:19

Her boyfriend decided no thanks, and

3:21

he abandoned her. So imagine

3:24

being a pregnant teenager in the 1840s

3:27

with a strict minister for a dad.

3:29

Not easy. Belle wanted to keep her

3:32

baby, and she decided the only thing

3:34

she could do was run away and

3:36

head south, landing first in Charleston, South

3:39

Carolina. There she got involved

3:41

with kind of a sketchy guy who was

3:43

killed in a dispute pretty soon after she

3:45

met him. So within a few

3:47

months of her arrival in Charleston, she took

3:49

off for New Orleans. She gave

3:51

birth to her baby, but the baby died,

3:54

leaving her devastated and very alone.

3:57

Belle had few options until a well-known New

3:59

Or- Madam took her in.

4:02

She fed her, clothed her, and

4:04

no surprise, eventually offered her work

4:07

in her brothel. Belle accepted. And

4:09

within a few months, she was earning more

4:11

than any woman in New Orleans. And

4:14

that's where she met Charles Cora. He

4:17

was a well-known professional gambler and

4:19

was immediately obsessed with Belle, and

4:21

the two became an item. Now

4:26

it's 1849, and when news of

4:29

the California gold rush reached New

4:31

Orleans, Charles wanted in, and the

4:33

couple headed west. They

4:35

basically began touring the gold boom towns

4:37

and started making a fortune. He is

4:40

a gambler and Belle is a soil

4:42

dove. By 1850, they'd

4:44

opened a successful business north of

4:47

San Francisco called the New World

4:49

Gambling Parlor. It was a

4:51

huge success. And they quickly opened

4:53

another one due east of San Francisco.

4:55

Again, a huge success. Now

4:58

flush with cash, in 1852, they

5:00

decided to try to conquer San

5:03

Francisco itself. They

5:05

opened their third business called the Cora

5:07

House, and it was super lavish.

5:09

People said there was nothing to rival it

5:11

on the west coast. Customers,

5:14

including many of the city's big

5:16

shots, were treated like royalty, enjoying

5:18

the best champagne and hors d'oeuvres along

5:21

with their choice of the city's

5:23

absolutely most beautiful women. By

5:25

1853, Belle was

5:27

San Francisco's number one madam, charging

5:29

the highest prices in the business

5:32

and attracting powerful men from across

5:34

the U.S. She was

5:36

called the most well-dressed woman in San

5:38

Francisco. But it didn't last long. During

5:41

the height of the gold rush, gambling and

5:43

prostitution were all a really big part of

5:45

the San Francisco social scene and its business

5:47

culture, too. There were very few women in

5:50

the city in those days. Mostly men had

5:52

arrived who were without family and they were

5:54

looking to make a fortune. So

5:56

prostitution was a very popular business.

6:00

In that period, just in

6:02

one eight-square-block area, there were

6:04

more than 100 brothels operating.

6:07

But by 1855, gold fever

6:09

had pretty much petered out.

6:11

And in came the moralists, mostly

6:14

arriving from the East Coast. The

6:16

first laws against gambling and prostitution

6:18

had just been passed, and there

6:20

was increasing pressure on city officials

6:22

to shut down the gambling joints

6:24

in the brothels. And then

6:26

came the beginning of the end of the story. One

6:29

evening, Belle and Charles hosted a

6:31

gala event at Cora House. However,

6:34

it was on the same night as

6:36

a party thrown by U.S. Marshal William

6:38

Richardson and his wife. Well,

6:41

as you can imagine, the Richardsons

6:43

had way fewer male guests than

6:45

did Belle and Charles. Mrs.

6:47

Richardson was outraged that a party

6:49

thrown at a fancy gambling and

6:51

prostitution venue would compete with her

6:54

party. Not long after, when

6:56

the couples were seated in the same balcony

6:58

at the theater with the most expensive seats

7:00

in the house, the Marshal tried

7:02

to have the Coras thrown out. But

7:05

the theater manager refused, saying they were their

7:07

wealthiest customers and they weren't gonna get rid

7:09

of them. Words were exchanged,

7:11

and Richardson apparently insulted Belle, and

7:13

that started a bitter feud between

7:16

the two men. Two

7:18

days later, Richardson approached Cora in front

7:20

of a saloon, and the

7:22

two walked toward the waterfront. They started to

7:24

argue. And Charles Cora then

7:26

shot the Marshal in the head with

7:28

one of the two Derringers he always

7:31

carried with him, killing him. He

7:33

maintained the other guy had a gun, other

7:36

people not so sure. He

7:38

was quickly arrested, and Belle immediately hired

7:40

the most expensive lawyer in San Francisco

7:42

to defend him. Word is,

7:44

she even tried to bribe several witnesses as

7:47

well as a jury member. In

7:49

one case, even had her henchmen

7:51

threaten a female witness with a

7:53

dagger. It was the biggest

7:55

story in San Francisco, and after

7:57

a nasty trial ended in a hung jury.

8:00

The public finally was actually

8:02

favoring a lesser charge of

8:04

manslaughter. But then there was another

8:06

murder. This time of a

8:08

newspaper man who had attacked both Bell and

8:11

her husband, as well as a corrupt city

8:13

council member. Well, the councilman

8:15

shot and killed the newspaper man. Now

8:18

folks went nuts. Things were just out of

8:20

control. Enough with the

8:22

corruption, enough with the gamblers and

8:25

harlots they screamed. Said one paper,

8:27

the harlot who instigated the murder

8:29

of Richardson and others of her kind, are

8:32

allowed to visit the theaters and seat

8:34

themselves side by side with the wives

8:36

and daughters of our citizens. I guess

8:39

only the men were citizens. A

8:41

group called the Committee of Vigilance was born.

8:44

6,000 armed citizens, independent of City Hall

8:47

and the police, decided

8:49

to fight what they thought was the

8:51

rampant crime and corruption going on in

8:53

San Francisco. On

8:55

May 18th of 1856, over 2,000 of them descended on the jailhouse, demanding

9:02

the sheriff handover both Cora and

9:04

the councilman for a people's trial.

9:06

The sheriff refused, but then changed

9:08

his mind when a loaded cannon

9:10

was pointed at the jailhouse doors.

9:13

Amazing how that can change your mind. Two

9:15

days later, there was a people's trial,

9:17

and both men were convicted and sentenced

9:19

to hang. Bell was allowed

9:22

to stay in Cora's cell and married him

9:24

there, and just two hours later

9:26

he was hung with thousands of people

9:28

watching. The

9:35

execution of Charles Cora really marked the true

9:37

end of the gold rush. The

9:40

days of out-in-the-open gambling and

9:42

prostitution, wild partying, was replaced

9:44

by law and order. Bell

9:47

secluded herself in her bedroom for a

9:49

month after the execution, and

9:51

depending on the story you believe, she either

9:53

then sold Cora House and lived a quiet

9:55

life, or, most probably,

9:57

she turned to opium and clogged her house.

10:00

and continued to run her brothel for another

10:03

six years. Records are unclear,

10:05

but either way, when Bell

10:07

was just in her early 30s, she

10:09

died from pneumonia caused by the

10:11

habitual abuse of chloroform. Bell

10:14

Cora, California's most notorious woman

10:16

and richest sex worker, the

10:19

woman who was central to the formation

10:21

of the largest vigilante movement in

10:24

U.S. history, was dead before

10:26

she was 35 years old. Patty

10:31

Steele's Story Hope

10:42

you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty

10:44

Steele. Follow or subscribe for free

10:46

to get new episodes delivered automatically.

10:49

And feel free to DM me if

10:51

you have a story you'd like me

10:53

to cover. On Facebook, it's Patty Steele

10:55

and on Instagram, RealPattySteele. I'm

10:59

Patty Steele. The Backstory is a

11:01

production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the

11:03

Elvis Duran Group, and Steel Trap

11:06

Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.

11:08

Our writer, Jake Kushner. We

11:10

have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

11:13

Feel free to reach out to me

11:15

with comments and even story suggestions on

11:18

Instagram at RealPattySteele and on Facebook at

11:20

Patty Steele. Thanks for listening

11:22

to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The

11:24

pieces of history you didn't know you

11:26

needed to know. This

11:30

show is sponsored by BetterHelp. It's a

11:32

simple truth. No matter who you are, mental health

11:34

challenges can affect you and how you manage them

11:36

can make all the difference. That's

11:39

why everyone should have access to mental health support

11:41

that meets them where they are and helps them

11:43

get through. BetterHelp

11:45

provides online therapy on your

11:47

schedule. It's flexible, simple to

11:49

use, and more affordable than in-person therapy.

11:53

Connect with a licensed therapist selected

11:55

just for you. Learn more at

11:57

betterhelp.com. That's Better, H-E-L-P.

12:01

When you drive a vehicle so reliable it's backed by

12:03

a 10-year, 100,000 mile limited warranty, you

12:06

stop thinking about what you can't do and

12:09

start doing what you never thought possible. Visit your

12:11

local Kia dealer today to see what

12:13

you're capable of in a vehicle that

12:16

inspires confidence around every corner. Kia, movement

12:18

that inspires. Call 800-333-4KIA for details. Always

12:22

drive safely. Limited inventory available. Warranties include

12:24

10-year, 100,000 mile power train

12:26

and 5-year, 60,000 mile basic. Warranties

12:28

are limited. See retailer for details.