Creative History

  In November of 1849, during the frenzied height of the California Gold Rush, a ship from Rio de Janeiro docked in San Francisco harbor and off of the gangplank stepped Joshua Abraham Norton--the future Emperor of the United States of America! Joshua Abraham Norton would one day proclaim himself to be the Emperor of the United States of America, however when he came ashore in late 1849 in the western frontier gold rush boomtown that was San Francisco, California at that time, no one in the city--not a single soul--had any idea who the hell he was.   If they had known who he was they most probably would have thought that he was an unmitigated failure at life who was running from his foggy and somewhat sketchy past, and like most of the hundreds of souls who arrived daily at the port of San Francisco, was seeking to strike it rich overnight at one of California’s many gold prospecting sites.  Had anyone known who Joshua Abraham Norton was when he arrived in San Franci...

            The count begins one...two... But before the count of three is reached United States Senator from California David C. Broderick’s Belgian made .58 caliber pistol misfires harmlessly into the dirt at his feet. Standing ten paces away from Broderick is former California State Supreme Court Justice, and one time close personal friend of Broderick’s, David S. Terry. Despite the mishap Broderick continues to stand tall.  On the count of three Terry doesn’t flinch and instantly pulls the trigger. Terry has taken aim directly at Broderick’s chest and when he fires the bullet instantly enters the Senator’s lungs. Weeks later at his trial Terry will claim that he, “only intended to graze him with a flesh wound,” but most who witnessed the duel will claim under oath that Supreme Court Justice Terry shot with intent to kill. The mortally wounded David C. Broderick is rushed to a waterfront house on San Francisco’s Black Point Beach. ...