The Poker Bride

the long version

During the Gold Rush, a young Chinese concubine arrived by horse in Idaho gold country, where a white gambler soon won her in a poker game. She became Polly Bemis, the winner's legal, beloved wife. Polly emerged into public view only in 1923, a tiny old woman on horseback, her identity and story known only to a few old-timers. In The Poker Bride, Christopher Corbett tells the tale of the little known era of American history when Chinese immigrants streamed into California to join the feverish hunt for gold. These newcomers to the nation's growing melting pot were called sojourners, for they never intended to stay, but they made a lasting impact on the development of the American West. - Publisher.