Angel sails to California but is robbed and abandoned

Angel’s voyage to California turns her hope of escape into another struggle for survival. The other women aboard rob her as the ship reaches port, leaving her without money or possessions; after being abandoned, she eventually finds work in Portsmouth Square and is recruited by the Duchess to go to the gold country.

Hope of Escape and the Voyage

Angel had paid passage on a barkentine bound for California imagining that distance could offer freedom. Instead, she found herself one of only three women among 120 young men. The two other prostitutes began working aboard, while Angel tried to remain in her cabin. Within a fortnight, she concluded that her choices had narrowed to returning to prostitution or facing sexual violence. She chose to earn money, hoping that savings might eventually buy her freedom.

Robbery and Abandonment

As the ship docked, the other two women attacked Angel in her cabin and took all her money and possessions. When she regained consciousness, they had gone ashore, and no sailor remained to row her to land. Angel stayed aboard for two days before scavengers brought her to the dock. In the rain, while they argued over what they had taken, she walked away with only the clothes she wore.

Aftermath in California

Angel made her way by working in Portsmouth Square. The Duchess, a shrewd businesswoman, found her there and persuaded her to head for the gold country. The voyage thus leads not to the independent new life Angel had hoped for, but to another transition shaped by economic vulnerability and the limited options available to her.