Polly Bemis

Polly Bemis
Polly Bemis in 1894
Born	(1853-09-11)11 September 1853 China
Died	6 November 1933(1933-11-06) (aged 80) Idaho
Cause of death	Stroke
Resting place	Idaho
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Rancher
Spouse(s)	Charlie Bemis

Polly Bemis (possibly born Lalu Nathoy) (September 11, 1853 – November 6, 1933) was a Chinese American pioneer who lived in Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century. Her story became a biographical novel, and was fictionalized in the 1991 film A Thousand Pieces of Gold.

Polly Bemis was born in rural northern China. As a child, she had bound feet. Later, her family fled from a group of bandits that raided her village. Subsequently, she was sold by her father for two much needed bags of seed. Bemis was then smuggled into the United States in 1872 and sold as a slave in San Francisco for $2,500. It was common for Chinese men of that time to have multiple wives and concubines, all having some social status and living under the same roof. When a Chinese man moved to North America, he might take a concubine with him or acquire one there, as custom required him to leave his wife in China to take care of his parents. An intermediary took her from San Francisco via Portland, Oregon, to Idaho, where her buyer, a wealthy Chinese man, possibly named Hong King, ran a saloon in a mining camp in Warrens, Idaho Territory, now Warren, Idaho. She arrived in Warrens on July 8, 1872. Bemis was 53 inches (130 cm) tall.

How Bemis gained her freedom from her Chinese owner is uncertain. According to academic Priscilla Wegars, her Chinese owner helped her gain her freedom. In mid-1880, the census listed her as living with saloon owner and fiddler Charlie Bemis (1848-October 29, 1922), who befriended her when she first arrived in Warrens. Bemis worked for Charlie Bemis, who was often referred to as "Charlie" or "C.A". She served as his housekeeper and ran his popular boarding house in Warren. Charlie was almost killed during a gambling dispute in September 1890, and Bemis nursed him back to health.

On August 13, 1894, she married Charlie Bemis, and the couple moved from Warren to a site 17 miles north by trail at a spot that came to be called both Bemis Point and Polly Place. Peter Klinkhammer, the couple's friend, reported that this was a marriage of convenience as Bemis needed to establish legal residency in the USA and Charlie Bemis needed someone to take care of him. Bemis's struggle for legal permanent residency went to the courts in Moscow, Idaho and her residency was finally granted on August 10, 1896 in Helena, Montana. Together, Charlie and Polly Bemis filed a mining claim, becoming among the first pioneers to settle along the Salmon River (The River of No Return), only several yards from the riverside. Even today this house is not accessible by road. Boats are a common means of access. Although the couple had no children—Bemis was 40 when they married, she was noted for her concern for children. They also were known to garden and care for a number of animals, including horses and a cougar. Bemis was also noted for her nursing skills, fishing, friendliness, and sense of humor.