May 27, 2005
san francisco shanghai [4:43] | oh, for the life of a sailor in gold-rush san francisco! those hard-luck men and boys were lucky enough to witness the birth of a brand new wild west verb up close and personally: shanghai!
well, maybe not so lucky after all… the results were perhaps picturesque, but not at all pleasant.
here are a few images from the period… cameras were few and far between, of course, but the image of the bar girls here is priceless…
check out by jack london (1904) for a vivid look at the harsh realities of life on the sea.
Sparkletack is the blog and podcast of a guy who's obsessed with diggin' up San Francisco history. 
May 28, 2005 at 7:41 pm
thanks colin, i appreciate the nice thoughts — glad i could contribute a good memory or two to your day. i’m thinking about doing a whole show about the bushman one of these days… a genuine character!
May 27, 2005 at 7:41 pm
Enjoyed your Shanghai podcast nearly as much as I enjoed visiting your city a few years ago. Give mty regards to The Bushman !! Your mention brought back some good memories.
Colin
Liverpool
England
October 17, 2008 at 5:20 am
Richard,
Fantastic Blog!
As a former bay area resident I was familiar with the term, ‘shanghaied’ and what it meant, but not the history.
Fascinating!
Muchas gracias amigo,
Happily Retired in Ajijic, Mexico,
Joel