The Art of Detection

[Kristi]

Thank you for the invite. You referenced Mountain Charlie as a personality of Watsonville later identified as a woman in your book The Art of Detection. Did you use this as a fictional identity to work with your book or was this a realistic character you pulled from historical information? There was a Mountain Charlie (known for bear fighting) in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1800's, so I was curious if there was more than one. :-). Kristi

[Laurie]

There seem to have been two Mountain Charlie/Charleys in the Santa Cruz mountains. The one I mean was a stagecoach driver who turned out, after death, to have been a woman (and probably the first one to vote in an election.)
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cru...

[Kristi]

very cool! Thanks!