During the Gold Rush era of California History we get a number of big names that can still be found all over San Francisco on signs and landmarks such as Sutro, Levi Strauss, Doubleday, Bernal, and Coit - but there is another character from this time period that is not only still loved and revered for his eccentricities, but lives on in a popular tour route around SF where people dress like him and tell stories of times past.  A man who was so unhappy with the governmental and legal systems running the state after losing a legal battle over a rice contract that he delivered letters to all of the newspapers in the area proclaiming himself “Emperor of These United State and Protector of Mexico” and thus started his 21-year reign.

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