By almost all measures, Donaldina Cameron was an unlikely fighter. She was tall, slender, and extremely shy. She was deeply religious and had the “gracious manners of a society belle.” But to those who crossed her, she was anything but timid. She could be as tough as nails when necessary, and her enemies knew it. They called her the “white devil.” But to those in need, her compassion had no limit. To them she was their “Little Mother.” Her home base was San Francisco, but her jurisdiction knew no bounds. In 1899, even Visalia made it into this freedom fighter’s travel plans—and her visit wasn’t a social call! She came to free a captive young girl.
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