Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.Sample Book Insights: #1 The date was 14 August 1849, and the place was the port of New Bedford, on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The men were filing on board the ship Otranto, which was bound for California to dig for gold. However, after arriving in San Francisco, every single member of the company walked away from the ship to dig on his own.#2 The next episode in the Otranto story began in 1852, when a New Bedford whaling master, John P. Davenport, dropped anchor at Tahiti. He had been trying to oil his ship for the past six years, but had little success. He then invested in a cargo of oranges and set sail for California.#3 The Otranto was sold to a man named William Henry Hayes, who took her over and renamed her theSS William Hayes. She was listed for sale in 1854, well found with sails and rigging for a voyage.#4 Hayes was a captain in the Chinese Navy, and he was court-martialled for the crime of hanging twenty-five Chinese pirates without a trial. He then joined the Imperial Chinese Navy and took command of a gunboat. His orders were to hunt down pirates, but he also levied protection money from the merchants of the coast.