What happened to Bekah in 1850, happens to girls today. It’s an indication that there is something wrong with the world. Like the irritation of a splinter in your finger that won’t go away. We don’t always see it; it’s not often front page news. But it’s there.
Ah Toy was a woman who followed her husband to San Francisco during the Gold Rush. When he died in route, she became the mistress of the ship’s Captain. Once in San Francisco, she started a business in high demand with miners who left their wives in the East to work the rivers of California. Sometimes, the ladies employed were more children than women.