Hatchet Men

San Francisco's exotic pre-1906 Chinatown was a place where vicious hoodlum gangs held sway. Chinatown became a cauldron of chaos teeming with thugs, prostitutes, gamblers, and warlords preying on scores of helpless victims. As the Tong Wars ripped through San Francisco's Chinatown, the Chinese inhabitants lived under a reign of terror. Opium was abundant as were "slave girls," women imported for the purpose of prostitution. Hatchet-wielding killers silenced any opposition. At the center was a man named Little Pete. With his command of the English language, his incredible ability to fight mixed his charisma and lack of fear, he ran Chinatown and manipulated the corrupt American politicians. From it, he built a criminal empire. It was a lurid and violent chapter in American history.