The colorful story of the clipper Frolic lay buried until 1984 when the author discovered Chinese porcelain at the site of a Pomo Indian village in northern California. The Frolic was built in 1844 by New England merchants to carry opium from India to China, and its history vividly depicts the political, financial, and logistical aspects of the opium trade. Steam vessels made the Frolic obsolete as an opium clipper, and it was on its way to Gold Rush San Francisco with a rich cargo when it went aground in 1850 on the Mendocino coast.