Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

Spring/Summer 1850 (3rd year of Kaei, Year of the Dog)

The streams are paved with gold, it says here," Terry said. He'd been reading from The Gold Regions of California all the way down the coast of South America. Even as their ship tossed and heaved in the enormous seas of Cape Horn, he read. "There are gold veins in California hundreds of miles long and wide. You only have to scratch the surface to uncover the stuff!"