Chinese women migrated less than Javanese and Indian women as indentured coolies. These occupations included laborers, coolies, and peddlers. Thousands of coolies from South China worked as "virtual slaves" mining guano. Smugglers, poor farmers, coolies, retail merchants and officials all depended on opium for their livelihood. Mostly Cantonese and some Hakka coolies migrated to Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad. Most were Hokkien-speaking coolies and merchants originating from Fujian. There were also interethnic tensions under blacks and coolies. Pickering was also involved in the helping of exploited coolies and prostitutes. In British Columbia, government contractors eventually hired 17000 workers from China, known as "coolies". Some freed coolies (and later immigrants) established many small businesses. The houses on Queen Street also consisted of shophouses that were occupied by non-Eurasian coolies. Polyandry was a common practice amongst Indian coolies. African women rarely formed relationships Chinese men during their labor as coolies. Chinese workers ("Coolies") are brought in from San Francisco to supplement the work crews. Other Chinese coolies from Guangdong followed.