As rationaloids, Minor Planets had to pay them wages under california law, but I'll bet it wasn't half what the company would have to pay human pilots for doing the same thing.
"The Love of Frank Nineteen"
David Carpenter Knight
In the year 1852, on a fine spring morning, I arrived in Havre with my eldest sister, who was going, on commercial matters, to california.
"A Lady's Captivity among Chinese Pirates in the Chinese Seas"
Fanny Loviot
Besides the captain, the master, and the crew, our vessel carried eighteen passengers, all of whom were going to seek their fortunes in california.
"A Lady's Captivity among Chinese Pirates in the Chinese Seas"
Fanny Loviot