As a child he was said to have witnessed a battle between the Suey Sings and the Kwong Docks Tongs in 1875 and studied how the outcome of the battle could have been saved. Becoming involved in San Francisco's underworld by 1885, Little Pete had become a well known Tong hatchetman involved in prostitution, illegal gambling, and opium peddling.
In his childhood, it is said that he witnessed a conflict between the Suey Sings and the Kwong Docks Tongs in 1875 and understood how to alter the battle's outcome. By 1885, Little Pete was deeply involved in San Francisco's criminal underworld as a well-known Tong enforcer dealing with prostitution, illegal gambling, and opium distribution.