possibly in the mind of the particular officer in charge, who
afterwards paid with his life for the misconduct of his men. While the
state of siege continued a complete stop was put to our horseback
excursions in the country, a deprivation the more felt because
coinciding with an unusually fine spell of weather; but in a few days
an envoy arrived from the insurgent daimios, with whom a settlement
was speedily reached. Chiosiu and Satsuma had by this time succeeded
in establishing themselves as the real representatives of the Mikado,
an authority in virtue of which alone the Tycoon had ruled; the true
headship of the Mikado being admitted by all. They undertook that
foreigners should be adequately protected, and that the officer
responsible for the late outrage should be punished with death. By the
20th of February Kobe was full of Chiosiu and Satsuma samurai, who
were as courteously civil as those of the Tycoon had been; and after a
conference with the special envoy of the Mikado the ministers
returned to Osaka. We, too, resumed our country rides, but still
weighted with a huge navy revolver.
No doubt on any hand was felt of the sincere purpose of the new
government to fulfil its pledges; but their troops were still
ill-organized, and it was impossible to rest assured that they might
not here and there break bounds, as at Kobe. We were encountering the
accustomed uncertainties of a period of revolutionary transition,
intensified by prejudices engendered through centuries of national
isolation, with all the narrowing and deepening of prepossession which
accompanies entire absence of intercourse with other people. At this
very moment, in March, 1868, the decree against the practice of
Christianity by the natives was reissued: "Hitherto the Christian
religion has been forbidden, and the order must be strictly kept. The
corrupt religion is strictly forbidden." Yet I am persuaded that
already far-seeing Japanese had recognized that the past had drifted
away irrevocably, and that the only adequate means to meet the
inevitable was to accept it fully, without grudging, and to develop
the nation to equality with foreigners in material resources. But such
anticipation is the privilege of the few in any age or any country.
Very soon after the return of our men from their garrison duty, an
outbreak of small-pox on board the _Iroquois_ compelled her being sent
to Yokohama, where, as an old-established port, were hospital
facilities not to be found in Kobe, though we had succeeded in
removing the first cases to crude accommodations on shore. The disease
was then very prevalent in Japan, where vaccination had not yet been
introduced; and to an unaccustomed eye it was startling to note in the
streets the number of pitted faces, a visible demonstration of what a
European city must have presented before inoculation was practised.
One of our crew had died; and when we started, February 25th, we had
on board some sick. These were carefully isolated under the airy
topgallant forecastle, and with a good passage the contagion might not
have spread; but the second day out the weather came on bad and very
thick, ending with a gale so violent that to save the lives of the
patients they had to be taken below, and then, for the safety of the
ship, which was single-decked, the hatches had to be battened down.
Conditions more favorable for the spread of the malady could not have
been devised, and the result was that we were not fairly clear of the
epidemic for nearly two months, though the cases, of which we had
fifteen or twenty, were sent ashore as fast as they developed. At that
period few ships on the station wholly escaped this scourge.
It was after we left Kobe that judicial satisfaction was given for the
attack upon the foreign concession. My account depends upon the
reports which reached us; but as the captain of the _Oneida_ was one
of the official witnesses, on the part of the international interests
concerned, I presume that what we heard was nearly correct. The final
scene was in a temple near Hiogo. Being of the class of nobles, the
condemned had a privilege of the peerage, which insured for him the
honorable death of the harakiri;[12] a distinction apparently
analogous to that which our soldiers of European tradition draw
between hanging and shooting. Having duly performed acts of devotion
suited to the place and to the occasion, he spoke, justifying his
action, and saying that, under similar circumstances, he would again
do the same. He then partly disrobed, assisted by friends, and when
all was ready stabbed himself; a comrade who had stood by with drawn
sword at the same instant cutting off his head with a single blow. I
was tempted by curiosity, once while on the station, to attend the
execution of some ordinary criminals; and I can testify to the
deftness and instantaneousness with which one head fell, in the flash
of a sword or the twinkling of an eye. I did not care to view the
fates of the three others condemned, but it was clear that no judicial
death could be more speedy and merciful.
Nearly coincident with this exacted vengeance occurred an incident
which demonstrated its policy. A boat's crew from a French ship of war
had gone ashore to survey, unarmed. They were accosted by a
well-dressed man, wearing two swords, who suggested to them going up
to a village near the spot where they were at work. They accepted, and
were led by him into an ambush where eleven of them--all but one--were
slain. So there was another great funeral at Hiogo, but, one which
excited emotions far otherwise mournful than the simple sorrow and
sympathy elicited by the Bell disaster. The graveyard of the place
had, indeed, a good start. The assassins in this case belonged to the
troops of the insurgent daimios; and as the French already favored the
Tycoon--which perhaps may have been one motive for the attack--some
apprehension was felt that they might, in consequence, espouse his
cause more actively. Nothing of the sort happened. I presume all the
legations, and their nations, felt that at the moment the solidarity
of the foreign interest was more important to be secured than the
triumph of this or that party. By abstaining from intervention, all
the embassies could be counted on to back a united demand for
reparation for injuries to the citizens of any one.
With the arrival of the _Iroquois_ at Yokohama the notable incidents
of the cruise for the most part came to an end; there following upon
it the routine life of a ship of war, with its ups and downs of more
or less pleasant ports, good and bad weather, and the daily
occupations which make and maintain efficiency. Yokohama itself was
then the principal and most flourishing foreign settlement in Japan,
the seat of the legations, and with an agreeable society sufficiently
large. Among other features we here found again in force the British
soldier; a battalion of eight hundred being permanently in garrison.
The country about was thought secure, though for distant excursions,
requiring a whole day, we carried revolvers; and I remember well the
scuttling away of several pretty young women when one of these was
accidentally discharged at a wayside tea-house. But while occasional
rumors of danger would spread, it was hard to tell whence, I think
nothing of a serious nature occurred. Nevertheless, albeit resentment
and hostility were repressed in outward manifestation by the strong
hand of the government, and by the examples of punishment already
made, they were still burning beneath the surface. It was during this
period that the British minister, visiting Kioto, a concession
jealously resisted by conservative Japanese spirit, was set upon by
some ronins while on his way to pay an official call. He was guarded
by British cavalry and marines, and had besides an escort of samurai.
It was said at the time that these fled, except the officers, who
fought valiantly, slaying one and beating down the other of the two
most desperate assailants. Considering the well-established courage of
the Japanese, and that the attack was by their own people, sympathy
with the attempt seems the most likely explanation of the
faithlessness reported. The immediate effect of this was to curtail
our privileges of riding about the country of Yokohama.
Perhaps the most notable incident, historically, of our stay in
Yokohama was the arrival of the first iron-clad of the Japanese navy,
to which it has fallen a generation later to give the most forcible
lesson yet seen of iron-clads in battle. This vessel had been the
Confederate ram _Stonewall_, and prior to her acquisition by Japan had
had a curiously checkered career of ownership. She was built in
Bordeaux, under the name _Sphinx_, by contract between a French firm
and the Confederate naval agent in Europe; but some difficulty arose
between the parties, and in 1864 Denmark, being then at war with
Austria and Prussia concerning the Schleswig-Holstein duchies, bought
her under certain conditions. With a view to delivery to the Danish
government she was taken to a Swedish port, and after a nominal sale
proceeded under the Swedish flag to Copenhagen, where she remained in
charge of a banker of that city. Peace having been meanwhile declared,
Denmark no longer wanted her. The sale was nullified under pretext of
failure in the conditions, and she passed finally into the hands of
the Confederacy,[13] sailing from Copenhagen January 7, 1865. Off
Quiberon, in France, she received a crew from another vessel under
Confederate direction, and thence attempted to go to the Azores, but
was forced by bad weather into Ferrol. From there she crossed the
Atlantic; but by the time of her arrival the War of Secession was
ended by the surrenders of Lee and Johnston. Her commander took her to
Havana, and there gave her up to the Spanish authorities. Spain, in
turn, in due time delivered her to the United States, as the legal
heir to all spoils of the Confederacy. Several years later, in 1871, I
had a share in bringing home part of these often useless trophies; the
ship in which I was having gone to Europe, without guns, loaded with
provisions to supply the needs of the French poor, presumed to be
suffering from the then recent war with Germany. Our cargo discharged,
we were sent to Liverpool, and there took on board some rifled cannon
and projectiles originally made for the South.
The _Stonewall_ had been lying at the Washington Navy-Yard when I was
stationed there in 1866. Measured by to-day's standards she was of
trivial power, small in size, moderate in speed, light in armor and
armament; but her ram was of formidable dimensions, and at that period
the tactical value of the ram was estimated much more highly than it
now is. The disastrous effect of the thrust, if successfully made,
outweighed in men's minds the difficulty of hitting; an error of
valuation similar to that which has continuously exaggerated the
danger from torpedo craft of all kinds. After the sailing of the
_Iroquois_, a deputation of Japanese officials came to the United
States on a mission, part of which was to buy ships of war. In reply
to their inquiries, Commander--now Rear-Admiral--George Brown, then
ordnance officer of the yard, pointed out the _Stonewall_ to them as a
vessel suitable for their immediate purposes, and with which our
government might probably part. He also expressed a favorable opinion
of her sea-going qualities for reaching Japan. A few days later they
came to him and said that, as he thought well of her, perhaps he would
undertake to carry her out; their own seamanship at that early date
being unequal to the responsibility. This was more than was
anticipated by Brown, interested in his present duties, but it rather
put him on his mettle; and so he set forth, a satisfactory pecuniary
arrangement having been concluded. She went by way of the Strait of
Magellan and the Hawaiian Islands, reaching Yokohama without other
incident than constant ducking. As one of her officers said, clothes
needed not to be scrubbed; a soiled garment could be simply secured on
the forward deck, and left there to wash in the water that came on
board until it was clean. I have never known her subsequent fortunes
in Japanese hands; but as the beginning of their armored navy she has
a place in history--and here.
From Yokohama the _Iroquois_ returned to Kobe, and there lay during
July, August, and September; so that in our two visits I passed five
months in this part of the Inland Sea. The summer, in its way, is
there as pleasant as the winter in its. The highest thermometer I read
was 87 deg. Fahrenheit, and there was almost always a pleasant breeze. The
country was now so far safe that we went everywhere within reasonable
reach of the concession, and the scenery presented such variety in
sameness as to be a perpetual source of enjoyment. The most striking
characteristics are the views of the enclosed sea itself, ample in
expanse, yet without the monotony attendant upon an unbounded water
view; and, when that disappears, follows the succession of enclosed
valleys, alike, yet different; a recurrent feature similar, though on
another scale, to that presented by the valley of the Inn on the ride
from Zurich to Innsbruck. How far away those days are is seen from my
noting on one of them, while visiting what was known to us as the Moon
Temple, that the ships of war below were dressed in honor of the first
Napoleon's birthday, August 15th; an observance which ceased with the
empire.
This time I managed an opportunity of seeing Osaka, which the
disturbed conditions had prevented my doing during our winter stay.
Description I shall avoid, as always; enough to say that the flatness
of the site, in low land, six miles from the mouth of the narrow,
winding river, makes the city one of canals, like Venice and
Amsterdam. In visiting the great castle of the Tycoon, a stone
fortification notable not only for its own size, but for the
dimensions of the huge single stones of which it is built, we went by
boat, following a sluggish watercourse, an eighth of a mile wide, and
so shallow that we poled through it. The pull from the bar to the city
was very tedious, and Kobe evidently had proved the better commercial
situation; for even now, half a year after the opening of the port, we
were looked upon with curiosity; were followed by crowds which stopped
if we stopped, moved when we moved. To the children we were objects of
apprehension; they eyed us fearfully, and scuttled away rapidly if we
made any feint at rushing towards them. Nevertheless, the prevailing
tone among the common people was now plainly kindly, although six
months before they would at times spit at foreigners from the bridges
which in great numbers span the streams. The temper of those who form
mobs changes lightly. It is true that in our excursions we were
accompanied by an armed guard, which would seem to indicate
possibilities of danger; but these samurai themselves were not only
courteous, but interested and smiling, and I thought gave good promise
that their class in general was coming round to friendliness.
We left Kobe towards the end of September, in company with a new
flag-ship which had arrived to take the place of the _Hartford_. This
vessel rejoiced to call herself _Piscataqua_, which is worth recording
as a sample of a class of name then much affected by the powers that
were, presumably on account of their length; "fine flourishers," to
quote the always illustrative Boatswain Chucks, "as long as their
homeward-bound pendants, which in a calm drop in the water alongside."
_Piscataqua_, however uncouth, most Americans can place; but what
shall we say of _Ammonoosuc_, _Wampanoag_, and such like, then
adorning our lists, which seem as though extracted by a fine-tooth
comb drawn through the tangle of Indian nomenclature. Under the
succeeding administration _Piscataqua_ was changed to _Delaware_. The
new commander-in-chief was among our most popular officers,
distinguished alike for seamanship, courage, and courtesy; but he held
to great secrecy as to his intentions, which caused officers more
inconvenience than seemed always quite necessary. Questions of
mess-stores, of correspondence, and other pre-arrangements, depend
much upon knowledge of future movements, as exact as may not interfere
with service emergencies. These in peace times rarely require
concealment. A characteristic story ran that, as the two vessels were
leaving Kobe, when the flag-ship's anchor was a-weigh, her captain,
still ignorant of her destination, turned to the admiral and said,
"Which way shall I lay her head, sir?"
It turned out that we were bound to Nagasaki, on our way to China. The
approaching northeast monsoon, with its dry, bracing air, dictates the
period when foreign squadrons usually go south, having during the
summer in Japan avoided the debilitating damp heat which those months
entail in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the Chinese ports generally. The
_Iroquois_, however, had soon to separate from the flag-ship, owing to
news received of a singular occurrence, savoring more of two hundred
years ago, or of to-day's dime novel--"shilling shocker," as our
British brethren have it--than of the prosaic nineteenth century.
There had arrived at Hakodate, the northernmost of the then open
Japanese ports, on the island of Yezo and Strait of Tsugaru, a
mysterious bark, without name or papers, peopled only by Chinese of
the coolie class, and bearing evident marks of foul play. From
indications she was supposed to be American, and our ship, being the
most immediately available, was ordered up to investigate; leaving
Nagasaki October 24, 1868. Our course took us over the ground which
has since become historic by the destruction of Rodjestvensky's fleet,
as well as by other incidents of the Russo-Japanese war; and the
weather we had, both going and returning, would justify the anxiety
said to have been felt by the Japanese naval authorities, that Port
Arthur should be taken before the winter set in. Like men, ships must
do their work at whatever cost; but like men also, and perhaps even
more, they should be spared needless strain, especially if they be
few. A sick ship needs usually more time for recovery than a sick man.
Our orders directed a stop at a port called Niigata, on the west coast
of Nippon. We must have communicated, for I thence despatched a
letter; but at the time of our arrival a furious northwest gale was
blowing, dead on shore. The ship, therefore, ran under a largish
island called Sado, which much to our convenience lies a few miles to
sea-ward of Niigata, and there anchored; quietly enough as to wind,
though gusty willy-waws descending from the cliffs and swishing the
water in petty whirlwinds testified to the commotion outside. We had
quite the same experience returning to Shanghai; but at that time in
mid-sea, where the _Iroquois_, powerless as to steam, but otherwise as
much at home as the sea-fowl, rode it out gleefully, though I admit
not luxuriously to flesh and muscles.
On November 1st we reached Hakodate, where our captain and consul,
aided by the Japanese authorities, proceeded at once with their
investigation. The strange vessel was in as distressed condition,
almost, as that of the Ancient Mariner when he drew near "his own
countree:" sails gone, rigging flying loose, one of her topgallant
masts, if I remember right, snapped in two, and the exterior of her
hull as though neither paint nor soap had known it for years. In her
cabins were marks of blood not eradicated; and particularly on the
transom over the stern windows was the print of a bloody hand, the
fingers spread wide as they rested against the paint, suggesting
resistance by one being thrust out. The story so far collected from
the coolies was that they had sailed in her from Macao, a Portuguese
port near Canton and Hong Kong, and that the captain and crew, after
taking her far north in the ice, had abandoned her altogether. In
support of this part of their story they showed furs procured from the
natives. These gave plausibility to the ice experiences; but the rest
of the account, unlikely in itself, had been disproved by inquiry in
Macao, where nothing was known of any vessel answering to the
descriptions. At last, however, a rumor had come, how conveyed I know
not, that such a bark, with coolies and twelve thousand dollars in
gold on board, had sailed from Callao, in Peru, the previous January,
and had never since been heard from; that she had a Peruvian captain
and crew, but carried American colors, probably merely as indicating
American property. To claim full American privilege, ships must be
American built; but one bought abroad and owned by Americans may carry
the flag, in proof of nationality, though without the right of
entering an American port like those to the manner born. They thus
become entitled to the same national regard as any other possessions
of American citizens under foreign jurisdiction.
So information stood when the _Iroquois_ arrived--false on one hand,
and on the other vague. Soon after the captain and consul began their
investigation they stumbled upon the vessel's papers, concealed in a
manner which had hitherto baffled careful search. These showed that
she was the missing _Cayalti_, which on the previous January 18th had
cleared from Callao for another Peruvian port; that she was American
in ownership, while the captain and crew were Spanish in name. This
fixed her identity; but how account for the disappearance of the
ship's company, and for her presence in Hakodate, on the other side of
the Pacific, three thousand miles north of Callao. To this inquiry the
captain and consul addressed themselves in the cabin of the
_Iroquois_. Two or three Japanese two-sworded officials were in
attendance, and memory recalls their grave, impassive faces, as seen
at times when some routine communication called me in to speak to our
captain.
Contracted though the captain's quarters were, the unaccustomed
scene, absent from their companions and from the familiar surroundings
of their probable crime, was calculated to impress the culprits; and
the methods pursued to instigate admissions savored, I fancy, more of
the Orient than of modern Anglo-Saxon ideals. But the present
functions of our officials corresponded to those of the French _juges
d'instruction_; and, having to elicit the truth from a low class of
Orientals, they dealt with them after the fashion which alone they
would recognize as serious. The witnesses began, of course, by lying
in the most transparent manner, but under judicious--or
judicial--pressure a story was pieced together which in main outline
probably corresponded with the truth; for in it three or four of them
independently agreed. Two days out from Callao the coolies had risen
against the whites, and after a short fight overpowered them. Of the
crew, two jumped overboard; the rest submitted. A boat was then
lowered, and the men in the water were killed; after which the others
were tied together, made fast to an anchor, and so thrown into the
sea, the mate, who had fought desperately, having first been mutilated
by cutting off his ears. The captain and a Chinese steward were saved;
the former to handle the ship, to which the coolies were unequal, and
he was bidden to take her to China. I do not find in my contemporary
letters the impression which remains on my mind, that they estimated
his general observance of this order by the vague knowledge that China
lay towards the evening sun. The history of that strange voyage would
be interesting, but was scarcely recoverable in detail from the class
of witnesses. It would be by no means certain that the master of a
coastwise trader could navigate accurately; and, while he would always
be sure of death if he brought the vessel within reach of China, it is
not apparent why he should take her to the remote north in which the
furs showed her to have been. I have never heard whether, as the
evidence ran, he and the steward escaped alive, abandoning the
ship.[14] He had disappeared when the Japanese found her drifting
helplessly under her ignorant occupants.