E X P E D I T I O N TO J A P A N .
vessels; nor perhaps has it been necessary, as the law confined them all to
one model and size.”
“ The tools with which they work are of primitive description, and the
finest of their work is not remarkable for its neatness; copper is preferred
to iron in fastening, when it can be advantageously used, and this is doubtless
owing to the great abundance of the former as a native production.”
“ I t is a singular fact, strongly illustrative of the effect produced upon
the people of this strange country by our friendly and social communications
with them, that the law already mentioned, which restricted the construction
of their vessels to one particular model, and that also inflicting
death upon those of their nation who should return to the Empire after
having once left it, no matter how, were both suspended; whether annulled
or not, I cannot say.”
“ Keyama Yesaiman, the governor of Uraga, was authorized, as we have
heard, and instructed to build a vessel after the model of the storeship
Supply, a very pretty vessel, and the Japanese commissioners who negotiated
with me invited a native we had on board the flag-ship, to whom the
sailors had given the sobriquet of “ Sam Patch,” to land and rejoin his
family, pledging themselves, in my presence, that he should be treated kindly
and provided for, under the immediate protection of one of them. Since
then there have been, as I understand, no objections made to the return of
any of the shipwrecked Japanese; but how far they have improved in shipbuilding,
I have not heard.”
“We saw no war junks, and it is probable they have none of any size,
the country not having been engaged for a long period in war. They content
themselves, most likely, in putting light swivels or howitzers on the
larger of their boats, whenever they cannot depend entirely upon their
many land batteries.”
A very large portion of the population is engaged in the fisheries, which
supply an abundant product. While the American squadron was in the
harbor, the seine was frequently drawn by the sailors of the ships; and
large quantities of excellent fish obtained, consisting of salmon, salmon trout,
groupers, white fish, porgies, perch, flounders, herrings, whitings, mullets,
and various other kinds. The salmon we took are not more than half the
size of those obtained in the United States, but are superior to them in
flavor. (Specimens of smoked salmon from further north were as large as
ours.) Crabs, clams of the genus venus, with beautifully-marked shells,
and the large blue muscle, are found in great abundance. The crabs are
of considerable size, and proved excellent eating, quite equal to the famous
ones of the Chesapeake.
The sportsmen of the expedition, in their occasional rambles, succeeded
in obtaining but few specimens of birds or animals. Wild geese, ducks,
quail, and other descriptions of game are, however, abundant in their sea-
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