The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-26


Japanese and Dutch, and read:
"'Who are you? What is your bust
ness here? Do not presume to anchor;
return to the place from which you
come. Act otherwise at your peril
THE warning came too late, the ships
had anchored.
Seeing that the bluff was ineffec-
tual; that it provided more fun than
fear, the official who, from his dress,
was of evident high rank, and who
proved to be Yezamon, the governor of
Uraga unbent from his official austere
style and laughed with US
And he laughed still more, when
grub and grog,' as the youngsters ir
reverently described cakes and whisky,
were served to him and his staff.
"Yezamon proved not only good
fellow, but a good feeder. He liked the
cakes, but accustomed to diminutive
cups of sweet sake, the rather stiff
glass of grog served to him, choked
him; he relieved our approximations by
asking for more, which he got; and
the first step in converting the Japan
csc to American customs had been
taken.
From the eighth of July until the
thirteenth, the time of all entrusted
with the diplomatic duties was fully
occupied, in daily official conferences,
"NoneAof these visitors ever caught
even a glimpse of the commodore, who,
secluding himself, carried on his bust
ness through his staff, which included
Captain Frank Buchanan, commander
of the Susquehanna: Captain Henry A.
Adams, the chief of staff; Lieutenant
Contse, the flag lieutenant; DR. S.
Wells Williams, a profound Oriental
scholar, well versed in the mysteries of
Japanese writing, and Mr.. A. Portman,
a highly educated Dutch-American.
.On the afternoon of July 18th, Gov
ernor Yezamon announced that as all
preliminary points had been satisfac-
torily arranged, two princes, repre-
senting the emperor, would the next
day receive the commodore, and the
letters at a place selected on shore In
Kurihama-Ken.
.Kurihama is about three miles south
of Uraga, has a broad sweep of beach,
and has range of moderately high
hills enclosing it from the rear two
projecting bluffs on each end, some
what resembling a horseshoe. There is
off the mouth of the bay a group of
dangerous rocks, which the Plymouth,
having drifted near, We're named after
her, Plymouth Rocks
In honor of the occasion a large
house had been erected at Yokohama
or Toxic, taken down, it's parts num-
bered, transported and re-erected on
the lowland facing the bay, constrast-
ing sharply in it's white newness with
the brown, moss-covered buildings of
the village, which, from appearances,
were hundreds of years old.
THE new building, Reception Hail.
was profusely and gorgeously decorat-
. ed with flags, banners, streamers and
lanterns
For details of what occurred inside
of Reception Hall. an incident which
occurred to me, not a very creditable
one, l admit, prevented me from see
ing or hearing was not admitted.
II was, as l have stated, midship
man in charge of boat, and it was
beyond question my duty, after reach
ing the landing, to remain in my boat
to see that the boats crew, or keep
ers, did so also, and that they got no
liquor. AS the men landed, I had
something to do. and did it, to get my
party on shore. AS the procession with
flags flying and band playing, began to
march up the beach, 1 began to wish
was with it; wishing grew to long
ing; as the distance from me increased,
and began to lose details, the longing
grew irresistible. I was young, thor
oughly excited, and devoured with GU
riosity; therefore, to my shame, be it
said, I yielded
Carefully assuring myself that Cap
tain Buchanan was so far ahead that it
was not at all likely that he would
see me, 1 first instructed the boatkeep
ers as tc their duty, though I failed
in mine. I left the boat and joined in
at the tail end of the procession.
II had hardly marched a hundred
yards when sharp, stern hail reach
ed my ears, and set me tingling all
over. A voice never to be forgotten by
a youngster who has been caught by
"Old Buck for it was that of Captain
Buchanan
Mr.. Beardslee, are you not in
charge of a boat, sir?'
Yes, sir | managed to stammer.
but
Return to her Immediately, sir, and
stay there
Il did not stop to argue or remon
strate. I returned Immediately and
stayed there, thus this narrative loses
the benefit of my personal experience.
II must use of the records of others.
There was at the end of the room, OPP
posite the entrance, dais or platform.
On it, on cushions, sat the two princes,
Toda-Izu-no Kami, and lido, prince of
Iwami. At their left were armchairs
provided for the commodore and staff.
AS the commodore entered the princes
arose and bowed gravely When all
were seated, Tatsunosuke, the interpre-
ter for the Japanese, arose and asked
in Dutch, Are the letters ready for de-
livery?'
r'Mr. Portman replied. They are
Then, at a signal from the commodore,
the men bearing them took them from
the boxes, displayed the writing, sigma
lures and seals, then. laid them on
scarlet lacquer box, provided by the
Japanese.
"The Prince of Iwami then, through
his interpreter handed to the COM
modore a receipt, which was as fol-
lows: The letter of the President of
the United States and copy thereof are
received and will be delivered to the
Emperor.
1t has been many times intimated
that business relating to foreign coun-
tries cannot be tranacted here, but at
Nagasaki.
Nevertheless, as it has been OBJ
served that the admiral. in his quality
of ambassador of the President, would
feel insulted by a refusal to receive the
letter at this place, the justice of
which has been acknowledged, the
above mentioned letter has been re-