The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1907-12-27

aye hdNh LIT. Se"dll, Hltlt bttul-
circular harbor makes in on the west.
crn SIDE of the bay. At the head Of
| II stood the village or hamlet Of Kuri-
| hama. That was the spot selected for
the meeting of the western envoy and
the imperial commissioners. And
there the japanese erected a temper.
AIRY hall of audience.
1T was a memorable scene. The
two frigatcs steamed slowly down and
anchored on the harbor. How big.
black and sullen they looked to the
natives, Our little notilla Of Is boats
landed under cover OF their guns.
We were not quite 800 all told, but
every one was in full uniform and
armed to the teeth, Tho commodore
had given orders to make as magnili.
cent an appearance as we could. for
the purpose Of imprcssing people
who lay much stress on show. Yet
our little body Of men were few in
number to confront 5000 native troops
drawn up on the beach to receive us.
Outshone the Japanese.
Crowds Of curious spectators lined
the housctops and grouped on the hills
in the rear TO witness our landing.
Radiant uniforms, trappinEs and en-.
signs were oycrywhor"-b but We com.
pared rayorably Commodore Perry
had. in fact outshone the japanese.
Tho Japanese regiments seemed
TO have ben cut ont Of rainhows and
sunsets But II they were lively. their
officers were net For they sat in
silent dignity on camp stools in front
! Of the lines
Not until our force had discm.
harkod and formed on the beach did
the commodore show himself No
japanese had seen him up 10 thai
time He had remained to them a
mysterious presence. who would ONLY
appear when the duly qualified ambas
sailors Of N" emperor came to treat
with him-and they must be princes
Of the blood
As our lines formed, the commo.
dore stepped into his barge Instantly
the fleet was enyclOpcd in great crowds
Of smoke" The guns were laundering
out q salute thar echoed among the
hills back Of the village In all the
negotiations he had played the Japa.
ncsr peoples own game and had en-.
yeluped himself in mystery
This was not child's play II was
not an assumption of p0mu inconsist-
out with republican simplicity. Com
modorc Perry was dealing with an orr
entail potontate according To oriental
ideas; and results proved his sagacity.
| At this time Commodore Perry was 80
years old, man Of splendid physique
and commanding presence lie was
the right kind Of man for America to
send on such an crrand To such PEG
| pie
within the hall sat the japanese
commissioners on chairs The impe-i.
al commissioners were Princes Idzu
and lwami and they were surrounded
by their knccIiug suite The vacant
seats opposite were taken by the com.
modorc and his staff. lie entered the
pavilion escorted By two gprgcously
comparlsonoi blacks. preceded ny two
richly uniformed pages hearing the
precious baskets containing the official
papers to tho emperor
Ceremony Not Long.
The ceremony began Il was very
briof At signal the two boys in blue
| brought forward I'm slow and impress.
siyc fashion the rosewood cuskcts con
tanning the mysterious papers which
were to be- conveyed 10 the court.
They were to be thus conveyed in a
richly lacquered chest Of scarlet pro.
vided for the purpose. The two
gorgeous negroes. who had followed
the boys, opened the boxes in silence,
and in silence drew out the papers,
done in red and gold most magnih.
Gently They laid them on the scar.
let Golfer.
THE imperial commissioners We're
much impressed. They had never
seen black men before except in their
stage plays, when actors used burnt
cork. Therefore they estimated that
llllS duIlllult a. NlHN hll'N Hlllt must
be a man Of supreme power Prince
Iwami handed to the interpreters a
formal receipt for the documents
The commodore announced that he
would return In the spring for his re-
ply After further brief conversation
the conference closed, having lasted
not more than 20 minutes II had been
witnessed by not more than 30 or GO
persons Of both the countries engaged.
Yet that short meeting was to lead TO
the opening Of Japan"
But the Japanese were alarmed at
the persistence of the ambassador,
too. The formal receipt closed with:
because this place IS not designed to
treat Of anything from foreigners, SO
neither can conference nor entertain.
ment take place The letter being re.
ccivcd, you will leave here"
Tho actual landing took place on
July IA, 1853, and Is concentrated
by a single shaft of granite rising 80
feet into the air placed on the spot
where Perry landed from his ships
l u l..