248 DUBOIS— JAPANESE EMBASSY OF i860. . [April 21, 



foreign powers," as Morris concedes, " to dwell in the newly 

 awakened Land of Sunrise and the first to arrange a treaty of com- 

 merce." Harris had a hard time of it. President Pierce sent him 

 out in 1855. -^^ remained in seclusion for nearly two years at 

 Shimoda — the tip end of the southeastern coast — before he could 

 get an audience with the Shogun. Until he could do it in person he 

 refused to deliver the President's letter. For about eighteen months 

 he was without news from home — receiving neither letter nor news- 

 paper. He entered Yeddo in November 1857, gained his long in- 

 sisted-upon audience December 7, 1857, spent some months in 

 parley and finally signed the treaty of commerce July 29, 1858. 

 This treaty became the model for others between Japan and Euro- 

 pean nations. It is interesting, too, that when the British Earl of 

 Elgin arrived for a similar purpose, Harris " lent " his secretary, 

 Mr. Hewsken, to act as interpreter for the British envoys. Lord 

 Elgin negotiated a treaty similar to Harris's and it was signed 

 August 26, 1858. Thus the first British treaty was signed about 

 six months after Perry's and the second one was signed one month 

 after Harris's. 



Now the agreement with Harris was that his treaty should be 

 ratified in Washington. Under our treaties, however, no Japanese 

 envoy was to go out until after America had been officially visited. 

 After deferring the dreaded event as long as possible the Japanese 

 finally applied to the United States for a man-of-war to transport 

 the envoys. 



It was on March 27, i860, that the United States man-of-war 

 Powhatan arrived at San Francisco, carrying the ambassadors and 

 their immense retinue. After a few days of dining and sight-seeing 

 the visitors reembarked for Washington by way of the isthmus — 

 this being nine years before our east and west coasts were united by 

 rail. 



The United States man-of-war Roanoke awaited the orientals at 

 Aspinwall (now Colon), a flourishing seaport and the Atlantic-side 

 terminus of the forty-nine-mile railway connecting it with Panama, 

 the entrepot of the Pacific side. Aspinwall was on the qui vive. 

 In anticipation the United States flag officer courteously invited the 



