154 EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 



been seen at Naplia before, and probably some of the junks bad been dispatched to Japan witb 

 the news of the squadron's appearance at Lew Chew. 



A boat was sent off for Dr. Bettelheim, and he, with the Eev. Mr. Jones, chaphiin of the 

 Mississippi, and Mr. Wells Williams, the interpreter, breakfasted with the Commodore. An 

 exploration of the island was resolved on by the chief. It was to consist of three parties, two 

 by sea, and one into the interior. The former were to survey, respectively, the eastern and 

 western coasts ; the latter to make a thorough examination of the interior, and to collect speci- 

 mens of its animals, minerals, and vegetables. The Commodore also resolved to procure a house 

 on shore, and gave notice to Mr. Brown, the artist in charge of tlie daguerreotype apparatus, 

 that he must prepare his materials, occupy the building, and commence the practice of his art. 



On the 27th, the Commodore gave permission to the masters' mates to take the gig and pull 

 about in the harbor, with a prohibition, however, of landing or communicating with the natives. 

 Mr. Bayard Taylor was of the party, and we prefer to give our narrative in his own words, per- 

 fectly satisfied that we shall thus most gratify the reader.* 



"The crew were Chinamen, wholly ignorant of the use of oars, and our trip would have been 

 of little avail, had not the sea been perfectly calm. With a little trouble we succeeded in making 

 them keep stroke, and made for the coral reef which separates the northern from the oar-chan- 

 nel. The tide was nearly out, and the water was very shoal on all the approaches to the reef. 

 We found, however, a narrow channel, winding between the groves of mimic foliage, and landed 

 on the spongy rock, which rose about a foot above the water. Here the little pools which seamed 

 the surface were alive with crabs, snails, star-fish, sea-prickles, and numbers of small fish of the 

 intensest blue color. We found several handsome shells clinging to the coral, but all our efforts 

 to secure one of the fish failed. The tide was ebbing so fast that we were obliged to return for 

 fear of grounding the boat. We hung for some time over the coral banks, enraptured with the 

 beautiful forms and colors exhibited by this wonderful vegetation of the sea. The coral grew in 

 rounded banks, with clear, deep spaces of water between, resembling, in miniature, ranges of 

 hills covered with autumnal forests. The loveliest tints of blue, violet, pale green, yellow, and 

 white gleamed through the waves, and all the varied forms of vegetable life were grouped 

 together, along the edges of cliffs and precipices, hanging over the chasms worn by currents 

 below. Through those paths, and between the stems of the coral groves, the blue fish shot 

 hither and thither, like arrows of the purest lapis-lazuli ; and others of a dazzling emerald color, 

 with tails and fins tipped with gold, eluded our chase like the green bird in the Arabian story. 

 Far down below, in the dusky depth of the waters, we saw, now and then, some large brown 

 fish, hovering stealthily about the entrances to the coral groves, as if lying in wait for their 

 bright little inhabitants. The water was so clear that the eye was deceived as to its depth, and 

 we seemed, now to rest on the branching tops of some climbing forest, now to hang suspended 

 as in mid-air, between the crests of two opposing ones. Of all the Avonders of the sea which 

 have furnished food for poetry and fable this was assuredly the most beautiful." 



"We succeeded in obtaining a number of fine specimens of coral. The tips of the branches 

 were soft and glutinous, and the odor exhaling from them was exceedingly offensive." 



*It is due to Mr. Taylor here to state that we draw the principal part of the story of the first visit to Lew Chew from his 

 journal, and are glad often to adopt liis language, as we can frame none better. Commodore Ferry lias desired that we sliould 

 do so. His own journal is less full in some particulars of this part of the voyage, because he relied on Mr. Taylor's, (winch he 

 knew would be accurate and careful,) to amplify topics on which he made but brief notes. The Commodore has particularly 

 directed this statement to be made that justice may bo done to Mr. Taylor for the services he rendered. 



