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ranald Macdonald
1824-1894
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in 2019 with funding from
Brigham Young University
https://archive.org/details/ranaldmacdonaldnOOmacd
QNE thousand copies of this volume
have been printed. Fifty are reserved
by The Eastern Washington State Historical
Society for editorial and copyright purposes.
The remaining nine hundred fifty are supplied
to the subscribing libraries and individuals.
568
This copy is No..
I
q i 7 . 9 7
MM-
Ranald MacDonald
The Narrative of his early life on the Colum¬
bia under the Hudson’s Bay Company’s
regime; of his experiences in the
Pacific Whale Fishery; and of
his great Adventure to
Japan; with a sketch of
his later life on the
Western Frontier
1824-1894
£
Edited and annotated from the original manuscripts by
William S. Lewis and Naojiro Murakami
2
Published for
The Eastern Washington State Historical Society
Spokane, Washington
By
The Inland-American Printing Company
1923
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNNEEStlG
LIBRARY,
PROVO, UTAH
Copyright 1923, by
WILLIAM S. LEWIS
All rights reserved
TO THE PIONEER
The history of mankind is little less
than a narrative of designs which have
failed and hopes that have been disap¬
pointed- Johnson
Better to be a crystal, though shat¬
tered, than lie as a tile unbroken on the
housetop- Old Chinese Classic
Ranald MacDonald
From an old daguerreotype taken about 1853,
in the possession of Mr. A. T. MacDon¬
ald, of Great Falls, Montana.
Contents
Editors’ Preface.17
Biographical Account of Ranald Mac¬
Donald by the Editors 23
Ranald MacDonald’s Original Narrative 71
Preface - 72
Chapter I—Introductory—First connection with whites and
natives — Columbia — King Com-Comly—Royal
Marriage—Hudson’s Bay Company and Northwest
Company—Pioneer Exploration—David Thomp¬
son .73
Chapter II—Birth and Infancy—Life in British Columbia - 92
Chapter III—School at Red River—Bank Clerk—Canadian
Manhood—Start in Life—Aspirations for travel,
etc. - -- --.113
Chapter IV—First Suggestion as to Japan—Accounts of It—
Wanderings in the United States—Voyage to
Sandwich Islands—Incidents there - - 120
Chapter V—Narrative—Ship on Board Whaler for Japan Sea
—Sandwich Islands—Ladrones Islands—Gregan,
Pegan — Castaway Settlers — Treasure Trove —
China and Japan Seas—Whale Fishery—Quelpert
Island—Adrift Alone for Japan - - 137
10
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
VI—Dropt on Ocean out of Sight of Land—Situa¬
tion—Landmarks—Night in Boat—Two Nights
on Island—Upset—Afloat — Rescue — Ashore —
Treatment.152
VII— Examination of my Outfit—Inoes Tributory to Ja¬
pan — Japanese Officers — Worship — Religious
Ceremony of Inoes at Meals — Drink Habit —
Writing—Map—Inoes Character, Origin, etc.—
Nootska—Tootoomari—Arrival of Junks - 163
VIII— Examination—Departure for Tootoomari—Resi¬
dents there—Voyage to Soya—Reception—Treat-
men—Interpreters—Stay—Start in open boat for
Matsmai—Return to Soya - - - - 171
IX—Embark on Junk for Matsmai—Description of Junk
—Voyage—Stop on way—Arrival at Matsmai—
Reception—Display on vessel—Harbor—Crowd
on boats—Crowd of people—English terms, etc.
—Informed of transport to Nagasaki—Asked to
Stay—Refused—Kindly Treated on Board - 184
X—Crowd on disembarkment—Carried in Palanquin
Arrive at a small town—Singular, but kindly re¬
ception—Signs of former occupants, Prisoners
—McCoy and others, crew of Ladoga—Fate—
Ermaetz, Sea Port—Departure in larger Junk—
Friendly farewell—Kind Treatment—Manner of
Eating—All writers and readers—Paper, etc.—
Writing—Books ------- 192
XL—Voyage*—Doctor—View of Country—Fruit—Ar¬
rive at Nagasaki—Officials—Magistrates and In¬
terpreters—Examination on board—Murayama—
Questions and answers—Disembark—Description
of bay and harbor—Enter city—Procession—
Streets—Houses, etc..206
XII—Governor’s residence—Court—Reception — Plan
of Court—“Devil of Japan”—Refused to bow to
.the ground (Kotow) before the governor—Comp¬
liment by the governor—Description of things and
procedure—Examination—Answers satisfactory—
Treatment—Cage—Prisoner - - - - 213
CONTENTS
11
Chapter XIII—Second examination in court—Complimented—
Third examination in our house—Information:
Suggestions for trade, etc. — Sympathy — More
Friendly—School for English—Fourteen Pupils—
Interpreters—Language—Intelligence of pupils—
Religions—Morals—Eagerness for information—
Curiosity — Women — Dress, etc. — Guards —
Friendly—Interpreters—Reticence, etc.—Fate of
Captain of my guard.223
Chapter XIV — Kindness, effusive — Place of honor for bible —
Food — Sundays, specialties — Foreigners in the
city—Acquire language—Change of Governor—
System of Government—Harra Karri—Sense of
Honour—Sacrifice to it—Personal reflections on
ethics of such course—and Japanese life—Empire
How ruled—Character of people—Feudal System
—Laws—Aspirations—Kindness—Arrival of Pre¬
ble—Military display—Arms, etc.—Liberation—
Departure in Preble ------ 233
Chapter XV — Sequel — Official Record — Historical—Treaties
—New Constitution.247
Chapter XVI — Suggestions for change in International Policy —
Agency of Author in it—Japanese Appreciation of
his services.251
Chapter XVII—Conclusion—Dutch Friends—A last word - 260
Appendix.267
I.—Identification of Manuscript.267
II.—Authentication of Narrative
A—A Sailor’s Attempt to Penetrate Japan. First published
account of our author’s Adventure, appearing in the Sea¬
man's Friend, (Honolulu, S. I.).271
B—Extracts, from Official Japanese Records, concerning
Japanese Records, concerning Ranald MacDonald’s im¬
prisonment in Japan.275
12
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
C—Extracts from Official American Records, concerning
Ranald MacDonald’s imprisonment in Japan - 280
III—Glossary of English—Japanese words; compiled from Ranald
MacDonald’s memoranda notes made while in Japan 287
Bibliography of Ranald MacDonald - 303
Other Books and Authorities, cited
in footnotes.306
Index
3 X 3
Illustrations
Portrait of Ranald MacDonald from an old daguerrotype taken
about 1853. Original in possession of Mr. A. T. MacDonald
of Great Falls, Montana.
Frontpiece
Portrait of Archibald MacDonald, our author’s father, from an old
daguerrotype taken about 1851.
Facing 26
Log Cabin in which Ranald MacDonald died on August 5, 1894.
From a photograph by Mr. J, A. Meyers.
Facing 68
Grave of Ranald MacDonald, near Toroda, P. O. Washington.
From a photograph by Mr. J. A. Meyers.
Facing 68
Portrait of Ranald MacDonald, from a photograph taken July 5,
1891, in the, possession of Mrs. Jennie Lynch, Toroda, Wash¬
ington.
Facing 72
Chinook Indian grave in canoe. From a drawing by H. J. Warre.
Facing 76
King Com-com-ly’s grave,
iv, 221.
From a drawing in Wilkes’ Narrative,
Facing 76
Chinook (or Flathead) Indian woman, with child undergoing the
process of head flattening. From Catlin’s North American
Indians, ii, 125.
Facing 82
14 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Totem Poles of the Northwest Coast Indians. From a photograph
in the Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C.
Facing 88
Northwest bastion of the stockade surrounding Hudson's Bay Co.
Fort Colvile. From a photograph made in 1901 by Frank
Palmer.
Facing 104
Ainus: headman, male and female. From a picture of 1854,
illustrating “The Tour of Yezo.”
Facing 168
Japanese soldiers, showing character of Ranald MacDonald’s es¬
cort. From a picture of 1854.
Facing 177
The Japanese junk, “Tenjinmaru.” From a picture of 1854, illus¬
trating “The Tour of Yezo.”
Facing 203
Portraits of Morayama and Tokojiro, pupils of Ranald MacDonald;
Chief interpreters in negotiations with Commodore Perry.
From Hawks’ Narrative, i, 348.
Facing 209
Portrait of Tatsnoski, pupil of Ranald MacDonald; second interpre¬
ter in negotiations with Commodore Perry. From Hawks’
Narrative, i, 485.
Facing 226
Photographic copy of a page of Ranald MacDonald’s autograph
glossary of Japanese-English words made in Japan 1848-1849.
From the original notes in the Provincial Library, Victoria,
B. C.
Facing 288
Maps and Plans
Map in colors, showing Ranald MacDonald’s route on leaving ship
and landing on the island of Yankeshiri. Compiled from Mr.
MacDonald’s original sketch, imposed on a map of Yezo of
1854.
Facing 152
Map of the west coast of Yezo (now called Hokkaido) showing
route by which Ranald MacDonald reached Matsmae (now
Fukuyama). From Commodore Perry’s map of 1855, com¬
piled from that of van Seibold.
186
Plan of the place and court of examination at Nagasaki. Drawn
from an original sketch by Ranald MacDonald.
212
EDITORS’ PREFACE
The Japan Story of Adventure of Ranald MacDon¬
ald is printed as it appears in the duplicate manuscripts
of Ranald MacDonald in the possession of the Eastern
Washington State Historical Society at Spokane, Wash¬
ington, and the Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C.
The author, but twenty-four years old at the time of
his japan adventure (1848-1849), spent his entire life
on the frontiers of civilization, and it was not until forty
years later (about 1888) that he undertook to prepare
from his notes for publication his own story of his
youthful adventure in Japan.
As shown by the bibliography attached, Ranald Mac¬
Donald’s experiences in Japan excited some interest in
the press of the time, and have been alluded to by many
present-day writers on Japan. Had the story been pub¬
lished immediately after his return from Japan or even
after the opening of Japan for foreign commerce by
Commodore Perry’s treaty in 1854, 1 the book would
doubtless have met with great success and conferred
deserved fame on its author. But in later years the
public was deluged with volumes on the islands, and
Ranald MacDonald was able neither to secure a pub¬
lisher nor to finance the publication of the book at his
own expense.
While on a visit to his father’s home at St. Andrews,
1 The treaty was signed at Kanagawa, Japan, March 31, 1854.
18
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Quebec, in 1853, Ranald MacDonald left his original
manuscript notes and papers with an old family
friend, Malcolm McLeod, a barrister of Ottawa, Can¬
ada, and then proceeded to the Northwest Coast, where
he engaged in various remote mining and ranching ven¬
tures for many years, and entirely lost touch with his
family and friends at St. Andrews, Quebec; many of
whom believed he was dead. Nearly a quarter of a
century elapsed before he renewed correspondence
with his friend. 2
In 1857 Mr. McLeod edited Ranald MacDonald’s
notes, and to some extent rewrote and prepared the
manuscript for publication—to just what extent the
present editors are unable to say. 3 In March of that
year the story was submitted to Messrs. Dix, Edwards
& Company of Boston for publication. In a letter to
Ranald MacDonald of date of November 8, 1890, Mal¬
colm McLeod says: “The book is yours in utmost
sense.” Little of Ranald MacDonald’s original manu¬
script has been preserved, but having acquired some
familiarity with Ranald MacDonald’s personality and
read many of his letters, including the Ranald Mac-
Donald-Malcolm McLeod correspondence in the Pro¬
vincial Library at Victoria, B. C., the present editors
concur in Mr. McLeod’s statement, though evidences of
Mr. McLeod’s composition are apparent.
2 “It is over a quarter of a century since I wrote you from Victoria,
British Columbia.” Letter from Ranald MacDonald at Old Fort Colvile,
Marcus, P. O., to Malcolm McLeod, undated (1888), in the Provincial
Library, Victoria, B. C.
3 “Mr. MacDonald was my guest about three years ago. I have ad¬
hered most strictly to his text. Mr. MacDonald was perfectly competent
to write his own story, having received a good education, but his nature,
bold but modest, would not allow him. In aught that seems to contradict
this in the course of the narrative, blame me.” Letter from Malcolm
McLeod to Messrs Dix Edwards & Co., March 18, 1857, in the Provincial
Library, Victoria, B. C.
Preface
19
The first draft of the story was completed in 1857 4
and another in 1887. A third draft was prepared in
1891, revised and corrected by Ranald MacDonald. A
prospectus was issued for the publication of this draft
by Messrs. W, Foster Brown & Co. of Montreal in 1891
under the title A Canadian in Japan, and a number of
subscriptions therefor weie secured by the author 5 and
by Mr. McLeod.
The present revised draft was finished in 1893.
Three copies of this manuscript were prepared by Mr.
McLeod. One was sent to a friend, the Rev. H. M.
Fletcher, Crasmere, County Westmoreland, England,
in expectation that he might interest some English pub¬
lisher; the second was retained by Mr. McLeod himself;
while the third was forwarded to Ranald MacDonald,
then living at Old Fort Colvile, Washington. The
manuscript was now submitted in turn to various Cana¬
dian and American publishers 6 without success. In a
series of letters from Ranald MacDonald to his friend,
Malcolm McLeod (1890-1893) in the Provincial Li¬
brary at Victoria, B. C., we have a rather pathetic ac¬
count of Ranald MacDonald’s desperate efforts to raise
the amount of money required to secure publication of
his book.
In the fall of 1893 Mrs. L. C. P. Haskins, a local
writer of some ability and then editor of a newspaper
4 “Twenty-four years ago I wrote the manuscript ready for publica¬
tion.” Malcolm McLeod, Pacific Railway, Canada, Ottawa, February 4,
1875. The reader will note a discrepancy in Malcolm McLeod’s dates.
5 “I can dispose of 150 here and in Spokann.” Letter Ranald Mac¬
Donald to Malcolm McLeod, Sept. 5, 1893, in the Provincial Library, Vic¬
toria, B. C. In another letter dated Dec. 26, 1891, our author mentions
having secured 87 subscriptions.
6 The manuscript was submitted, among others, to Appleton, the
Harpers and the Putnams, New York, and to McClurg & Co., Chicago,
all of whom spoke highly of the work, but did not think it would take
with the general reader.
20
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
near his home, published the first chapters of it in the
Kettle Falls (Wash.) Pioneer , 1 in an effort to arouse
interest in the manuscript. In a letter 8 in February,
1894, our author hopefully mentions Mrs. Haskins’ in¬
tention to interest Mr. Penrose (President of Whitman
College) in the proposed publication. Up to the time
of his death, in the summer of 1894, Ranald MacDon¬
ald was still endeavoring to publish his book.
Some years after Ranald’s death, his copy of the
manuscript came into the possession of the Eastern
Washington State Historical Society at Spokane,
Washington, through Mr. A. D. Burnett, a newspaper
man, to whom it had been entrusted by Ranald Mac¬
Donald some months before his death, with a view of
his assisting in its publication. A chapter of the narra¬
tive was published in the Spokane (Wash.) Spokes¬
man-Review by Mr. Burnett.
Later, on the death of Malcolm McLeod, his dupli¬
cate copy of the manuscript, with some notes and corre¬
spondence from Ranald MacDonald, was acquired
from the estate of Malcolm McLeod by the Provincial
Library at Victoria, B. C. During all these years most
writers on the evolution of modern Japan were in igno¬
rance as to Ranald MacDonald’s survival and the de¬
tails of his life.
In 1905 Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, who had exchanged
some letters 9 with Ranald MacDonald in 1892 at the
7 The publication commenced with the issue of Nov. 16, 1893—see
bibliography.
8 Letter to Malcolm McLeod Feb. 13, 1894, in the Provincial Library,
Victoria, B„ C.
9 Our author apparently never had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Dye
in person. In a series of letters exchanged with her (principally in the
months of July, August, September and October, 1892), he informed her
that his book was completed and that he was then endeavoring to find
a publisher. Part of the correspondence with Mrs. Dye is in the Provin¬
cial Library at Victoria, B. C.; the remainder is in the Oregon Historical
Society’s collections at Portland, Oregon.
Preface
21
time she was gathering materials for the writing of her
McLoughlin and Old Oregon, had access to the dupli¬
cate manuscript in the Provincial Library at Victoria,
B. C., and copied it; later publishing a considerable
portion of it verbatim in a book entitled MacDonald of
Oregon without mention of Ranald MacDonald’s actual
authorship of the material so published.
Thus Ranald MacDonald wrote, and up to the time
of his death was endeavoring to publish his own narra¬
tive of his Japan adventure. The editors have thought
his story of sufficient literary merit and historic value
to warrant its publication as his own story, just as writ¬
ten. The style, perhaps a little florid for some cold
readers of today, was addressed to the readers of the
past century. By copious footnotes an attempt has
been made to verify statements in the manuscript and to
add to its historical interest and value. Such errors and
seeming inaccuracies as have occurred through the
lapse of forty years between the occurrence of the
events and the final compilation of the story by Ranald
MacDonald have been indicated in footnotes in prefer¬
ence to any alteration of the text of the narrative. Some
contemporary records, confirming MacDonald’s story,
are included in an appendix. The editors have also
added a bibliography and a brief biographical sketch of
some portions of Ranald MacDonald’s life not touched
on in his story; the latter confessedly could have been
better done a quarter of a century ago than now when
the only sources of information are a few public records
and the failing recollection of his few surviving con¬
temporaries and associates.
Historically, the story is of interest because of the in¬
sight it gives into the restless spirit of inquiry, stirring
among educated classes of Japan at the time, and to the
22
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
current of thought then developing, a demand for the
radical governmental changes which took place a few
years later . 10
The admiration, respect and affection which Ranald
MacDonald felt for his pupils, his deep insight into the
Japanese character, his remarkable appreciation of the
Japanese national aspirations and his early forecast of
the development of Japan into a nation of the first rank
cannot fail to impress the American and British readers
and will, we hope, tend to a better mutual understand¬
ing and to stronger ties of friendship between Japan
and the great English-speaking nations of the world.
The editors acknowledge their indebtedness to and
desire to thank many historical societies, libraries and
individuals 11 for their unfailing courtesy, cheerful co¬
operation and assistance in the search for data relating
to Ranald MacDonald’s life and the events narrated by
him.
William S. Lewis
N. Murakami 12
10 This fact, the self reformation of Japan from interior causes, was
predicted by early writers,—V. M. Golowin, Memoirs of a captivity in
Japan , 1811-1813 (English Ed. London, 1824) iii, 34-35; and has been
strongly insisted on by Dr. fm. Elliot Griffis in The Mikado’s Empire
(New York 1876), chapter xxvii; see also note on Nakahama Manjiro
and Yoshida Torajiro, note 138, pages 128, 129 hereof.
11 The editors acknowledge their special indebtedness to Wm. Elliott
Griffis, D. D. L. H. D. of New York, Mr. Steward Culver of the Brooklyn
Institute Museum, Brooklyn, New York, his Honor, F. W. Howay, F. R.
S. C. of New Westminster, B. C., and Mr. Jacob A. Meyers of Meyers
Falls, Washington, for information furnished and for pertinent sugges¬
tions made by them. Mr. Frederick Perry Noble, Ph. D., of Spokane,
Washington, has assisted by a critical reading of the manuscript and
footnotes prior to publication.
12 Naojiro Murakami is at present head of the School of Music at the
Imperial University, Tokyo, Japan. He was formerly at the head of the De¬
partment of Foreign Languages at the Imperial University, and sometime
Commissioner of Historical Compilation for Japan, and known among
historical students in the United States for occasional papers and en¬
cyclopedia articles in English on matters of Japanese and Pacific Coast
history. Any merit in this work may be attributed to him and the errors
and mistakes to his associate editor, William S. Lewis.
BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNTS OF RANALD
MACDONALD
OUR author, Ranald MacDonald, was a simple, great
and many-sided character. As noted in the preface,
most of his active life was spent in world wanderings or
in the transient mining communities of the Northwest
frontier, and it is extremely difficult, at this late day, to
give an adequate or satisfactory account of the various
incidents of his life to supplement that which he has
told to us in his Japan Story of Adventure.
His mother, Princess Sunday, died a few months
after Ranald’s birth—the date being given as “the
salmon running time” (which is usually in the months
of May and June), 1824. The infant, Ranald, was then
taken by his mother’s sister, Car-cum-cum, and the
two resided in an Indian lodge at Fort George under
care of Archibald McDonald, who, a year later, pro¬
ceeded to Fort Garry (now Winnipeg, in the Province
of Manitoba), where he married his second wife, Jane
Klyne, on the first day of September, 1825—the Rev.
Mr. Cochran officiating—and returned with his bride
to the Columbia River district.
When about two years old, young Ranald was taken
to the family home at Kamloops (now in British Co¬
lumbia), where he spent part of the years 1826-1830,
though he appears to have passed much time up to the
tenth year among his Chinook relatives. Writing in
1891, our author says that he had a clear remembrance
of the “Princess,” and recalled that an old Chinook
24
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
woman used to call him “Qua-ame, Qua-ame,” mean¬
ing my grand child; he said that his last recollection of
the old King was when he was taken in Com-Comly’s
arms when on the way to Fort Langley . 13
Boyhood.
His step-mother, Jane Klyne McDonald, was a most
admirable character and seems to have truly loved and
cared for her little, half-breed stepson as well as, if not
better than, her own children. Here at Kamloops the
little boy met and remembered the kindly Frank Er-
matinger. Writing of him in later years, Ranald Mac
Donald says: “He would sometimes give me a cake—
then a great rarity, for our allowance of flour was two
sacks brought from London 14 by way of Cape Horn,
then transported to the interior—tea and sugar in like
limited proportions. I must not forget, to us children,
that great luxury—a few cakes of gingerbread—how
Mr. Frank Ermatinger 15 would say: ‘I won’t tell.’ My
foster mother would miss them and I was sure to be
blamed.”
13 Letter Ranald MacDonald to Malcolm McLeod, dated June 4, 1891,
in the Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
1 4 The first shipments from the pioneer grist mill at Fort Colvile were
some bags of barley and corn meal, from the 1827 crop, taken down to
Fort Okanogan by John Work in May, 1828. Part of this cargo, with
three pigs, was assigned to New Caledonia, where doubtless a portion of
it reached our author’s family. Wheat flour was probably not supplied
to the New Caledonia posts until a year or two later.
1 5 Francis (Frank) Ermatinger, whose name appears as Nos. 123, 95
and 84, respectively, on the List of Employees for the years 1821, 1822
and 1823, remained in the employment of the company between 30 and
40 years; a great part of the time on the Pacific side of the mountains;
he spent much time in the vicinity of Fort Colvile, old Spokane House
and the Flathead country, in what is now the State of Montana. He re¬
tired about 1850. He married Catherine, a daughter of Wm. Sinclair,
and a niece of Mrs. Dr. John McLoughlin. He died in 1857 and his
remains rest in the old churchyard at St. Thomas, Ontario, beside those
of his brother. See note 121, page 115, 116.
Biographical Accounts
25
The family was stationed at Fort Langley, on the
Northwest Coast, in 1828-1833, with frequent visits to
Forts Colvile and Vancouver, the centers of the Colum¬
bia River fur trade. Journeys along the Columbia
River to Fort Vancouver were usually by bateaux, but
the return into the interior was usually in part by horse¬
back; Ranald MacDonald describing it as “my brother
(Angus) in one basket and me in another.”
At Fort Langley the education of Ranald and his
younger brothers was begun under the personal super¬
vision of his father, a reputed graduate of the Univer¬
sity of Edinburgh, Scotland.
In the winter of 1833-1834 Ranald for a short time
attended the school of Mr. Ball, 16 an American gentle¬
man who taught at Fort Vancouver. This was the first
school in the Pacific Northwest. Describing it, Ranald
MacDonald has said:
“I attended the school to learn my A. B. C. and Eng¬
lish. The big boys had a medal put over their necks, if
caught speaking French or Chinook, and when school
was out had to remain and learn a task. I made no
progress.”
In 1834 Ranald was sent overland to Fort Garry to
attend the Red River Missionary School, supported by
*6 John Ball was a Yankee schoolmaster who reached Fort Vancouver
in Nathan J. Wyeth’s employ in the fall of 1832. On Nov. 17, 1832, he
opened school at the fort for two dozen half-breed Indian children of
the Hudson’s Bay Company’s employees. These children ranged in age
from six to sixteen years and talked the Cree, Nez Perce, Chinook,
Klickitat and other Indian languages. Mr. Ball said: “I found them both
docile and attentive, and they made good progress.” Dr. McLoughlin,
whose son was one of the pupils, was a frequent visitor to the school.
Mr. Ball was succeeded as a teacher at Vancouver by Solomon H. Smith
in March, 1833. He was the first American to teach school and the first
American to raise wheat in what is known as “Old Oregon”; see Ball’s
journal, Oregon Historical Society’s Quarterly, vi, 82, 100, 219; H. H.
Bancroft’s History of Oregon, i, 75; Chapman’s Story of Oregon, 53, 74,
note; Holman’s Dr. John McLoughlin, 257-8.
26
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the Hudson’s Bay Company and then the most west¬
erly educational institution in Canada. He went with
the fall brigade from Fort Colvile in 1834 under charge
of Mr. Finlayson. Recalling the trip, Ranald MacDon¬
ald has said that the trip was made in the late fall or
early winter when the snow was deep in the mountains
about Athabasca Pass and that he suffered greatly
from the cold. After crossing the mountains he rode
part of the way in one of the panniers on a pony.
At the Red River school Ranald was shortly followed
by his younger brothers, and many children of the Co¬
lumbian clerks, chief traders and factors. During
Archibald McDonald’s furlough in Europe, 1834-1835,
the family stayed with the Rev. Mr. Cochran at Red
River. Among the students then there, Ranald Mac¬
Donald recalled Miss Catherine Sinclair—later the wife
of Frank Ermatinger. We know of no better source of
information concerning this period of Ranald MacDon¬
ald’s life than to quote from contemporary letters writ¬
ten by his father, Archibald McDonald, chief trader at
Fort Colvile, on the Columbia River, to his friend, Ed¬
ward Ermatinger, an old associate in the Hudson’s Bay
Company’s service, then retired and engaged in bank¬
ing at St. Thomas, Ontario.
Extracts concerning Ranald MacDonald from letters of
Archibald McDonald to Edward Ermatinger, from
the originals in the Provincial Library at
Victoria, B. C.
Letter of Archibald McDonald written at Fort Col¬
vile, April 1 , 1836:
‘‘Taking us altogether, we are men of very ex¬
traordinary ideas—a set of selfish drones, incapa¬
ble of entertaining liberal or correct notions of hu-
Archibald McDonald
Chief trader and chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company
From an old daguerreotype, taken about 1850, copied
from the original in possession of the late Ben¬
jamin MacDonald by Mr. T. C. Elliot,
of Walla Walla, Wash.
m
Biographical Accounts
27
man life.—Our great password is a handsome pro¬
vision for our children, but behold the end of this
mighty provision, which we are amassing like ex¬
iled slaves; the off-spring is let loose upon the
wide, wild world while young, without guide or
protection (but always brimful of his own im¬
portance) to spend money and contract habits at
his own free will and pleasure. The melancholy
examples resulting from this blind practice are, I
am sorry to say, but too common—much better to
dream of less, to set ourselves down with them in
time, and to endeavour to bring them up in habits
of industry, economy and morality, than expire at
all this visionary greatness for them. All the
wealth of Rupert’s land will not make a half-breed
either a good parson, a shining lawyer or an able
physician, if left to his own discretion while
young.
“With this impression, I am myself for being
off with them as soon as possible. Three of them
are at present at the Red River Academy. Ranald,
or if you will have it Toole, was removed there
from Pritchard’s 17 last summer and now costs me
£30 a year. As I hinted to you before, I am very
anxious to send him down before us; by 1838, I
think he ought to be qualified enough to begin the
world for himself. Will you then do me a favor to
take him in hand? Without flattery I feel confi¬
dent he cannot be under a better guardian. You
17 Richard Mortimer Pritchard’s school, a sort of grade or primary
school for preparation for the Rev. David Thomas Jones’ High School.
Letters from our author to Malcolm McLeod dated October 24, 1893, in
the Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C. Pritchard was related to the
John Pritchard mentioned in Prof. E. H. Oliver’s The Canadian North¬
west (Ottawa, 1914), i, 55.
28 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
know their facility with the pen, and indeed their
aptness altogether while young. He will not at
the time I am speaking of be a learned lad, but
with the help he can pick up with you will have
knowledge enough to develop what may be in him
as a man. Bear in mind he is of a particular race,
and who knows but a kinsman of King Concomly
is ordained to make a great figure in the new
world; as yet he bears an excellent character. Un¬
less he takes it after his father and Prince Cass-
acas (I do not mention the princess) he won’t
have an itching for Law. Be good enough next
spring to write me your sentiments about him and
suggest the best way of getting him on in summer
’38 from the Sault St. Marie by way of the Lakes.”
Letter dated Fort Colvile, January 25, 1837:
“I am glad you notice the allusion I made about
my young Chinook, as in my last I have expressed
myself. Still more serious as regards him, indeed
my mind is made up to send him down in ’38, if
your letter of ’37 will not absolutely prevent me.
I heard very favorable accounts of him this fall
from Mr. Jones, 18 and who knows but he may turn
out a rare exception to the case. I tell him to keep
him at a Jointer plane and Beauvit’s Sledge ham¬
mer when the younger boys are at play, and he will
in reality be trained to the one or the other should
we unfortunately discover a leaning to unsettled
habits. Two of our other boys are with Mr. Jones
is The Rev. David T. Jones. He came to Red River in 1823 as suc¬
cessor to the Rev. Mr. West and founded St. Pauls (the middle) and
St. Johns (the upper) churches. He returned to England in 1838. See
note 119 on Red River Missionary School, herein page 114.
Biographical Accounts
29
also; a young one is there with the Klynes, another
and the young lady with ourselves.”
Fort Colvile, February 2, 1838:
“I am exceedingly obliged to you for the readi¬
ness with which you come into my views respect¬
ing my own boy. If Frank goes down he is to take
him, but if not I will for a year or two yet have him
at Mr. Jones’, which must finish all the education
I intend for him. Were I certain of the time I can
get down myself, I could with more ease say how
I would like to have him begin the world. In short,
my aim is to try how useful he can make himself
to me in the first place, and in the next to acquire
those habits of industry and good conduct that
might at a future day be useful to himself. Upon
the strength of your suggestion I have made up my
mind to send my other two boys at R. R. down to
Toronto as soon as possible.”
Fort Colvile, February 1, 1839:
“Should Frank be going down this summer, he
will be taking Ranald along with him and indeed
should he not it is still my intention that the young¬
ster should accompany some one to the Sault. I
will enclose him a letter for you, suggesting what
we will endeavour to make of him. He has a high
character for application and good behaviour from
Mr. Macallum. 19
19 The Rev. John Macallum, M. A. Sometime councilor and coroner
of Assiniboia. He succeeded the Rev. Mr. Jones in charge of the Red
River Boarding School in 1837. See minutes of Council, Prof. E. H.
Oliver, op. cit. i, 88, 769. The Red River Academy, later St. John’s Col¬
lege, Winnipeg, founded by the Rev. John West, rose to importance un¬
der him. He died in 1849.
30
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Continued March 20th in the same letter:
“This I hope will be handed you by my son, to¬
gether with another letter entirely about himself,
and I trust in God the poor fellow may be a credit
to us both. I have written to Mr. Christie 20 and to
Mr. Nourse 21 about him, also to Mr. Keith. 22
Should it so happen that he goes by way of La-
chine, I hope there will be no difficulty about a
passage for him as far as the Sault. Mr. Christie
is directed not to send him to Norway House if it
is possible to meet the canoes at ‘Bas de la Ri¬
viere/ direct from Red River.”
Letter carried by Ranald MacDonald.
“Fort Colvile, March 10, 1839.
“Edward Ermatinger Esqr.
“Dear Sir:
“This will be handed you by my son, Ranald,
of whom I have already made mention. Having
seen nothing of him myself for the last four years,
I am much at a loss how to speak of him to you
now. All say he is a promising, good-natured lad.
Before he went to Red River in ’34, I had him my¬
self pretty well advanced in arithmetic, so that one
would suppose he is now something of a scholar;
yet, I am aware, boys of his age leaving school not
infrequently are very deficient, and that a little
practical learning about that time brushes them up
amazingly. I will just quote you a sentence about
him from the Rev. Mr. Cochran’s letter to me last
so Alexander Christie, Chief Factor at Red River Settlement (Fort
Garry) for some years.
21 William Nourse, Chief Trader.
22 James or George Keith, both Chief Factors.
Biographical Accounts
31
fall: ‘I preached at the upper church last Sunday,
and saw the boys; they were all well then. Angus
(the little white-headed boy you saw crawling
about at Okanogan House) still takes the lead;but
Ranald has certain indescribable qualities which
lead me to imagine that he will make the man that
is best adapted for the world.’ So far good; still 1
cannot divest myself of certain indescribable fears,
which you can conceive as well as I can; but in
your hands, without flattery, I feel the grounds for
those fears are considerably removed.
“I should like to give him a trial in the way of
business, and with this view have him bound to
yourself, sir, as an apprentice. By the spring of
’40 you will be able to judge of his conduct and ca¬
pacity, when I shall trouble you for a full expose
of all you think about him. My reply to that let¬
ter you will have in the fall of ’41, which will either
confirm all our plans of making a gentleman tout
de bon of him or have him enter on a new appren¬
ticeship at any trade he may select for himself. In
either case I will with great pleasure attend to all
the little demands you may make on his account,
and by the first opportunity direct how the remit¬
tance is to be made.
“You know the Rock on which split all the
hopes and fortunes of almost all the youth of the
Indian Country. Ranald, I hope, will have none
of those fatal notions. His success in the world
must solely depend on his good conduct and exer¬
tions. He has a few letters his father and mother
lately addressed him, with the very best advice we
could give, situated as we are; which you will have
the goodness to see that, the better to impress their
32
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
import upon his mind, he will frequently peruse.
“Above all, let him be a constant attendant at
church. Had I known the name of your Episco¬
palian preacher, I would certainly have taken the
liberty to address him a few lines about the moral
duties of my son, which I dare say the reverend
gentleman would not take amiss. We had him
vaccinated some years ago, but, as the inflamma¬
tion was scarcely perceptible, there would be no
harm in giving it him again. I am, my dear sir,
very truly yours,
“Arch’d McDonald.”
Regarding the trip to St. Thomas, our author himself
has written:
“I left Red River School in 1839 in a canoe bri¬
gade of four bark canoes in charge of Roderick
McLeod. We crossed Lake Winnepeg, then to
Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, to Fort William
on Lake Superior, across Lake Superior to Sault
St. Marys, where the canoe left me in charge of
Mr. Norse, to whom I delivered letter of introduc¬
tion. He then turned me over to the agent of the
American Fur Company at Fort Bradly, on the
opposite side of the river. Here I saw the first
steamboat (the Governor Marcy), the first negro
and the first American soldier. The agent secured
me a passage on the Governor Marcy to Mackena,
armed with letters to the agent there. From there
I got on board a large steamer for Detroit. When
it was known that I was born at Astoria I was
much made of, particularly by a dignified gentle¬
man, a Mr. Ralph Gurney of Washington, D. C.,
who gave me his card. On arrival at Detroit I was
Biographical Accounts
33
taken care of by a Mr. Abbott, the agent of the
American Fur Company. After enjoying his hos¬
pitality I was transferred to charge of Captain Eb-
berts of the little Canadian steamer (the Broth¬
ers). We crossed over to Windsor, Canada, from
there to Chatam, and from there by stage to Lon¬
don, where I saw the first British soldiers. From
there I proceeded to St. Thomas.” 23
We continue to quote from the letters of our author's
father, Mr. McDonald, a chief trader of the Hud¬
son's Bay Company, written to his friend,
Edward Ermatinger of St. Thomas,
Ontario.
From letter written at Fort Colvile, April 2, 1840:
“Without your express desire to that effect, I
have sent you Ranald, and am satisfied you will
do towards him all that one friend can con¬
sistently expect from another. After you have an
opportunity of seeing the best of his own inclina¬
tions, you will have the goodness to suggest to me
what we can best do with him—but you have my
ideas on this head already, and I beg you to act up
to them according to circumstances—without my
saying it you can imagine the source of anxiety he
is to me. I do not like this country for them, yet
how many of them have done well out of it. With
him it rests to develop the character of the West-
sidian, and God send it may be a creditable one.”
Fort Colvile, March 5, 1841:
“About my son I am truly at a loss what to say,
23 Letter of our author to his friend, Malcolm McLeod, Oct. 24, 1893,
in the Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
34
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
and as it is probable your brother will be going
down to see you, I shall refrain from saying any¬
thing till I see him. I fear much the stupid fellow
takes no right view of his situation, he is now ap¬
proaching the age of manhood, and he must be
given to understand that I cannot afford to make
a gentleman of him, nay, to put him even in the
way of gaining a decent livelihood for himself,
without the proper exertion on his own part. What
in the universe could have put the army in the
head of the baby—does he forsooth think I am go¬
ing to buy a commission for him? Please have the
goodness to tell him I am exceedingly displeased
at his notions and that the sooner he drops them
the better, otherwise, though it galls me to say it,
he must speedily shift for himself. My wife, too,
is much concerned to hear of the little satisfaction
he is likely to afford us.”
Continued April 21:
“From all you write about my son I am placed
in a very awkward situation; so much so, that,
with the view of relieving my anxiety at once about
him, I have resolved on trying the Indian country
again, and to this end have written Governor
Simpson 24 and Mr. Finlayson 25 to R. R. [Red Riv-
24 (Sir) George Simpson, an exceedingly able man, whose activity
and intelligence soon elevated to a high position in the Hudson’s Bay
Company’s affairs. Shortly after the coalition he was made Governor in
Chief of all the Hudson’s Bay Company’s territories in America—a posi¬
tion of great power, which he maintained for forty continuous years.
He made three trips across the mountains, received knighthood and died
at Lachine, Canada, in 1861. His name is preserved in Fort Simpson
and Port Simpson. He was the author of Narrative of a Journey Around
the World During the Years 1841 and 1842, London, Henry Colburn,
1847, 2 vols.
25 Duncan Finlayson, see note 10.5, page 107.
Biographical Accounts
35
er]. My letter to Ranald himself is enclosed to
the latter, who will add a postscript to it, according
to the answer his excellency may give. April, ’42,
is the ordinary time he could embark at Lachine,
but I have suggested that probably they could em¬
ploy him at some one of the near forts for some
months prior to that date by way of initiation, and
thus avoid further incumbrance to you and Mrs.
E., to whom I am much indebted for her kindness.
Herewith I enclose you a bill on the company for
£35 Sterling., and any further claim you may
have, let me know it and I shall attend to it cheer¬
fully. Should the plan of mine with respect to
Ranald be acceded to, you know how to assist in
the execution of it. My paper is done, but all I
could say to you, not one-half.
P. S.—Whether Ranald leaves you immediate¬
ly in receipt of this, or hang about you till spring,
have the goodness to drive out of his head his new
notions of greatness. Even for the few months he
was with you I can see he very much improved in
his hand-of-writing and business appearance alto¬
gether. In case my application now may not be
conceded to, to the full extent of my wishes, I shall
after the Governor is [ ?] renew the charge and
write you out by our fall express, which generally
reaches Lachine end of March or beginning of
April; so that I hope you will have an eye upon the
youngster until we can fairly dispose of him in a
conne [ il ] faut manner.”
Fort Colvile, March 30, 1842:
“In reference to my son. Seemingly it would be
a waste of time to say much. I believe I told you
last year of the application I was making on his
36
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
behalf to return to the hopeful Indian Country,
and of course would have seen Finlayson’s note
from R. R. to my letter to the chap himself. The
Governor himself has since informed me that, to
meet my views he had forwarded my son’s name
to Fenchurch Street 26 before he left Red River,
and thought it possible notice of his appointment
would reach St. Thomas early in the spring. He
may or may not make good use of this opening
made for him. One advantage he will have by re¬
ceiving the appointment through their Honors is
that of being placed on the footing of apprentice
clerk , instead of apprentice, as is the case with all
those received into the service from the country.
Unwilling to lose this chance and to make assur¬
ance doubly sure, I by the Cape Horn vessel in¬
closed Mr. Secretary Smith my own application
direct to the board, for him to present in the event
of his finding the Governor’s recommendation
overlooked or mislaid. And this is all I can do for
the future benefit of the gentleman. You will,
however, my dear sir, as I have no doubt either the
one or the other application will be attended to,
have the goodness to continue your kind offices to
him, and keep him about you till you hear from
London comformably to my wish to that effect ad¬
dressed to Mr. Smith and look to me for a dis¬
charge of the bill of expense.”
Continued in same letter:
“For God’s sake don’t lose sight of my son,
until he is fairly embarked in that concern which I
believe is the most suitable for every mother’s son
of them, bad as it has proved to many.”
26 London—the head office of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Biographical Accounts
37
Colvile, March 5, 1843:
“From Master Ranald himself I also heard by a
few lines dated in March from London. As mat¬
ters have now turned out, 1 am not at all sorry that
the young buck is made to look more to himself,
but I fear from what you say of his thoughtless
and indolent disposition that Mr. John Clair’s
store has too many tempting cordials in it to be a
fit nursery for the young gents of the far west.
Never mind, my friend, we have done our duty
and things must now be allowed to take their
course. If he can only keep out of egregious acts
of impropriety till we can once more have him
back in the Indian country, I shall consider it a
great point gained that the experiment with him
was made and tested so early in life. Here, for all
I shall ever do for him again, he may just crawl
through life as the Black Bear does—lick his
paws. We are all most unfortunate parents.”
Fort Colvile, March 22, 1844:
“The case of unfortunate Ranald gave me great
pain. As it is clear, however, that the bent of his
inclinations was anything but what we could wish,
perhaps the step he has taken is the very best that
could have happened. As for the service, in the
case of these chaps, I never look upon it but as a
mere apology to keep them out of harm’s way, and
that in all probability is as effectively done on the
wide ocean as in the most obscure corner of the
Indian Country, and all I hope is that he may stick
to the ship “Tuskeny.” 27 His miserable scrawl
27 There were, at this time, several vessels named “Tuscany.” The
brig of that name, on which our author first reached London, was, ac-
38
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
does not enable us to say when he sailed, but that
is immaterial; it is enough that we know he was
yet in existence, contrary to other rumors that
reached the country from Canada. Both Sir
George and Mr. Smith wrote me about him, the
latter a few days before his death.”
Manhood.
Of the high-minded, visionary, quixotic youth who
single-handed invaded the forbidden realms of the Her¬
mit Kingdom we get our first glimpse at St. Thomas.
Sitting perched on his bank-stool, the wanderlust—in¬
herited equally from his Scotch Highland father and
Indian mother—took possession of him.
More than fifty years later, Ranald MacDonald re¬
lated to a friend, Mrs. Eleanor Haskins Holly of Kettle
Falls, Wash., how he happened to decide on the attempt
to get to Japan. It apparently came about through an
unhappy, youthful love affair; when he found that the
strain of Indian blood in his veins was considered a
barrier to his marrying the young girl who had won his
heart. He did not mention her name, but it was some
one with whom he was associated in Eastern Canada.
He described some of the parties he used to attend
at St. Thomas and elsewhere; the dinner; then the din-
cording to Lloyd’s Register, of 236 tons, built at Portland, Me., 1832,
and owned by C. Prince, New York, G. Dean, Master. It cleared from
Hull for New York in the summer of 1841, and entered New York from
Marseilles on Dec. 4, 1841, and appears frequently on the New York
Custom House records in succeeding years. A contemporary ship of
the same name, 288 tons, was bought from Philadelphia in 1842 by John
Budd of Sag Harbor, and under Capt. Godbey sailed that year on a
whaling voyage to Crozette Island, returning Feb. 26, 1845; it was with¬
drawn from the fishery in 1855. Starbuck’s History of the American
Whale Fishery, 396, 522-3. Capt. F. W. Beechey (R. N.) [Narrative of
a Voyage to the Pacific, London, 1834, ii, 321], mentions an English
whale ship of somewhat similar name—“The Tuscan.”
Biographical Accounts
39
ing-room (paneled with dark wood and lighted by can¬
dles and a flaming fireplace) being cleared, and the
young people—“some of the finest in the land”—to use
his expression, bowing and courtesying, gliding across
the polished floor to the music of the viols.
It was one of those pretty, dainty maids met in these
surroundings whom he loved and wished to marry, and
it was then that he learned for the first time 28 that Jane
Klyne MacDonald was not his own mother, as he had
always supposed, and that some social prejudice exist¬
ed towards him on account of his Indian blood. In
childhood his father had affectionately called him his
“little Chinook,” Mr. Edward Ermatinger and Peter
Warren Dease occasionally addressed him as Com-
comly, 29 and the Indians had respectfully dubbed him
“little chief,” but it appears that he took these terms
with childish egotism as his due; or, if he gave them
any consideration, supposed they were given him on ac¬
count of his father’s position. It evidently came to him
as a shock to learn of his Indian birth. He stated that
it was then he decided to go to Japan, of which he had
heard and read, and from which he was convinced that
the North American Indians originally came—“The
land of his ancestors,” he termed it. He decided to run
away and get to Japan, if possible, and made his plans
accordingly. He had an idea, he said, that the Japa¬
nese were similar to the Indians and probably ignorant,
so that an educated man might make himself something
28 Elsewhere our author has stated that he first learned the story of
his birth and that Jane Klyne was not his mother from Celeste—daughter
of Co-boy or Cobaway, the Clatsop Chief who married Solomon H.
Smith of Clatsop Plains, an early pioneer of Oregon. Smith, as has
been mentioned, page 25, succeeded Mr. Ball as teacher in the first
school established on the Northwest Coast in 1833.
29 Letter Ranald MacDonald to Malcolm McLeod June 4, 1891, in the
Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
40
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
of a personage among them; and, though he did not
say so, it is evident that he determined, if possible, to
achieve some prominence among them.
Sailor.
Little is known of his experiences after leaving Mr.
Edward Ermatinger’s home at St. Thomas, Ontario, in
1841 or of his trip down the Mississippi. He walked
to the Great Lakes and then proceeded to St. Paul,
where he engaged as a deck hand on one of the Missis¬
sippi River boats. At New Orleans he shipped for New
York City. In later years he described the garb which
he wore when he went on the docks at New York City
to obtain a berth on some sailing vessel in his first step
towards Japan. He thought that he would be more apt
to obtain a position as a sailor if he were rudely dressed;
so, he said, he wore a buckskin shirt trimmed with
fringe, heavy wool trousers tucked into his fur-trim¬
med leggings and a fur cap, with a tail at the back of it,
on his head. He must have looked more like a hunter
than a sailor, but he was a strong, broad-shouldered,
well-grown fellow and had no difficulty in getting a
berth. This ship was evidently the “Tuskeny,” and the
first voyage was to London, from which port, in March
of 1842, he wrote to his father for the first time since
his disappearance.
Archibald McDonald and Duncan Finlayson made a
trip to New York in 1844 with the object of locating
the young man and bringing him back home and having
him assert some claim of Indian title in the “old Ore¬
gon” country as lineal descendent to King Com-Com-
ly. 30 At the time of the settlement of the Hudson’s Bay
30 Letter Ranald MacDonald to Malcolm McLeod May 25, 1889, in the
Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
Biographical Accounts
41
Company’s claims against the United States, under the
Treaty of 1846, the idea of presenting a claim on the
part of Ranald MacDonald, as heir and successor of
old Chief Com-Com-ly as a Canadian subject was fur¬
ther considered by family friends of our author, but
his whereabouts were then unknown. Writing face¬
tiously on the subject in later years, Ranald MacDonald
said: “I consider myself the only living descendant of
the once powerful King Kumkumly. The lands they
have taken away, a heritage that should be mine. Be¬
ing no lawyer, I could not define their limits and per¬
haps no one else can. I hear they are going to deprive
me of my now empty title (for I had never assumed it).
As King Kum Kumly’s only surviving representative
you will excuse me if 1 dutifully and loyally enter my
protest (for all the good it may do) in this usurping of
rights and prerogatives of another. Don’t laugh; I mean
what I say. Although I may not have enough to jingle
on a tombstone, yet such is the case nevertheless.”
At the time of the proposed restoration of Queen
Liliuokalani to the throne of Hawaii in 1892, the mat¬
ter was the subject of a characteristic editorial by the
late Harvey W. Scott in the Portland Oregonian . 31
Ranald MacDonald was at Yerba Buena (now San
Francisco) late in 1842 where, in later years, he men¬
tioned having seen, but not made himself known to Mr.
Rae 32 of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
It was of this or a later voyage that he related to an
intimate acquaintance another story of his sailing ex¬
periences which he requested him never to tell while
3 1 Portland (Ore.) Oregonian, November 29, 1893; also Harvey W.
Scott, History of Oregon, ii., 140-141.
32 W. Glen Rae, Chief Trader at Yorba Buena in 1842; he had previ¬
ously been a clerk in the employ of the Hudson’s Bay Company at the
Sandwich Islands.
42
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
he was living; but, now that he has gone, there can be
no harm in doing so.
He said that he had sailed from Calcutta on a boat
which took on a cargo for Liverpool, England; this con¬
sisted of various things, among them several kegs of
specie. After making several foreign ports en route ,
they turned and sailed eastward and at last sighted the
coast of Southern California, where after the specie
had been taken on shore by direction of the officers, the
vessel was scuttled and sunk. A number of the crew
had been paid off and left at foreign ports and only
those absolutely necessary to handle the ship had been
retained. The crew which remained, of whom there
were only a few, were taken on shore and given some
money and told to make their way up into California
and on peril of their lives never to disclose what they
knew. This also may sound like a rather incredible tale,
but his friend certainly believed it, as, after telling it,
Mr. MacDonald appeared rather disturbed that he
had done so, and again cautioned his friend against re¬
peating it, as, he said, as long as he was living it might
cause some trouble he feared, even at that late day.
Another voyage, he said, was on board a ship that
proved to be a slaver , and Ranald MacDonald stated
that, after taking on cargo, they proceeded to the west
coast of Africa and took on board a lot of negro slaves
—men and women. On their return voyage they were
chased by a British man-of-war, and, when it was seen
that they would be overhauled, the brutal captain or¬
dered the negroes (who were all kept confined below
decks) brought up and made them walk the plank
overboard; so when the man-of-war later came up to
them, to use MacDonald’s graphic expression—“Our
decks were clean as a hound’s tooth.” Ranald Mac-
Biographical Accounts
43
Donald expressed his horror of the captain’s act and his
own powerlessness to interfere with the execution of
these ruthless orders.
It is hard for us at this late period to believe that such
things could be done, but we must remember that this
was early in the last century, when such things were
possible, if not common, and when many men, then con¬
sidered Christians and good citizens, regarded negro
slaves as little better than cattle. Mr. MacDonald’s
friends were convinced that he was absolutely truthful
in telling of it.
But little is known of Ranald MacDonald’s wander¬
ings prior to his re-shipping on board the Plymouth at
Sahaina in the Sandwich Islands, in the fall of 1847,
for his Japan adventure. From contemporary accounts
it is apparent that he had, at that time, made at least
two Cape Horn voyages, and had originally shipped on
board the “Plymouth” when she sailed from the United
States on December 6, 1845.
In a contemporary letter to his father, Ranald Mac¬
Donald says: “I again shipped for another Cape Horn
voyage with the intention of being discharged at some
of the islands or on the Spanish main. These intentions
I have altered, and, as Captain Edwards was going to
China and from there to the Japan sea, I thought it a
good opportunity to crown my intentions; that, if I went
with him, I should be discharged before he left the sea.
He tried to persuade me to give up the adventure, but
I am going ” 33
A shipmate (E. P. E.) in a contemporary account
describes Ranald MacDonald as “a man of about five
feet, seven inches; thick set; straight hair and dark com-
33 The Seaman's Friend , Honolulu, S. I. See appendix herein, page
44
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
plexion. ... He was a good sailor, well educated, a
firm mind, well calculated for the expedition upon
which he embarked. His intentions were to stay at this
island (Yezo) and learn some of the Japanese lan¬
guage, and from there go down to Yeddo, the principal
city of Nipon, and, if the English or Americans ever
open trade with the Japanese, he would find employ¬
ment as an interpreter. He had other intentions which
I never mention only in a secret manner . 3,34
Miner and Man.
After leaving Nagasaki, the “Preble” touched at
Shanghai and he reached Macao, China, on board the
“Preble” in June, 1849. Little is known of Ranald
MacDonald’s subsequent wanderings in China, India,
Australia and elsewhere in the Orient. At this or a sub¬
sequent time he visited Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and
Java ports and, according to an annotation in his Japan
notes, arrived at Singapore Aug. 19, 1849, and sailed
again Aug. 22, 1849. Presumably, he sailed on the
“Sea Witch” of London for Madras, and was wrecked
off the coast of India near Madras. He took part in
the Australian gold-rush and mined for a time at Bal¬
larat, near Melbourne, Australia, where he described
the formation as resembling chalk—specimens of which
he brought back with him to Canada, and demonstrated
and explained to the family and friends how they
washed the gold from this chalk formation by crush¬
ing it.
A contemporary has related an incident that occurred
at Ballarat when there was some trouble among the
3* The Seaman’s Friend, Honolulu, S. I. See appendix herein, page
272.
Biographical Accounts
45
miners over the working of the claims. While Ranald
MacDonald was naturally of a very mild and non-com-
bative disposition, in the course of the difficulty and
the melee which occurred thereover, Ranald was at¬
tacked by a man who was a total stranger to him, and in
defending himself Ranald, to use the phrase, “knocked
this man out,” then went on about his business and gave
the matter no further thought. That evening he heard
a rap on his cabin door and upon opening it he found
some men who stated that they had been appointed a
committee to interview him, and they then handed him
a belt, and on Ranald MacDonald inquiring what they
meant, they informed him that he was now entitled to
the belt as champion of Australia, having “knocked
out” the previous champion. The narrator stated that
Ranald MacDonald informed the committee that he was
not particularly interested in that branch of athletics,
and declined the belt, shaking hands with the commit¬
tee and thanking them for the honor proffered him.
Returning from Australia, he evidently sailed around
the Cape of Good Hope, as he later remarked on having
visited Rome, Paris and London on his way home to
North America in 1853. At this time, on his way to
British Columbia, Ranald MacDonald visited the fam¬
ily home at St. Andrews—his father had died a short
time before. After a brief visit he set out for British
Columbia, where he joined his half-brother, Allen Mac¬
Donald.
The two brothers had a ranch on Bonaparte River,
and conducted a supply-house and ran pack-trains to
the gold mines on the Upper Fraser River in the Cari¬
boo district.
In the year 1861 Ranald MacDonald associated with
Mr. John G. Barnston, a barrister attorney of Lower
46
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Canada, and some capitalists of San Francisco con¬
ceived the idea of finding a shorter way to the gold
mines on the upper Fraser River, and searched for a
route from Fort Alexandria to a bay or inlet around
Bentinck Arm, where boats from Victoria, Puget Sound
and the Columbia could go up the Coast and land
freight and passengers. Ranald MacDonald was suc¬
cessful in his explorations, and finally secured a per¬
mit from the Provincial Government to establish a toll-
trail there. 35 Ranald MacDonald’s report to Governor
Douglas of these explorations is among the archives of
the Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C.
In the course of this enterprise Ranald MacDonald
explored a good part of the country west of the Fraser
River, especially that called the West Road River to
Chiskas’ House and on to the Coast, and from Ques-
nelle to Chesecut Lake, British Columbia. 36 The trail
was built and a small quantity of freight was packed
in over it, but it was never a commercial success, and
the promoters failed to secure a line of steamer connec¬
tion. The original grant was small, simply for a pack-
trail. Soon after their enterprise was started other
parties, perhaps more influential, persuaded the govern¬
ment into building a wagon road; this wagon road when
built took all the business.
In 1859-1861 Ranald and his brother, Allen, in addi¬
tion to their supply-store at Douglas, on Harrison Lake,
35 The printed prospectus of the enterprise is in the Provincial Li¬
brary, Victoria, B. C., entitled “ Prospectus of the Bentinck Arm and
Fraser River Road Company, Limited. The company is organized under
the Joint Stock Company’s Limited Liability Act, 1860. Victoria, V. I.
Printed at the British Colonist Office, 1862.” This route is described in
Macfie’s Vancouver Island and British Columbia, London, Loughman,
Green & Roberts, 1865.
36 Letter Ranald MacDonald to Malcolm McLeod, May 24, 1889, in
the Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
Biographical Accounts
47
secured a government license and ran a ferry across the
Fraser River at Lillolet, B. C., charging one dollar a
head toll. Ranald MacDonald now became interested
in mining and was one of the pioneers in the Bonaparte
and Horsefly districts, 1862-1863. He had great faith
in the Horsefly Country, but the mines there never
proved of any great value. In 1862 his brother, Allen,
sold out and returned to Montreal, Canada, but Ranald
continued prospecting and developing his mining claims
in northern Biitish Columbia for some ten years more,
spending his summers in the mountains and his win¬
ters on the ranch at Bonaparte.
Ranald MacDonald’s father had been a close per¬
sonal friend and associate of Governor Sir James Doug¬
las of Vancouver Island, and the Governor’s wife was
a distant relative of Ranald’s foster mother, Jane Klyne
MacDonald. During his stay in British Columbia Ran¬
ald, as well as his brothers, Allen and Benjamin, was
an occasional guest at the residence of the Governor in
Victoria. While at St. Andrews, Quebec, in 1853, Ran¬
ald MacDonald was initiated into the Masonic order at
the St. Andrews’ lodge, No. 516, A. F. A. M., and be¬
came a Master Mason.
While in the Cariboo Country, the character of Ran¬
ald MacDonald as a dominant, red-blooded man, brook¬
ing no interference by bullies or “bad men,” is exempli¬
fied by a story told by Mr. J. M. Lynch—long familiar
with the Rock Creek and Camp McKinley mining coun¬
try in British Columbia. During the gold-rush of the
early ’60s a “tough bunch” came up to the Cariboo
Country from San Francisco and tried to carry the
camp by force and terrorizing the more peaceful and
law-abiding element. Ranald MacDonald, being of the
old school, resented their conduct and on various occa-
48
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
sions personally encountered and defeated several of
them in the rough and tumble fights of that day. One
bully—a prize-fighter named McCune, whom he en¬
countered—defeated him in a fist-fight. Ranald Mac¬
Donald took his defeat in good grace, but remarked to
McCune that, as he had met McCune and had been de¬
feated at his game, McCune should accept a return
match at his (MacDonald’s) game. McCune, who was
plucky, impulsively consented. Ranald chose single¬
stick, and at once proceeded to make two large, stout
clubs for the contest, in which McCune received a terri¬
ble beating.
As the result of this contest, Mr. MacDonald ac¬
quired a nick-name which followed him during his resi¬
dence in the Cariboo District. After the contest Mc¬
Cune, in pique, remarked that he wouldn’t have cared a
damn if he had been defeated by a white man, but that
he hated like hell to be beat by a “siwash.” This title,
used by the miners as a good-natured expression of
their respect and approval, stuck to MacDonald and he
was thereafter known in the section as “Siwash” Mac¬
Donald, to distinguish him from his brothers and other
MacDonalds in the camp. Between such manly re¬
sistance by the individual miners and the strict enforce¬
ment of the law, the Cariboo became a peaceful mining
camp, without resort to the “vigilante committees” of
the early mining camps of California, Idaho and Mon¬
tana.
Gentle Man.
There was another side of Ranald MacDonald’s char¬
acter; that of a courtly, old-school gentleman, with all
the grace, courtesy and gayety of a Frenchman, which
Biographical Accounts
49
is best presented by the accounts of his niece and two
cultured and accomplished ladies who met him in his
later years.
Mrs. Hannan, a niece at whose home Ranald Mac¬
Donald spent much time in the early ’80s, emphasizes
his quiet, gentle, good-natured disposition and courtly
manner and his insistance that his young nieces, then
growing to womanhood on a remote frontier ranch,
should learn and observe all the rules of etiquette for
ladies of his day; painstakingly teaching them the old-
fashioned minuets and polkas, how to mount to their
side saddles from his palm, how to meet and address so¬
cial equals, and explaining the family “coat of arms”
which his father brought from Glencoe, Scotland.
Elizabeth B. Custer, widow of the gallant General Cus¬
ter, who visited our author's home in the
summer of 1890, says: 37
“The Hudson’s Bay Company’s fort (Fort Colvile)
is another square surrounded by the low log-huts, but
individualized by the block-house that still stands as
firm as if it were a stone-tower. It has a four-sided
roof, and below are three portholes for muskets and
one, larger still, under these for a gun.
When we drew up in front of the larger house of the
group, an old man came out, bowing and smiling, while
half-breed children, chickens and dogs scattered on
either side. The men said: “Here comes old Ranald
MacDonald himself,” but I had not heard his history
and consequently could not account for his courteous
manner and marked individuality. No one could have
invited us to descend from our anything but dignified
37 Harper’s Weekly, July 18, 1891.
50
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
perch on the high seats with more grace than did this
coarsely dressed antiquarian. We felt that if our des¬
cent was in keeping with the suave reception and the
bared head, we ought properly to be picking our way,
in brocaded gown and ruffed stomacher, down the old-
time steps that were unrolled from the chariots of the
time of the Louises.
We were all presented, and this descendant of Scotch
kings led the way about, showing us the huge logs held
together with wooden pins, the great rafters with the
mark of the ax on them still, and then a broken half of
a little cannon covered with verdigris and rust. “This,
ladies, was the great gun which defended his majesty
King George’s subjects from the enemy, and this the
ladle in which the bullets were melted for the huge two-
inch bore.” As he stood laughing to scorn the little
three-foot cannon, I discovered that his merry eyes
missed no fun. “Nov/, ladies, can I escort you to our
famous bastion?” And we followed him to the block¬
house that had a liberal sprinkling of bullet holes. “We
had once a high stockade,” he said, “with a gallery in¬
side, about which the sentinel walked, and down there
we made a charge for water. Think of it, ladies, a fort
and no well! But then,” he added, “when the great
gate was closed and the enemy were about, and it was
necessary to start a man for the river, why he ran un¬
der cover of our guns from the block-houses; for there
were two of them.”
“Getting water under these circumstances must have
enrolled a good many of you under the army of the
great unwashed,” said we.
His eyes twinkled, and he replied: “Fortunately, we
were not always under siege, and daily the Indian serv¬
ants went and came from the river for all of us.”
Biographical Accounts
51
At last I was so overcome by this prince of paupers 38
that I fell behind to question one of the men of our
party, for I could not make the high-flown language,
of which I can give but a faint idea, fit the man. Then
I was told that his father was a man of great distinction
—Archibald McDonald, chief factor in the Hudson’s
Bay Company. He was forty-two years in the service,
coming first as the secretary of the Earl of Selkirk, re¬
turning to Scotland, and after two years coming again
with Sir George Simpson. The chief factor had mar¬
ried a squaw, as was the custom of the country, and
Ranald was one of the several sons born to his father.
He had all his early life been associated with English
and Scotch, which accounted for the grandiose style of
the old-school gentleman and the evidences of vivacity
and foreign polish were traceable to the French Cana¬
dians who were in the employ of the company in its
prosperous day.
As I was receiving this hurried history, the old cour¬
tier, sans several articles of toilet that civilization might
require, came back as hurriedly as his many years
would permit. Uncovering his gray head he said, so
that I could hear: “I must make my compliments if it
is really she,” and such obeisance and lordly bending
of his ancient back made me aware that he had not
heard who I was at our introduction, and had come
back to pay reverence to my husband’s name. I can
38 In the Sept. 3rd, 1891, issue of the Kettle Falls (Wash.) Pioneer ,
our author called attention to some slight errors and mistakes in Mrs.
Custer’s published interview with him. In this, she spoke of him as “The
prince of paupers” and described his garb in rather disparaging terms.
The article was seen by Mr. MacDonald, and it aroused his indignation.
In recounting the matter afterward to friends, he said fn his stately old-
fashioned way: “I will allow, I was rather carelessly garbed, and had
moccasins on my feet; but in a chest on the other side of that very room
I had clothes in which I could have appeared before the crowned heads
of Europe.”
52
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
scarcely think of anything more incongruous than this
aristocratic old man, with his high-flown expression, of
which we knew nothing except in the literature of the
style of Sir Charles Grandison, and the tumbled down,
dilapidated, untidy old buildings around him. And yet
the two clothes he wore and the straggling, gray hair
and beard looked to me far more interesting than the
dressed-up and commonplace looking man who occu¬
pied a panel of the family album, and represented Ran¬
ald when he was in the outside world. Then another
incongruity was the slip he sometimes made into every¬
day talk and the introduction, in the very midst of his
most lofty flights of rhetoric, of slang phrases, which
seemed all the more absurd, associated as they were
with the stately language of by-gone days.
“Now,” said he, “that you have seen our monster
guns”—and he rolled the little cannon with his foot—
“and have viewed our lofty palisades”—there was still
some of the log-stockade standing—“and have gazed
upon the formidable bastions”—and here he waved his
hand toward the block-house—“can I persuade you to
go into my home?”
We found a large living-room with poor and very
shaky furniture, a long alcove on one side, half covered
with a calico curtain, where, as it was twice as long as
an ordinary bed, I concluded the whole family slept.
Three of the presidents were on the walls, and there
were a few books. Two cumbrous wooden chairs, held
together with wooden pegs; one with arms and a slatted
back, dated back to the chapters of Hudson’s Bay peo¬
ple. The adobe fireplace had an oval back, and it was
so narrow there could be no way of burning logs except
to stand them on end. Our host drew our attention to
a trap-door, into the cellar, and his eyes danced with
Biographical Accounts
53
the memories, he recalled as he spoke of the good old
Jamaica rum that was once there in abundance. There
were guns and deer-horns on ths walls, and in this large,
low, cheerful room I could picture the convivial party
about the open fireplace brewing warm drinks and
pressing the guests to “take a drop more.” One of the
old Hudson’s Bay men has since told me that they al¬
ways expected the company they entertained to end the
evening under the table. 39
A bright-eyed, half-breed woman was presented to
us as Mrs. MacDonald (wife of Duncan MacDonald—
a cousin of Ranald’s); and of some dark-skinned chil¬
dren I asked about, the old man waved his hand over
them and said: “They are all MacDonald”; and no
chief of the clan could have referred to his aristocratic
progeny in a more stately manner. Then I told him
that I bad come out to this country representing an in-
39 Our author’s cousin, Angus MacDonald, Chief Trader in charge of
Fort Colvile in 1853 at the time of the arrival of the first territorial gov¬
ernor, Isaac I. Stevens, says: “I had full instructions as to the hospitality
and the discretion of it entirely trusted to myself. The Governor had
ample credentials from the east crossing the Rocky Mountains by the
Hell Gate defile. McLellan met him here with an escorting party from
Puget Sound. I had fifty imperial gallons of extra rations to entertain
the gentlemen. McLellan drank but little; the Governor was rather fond
of it and laid back about ten on the first night to sleep the darkness out.
His last words were, ‘Mac, this is powerful wine.’ All hands had been
steeped during the day and found the grass and their blankets the best
way they could. As all the party had disappeared McLellan began to
sip the juice of the vine more freely and we sat on the old sofa together
as closely as space allowed. Having to undergo the hospitalities of the
day to all hands, I felt my grog inviting me to go to my blankets, but I
was well trained to that splendid brandy and in the prime of life, too, and
hard to make me give in at it. Suddenly the General put his arm around
my neck and whispered in my ear, ‘Mac, my proud father, too, was at
Culloden,’ and he quietly slipped down off the sofa to the floor. I soon
made the sofa an easy place for him and he and the Governor snored
the night till daylight. This spree has been spoken of, God knows where
not; McLellan spoke of it in the Crimean, when sent as one of the Com¬
missioners to observe the military arrays and genius of the France-Brit-
ish and Russion armies.” A Few Items of the West, Washington His¬
torical Quarterly, viii, 196-197.
54
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
terrogation-point, and would he tell me something of
his life?”
“Gladly, madam, gladly,” said he. “In my mind
there was only one man born on the third day of Feb¬
ruary, 1824, and that man was Horace Greeley, but
nevertheless I first saw the light on that same February
3, at Astoria, the great trading post in Oregon, and was
brought here at the age of 2 years. I flatter myself
that I was the instigator of Commodore Perry’s expedi¬
tion to Japan.”
I confess myself astonished at this, as it was hard for
me to connect that distant world with this peaceful, old
man, that seemed never to have left the green basin shut
in by the mountains, about us. I found, however, that
he had been a wanderer all his early days, and he said
in the most pathetic tones:
“I have been all over the world—India, Japan,
China, Australia, everywhere—but no matter how far
I roamed, my mind always reverted to this little amphi¬
theater. . . . Then he added, with his hands waving
about him: It is my home.” . . .
He went on to say that he was off on a whaler, and
his spirit of adventure made him beg the captain to fit
him out with a sail-boat and a few supplies and leave
him as near the coast of Japan as possible. For this
privilege he paid $2,000—his share in the whaling
profits. He told us that the people there gave him to
understand that they admired his courage, and paid
tribute to it by heaping him with favors.
“I had thirty or forty attendants,” said he, “one to
arrange my bath, another to light my pipe, another for
my wardrobe, another to be my majordomo and take
me about, another to fetch coal for my fire. It was all
Biographical Accounts
55
luxury and magnificence, and I tell you, madam, my
lord lay back and enjoyed it all.” ... He was so dra¬
matic, that I watched his movements with fascinated
eyes. For instance, as he described how the natives
brought a warm bath for his feet, he bent to imitate
their humble movements, and then thew himself back
in the most dolce far niente attitude, and expressed by
gesture that he could be a high muck-a-muck if he had
the opportunity.He was imprisoned there for
eleven months.The expedition of Commodore
Glynn resulted in his release. His depositions are now
on file in Washington.
As the quaint old man went on talking about the
days when the Hudson’s Bay Company was in its most
flourishing condition, the whole place became trans¬
formed to me. I saw the bustle of traffic, the industry
of the' little community, the military discipline and pre¬
cision with which everything was conducted; for,
though the governor of the company was not an officer,
he was an autocrat, such as can scarcely be conceived in
those independent days. The nearest court of justice
was 600 miles away. There were forty servants of the
company, including all kinds of clerks, artisans, inter¬
preters, and then a swarm of Indian domestics. It was
a great distributing fort for the smaller agencies of the
company. There were two mills, and the storehouses
were bristling with furs, skins and merchandise to be
given in exchange. Two brigades came in twice a year,
consisting of about fifty men, bringing in eight or nine
boats, the supplies of the company, and returned with
furs to Vancouver, on the Pacific coast, where they
were shipped to England. Whenever these brigades
journeyed, gathering up furs from the different sta¬
tions, the few travelers who were daring enough to go
56
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
about in those days attached themselves to the column
and received protection.
The trails of the Pend d’Oreilles, Kootenais, the
Flatheads, the Coeur d’Alenes, Cayuses, indeed all the
coast and mountain Indians, centered in this valley, and
here they came with pack-horses almost hidden under
the loads of beaver, otter, mink, marten, lynx, bear,
wolverine and buffalo hides, humps and tongues and
the first salmon of the season, that, Mr. McDonald
added, “was the royal fish, and his majesty, the gov¬
ernor, got it.” We asked if there were caribou, and he
said yes, but only two elks had been seen in that part
of the country in nearly thirty years. There was no
money, but beaver was the standard of value. For in¬
stance, twenty beavers would be proffered for a horse,
or “I’ll give a beaver for that skin”—meaning that the
offer was from 5 to 6 bits, equivalent to $1 in the east.
“Ah, madam,” he said, “those were halcyon days—no
taxes, no money, no sheriff, no judge, no jury.” . . . .
The Earl of Selkirk, on his return to Scotland to get
recruits, tried to induce Scotch women to come out, but
the only ones who were willing, Mr. MacDonald said,
were induced to do so by the promise of all the tea they
wanted. “For a while,” he said, “they came in hordes.”
He explained that it was Labrador or Muskage tea, and
grew about thirty inches up from the ground, having
leaves an eighth of an inch in width, the outside hard,
the inside yellow and downy. The missionaries offered
$5 a pound for the flowers for medicinal purposes. He
said “the aroma was delicious, and the Scotch would
like it.” It would have been an article of commerce, but
the East India Company had a monopoly of that trade
at that time.
It is impossible to describe the merriment in the nar-
Biographical Accounts
57
rator’s eyes and his most expressive gestures as he
dwelt on the Scotch women who refused to come to the
wilderness with their husbands, till the tea was offered
as an allurement. It suddenly came over me how some
people I knew in the east would enjoy this witty, dra¬
matic and versatile man, and how I should like to take
the droll old fellow and set him in the midst of people
who get so tired of each other and long for novelty.
So I suddenly said:
“Oh, Mr. MacDonald, how I should like to take you
home with me!”
In return I received such an impressive bow, and his
hand went instinctively over his heart as he said:
“Oh, madam, take possession of me. I am yours.”
I glanced at the squaw, wondering if any of the sav¬
age instincts remained in her and how she would look
upon this rather open trespassing upon her preserves;
but she smiled upon me, and I hastened to lead my new¬
found friend back to his narrative. I found afterward
that she was Mrs. MacDonald, but the wife of the older
man’s cousin, so the tomahawks ceased to float in the
air before my imaginative eyes.
Mr. MacDonald’s education was a very serious ques¬
tion for his father, but he was determined, as the old
man told me, that it should be “A No. 1. So my brother
and I were sent a thousand miles or more to Winnipeg
on snow-shoes. I know something of Romanism, but
those Episcopalians at that church school knocked the
spots out of the Catholics with their doctrines. We
used to have pemican for our luncheon, and it was
something of which a little goes a long ways. Buffalo
meat is dried and pounded, mixed with fat boiled, ber¬
ries, sugar, raisins (if you had ’em), and then sewed up
in a sack of buffalo hide; and if you are very hungry
58
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
you eat it raw; if you are delicate, why, put in a frying
pan and cook it in slices.” Then he asked me if I would
like to hear of his first naval engagement. By this time
I found that it made little difference what he said, his
manner of telling what he had to say was something
that I was not likely to encounter every day.
He left home with a brigade of the company to go to
Vancouver to meet his father, who had traveled with
Sir George Simpson 3,000 miles in a canoe, through the
various rivers and lakes between Hudson’s Bay and the
mouth of the Fraser River, on the shores of the Pacific
Ocean. At Vancouver, while waiting, he met his ma¬
ternal grandfather, old King Com-Comly, a blind In¬
dian, who was very faithful to the whites. When the
annual ships that came from England reached them,
they took passage for Fort Astoria. Arriving, they
found two or three other vessels of the Hudson’s Bay
Company, all carrying guns, and they signaled to pre¬
pare to engage in a fight; for a short time before a ves¬
sel was wrecked and the captain came on shore among
the Indians to get dry and find assistance, leaving his
crew with orders not to follow him. A cowardly Indian
shot him, and then all the village ran to the ship and
plundered it. They filled their huts with bales of blan¬
kets, cases of guns, hogsheads of tobacco and every
kind of merchandise. Governor Connolly, the father
of Lady Douglas, was in command of the brigade, and
at a signal from the ships all opened fire on the village.
The Indians fled back into the forest, and the crews
and Hudson’s Bay Company’s employes landed in
small boats, under fire of the guns, and set a torch to
the cabins and tents. They were stored with sturgeons’
heads and the tails and with oil, and there soon was lit¬
tle left of the village. “While the guns were firing, I
Biographical Accounts
59
was eager to have a hand/’ he said, “and so ran out
from where I had been hiding and jumped on one of
the guns, but what was my mortification, even at 6
years of age, to be slapped by the captain and ordered
off to the steward, and this was the ignominous end of
my first engagement at sea.”
When we came to say a reluctant goodby to this
man, whose life had been crowded so full of adventure,
he said so simply, but with admiring tones in his voice:
“I wish, madam, you would speak of one man who
loved this life and his duties here so well he did not
want to return to England, even when offered knight¬
hood for having attained by his exertions the furtherest
point north then known, and he was Peter Warren
Dease.”
As soon as we had driven far enough away, we all
fell to talking at once of his quaintness, his animation,
his Scotch and French manner. The railroad official
told us that the old man had said that he might per¬
haps come and see me, if he could be slipped on as bag¬
gage in the freight car, and was told by him that he
would do better than that, he would ship him as an
original package. The old Sir Ranald, however, was
driven out of our minds soon by the grandeur of Kettle
Falls, on which we looked from the banks of the Colum¬
bia, 200 feet above.
Eleanor Haskins Holly has furnished the following
reminiscences of our author :—
I met Ranald MacDonald many times, but my first
meeting with him is very vivid in my memory. It was
on New Year’s day, 1893. I was living at the new town
of Kettle Falls (Wash.) which had been started short¬
ly before on the Columbia River, just below the falls
60
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
of that name in the Columbia. On the flat above the
upper fall were the old block-house and log-buildings
built for a trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company
in 1826 and occupied 1835-1844 by Archibald McDon¬
ald, Esq., the father of Ranald, and later by Angus
MacDonald, Ranald’s cousin, the last Hudson’s Bay
Trader or Factor in this region.
My maid, a German girl who spoke but little English,
came to call me, saying: “There is a gross Mann’ wants
to see you.” And when I entered the room, as the im¬
posing personage arose from his chair, I saw that her
description was not amiss, for he was a ‘gross’ man.
The height of his figure did not impress you at first
glance, on account of comparison with the breadth of
his shoulders and general proportions, but as he seemed
to tower up beside his companion, who was quite an
average-sized man, I realized how imposing a figure he
really was. He wore a light-blue, army overcoat, made
with capes and brass buttons, such as, I believe, was
used during the Civil War, and where he could have
obtained it at that late day I cannot imagine; but it cer¬
tainly added to his size and dignity.
He carried a wide-brimmed hat of black felt, with
which he made a sweeping bow—then crossing the
room he clasped my hand and lifted it to his lips with a
courtly obeisance. We women of this period not being
accustomed to such ceremonious greetings, I saw that
I was fortunate enough to have encountered an inter¬
esting character, although I did not then know who he
was.
His companion was a man who was then living on the
Colville Indian reservation, and had married a half-
blood Indian girl who had been educated at Walla Walla,
He himself was a man of education, closely related (a
Biographical Accounts
61
cousin I believe) to one of the members of President
Cleveland’s cabinet. He had, years before in the east,
when a mere boy, been involved in an escapade which
had had national notoriety, and had come to the west,
and through some whirl of fortune’s wheel had landed
up here on the Columbia River and there stayed. He 40
was almost as interesting a character in himself as was
Mr. MacDonald.
My husband had been interested in starting the Town
of Kettle Falls, and Mr. Ranald MacDonald and his
companion had with old-fashioned courtesy decided to
call upon me and extend their New Year’s greeting.
Also, I found later, Mr. MacDonald, having learned
that my mother, Mrs. L. C. P. Haskins, was a writer,
wished to enlist her aid in the publication of the book
which he had written of his experiences in Japan before
Commodore Perry opened its doors to the western
world.
At that time Mr. MacDonald was about 69 years of
age, but from his erect bearing and strong vigorous ap¬
pearance you would not have thought him more than
60. His hair, worn rather long, was gray, thick and
curling; he wore a full beard cut rather short, but not
close, which was quite gray and also very curly. His
features were rather rough-hewn, but the high cheek¬
bones and rather large and flat nose (with peculiarly
wide nostrils) were the only featuies which would ap¬
pear to show his Indian ancestry. His complexion,
while dark, was not more so than that of many men who
have spent much of the time in the open. His rather
small and deep-set eyes were gray , and peculiar in that
the gray iris was encircled at the outer edge by a dis¬
tinct line of hazel-brown.
40 This gentleman was at one time U. S. Customs Collector.
62
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
I have seen eyes with that peculiar combination of
colors a few times since, but it appealed to me then as
being very odd, and I used to think of it as showing the
two races to which he belonged, which in him met and
harmonized, but did not blend. His face, while not
handsome, had a look of power which interested.
I saw him many times afterward as he used to come
to see my mother, Mrs. Haskins, concerning his book
of his experiences in Japan, which he was very anxious
to have published, and she endeavored to assist him in
interesting some one to do so, printing the first chapters
in the Kettle Fall’s newspaper and copying out several
long extracts from it for him and sending them off to
parties who might bring it out; but she was not success¬
ful in having it done.
I had many long and interesting talks with him of
the early times there on the Columbia and his own early
days. I remember his describing to me, one time, the
festivities which would ensue when the boats of the
“voyageurs” came back up the Columbia with supplies.
The “bateaux” landed at the rapids about six miles
below the Kettle Falls of the Columbia at what is now
known as Rickey Rapids, from whence the supplies
were carried by cart and pack to the trading post, Fort
Colvile, just above the falls.
The canoes and bateaux went down the river to Fort
Vancouver and Fort George at the mouth of the Colum¬
bia in the spring and returned in the fall. Every white
man and Indian in the employ of the Company, with
their wives and children, were given their yearly ration
at the time of their return, Mr. MacDonald said, and
they were all there to receive it. In reply to my ques¬
tion as to what the rations consisted of, he enumerated,
among other things, salt, molasses, tea, beans, cloth, I
Biographical Accounts
63
recall; so much, he said, was allotted to each man,
woman and child in any way connected with the Hud¬
son’s Bay Company. The trappers and hunters, even
those who were located at far-distant points for the
trapping and to gather up the furs of the Indians at
those places, would all be there at those times.
He described the scene of festivity the night of the
arrival of the boats; the long table which was spread to
accommodate all those in any position of authority—
his father at the head and the others seated according
to the importance of their positions—the Indians at the
foot; some of the squaws and childien at the very low¬
est end of the table; and others at another table in the
same room. There, amid jollity and a buzz of con¬
versation, his father would read aloud items of interest
from the letters received from the outside world or
orders and instructions from the Company.
One can fancy the scene: the great fire of flaming
pitch logs glowing in the huge fireplace and throwing
its red light over the low ceiled room, lighting up the
curiously diversified company.
His reminiscences had a great fascination for me,
and I would always encourage him to talk, which was
perhaps why he told me so much of his past.
He also told me many curious anecdotes of the past
up there on the Columbia River. Among one which I
remember was that of the burning of the last “witch”
among the Indians on the Columbia River at that point
below the falls. My husband had a tract of land a mile
in length along the river (where the town of Kettle
Falls now is) and we were building a house at the
southern end not far above where the Colville River
flows into the Columbia, where the high bank curved
back, making a point from where there is a beautiful
64
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
view far down the river. In speaking of that point one
day Mr. Mac Donald said, “there is a curse on it.” In
surprise I asked why? He replied that years before
an Indian woman had been burned there as a witch. It
seemed she was an Okanogan and had in some way
caused a great deal of trouble (there was always much
friction between the Okanogan and the Colville Indians,
he told me) and at last she was burned as a witch. That
point was selected because it could be seen far down
and across the river. Dying, she cursed the ground,
and he said that the Indians had a superstitious feeling
in regard to it even then.
One day shortly before I came away from there—it
was in the summer just before Mr. MacDonald went
up the Kettle River on the Reservation to make the visit
from which he never returned—-he came down to see
my mother about something concerning his book, and,
as he was a little lame and walked with difficulty, I had
my horse brought out to take him back home. The
Colville Indian Reservation across the Columbia from
the town of Kettle Falls was about to be opened and
land allotted to all who had Indian blood entitling them
to it. As we drove along the river bank, I looked across
the river to the Indian Reservation where there were
some beautiful tracts of farm land, and said to him:
“Why do you not take a farm over there, Mr. MacDon¬
ald?” The old man drew himself up indignantly—
“Why should I take a farm over there? I am not an
Indian. I have no wish for any land there—let them
have their farms.”
It was curious how, with the pride which he in one
way held in his Indian descent, he at the same time
repudiated being classed in any way with them. When
I heard that he was dead and had been buried up there
Biographical Accounts
65
on the Colville Reservation, I was sorry to know it, as
I felt sure he would have wished some other spot for
his final resting place.
At one time I said to him: “Mr. MacDonald why
did you never marry ?”
“Well,” he replied with a little, whimsical smile
which used to light up his face at times—“I suppose it
was because the women I would have married would
not marry me, and the women who would have married
me, I would not marry.” The reply exemplified the
old man’s pride very well.
He told me many details of his stay in Japan, most of
which, I think, are embodied in his book. He used to
carry in walking, when he came down to our house, a
handsome, ivory-headed cane which, he told me, was
given to him by the son of one of his Japanese pupils;
but I can not remember if it was sent to him at the same
time the carved box which was sent to Montreal for
him was received or at some other time. He valued it
very highly and generally carried it when he went to
make a ceremonious call. His manner always had a
rather stately, old-time courtesy which was pleasing;
and his language was well chosen and more than in¬
clined to grandiloquence.”
During his twenty odd years’ residence in the Cari¬
boo mining country Ranald MacDonald was at all the
various mining camps of that region and engaged in
many different businesses and employments, and ex¬
perienced many vicissitudes of fortune. He is reported
to have made $60,000.00 at one time in the Cariboo
gold mines, but lost it all through ill luck and the dis¬
honesty of some of his associates.
At one time he kept the Hotel at Hat Creek for
George Dunn; at another time he was connected with
66
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the Bonaparte House, owned by Semlin and Parke; at
another time he was in the employ of the stage line
operated by Steve Tingley and Bernard; and in 1875
he worked for a time on the books in his cousin’s trad¬
ing post at Kamloops, B. C. Changes in fortune
apparently had little effect on his character, and he was
ever ready to assist, serve, or entertain his contempor¬
aries; whether this consisted of gallant attentions to an
occasional lady visiting those crude settlements; or in
joining his comrades in their amusements in the saloons
and gambling houses which then furnished their sole
means of recreation in western mining towns; or in
performing his full share of the arduous duties on trail
and in camp. In the latter 70’s he visited the Peace
River country for a time.
He is remembered in British Columbia as a jolly,
likeable character, the friend of everyone and, notwith¬
standing his occasional grand manner and high-flown
speech, he has been characterized by a few surviving
contemporaries (all now over four score years) as a
“good sport,” the ne plus ultra of frontier commenda¬
tion.
In 1877 he spent some time at the ranch of a second-
cousin, Mrs. Christina MacDonald McKenzie, at Shus-
waps Prairie on Thompson’s River, B. C. Having
disposed of his mining and other interests our author
returned to Washington Territory about 1882 and later
moved to old Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Colvile
where his second-cousin, Donald MacDonald resided.
In September 1885 he settled on a preemption claim of
153 acres adjoining the old fort, and embracing a part
of the old fort grounds. Here he lemained, living in a
rough board shack and engaged in farming, prospect¬
ing and similar pursuits. He secured a United States
Biographical Accounts
67
patent to the land Oct. 13, 1891 and sold six acres of
his land to the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway
Company for railway right of way. His homestead
shack which burned down that spring was never rebuilt
by him. Later he erected a log house on the Colville
Indian reservation opposite the “big Island.”
He never married, and spent much of his time with
Donald MacDonald and his family at the old aban¬
doned Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, where he
was interviewed by Mrs. Custer, and made occasional
visits to his cousins after they removed to Montana. He
was delightful and interesting company, full of strange
tales of adventure in many lands, in the telling of which
he drew from both fact and fancy. He enjoyed the
discussion of current topics and pioneer history and
was an occasional contributor to the Kettle Falls Pio¬
neer. He refuted from personal knowledge of
pioneer events the Whitman saved Oregon legend. 41
He never desired to hoard or keep money, and the
earnings and profits of his mining and business ven¬
tures in earlier years had been freely spent or loaned to
improvident acquaintances. In his later years he spent
much time planning to run a drift on Boundry Creek at
the mouth of Norwegian Creek to catch the lost run of
gold on the celebrated “Norwegian” placer ground.
These later years were passed in comparatively
straitened circumstances and his principal ambition and
desire at this time was to see the story of his Japan ad¬
venture in print before he died. A number of his
letters in the Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C.,
recite a pathetic attempt to raise money for this purpose
by borrowing from friends and mortgaging of his home¬
stead.
41 Letter Ranald MacDonald to Malcolm McLeod, Feb. 25, 1891, Pro¬
vincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
68
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Prior to his death he felt the infirmities of old age,
suffering from “pains in the joints” and partial deaf¬
ness, both probably attributable to the exposure and
hardships of his pioneer life. He died near Toroda
post office, on Kettle River, in Ferry County, State of
Washington, about seventy-five miles northwest of
Marcus or old Fort Colvile, on the 5th day of August,
1894, while on a visit to the home of his niece, Mrs.
Nelson, now Mrs. Jennie Lynch, a daughter of his
younger half brother, Benjamin MacDonald. His
remains are buried in a neglected Indian grave yard
near Toroda, Washington; a spot unmarked by any
monument and known and remembered by only a few
near relatives and friends.
His last words as he sank to eternal sleep in the arms
of his niece were: “Sionara, my dear, sionara”. 42
Ranald MacDonald was certainly a unique charac¬
ter, not only interesting in himself, but as a bond be¬
tween those early days and our own time, with the
added interest we have in his early efforts in gaining
access to the then inaccessible country of Japan and
attempting to teach them something of the civilization
and Christianity of the Occident.
As to the motives impelling him to his great Japan
adventure we have the following in the introduction to
his autograph manuscript notes:—“My principal mo¬
tive in this way, it must be confessed the mere gratifica¬
tion of a love of adventure—the world within a
mysterious veil which then hung, as it still hangs over
Japan, unaccountably attracted my roving mind and
at any risk I determined to solve it.” 43
42 Sayonara, Japanese for “farewell.” This meaning of the term was
not known to Mrs. Lynch until informed by the editors of its meaning.
43 Original Manuscript of Ranald MacDonald, in the Provincial Li¬
brary, Victoria, B. C.
Cabin (in center) in which Ranald MacDonald died on August 5,
1894
From a photograph by J. A. Meyers.
Grave of Ranald MacDonald (indicated by small cross at left of
enclosure) near Torodo P. O., Washington
From photograph by J. A. Meyers.
Biographical Accounts
69
Offspring from a union of the best blood of the old
and new world, Ranald MacDonald was of the stuff
that heroes are made of. Why the promise and early
achievements of his youth did not reach a greater frui¬
tion in his mature years his editors are unable to say.
His father’s letters disclose that Ranald MacDonald
early displayed some unusual traits of character, dis¬
tinguishing him somewhat from his half-brothers and
the other boys at the Red River Missionary School. He
was not only a promising, good natured lad, with a
high chaiacter for application and good behaviour,
concerning whom his instructors gave very favorable
accounts; but he possessed “certain indescribable
qualities” indicating that he would make “the kind of
man best adapted for the world”. Archibald McDon¬
ald ventures this prediction concerning his offspring:
“Who knows but a kinsman of King Concomly is or¬
dained to 'make a great figure in the new world.”
In the carrying out of his bold design to enter the
forbidden realm of Japan, our author displayed unusual
enterprise, intelligence, courage, and steadfastness of
purpose; a combination of qualities which, applied in
the same measure to the ordinary pursuits of life, would
have achieved more than average success for him in
later years.
Incidents at random in his life, occasional remarks
to intimate acquaintances, a few paragraphs in his let¬
ters, and the pages of his narrative, here published,
suggest that the bold and rugged exterior of Ranald
MacDonald covered an unusually proud and sensitive
spirit which was deeply wounded by occasional af¬
fronts to which he was subjected on account of his
Indian blood from crude and self-satisfied people en¬
countered in the business and social life of his time;
70
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
causing him, as he himself has expressed it, “to with¬
draw from highly honorable enterprise”.
His Scotch and Indian pride keenly resented, and
his sensitive nature shunned the slight and implied
inferiority of his Indian blood, and the man whose
youthful exploit placed among the great adventurous
spirits of his age was doubtless moved by the affronts
of a few thoughtless and bigoted contemporaries to
shun the centers of the business and social life of his
compeers, and spend his remaining days in the more
liberal atmosphere of the northwestern mining camps.
In his Narrative [page eighty-four] he mentions this
unreasonable hatred of race, acknowledges his Indian
blood, and declares his quick resentment to any insult
on that score.
Whatever the cause, our author passed the remainder
of his life in retirement from society, in the peace and
contentment of simple ambition and accomplishment,
among the crude and unpolished, but manly characters
of the northwest frontier.
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix’d in him, that nature might stand up
And say to all the world, This was a man!’
— Shakespeare .
From a photograph taken July 5, 1891, in possession of his
niece, Mrs. Jennie Lynch, Toroda, Washington.
Ranald MacDonald
Story of Adventure
of
Ranald MacDonald
FIRST TEACHER OF ENGLISH IN JAPAN
A. D. 1848-1849
“The Gates, of Brass, Were Opened!”
By
ranald Macdonald
Original Manuscript
PREFACE
This story, is now given, at the solicitation of many
—most of them strangers to me—to meet what would
seem to be a want in solution of the problem—mys¬
terious, and certainly exceptional in many regards—of
Japanese national development.
It was, and is, essentially internal; due to their own
inherent sense of fitness in national life, a fact which
the writer, in his accidental position of first teacher of
English to them, had the singular opportunity of learn¬
ing. The statement may have been advanced by
others, but the writer is not aware of the fact, and he
feels it but right, and in justice to his old friends across
the way, that they should have his testimony of that
fact.
Ranald MacDonald.
Old Fort Colvile , 44 Columbia River,
State of Washington, U. S. A.
September, 1893.
44 The spelling of the name, conferred in honor of Andrew Colvile,
has in later years been changed to Colville; the editors have adhered to
the original spelling.
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTORY
First Connection of Whites and Natives—Columbia-
King Com-Comly-Royal Marriage—Hudson’s Bay
Company and Northwest Company—Pioneer Ex¬
ploration—David Thompson.
Now verging on the alloted three score and ten of
human life, but still alive to the events of the hour, it
has struck me that it might be of some passing interest
to the now fast increasing crowd of travel by this new
western way to the “East”, to hear my humble story of
pioneer development of it. I have often, in years long
gone bye, when a wanderer in older countries, been
advised to publish it; but circumstances—chiefly nar¬
rowed means; and with no ambitions in that way; and
moreover, the loss of most of my notes—prevented me.
Happily, nature has endowed me with a good memory;
and in my oldening, I find no loss of it—at least not yet
perceptibly; but, on the contrary, by some inexplicable
natural process, those earlier incidents and scenes of
my life come up, to my mind’s eye, with all the glow
and vividness of recurring morn, as if sunlit for ever
on my page of time.
What I have to say in this way is, essentially, merely
personal narrative, but, incidentlly, it may—so many
have urged me on—be of more than mere personal in¬
terest. As to that I make no pretension. Like others,
in common with my race, I have ever done what I con¬
sidered was my duty, when thereunto called in public
or private behest. Native, and denizen almost through-
74
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
out life, of the great Columbia Valley of the Pacific
Slope of America, I claim to be, in the broadest sense,
a true American.
True it was the British flag covered my cradle 45 but
that makes no difference. The Oregon Treaty of 1845
made me a citizen of the United States of America. But
further: on this point I may state, that on my mother’s
side, I am by direct legal succession, of the blood of the
sole King (known to history as such) of the Columbia,
and of the Pacific Slope in those latitudes, viz: King
Com-Comly 46 of Washington Irving’s Astoria , the
45 Astoria, mouth of the Columbia River. The Fort—within which I
was born on February 3, 1824—had, in 1818, under the treaty between
Britain and the United States, of that date, been formally “restored” to
the latter—Commander Biddle of the U. S. Sloop of war, “Ontario,”
formally hoisting the flag of the United States on the occasion. How,
exactly, it was changed, and so remained changed for many years, is
more than I can explain. The Northwest Fur Company (Canadian)
bought out Astor in 1813, and in 1821 the Hudson’s Bay Company
bought out (by coalition and absorption) the latter. That is the only
explanation I ever heard of the matter.—[Original.]
46The meaning of this Chinook name is unknown; it is of the type
of birds’ names, common among the Chinook Indians and, according to
Dr. Franz Boas of Columbia University, cannot be analyzed. Elliott
Coues’ statement, [ New Light on the Early History of the Greater
Northwest, ii, 750] “that the name has something to do with salmon, for
a map before me letters ‘Con-con-ully or White Salmon on a certain
creek,’ ” shows the danger of mere surmises. Con-con-ully, an Okanog¬
an Indian word now applied to the Conconully lake, creek and town in
Okanogan County, State of Washington, is not of Chinook origin and
has no relation whatever to the Chinook name, Com-com-le. This Chi¬
nook name has been variously spelled by early explorers and fur trad¬
ers as: Com-comly, Ross Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, i, 67;
Washington Irving, Astoria, chap, vii; Elliott Coues, op. cit., pp. 850, 750,
Com-com-le, Gabriel Franchere, Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest
Coast of America, 100; Te-cum-le, Pierre Jean de Smet, Life, Letters and
Travels, ii, 442; Comcomli, Dr. John Scouler, Journal, Oregon His¬
torical Quarterly, vi, 165. Come-Comly, Alexander Ross, Adventures of
First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 68. Com-com-moly,
Lewis and Clarke Journals, 716. Com-com-mo-ley, Reuben Gold
Thwaites, Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, iii, 238,
294. Com-comly and Kum-Kumly in our author’s correspondence. Kom-
komle, in J. B. Tyrell, David Thompson’s Narrative of his Explorations
in Western America, 505, and Com-comly, Maduse or Thunder, David
Douglas, Journals Kept During His Travels in North America, 61, 147.
Japan Story of Adventure
75
truly royal host of the Astor expedition there in 1811-
1813 and of all other whites since, in his realm. His
palace was on the north side of the Columbia where the
Madsu, Dr. Scouler, op. cit. See also Peter Corney, Voyages in the
Northern Pacific, 27-68.
Whatever his correct name, all visitors at the mouth of the Columbia
make mention of the old Chief. On Nov. 20, 1805, Lewis and Clarke met
the Chief with his sub-chief, Chil-lai-la-wil and gave them both medals
in commemoration of the occasion, also presenting Com-com-mo-ly, as
they called him, with a flag. Thwaites, op. cit., iii, 238.
David Thompson described him in 1811 as “a strong, well-made man,
his hair short, of dark brown, and naked except a short kilt around his
waist to the middle of the thigh”; Washington Irving as “a shrewd old
savage with one eye”; Corney, as “a short elderly man.the
richest and most powerful chief on the River,” op. cit, 65; Dr. Scouler,
in 1824, describes him as then being sixty years of age. Op. cit, vi, 167.
Many interesting stories are told of the old chief. On one occasion he
saved the lives of Messrs. McDougal and Stewart from drowning, enter¬
tained them in his lodge, and was in many ways of service to the
Astorians, who were at first suspicious of him, but later acknowledging
him a staunch supporter of the Americans, and even offering to fight
the British in their behalf. Mr. Edward Ermatinger mentions his “march¬
ing into Vancouver with all his naked aids and followers, rigged out in a
British general’s uniform”—minus the pantaloons. Washington His¬
torical Quarterly, v, 205. At a dinner given in his honor on board the
“Pedlar,” March 5, 1814, he appears to have donned the trousers and
to have been still more elaborately dressed. Coues, op. cit., 850. He
was the principal chief of the confederacy of all the tribes of the lower
Columbia (except the Clatsops) who spoke the Chinook language, be¬
tween the Cascade Mountains and Cape Disappointment. He had a
wife, according to Indian custom, from nearly every tribe in the con¬
federacy, and some from the neighboring tribes. With these wives he
possessed a considerable family and many slaves. See Corney, op. cit.,
65. Mr. Henry [Coues, op. cit., p. 750]mentions him as seated in his
canoe alongside of his favorite woman, Le Blanche.
Chief Com-comly was treated as an equal and often sat at the table
with Dr. McLoughlin and (Sir) James Douglas. He was in high feather.
His principal palace, or royal lodge, was at Scarborough head, where the
new fort, Columbia, has now been erected. The bald place high up on
the slope that catches the attention of all passers was the eerie from
which he spied out the approach of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s ships
which came every spring. Com-com-ly was made chief bar and river
pilot for the company (the first on the Columbia, James Scarborough
being the second) and wore the uniform of their service. When a ship
came in sight, he had 20 of his slaves launch the royal canoe and take
him out to meet the vessel. His canoe and all its crew would be taken
aboard, and Com-com-ly would guide the craft up to headquarters at
Vancouver.—Portland (Ore.) Oregonian, Dec. 17, 1899, p. 28.
He had several sons. Ross, [op. cit., 83], mentions two; the eldest was
Che-nam-us, a child by Com-comly’s Multnomah wife. A younger broth¬
er, the favorite son and intended heir of the old chief, was named Sha-la-
76
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
great river, at its discharge, is about six miles wide. His
relations with the whites had ever been most amicable.
pau. He learned to talk, read and write English fluently and was much
beloved by the tribe. Among the men at the fort these two sons were
known as the “Prince of Wales” and the “Duke,” respectively. Irving,
[op. cit., Ivi] gives the name of another son as “Gassacop”; Corney,
[op. cit. 65] gives the name of another as “Selechel.” See also Coues,
op. cit., 890, 901, 906. Sha-la-pau and a younger brother died of sick¬
ness April, 1824; and Dr. Scouler states that another brother promptly
assassinated the medicine chief under whose care they died. Op. cit.,
vi, 166, 277. A brother of Com-comly, named Tha-a-muxi, or Bear, was
also a chief and resided in the vicinity. David Douglas, op. cit., 147.
Chief Com-comly had several daughters; the eldest, “the Princess,”
the daughter of Com-Comly’s Scappoose wife, married the Astor part¬
ner, Duncan McDougal; the second married our author’s father; a third
married Calpso, a chief of the Chinook village near Cape Disappoint¬
ment. The Rev. Samuel Parker in his journal of an Exploring Tour,
245, describes the latter as a “woman of more than common talents and
respectability and relates that she slew two female slaves to attend her de¬
ceased daughter to the world of the spirits. He had still another daugh¬
ter named Car-cum-cum. E-lo-wah-ka was a daughter of Com-comly by
a Willapa woman; she married into the tribe and died in 1861 at Ilwaco,
a thriving village named for her. The “Princess Margaret,” Kah-at-lau,
Com-comly’s daughter by his Chehalis wife, married Louis Rondeau, a
Hudson’s Bay Company’s trapper in 1825. Another daughter of the old
Chief married a Scotchman named McKay, also a Hudson’s Bay Com¬
pany’s employee.
After his oldest daughter’s marriage to Mr. McDougal, the Chief ap¬
pears to have fully appreciated his position as father-in-law to the mana¬
ger of the establishment. Father de Smet, writing in later years says:
“When he used to come to Vancouver in the days of his glory, 300
slaves would precede him and he used to carpet the ground that he had
to travel from the main entrance of the fort to the Governor’s door, sev¬
eral hundred feet, with beaver and other skins.” de Smet, op. cit., ii,
442-443. His opposition to the surrender of Astoria to the British has
been noted. Com-Comly’s tribe and immediate family fell easy victims
to the measles, smallpox and other diseases of civilization brought to
the Columbia River by the whites. Dr. Scouler [Op. cit., vi, 276] men¬
tions that Com-comly lost eight members of his family in the two years
preceding September, 1825. The family burial place was near Point
Ellis, and the Chief’s two sons, previously mentioned, were buried in
canoes with fowling pieces by their side, with loaded pistols in each
hand, and surrounded by all their possessions. The old Chief regularly
visited their graves to see that their property and the remains of his
relatives were undisturbed.
Chief Com-comly died suddenly in 1830 of virulent intermittent
fever, an epidemic that carried off about a thousand of his people at
the same time, and his remains were buried with great ceremony as be¬
fitting his rank in life, in a canoe near Fort George, according to Chinook
custom. Later, for greater security, his body was taken out of the canoe
Chinook Indian Grave in Canoe
From a drawing by H. J. Warre.
King Com Comly’s grave
From drawings in Wilkes’ Narrative , iv, 321
Japan Story of Adventure
77
A leading officer of the name of MacDougall 47 (Dun¬
can) on the Astor staff had, before the sale and transfer
of the establishment to the North-west Company in
by relatives and placed in a long box in a lonely part of the woods. The
precaution to preserve his remains from molestation was, however, idle.
James Dunn, who was either present or had first-hand knowledge, states
in his History of the Oregon Territory (London, 1844), 132: “His head
is now in the possession of some eminent physician in Edinburgh and,
strange to say, although he had been buried about five years, his skin
was quite dry and not decayed. It required a very sharp knife to pene¬
trate the skin and his hair was still on his head.” His grave was lo¬
cated by Commodore Wilkes in 1841 and a picture of it is preserved
in The Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition, iv, 321, where
mention is made of the skull having been carried to Glasgow by a Hud¬
son’s Bay Company’s agent. Father de Smet, who visited his grave with
Mr. Birnie on Aug. 1, 1844, seems to have been among the last to do
honor to the famous Com-Comly.
Indian graves were frequently desecrated then and ever since. J. K.
Townsend, in 1836, mentions his own acts of carrying off the mummy
of an Indian woman and the taking of four skulls from another Chinook
Indian cemetery in the vicinity of Fort George and near Fort William,
Weyeth’s transient settlement on Wapato Island. John K. Townsend,
Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains (Phila., 1839), 236-
238; 255-256.
Chief Com-comly has several living descendants residing along the
Columbia River, some of whom have grown wealthy from the develop¬
ment of the salmon fishing industry. Portland (Ore.) Oregonian, Dec.
17, 1899, 28. Until the summer of 1888 a street in Astoria bore the
old chief’s name, it was then changed to First street.
47 Duncan McDougal was a clerk of the Northwest Company when
he joined the Astor enterprise in 1810. Franchere, op. cit., p. 20; Irv¬
ing, op. cit., chap, iv., describes him as an active, irritable, fuming, vain¬
glorious little man and elevated in his own opinion by being the proxy of
Astor, and as a man of a thousand prospects, and great though somewhat
irregular ambition. Alexander Ross, op. cit., describes him as a man of but
ordinary capacity, with an irritable, peevish temper; the most unfit man
in the world to head an expedition or to command men. He was accused
by Astor of betraying his interest; see letter from Mr. Astor to John
Quincy Adams, January, 1823; Irving, op. cit., chap, xxix; Franchere, op.
cit., appendix, 368; Horace Sumner Lyman, History of Oregon, ii, 298-301.
His course in selling out to McTavish was defended by Hubert Howe
Bancroft; History of the Northwest Coast, ii, 221-230; Alexander Ross,
[op. cit., 252-3] states that the transaction was at the time considered
fair on both sides. The bill of sale published in appendix “M,” 293,
Gordon Charles Davidson, The Northwest Company (Berkeley, 1918),
would seem to vindicate Mr. McDougal. See also Ross Cox, op. cit., i,
190; Coues, op. cit. 747; Franchere, op. cit., 166, 192. After the trans¬
fer of the Pacific Fur Company (Astor) property to the Northwest Com¬
pany Duncan McDougal re-entered the service of the latter company as
a wintering partner and remained on the Columbia until 1817, when he
78
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
1813, married 48 an elder daughter of his—a handsome
woman; of proud queenly mien; reminding me of
Egypt’s Cleopatra, as pictured to us. I distinctly re¬
member her, living in widowhood with her parents.
Though my aunt, she was no friend of mine; seeming
ever to have some pique against me, which however I
did not regard, as I did not then understand our re¬
lationship. She was childless—if I mistake not—
while, I believe, 1 was not only the baby favorite, but
the heir presumptive of the old King, according to Chi¬
nook 49 and general Indian law. Some old people of
the Columbia, after the old man’s death, used to call
me, or speak of me, as Com-Comly, or shortly, Comly
MacDonald; but why, I never enquired, nor knew, nor
crossed the mountains. He died at Bas de la Riviere, Winnipeg. Fran-
chere, op. cit., appendix, 368. Coues, op. cit., 739, 759, 775, 779, 783.
48 This marriage took place July 20, 1813. For description of the
wooing and marriage see Irving, op. cit., chap. lvi. In Coues [op. cit.,
901] we find: “April 26—McDougal this afternoon completed the pay¬
ment for his wife to Com-comly, whose daughter she was; he gave five
new guns, five blankets two and one-half feet wide, which makes fifteen
guns, fifteen blankets, besides a great deal of other property, as a total
£ost of this precious lady.” See also Paul Kane, Wanderings of an
Artist, [London, 1859], 177, and for other taking of wives by the fur
traders at Astoria see Coues, op. cit., 910-911. McDougal deserted this
Indian wife when he left the Columbia district in 1817. She afterwards
became the wife of Cazenove, (Townsend’s Ke-ez-a-nos), who suc¬
ceeded Com-comly as head chief of the Chinook nation, and she was
murdered in 1836 by Cazenove or some one of his retainers as a victim
or sacrifice on the death of his son. Samuel Parker, op. cit., 251-252; J. K.
Townsend, op. cit., 237-238. Chief Cazenove was living at an advanced
age at Fort Vancouver in 1845 and was sketched by Paul Kane, op. cit.,
173-178. See also article in The Portland (Ore.) Oregonian, Nov. 29,
1893.
49 The Chinook tribe proper, resided on the North bank of the Colum¬
bia River from Gray’s Harbor to Cape Disappointment, and on Shoal
Water Bay; the stock also embraced a number of closely related tribes
along both sides of the Columbia River from the Cascades to the sea and
some distance up the Willamette River; all speaking a common language
but in two dialects. The name Chinook (Ts’ inu’ k) is that by which the
tribe was known to their northern neighbors, the Chehalis Indians, Prof.
Franz Boas, Handbook of North American Indian Languages, 563. The
word also signifies a jargon trade-language used on the Northwest Coast,
composed largely of Chinook Indian words, still in use for intercourse
between the whites and the Indians of the Northwest.
Japan Story of Adventure
79
cared to know. It was only in after life, that accident¬
ally—as hereinafter stated—I learn’t the esoteric of my
birth and status in this Corona Borealis of our North¬
ern Hemisphere; gone alas! to the limbo of all vanities
—Vanitas Vanitatum! The monumental brass of Irv¬
ing, in his immortal Astoria , alone bearing testimony to
future generations, of this last of the Kings—of dyn¬
asty most ancient—of all America.
My father was the late Archibald McDonald , 50 a
leading officer of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and
whose name, while in such service, is prominently as¬
sociated with the establishment of the Red River Set¬
tlement, and of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s interests
so The elder MacDonald signed his name McDonald. His children,
including our author, and their descendants, adhered to the original
Scotch spelling. Clan Donald is the oldest and most famous of the
Scottish clans. By local Highland tradition it is asserted that the- Mac¬
Donalds are coeval with the family of Noah and at the time of the flood
had a boat of their own on Lock Lomond, independent of the Ark. L. R.
Masson, Les Bourgeois de la campagnie d,u Nord-Ouest, etc. (Quebec,
1890), ii, 3 and 4. Clan Donald claims immediate descent from Som-
erled of the Isles, who died in 1164, leaving three sons, Dugall, Reginald
and Angus. From Donald, the son of Reginald, the clan takes its name.
The MacDonalds are very proud of their descent and their clan history
fills a two-volume work entitled Clan Donald. A Clan Donald so¬
ciety exists with headquarters at Glasgow, Scotland. Our author’s fam¬
ily traced their descent back to the MacDonalds of Glencoe in the Four¬
teenth Century. Members of this family were prominently identified
with both the Northwest Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Archibald McDonald, as he wrote his name, was born at Leechkentium,
Northern Argyllshire, Scotland, on February 3, 1790, and entered the
employ of Lord Selkirk in 1812. Under the Deed Poll of 1821 he was
named as a clerk and his name appears as Nos. 303, 230 and 147, re¬
spectively, on the Lists of Employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company in
America for the years 1821, 1822 and 1823. He came to the Columbia
River district in 1823 and was one of the most capable and trusted offi¬
cers in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s service. He was in a great meas¬
ure responsible for the organization of the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company, and first introduced to the Hudson’s Bay Company the idea
of raising of cattle herds and flocks of sheep on the Pacific Coast, as a
business project. While at Fort Langley he first inaugurated the busi¬
ness of salting and curing the Pacific salmon for market. He died at St.
Andrews, Quebec, January 15, 1853, and his gravestone bears the leg¬
end: “One of the Pioneers of Civilization in Oregon.” For a brief bio¬
graphical sketch of Archibald McDonald see Washington Historical Quar¬
terly, ix, 93 et seq.
80
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
generally throughout the Red River region, extending
far southwards, into what is now Minnesota, and north¬
wards to the McKenzie basin. That was in 1813-1821.
In 1823, following his old friend and associate in
those troublous times of constant fight with the North¬
west Company, Chief-trader John McLeod ; 51 he was
in Astoria (then called Fort George) assisting in the
establishment of what had never existed, nor ever been
tried before, viz., a British-American Pacific Ocean and
Coast trade, on a basis to cope with its great natural
difficulties. Amongst these difficulties, was the gen¬
eral character and conduct—truculent and ever hostile
—of the coast Indians—the men who, in spite of all
friendly approach and attempts at conciliation, seized
Astor’s first ship there, the “Tonquin”—murdering her
crew, and causing her to be blown up by the despairing
hand of her last living man (wounded unto death) on
board. That was in 1811. From that time to this
(A. D. 1823) there had been no trade 52 with whites
si John McLeod, a sturdy Scotch highlander was a Northwesterner
clerk and trader. He was named a Chief Trader by the Deed Poll of
1821. His name appears as Nos. 48, 19 and 18 in the List of Employees
of the Hudson’s Bay Company in North America for the years 1821,
1822 and 1823, respectively. 1822-1826 he was in charge of the Thomp¬
son’s River district at Kamloops, being succeeded there by Archibald Mc¬
Donald. His family left Fort Colvile for Red River Sept. 25, 1825;
Washington Historical Quarterly, v, 165-166, and Mr. McLeod followed
them in April, 1826; Idem., 284. In 1827-1828 he was engaged in re¬
building Norway House, which had been burnt. In 1831 he was granted
a leave of absence to England for his health, and was never thereafter
assigned as a wintering partner. For further biography see Malcolm
McLeod’s Peace River and Oregon Indemnity, 27-30. McLeod’s Lake
and Fort McLeod, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post in New Caledonia,
now British Columbia, are named after him.
52 Our author is in error in this statement. The Northwest Company
made an effort to carry on a trade along the coast by means of coast¬
ing vessels. After a brief attempt the scheme was abandoned. Alex¬
ander Ross [Fur Hunters of the Far West, i, 41] explains the cause of
the failure and says: “Even the coast trade itself was far from being
so productive as might be expected, owing to the great number of coast¬
ing vessels which came from all parts of the States, especially Boston,
Japan Story of Adventure
81
along those shores, except, in very desultory way by
the Americans, Russians, and others, chiefly with a few
specially friendly Chinooks at and about the mouth of
the Columbia, and Vancouver’s Island.
all more or less connected with the Sandwich Islands and China trade.
Competition had therefore ruined the coast trade, and completely spoiled
the Indians.” Most New England whale ships on the Pacific a century
ago were fitted out for trade, the captains conducting on their own ac¬
count a lucrative “graft” known as “private trade.”
The fact is that the American traders, “the Boston peddlers,” as their
opponents called them, had, commencing with the “Columbia” and the
“Washington,” outfitted in Boston for trade on the Northwest Coast un¬
der the respective commands of John Kendrick and Robert Gray in 1787,
from 1792 downwards been gradually absorbing this coast trade, and by
1810 or earlier, had completely monopolized it. David Thompson, the
noted Northwesterner, in a letter published in Report of the Provincial
Archives Department, (B. C.) 1913, VI15, states that 21 vessels engaged
in the northwest coast trade in 1792, of which about one-third were from
England, the rest from United States, mostly from Boston or New Eng¬
land. See also list of vessels employed in commercial pursuits on the
northwest coast of America in the summer of 1792, in a report of Geo.
Vancouver, Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, Sept. 26, 1792, published in
The Report of the Provincial Archives Department, op. cit., V28-29;
this gives the names of 11 English, 6 American, 1 Portuguese vessel,
and states that two shallops are then building in Nootka Cove for the
trade, and that seven Spanish vessels are then employed on the coast—
a total of 27 bottoms.
In Hubert Hugh Bancroft’s History of the Northwest Coast, ii, 340,
appears a list of numerous vessels trading on the northwest coast before
the date mentioned by our author; see also list William Henry Gray,
History of Oregon, (Portland, Ore., and New York), 13-14. In James G.
Swan’s The Northwest Coast, (N. Y., 1857), appendix, 423-424, the names
of some 63 vessels are given as engaged in the trade of the northwest
coast of America for sea otter and other skins from 1787 to 1799, while
most of the Pacific whalers, as stated, carried with them the various
gewgaws which would please the savage eye for the purpose of trading
with the natives of the Pacific whenever occasion offered. Alexander
Starbuck, History of the American Whale Fishery, (Waltham, Mass.,
1878), 97. Iron and copper seem to have been among the most valued
articles of barter. The great aim of Governor Simpson of the Hudson’s
Bay Company, was to drive these itinerant traders from the field, a proj¬
ect which took many years. In 1831 Archibald McDonald, our author’s
father, writing from Fort Langley says [Washingon Historical Quarterly,
i, 258; also Report of Provincial Archives Department, (B. C.) op. cit.,
V82]. “In the face of two vessels our trade is not 150 skins less than
last year. If the Americans are off this year I hope things will be bet¬
ter.” Two years later he writes again: “Here this year in the face of
three American vessels we collected 2,000 skins. Nass, in opposition to
no less than seven, got as much besides 1,000 picked up by each of our
82
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
It was a matter of public policy, therefore—apart
from private considerations, in such remote isolation
from other female help—to allow, and even encourage,
the blood-bond of marriage by whites with the native
women. It was followed up, in other like cases, even as
to the men (mostly French Canadian, and some Brit¬
ish) in the service of the company. All with excellent
effect; for the Chinook, though given to the singular—
unique, I believe—custom of flattening , 53 in infancy,
the cephalic region (forehead) of his intellectual facul¬
ties, is no “flat,” in any sense, but has proved himself,
own vessels—but they cost dear, near two dollars for made beaver.”
Washington Historical Quarterly, ii, 161.
Duncan Finlayson, writing from Fort Vancouver, March 12, 1832,
[Idem., ii, 42], says: “And we have in view to extend our settlements
along the coast, the best and most judicious plan we can adopt for the
purpose of wresting that trade from the grasp of the Americans who
have so far monopolized it and no doubt derived considerable gain there¬
from.”
In a letter to the foreign office in February, 1837, [Hudson’s Bay
Company’s Correspondence, part 2, p. 24], Sir John H. Pelly, the Gov¬
ernor of the company, speaks of “The difficulties arising from an active
competition with the Americans”; and in the same volume, page 30,
James Douglas writes under the date Oct. 18, 1838: “The respite from
opposition we have enjoyed for the past and the present year induces a
hope that our American friends are withdrawing entirely from the busi¬
ness.”
The story of the maritime trade during the period referred to has
never been written, and the references to the movement of these Boston
vessels are scattered through many volumes both printed and unprinted.
53 This custom had an aristocratic significance and was a mark of
freedom; no slave was permitted to bestow this enviable deformity on
his child. Apparently the practice caused no impairment of the mental
faculties of the tribe. For contemporary descriptions of this practice of
flattening the heads of infants see David Thompson, op. cit., 506; Alex.
Ross, Oregon Settlers, 113; Franchere, op. cit., 324; Ross Cox, op. cit.,
i, 274-275; the Rev. Samuel Parker, op. cit., 249; J. K. Townsend,
op. cit., 176; and for sketches of the appearance of these flattened heads,
see Captain Lewis’s drawing, Thwaites, Original Journals, iv, 10; George
Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Etc., of the North American
Indian, ii, 125-126, cut 210, and Paul Kane [op. cit., 205] where the pic¬
ture of a Flathead child and mother is given. Comey [op. cit. 63] after
describing the Flathead custom, mentions a somewhat similar practice of
another tribe in binding the head with cords, until an equally grotesque
deformity was acquired.
V *v; ’
Chinook
Indian woman with infant undergoing the process of
head flattening
From Catlirrs North American Indian, ii, 125.
Japan Story of Adventure
83
in natural intelligence, and in general aptitude for civil¬
ization, morally as well as mentally, the most advanced
on the American Pacific Coast.
The remark applies, with full force, to their women;
who, marrying—for no other connection was, by the
laws, there, then, or while the Hudson’s Bay Company
had sway, permissible—marrying, I say, with due so¬
lemnity, the employees of the company, proved in their
Ruth-like fidelity to marital duty , 54 the gravitating ele¬
ment and factor of pioneer settlement throughout the
great Columbia country—a region of about two hun¬
dred and fifty thousand square miles; the richest in the
world; and of strongest healthful life.
The womanhood of that world—world beyond the
distant, dimly seen, or fancied golden glaciered “Moun¬
tains” of De La Verenderie” and, after him, of Carver,
to the “Great South Sea,” was, in those early times, and
until the arrival there, of my step and foster mother,
Jane Klyne , 55 wholly native, as was that of the British
54 Most of these Indian women proved capable and faithful wives to
their white husbands, and, to their honor, many of the officers of the fur
companies, who took to themselves wives from the women of the Colum¬
bia River tribes, displayed affection, loyalty and pride in their dusky
partners and their offspring, and clung to them in their more mature
and affluent years, after retiring from the company’s service.
55 The editors have been unable to ascertain the date or place of birth
of Dame Jane Klyne. Archibald McDonald’s autograph pedigree list
places her at Fort Rae in 1813 a time and place which apparently pre¬
clude her birth in Switzerland. An article in the Portland (Ore.) Ore¬
gonian, Feb. 12, 1891, states that she was born at Jasper House. She
was reputed to be a half or quarter breed Cree Indian. Deprived of any
opportunities for early education, she studied with her children under her
husband’s tutorship, and is referred to by Elkanah Walker in his diary of
date Sept. 17, 1838, as “quite an accomplished woman.” She was
through her husband’s training a Protestant of deep religious convic¬
tions and a constant Bible student, and able to defend the tenets of her
belief in religious discussion with the early missionaries. After the fam¬
ily removed to St. Andrews she became a member of Christ’s Church
and was known for her many acts of charity, and, in the words of a con¬
temporary, “went about doing little acts of kindness.” She was one of
the last of the great native gentlewomen typified by the late Lady Strath-
84
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
when it became a Roman colony . 56 The Roman has
passed the way of all flesh; has dropped into his Nir¬
vana, of ultimate nonentity. The Briton still lives!
Mother of Nations! Mother of these United States of
America; the grandest political brotherhood of Earth!
I say brotherhood, yet must confess, that it, sadly
lacks that, in its inherent hate of race; its castes; its
doom of black and Red, and Yellow, and Brown, and all
other shades of Heaven-painted humanity within its
borders. How, or why it is so, I leave to the framers,
rather, to the successors of the framers of the original
Declaration of the United States of America—the first
New England of America—to state. Are “all men
equal?”
For my part: proud, and with no reason to be
ashamed of my native “blue” blood of Ind[ian] in
America, I feel no contumely towards any of different
hue of humanity. At the same time, I must plead guilty
to the soft impeachment of being naturally quick to re¬
sent an insult on this score; or on any score. However,
I have never had occasion to do so.
To return to my narrative. While thus a bachelor , 57
in Astoria, with much need of a housekeeper in trade-
post duty elsewhere, to which, at any moment he might
be called, my father married the youngest daughter,
cona—fit consorts for the sturdy gentlemen of the fur trade. By her
will she left her foster child, Ranald, our author, a legacy of $400.00
as a token of her affection. She died at St. Andrews, Quebec, Decem¬
ber 15, 1879, and her remains are buried in the church yard there besides
those of her husband.
56 Our author overlooked Miss Jane Barnes, the buxom Portsmouth
bar maid, who arrived at Astoria, April 17, 1814, on the “Isaac Todd.”
Ross Cox, op. cit., i, 258-259.
57 Archibald McDonald had, some years previous, formed an alliance
with another Indian woman, and a son of this union, then two years old,
was accidentally drowned in a mud hole at Norway House in 1816.
Archibald McDonald pedigree list.
Japan Story of Adventure 85
then still in her teens, of “King Com-Comly”; the fa¬
ther and the maid, nothing loathe. Her personal name,
in Chinook, signified Raven ; 58 probably from the color
of her hair, for black in complexion she was not, but like
her sister (Mrs. MacDougall) was rather of Egyptian
brown. For her change in life—following a custom in
this regard of, I believe, the Japanese and other old
Asian peoples, and probably, in mark of courtesy to the
Whites—she was named Sunday—Princess Sunday.
The marriage ceremony, as described to me, many
years afterwards by an eye-witness, Captain Thomas
Butler 59 of Salem, Mass., would seem to have been a
very imposing one; possibly the grandest, in its way, on
the Pacific Slope of North America, up to that time.
At this time, Astoria (Fort George) had received a
large accretion of goods and men, for trade, by the ar¬
rival of ships (two or three) from London under the
new management by the Hudson’s Bay Company, to
which the interests of the Northwest Company had
been transferred in partnership . 60 The gentleman in
58 The Chinook word for raven is “Koale’ xoa.”
59 The statement is repeated in our author’s letter to Mr. McLeod Jan.
16, 1893, Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C. The name is not a Salem
name, and does not appear in the list of vessels registered at the Salem
Custom House, nor does it appear in the list of vessels and masters
touching on the northwest coast 1819-1840. H. H. Bancroft, op. cit., ii,
340-342. Our author may have confused the name and meant Captain
Seth Barker of the “Volunteer,” owned by Barker & Sturges, Boston.
These owners had several vessels on the coast about the time mentioned,
and Captain Barker was undoubtedly familiar with the incidents stated.
Otherwise, our author’s Captain Butler was an out-of-town man, tempo¬
rarily in command of some Salem vessel during a single voyage; his his¬
tory and the name of the vessel are unknown to the editors.
60 The partnership was by consolidation in the Hudson’s Bay Com¬
pany, under its charter, by deed-poll of March 26, 1821, by which the
Northwest Company (the larger, by far, say three to one, in trade stock)
became absorbed, in nominally equal shares, in the smaller chartered
body. The transaction was peculiar in many respects—giving rise to
litigation and claims in Parliament unsettled to this day—as set forth
in a recent pamphlet under the caption of Oregon Indemnity by Judge
Malcolm McLeod, of Ottawa, Canada.—[Original.]
86
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
chief charge of the post was Doctor John McLough-
lin , 61 chief factor—formerly a leading partner in chief
charge, on the Pacific Slope, of the interests of the
Northwest Company—himself married to an Indian
wife, and faithfully devoted to her as worthy of his
esteem; a man of deep religious feeling, and imbued
with highest respect for the canons of Christianity,
and particularly of his own creed, the Roman Catholic
—a very “Christ of the Pacific Slope,” as Bancroft
(H. H.) in his British Columbia enthusiastically (but
with, perhaps, questionable propriety) calls him.
Under the provisions of the Company’s charter and
license from the crown he held magisterial powers , 62
61 Dr. John McLoughlin did not come to the Columbia River district
until November, 1824. Describing Dr. McLoughlin, our author has said:
“He and my father were the only two persons that I was in any way in
fear of. Tall, with a venerable look, caused by his very gray hair, with
strong, powerful, commanding voice, to be short, with the air of a major-
general; with a strong if not obstinate will. The last I saw of him was
at Red River, Manitoba. Then he was very kind to me. Those who
knew him well say that he was of a very kind disposition—so was my
father—and why I should fear them was always a mystery to me.” Let¬
ter July 25, 1892. Dr. McLouglin married the widow of Alexander McKay,
the Astor partner killed by the Indians in the attack on the Tonquin.
Several of his descendants reside in the Northwest. See Frederick V.
Holman, Dr. John McLoughlin (Cleveland, 1907), biography, 22-25.
62 This is scarcely correct. The company’s charter only gave the
power of appointment of magistrates for the vaguely described region
east of the Rocky Mountains, known as Rupert’s Land. The license of
exclusive trade only applied to the lands west of the Rockies and gave
no such powers whatever. In Sir George Simpson’s evidence before the
Committee of the House of Commons in 1859 occur the following ques¬
tions and answers on this subject:
1191— (Mr. Lowe) Have you any magistrates, justices of the
peace? We consider all our factors as magistrates.
1192— Do they hold any commission from the Crown or from
the Governor? Their commission as factors is understood to
answer the purpose of a commission as magistrates.
1193— Have they power to imprison and to decide any mat¬
ter? We have never had any case of imprisonment.
At Fort Vancouver Dr. McLoughlin caused his assistant to be ap¬
pointed a justice of the peace. See hereon Frederick Holman, op. cit. y
38, 39.
Japan Story of Adventure
87
and was, in all matters thereto appertaining, for peace
and good government, governor in chief, with full con¬
sular authority—for the land, then, still, was as no
man’s land, except that of the King (Com-Comly) then
there in primordial title. The native imposed its own
laws as to this matter of marriage; a matter, with them,
of ever rigorous social exigence; and, in some tribes—
such as the Shuswhaps—with singular application, like
that of the Jews as we have it in our Bible. I refer to
the law, more particularly, which requires a brother to
marry a deceased brother’s widow. Not, I hold, that
such custom and law—or others like those of the Jews
of old, traceable in American Indian tribes, are assign¬
able to such origin—for history and ethnic science, I
think, preclude such conclusion—but are mere acci¬
dental similarities, arising from the nature of man with
his inhering laws of social life, adapted and adapting to
the varying circumstances of his case—his environ¬
ment. Of many such, from Arctic to Antartic, the
world over, I have been an observer; and, in this re¬
gard, have remarked, that as a general law, man, in
every form of social life, is a law unto himself, and is
not given to borrow or adopt that of another. In that
is his Adam title of life on earth, with his co-ordinate re¬
sponsibility to his Maker.
In this sense, in Chinook realm, Chinook law (cus¬
tom sanctified) governed—the world over—as to any
marriage, or any matter of personal contract, as mar¬
riage is. At the time in question, there was no law of
any foreign country, not even of Britain, or England, or
the United States, or any of such, of any force at the
Gate of King Com-Comly; where, in fact his word was
law.
Had there been any clergy there, and such service
88
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
had been required, it would, no doubt, have been al¬
lowed and had; but there were none; none within two
or three thousand miles. No Christian or missionary , 63
Roman Catholic, nor Protestant, then, ever yet set foot
in that region. Still, marriage there, was, and for ages
had been, an institution—a sacred institution—a bind¬
ing together by God (the “Great Spirit ”) 64 which, ac¬
cording to the people’s own local law, no man could
break asunder.
ROYAL MARRIAGE
The royal residence was, in the fashion of the coun¬
try, a long, one-story, gothic-roofed, very large house
of wood with doors and windows and other conven¬
iences, and adornments outside, including a monumen¬
tal totem pole by way of royal flagstaff. All about—
quite a town—were houses on scarcely simpler scale,
for accommodation of all the retinue—at least five hun¬
dred men—of the King. Add to that some of his sub¬
jects, about, settled there—for they were not of no¬
madic habit—a population, altogether of probably four
or five thousand.
The locality was a striking one, and was the first se-
63 Two Spanish priests made a trip into the Northwest from California
about 1810. See letter from fm. Davis Robinson to the Hon. J. H.
Eaton printed in National Intelligencer Jan. 21, 1821, and re-printed in
the Niles Register, March 10, 1821, reprinted in the Washington His¬
torical Quarterly, x, 142-149. These friars reached the height of land
at the sources of the Colorado, the Platte and the Snake River, but did
not travel as far north as the Columbia River. Returning, they claim to
have reached the coast of California about latitude 43:30; possibly via
the Umpqua River on Coose Bay, State of Oregon. Spanish missionaries
had also been sent to the settlement at Nootka prior to its evacuation
under Signor Quadro, and had possibly touched at some point on the
mainland. See Franchere, op. cit., 180, note.
64 All North American Indians, as well as my friends the Moes and
Japanese, I consider to be essentially Monotheists.—[Original.]
Totem Poles of the Northwest Coast Indians
From photograph in Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
Japan Story of Adventure
89
lected for Astoria; but for special considerations,
amongst others, better anchorage, the south side—
Gray’s Harbor of 1792—was ultimately chosen,
though itself far from being good for harbor purposes.
In the rear was the grand forest of densely fronded
lofty Douglas pine and other such arborage. In front
the gently sloping beach, tide laved, of golden sand and
pebbled shingle.
From water marge to the King’s court, where in open
heaven, the ceremony 65 was to take place—a distance
say of about three hundred yards—was a path of gold¬
en sheen, of richest furs, 66 viz. of prime beaver, otter
(sea and land), nothing less!—not even seal fur, then
of no account in the fur trade. Along this golden path
way, as a guard of honor, were three hundred of the
slaves, so-called, of the King.
On the arrival of the bridegroom and his party,
headed by the chief of the whites, Doctor McLoughlin,
at this landing, they walked the furried path; the yeo¬
men of the guard (all warriors taken captive in battle),
retaining their statue stand, arrived at the King’s gate.
With little preliminary of ceremony, the King, with roy¬
al grace and dignity, in silence, handed over the evi¬
dently not unwilling bride; not unwilling, for her true
love in his young manhood was of the handsomest of
65 This, according to Benjamin MacDonald, our author’s half-brother,
occurred Sept. 12, 1823.
66 Though Washington Irving in describing the wedding of MacDougal
and Com-comly’s daughter, [op. cit ., London ed. 1838, iii, 189-193]
does not mention any such great display as our author claims signalized
the marriage of his mother and Archibald McDonald, yet Paul Kane,
[op. cit., 177] speaking of the former wedding, which occurred long before
he came to Oregon says: “Com-comly, however, acted with unexpected
liberality on the occasion, carpeting her path from the canoe to the Fort
with sea-otter skins, at that time numerous and valuable, but now scarce,
and presenting them as a dowry, in reality far exceeding in value the
articles at which she has been estimated.” See note 46, page 76, for de
Smet’s reference to Com-Comly’s furs.
90
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the sons of men—and debonair; eagle-eyed, and with
the thews and eclat of his mountain race; of most mag¬
netic touch, and look, and tongue; a truly princely man.
Whether there was any ring, 1 cannot say. Prob¬
ably there was. They, in any case, joined hands and
seemingly hearts; all with a patriarchal Godspeed from
his majesty of the Pacific.
And so, away from her home, away from her people;
as Ruth of old, did Naomi, did the princess of the Pa¬
cific, cleave unto my father, and become my mother—
mother in holiest wedlock; wedlock perfect in its sim¬
plicity, with no adventitious ceremony of man to mar
its sanctity; with no epithalamium to proclaim or bless
it—only the soughing of the breeze through the ever
harping trees, and, grander still, the deep organ bour-
den of the ever-sounding sea, by the shore, with “music
in its roar.”
To crown the occasion, soon as the last foot of the
whites had retrod the fur path on their return, the whole
was picked up by the three hundred slaves in waiting,
and piled, at the boats on the river marge, and pre¬
sented in gift , pure and spontaneous to the bride’s
man. 67 There was, of course, “cakes and ale”—Pot¬
latch 68 in plenty for all—white and black—on both
sides of the river.
67None of this, however, went beneficially to him; for, by rule of
the company, no servant or officer of it, could take, even in gift, any fur;
all passed into their maw. Such was the application of their motto,
“Pro-pelle-cutem,” The pile was worth, probably, at least three thou¬
sand dollars. It should have come to me as sole heir of the mar¬
riage.—[Original.]
68 Chinook word for free feast with gifts.—[Original.]
The prevalent idea among the whites, that the potlatch was an
improvident act of profligacy on the part of the Indian, is erroneous.
The Indian potlatch was nothing less than an investment; the money
and property given away brought very large returns; as an insurance
scheme it surpassed anything yet devised by the white man. The Indian
who gave a potlatch expected every man who received a gift from him at
Japan Story of Adventure
91
Thus ran out the merry chimes of the wedding of the
last of the Royal House of Com-Comly, last King—
regent—of the Pacific realm of the Chinooks—head of
the nations of Flatheads—so-called—of the Pacific
Slope.
How, with peerless bravery and persistence, they
fought for their independence and ancient home
hearths, against General Hearney and other United
States military forces, till the final surrender, many
years after, in all honor, for peace’s sake, of noble Chief
Joseph 69 is now matter of history—too recent and fresh
for more than bare allusion.
To pass on!
the time of the potlatch, would give back to him at least double the value
of that gift, and he must have been a terrible miser who would not return
at least three times the value of the gift received. Age-old custom,
backed by general approval of the Indians, was a guarantee for proper
payment by the recipient of the gift; and no disgrace was greater than
that following the Indian who, being able, failed to pay his potlatch obli¬
gations. Fully aware of the fickleness of fortune, the Indian who had
amassed wealth arranged a potlatch and by giving away all his property
made his own and the neighboring tribes his debtors. By instituting the
potlatch the Indian thus not only insured himself against loss of prop¬
erty, but left something to his children; because it stands to reason that
a potlatch could not be given every day, nor could the gifts be repaid im¬
mediately. If the Indian who gave a potlatch died, the gifts were repaid
to his children. A man by giving a potlatch often insured to his children
the possession of a great deal of wealth, and much of the wealth of the
wealthier families among the Northwest Coast Indians was accumulated
that way. Potlatch gifts were always “Indian gifts.”
69 This is scarcely correct. Aroused by the ill-advised and misunder¬
stood efforts of Governor Stevens to confine them to small reservations
of his own choosing, the Flathead or Salesh tribes commenced hostilities
against the Americans shortly after the great Walla Walla Indian council
of 1855. After the miscarriage of Chief Kamiaken’s great plan for a
concerted attack on the American settlements on the Coast and East of
the Cascades, during the winter of 1855-1856, by the premature murder
of Indian Agent A. J. Bolon and some miners in the summer of 1855,
and the several defeats of the allied tribes of the Columbia River basin
by the soldiers, culminating in Colonel Wright’s campaign during the fall
of 1858, the Salesh Indian tribes made permanent treaties with the Gov¬
ernment and no further hostilities occurred. They refused to join Chief
Joseph in the Nez Perce War of 1877. The Nez Perce (Shahaptin)
tribe is an entirely distinct tribe, differing in language and history from
the Salesh tribes to the north of them.
92
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
CHAPTER II
Birth and Infancy—Life in British Columbia
In due time, and it would seem without loss of time
in this regard, I was born: Date, as per account, Feb¬
ruary 3, 1824—the very day on which a much better,
more useful, and in every respect a greater man was
born, viz., Horace Greely, of the New York Tribune y
almost President of the United States.
As already stated, I was born under the British flag;
in Fort George (formerly Astoria). In truth, I am and
have ever felt myself to be a man of two flags; proper,
in a way, to both. Yet, let me say, scarcely quite con¬
tent with either. Of this, more anon!
My mother died a few days after my birth, 70 much
to the sorrow of my father, who loved her sincerely, for
her gentle ways and wifely devotion.
On her death my father marked his grief in every
way of respect to her memory; and to this day, there
may, for aught I know to the contrary, be some monu¬
mental mark of that sorrow, in the old cemetery by the
old Fort. 71
These facts are not, of course, to my personal knowl¬
edge, nor were they even mentioned to me by any of
my family, but have been told by one who was a per-
Ranald’s half-brother, Mr. Benjamin MacDonald has given the date
as “the salmon running time,” which is usually in the months of May
and June.
71 The buildings of the Astor post were apparently abandoned by the
Northwest Company in 1819 and new quarters erected. By 1834 the
site of the Astor post was overgrown with grass and weeds and marked
by a single chimney. J. K. Townsend, op. cit. All traces of the old
Northwest Company and Hudson’s Bay Company’s post, Fort George,
and of the cemetery were long ago obliterated. The site is now occupied
by the City of Astoria. Our author’s cousin, Christinia MacDonald Wil¬
liams, had the chimney bottoms of this old post pointed out to her in
1865, Washington Historical Quarterly, xiii, 113.
Japan Story of Adventure£3
sonal witness of them, and as a close family (cousin)
of the deceased—herself subsequently married to a
gentleman of historic fame as a scientist , 72 a chief fac¬
tor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, living here, at the
time—was cognizant of them. Herself, as fit com¬
panion for her husband, readily acquired, and ever
showed the refinement and intelligence, with sincere
piety, of the best of the purely white race—a lady in
every respect. I have not permission to give, thus pub¬
licly, her name . 73
On the death of my mother, I was, in course, com¬
mitted to the nursing care 74 of the royal household
across the way; where, according to all accounts, I be¬
came the favorite, the “Toll, Toll ” 75 (Chinook for the
(Boy! the Boy!) of Gran’pa.
72 George Barnston, a contemporary of our author’s father, was a
Scotchman born in Edinburgh—a man of good intellectual attainments
and universally respected and possessing great energy. His name ap¬
pears as a clerk, Nos. 463, 357 and 291, respectively, on the Lists of Em¬
ployees of the Hudson’s Bay Company, in North America for the years
1821, 1822, 1823 and 1824. He was in charge of Fort Nez Perce (Walla
Walla) for some time up to the spring of 1831, and became a Chief
Trader in 1840. Like many of his contemporaries he espoused a woman
from the Columbia River tribes. Retiring from the service, he settled
at Montreal, where he took an active interest in public affairs, and be¬
came president of the Society of Natural History, which probably ac¬
counts for the reference to his “historic fame as a scientist.”
72 Have no objection to do so privately, on proper inquiry.—[Orig¬
inal.]
In a penciled note on the MSS. our author has written the name,
“Mrs. George Barnston.” Mrs. Barnston and our author were distantly
related. Letter Ranald MacDonald to Malcolm McLeod Nov. 24, 1890.
Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
74 According to Benjamin MacDonald, Ranald was committed to the
care of an aunt, his mother’s sister, Car-Cumcum, and they occupied a
lodge at the fort at Astoria.
75 The Chinook language is peculiar in its abundance of onomato¬
poeic terms; these include the names of birds, a few other animals and
some miscellaneous terms. The term, “The Toll, The Toll,” is doubtless
the result of an attempt to give an English equivalent for some such
Chinook name or term as “qoe’ Iqoel,” meaning owl, or “Qul qul,” mean¬
ing heron. See Boas, Handbook of American Indian Languages, 655.
94
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Later on in 1824, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s
establishment of Fort George was removed to a more
suitable place then named Vancouver 76 (Fort and
Post) about eighty miles further up the Columbia, on
the north side, within tide water, with ample depth and
accommodation for shipping.
There, 77 in 1825, after more than a year’s widow¬
hood, my father married a Swiss (German Swiss)
young woman, or girl of 16 or 17—Jane, daughter
(born in Switzerland) 78 of one Michael Klyne, 79 “Post-
The Chinook word for boy is Ekass-cas, Alex. Ross, Oregon Settlers, 323,
or ik-qsks, Prof. Franz Boas, op. cit., 597. It will be recalled that
Ranald’s mother’s name was Raven; Toll, Toll, applied to the infant
Ranald, is of the type of these bird names and probably signified some
term like little “owl” or “heron” and applied to Ranald because of some
infant characteristic. In a letter from our author’s father to Edward
Ermatinger dated Colvile, April 1, 1836, we find: “Ranald, or if you
will have it Toole, was removed there from Pritchard’s last summer.”
76 The removal of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s headquarters’
from Fort George (Astoria) to the new post, Fort Vancouver, in April,
1825, is reported in the Oregon Historical Society’s Quarterly, xx, 27.
Sir J. H. Pelly, Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, in a letter to
George Canning, Foreign Secretary, dated December 9, 1825, gives the
following explanation of the founding of Fort Vancouver:
“In compliance with a wish expressed by you at our last in¬
terview, Governor Simpson, when at Columbia, abandoned Fort
George on the south side of the river and formed a new estab¬
lishment on the north side about 75 miles from the mouth of the
river at a place called by Lieutenant Broughton Bellevue point.
Governor Simpson named the new establishment “Fort Van¬
couver” in order to identify our claim to the soil and trade with
Lieutenant Broughton’s discovery and survey.”
77 Mr. Benjamin MacDonald states that the marriage occurred Sept.
1, 1825. There was evidently some irregularity in the first ceremony
or its record, and the parties, probably to avoid any complications for
their heirs, such as arose in the Connolly case, afterwards went through
the marriage ceremony again. This was performed June 9, 1835, at York
Factory by the chaplain of that port, the Rev. Mr. Cochran. Letter
Archibald McDonald to Ermatinger, Provincial Library, Victoria, B. C.
The bride was but fifteen years old at the time of her marriage.
78 This, if correct, would indicate that Michael Klyne and his family
were among the Swiss emigrants of 1821, but see contra hereon notes
79 and 81 following.
79 The name of Michael Klyne appears in the Lists of Employees of
the Hudson’s Bay Company in America for the years 1821, 1822 and
Japan Story of Adventure
95
master” (as the office was then called) of Jasper
House , 80 a trade outpost of the Hudson’s Bay Com¬
pany, situated on the east side of the Rocky Mountains,
1823 as Nos. 933, 749 and 545, respectively. He was probably identical
with Michel Klein, one of the voyageurs attached to the Department of
Athabasca in 1804 and mentioned in L. F. R. Masson’s Les bourgeois de
la compagnie du Nord Ouest , i, 396. Archibald McDonald’s pedigree list
mentions his wife, Jane Kline, daughter of Michael, as coming to Fort
Rae in 1813, doubtless fixing Michael Klyne’s service at that time and
place. He is the Michael Klyne mentioned in the list of grantees from
Lord Selkirk and the Hudson’s Bay Company as the owner of Lot 227 in
Register B of the Red River Colony; see Archer Martin, op. cit., 147. He
was in charge of Jasper House when Alexander Ross passed through
in the spring of 1825, and is spoken of by him as “a man by the name of
Klyne, a jolly old fellow, with a large family.” He and his family then
consisting of five children accompanied Edward Ermatinger from Edmon¬
ton to Jasper House in September, 1828. Ermatinger’s Journal, Trans¬
actions Royal Society of Canada, vi, sec. ii, 81, 103-108. Being an
outpost it would appear that Jasper House was only occupied during
the winter. By Minutes of Council for years 1830-1833, inclusive, he
was still assigned as Postmaster for Jasper House, E. H. Oliver, op. cit.,
i, 645, 661, 678, 694. In the records of the Hudson’s Bay Company at
Winnipeg his name appears on a registered contract dated June 1, -1827,
evidently for services as Clerk and Trader at Lesser Slave Lake. He
probably retired to Fort Garry about 1834. Michael Klyne’s mill is men¬
tioned by Alexander Ross, Red River Settlement, 121. The name some¬
times appears as Clyne and Michael Klyne’s name is doubtless preserved
in Cline’s River at the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan, and in
“Old Cline’s Trail” north of Kootenai Plain leading towards Jasper
house. John Palliser, Papers Relative to the Exploration by Captain
Palliser, (1858-1859), 112. The old family homestead on Euclid Ave¬
nue, at Point Douglas, Fort Garry (Winnipeg), was abandoned at the
time of the flood, when the family moved to Morris, Minnesota. Mrs.
Klyne died at Fort Garry about 1855. There were a number of children
besides Jane Klyne, including a daughter, Angelique, and four sons;
Michael, Adam, who at one time carried mail from Minnesota; George,
a member of the Provincial Parliament at Winnipeg in 1870 or 1872, and
John. All were mentioned and remembered in the will of their sister,
Jane Klein McDonald, and presumably were living at the date of the
last codicil thereof, dated December 14, 1879.
80 Jasper House—the last support east of the Rocky Mountains on
the regular Hudson’s Bay Company’s route overland from the head¬
waters of the Athabasca to those of the Columbia River by way of Atha¬
basca Pass—was situated at the outlet of Lake Jasper, an expansion of
the Athabasca River, and so named after Jasper Hawes, a clerk of the
Northwest Company, stationed in the Athabasca department, whose
name appears in the list 1804 L. F. R. Masson, op. cit., i, 396; ii, 26,
note. Coues [op. cit., 640], states that this house was built about 1800.
It may be the post shown on David Thompson’s map, “Northwest Com¬
pany” at the headwaters of the Athabasca; if so, Thompson makes no
96
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
between the eastern ends of the Athabasca and Yellow
Head passes. This Mr. Klyne, a person of good educa¬
tion and of responsible integrity, was one of the colony
of Swiss, from Switzerland, whom the Earl of Selkirk
had induced to try their fortune in his Red River Settle¬
ment , 81 and who, on arrival there, finding the difficul-
mention of it when describing his journey to the Columbia River in 1810-
1811, though upon the return trip he speaks of arriving in this locality at
“the house of Mr. William Henry”; see David Thompson, op. cit., 557.
This Henry's House was, however, evidently situated some distance
above Jasper House, as known in later years, and was one of the sev¬
eral small outposts in the vicinity known as “Rocky Mountain Houses.”
See hereon, Coues, op. cit., ii, 640, note: L. F. R. Masson, op. cit., ii, 26.
According to David Douglas, [op. cit., 261] on May 3, 1827, Rocky Moun¬
tain House “consisted merely of a small hut.” These temporary houses
or forts were often known by different names, and in course of events
occasionally rebuilt. Ross Cox, who was at the post in 1817, speaks of it
[op. cit., ii, 183] as “the melancholy hermitage of Mr. Jasper Hawes.”
Further reference to this post will be found (inter alia) in Franchere,
op. cit., 296; Ross Cox, op. cit., ii, 254; L. R. F. Masson, op. cit., ii, 52;
John Palliser’s Further Papers, op. cit., ii, 25; de Smet, Missions de
V Oregon, letters xiii and xiv; Paul Kane, op. cit., 154, which contains
a wood-cut showing the appearance of Jasper House in 1846. As to the
appearance of the post when Michael Klyne was in charge, David Doug¬
las, the botanist, who accompanied Edward Ermatinger across the moun¬
tains in 1827, in his Journal, [op. cit., 262] under date of May 4, 1827,
says: “Arrived at Jasper House, three small hovels on the left side of
the river, at two o’clock, where we put up to refresh ourselves for the re¬
mainder of the day.” In 1859 the place was described by Captain Pal-
liser as “a little group of dwellings constructed in keeping with the pic¬
turesque situation, with overhanging roofs and trellised porticos.” These
were probably the work of Michael Klyne. Paul Kane was not so fa¬
vorably impressed, describing the place in November, 1845 [op. cit., 155],
as consisting of “three miserable log huts.” The name Jasper House is
preserved in the name of a station on the Canadian National Railway
in the vicinity.
si In a memoranda of guidance to McDonell as agent for Selkirk’s
Executors, under date 1821 under title Swiss Settlers, it is stated:
“There will be 250 or 260 persons of all ages, of whom 60 will be under
10 years of age or thereabouts.” E. H. Oliver, The Canadian North¬
west, 1, 211. These colonists were secured through the propaganda of
Colonel de May.
Archer Martin’s The Hudson's Bay Company's Land Tenures, Lon¬
don, 1898, gives in Appendix “G,” 194, a list of the Swiss who left their
native land in May, 1821, and late that year arrived at the Earl of Sel¬
kirk’s colony. The list numbers one hundred and sixty-five in all—men,
women and children. Michael Klyne’s name is not included. It must,
however, be noted that on page 29 Judge Martin states the number of
these Swiss settlers as one hundred and seventy-seven; no effort is made
Japan Story of Adventure
97
ties of such a life, scattered 82 —some going to the west¬
ern states then (A. D. 1820) approaching the higher
reaches of the Mississippi, and some—as in Klyne’s
case—taking service with the Hudson’s Bay Company.
After a year or so, I was placed under her care; at
an age so young that 1 took to her as my veritable moth¬
er, and she, a woman of fine feeling, and true Swiss
fidelity to her trust, ever, to the last moment of her long
life, kept up, with tenderest care and solicitude, the
kind deception.
She bore twelve sons and a daughter 83 to my father,
to account for this difference; it is possible that Klyne’s family may have
been included in the twelve not accounted for. The other Swiss settlers
in the Red River colony were members of de Meuron’s disbanded regi¬
ment engaged at Montreal and Kingston. The de Meurons originally
belonged to two mercenary regiments recruited in Switzerland and under
the pay of the British Government. They saw service in Continental
Europe and in the American War of 1812, and the regiment was dis¬
banded in Quebec, Canada, May, 1816. Four officers and a- hundred
men of these came with Lord Selkirk to Red River, arriving in the spring
of 1817 and settling opposite Fort Douglas on the Seine. Another au¬
thority gives their number as three officers and eighty men—who left
Montreal in 1816.
Michael Klyne’s rank (postmaster) and place on the List of Em¬
ployees of the Hudson’s Bay Company, for 1821, after the coalition, pre¬
clude his having been a member of the Swiss colony of 1821, which did
not arrive until November of that year, and would seem to identify him
with the Michel Klyne of the Northwest Company list of 1804, and ap¬
parently preclude Jane Klyne’s being born in Switzerland.
82 The date given by our author for the departure of these Swiss is
manifest error. The correct date is June, 1826. See hereon Alexander
Ross’s Red River Settlement, 57, et seq. In a letter from D. McKenzie
to A. Colvile, dated Red River, Aug. 1826, [E. H. Oliver, op. cit., 1, 261]
we find: “Nothing important took place since he left us except the con¬
templated departure of Swiss and De Meuron’s, with some Canadians
who, like them, preferred to quit the country than submit to the labor of
re-establishing their farms. The former to the number of 50, bent their
course to the States, and of the latter 25 embarked for the Canadas,
making a total of 180, big and small.” A number of these settlers
moved to the vicinity of Fort Snelling, near St. Paul. A few of these
Swiss settlers appear to have left Red River as early as 1823; see here¬
on, E. H. Oliver, op. cit., 1, 228-230.
88 For genealogy and biography of our author’s father and his fam¬
ily see Archibald McDonald, Washington Historical Quarterly, ix, 99-101
inclusive.
98
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
but, so it was said and I say, seemed to love me best of
any. The love was certainly reciprocated.
Late in after life, when far from her, I learned, by
accident, from strangers living at and about the place of
my birth, the real state of our relations, the disillusion
pained me beyond expression. However, it brought no
reflections against my father, then in his grave, nor
against my still beloved step-mother, then in the distant
East (St. Andrews’, Quebec), closing her lonely wid¬
owhood by the grave of her husband. In effect, the dis¬
covery made me, at the time, withdraw within myself,
abandoning, at once, pursuits, in high honorable enter¬
prise in British Columbia, 84 which in course might, I
flattered myself, have placed me in a better—i. e., con¬
ventionally higher, and more comfortable position, as
to wordly means, than is now mine to command. But
now, with that philosophy incident to age, and further
—being thereunto much advised, I creep out of my her¬
mit shell and give, thus to the world, the little story of
whence and how I came, thus to play my humble part
in the drama of “Gates Ajar,” of west and east, in the
world of the Pacific.
To return to my narrative!
Again with my father, after my babyhood in the pal¬
ace, I remained with him, his constant companion, save
when out on expeditions of special danger—from trade
post to trade post throughout the Columbia, and north¬
ward in the region now known as British Columbia.
Much of that was in pioneer exploration and settlement,
up to my twelfth year. The scenes and incidents of
that life, up to my fourteenth year are, or at least most
of them are, still distinct to memory. To give them
84 Reference to enterprises in the Cariboo country in the early ’60s
in association with Sir James Douglas, Mr. Barnston and others.
Japan Story of Adventure
99
tongue as I would wish, with full credit to those who
took part in them, would fill volumes. Few of them
are in any book; and then, only incidentally; generally
wrongly; oft at second-hand; and sometimes with a dis¬
tortion of facts and suppressio veri in larceny of merit. 85
In 1823, the first post 86 —a large and well fortified
fort, one hundred and thirty-five feet by one hundred
and twenty, with high picket walls, two bastions with
cannon, and a gallery four feet wide all round, was built
on the Pacific Coast, north of the Columbia. It was
chiefly for the coast trade, but for convenience, also, of
the immediate land trade thereabout was situated about
thirty miles up the Fraser, on its left or south bank,
within schooner navigation. It was called Fort Lang¬
ley, after a prominent stockholder of the Hudson’s Bay
Company of that name.
85 While little credit has been given to many intrepid first explorers
of Northwest, in the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Can¬
ada, the names, if not the deeds, of such old Northwesterners as Alex¬
ander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, Alexander Stuart, John Finlay and
others are fittingly preserved in the names of their rivers, mountains and
lakes.
86 Our author is here in error. The site of Fort Langley was selected
on June 29, 1827, on the left bank of the Fraser River some 30 miles
above the Gulf of Georgia. Construction was commenced on July 30th
by a party under the command of James McMillan, that had come from
the Columbia River via Cowlitz portage. During the greater part of the
work the men were lodged aboard the schooner “Cadboro,” which had
brought them from Puget Sound. By September 18th the post was suffi¬
ciently advanced to enable the “Cadboro” to discharge the trading goods
and depart. On October 10, 1828, the post was inspected by Governor
Simpson, when James McMillan accompanied the Governor to Vancou¬
ver, and the author’s father, Archibald McDonald, was assigned to the post
in his place. For description of the post at this time see Malcolm Mc¬
Leod, Peace River, Journal of Archibald McDonald, 38-39, 118-119;
H. H. Bancroft, op. cit., ii., chap. 21; Washington Historical Quarterly,
vi, 181, 186.
The fort was destroyed in April, 1840. So much had the northern
posts begun to depend upon Langley for their salt provisions, that it
was feared that they must be abandoned; in the end an agreement was
made with the Russians whereby permission was obtained to purchase
venison in their territory. When the fort was rebuilt the location was
changed to a point some three or four miles further up the Fraser. Upon
this site, at the present, two of the old fort buildings are still standing.
100 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
My father was placed in charge of it the same year,
on the termination of his remarkable canoe voyage, with
Governor Simpson from Hudson’s Bay to that point as
described from his manuscript journal of it in Judge
McLeod’s book, Peace River * 1 aboundingly cited in
Bancroft’s (H. H.) histories British Columbia and
The North West Coast of America. The work, Peace
River, published in 1872, covering, in its subjects (ge¬
odesy, climatology, agricultural and other economic re¬
sources) all the north and northwest of Canada, and
the whole Pacific Slope north of Mexico, was, I have
reason to know, a prime factor in the promotion of the
present Canadian Pacific Railway.
On this subject, I could give much, of some public
moment to the world; and might very properly do so,
as one of the strongest arguments for that scheme, as
advanced in press (papers and pamphlets 88 A. D. 1869-
1874) by its first practical promoter, my old fellow
Columbian, Judge Malcolm McLeod, 89 was the import¬
s' 7 The person referred to as Judge McLeod is our author’s friend
and collaborator, Malcolm McLeod, Q. C., of Aylmer and later of Otta¬
wa, Canada. So far as can be ascertained at present he never occupied
the position of a judge; the title was one of courtesy. See note 89, post.
The book referred to is really but the Journal of Archibald McDonald,
our author’s father, covering a canoe voyage from Hudson’s Bay to the
Pacific made by him in company with Sir George Simpson in 1828. Mr.
McLeod has added many and voluminous notes. The volume was is¬
sued at the suggestion of Sanford Fleming as a part of the Canadian
railroad propaganda; see McLeod’s Memorial, 1899, 4. Five hundred
copies were printed; some fifty were sold by the publishers, the re¬
mainder were bought from the publishers by Mr. McLeod and distributed
by him gratuitously. In his Memorial Mr. McLeod describes his book
as “a sort of blue-book with dry statistical details” and as “not calcu¬
lated for general reading”; but this is merely the author’s reticence;
the book is delightfully interesting from cover to cover.
88 A quantity of his notes, memoranda and manuscript papers are in
Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C.
89 Malcolm McLeod, the friend and collaborator of our author was
the son of Chief Trader John McLeod and his wife, Charlotte, half-
breed daughter of John P. Purden, a Chief Factor. He was born on
October 22, 1821, at Fort Green Lake on Beaver River in the Northwest
Japan Story of Adventure
101
ance of developing trade with Japan and China, as well
as with Australia by such a railway; and in that connec¬
tion was given by him in one of these pamphlets, and
in the local leading newspaper press of the day, briefly,
the story of my adventure in Japan as he had it, twenty
years before, from my own lips, when a guest with him
in Canada. In this way, my Japan of 1848-1849 with
the C. P. R. of 1885. We, McLeod and I (I put him
first, for such is his proper place in the matter) as in
fact, our respective fathers, each again in the same
Territories. Until four years of age he lived with his parents at various
trading posts, principally in the Okanogan district, and crossed the moun¬
tains with them in 1826. He left the West in 1830 for Scotland, there
attending school under Dr. Boyd at Edinburgh and was in London for
a short time in 1840. He was admitted to the Bar of the Province of
Quebec in 1845, and practiced his profession for a while at St. Andrews
in the County of Argenteuil; then moved to Aylmer, where he continued
to practice his profession until about the year 1871, when he was ap¬
pointed District Magistrate for the District of Ottawa. This position
he held up to the year 1879, when he resigned and resumed practice at
the bar of Aylmer, moving subsequently to Ottawa, where he died in
1897. The title Judge was given him colloquially only. He styled him¬
self a Presbyterian, but was buried from the Church of England. Three
sisters lived with him a number of years, one of them marrying a Mr.
Pierce, a bookseller of Ottawa, and the two others dying about the same
time as their brother, unmarried. A friend and contemporary fellow
barrister has described him in the following words:
“He was a tall, spare, stern-looking man, but in conversation was one
of the liveliest and most interesting men I ever met. His knowledge of
the Northwest dated, as he was fond of telling, from the time he moved
along the banks of the Mackenzie River on his mother’s back; and all
that we now know goes to show that he had nature on his side when
he advocated crossing the Rocky Mountains by the Valley of the Peace
River, when the railway to the Pacific Ocean was first mooted.
“He had an extensive knowledge of the law and had read even into
the Laws of Scotland, which he was fond of quoting, but he seemed to
lack the power to classify his knowledge and to make it applicable to the
case at issue.
“Vices he had none, and on the whole was one whom it was a pleas¬
ure to know and an advantage to chat with. He never did an unkind¬
ness to anyone. As far as this world’s goods were concerned he could
not keep them with him, and when a wave of prosperity would come
to him he was reckless as any Indian in squandering his money. He
was quite an outstanding figure, and very much inclined to be very
lengthy in his pleadings.
In 1869 he began the Britannicus Letters to the Ottawa and other
provincial newspapers in favor of the proposed Canadian Pacific rail-
102 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
order 90 had, before that, A. D. 1822-28 practically pre¬
pared the way—were the first to solve that problem of a
“North-west Passage”. 91
The fact is of standard record: but, in its esoteric, has
been studiedly ignored, and, to the world, even denied
by the millionaire beneficiaries thereof. The subject is
for other pages.
In 1834 or 1835, 92 my father was assigned to the
road. He also wrote and published a number of pamphlets, in addition
to “Peace River,” i. e., Pacific Railway, Canada, Etc., 1875; Oregon In¬
demnity. Claim of Chief Factors and Chief Traders Hudson's Bay Com¬
pany, 1892, etc.
so McLeod became a Chief Trader by the Deed Poll of 1821, while
Archibald McDonald remained a clerk until 1828.
91 In 1862, as the result of my own personal surveys of routes for
transport of freight from the Ocean to the Cariboo mines in British Co¬
lumbia, I obtained a charter to myself personally (in association with the
late John Barnston, barrister, member of the legislature of British Co¬
lumbia and other) from the Government of British Columbia for first a
trail and then a wagon road from Bella Coola (Bentwick Arm) to the
Cariboo mines with tollage. Ultimately I took a prominent part in the
alternate route through the gorge of the Fraser, canoed by my father in
1828.—[Original.]
The John Barnston, barrister, referred to is Mr. John G. Barnston,
who was the second person to be admitted as a barrister in the Courts of
Vancouver Island; then a separate colony from that of the mainland,
known as British Columbia. Mr. Barnston appears to have been ad¬
mitted to practice in Vancouver Island, sometime towards the end of
1858. His application to practice at the Bar of British Columbia was
made on December 9, 1861, to Governor Douglas. He was not at that
time a member of the legislature; indeed there was no semblance of a
legislature on the mainland until 1864, and it did not become representa¬
tive and responsible government until 1871. Mr. Barnston was in 1873
elected, at a by-election, as one of the three members for the Cariboo
District. In May and June of 1861 our author, with Mr. Barnston and
Messrs. Tompkins, Person and Ritchie, made a preliminary exploration
from Alexandria to North Bentinck Arm on the Coast; report of which
was made to Governor Douglas, July 24, 1861, and is on file in the
Provincial Archives at Victoria, B. C. The route was afterwards opened
for pack-trains, which, for a short time were conducted over the route
by our author and his associates. The enterprise was never a financial
success.
92 Archibald McDonald left Fort Langley—where he had been sta¬
tioned for some years—for Fort Vancouver in the spring of 1833, and
after selecting the site and laying the foundations of Nisqually House
in June of 1833 ( Washington Historical Quarterly, vi, 179-188), he ac¬
companied Mr. William Connolly of New Caledonia up the Columbia
Japan Story of Adventure
103
charge of Fort Colvile, the highest trade post on the Co¬
lumbia; the centre then of a very extensive Indian trade,
including the great Kootenaye Country and the upper
Columbia to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The
location was just above the Kettle falls of the Columbia
—then, as still, a central resort of Indians, from all
around, for their salmon fishery; their chief food sup-
ply.
The site—a beautiful flat, of great extent, about ten
square miles, 93 surrounded by mountains of moderate
height, with (then) the celebrated “Buffalo grass and
other finest herbage of cattle—was an admirable one
for a farm in a large scale.
On its establishment in 1826, 94 it was at once stocked
with three calves and three pigs, 95 brought, by boat, by
with supplies for the interior in July of 1833. In 1834 and 1835 he was
absent on leave, during which time he visited in Scotland. See letter
from himself dated Edinburgh, 20th January, 1835, set out in extenso in
Oregon Historical Society’s Quarterly, vi, 308-309. From another of his
letters appearing in Washington Historical Quarterly, ii, 254, it would
appear that he did not take active charge at Fort Colvile until 1836. He
was in this position when John McLean, the author of Twenty-five Years
in the Hudson's Bay Company's Territory, passed through. McLean
(op. cit. ii, 14) wrote: “We arrived at Colvile on the 12th (April,
1837) where we met with a most friendly reception from a warm-hearted
Gael, Mr. Med-.” He was at Vancouver, May 30, 1836. Parker, op.
cit. 293.
93 The site of Fort Colvile contained about five square miles of land.
For a contemporary description thereof (1848) see inter alia Washing¬
ton Historical Quarterly, iii, 145.
94 Fort Colvile was staked out by Governor Simpson on April 14th,
1825, and part of the timbers framed during the summer and fall of 1825.
John Work’s Journal, Washington Historical Quarterly, v, 105, 166, 169.
For the abandonment of Spokane House on April 7, 1826, and removal
of the employees and stores to Fort Colvile see John Work’s Journal,
Idem, v, 276-283.
93 In John Work’s Journal for April 11, 1826, we have the entry: “The
express arrived in the evening, Messrs. McLeod, Ermatinger & Douglas.
They brought three pigs and three young cows for the Fort,”—Colvile.
Washington Historical Quarterly, v. 284. In a letter from Archibald
McDonald to John McLeod, dated from Colvile, January 25, 1837,
reproduced in Washington Historical Quarterly ii, 255, McDonald says:
“Your three calves are up to 55 and your three grunters would have
104 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Chief Trader John McLeod, from Fort Vancouver,
about 800 miles below. The stock was from England;
brought by the Hudson’s Bay Company ships, round
the Horn, from London.
From these three calves sprang, I believe, all the cat¬
tle—millions, since probably—literally on a “thousand
hills” 96 —from California to Alaska, throughout the
“Sea of Mountains”, with valleys, of utmost fertility,
innumerable, now constituting the States of Washing¬
ton, Montana, Idaho, Eastern part of Oregon and cen¬
tral and eastern British Columbia.
For gardening, the place, with a most favorable cli¬
mate, proved a very Eden. Truly a lovely spot, of
God’s blessed Earth home for man! The Fort, a fine
one in the model of the times in the Indian Country,
with high wooden walls (of squared tree trunks 12 to
18 feet in height) and bastions, with cannon, and gal¬
lery, inside, all round, was a veritable citadel of safety.
Here, in its cherished ruins; with the old bull dogs—
cannon, three pounders 97 —of watch and ward, the rust-
swarmed the country if we did not make it a point to keep them down
to 150.” And see generally upon this subject Malcolm MacLeod’s
Peace River, 94, et. seq. Chickens, goats and pigs, brought from the
Hawaiian Islands on the “Tonquin,” had been introduced at Spokane
House as early as 1814. See Ross Cox, op. cit., i, 315-316.
96 In a letter to the Kettle Falls (Wash.) Pioneer, dated August 31,
1891, our author says: “Sixty-five years have we the first pioneers
of civilization in this wild of wilds in early days; by the sweat of our
brows and enterprises, filled or at least largely covered every valley and
plain with the fruits of our industry in herds and flocks and bands of
horses for hundreds of miles in every direction. In this respect I could
refer to an article or a series of articles in the New York Century under
the heading: The Bitter Root Valley and Montana, where my uncle
Angus of the Flat-head post, who died two years ago last February, was
mentioned together with his noble family as being the first pioneers of
the country and exceedingly rich in several thousand head of cattle and
horses.”
97 This little cannon, now in the Museum of the Eastern Washington
State Historical Society at Spokane, Wash., is reputed to have been
one of two carried by the British to the Heights of Abraham in an attack
The Northwest bastion of the stockade surrounding the Hudson’s
Bay Company’s Fort Colvile
From a photograph by Frank Palmer, 1901.
Japan Story of Adventure
105
ing “Woolwich infants” of England, with their “Tower
mark” (the “broad arrow”) still by me, 1 sit, Marius
like, 98 in my father’s veritable old arm chair; my bat¬
tles over; save with the wolf; and the last,—last of all—
when it may come—in ready welcome!
Here, during three or four years, 99 with younger half
brothers, under the tenderest, and best, in every way, of
parental care, I spent what I consider to have been the
very happiest days of my life: in a world of our own;
little; singularly isolated from the haunts of men;
where only the occasional Indian, with silent step; with
his furs for sale, and our (The Company’s) own “Des¬
patch” 100 to and from the East—in Spring and Fall—in
hurrying way, with a single paddle boat (of eight for
crew) with a passenger or two, broke the solitude. To
that might be added the annual arrival from below, viz:
Spokann 101 of the annual supplies (“outfit”) for the
Post: always a joyous occasion.
on Quebec during the French and Indian War. It is mentioned by our
author’s cousin, Angus MacDonald, in his “A Few Items of the West ”
published in the Washington Historical Quarterly, viii, 188-229.
98 The reference here undoubtedly is to the celebrated words of Caius
Marius, whose struggle with Sulla is familiar to all students of Roman
history. Driven into exile to Africa, Marius is said to have used these
words: “Tell him that you saw Caius Marius sitting on the ruins of
Carthage.”
99 Our author is in error. Young Ranald was at Thompson’s River
in 1826-1828, at Fort Langley much of the time between 1828 and the
spring of 1833. He was at Ball’s school at Fort Vancouver during the
winter of 1832-1833 and left for Red River by the fall express of 1834.
He could not have spent much time at Colvile.
too Some mention of the brigades carrying the company’s dispatch
appears herein. See pagees 55, 62, 63 hereof.
tot Pronounced with accent of last syllable. It was the first trade
post established by the Northwest Company, viz., in 1811, on the South
Side of the Columbia River, after those (two) in the Kootenaye Country,
by David Thompson in 1807-1808. Spokann was the first distributing
centre of the whole Columbia fur trade and there its accounts were made
up.—[Original.]
The correct date is 1810. David Thompson built his Kellyspell
106 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
In such life—where the good and evil in man were
left to their own working and tendencies, unrestrained
and unstimulated by external associations with human¬
ity, individuality becomes emphasized—to put it meta¬
phorically, man becomes, according to his bent and en¬
vironment, saint, or devil.
Fortunately for our juvenile humanity (I speak of
my brothers and self) we had guardian parents of high¬
est Christian character 102 and life—my father a Scotch
Episcopalian; my mother (step-mother) born and bred
of Geneva—a thorough woman of her Bible. Morn
and eve, the Word! under their parental ministry,
moulding the unalloyed clay of youth, for sterner vir¬
ility—a harder life—in combat with the world.
After a home schooling 103 now calling for more ad¬
vanced studies and special scholastic discipline, I was
in (or about) 1838 104 sent to the nearest school. That
House on Pend d’Oreille lake in Sept, of 1809; Saleesh House in Oct.
of 1809, and Spokane House was built by his clerk Jacques Raphael
Finlay (possibly with Finan McDonald) in the summer of 1810.
102 jane Klyne and her husband were Episcopalians and after retiring
from the Indian Country became prominent members of the Christ’s
Church at St. Andrews, Province of Quebec. While at Fort Colvile the
Rev. Elkanah Walker and the Rev. Cushing Eells from the Tshimakain
Mission were frequent visitors at Fort Colvile, and arguments were often
had there on the different orthodoxic views of their respective churches;
in the arguments Dame Jane Klyne, who was unusually well versed in
the Bible and the creed of her church, is said to have held her own in
religious argument with both of the missionaries. See note 55, page 83
for further comment on Dame Jane Klyne’s character as a Christian.
103 Writing to his old friend, John McLeod, from Fort Langley on
January 15, 1832 [Washington Historical Quarterly , ii, 265-266] our
author’s father, Archibald McDonald, says:—“What I regret is the con¬
dition of the boys—for there is nothing like early education—however,
I keep them at it, mother and all. My Chinook now reads pretty well and
has commenced cyphering.” In addition to this home schooling our
author attended John Ball’s school at Fort Vancouver for a short time
in the fall and winter of 1832-1833.
104 in conversation in his later years our author stated that he went
to the Red River school when nine years old. In a letter dated Fort
Langley, February 20, 1833, our author’s father wrote: “I find it is high
Japan Story of Adventure
107
was, then, in Red River (Selkirk) Settlement, on the
east side of “The Mountains”—an arduous voyage and
journey of about two thousand miles. I went, in charge
of the late Chief Factor Duncan Finlayson, 105 then, in
time to get my little boys to school—God bless them—I have no less than
five of them, all in a promising way.” {Washington Historical Quarterly,
ii, 163). In another letter, dated Fort Colvile Jan. 25th, 1837 ( Wash¬
ington Historical Quarterly, ii, 254), the father writes: “We have as yet
but an only girl, who with our boy is all the family we have—the other
chaps are at R. R.—three with Mr. Jones, and one with the grandfather.”
In another letter, addressed to Edward Ermatinger and in the archives
of the Provincial Library at Victoria, B. C., the father says: —■“Before he
went to Red River in ’34, I had him myself pretty well advanced in arith¬
metic, so that one would suppose he is now something of a scholar.” In
the Elkanah Walker journals under date Colvile, Sept. 27, 1838, we find:
“Some of his (McDonald’s) sons are at Red River.” From the foregoing
it would appear that our author is mistaken in this date and that he left
Fort Colvile for Red River at least by the fall express of 1834.
105 Duncan Finlayson’s name appears as Nos. 143, 114 and 91, re¬
spectively, in the Lists of Employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company in
America for the years 1821, 1822 and 1823. He was promoted from
clerk to chief trader in 1828. He was at Fort Garry, Red River, in
1830; at Fort Vancouver and elsewhere in the Columbia River district
during 1831-1837, having been promoted to Chief Factor in 1832. He
was on furlough for the period 1837-1838, and was re-assigned to Fort
Garry from 1839 to 1844. He was appointed Governor of Rupert’s Land,
March 20, 1839, and served as such until June, 1844. E. H. Oliver,
op cit. i, 48. According to John Dunn [ History of the Oregon Territory,
240] Finlayson in 1836 reconnoitered the northern coasts on the steamer
Beaver; this being her first appearance in those waters. In 1837 he
was at the Columbia when W. A. Slacum arrived.
As an incident of this trip across the mountains with Finalyson,
Ranald MacDonald writing for the Kettle Falls (Wash.) Pioneer of Nov.
13, 1890, says that camp was pitched on the shores of Arrow Lake, on a
beautiful sandy beach, at the back of which was a huge mountain of
perpendicular rocks hundreds of feet in height frowning down upon them,
and on the face of which were three cavities or holes about two or three
feet in diameter that were completely filled with arrows. These holes
were up about thirty feet from the shore, the arrows having no doubt
been shot up from below, and were wedged in so tight that it v/as almost
impossible to dislodge them. With his shotgun Finalyson at the request
of Ranald fired into the holes and brought down quite a number of
arrows in a broken condition. The local Indians, themselves, according
to Ranald, could not account for the arrows being there. Sixty years
later Ranald met Big Head Edwards, a chief of the Lake Indians, who
told him he had frequently seen the arrows but, Indian like, had very
little to say about them. It was from these niches filled with arrows
that the Arrow Lakes derived their name, according to our author.
Mr. A. D. Burnett, then editor of the Pioneer states that this
account of the origin of the name, Arrow Lakes, was afterwards con-
108 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
April, on his way to the East for annual general Council
Meeting at Norway House, held in early July, and
afterwards to assume, on appointment, the Governor¬
ship of Assiniboia, at the Settlement.
The route was by the Athabasca Pass, the highest of
the Rocky Mountain Range; since scientifically meas¬
ured and reported in railway survey 106 as 6025 feet
above the sea, between the immediate heights of Mounts
Browne and Hooker, both reported as over 16,000 feet
above the sea. The approach to the Pass, to a point
called “Boat Encampment”, at the western end of it. 107
This approach was through the canyon of the Selkirks.
This canyon—say from the “Big Eddy” just above
Revelstoke to the “Great Bend” at the foot of the Pass
—a distance, probably, of between fifty and sixty miles,
is the most formidable, and at the same time most inter¬
esting piece of travel I have ever went through: and
further, I never read of any like it. He, truly, must
have been a brave man who first tried it, and lead such
way. It was no native that did so; for none such had
the means; but it was that greatest of explorers and
mappers of northern North America DAVID THOMP¬
SON, Astronomer of the North West Company of Can¬
ada; originally a “Blue-Coat Boy”, 108 of London, Eng-
firmed to him by one of the pioneer steam-boat captains opperating on
the Arrow Lakes. The arrows were obliterated more than fifty years ago.
lOGFleming’s Reprint of Survey 1874, for C. P. R.—[Original.]
107 So called from the fact of the boat used, on the Columbia, to that
point, arriving from below, generally at the end of April, being put into
campment there, while the party went on, on foot, to the East, and the
boat remained, where stored, till another party from the East, in October,
used it for descent to Port Vancouver.—[Original.]
to 8 This is a common error. In fact it was made by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell
himself, who is the recognized authority upon David Thompson. See
Mr. Tyrrell’s article in “Proceedings of the Canadian Institute,” October,
1888. Mr. Tyrrell has, however, pointed it out and corrected it. It should
read a “Grey Coat Boy.” See Tyrrell’s Introduction to David Thompson's
Narrative, xxviii.
Japan Story of Adventure
109
land, engaged and brought by the Hudson’s Bay Com¬
pany. The story of the feat is in no book: probably
not even in M. S. 109 —but I have it from an old intimate
friend and family connexion of his 110 to whom, in fa¬
miliar converse, in his old age—with no heed to future
fame—the Grand Old Man—grand in stature, erect,
and of Herculean mould 111 was in the habit, when
thereunto drawn, to modestly murmur his such battles
over again. He, in his exploration in that terrible re¬
gion, in search for the Columbia River, was, for over a
year, lost to the world 112 —even to his own people of the
North West Company—in that “Inferno” of wild
mountain rock. From the glacier sources of the Fraser,
109 David Thompson’s own narrative did exist in manuscript and
through the efforts of Mr. J. B. Tyrrell of Toronto, Canada, has been
brought to light and fittingly published. See David Thompson’s Nar¬
rative, J. B. Tyrrell, vol. xii, The Publications of the Champlain Society,
Toronto, Canada, 916. The history of the manuscript is given in the pre¬
face xvii, xviii. A very neat summary of Thompson’s work will be
found in Mr. T. C. Elliott’s brochure “David Thompson, Pathfinder”
Those who desire to go more deeply into the subject are referred to the
published narrative with annotations by the two authorities, J. B. Tyrrell
and T. C. Elliott.
no My friend, Judge Malcolm McLeod, of Ottawa, Canada.—[Orig¬
inal.]
in David Thompson’s figure was short and compact. See David
Thompson’s Narrative, introduction ivi. He was evidently of strong
physique, great endurance and tireless energy. Our author has possibly
confused David Thompson with a contemporary associate—a gigantic
Gael, Finan McDonald—and a distant relative of the author’s.
112 Thompson was never lost for a year or a day unless by “lost”
is meant hidden from public view.
In a letter to Mr. Alex. Frazer, dated Dec. 21, 1810, Athabasca River,
foot of the Mountain, among other things, David Thompson says: “I
am always in such distant expeditions, that I cannot write my friends
regularly. They think I slight them, but they are mistaken. It is my
situation that prevents me, not negligence.If all goes well and
it pleases good Providence to take care of me, I hope to see you and a
civilized world in the autumn of 1812. I am getting tired of such
constant hard journeys; for the last twenty months I have spent only
bare two months under the shelter of a hut, all the rest has been in my
tent, and there is little likelihood the next twelve months will be much
otherwise.” L. F. R. Masson, op. cit., ii, 41, 42.
110 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
he had, following the suggestions of his own previous
explorations, further South, at last, late in the fall of
1810, struck the great river at the very spot where—
ten years before (A. D. 1800)—he had, via the Atha¬
basca Pass, from the East, found it, but was driven
back by Indians. 113
These two sentences and those which succeed them represent
rather accurately our knowledge, or ignorance, of the explorations of
this truly wonderful man—David Thompson, until Mr. J. B. Tyrrell
began the work that placed the real facts before the world. Compare
herewith the statements in H. H. Bancroft, op. cit., ii, 122-123.
David Thompson’s Narrative apparently has one or more chapters
missing of the dates 1800 to 1807; also his geographical notes of 1801.
He says on page 375, “I have already related how the Peeagans watched
us to prevent our crossing the Mountains and arming the Natives on
that side, in which they succeeded.” The Narrative does not contain any¬
thing on this subject; details of this expedition are entirely missing.
In a letter to Capt. Sir James Alexander, Montreal, reproduced in the
Report of the Provincial Archives Department, of British Columbia,
Victoria, B. C., 1914, V123, David Thompson says:—“In 1801 the North¬
west Company determined to extend their Fur Trade to the west side
of the Rocky, and if possible to the Pacific Ocean; this expedition was
intrusted to me, and I crossed the Mountains to the head waters of
McGillivray’s River (the present Kootenay branch of the Columbiba
named originally in honor of the N. W. Co. Agent, Mr. William McGil-
livray); but an overwhelming force of eastern Indians obliged me to
retreat a most desperate retreat of six days for they dreaded the west¬
ern Indians being furnished with Arms and Ammunition. The report of
my attempt and defeat soon reached Washington and in 1804 the
Executive of the U. S. organized a plan of discovery to be conducted
by Captains Lewis and Clarke (the former a nephew of President Jef¬
ferson) of the United States Army, with a company of picked soldiers.
. This expedition directed the attention of the Indians to the
head waters of the Missisourie, and in 1807 gave me an opportunity of
crossing the mountains and placing myself on the headwaters of the
Columbia River, and built a fortified Post of Stockades, etc,, etc., from
thence exploring the country, etc.” His subsequent movements
west of the mountains are made familiar through his Narrative.
Thompson was driven back from Hawes’ pass in 1810, which had
been used by him since 1807. He had had trouble with the Piegans
since 1808, occasioned by their resentment at his arming their enemies,
the Kootenais, with fire-arms. It is now well known that from Boat
Encampment, David Thompson in the spring of 1811, did not descend
but ascended the Columbia to his original Kootenai House, and did
not again reach the river until Kettle Falls, where he prepared a new
canoe and descended the river from that point. As noted, Thompson’s
writings make little mention of finding a pass and crossing to the
Columbia River in the fall and winter of 1800-1801 when he was long
at Rocky Mountain House. There is reason to believe that a number
of the Northwestern half breeds and employees were across the moun-
Japan Story of Adventure
ill
Here, in 1810-1811, at the mouth of the mountain
torrent which he had, in 1809-1810 been following from
glacier heights of the Cariboo Mountains, afoot he win¬
tered with his little band— a remnant, probably half a
dozen or less—of faithful French Canadian voyag-
eurs. 114 Here they made a canoe 115 (of cedar bark)
wherewith to descend—if possible—the great mys¬
terious river, to those greater waters which, according
to Indian account, were “not good to drink” —the salt
sea.
With such frail craft; without knowledge or guide of
route; with certainty, however, of many dangers all
along, Thompson, on the rising spring flood (April)
committed himself, with his peerless crew of paddle
men, to the plunge—a thousand miles of swift surging
river course, with rapids, dalles , (some, most deadly!)
cascades, Falls, and worst of all maelstrom eddies
wherein no skill or force of man, as a rule, could prevail
against the monster gulp.
On July 5, 1811—so the unquestionable record
runs—he arrived, safe and sound, without the loss of a
man, at Astoria 116 then just established, in its primitive
“huts”.
tains into the upper Columbia River basin as early as 1800-1801.
Thompson does not state the strength of his force on the west side of
the mountains in 1801.
u^The names of these men are:—Michel Bourdeaux, Pierre Pareil,
Joseph Cote, Michel Boulard, Francois Gregoire, and Charles and Ignace,
two good Iroquois Indians: Charles Legasse and (Pierre?) Le Blanc,
paddle men. Coues New Light , 704. Two Sanpoil (Thompson’s Sim-
poil) Indians accompanied the party from Ilthkoyape (Kettle) Falls,
July 3, 1811. David Thompson, op. cit., 472, 473.
1^5 Hence the name Canoe River given to it by Thompson in his
mapping (primal and still standard) of that region; so marked in the
maps to this day. The river (a continuous mountain torrent) is not
navigable, not even to an Indian canoe.—[Original.]
For David Thompson’s own account of this trip, see his Narrative,
501. For other contemporary accounts see: Ross, Adventures of First
Settlers, 85; Ross Cox, op. cit., i, 77, 78; Gabriel Franchere, op. cit.,
120; Irving, op. cit., Chapter x.
112 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
It was a peerless feat of travel! The same season he
retraced it: back to his Pass of 1800; and thence home
east to old Canada; a track, I— but under very differ¬
ent conditions—followed in all safety. Part of it, viz:
from the “Big Eddy” just above the second crossing by
C. P. R. of the Columbia, to the “Big Bend”, and the
Athabasca Pass itself, has been totally abandoned as a
route of travel, since the Hudson’s Bay Company, in
sequence of the Oregon Treaty, gave it up.
From the Bend to the Big Eddy (foot of Lower or
Smaller Dalles in the upper reach of the Columbia) is
the Canyon of the Selkirks, with its deadly—most
deadly— Dalles aux Mods, 111 with its pathetic little
cemetery; churches, save by the towering rocks
around, above, heaven roofed; its rude monumental
wooden crosses, “petits Calvraires ”, gaunt and weird,
o’er the shallow graves, stone laid of cherished com¬
rades, brave fellow voyageurs—many—there drowned!
There are no such men now-a-days! The “Old
Nor’Westers”—masters and men—are all things of the
past!—now, alas! little wot of: forgotten; unheeded, in
the rush of the hour: over fields they so bravely won,
and many died on.
They , really were the founders of the Greater Can¬
ada of today: and in Greater Canada, the so called
“Great Britain” of Britain’s pen prophets of the day.
Thompson—ever true to his “Blue-Coat” training
—was ever, to his last hour, a man of highest principles,
117 This tragic spot is mentioned by most of the early writers; see
Ermatingers Journal, Transactions Royal Society of Canada, 1912, vi.,
107; David Douglas, op. cit., 252; Alexander Ross, Fur Hunter’s, ii, 180;
Paul Kane’s, op. cit., 328, 333; also Father Blanchet, Historical Sketches
of the Catholic Church in Oregon, and Angus McDonald’s “A Few Items
of the West, 3 * in the Washington Historical Quarterly.
Japan Story of Adventure
113
and purity and integrity of life; a goodman, and
worthy of all esteem in the best sense. In his old age
(87), in the extreme poverty—pitiable distress (but
from no fault of his own) he was left to die utterly un¬
heeded by the Governments—Provincial and Imperial
—he had so magnificently served. His grave—un¬
honored and possibly unmarked—like that of others in
like vicarious service—is as the dust of the highway to
those now enriched by his work and that of his associ¬
ates. Pity! Shame! it should be so. The world of
Mammon heeds not such call.
In this connection there are many names and instan¬
ces—some in like neglect and undeserved misery—that
come to my mind, but it would be useless to mention
them. There is I suppose—I believe—a Providence
in these as in all things; and that, ultimately, for good.
So mote it be!
Chapter III
School at Red River—Bank Clerk, Canada—Aspira¬
tions
Arrived at Red River Settlement, I was there placed
in the charge, as a board pupil, of the Rev. Mr. Coch¬
ran, 118 of the Church of England, who then, there, con¬
ns The Revd. Mr. William Cochran, who arrived at the Red River
Colony in October, 1825, was soon made assistant chaplain under the
Revd. Jones. He was much interested in educational matters and was
the first clergyman of his church in Rupert’s Land to undertake anything
like aggressive missionary work among the Indians. See E. H. Oliver,
op. cit., i, 60. For further particulars of his life see Alex. Ross, Red
River Settlement, 181-222. In 1846 he retired for a time to Toronto, but
resumed chaplaincy of the Upper Church and settlement at Fort Garry
in 1847. He was a Councillor of Assiniboia until 1853, and in 1855 he
was appointed Archdeacon of Assiniboia. Captain Palliser, [op. cit., 60],
under date of March, 1857, says:—“Many young fellows, halfbreeds
that were educated by him, bore testimony to his abilities as a missionary
114 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
ducted a school 119 for advanced as well as elementary
education. The School was well endowed, and amply
supported by the Hudson’s Bay Company, principally
clergyman, for all agreed in testifying to the untiring zeal and energy
of this estimable clergyman who, I was informed on all sides, was
competent not only to teach school and preach fine sermons, but to
teach his disciples to wield an axe and drive a plough.” See also S.
Tucker, op. cit. He died in 1865.
Writing to our author’s father in the fall of 1838, the Rev. Mr. Coch¬
ran says: “I preached at the upper church last Sunday and saw the boys,
they were all well then .... Ranald has certain indescribable qualities
which lead me to imagine that he will make the man that is best adapted
for the world.” Mr. Colin Inkster, sheriff of Manitoba, Canada, is
engaged in writing a life of the Rev. Mr. Cochran.
The Minutes of Council of 1822 [E. H. Oliver, op. cit., i, 638, 640]
indicate that this school was commenced under the auspices of and was
supported in part by the Hudson’s Bay Company, and was first in charge
of the Rev. John West who arrived on Oct. 14, 1820, as chaplain to the
Company and took up his residence at Fort Douglas. Alex. Ross, Red
River Settlement, 277; E. H. Oliver, op. cit., i, 59. Mr. West’s name
appears on the lists of employees of the company in N. America for
the years 1821 and 1822 as numbers 405 and 321 respectively. He left
the colony on June 10, 1823. Governor Simpson in a letter to Andrew
Colvile, May 31, 1824, says that the boys’ school is kept by Harbridge
who is “stupid, ignorant, consequential and illiterate,” Idem., 259; also
that “Miss Allez is planning a school for females,” Idem., 259.
The Rev. David T. Jones came out in 1823 as successor to Mr. West,
and was appointed chaplain to the company in 1825. Alex. Ross, Red
River Settlement, 74, 128, 181, 222; George Bryce, Remarkable History
of the Hudson’s Bay Company, 300, 420. In the course of time several
schools were developed. During the Rev. Mr. Jones’ absence on a visit
to England the boys’ school appears to have been in charge of the Rev.
Mr. William Cochran. The Rev. Mr. Jones returned from England in
1838. From correspondence of our author’s father it appears that Ranald
was first sent to Pritchard’s school in 1834 and removed to Jones’ in the
summer of 1838, where he was a boarding scholar at £30 per year.
In the Minutes of Council for 1833 [E. H. Oliver, op. cit., ii, 697]
we find:—“The cause of education and religion is much advanced in
Red River Settlement by the establishment of sundry schools under the
superintendence of Rev. Mr. Jones and the Rev. Mr. Cochran, and Mr.
Pritchard has rendered his valuable services gratuitously to that effect
for several years past; moreover that gentleman has established a day
school for education of the youth of both sexes in his neighborhood,
which is attended by many children whose parents cannot afford to pay
for their instruction.”
In the Minutes of Council for 1837 [E. H. Oliver, Idem, ii, 769] we
find:—“The Revd. Mr. Jones having by his letter of the 17th June, 1837,
given notice of his intention to discontinue the management of the Red
River Boarding school, and Mr. McCallum having expressed a willing¬
ness to undertake that charge provided the Company become the pur-
Japan Story of Adventure
115
by Chief Factors and Chief Traders of it having child¬
ren there, of both sexes; for there was also a Mrs. Coch¬
ran (an English lady) to look after the female depart¬
ment. The School—open to all denominations—was
admirably conducted, and proved satisfactory not only
to parents but to the pupils themselves, both Mr. and
Mrs. Cochran, in their kindliness, making it a home—
or feel as a home—as well as a place of intellectual and
moral discipline, to those in their charge.
After about four years here, I was sent, 120 by way of
finish to my education, thence to Upper Canada, where,
in the good Town of Saint Thomas, in the County of
Elgin (an important commercial centre) I was installed
in the comfortable mansion house of my father’s old
friend, of the Columbia, Mr. Edward Ermatinger, 121
chasers of the buildings and will grant him a lease of the same for the
term of five years at a rent of 10 P. cent per annum on the purchase
money; and it being highly desirable that that institution should not
be broken up, it is Resolved: &c. &c.” Our author had a “high character
for application and good behavior” from Mr. MacCallum. An out-of-
print little volume: The Rainbow in the North, A short account of the
First Establishment of Christianity in Ruperfs Land by the Church Mis¬
sionary Society, S. Tucker, 1861, deals with the history of these mission¬
ary schools in the Red River colony, and on page 75 thereof appears a
cut showing the school our author attended.
120 See biography pages 25-33, ante.
Our author’s father gave each of his children the best educational
advantages his circumstances and the times permitted. Other sons, John
and Benjamin followed our outhor in apprenticeship at Mr. Ermatinger’s
after schooling at Red River.
12 1 The Ermatinger family, founded by a Swiss merchant of that
name, were among the first settlers in Canada after the conquest of the
French. Members of the family were early connected with the fur trade.
Fred’k W. Ermatinger, a son, was connected with the North-West Com¬
pany and his name appears as a witness to the Agreement of November
5, 1804; Charles Oakes Ermatinger, another son, was also in the employ
of the North-West Company. Lawrence Edward Ermatinger, another
son, entered the Surveyor-General’s Department and attained the rank
of Assistant Commissary General. Edward Ermatinger and Francis
(Frank) Ermatinger here mentioned were grandsons; children of Law¬
rence Edward Ermatinger.
On May 13, 1818, at London, England, the two boys were bound
116 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
formerly Chief accountant of the North West Com¬
pany, 122 and afterwards on the coalition of the two
companies, holding the same office in the Hudson’s
Bay Company’s service in the Columbia.
Mr. Ermatinger having retired from the service with
considerable means in hand, had opened a Bank there
(in St. Thomas) under the name of the Bank of
Elgin 123 —the region being one of the richest—if not
the richest—in agricultural and other natural resources
in the Canada of that day, and then much in need of
local banking facilities.
At that time, there was, I think, only one other Bank
out to the Hudson’s Bay Company as clerks for a period of five years,
and they reached York Factory August 14th of that year. They remained
in the company after the coalition of 1821.
Edward Ermatinger’s name appears as Nos. 122, 94, and 83 re¬
spectively on the List of Employees of the Company in America for
the years 1821, 1822 and 1823, respectively. He remained in the em¬
ployee of the Company until the summer of 1828. In 1830 he settled
at St. Thomas in the Upper Province, where for many years he carried
on the business of merchant, banker and postmaster of the town, in
which he spent the remainder of his days. He was a member for Mid¬
dlesex in the Parliament of United Canada.
In the 30’s he married a daughter of the Hon. Zaccheus Burnham of
Coburg. Edward Ermatinger died in 1876 and his remains rest in the
old churchyard at St. Thomas.
He was the author of The Hudson's Bay Territories; a series of
Letters on this important Question, Maclear, Thomas & Co., Printers,
King Street, Toronto, 1856. Also a Life of Colonel Talbot and the Talbot
Settlement.—Its rise and progress with sketches of the Public characters,
and career of the most conspicuous men in Upper Canada .— St. Thomas,
1859, VI 230. In 1912 his son, Judge C. O. Ermatinger of St. Thomas,
Ontario, edited Edward Ermatinger’s York Factory Express Journal,
published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, vi, Sec¬
tion 2, 67-123, where a more comprehensive biography is given. See
also brief biographical sketch of Francis Ermatinger, note 15, page 24.
122 Our author has confused Edward Ermatinger with his uncles,
Frederick W. and Charles O. Ermatinger, both connected with the North
West Company. Edward Ermatinger, himself, was a clerk and later an
auditor or accountant for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
t23 it was probably the Bank of Montreal in which our author was
employed, of which Mr. Ermatinger had a branch or agency in the
same building in which the Bank of Elgin was afterwards organized in
1854. Our author is also in error in stating that the Bank of Upper
Canada was the only other bank then in Upper Canada.
Japan Story of Adventure
117
in Upper Canada, viz: “The Bank of Upper Canada.”
Mr. E. also occupied the very honorable position of
Member for the County of Elgin 124 in the first Parlia¬
ment of Canada on the Union of the two Provinces in
1841.
A gentleman of fine culture and high public spirit,
with a practical ability in his special line of work and
study, viz: finance, he proved himself a very useful
member in such discussion. At the same time, like
most Nor’Westers, he was, by habit, unselfish and un¬
obtrusive in his ambition—if such he had, beyond that
of simply doing his duty.
In his private life, and domestic, I ever found him
most estimable. To me he was ever considerately
kind: and in the manner of his kindness—marked,
ever, by a gentle reserve—there was nothing to hurt my
feelings in any way.
Done with schooling, the time had come to betake my¬
self to preparation for some line of life. As to a Uni¬
versity education there was, in the first place, no fa¬
cility, then, in Upper Canada, except perhaps—and
that in a very perfunctory way—in Toronto and King¬
ston. For such, the habit of the time, in Canada, and
the North West, among Protestants, was to send youths
to England or Scotland. But that was only for the
professions of Divinity, Medicine and Surgery, and lit¬
erary and scientific professorships; in some of which,
native born Nor’Westers have made their mark, with
highest honor, even in London, England.
I had no inclination, however, in that way. In fact,
had no inclination for any particular mode of life—for
bread. Did not think of bread :but in vague, fatuous
124 The County of Elgin was not set apart from Middlesex until
about 1850.
118 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
sort of way, had an abiding feeling that it would always,
when needed, come to me—come, as did the quails and
manna to the Israelites in the Wilderness. To me, in
feeling—feeling as of the very web and woof of my
nature—the world was a wilderness. Home, in the
strict and ordinary sense, I had not. My father, with
his family, was still a denizen of that, then, other world
beyond the terrible—to me, all dividing—Mountains of
the West; still in a service which, at any moment, might
send him to its Dan and Beersheba—Alaska or Labra¬
dor, or anywhere else within its four million square
miles of Siberian field work. To my mind’s eye, and
to that of the heart, there was no resting place, yet, in
my moving world of waters; no olive branch yet, to the
winged search.
Further than that: In spite of all my training for
civilized life—so called: in spite of all magnetism of
comfortable and endearing hospitality—sweets of a
home, but which, still, is not home; and in spite of all
possible influences and suggestions to win to such
“higher life”, I felt, ever, and uncontrollably in my
blood, the wild strain for wandering freedom; im primis
of my Highland father of Glencoe; 125 secondly, and
possibly more so (though unconsciously) of my In¬
dian mother, of the Pacific Shore, Pacific Seas, in
boundless Dominion.
For a while, just before arriving at the age of ma¬
jority, I was put, by way of trial, to a Bank stool. It
was done kindly and from motives I was bound to re-
125 The ancestral home of our author’s father—a deep valley in
Northern Argyllshire, Scotland, commemorated in Scottish history as the
scene of the “Massacre of Glencoe,” where about forty MacDonalds
were slaughtered by royal troops in February, 1692. On the tragic
night our author’s great grand father, John MacDonald, with his mother
and a younger brother, Donald, escaped with difficulty from William’s
troops, Washington Historical Quarterly, ix, 94.
Japan Story of Adventure
119
spect. I made no resistance. There was nothing bet¬
ter, before me; that I could ask for; and I submitted to
the ordeal as best I could. The time had arrived for me
to cease from being a burden to my kind father, whose
large and increasing family—most of them in costly
educational institutions—had better claims on him.
But banking; or dealing with money in any way, was
not to my taste: I hated the—to me—“dirty thing” ! I
had no ambition for riches. “Give us our daily
bread”! was prayer enough for me: It has—so far—
never failed me—the abiding faith in it having ever, in
God’s own way, been bread and strength to me.
Thus situated: above; with no one to consult in con¬
fidence, I resolved to follow my own bent; 126 to go
forth,—out; to see the world; with no staff in hand, but
with the firm purpose of trying an adventure, long
thought of, and the evolution of which had deeply en¬
gaged me. Like other youth, with the spirit of adven¬
ture which leads “forlorne hopes”—“ Excelsior /”—in
battles of progress in the world, I panted to dare even
the impossible, or seeming impossible.
It was foolish, no doubt ! a mad scheme ! as the
world, in its smug common prudence, gauges such ac¬
tion. Be it so, or not! I did it: Did it—not for, or from
any vainglory to myself that might arise from it, but
merely that some good to my fellowmen in general
might be the result. As to self, for self, in all truth I
can sincerely say it was not there: no more so than in
the case of many thousands of our race, who in thous¬
ands of ways, in peace, as in war, voluntarily breast
danger for something good in itself, and without hope
126 From a letter of his father, Archibald McDonald, it appears that
in 1840 our author desired to secure a commission and enter the British
army.
120 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
of reward other than the consciousness of having done
well: merit being, in such case, “its own best reward”.
Such avowal may seem in itself vainglory, an incred¬
ible: but it is not so. My whole life since—much of it
public record, official, and otherwise—my silence,
since as to the matter—abstaining from claiming any
reward or acclamation for such service, is some evi¬
dence, I think, of the fact that there was no thought of
self in the matter. Standing now on the verge of my
grave I solemnly say so.
And further: I declare in all truth, that my story,
now, after many years, of what I did and went through
in and about Japan, is literally true in every particular;
without exaggeration, or coloring; and imperfect only
in the fact, that in the nearly half century since the
events occurred “Times effacing finger” has blotted
out, more or less, many little incidents, which otherwise
might have given body and life, in more perfect truth,
to the picture of the story.
Chapter IV
First Suggestion as to Japan—Accounts of it—Wan¬
derings in the United States—Voyage to Sandwich
Islands—Incidents There
How I came to think of Japan was from the follow¬
ing circumstances:
When in the Columbia and northwards on the Pa¬
cific Coast, as above stated, Japan was our next
neighbor across the way—only the placid sea, the
Pacific, between us.
Then—as it had been for two hundred years or
more—it was, by its own laws, barred to the world, ex-
Japan Story of Adventure
121
cept—and that with very close restrictions—to the
Chinese and Dutch. It was death to any other for¬
eigner, or even to any Japanese who had been, from any
cause, absent in any foreign land, or ship, to touch its
shores: even shipwrecked mariners, unless fortuitously
speedily relieved by some foreign warship of sufficient
force, had to pay the penalty of death, sooner or later.
This fact was well known to us of the Hudson’s Bay
Company in the Columbia. On one or two, if not more
occasions the Company had to deal with Japanese cast,
in shipwreck, upon their shores, there and northwards,
they had been carried thither by the periodically pre¬
vailing winds, such as the South West Monsoon, and
by the great “Gulf Stream”, Kuro Siwo (the Great
Black River, of Japanese nomenclature) of the Nor¬
thern Pacific.
Amongst other instances was that of a Japanese
Junk, a small, fish laden, or partially so, disabled, cast,
with three of its crew still alive, on Queen Charlotte
Island. That was in 1836. 127 The natives of the Island
127 Should read 1834. In March of 1833 a Japanese junk laden with
crockery of the flowerpot or willow-ware pattern, blown across the
Pacific, was wrecked about 15 miles south of Cape Flattery (N. W.
Coast of Washington), and all of the seventeen men on board lost except
three who were seized and held as slaves by the local Indians. News
of this disaster was conveyed to the Hudson’s Bay officials at Fort
Vancouver in the form of a piece of china-paper on which was a drawing
showing the shipwrecked persons, the junk on the rocks and the Indians
engaged in plundering it. Thomas McKay with thirty men was sent
overland to Cape Flattery to rescue them, but got only as far as Point
Grenville, when they gave up the task as impossible. These Japanese
were subsequently rescued from the Indians in May, 1834, by Captain
William McNeil—the Boston skipper—on board the Hudson’s Bay Com¬
pany ship “Llama” and taken to Fort Vancouver. Francis Heron in keep¬
ing the Journal of Occurances at Nesqualie House, under date June 9,
1834, mentions seeing Japanese on board the “Llama” at that date
Washington Historical Quarterly, vii, 62. The Revd. Samuel Parker saw
them at Fort Vancouver on Sept. 28, 1834; see Journal of an Exploring
Tour, 152. These unfortunate Japanese were sent to England in October,
1834. For other accounts see: Sir Edward Belcher, Narrative of a
Voyage Around the World, i, 304; Lee & Frost History of Oregon,
107-108, wherein Mr. Lee mentions securing from the wreck of some
122 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
had, in their fashion, made “slaves” of them; and in the
course of their peregrinations had brought them to Van¬
couver Island. There they were redeemed and taken
in charge by the chief agent then in charge of Hudson’s
Bay Company’s interests in the Columbia and of the
Pacific Slope generally within British “influence,” viz:
dishes and beautiful china tea cups; Charles Wilkes, Narrative of the
United States Exploring Expedition, iv, 315-316; Bancroft, op. cit., ii,
341, 533. In a footnote on the latter page a list is given of numerous
Japanese junks wrecked on the Coast of Kamchatka and America.
Among the most noted of these vessels was the so-called “Japan beeswax
junk” reported to have been wrecked on point Adams [Bancroft, Idem.,
ii, 341] or according to James G. Swan, [The Northwest Coast, 206], on
the shores of Clatsop beach, south of the Columbia. Beeswax from this
vessel is still being washed up by the waves according to Lewis & Dry-
den [Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, E. W. Wright, ed.
Portland, Ore., 1895, 2, 14], who describe the vessel as not Japanese,
but one of Spain’s Oriental fleet laden with beeswax and Chinese
bric-a-brac, blown northward and wrecked near the mouth of the
Columbia. We quote: “Most writers have given the location of the
wreck as being on the north side of the Columbia, but there is a strong
probability that the scene of the wreck was near the mouth of the
Nehalem River, at which place large quantities of beeswax have been
and are still being found. Aside from the presence of the beeswax, and
other traces of the wreck, the Tillamook Indians have had the story
handed down with considerable accuracy. Adam, a Tillamook chief who
died a few years ago, and who was a remarkably intelligent Indian, told
the writer that his father, when a young man had witnessed the wreck,
and that all the crew were drowned. (Other native accounts state that
the survivors were massacred by the natives.) As Adam was over one
hundred years old at the time of his death, there is no reason to doubt
that the Nehalem beeswax ship, of which so much has been written,
was identical with the one wrecked in 1772.” Among blocks of beeswax
washed up, some are inscribed with the Latin abbreviations I. H. S.
and the wrecked vessel is supposed to have been the Spanish ship “Jan
Jose,” which left La Paz, Lower California, June 16, 1769, with supplies
for the Catholic Mission at San Diego, Upper California, and was never
heard of again. See Mr. Smith’s Address Portland (Ore.) Oregonian,
Dec. 18, 1899, 9; also The Wax of Nehalem Beach, Oregonian, January
26, 1908, reprinted Oregon Historial Quarterly, ix, 24-41. Another in¬
teresting wreck was that of the unknown Spanish vessel wrecked two
miles south of the mouth of the Columbia about 1725, of whom all of
the crew but four were massacred by the Indians, the latter married
native women. These were the first white men seen by the Chinooks
and ever since the Chinook name for all white people, without respect
to nationality, is “Tlo-hon-nipts”; that is, “of those who drifted ashore.”
The names of two of these waifs have been preserved, “Doto” and
“Kanapee.” See Franchere, op. cit., 113; Mr. Smith’s Address, Portland
(Ore.) Oregonian, Dec. 18, 1899, 9.
Japan Story of Adventure
123
Doctor John McLoughlin already referred to. Moved
by their distress, he, in sheer humanity—as was his
wont in such case—took every kindly care of them,
bringing them to his own hearth at Port Vancouver on
the Columbia; thence shipping them, by one of his
Company’s ships, via the Horn, to London, England;
thence to Macao, China, where they were placed in
charge of the Reverend Mr. Gutzlaff, 128 the celebrated
English Missionary there, with instructions and means
for restoration to their country, soon as possible, by
Chinese or other vessel trading to Japan. 129
128 Karl Gutzlaff, a German missionary, was born at Pyritz, Pomer¬
ania, Prussia, July 8, 1803, and went to Siam as a Christian missionary
in 1828. He later settled in Macao, China, where he assisted in trans¬
lating the Bible into Chinese, and where he later served as chief in¬
terpreter for the Superintendent of British Commerce. He died at
Hong Kong, China, August 8, 1851. See Frederick Wells Williams,
Life and Letters of S. Wells Williams, G. P. Putnams’ Sons, New York,
1889. He was the author of a Sketch of Chinese History, 2 vol., London,
1834, and China Opened, 2 vols., London, 1838.
t29 To Captain Mercator Cooper of Southampton belongs the honor
(in 1845) of flying the first American Flag in a Japanese port (see
Capt. Stewart note 263, page 234), from the whale ship Manhattan, 440
tons burden, owned by John Budd of Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mr. Budd
bought her from New York in 1843, and Captain Cooper sailed on
November 8, that year, for the Northwest Coast, and in the course of his
cruise near Japan rescued eleven shipwrecked Japanese sailors from
St. Peters, an outlying island of Nippon, early in April, 1845, and
proceeded with them to the Japanese capitol, Yedo, although knowing
that foreigners were forbidden to enter any Japanese ports. On the
way to Yedo (Tokyo) eleven more Japanese were rescued from a sink¬
ing junk. The Manhattan entered the Bay of Kago-sima, in the prin¬
cipality of Satsuma. Mrs. W. Buck, Manners and Customs of the
Japanese, 271. At Yedo the twenty-two Japanese were taken ashore,
but neither the captain nor the crew of the Manhattan was allowed to
land, and during the time the ship remained in harbor it was surrounded
by a guard of Japanese boats. The Manhattan remained in port four
days and was given necessary supplies without charge. When she was
ready to sail, the natives towed the ship to sea with their boats. Having
taken 3600 bbls. of oil, the Manhattan sailed for Amsterdam, Holland,
where her cargo was sold and a load of emigrants and freight loaded
for New York. Arriving home on Oct. 14, 1846, the Manhattan dis¬
charged a valuable cargo and was withdrawn from the whale fishery in
1847.
Captain Cooper on his return was offered a mere trifle by the United
States Government for valuable charts of Japan owned by him. Later
the Washington authorities paid a very large sum to the Dutch Govern-
124 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
All this was at the sole personal cost of the good Doc¬
tor; for the Company (H. B.) in its “money-bag” stock
proprietary in London, formally repudiated all such,
and such like outlay out of their resources, and every
mouthful in such charity had to be paid by, and was
rigidly charged, to the account of such agents, though
by the terms of the bond of their partnership (Deed Poll
of 1821) then still in force, they were partners—sole
actual working and creative partners of the whole
concern.
In this way it is a notable fact; and Bancroft, in his
special chapters on the theme, in his “British Colum¬
bia”, has glowingly, and with much credit for the noble
candour of the avowal, given the details in proof—that
this same Doctor John McLoughlin was the means of
saving many—very many—destitute immigrants from
the United States when, say up to 1848 there was no
provision for them in that region. He spent thousands
of dollars, out of his own really far from abundant
means in relief of such distress. He actually gave
away his store for his old age and family, in such
charity, and died a poor man! saving other, regardless
of creed or nationality, or race, from fatal distress,—
Samaritan to the core!—it was in this sense, that, in
truth, the historian (Bancroft, aforesaid) calls him
“The very CHRIST of the Pacific Slope”. 130 Exception
ment for similar charts. Mrs. Robert R. Kendrick of Southampton,
N. Y.—a granddaughter of Captain Cooper—has in her possession the
Japanese compass, charts and curios obtained by her grandfather from
the shipwrecked Japanese and at the port of Yedo. An early account of
the Manhattan’s call at the Japanese port appeared in the Seaman’s
Friend, Honolulu, Oahu, S. I., February 2, 1846. For a full account see
Entering a Forbidden Port, and The Manhattan’s Log near Japan, in vol.
i, no. i, of the Southampton Magazine, Southampton, N. Y., 1912. Also
see Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 141, 406.
130 h. H. Bancroft, [op. cit., ii, 704-707] pays a splendid tribute to
the character of Dr. John McLoughlin; on page 705 he says:—“In
Japan Story of Adventure
125
may be taken to such application of such Name, but, in
light of the facts of the case, as given by Bancroft, the
term—as designative of such abounding charity and
practical love to fellowmen—is—intelligible. In any
other sense, the term is, of course, unacceptable to
Christian sentiment.
While in Macao, in Mr. Gutzlaff’s charge, four other
Japanese, who had been wrecked on the Philippines,
were, by an American vessel, brought to the same port,
and were kindly taken in charge by Dr. Parker , 131 an
American Missionary Physician, and also a partner of
an American mercantile firm there.
With these seven pitiable castaways of Japan on
their hands, these two worthy missionaries determined
to do everything in their power to restore them to their
country—hoping, at the same time, that some approach,
if not ingress might be made, with their mission, to and
into Japan.
Other considerations, of a mercantile nature, legiti¬
mate and even laudable, may have weighed with others
in the venture. A vessel (brig Morrison ) 132 was char¬
tered for the purpose; and in due course, with the two
Missionaries Gutzlaff and Parker) on board, accom¬
panied by Mr. S. W. Williams , 133 one of the editors of
writing any volume I have ever written I have encountered few characters
which stand out in such grand and majestic proportions. Few persons
have done him justice. His life should be written by the Recording
Angel and pillared at the crossings of the two chief highways of the
universe.”
131 Dr. Peter Parker. A couple of pamphlets written by him on
hospital conditions in China are familiar to us—one published in Can¬
ton,, 1839.
132 The brig “Morrison” of Boston, King owner, named after the first
Protestant English missionary to China, was chartered at Macao, China.
The vessel was later sold and transferred to Spanish registry under the
name of the “Carmine,” and was in the oriental trade in 1859.
133 Samuel Wells Williams of Utica, N. Y., who went to China in
126 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the “Chinese Repository ” Macao—a gentleman
thoroughly “up” in Chinese, an official Interpreter of
the language, proceeded to “Jeddo” 134 (now Tokio—
Capital of Japan), and there, in face of cannon mouth,
presented, with appeal in intelligible Chinese, the seven
unfortunates for restoration to their homes and people.
They were peremptorily refused, and driven back under
fire . 135
The effort was repeated, about a month afterwards,
at a port further South, in the principality of Satsuma,
where, though received at first with more courtesy, they
were repulsed in like manner. Nagasaki was not tried,
because being neither Chinese nor Dutch, it was closed
against them, and moreover, some of the Japanese, on
1833 and studied the Chinese language, later publishing several diction¬
aries and vocabularies thereof. He was editor of the China Mail in
1849 and was engaged as interpreter by Commodore Perry for his
negotiations with the Japanese. Returning to the United States, he
was lecturer on Chinese at Yale University from 1876 to his death,
February 16, 1884. See Life and Letters of S. Wells Williams by his
son, Frederick Wells Williams, cited supra. His book on the Chinese
Empire, The Middle Kingdom, New York, 1848, passed through several
editions.
134 Yedo.
135 This voyage, to Uraga, bay of Yedo and Kagoshima in Satsuma,
which took place in the months of July and August, 1837, occupied 56
days and cost the missionaries about $2,000. The seven unfortunate
Japanese who were brought back to China were for some time em¬
ployed about the mission at Macao. One of these, Sam Patch, joined
the Perry expedition in China and went to Japan where he was invited
by the Japanese Commissioners to remain in Japan and join his family,
and guaranteed safety, but, having full knowledge of the dire penalties
existing under the laws of the Empire, Sam Patch was afraid to leave
the protection afforded by the American vessels. He afterwards returned
to the United States in the “Mississippi” with another of the Morrison
waifs, named Dan Ketch by the sailors. Another of these waifs, Kiki-
mats, went to Nagasaki with Admiral Sterling as his interpreter in 1855.
See Frances L. Hawks, op. cit., i, 340, 450, 342, 485, and Frederick Wells
Williams, op. cit., 93-99, 226, 255, 258, 298. A prior Russian attempt to
return shipwrecked Japanese sailors, undertaken by Lt. Laxman in the
“Catherine” in the fall of 1792, resulted in a similar repulse. Mention of
this is made in Hawks, op. cit., i, 45.
Japan Story of Adventure
127
board emphatically declared that on no account would
they land there.
1 refer to this incident at fuller length than is perhaps
proper to a mere introductiion, but being of direct bear¬
ing, and historical; and, moreover, being in evidence of
the fact that there were others besides myself thus bent
on effort to open the gates of Japan, I venture to pre¬
sent it.
However, I must admit, that when I started on my
own mission, I had not heard, nor knew of this Morri¬
son episode: but of the Queen Charlotte Island waifs I
did know, being in the country at the time.
The following was the ultimate 136 Imperial Decree of
expulsion of foreigners from Japan—date A. D. 1837
(or 1838, for accounts differ). 137
Japanese Decree of Exclusion
The whole race of the Portuguese, with their mothers, nurses,
and whatever belongs to them, shall be banished forever.
No Japanese ship or boat or any native of japan shall hence¬
forth presume to leave the country, under pain of forfeiture and
death. Any Japanese returning from a foreign country shall be
put to death . 138
136 There were others less rigorous, before, back about twenty years,
from time to time.—[Original.]
137 This edict is given in Richard Hildreth’s Japan i4s It Was and Is,
pages 191-192, and is taken from Dr. Engebrecht Kaempfer’s History
of Japan, book iv, chapter v. The order of the articles and the wording
of some of the articles are somewhat different from what is given here.
The decree was issued in June, 1636 (the 5th month of the 13th year of
Kwauei (Qwanje as Kaempfer spells it). Hildreth is mistaken in saying
that it was issued in 1638 and that all the Portuguese were then banished.
It was the descendants of the Portuguese and Spaniards, called by the
Japanese “Nambu Jim” (Southern Barbarians)—about 280 in number—
and the Japanese parents who adopted such children, who were banished
by this edict. Portuguese merchants, although comparatively few in
number, were allowed to stay at Nagasaki on the Island of Deshima.
The Portuguese trade was forbidden in 1639.
138 Our author’s high-minded and courageous effort to enter Japan
was contemporary with several equally brave and self-sacrificing efforts
128 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
No nobleman or soldier shall be suffered to purchase anything
from a foreigner.
Any person presuming to bring a letter from abroad, or to re¬
turn to Japan after he had been banished, shall die; with all his
family; and whosoever shall intercede for such offenders shall be
put to death.
All persons who shall propagate the doctrines of the Christians,
or bear that scandalous name, shall be seized and imprisoned in
the common gaol.
A scale of rewards is then offered for the discovery
of priests and natives of the condemned religion—the
whole winding up with the terrible anathema :
“So long as the Sun shall warm the earth, let no Christian dare
to come to Japan; and let all know, that the King of Spain himself,
by some Japanese themselves to leave their country or, having visited
foreign lands, to return thereto. Among the outstanding characters of
this class is Nakahama Manjiro. A boy of 14, he went fishing with four
companions, sailing from Nishihama, in Takahama, in Tosa, on the 5th
day of January, 1841, and was wrecked on a desert island off the south¬
east coast of Japan. On June 27, 1841, Captain fm. H. Whitfield of
the New Bedford whaler, “John Howland,” in latitude 30°, 31', rescued
the shipwrecked Japanese fishermen from their desert island. Finishing
the whaling season, the “John Howland” touched at Honolulu, S. I., where
the four Japanese fishermen were landed. The boy was brought home
to Fairhaven by Captain Whitfield who had grown much attached to him,
and he was given the American name of John Mung. He remained in
Fairhaven about six years, going to school, receiving a good English
education, and acquiring the customs and habits of American civilization,
and learned navigation from his benefactor, Capt. Whitfield, whom he
accompanied on whaling voyages. An overpowering desire to return to
Japan and see his mother finally moved him to ship on a whaler for
Honolulu where he found three of his countrymen—one having died—
and he shipped with them on the whaler “Sarah Boyd,” Whitmore captain,
in 1850 for the Japanese fishing grounds. They purchased a whale-boat
and left ship near the Loo-Choo Islands where they landed and remained
six months, and finally made their way north to Japan in 1851. Im¬
mediately on landing in Japan they were imprisoned and held in con¬
finement for thirty months. Shortly before Commodore Perry’s expe¬
dition, Nakahama was released and he became one of the Japanese in¬
terpreters in the negotiations with Commodore Perry. See herein:
The Seaman's Friend, Honolulu, S. I., October, 1884. In 1870 he went
to Europe as a member of the Japanese commission to observe military
maneuvers. He translated Bowditch’s Navigation into the Japanese
language and took an important part in the “New Era” in Japan. He
an important manuscript narrative of Nakahama’s experiences, written
was made a Samurai. In 1912 Mr. Stewart Culver of the Brooklyn In¬
stitute Museum, Brooklyn, N. Y., procured at a book sale at Tokyo, Japan,
Japan Story of Adventure_129
or the Christian’s God, or .... , 139 if he violate this command,
shall pay for it with his head.”
The only modification of this, up to my time there,
was the following—probably suggested by the incident
of the Morrison. The Edict bears date 1843; promul-
and illustrated by Kanata Koretazu, from drawings made by Nakahama
Manjiro. The manuscript has been translated into English by Genjiro
Kataoka, the Japanese painter, and is being prepared for publication by
Mr. Culver, to whom we are' indebted for some of the facts stated. In
this narrative Manjiro gives an account of his rescue and an intimate
and lively picture of life in the New-England town; then tells of his
whaling voyages, of his adventures in California where he dug gold, and
then describes finally his return to Japan and the details of his reception
in his native country in 1851. His sane reflections upon conditions in
America seem to have made a deep impression on his countrymen, and
their influence is still felt in Japan. The simplicity of his character, his
reasonableness and his vigor are impressed on the reader of his narrative,
and it is pleasant to think that he took his place at last as a man in the
world, and does not occupy a neglected grave like the author of the
present narrative.
Nakahama Manjiro left five sons and a daughter, to honor his name.
On July 4, 1918, a celebration was held at Fairhaven, Mass., in honor
of Nakahama Manjiro at which Viscount Kikujiro Ishii, Imperial Japan¬
ese Ambassador at Washington, attended and presented the City of Fair-
haven with a rare Samurai sword of the 14th century, the gift of Dr. T.
Nakahama, one of Nakahama’s sons. Another son, Keisaburo Naka¬
hama, is a paymaster in the Japanese Navy. Fairhaven (Mass.) Star,
Friday, July 5, 1918.
In this connection the editors feel constrained to mention the abortive
exploit of two adventurous and brave countrymen of Nakahama, re¬
ferred to by Frances L. Hawks, op. cit., i, 420-422.
The adventurers were Yoshida Torajiro, son of a hereditary military
instructor to the house of Choshu—himself a poet and learned in the
Chinese classics, then 24 years of age—and a common soldier, unim¬
proved in learning but of enquiring mind, attracted equally by the ad¬
venture and by Yoshida’s inspiring personality. With the sympathetic,
though secret, support of Sakuma Shozan—hereditary retainer of one of
the Shogun’s counsellors, and armed with a letter in Chinese setting
forth their intentions signed by Yoshida as “Urinaka Manji” and by
the soldier as “Ichiki Kota,” they attempted on April 25, 1854 to
board one of Commodore Perry’s ships with the object of reaching
America and studying in foreign lands. Repulsed by the American
officers, who could not officially transgress the laws of the Empire, they
departed with great reluctance, and were last seen by the Americans
in a prison-cage and their subsequent fate unknown. The prisoners
were sent to Choshiu and after a long and miserable period of im¬
prisonment, during which the soldier died, Yoshida, who, though in
prison, had gained some privileges, became involved, some six years
later, in a conspiracy against the Shogun‘s government and was executed
in Yedo January 31, 1859 at the age of 29, a martyr to the New Japan.
130 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
gated by agency of the Dutch, from their Factory (Des-
sima) at Nagasaki.
EDICT. A. D., 1843
“Shipwrecked persons of the Japanese nation must not be
brought back to their country, except on board of Dutch or Chinese
ships, for, in case these shipwrecked persons shall be brought back
in the ship of other nation, they will not be received.
Considering the express prohibition, even to Japanese subjects,
to explore or make examinations of the coasts or Islands of the
Empire, this prohibition, for greater reason, is extended to for¬
eigners.” 140
Such was the wall of fire around their own loved
Isles, of this people. People!—oldest of existing na¬
tions: most concrete: most potent in patriotic unity,
Eminently a warrior race, they had signally repelled all
powers on earth—from Kublai Khan (A. D. 1271-
1292) to the present—from hostile touch.
These incidents are mentioned not for the individuals, but as repre¬
sentatives of an enquiring, heroic people whose vision and aggregate
efforts and sacrifices and indomitable spirit have produced the Japan
of today. Read Robert Louis Stevenson’s fine tribute to Yoshida in
Familiar Studies of Men and Books. In the language of the Chinese
classic, quoted by a fellow prisoner of Yoshida’s, when led to execution:
“Better to be a crystal, though shattered, than lie as a tile unbroken on
the housetop.”
139 Too blasphemous for expression.—[Original.]
140 The intercourse of the leading European nations with Japan prior
to 1849 may be briefly summarized as follows: The Portuguese, first
landing 1543-5, were finally expelled in 1639. The Dutch, arriving in
1600, were in 1641 sent to Deshima, and thenceforth continued to enjoy
a limited commerce with Japan. The English, arriving in 1613, were
forced to leave Japan in 1623. Attempts to renew trade relations were
made in 1636, 1673, 1791 (Argonaut), 1803 (Frederick) 1808 (Phaeton’s
visit under Pellew), 1813-1814 (Sir S. Raffles, two attempts), 1818
(Gordon’s attempt), 1849 (the “Mariner’s” visit). The Russian visit of
Lt. Adams Laxmann in 1792 was followed by Resanoff’s mission in
1804, the Descent on the Kuriles in 1807, and the captivity of Captain
Golowin in 1811. The French attempt under Admiral Cecile in 1846
was repulsed.
The repulse of the American boat “Morrison” in 1837 was followed by
the visit of Captain Cooper of the “Manhattan” April 16-21, 1845; the
repulse of the “Columbus” and “Vincennes” under Commodore Biddle in
July, 1846; and the visit of Commander Glynn in April, 1849.
Japan Story of Adventure
131
“Utopia” of the hoary East! : “Wak-Wak” —my-
thic—of old Arabian tale: most ancient, living of the
families of Man: an “Easter-Isle” empire laved and
sustained by lone teeming seas: Wonder in an ocean of
wonders!—to us, on its opposite shore, gazing search-
ingly into the far, far offing, it was ever, an object of
intense curiosity. What, of such people?—What of
their manner of life?—What of their unrivalled
wealth with its gleam of gold and things most
precious ?—What of their life, social, municipal,
and national?—What of their feelings and tendencies
—if any—towards associatiion or friendly relations
with other peoples, especially us, neighbors of their
East?
These and such like questions and considerations ever
recurring; the subject, oft, of talk amongst my elders
—elders then the actual governors in administration of
North American, as well as world wide larger interests
on the Pacific Slope and Ocean—entering deeply into
my young, and naturally receptive mind; breeding, in
their own way, thoughts and aspirations which domin¬
ated me, as a soul possessed.
I resolved, within myself, to personally solve the
mystery, if possible, at any cost of effort—yea life it¬
self.
Mad! or not—I did so—at least in measure of my
aim and power.
The present is the story of it.
Satisfied in my own conscience with my purpose, I
never abandoned it. That purpose was to learn of
them; and, if occasion should offer, to instruct them of
us.
My plan was to present myself as a castaway; and
132 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
with all seeming confidence—without seeming to court
it—to rely on their humanity.
1 could not believe them wholly lost to it. It would
have been cowardice to have done so. “Have faith in
one another” is a motto I early learnt, and have ever
cherished. Its application, of course, requires caution,
and there is ever an element of risk in it: but in that is
a very spice of life.
Man is born unto trouble, conflict, and danger in
many ways; and in his mastery of them, in their risk
and peril, when for good, is the merit of his life, hu¬
manly speaking.
My main difficulty—I assumed—would be to effec¬
tively disguise my motive, viz: to learn of them, and, if
possible, to be their teacher as to things external to them,
against which they had encased themselves, and as to
which, especially the English, and all of that nation¬
ality, they had been studiedly prejudiced by the Dutch
and Chinese, for their own ends. I knew, moreover,
that their condemnation of Christinanity was more par¬
ticularly of that form of it known as Roman Catholic,
which, previous to the decree first above cited, had
shaken the Throne itself, in Japan, in treasonable con¬
spiracy.
Keeping this in view, I limited the collection of books
I had determined to take with me, to my simple English
Bible, prayer book (Church of England), a dictionary,
grammar, history (English) and geography &c—all
in compact form.
I was not a man of learning, but always a lover of
books: of these I was master enough for my purpose.
I knew that such freight—so strange for a mere cast¬
away from a whaling ship—would naturally excite sus¬
picion; but I had my story, ready, for the nonce. Them-
Japan Story of Adventure
133
selves even of the middle and lower classes, being a
people of literature and books, I thought I might pass
on this score. The sequel proved so. In fact it was that
that saved me: for seeing me ever reading, a man of
books, they drew to me: the books 141 magnetized them:
and they (books and Japanese) made me their teacher!
How the Design Was Carried Out
To carry out this design while sitting, like a Simon
Stylites, 142 on my high stool in the Bank of Elgin, with
little money or means of any kind to aid me; and with
no friends or influence to appeal to in such endeavor, I
felt as a stranger amongst strangers, with no hope—not
the slightest—of sympathy from any quarter, in such a
scheme. In the monomania of the project I had saga¬
city enough to keep it to myself. I had resolved on it;
that was enough. For means to carry it out, I simply,
with grip sack in hand, walked forth into the darkness
of an unsympathetic world; alone, telling no one; with
barely scrip for the hour.
That was in 1845, when I was just twenty one; in the
freedom of manhood; with full vigour of youth; for for
any honest work for the needs of the moment. I im¬
mediately went West to the Mississippi. Got occupa¬
tion as a boat hand on one of its palace steamers. The
work suited me: was apprenticeship for graver work,
somewhat in the same line, before me. Thence, after
much wandering, but ever holding my own, without fall
or stumble; ever buoyed up with the hope of reaching
my cynosure at some time, I made the port of New
141 See Appendix II, pages 273, 277, for reference to the number of
books taken into Japan by our author.
142 A reference to the “pillar Saint”; a Syrian ascetic who passed
the last thirty years of his life on a pillar near Antioch.
134 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
York, where vessels, to and from the world over, most
do congregate.
Here, late in 1845, 143 1 shipped before the mast on
board the ship “Plymouth”, Lawrence B. Edwards,
Captain, for the Sandwich Islands, where I expected to
find a favorable opportunity of shipping on board a
“Whaler” for the Japan seas—a general resort for such
service. 144
143 The whale ship, “Plymouth,” 425 tons, of Sag Harbor, N. Y., Cook
& Greene, owners, was bought from Boston in 1845 and sailed for the
Northwest Coast on December 6, 1845, with Captain Laurence B.
Edwards, Master. She returned on April 30, 1849, after an absence of
over three years. This was the “Plymouth’s” only whaling voyage from
the port of Sag Harbor, which then had 63 vessels in the whaling fleet.
The last whaler cleared from Sag Harbor in 1871. Captain Charles P.
Cook of Sag Harbor, son of one of the owners of the “Plymouth”—then
a boy ten years of age—still recalls visiting the ship with Capt. Edwards’
wife, just before its departure, with our author on board, in December,
1845. See Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 432; Walter S. Tower, op. cit.,
69, 124, table II.
144 The Pacific whale fisheries opened in 1780, and for sperm-whale
fishing in 1787 by the “Amelia,” Capt. Shields, an English-fitted ship
manned by Nantucket whalemen. The “Beaver” of Nantucket, built in
1791 and sailing in August of that year under Captain Paul Worth, was
the first American whaler in the Pacific. She was followed that same
year by five Nantucket and one New-Bedford whaler. Alexander
Starbuck, op. cit., 90, note, 186-187; Walter S. Towers History of the
American Whaling Fishery, 53, 93.
American whaling boats now rapidly spread in their courses to all
parts of the Pacific, and hundreds of islands received their first visit
from white men from the New-England whalers. Much of the Pacific
waters was then unknown and the existing charts were full of inac¬
curacies. Hundreds of small islands in the Pacific were first located
on the charts and made known to civilization by American whalemen.
The Kadiak, Alaska, grounds were discovered in 1835 by the “Ganges”
of Nantucket, Captain Folger; and the celebrated Kamchatka coast
grounds, along the Siberian Coast and Kuriles, were discovered by the
“Hercules” and “James,” both of New Bedford, in 1843, Alexander Star-
buck, op. cit., 98. By 1839 the majority of vessels on the Pacific were
taking right and bow-head whales.
So large a portion of the American whaling fleet eventually visited
the Pacific, that the United States was finally forced, after repeated
petitions to Congress, to send an exploring expedition to these seas.
Both Commodore Wilkes (1838) and Commodore Perry (1853) were
indebted to these hardy mariners, and Maury in compiling his great
work on Ocean Currents made constant use of the information sup¬
plied by them. Alexander Starbuck, op cit., 97.
The first vessel in the Bering sea grounds was the bark “Superior,”
Japan Story of Adventure
135
In due time (five or six months) I arrived and land¬
ed there. The place was of special interest to me, as
during my life in the Columbia our (Hudson’s Bay
Company) trade relations with the Islands were very
intimate, and many of the men in the Hudson’s Bay
Company’s service, as boatmen (and excellent they
were) were from there. 145
275 tons, of Sag Harbor, Captain Royce, in 1848. The next year saw
154 ships whaling in that sea. Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 148.
The American whaling fleet reached its greatest tonnage in the
period of 1845-1850, when in one year 680 ships, 34 brigs and 22
schooners, aggregating some 235,000 tons, were in the fishery. The
fleet also reached its greatest production of whale-oil during this period,
when an annual production of 330,000 barrels was approximated. This
was worth, retail, about $2.50 a gallon. See Alexander Starbuck, op.
cit.; Walter S. Tower, op. cit., 51-53, 67; Dr. J. Arthur Harris, Graphics
of the American Whale Fishery, Popular Science Monthly, July, 1914,
83-86.
The development of the petroleum industry sealed the fate of the
whaling industry by furnishing a cheaper and more satisfactory oil
for illuminating and general purposes. The decline of the whale fishing
was, however, hastened by other events: During the gold rush of ^49
to California whalers offered an easy means of reaching California
and its gold-fields, and whole crews shipped apparently merely as a
cheap means of reaching the mines. Desertions from ships were so
numerous, as to leave them insufficiently manned and many whalers
were wholly abandoned by officers and crews; other whalers, chartered
to carry Argonauts to the promised land, rotted on the California beaches
after their arrival. Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 112; Walter S. Tower,
op. cit., 74.
During the American Civil War many New-England whalers fell a
prey to Confederate privateers. The “Shenandoah” alone captured and
burned 34 whaling ships and barks, besides bonding four others. Forty
ships from the Pacific whaling fleet were purchased by the United
States government and formed a large portion of the two famous stone
fleets, which, in 1861, were sunk off the harbors of Charleston and
Savannah to prevent the entrance of blockade runners and the ingress
and escape of privateers. Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 101.
Further serious disaster met the fleet ten years later. In the fall of
1871 a terrible fate overtook the Arctic fleet when 34 vessels were
caught in the ice and crushed off point Belcher. See account in
Harper’s Weekly, December 2, 1871; also Alexander Starbuck, op. cit.,
101. A similar disaster met the fleet in 1876 when 12 ships and barks
were lost. Thus the glory of the American whale fishery passed.
145 Many of these islanders had acquired a knowledge of English
from the crews of trading and whaling vessels visiting their shores.
Geo. H. von Langsdorff in 1806 [Voyages and Travels, 187] says of
them: “The Islanders are becoming very fond of a seafaring life, and
136 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
In the service they went by the general appellation of
“Owhyees”, from Oawhu , one of the principal islands
of the group.
The place had also been always an objective point
with me for immediate preparation for my contact with
Japan.
Besides that, among other adventitious attractions
to me, it had been the last field of work of my dearly
loved friend and companion in the wild woods of the
Columbia and Fraser, David Douglas , 146 botanist, of
they make excellent sailors. While on the Northwest coast of America,
I saw and talked with several natives of Owyhee serving as sailors on
board vessels from Boston.” Archibald Campbell, writing in 1810, says:
“He (King Tamaa-Hmaat) encourages them (his subjects) to make
voyages in the ships that are constantly touching at the Islands, and
many of them have been as far as China, the Northwest Coast of
America and even the United States. In a very short time they become
useful hands.” Archibald Campbell, A Voyage Around the World, 213.
The first of these Owyhees were brought to the Columbia River on the
“Tonquin” in 1811. The first Owyhee to go into the interior was “Coxe,”
who was a member of Stuart’s party from Astoria in the summer of
1811 and for whom David Thompson exchanged one of his voyageurs.
Thompson took him to Spokane House. See hereon David Thompson, op.
cit., 510-511; Alexander Ross, Fur Traders, i, 114; Coues, op. cit., 868.
These Owyhees became an important part of the brigades west of the
mountains and, intermarrying with local Indians, have left some of
their physical traits impressed on their descendants among the Salesh
tribes. Their name is commemorated in the Owyhee Mountains, Owyhee
County, the town of Owyhee and Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon,
where three of them, outfitted by Donald McKenzie for trapping upon
that stream, were murdered by the Indians in 1819.
146 David Douglas first arrived on the Columbia River, near Astoria,
April 9, 1825, and after a few days in the vicinity of that post, spent
the next two years in the interior leaving the Columbia District May 2,
1827, for England via Hudson’s Bay. He returned to the mouth of
the Columbia River for a few months in the spring of 1830, and again
in the fall of 1832 until his departure October 18, 1834. See his Journal
published a few years ago. It is probable that young MacDonald—then
an active boy between nine and ten years of age—may have been a
youthful “friend and companion” of the great botanist while in and
about the trading posts at Astoria (Fort George) and Fort Vancouver.
In any other sense, our author’s statement is misleading. Our author’s
father writing to his friend John McLeod on Feb. 20, 1833, says: “I
was at Vancouver last fall (1832). Mr. David Douglas just returned
from California, via. Sandwich Islands.” Washington Historical Quarter¬
ly, ii, 161-162. Our author’s recollections of Mr. Douglas were prob¬
ably from being with him 1832-1833.
Japan Story of Adventure
137
“Douglas Pine” fame. After his wanderings for many
years—six or seven if I remember right—on the Pacific
Slope of the mainland, he came here; where, while ga¬
thering specimens on the edge of a “cattle hole”, he
slipped into it, and was gored to death, in it by a wild
bull.
That was in 1833. Everybody who had known him
lamented him; for with all his enthusiasm in his pursuit,
he was ever the most sociable, kindly, and endearing of
men. A sturdy little Scot; handsome rather; with head
and face of fine Grecian mould; of winning address,
genial, and with all, the most sincerely pious of men.
He walked the terrible wilds of the West, generally
alone! from the Pacific shore to the Rocky Mountains,
midst wild beasts, and savages fiercer: in danger oft;
but ever equal to the occasion. He, literally, feared no
evil. The Lion in the man awed all.
The heroism of his work has not—that I am aware
of—been made known to the world. Hence these few
words in such reference.
Ready and eager to go on, I looked out for a Whaler
bound for the northern seas of Japan. I found one be¬
fore long; and therewith my story, proper begins.
Chapter V
NARRATIVE
Ship on Board Whaler for Japan Seas — Sandwich
Islands— Ladrones— Castaway Settlers —Treasure
Trove—China and Japan Seas—Whale Fishery—
Adrift
At the Port of Sahina in Mowhu (one of the Sand¬
wich Islands) after a sojourn of a few days through-
138 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
out the group, 147 I looked out for a vessel wherein to
ship for my purpose.
Accidentally meeting, in port, my old Captain of the
“Plymouth”, which had lain over in Kalakakna Bay to
repair, I applied to him for reshipment, again before the
mast, on the ordinary partnership terms of whalers—
of payment on share profit—but with the special stipu¬
lation on my part, that I was to be free to leave the ship
off the coast of Japan wherever and whenever I should
desire, when the ship would be full, or be on the eve of
returning or going elsewhere, and that in the meantime
he was to teach me to make observations for latitude
and longitude in navigation. 1 had provided myself
with Hadley’s quadrant and nautical almanac for the
purposes. The captain objected at first to such a con¬
dition, but finally agreed to it, on terms which will
hereafter appear in the narrative. I believe he thought
the condition would never be exacted; and certainly he
never manifested any desire that it should be.
We left the Sandwich Islands, for Hong Kong, in
company with the Whaler “David Paddock” 148 of
Nantucket.
On our voyage we sighted some small islands, and
147 The Sandwich Islands became the general rendezvous of all the
whale ships employed in the North Pacific Ocean. As early as 1825
Capt. F. W. Beechey stated that in the spring time whaling vessels to
the number of fifty or sixty sails assembled in the harbour of Honoruru
(Honolulu) at one time. These vessels made repairs and took on board
large supplies of vegetables and fruit, as sea stock, to enable them to
remain upon their fishing ground until autumn, when many of them
returned to the port. Capt. F. W. Beechey, Narrative of a Voyage to the
Pacific, ii, 117. See also note 157, page 150.
148 “David Paddock” of Nantucket, 352 tons was built at Rochester in
1841 and sailed on its first voyage Oct. 7, 1841, Chas. B. Swain 2nd.,
Master; David Jones, owner. Returning October 17, 1845, the ship
again sailed from Nantucket for the Pacific whaling grounds on De¬
cember 8, 1845, and accompanied our author’s ship, the “Plymouth,” from
Honolulu to the Japanese coast. She separated from the “Plymouth” in
June, 1847, and was later wrecked at La Perouse Straits off the Jap-
Japan Story of Adventure
139
touched at Gregan and Pegan, two of the Ladrones, 149
where we got wood and a large number of hogs. Gre¬
gan is the most northern of the group.
We here met with an adventure which I thought very
little of at the time, but since in hearing, or rather read¬
ing of the report of vast buried treasure in the old Span¬
ish times, it has recurred to me, with a passing thought
of what might have been done, with such like trover, by
anese coast. Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 276, 426. We quote from the
Nantucket (Mass.) Inquirer, February 2, 1849:
Wreck of the Ship “David Paddock” of Nantucket. “On the 20th
of July at half past 9 o’clock in the evening this vessel being full,
and bound out of the Japan Sea, in North Latitude 45, 28, and East
Longitude 141, 5, struck on a sunken rock not laid down on any chart.
The ship’s company took to the boats and lay under the lee of the
vessel until the morning, when she had six inches of water on the
cabin floor, but she could not get off, although the spars were cut away.
Land was discovered about 15 miles off, which proved to be Feeshee
Island. They landed upon the southwest cape of Saghalen, and remained
there three days. The inhabitants treated them with great kindness,
but would not allow them to go back into the country. A house and
food were furnished gratuitously, and when they left they were pre¬
sented with four or five hundred pounds of rice. The inhabitants, who
were few, appeared to be Tartars under a Japanese governor. After
three days residence they all left in their boats to cross the Matsmai
Straights, but fell in with the “Globe,” Dagett, of New Bedford, in
the passage. All hands were saved. The following ships succeeded
in obtaining a portion of the “David Paddock’s” cargo; “Caravan” of Fall
River, “Bridgeport” and “Neva” of Greenport. Reuben Andrews, first
officer of the “David Paddock” reached Honolulu on the “Samuel Robert¬
son,” Turner, Captain, at the time the barque “Don Quixote” arrived
from San Francisco with the news of the discovery of gold. He joined
the “stampede” for California, and was one of the 60 passengers
arriving in San Francisco in October, 1848, on the schooner “Sagada-
hock.” His daughter resides at Nestor, California.
149 This course from the Hawaiian Islands—westward to the Ladrones
—was the usual one to keep within the limits of the trade winds which
are more variable in a higher altitude.
The Marianne, Ladrones or Thieves’ Islands—so named by the crew
of Magalhaes’ fleet on account of the thieving propensity of the in¬
habitants—comprise a group of 16 islands lying north of the Caroline
Islands in the North Pacific Ocean. They were discovered and named
by Fernao de Magalhaes in 1521. Guagan or Guam, the largest of the
islands, is a station of the Pacific Cable, and interesting as ceded to
the United States by Spain in 1898. The chief inhabitants of the Is¬
lands are descendants from settlers from Mexico and the Philippines.
Pagon and Guagan mentioned by our author are among the northern
islands of the group.
140 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
myself as well as others with me at the time and who
were personally cognizant of the facts. The story,
briefly, is this:
Gregan and Pegan With Their “Robinson Cru-
soes” and Treasure
On our way to the Ladrones, we approched, uncon¬
sciously, a rock in mid-ocean known as “French—Frig-
ute—Shoals”. Here we experienced the severest gale
during the entire voyage, blowing our mainsail and
some of our fore and aft sails clean out of the bolt ropes,
but by bending new ones, and good management, we
weathered all danger. It was touch and go with us, for
we have found ourselves in the bight of the shoals. We
calculated the shoal to be from ten to fifteen miles in
length.
When the weather moderated we shaped our course
for the Island of Gregan, for wood and water. On ar¬
riving at the Island with our consort the “David Pad-
dock”, we came to, under the lee of the Island, by back¬
ing our main yard. Each Captain went ashore in his
own boat. I was one of the party.
The Island was fringed with cocoa nut trees near the
beach. On landing we discovered—Robinson Crusoe
like—human foot prints on the sand. We were sur¬
prised; having been assured that the Island was not,
and never had been inhabited. On ascending the beach
we saw a naked man dodging from tree to tree. By
following him we came to a clearing, with a yard, and
three or four thatched cottages, and eight other men,
with several women, and a few children. Before ar¬
riving at the place, we were met by the mysterious dod¬
ger; but now in full dress, wearing a shirt—just a
shirt—nothing more!—He introduced himself as
Japan Story of Adventure
141
“Liverpool Jack ”. 150 He told us that there was another
white man, living about a mile north of him, named by
him “Spider Jack”, living with a sickly wife. He gave
150 First Officer Andrews of the “David Paddock” also makes mention
of these two English sailors.
Many British and American sailors who had deserted or been dis¬
charged from their ships were eventually to be found upon the various
Pacific Islands. Some of these, scoundrels under any circumstances,
became leaders of the natives in their attacks upon trading and whaling
vessels; some of them became influential men upon the islands, both
by reason of their superior civilization and through marriage with dusky
maidens—daughters of the chief men of the islands. One of the
most marked cases of this latter kind was that of David Whippey, who
left a Nantucket whaling vessel while at the Fiji Islands about the
year 1824 and, making himself friendly and useful to the chiefs, soon
became a most important man among them. According to the custom
there he acquired several wives (albeit he is said to have left one
behind him in Nantucket) and became the father of a numerous family.
He was appointed one of the United States vice-consuls, and for many
years was of great service to our government.
Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 98 note. The editors have found two
accounts of Whimpey: William S. Cary of Nantucket, sole survivor
of the ship “Oeno,” wrecked on Turtle Island, one of the Fiji, April, 1825,
in his log book published in the Nantucket (Mass.) Journal in 1887,
after giving an account of the shipwreck and massacre of the rest of
the crew of “Oeno” by the natives, tells of meeting Mr. David Whippey
whom he saw while he (Cary) was on the island of Motosick, coming
in a canoe from Ambow, about fifteen miles away. On landing Whippey
reached out his hand, addressed Cary by name and asked him if he
didn’t know David Whippey. Mr. Cary answered that he formerly
knew Dave Whimpey and that he was a fellow townsman and an old
playmate of his. “Well,” said Whimpey, “I am David Whippey.” As
it was about a year since Cary had seen a white man, this meeting must
have been in 1826. David Whippey told Cary that he had left the brig
“Calder” some thirteen months before, bearing presents from the captain
to the king of Ambow, together with a request that he would collect
all the turtle shell he could; the captain promising to return in a few
months and trade with him for it. But now the time was so long that
Whimpey had given up all hope of seeing the brig again. In fact, he
stated that he had no desire to leave the island, as he was a particular
favorite with the king and chiefs and was a chief himself. He informed
Cary that there were two other white men who lived with him; one of
whom had come in the Manilla brig, while the other had lived at the
Fijis ten or twelve years. The king of Ambow valued the white men
highly, as his people had previously been troubled very much by the
mountaineers coming down and committing depredations on their sea-
coast villages. These mountaineers were very much afraid of the
white men’s muskets, however, and had not troubled the king since the
white men had been with him. Cary visited Whippey on his island
quite a number of times, and finally got away from the islands in a
ship which chanced to stop there.
There is another account of David Whimpey in the Charles Wilkes,
142 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
me to understand that they had a falling out about a
child they both claimed.
Their wealth consisted of pigs and chickens: the
more wives they had, the more pigs and chickens they
could attend to.
From Liverpool Jack’s account of himself, he had
been fourteen or fifteen years on the Island; and that
Spider Jack had been about four years longer. The
Spider, after hoisting the Spanish flag—for he sup¬
posed we were Spanish men of war—soon joined us.
From an account I afterwards learnt of them, it
seems:—
That twenty one years previous to our visit, a whale
ship, the “Peruvian” 151 of New London, Connecticut,
cruising in those seas for sperm whale, had picked up a
large canoe with twenty one living souls on board, in a
Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition during years 1838,
1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, published in five volumes in 1845. In volume
iii, page 48, appears an account of meeting David Whippey in 1840. He
told Capt. Wilkes that he went out there in his brother’s ship, but
left the ship on account of ill treatment. He also told him that he had
then been on the island eighteen years, and, when first seen by the
Wilkes party, was arriving in a canoe with some of his children. David
Whimpey was of great aid to the American officers, acting as in¬
terpreter, and they mention him at intervals all through the volume.
There is a foot-note saying that after the expedition left the islands
he was made an American vice-consul.
151 The ship “Peruvian” of New London, Conn., 388 tons, appears
on the New Bedford whaling lists for the first time as sailing for the
Crozette Island fisheries Oct. 15, 1841, Brown Captain, Fitch & Leonard,
owners, returning in July, 1843. It continued in the fishery until 1849
when it was broken up. Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 378, 564.
There was an earlier whale ship of the same name: The “Peruvian”
of Nantucket, Mass., a ship of 334 tons, built at Scituate, N. Y. in 1818;
sailed from Nantucket for the Pacific Whale Fisheries on Sept. 25 of that
year, returning Sept. 15, 1820. It was under the command of Capt. Ed¬
ward Clark Jan. 9, 1822, to April 2, 1824; under Capt. Alex. Macy June
8 , 1825, to Dec. 14, 1827, and from June 8, 1828, to Oct. 21, 1831, and
owned by C. Mitchell & Co. Its last voyage was under Capt. Edward B.
Hussey, Jr., to the Indian Ocean whale grounds Dec. 6, 1852, to Oct. 19,
1856, and the ship was broken up at New Bedford in 1857. Alexander
Starbuck, op. cit., 226, 242, 254, 266, 498-499.
Japan Story of Adventure
143
destitute condition. Out of pure humanity the Captain
took them on board and supplied them with necessaries.
In giving an explanation of their condition it seems
that they were blown out of sight of land in going from
one island to another in the Kingsmill Group, so that
they were left to the mercy of the winds and waves.
Not wishing to encumber his decks the Captain land¬
ed them on Gregan, after seeing that it was fit for habi¬
tation, giving them a sow with pig, a cock and a couple
of hens. They had then a vast number of each kind.
We were not long in getting a supply on leaving the
Island.
I conversed with both Jacks. Neither of their stories
could I trust. In making the observation that I thought
it strange that the pigs and chickens had increased,
while the men and women had not—for they were little
more than the original number—they both agreed about
having plenty of arms, and of having had a larger com¬
munity of white men and negroes among them at one
time. That they manufactured a kind of whiskey from
the cocoa nut with a tea kettle and a gun barrel. That
they had several fights; and murders had taken place
among them. Then peace would be declared each
party would make a show that he had destroyed the
only weapon he owned, but on the next occasion of a
carouse out would come the weapons. Both told me
no one would trust another. No doubt the poor Kings¬
mill Islanders were the greatest sufferers.
Both spoke confidently of a large amount of treasure
buried in the Island of Pegan, near Gregan: that they
knew the exact spot; and to corroborate this, one of our
men who had time to accept Spider Jack’s invitation to
visit his hut or house reported seeing there half a chest¬
ful of silver dollars: and that Jack tried to persuade
144 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
him to desert the ship. He declined; from fear of be¬
ing murdered. At that time, I had no cause to doubt the
man. What puzzled me was, that there being no trade,
how he (Jack) came to have so much money. We
were the only visitors they had had since they were on
the Island: so they said.
The Story of the Buried Treasure
At the time of one of the great revolutions in South
America, the wealthy, to escape, had chartered a vessel,
and put on board, their money and valuables, church
plate and pictures &c; in fact she was loaded with
wealth. In an unguarded moment she was taken
possession of by a desperate gang; who escaped, and
made for the Ladrones; where they buried the treasure,
after appropriating enough for their present need.
That, in time, they separated: some died; or all may
have died except three. That, in time, these three
visited the treasure. That the Captain or Chief called
one of the party aside as if for consultation, but instead
of consulting, murdered him: then turning to his sur¬
viving companion murdered him also. That, alone, he
returned to Manilla, where, after a while, he, in remorse
gave himself up to the authorities, telling the story.
That on his representations, the Manilla Government
sent to the place, a man-of-war with the man on board
to show the spot.
That on arrival at Pegan, the boat was along side of
the ship ready for the passenger. That on going over
the side to embark in the boat, to land, he fell between
the ship and the boat, never to rise again! The two
Jack’s pointed to the side of the mount where the man-
of-war sailors had turned up the ground in a fruitless
search for the buried treasure. Our informants told us
Japan Story of Adventure
145
that we were nearer to the spot than they (the man-of-
war’s men) had been, for—said they—“we are within
a quarter of a mile of the place”.
They might as well have told us that we were less
than a hundred miles, for we never had a thought of
losing a moment for it. It may be there yet!
This conversation occurred on the Island of Pegan
(uninhabited) where we were for wood. We made
the best of our way back to Gregan to get our pigs and
fowls.
From there we steered generally West, keeping a
little North some-times, so as to sight the Bonin Islands,
thinking we might find sperm whale.
From there we went to the Bashee Islands, Spanish
Possessions, South of the Island of Formosa.
In the Straits of Formosa we landed on the two
principal Islands of the Bashee Group. 152 One of these,
viz: Battan, was apparantly under fair cultivation, and
possessed a good though small harbor. Its Capital
consisted of very miserable huts, but the “Governor’s
Palace” and a place of worship—both in a state of ruin
—were built of stone. Here we got some yams, a few
onions, and some beef.
Late in the afternoon of the day on which we left the
Bashees, we fell in with the first school of whales—
sperm whales—and killed a great many.
We experienced very heavy gales in the China Sea,
and they were heavier at this time than at any other.
152 The Bashee, Bashi or Batan Islands are a small group in the
China Sea, lying north of the Philippines, and discovered by Dampier in
1687. They came under American control in 1900. They were fre¬
quently visited by American whalers. First Officer Andrews of the
“David Paddock” mentions both visits to the island of Battan, and adds
in his log book that “the Governor gave a grand dinner” for them; that
“each captain and mate received a present of a ton of black ebony,” and
that at the Governor’s request each of the captains took away a young
native boy, about 10 years of age, as a servant.
146 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
While cruising about the Bashees we fell in with a
French Ship, the first we had seen since our departure
from the Sandwich slands. We thence steered for
Hong Kong, where, arrived, we stript, and laid over for
a month, fitting out for a cruise in the Japan Sea fur¬
ther North.
From Hong Kong we returned to Battan to get some
vegetables, but, unfortunately, were too early. On our
first visit there, we gave the natives potatoes for seed:
they had not had any for some years. We also fur¬
nished them with some beans and Indian corn,
though they had plenty of each, but our grain was lar¬
ger than theirs and they preferred it.
Leaving the Bashees we sailed by the Loo-Choo Is¬
lands 153 to the Tonghai Sea, and thence by Quelpert Is¬
land, 154 to the Sea of Japan.
Quelpert Island
Quelpert is a beautiful Island; situated near the
Straits of Corea, about 120 miles from Nagasaki in Kin
Sin, one of the Japanese Group, in the South, about
250 miles from Shanghai; about 300 miles from Nan¬
kin; about 400 miles from Pekin; in the direct line of
153 The Ryu-'kyu or, variously spelled, Riu-kiu, Liu-kiu, Lu-chu or
Loo-choo Islands are a chain of 37 small islands extending southwesterly
from Kiu-shiu (the most southerly of the larger Japanese Islands)
toward Formosa. They were then, as now, under Japanese control, but
owing to their remoteness the Japanese Government was not able to
strictly enforce there its decree forbidding intercourse with foreigners.
American and other whaling vessels occasionally touched at the Loo Choo
Islands when distressed for provisions, vegetables or fruit. Capt.
Beechey (1825) states that relations between the natives and the sailors
had ever been estranged. Commander Glynn who touched at Napa
Keang in the Islands on his way to Nagasaki in the spring of 1849 says:
“Foreigners there mingle with natives, because there are no means to
prevent it.”
154 This island, now under Japanese control, lies some 60 miles off
the southern extremity of Korea.
Japan Story of Adventure
147
communication with the Capital of China and the Pa¬
cific; and within about 250 miles from the mouths of
the Hoangho and Yang-tzse Rivers, streams draining
upwards of fifteen hundred thousand square miles of
land teeming with almost every staple of food for man,
cultivated, to the utmost, by upwards of three hundred
millions of the industrious—most industrious it might
be said—the cradle, home, and cemetery of nearly one
fourth of our fellowmen on earth: a people of a high
civilization; with aptitudes moral, intellectual, and
physical requiring but the sympathetic touch of our
more utilitarian dynamics of life to win them to a closer
comity in the family of nations. On this theme, my
ideas may seem wild, but to myself, they are the con¬
clusions of personal observation. What the future,
under the Providence of the Great Father of all, may
have in store for us in this score, I undertake not to say,
but leave to the logic of events to develop. As a
traveller bye the way, within the area defined, I note the
abounding economic resources on which men and na¬
tions live, move, and have their social being. These re¬
sources—many of them scarcely touched—such as
coal, iron, and other economic skill and machinery for
the improvement of the material welfare of our brethern
beyond the sea—our Western neighbors of the Asian
East.
We sailed about the Island, fishing, for about a week,
off and on, in a summer sea, in good view of it. I
would say that it is about twenty five miles in length,
and, on average, about half that in breadth. I have
little doubt but that it has good natural harbours: we,
however, neither sought nor saw any.
Its position is a commanding one for a naval depot.
It is Lat. 33 deg. 30 min. N. Its temperature is mod-
148 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
erate: cooler, and healthier much than Hong Kong, and
evidently, with abundant vegetation—forest clad
throughout, so far as we saw; and with every resource
and facility for ship supplies. Fortified, and held by
a naval Power it might be made the Malta of the great
Eastern Asiatic Archipelago, and even of the vaster
Northern Pacific—the Greater Atlantic of these latter
times. Russia may take it. That rising power has,
grasped all it dare of the Kurile Chain, 155 but that, nor
even her Vladivostok (ice bound in winter) does not,
and cannot secure her anchorage in the Junk thronged
seas of China and Japan. 156
The Trident of the Pacific has yet to be raised. God
forbid! that it should be so by other hands than such as
may, under Providence be missionary of a Christianity
at one with us: a Christianity whose natural fruits will
be peace on earth and happiness to man in the widest
and highest sense.
During our cruise about this “Isle of Beauty” we
saw many whales, and captured some.
At length we left it, and on March 6th entered the
Japan Sea.
Here we had fine weather; seas comparatively calm.
During our stay in the Japan Sea proper, between the
Islands of Japan and the Mainland—which lasted about
three months—we had, invariably, calms or very light
breezes, scarcely enough to fill our top sails; we, how¬
ever, experienced a good deal of fogs, especially while
in the Channel of Tartary or western part of Sagalhien,
155 So named from the Russian word “Kuril,” meaning “to smoke,”
on account of the smoking volcanoes on the Kurile Islands. Charles
Peter Thurnberg, Travels in Europe, Africa and Asia, iii, 240.
156 An early appreciation of Russia’s need for the later developed out¬
let through Manchuria to the Yellow Sea at Port Arthur—lost to Japan
in the Russian Japanese War 1904-1905.
Japan Story of Adventure
149
where we took our last whale. The wind—when we
had any—was variable; blowing from different direc¬
tions, but never with any force while we were in this
sea: currents and tides it must have, but I did not re¬
mark them sufficiently—nor could—to be able to give
a correct account of them. There was no difficulty in
the navigation of that sea during the months we were
there: Yet, I would say; that at the Equinoxes, it may
be dangerous from want of sea-room, if a vessel was
not fortunate enough to make a harbour of refuge; and
there are few such.
We had no monsoons, though to the south (the Yel¬
low Sea) they have them. The China traders take ad¬
vantage of these winds to go to Nagusaki in their larg¬
est junks, and with the exchange to return to their
country. Monsoons are winds that blow six months
from the North East (April to October) and six months
(October to April) from the South West.
Whaling was so easy in the Japan Sea; the fish were
so numerous that we had no occasion to chase them
with our ship: we had nothing to do but to lower our
boats, harpoon them, and bring them alongside for
stripping. In the forepart of the season we took sev¬
eral whales. Towards the latter part of it—the fish
having run north—we sailed into the Channel of Tar¬
tary, where we captured four whales.
Leave Ship
The ship being now nearly full, I asked the Captain
to go back towards Japan, where, on the Island of Timo-
shee, off its northern coast, I intended to land. On our
way, we captured more whales; some of the fish were
very small, while others were as large as large North
150 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Western ones. On the last ground of fishing we sight¬
ed from 25 to 30 whaleships. 157
At length on June 27th, 1848, the ship being then full
and lying off the coast of Japan, about five miles from
the nearest Island, I asked the Captain to let me leave
the ship. With much reluctance, he consented—ac¬
cording to our bargain. I then bought from him a small
boat, specially made for himself, rigged for sailing, a
quadrant—for I could take an “Observation” for lat¬
itude and longitude—provisions for thirty six days &c.
I also assigned to him, in trust, the balance of my share
in the whaling adventure, say about six hundred dol¬
lars.
Against the strong and earnest remonstrances of
the Captain and crew, I stepped into my boat, taking
with me my box of books and stationery, a few clothes,
quadrant, &c, but I had no chart. My comrades re¬
fused to unloose the knot which bound me to them.
One of them (McKay) offered to accompany me. I
refused him. A sailor’s feelings are ever warm and
true. The companionship of peril forges a masonic
157 The discovery of the Japanese whaling grounds has been at¬
tributed to Captain Joseph Allen of the Nantucket whale ship “Maro” in
1820.
Dr. P. F. Von Siebold (1822-1830) states that 68 square rigged ships
were then counted by the Japanese as passing Hakodate and Matsmae in
one year, most of them engaged in the whale fishery. By 1829 one
hundred whalers annually visited the Sandwich Islands, the great
rendezvous of the Pacific whale fleet. Charles S. Stewart, A Visit
to the South Seas , etc. (1833 ), 365. The year 1848 was near the height
of the whaling boom. The Seaman’s Friend , of Honolulu, Oahu, S. I.,
under date of December 1, 1848, says: “During the last season for
ships to cruise in the Japanese seas, not scores, but hundreds of vessels
spread their canvas within full view of the coast.” Starbuck (p. 98)
gives the total American whale fleet in 1848 as 678 ships and barks,
37 brigs, and 22 schooners, a total of 737 vessels with an aggregate
capacity of 233,189 tons, and valued at $21,075,000.00. Of this great
fleet nearly 600 vessels were cruising on the different whaling grounds
in the North and South Pacific. The foreign whaling fleet at this
time numbered but 230 vessels. See ante note 144, p. 134, 135; also
Walter S. Tower, op. cit., 52-53, 121.
Japan Story of Adventure 151
bond stronger than the tinsel chain of mere worldly in¬
terest. Life for life is the motto of his comrade heart.
“Happy to meet; sorry to part”, is ever truth with him.
I sorrowed for their sorrow, expected not to meet them
again!—A sailor, in his manhood, has tears!—Myself,
with averted face, had to cut the rope by which I hung
to all them. I felt in the cord the strong electric sym¬
pathy bursting from the true friendly hearts of my com¬
rades. With a quivering “God bless you, Mac !” they
bade me a long, and, as they thought, a last adieu!—
It may have been so, for I have seen none of them since,
save one, the Captain. 158
158 While in San Francisco in 1859 (eleven years after the above
incident) I accidently met my old Captain (Lawrence B. Edwards) of
the “Plymouth.” He recognized me first; and was overjoyed to see me;
took me to his elegantly furnished mansion, and introduced me to his
young wife (his first had died), and to his family. He insisted on giv¬
ing me fifty dollars on our account. I told him I did not need it then
and refused it. He told me he had never had a settlement about that
voyage with the owners on his return home—for he left, as soon as pos¬
sible, for California, where the gold excitement was then at its height.
He told me there was some kind of litigation going on with regard to
the ship and cargo, etc. The cargo was a rich one; estimated by us at
about five thousand barrels of oil—say worth about $150,000—and even
my share was quite a little sum, say about $750. He said that as soon
as it was settled, he would let me know. I never, however, had a word
about it since, from any quarter. To me it is lost.
I cast no reflection, in this matter, on the good Captain; and none is
called for; for I never applied for the thing and my address was ever un¬
known to him and the parties with whom such settlement rested.—[Orig¬
inal.]
Owners and outfitters were, during these years, in almost con¬
stant litigation with captains, shareholders, creditors, etc., over the
partnership returns from these whaling voyages. During this cruise
the “Plymouth” sent home 13,000 lbs. of whale-bone, and returned home
April 30, 1849, with 4,873 bbls, of whale-oil and 16,000 lbs. of whale¬
bone. This catch was worth, at prices then prevailing, $71,000.00.
This was among the largest returns of any vessel for that year and one
of the most profitable voyages in the entire history of the American
whaling fleet. See Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 147, 432-433.
On the 28th of August, 1849, Captain Edwards sailed from Sag
Harbor for San Francisco on the “Sierra Nevada,” a schooner built in Sag
Harbor, N. Y., and the first vessel of that name afloat. She is reputed
to have been one of the fastest vessels of her class ever afloat. The
“Sierra Nevada” made the voyage from Shanghai to San Francisco in
thirty-three (33) days, the shortest on record by a sailing vessel. She
152 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
We parted! They “Homeward bound!” I, for the
mysterious dread Japan! But my mind was fixed; as
the needle to the pole; and my hot heart, full of its pur¬
pose of years, rose in swell in unison with the Pacific
billow. There I floated!—like a bird on the ocean of
fathomless chance: wild and free as the roving sea gull:
at home on its heaving bosom.
Chapter VI
Dropped on Ocean Out of Sight of Land—Situation—
Landmarks—Night in Boat—Nights (Two) on Is¬
land—Upset—Afloat—Rescue — Ashore — Treat¬
ment.
When I left the ship, it was in a dense fog; with no
land in view. The Captain, however, gave me the bear¬
ing for the nearest Island, 159 which, he said, was about
five miles distant; course Northeast. After bidding
adieu to my shipmates, the ship went one way, and I
the other; she hoisted the Stars and Stripes, dipping in
several times, which I answered by dipping a little white
flag which I had provided. 160
was later sold to the Government for revenue purposes. Captain
Edwards settled in California. From The Corrector, Sag Harbor, March
7, 1874. Our author probably met the Captain in 1859 when he stopped
at San Francisco on his way to the Cariboo gold fields in British
Columbia.
159 Rishiri Island.
160 “All hands gathered aft to see the last of the bold adventurer.
He took off his hat and waved it, but in silence. The same was re¬
turned by the ship’s company. Soon the order was given to brace the
main yard, and the gallant ship was going in an opposite direction.
From our ship’s mast he was viewed with the naked eye as long as he
could be seen; then the spy-glass was passed from one to another that
they might have a last look at the little vessel. He was watched from
our masthead until he was gone from our sight forever.” Statement of
a shipmate in the Seaman’s Friend, Honolulu, S. I., issue of December
1, 1848.
Map of northern Yezo, showing MacDonald’s route on leaving ship
and landing on the island of Yankeshiri, off Yezo, Japan, June 27-30,
1848, compiled from Mr. MacDonald’s original sketch, imposed on a map
of Yezo of 1854
Legend.
A leave ship
B ship’s course in parting
C my course towards nearest land
E first land seen, where I slept in
boat and spent two days
F course thence, and my first view
of Tomashee
G where I overturned my boat
H where I met Ainu boat
I where landed
J village
K snow-capped mountain
L line of march to Tootoomari
M Tootomari
N Junk’s anchorage
O course thence to Soya
Japan Story of Adventure
153
The nearest land was an uninhabited Island called,
in our maps Timoshee, but by the natives of the neigh¬
borhood, Dessery or Desserai , 161 in, or near, the Straits
of La Perouse, off the coast of Yesso. The wind was
light.
When I had gone about half the distance, I saw a
reef and breakers—then changed my course to East
to avoid the breakers, when the southernmost of two
Islands loomed up out of the fog. I was afterwards, if
I recollect right, told that it was called Tootoomari . 162
I did not land in it, but steered for an Island South of
these two . 163 In attempting to get the weather-gage of
the Island I fell in with rocks and surf, and in trying
to tack, missed stays, and was drifting on a lee shore.
I succeeded, however, in getting to the leeward of the
Island by wearing round my boat and setting the aft sail
all square. Here I fell in with a herd of sea lions, mak¬
ing a great noise. Their call—wo! wo!—was a com¬
pound of the bark of a large deep-mouthed dog and the
bellow of a bull. I shot one with a pistol. These ani¬
mals were somewhat like overgrown seals, about twelve
feet in length; weighing probably about ten or twelve
hundredweight. There I left my spoil, and steered for
the bight of the bay of an Island, where I landed.
Ascending a neighboring height for a view, I found
the Island to be uninhabited; about five miles in circum¬
ference. I was “Lord of all I surveyed,” but, after all,
161 Reibun Island lies about 10 miles northwest from Rishiri Island.
162 Pontomari, a village on the northern coast of Rishiri Island. In
a map of Yezo of 1868, the village is called Kotontomari.
163 Jo the south of Richiri Island lies Yankeshiri Island, about 6
miles in circumferance. The sea near the island is said to abound in
sea lions. “Shiri” in Yanke-shira and Ri-shiri means “island” in
Aino, but in use by the Japanese is usually followed by “Jima,” the
Japanese word for island.
154 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
poor indeed. Naught was there to welcome the stran¬
ger, My boat on the strand; my ship out of sight, save
the tip of her mainmast pointing heavenward out of a
distant fog bank; the lonely Isle!; the ceaseless sullen
dash of waves on the beach; the looming realm of dread
Japan!—all, in the reaction, weighed like lead upon my
soul. But the die was cast; and I felt that even then, if
at the gangway of a homeward bound, 1 would not turn
from my purpose.
Unable to find a suitable resting place on the Island,
I slept in the cuddy of my boat. Next morning (June
28th) I awoke refreshed, and after a breakfast on beef,
biscuit and chocolate, I started on an exploration of my
new dominion, which, so far as I could see, was con¬
tested only by innumerable ducks, geese and other wa¬
ter fowl.
I found the Island covered with small trees and
bushes (of names unknown to me), cane brake, and
sward, the whole picturesquely dotted with lakelets and
ponds, full of ducks, geese and other water birds.
On it I spent a Robinson Crusoe life for two days,
(28th and 29th); maturing, during that time, my plan
of invasion, which will appear in the sequel.
My object in this delay, was to allow sufficient time
to elapse between the departure of the ship and my con¬
tact with the Japanese, to obviate the suspicion of my
having voluntarily sought their shores. I thought that
the vessel might have been seen by the natives; and ex¬
pected a rigid inquiry as to the how and why of my
leaving the ship.
At the distance of about ten miles in a northerly di¬
rection, I perceived another Island, 164 with a snow-
164 This must be Rishiri Island with Rishiri Mountain, “the Fuji of
Yezo,” but the distance from Yankeshiri Island is about 45 miles.
Japan Story of Adventure
155
capped mountain, rising as if from the centre of the Is¬
land. The snow rested from the crown to a short dis¬
tance down; it was old snow; I am not prepared to say
how long it remained, whether the year round or not;
I should say it might disappear in July or August.
Roughly guessing I should say the mountain was fif¬
teen hundred to two thousand feet high. 165
Before going further on my voyage, I landed my car¬
go,and then, intentionally capsized my boat, to ascertain
whether I could right her again. My design in this was
to present myself in distress; for, with all their reputed
cruelty to foreigners, I assumed, or half believed, that
even Japanese would have some compassion on such of
their fellowmen as storm or uncontrollable circum¬
stances should cast upon their shores. Misfortune, if
not a passport in all cases, is certainly so in some; with
it, or its counterfeit, I determined to try the brazen gates
of Japan.
After clearing the small bay which had served me for
a harbor, and when I was in deep water between the two
Islands, I shook out the reefs, and purposely capsized
my craft, with sail set. I then cast adrift the back stays,
and unstepped the mast, making, the sheet fast to the
painter, then taking hold of the centre board, I righted,
and then bailed her. When righted, the only things in
the boat were two barrels of water, a small keg of pro¬
visions, and my bed; my chest, oars and rudder were
afloat; my chest and an oar I recovered with some diffi¬
culty—the latter for steering as I had to let the rudder
go. Satisfied with the result, I returned to, and spent
another night (June 30th) on my island.
Next morning (July 1st), early, I started for the
165 Rishiri Mountain is 5637 feet high; viewed from a distance of
45 miles it naturally appeared much lower.
156 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
large Island already referred to, and being in high spir¬
its hoisted my little flag. Supposing the Island to be
inhabited, I designedly upset my boat about five or
six miles to the leeward of it, and lost nearly all my
clothing, some books, and all my bedding, pistols and
bailer; my chest had been heedlessly left unlocked.
After much work, I righted my boat.
During this time a ship, which, years afterwards, I
learned was called the “Uncas”, 166 approached within
about eight miles of me, and according to the account
of the incident which I read in an American paper,
picked up, or merely saw—I forgot which—my lost
“tiny rudder” as the account called it. The trover gave
rise to a report in the newspapers by or through the
Rev. Mr. Damon, 167 then of the Sandwich Islands, of
my adventure, and to the surmise of my having been
lost at sea. In time, some way or other, this came to
166 The “Uncas,” a ship of 410 tons built at Falmouth, Mass., in
1828 and first owned by Elija Swift of Falmouth, was one of the famous
vessels of the American whale fishery. Sailing for the Pacific grounds
on November 17, 1828, under Capt. Henry C. Bunker, she returned
July 15, 1831, after an absence of two years and eight months with a
cargo of 3468 bbls. valued at $88,000.00—one of the largest returns in
the history of the fishery. She was sold to New Bedford in 1843 and
was owned by A. H. Howland, C. W. Gelett, Captain, at the time here
mentioned, having sailed from New Bedford August 27, 1846. She
returned May 11, 1849, and was sold for the merchant service in 1862.
Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 268, 146, 436, 550. The incident of the
“Uncas” picking up the rudder of MacDonald’s boat was reported in The
Seaman's Friend, under date Dec. 1, 1848; see appendix II-A, page 273.
This was copied by American newspapers of the day.
167 The Revd. Samuel C. Damon, Seaman’s Chaplain, publisher and
editor of The Seaman's Friend, a semi-monthly journal (4to) devoted
to Temperance, Seaman, Marine and General Intelligence, published at
Honolulu, Oahu, S. I., 1843-1878. He is not to be confounded with
Joseph Damien—known as Father Damien—born in Belgium on January
3, 1840, and admitted to holy orders at the age of nineteen. In 1873
Father Damien voluntarily sought the leper colony at Kalowao, Molokai,
Hawaiian Islands, and for 12 years was a general aid to the unfortunates.
Attacked himself by the disease he died on April 14, 1889, after a life
of remarkable self-sacrifices. Read Robert Louis Stevenson’s fine tribute
to him, or C. W. Stoddard’s South Sea Idyls and Lepers of Molokai.
Japan Story of Adventure
157
the knowledge of my father, then in Canada, who be¬
lieved it.
Thus to my family and friends I was, for a while—
two or three years—as one dead. I refer to this story
of me, as further corroboration of this narrative.
To proceed!
Now drifting from ashore, I stepped my mast, set
sail, and steered with a scull—the recovered oar.
While standing at the stern I accidentally fell over¬
board. With difficulty I swam up to the boat, which
quickly heaved to, in the wind. Before striking for the
boat, however, I captured my chest which (pitched out
by the same heave, of wave, which upset me) was
afloat—so was my bread (a barrel of biscuit), but, it
I had to abandon; my chest being, carelessly again, still
unlocked and unfastened, was partially emptied, my
compass was gone, but the quadrant, books and writing
materials, etc., were to the fore. I then tacked towards
the large Island, but stood off all night; not sleeping
a wink, from fear of rocks ahead, indicated by break¬
ers.
At dawn next morning (July 2nd) I saw smoke on
the Island, and men launch a boat like a rather large
skiff, and row it towards me. On their approach, I
raised the plug of my boat and nearly half filled it with
water. When about a hundred yards from me they
hove up and began to salaam me, throwing out their
arms, palms up, 168 bowing, stroking their great beards,
and uttering a gutteral sound in respectful salutation,
as indicated by their look and manner. There were
168 “They saluted us by rubbing the palms of their hands together
and then raising the hand slowly several times towards heaven; after
which they stroked their beards from chin to breast, and then threw
themselves on their knees exactly in Japanese fashion, repeating a
compliment in like manner,” George H. van Langdorff, op. cit., 328.
158 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
four in the boat. When near enough I accosted them
with a “How do you do?” with a salute with the right
arm. They seemed to take it in compliment, in re¬
sponse.
Soon as they reached me, I fastened my boat to theirs,
and jumping on board signified to them that I wished
them to bail my boat, and also to row me ashore. While
one of them set to bail (with my cap, or little sailor
hat, my only bailer now) the rest continued their salu¬
tation. They did not seem to be afraid of me; but to
be wonder struck as to who or what I was. Becoming
impatient of their mummery, to make them desist, I
took hold of the pair of sculls which had been used by
the man now bailing my boat (now in tow) and pulled
about a ship’s length. They immediately followed my
example, but from sheer inability to keep stroke with
them (though fairly smart at the oar) 169 I gave up.
They also, with one accord, dropped their oars and
looked earnestly in my face, as if asking further or¬
ders. I again pointed to the shore, and directed them,
by sign, to row thither.
One of them, inquiringly, pointed to one side of the
Cove, and another to the other. In reply to their re¬
spectful question, I pointed to the village 170 which I
had seen them start from. The village (a large wooden
house surrounded by a few miserable huts) was situ¬
ated at the foot of a very high mountain.
On landing, I was greeted as I had been by the boat-
169 Their oars were peculiar with hardly any blade [Orig.] Hawks,
Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron, etc., i, 450, gives
a description of these boats and the Japanese manner of rowing with
these oars, and a lithograph thereof appears opposite the page cited.
Oars ordinarily used by the Ainus, shown in contemporary drawings,
had a broad blade.
170 The village was called Notsuka. It is on Oshitomari Bay at the
Northeastern part of the island.
Japan Story of Adventure
159
man—the people—about a hundred men, women and
children—being seated cross-legged on the beach. Two
of the boatsmen got me a pair of sandals from one of
the women, and put them on my feet.
They then took me, gently by the wrists and helped
me to ascend the steep rocky bank.
I found that what, at a distance, I had supposed was
a farm, with farm house and well cultivated country,
was in fact, a barren waste of coarse rank grass and
ferns. In proceeding through it my feet came several
times in contact with the stumps of brushwood, and not
being accustomed to the use of sandals, I very often
stumbled. When about halfway to the large house, I
spoke sharply to my conductors for hurrying me over
the ground. Perceiving from my gestures and coun¬
tenance that I was dissatisfied with something, they
commenced rubbing their hands together as if implor¬
ing pardon. To avoid further hurting their feelings, I
stooped as if to adjust my sandals, but they would not
allow me to do so—doing it themselves and appearing
to be glad of an opportunity of performing an act of
kindness to me; the rest of the way they adjusted their
pace to mine.
On approaching the house—the large one above al¬
luded to—we were met by a Japanese whose exterior
denoted consequence. The front part of his head was
shaved, and the hair was gathered into a top or queue
which projected slightly over the forehead. His dress
consisted of a long cotton clerical looking gown, kept
round the body by a wide belt. Thinking that he might
be a priest I touched my hat to him. He gave some or¬
ders to the men. My conductors thereupon took hold
of me by the hand, while the rest scampered off. I was
followed to the house by the priestly looking personage.
160 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
In entering the house—which was of one story, with
paper windows—we had to walk about twenty feet on
bare ground, we then ascended two steps, each about
one foot in height, and found ourselves on a flooring of
boards about twenty feet in length; further on was an¬
other flooring about a foot higher; to this, the supposed
priest conducted me. He then busied himself in spread¬
ing out mats, stirring the fire and giving orders. He,
by signs, requested me to put off my sandals. 171 I, for
the first time, then perceived that he had none on.
Placing mine in a particular spot, he gave me to under¬
stand that I would always find them there. He then
led me to a bedroom, offering me a gown, and advising
me to change my clothes—then still wet—then left me.
Seeing several books in the room, I opened some of
them and found amongst them an almanac, on the last
page of which (beginning of book according to Japa¬
nese) was a mariner’s compass, with twelve points, but
with the needle headed to the South.
All the points, except the South, were marked in
black; the South being in red characters, which, I sub¬
sequently learned, constituted the Japanese word for
a horse, one of their signs of the zodiac. The Japanese
word for a horse is Ma or Doura, both signifying that
animal.
Here I may give—as I afterwards learned them—the
Japanese signs of the zodiac: 1, Ne y a rat; 2, Ouss, an
ox; 3, Tor ad, a tiger; 4, Ov, a hare; 5, Tatz, a dragon;
6, Mie (Mn), a serpent; 7, Ma (or Doura), a horse; 8,
i7i “The Japanese never enter their houses with their shoes on, but
leave them in the entry or place them on a bench near the door, and are
thus always barefooted in their houses, so as not to dirty their neat
mats.” Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 273-274.
Japan Story of Adventure
161
Tsitzuse, a sheep; 9, Sar, an ape; 10, Torri, a hen; 11,
In (or Yeagan ), a dog; 12, / (ie), a boar. 172
I give the words according to the sound as I best
could catch it from my informant Tangaro , 173 further on
referred to.
To resume the narrative!
After a short interval, my host invited me to partake
of a repast which he kindly provided. It consisted of
boiled rice , 174 some good fish (broiled), ginger, pre¬
served shell fish, and a variety of pickles. Before, and
during the meal, mine host several times offered me a
bottle of something which he called “grog-yes.”
On smelling it—for being then a temperance man (a
teetotaller) I did not taste it—I found it very like whis¬
key. The liquor is a distillation from rice, called by the
Japanese saki. The name “grog-yes” puzzled me; but
on inquiry afterwards, I learned that it arose from the
fact of the crew of the “Lawrence ”, 175 who had been in
172 The Japanese compass is divided into twelve points named ac¬
cording to the twelve signs of the zodiac. Charles Peter Thunberg, op.
cit., iii, 122-123.
The signs are INe, 2 Ushi, 3 Tora, 4 U, 5 Tatsu, 6 Mi, 7 Uma, 8
Hitsuji, 9 Saru, 0 Tori, 11 Inu, 12 I. Mn, Doura and Yeagan, mentioned
by Mac Donald, are neither Japanese nor Ainu words. Compare with
Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 90, 122.
173 Nasal pronunciation. Taguro? Takuro? Takaro?
174 Among Japanese dishes mentioned by Golownin are; stewed rice,
pickled radishes, fresh and salt fish, boiled or fried in oil of poppies
and seasoned with grated radish and soya; soups with herbs or macaroni,
also white fish and mussel broth; barley meal fish patties, etc. Captain
Vasilu Mikhaiforich Golownin, Memories of a Captivity in Japan, i, 206.
175 The “Lawrence” of Poughkeepsie, New York, under command of
Captain Baker, sailed on July 10, 1845, for the Pacific whaling grounds.
On May 27, 1846, in latitude 44 degrees 30 min, north, longitude 153
degrees east, in the vicinity of the Japanese coast, the vessel encountered
a heavy gale, and late in the evening struck on some rocks. Captain
Baker, First Mate Meyers, and part of the crew were lost in taking to
the boats. George Howe, Second Mate, and seven of the crew succeeded
in getting off safely, but one of the men, Hiram Yates, died before
reaching land. George Howe and the remaining six men landed at
162 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
that quarter, answering “Grog? Yes! fetch it on.” when
it was offered to them.
(I may here mention, that when in China, on my way
to Japan, I was told that one of the men of this same
“Lawrence” was killed by the Japanese for attempting
to escape while a captive with them. I never knew the
particulars 176 of the case. It did not frighten me.)
After breakfast I took a short walk out of doors—
the only freedom I had in Japan; and that under close
watch. On my return I found that my kind host had
provided me with a bed and a good mosquito bar. There
was no bedstead. I saw none in the country. The bed
clothes consisted entirely of a large cotton gown, thick¬
ly wadded with cotton wool.
Not having slept the night before, I turned in and
now did so most comfortably.
In the meantime they brought up my sail, anchor,
kegs and chest to the house. At my request, my clothes
were washed in fresh water, and dried. All communi¬
cation so far was by sign language.
Etrofu Island, Japan, on June 2, 1846, and were detained on the island
by the Japanese from June 4, 1846 to May 31, 1847, when they went
on board a Japanese junk and were taken first to Hokadate, and thence
to Nagasaki, where they arrived on August 20, 1847. At Nagasaki one
of the men, who tried to escape, was killed by the Japanese. The ex¬
periences of these men were similar, in many respects, to those of our
author, and the crew of the “Lagoda.” The Dutch ship, “Hertogen-
bosch,” took them on board and left Nagasaki in the beginning of
December, 1847. The Dutch ship delivered the men to the United States
consul at Batavia. A contemporary statement by George Howe in the
Singapore Free Press, January 6, 1848, is reprinted in U. S. Senate,
Executive Doc’t. 59, 32nd. Congress, 1st Session, 70-73. Their experi¬
ences are also noted in Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 141-142. See also
hereon, note 219, pages 196-197.
176 The particulars are given in George Howe’s statement U. S. Sen¬
ate, Executive Doc’t No. 59, 32nd Congress, 1st. Session, 70-73.
Japan Story of Adventure
163
Chapter VII
Examination of My Outfit—Inoes Tributary to Ja¬
pan—Japanese Officers—Worship—Religious Cer¬
emony of Inoes at Meals—Drink Habits—Writing—
Map—Inoes Character, Origin, Etc.—Nootska—
Tootoomari—Arrival of Junks.
On the following day, two Oyakata (Ketchinza and
Kemon, the former an aged man) chiefs or overseers of
the Island, visited me. They took a minute inventory
of everything brought ashore. Everything seemed to
excite their curiosity—especially my books and letters.
They looked intensely at every article, first one way
then another, and then would talk about it. Last of all,
they opened my keg of provisions. Being religiously
abstainers from meat, they were horror struck in find¬
ing the beef and pork. After a long consultation they
examined the pieces with a long fork.
I spent the afternoon in writing Ino words on my
slate; an occupation which seemed to amuse the on¬
lookers.
The people I was now among were not Japanese
proper, but Inoes 177 pronounced (Eye-nose) who are
tributary to the former.
177 Francis L. Hawks [op. cit. i, 454-455] describes the Ainu or
“Hairy Kuriles” as the indigenous race on the island of Yesso and a wild,
dirty people whose chief occupation was fishing. Dr. P. F. von Siebold
remarks on the analogy between the Japanese and Koreans and those
Kurilians who occupy the islands of Yesso and Tarakai or Karafto.
In Golownin’s time the boundry between the Kurile and the Japanese
villages on the Island of Yezo lay 150 or 200 versts (between 100 and
134 miles) distant from Chokodade. Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit.,
i, 122.
The Japanese called the other part of the island Ainu-Kfumi or
country of the Ainu. Also Einzo-zi or Einso—this in time became the
Es-so or Yezo of today. Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., iii, 237-238.
G. H. von Langsdorff, [op. cit., i, 333] says: “The proper name of
the island, is Jesso, and the inhabitants are called Ainu. It is very
probable that in ancient times Jesso was the name given to the whole
164 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
The two Oyakatas, on leaving, gave me a present of
preserved ginger.
In the evening I reconnoitered the outbuildings, and
amongst them, remarked a small one, which I was told,
was a place of worship.
There was nothing in it; and I never saw anyone en¬
ter it. The only acts of worship I witnessed here were
performed, morning and evening, by the Japanese, at
an altar in the dwelling house. The altar was some¬
what like a small book case, placed against the wall, and
decorated with very hideous images of fantastic shape.
The ceremonies were simple:
Before saying prayers, saki was placed on the altar;
a bell was then rung to call the attention of the god or
gods; the worshippers, kneeling then clapped their
hands, and with the fingers up-turned, assumed the atti¬
tude and look of devotion. Sometimes, however, I re¬
marked that the hands were clasped and the thumbs
crossed. They appeared to be very particular as to the
manner of holding their hands in the act of prayer.
island; but since the Japanese have driven the Ainu to the north and
possessed themselves completely of the southern part of the island,
the northern part only has retained its original appellation.” “In the
language of all the people who belong to the Kurilian tribes, Aino or
Ainu signifies Man, and is the name they give themselves. According
to my investigations as a linguist, the Kurilian tribes seem to be spread
from the southernmost point of Kamchatka to Japan, over all of this
range of, and the whole coast of what is falsely called Chinese Tartary
below the Amur, to the place where the Ussuri-Uka falls into the sea.”
G. H. von Langsdorff, op cit., 328, note by von Klaproth. “The ex¬
pression of their countenance was friendly and benevolent; they had
tolerably large eyes, rather high cheek bones, a somewhat broad and
compressed nose, and among most the cheeks and chin were overgrown
with long black beards. They had a language of their own, but under¬
stood some Japanese words, and, as far as we could comprehend them,
seemed to disavow being Japanese or belonging to Japan.” G. H. von
Langsdorff, op. cit., i, 328.
Ainu (plural Ainues), used by Von Langsdorff, is now the accepted
spelling rather than Ino, Inoes and Ainos, as used by our author.
Japan Story of Adventure
165
Only the Matsmai people , 178 so far as I saw, go through
this form. I never saw the Inoes worship at any altar;
but before commencing their meals (consisting gener¬
ally of rice, fish and saki) they pour the liquor into a
bowl, and, with chop stick, sprinkle it in four directions
—first, towards heaven, as an offering to the sun; then
to the right, to the god of the Sea; then to the left, to the
god of the Earth; and forwards, to the god of Fire.
This explanation was given me by the—I believe—ever
veracious Tangaro; of whom, more anon.
Inoes—I may observe—are very fond of saki, and
their employers are not backward in supplying them
with it, so long as there are wages out of which it can
be paid. However, I must say that I never saw any of
them intoxicated.
On the third day after my arrival, Kechinza, ac¬
companied by a number of men, returned, and told
me that he was going to Soya , 179 the nearest military
station—about twenty miles off—to report me. Be¬
fore his departure he went to the altar; rang the bell,
178 Matsumai is the name of the principal town on the Island of
Jesso; it signifies the “Town of Firs,” Von Langsdorff, op. cit., 323, note.
Capt. V. M. Golownin stated that it was named from one of the titles of
the Japanese prince who originally bought the site and a part of the South¬
west coast of the island from the Ainu. Golownin, op. cit., iii, 239-237.
Matsumai now appears on the map as “Fukuyama.” Yezo (Mac Donald’s
Jesso) in Japanese now signifies “uncivilized” or “barbarous” from the
Ainus or “hairy Kuriles,” who originally inhabited the entire island.
Yezo is now called Hokkaido on recent maps of Japan.
179 Soya is on the main Island of Yezo near the northernmost cape
of the same name. The distance from the Island of Rishiri is about 30
miles.
“At Soya, the most western point of land, some Japanese are
established under a civil officer. They are here by order of the Japanese
government to watch the coast; and the officer, with two sabres at his
side, came in virtue of his office on board our ship to enquire who we
were .... he appeared to be a sensible man, and, as far as we could
judge, well informed; he showed a great deal of geographical knowl¬
edge . He knew the name and situation of Kamschatka, and
talked about Ochotsk and America” G. H. von Langsdorff, op. cit., i,
332.
166 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
clasped his hands, remained some time in the attitude
of prayer, and then bade us farewell.
I remained here, when I first landed, about ten
days; under what I may call hospitable restraint, with
the privilege of rambling in the immediate vicinity.
There was nought in or about the place of man’s
work or of nature to delight the eye or please the
taste. The two villages, already alluded to, consisted
each, of a poor looking one story house, of wood, and
poorer huts. The inhabitants—Inoes—were nearly
all, by occupation, fishermen. The large house was
occupied by the Japanese in charge.
Tangaro, a very intelligent Japanese, one of the staff
in charge, in duty, and apparantly con amore, was my
constant companion. His desire to learn English
seemed to be intense. If ever man could be compared
to a point of interrogation he certainly could. Pointing
to objects, with eye, and mouth and ear open, and in¬
tent, he would ask the names in English, which he
received with avidity, and seemed, in a way, to deep¬
ly impress upon the tablet of his memory. I could
not impose upon him: there was too much of that
child like credulity and faith in him that averts the
shafts of even idle ridicule. I was perhaps equally
anxious to learn his language. On the principle of
fair reciprocity, I insisted on his giving me Japan¬
ese, or whatever was his vernacular, for my English.
He did so.
Making—to the surprise of all; for we had comp¬
any at all times—a pen of a crow quill, I commenced
a phonographic vocabulary of his words and common
colloquial expressions, Japanese. I continued this af¬
terwards, at intervals, during my imprisonment in the
country.
Japan Story of Adventure
167
I was soon given to understand that it was con¬
trary to rule and desire for me to do so. Still 1 man¬
aged to keep up my notes, and the habit.
Tangaro wrote with a brush, Japanese fashion, in
vertical columns, from top downwards, the columns
ranged from right to left.
The characters of his writing I would take for Chi¬
nese, mainly, with others (their own) of simpler form.
However, I don’t know Chinese, but when I see it, rec¬
ognize it, or think so.
During my stay at this place, after Kechinza had
started for Soya, this Tangaro (or Tankaro—it is dif¬
ficult to express in letters, the precise pronunciation
of the consonants, though not so of the vowels, which
are all broadly Roman—this colloquial attendant let
me call him) one day led me into a field of long
coarse standing grass near the sea shore, some distance
from the village. Squatting down he invited me to do
the same; which I did. He then pulled from its con¬
cealment in his dress, a map of Japan, coloured, and ap¬
parently well executed, but lacking the lines of lati¬
tude and longitude. Before proceeding to the exam¬
ination of it, or rather of me on it, he cautiously rose
a little and peered over the friendly grass. Why he
did so, I will explain hereafter when speaking of the
secretiveness and system of espionage of the Japanese.
Directing my attention to the map, he asked me to
point out where my ship was when I left her or last
saw her. He also enquired whether I had been at the
Southern ports of Japan. We were now at or rather
beyond the extreme North of Japan proper. Yesso—
the homeland of the Inoes—being (as before said or
intimated) merely tributary to Japan, with a certainly
distinctive people in physique and mental and moral
168 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
characteristics—stronger in body on the whole; heav¬
ily bearded and very hairy generally—which the Jap¬
anese are not, in general—but morally inferior, in the
sense of being a subject race; but in that way only,
so far as I know, for I had no opportunity of judging of
their domestic life. To me they seemed a simple kind¬
ly people ; 180 and I shall ever gratefully remember their
Samaritan kindness to me.
Origin, Etc. of Inoes
I have been asked as to my idea of the origin and
racial features of these Inoes or Ainoes as the word
is also spelt in the books. I have never read up, spec¬
ially, on the subject of human races, but have seen a
great many of them in the course of my travels through,
I may say, every habitable zone of the globe, in both
hemispheres. I am specially familiar with the inhab¬
itants—natives and other—of the west and northwest
coasts of North America from San Francisco to Sit¬
ka. Amongst these, especially the Hydras and Bella
Coola coast Indians 181 of British Columbia, I remark
a striking similarity of physical type with my sturdy
friends of Yesso; but in disposition they differ much:
iso “They were extremely free and sociable in their behavior.” G. H.
von Langsdorff, op. cit i, 32.
18 iThe Bel-houla (Mayne, 1862), or Bellaghchoolas (Dunn, 1846)
are a branch of the great Hydra or Haidah Indian stock or family inhab¬
iting Queen Charlotte’s Island and the adjacent coast from Prince of
Wales Archipelago south to Bentnick Arm; a territory three hundred
miles long by one hundred fifty broad, including many separate tribes or
nations. They were great rovers and the vikings of the Northwest Coast.
Mackenzie named the Indian village at the mouth of the river “Rascals’
Village” on account of the hostile manner in which his party was re¬
ceived. They were exceedingly warlike and made frequent raids on the
more peaceful Indians to the south of them. Vessels trading among them
had to exercise extreme vigilence to protect both life and property. This
resemblance is merely superficial; see note 257, page 227.
Female Ainu
Headman Ainu Male Ainu
From a picture of 1854 in the “Tour of Yezo by Muragaki, Awajinokami.”
Japan Story of Adventure
169
The North West Coast Indians being all more or less
warlike, and of an independence of spirit which neith¬
er force nor kindness can subdue. Not that they are
unsusceptible of kindness or amity from the Whites,
but they will bend to no man, and are exceedingly
lordly, in their own, to all comers . 182
As to the origin—whence they came—of these Inoes,
my idea is that they came from the mainland of Asia,
by way of the peninsula of Sagalhien—the Tartar
Country.
When I got amongst them first my feeling was that
I had got into a nest of pirates of Tartars, with their
heavy beards, uncombed long hair, and unwashed
faces; they looked uncouth and wild, both in person
and dress, comparing very unfavorably in this respect,
with the clean, refined, and cultivated Japanese.
To return to the map.
The map, as one of Japan, was fuller and more
elaborate than any I had, or, in fact have ever seen.
Distances on it were indicated by marks of a day's
journey from the great bridge of Jeddo—or “Bas”
(Japanese for bridge) of Nipon 183 —the theoretical cen¬
tre of the country. What “a day’s journey” of Japan
is, I cannot say, but from the general slowness of Jap¬
anese movement, including travel, I would suppose it
182 Alexander Ross, an early Astorian and North West Company fur
trader, for nearly fifteen years in the Columbia River district, says:
“From Chili to Athabasca, and from Nootka to the Labrador, there is an
indescribable coldness about an American savage that checks familiarity.
He is a stranger to our fears, our joys or our sorrows; his eyes are
seldom moistened by a tear or his features relaxed by a smile; and
whether he basks beneath a vertical sun on the burning plains of
Amazonia, or freezes in eternal snow on the ice bound shores of the
Arctic Ocean; the same piercing black eyes and stern immobility of
countenance equally set at naught the skill of the physiognomist.”
183 Nippon-bashi; our author’s “Bas” is the short form for bashi-
bridge.
170 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
to be about ten or twelve of their miles— ri —which
are about two and a quarter of our miles—say about
twenty five of our miles, for a day.
In the location of the principal cities, and the gen¬
eral coast line, the map seemed to correspond with
ours of that part of the world. I remarked, how¬
ever, that in this Japanese map, what in our maps is
laid down as the Island of Yesso (large) is divided
into two islands 184 by a narrow strait. The parts rel¬
atively North Eastern and South Western. In the
latter is the City and port of Matsmai, the capital of
these and other neighbouring Ino Islands. This cap¬
ital is the residence of a Governor Vice-roy (Tajo ) 185
in Japanese government.
The Inoes, so far as I saw and could learn, have no
Government of their ov/n, but seem to be simply scat¬
tered individualities, in families, without any ostensible
communal organization; though there seems to have
been such, from the uniformity of their manner of life,
and subordination to their distinctive customs and re¬
ligion and to their Chief, so called; but how so consti¬
tuted, or being, I cannot say.
I may here state that this was the only purely Jap¬
anese map I ever saw.
The others which subsequently fell within my notice
appeared to me to be merely copies of European ones.
About the tenth day of my sojourn in this village—
which I now knew to bear the name of Nootska—
184 The reality is that Yezo and Saghalin are divided by the Straits
of Tsugaru. In some early maps published during Behring’s absence
Russian Kamchatka was delineated with so long an extension towards
the south that this peninsula was shown connected with Yezo.
18 5The Daimyo of Matsumae. “Tajo” is, correctly pronounced,
“Taisho,” meaning a general. In the bulgar language “taisho” is fre¬
quently used in the sense of “chief.”
Japan Story of Adventure
171
while standing at the window of my quarters, two
Junks passed Nootska Cove, and sailing round towards
Tootoomari, anchored at a considerable distance from
the village. (See sketch)
In the evening, the officers of the Junks came over
to Nootska. Like true Jacks ashore, they were jolly,
and, as shown by a present of sweet meats to myself,
were also generous.
Chapter VIII
Examination—Departure for Tootoomari—Residence
Confinement—Interpreters—Stay—Start, in Open
Boat, for Matsmai—Return to Soya.
On the following morning, my hosts told me to keep
within doors; and by way of impressing me with a due
sense of my position, they placed mats before my win¬
dow: a proceeding which rendered my then present
and future dark indeed.
Soon afterwards, half a dozen officers from the
Junks, with some soldiers visited me. These officials
were seated on the highest floor. I was provided with
a stool made for the occasion. To their questions as to
my name, and the whereabouts of my ship, etc., I an¬
swered, as I had done before to Tangaro, to the effect,
that the Captain and I did not agree; that I left his ship;
and that it had started for its port home.
My stores were again minutely examined, and in¬
ventoried, and a sketch made of every article of in¬
terest, such as my quadrant boat, kegs, and anchor.
They measured everything, even the thickness of the
chest. They scrutinized most particularly my woolens,
and took the height and dimensions of my person.
Being five feet eight inches in height, and very broad
172 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
shouldered and large chested—even stout in propor¬
tion, and muscular, I was something of a giant amongst
them, their average height being, I would say, about
five feet four inches or even less . 186
The examination being ended, we proceeded, on foot,
from Nootska to Tootoomari, by an apparently new
way.
My place in the march was between two officers
and two lines of Inoes. The chief of these Inoes was
dressed in a plain faded silk gown. As to myself, I
felt that ! was then in an awful state. I wore a cot¬
ton gown, which being too short by several inches was
a poor make shift for a dress of ceremony. One car¬
ried my pipe, another my tobacco pouch, and others
my mat and brazier with live coal for smoking. They
had no matches, nor flint and steel or anything of the
kind.
The Japanese are great smokers, and pride them¬
selves on the quality and variety of their tobacco. It
is a stock subject of conversation with them.
But to return to our march.
Ever and anon I was respectfully asked if I was
tired. Notwithstanding my response in the negative,
they stopped at about two miles from our starting point;
and spreading mats, squatted and smoked. More, of
course, was thought than said. Conversation by signs
—our only means of conversation then, in our unbliss¬
ful ignorance of each other’s language—was incon¬
venient to the dignity of our smoking: but if looks did
not belie, we were as one in the friendly calumet—
the magic weed giving forth its incense of peace and
186 Golownin records that he and his companions were like-wise
carefully measured by the Japanese. Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., i,
255. See appendix II-B, page 275, for Japanese record.
Japan Story of Adventure
173
soothing solace on the motley crowd of the prisoner
and his keepers.
At about five miles from Nootska we arrived at Toot-
oomari . 187 Here we were met by a band of Inoes. On
approaching the village they took off my hat. They all
went bareheaded except the two officers. Curtains of
cotton, striped, of various colours , 188 were put up along
each side of the street or way on our line of march.
Why these curtains were so used I never could find
out . 189 If intended for concealment from my view
they certainly did not answer the purpose, for I could
see over them.
The colours on the curtains were principally black,
red, and blue, according—so I afterwards learnt to the
insignia of the different feudal families.
I was led into the principal house, and into a room
about twelve feet square, with a grating of wooden
bars about four inches in thickness, and the same apart.
The place—an ordinary dwelling—was clean. Be¬
ing well fed, kindly attended, and amply supplied with
all conveniences, with the luxuries of tea and tobacco
ad libitum, I had no reason to complain of my quar¬
ters.
187 Pontomari is about 3 l / 2 miles from Notsuka.
188 The stripes are usually red and white, black and white, or blue
and white, put alternately and the number of stripes five. These cur¬
tains are hung in order to conceal from sight ugly things on the way-
side. See next note, also Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., i, 47, 125, 179,
275; also Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 122.
189 “The houses, as well by the water-side as all along the place,
with the fortresses and guard houses, were covered with hangings, on
which were the imperial arms and those of Fisi, so that we could see
nothing of the houses or the people, nor could they see anything of us
. The reason of this, the interpreters told us, was, that the
common people might be kept off, since they were not worthy to see
so Great a Man as the ambassador face to face.” G. H. von Langsdorff,
op. cit., i, 303-305. This curtaining of the house, etc., was the mark of
authority—government—civil or military and an old and universal cus¬
tom. The common name of the Yedo Government was Bakufu—that is
General’s Court. The vulgar were not supposed to know—only obey.
174 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
A day or two after our arrival at Tootoomari, the
officers left me, with the exception of Meyanzima, 190
a young man about twenty-two years of age. He and
Tangaro were then my special guardians. 1 remained
in this prison about thirty days, during which I quit¬
ted the room or cage only thrice, and then solely for
a bath in the house.
It was a beautiful day in the forepart of August that
I left Tootoomari: without regret; with high hopes
that in a month or two, I would be released, and be at
liberty.
On leaving the house, I went to my friend Kemon
who was kneeling on a mat by the door, where it was
for the occasion. He rose up, and I gave him my
right hand, using the word (which I had picked up)
Sionara / 191 (farewell).
He appeared to be much affected. Our conversa¬
tion did not last long, for the officers appeared to be
anxious to see me on board the Junk. I was escorted
by two officers and six soldiers. The road leading
down to the water was lined on each side by a great
many Inoes—men, women, and children, who saluted
us as we passed them on our way to the junk. The
procession was led by two Inoe chiefs; then Kechinza
and Kemon; next a soldier, then myself with two at¬
tendants behind me; then followed the rest of the sold¬
iers, the officers bringinig up the rear. It might have
been about ten o’clock in the forenoon when the two
Junks left the little bay.
One of the Junks having a small covering was al-
loted to the guard and me: the other had our baggage;
it also had my boat, for the Japanese would not suf-
I90 Shonosuke Miyajima, a foot Samurai.
191 Sayonara.
Japan Story of Adventure
175
fer it to touch the water. Our crew consisted of an
Oyakata from Soya who acted as Captain, a Chief of
the Inoes whose dress consisted of a faded silk frock
trimmed with gold, distinguishing him from the rest—-
and nineteen men. Twelve of these had oars, using
them as we do, but with a dip action rather than a
pull: six used sculling oars, aft, two men to each.
These sculling oars were peculiar, large, broad in the
blade—blade and shaft not in line, but the former, at
an angle, downwards, in the water, where worked by
a lateral alternate movement—true sculling — with
great power; on the principle of our ship screw pro-
pellor; the blade slightly concave. On the way, the
crew, when at work, were constantly singing or utter¬
ing some refrain to time their movements: the scull¬
ers, with their quicker action, did not sing, but ex¬
claimed, rapidly, something like “I see you, I see you !”
or “Yos in yo ! Yes in yo !—-those in forward, rowing,
sang a great variety of songs—pretty much as we
do—one singing a piece, then all joining in chorus.
They all had fine, pleasant voices.
About one o’clock, dinner was served. The Inoes
collected round their noon meal.
In eating and drinking they observed the same cere¬
mony, on board, as they did on shore.
About two o’clock the officers’ dinner was served,
and I was invited to share it with them.
It consisted of boiled rice, fish cooked in different
ways, and a variety of pickles. Everything was served
in beautifully japanned wooden bowls on wooden trays
which were also japanned.
At the time of my embarkation at Tootoomari, I was
desired by the Officers to occupy the covered part of
the Junk. I entered it, crawling on my hands and
176 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
knees. It was with great difficulty that I could sit
straight although sitting cross legged. I told the of¬
ficers about it; and asked them to give me permission
to go out; but they objected to this, so that I had to
make myself contented. During the time I was in, I
suffered a great deal of pain, so it was with joy that I
saw the table laid outside, for then I knew I would
have an opportunity to get out, and be able to stretch
my legs. However, after dinner, I was told by the of¬
ficers 1 could go out and in as I pleased.
On the passage we had very light and variable winds
—the sails sometimes set, and sometimes not—but by
incessantly applying the oars we entered the Bay of
Soya about 6 P. M. On approaching the coast we
saw but few boats. When any were seen, the officers
would direct my attention towards them and say “Am¬
erican Ship !” but on looking I could easily distinguish
them from such and would answer “No! No!” with
a shake of the head.
As soon as we were observed entering the Bay, a
number of boats, manned by men and women, came
off and towed us in. We were received on the land¬
ing by a number of soldiers dressed, not in uniform,
as I expected, but in mantles, 192 generally of black silk,
with their coat -of-arms figured on the back and on each
sleeve; 193 they also had on a pair of wide trousers. 194
The officers were armed with two swords, 195 and the
privates with one.
192 The “haori.”
193 The Japanese always have their coat of arms put on their cloaks.
Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 277.
194 The “hakama.”
195 To the lower orders, a sword was strictly prohibited. The next
in rank, tjonen, were permitted to wear one sword. The higher orders—
Samurai—wore two swords—on the same side, one above the other—
Officers and Foot-soldiers—Captain, on horseback
From a picture of 1853.
i
Japan Story of Adventure
177
Before we left the Junk, Omibia Shegune 196 came on
board, and appeared to be very glad to see me. He
inquired after my health, by pointing to the head and
making use of the word “sick”, which he had learnt
when with me in Dessery. After being assured of my
good health, he arranged the order of procession.
On marching up to my prison I remarked the order
or march: first, went eight men, two abreast; then
Simeza, 197 then myself, next followed by two attend¬
ants, then a number of soldiers; the rear brought up
by the Officers.
The sides of the streets through which we passed
were all curtained off. I also saw some, at a short dis¬
tance, painted in imitation of forts. On the landing,
the Inoes were seated on each side of the road, and
bending to the passers bye with their accustomed civ¬
ility. In the Square where the Government House
is situated, were a number of Officers with their men
holding their flags and lances, to whom each person
bent, in passing, so as to touch the feet with the fin¬
gers. Not wishing to follow their manner, I only
touched my hat. The officers seeing this, sent word
to Tangaroo to tell me to take off my cap, which I
did.
I was then taken to the door of Government House,,
where I saw the Commandant 198 seated on the mats,
these were never, by any chance, laid aside. See Mrs. W. Buck, op. cit.,
21; also Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 123.
196 Oba was one of the superintendents of foot-Samurai, stationed
at Soya in 1848 and his name appears among the escort of MacDonald
and frequently in the following pages of this book.
197 Teikichi Shimizu, a soldier who was also stationed at Soya in
1848 and became a member of MacDonald’s escort.
1 98 Captain Toyoshichi Sato who commanded the Soya military sta¬
tion in 1848. His name appears in the “Memoranda of the foreigners
forewarded to Nagasaki and their escort.”
178 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
with an officer on each side of him. No word, nor
salutation passed between us. I was told by Ombia
to enter the house; which I did, and was conducted
to a newly built prison: it was slightly put together, as
if built in a hurry. According to appearances, 1 thought
it was not their intention to keep me there long. It
had two apartments; one for the guard, and one for
me. Both rooms were carpeted with clean mats. They
wished to know whether 1 was satisfied.
I told Tangaro to tell them that a prison was not
good for me: that I would not make compliments to
any body with the bars and gratings between us. The
officers told me to seat myself on a bench which they
kindly provided for me. They then asked me whether
I did not suffer from the heat, that if 1 did, they would
make alterations to suit me. I told them I wanted
room to walk, the room allotted to me being only
about twelve feet long and eight wide, with a wash
room &c. They told me that whenever I wished to
walk 1 could also use the other room, so that by having
my door open I could have a range of about twenty
feet. 1 also told them that I wanted more air. They
—through the interpretation of Tangaro — informed
me, that they would, on the morrow, have the win¬
dows open during the evening.
A great many officers came into my prison: no
doubt from curiosity. After they left me, Tangaro
came in with a small box containing sweetmeats, which
he offered me in the name of the Oyakata : 199 nothing
was sent or offered in the name of Saddo, 200 the Com¬
mandant.
The next day, an inventory of my goods and chat-
J99 The Daimyo of Matsumae.
200 x. Sato of the previous note.
Japan Story of Adventure
179
tels was taken in the presence of Saddo, (Saddo Sama
as his proper title was) 201 in the guard room; most of his
officers were there: they were mostly young men.
He himself was a person of seventy-four years of
age (as I was informed), but has the appearance of
only fifty.
On his entering the guard room, all the officers—
who had ranged themselves round the room and my
prison—bowed their faces to the ground.
Bars being between us, I kept my seat on the bench,
silent and still. Nothing was said to me. Everything
was closely inspected. My Quadrant, some India rub¬
ber, and my slate appeared to excite their special cur¬
iosity.
At this place, the Officers very often cautioned me
against drinking too much water, and, instead, gave my
keepers tea for my use. I also got from the soldiers
parched rice boiled in water.
By Meanzima and other officers who were one day
collected in my prison to hear the wonders of the
world, from me, I was told that there were five can¬
non in Soya, and about a hundred officers and soldiers,
but that in case of need they could be reinforced from
other stations.
They told me that there was only one doctor in the
place; attached to the military force there; that he was
at the time visiting in the neighborhood, and would not
return for some days.
They also told me that the second in command had
left, but that I would see him, for he was expected
daily. Shortly after, one afternoon, while looking out
of the window, Meanzima touched me lightly on the
201 Sama is a mere honorific address, corresponding with our Mr.
(Mon Siuer), or “Esquire” in its common application, or even “Lord” in
its lower and purely complimentary sense.—[Original.]
180 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
shoulder, which made me turn round, and see a figure
before me, whereupon I turned to Meanzima for an ex¬
planation. In answer he pronounced the word (in
English) “Doctor!” 202 I then guessed he was the
person expected. His head was thoroughly shaved.
Noticing me, he was in the act of saluting me in his
own (Japanese) fashion, but not seeing me go on my
knees like him, but standing, giving only a formal bow,
he also bowed, 203 but only when on his knees. He
brought me some sweet-meats. Asked where I had
come from: what was my name, and age. I told him.
Before leaving, he wished to know whether I was sick.
I answered him, No !—but he would not be satisfied
till he felt my pulse. I put out my tongue, but that
frightened him. Japanese don’t regard the tongue in
such case.
He, and several other officers also asked me wheth¬
er America, England, and France were larger than Yes-
so. Being answered that they were larger, one of them
replied that he could not believe it; but that, in any case
202 The doctor was called Yoseki Kakizake. In those times priests
and physicians of the higher class shaved the head quite bald, while
surgeons retained all their hair gathered into a knot at the top of the
head. Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., iii, 122; Charles Peter Thunberg,
op. cit., iii, 175-179. Mrs. W. Buck, op. cit., 21.
203 The Japanese are very rigid in requiring the same (equal) atti¬
tude, courtesies, salutations. “In their intercourse with each other, the
Japanese, of every rank, are extremely polite; their mutual obligingness
and polished behavior, attest the real civilization of the people. Capt.
V. M. Golownin, op. cit., iii, 35. “With respect to courtesy and submis¬
sion to their superiors, few can be compared to the Japanese. Their
equals they always salute with great politeness both at meeting and
parting.” Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 254-255. Their behavior,
from the meanest peasant up to the greatest prince and lord, is such as
the whole Empire might be called a school of civility and good manners.”
Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., iii, 110, 111. We found the people of
distinction here uniformly polite and courteous in their manners, but for
their language and costume, we might have supposed ourselves among
the most polished Europeans. A. H. von Langsdorff, op. cit., i, 241.
Hawks, [op. cit., i, 247, 249] mentions their studied politeness.
Japan Story of Adventure
181
Japan was larger—his words being “Tevan toghin tchn-
sin and datur were”, 204 or something like that. Under¬
standing very little Japanese, yet, the conversation was,
mainly, through the interpreter.
One day—a week before I left—I noticed the Offi¬
cers were all dressed in their holiday clothes.
I enquired the cause of it. They informed me it
was Sunday (Tsitase or Ositats). I said I thought
they had no Sunday. They told me they had two ev¬
ery month, viz: on the first and fourteenth of every
month. 205 They told me also, at the same time, that I
was to go away in a few days: that they were going
to pray for fair and prosperous winds.
The same afternoon, Saddo-Sama attended with of¬
ficers, paying me a visit. He inquired after my health.
He also formally told me that I would leave, soon as
the wind was fair, in a small Junk which he had pro¬
vided: that he would not detain me any longer, be¬
cause he was aware that I would like to go away; but
he hoped that the large Junk would arrive while we
were waiting for a fair wind. Before leaving, he came
up to the bars (of my cage) and made me a formal
bow, which I returned, with my thanks for their trou¬
ble. From these officers, I received every attention;
tea, sugar, pipe, tobacco, all such luxuries being sup¬
plied by them without my asking. I was allowed to
204 These words are so corrupted that little meaning can be made
out of them. The Japanese name for Formosa Island is Taiwan, and
the probable sense of the remark was that Japan with Formosa and
other Islands, whose names are corrupted beyond recognition, was cer¬
tainly larger than America, England and France.
205 The first and the fifteenth, not the fourteenth, were ceremonial
holidays. See Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit iii, 88. The first day is
called “tsuitachi,” but as MacDonald left Soya on the 26th of the 7th
month “Ositats” a week before that day, cannot be the first day of the
month.
182 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
read my books, but they did not allow me to keep
my own key.
Their reason was that the common people should not
see anything 1 had, but whenever I wanted any clothes
or books out, all I had to do was to mention it, and I got
them. On such occasion, Ombia, who kept the key,
and four or five others used to be present to see what I
took out, and what 1 returned into the chest.
The following day, Tangaro left me, to return to
Dessery or Desserai. There were tears in his eyes while
he was saying he was sorry he would never see me
again. We shook hands warmly, at parting. (“Sio-
nara.”) His place, as interpreter, was taken by the
person who had been keeper of Inoes over George
Howe 206 and his party. He was so appointed on ac¬
count of his slight knowledge of English. Musko 201
the boy attendant, often expressed his wish to go to
Matsmai and Nagasaki with me. Liking the bright boy,
I spoke to Ombia to get permission from Saddo to al¬
low him to go, which he did and succeeded, so far as
Matsmai.
The next day, at dawn, I was called up by the boy.
There was a fair wind. The baggage was all taken on
board. After breakfast the officers came into my pris¬
on to bid me farewell. Each shook hands with me on
parting. Meanzima stayed with me till the last. He
said that he also was going to Matsmai, as well as the
rest of the soldiers. I asked him at what time they
would leave. He told me in about fifteen days, but that
they were going overland, and that it would take them
206 George Howe was the second mate of the whaler “Lawrence,”
shipwrecked May 27, 1846, see note 175, page 161.
207 Mus(moos)ko means “son” and sometimes “young boy”; musume
means “daughter” or “girl.”
Japan Story of Adventure
183
thirty days, whereas as I was going by water in the
Junk, if we had a fair wind I would reach Matsmai in
eight or ten days; if contrary winds, in fifteen or twenty
days.
All the soldiers were dressed in uniform, and
marched down to the jetty. Along side of it was the
Junk—another similar to the one I had come in from
Dessery. They made me go on board of her first, then
followed Ombia, the Doctor, and five other officers be¬
sides a number of private soldiers. All of those remain¬
ing testified their regret, by one after another coming
to me to bid me “sionara” (farewell!).
At about one o’clock we arrived at a small fishing vil-
age called after my second keeper—I forget his name
—who, I believe, was the owner of the fishery, and
probably of the Junk we had.
While at dinner on shore a large Junk was observed
to pass. It was the long expected Junk. Every one of
the party appeared to be pleased, except myself; for by
continuing the voyage in the small Junk I would have
had an opportunity of seeing towns and other places
on the way, it being impossible to sleep in the little open
Junk—one of about twelve or fifteen tons, open for
rowers, of whom there were twelve or fifteen—with no
accomodation for sleeping on board. We would have
had to put ashore every night, to sleep; even for meals
we had to do so.
After dinner we returned to Soya, there to await the
sailing of the large Junk, as she had to take a cargo of
fish. The following day the Captain of the Junk came
to see me. He told me I would be pleased with the
cabin and be comfortable; that I would have plenty of
room. He had learned how I was discommoded in the
other.
184 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Chapter IX
Embark on Junk for Matsmai—Description of Junk
Voyage—Stop on Way—Arrival at Matsmai-—Re¬
ception—Display on Vessel—Harbor—Crowd of
Boats—Crowd of People—English Terms, Etc.—
Informed of Transport to Nagasaki—Asked to Stay
—Refused—Kindly Treated on Board
After a week spent in discharging and reloading the
Junk, I was shipped on board of her with a number of
officers and soldiers. The streets, as before were cur¬
tained along my line of march. Some of the curtains,
this time, were pure white, with the coat of arms of the
Prince of Matsmai and Yesso, and some were painted
with port holes in black. 208 I was told again there were
some cannon in Soya; but I saw none.
The Junk, now ready, was covered with white cur¬
tains (cotton sheeting) with painted port holes repre¬
senting the grin of war—the false teeth 209 of a people
who have long and happily chewed the cud of a fancied
and certainly traditional invincibility, who cannot yet
be said—so far as I know—to have felt the touch of
any naval power, ancient or modern.
They have never yet been conquered. Arrived where
they are, in the van of the movement of our scattered
humanity from its traditional cradle in Mesopotamia,
by wanderings beyond records, and with scarce trace,
they have ever remained there , in their impregnable
fortress of a well-guarded Ultima Thule.
On the quarter deck of the vessel, for banners, along
208 This notion—so common among foreigners—of portholes is a mis¬
conception of the crests or heraldic patterns on the curtains.
209 Our author did not know the facts as indicated in the preceeding
note.
Japan Story of Adventure
185
the guards, was a forest of spears, upright, with glitter¬
ing steel heads, shining shafts, ornamented with gold
and silver and mother of pearl, and appended were
elaborate sheaths, of finest fur, for the spear heads; and
—strangest of all—suspended from the high prow of
the vessel, almost to the water, was an enormous swab,
apparently of hair or fibre, or fine strips like such, a
veritable Neptune’s shaving brush.
I am not imaginative—at least not abnormally so-—
but I must confess that that huge black swab of hair,
etc.—large as a tar barrel—did puzzle me not a little.
There was no other figure head. Painted port holes
for imaginary cannon, and uncovered spear heads were
plain enough, and spoke for themselves; but an enor¬
mous ugly dangling “what you may call it,” swinging
and dipping with the motion of the waves, into the
limpid sea, was beyond my comprehension. Utility
condemned it—called not for it; unless, indeed, it were
an offering to Yebis, the Neptune of Japan.
Left to myself, oft and long to meditation free, I
often, idly, thought of it, when lying in my cabin,
cribbed and thought-weary, in the solitude of my prison
on the ever-rocking sea. To ask about it I knew, from
experience, would be useless—so, there, I left it, hang¬
ing, like Mahomet’s coffin, between sea and sky—in¬
tangible to my fancy’s utmost stretch.
We embarked by crawling through a port hole about
three feet in height, opening directly into a main saloon,
where I found a number of officers seated, Japanese
fashion, on mats. The highest military officer seemed
to have supreme command on board.
Tea and refreshments were served, in compliment, to
such as were to return to shore.
Map of west coast of Yesso (now called Hokkaido), showing route
by which MacDonald reached Matsmae (now
called Fukuyama)
From Perry’s map of 1855, compiled from Von Siebold’s
Japan Story of Adventure
187
Ombia, who on my first landing acted as director,
now rejoined us, and was my welcomed guard.
They put me into a small cabin towards the stern of
the vessel. Pointing to the lines hanging up, and to an
iron rod over a foot in length and an inch and a half
in diameter, they gave me to understand that prisoners
attempting to escape are knocked with the latter and
bound with the former.
Though a prisoner, they gave me the run of the deck.
As a Japanese Junk is not a thing of every-day sight to
foreigners, I shall try to give a description of this one.
Description of Junk
It was of about two hundred tons burden; a size
above the ordinary. The bow was high and sharp; poop
still higher; the general longitudinal section an ellipse;
deck not flush, but with a rise amidship, for cargo;
stern, square above water; probably rounded with due
water lines, below—I could not see on this point; rud¬
der, large and heavy, with tiller about twenty feet in
length; no rudder chains nor wheel for steering.
Generally, there was only one man at the tiller, steer¬
ing, in the day time by compass, in view, and at night
according to the watch, the calls being made from below
by the watch at the compass there.
There was only one mast, about forty feet in height;
one yard; a square and a lug sail, of course, canvas.
Sometimes a temporary mast was rigged.
The sails were reefed from below by securing the
points to transverse bars on deck. The crew consisted
of about twenty-four sailors. The anchor was a grap¬
pling iron with four flukes, not sharp but square. The
hawser was in no respect extraordinary. The operations
of weighing anchor and hoisting the main sail were per-
188 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
formed with a sort of Spanish windlass or capstan be¬
tween the lower and upper decks, fixed to each, the
beam being perforated with two holes through which
the working poles were put; they had no pauls or
ketches. The haulyards were rove through the upper
deck, and secured on the lower to bitts for the purpose.
With such a rig, in such a vessel, freighted with fish
salted and dried, and with kelp, did I enjoy a lubberly
voyage from one prison to another.
Our general course was from point to point. Some
of the bays were so large and deep that land was out
of sight for ten or twelve hours at a time. Having run
short of provisions and water, we dropped anchor off
a village of about forty houses. They refused to tell
me its name, and also to allow me to land.
The Oyakata (Mayor or Chief) of the place came
on board. He kindly gave me a present of some fruit.
About noon of the fifteenth day of our voyage (Sep¬
tember 7th) we entered the port of Matsmai. Its dis¬
tance from Soya, as we sailed, I estimated at about
three hundred and fifty miles. We were much re¬
tarded by calms.
Before entering port I was summoned into my cabin.
In the main cabin—I should have stated—there was an
altar, of wood like cedar, about three feet in length and
four in height, two feet of this being like a box, the
other two feet draped with silk curtains.
It was adorned with pictures of man with heads
shaven, and surrounded with a circle of glory. Devo¬
tional services were performed before this altar, at rise
and set of the sun, by the Captain and cabin passen¬
gers. They did so by kneeling before the altar, at open¬
ing the door of it, clapping hands to summon to prayer,
Japan Story of Adventure
189
and calling out “Namma noa-soe, Namma noos!” 210
All then joined in prayer, telling their pea-sized black
beads, in a mumbling tone for about twenty minutes.
The sailors went into a place like an alcove, with chec-
quered board over head, and there prayed, in the same
way. Such was the Japanese manner of prayer which,
as at Nootska, came under my observation.
I have described what I saw in this way at Nootska.
On all these occasions the worshippers seemed earnest¬
ly devout.
But to return to our voyage! It was in the beginning
of September that we arrived at Matsmai. We passed
a number of small Islands on the Southern part of the
Island of Matsmai.
The vessel on arrival was dressed out with a number
of small flags and the Government flag of Matsmai;
the lances of the officers planted as before described,
at regular distances round the poop. We seemed to ex¬
cite the surprise of a number of fishing boats.
On entering the Bay—a magnificent one—we lost
the wind and nearly lay becalmed. Previous to this, I
was told by the officers to keep below, and was con¬
fined in the officers’ apartment; but I could hear the
sail flap and the noise cease. Soon afterwards I heard
the sound of boats, and was told that they came to tow
our Junk into harbor.
During the afternoon I could hear the noise of sev¬
eral boats around us and the voices of many strangers.
Through a chink in the partition I could see a number
of strange sailors who had come to assist, but no offi¬
cers besides our own. I saw one of our own make his
210 Namu Amida Butsu—Sacred Eternal Buddha—the usual petition
and ejaculatory response. Namy miyo ho henge kyo—another petition
or ascription of the Nichiren sect. See Wm. Elliott Griffis’ The Mikado's
Empire, chapter XVI.
190 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
exit through a port hole into a boat and direct its head
towards the shore. I was told that he had gone to re¬
port our arrival to the chief. I saw him return shortly,
and not long after he was followed by a great many
boats full of Japanese officers. Two of them appeared
to have excited a great deal of confusion among our
officers. They appeared to be superior. For their re¬
ception, mats were spread on the steps and all around
the cabin.
Then all were silent; not a whisper could be heard,
nothing but the noise of the water occasioned by the
arrival of the boats struck the ear. They first passed
up a couple of camp stools, and then followed, these
two distinguished officers who exchanged compliments
with the military officers of the Junk. Then followed,
some thirty or forty inferior officers and soldiers who
made their compliments in coming in and took their
seats on the mats provided for them.
I now noticed all eyes turned in the direction of my
door, and saw two men rise to go to it, no doubt to re¬
move—as I supposed—the sliding doors, for my pre¬
sentation. I moved myself from my place of observa¬
tion, and waited for them to call me out. But I was mis¬
taken. The partition was removed, and I was at once
in their presence. The manner of such exhibition—so
dramatic—annoyed me. I felt, however, I had to do
something; though no one spoke, nor moved, in the
way of formal presentation or direction to me. Rising
with as much dignity as I could command to one knee,
1 made my compliments on one knee, with wave of
hand and with dignified respect to the assemblage gen¬
erally. It was received stoically.
The officer on my left appeared to be the Chief—a
person about five feet six inches in height with remark-
Japan Story of Adventure
191
ably large eyes, plump, and with healthy countenance.
His first exclamation was “Nipongin !” 211 —whatever
that was. He was dressed in a pair of wide silk trou¬
sers, of large pattern, with garters below the knees, the
bottoms inserted in the tops of his v/hite linen mocas¬
sins, and a mantle of black silk with the coat of arms
or “Mondogro” 212 of the Government of Matsmai. After
a little while, of silent regard of me, he turned towards
and he nodded in the direction of the other officers
and said “ Nagasaki” (pronounced Nangasaki) “go
away Tajo!”—(or Tasho—pronounced with a slight
sibilation).
From that I inferred that the officer thus addressed
was to be the chief of the party that was to take me to
Nagasaki. The first officer then spoke to one of the in¬
ferior officers, who slid on the mats, on his knees, and
took a position along side of me. He, by odd words of
English and signs made himself understood to me, and
interpreted to his superior what he said to me in Eng¬
lish and what I said. He commenced this way:
Pronounced the word “Carpenter”; then made a
sign, namely the act of hitting with a hammer with the
right hand, and bringing the left thumb and forefinger
together, as if holding a nail, said “Ship.” By which,
I understood that they would repair a ship for my con¬
veyance to Nagasaki—at the other end, almost extreme
south of Japan, about a thousand miles away, by sea.
I then asked—“Why take all that trouble? Why not
allow me to remain among you?”
Anxious to have the answer of the Chief man to this,
211 “Nipponjin” (nippon jin) means a Japanese. The officer struck
by MacDonald’s resemblance to the Japanese, used the word with an
exclamatory inflection—“A Japanese!”
212 Mondokoro.
192 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
I asked the interpreter to interpret to him what I said.
Which he did. The only result was a loud laugh, and
answer of “No! No!—Nagaski!—go away!”
The Chief again spoke to the interpreter, who inter¬
preted to me, but very obscurely. The purport, as I
gathered was, that I should not sleep on board, but on
shore in a house provided by the chief.
They left me with the assurance that they would
come for me as soon as they had every thing prepared.
The sliding doors were again closed; but after they had
left the ship one of the doors was removed for the ad¬
mission of air. 1 whiled away the time by smoking my
Japanese pipe and tobacco, talking to Musko; pacing
my room; and sipping tea giving Musko employment
to supply me. It was a close room; and the weather
sultry. In regard to creature comforts I certainly had
no reason to complain, but on the contrary, they were,
all, aboundingly kind and ever kindly to me.
Chapter X
Crowd on Disembarkment—Carried in Palanquin—
Arrive at a Small Town—Singular, but Kindly Re¬
ception—Signs of Former Occupants, Prisoners—
McCoy and Others, Crew of Ladoga—Fate—Er-
maetz, Sea Port—Departure in Larger Junk—
Friendly Farewell—Kind Treatment—Manner of
Eating—All Writers and Readers—Paper, Etc.—
Writing—Books.
At about half past six in the evening, the officers who
had come with me, came to me, all dressed, and told me
that the boats were ready to take us ashore. On getting
to the gangway, I saw the harbor—a large bay—liter-
Japan Story of Adventure
193
ally covered with boats—junks and boats covered with
flags and lights (paper lanterns).
A sign was made to me by Ombia to enter a boat next
the vessel, and to occupy the centre, where a number of
clean mats were spread. The six officers followed me,
forming a circle around me. It was with great diffi¬
culty we could extricate ourselves from the junks and
boats. We several times came in contact and got en¬
tangled with other boats; but happily no accident oc¬
curred.
We all landed safely on shore, where a line of sol¬
diers were drawn up for our reception.
Ombia and another officer conducted me to a sedan
chair (or palanquin)—in Japanese, norimon. 213 The
whole neighborhood was crowded with human beings
to catch a glimpse of me. I really believe that every
person had a lantern; it looked so. They gazed at me
as if I were a wild beast, I could not stand it. I made
good my retreat into the palanquin, which I made to
answer a double purpose—for what the Japanese had
provided in order that I should not see the country I
made use of that I should not be stared at.
After taking the precaution to lash the palanquin
with cords, the bearers and soldiers marched forward at
a rapid pace; street after street was passed; soon the
city of Matsmai was left behind; but onwards the sol¬
diers "(bearers, etc.) marched; hills, valley and streams
were passed; this I knew from the movement of the con¬
veyance, boxed up though it was without even a peep
hole. Occasionally, at different villages, there was a
halt, to exchange the bearers of the palanquin, and to
take some refreshments.
At such times the officers would gather round me,
213 The “kago.”
194 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
and try to converse. Eatables were brought to me, but
1 was not inclined to eat anything. The march then
would continue. It was sometime after midnight that
they came to a halt in a small town. The palanquin
was gently put to the ground. It was unlashed, and an
officer opened it, and beckoned me out. He and an¬
other then conducted me through a file of soldiers into
a large room; but not before I got sight of a dead wall
topped with sharpened spikes of iron and bamboo.
We entered a building by a gate in the wall; went
through a long passage into a room where we found a
personage who was represented to me as the Governor
of Matsmai; 214 all alone. My conductors retired. The
Governor (so called) took me by the hand in a friendly
manner, and led me to the other end of the room. It
seemed to be an apartment for dwelling, without any¬
thing to give it a prison look. Its floor was covered with
mats; it had two fireplaces, one in the centre, and one
at the end to which the Governor conducted me, and
where a glowing fire, tea kettle, cup, saucer, etc., of¬
fered a cheerful welcome. The room was large, with
partitions of paper on sliding frames. The Governor
requested me, by signs, to be seated; the seat offered
was something between a form and a table—a short
board bench.
On the wall, I perceived two English letters, J and
C—J on one side and C on the other, evidently written
with charcoal.
At the sight, a long train of conjectures flashed
through my brain.
On looking round for some more, and casting my
eyes overhead, I saw a patch of new boarding over a
214 This must be Gorogoro Imai, commander of the escort at Erama-
chi. He was captain of a company in rank. See appendix II, page 244.
Japan Story of Adventure
195
hole about eighteen inches square scuttled in the roof.
The houses are of one story and low. My host then
took me to a stanchion in the middle of the room, sup¬
porting the ridge pole of the roof, and showed me there¬
on written, apparently with lead pencil, the following
names—Robert McCoy, John Brady, and John-.
The rest of this name and the other names 1 could not
decipher.
Pointing to the hole above boarded up, “His Ex¬
cellency” gave me to understand, by ingenious signs,
and by uttering the word, “America,” that fifteen
Americans had made their escape by that hole; had
been caught, hand-cuffed, dragged back, and “had
their throats cut”—so said the sign language and man¬
ual of the narrator, who drew one of his two swords
(the larger one) and made the sign of cutting the
throat. He also pointed to the iron bludgeon hanging
in the guard room; mentioned McCoy; and made the
sign of striking.
All this made me reflect. The reported murder, or at
least death of the Captain of the “Lawrence” 215 re¬
curred to me, and I believed that my “fifteen” prede¬
cessors had shared the same fate.
However, I afterwards learned that this was the
same American crew that was delivered up at Nagasaki
when I was. The story of them, as I got it on board the
“Preble,” 216 when with them, and as given in Hildreth’s
History of Japan , 499 to 503, is as follows:
215 See notes 175 and 219. George Howe was the second mate of the
“Lawrence” of Poughkeepsie.
216 The American sloop-of-war “Preble,” Commander Glynn. The
ship came to Nagasaki in April, 1849, to receive the ship-wrecked Ameri¬
cans detained there. For full account of the voyage see the official re¬
port April 12, 1852, U. S. Senate Ex. Doc’t 59, 32nd Congress, 1st Session.
196 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
They were the crew of the whaler “Lagoda,” 217 who
had deserted her near the Straits of Sangar 218 near
Matsmai, and on landing with their boat were taken in
charge by the authorities, and were really kindly treated,
while waiting an opportunity of being sent to Nagasaki,
where, according to law, all foreigners were to be dis¬
posed of. There were fifteen of them, viz., eight Amer¬
icans of the United States and seven Sandwich Island¬
ers. 219
217 The “Lagoda,” John Finch, Master, sailed Aug. 5, 1846, for the
Pacific Ocean and North West Coast and returned home June 13, 1849.
The “Lagoda,” a ship of 371.15 tons burden, principally owned by Jona¬
than Bourne, Jr., of New Bedford, Massachusetts—father of Ex-U. S.
Senator Jonathan Bourne of Oregon—was one of the famous vessels of
the New England whale fishery. She was what is known as of billet
head, square stern, two decks and three masts; 107.5 feet in length, 26.8
feet beam and 18.3 feet deep, and was built by Seth and Samuel Foster
at Scituate, Mass., in 1826. Mr. Bourne purchased the ship in Boston,
August 3, 1841, and in 1860 changed her rig to that of a bark. Mr.
Bourne sold her in 1886 and she was condemned as unseaworthy at Yoko¬
hama, Japan, August 7, 1890. A half-size replica of the ship stands in
the Jonathan Bourne Whaling Museum at New Bedford, Mass. From
October 9, 1841, to July 10, 1886, when she was sold, the vessel, in
twelve whaling voyages, made net profits for her owners of $651,958.99.
The bark “Lagoda,” Stephen Swift, Captain, was one of the five ships
“in clear water south of Icy Cape” selected to bring down the 1200 sea¬
men from the thirty-three vessels, wrecked in the Arctic ice in the early
days of September, 1871. See note 144, p. 135. The cost to the owners
and crew of the “Lagoda,” in bringing down these wrecked seamen was
approximately $51,000. After 20 years a benevolent Congress in a bill
approved by the President on February 21, 1891, awarded $23,611.30 to
the vessel. Taken from a " History of The Jonathan Bourne Whaling
Office” by Benjamin Baker.
218 The Straits of Tsugaru.
219 In the New Bedford Whalingmen’s Shipping List of January 16,
1849, we find the following: “Capt. Malherbe of the French whaling
ship, ‘Eliza’ of Havre, at Hong Kong, spoke on September 5th in the
sea of Okhotsk the ‘Lagoda,’ Finch, New Bedford, who reported that 18
of her men had deserted in three boats and are supposed to have landed
on the Japanese coast.” The names of the Americans: John Bawl of
New York, chief mate; John Waters of Salem, 2nd mate; John Bull of
Kempville, N. Y.; Jacob Boyd of Springfield, N. Y.; John Martin of
Rochester, N. Y.; Melcher Biffar of New York City, Robert McCoy of
Philadelphia and Ezra Goldthwait of Salem, all seamen, and eight Sand¬
wich Islanders, a total of fifteen men, are given in a letter of the Brit¬
ish Consul at Canton, China, January 25, 1849; Senate Ex. Doc. 59, 32nd
Japan Story of Adventure
197
They were all young, violent, habitually quarreled
amongst themselves, and gave much trouble. They
preceded me here by about a month. As to the attempt
to escape from the very room in question there were
only two of them in that, and they were speedily re¬
captured. There was no “throat cutting,” nor even
corporal punishment, they were simply caged, and more
closely guarded than the others. McCoy was one of
the two. In fact, McCoy made a second or even third
escape. He was then tied, and put into a sort of stocks.
They were taken to Nagasaki.
All this time, and throughout their whole detention
—a period of twelve months—they were according to
their own account, well and certainly not cruelly treated;
as prisoners ever, however. No punishment was in¬
flicted. One American died; a natural death, and not¬
withstanding all medical care and humane treatment;
the only other death among them was that of a Sand¬
wich Islander, who, in the manner of his people, with¬
out compunction, hung himself.
To proceed with my narrative.
This monitory exhibition being ended, the Tajo or
principal man of the place, with others, entered and
went through the ceremony which had taken place on
board the Junk. One of them, by making signs, of eat-
Congress, 1st Session, p. 3. On account of alleged harsh treatment of
the captain, they deserted the “Lagoda” about June 5th, 1848, in three
boats at the Straits of Sangar. near Matsmai. Landing on the island of
Yesso, in a couple of days they were taken into custody by Japanese
soldiers and held prisoners until their release through the efforts of
Commander Glenn of the United States ship “Preble.” During their
imprisonment several attempts to escape were made, and in consequence
the prisoners were roughly treated by their jailors. Ezra Goldthwait
died on January 24, 1849, and Marrii (or Maury), one of the Sandwich
Islanders, becoming despondent, committed suicide. For full account see
statements of these men: U. S. Senate Ex. 59, supra, pp. 9-25. See also
Alexander Starbuck, op. cit., 142, 434.
198 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
ing, and saying “Coojeen” 220 (Boiled rice) asked me
whether I wanted to eat something. I said Yes!—nod¬
ding at the same time. They, thereon, brought in a
tray with a shallow bowl of rice, and chop sticks, I did
not use the chop sticks, though I could, having learned
to do so before I got to Soya. The two principal men
talked together.
The Governor (as I called him) gave an order, and,
immediately, a bamboo spoon 221 and a wooden fork
were brought in. I brought them away, from Japan,
with me, but in subsequent wanderings, left them on
board the “Sea-Witch,” 222 when wrecked on her; on
220 Gozen.
221 This rude wooden spoon was cut out and left behind by one of
the crew of the “Lagoda.”
222 There were several contemporary vessels named “Sea-Witch” at
least two of which were lost at sea. The “Sea-Witch” of London was
lost in 1848 or 1849. The editors have been unable to learn the date or
exact place of this disaster. The “Sea-Witch” of Melbourne, 273 tons,
formerly the “Samuel M. Fox,” built in New York in 1840 and trans¬
ferred to Melbourne Registry from Sidney, N. S. W., in May, 1858,
foundered off the east end of Timor at Torres Straits in Timor Sea in
August, 1859. An account of the disaster is found in The Age (Mel¬
bourne) of Thursday, Nov. 17, 1859—TOTAL LOSS OF THE SCHOON¬
ER “SEA-WITCH.” Intelligence has been received in Melbourne of
the total loss of the schooner “Sea-Witch” in Torres Straits. This ves¬
sel, which was the property of Messrs. Young & Martin of this city,
left this port on the 11th day of July (1859) for Timor and Sourabaya
(on the N. E. Coast of Java), with a general cargo and 8,000 sovereigns.
On the 29th day of July she struck on a reef and was, after some diffi¬
culty, got off by throwing over some fifty tons of ballast, and after los¬
ing both anchors, the Captain then endeavored to obtain fresh ballast
at Booby Island, but could not succeed. The vessel was at this time taking
a considerable quantity of water. On the night of August 5th, when
off the east end of Timor, the vessel was pumped dry, and the mate,
whose watch it was, gave the alarm that the vessel was sinking. All
hands were immediately called, and the crew had just time to throw
some provisions into the boat and get clear when the vessel went down.”
The names of the crew and passengers (if any) are unascertainable.
Another vessel, the “Sea-Witch” of New London, Conn., a schooner of
109 tons, W. A. Reed, owner; Reed, captain, was added to the whale
fleet in 1856. After a couple of short voyages the schooner was with¬
drawn in 1857. See A. Starbuck, op. cit., 544-545. At this late day it
is impossible to determine to which of the three vessels our author re¬
fers, but he was probably aboard the “Sea-Witch” of London.
Japan Story of Adventure
199
which occasion, I may observe, I lost all I had save the
clothes I had on and a little bundle, in a handkerchief,
containing, with other little precious things, only a few
of my notes in Japan.
That was in the Indian Ocean, near Madras, where,
for dear life, I had to swim ashore amongst the sharks,
knife in belt for them, with my little bundle on my head.
When in Soya, they made a spoon and fork for me of
brass. I left them there.
My supper consisted of nice fish, pickles and boiled
kelp. There were several (four or five) waiters on me.
Before partaking of it a person tasted of all the dishes.
These tasters—for there were more of them—wore
mantles of a peculiar color, like orange, the distinguish¬
ing color, I believe, of the Tajo (Prince) of Matsmai.
I said grace before supper, in their presence, to be
Christian like before heathens.
Whilst I devoured the viands they devoured me with
their eyes, just in simple curiosity, and with a kindly
look of approval, rather than otherwise.
After supper, the Governor gave me a present of
clothing, Japanese, consisting of four garments, like
gowns, with large wide sleeves, viz., one, the widest of
silk; one of light grayish cotton, of native manufacture
evidently; one of some material—I don’t know what
to call it—lined with white cotton; and another of blue
cotton, stuffed with cotton wadding; also a pair of Jap¬
anese trousers of cotton; two knives, a large and a small
one, and a box of confectionery, with a presentation
card 223 consisting of a piece about the size of half a
223 This card is called “noshi”; even at present all presents have
“noshi” with them.
“Presents are presented with ceremony and covered with a paper
folded in a particular way.” Thunberg, iii, 72. “On top of the present
was laid a folded paper, tied over with red and gilded paper thread at the
200 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
sheet of note paper, folded up in a peculiar form, the
ends tied with bows of paper—paper very thin, fine and
glossy. I was also presented with a bed and covering,
a large gown thickly padded, and a pillow, varnished,
of wood, about eight or ten inches long, bottom three
inches wide, upper part two inches, and on that, a small
pillow about the size of a man’s wrist, apparently of
rice husk; it had a drawer also. The Governor kindly
made a sign to me to sleep, and said “Noo ”—the Japa¬
nese, probably, for snooze. It was now about three
o’clock in the morning, and I gladly did so. I slept
well, in perfect confidence in my kind host.
Next day, I asked for my chest, to get at my books.
It was refused at first. I then made a sign of adoration
and said “Kameni” 224 their word, as I understood, for
worship, at the same time saying “God!” Thereupon,
they gave me my Bible. I had kept my Bible apart and
told them it was the book of my worship.
At my request, they made a shelf (tokiwari) 225 for
it. They seemed to respect it; in taking it up paying
it their usual compliment to books of a good character
by putting it up to the forehead.
I remained here about twenty days; with every com¬
fort under the circumstances, but always a strict pris¬
oner.
On the eve of my departure I wrote my name on the
wall where my Bible had been. They asked me to erase
it; which I refused, inducing them at the same time to
suppose that there was something sacred in it. They
end of which was pasted a strip of sea-weed. Around it were also sev¬
eral square pieces of the same sea-weed. All this is according to
etiquette; and is a demonstration of the highest respect. Idem, iii, ISO-
131. See Capt. V. M. Golownin, op cit., iii, 112. See A. H. von Langs-
dorff, op. cit., i, 259.
224 Kami-ni; Kami, “God” or “Superior” and ni, “to,” i. e. to God.
225 tokowaki.
Japan Story of Adventure
201
allowed it to remain—at least while I was there.
Throughout, in all matters, they treated me with very
great kindness and gentle delicate consideration. I
asked them for the name of the place, but they declined
giving it. I think it was Erametz or Eremetz. 226
Before leaving, they brought me a portion of my
sail wherewith, myself, to make a bag for my cloth¬
ing: which I did with twine and needle which I had
among my things.
I ought to have mentioned that they sealed my chest
by putting on seals 227 on the top and sides, connected
with strips of paper, so that it could not be opened
without discovery; when opened—as it had to be, when
I got anything out of it—it was always in the presence
of a large number of persons, and was resealed, when
closed, before the same.
The official order for my departure was formally
received and handed about in the company in my pres¬
ence. On my asking what it was, they unrolled the
scroll containing the order, and showed the representa¬
tion of a long procession, each man’s place being writ¬
ten where he was to take part in the procession ac¬
companying me.
They shook hands with me at parting, and expressed
regret.
We all walked down to the beach, about a quarter of
a mile. The place was a village of about fifty houses.
I saw a large village 228 not very far off.
226 Eramachi.
227 Everything was officially sealed lest trading or pilfering of the
foreigner’s goods might transgress the rules of the Government. The
personal effects of the “Lagoda” crew were likewise inventoried care¬
fully according to the statement of Robert McCoy. See also Golownin,
op. cit., ii, 207.
228 None of the villages near Eramachi had as many houses and in¬
habitants. Our author perhaps saw Matsumae, miles distant.
202
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
All—and there were many—who turned out to take
part in the demonstration at our departure, were dressed
in gay or honour attire: some of the Officers wearing
chain armour on the body and legs: soldiers arrayed
in different colours, principally red and blue: their
coats reaching down a little below the knees; with one
sleeve of one color and another of another. Their head
coverings were caps apparantly of paper or japanned
leather, perfectly flat except a small space in the middle
for the queue (“ori”) on the top of the head; they were
padded, and fastened by a string passing round the
chin and ears. It not being etiquette, generally, to wear
them on the head, even out of doors at times, they,
on this occasion, bore them suspended behind their
backs, like shields. The only weapons I there saw in
the hands of the soldiers were swords and lances. Each
soldier had his own Chief’s coat of arms (“ mondog-
ro”) worked on each breast and on the back. Very
many of these bearings were representations of the
sun and moon, and a good many of diamonds (diamond
shape) and flowers.
The flag or mondogro of the Prince of Matsmai was
a square with diamond quartered.
The soldiers seemed to be ranked in different comp¬
anies, under their respective feudal chiefs, and under
distinctive standards: the companies also varying in
numbers.
We embarked in an open boat, somewhat similar
to the one I started in from Tootoomari, with this dif¬
ference, that there were no oars other than that of the
steersman. It was towed by several lines of boats, of
which there must have been two and three hundred
Our barge was full of officers and soldiers. Thus we
made for a large Junk about three miles off.
The junk “Tenjinmaru”
From a picture illustrating the “Tour of Yezo by Muragaki, AwajinO'
kami, in 1854.”
Japan Story of Adventure
203
The Junk 229 was adorned like the one I before de¬
scribed: it was larger however. Arrived at her side,
we found her surrounded by upwards of a thousand
boats. The curtains with painted port holes, the big
swab, the glittering lances, and the flaunting flags of
varied colors and designs, the whole floating on the
heaving, changing sea was, to my gaze, more a phan-
tasmorgia than an actual scene of human life.
We went on board by the port hole “man-gangway”.
On the lower deck, I remarked a pile of matchlocks, as
long as our muskets, but lighter.
The vessel seemed to have been newly repaired. Hav¬
ing entered the cabin we all—that is to say, officers and
myself—squatted ourselves on the mats which covered
its floor. 1 found the position to be awkward. It con¬
sists in kneeling, crossing the feet, and sitting on the
heels.
I would mention as a trait, not uncommon, of the
character of my “barbarian hosts”—not that I consider
them so—-that on our leaving the place, I received from
the Officer in whose charge I had been since my arrival
at Matsmai, a present of some small apples, sweet and
slightly acid, like our own.
When the parties from the shore had left, I was put
into a small cabin, grated: was, in fact, caged. There
I remained all the rest of the voyage, with a pile of
arms at my door, unable to see anything outside ex¬
cept on two or three occasions.
I remonstrated against such close confinement, and
on the following day the Captain ordered the removal
of the grating, but I was told not to go on deck.
My cage—as I may call it—opened into the main
229 This vessel was called “Tenjimmaru” and sailed from Eramachi
on the first of October.
204 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
cabin, where the inferior officers and soldiers messed.
At meals they squatted; eating, and supping with chop
sticks, from delf dishes, wooden bowls (varnished),
and drank out of a cup and saucer. Even for soup,
the chop sticks alone were used.
The dishes were generally placed in trays about fif¬
teen inches by twelve. In the centre bowl—generally
the largest—was fish, boiled or broiled; in a smaller
one, rice; in another of the same size, soup; in another
vegetables; and in a smaller one, pickles.
The vegetables used on the voyage were principally
pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and cabbage. Further to
the South, I saw, and myself ate onions, carrots, and
potatoes like those called Irish, but smaller. Tea was
taken by them regularly; sometimes mixed with rice.
They used no sugar at their meals, though they have
it, as I found by the sweetmeats given me. The aver¬
age quantity eaten by each man, at a meal, I consider
to be about three pounds in weight, soup included.
They had four meals a day.
Before eating, they—as all classes of the Japanese
do—so far at least as I saw—put the chop sticks to
the forehead, as if saying grace. They were talkative
at meals, ate fast; and seemed to enjoy themselves,
especially at supper, when they had a greater variety
of dishes, and about a pint of their grog (saki) each.
They were communicative to me, so far as they dared,
and were able. I had picked up a smattering of Japan¬
ese, sufficient for some conversation: there was no in¬
terpreter between us then.
All said prayers, morning and evening, and some
at noon also.
They had books, covered somewhat like ours, with
boards of paper.
Japan Story of Adventure
205
Some contained wood cuts, fairly well executed. The
leaves were thin, doubled, and printed only on one
side. Every person had a portfolio covered with cloth,
with pockets containing paper for writing, and also for
blowing the nose or use generally as we do a pocket
handkerchief.
Their finer paper—more like gossamer than any¬
thing else I know of—is much thinner and more trans¬
parent than any of European manufacture that I ever
saw. I speak of the finer kind used for writing, and
fine art purposes. There are coarser kinds, for waste
and windows, partitions and such ruder uses. It is
manufactured, generally, out of the inner bark of the
mulberry tree 280 —which is extensively cultivated also
for their silk worms: silk with them—as it is gener¬
ally known—is a staple of production, and its man¬
ufacture is one of the principal industries of the coun¬
try.
All persons in Japan—men, women, and children of
all classes from highest to lowest carry—or have at
hand borne for them—paper, pen (brush), and ink.
All are educated to read and write: and the people,
even the lower classes, habitually write—their com¬
munications by letter being more general than amongst
ourselves.
Their pen is, in fact, a hair pencil or attenuated
brush of fine hair, of rabbit, hare, fox or other small
fur animal. Their ink is like our India ink or that of
the cuttle fish. Their writing is generally made up in
rolls—beginning at the right hand or outer end of the
roll, (or sheet), in vertical lines, from above to below,
230 it is not from the mulberry, but from the “kodsu” tree the Japa¬
nese paper is made. See Dr. Englebreckt Kaempfer’s History of Japan,
Appendix III, thereof on the manufacture of Japanese paper.
206 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
arranged from right to left. In the books the “foot
notes”—as we call them are at the top of the page;
and the title page—as before stated is at what we would
call the end of the book.
Chapter XI
Voyage—Doctor—View of Country—Fruit—Arrive
at Nagasaki—Officials, Magistrates, and Interpre¬
ters—Examination on Board—Murayama—Ques¬
tions and Answers—Disembark—Description of Bay
and Harbour—Enter City—Procession, Streets,
Houses, Etc.
On board the Junk, numbers were sea sick. A doc¬
tor, 231 with an attendant waited on them every morn¬
ing, feeling the pulse, and immediately dipping his hand
into a basin of water. I had no need of them, being
neither sea sick, nor sick in any way.
I was, on the whole, well, and even kindly attended.
The military commander 232 visited me twice. I asked
him for leave to go on deck, but he refused.
The voyage from Eramets (or Eramatz) lasted about
ten days: the first three days were very stormy; the ves¬
sel pitching and creaking a great deal. She was rigged
like the other Junk, the big one, from Soya to Matsmai.
These Japanese Junks though strongly put together
are not taut like our vessels.
We stopped twice or thrice on the voyage. On
these occasions only, while on board, did I get a sight
of the outside world, and that was only through the
231 The Doctor’s name was Hosai Tani.
232 The Commander of the escort was Tanemon Ujiie, Captain of a
company.
Japan Story of Adventure
207
port hole of the entrance which, of course, had to be
opened, and when in port, had merely a curtain; at
sea, it was closed with boards. In my peeps, I saw
junks, fields, and cultivated hill sides, and, of course,
the cluster of houses about the port. In port we al¬
ways got fruit, principally a kind like mangoes with
large stones. 233 Its taste, to me, was nauseously sweet.
In the voyage from Soya to Matsmai we stopped
as before stated, at only one place, for wood and water.
We sailed along the West side of the Island of Yesso.
We had frequent calms and headwinds on that voyage,
which accounts for its comparative length in time to
that from Eramatz to Nagasaki.
What of the West coast of Yesso I saw was high and
even mountainous; wild; the sides of the hills and moun¬
tains covered with a dense forest of pine and other
northern woods, with level parts only here and there.
Of habitations, I saw only a few small villages, fishing
stations, along the shore.
On the East coast of the main Islands of Japan—
along which we sailed from Eramatz—the aspect was
altogether of a better and more habitable country.
Nagasaki
At length we anchored in the outer harbour of Nag¬
asaki. A great number of the inhabitants—officials,
I presume—came on board; among them “Sherrei
Tachachien 234 Sama’\ one of the five men who assisted
233 The fruit seems to be the kaki (persimmon).
234 Given as Serai Tasnosen (Shivai Tatsunosin) in Commodore
Glynn’s report and described with Matsmora Schall and Hagewara
Matasak (Hagiwara Matasaku) as “a Japanese high military Chief of
Nagasaki.”
208 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the Governor, (“Obigue Sama”) 235 in the government
of the District of Nagasaki.
He, and another of note, sat, in Japanese fashion, in
the middle of the cabin, with two pale faced secretaries
by them, with writing materials, books of apparently
English or European binding, and a large book like an
atlas. Saxtuero, 236 interpreter, a very old gentleman,
with a benignant expression of countenance, rising a
little asked me, in a very kind tone, what my name
was. I told him and he repeated it to Sherrei.
The latter then asked me through Murayama 232 an¬
other interpreter, where I was born.
I answered that I was born in Oregon: lived in Can¬
ada: and last sailed from New York.
Murayama—whose full name, 1 may state, was Mur¬
ayama Yeanoske—interpreted all this.
235 Obugyo-Sama, governor.
23 6 Sakushichiro Uemura, see page 226.
237 Moriyama Einosuke (Mr. Mountain Grove) was a Japanese Samu¬
rai or two-sword retainer of a damio; he is frequently mentioned in the
following pages of our author’s narrative. Moriyama Einosuke was
frequently with Robert McCoy and the imprisoned crew of the “Lagoda”
from September 2, 1848, on, and in April, 1859, with seven assistants
acted as chief Japanese interpreter during Commodore Glynn’s negotia¬
tions for their release when he was officially described as “one who
spoke tolerably good English, but understood only as much as he wanted
to.” U. S., Senate, Executive Doc’t 59, 32nd Congress, 1st Session, pp.
11, 46. He officiated as the principal interpreter during the negotiations
of the Japanese Commissioners with Commodore Perry on his second visit
to Japan. His name first appears on page 396, i, of Frances L. Hawks
Narrative of the Expedition of the American Squadron as “Moryama
Genoske, who spoke a little English, which he is said to have acquired
from an American sailor who had been a captive in Japan, and who was
one of those taken away by the “Preble.” It is evident that Moryama
did not feel free to disclose his intimate knowledge regarding the names
and experiences of the various shipwrecked American sailors who had
been held in Japan. See Francis Hawkes, op. cit. He was a frequent
visitor to Townsend Harris, the 1st American Envoy to Japan, who
seems to have grown peevish at Moryama’s temporizing and evasions.
See fm. Elliott Griffis, Life of M. C. Perry and Life of Townsend Har¬
ris, the latter pp. 59, 89, 91-2, 95. From the Japanese record it appears
that he saved our author some embarrassment by failing to render literal
translations of his statements regarding his Christian faith. See appen¬
dix IIB, p. 280.
Murayama and Tokojiro
Pupils of Ranald MacDonald, Chief Interpreters in negotiations
with Commodore Perry
From Hawks’ Narrative, i, 348.
Japan Story of Adventure
209
Murayama
Of this young man a few special words are called
for.
He was, by far, the most intelligent person I met in
Japan.
He had a pale cast of thought, piercing black eyes
which seemed to search into the very soul, and read
its every emotion. He spoke English pretty fluently,
and even gramatically. His pronunciation was pecul¬
iar, but it was surprisingly in command of combina¬
tions of letters and syllables foreign to the Japanese
tongue.
He was my daily companion—a lovable one—ever
afterwards, during my sojourn in Japan. When with
me he always had books in Dutch, 238 and a Dutch and
English dictionary. The Dutch factor at Nagasaki
John Livessohn, 239 told me that Murayama spoke
238 During the period of exclusion Occidental knowledge of Japan
was derived through the Dutch. Three physicians attached to the Dutch
factory at Nagasaki contributed principally to this knowledge of Ja¬
pan: Englebrecht Kaempfer (Japan 1690-1692), author of a “History
of Japan and Siam,” London, 1727; Charles Peter Thunberg (Japan, 1775-
1776), author of Travels in Europe, Africa and Asia; and Philip Franz
von Siebold (Japan 1822-1830), author of Nippon, an Archive towards
the description of Japan. In addition to these, three directors of the
Nagasaki factory, Isaac Titsingh, J. F. van Overmeer Fisscher and G.
F. Meijan, furnished further information. Additional information was
received through Russian sources from the published account of Georg
Heinrich von Langsdorff, a German physician attached to the Reasanoff
expedition (1804), and from Captain Vasili M. Golownin’s Memoirs of
His Captivity in Japan, 1811-1813.
In like manner whatever Japan received of the material civilization
of the Occident during these years was obtained principally through the
Dutch. After the Shogun Yoshimune (1716-1745) did away with the
proscription of European books, so far as they had nothing to do with
Christianity, the Japanese doctors, scholars and interpreters secured a
number of European books, charts, etc. European books obtained
through the Dutch leavened the mind of the Japanese and prepared it
for the transformation of today.
239 Joseph Henry Levyssohn, director of the Dutch factory at Naga¬
saki, 1846-1850. He later wrote and published a little book on Japan
in the Dutch language entitled “Blader Over Japan.”
210 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Dutch better than himself. The books were on dif¬
ferent subjects, but principally on the commerce and
customs of European nations.
I asked him whether he, Murayama, had ever been
out of the country, to which he replied in the negative.
He told me that he had a large library; and also, that
he was studying Latin and French.
But to return to my examination before the grandees:
In answer to their questions, I gave them to under¬
stand that 1 was, by birth, a British subject, but that
I belonged to the Commercial marine and a citizen of
the United States. I was desirous that they should
regard me as belonging to both nations (British and
American) in order that in the event of a vessel of
either of them visiting Japan my case might attract
their special attention. I mentioned Oregon, in as
much as it was then in dispute (so then I thought) be¬
tween the United States and Great Britain, and I
thought it possible that a war might arise therefrom,
and that some of the vessels of either side might ap¬
proach the Japanese coast.
I was next asked whether I had a father, mother,
brother, or sister then living. I told them I had.
They then asked me where my ship was. I told
them I left her and went ashore; and that she went
out to sea.
They then asked me my object in leaving the vessel
in an open boat.
I told them I had some difficulty with the Captain.
This I said, apprehending that if I told them that I
had done so from curiosity and adventure, that they
would treat me badly and perhaps kill me. When I
said “difficulty”, Murayama—who was then inter¬
preting—seemed to be a little at loss, and handed me
Japan Story of Adventure
211
the Dutch and English dictionary to show him the
word. Turning to the English-Dutch part I did so.
They seemed to believe me. They said I must have had a
great heart—so it was interpreted to me.
Then they asked me whether I believed in a God
in heaven. They seemed to be satisfied with my an¬
swer in the simple affirmative.
They then told me that I would be taken to the Town
Hall, before the Governor, on the morrow.
On the following day it rained and we did not go.
The weather was mild, though then October: no fire in
the cabin.
On the day following innumerable boats arrived.
Sherrei, with a large company entered by' the main
gangway at the porthole. When they touched the deck
(floor of the cabin) they knelt, salaamed to the Com¬
pany, and, without rising, slid to a position at the sides
on mats. Sherrei walked dignifiedly to his position,
and as he sat down the rest salaamed to him, and he,
in response, slightly bowed and uttered a low grunt in
polite acknowledgment.
I was then taken out of the Junk; walked along a
bridge of boats; and with two interpreters and four
soldiers entered a boat. The people here (more accus¬
tomed to strangers) did not appear to be so curious
about me as those further north. When we reached
the inner harbour, all the boats except three dispersed.
We stood off a little from the beach, and there waited
about half an hour for somebody. In the meantime,
tea was served out to all but me.
On the left of the harbour, looking towards the shore,
was a bold steep bank, about a thousand feet in height.
On the other side where in a valley, lay the Town, the
shore slopes more.
212 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Nagasaki is a Town, or City rather, of, I should say,
about ten thousand houses. The houses, though small
compared to ours of our cities, seemed, on the whole,
to be of a better class than any I had seen elsewhere
in the country.
The streets were about fifty to sixty feet in width,
and were paved, in the middle, with stone.
In the inner harbour—which is about four miles in
length and about a mile and a half in average width,
with an Island (Papanberg) 240 at its entrance, was a
Dutch ship anchored about two hundred fathoms from
the small Island Dessima 241 with its Dutch Factory.
There were also in port three large Chinese Junks,
armed with cannon. Of the Junks of the country there
was a large fleet.
While waiting, a large boat load of officers and sol¬
diers approached us from the outer bay and passed on
to the beach. We followed, and landed on a jetty with
stone steps. Within about fifty yards from these steps
we entered the City by one of its gateways. I saw
no gates . The gateway , which was similar to those I
saw at Tootoomari and Soya, was about fifteen feet in
width and about thirty feet in height, with large cross
beam or entablature, of wood, on the top. From it,
along the street, soldiers, with side arms, were standing
in a row on each side. Close to the gateway was a
palaquin, into which I stepped. It being kept open,
I had a good view as I was borne along between the
files of soldiers. They and the citizens fell in behind
and formed a procession. We passed through several
streets, which were all of small wooden houses, nearly
240 Takaboko, called Papenberg by the Dutch.
241 De-shima, Outside or Jutting Island; shima meaning island in the
Japanese language.
Japan Story of Adventure
213
all of only one story, with peaked and projecting roofs,
like ours, windows of oiled paper, on a sliding frame,
and roofs, some of wooden covering like American
shingles (but larger), some of reddish tiles. The
houses were neither painted nor whitewashed.
There were, however, houses larger and of a better
class; and I remember seeing two of brick or stone, two
stories in height. These had gardens in front, sheltered
by a stone wall, surmounted with broken glass or what
looked like it. Vines and creeping plants were in great
profusion.
There were not temples or pagodas, so far as I saw,
although there were, I was told, many in the city; but
on the rise of a hill a little out of the city, I saw white
objects like monuments to the dead. The shops were
merely open windows, with goods exposed. There
were no shop signs that I remarked.
Chapter XII
Governor’s Residence—Court—Reception—Plan of
Court—“Devil of Japan”—Refuse to Bow to the
Ground (Kotow) Before the Governor—Compli¬
ment by the Governor—Description of Things and
Procedure—Examination—Answers Satisfactory—
Treatment—Cage—Prisoner.
Arrived at the foot of a hill, where the palanquin
rested, I stepped out. We ascended by large stone steps
to the Governor’s residence, three or four hundred
yards off. Entered by a gateway. There were thous¬
ands of spectators. There was a porter’s lodge. The
porters at the entrance, in salute, bowed so as to touch
the ground with their fingers. In front of the lodge
2 i 4 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
was a stand of arms, with a guard of soldiers, seated.
We turned to the right and entered a narrow alley be¬
tween houses. A sliding low gate was shoved aside,
by which 1 was conducted to a place railed in. Entered,
by a small wicket gate, into a sort of a shed; where the
flooring—elevated about two feet-—was covered with
dirty matting.
I was desired, by the Dutch interpreter to sit down.
The soldiers retired and were replaced by men in long
black dresses, looking grim, with inferior swords and
daggers—looked like jailers.
The walls of the shed were plastered, covered with
caricature and writing—it was altogether a filthy place.
After remaining there some time I was asked wheth¬
er I wished to eat. I refused. However, they brought
in and spread out some dishes for me. Not from hun¬
ger—for I had no appetite under the circumstances—
but to show that I was not afraid, I ate. There was
rice, pickled onions, fish, etc.
In half an hour after this repast Murayama came
in and told me that in half an hour I would appear
before the Governor to answer questions that would
be put to me. He told me not to be afraid, “to take
courage”; that he would interpret for me, and that he
would be sworn. He instructed me also, that before
seeing the Governor I should see an “image, on a metal
plate; 242 at the foredoor”—these were his words—and
further, that this image was the Devil of Japan and
“that I must put my foot on it”. I told him I would
242 This was the efumi-e or image of the Christ-child and the virgin.
Since 1669, after the expulsion of the Portuguese and the suppression
of Christianity, bronze plates with the image of the Virgin and Child,
Christ on the Cross, etc., were used to detect Christians by making them
put their feet on the plates. In Nagasaki all the citizens in single file
Japan Story of Adventure
215
do so, because I did not believe in images. “Very
good ! Very good!” said he, and then retired.
While waiting, I saw several persons enter by the
gateway. I had entered but instead of going into the
shed where I was, they passed through a small opening
with a panel—D in plan—of which, as best I can from
memory, I now give a sketch of the whole place, with
description references.
PLAN OF PLACE AND COURT OF
EXAMINATION
A. Gateway
B. Shed
C. Wicket
D. Small opening in panel
E. Panel slid aside, by which I
entered the court
F. Magistrate trying criminal
G. Criminal
H. Goods on shelves
I. Metallic plate, Virgin and
Child (bronze)
K. D o o r w a y—Governor’s en¬
trance
L. Windows of paper
M. Steps, broad, occupied by men
in silks, sitting Japanese fash¬
ion
N. Murayama—Interpreter
O. My position, when examined
P. Governor
QQ. Soldiers on guard
RR. Gentry, sitting on heels
S. Secretary
T. Court yard
oooo. Pebbled pavement
had to put their feet on such plates once a year in the first month to
show that they were not Christians. These images were made of cast
copper and the ceremony was performed on the 4th day after the Japanese
New Year (February 22) and following days. Everyone but the gov¬
ernor and his train participated and overseers were present to see that
everything was duly performed, even the feet of infants and the infirm
being pressed against the metal plates. See hereon Charles Peter
216 Ranald MacDonald ( 1824 - 1894 )
Through this opening at D they passed into a large
building with walls painted black. Several were brought
out of that opening, handcuffed. The walls of the
court yard were also painted black.
About an hour after Murayama had left me, sold¬
iers entered and formed a double line to the small open¬
ing E in the plan, to which I was directed to go. On
approaching it, a large part of the partition was slid
aside. Beyond it, was a pavement of large gravel,
perfectly clean and dry, being under a roof.
Before me was a platform, F in plan, on which one
of the officers whom I had seen, and one Tashna-
sheen 243 were, as magistrates, trying a prisoner stand¬
ing before them. On the left—H in plan—were goods
on shelves. Why they were there, I know not—prob¬
ably they were stolen goods.
When in the act of entering this court, I was touched
on the shoulder, and ordered to take off my boots
(gaiter boots)—at the same time a pair of sandals
being handed to me. I had on Japanese socks which
are open at the big toe to admit of the fastening of the
sandals. These were of matted grass.
In entering I looked for the plate, with image, “in
the foredoor” of Murayama, and there—I in plan—
saw it.
It appeared, to me, to be a bronze plate, round, about
six inches in diameter, flat on the ground, with some¬
thing delineated on it which—stooping to examine—
Thunberg, op. cit., iii, pp. 89-93, see Mrs. W. Buck, op. cit., 41. Mac¬
Donald did not know at first what it was, nor the purpose in requiring
him to step on it. George Howe and party were forced to tread and
spit on a similar figure in 1847; and the “Lagoda” crew in 1848. See
U. S., Senate, Executive Doc’t No. 59, 32nd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 20,
72. This custom of figure-treading has been referred to by Mr. Griffis
and other writers on Japan; Richard Hildreth, op. cit., i, 352.
243 Tatsnosen of Commodore Glynn’s report, U. S. Senate Ex. Doc’t 59,
supra, p. 35.
Japan Story of Adventure
217
I took to be the virgin and child. Told to put my foot
on it, being a Protestant, I unhesitatingly did so.
Looking around, I saw, towards the right hand, in
front of me, broad steps serving as platforms—M M
in plan—-on which a number of Japanese, apparantly
of the highest class, dressed richly and principally in
ample stiff silk gowns, with projecting shoulder pieces
were kneeling (or sitting) on each side of the Govern¬
or’s place—P in plan.
My place, on the floor or ground, paved, was at O
in plan, in front of, and at a considerable distance from
the Governor. The Secretary of the Governor was
close beside him, while Murayama, about midway, but
to aside, knelt on one of the platforms. All these were
on fine clean mats. For me there was only a shabby
dirty old mat. It aroused my ire; but I said nothing,
till, when directed by Murayama to sit down on it, I re¬
fused, at the same time kicking away, or at, the dirty
mat, saying I saw no chair nor seat for me. He then
desired me to sit as they did. Being at the time dressed
in my European sailor clothing, I answered 1 could not
well do so. Seeing that he persisted in his request,
with a friendly expression, I, after a little, made the
attempt on one knee; but that did not seem to satisfy
them. I was told by Murayama that I must sit as they
did before I could see the Governor. He appeared to
be annoyed at my hesitation. I finally complied; he
showing me how.
Pointing to the door, K in plan, he said—“You will
see the Governor enter by that door, but you must not
look at him but bow low”. I then heard a low rustling
sound approaching toward us, as if by a given signal
every one fell flat on his face. Behind me, close, and
all about were soldiers, at arms—letters Q Q in plan.
218 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
The Governor 244 entered: Murayama repeated his
injunction to bow low. Still angry, / didn't. I “ Kitu ” 245
(or Kotow) to no man! It required no effort to re¬
frain, I just would not do it. Curious to read my fate
at the hands of His Excellency, I looked him fearlessly
but respectfully, full in the face. So did he me. I had
just quickly, before that, looked around, and saw every
one, even the soldiers, flat on their faces, the hands
being placed on the ground, and the forehead resting
on them. They all remained in this position for quite
a time, say ten or fifteen seconds during which, in dead
silence, the Governor and I stared at each other.
At length, rising from his sitting position, slowly,
on his knees, and stretching forth his arms, resting on
his hands on his knees, leaning towards me, the Gover¬
nor addressed me a few words, deep toned and low,
which though I did not understand them, I took, from
his manner and look, not to be unfriendly. Afterwards
—for I could not at the time—I asked Murayama what
he said. He answered: “He said you must have a
big heart”. Had I known it at the time, I certainly
would have acknowledged the compliment with a spec¬
ial bow, in true freeman’s style, with a wave of the
hands—“hats off !”.
The ceremony of his entrance was impressive. In
entering he was preceded by three or four soldiers,
the foremost carrying a naked sword, hilt up, holding
it by the point. The sword was like the ordinary Jap-
244 Ido, Tsushima-no-kami, who was one of the Governors of Naga¬
saki when MacDonald was there, was one of the Japanese commisson-
ers who signed the first treaty with the United States. Hawke says
[op. cit., 404] “Ido, Prince Tsushima, was probably fifty or thereabout,
and was corpulent and tall in person. He has a rather more vivacious
expression than the elder Hayashi.”
245 “Koto” means making an obeisance.
Japan Story of Adventure
219
anese sword, about two feet of blade, with a circular
bronze guard; blade about two inches broad, slightly
curved.
The Governor was distinguishable by his portly bear¬
ing and bold look: Age, apparantly, about thirty-five
years: Head shaved like other Japanese, except the top
knot as before described. He was dressed in a pair
of wide trousers of figured silk, greenish ground with
flowery pattern; white lines socks; no sandals; a silk
open gown to the ankles, and a belt: a blue overgarment
of fine cotton, like two pieces sewed together behind,
open in front, stiffened with starch or some such stuff,
projected at the shoulders like enormous epaulettes. 246
Features: — Nose, short, straight; mouth,' well
formed, indicating good nature; eyes, large, black, open
to the utmost, not oblique: round full face, very florid
—healthy looking; bearing, upright, majestic; hands,
small delicate and white; nails not long.
He had a large plain fan of palm leaf like those in
common use among us. In figure he was rather short
—'"chunky”.
He knelt without crossing his feet. He stared very
hard at me. I made my salaam to him without, how¬
ever, touching the ground. After the lapse of a few
seconds, when people had raised their heads he talked
to Murayama: seemed to be swearing him.
There were writing materials before the Governor,
and paper with writing, probably the questions to be
put. My answers were written down by the Secretary
as interpreted. His Excellency asked me, through
Murayama as follows:—
My name ?—Where born ? etc.
246 The usual ceremonial dress, Kami-shimo, for all officials, or on
festal occasions.
220 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
In fact, the former questions already reported.
Murayama, always interpreted to him—addressing
him in a full distinct tone, respectfully—bowing at the
end of each sentence, resting on his hands on the
ground, leaning over them, his eyes cast down, and at
the conclusion of every sentence inhaling audibly
through his teeth, as if afraid of offending. 247
The Governor uttered not a syllable, except in put¬
ting the questions. Acted with great dignity.
One of the questions—as on a former occasion—
was whether I believed in a God in Heaven. I said
Yes!—Then I was asked what was my belief as to a
God in Heaven.
I answered, first, that I believed in One God, and
that He was constantly and everywhere present.
Then Murayama—as if not satisfied with the answer
—asked what I believed in respect to God in Heaven.
I answered by beginning to recite the “Apostles’ Creed”
—in my English prayer book—having been brought
up an Episcopalean—my father’s creed and my own;
but when I had said “And in Jesus Christ, his only Son,”
born of the Virgin Mary”; 248 Murayama suddenly
stopped me, saying, quickly, in whisper “that will do !
that will do !” He then proceeded to translate my an¬
swer, to the Governor, or, at least, so much of it as he
thought necessary—refraining—I believe—from any
mention of the “Virgin Mary,” or “Christ.” In that, he
was my friend, indeed! After some conversation among
247 This inbreathing or drawing in of the breath is an ancient custom
of politeness, that one should not offend in any way neither by one’s
breath nor what might possibly fly out of the mouth of the person.
Gradually the custom became a mark of respect.
248 The account concerning MacDonald’s views on religion given in
the Appendix shows that the interpreters did not fully translate the
prisoner’s words.
Japan Story of Adventure
221
themselves, viz: between the Governor, Murayama, and
others, the grandees about, the Governor told me by
Murayama, thai a house would be prepared for me, and
that—as it was expressed—“If I was good, I should
live better and better”—so my friend Murayama put
it, probably in his own kindly way.
I thereupon, in thanks, salaamed to the Governor,
on my knees, and when on my feet, also bowed. His
Excellency, however, did not return the compliment.
I was then conducted outside: went down the steps,
entered a palanquin, and was carried through the streets
to a place surrounded with a stone wall about six feet
high, topped with broken glass.
There was a cluster of houses within the wall, and in
the spaces between them and the wall were bamboo
railings. There was a little garden in front. The house
I was put in appeared to be an old building newly
repaired: everything appeared neat and clean; flooring
covered with mats. Entered by a lobby which commun¬
icated with my prison.
This, my prison, was partitioned off with bars about
four inches thick and the same distance apart. 249
Extent, Seven Feet By Nine
The wall of the house had been removed and these
high bars substituted, and a wooden screen about twenty-
five feet high made in front of the bars about twelve
249 The usual prison compartment all over Japan. This “roya” or
cage was reasonably light and airy, with provision for cleanliness and
warmth; and all prisoners confined therein were reasonably well fed ac¬
cording to the dietary of the country. Overmeer Fisher in his Bydrage
tot Kentis van het Japansche Ryk (Contributions toward the Knowledge
of the Japanese Realm, quarto, 1833) describes another form of prison
—the “gokuya” for heinous offenders. These are dungeons within the
walls of the government house, lighted and ventilated only by a small,
grated window in the roof, and fully on a par with similar chambers of
horror familiar in Europe prior to the middle of the nineteenth century.
222 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
or fifteen feet off. Off this, to one side, was another
room, for washing, and other conveniences, including
bath, hot or cold. All these were at my service.
There was nothing in the room (den, 9 feet by 7) but
mats, a brazier, tea pot, and cup. The mats—ordinary
ones—were six feet by three—with a selvage of gauze¬
like stuff: mats of rice straw, three inches thick.
The Japanese bed and clothes, and a looking glass
which 1 had got from the Governor of Matsmai were
returned to me. I had the use, also, of a mosquito bar
(curtain) which was necessary even then—October—
the weather being fine and mild, even warm, with the
South West monsoon just set in.
In the evening, a tray with bowls of soup and rice,
and a kettle of tea were brought in. The tray—an or¬
dinary one—was of light wood, varnished—japanned.
I supped alone.
On the following day I got a small table, about a foot
and a half high, without having asked for it. They don’t
use tables.
I asked Murayama, the first time he visited me after
my examination, for my books. He said I could not get
them. I then asked for my Bible. He answered: “Don’t
mention name of Bible in Japan, it is a bad book”. I
replied I was lonsome. To which he rejoined—“If
vou be good, the Governor will give you everything
you want”.
There was a guard over me, night and day; and my
room was always locked. I was treated coolly: Even
Murayama being distant.
There were, at first, nine interpreters—Dutch—be¬
sides Murayama and Saxtuere—with me, by turns, one
a day. They were there then, merely to attend to my
wants. There was no conversation between us. They
Japan Story of Adventure
223
looked: I looked. When I expressed my wants, they
referred to their dictionary, 250 —Dutch-English—and
I had the thing.
Chapter XIII
Second Examination in Court—Complimented—Third
Examination in Our House—Information; Suggest¬
ions for Trade, Etc.—Sympathy—More Friendly—
School for English, Fourteen Pupils, Interpreters—
Language—Intelligence of Pupils—Religions—Mor¬
als—Eagerness for Information—Curiosity—Wom¬
en, Dress, Etc.—Guards, Friendly—Interpreters,
Reticence, Etc.—Fate of the Captain of My Guard.
About twenty days after my first trial—for indeed
it was that—I was again taken to the Court. This
time I was examined before Sherrei and another per¬
son.
They questioned me particularly as to the cause,
means, and object of my leaving my vessel. I answered
as I had before. They had asked me whether I did not,
with the quadrant, intend to survey the coast. I said
No!
They asked me again what relatives I had: Whether
the Captain would be punished: what was the business
of my father; what, my own business: and whether on
arrival of my vessel in port there would be an enquiry
instituted about me.
On all these points I gave them answers which seemed
to be satisfactory.
250 The third English edition of Charles Peter Thunberg’s Travels
(London, 1796) contains an English-Japanese vocabulary of approxi¬
mately 1500 words; this was probably the first English-Japanese vocabu¬
lary published. It seems to have been unknown to our author and his
scholars.
224 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Again, they observed. “You must have a great
heart to leave in a little boat, etc. I could only smile
at the compliment, given, I believe, in all the sincerity
of their good nature.
About a fortnight after that, I underwent another
examination; but this time in my own “house”, as the
Governor called my cage.
They then produced before me, a Japanese copy of
an English Atlas. They asked me to point out the
course we had taken; what points we stopped at; and
all about the people, products, etc., at these places. I
told all I knew.
They seemed to be pleased.
When I pointed out Battan in the China Sea, as the
last port at which the vessel I left had touched they
observed that it was a “bad place”. They conversed
a long time about it, using often the word “padre”. 251
They enquired particularly about whaling: the num¬
ber of vessels engaged in it. I gave them to under¬
stand, as delicately as possible in the way of suggestion,
that for such business particularly, Japan would be a
good place for supplies; and that if Japan were to fur¬
nish them there would be no necessity for going to the
Sandwich Islands or Hong Kong. I asked them wheth¬
er in the event of the English, Americans, French, or
Russians seeking to open trade with them they would
consent. They said No! Murayama, with some em¬
phasis, stating—“No ship can approach the Coast: No
ship can enter our harbours: It is against the law”.
I often, after that, spoke to him on the subject. His
answer was invariably the same. He assigned, as the
cause of the law, the revolutionary conduct of the Por-
251 “Padre” or more commonly “bateren” the common native term
for a Roman Catholic priest.
Japan Story of Adventure
225
tugese Christians early in the seventeenth century, for
which they were expelled, and those remaining utterly
annihilated in the land.
The matter is one of general history.
At every examination of me the Secretary (Govern¬
or’s) was present with papers containing my former
answers; and on each answer to a question, reference
was made to my answer as taken down on a previous
occasion.
They appeared to be satisfied.
A few days afterwards I was again questioned in the
Town Hall: this time before Mr. Livessohn, the Dutch
Factor. His questions were a mere repetition of former
ones at my previous examinations. He was seated on
a chair, on one of the broad steps, and had a small
round table before him.
He told me that the Dutch ship 252 had gone, and that
1 would have to wait another year before I could be
liberated.
I said nothing.
He expressed disapprobation at the conduct of the
Captain for allowing me to leave the vessel under such
circumstances. I told him that it was my wish.
After this examination they were more friendly. Mur-
ayama and Saxtuero almost daily with me. They would
not consciously give me any information, but were very
inquisitive 253 on several subjects; on which I told them
all I knew.
In fact, during nearly all my confinement, and near¬
ly daily, Murayama and others were my pupils. There
252 This was the “Josephine Catherine” which arrived at Batavia in
the fall of 1848. U. S. Senate Ex. Doc’t 59, 32nd Congress 1st sec., p. 4.
253 “They were continually asking questions for information upon
every subject.” Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 256. Hereon see
Frances L. Hawks, op. cit., i, 464-465.
226 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
were fourteen of them. I give their names, phonetically,
as pronounced to me by themselves:—
Names of pupils—interpreters 254 ( Tsoose-Gada ) 255
—Nagasaki 1848-1849 of Ranald MacDonald.
1. Nish Youtchero, (Nishi Yoichiro).
2. Wirriamra Saxtuero, (Uyemura Sakuschichiro).
3. Murayama Yeanoske, (Moriyama E-inoske).
4. Nish Kataro, (Nishi Keitaro).
5. Akawa Ki Ejuro, (Ogawa Keijuro).
6. Shoya Tanasabero, (Shioya Tanesaburo).
7. Nakiama Shoma, (Nakayama Hyoma).
8. Enomade Dinoske, (Inomata Dennosuke).
9 Sujake Tatsuetsero, (Shizuki Tatsuichiro).
10. Hewashe Yasaro, (Iwase Yashiro).
11. Inderego Horn, (Hori Ichiro).
12. Shegie Taganotske, (Shige Takanoske).
13. Namra Tsenoske, (Namura Tsunenoske).
14. Motoke Sayemon, (Motoki Shosayemon).
Their habit was to read English to me: One at a
time. My duty was to correct their pronunciation, and
as best as I could in Japanese explain meaning, con¬
struction, etc. It was difficult to make them catch some
of our sounds especially the consonants, and some of
the combinations, particularly were impracticable to
them.
254 fn Thunberg’s time (1770-1779) there were 40 or 50 interpreters
attached to the Dutch Factory, who spoke Dutch with more or less ac¬
curacy and were extremely fond of European books, among which he
noted an ancient dictionary in the Latin, Portuguese and Japanese lan¬
guages. Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, pp. 32-37. The Japanese
kept Golownin and his companions constantly busy translating with the
view of familiarizing themselves with the Russian language, and
Golownin mentions their having charts and maps showing Russia, Eu¬
rope, England, etc., and many European books in their possession, in¬
cluding some English books. See Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., i, 259-
262.
255 Tsuji-kata.
Tatsnoski
Pupil of Ranald MacDonald, Second Interpreter in the negotiations
with Commodore Perry
From Hawks’ Narrative, i, 485.
Japan Story of Adventure
227
For instance: They cannot pronounce, except very
imperfectly, the letter l . 256 They pronounce it r. So
that they rendered my name Ranardo Macdonardo,
with a strong burr of the r . They also had a habit of
adding an i (short i) or o at the end after a consonant.
As to the vowels there was no difficulty: They have all
the full ore rotundo sound, and are all pronounced,
even the final e (oe).
They were all well up in grammar, etc., especially
Murayama; that is to say, they learned it readily from
me. They were all very quick, and receptive. It was a
pleasure to teach them.
The discussions as to signification and different ap¬
plications of words were, at times, a little laborious, but,
on the whole, satisfactory, by aid of the dictionaries,
and my own natural aptitude in that way—of which
I had no idea till developed by the effort. Without
boast, I may say, that I picked up their language eas¬
ily, many of their words sounding familiar to me—pos¬
sibly through my maternal ancestry . 257
However, having no grammar, nor any book of in¬
struction about their language; and they all (except one
or two of my guards) being studiedly reticent on all
subjects pertaining to the country, it was only a smat¬
tering that I managed to pick up. Still, in the nature
and unavoidable effect of our converse, it was a good
deal; and on a variety of subjects; many of public mo¬
ment.
256 The Japanese have no 1, and every consonant is followed by a
vowel or the liquid u.
257 On the question of the Japanese origin of the North American
Indians, correspondence In language, vocabulary, etc., see the appendix
to the 1st ed. of fm. Elliott Griffis The Mikado's Empire. A close ex¬
amination under the miscroscope shows the hair and muscular arrange¬
ment of the eyes is different and denotes the North American Indian a
distinct race from the Japanese and other Asiatic people.
228 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Amongst my visitors were some priests, some dressed
in black, some in dark olive green and some in reddish
or Spanish brown. Their garments differed from the
ordinary Japanese dress only in the sleeves being wider,
and the dress (robe) being longer.
They were perfectly bald—without the ordinary tuft
(ori). They appeared to be intelligent. Though fat, they
had no signs of high living. They are nearly strict
vegetarians; not eating even fish. I believe they do
not marry ; 258 so I was told.
All I could learn regarding their religion—I speak of
the Japanese people proper, and their original native re¬
ligion was that they worship Deity (Sin 259 as their term
is, but which strictly, means Way —The Way —to God,
creator and father of all) in the abstract, as represented
by material nature, chiefly the Sun—a pure Natural Re¬
ligion ; and they believe, that when they die good, they
go to Heaven. What that Heaven may be, according
to their conceptions, I cannot say. I never heard them
speak of hell or purgatory. They have a Devil
(“Onie ”), 260 whom they fear; and when they imagine
he comes across their course, they kneel, rubbing, at the
same time, the palms of their hands together in sign of
supplication to be spared from misfortune or evil. They
are superstitious in signs; while having much faith in
prayer for material blessings and purity of heart.
As to what is good (moral), and what the contrary,
I know of no standard among them, acknowledged as
such; no dogma, in our sense, no code, like that of Con-
258 Priests do not marry except in the Shinshiu Sect. See hereon
V/m. Elliot Griffis The Religions of Japan.
259 Shin or Sin, as Shintoism; i. e. “Shin” or Kami, Superior or
“God,” and “to,” the way or path. See hereon Wm. Elliott Griffis Re¬
ligions of Japan.
260 Oni.
Japan Story of Adventure
229
fucius, or system of “Golden Rules” as amongst the
Chinese; but, so far as my observation and experience
went, it is as high, as pure, as humane, as loving of all
Nature, guileless and innocent as any out of Eden;more
Christian, in its beatitudes, in many aspects, than
Christianity itself (so called) in the world since its
primal purity . 261
Where they got such religion; and how they so kept
it since they left the cradle of our (and their) race, it is
not for me to say; nor, so far as I know from my little
discursive reading, had anyone—historian, or chron¬
icler, or savant—assumed to say, with any authority.
Themselves don’t say; don’t pretend to know.
The expression, given in a preceding page, of Mura-
yama as to our Bible shows that they do not acknowl¬
edge a record of revelation from Deity. But on the
other hand, the approval, by the Governor and Court of
my emphatic belief in God, Omniscient, Omnipresent,
Omnipotent, Maker of all things, etc., shows clearly
their pure Theism—Monotheism—the Highest avowed
by man. Its avowal by me was my Shibboleth, in my
straits. It saved me!
We—of the so-called Christian Church, may regard
such Theism as an imperfect religion, and, in effect,
essentially heathenism, like that—said—of the Chi¬
nese, Quaere! Are we right? By what rule—law—
should we so condemn our brother? As God made
him; and has ever in his wanderings through the desert
of life, from generation to generation been his Preserver
and “Way of life,” so he is today! Is it for us to con¬
demn our fellowman?
261 The Japanese told us that these principles (Christian) were not
peculiar to Christians, but were common to all individuals who had good
hearts. Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., i, 264-265.
230 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
I am no controversialist in religion. What I have
in this way, I cherish, and try in my own weak humble
way to live up to, in faith in Christ—as a Christian in
profession and heart—and I thus speak because this
have 1 learned my duty to Man as to God.
My place of residence, though really a prison—for I
had no liberty beyond the bars of my cage—was the re¬
sort of quite a variety of people. Men of all sorts—stu¬
dents, officers, priests and people in general of the re¬
spectable classes, except women, came to stare at me, as
a natural curiosity. The only exception as to women,
was in the case of one of my guards, the Captain of
them. He asked me for my consent to bring his wife
and daughter and three of their females to see me.
Of course, ! gave it, for I was anxious also to see how
their women looked. They came; entering the guard
room, and squatting there like men. I invited them, if
they wished to see me, to enter my apartment—the
“Lion’s den.” They all did so; giggling.
I cannot say that they were beautiful; nor, on the
other hand, that they were ugly. Their general expres¬
sion of countenance was that of smiling good nature
and artlessness calculated to make a favorable impres¬
sion.
Their dress, especially the head gear, was strange to
me. After they left me, I made an attempt to sketch it,
but found I was not equal to the artistic effort. In lieu,
I attempt a description.
They were dressed alike, or nearly so. Wore a gown
similar to that of the men, but longer, of cotton, striped,
with wide sleeves, wider than those of the men; dress
bound round the waist, loosely, by a very broad belt, of
stuff like raw coarse silk. As to their under and foot
dressing I cannot say. They shuffled in and out, and
Japan Story of Adventure
231
squatted in such a manner that they looked more like
moving bundles of loose clothes than any thing else.
I had, however, a good view of their heads. Their com¬
plexion was a light brown; eyes black and slightly
oblique; nose short, and almost straight, nor prominent
but well developed. Face more round than oval, with
well-proportioned mouth, cheek bones protrusive but
not prominently; broad and intellectual forehead, fully
exposed. Their hair black—intensely black—long,
rolled up and tied on the top of the head, fastened with
bodkins or hair pins (or arrows) about fifteen inches in
length, apparently of wood inlaid with silver. The mar¬
ried woman (the Captain’s wife) had blackened
teeth; 262 the unmarried women, apparently young, had
very red lips, and teeth slightly tinged with red; lips
flattish, not large; the girl had white teeth and natural
color in all her features.
So far as 1 could judge of their figures, they were
short and not unshapely; bearing themselves with a
graceful modest dignity. To judge of their general dis¬
position, I should say it was a prevailing amiability.
Being nothing of a “lady’s man”—poor at small talk
—I had no conversation with them—merely, in “Lion
roar,” addressing them, on their entry and departure,
with a few words—Japanese—in compliment. There
262 “Among the women, the married were easily to be distinguished
from the unmarried by the black front teeth, which from their delight
and laughing so frequently, were often shown.” von Langdorff, 248.
See also Francis L. Hawks, op. cit., i, 395, and Richard Hildreth, op. cit.,
ii, 121-122.
Japanese ladies wore no jewelry or trinkets or ornaments other than
their hair-combs and long hair-pins. They, however, painted their faces
red and white, and the unmarried ones also painted their lips red and
violet with a golden glow. Married women in addition to painting their
teeth black, as noted above, sometimes extirpated the eyebrows. See
Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 77-78; Capt. V. M. Golownin, op.
cit., iii, 101-102; Mrs. W. Buck, op. cit., 22.
232 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
was no tell-tale interpreter bye at the time—at least
none that I saw—yet, the result proved that some
“Peeping Tom,” must have seen and told.
As to this incident I would state. That missing the
Captain shortly afterwards—for we were close friends
—I inquired about him, and was informed that his head
had been chopped off—that was how they expressed it
—for breaking the law, forbidding what he had done in
bringing women to my prison. If so—which I could
scarcely believe—the law seemed to me to be a very
harsh one. I was sincerely sorry to lose, thus, the kind-
hearted companion of many of my lonely hours. I used
to talk to him as I could not to any one else; and he re¬
sponded with marked intelligence and sympathy.
During the seven months and more of my close con¬
finement in my cage in Nagasaki, I drew more comfort
and sustaining companionship from my pupils the Offi¬
cial Interpreters. I picked up more of the colloquial
language of the country, or of the place from them than
from scholars.
In the higher matter of intellectual study and discus¬
sion I could draw only from the latter; but as before ob¬
served, they were ever studiedly on their guard against
saying too much in exposition of their affairs and gen¬
eral public or even private life. Of this, more anon, per¬
haps, before I close. To proceed with my narrative.
Japan Story of Adventure
233
Chapter XIV
Kindness, Effusive—Place of Honor for My Bible—
Food—Sundays, Specialties—Foreigners in the City
—Acquire Language—Change of Governor—Sys¬
tem of Government—Harra-Karri—Sense of Honor
—Sacrifices to It—Personal Reflections on Ethics of
Such Course, and Japanese Life—Empire: How
Ruled—Character of People—Feudal System—
Laws—Aspirations—Kindness—Arrival of “Pre¬
ble”—Military Display—Arms, Etc.-—Liberation—
Departure in “Preble”
The above was the last examination I underwent in
Japan. After that, I was more kindly treated. I liter¬
ally had-—as the Governor had promised—everything
I wanted—except liberty outside. They even gave me
up my Bible; and seeing—as they expressed it—that “I
made a God of it,” they made a neat shelf (“tokiwari”)
at a corner of my room, to put it on, as a place of honor.
And further, they even at my request, did violence to
their religious prejudice against meat as food, so far as
to give me pork every seventh day. I was, by nature
and habit a meat eater. There was no beef, though they
had bullocks for work; no mutton; but I knew that, for
the Dutch, they raised pigs, and had pork. At the same
time I wanted to keep the run of our weeks—which are
different from theirs—and called pork day my Sunday.
According to my count of time I made it so.
The only thing I complained of was the smallness of
my cage, but in this I got no satisfaction; not even a rea¬
son for the refusal. It was, according to their ideas of
a “House to live in,” good enough for a single man, who
had to be watched as an intruder; and, as I afterwards
234 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
learned, I was better off in this respect than other for¬
eign prisoners then, in the same city, in confinement.
This fact of other foreign prisoners being in the city
was, I may explain, not voluntarily told me by any one,
but in course of conversation with my guards and vis¬
itors, I caught at certain sailor terms used by them
which I suspected they must have picked up from Brit¬
ish or American sailors 263 about the place. They used
263 From the days of Will Adams (1600-1620); Richard Cocks, the
English factor (1614-1623) and James Turner down to the time of our
author’s visit there was more or less opportunity for the Japanese to
pick up some knowledge of England and America and of the English
language; especially after the withdrawal of the ban against foreign
books in 1720, which permitted a limited introduction of books of gen¬
eral knowledge through the Dutch. For 60 years prior to MacDonald’s
visit British and American sailors had been somewhat familiar with
Japan and the inhabitants along its coasts. In addition to the official
attempts by vessels of Great Britain and the United States to open in¬
tercourse with Japan (mentioned in note 140, ante, p. 130,) it may be
stated that in 1796 Captain Broughton landed and buried Olason, one
of his sailors, on an island at Enderino Bay.
The war with England having deprived the Dutch from trading di¬
rectly with Japan, they freighted ships in the United States with cargoes
for Japan, and these ships entered Nagasaki under the Dutch flag. The
first of these was the “Eliza” of New York, Stewart, captain, which
took the place of the regular Dutch ship in 1797 and again in 1798. In
1803 Captain Stewart again appeared in the Bay of Nagasaki on a pri¬
vate venture under the American flag with a cargo from Bengal and
Canton, but he was compelled to depart without trading. Mrs. W. Buck,
op. cit., 268; Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., i, 289.
Other American ships visited the Dutch factory at Nagasaki in the
years 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, 1806, 1807 and 1809, when the “Re¬
becca” entered. Archibald Campbell, a Scotchman, a common sailor on
board the ship “Eclipse” of Boston, Captain Joseph O’Kean, in his “Voy¬
age Around the World” page 28, gives an account of the ship which,
chartered at Canton by the Russian American Company, entering the
bay of Nagasaki under the Russian flag in 1807.
Dr. Ainslie reached Nagasaki on one of the two ships dispatched to
the Dutch factory by Raffles in 1813, and the Japanese interpreters then
possessed some knowledge of the English and Russian languages. Mrs.
W. Buck, op. cit., 288, 294, 295. The interpreters interviewing Capt.
Gordon in June, 1818, already knew a little English.
Dr. Phillip Franz von Siebold speaks of the frequent squabbles, in his
time, between the Japanese and the English and American whalers who
necessarily or unnecessarily violated the Japanese harbors, and adds that
since 1830 interpreters who had some understanding of English and
Russian were stationed at different points all around the exterior coast
Japan Story of Adventure
235
—without telling me whence they got them—to ask the
meaning of these terms, for by this time, I could speak
a sort of “pidgin”—Japanese, or, at least, had the repu¬
tation for it.
Many of the terms I could not literally translate, as
they were simply sailor objurgations, meaningless and
innocent generally—such as “shiver my timbers!” etc.
The Japanese don’t swear; have no oaths—so far as I
know. In such case, I paraphrased the expression, as
best I could, for in common politeness, I had to answer
them.
In all these communications to or with me each one
seemed afraid of another informing on him. I was,
of Japan in preparation for the possible approach of any strange ship.
Mrs. W. Buck, op. cit., 294, 295.
In 1826 English convicts on the way to Australia in the brig “Cyprus”
landed on the coast of Japan, and, according to an account in the Sidney
(Australia) Gazette, February, 1842, the crew of the “Lady Rowena”
destroyed a Japanese village in latitude 43.
During the period of exclusion much actual intercourse of necessity
occurred between the Japanese of the Coasts and the British and Ameri¬
can seamen, especially those in the whale fishery. The Seaman’s Friend,
Honolulu, Oahu, S. I., December 1, 1848, after commenting on the num¬
ber of whaling vessels cruising within full view of the Japanese coast,
says: “Several whale ships have fallen in with junks, exchanged civili¬
ties with them, and in some instances relieved those in distress.”
Numerous British and American boats were wrecked on or touched
the coast of Japan in the years preceeding MacDonald’s visit. The ship
“Tobey,” Capt. Charles, which sailed for the Northwest Coast on March
11, 1822, was supposed to have been wrecked on the Coast of Japan and
all on board lost or imprisoned. Starbuck, 242. The “Lady Adams”
was wrecked off the Japanese coast in 1823— Idem., 141; the “Lawrence”
of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Baker, captain, which sailed on July 10, 1845,
was also wrecked, see note 175, p. 161; the English brig “Catherine” in
1847 was wrecked and the captain and crew imprisoned; the “Pocohan-
tas” of New York, S. Carter, captain, and crew who re-shipped on the
“Trident,” were left on the island of Otatoe, North of Yezo, in July,
1850; Capt. H. H. Lovitt of Hobarttown and the crew of the English
ship “Edmond” were wrecked on the coast near Yezo in 1850; the “David
Paddock,” which accompanied MacDonald’s ship, was also wrecked on
the Japanese coast. See note 148, pages 138-139, Reuben Andrews, first
officer of the “David Paddock,” states that the Japanese governor and
the natives on the southwest cape of Saghalen, where the crew landed
and remained there three days, knew several English words, such as
“Jack,” “Joe,” “Grog Oh,” “America,” etc., and were friendly and sup¬
plied them with a hundred weight of rice when they left.
236 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
therefore, always careful never to tell tales against any¬
one; and they seemed to remark this, evincing perfect
confidence in me. The people proper are, 1 would say,
naturally trustful. Their spy system seemed to me more
artificial than otherwise—an incident of governance in
a country where, from the habit of intrigue in the gov¬
erning classes, watch and ward have become the “order
of the day.” 264
Towards the close of my confinement I was in¬
formed, one day, by one of my guards, that there was
a change of Governor.
Governors, 1 understood, are (or were then) ap¬
pointed by the secular Emperor (Siogoun) 265 and hold
office for one year—the family of each Governor being
retained, at Yeddo, as hostages for good conduct, dur¬
ing office.
In case of misconduct in office, and conviction for
it, it is left to the guilty one, to kill himself, or allow him¬
self to be killed, for die he must. The act of suicide is
deemed the more honorable alternative, and is generally
resorted to.
It is done with a short sword, always worn (for the
purpose) in front, in a belt, with another, a longer
sword, the two together as a sign of rank. 267 This
smaller sword, is a blade about eighteen inches in
264 “We made our remarks to each other upon the nation with whom
we were endeavoring to form new connections, upon their excessive
closeness, upon the circumspection with which each step was taken; it
seemed as if the least error would cost the life even of the person high¬
est in rank. Every thought, every question, every word, was weighed
in the nicest manner, and appeared to have some particular aim in view.”
G. H. von Langsdorff, op. cit., 239. See also hereon Wm. Elliott Griffis,
op. cit., 295. See hereon Hawks, op. cit., i, 15, 16.
265 Shogun.
267 of the Samurai; sometimes colloquially called or named “two-
sword men.”
Japan Story of Adventure
237
length, covered with paper to within two inches of its
point. This bared part is drawn across the belly (rip¬
ping the bowels) and across the wind pipe—cutting the
throat. The act is called “Harra Karri ” 268 —sounded
as two words, which may be translated “Happy dis¬
patch.”
It is quite frequent: an ancient social habit. Most
honorable in their regard, it is considered a perfect ex¬
piation for misconduct or guilt, and saves from confis¬
cation of property, and imputation of disgrace to the
family of the self-executioner.
Further than that: Sometimes, at the requisition of
the Emperor, a number of them—high officers chiefly
—have been known to thus execute Harri Karri to avert
or check a public calamity; thus appeasing—as they
imagine—by sacrifice of life blood—atonement—of¬
fended Deity.
These are things hard to believe of such a people, so
far as I could judge of them from my own observation.
Thus to find—or rather to hear—amongst themselves,
of such superstition and “heathen darkness,” is repug¬
nant to our sense of the moral relations of God and
man. I could not believe, and I don’t believe, that such
was, then , (when I was with them) still their code or
creed in such matters. The tone and line of thought ex¬
pressed by them—I mean particularly my pupils—for¬
bade such belief. They were not Christians; but in
their sense of Deity—regard and acknowledgment, at
heart, of One Father of All, and of His infinite good¬
ness and providential care to and over all men and all
268 Hara-kiri, literally “belly-cut”; the polite word is seppuku, “ab¬
domen incision.” MacDonald’s expression “Happy dispatch” is purely
factitious. The term, however, appears in Mrs. W. Buck, op. cit., (1841),
241; in Francis Hawks, op. cit., and is used by Dr. Wm. Elliot Griffis
in his Life of Townsend Harris, 82.
238 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
life they, certainly are not below any Christian people
of any time or place, that I ever knew or read of. I may
have said as much before, but as the occasion, now,
here, presents itself, I repeat it. In my heart I cannot
say enough on this score.
Living as I then was—a stranger amongst strangers
—with no familiar converse on such themes save with
my Bible—the Word (in it) ever speaking to me in
aversion to such gross error and sin, while at the same
time inculcating love to man, in his every aspect and re¬
lation, it strained my heart that I could not preach, then,
and there, unto them, that Word as given unto me. My
own proper sense of my situation as to them forbade
any effort in the way of teaching a new or other faith
to them. Moreover, I had no special aptitude, nor train¬
ing for the purpose; and it did not enter into my per¬
sonal aims to incur any martyrdom for any Church’s
sake. I went of the broad “platform” of a common
humanity—thoroughly imbued with the idea that, truly,
“The things of Christ are not of this world,” or to put
it briefly—Church and State are not one , whatever
their accidental relations may be. Pulpits, polls and
parliaments have each, in the order of things, their ap¬
propriate functions. I belonged to none of them. I was
simply a wanderer, for knowledge—an adventurer in
the broad field of adventure, for adventure’s sake.
Feudal System A. D. 1849
From what I saw and learned, the basis, then, of their
government, was the feudal system; abolished since. I
should say a feudal system, for, so far as I know it was
not to be identified, precisely, with our general idea of
the feudal system, as we read of it in Europe in the old-
Japan Story of Adventure
239
en time. I am not sufficiently familiar with the subject
to offer any definition of it, or discuss it.
The Country, I understand, was then (in my time
there) divided into twenty-eight feudal Lordships or
Principalities (Daimios), acknowledging, as a canon of
faith (political) the Mikado (as he is called) as their
Supreme, and Divine Head in government.
In theory, and really, he was—and is still—the Em¬
peror in the sense of Civic and national governance; for
there cannot, in the nature of things, be two “Emper¬
ors” (Imperium in imperio) of the same country, and
people. From the theocratic character of this Imperium
the Executive—functional—-was placed in a Chief Min¬
ister of State—“Premier or Grand-Vizier”—with an
Assistant Council, of highest Nobles, about a dozen,
with separate Departments. In the course of time, acci¬
dentally and abnormally, this Chief Minister—original¬
ly also Generalissimo—while, ostensibly even admitting
the theocratic supremacy of the Mikado, assumed the
secular attributes of soverignty under the name of
Koboe, or Siogoun —-practically, Emperor.
This began in the twelfth century of our era, and
eighteenth of the Mikado Dynasty, and has continued
ever since till A. D. 1868—twenty years after my time
in Japan.
The consequence of the Koboe 269 system was a
chronic state of internecine strife amongst the Daimios
—some claiming, in internal government, to be utterly
independent. Now the Mikado, as sole Emperor, with
a Parliament of his people, on essentially of British
model, reigns, supreme, by divine right of kingship. To
what their march in the progress of nationhood will ulti¬
mately attain no man can tell. In this they may yet lead
269 Kubo; a 16th century appellation of the Shogun.
240 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the world; their autonomy being of the strongest among
men; and, now, the most active in national progress.
Laws
As to their Laws I don’t know much; and cannot en¬
ter into details. 1 know that in general character, they
are very severe, and are rigorously enforced in defense
of life and property.
The principle of compensation (Lex taliotiis) obtains
amongst them. In case of murder the family of the de¬
ceased is allowed to kill the murderer if he runs away
or attempts to do so. If he does not run away, nor at¬
tempts it, he has to be duly tried.
In case of theft and other crimes, trial is had before
a Magistrate or Governor. The latter has the power of
life and death. Government—in my time there—was
essentially despotic; though practically not cruel ac¬
cording to general standards civilized or uncivilized.
NOTE IN CONCLUSION
In the above cursory statements, I have given only a
mere skeleton sketch of what—in spite of difficulties—
I managed to pick up in the way of information.
My imprisonment, though close, allowed me daily
communication with people—many sorts—who, from
curiosity, came to see me; in this regard I did not remark
any special restraint on the part of the authorities. Nat¬
urally sociable, I always made friends; and at the same
time managed not to excite any suspicion of the extrac¬
tive (“pumping”) process which, as occasion offered, I
applied to my visitors, and attendants, and even pupils.
The Japanese, I would observe, are naturally chatty;
Japan Story of Adventure
241
always in a vein of good humor. 270 In this respect I
was en rapport with them. In look, facial features, etc.,
I was not unlike them; my sea life and rather dark com¬
plexion, moreover, giving me their general color—a
healthy bronze. I never had a cross word with any of
them; and I think I passed rather as a favorite amongst
them—eliciting, ever and anon, the compliment of the
Governor, as to my “heart/’
Naturally, they are brave—I should say—utterly
fearless of death; their instincts markedly military. I
believe they would suffer annihilation rather than sur¬
render in defense of their country. Unconquered; un¬
conquerable: 271 that is their proud position.
Enjoying a well-guarded liberty 272 in their social life,
and a perfect toleration of creed, except as to that form
270 “Of their friendly disposition and good nature towards foreigners
I have frequently with astonishment seen manifest proofs.” Charles
Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 258. Capt. V. M. Golownin, [op. cit., 89, et
seq .,] records many expressions of sympathy and benevolent acts by the
Japanese. See also Hawks, op. cit., i, 267, 327, 512.
National characteristics change slowly, and for a proper understand¬
ing of the Japanese people observations made by Charles Peter Thun¬
berg 125 years ago might bear repeating: “This nation is lofty, it is true,
but good-natured and friendly with all; with gentleness and kindness it
may be soothed and brought to hear reason, but it is not to be moved in
the least by threats or anything like defiance. . . . Pride is the prin¬
cipal defect of the Japanese. Whatever injury a Japanese might be in¬
clined to put up with, he can never bear to have his pride touched.”
Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 258, 260. “The point of honor is
extremely lively in all ranks.” Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., iii, 36.
Hawks, [Op. cit., i, 17] states: “Among a people so sensitive.
it is obvious that a great deal now depends on the fairness, good sense,
and good temper of our consular representative.almost every
writer describes them as naturally frank in manner, communicative and
open in speech on ordinary topics, and possessed of a very high sense of
honor.”
271 Charles Peter Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 261, likewise comments upon
the unconquered nation and the valor and unconquerable spirit of the
Japanese people.
272 “The rights of the highest and lowest class of people alike are
protected by its laws. No nation in the whole expansive tract of the
Indes is more vigilantly attentive to their liberties.” Charles Peter
Thunberg, op. cit., iii, 254.
242 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
of Christian Faith known as Roman Catholic, banned,
for reasons of State, over two hundred years ago—(I
speak of the time I was then there)—they had nothing
to complain of.
Yet, under that mask of placidity which they pre¬
sented, I could see the inner v/orking of aspirations for
a higher life amongst the nations of the earth. I per¬
ceived this more particularly in Murayama and some of
the younger of my pupils (all grown men), with minds
of keenest search; acute enough to pierce the veil of their
old traditional life, which, to them, was as the rotting
shroud of a dead past.
During the full seven months and more I was thus
immured, I never once stepped outside my prison. Yet
I never suffered in bodily health. Of active habit, full
blooded; great vitality; it was hard for me to be thus
cooped up.
In the earlier part of the restraint, when, from my
ignorance of their vernacular, I could not freely con¬
verse with my guards and visitors, and only with some
difficulty with my pupils, time hung heavily on me.
Yet I was content, as all being in the line of my venture.
I had, moreover, some distractions, pleasant rather than
otherwise.
In the first place, I was served with almost lordly
state: with five or six waiters to attend on me at every
meal—four a day—with special extra ceremony at my
Sunday feast, on the pork (“good-so” 273 as they called
it with its accompaniment bread (“pan ” 21 *—as they
273 Gochiso, often pronounced “got-so.”
274 From the Portuguese pao—one of the indelible traces of the in¬
fluence of Portuguese commerce with Japan prior to their exclusion in
639. In the Japanese language there are numerous other words of
Portuguese origin, some of which, are so perfectly naturalized that their
foreign origin is not at once apparent.
Japan Story of Adventure
243
called it). They don’t use bread, and very little flour,
which they make up, only as a rarity, into sweet cakes.
I had also butter, which they call boutre 215 —from the
Dutch. They don’t use butter, nor milk in any way from
animals. All these (to them) rarities they seemed to
take a pleasure in procuring for me, and were effusively
demonstrative in, most regularly, laying before me,
with the appropriate table service of knife, fork, etc. !
forgot to mention that they made me a “comfortable”
according to order and directions from myself. They
are singularly expert in such work.
In the course of time came our New Year’s day (Jan¬
uary 1st, 1849) 276 and with it, a present from the kind
Dutch Factor (John Livessohn) of a bottle of exquisite
coffee, some small loaves of wheaten bread—also, more
precious still to me—sixty-eight numbers of the Lon¬
don Atlas newspaper, and Weekly Dispatch, the whole
with his polite card of compliments. 277
275 Botoru, from the Dutch boter. The Japanese do not use butter.
Charles Peter Thunberg, (1779), op. cit., iii, 73.
276 The Japanese New Year begins, generally, in our February.—
[Original.]
277 Levyssohn, in his Bladen over Japan, 55, mentions MacDonald on
this occasion:
“Ter gelegenheid van het nieuw ingetreden jaar werd op den 1 Janu¬
ary, door my aan den avonturier Ranald Macdonald eene hoeveelheid
levensmiddelen en andere benoodigdheden, na alvorens dienaangaande
van den gouverneur van Nagasaki verlof gevraaged en verkregen te heb-
ben, ten geschenke gezonden, hebbende gezegde Macdonald voor wyn
of sterken drank bedankt.”
Levyssohn also says that Macdonald was suspected of being a mis¬
sionary or spy, and attributes his kind treatment to his affability and his
having taught English to some interpreters: “Dit verhaal (account of his
arrival at Notsuka) veroorzaakte veel wantrouwen of argwaan by het
Japansch bestuur, dowyl men hem voor een zendeling of spion
beschouwde, en het was alleen aan zyn goed gedrag, aan zyne fatsoenlyke
manieren en doordien hij aan eenige der tolken voor het Hollandsch
onderwys in de Engelsche taal gaf, toe te schryven, dat hem wederkeerig
eene beleefde en goede behandeling te beurt yiel.”— Idem., 53.
The Dutch superintendent also extended his generosity to the “Lagoda”
crew, sending them sugar, coffee, Holland gin, some flasks of wine and
also some white cotton for John Bull, who was destitute of clothing. See
U. S., Senate, Executive Doc’t, No. 59, 32nd Congress, 1st Sesson, 1.
244 Ranald MacDonald ( 1 824- 1 894)
In fact, every one was kind to me; and I must say,
that whether or not I was “good,” the Governor—good,
kind soul!—kept his word to me to the letter and to the
spirit in this respect.
Much—if not all—of this must, no doubt, have been
due to the kind report of me by my pupils. In this, I
feel ample reward for all the service—such as it was—
I rendered them.
They improved in English wonderfully, for their
heart was evidently in the work, and their receptiveness
quick and comprehensive aptitude in learning was, to
me, extraordinary; in some of them, phenomenal. Their
minds are exceptionally acute—far more so than mine,
though, in my conceit, I did once lay some pretension
to “seeing as well through a mill stone (with its hole)
as most people.”
They, I would say, are naturally, the cleverest people
I know of: I say “cleverest” not in the sense of deceit,
but in its highest and purest meaning. All they require
is light from without; the (to them) mystery of their
now fast rising East, with its cumulative wisdom of
Western life. On this head I could say much as the re¬
sult of my experience and reflections, but refrain, and
confine myself to my narrative.
To proceed—At last, about the end (26th) of April, 278
3 heard, for the first time in the country, cannon shots.
I asked whether the new Governor had arrived. With
a leer, they said Yes—at the same time looking at each
other. At this time, I had several or all of the inter¬
preters with me. I did not know, at the time, what made
them crowd in then.
They, and all my guards except one, then suddenly
278 The ship arrived at Nagasaki on the 26th of the third month or on
April 18th.
Japan Story of Adventure
245
went out. This one, when they had gone, came up to
the bars of my cage and told me that a foreign ship had
arrived, and that the guns were fired as a signal for
troops from the interior.
On the following morning there was a pile of papers
displayed beside my then single guard. On asking him
what the papers meant, he said that they were lists of
soldiers that had arrived that night; he mentioned the
precise number; it was about three thousand five hun¬
dred. I thought it singular that the lists should be left
at my door. Was it for effect? Of course it must have
been! viz., for me, afterwards to tell others, and like a
singed rat, to warn them of the “danger” of getting into
such a trap.
On my inquiring, he (my guard) told me that the or¬
dinary garrison of Nagasaki was from three to four
hundred. He also told me, spontaneously, that on such
occasions as this they always called troops from the in¬
terior.
They have a few real forts, and always put up sham
ones 279 in the shape of canvas curtains with embrasures
painted on them, when demonstration is called for.
They have the idea also that a duplication of these cur¬
tains would keep off cannon balls; as no doubt they
would, with enough of them. The cannon and mortars
which I saw represented in their books, and which they
told me they used, were very inferior to ours. I saw
none of their real forts, except possibly, at Soya, Mats-
mai and Nagasaki, where, however, I did not notice
279 For a similar account of sham forts see statement of George
Howe, U. S. Senate Ex. Doc. 59, 32nd Congress, 1st Session, 1; Richard
Hildreth, op. cit., ii, 217. This idea of canvas sham forts, undoubtedly
true of old China, was incorrect as to the Japanese, and arose in part
from that confusion of ideas as to China and Japan and misconception
of the character and purpose of these military curtains—a very old cus¬
tom in Japan. See notes 188 and 189, page 173.
246 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
them. Their powder is black, dusty and bad; they pre¬
fer our’s.
Their matchlocks are of steel barrels, well finished;
with a smaller bore than our old muskets. They showed
me a target they had been firing at, from which it would
appear they were good shots.
The foreign ship which had just arrived was the
American Corvette, “The Preble,” of eighteen guns, in
command of Captain (technically commander) Glynn.
About three days after her arrival, the Official Ser-
rei, Murayama, and others told me that a ship had ar¬
rived from my country, and that the Captain had asked
for my liberation. (Here let me say, this was not strict¬
ly true, for the Captain knew nothing about me; nor, 1
presume, had heard of me as a prisoner; it was the crew
of the “Ladoga” that he was after.)
That—Serrei and Murayama went on to say—on the
following day, I would have to go to the Town Hall to
pay my respects to the Governor. 280 Went next morn¬
ing, accordingly; carried thither in palanquin.
The new Governor had arrived since the arrival of the
“Preble,” and in the interval since, had immediately vis¬
ited me, in my cage, incognito. I did not know that he
was the Governor until I saw him in the Town Hall,
seated afterwards, beside the old Governor. While I
was in the shed—BB in the plan—thirteen American
seamen were brought in. They had on their ordinary
sailor dress. I had on my best Japanese dress, plain
and respectable. They appeared very pale and thin.
We all appeared, at the same time, before the Govern¬
ors. They made me kneel apart from the rest.
The Governor, through interpreter, then told us of
the arrival of the ship; and that they had, after consul-
280 Qya, Totomi-no-kami.
Japan Story of Adventure
247
tation, decided on allowing us to depart by her; but that
it would be necessary for us to go to the Dutch Factory
first.
We returned our thanks through the interpreter.
On leaving, each was borne in a palanquin. The
streets were crowded. The other seamen singing
“Cheery men, Oh!” 281
We crossed, by a covered bridge about sixty yards in
length, to the Factory, which is on the little Island of
Dessima. 282 At the further end of the bridge, at the
Factory, we were searched.
Taken, before the Chief Factor (John Livessohn) he
told us not to kneel, observing—“This is a Christian
house!”
We, were entertained with a good dinner, with
knives, silver table service, chairs, pork, bread, etc.—
all which we duly relished, with a parting cup of best
Dutch Java coffee, and then, with a true “Cheery Men
Oh!” embarked in the good ship “Preble”; warmly
welcomed; and with her noble Captain and right good
crew, sailed for freer and more genial shores.
Chapter XV
Sequel—Official Record: Historical—Treaties—New
Constitution
On board the “Preble,” a statement, at considerable
281 _
“O o-ly-i-o cheerly man
Walk him up O cheerly man,
O-ly-i-o
O-ly-i-o cheerly man.”
Found in “English Folk-Chanteys” by Cecil Sharp (London), 50; also
in Capt. W. B. Whall’s Ships, Sea-Songs and Shanties, 111, and Miss
Smith “The Music of the Water,” 22.
282 This was on April 26th.
248 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
length, of my experiences in Japan was made by me to
an officer named Wilson. It was taken down by him
in writing and signed by me, and possibly sworn to, for
official record. It is, I understand to be found, printed
or alluded to in blue book, in Senate Documents of
1851-1852, ix. “Executive Document 59,” of the
United States.
Historical reference to it is to be found in Hildreth’s
History (American) of Japan, 503, where, alluding to
the rescue, by the “Preble,” of a shipwrecked American
crew detained, at the same time, in Nagasaki, he says:
“At the same time with these men, another seaman, from an
American whaler, was delivered up, who had landed a month or
two later, on some still more northerly Japanese Island. As this
man, named MacDonald, and who described himself as twenty-
four years old, and born at Astoria in Oregon, had made no at¬
tempt at escaping, he had no occasion to complain of severity.
In fact he lived in clover, the Japanese having put him to use as a
teacher of English. The very interpreter who boarded the “Preble”
had been one of his scholars.
Hildreth—as he states in his book—got this informa¬
tion from the official report above referred to.
As he truly says in his work, there was no demand
made for me on the occasion—for there was no knowl¬
edge or report of me, or of my position; but the Japa¬
nese authorities at Nagasaki were afraid to keep me: a
fear arising not so much from any apprehension from
the American Government, as from their own Imperial
Government, in its policy in such case. This is herein¬
after explained in comment by a very intelligent Japa¬
nese gentleman on the subject. The default of such
surrender might have been fatal to the governor of Na¬
gasaki, and even to his predecessor who, in the first in¬
stance, had so put me “in clover.”
Here I may state, that on the arrival of the “Preble”
Japan Story of Adventure
249
in Chinese waters, I—a penniless waif on the ocean of
life—took ship again before the mast. Thence, after
many adventures, the world over, including Australia
during the first “gold diggings,” 283 1 returned, after sev¬
eral years, to my native land, or rather to that portion
of it (British Columbia) which had been left to the Old
Flag by the Oregon Treaty. Of this portion of my life
—matter for a book, and of some public moment as
pioneer work, in close connection with my old and ever
good friend, Sir James Douglas, first Governor of that
Colony—I shall not here speak: confining myself,
strictly as possible, to my story of Japan, briefly, mere¬
ly stating what followed in the way of immediate se¬
quence.
SEQUENCE
On April 26th, 1849, after ten months of sojourn in
Japan, including about seven months of teaching of
English to a class of fourteen government interpreters,
I was, as stated, delivered over to the American (U. S.)
authorities.
Evidently there was no relaxation, then, of the Japa¬
nese rule of exclusion of foreigners.
On March 31st, 1854, the first “Convention”—first
in all history, I believe—was made by Japan with a
foreign power.
That was with the United States of America.
It was followed with a similar one with Great Britain
on October 14th, 1854—the same year.
283 While gold was first discovered in Australia in 1823, it was not
until 1851 and 1852 that the important discoveries were made in New
South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, attracting the great
rush of gold miners. Shortly afterwards important gold discoveries were
made in Queensland.
250 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
These conventions—so called—were not Treaties in
the ordinary sense; were not for a commerce; but were
merely to provide ports of refuge and means of relief
to vessels and crews in distress in the navigation of Jap¬
anese waters. Certain of their seaports were, under
these conventions, opened for the purpose; and a re¬
stricted trade for necessary commodities—such as wa¬
ter, coal, wood and food—was allowed.
Four years after that, on August 26th, 1858, a sol¬
emn “Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce”—
such is its heading—was made between Great Britain
and japan. It is, I believe without alteration, in force
still; and, if I be not mistaken, is the basis, still, of com¬
munication between these two Powers.
This Treaty, with its incidental trade and postal reg¬
ulations was—so far as I know—the first Act of State
of the kind which Japan had ever entered into.
It was soon followed by others, in like tenor, with
other foreign powers, including the United States of
America.
Now, not only in commerce, but in general interna¬
tional comity, qualified only by general consular rela¬
tions, Japan is open to the world.
By a social revolution since; unexplained, in the his¬
tory of the world, in its depth, force and effect, it now
stands practically abreast of the most advanced nation¬
alities of Europe in political status.
With a Constitution framed upon the best exemplers
in Europe, 284 but au fond essentially Prussian with the
284 The Occidental constitutions of Europe and America were the out¬
growths of popular uprisings against despotic rulers and a declaration
of popular rights, while the Japanese constitution emanated from the
Emperor as the fountain of power. The Japanese constitution was
therefore to some extent framed on the Prussian model in making the
Ministers responsible not to the Diet, but to the Emperor.
Japan Story of Adventure
251
English language as a subject, amongst leading classes,
largely of private, and even, to some extent, of public
education, it promises, fairly, to soon become—and is
now fast becoming—the New England of that further
India which Columbus sought and led to. In this ac-
ceptiveness by furthest Eastern of furthest Western
civilization is the resurrection of Aryan Asian death to
the Lux Mundi of a “Better Day”; the completion of
that globe chain of humanity in the bonds of peace,
when, sooner or later, all Waterlooes, and Armageddon
itself shall have dropped their trail of sword, forever!
Chapter XVI
Suggestion for Change in International Policy. Agency
of Author in It—Japanese Appreciation of His Serv¬
ice.
Here, in reference to this incident of my having been
the first, during their hermit seclusion, to be teacher of
English to the Japanese, and in that was the first in¬
structor—apostle in a sense—of English thought, in¬
fluence, and power for good, to this people—then in
darkness in such matter—the following questions sug¬
gest themselves. I give them as they present them¬
selves to me; though with diffidence, from their seem¬
ing egotism:
1. What moved the Japanese to thus, exceptionally,
make me a teacher of English to them?
2. Was there any pressure brought to bear upon
them by Great Britain, or by the United States of
America, or any other foreign power, for such action?
3. Was there any special inducement, external, or
internal, held out to them for it?
252 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
4. If it was their own spontaneous act—as seems to
have been the case—what enlightened or prompted
them to it? 285
In answer, from my knowledge of them, I would
say:
1. That their own self-enlightened appreciation of
their position, in the family of nations so moved them.
2. That there was no external pressure brought to
bear on them in that direction; and that in receiving my
teaching and its incidental advocacy of international
relations on the general principles of comity of nations,
they but followed their own spontaneous desire for
that. 286
This covers questions 2 and 3.
3. To question 4, I would say, in all sincerity, but
with all proper diffidence:
That that enlightenment with its own inherent sug¬
gestions, probably prompted them to the course taken
by the Conventions and Treaties referred to.
The Chinese and Dutch, with whom alone they held
communication, were naturally, and in actual public
polity, opposed to such opening of their ports. 287 It
took time—a little—for my humble teaching to ma-
28 5 See hereon Dr. Tuazo Ota Nitobe’s The Japanese Nation, on in¬
tercourse between Japan and the United States; also fm. Elliott Griffis,
The Japanese Nation in Evolution.
286 “From their insatiate curiosity respecting European affairs noth¬
ing but the absurd jealousy of the government prevents them from rising
high in the scale of science, and should a revolution in manners once
take place and the ports of Japan be opened, we may anticipate changes,
both moral and political of the most extraordinary nature through all
the oriental region.” Note Capt. V. M. Golownin, op. cit., (1824 ed.),
iii, 34-35.
287 The Dutch King, William II., in 1844 sent a letter to the Emperor
of Japan advising the opening of the country, and later recommended
that the American Expedition be well received. See Wm. Elliott Griffis,
Townsend Harris, First American Envoy to Japan,” for further light on
this question.
Japan Story of Adventure
253
hire: its inculcations had to reach the Imperial Execu¬
tive itself, far off, high, on its Throne of State. Under
Providence, in time, it did so. So at last, I flatter my¬
self: and so, in generous concession, have intelligent
Japanese themselves declared.
In this connection, in evidence of the appreciation of
these facts by them, I take it upon me to give the fol¬
lowing communications and incidents.
The first I shall give (with permission) is a letter,
in form of a critical report, in English, from a very in¬
telligent Japanese gentleman, the Reverend Mr. K. T.
Takahashi (a Presbyterian Clergyman) a resident of
Montreal, Canada, to whom had been submitted by my
friend Judge McLeod, of Ottawa, Canada, with the
story of my adventure there. After a prolonged and
critical reading of the M. S. Mr. Takahashi wrote of
it thus:
“This story of Mr. MacDonald’s adventure in Japan is of im¬
mense interest to me, and the Japanese generally as it is a story
hitherto unknown in our Country.” (After narrating, briefly,
the leading facts, he proceeded to say.)
“The special reason for which the narrative is interesting to
us Japanese is the light which it throws upon the inner current
of thought which was gradually changing its course then, in Japan.
It will be seen from his narrative, that though a prisoner, he was
a teacher, much beloved and respected, over fourteen scholars,
quick and intelligent, ever zealous of gathering information of
Western nations. Such information the Country needed at the
time very badly; although the Government was jealous that it
should be shared by the people, and even made it the subject of
very severe punishment if they dared to do so. In all proba¬
bility it was these fourteen scholars in turn who made themselves
invaluable, when, later on, Japan had become involved in foreign
intercourse.
“Moreover, it was no doubt through these fourteen that the
foremost intellects of the country had gathered better knowledge
of foreign countries, and better prepared themselves to formulate
the future plan of their national course. Yet it is remarkable
that today, in Japan, there is hardly any one who can recount
254 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
the names of those fourteen, and possibly none who know of this
seven months’ study under MacDonald. Such was the secrecy
of the Government of the day kept in regard to all foreign af¬
fairs. Severe comment is apt to be passed on such secrecy, but it
has done good to the country in one sense; for, under the cir¬
cumstances, none but sincere patriots, of far sight and high in¬
tellect, cared to seek access to such secret; and, indeed, it was
through them only, that Japan has been safely steered through its
crisis—beginning with the ports opening, and ending with the
revolution and reformation of twenty years ago 288 and landed on
to the present state of progress.
“It is not in vain that Mr. MacDonald should flatter himself
the fact that he has been the first instructor and propagator of
the English language in Japan, and much that was needed to en¬
hance their notion of Western nations to the Japanese of the time.
We, of today, would gladly acknowledge his immense service, so
long cast into cruel oblivion; and if he should happen to revisit
the Country now, our people will not be slow to show him their
sincerity in this respect.”
Such is the comment and intelligent criticism of one
who is an utter stranger to the writer. It shows a keen
and far searching appreciation of the circumstances in
question. In this, he, from his particular stand point as
a Japanese, is not alone.
In the incident of Mr. Oda’s visit to my friend Judge
McLeod in Ottawa, in this connection, as the bearer of
a special present from the son of my dearly beloved pu¬
pil Murayama Yeanoske, as hereinafter related, I flat¬
ter myself with the same generous appreciation of the
service in question. That was done when I was sup¬
posed to be dead: a fact which but enhances the merit
of the act. The whole—in its “In Memoriam”—pre¬
sents a phase of Japanese character which touches the
finest feelings of the human heart. The communica¬
tion through Mr. Oda came in this way, and I have it
from his host at the time Mr. McLeod.
In 1869, the story of my adventure in Japan had,
288This was written in 1888.—[Original.]
Japan Story of Adventure
255
briefly, been given in one of a series of articles in the
public press of Canada by Mr. McLeod, under the pen-
name of Britannicus, advocating, from personal know¬
ledge and special authentic data, a feasible line of
transcontinental railway through British North Ameri¬
ca—the whole as already stated in introduction.
Many years afterwards, in November 1896 or about
then, on the establishment of postal communication di¬
rect with Japan by the Canadian Pacific Railway, hap¬
pening to see in the newspapers the name of Murayama
(pronounced Moor-ei-ama, with accent on second syl¬
lable) as that of one of the proprietors of a leading
newspaper bearing the name Hi-shim ” 289 (mean¬
ing literally, “Rising Sun News”—Morning Chroni¬
cle) published in Osaka, Japan, Mr. McLeod, thinking
that he might be the Murayama of my story, sent him,
by the C. P. R. a copy of one of his Railway pamphlets
containing the account, in brief, of my adventure in
Japan, in which special laudatory notice was made of
my said favorite pupil.
At the same time he wrote Mr. Murayama a letter
explaining the circumstances, and stating that he be¬
lieved that I had been dead several years. He also en¬
closed a list—taken from my original one in his hands
—of my fourteen pupils in Nagasaki. The packet was
duly received; but Mr. Murayama being unfamiliar with
English, it was handed to his partner and co-editor, Mr.
Oda, who, as an English barrister of thirteen years
standing, and collegiate (during three years) of Edin¬
burgh University, Scotland, and the translator of sev¬
eral standard English books into Japanese, was perfect¬
ly competent to translate the communication.
289 The Asa Hi Shimbum—Rising Sun Newspaper —is one of the
great newspapers of Japan.
256 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
It turned out that my Murayama had died, and that
this was his son. 290
None of the other pupils named in the list were
known to them, but in a searching enquiry they traced
them. All had died: but they found out their heirs;
who, however, knew nothing of me —had never heard of
me or my teaching. However, Messrs. Murayama (the
son) and Mr. Oda were convinced of the truth of my
story, and they published it in their paper just as it
was given in Mr. McLeod’s railway pamphlet.
Some months after that—the occasion arising—Mr.
Oda received a request from his friend His Excellency
Minemitsu Mutsu 291 (a nobleman of princely standing;
closely related to the Emperor; and a leader of the party
of progress) to accompany him to Washington, as new¬
ly appointed Ambassador, there, for Japan. He did
so; not in any official quality, but simply as a friend.
Mr. Murayama availed himself of the opportunity of
learning more, if possible, about me and my story.
Mr. McLeod and myself had ceased in our corres¬
pondence for twenty-five years or more, and—as he
wrote to me afterwards—had supposed me to be dead,
and so informed Mr. Murayama.
Mr. Oda kindly offered to go to Mr. McLeod to make
further enquiry on the subject; and at the same time
to be the bearer to him of a testimonial from Mr. Mura¬
yama (the son) for such mention of his father. In
290 Moriyama and Murayama are two different family names. Mr.
Murayama, proprietor of the Asa-hi-Shimbun, is not related to the in¬
terpreter.
291 Munemitsu Mutsu, afterwards Count Mutsu, was appointed Japa¬
nese Minister at Washington in February, 1888. It is not true that he
was related to the Emperor. He was a great friend of the United States.
He was afterwards Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. A bronze
statue in memory of him stands before the Department of Foreign Af¬
fairs buildings in Tokio. His son, Count Mutsu, is still living.
Japan Story of Adventure
257
due time, in the summer of 1888, Mr. Oda—making a
digression for the purpose on his way to Berlin—ar¬
rived at Ottawa, and for three or four days was the
welcomed guest of my friend Judge McLeod.
The testimonial—carefully packed in two boxes, one
within the other—was an ancient despatch or letter (in
roll) box; in form, peculiarly double, in that one open
box fitted in, or over another; dimensions, about twelve
inches in length, five in depth, and four in width; of
papier-mache, with a mixture of gold dust—composi¬
tion technically called, in Japanese, Kahamashee.
The sides, inside and out inlaid with plates of gold,
in different arabesque forms; the top having a specially
deep rich moulding, all in gold, in different and appro¬
priate hues, of a perfectly natural scene, of lake (or
sea), river, land, trees, herbage, flowers, and foliage
in most minute and exquisite detail. Mr. Oda said it
was the work of a Lost Art—lost for two hundred and
fifty years back. Yet it looked, in its bright sheen, as
fresh from the artist’s hands, save, (a little) in its time
shaded silk cords with tassels. A princely testimonial
truly!—Princely! not only in its intrinsic value; but,
more still, in the motive of its giving.
To Mr. Oda, in evidence of my story, were handed
all my papers which, now forty years ago, I had left in
the hands of Mr. McLeod when his guest in Canada.
Amongst these were little scraps of Japanese paper—
quite different from our own—on which, with a crow
quill, I had written, while in the country, a glossary of
Japanese words and colloquial terms, with English.
This alone was very strong evidence, and was accepted
as such. Mr. McLeod also as already stated, showed
my original list of pupils. As to my Journal proper,
there were only a very few pages, scarcly a dozen.
258 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
MR. ODA
A word as to this gentleman: it is due to him. As my
friend (M) wrote me of him, he seems to have been a
personage of highest culture and finest feeling; and
deeply interested in my story. According to his own ac¬
count, he had received a thorough English education;
and, as before stated, had then been an English barrister
of thirteen years’ standing. My friend being himself an
old lawyer—a Queen’s Counsel—a retired Judge in
fact—and, in his earlier days, an active and influen¬
tial politician, had much to say to his brother in the
law, about law and politics, and remarked to me after¬
wards, when we had resumed correspondence, that
while thus conversing with this stranger from strange
Japan, and unaware of his position, in these matters in
his own country, he was surprised to find in him such
a grasp of intellect—grasp beyond far, what my friend
(himself of much advanced views in our higher law and
politics in national life) had found in Canada: but
with all, there was such a modesty in the bearing of
the gentleman with his abnormally large head (on a
small body, and large eyes (scarcely Monghol) glow¬
ing in their intelligence, there was no gauging the in¬
tellect thus touched.
Aryan, or not, I regard the Japanese intellect the
most subtle—finest and keenest—in the world. 293 My
friend says he considers it pre and supra Aryan, with a
literature pre—or ante Aryan, and has a theory of their
genesis which—he contends with much learning and
293 “The inquisitiveness, the readiness at learning and the memory
of these people surprised us exceedingly.” G. H. von Langsdorff, op. cit.,
238.
Japan Story of Adventure
259
force—naturally and logically explains it. On that
question I cannot here enter.
It was only on leaving, when, in return for certain
books (chiefly on law and political constitutions) which
my friend had presented to him, he offered, and insist¬
ed on my friend’s acceptance of a present from him¬
self, viz: of three thick volumes (duod) gleaming in
gold; all in Japanese “black letter”—which he called
“The Codes of Japan”—Codes Civil, Criminal, and—
as he expressed it “Administration of Government”,
that my friend accidentally learnt who and what he
was. Accepting with all thanks, my friend turned at
once to the title page, which, in Japanese is at the end
(as we would call it) of the work. There, he saw, and
knew well enough to recognize, the full name, viz: Oda-
Ian-Icki-Ro 294 printed in Japanese characters, which
some of the ladies of the house had, before that got
him, in pleasantry, to write down for them, to keep as
a curiosity. Asked whether that was his name and
whether it meant himself, he answered “Yes”. As
what? asked Mr. McLeod. “As editor”, was the answer.
“Editor for revisal, or for Composition?” asked M.
Answer—“Composition”.
There being two names at the same place—his first
—my friend asked him what that was. “Name of the
other editor” was his answer.
It is to be explained—that in Japan all public or of¬
ficial function by twos, or generally so; one as a check
on the other, an old custom. 295 Mr. M. then got him to
write his “presentation” on the title page, “J. Oda,
chief Editor of Code of Japan.”
29 4 The name correctly spelled is Oda Jun-ichi-ro.
295 This was pursuant to an old Japanese custom.
260 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Thus, in grateful recognition of my humble service
to Japan, had I, after my supposed death, “In Memor-
iam”, the grateful homage of its Gamaliel 296 and possib¬
ly, of its ambassador to Washington.
Mr. Oda, I understand, went direct from Canada to
London, by the St. Lawrence, promising my friend to
return by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Delicate,
and taking ill in London, his physician advised him not
to risk, at that season (October-November) the rigours
of such a northern route, but to hasten home by the
warmer one by the Suez Canal. Starting, on it, from
Marseilles, in Steamer named “Le Caledonien” of the
French Line (“Messagerie’ , ) to the East, he seems to
have died on the way. 297 We have learnt nothing of
him, since: Enquiry has totally failed on the subject.
Probably his body was “buried at sea”, dropt into
Ocean !—unhonoured; unknown!
Chapter XVII
Retrospect : Conclusion — Dutch Friends —A
Last Word.
It is long, nearly half a century—since my adventure
here sketched: Yet even now, after the vicissitudes, var¬
ied and wearing, of my life, I have never ceased to feel
most kindly and ever grateful to my fellow men of Jap¬
an for their really generous treatment of me. In that
296 The Elder Gamaliel was a descendant of the family of David and
a grandson of Hillel, the celebrated president of the Sanhedrin and
patriarch of the Jewish community in Palestine. Gamaliel was a teacher
of the apostle Paul and dissuaded the Jews from taking strict measures
against the apostles. (Acts, v, 34.) Our author’s allusion is due to the
well-known characterization of Gamaliel as “a doctor of the law, had
in honor of all the people.”
297 He returned to Japan, and died shortly after at Kyoto.
Japan Story of Adventure
261
long journey and voyage from the extreme North to the
extreme South—fully a thousand miles—of their coun¬
try; throughout my whole sojourn of ten months in the
strange land, never did I receive a harsh word, or even
an unfriendly look. Among all classes, a gentle kind¬
ness to the fancied cast-away—the stranger most
strange—pervaded their general regard and treatment
of me. From the time I landed on the beach of Tom-
assey in the Straits of La Perouse , when Inoes took me
gently by the wrist, one on each side, to assist me to
the dwelling of their employer, while others put sand¬
als to my feet, to the time of my joining the United
States Sloop of War “Preble,” it was ever the same uni¬
form kindness. Truly I liked them in that congenial
sympathy which, left to itself—unmarred by antagon¬
ism of race, creed, or worldly selfishness—makes us
all, of Adam’s race “wondrous kin”.
Among them were individualities which particularly
attracted my regard. First I would mention the Gov¬
ernor (Obigue) in Nagasaki, before whom I was
brought and tried, surrounded by his officials in the
Town Hall or Court, he assumed all the dignity of a
Chief Justice. When presiding he assumed as much
gravity and austerity as his good sound heart would
allow—for I know that it was through his clemency and
favor that I was well provided with all the comforts
and accommodations I enjoyed. It was not treason, ac¬
cording to their laws, I suspect that he, at least, exceed¬
ed his prescribed duty in such leniency towards me:
for by the then existing laws of the Empire—laws then
unalterable in such matter as those of the Medes and
Persians of old—my landing in Japan soil was—I re¬
peat—an offense that might; in course, have consigned
me to a dark dungeon for life, or to the more speedy
262 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
fate of summary execution. So I was told, at parting,
by the Obigue himself: and that, not in reminder of
favor shown, but in warning, friendly and kindly,
against running such risk again. At the close of my
first interview with him, in full court, as already de¬
scribed, he encouraged me by saying that I had a “big”
heart, without adding a sound heart. At the close of
my last interview with him, his advice was—and that
in tone and manner more tenderly, warmly friendly—
“Never to put my foot on Japan soil again, or it would
be worse for me”.
Really, I don’t believe that he meant it in reproof for
my having done so, but in pure friendly warning.
Whether or not he had the secret approval of the
Emperor in his course towards me; or that the Emperor
or the Ministers of State had any knowledge of my po¬
sition, I cannot say. As there was no time then, by
any means at their comand, to communicate with the
Emperor 298 at Yeddo, 299 about 500 miles distant
from Nagasaki—between the time of my first trial
and the Governor’s order for employment of me as a
teacher of English, I infer that the thing was done on
the responsibility of the Governor himself. It was a
bold, brave deed, involving deep peril to his own life,
for public law—I mean law of administration of govern¬
ment—was then—as it had ever been in Japan—essen¬
tially draconic. The considerations in public policy—
for there could have been no other—that so weighed
with His Excellency of Nagasaki must have been
weighty indeed. In this vicarious heroism, for purely
national weal, the deed is worthy of historical record.
298 The only Emperor (Mikado) was at Kyoto; the Shogun-chief de-
facto ruler—was in Yedo.
299 Since called Tokio.—[Original.]
Japan Story of Adventure
263
There were other individualities who, although sub¬
ordinates, specially attracted my attention, and won
my regards.
Among them was a gentleman, evidently a high of¬
ficial, at Nagasaki. I forgot his name. He was the
tallest person I saw in Japan. He frequently visited my
quarters with books, maps, etc., accompanied always by
my friend Murayama. He showed great interest in me;
and appeared to be anxious to learn something of the
outer world. Soft and gentle in his conversation, this
fine old dignitary showed all the refinement of a gent¬
leman. It was to him, I suspected, that I owed the
completeness, regularity, and perfect comfort of my
quarters. I owe him many thanks for lightening many
hours of my prison life.
The next person still impressed on my mind was
the distinguished venerable Mr. Sjerrei, one of the
Chief, if not the chief interpreter. He was aged: sev¬
enty-four years, if I remember right, as he then told
me. His face was dark; features good; aquiline or
rather so; nose long and chin long: with the habit of
mumbling his words before speaking. He was fre¬
quently the medium of conversation between officials
and myself.
The next-—the dearest to me in every regard, and
most esteemed, and ever loved—was the brilliant Mur¬
ayama Yeanoske, of medium height among his people,
say five feet six inches; of delicate and finely cut fea¬
tures; with signs of great intelligence; eyes intensely
black, brilliant, and penetrating, yet with an expression
mild and loving—truly magnetic: of very light com¬
plexion—like the white of the Southern States of Am¬
erica, lighter much than the average Japanese. His
264
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
countenance, when in repose, had the air of mild dig¬
nity, such as is observable in our clergy, as a class.
When speaking to me before officials it was always
with a smile, as if to give me encouragement and con¬
fidence. He showed a great desire to learn English,
and displayed much aptitude in doing so. He was
fluent in Dutch, for he was one of the official inter¬
preters of that language: and I take it for granted that
he was well grounded in the history and musty tradi¬
tions of his country: of which, however, he never spoke
to me; nor did I ever ask him. His general appearance
was that of a studious and earnest scholar; and a re¬
fined gentleman.
He was my favorite.
My Dutch Friends
Whatever influence a European resident might have
had with the Government I don’t know. It was evident
to me in my case, that that influence was given in my
favor, for I have the assurance of Mr. John Livessohn,
the Dutch Chief Factor resident at the time at the
Port (Nagasaki), that they would give me a passage
in the next annual ship, subject of course to permission
from the authorities of Japan. He, as stated in my
narrative, was ever most kindly attentive to me in the
way of relieving the monotony and wants of my for¬
eign confinement. I can say the same of the good
Doctor (Dutch also) of the Establishment. They were
all good and clever: and we all esteemed each other.
A Last Word
In my old age; while living out, still in sweat of
brow, the fast falling evening shades of life, in my na-
Japan Story of Adventure
265
tive homeland of the Columbia, after having, in my
wanderings, girded—1 may say—the Globe itself, and
come across peoples many, civilized and uncivilized,
there are none to whom I feel more kindly—more
grateful—than my old hosts of Japan; none whom I
esteem more highly.
As to their wonderful progress in civil life and gov¬
ernment within the last few years, I am not surprised.
From what I saw of them, their aspirations—scarce
concealed though studiedly covered—were, to my view,
even then, in that direction. I felt at the time, that some
such change, possibly soon, would come—come, not
over them, as from some external force, but from with¬
in themselves—in process of that inherent principle
of progressive national life, in evolution, which from
the very origin of their nationhood has—uniquely, as
a sort of “chosen people”, but not “Jew”—preserved
them throughout our ages of human life, in their sin¬
gular integrity. Whence their origin, we know not.
Themselves don’t know. History, even legend, on that
point, is a myth. From my own limited observation
and study I can advance no satisfactory theory on that
point. Suffice it for the present to say, that they are
truly a wonder among the nations; commanding, in
their present position, the respect and admiration of
the world.
Often in conversation with my pupils—pupils them¬
selves infinitely superior to me in intellectual power
and learning—I was struck with the readiness with
which they grasped what I told them of the principles
of Constitutional Government of Great Britain and of
the United States respectively.
As to the former, there was no difficulty; being some-
266 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
what like their own, save in its electoral franchise and
larger individual liberty. They seemed to understand
it perfectly, and approvingly.
As to the latter, however, with its repudiation of the
doctrine of the “Divine right of kings,” it was evidently
mystery to them—mystery in that they could not ac¬
cept the principles of government from and by the peo¬
ple: governor and governor in one and the same. Still,
since my time among them, I note that their relations
with Republican Powers, such as the United States,
France, Mexico, and other American Republics have
been most amicable. The spirit of popular sympathy
—though scarcely demos itself—is there; in the Nobles
as in the Masses. This silver cord is the very bond of
their New Constitution. In that Constitution is the
“Golden Bowl” of—if not a new—certainly a better
life in national existence: in consonance, more, with
our later times; in dawn—let us hope—of a better day
—for Peace on earth! Good will to all men!
APPENDIX I
Identification of Manuscript.
Malcolm MacLeod, Q. C., 172 Wellington Street,
Ottawa, March 24, 1894.
Ranald MacDonald Esquire, Old Fort Colvile, Columbia River,
Very Dear Friend: Your’s of the 13th inst. with required sketch
came duly to hand; for which please accept thanks. I have,
thereon, made up a nice, and, to me, interesting looking sketch.
That of the Court, etc. of trial I have also filled up. The M. S.
thoroughly revised, is now off to England by parcel post with
accompanying letter to my good friend there, viz: Rev. H. M.
Fletcher, Grasmere Co. of Westmoreland, England—a cousin (2nd)
of Marquis of Lorn & intimate with many of the leading nobility
of Engd. & Scotland. In my letter to him is the following for
use with the publishers.
“Memo of Offer of Ranald MacDonald. M. S. (Japan) to pub¬
lishers in Britain.
1. Copyright for British Empire only.
2. Copyright for British Empire and U. S. A.
3. Copyright if not to for both B. & U. S. author to be at liberty
to sell to latter, as well as to former—each independently.
Address of author holding copyright
Mr. Ranald MacDonald, Old Fort Colvile, Columbia River,
Marcus P. O., Stevens County, State of Washington, U. S. A.
Or, to his agent ad hoc :
Malcolm McLeod Q. C., City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Agent in England: Rev. H. M. Fletcher, Rectory } Grasmere Co.,
Westmoreland, England.
M. McLeod, Agt. for said MacDonald.
In my letter (private) to Mr. F.—as to price, I limit, to a
minimum copyright to Br. Emp., to LI00 Stg. say $500 and for
both B: Emp. & U. S. to double that. I tell my friend we are
both too poor to pay for publication. On this head I feel assured
of my friend doing his best for you in the matter.
Much—if not most—will depend on his own impression from a
reading of the work, but, I think, that in any case, he will try
the publishers. I am aware that he is intimate—or acquainted
with Mr. Murray at the head of the great publishing house of that
name. On this score I leave all to him. What use he may make of
the thing in the way of pushing it into notice in high quarters—
the very highest—as he, spontaneously, used to do with my
pamphlets and even private letter for C. P. R. & N. W. I cannot
268 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
say. Possibly, even Roseberry & Co. may have their notice
drawn to it, especially yr chap. V with the Quelpert Wand sug¬
gestion. 1 note your report as to Mrs. Haskin’s failure to find a
publisher. I am not surprised. You ask my advice as to Mr. Bur¬
net’s offer to look at the M. S., with a view (if advisable) of try¬
ing to find a publisher on the Pacific slope, who would take it
up, on purchase, or even on his own risk. As to that as financial
matters are, there, as elsewhere in the U. S. and as such matters
are conducted in the typo world of the U. S. I have, now s no faith.
Cash on the nail—as you put it—and high at that is their motto.
At the same time, if convenient to you and Mr. Burnet, it would
do no harm to show him the M. S. Candidly—with the present fast
increasing antagonism between U. S. & B. I think he would con¬
sider it too British for American Press. In any case I would ad¬
vise you to take no less than $500 (“Cash on nail’ ) for copy¬
right in the U. S. only. This won’t interfere with present ar¬
rangements as proposed by me through Mr. Fletcher.
The British version is framed for Br. interests and sentiment.
I expect to be able to report progress in—say abt. 6 weeks. With
all best wishes, in which my sisters join me. Yours ever sin-
cere l y> Malcolm McLeod
Marcus P. O., Stev. Co., Wash., May 7, 1894.
A. D. Burnett Esqr., Spokann.
Dear Friend:
Dear Friend: Some time since Donald showed me a letter he
had received from you wherein you stated with regard to my
manuscript on Japan that you thought that after reading and judg¬
ing of the matter it contained if of sufficient merit that there
would be a chance to have it published in our immediate neigh¬
bourhood on the Pacific Slope. So I herewith forward you the
M. S., also last letter from my friend Mr. Malcolm MacLeod, 172
Wellington St., Ottawa, Canada, from which you will learn what
he has done, also the terms. You will please advise and what
you think of it. Should there be an impossibility to do anything
with it I will send stamps for the return of the M. S.
The amendments which I received at different times I stuck as
you will observe for safe keeping. If I have done wrong it was
with the best intentions.
The M. S. was in the hands of Mrs. Haskins of Kettle Falls with
her best efforts had failed to get a publisher. Should you find
anything of sufficient interest to publish you may do so. I would
suggest the article about Doctor McLaughlin and my connection
with Canadian Pacific Rail Road should that, or anything in the M.
S. be published you would favor me much were you to send a
APPENDIX I
269
copy or two to Mr. MacLeod. I know he can make good use of
them to forward the interest in the Book.
I would have gone to Spokann and had a personal interview
with you long before this but I have been very unwell during the
winter and getting over it slowly, now the weather is milder.
I will expect to hear from you at your earliest convenience. I
am, yours sincerely, Ranald MacDonald
Marcus P. O., Stev. Co., Wash., May 20, 1894.
Alex’r. D. Burnett Esquire, Review Office, Spokann.
Some time since say about the 7th May I wrote advising you
that I had sent you my M. S. on Japan.
i am not a little anxious to know whether you got it. The let¬
ter and parcel were addressed as above to the Review office. I
sincerely hope that you got it all right. I would not like to lose
it, a loss to me. Yours sincerely, Ranald MacDonald
Marcus P. O., Stev. Co., Wash., June 15, 1894.
A. D. Burnett Esquire, Review Office, Spokann.
Dear Friend Your letter found me sixty or seventy miles up the
Kettle River on the Colville Reservation, being on a visit to a
Niece, who was left a widow and desired my immediate presence,
ever since I may say I am shut out of the world, our nearest Post
office is at Boundary Creek, British Columbia 4 miles from my
niece’s Ranch which is a fine one and well stocked. Your letter
relieved me of great anxiety when I learned that you received the
precious document all right, for I had neglected to tell the person
who posted it also to register it.
Knowing the hard times, I hardly expect you will succeed in
finding a publisher. To date I have not received a line from my
friend Mr. MacLeod altho; letters may await me at Marcus.
Communication with the rest of British Columbia is open with
Boundary Creek, but with Marcus it quite different all the Bridges
and Ferry boats are either carried away or damaged. I am dear
Friend. Ranald MacDonald
Spokane Public Library, Spokane, Wash., Jan. 16, 1913.
George W. Fuller Librarian: This manuscript was left in my
care, by Mr. A. D. Burnett, of this city. It is the property of the
heirs of Ranald MacDonald, and it is their wish, as they want to
sell it, not to allow the public to read it, without their permission.
I consider this a very valuable document. Read the article in the
Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, XII, 220. (Sept.
1911). Caroline Hathaway
APPENDIX II
Authentication of Manuscript
A. A SAILOR’S ATTEMPT TO PENETRATE JAPAN
SEAMAN’S FRIEND, (Honolulu, S. I.) December 1, 1848
“There is a growing conviction throughout the civilized world
that the time is rapidly approaching when the exclusive policy of
the Japanese will be done away with, and a commercial intercourse
be opened between that and other nations of the earth besides the
French and the Dutch. Occasionally the rumor reaches us that the
British East India Squadron is hovering upon the coast of Japan,
but no sooner have we begun to credit the report than we learn
that it is a mere rumor. The report flies around the world that
an American commodore, on board a Tine of battleship’, is bound
for Japan. Now something will be done. The stately vessel
anchors near Jeddo. Communication is attempted with the Jap¬
anese authorities. The emperor sends word to supply the ‘big
junk’ with what she wanted, up anchor, be off and never return.
All this was done in the most genteel and civil style, and what
could a gallant commodore do? He had fought the British,
but he must not fight the Japanese.
“While the great commercial and naval nations of the world
are meditating upon some great expedition, our numerous whale
ships are really doing something in the way of opening inter¬
course with the Japanese. The ‘Manhatton’ made a far more
satisfactory visit to Japan than the ‘Columbus.’ (See Friend,
Feb. 2 and Sept. 2, 1846.) During the last season for ships to
cruise in the Japan sea, not scores, but hundred of vessels spread
their canvas within full view of the coast. Several whale-ships
have fallen in with junks, exchanged civilities with them and in
some instances relieved those in distress,
“As the reading world is not likely, for some time to come, to
be favored with an account of the conquest or opening of Japan
by the naval forces of England, France or the United States, our
readers on ship and shore may not be uninterested in the following
facts and documents relating to the adventure of a sailor belong¬
ing to the American whale-ship ‘Plymouth’, of Sag Harbor, Cap¬
tain Edwards. If his plans were not upon so gigantic a scale as
those which might emanate from a board of admiralty or a naval
bureau, yet to answer his purpose they certainly indicate some
head-work. It appears that a man named Ranald MacDonald
272 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
shipped on board the ‘Plymouth’ when she sailed from the United
States. After remaining in the vessel two years, while in Lahaina
in the fall of 1847 he requested his discharge, unless Captain
Edwards would consent to leave him the next season somewhere
upon the coat of Japan. Young MacDonald is a son of Archibald
MacDonald, Esq., formerly in the employ of the Hudson’s Bay
Company, Fort Colvile, Columbia. On application to the agent
of the company in Honolulu we learned that this young man
received a good education, but instead of pursuing a mercantile
life on shore, betook himself to the sea. Soon after the ‘Ply¬
mouth’ left Lahaina, he began to make arrangements for pene¬
trating the hermetically sealed empire of Japan. Captain Edwards
allowed him to make choice of the best boat belonging to the
ship. The carpenter partially decked her over. Having gath¬
ered his all together, he embarked upon his perilous and adventur¬
ous enterprise. One of his ship-mates has furnished us an ex¬
tract from his journal giving an account of MacDonald’s em¬
barkation :
“Thursday at 4 o’clock this morning all hands were called, the reefs
shook out, the top gallant sails were set. We had a fine breeze on our
starboard beam, steering for the Tee Shee Islands. It was a beautiful
morning; a light mist hung around the island, but as we neared the island
we could see plainly the green covered hills. We stood in until 9 o’clock,
when all hands were called and the mainyards were hove aback. We
launched a boat, put water and provisions of different kinds into her.
She was a centre-board boat, partly decked over and very strong for one
of her kind. One of our crew was to be her only navigator. After all
these things were in the boat he was towed astern by a line; two men
stayed to help him trim her. After the boat was trimmed they came on
board. He let go the line and was clear from us forever. His little ves¬
sel dashed over the waves like an arrow. All hands had gathered aft to
see the last of the bold adventurer. He took off his hat and waved it, but
in silence. The same was returned from the ship’s company. Soon the
order was given to brace the main yard, and the gallant ship was going
in an opposite direction. From our ship’s mast he was viewed with a
naked eye as long as he could be seen; then the spyglass was handed
from one to another, that they might have a last look at the little vessel.
He was watched from the masthead until he was gone from our sight
forever.
Every man on board felt sad to see a shipmate leave the ship under
such circumstances. He was a good sailor, well educated, a firm mind,
well calculated for the expedition upon which he had embarked. His in¬
tentions were to stay at this island and learn some of the Japanese lan¬
guage and from there go down to Yeddo, the principal city of Nepon, and
if the English or Americans ever open trade with the Japanese, he would
find employment as an interpreter. He had other intentions which I nev¬
er mention only in a secret manner. The last we saw of the little vessel
she was standing in for a small bay on the north side of the island.
He was a man of about five feet seven inches, thick set, straight hair
and dark complexion. It was his wish to be left here and he agreed for
APPENDIX II-A
273
the same before we left port a year before. He had a good voyage in the
ship which he forfeited for his boat and his little cargo, such as a quad¬
rant, epitomy, two pistols, two small kegs of water, keg of meat, barrel
of bread, anchor, thirty-five fathoms of tow line and oars. His own chest
was nearly full of books of various kinds. No one can blame Capt. Ed¬
wards for leaving the man in such a manner, for he advised him until his
boat was launched over the side not to go on such a hazardous voyage,
but no, his mind was not to be changed.”
E. P. F.
The following is a copy of a pass or certificate of a discharge
furnished by Capt. Edwards:
“Ship ‘Plymouth,’ Japan Sea, June 20, 1848.
“To Whom It May Concern: This will certify that Ranald MacDonald
has been duly discharged from the ship ‘Plymouth,’ for the adventure to
the Japan Islands, and that the boat and apparatus fairly and honestly
belong to him.”
L. B. Edwards, Master of Ship “Plymouth.”
“Captain Edwards allowed us to peruse two unsealed letters
which MacDonald had written to his friends, one to' his father
and the other to a relative with whom he had resided. They
were well written epistles and bespoke a young man of good in¬
formation and education. We took the liberty to copy a few lines
from the letter addressed to his father which reads as follows:
“I again shipped for another Cape Horn voyage with the intention of
being discharged at some of the islands or on the Spanish Main. These
intentions I have altered and as Capt. Edwards was going to China and
from there to the Japan sea, I thought it a good opportunity to crown my
intentions, that if I went with him I would be discharged before he left
the sea. He has kindly undertaken to teach me navigation—he allowed
me the choice of a boat out of seven—he has also furnished me with a
sail and anchor, quadrant and compass, bread, meat and water—in fact,
everything to insure my reaching the shore. He tried to persuade me to
give up the adventure, but I am going.”
Everyone who reads the account of MacDonald’s adventure
will no doubt be anxious to learn the fate which attends him.
The letter to his father closes with an emphatic . . . We
can furnish only a single item of intelligence to fill up that blank.
Some days after his embarkation, while the ship ‘Uncas’ was cruis¬
ing in that region, she picked up the rudder of his tiny craft which
we will venture to name the ‘Young Plymouth’. Whether she
reached the shore or was swamped in the surf remains a profound
mystery. We shall not fail to make all necessary inquiries, when
ships return after the next Japan season; and hence, should any
cruisers on that coast gather the least intelligence of the young
MacDonald’s weal or woe, they will do us a favor and perhaps
relieve the minds of anxious parents and friends. Oh that the
274 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
same unseen hand which conducted the ‘Mayflower to the rock of
Plymouth might now conduct the ‘Young Plymouth’ and preserve
the life of her adventurous commander! Who does not fervently
hope that a successful issue may crown the bold, daring and haz¬
ardous enterprise of Ranald MacDonald, an adventurer in the
Japan Sea.
In The Seamen’s Friend of October 1, 1849, we find the fol¬
lowing related to Ranald MacDonald:
“We will now furnish some facts relating to that American who was
none other than Ranald MacDonald. It may be recollected by some of
our readers that this young man left the American whaleship ‘Plymouth’
and was furnished with boat, sextant, compass, etc., by Capt. Edwards.
On landing he intentionally capsized his boat and was kindly received by
the Japanese. After being on shore eight days he was taken under the
charge of four Matsmai officers. At Matsmai he was imprisoned from
the 6th day of September until about the first day of October. Subse¬
quently he was removed to Nagasaki and brought before the governor in
the town hall. On entering he saw upon the pavement a crucifix and an
image of the Virgin Mary, and the Savior when an infant. He was com¬
pelled to tread on these when he entered with the crowd into the town
hall. Then he was questioned in regard to his coming to Japan and
whether he believed in the God of Heaven. To which he replied that he
did. He was given to understand that the images he had trampel upon
was the devil of Japan. During his imprisonment he had several schol¬
ars among the Japanese interpreters which doubtless contributed to the
kind treatment which he generally received. MacDonald for the first
time met the other captives on the 26th day of March at the town hall, al¬
though they had been prisoners for months in the same city.
“Knowledge that these young men were imprisoned in Japan led Com¬
modore Geisenger, Commander of the East India U. S. Squadron, to dis¬
patch the ‘Preble,’ Commander Glynn, for their rescue. This vessel ar¬
rived in the Japanese waters about the first of April. On her approach,
Japanese officers warned her commander off, but he pushed forward and
came to anchor near the city of Nagasaki, where the prisoners were in
confinement. The report of the ‘Preble’s’ guns inspired hope in their
bosoms, although the Japanese evidently designed to keep from them all
knowledge that an American man-of-war was in port. McCoy reports
that he had threatened the Japanese with the visit of such a vessel if he
was not treated better, but they only laughed at his threats. They hold
foreigners in supreme contempt.
“Several interviews were held between Commander Glynn and the au¬
thorities. The Japanese evidently intended to evade any direct communi¬
cation between the commander of the ‘Preble’ and the Emperor. He was
put off from day to day and given to understand that ‘by and by he might
expect to have the business attended to.’ The prompt and decisive ac¬
tion of Commander Glynn seemed to infuse some new ideas into the
minds of the Japanese. He distinctively told them the object of his visit
and if the Japanese authorities were determined not to surrender the pris¬
oners, that he should leave immediately and report to his superior offi¬
cer. A time was appointed for their delivery, but if they were not forth-
APPENDIX II-B
275
coming the ‘Preble’ would sail. Before the time had elapsed they were
delivered over to the Dutch merchants and transferred to the ‘Preble.’
“During their captivity these young men gathered much interesting
information respecting the country and Japanese government. MacDon¬
ald, but more especially McCoy, succeeded in acquiring a tolerable
knowledge of the colloquial Japanese language. We hope that ere long
a more full report of these young men will be spread before the world,
together with the visit of the ‘Preble.’ It opens a new chapter in the in¬
tercourse of foreigners with the exclusive Japanese.
“The ‘Preble’ returned to China where the Americans were left to be
sent to the United States, but the Sandwich Islanders were brought to
Honoluly.
“In our next we intend giving some account of the Loo Chooans and
the visit of the ‘Preble.’ ”
A further article in The Seaman's Friend of December 20, 1849, men¬
tions MacDonald.
B. EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL JAPANESE RECORDS.
Entries in the “Memoranda of the foreigners forwarded to Nag¬
asaki and their escorts
On the second day of the sixth month of the same year (the first
year of Kaei, i.e. July 2, 1848) a foreigner landed at Notsuka in
Rishiri Island; on the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month
(August 23) he was forwarded in a fane (Japanese junk) from
Soya (to Esashi).
The name and the age of the foreigner and the escort are as
follows:
Makiton, about 23 years of age, 5 shaku 7 sun 5 hu (about 5
feet 8% inches) high.
The escort in the fune:
(Samurai) .
(Superintendent of foot -samurai)
(Foot -samurai) .
(Physician).
(Soldier)..
(Soldier).
(Soldier).
.. .Togoro Shinagawa
..Kujuzo Oba
. ...Kumanojo Taketa
.Yoseki Kakizaki
Tokusaburo Kawasaki
... .Zenji Shibayama
.Teikichi Shimizu
As the fune arrived at this town (Matsumae) the foreigner was
forwarded in a kago (Japanese Palanquin) to the village of Eram-
chi. The escort were:
(Captain of a company)—Katoda Araida with five foot samurai, ten
soldiers and Kujuzo Oba (superintendent).
The escort in the village of Eramachi were:
(Captain of a company)—Gorogoro Imai.
{Samurai)— Shunzo Nakashima, Zenji Shimura, Matsugoro Kubota.
276 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
In place of Zenji during his illness.
Superintendent of foot -samurai —Eijiro Yokoi.
Foot -samurai —Kozo Tahara. Asaichiro Kamada. In place of Kozo
during his illness. Mineji Okumura.
Foremen—Matasaburo Mikami, Bangoro Ono.
Soldiers—Nesaburo Sasamori, Yokichi Kakemura, Tettaro Takahashi,
Kotaro Amamoto.
Purveyor’s assistant—Renzo Ito, with one soldier.
Two secretaries who asked to serve in turn—Tokusaburo Yoneda, To-
kubei Yamada.
The foreigner was forwarded to Nagasaki in the “Tenjinmaru”
and the escort were:
Captain of a Company—Tan-emon Ujiye.
Superintendent—Bansaku Murata.
Superintendents of foot-samurai—Nazaemon Saito, Katsugoro Nagae.
Samurai—Kyogoro Tamura.
Physician—Hosai Tani.
Foremen—Koji Yamamoto, Hyotaro Miyamoto.
Soldiers—Tatsuyemon Tamura, Wajiro Mori, Kyusaku Sato, Zengoro
Honda, Kintrao Ikeda, Rokusaburo Yoshida.
The escort on the shore on the foreigner sailing from the port
were:
Tatsunoshin Wada, Eitaro Murakami, Teita Etagaki, Tsunetaro Mura-
yama, Renjiro Makita, Gonzaburo Tsuji, with six soldiers.30i
Report to the Shogun’s government from Shima-no-kami, Daim-
yo of Matsumae and Yezo. Matsumae, July 22, 1848.
On the 2nd inst. about the hour of ape (4 p. m.) a foreigner
was driven in a boat to the shore of Notsuka in Rishiri Island in
my domain of Western Yezo. As he had wet clothes on and
seemed very tired, he v/as immediately taken to the guard-house
at Notsuka and given food, etc. On being informed of the
event some of my retainers at the Guards station of Soya went
to Notsuka and tried to get information (from the foreigner). As,
however, they could not understand each other the questions were
put by signs and the foreigner also answered by signs, so that
the precise facts could not be ascertained, but he was understood
to say that he left the mothership alone in the boat and after
some time the wind and the sea getting high his boat capsized
twice; that his compass dropped into the sea and he was drifting
aimlessly when he saw a high mountain and rowing towards it
300 The “Memoranda” from which the above entries are taken is a
manuscript from the archives of the Daimyo of Matsumae and Yezo.
APPENDIX II-B
277
landed on the shore. As the boat had suffered 301 no damage
he was told by signs to sail home, but he seemed to hesitate to
go out into the wide sea in that small boat. He was therefore
told by signs that he would be allowed to stay and as he nodded
assent he was taken to the guards station of Soya and was well
treated and escorted. The preceding is the report of my retainers
at the station:
According to the report the boat in which the foreigner came
is about 4/4 ken (26 feet 9/4 inches) long and about 6 shaku (5
feet 11 /4 inches) broad. The boat and all the gear are kept in
the station. They have also sent the appended list of articles in
his possession. I inform you of the above and wish to know what
is to be done with this foreigner.
On the 22nd day of the 6th month, Matsumae, Shima-no-kami.
Draft of instructions affixed (to the above report.)
The foreigner whose landing is here reported ought to be examined
at Nagasaki. He should, therefore, be forwarded to that place as you did
with the foreigners who arrived some time ago. All the books in the
foreigner’s possession should be put under seals in presence of your of¬
ficials and care taken that no one should see them without leave.
The articles in the foreigner's possesson are as follows:
One small firearm, about 4 sun 5 bu (5 1-3 inches) long and the
diameter of the muzzle about 3 bu (one-third inch).
One boat, about 4*4 ken (26 feet 9^4 inches) long, about 6 shaku (5
feet 11^4 inches) broad at the widest part and about 3 shaku (3 feet)
deep.
One mast, about 2J4 ken (14 feet 11 inches).
One sail, of white cotton cloth.
One oar.
One article like the handle of a rudder, about 5 shaku (4 feet 11*4
inches) long.
Two ropes, of which one is about 50 fathoms long and the other 6
fathoms long.
One article like an anchor.
One article like a buoy for an anchor.
Two water casks.
One bag with all sorts of clothings.
One cask containing animal flesh.
Twenty-three large and small books with covers.
Fifteen books without covers.
One bundle of different kinds of books.
One map of the world.
One box containing an article like a telescope.
301 The materials contained in the following pages, are taken
from the “Tsuko-ichiran” (collection of documents relating to foreign re¬
lations), 2nd series.
278 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
One leather hat.
A kind of dagger.
A kind of knife.
A kind of flint.
Two articles like round chisels, one large, one small.
A kind of pincers.
A kind of spear.
One article like the cover of a kettle.
A kind of pot with a silver chased cover.
A kind of copper ladle.
A kind of borer.
A kind of comb-brush.
A kind of comb.
Two balls of white cotton thread.
One article like tusk.
One packet of sulphur.
Two balls of pine resin, large and small.
One ball of pitch.
A little tobacco.
A kind of spectacles.
A kind of candle-stick, silver colored.
One small box with lock.
One varnished board.
A kind of mat.
A kind of broom.
A pair of boots.
The articles are as given above.
A letter from the officials of the Daiymo of Matsumae and
Yezo at Yedo to the Shogun’s government requesting instructions.
August 9, 1848.
Concerning the foreigner detained at the guards station of
Soya, about whom our master Shima-no-kami has sent a report.
As it is a little more than 190 ri (1 Japanese mile equals 254
miles) from Matsumae to that place and as every year the sea
becomes gradually rough after the 210th day (from the 1st of the
1st month; on this day frequently occurs typhoons) and the voy¬
age is stopped an4 as also the place is very cold two of the sol¬
diers (stationed there) go to winter at Mashike and the remain¬
ing officers of the station return to Matsumae every year in the
end of autumn. If the foreigner is taken to Ishikari, a little
more than 113 ri distant there will be no difficulty even in autumn
and winter. It might seem too presumptuous on our part, but if he
is likely to be forwarded to Nagasaki it will be possible to make a
voyage early next spring if he is taken to Esashi. We should
prefer to take him to Esashi if that is permissible. As it con¬
cerns a place which is very distant and whence the sea must be
crossed we take liberty to request your instructions in order to
notify our master at his residential town.
On the 11th day of the 7th month.
APPENDIX II-B
279
Orders given on the 19th day of the same month. (August 17.)
The drifted foreigner mentioned in your letter should be first taken
to Esashi and forwarded to Nagasaki at the earliest convenience.
(Extract from the “Nagasaki Kiji,” (Record of Nagasaki.)
On the 2nd day of the 6th month of the 1st year of Kaei a
foreigner drifted in a boat to the shore of Notsuka in Rishiri Is¬
land in Western Yezo governed by Shima-no-kami of Matsumae,
The news reached the residential town of the Daimyo on the 22nd
of the same month and on the same day a report was sent to
Yedo. On the 11th day of the 7th month of the same year they
requested instructions of Abe, Ise-no-kami, (member of the Sho¬
gun’s cabinet) and Shima-no-kami was told to send the for¬
eigner to Nagasaki, treating him as the foreigners of some time
ago. Ise-no-kami informed Inaba Dewa-no-kami, (governor of
Nagasaki) resident at Yedo of this order. The latter accordingly
sent a notice to Ido, Tsushima-no-kami, (governor of Nagasaki)
resident at Nagasaki.
Report to the Shogun’s government from Shima-no-kami, Daim¬
yo of Matsumae and Yezo. Matsumae, October 2, 1848.
The foreigner who landed at Notsuka in Rishiri Island and con¬
cerning whom you instructed me on the 19th day of the 7th month
sailed from Eramchi for Nagasaki yesterday the 5th inst. (Oct.
1), the wind being favorable. As my retainers sent there informed
me of the fact, I hasten to report the same.
On the 6th day of the 9th month. Matsumae, Shima-no-kami.
As you instructed me to take the foreigner mentioned in the
other report first to Esashi and at the earliest opportunity to for¬
ward him to Nagasaki, I sent an express messenger to the guards
station at Soya with the necessary orders. The foreigner accord¬
ingly sailed from that place on the 26th day of the 7th month
(August 24), but as the wind was not good the fune came to the
road of this town on the 10th of last month (September 7). The
fune ought to have gone to Esashi, but the wind not being fav¬
orable it had to put into the port of Eramachi. While waiting
for a favorable wind at that port preparations for the voyage (to
Nagasaki) were finished and he sailed yesterday. I mention this
fact as it was not the place In your instructions.
On the 6th day of the 9th month. Matsumae, Shima-no-kami.
Report from the resident officials of the Daimyo of Matsumae
and Yezo to the Shogun’s government. Yedo, November 7, 1848.
The foreigner, who landed at Notsuka in Rishiri Island and con-
280 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
cerning whom you gave instructions on the 19th day of the 7th
month, was forwarded to Nagasaki. The officers who accompa¬
nied him there have notified us by an express messenger that
without any accident during the voyage he arrived in safety (at
Nagasaki) on the 15th of last month (September 12) and that on
the 17th of the same month (September 14) Ido, Tsushima-no-
kami, received the foreigner in charge at his own office. Although
Shima-no-kami, who is now in his residential town, will report on
hearing the news we hasten to inform you of this.
On the 12th day of the 10th month.
Report, from Shima-no-kami, to the Shogun’s government.
Matsumae, December 8, 1848.
As my officials have already reported to you the foreigner, who
drifted to Notsuka in Rishiri Island and concerning whom you in¬
structed me on the 19th day of the 7th month, was forwarded
to Nagasaki. Without any accident during the voyage the for¬
eigner arrived (at Nagasaki) on the 15th day of the 9th month
and on the 17th of the same month Ido, Tsushima-no-kami, received
him in charge. This is to report the said fact.
On the 13th day of the 11th month. Matsumae, Shima-no-kami.
Extract from the “Nagasaki Tomegaki”, (Nagasaki notes).
Ranarudo Makudonaruto, fisherman of Canada, 24 years old,
has been received in charge.
He said that there was no god nor Buddha. He cultivated his
heart and will and worshipped heaven in order to get clear under¬
standing and enjoy happiness. He has nothing else to repeat.
C. EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL AMERICAN RECORDS.
Contemporary deposition of Ranald MacDonald. 302
Before me, James Glynn, commandinig the United States ship
“Preble,” personally appeared, this 30th day of April, 1849, Ranald
MacDonald, who, being duly sworn, deposes as follows:
I was born at Astoria, in Oregon; I am twenty-four years of age. I
shipped at Sag harbor in the whale ship “Plymouth,” Captain Edwards,
on a whaling voyage, on the second day of December, 1845. Being off
the island of Japan, I left the ship at my own desire, agreeably to a pre¬
vious understanding with the captain. He was to furnish me with a boat,
302 u. S. Senate, Executive Docket , 32nd congress, 1st session, No.
59, pp 25-28.
APPENDIX II-C
281
etc., and drop me off the coast of Japan, under favorable circumstances
for reaching the shore.
Ranald MacDonald further deposes that on the 28th day of June,
1848, after losing sight of the “Plymouth,” I hauled on the wind, standing
to the northward and eastward for the land. In entering a bay I observed
some rocks ahead. I endeavored to tack, but failed. I then wore to the
southward and westward, just clearing the rocks. I kept on the wind
until I cleared them. I then ran free to the northward and westward,
standing for the opposite side of the bay. I passed through a channel in
the reef, and anchored under a shelter, where I tried my pistols by shoot¬
ing a sea-lion. I then got under way, and stood for the bottom of the bay,
where I landed, having understood from the captain that it was inhab¬
ited; but finding no inhabitants I made an experiment of a premeditated
design, which was to see if I could capsize my boat and right her again.
In this I succeeded to my satisfaction. 1 then ascended the heights to
take another look at the ship. With a view to lengthening my absence
from the ship, I remained two nights in this bay. In the meantime I
made an excursion into the interior, but I saw nothing of interest.
That knowing there were inhabitants on the island of Timoshee (or
Dessey of the Japanese) about ten miles distant, I put to se,a on the third
day to go there, with a view of representing myself as destitute.
That between the two islands, about ten o’clock in the morning , I
turned out the reef in my sail, capsizing my boat intentionally, making
no effort to save anything but my chest, which I wanted for ballast, and
for trimming my boat. My rudder was let go also. Unstepped my mast,
righted my boat, re-stepped my mast, set my sail, and stood towards the
land. I saw a vessel that day about six p. m., to the northward. That
night I spent in the boat, lying off and on. Next morning early I ap¬
proached the land, and was becalmed. I first discovered smoke, and
when day broke, saw some natives launching a boat. They came towards
me, within a hundred yards. On my beckoning they approached me tim¬
idly, and I jumped into their boat, fastening the painter of my boat to
theirs, and made signs to go ashore.
On my landing they took hold of my wrists, one on each side, in a
gentle manner, put sandals on my feet, and led me to a house. Here a
breakfast was provided for me in their best manner; and they also gave
me dry clothes. I remained in this house eight days, when four Matsmai
officers arrived from Soya. These officers took me to the capital of the
island situated on the seashore, to the northward and westward. There I
was imprisoned. At first my apartment was quite small; but on my re¬
monstrating, they enlarged it by moving the partitions.
After remaining here thirty days, an officer arrived, and took me to
a town called Soya, on the island of Yesso, distant about twenty-five
miles. I was placed in prison in Soya, and remained there about fifteen
days, waiting for a junk, which I was secretly told they expected from
Matsmai. This vessel not arriving, I was placed in a small boat, and
after a day’s journey met a junk, and was taken back to Soya, where I
was delayed four or five days longer; after which I was put on board this
junk and sent to Matsmai. On the passage, stopped to get wood and wa¬
ter. On board this vessel I was permitted to go about abaft the mast. I
arrived at Matsmai, after a passage of fifteen days, on the sixth of Sep¬
tember. Here they put me in confinement, where I remained until the
first of October. Whilst here I learned that I had been preceded by
other fifteen Americans, who had made attempts to escape. Here they
282 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
gave me sweetmeats, and in all other respects treated me kindly. I was
given a rude spoon, which had been manufactured and left by one of the
party of fifteen Americans who had been imprisoned here before me. On
the first of October I left in another junk for Nangasacki; arrived at
Nangasacki on the 15th; remained on board two days, and landed on the
17th. I was taken, in the first place, to a small enclosure adjoining the
town hall. Here I was met by an interpreter, (Morreama Einaska), who
told me that in front of the first door of the town-house I would see an
image, and to put my foot on it, telling me that this image was the “devil
of Japan.” In passing the door I put my foot on it, but was not able to
see it clearly, in consequence of the crowd, who pressed me forward. It
appeared to be a metallic plate, of about a foot in diameter, on which I
thought I could see a representation of the Virgin and Infant Saviour. In
the town-house I was requested to kneel, after the Japanese fashion,
upon a mat. I attempted one knee, but they insisted upon my getting
down on both knees; which I finally assented to. Soon after this I heard
a hissing noise, and was told by the interpreter that the governor was
coming, and that I must make “compliments to him;” which was to bend
low, and not look up. I made a low bow to the governor, though not be¬
fore I had taken a look at him.
The Japanese inquired my name, my place of birth, and port from
whence I sailed, and my place of residence. I answered them Oregon,
New York and Canada, with the hope that in the event of an American or
English vessel arriving here, either of them would taken an interest in
me, and that I might be restored to my own liberty, and for the oppor¬
tunity of giving information to the people of the United States that some
of their countrymen were imprisoned in Japan, and in all probability
would remain in prison for life. They then inquired the name of the ship
I had left, the name of her captain, and my reasons or motives for leav¬
ing the ship. I told them I had some difficulty with the captain. They
finally asked me “if I believed there was a God in Heaven.” I answered,
yes; that I believed in the “Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and in our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ.” I was then told that I had permission to
leave the hall; and I was then taken in a cago, attended by a number of
soldiers, to my prison, which I was told was a sort of temple or priest’s
house. I remained in this prison up to the present time. During this
time I was taken to the town-hall twice, and also questioned on several
occasions at my prison. The day after being put in this prison I asked
for my books, particularly my Bible. The interpreter told me, with a good
deal of fervor or interest, “not to speak of the Bible in Japan; it was not
a good book.” During these interviews the object of their questions ap¬
peared to be to ascertain if I had any influential friends at home who
would seek for me. If I had, they would send me away; if I had none,
then they would imprison me for life in Japan.
About the seventeenth day of April I heard signal guns. (About three
months before, I was told that when the Dutch ship, or any ship ap¬
peared approaching the coast, the guns would be fired.) I was told by
my guard, secretly, that these guns announced the approach of a yearly
Dutch ship, and they were also fired to call in the troops from the neigh¬
boring towns and districts. On this occasion there were fired six guns;
two were in close succession, being repeated at longer intervals. In the
hands of the same soldiers, the next morning, I saw sheets of paper, with
writing on, which did not appear to be a letter. On inquiry, he told me
it was a list of soldiers who had arrived at Nangasacki from the neigh-
APPENDIX II-C
283
boring cities. The number he gave me was “three thousand five hun¬
dred and four.” I asked how many soldiers there were in Nangasacki on
ordinary occasions. He said that the ordinary number was six hundred
and fifty; but on this occasion he thought there were about six thou¬
sand, besides an unknown number of attendants or followers—an extra¬
ordinary force.
On the afternoon of the 24th, the chief “Serai Tatsnosen,” accom¬
panied by the interpreter, “Morreama Einaska,” came to me in my prison,
and told me that as a new governor and a number of gentlemen had ar¬
rived from Yedo, they had concluded to send me to the Dutch factory.
After a while, they asked me if I knew the reason of this. I replied,
“No.” Then they told me that a vessel had arrived from my country. As
I had hailed from three different countries, I asked if the ship was from
Oregon; that having been assigned as the place of my birth. They said
“No, from New York.” I told them that was the place I sailed from.
From thence I was taken to the Dutch factory at Decima, and delivered
over to the Dutch superintendent of trade, where I was kindly treated.
The superintendent sent me to the ship. I have heard other cannon fired
oefore the arrival of the “Preble,” which I suppose was a salute on the
arrival of the winter fleet of Chinese junks. I was told there were five
cannon in Soya, but I never saw any except those I saw on coming from
Nangasacki. The troops that I have seen in Japan were clothed in a coat
of mail, with hats of paper, japanned, broad-rimmed, low-crowned, and
fitting close to the head. These hats did not appear to be worn for de¬
fense. They were armed with two swords, and, in addition to these, with
bows and arrows, and also with match-locks, (the ignited match being
carried at the waist.) I never saw any mounted cavalary, but heard of
such being in the country. The match-locks were with very short breeches
to the stock, which was brought against the cheek in firing, as shown to
me by one of the soldiers. In firing, they kneel upon the right knee,
throwing the left foot forward, keeping both eyes wide open.
The common people appeared to be amiable and friendly, but the gov¬
ernment agents were the reverse.
During my imprisonment I had a number of scholars among the
Japanese interpreters, which probably procured me more kindness than I
would have otherwise met with. Morreama speaks better English than
any of the Japanese I heard attempt it. Two or three of the other inter¬
preters speak a little English. I was told that there was an abundance
of mineral coal in Japan, and some not far from Nangasacki.
That I was fully under the impression that the fifteen men, whoever
they might be, who had preceded me from Matsmai, were still in Japan,
and doomed to perpetual imprisonment; and that I believed that their lib¬
eration depended entirely upon the success of my efforts to return to civ¬
ilization, and send them relief.
Upon the arrival of the ship there appeared to be a general excite¬
ment among the government agents. On the morning of the 26th of
April, the interpreter came to my prison, and exhibited a letter, trans¬
lated into English, purporting to be a communication to the commanding
officer of the “Preble,” requiring him to leave the harbor of Nangasacki,
on the reception of the fifteen men.
The interpreter wished me to give him the relative rank of the captain
of the ship, by counting in the order of succession from the highest chief
in the United States. First, I gave the people, which they could not com-
284 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
prehend, then the President of the United States, the Secretary of the
Navy, commodore, post captain, and commander. This rank appeared
to be sufficiently elevated to excite their surprise.
RANALD MACDONALD.
Sworn and subscribed before me, this 30th day of April, 1849.
JAMES GLYNN,
Commanding the U. S. ship “Preble."
Narrative of the shipwrecked seamen in Japan, as furnished by
the Japanese authorities at Nagasaki. Presented to Commander
James Glynn by Mr. Bassle, on the 25th day of April, 1849, and
orally translated by him. (The original is written in Japanese
Dutch.) 303
Fifteen men from an American whale ship, said to be wrecked near
Matsmai. As customary, the men were taken into the custody of Japa¬
nese officers, and the edict of the Emperor orders that all foreigners
shall be taken to Nangasacki; and these men were accordingly placed on
board a vessel and transported to that place. (This paragraph was sup¬
plied by me.)
At Matsmai they were placed in confinement. John Bawl and Robert
McCoy escaped by breaking through a water-closet. They ran into the
mountains, but, after a short time, were recaptured.
John Martin and Robert McCoy afterwards made a successful attempt
to run, by breaking through the roof of the house. They were retaken.
These three men, John Martin, Robert McCoy and John Bawl, were
then placed in a boat by themselves. They afterwards asked forgiveness.
It was granted on their promise to behave better. They were then re¬
stored to their companions.
On the 27th day of August Robert McCoy again escaped by breaking
through the side of the house. He was retaken and put in solitary con¬
finement. He was questioned as to his reasons for running away, and
his reply was well received by the governor. He was again cautioned as
to his conduct, pardoned, and placed with his companions. At this time
all the men were warned to keep still and to behave properly.
Their wants were supplied. The superintendent wrote a letter to the
Americans, requesting that they would keep quiet, and show a proper be¬
haviour towards those who had them in charge. The men replied in Eng¬
lish, promising that they would behave themselves.
On the 18th day of October, John Bawl, Robert McCoy and Jacob
Boyd escaped, by burning through the floor. They were retaken, being
discovered in a farmer’s house. They were questioned, but the reasons
they gave proved unsatisfactory. They begged to be forgiven; it was
again granted. But they were separated from their companions.
The men gave so much trouble that the Japanese authorities scarcely
knew what course to pursue towards them.
Sick .—Makea was taken sick with a fever on the evening of the 6th
303 U. S. Senate, Executive Docket , 32nd Congress, 1st session, No.
59, pp. 38-39.
APPENDIX II-C
285
of August, 1848, and received medical advice.
Robert McCoy was seized with a pain in his stomach on the 19th of
August, and received medical advice.
Makea, James Hall, Manna and Steam took cold on the 19th of Au¬
gust and received medical advice.
John Martin, on the 19th of August, was seized with a pain in his
teeth, and by fever. He was given medicine.
Maury and Hiram, on the 20th of August, were attacked with cold,
and received medical advice.
John Waters, on the 1st of October, was atacked by fever, and seized
with cramps in the stomach. He got well by the use of medicines.
Steam, on the 4th of October, was attacked by cold and swelling of
the face. He recovered of this, and was afterwards seized with a cough,
and threw up much phlegm. He got well by using medicines.
Jacob Boyd, on the 25th of January, was taken sick with a pain in his
stomach. He recovered.
John Bawl, on the 8th of January, was seized with a pain and swell¬
ing of the face. He recovered. He was afterwards taken with the same
kind of disease, but used medicine and got well.
John Waters, on the 5th of January, was taken with a cold, but re¬
covered.
Melcher Biffar was seized with a pain in the face on the 19th of
March.
James Hall was seized with a similar pain on the 24th of March.
These two men have been under medical treatment ever since, and are
yet upon the sick list.
Henry Barker and Jack have not been sick.
Ranald MacDonald (the sixteenth man) has never complained of be¬
ing ill.
Deaths .—Maury committed suicide by hanging himself on the night
of the 12th of November, whilst his companions were asleep. This state¬
ment was made by the men to the officers, who instituted an inquiry into
the cause of Maury’s death. His associates begged and obtained permis¬
sion to bury him.
Ezra Goldthwait and James Hall, on the 16th of December, were both
seized with a swelling of the face. They recovered of this; but on the
21st of December Goldthwait was taken down with a fever. He had med¬
ical advice and attendance; but became worse and worse, and on the 1st
of January died. His companions asked and were given permission to
bury him.
The narrative concludes by stating that the wants of the above
men have been at all times supplied them by the government of
Nagasaki, as is well known to Mr. Levyssohn.
APPENDIX III
GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH AND JAPANESE WORDS, FROM
COPY IN THE PROVINCIAL LIBRARY, VICTORIA, B. C.,
ARRANGED BY MALCOLM McLEOD FROM ORIGINAL
NOTES OF RANALD MACDONALD.
The following glossary is inserted to permit the curious reader
an opportunity to judge our author’s aptitude and success in learn¬
ing something of the Japanese language. The glossary has neither
philological value or accuracy, as our author’s hasty autograph
notes are hard to decipher, and neither the late Malcolm McLeod
who compiled the glossary from the notes, or the Amercan
editor who is responsible for their appearance here had any fit¬
ness for the tasks they assumed.
Prior to the restoration, the language of Kyoto, the ancient
capital of Japan, was considered the standard of language, and of
highest authority, but since the restoration and the removal of the
capital to Tokyo, the dialect of the latter place has taken pre¬
cedence. Other dialetical differences are numerous and the lan¬
guage abounds in provincialisms and vulgarities: moreover in
many Japanese provinces the pronunciation is so varied that it was
a very difficult task for an uneducated person speaking only one
local dialect to make himself thoroughly understood by another
native speaking an entirely different dialect. It should also be
borne in mind that our author, even in his limited intercourse
with the Japanese people, doubtless heard and noted down a num¬
ber of provincialisms, which in his phonetic rendering are now
well nigh unintelligible. Since MacDonald’s time, through the in¬
troduction of a standard system of schools and Japanese text
books, the Japenese language has become standardized. Many
words in use at the time of MacDonald’s visit are now obsolete.
Notwithstanding all this, a glance through the following pages
will disclose that a high percentage of the words, so imperfectly,
transcribed from Mr. MacDonald’s notes are either identical with,
or closely approximate the present standard Japanese word.
. A
Standard or
MacDonald’s
Recognized
English
Japanese
Japanese
Admiral
Fene Tajo
Suishi teitoku
Adultery
Metano
Kantsu
African
O’shaka
Afurikajin
Again
Mena
Mata
Anchor
Ekat
Ikari
288
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Standard or
MacDonald’s
Recognized
English
Japanese
Japanese
Ankle
Asnoko
Ashi-kubi
Angry
Nakin
(or) Negur
Ikaru
Apron
Hakama
Maekake
Arms
Oude
Ude
Arrive
Ketaru
(or) Kista
Itaru
Arrow
Yaa
Ya
Ashes
Hie (or) hae
Hai
Aunt
Oba
Oba
Autumn (next)
Ake
Aki
Awake (or get
up!)
Okaro
Okiru
B
Bad
Warka
Waree
Warui
placed after noun,
Tremara, not good.
Back
Senaka and Tamasha
Senaka
Barley
Mogi
O-mugi
Bathe (to)
You or Me
Yuami, Yu
Bay
Ere
Irie
Beans (Dumpling
of
Tove
To-fu
ground beans)
Bear
Koma
Kuma
Bed
Feto or Ftone (quilt)
Futon
Beef
Cos
Gyu-niku
Beginning
Hagemii
Hajime
Belly
Harra
Hara
Belly, to cut the
Shepuk, and Harra
Seppuku
Kari
Belt
Obea
Obi
Bite
Kweetsko and
Kamu
Fconouku
Black
Kufraka
Kuroki
Blacksmith
Caggy
Kajiya
Blind
Momoka
Mo-moku
Blood
Tse
Chi
Boat
Funa
Fune
Boatswain
Soefo Kasera
Body
Kanaa
Karada
Boil
Taquiru
Nie tatsu
Book
Hone
Hon
Bow (to)
Orae
Soru
Bow, a
Yomme
Yumi
Bow, string
Breakfast
Yomme tsure
Yumi-zuru
Assahan
Asahan
Breast
Mony
Mune
Breathe (to)
Ekee
Iki
4^*4 ■*<*** / '
-5 - /^^XL
J/XL- I /U 2X r /?-
xxXy S ^fc, v v
Xfa^ytXXtX -. :'X&
*•«<
t
/s-StX ..
tS. 'Xlc 9-1,'Zi-
-/Vv*_ ■+.'** —■ -
-a^^ v- —— '
~ts / isrf^*-~' ■~~~~
&^JtL H2'
'#C
—
^tT^yyt--' t*~~ -
J^**-*' c^+^y 'd/-^
itX X'^''-
#*
7l«~y
G^y e^^--
^fl
i/ir ^ - — ~~
^/fogy-pts —
‘^As-isi.- S t &~ &■> —
^yo-' </ j£-<&L..
j //tc/<^ /^i-J -MjL~
I! / <£,
tPl-f/pC- j
::-X
/.i--Zv;^
tZLXtZr/fr*-
M,m
/£
4 ; ^
Mf'-sz r-X-e-rt./-
•^MXL
, y^*c ///1’-^ ^~.
■■Krl+j
■
V
Photographic copy of a page of MacDonald’s glossary of English-
Japanese words
From his original notes made in Japan, 1848-1849, now in the Provincial
Library, Victoria, B. C.
APPENDIX III—GLOSSARY
289
English
MacDonald’s
Japanese
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Bride
Hanayoume
Hana-yome
Bridegroom
Hanamko
Hana-muko
Bring (back)
Motoqua
Motte Kaeru
Bridge
Bas
Hashi
Broke
Otshewan
Kowareta
Brother
Qudae
Otoko Kyodai
Bugler
Yamabush
Yamabushi
Burn
Yokedo
Yaketo
By and By
O-tagkra
Imani
By and By warm
O-tagki atse
Sugu Atsukunaru
C
Cabbage (Pickled)
Tagana
Tamana
Calm
Nage
Nagu, Nagi
Candlestick
Shockudie
Shokudai
Capital, The Sacred
Meyako
Miyako
of Japan
Capital, The Secular
Ieddo (Yeddo)
Edo
of Japan
Captain (Chief)
Tajo
Taicho or Taii
Card-visiting
Nafda
Nafuda
Carpenter
Dicku
Daiku
Carry
Catsu, or
Hakobo
fenow (on shoulder)
Katsugu
(on back)
Seou
Cat
Nekoe
Neko
Catch
Tsecam
Tsukamu
Change
Kawaro
Kawaru
Charcoal
Some
Sumi
Cheap
Yaska
Yasni
Cheeks
Hoe
Ho or Hoho
Chin
Agi or Ake
Ago
Chopsticks
Hass
Hasui
Clean
Kerce or Kreen
Kirei na
Christ-Jesus
Kibac Kogin
Kirisuto, or
Yaso Kurisuto
Colonel
T Kusho
Taisa
Come
Kivo
Kiyo
Kuro
Come here
Kistamii
Kitamae
Compass
Holly, and
Rashinban
Hare
Hobari
Compliments
Urosu
Okurimono
Cook
Yaking
Taku, Ryo-rinin
Cover (to)
Feta-suru
Feta-suru
Cover (to) un(cover) Ftatoru
Futatoru
Coverlet
Conotnak
Yagu
Cup
Wan
Wan
Cut (to)
Kure or Korri
Kiru
290 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
MacDonald's
Standard or
Recognized
English
Japanese
Japanese
Dagger
Wagsash
Tanto
Dance
Odoo
Odoru, buto
Dark
Katraka
Kurai
Darkness
Yeen
Ankoru
Daughter
Musme and
Musume
Day
Gosokujo
Shear, and
Heru
Hiru
Day, to
Quo, or
Kyo
Conege
Kon-nichi
Day yester
Kino
Kino
Day fine
Koekonatink
Yokitenki
Deliver (to)
Sane
Watasu
Dear Me!
Narhodu!
Oyama
Devil
Oneye
Oni
Different affair
Fseaury
Betsuji
Dig
Hor
Horu
Dinner
Shearhan
Hiruhan
Dirty
Eswashy
Kitanai
Dog
Yeegan
Inu
Dragoon
Ma (horse) —Oy akoonu
Ryu-kihei
Drink
(soldier)
Nom
Nomu
Drummer
Kinwoche
Taiko-uchi
Duck-Tame
Aheer
Ahiru
Duck-Wild
Kamo
Kamo
Duke
Kakush
Koshaku
E
Ears
Memee
Mimi
Earthquake
Geesing
Jishin
Eat
Mesagaro
Taberu
Eight
Hatch and
Hachi
Yoka Yoka (days)
Yoka
Eighteen
Ju hatoinai and
Juhachi-ban (18th)
Ju Hatch
Juhachi
Elbow
Hege
Hiji
Eldest (born of woman) Ane (daughter)
Ane
Eleven
Ju itch
Ju estinge
Juichi
Emperor, before
Quoto
Kotei
division
Mikado
Mikado
Emperor, Spiritual
Dairi
Emperor, Temporal
Kobo. Ziogoun
Sho-gun
Empress
Neotae
Nyo-tei, Ko-go
Ensign
Hatakasra
Hata jirushi
Entertaining
Omosroka
Omoshiroki
Entertaining—days for
Mokash
Asubihi
APPENDIX III —GLOSSARY
291
English
MacDonald’s
Japanese
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Evening-this
Conban
Komban
Eyebrows
Unegie
Mayu-ge
Eyes
Mea
Me
F
Face
Cow
Kao
Farewell
Sinara
Sayonara
Fast-quick
Eiaka (Highaka)
Hayaku
Father
Weyage
Chichi, Teteoya
Fifteen
Ju-jwonge or Jugo
Jugo
Fight (to) with both
hands
Netoe
Sumo
Fingers
Yonbe
Yubi
Fire place
Shevals
Irori
Fish
Sugana
Sakana
Fish—Dumplings of
Camabuco
Kamaboko
Fine day
Kakonatink
Yokitenki'
Five
Goka, (elements)
Gogyo
(virtues)
Go jo
Itska
Itsutsu
Fled
Heku
Heru
Flowery pattern
Iakinmoyo
Hanamoyo
Follow (to)
Orae
Shitago
Fool
Baka
Baka
Foot
Ash
Ashi
Forehead
Hetye
Hitai
Fork
Hoko
Hoko
Fort
Dieba
Daiba
Four
Yoka, or
Yotsu
She-yoka (footed)
Shi-soku
Fourteen
Ju-Yoka
Ju-shi
Friend
Hoyou
Hoyu
Full—to overflowing
Epae or Epe
Ippai
Fur
Kawaoso
G
Kawa, Kegawa
Garment
Kremono
Kimono
General
Diemn
Rikugun-Taisho
Gentleman
Kenshe
Kunshi, Shinshi
Ghost
Yourin
Yurei
Ghost, Holy
Magoe
Seire
Give
Yar
Yaru
Glass
Vetro (probably from
French vitre, intro¬
duced by French
Jesuits)
Biidoro, Gurasu
Go—To
Ego, or
Iku
Youkfla (?)
Yuku
292
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
English
Go—to—away
Goat
God (of the Shinto)
Good
Good—not
Goodnight
Goose
Governor
Grandfather
Grandmother
Granddaughter
Grandson
Great
Great deal
Hail
Hair
Hall—Large
Hand
Handkerchief
Hark
Haste
Haul
Have—got
He
Head
Hear
Heaven
High
Hit—knock to
Hold—to
Hold—to with finger
and thumb
Hook (a fish)
Horse
House
House—Large—
Mansion
How
How do you do?
MacDonald's
Japanese
Kiro
Yagie
Kamoui or Kami-
Sama
Youka
Kemara
Weya Timi
Ga
Bougio, or
Bunyo
Geesan
Babasan
Hoska Musme
Hoska Musko
Oke (Same in Cree)
Oka or Oke
H
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Yuke
Koeru (by)
Yagi
Kami
Yoi, Yoki
Yokunai, Aku naru
Oyasumi
Gacho
Gan (wild)
Chiji
O-ju-san, Sofu
Baba, or obaa-san, sobo
Mago-musume
Mago-musoko
Okii
Yohodo, Takusan
Arare
Kamee
Zashjee
Tae
Tenewe
Tsur
Ohio
Hekoe
Aro
Konata (applied also
to personal pronoun
Thou)
Onata
Adama
Keku
Sin
Wee
Tadakul
Negor and Negeem
Tsema mu
Tsure
Ma
Eyae
Yashke
Doa
Sonomotoo
merucotowi
Arare
Kami, kami-no-ke
Zashiki, Yashiki
Te
Tenugui, Hankachi
Jitto-kiku
Isogo, Hayai
Hiku, Hakobu
Aru, Motsu
Kono okato, Kare
Ano-hito
Atama
Kiku
Ten
Takai
Tataku
Sasaeru
Tsumamu
Tsuri
Uma
Ie, lye
Yashiki
Do, Ikani
Kon-nichi-wa
APPENDIX III—GLOSSARY
293
I
Standard or
MacDonald's
Recognized
English
Japanese
Japanese
I
Watakshewa, also
Watakushi
Wataksuwa
Ignorant
Iummo Kul
Ahona
Ink
Sim
Sumi
Island
Sona
Shima
Itch
Kasa
J
Kodash
Hizen, Kayui
Jug—Oil
Aburatsubo
Jump
Tob or Toeb
Tobu
K
Kelp
Coub
Kobu, Kombu
0, Tenno
King
O’
Kitchen
Dikokoro
Daidokoro
Knee
Heza
Hiza
Knuckle
Fush
Kushi
L
Lame
Chimba
Chimba
Lampwick
Toshin
Toshin, Toshimi
Lantern
Andon
Andon
Lantern Box
Backwandon
Large
Ftukoi
Futoi, O-ki
Last Night
Yombee
Yube, Saku-ban
Laugh
Warro
Warau
Law
Okete
Okite, Horitsu
Left—side or direction Hedier
Hidari no, Hidarigawa
Legs
Sene
Ashi
Lend me
Okash nasaramosh
Kashite Kudasai
Lend
Kasu
Lie—Falsehood
or
Damaso
Damasu
Sham
Lieutenant
Kasra
Chu-i
Lift
Omka
Ageru
Light
1
Hera
Akarui
Light day
Hera Shear
Akarui Hi
Lightening
Enabeky
Inabikari
Little—size or
degree
Isesa
Chiisai
Little, a small
Scose
Sukoshi
quantity
Little—too
Tcheto
Chitto, Chotto
Lobster
Abegama
Yebi
Long ago
Mokash
Mukashi
Loose
Toketa
Toku, Tokeru
294 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
English
Lord—Highest term
of address to all of
superior rank in so¬
ciety, correspond¬
ing to the term
“Monsieur”
MacDonald’s
Japanese
Sama
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Sama, Kami
Love
Tsecatzicke
Itsukushimu, Ai
Maid
M
Sara
Gejo
Make
Cosherioni
Tsukuru, Koshi-n
Man
Fito
Koshiraeru
Hito
Man-old
Rogin
Rojin
Most
Hasra
Mottomo
Master
Shugen
Shu jin
Mat
Tadiame
Tatami
Me
Watakushe
Watakushi
Meet
Mestaro
Au, Matsu
Memory
Oboye
Oboe, Kioku
Memory bad
Oboye waig
Oboye Warui
Merchant
Tschoja
Shonin
Mile—one of ours
Egere
Jushicho Amari
Mile—their mile
Ri
Ri
about 2V 2 ours
Mistress
Weran
Mekake, Oyeran
Mistress pleasure for
You joe
Yu jo, Jujo, Joro
Money
Gin
Jeni
Kin (ready)
Genkin
Monkey
Sar
Saru
Month—a
Stotske
Tsuki, Hitotsuki
Moon
Tske
Tsuki
Morning
Assa
Asa
Mother
Kakosan
Okka-san, Haha
Mountain
Yamma
Yama
Mouse
Nezume
Nezumi
Mouth
Quich
Kuchi
Moyat—a kind of
Moyat
water vegetable
Muck
Oka
Koyashi
Nails
N
Takatakado
Navel
Heso
Heso
Neck
Cubee and
Kubi
Nodo
Nodo
Neck—to stab thru the Gegii
Jigai
Necessary (Water
Shetseyeen
Setsuin, Bengo
Closet)
APPENDIX III—GLOSSARY
295
English
Nephew
Net
Niece
Night
Night—last
Nine
Nineteen
No
Nose
Not
Not any
Now—at present
Oar
Obliged, greatly
Obliged, greatly for
attention
Ocean
Of
One
Onions, pickled
Onions
Open
Orange
Pain
Paper
Pease—blue
Pen
People—Common
Pickle—red
Pillow
Plank
Play
Plenty
Police
Pork
Post Captain
Pot—kettle or
saucepan
MacDonald’s
Japanese
On
Amee
Mac
Yousii or Usii
Yombee
Quoo a koo, or
Kokonoka
Juquinge, or
Kooinge
Eya, and
Na
Hana
Nigh
Naka or Naran
Fadima, or
Atska
O
Kam Hatm Rama
Okearin gado
Osheva
Diikii
Ga, and no (affix)
Sto, ege, itch
Ranque
Stomoge
Awkur, mow
kado
Mecan
P
Etaka
Kame
Yokone
Fede
Heyo
Cal-na
Magraw
Ekooru
Go otts, (checkers)
Amaroo
Tucksan
Tesak
Tesak (detective)
Buda “good-so”
Sindo-sama
Nabee (T?)
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Oi
Ami
Mei
Yoru
Yu-be
Ku
Kokonotsu
Juku
Iiye, lye
Bai
Hana
Nai
Hitotsumonai
Ima
Ro, Kai
O-kini Arigato
Osewasama
Taiyo Kai
No
Ichi
Rakkyo
Shitomogi, Hitomoj i
Akeru
Mikan
Itai, Itaka
Kami
Aoendo
Fude
Hito, He-min
Hikabu
Makura
Ita, Ita wo haru
Go wo uts
Asobu, Tawamureru
Takusan
Seiji, Junsa
Teisakuri
Buta no niku, Buta Niko
Sencho
Nabe
296
Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
MacDonald!s
Standard or
Recognized
English
Japanese
Japanese
Potatoes
Emo
Imo
Pantsiol
Baresho
Potatoes, a veg-
Quy
Kuwai
etable like
Pray
Ogama
Ogamu
Pregnant
Quitii.
Ninshin
Presently
Otska
Ottsuke, sugu
Pretty
Fadima
Tsukuseka
Utsukushii
Prince
Wakagime
Wakagimi
Princess
Shemaegim
Wakahime, Himegini
Private
Takinmoyo
Kojinno
Pull or Haul
Hekoe
Hiku
Put—to put on
Kier, or
Kiru, Oku
Kista
Kiseru
Quarrel
Q
Kinkwa
Kenkwa
Queen
Neo O’
Nyotei, kogo
Quiver—Arrows of
Yaat
Ya, Yugi
Queue—on top of
Ore, bach
Chonmage
head
Quy—a vegetable
Quy
Kuwai
like a potato
R
Radish—pickled
Digoon
Daikon
Rain
Ame
Ame
Read
Yom
Yomu
Red
Aka
Akai
Return
Atomodoru
Kaeru, Modoru
Rice
Come
Kome
Right—side or direction Megie
Migi
Right—a little to the
Younoke
Sukoshi Migi
River
Kawa
Kawa
Road
Menato
Michi
Room—bed
Haeya
Heya, Shinshitsu
Rope
Tsena
Tsuna
Row—to
Row os
Kogu
Rudder
Kage
Kaji
Rump
Koshe
Koshi
Run
Hiaka,
Kakeru
Hasure
Hashiru
Run away, to
Negaer
Nigeru
s
Saddle
Kura
Kura
Sail
Ho
Ho
APPENDIX III—GLOSSARY
297
English
Sailor
Salt
Same, the
Sash—window
Sauce, of dark
colored fish
Scratch
Sea
Seal (mark or stamp)
See
Seed
Seen, not, you for
Servant
Service—at your
MacDonald’s
Japanese
Fenagada (Sailor’s
Inn)
Sheo
Onashoto
Shoge
Shon (“Son”)
Cakul
Oome or Owme
Ingu
Metae
Zance, guo
Otodo-shue
Kerii
Kawdra Kotonika
Seven
Seventeen
Sew
Shipwreck
Shave
Sheep
Ship
Shirt
Shoulders
Shower
Shut (a port)
Sing
Sir—yes
Sister
Sister second
Sit
Six
Sixteen
Sleep—a
Sleepy
Small
Small pox
Snow
Snuffers
So—Just
So—So
Socks
Soldier (common,
not impl.)
Soldier, Imperial
Sole
Sitch
Nanca
Ju stinge, Ju sitsh
Noo
Hashaen
Sorktse
Hetsuge
Fenee
Hadake
Kata
Fore ante
Shaku
Fushets kateota, or
futs kate
Hea, hea, hea
On a Qudae
Qudii
Suwar
Rock, Muyouca
Ju Rockinge, Ju Roste
Noor
Neptaka
Comaka,
Tsera
Kemoore
Youkee
Shinkere
Siode, Sonotor
So so (probably from
Dutch
Tabee
Oyokonu
Oosieu
Asnohara
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Funanori
Fenayado
Shio
Onaji, Onajikoto
Shoji
Shoyu
Karu, hikkaku
Umi, kai
Ingyo, Han
Mitai, Miru
Tane
Omeni Kakaranai
Kerai, Yatoinin
Anatano Kotode, Katte
ni otsukai nasare
Hichi, Shichi
Nanatsu
Ju hichi
Nu
Hasen
Soru or sogu
Hitsuji
Fune
Hadagi, Juban
Kata
Yu-Dachi, Niwaka ame
Sakoku
Utau
Hei
Onna-kyodai
Imoto
Suwaru
Roku, Mutsu
Juroku
Nemuru
Nemui, Nemutai
Komayaka na
Chiisai, chi-sana
Hoso
Yuki
Shinkiri
Sho-do
So So
Tabi
He-tai
Konoe Hei
Ashi no ura
298 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
English
Sometime—ago
Son
Son, second
Sorry
Soul—mind
Speak
Spectacles
Spill
Spit
Spit box
Spring—next
Spy—a
Stab
Stab, through the
neck
Stamp
Stand—to
Star
Stink
Stirrup—leather
Stop
Strait
Straight along
Stranger
Street
Strike
String
Summer—next
Sun
Sunshine
Supper
Swallow—to
Sweep
Swim
Sword
Sword, to draw the
Sword handle
Sword blade
Table
Take
Talk—tell
MacDonald's
Japanese
Hesabesa Oshasu
Muska
Ototo
Gosashe
Koo, zkee
Kotoba,
You
Megame
Cobose
Tsubake
Hyvek
Harr
Cacksomaetoke
Tsuku
Gegii
Mgu
Tatsu
Hose
Qusaka
Warazore
Mate,
Ocheru
Masugu
(space)
(time)
Gekene
Tabenosto
Meech? (Matz)
Dotso
Tadokul
Tsure
Natts
She
Skii
Yoohan
Nameken
Notodormoka
Hoke
Wyaegoo
Catana
Nuge
Tska
Sia
T
O’gen
Torr
Hanasoo
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Kono Aida
Musuko
Ototo
Kanashi, Kuchi-oshii
Re-kon
Kokoro, Hanasu
Megane
Kobosu
Tusba, Tsubaki
Tantsubo, Haifuki
Haru
Kanjya, Metsuke
Tsuku
Jigai
Inshi, Han
Tatsu
Hoshi
Kusai
Warazori
Mate, Tomaru
Osaeru
Masugu
Massuguna
Jikini
Massugu
Tabi no hito, Tanin
Machi, Michi
Butsu
Tataku
Tsuri-Hi-Himo
Natsu, Natsu or ka
Hi, Taiyo
Hinata, Taiyo Kagayakw
Yuhan, Yu-gohan
Nomu, Nomi-komu
Haku
Oyogu
Katana, ken
Nuku, Ken o nuku
Ken o Tsukau
Saya, Yaiba
Shokutaku, Zen
Torn
Hanasu
APPENDIX III—GLOSSARY
299
English
Tea
Tea cup
Tea Tray
Teeth
Tell
Ten
Thank (you)
Then
Thighs
Think
Thirteen
Thirty
Thou
Thread
Three
Throw
Thumb
Thunder
Tie
Tiger
Tired
To
To—up or towards
To—down
Today
Toes
Tomorrow
Tongs
Tongue
Town
Tray
Trousers
Tsua—a kind of wat¬
er herb much used
by natives
Turkey
Turtle
Twelve
Twenty
Twist, to
Two
MacDonald) s
Japanese
Cha
Chawan
Chadi
Ha
Hanaso
Ju, Tokatoka
Aringodo
Carera
Shere
Wasreta
Mo
Ju Tange, Ju Tan
Kenata san ju
Eto (applied also to
the third personal
pronoun in eastern
style of address
Waga
San
Meca
Nagur
O’Yoube
Camarare, Rye
Mosobo
Tora
Kiska
Ni, ye
Dokono
Darega
Quo,
Conege
Asno yoube
Asta, Munege
Shebas
Sta
Enaka
Di or Dy
Momoshegi
Tsua
Karacoon
Gamme
Ju ne
Hatska or (years)
Ju Hatska
Naegera,
Quahe
Ne,
Fitoka
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Cha
Cha-wan
Cha-bon
Ha
Hanasu
Ju, To
Arigato
Kara, Shikaraba,
Shikarutoki
Momo
Watakishi, Kangoern
Omou
Ju-san
San-ju
Anata
Ito
San
Mi, Mitsu
Nageru
Oya-yubi, Oyubi
Kaminari, Rai
Musubu
Tora
Tukareta
Ni, ye
Uyeni
Shitani
Kyo
Konnichi
Ashi no yubi
Ashita, Myo-nichi
Hibashi
Shita
Machi
Dai, Bon
Momohiki
Choseicho, Hichimencho
Kame
Juni
Hatachi
Nejiru, Nigu
Ni
Futatsu
300 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
English
Uncle
Under
Varnish
Viceroy
Wash
Wash, to, the face
Walk
Wall
War
Warm
Water
Way—Short
Way—long
We
Weather—Dark
Weep
Whale
When
Which
Whip
White
Who
Who is it?
Why?
Wife
Wife, second
Will
Will—I, not
Wiind
Wing (feather)
Winter, next
Wipe, to dry up
Wish
Wish I, you joy
Wood
Write
U
MacDonald’s
Japanese
Oge
Sta
V
Rush
Rotshew
Grotsu Tajo
W
Sintaku
Tchozu
Sorosure
Youk
Kabee
Takado
Atse
Meze
Miskii
Toga
Wara ware
Otoshe
Nakoo
Quisra
Eets
Quich
Bugee
Shruka
Douka
Dareyo
Doconee
Ogatson
Sho
Tetake
Dozo
Scan
Kagee
Hanee
Juyou
Nogow
Dozo
Oyaro cobee (much
joy)
Kee
Cakut
Standard or
Recognized
Japanese
Oji
Shita
Urushi
Sotoku Taishu
Sentaku, Arau
Kao Arau
Hoko suru
Aruku
Kabe
Senso
Tatakau
Atsui, Atataka
Mizu
Michi, Michikai
Nagai
Warera
Uttoshi
Naku
Kujira
Itsu
Izure, Dochira
Butsu
Shiroi
Tare, Dochira
Tareka
Doshite, Naze
Oku-sama, Tsuma
Sho
Tekake
Daro, dozo
Senai
Kaze, Kaje
Hane
Fuyu
Nugu
Negau, dozo
Oyoro Kobi
Omedeto
Ki
Kaku
APPENDIX III—GLOSSARY
301
MacDonald’s
Standard or
Recognized
English
Japanese
Japanese
Yawn
Akubet
Akubi
Year—this
Quotosh
Kotoshi
Year—next
Muning
Myo-nen, Rainen
Year—past
Zuning
Kyonen, Saku-nen
Year—one
Egening
Ichinen
Yes
Hea
Hei
Yos
Sayo
Yesterday
Kono
Kino
You
Anata
Anata
Sokamoto
Sokka
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RANALD MacDONALD
(Including magazine and newspaper articles containing men¬
tion of MacDonald’s Japan Adventure.)
Astorian (Astoria, Ore.), February 8, 1891. The oldest Native
Astorian.
Britannicus Letter No. 7, Ottawa Times, Ottawa, Canada, 1869.
Contains Ranald MacDonald’s Adventure in Japan.
Canadian Pacific Pamphlets; 1875-1880; some contain mention
of Ranald MacDonald’s story.
Century Magazine, New York, Aug. 1913, vol. 86, pp. 597-605.
Wm. Elliot Griffis. American Makers of the New Japan.
China Mail, May 31, 1849. Vol. 5, No. 224, p. 86. Report of
return of the Preble with men from the Lagoda, and Mac¬
Donald from the Plymouth.
Chinese Repository, S. Wells Wiliams, ed., June, 1849, vol. 18,
pp. 315-323. Cruise of the United States Sloop of War,
Preble, commander James Glynn, to Napa, and Nagasaki.
Corrector, (The) Sag Harbor, L. I., N. Y., H. D. Slight, editor,
various dates, 1905; A History of Sag Harbor’s Whaling
Industry.
Same article, reprint, Brooklyn Times, (various dates) 1905.
-Sag Harbor’s Whaling Fleet, various dates.
Dye, Eva Emery. MacDonald of Oregon; a tale of two shores.
395 p. Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1906.
Griffis, William Elliot. America in the East; a glance at our
history, prospects, problems and duties in the Pacific
Ocean. 236 p. New York, A. S. Barnes & Co., 1889. Ran¬
ald MacDonald p. 103, 167-168.
-The Japanese Nation in Evolution, New York, Crowell &
Co., 1907. pp. 226, 308-309.
Harper’s Weekly Magazine, New York. July 18, 1891. Vol. XXXV,
No. 1804, pp. 534-535, Elizabeth B. Custer. An Out of
the Way Outing. ;
Same article, Kettle Falls Pioneer, Haskins ed., Kettle
Falls, Wash., Aug. 6, 1891.
Hildreth, Richard. Japan As it Was and Is; a handbook of old
Japan, 2 vols. Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1906. Ran¬
ald MacDonald; Vol. 2, p. 271-272.
304 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
Kettle Falls, (Wash.) Pioneer, Aug. 6, 1891, Mrs. Custer’s article
copied from Harper’s Weekly of July 18, 1891
-Sept. 3, 1891. Was Uncalled For—A cutting rebuke to
Mrs. General Custer’s criticism. The Oldest of Pioneers.
An interesting letter from our honored and respected Pat¬
riarch, Ranald MacDonald.
-Nov. 16, 1893; Nov. 23, 1893; Dec. 7, 1893; Dec. 21, 1893;
Jan. 4, 1894; containing the first chapters of MacDonald’s
Narrative.
-Aug. 30, 1894. Notice of death of Ranald MacDonald.
Levyssohn, John H. Blader ubs Japan, ’s Gravenhage: Belinfante,
1852. MacDonald, pp. 53, 55.
Littell’s Living Age, Boston, E. Littell &. Co., Oct. 27, 1849, vol. 23,
No. 284, pp. 145-152. Americans in Japan. Cruise of the
U. S. Sloop of war Preble.
McLeod, Malcolm, Pacific Railway, Canada. Britannicus Letters,
etc., Thereon, p. 36. Ottawa, Canada. A. S. Woodbury,
1875, Ranald MacDonald p. 18.
Morning Courier & New York Enquirer (N. Y. City) Thursday
morning, Sept. 18, 1849.
Niles National Register, Philadelphia, May 30, 1849, vol. 75, p. 340.
Intercourse with Japan. (Referring to the Seamen’s Friend,
Honolulu.)
Nitobe, Inazo Ota. The Japanese nation, its land, its people, and
its life, with special consideration to its relations with the
United States, 334 p. New York, G. P. Puttman’s Sons,
1912. Ranald MacDonald, pp. 272-273.
Oregon Historical Society Quarterly, H. G. Yoring, ed., vol. VII,
Dec., 1906, pp. 435-437. Review of Eva Emery Dye’s
MacDonald of Old Oregon.
-Sept., 1911, vol. XII, pp. 220-223. A Hero of Old Astoria,
Eva Emery Dye.
Providence (R. I.) Journal, Thursday, Sept. 18, 1849.
Portland Oregonian, (Portland, Oregon) February 12, 1891, page
5. The Oldest Native Astorian. A brief sketch of the
Life of the Grandson of King Kum Kumly, the old Indian
Chief, copied from the Astorian.
-Nov. 27, 1893; Nov. 29, 1893, Chinooks’ Lawful King.
Scott, Harvey W., History of Oregon. Leslie M. Scott, ed., 2
vols. MacDonald mentioned, vol. ii, pp. 140-141.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
305
Spears, John R. The Story of the New England Whaler, New
York, Macmillan Co., 1908. MacDonald mentioned pp.
146-148.
Spokane (Wash) Review, Nov. 24, 1890. Old Com-Comly’s
grandson, copied in the St. Thomas (Ontario) Journal.
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copied in the New York Sun and various other papers.
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Bound us to the Savage Post.
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--October 1, 1849.
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Tyrrell, J. B., ed.; David Thompson’s Narrative of his Explora¬
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Victoria (B. C.) Times, Sept. 21, 1888. An interesting Visitor.
(Visit of Mr. Ada to Ottawa contains brief mention of
Ranald MacDonald’s Japan adventure as told in Britannicus
letter.)
Same Article: Ottawa Daily Citizen, Ottawa, Canada, Sat¬
urday, Sept. 1, 1888.
Same article: (copied) Colville (Washington) Miner.
United States Senate Executive Documents, 59, 32nd Congress
1st session. President Message . . . communicating .
. . . certain official documents relative to the empire of
Japan, and serving to illustrate the existing relations be¬
tween the United States and Japan. April 12, 1852.
Story of Ranald MacDonald as told by himself; in 1849.
pp. 25-28.
Story of Ranald MacDonald as told by James Glynn, com¬
mander United States Ship Preble, pp. 55-57.
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INDEX TO RANALD MacDONALD, 1824-1894
(“n” following page indicates footnote)
A
ABBOTT, Mr., 33.
ADAM, Tillamook Chief, 122n.
ADAMS, John Quincy, 77n.
ADAMS, Will, 234n.
AFRICA, 42.
AIN'SLIE, Dr., 234n.
AINU, 163, 163n, 165, 261; Pro¬
nounced “eye-nose,” “Inoes,”
163; Islands, 170; Meaning of
name, 164n; A Mongol people
from Chinese Tartary, 163n,
164n, 169; Indigenous to Yezo,
163n; A subject people, 167,
168; Simple and kindly, 168; By
occupation, fishermen, 163n,
166; Differ physically, mental¬
ly, morally from Japanese, 167,
168; No government of their
own, 170; Physical characteris¬
tics, 164n, 168, 169; Resemble
Hydras and Balia Coola indians,
168; Uncouth in person, wild
in person, in dress, 169; Un¬
combed beards, unwashed faces,
169; Very hairy, 168; Fond of
saki, 165; Abstain from meat,
163; Offer “grace” before
meals, 165.
ALASKA, 104.
ALEXANDRIA, (B. C.), 102n.
ALEXANDRIA, Fort, 46.
ALLEN, Joseph of the ship, Moro,
150.
ALLEZ, Miss, 114n.
ALTAR, Japanese, 164.
ALMANAC, Japanese, 160.
AMBOW, Island of, 141 n.
AMELIA, whaler, 134n.
B
BAKER, Capt., 161, 235n.
BAKUFU, 173n.
BALL, John, 25, 39n.
BALL’S School, 25, 25n, 105n,
106n.
BALLARAT (Australia), 44.
BANCROFT, H. H., 86, 124, 124n.
AMERICAN crew, 195; Corvette,
the Preble, 246; Indians, 227n,
169n, characterization of, 169n.
Sailors, 195, 196; Sailors from
whaler Lagoda, 195, 196, 246;
Ships, see ships; Words used
by Japanese, see English.
AMERICAN Fur Co., 32, 33.
AMERICAN Publishers, 19.
AMUR, 165n.
ANDREWS, Ruben of David Pad-
dock, 139, 141, 145, 235.
APPLES, Japanese, 203.
APPLETON, 19.
ARROW Lake (B. C.), 107n.
ASA-HI-SHIMBUM (Rising Sun
News-Morning Chronicle), 255.
ASSINIBOIA, appointment to gov¬
ernorship of, 107.
ASTOR, expedition, 75; First ship,
the Tonquin, 80; Staff, Leading
officer of, 77.
ASTOR, Mr., (John Jacob), 77n.
ASTORIA, 74, 77n, 78n, 80, 85,
92, 111; D. Thompson’s arrival
at, 111, 32.
ATHABASCA, 169n; Pass, 26, 96,
108, 112; Highest in Rocky
Mountains, 108.
ATHABASCA River, 109n.
ATLAS, Japanese copy of English,
244.
AUSTRALIA, visited by Ranald
MacDonald during “first gold
diggins.” 44, 45, 249; Champion
of, 45; Gold rush, 44; Gold
discoveries, 249n.
BANCROFT, History of British
Columbia, 100, 124.
BANK of Elgin, 116, 116n; Of
Upper Canada, 116, 116n, 117;
of Montreal, 116n.
BARKER, Capt. Seth of Boston,
85, 85n.
314 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
BARKER and Sturges, 85n.
BARNES, Miss Jane, 84n.
BARNSTON, George, 93n.
BARNSTON, Mrs. George, 93n;
BARNSTON, John G., 45, 102n.
BASSIE, Mr., 284.
BAS, (hashi) Japanese word for
bridge, 169, 169n.
BAS de la Riviere, 30, 78n.
BASHEE (or Bashi) Islands, 145,
145n. 146.
BATAVIA, 161, 162n.
BATEAUX, 25
BATTAN Island, 145, 146, 224.
BAWL, John, 196n, 284, 285.
BEADS for prayer, 189.
BEAR, brother of Com-com-ly,
76n.
BEAVER river, lOOn.
BEAVER skins, 56; Unit of ex¬
change, 56.
BEAVER, steamer, 107n.
BEAVIT’S sledge, 28.
BED and covering, Japanese, 200,
222 .
BEESWAX Junk, 121, 122n.
BELCHER, Point, disaster, 134,
135n.
BELLA Coola Coast Indians, 168,
168n.
BENGAL, 234n.
BENTNICK Arm, 46, 46n, 102n.
BIFFAR, Melcher, 196n, 285.
BIG Bend of the Upper Columbia
River, 108, 112.
BIG Eddy of Upper Columbia,
108, 112.
BIG Head Edwards, Indian chief,
107n.
BIRTH of Ranald MacDonald, 92.
BLACK bear, 37.
BLUE Coat Boy, 108, 108n.
BOAT Encampment on Upper Co¬
lumbia, 108, 108n, 11 On.
BOATS, (see ships post.)
BOLON, Indian Agent A. J., 91n.
BOMBAY, 44.
BONAPARTE River, 45.
BONAPARTE mining district, B.
C., 47.
BONIN Islands, 145.
BOOBY Island, 198n.
BOOKS, foreign possessed by Jap¬
anese, 226n; Japanese, 204;
Japanese footnotes in, 206;
Japanese manner of noting re¬
spect for, 200; Wood cuts in,
205; Binding, 204.
BOSTON, vessels of in Northwest
trade, 80, 8In.
BOULARD, Michel, 11 In.
BOUNDRY Creek, B. C., 67.
BOURDEAUX, Michel, 11 In.
BOURNE, Jonathan of New Bed¬
ford, 196n.
BOURNE, Jonathan Jr. of Ore¬
gon, 196n.
BOURNE, Jonathan Whaling Mu¬
seum, 196n.
BOY, Chinook word for, 93.
BOYD, Dr. of Emburgh, lOln.
BOYD, Jacob, 196n, 284, 285.
BRADY, John, 195.
BRAZIER, 222.
BREAD, Japanese word for, pan,
242.
BRIDGEPORT, whaler, 139.
BRIGADES, 26, 55.
BRIGADES of H. B. Co., 55, 62,
63, 105.
BRITANNICUS, pen name of
Malcolm McLeod, 255.
BRITANNICUS, letters, lOln, 255.
BRITISH Columbia, 98, 104;
Bancroft’s History of, 100, 124;
Indians of, 186; Ranald Mac¬
Donald’s return to, 249; Source
of cattle in Central and Eastern
part, 104.
BRITISH flag over Ft. George, 92.
BRITISH Man of War, 42.
BROTHERS, Canadian steamer, 33.
BROUGHTON, Captain, 234n.
BROWN, Capt. of the Peruvian,
142, 142n.
BUDD, Capt. John of Sag Har¬
bor, 38.
BUFFALO grass, 103.
BULL, John, 196n.
BUNKER, Capt. Harry C., 156n.
BURIED treasure, 42, 43, 144,
145.
BURNETT, A. D., 20.
BUTLER, Capt. Thomas of Salem,
Massachusetts, 85, 85n.
BUTTER not used by Japanese,
243, 243n; called boutre by Jap¬
anese after Dutch, 243, 243n.
Index
315
c
CADBORO, 99n.
CAKES, 24, 243.
CALCUTTA, 42, 44.
CALDER, brig, 141n.
CALIFORNIA, 104; Southern, 42;
Lower, 122n.
CALPSO, Chinook chief, 76n.
CALVES and pigs brought around
Horn to N. W. coast, 103, 104.
CAMP McKinley, B. C., 47.
CAMPBELL, Archibald, 234n.
CANADA, 101, 116, 157; Bank of
Upper, 117; First Parliament
on union of two Canadas, 116n,
117; Limited early educational
facilities in, 117, 26.
CANADIAN in Japan (A) 19.
CANADIAN National Railroad,
96n.
CANADIAN Pacific Railroad,
Fleming’s report and survey,
1874, 108n; Crossing above Big
Eddy, 112.
CANADIAN Publishers, 19.
CANNING, George, Foreign Sec¬
retary, 94n.
CANOE River, 11 In.
CANNON at Old Fort Colvile, 50,
104, 104n, 105.
CANYON of the Selkirk, 112.
CAPE Horn, 24.
CAPE Horn vessels, 36.
CAPE Horn voyages, 43.
CAPITOL of China, 147.
CARAVAN, whaler of Falls River,
139n.
CAR-CUM-CUM, daughter of
Com-com-ly, 23, 76n, 93n.
CARIBOO District (B. C.) 45, 47,
48, 65, 102n.
CARIBOO Mines (B. C.), 65,
102n.
CARIBOO Mountains, 111.
CARTER Capt. S., 235n.
CARVER, Jonathan, 83.
CARY, William S., 141n, 142n.
CASSACAS, Prince, 29.
CATTLE first introduced into the
Northwest, 103, 104, 103n.
CAYUSE Indians, 56.
CAZENOVE, a Chinook Chief, 79.
CELESTE, 39n.
CHANNEL of Tartary, 148, 149.
CHANT, “Yes in yo, Yes in yo,”
175.
CHANTIES, 175, 247, 247n.
CHARLES, Captain, 235n.
CHARLES, an Iroquois, 11 In.
CHARLOTTE Island waifs, 121,
121n, 122, 122n, 123, 123n, 125,
126, 126n.
CHATHAM, 33.
CHIEF Joseph, 91, 91n.
CHINOOK language, 25.
CHE-NAMUS, 75n.
CHERRY men, Oh, chant, 247.
CHESECUT Lake, B. C., 46.
CHIL-LAI-LA-WILL, Chinook
chief, 75n.
CHINA, 43, 44, 101.
CHINA, Dr. Gutzlaff, English
missionary at Macao, 123, 123n.
CHINA sea, 145, 148.
CHINA traders, 149.
CHINESE and Dutch oppose op¬
ening of Japan, 252.
CHINESE Repository, newspaper
of Mocao, 126.
CHINOOK proper names: Capso,
chief, son-in-law of Com-com-
ly, 76n; Car-cum-cum, daugh¬
ter of Com-com-ly, 76n; Caz-
enove, son-in-law of Com-com-
ly, 78n; Che-wam-us, a son,
75n; Chil-lai-la-will, a chief,
75n; Coboy, or Cobaway, 39n;
Com-com-ly, 24, 28, 58, 69,
74, 74n, 78n, 85; Gassacop,
son of Com-com-ly, 76n; Med-
use (Thunder), another name of
Com-com-ly’s, 74n; Raven,
daughter of Com-com-ly, 85,
85n; Selechel, son of Com-com-
ly, 76n; Sha-la-pan, favorite
son of Com-com-ly, 75n, 76n;
Tha-a-muxi (bear) a brother of
Com-com-ly, 76n.
CHINOOK Jargon, 78n.
CHINOOK, Indian tribe, 78n;
Custom of flattening heads of
infants, 82, 82n; House, des¬
cribed, 88; Law, 87; Last king
of, 91; Word for boy, Toll, Toll,
93, 93n; Potlatch, 90, 90n; Qua-
ame, Qua-ame, grandson; White
person, Tlo-hon-nipts, 122n.
316 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
CHINOOKS, 23, 28, 39, 78n, 81.
CHISKA’S House, B. C., 46.
CHOP sticks, 198, 204.
CHOSIN, Japan, 129n.
CHOSU, house of, 129n.
CHRIST, 220, 282; Child and Vir¬
gin, image of, 214 217.
CHRISTIE Alexander, 30n.
CLAIR’S store, John, 37.
CLARK, Capt. Edward .
CLEOPATRA, 78.
CLATSOP beach, 121n; Chief,
39n; Plains, 39n.
CLINE’S trail, 95n.
COAST, trade along the North¬
west, 80n.
COAT of arms, Japanese word for,
191, 202.
CO-BOY or Coba-way, 39n.
COCHRAN, Mrs., 115.
COCHRAN, Rev. M., head of
school at Red River settlement,
113, 113n; Character of, 113n;
Letters of, 30, 23, 26.
COCKS, Richard, 234n.
CODES of Japan, 259.
COEUR d’Alene Indians, 56.
COLUMBIA, King of, 74.
COLUMBIAN clerks, 26.
COLUMBIA River District, 23.
COLUMBIA River: Big Eddy of,
108, 112; Boat Encampment on,
108, 108n; Dalles aux| Mort,
112, 112n; Great Bend of, 108,
112; Smaller Dalles, 111;
Thompson’s search for, 109,
109n, 110, 111; Travel on Upper
Columbia abandoned after Ore¬
gon treaty, 112; Fur trade, 25.
COLUMBIA Valley of the Pacific,
74.
COLVILE, A. (Andrew), 19, 72n,
97n, 104n.
COLVILLE Indian Reservation,
60, 64, 67.
D
DAGETT, master of the Globe,
139n.
DAIMOIS, (Diamyes) Japanese
word for Principalities, 230.
COLVILE, Fort, 24n, 25, 26; Old
cannon at, 104, 104n; Grist mill,
24n; Occupied by Donald Mac¬
Donald, after abandonment, 53,
66; Hudson’s Bay Post, 103,
103n; Description of, 50, 52, 53,
104; Mills at, 24, 55; Life at,
56, 63, 104, 105; Site of, 103,
103n; Exterior of, 49; Interior
described, 52; Indian trade of,
56.
COM-COM-LY, 24, 28, 40, 41, 58,
69, 74n, 78n, 85; Meaning of the
name, 74n; Biographical sketch
of, 74n; Gifts of fur by,
89; His residence, 88; His ser¬
vants, 88.
COMLY, name for Ranald Mac¬
Donald 78.
COMMANDER Glynn of the Pre¬
ble 55, 246, 284.
COMPASS, Japanese, 160; needle
of points to South, 160.
CON-con-ully, Okanogan Indian
name, 74n.
CONNOLLY case, 94n.
CONNOLLY, Mr. Wm, 102n;
Governor conducts attack on In¬
dians, 58.
COO-JEEN (gozen) Japanese
word for boiled rice, 198.
COOK, Capt. Charles B., 134n.
COOPER, Capt. Mercator, 123n.
COREA, straits of, 146.
COTE, Joseph, 11 In.
COXE, an Owyhee, 135, 135n.
CRASMERE, England, 19.
CREE Indian tribe, 83n.
CROZETTE Island fisheries,
142n.
CULVER, Stewart, 22n, 128n,
129n.
CUPS, Japanese tea, 121, 121n,
222 .
CUSTER, General, 49.
CUSTER, Elizabeth, B., 49, 67.
DALLES aux Morts of the Co¬
lumbia, 112, 112n.
DAMIEN, Father Joseph, 156n.
DAMON, Rev. Mr. Samuel, 156,
156n.
Index
317
DAVID Paddock, whaler, 138,
138n, 140.
DAVID Thompson (see Thompson
post.)
DEAN, G., Master of Tuscany, 38n.
DEASE, Peter Warren, 39, 59.
DEITY of Japanese “Sin”, 228.
DE LA VERENDERIE, 83.
DENNOSUKE, see Inomata, an
interpreter.
DESPATCH, the H. B. Co.’s, 105.
DESSERY (Reibun Island) 153,
177, 153n, 183.
DESSIMA, (De-shima) island of,
212, 212n, 247.
DETROIT, 32.
DEVIL of Japanese “Onie”, 228.
DISHES, Japanese, 204.
DIX, Edwards & Company, 18.
DOCTOR, Dutch, at Nagasaki,
264.
DOCTOR, Japanese, 180, 180n.
DOTO, shipwrecked waif, 122n.
EAST India Company, monopoly
of, in tea trade, 56.
EASTERN Washington State His¬
torical Society, 17, 20.
EATON, HON. J. H., 88n.
EBBERTS, Captain, 33.
EDINBURGH, University of, 25.
EDITOR of Codes of Japan, 259.
EDUCATION of Japanese, 205.
EDWARDS, Captain Lawrence B.
of the Plymouth, 43, 134, 134n,
138, 151, 151n, 152n, 271, 272,
273, 274.
EELLS, Rev. Cushing, 106.
E-INOSKE, see Moriyama, an in¬
terpreter, 226.
EFUMI, (figure treading), 214,
214n, 215.
EJURO, see Keijuro, 226.
ELGIN, Bank of, at St. Thomas,
Ontario, 116, 116n; County, On¬
tario, Canada, 115, 117n.
ELIZA, French whale ship, !96n.
ELLIOTT, T. C., 109n.
EMPEROR of Japan, (Siogoun),
236, 239; at Yeddo, 262.
ENDERINO Bay, 234n.
ENGLAND, stock shipped from,
105.
DOUGLAS, B. C., 46.
DOUGLAS, David, botanist, 136,
136n; Death of, 137; Descrip¬
tion and character of, 137.
DOUGLAS, Governor Sir James,
47, 75, 102n, 249.
DOUGLAS, H. B. Co. Fort, 114n.
DOUGLAS, Lady, 58.
DOUGLAS pine. 89, 137.
DUTCH and Chinese opposed op¬
ening of Japan to commercial
intercourse, 252, 252n.
DUTCH-English dictionary used
by Japanese interpreters in
1848, 209, 211.
DUTCH factory (Das-shima) at
Nagasaki, 130, 212, 234n, 247;
Factor at Nagasaki, John Lives-
sohn, 209, 225, 243, 243n, 264;
King William II, 252n; Friends,
264.
DYE, Mrs. Eva Emery, 20, 20n.
ENGLISH words and phrases
known by Japanese, picked up
from British and American sail¬
ors, 234, 234n, 235, 235n;
America, 195; American ship,
176; Carpenter, 191; Doctor,
180; “Go away,” 191; “Grog,
yes,” 162; No, 192; Ships, 191;
“Shiver my timbers,” 235.
ENGLISH taught Japanese interp¬
reters by MacDonald, 133, 226,
227.
ERAMACHI, (variously spelled
Erainetz, Eremetz, Eramatz),
194n, 201, 20In, 206, 207.
ERMATINGER, Edward, 26, 33,
39, 40, 75n, 95n; Member of
Council from Elgin, 117, 117n;
Character of, 115n; Former chief
accountant N. W. Co., 116; Had
same office with H. B. Co., 116;
Home of at St. Thomas, 115;
Opened bank at Elgin, 116, 116n;
Letters to, 26.
ERMATINGER, Charles Oakes,
115n.
ERMATINGER, Frances, 24, 24n,
25, 26, 115n.
318 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
ERMATINGER, Frederick W.,
115n.
ERMATINGER, Judge C. O.,
115n.
FITCH & Leonard, owners of Per¬
uvian, 142n.
FAIRHAVEN, Mass., 128n, 129n.
FALL River, the Caravan of, 139n.
FALMOUTH, Mass., 156.
FEESHEE Island, 139.
FENCHURCH Street, 36n.
FIGURE treading, (E-fumi), 214,
214n, 215.
FI Ji Islands, 141n.
FINCH, John of Lagoda, 196n.
FINLAY, Jacques Raphael, 105,
106n.
FINLAY, James, 99n.
FINLAYSON, Chief Factor Dun¬
can, 26, 34, 36, 40, 107.
FLAG of Prince of Matsmai, 202.
FLATHEAD Country, 24n.
FLATHEAD Indians, 82, 82n.
FLATTERY, Cape, 121n.
FLEMING, Sanford, lOOn.
FLEMING’S report in survey C.
P. R., 1874, 108.
FLETCHER, Rev. H. M., 19.
FLOUR, 24, 24n.
FOLGER, Captain, 134.
FOODS, Japanese: Fresh and salt
fish, 161n; Boiled fish, 161,
161n, 165, 198, 199; Boiled
Kelp, 199; Boiled rice, 161, 165,
198, 222; Ginger, 161, 164;
Pickles, 161, 161n; Preserved
shell fish, 161; Sacki, 161, 164,
165; Soup, 222, 161n; Tea, 222.
165; Soup, 222, 161n; Tea, 222;
Cakes, 243; Vegetables, 204;
Fish patties, 161 n; Don’t use
meat, butter, milk, or bread,
163, 243.
G
GAMALIEL, 260, 260n.
GANGES, whaler, 134n.
GARRY, Fort, 23, 24, 107n.
GASSACOP, a son of Com-com-
ly, 76n.
GEKUYA, a dungeon prison, 221 n.
GELETT, Capt. C. \V., 156n.
ERMATINGER, Lawrence Ed¬
ward, 115n.
ERMATINGER, Mrs. Edward, 35.
FOOD tasters of Matsmai, 199.
FOOTNOTES to Japanesee books,
206.
FOREIGNERS excluded from Jap¬
an, reasons for, 120.
FORKS of wood, 198.
FORTS, sham Japanese, 245, 245n.
FORTS, trading posts and houses:
Bradley, 32; Colvile, 24, 25, 50,
52, 53, 54, 56, 63, 66, 103, 103n,
104, 104n; Douglas, 114n; Gar¬
ry, 23, 25; George, 80, 85, 92,
92n; George moved to Vancouv¬
er, 25, 94; Green Lake, lOOn;
Jasper’s House, 95, 95n; Kully-
spell House, 105n; Langley, 25,
99, 99n, 105n, 106n; McLeod’s,
80n; Nisqually House, 102n;
Norway House, 30, 84; Okanog¬
an, 31; Saleesh House, 106n;
Spokann, 105, 105n, 103; Wil¬
liam, 32.
FORMOSA, Island of, 145, Straits
of, 145.
FOSTER, Brown & Co., 19.
FOSTER, Seth and Samuel, 196n.
FRASER, Alex, 109n.
FRASER, River, 99, 99n.
FRASER, Simon, 99n.
FRENCH and Indian war, 104n.
FRENCH Canadian vovageurs,
111 .
FRENCH frigate shoals, 140.
FRENCH Line, Messagerie, 260.
FRENCH ship encountered, 146.
FEUDAL system in Japan, A. D.
1848-1849, 238, 239.
FUJI of Yezo, 154n.
FUKUYAMA, formerly Matsmai,
165n.
GENJIRO Kataoka, the painter,
129n.
GEORGE, Fort, 23, 80, 85, 92;
New management of, 85.
GEORGE Howe, 162n, 182, 182n,
195n.
Index
319
GIFTS to MacDonald: Fruit, 188;
Sweetmeats, 178, 180; Tea, sug¬
ar, pipe and tobacco, 181.
GLENCOE, 118, 118n.
GLOBE, whaler of New Bedford,
139n.
GLYNN, Commander of the Pre¬
ble, 147n, 246, 274, 280, 284.
GODBEY, Capt., 38.
GODS, Japanese, of earth, of fire,
of sea, of sun, 165.
GOLDTHWAIT, Ezra, 197n.
GOOD-SO, Japanese name for
pork, 242, 242n.
GORDON, Capt., 234n.
GOVERNMENT of Inoes, 170; of
Japan, 238, 239.
GOVERNOR of Nagasaki, 218,
219, 220, 261, 262; Description
of, 219, 229.
GOVERNOR, (Oblique) or Vice-
Roy (Tojo), 170.
GOVERNOR Marcy, steamer, 32.
GOVERNOR’S Palace, Battan Is¬
land, 145.
GOVOGRO Imai, Capt., 194,
194n.
GRACE said at meals by Jap¬
anese, 204; by Ainus, 165.
HAGEWARA Matasak, (Hagai-
wara Matasaku, 207n.
HAIRPINS, Japanese, 231.
HALF-breed, 24, 27.
HANNAN, Mrs., 49.
HAPPY Despatch, (Harra Karri)
237, 237n.
HARBRIDGE, 114n.
HARNEY, General, 91.
HARPERS, 19.
HARRA-Karri, custom of, 237,
237n.
HARRISON, Lake, B. C., 46.
HASKINS, Mrs. L. C. P., 19, 20.
HAWAIIAN
Islands
(see
also
Sandwich
Islands)
137,
138,
137n, 138n, 146,
156,
196;
Throne of,
41.
HAWES, Jasper, 95n.
HAWES’ Pass, 11 On.
HAYASHI, the elder, 218n.
HEIGHTS of Abraham, 104n.
GRANDISON, Sir Charles, style
of, 52.
GRAY’S harbor of 1792, 89.
GREAT Lakes, 40.
GREELEY, Horace, of the New
York Tribune, 92.
GREELEY, Horace, 54, 92.
GREEN Lake Fort, lOOn.
GREENPORT, whalers from, 139n.
GREGAN, (Guagan) Island, 139,
139n, 140, 143, 145.
GREGOIRE Francois, 11 In.
GRENVILLE, Point, 121n.
“GREY Coat Boy,” 108n.
GRIFFIS, Wm. Elliot, 22n.
GRIST mill, pioneer, 24n.
GROG (Saki), 161, 164, 165, 204.
“GROG-YES”, Japanese name for
Saki, 161, 162.
GUAGAN Island (see Gregan.)
GULF of Georgia, 99n.
GULF Stream, “Kuro Siwo.” or
Black River of the North Pa¬
cific, 121.
GURNEY, Mr. Ralph, 32.
GUTZLAFF, Rev. Dr., 123, 123n,
125.
HENRY, Alexander, 75n.
HENRY, William, 134n.
HERCULES, whaler, 134n.
HERMIT Kingdom, 38.
HERON, Francis, 121n.
HILDRETH’S History of Japan,
195, 240.
HOANGHO River, 147.
HOBARTTOWN, 235.
HOKADADI, 150.
HOLIDAYS, Japanese, 181.
HOLLEY, Mrs. Eleanor Haskins,
38
HONG Kong, 138, 146, 148.
HORI, Ichiro, an interpreter, 226.
HORSEFLY Mining District, B. C.,
47; Country, 47.
HOSAI Tani, a Japanese doctor,
206n.
HOUSES (see forts or trading
posts)
HOWAY, Hon. F. W., 22n.
320 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
HOWE, George, second mate of
the Lawrence, 161n, 162n, 182,
195n.
HOWLAND, A. H. of New Bed¬
ford, 156n.
HUDSON’S Bay, 26, 100.
HUDSON’S Bay Company: Ab¬
andonment of travel on upper
Columbia by, 112; Annual coun¬
cil of at Norway House, 84; Co-
lation with Northwest company,
85, 85n, 116n; Despatch, 105;
ICHIGI Koda, 129n.
ICHIRO, see Hori, an interpreter,
226.
ICY Cape, 196n.
IDAHO, source of cattle in, 103,
103n, 104.
IDO, Tsushimanokami, a Governor
of Nagasaki, 218n.
IGNACE, an Iroquois, 11 In.
ILTHKOYOPE (Kettle) Falls,
11 In.
IMPERIAL University, Tokyo,
22n.
INO or Inoes, see Ainu.
INDIA, 44.
INDIANS: American, characteriza¬
tion of, 169n; Chinook, 78, 78n,
91 n; Flathead, 91, 91 n; Hydras,
168, 168n; Nez Perce, 91 n; Of
Bella Coola coast, 168, 168n; Of
North West coast, 169, 169n;
Piegan, 11 On; Shaptain, 91 n;
JACK, Liverpool, 141, 142.
JACK, Spider, 141, 142, 143, 144.
JAMES, Whaler, 134n.
JANE Klyne MacDonald, see
Klyne.
JAPAN, 17, 20, 21, 22, 38, 39,
40, 43, 44, 54, 65, 66, 101, 120,
126, 127, 148, 149, 150, 152, 154,
162, 167, 169.
JAPAN barred to the world, 120;
Reasons for excluding foreign¬
ers, 120; Chinese and Dutch in¬
tercourse with, 121; Condem¬
nation of Christianity by gov-
Forts, see ante forts; Knowledge
of Japan’s trade restrictions by
121; Rescue of shipwrecked
Japanese by, 121, 121n, 122,
123, 124; Claims against the U.
S., 40, 41; Governor in chief of,
34n; 41.
HUSSY, Capt. Edward B. Jr,
142n.
HYDRAS Indians, 168, 168n, 169.
HYOMA, see Nakayama, 228.
I
Salesh, 91n; North American,
39; Pend d’Oreille, Kootenais,
Flatheads, Coeur d’Alenes, Cay-
uses, coast and mountain Indi¬
ans, 56.
INDIAN blood, 38, 39.
INDIAN country, 31, 37.
INDIAN lodge, 23.
INDIAN Ocean, 199.
INDIAN title to Old Oregon, 40.
INKSTER, Colin, sheriff of Mani¬
toba, 114n.
INOMATA, Dennosuke, an interp¬
reter, 226.
INTERPRETERS, names of, 226;
Used Dutch-English dictionary,
209 211
IRVING, Washington, 74.
ISLAND of Ino, see Ainu, 170; Of
Yesso, 170, 170n.
IWASE, Yashiro, an interpreter,
226.
J
ernment, 127, 127n, 128, 214n;
Laws on, 240; Ports closed to
Mossison, 126, 126n; Decree ex¬
cluding foreigners, 127, 127n,
128, 129, 130; Prejudice against
foreigners fostered by Dutch and
Chinese, 132.
JAPAN, map of, 167, 169.
JAPAN Sea, 43, 146, 148, 149.
JAPANESE, 39, 44, 163, 166, 167,
168, 169.
JAPANESE culture; Almanac,
160; Altars, 164; Apples, 203;
Books, 100, footnotes in, 209;
Index
321
respect for, 200; Chop sticks,
198; Dishes, 204; Doctor, 180,
180n, 181; Dress and habits of,
176, 199, 228; Foods, see under
Foods; Forts, 245, 245n; Oars,
158, 158n, used in skulling,
175; Harra-Karri, custom, 237,
237n; Matchlock guns, 246;
Palanquin, 193; Paper, 205;
Pens, 205; Pillows, 200; Bed¬
ding, 200; Powder, 246; Prison
cage, 221, 221 n; Priests, 228,
don’t marry, 228, 228n; Sand¬
als, 159, 160, 161n; Silk man-
tals, 176; Swords, 177; Educa¬
tion, 205; Mode of writing, 205;
of worship, 164; Religion, 228,
228n, 229.
JAPANESE government; Consti¬
tution, 250, 251; Forts„245, 245n;
Feudal system, 238, 239; Gov¬
ernment, 170, 238, 239; Laws,
240; Principalities, 239; Revo¬
lution in foreign policy, 251,
251 n; Spy system, 236, 236n.
JAPANESE junks, description of,
187; Wrecked off Northwest
coast, 121, 121n; Other wrecks,
121n.
JAPANESE language, 44; see
Appendix III, 287; also under
Japanese Words.
JAPANESE national aspirations,
22, 22n.
JAPANESE people; Average
height of, 172; Aspirations,
242; Acuteness of intellect,
244, 244n; Cleverness, 244;
Character of, 22, 240, 241,
24In, 242, 244; Courtesy, 180,
180n; Fearlessness, 241, 241n;
Good humor, 241, 241 n; Very
chatty, 240; Great smokers,
172; Improvement in English by,
244; Intellect of, 244, 258, 258n,
259; Inquisitiveness, 253;
knowledge of Russian and Eng¬
lish languages, 235, 235n; Mode
of saluting, (Ainu), 157, 157n;
National characteristics, 241,
241 n; Never swear, 235; Offi¬
cers armed with two swords, 176,
!76n; Politeness of, 180, 180n;
Pronunciation of, 227.
JAPANESE proper names, appear¬
ing in Narrative; Ainu, 163 et
seq.; Asa-Hi Shimbum (Rising
Sun News), 107; Hori, Ichiro,
an interpreter, 226; Hagiwara,
Matasaku, a military chief, 207;
Hayashi, the elder, 218n; Iwase,
Yashiro, an interpreter, 226; In-
omata, Dennosuke, an interpre¬
ter, 226; Kuro Siwo, Gulf
Stream, 121; Kemon, an Oya-
kata, 163; Ketchinza, an Oya-
kata, 163; Matsumai, Straits,
Town, Port, Prince etc., 165 et
seq.; Matsmora, Matsumura,
Schall, 207n; Mikado, Emperor,
239; Mutsu, Munemitsu, 256;
Miyajima, Shonosuke, a suma-
rai, 174; Motoki, Shosayemon,
226; Moriyama, E-inoske, an
interpreter, 208 et. seq.; Musko,
(boy), 182; Nakayama, Hyoma,
an interpreter, 226; Nagasaki,
town of, 44 et seq.; Namura
Tsunenosuke, an interpreter,
226; Nippon, Japan, 169; Nip-
pon-jin, a Japanese, 191n; Ni-
shi, Keitaro, an interpreter,
226n; Nishi, Yoichiro, an interp¬
reter, 226; Nootska village, 170,
171; Oba, a superintendent of
foot sumarai, 177; Oda, Jun-
ichi-ro, 254, 258; Ogawa, Keij-
uro, an interpreter, 226; Osaka
town of, 255; Shimizu, Teikichi,
a soldier, 177n; Satsuma, prin¬
cipality, 126; Shige, Takanoske,
an interpreter, 226; Shizuki,
Tatauichiro, an interpreter, 226;
Shioya, Tanesaburo, an interp¬
reter, 226; Serrei, Tashnasheen
(Tashinoshin) an interpreter,
and acting magistrate, 216, 246;
Simeza, 177; Soya, town, cape,
and bay, 165 et seq.; Takaboka,
(Papenburg,) Island, 121; Tai¬
wan, Formosa, 181; Takahashi,
Rev. K. Y., 253; Tangaro or
Tankaro, 161 et seq.; Timoa-
shee, Island, 148, 261; Uyemu-
ra, Sakuichiro, an interpreter,
226; Yebis, (Yebisu), Neptune
of Japan, 185; Yeddo, Tokyo,
169, 236; Yesso, Island of, 153.
322 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
JAPANESE religion; Deity, 228,
229; Devil, 228, 228n.
JAPANESE, shipwrecked, 121,
121n; Sent to Maceo, China,
123; Attempt to return to Jap¬
an, 123, 123n, 125, 126, 126n,
128.
JAPANESE Treaties; First, March
1854, 17, 249; Second, October,
1854, 249; Third, 1858, 250.
JAPANESE women: Dress and ap¬
pearance, 230; Teeth of married
painted black, 231; Of unmar¬
ried, painted red, 231; Of girls
painted white, 231; Lips paint¬
ed red, 231; Long hairpins worn
by, 231; Character of, 231.
JAPANESE words, appearing in
MacDonald’s Narrative (See
also Glossary, appendix III, p.
257.)
JAPANESE words, appearing in
MacDonald’s Narrative, (See
also hereon appendix III, p.
287.) Abdomen incision, Harr a
Karri, or Seppuku , 237; Ape,
Saru, 161; Boar, I, 161; Boiled
rice, Gozen, 198; Boy, Musuko,
182; Bread, pan, 242; Bridge,
hashi, 169; Butter, Botoru, 243;
Call to prayer, Namma Naosoc,
etc., 189, 189n; Catholic priest,
Bateren, 224; Ceremonial dress,
Kami-shimo, 219; Chief, Oya-
kata, 163, 188; Coat of arms,
Mondokoro, 198, 202; Daughter,
Musume, 182n; Diety, Shin or
Shinto, 228; Devil, Oni, 228;
Dog, Inu, 161; Dragon, Tatsu,
160, 161n; Dungeon prison,
Goicuya, 221 n; Emperor, Sho¬
gun, Kobe, or Mikado, 237, 230
262; Farewell, Sayonara, 68,
174, 183; First of month, Tsui-
tachi, 181n; God (Superior)
Shin or Kami, 228n; Governor,
Obugyo-Sama, 208n; General,
KADIAK Alaska whale fishery,
134n.
KAGOSHIMA in Satsumae, 126n.
KAKAMASHEE, a paper mache
mixture with gold dust, 257.
Taisho, 170; Grog, Saki, 161;
Gulf Stream, Kuro Siwo, 121;
Hare, U, 161; Horse, Uma, 161;
Hen, Tori, 161; Interpreters,
Tsuji-kata, 226; Island, Shima,
212; Japan, Nippon; Japan¬
ese, Nippon-jin, 191; Kneel,
Koto, 218; Mantels, Haori, 176;
Mayor or chief, Oyakata, 163;
Mr. or Esquire, Sama, 179n;
Obeisance, Koto, 218; Ox, Us hi,
160, 161n; Path or Way, To,
228; Persimmon, Kaki, 207n;
Pork feast, Gochiso, 242; Pris¬
on cage, Roy a, 221; Presenta¬
tion card, Noshi, 199n; Princi¬
palities, Daimios, 230; Palan¬
quin, Kago , 193; Que, Ori, 202;
Rat, Ne, 160, 161n; Serpent, Mi,
160, 161 n; Sheep, Hitsuji, 161,
161n; Shelf, Tokowaki, 201,
201 n; Snooze, Noo, 200; Sun¬
day (Holiday), Ositats, 181,
181 n; Sedan chair, Kago, 193;
Southern barbarians, Nambu
Jim, 127n; Trousers, Hakama,
176; Tiger, Tora, 160, 161n;
Viceroy, Taisho, 170n; Worship,
Kamini, 200; Zodiac, signs of,
161.
JASPER’S House, N. W. Co., and
H. B. Co., post, 95, 95n.
JAVA ports, 44.
JEDDO, bridge of, 169; Now To¬
kyo (Capitol of Japan), 169.
JOHN Howland, whaler, 128n.
JOHN Livessohn (see Livessohn
post.)
JOINTER plane, 28.
JONES, Rev’d Mr., 27n, 28, 28n,
29, 107, 114.
JONES, David, owner of the David
Paddock, 138n.
JOSEPH, Chief of the Nez Perces,
91, 91n.
JUNK, Japanese, description of,
187.
KALAKAMA Bay, 138.
KALOWAO, Molokai, S. I., 156.
KAMCHATKA, 164; Coast, 122;
Whaling grounds, 134.
KAMIAKEN, Chief, 9In.
Index
323
KAMENI word for worship),
200, 200n.
KAMLOOPS, 23, 24.
KANAPEE, shipwrecked waif,
122n.
KANATA Koretazu, a Japanese,
129n.
KARAFTO, Island of, 163n.
KATARO, see Keitaro, 226.
KECHINZA, a Japanese, 163, 165,
167, 174.
KEITARO, see Nishi, an interpre¬
ter, 226.
KEIJURO, see Ogawa, an interp¬
reter, 226.
KEITH, James and George, 30,
30n.
KEMON, a Japanese, 163, 174.
KETCH, Dan, 126n.
KETTLE Falls, Wash, 38, 56,
11 On.
KETTLE FALLS, (Wash.) Pion¬
eer, 20, 67, 104n.
KETTLE River, Wash., 68.
KIKIMATS, a Japanese, 126n.
KING of the Columbia, 74, 78,
79, 91; Com-com-ly (see Com-
com-ly) 74, 87, 88, 91; Hands
over bride, 89.
KINGS Court, 89; Residence, 83.
KINGSMILL Group, 143; Island¬
ers, 143.
KINGSTON, Canada, 177.
KINGSTON, Upper Canada, early
educational facilities, 117.
KITO (or koto) to kneel, 219.
KIU-SHIU, 146n.
KLAPROTH, von, 164n.
KLYNES, 29.
KLYNE, Jane (MacDonald), 23, 24,
39, 83; Place of birth, 94, 106;
Marriage with Archibald Mac¬
Donald, 94, 94n; Religion of,
106, 106n; Bore twelve sons
and a daughter, 97, 97n; Wid¬
owhood, 98; Sketch of her life,
83.
KLYNE, Michael; Born in Swit¬
zerland, 94n, 96; Father of Jane
Klyne, 94; Postmaster at Jasper’s
House, 94, 95; A person of
good education, 96; Sketch of,
83n.
KOBOE (Kobo), Siogoun or Em¬
peror, 239, 239n.
KODSU tree, 205n.
KOOTENAI Country, 103; House,
llOn; Indians, llOn; Branch of
Columbia, 11 On.
KOTONTOMARI, 153, 153n.
KULLYSPELL House, 105n.
KURILE chain, 148, 148n.
KURILES, hairy, 157, 163n, 168.
KURO Siwo (Black River, or
Gulf Stream), 121.
KYOTO, 260n, 262n.
L
LABRADOR, or muskeg tea, 56.
LADRONES, 139, 139n, 144.
LAGODA, whaler of New Bedford,
Mass., crew of, 196, 196n, 246,
247, 284 285.
LACHINE (Canada), 34, 35.
LAKE Superior, 32.
LAKE of the woods, 32.
LAGASSE, Charles, 11 In.
LANGLEY, Fort, 24, 25, 99, 99n;
102n; 105n.
LA PEROUSE, Straits of, 139n,
153.
LA PLAZ, Lower California, 122n.
LAWRENCE (Geo. Howe’s boat)
195, 195n.
LAWS of Japan, 240.
LE BLANC, 11 In.
LE BLANCHE, 75.
LE CALENDONIEN, a French line
steamer, 260.
LEPER colony, 156.
LEX Talonis, 240.
LILIUOKALANI, Queen, 41.
LILLOLET, B. C., 47.
LIPS of Japanese women painted
red, 231.
LIVERPOOL Jack, 141.
LIVERPOOL, 42.
LIVESSOHN, John, Dutch factor
at Nagasaki, 209, 209n. 225,
243, 247, 264; presents from,
243; Sketch of, 209.
LLAMA, ship, 121n.
LLOYD’S Register, 38.
324 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
LONDON, 37, 37n, 40; Atlas
Newspaper, 243; Birthplace of
David Thompson, 108; Sea
Witch of, 198, 198n; Shipment
of stock from, 104; Shipwrecked
Japanese sailors sent to, 123.
LOO-CHOO Islands, 128n, 146,
146n.
LOST art of Japanese, 257.
LOVITT, Capt. H. H., 235.
LYNCH, James M., 47.
LYNCH, Mrs. Jennie, 48.
M
MACAO, China, 44; Shipwrecked
Japanese sent to, by H. B. Co.,
123.
MACY, CAPT. Alex., 142n.
McCALLUM, 29, 29n, 114n.
McCLURG & Co., Chicago, 19.
McCOY, Robert, 195, 196n, 284,
285.
McCUNE, a prize fighter, 48.
MacDONALD, Allen, 45, 46, 47.
MacDONALD, Angus, 53n, 69.
MacDONALD, Benjamin, 47, 89n,
93n, 94.
MacDONALD, Donald, 66.
MACDONALD, Ranald, birth and
childhood, 23, 24, 25, 54, 58, 92,
93, 97, 105; Named “Little Chin¬
ook, 39, 106n; Little chief, 39;
Comly, or Com-com-ly, 78;
Toole, 27; or Toll, Toll, 93; Si-
wash, 48; Early education, 25,
26, 106; and Christian training,
32, 57, 106; At Red River school,
113, 115; Apprenticed at St.
Thomas as bank clerk, 32, 38,
115, 117; Early character and
disposition, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33,
34, 69; Dislike for banking and
desire for freedom, 117, 118,
119; Motive, 119, 120; First in¬
terest in Japan, 120, 121, 122,
131; Resolve to enter Japan,
131, 132; How design was car¬
ried out, 133, 134, 135, 137,
138, 150, 151, 152; Sailor and
adventurer, 40-44; Japan adven¬
ture, 152-246, appendix, 271-
286; Miner, 44-48, 65; Explor¬
er, and promoter, 45, 46; Makes
a fortune of $65,000.00, 65;
Rancher, 45, 66, 67; Hotel
keeper, 65; With stage company,
66; Character and disposition,
66, 67, 69, 70; Physical cour¬
age and prowess of, 45, 47, 48;
Polished gentleman, 49-65; Ne¬
ver married, 67, reason given,
65; Writing of his Japan story,
17-21; Ambition to publish ac¬
count of his Japan adventure,
19, 20, 67; Last years spent in
comparative poverty, 67; Death,
68; Place of burial; Cause of
his retirement from the world,
69, 70; Descriptions of manner,
person and dress, 49, 51, 52, 59,
60, 61; Was a master mason, 47;
Characterization of, 69, 70.
MCDONALD, Archibald, 23, 26, 40,
79, 79n, lOOn; Marriage of to
Princess Raven, 88, 89, 90, 91;
Death of wife, 92; Marriage to
Jane Klyne, 23, 94, 94n; A
Scotch-Episcopalian, 106, 106n;
A Highlander of Glencoe, 118,
118; Letters of, 26-38; Secre¬
tary to Earl of Selkirk, 51.
McDONALD, Finan, 105n, 109n.
McDONALD, Jane Klyne, (see
Jane Klyne) 83n, 94.
McDONALD of Oregon, 21.
McDOUGAL, Duncan, 77; Sketch
of, 77n; Wife of, 77, 78, 89n.
McGILLIVRAY, William, a NW
Co. agent, 11 On.
McGILLIVRAY River, llOn.
McKAY, Thomas, 121n.
McKENZIE, Alexander, 99n; D.,
97n; Donald, 136n.
MACKENZIE River, lOln.
McLEOD, John, 103n, 104, 106n;
Chief Trader of H. B. Co., 80,
101 n; His wife, lOOn; Sketch
of, 80n.
McLEOD, Malcolm, son of John,
100, lOOn, 104n, 109n, 253, 254,
255, 256, 257, 259; Judge of
Ottawa, Canada, 100, lOOn; His
book, 100, lOOn; Non deplume
“Britannicus,” 255; Letters of,
255; A queen’s counsel, a re¬
tired judge, 150, lOOn.
Index
325
McLEOD’S Fort, 80n.
McLEOD’S Lake, 80n.
McLEOD, Roderick, 32.
McLOUGHLIN, Dr. John; Chief
Factor H. B. Co., 88; Married
an Indian wife, 88; Wife, 24n;
“The Christ of the Pacific slope”
88; Led Archibald’s wedding
party, 89; Care of shipwrecked
Japanese by, 122, 123, 124;
Character of, 123, 124, 124n;
Characterization of by Ban¬
croft, 86, 124, 124n.
McLOUGHLIN and old Oregon,
21 .
McMILLAN, James, 99n.
McNEIL, Capt. fm, 121n.
MACKENA, 32.
MADRAS, 44.
MAGALHALNS, 139n.
MAKEA, 285, 286.
MALHERBE, Capt. of Eliza, 196n.
MANHATTAN, ship, 123n.
MANILLA, 144.
MANILLA, brig, 141n.
MANITOBA, province of, 23.
MARCUS, Wash., 68.
MARO, Nantucket, whaler, 159n.
MARIANNE (or Ladrones) Is¬
lands, 139n.
MARINER’S compass of Japanese,
160.
MARIUS Cams, 105n.
MARO, whale ship of Nantucket,
150.
MARRIAGE; of Ranald MacDon¬
ald’s parents, 85, 88, 89, 90, 91;
Described by Captain Thomas
Butler, 85; Royal, 88, 89, 90;
Potlatch, 90, 90n; Gift, 90.
MARRII, (or Maury), 197n, 286.
MARTIN, John, 196n.
MASONIC Order, Ranald Mac¬
Donald initiated into, 47.
MATS of rice straw, 222, 285, 286.
MATSMAI, 165, 182, 184, 189, 191,
193, 194, 196, 199, 20In, 206,
207, 245; City and Port of, 193;
Governor of, 194; Government
flag of, 189; People, altar of,
164; manner of worship, 164;
Prince of, 202; Straits of, 139n.
MATSMORA Schal, 207n.
MAY, Colonel de, 96n.
MEAT not used by Japanese, 234.
MEDDLESEX County, (Ontario),
117, 117n.
MELBOURNE, Australia, 45.
MESOPOTAMIA, 184.
MEURONS, the de, 97n.
MEYERS Falls, Wash., 22n.
MEYERS, Jacob A., 22n.
MEYERS, mate of Lawrence, 161n,
MEYANZIMA, (Shonosuke Miaji-
ma), a young Japanese officer,
174, 179, 182.
MIKADO, 239.
MIKADO dynasty, 239.
MILK not used by Japanese, 243.
MINEMITSU, Japanese Ambass¬
ador to Washington, 256, 256n,
MISSION at San Diego, Cal,
122n.
MISSIONARIES; Dr. Gutzlaff,
celebrated English, at Maceo,
China, 123, 123n, 125; Dr. Park¬
er, American missionary at Ma¬
ceo, 125.
MISSISOURIE River, llOn.
MISSISSIPPI River, 40; Boats,
40, 133.
MITCHELL, C. & Co., owners of
Peruvian, 142.
MODE of worship by Japanese,
188, 189.
MOLOKAI, Sandwich Islands,
156n.
MONDOKRO, “coat of arms” 191,
202 .
MONSOONS, 149.
MONTANA, source of cattle in,
104.
MORRISON, brig, 125, 125n,
126n; Attempt of, to enter port
of Tokyo, 126.
MOTOKI, Shosayemon, an interp¬
reter, 226.
MOTOSICK Island, 141n.
MOUNTAINS, 107; Cariboo, 111;
Rocky,, 103, 108; Selkirks, 108.
MOUNT Brown, 108.
MOUNT Hooker, 108.
MOWHU, (one of Sandwich Is¬
lands) 137.
MUNG, John, 128.
MORIYAMA, E-inoske, (Muraya-
ma Yeanoske), 208, 208n, 209,
210, 214, 216, 217, 218, 219,
326 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
220, 221, 222, 224, 225, 226,
227, 229, 246, 254, 255, 256,
256n, 263, 264; Description of,
209, 263, 264; Spoke Dutch
fluently, 209, 210; Studied Lat¬
in and French, 210; Name pro¬
nounced Moor-ei-ama, 255.
MURAKAMI, Naojiro, 22n.
MUSKEG Tea, 56.
MUSKO, (a boy attendant), 183,
192.
N
NAGASAKI, 44, 126, 146n, 149,
162n, 183, 191, 197, 207, 244n,
245, 248, 255, 261, 262, 263, 264;
Description of in 1848, 211, 212,
213; Dutch Factor at, 209, 247;
Dutch factory at, 247; Govern¬
or’s residence and court at, 213,
214, 215; Interpreters of, 226.
NAHALEM River, 122n.
NAKAYAMA, Hyoma, an interpre¬
ter, 226.
NAKAHAMA, Keisaburo, 129n.
NAKAHAMA, Nanjiro, 128n.
NAKAHAMA, Dr. T., 129n.
“NAMMA Noasoc, Namma Noos,”
Japanese call to prayer, 139,
189n.
NAMURA, Tsunenoske, an interp¬
reter, 226.
NAMU Amida Butsu, 189n.
NAMU miyo ho nenge Kyo, 189n.
NANKIN, 146.
NANTUCKET, 141 n; Whaler, Da¬
vid Paddock 138, 138n; Whal¬
ers, 134n.
NAPA Keang, 146n.
NASS, 81n.
NEW Bedford whalers, 134n.
NEW Bedford whaler, Dagett,
139n.
NEW Caledonia, 24n, 102n.
NEVA, whaler, 139n.
NEW London, (Conn ) whale ship
Peruvian, 142, 142n.
NEW Orleans, 40.
NEW York City, 40.
OARS, Japanese, 158, 158n, 175.
OAWHU, one of Sandwich Islands
136.
OBA, (see Omba.)
OBLIQUE Sama (Governor) 208.
OCHOTSK, 165.
NEW Year’s Day, 1848, 243.
NICHIVEN Sect., ?S9n.
NAMURA, see Tsunenoske, 226.
NIPON (Japan), 44.
NIPON, bridge of, 169, 169n.
NIPONGIN, Japanese, 191, 191n.
NISHIHAMA, Japan, 128n.
NISHI, Keitaro, 226.
NISHI, Yoichiro, 226.
NISQUALLY House, 102n.
NOO, Japanese word for snooze,
200 .
NOOTKA, 88n, 169.
NOOTSKA Cove, 171.
NOOTSKA village, 170, 172, 173,
189.
NORTHWEST Coast, 25, 39.
NORTHWEST Coast Indians, 18,
24, 88, 169; History of, H. H.
Bancroft, 100; Passage, 102;
Territories, 100, 101.
NORTHWEST Company, 77, 80,
85, 85n, 109, llOn; Founders of
“greater Canada,” 112; David
Thompson in employ of, 108,
109; Edward Ermatinger chief
accountant of, 116n.
NORTHWESTERNERS, character
of, 112, 117.
NORWAY House, 30, 84n; Annual
council at.
NORWEGIAN Creek, B. C., 67;
Placer ground, 67.
NOTSUKA village, 158.
NOURSE, William, 30, 30n, 32.
NOURSE, William, 30, 35n.
NOBLE, Dr. Frederick Perry, 22n.
QDA-IAM-ICKI-RO, Japanese des¬
ignation of Oda as editor, 259.
ODA, Mr. J., 254, 255, 256, 257,
258, 259, 260; Chief editor
Codes of Japan, 259; Death and
burial, 260, 260n.
Index
327
OGAWA, Keijuro, an interpreter,
226.
OKANOGAN House, 24n, 31.
OKANOGAN Indian witch, 64;
Words, 74n.
OKHOTSK, sea of, 196.
OLASON, one of Bronghton’s
crew, 234n.
OMBA (Oba) 177n, 178, 182, 183,
187, 193.
ONIBA Shegune, a Japanese, 177.
Oregon Eastern, origin of cattle
in, 103, 103n, 104; Treaty of
1845, 74.
OREGON Historical Society, 20n.
ORI, Japanese word for queue,
202 .
OSAKA, Japan, 255.
OSHITOMARI Bay, 158.
OSHYEES, natives of Owyhee,
Sandwich Islands, 135, 135n,
136.
OSITATS, Japanese word for Sun¬
day, 181.
OTATOE, Island of, 235.
OTTAWA, Canada, 18.
OWYHEES on northwest coast,
135, 135n, 136; Mountains,
136n; County, 136n; River,
136n; Town of, 136n.
OYA, Totom-no-kami, 246, 246n.
OYAKATA (chiefs overseers or
mayors), 163, 175, 178, 188.
“PADRE” word used by Japan¬
ese to designate Catholic priests,
224.
PAGON Island, (see pegan).
PALANQUIN of Japanese, 193.
PAN, Japanese word for bread,
242.
PAPENBERG, island at entrance
of Nagasaki harbor, 212.
PAPER, Japanese, 205, 205n.
PAREIL, Pierre, 11 In.
PARKER, Dr. American mission¬
ary physician at Maceo, 125,
125n.
PARKER, Rev. Samuel, 76n.
PATCH, Sam, 126n.
PEACE River, title of book by
Judge Malcolm McLeod, 100,
lOOn.
PEACE River, valley of, lOln.
“PEDLAR” H. M. S., 75n.
PEGAN (Pagon) Island, 139,
139n, 140, 143, 144, 145.
PEKIN, 146.
PELLY, Gov. J. H., 94n.
PEMICAN, manner of making and
eating described., 57.
PENINSULA of Sagalhien, 169.
PENROSE, Mr., president of
Whitman college, 29.
PENS, Japanese, 205.
PEND d’Oreille Indians, 56.
PEROUSE, La., Straits of, 138,
170.
PERRY, Commodore M. C., Treaty
of with Japan, 17, 55; Indebted
to whalers for information, 134n.
PERSIMMON (kaki), 207, 207n.
PERUVIAN, a New London whale
ship, 142, 142n.
PIEGAN (Blackfeet Indians),
11 On.
“PILLAR” Saint, 133n.
PILLOW of Japanese, 200.
PLAN of court of examination at
Nagasaki, 215.
PLYMOUTH, a Sag Harbor, N. Y.
whaler, 43, 134, 134n, 138, 151n.
PLYMOUTH returns from, 151n.
PORTLAND, Maine, 38.
PORTLAND Oregonian, 41.
PONTOMARI, 153n, 173n.
PORK, Japanese word for “good-
so” (gochiso), 233; Not used by
Japanese, 233.
POTLATCH, definition of, 90n;
Marriage, 90.
PORTUGESE banished, 127, 127n,
244, 245; Influence of, 242n.
PRAYER beads of Japanese, 189.
PREBLE, U. S. Sloop of War,
44, 195, 261, 274, 275; American
Corvette, 246, 249; Ranald Mac¬
Donald embarks on, 247; Ran¬
ald MacDonald makes statement
aboard, 247, 280, 281, 282.
PRESENTS from Japanese; of
preserved ginger, 164; Of cloth-
328 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
ing, 199; Of Pillow, bed, 200;
Of sweetmeats, 171.
PRINCE, C. of New York, 38.
PRINCE of Matsmai and Yesso,
184.
PRINCE Tsushima-no-kami, 219.
PRINCESS “Sunday” Ranald Mac¬
Donald’s mother, 24; marriage
of, 88, 89, 90, 91; Death of, 93.
PRINCIPALITIES (in Japanese
“Daimios”), 239.
QUEEN Charlotte Island, 121,
121n; Waifs, 127.
QUELPERT Island, description
of, 146, 147.
RAINY Lake, 32.
RAE, Fort, 95n.
RAE, W. Glen, 41, 41n.
RAFFLES, 234n.
RANALD MacDonald, (see Mac¬
Donald, ante)
Raven, Chinook name for Ranald’s
mother, 85, 85n.
READING taught to all Japanese,
205.
RED River Colony, 96, 96n; Dis¬
trict, 79n; Region, 80; Settle¬
ment, Lord Selkirk’s, 79, 96,
96n, 107; Missionary School, 25,
106n, 113, 114, 114n, 115; En¬
dowed by H. B. Co., 114n;
Conducted by Rev. Cochrane of
Church of England, 113, 114,
114n.
RED River (R. R.), 26, 29, 30,
33, 36.
RED River Academy, 27.
REED, Capt. W. A. of the Sea
Witch, 198n.
RELIGION of Japanese, 228, 229,
237, 238.
SACRED Eternal Buddha, 189n.
SADDO Oblique (governor), 178,
179, 181, 182, 208.
SADDO Sama, commandant at
Soya, 177, 178; At Nagasaki,
208.
PRISON, Japanese, 221.
PRITCHARD, Mr., 27n, 114.
PRITCHARD’S school, 27.
PRONUNCIATION of Japanese,
226, 227.
PROVINCIAL Library, Victoria,
B. C., 17, 19, 20, 21, 67.
PUPILS, names of MacDonald’s,
226.
PUTNAMS, 19.
QUESNELLE, B. C., 46.
QUEUE, Japanese word for, 202.
QUA-AME, Qua-ame, grandchild,
24.
REVELSTOKE, British Columbia,
108.
RISHIRI Island, 152, 152n, 154n,
165n.
RISHIRI Mountain, 155, 155n.
RISING Sun News, (Morning
Chronicle), published at Osaka,
Japan, 255, 255n.
ROBINSON, Wm. Davis, 88n.
ROCK Creek mining country, B.
C., 47.
ROCKY Mountain House, 96n,
11 On.
ROCKY MOUNTAINS, 103, 108.
ROYA, a prison cage, 221, 22In.
ROYCE, Captain, 135n.
REIBUN Island, 153n.
RUPERTS’ Land, 27; Governor of,
86n, 107n.
RUSSIA, invasion of Quelpert Is¬
land by conjectured, 148.
RUSSIAN American Company,
234n.
RYU-KYU Islands, 146n.
SADDO Sama, 179.
SAGALHIEN, (also Tarakai and
Karafto), 148, 170n.
SAGALHIEN Peninsula, 69.
SAGALHIEN Southwest Cape,
139n.
Index
329
SAHAINA, Port of, 43, 138.
SAKI, Japanese grog, 204.
SAKUMA Shozan, 129n.
SAKUICHIRO, see Uyemura, an
interpreter, 208, 222, 225, 226.
SALEESH House, 106n.
SALEESH Indians, 91 n.
SALMON, first packed, 79n; Run¬
ning time, 23.
SAMA, 179.
SAMUEL M. Fox, 198n.
SAMUEL Robertson, whaler, 139n.
SAMURAI, 177n.
SANDWICH Islanders, among im¬
prisoned crew of Lagoda, 196,
196n, 197n, 284, 285; See also
Owyhees and Hawaiians.
SAN Diego, California, 122n.
SANDWICH Islands, 41n, 43,
138, 138n, 146, 156.
SAN Francisco, 41.
SANGAR, Straits of, 196.
SANPOIL Indian, 11 In.
SARAH Boyd, whaler, 128n.
SATO, Toyoshichi, commander of
the Soya Military station, 177n,
178n.
SATSUMA, Principality of, 126n.
SAULT, St. Mary, 28, 30, 32.
SAYONARA, farewell, 174, 174n.
SCARBOROUGH, James, 75n.
SCOTCH Highland, 38.
SCOTT, Harvey W., 41.
SEA Witch, wreck of, off coast
near Madras, 44, 93, 93n.
SEDAN chair, 193.
SELKIRK, Earl of, 96; Colony of,
96n; Red River Settlement, 96,
97n, 107.
SELKIRK, Swiss Colonists of, 96,
96n; Mountains, 108, Canyons
of, 108, 112.
SENATE Documents, 1851-1852,
Vol. IX, Ex. Dock’t Mo. 59, 248,
280-285.
SERREI, Tatsmosen, a Japanese,
216, 216n, 246.
SHANGHI, 146.
SHELF, Japanese word for
tokowaki, 200, 200n.
SHENANDOAH Confederate pri¬
vateer, 135n.
SHERREI Tachachien Sama, ass¬
istant governor, 207, 211.
SHIELDS, Capt., 134n.
SHIGE, Takanoske, an interpreter,
226.
SHIOYA, Tanesaburo, an interpre¬
ter, 226.
SHIPS (brigs, barques, steamers,
whalers, etc.): Amelia, whaler,
134n; Beaver, H. B. Co. steam¬
er on Northwest coast, 107n;
Beaver, whaler, 134n; Cadboro
99n, Brothers, Canadian steam¬
er, 33; Calder, brig, 141 n; Cara¬
van, 139n; Carmine, brig, (form¬
erly the Morrison), 125n; Cath¬
erine, English Brig, 235n; Cy¬
press, brig, 235n; David Pad-
dock of Nantucket, 138, 138n,
140; Don Quixote, barque, 139n;
Eclipse, of Boston, 234n; Ed¬
mond, English ship, 235n; Eliza,
of Harve, 196n; 'of New York,
234n; Ganges, whaler of Nan¬
tucket, 134n; Hertogenbosch,
Dutch ship, 162n; Hercules,
New Bedford whaler, 134n; Is¬
aac Todd, 84n; James, whaler
of New Bedford, 134n; John
Howland, of New Bedford, 128n;
Josephine Catherine, Dutch ship,
225n; La Caledonien, French
line steamer, 260; Lady Adams,
235n; Lady Rowena, 235n; La¬
goda, of New Bedford, Mass.,
162n, 196, 196n, 246; Llama, H.
B. Co. ship, 121n; Lawrence of
Poukhkeepsie, N. Y. (Geo.
Howe’s vessel, 161, 161n, 162,
182n, 195; Manhattan of South¬
ampton, N. Y., 123n; Manilla,
brig, 141n; Morrison, brig
of Boston, (renamed “Car¬
mine”) 125, 125n; Oeno, ship,
141 n; Peruvian, ship of Nan¬
tucket, 143, 143n; Peruvian,
barque of New London, Con¬
necticut; 143n; Pocohontas of
New York, 235n; Plymouth of
Sag Harbor, N. Y., 43, 134, 134n,
138, 158n; Rebecca, 234n; Sea
Witch, schooner, of London Mel¬
bourne and New London, 198,
198n; Sarah Boyd, whaler, 128n;
Sagadahock, schooner, 139n;
Samuel M. Fox of New York,
330 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
198n; Samuel Robertson, whaler,
139n; Shenandoah, Confederate
privateer, 135; Sierre Nevada,
schooner, 151 n; Superior, whal¬
er of Sag Harbor, 134n, 135n;
Tenjinmaru, a Japanese Junk,
203, 203n; Tobey, ship, 235n;
Tonquin, 80, 86n, 104n; Trident,
234n; Tuscany, brig of New
York, 37, 37n; Tuskeny, 37;
Uncas, whaler, 156; Moro, Nan¬
tucket whaler, J50.
SHIRI, Ainu, word for Island,
153n.
SHIZUKI, Tatsuichiro, an interp¬
reter, 226.
SHOGUN, Japanese title for Em¬
peror, 236, 239, 239n.
SHONOSUKE Miajima (Meanzi-
ma) 174, 174n.
SHOSAYEMON, see Motoki, an
interpreter, 226.
SHUSHWAP Indians, 87.
SIERRA Nevada, schooner, 151n.
SIGNS of the Zodiac, Japanese,
160, 161, 161n.
SIMEZA, (Teikichi Shimizu), a
Japanese soldier, 177, 177n.
SIMPSON, Governor of H. B. Co.,
34, 34n, 38; Great aim of, 81n;
Testimony of, 86n.
SIMPSON, Fort, 34n.
SIMPSON, Port, 34n.
SIN, Japanese word for Deity,
228.
SINCLAIR, Catherine, 24, 26.
SINCLAIR, Wm., 24.
SINGAPORE, 44.
SINGLE stick, contest with, 48.
SIONARA, Japanese for farewell,
183, 183n.
SIWASH, nickname applied to
Ranald MacDonald, 48.
SJERRI, Chief interpreter, 263.
SLAVER, 42.
SMITH, Mr., Secretary, 36, 38.
SMITH, Solomon H., 39n.
SNELLING, Fort, 97n.
SOLDIERS, American, 32; British,
33.
SOURABAYA, 198n.
SOUTH America, flight of wealthy
residents from during revolu¬
tions, 144.
SOYA, 165, 165n, 167, 175, 176,
179, 183, 184, 198, 206, 207,
212, 245.
SOYA, Bay of, 176.
SOUTHERN California, 42.
SPOKESMAN-Review, (Spokane,
Wash.), 20.
SPANISH Main, 43.
ST. Paul, 40.
SPANISH possessions, 145.
SPANISH Priests, 88n.
SPIDER Jack, 141, 142, 143.
SPOKANN House, 24; An old N.
W. Co. Post, 103n, 105n.
SPOKANN, route by, 105.
SPOON, bamboo, 198, 198n.
SPOON, brass, 199.n
SPY system of Japan, 236.
STEVENS, Gov., 91.
STEWART, Dave, 75n.
STEWART, Alexander, 99n.
STEWART, Capt of Eliza, 234n.
STIRLING, Admiral, 126n.
“STONE Fleet,’’ 135n.
STRAITS of Corea, 146.
STRAITS of La Perouse, 153.n
ST. Andrews, Quebec, home of
Archibald MacDonald, 98, 101.
ST. Paul, 40.
ST. Peters, isle of, 123n.
ST. Thomas, Elgin County, home
of Edward Ermatinger, 24n, 33,
36, 38, 40, 115, 116, 116n.
STUART’S party, 136n.
SUGAR, 24.
SULLA, 105n.
SUNDAY, Princess, 23; Marriage
of, 88, 90; Death of, 23, 92.
516, A. F. A. M. of, 47.
SUNDAYS, Japanese, 181.
SUPERIOR, whaler, 134, 135n.
SWAIN, Chas. B. Master of Dav¬
id Paddock, 138n.
SWISS from Switzerland, 96.
SWISS colony brought out to Red
River by Lord Selkirk, 96n.
SWISS, some members of, take
service with H. B. Co., 97; oth¬
ers go to the western states, 97.
SWIFT, Eliza, owner of Uncas,
156n.
SWIFT, Stephen, Captain of the
Lagoda, 196n.
SWORDS, 176, 176n.
Index
331
TABLE, Japanese, 222.
TABSUETSERO, see Shizuki, 226.
TAJO, (governor, viceroy or
prince:, 170, 170n, 191, 199.
TAKABOKE, Island of, 225, 225n.
TAKAHAMA, 128n.
TAKAHASKI, Rev. K. T. Presby¬
terian clergyman, 253.
TAKANOSKE, see Shige, an in¬
terpreter, 226.
TAMAA-HMATT, King of Owy¬
hee, 136n.
TANASABERO, see Shioya, 226.
TANEMON Ujiie, a company cap¬
tain, 206n.
TANESABURO, see Shioya, an in¬
terpreter, 226.
TANGARO (Tankaro) very intel¬
ligent, 166; Intense desire to
learn English, 161, 165, 166,
167, 171, 174, 177, 182.
TANI, Hosai, a doctor, 180, 180n.
TARAKAI, Island of, 163n.
TARTARY, Channel of, 148, 149.
TARTAR Country, 169.
TASHNASHEEN, acting magis¬
trate, 216.
TATSUICHIRO, see Shizuki, an
interpreter, 226.
TEA, 24.
TEA pots and cups, Japanese,
122n, 222.
TEETH of Japanese women paint¬
ed, 231, 23In.
TEIKICHI Shimizu, soldier, 177.
TENJIMMARU, a junk, 203n.
“TEVEN toghin tsnsin and datur
were,” corruption of Japanese
words, 181.
THA-A-MUXI, 76n.
THIEVES, (Ladrones) Islands,
139, 139n.
THOMPSON, David trades for
Coxe, 136n.
THOMPSON, David: A grey coat
boy, 108, 108n; Astronomer for
N. W. Co., 108; Character of,
109, 112, 113; Greatest explorer
and mapper of North America,
108; Description of, 109, 109n;
Descent of Columbia by, 109,
111; Arrival of at Astoria, 111,
11 In; Old age of, 113; Search
of for Columbia, 109.
THOMPSON’S River, 105n.
TILLAMOOK Indians, 122n.
TIMOR Sea, 198n.
TIMOSHEE, Island of, 149, 261.
TOKIO (Yeddo) 22n, 262.
TOKIWARI (tokowaki) Japanese
word for shelf, 200n.
TOLL, Toll, Chinook nome for boy,
boy, 93, 93n; Toole, 27.
TOMASSEY (Timosheee), 261.
TONGHI Sea, 146.
TONQUIN, Astor’s first ship, 80,
104n.
TOOTOOMARI (Pontomari), 153,
153n, 171, 173, 174, '202, 212.
TORRES, Straits, 198n.
TORO DA, Ferry County, Wash.,
68 .
TORONTO, Upper Canada, 29;
Early educational facilities at,
117.
TOTEM pole at Com-comly’s resi¬
dence, 88.
TOYOSHICHI Sato, military
commandant at Soya, 177, 177n.
TRADE along Northwest Coast,
80, 80n.
TRAY of Japanese wood, 222.
TREASURE, buried 144, 145.
TREATIES of Japanese, 1854,
1858, 249, 250
TREATY of 1846, 41.
TSENOSKE, Namura, 226.
TSOOSE-GADA, (Tsuji-Kata),
Japanese word for interpreters,
226.
TSUGARA, Straits of, 170n, 196.
TSUNENOSKE, see Namura, an
interpreter, 226.
TURNER, Capt. of Samuel Rob¬
ertson, 139n.
TURNER, James, 234n.
TURTLE Island, 141.
TUSCANY, 37, 37n, 38n, 40.
TUSCAN, 38n.
TUSKENY, 40.
TYRRELL, J. B., 109n.
332 Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894)
u
UJIIE, Tanemon, captain, 206n.
UNCAS, 156, 156n.
URAGA, bay of Yedo, 126n.
USSURI-UKA, 164n.
UYEMURA, Sakuichiro, an interp¬
reter, 226.
V
VANCOUVER Island, 31; Port,
123.
VANCOUVER Fort, 31n; 104.
VANCOUVER, 25; Fort estab¬
lished, 94, 94n.
VEGETABLES, Japanese, onions,
carrots, potatoes, cabbage, cu¬
cumbers, squash, 204.
WALKER, Elkanah, 83n, 106n.
WALLA Walla council of 1855,
91n.
WALTER, John, 196n, 285.
WASHINGTON (State) origin of
cattle in, 103, 103n, 104, 104n.
WEEKLY Despatch, newspaper
supplied by Ranald MacDonald,
243.
WEST, Rev. John, 114n.
WEST Road River, 45, 46.
WESTMORLAND, County of, 19.
WESTSIDIAN, 33.
WHALE fishery, American, 134n,
135n, 150n.
WHALERS, English and Ameri¬
can, 234n, 235n; Pacific engaged
in coast trade, 80n, 81 n; Fishery
graphics of, 134n, 135; Return
of, 151n, 156n.
WHALES and whaling in Japan
Sea, 150.
WHALING fleet, American, 151n,
152n.
WHALING fleet, see ship’s
names.
VESSELS, engaged in Northwest
Coast trade, 80n, 81 n, 82n.
VICE-ROY, or governor (Tajo),
170, 170n.
VICTORIA, B. C., Provincial Li¬
brary at, 17, 29, 21.
VIGILANTE committees, 48.
VLADIVOSTOK, 148.
VOYAGEURS, 111, 112.
WHIMPEY, David, 141n, 142n.
WHITFIELD, Capt. Wm. H., 128n.
WHITMORE, Capt., 128n.
WILKES, Capt., 142n.
WILLIAM II. of Holland, 252n.
WILLIAMS, S. W., one of the ed¬
itors of “Chinese Mail,” 126n.
WILLIAMS, Mrs. Christina Mac¬
Donald McKenzie, 66.
WINSOR, Canada, 33.
WIVES, Indian, 83n, 84n.
WOMEN, Japanese; Dress and ap¬
pearance of, 230, 230n, 231,
23 In.
WORDS, Japanese, see Japanese
words, ante.)
JOHN Work, 24n; Journal of,
103n.
WORSHIP, mode of by Japanese,
164, 188, 189.
WORTH, Capt. Paul, 134n.
WRITING of Japanese, 205;
taught to all Japanese, 205.
WINNIPEG, 23.
Y
YANG-TZSE River, 147.
YANKE-SHIRI, 153n, 154n.
YASHIRO, see Iwase, an interp¬
reter.
YATES, Hiram of the Lawrence,
161n.
YEBIS, the Neptune of Japan, 185.
YEDDO (Tokio), 44, 236, 262.
YELLOW Head Pass, of the Rocky
Mountains, 96.
YELLOW Sea, 149.
Index
333
YESSO, (now Hokkaido) Island,
43, 44, 153, 163n, 167, 168, 170;
West coast of, 207; Habitations
confined to small fishing vill¬
ages, 207.
YEUBA Buena, 41.
YOICHIRO, see Nishi, an interp¬
reter, 226.
YOSEKI Kakizake, Dr., 180n.
YOSHIDA Torajiro, 128n, 129n.
YOSHIMUNE, Shogun, 209n.
UPB
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