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COMMERCIAL RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.
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REPORTS

FROM THE

CONSULS OF THE UNITED STATES

ON THE

COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, ETC.,

OF THEIR

CONSULAR DISTRICTS.

--------

No. 24. – October, 1882.

PUBLISHED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1882.

Alexander C. Jones, (1830-1898)

THE BONIN ISLANDS. 517

.  .  .  . 

THE BONIN ISLANDS.

REPORT BY CONSUL JONES, OF NAGASAKI, JAPAN.

      The chain of islands forming the Empire of Japan stretches along the western coast and in easy distance from the Continent of Asia, through 15° and more of latitude north. At its northern extremity, in Yezzo, in some conditions of wind and tide it is said that the natives can walk dry-shod into Asia. This extent of country consequently embraces several conditions of climate. At the north three or four mouths in the

518 THE BONIN ISLANDS.

year the bays and rivers are frozen over, and communication is had at such times by sledges over the snow and ice.

      At Yokohama and Tokio the winters are sufficiently cold for the foreign inhabitants to indulge, for some weeks, in the exercise of skating; while at Nagasaki, and on the island of Kiu-Shiu (Kew-shew), ice never forms, and oranges are the chief product of that season of the year.

      A hundred miles and more south and east of the main island of Kiu-Shiu is a group of islands scattered at some length, a continuation, they might be called, of the chain and a part of the Empire of Japan, known as the Bonin Islands.

      While these islands form a separate province in themselves, they are yet so contiguous to Kiu-Shiu, of which Nagasaki is the only open port, that I have thought it proper to make them the subject of some remarks, as their history, climate, products, &c., are not without interest.

      These islands, properly speaking, form three groups, comprising in all about fourteen islands, stretching in a line north and south in sight of each other, and in clusters of three and four each. The middle and southern groups are the only ones which are inhabited and of which I shall more particularly speak. The others are small and unimportant, some of them being merely gigantic detached rocks, and of such rugged volcanic character and surrounded by such dangerous currents, that they afford no inducement for or promise of habitation. The middle group, which is composed of three islands, is the largest and principal one, and contains the bulk of the whole population. This middle group is situated in latitude 27° 05' 27".1 north, longitude 142° 11' 36" east.

      The name of Bonin Islands, which is applied to the whole group, is derived from and is a corruption of the Japanese name of Bunin-Shima, which means "uninhabited islands."

      The discovery and proprietorship of these islands were questions for a long time of much doubt and uncertainty, out of which grew some perplexities and slight ministerial controversies, but they were never, for some reason, deemed of sufficient importance to make them of international interest. From a number of confused statements of conflicting claims I have been enabled to arrive at what I think to be the actual facts in the matter of the discovery.

      The Japanese claim to have had knowledge of these islands as far back as the year 1593, but the first authenticated discovery was made about the year 1675, by the accident of a Japanese junk from Nagasaki being driven by a storm upon the shores of the main island. On the return of this junk, and a report being made of the discovery of new land, the Daimio, then ruling at Nagasaki, with a Daimio's thirst for additional wealth and power, fitted out and sent a high commission to look up and take possession of it in the name of the Shogun government of Japan. The adventure was successful, the islands were found, taken possession of, and given the name of Ogasawara-Shima, after the name of the chief of the commission, who was a sort of Americus Vespucius in the way of a discoverer. On the Japanese charts and maps the islands still bear the name of Ogasawara-Shima.

      At the time of this discovery the commission reported that there were no inhabitants on these islands, nor any trace that any had ever existed. There were no animals found of any description; only the wild sea-birds and the numerous crustacea which crawled along the sands of the sea-shore greeted the sight of the discoverers. But the abundant supply of fresh water, the soft beauty of the climate, and the luxuriance of the vegetation excited their highest admiration and colored their report of a valuable acquisition.

THE BONIN ISLANDS. 519

      The Shogun government of Japan for a long time debated the proposition of populating the islands and putting them under cultivation, and as to the best means of making them a source of revenue. It was at length decided, for want of a better purpose, to make them into a penal colony. Measures were at once taken to carry this into effect, and several vessels were dispatched freighted with convicts and guards, carpenters, blacksmiths, &c., with the necessary material, stock, implements, and utensils for the establishment of such a colony.

      It does not appear from any existing records how long this penal colony was conducted, but for some reason it was not a continued success; perhaps from the want of subjects, as the methods of instant decapitation were at that time much in vogue. However that might have been, after a few years the idea was abandoned and the colony withdrawn. The islands reverted to their primeval condition. In the old myths and early tales of Japan there is no mention of a Robinson Crusoe.

      It was nearly a hundred years before communication was again established with these islands, when a descendant of Ogasawara, the discoverer, was given leave, at his urgent request, on account of the services of his distinguished ancestor, to occupy and colonize them. The young Ogasawara was rich and enterprising, and fitted out at Nagasaki a considerable expedition, and set sail with fair promise. But his scheme of a successful colonization was a failure, and after a few years was abandoned. The government, however, notwithstanding these repeated failures to occupy the islands, did not lose sight of their importance nor of their proprietorship by right of discovery. At intervals several Japanese junks put in or were driven to the islands by stress of weather, and the returned mariners in each instance gave an account of their adventures and a description of the islands. Whether it was that the government was not ready for the agitation of the subject, or engaged at such times with internal wars, which were of frequent recurrence, whatever may have been the reason, these publications were suppressed and the authors imprisoned.

      A German, however, by the name of Kloproth, who had studied the Japanese language, got hold, in some way, of these early publications and translated them into his native tongue, which gave to the outside world the first idea of the existence of these islands.

      Kaempfer, in his work on Japan, mentions the Bonin Islands, as follows:

      About the year 1675 the Japanese accidentally discovered a very large island, one of their junks having been forced there in a storm from the island of Hachijo. They met with no inhabitants, but found it to be a very pleasant and fruitful country, well supplied with fresh water and furnished with plants and trees. They called it Bunin-Shima, and because they found no inhabitants they marked it with the character of an uninhabited island. On the shores they found an incredible quantity of fish and crabs, some of which were from four to six feet in length. . . .

      A blank in the history of this island follows until 1728, when communication was again established by Ogasawara Sadayori; of short duration, however, for after a long interval we find no further mention of the island in Japanese records until the close of 1861, when a small colony was planted under the governorship of Obana Sakusuke. The attempt, however, was a failure, and the last of this colony was withdrawn in 1863.

      In 1823 an American whaling ship, the Transit, commanded by Captain Coffin while on a cruise for whales, happened upon these islands. The Transit landed at the southern group. The captain, believing himself to be the first discoverer, hoisted the American flag, and placed an inscription on a tree announcing the fact.

      In 1825 a British whaling ship, the Supply, landed at the middle group. The captain also nailed an inscription to a tree with a brief account of his visit.

520 THE BONIN ISLANDS.

      In 1827 Captain Beechey, commanding H.B.M. ship Blossom, arrived at these islands and took possession of them in the name of his king, affixing to a tree a copper plate punctured with this inscription: "H.B.M. ship Blossom, Captain Beechey, R.N., took possession of this group of islands in the name and on behalf of His Majesty King George, the 14th of June, 1827." The Blossom carried sixteen guns and a complement of one hundred and twenty-two men. Captain Beechey made an exploration of the chief island of the middle group and surveyed the harbor. He found two men on this island, who had been shipwrecked eight months before in a British whaling ship. They were the only survivors, and had subsisted during this time on wild berries and the fish and crabs found on the shore. These men were returned to England by the Blossom. Captain Beechey named the harbor "Port Lloyd," after the Bishop of Oxford. The main island he called "Peel," after Sir Robert Peel, and one other island "Buckland." He also named the northern group "Parry's Group."

      On leaving these islands Captain Beechey sailed for the Sandwich Islands, from which point he is supposed to have made a report of his discoveries and proceedings, for it is found that in 1830 a party of colonists sailed from Honolulu for Port Lloyd under the auspices of Captain Charlton, the British consul at that port, and furnished with live stock and seeds and all the appliances and requisites for such an expedition. This party of colonists consisted of Mateo Mazarro, headman, Genoese; John Millechamp, Englishman; Nathaniel Savory, American; Aldin B. Chapin, American; Charles Johnson, Dane; and twenty-two male and female Sandwich Islanders.

      The year following the visit of Captain Beechey to the Bonin Islands, in 1828, a Russian ship of war, commanded by Captain Lutke, arrived at Port Lloyd. Captain Lutke went through the formality of taking possession of the islands in the name and on behalf of the Russian Government. Then followed in close succession Dutch and Portuguese ships of war, all of which "took possession" in the name of their respective governments.

      The colonists sent by the British consul from the Sandwich Islands arrived out in safety, and established themselves at Port Lloyd. They erected houses and opened farms around the shores of the bay, and lived under a sort of patriarchal government, with Mazarro as chief, by general consent. The personal history of these colonists and the strange incidents attending their settlement of these islands are full of wild interest, but space will not permit them to be recounted here. After some years Mazarro made a voyage back to Honolulu, with the object of inducing further emigration. Whether he returned is not known. It is presumed that he did not, as in the chronicles of the colony his name does not again appear, and among their descendants it is nowhere found.

      For awhile all went well in this colony, as long as they were engaged in making themselves new homes. But without the restraints of society and with no laws but their own inclination, these Arcadians dwelt not long in peaceful accord. They soon quarreled among themselves. Personal combats ensued, blood was shed, and lives were lost. The advent now and then of a pirate ship or two – for pirates then roved the seas – did not add to the morale of the community. On one occasion it is related that a pirate crew, whose ship bore the Portuguese flag, enjoyed the hospitality of the colony, and when weary of their sojourn and their hosts, attacked the house of Nathaniel Savory, who was now the recognized chief, stripped it of its furniture and stores, and carried off as captives his wife and female attendants.

THE BONIN ISLANDS. 521

      In 1831 a whaling-ship brought an addition to the colony in the shape of six Sandwich Island women. They were gladly welcomed and supplied with husbands without delay. The crew of an American schooner, however, which had put in to Port Lloyd soon after for water, coveted these newly-made wives, and forthwith made way with them, after first robbing the colonists of everything that was worthy of their attention. These poor colonists seem to have suffered more than usually, the vicissitudes of all pioneers.

      In 1853 Commodore Perry made his famous expedition to Japan. On his way he touched at the Loo Choo Islands, and from thence came to the Bonin Islands, where he caused explorations and surveys to be made. Captain Kelly, commanding the United States Ship Plymouth, was dispatched to the southern group and took possession of it in the name of the United States of America. Captain Kelly wrote an account of the circumstance and placed it in a sealed jar, which he buried at the foot of a tree, and on the tree he nailed a copper plate with this inscription:

      This southern group of islands has been explored and taken possession of by Commander John Kelly and officers of the United States ship Plymouth, under orders from Commodore Perry, on behalf of the United States of North America, this 30th of Ootober, 1853.

      This done the American flag was hoisted on the island, and a salute was fired. Captain Kelly named this group "Coffin's Group," after the name of the captain of the American whaling-ship Transit, who was the first foreigner known to have landed on the islands, and the four islands he named, respectively, "Perry," "Plymouth," "Hillsboro," and "Kelly." In his notes, written at the time, on these islands, Captain Kelly says:

      The population of this newly-aequired territory does not exceed eleven, distributed as follows: Two male settlers, cultivating the land and taking turtle; two females, natives of Assumption, wives of settlers; three male children, two female children (one, whose name is Caroline, remarkable for her beauty); one female from Assumption, a prostitute, and one deserter from our ship. The soil of Hillsboro (for so we have named this island) proves to be a rich sandy loam. Sweet potatoes and corn produce fine crops. Lemons, pine-apples, and tobacco grow wild. Wild hogs are plentiful. Game, such as pigeons, plover, ducks, curlew, &c., abound, as also do pismires in alarming multitudes.

      Commodore Perry found the colony at Port Lloyd in a better condition than it had theretofore been. At this time Nathaniel Savory was the only remaining member of the original colony. The inhabitants now numbered thirty-one persons – four Americans, four Englishmen, one Portuguese, and twenty-two Sandwich, Ladrone, and Caroline Islanders. Some degree of order had been brought from the chaos which had previously existed. They had wisely concluded that without some rules of government and some line of conduct the colony could no longer exist. Therefore a written constitution had been adopted, under which Nathaniel Savory was elected chief magistrate, and Webb and Mottley councilmen. This constitution was written in several languages, and with great labor, the combined work of all the colonists, who did not boast a schoolmaster. It is said to have been, in the original, a remarkable piece of composition, and a genuine curiosity of literature. On submitting it for revision to the officers of the fleet, it was put into form and shape, of which the following is a copy:

CONSTITUTION OF THE COLONY OF PORT LLOYD.

      We, the undersigned, residents and settlers on Peel Island, in convention assembled, wishing to promote each other's mutual welfare, by forming a government, have or-

522 THE BONIN ISLANDS.

dained and established the following articles, which we solemnly bind ourselves to support for the period of two years:

      Article I. The style of our government shall be the Colony of Port Lloyd.

      Art. II. The government shall consist of a chief magistrate and a council composed of two persons; and by virtue of this article we unanimously elect and appoint Nathaniel Savory chief magistrate, and James Mottley and Thomas H. Webb councilmen, each to hold his said office of chief magistrate and councilman for the period of two years from the date of this convention. The said chief magistrate and council shall have power to enact such rules and regulations for the government of this island as by them from time to time may appear necessary for the public good. Such rules and regulations, to become binding on the residents, must have the approval and concurrence of two-thirds of the whole number of residents.

      Art. III. Until such time as the chief magistrate and council may be enabled to form a code of regulations, we unanimously ordain and establish the following thirteen sections under this article, which shall have full force and effect until the adoption of others and the expiration of two years.

      Section 1. It shall be the duty of any and all person or persons having claims and demands against each other, who shall have any disputes or difficulties between themselves which they cannot amicably settle, to refer the same to the chief magistrate and council for adjudication and settlement, and their decision will be final and binding.

      Sec. 2. All penalties in this colony shall be a pecuniary fine, and no penalty for any offense shall exceed the sum of $50.

      Sec. 3. The chief magistrate and council shall have power to direct the seizure and sale of any property of any offender sufficient to pay the same, against whom a fine has been decreed, whenever it may be found within the limits of Peel Island.

      Sec. 4. It shall be unlawful for any resident, settler, or other person on the island to entice anybody to desert from any vessel that may come into this port, or to secrete or harbor any such deserter.

      Sec. 5. Any person who shall entice, counsel, or aid any other person to desert from any vessel in this port, or shall harbor or conceal him to prevent his apprehension, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $50.

      Sec. 6. All moneys arising from the levy of fines upon offenders shall be a public fund for the use of and belonging to the colony; and the same shall be placed in the hands of the chief magistrate for safe keeping, and to be appropriated to such purposes as the chief magistrate and council may deem necessary and proper; and a correct account of all expenditures of said moneys shall be kept by them, and a statement of receipts and expenditures published at the end of the year.

      Sec. 7. All public moneys remaining unexpended at the end of one year shall be equally divided among the present settlers, unless otherwise ordained by a convention of the people.

      Sec. 8. Port regulations. – There shall be two regularly appointed and recognized pilots for this port; and by virtue of this section of Article III we hereby unanimously appoint James Mottley and Thomas H. Webb as such for the period of two years from the date of this convention. Said pilots may appoint capable substitutes under them, and it shall be unlawful for any other person or persons to perform the duty of pilot. Any one who shall, without the authority of either of the appointed pilots, attempt to pilot any vessel into or out of this port, shall be liable to a fine equal to the amount of the established pilotage.

      Sec. 9. It shall be unlawful for any commander of a vessel to discharge any of his crew in this port without permission from the chief magistrate and council, and no commander of a vessel shall leave any sick or helpless man or men upon the island unless he procure a house for him or them and make suitable arrangements for his or their comfort and subsistence during his or their illness.

      Sec. 10. Any person or persons not owning land upon this island who may hereafter enter into partnership in trade with a resident and landholder, or who shall purchase an undivided interest in the land of a resident, must enter into written articles of agreement and obtain a written title to the undivided interest he may purchase in land, stock, &c.; and in the event of dissolution of partnership or death of either party, partition of the property shall be made by the chief magistrate and council, whose duty it shall be to secure and take charge of the property and effects of any deceased person for the benefit of his friends.

      Sec. 11. Any person or persons who shall be guilty of trespass or waste upon the lands of any of the inhabitants shall be fined in a small sum equal to the value of the damage or waste he or they may commit thereon, upon a proper adjudication thereof by the chief magistrate and council.

      Sec. 12. The chief magistrate and council may, when they deem it necessary, call a convention of the people to propose new and make amendments to the foregoing rules and regulations.

THE BONIN ISLANDS. 523

      Sec. 13. Any and all persons who shall hereafter emigrate or settle in this colony shall be subject and held amenable to the foregoing rules and regulations.

      All the above articles of government having been prepared, concurred in, and adopted by us in convention assembled at the house of Nathaniel Savory, in Port Lloyd, Peel Island, on the 28th day of August, A.D. 1853, we solemnly pledge ourselves to each other to support and carry out the same.

      In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names the day and year aforesaid.

NATHANIEL SAVORY.
THOMAS H. WEBB.
JAMES MOTTLEY.
WILLIAM GILLSY.
JOHN BRAVA.
GEO. W. BRAVA.
JOSEPH CULLEN.
GEORGE HORTON.

      Commodore Perry, in his narrative of the expedition to Japan, describes the Bonin Islands as high, bold, and rocky, and evidently of volcanic formation; green with verdure, and a full growth of tropical vegetation; the geological formation Trappean; water of abundant supply and good quality, from running streams; valuable woods of many kinds; numerous edible fishes, and green turtle in abundance.

      So impressed was Commodore Perry with the importance of the Bonin Islands, that he purchased from Nathaniel Savory a piece of land on the bay, at Port Lloyd, for the purposes of a naval depot, and appointed Savory the agent of the United States Navy, to look after and protect it. The original papers which concluded these transactions are still preserved at Port Lloyd as relics of the colonial government. As they are of public and historic interest, I have transcribed them here:

Deed of land.

Nathaniel Savory to Commodore M.C. Perry.

Peel Island, Harbor of Port Lloyd,           
June 15th, 1853.     

      Be it known, that on this fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, I, Nathaniel Savory, born in the United States of America, and twenty-three years a resident of this island, having in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six located, staked out, and held as my own property, according to the usage of this island, all that certain portion, parcel, or piece of ground fronting on what is called Ten Fathom Hole, the same being a part of the bay or harbor of Port Lloyd, in the said island, commonly called and known at present as Peel Island, including the entire and both sides of the creek which empties into the said harbor, called the Ten Fathom Hole, and which said piece or parcel of ground has a front on the said harbor of Ten Fathom Hole of one thousand yards, more or less, with a depth from low-water mark of five hundred yards, more or less, all of which said piece or parcel of ground, together with the creek hereinbefore mentioned, I have and do by these presents sell, transfer, assign, and make over unto Commodore M. C. Perry, of the U.S. Navy, here present, accepting and acknowledging due delivery and possession thereof, for himself, his heirs, and assigns forever, together with all my right, title, and interest whatsoever thereunto appertaining. The said sale is made for and in consideration of the sum of fifty dollars and other benefits, and which said sum of fifty dollars with other benefits the said Nathaniel Savory hereby acknowledges the receipt thereof and grants acquittance therefor.

      This done and signed in the island known as Peel Island, on the day, month and year first above written, in the presence of Edwin Fithian and J. Green, lawful witnesses above the age of twenty-one.

      The words interlined, "more or less," approved.

NATHANIEL SAVORY.
M. C. PERRY
      Witnesses:
            Edwin Fithian.
            John Green.

524 THE BONIN ISLANDS.

Letter from Commodore Perry appointing Nathaniel Savory agent, &c.
Port Lloyd, Peel Island,                       
U.S. Steam Frigate Susquehanna,           
Port Lloyd, Peel Island, June 15, 1853.

Mr. Nathaniel Savory:

      Sir: I hereby appoint you agent to look after and take charge of certain live stock landed from the ship for the purpose of improving the breed of animals useful in husbandry, the pasturage of this and the neighboring islands being abundant. And I have to direct that none of the said animals be killed until after the expiration of five years from this date, recommending at the same time that the bulls and cows be permitted to multiply even after that time, in view of furnishing to the farmers of the islands a sufficient number of cattle for the plow and other agricultural and useful purposes. I also appoint you agent of the United States squadron under my command at the Bonin Islands, to look after the comforts and interests of any one who may land at the islands from the said squadron, and to take charge of all property belonging to the said squadron or to the United States, and you are invested with authority to act accordingly.

      One man, named John Smith, belonging to the United States naval service, will be landed from this ship to assist you in the duty intrusted to your charge, and he will have orders to refer to you for advice and instructions.

      I have caused your name to be placed upon the books of this ship for pay and provisions, and you are consequently attached to the Navy of the United States, and possessed of all the privileges and immunities to be derived therefrom.

M.C. PERRY,           
Commodore, U.S. Navy.

      Of the exploring party which was attached to the Susquehanna, the flagship of Commodore Perry, was Bayard Taylor. In his notes of his visit to the Bonin Islands he wrote as follows:

      Landed on the beach, near Castle Rock (Port Lloyd Harbor), and set out for the interior. The trail was through a wilderness of dense vegetation. The trees were principally palm, noticeably the true Sago palm, the Areca or betel-nut palm, and another variety resembling the cocoanut. Noticed the Lateria palm, with fan-leaves and stem from 6 to 8 feet in length. Mulberry trees, with fruit 6 inches in length. Tree ferns remarkably large and beautiful. Vegetation thoroughly tropical. The soil a rich, dark-red loam, composed of disintegrated trap-rock and vegetable mold. The same soil prevails all over the island, except on northern shore of Port Lloyd, where it is mixed with a grayish sand and gravel. Saw in cultivation sweet potatoes, taro, pumpkins, tobacco, and sugar-cane. Water-supply sweet, pure, and constant in all seasons. Saw no quadrupeds except wild hogs. Snakes and venomous reptiles unknown. Of birds, noticed the crow, woodbird, and dove. The climate is equable and exceedingly healthy.

      Doctor Fahs, of the same expedition, explored Peel Island, and mentions it as follows:

      The island can be cultivated very nearly throughout, and is capable of supporting a large population. Of trees, noticed what the natives call Commeno, a variety of fraximas, a tree like dogwood, mulberry, juniper, boxwood, banana, orange, lemon, pineapple, lichens, and mosses in abundance. Grasses few in kind and unfit for pasturage. Jungle weeds dense. Irish potatoes, onions, turnips, beans, pease, pumpkins, melons cultivated. Sugar-cane thrives best of all. The first hogs were brought to the island in 1827. There are wild goats. There are finches, hawks, the tenagra, sandpipers, and pigeons. Tortoises in abundance.

      Doctor Fahs found on Peel Island a sulphur spring, characterized by the usual strong odor and taste of sulphureted hydrogen gas; it issued from one of the ravines, and iron pyrites abounded in many places.

      On a subsequent visit of Commodore Perry to Hong-Kong, the English governor, who had been apprised of the action of the commodore at the Bonin Islands, presented a protest to him in the name of the Engglish [sic] Government. To this the commodore replied in suitable terms, which seems to have been the beginning and the end of any controversy on the subject.

      The spirit and hopeful promise which had been imparted to the colonists of the Bonin Islands by the arrival of the various expeditions

THE BONIN ISLANDS. 525

which had landed there died out after their departure, when they saw that no advantages followed.

      Nathaniel Savory, who had been elected chief magistrate under the constitution in the first instance for a term of two years, was afterwards re-elected for a second term of three years, and then declined a third term, a precedent not heretofore known to the world of politicians.

      Thomas Webb, the British subject who was brought to the islands by the American bark Japan in 1849, succeeded Savory in the chief magistracy "by right of education and long residence."

      The administration of Webb was attended with more or less trouble. The subjects or citizens of this Pacific island republic were unruly spirits, and difficult to keep under control, and the chief magistrate had no machinery of government to enforce obedience to the established regulations. Several of these unruly spirits broke out more than once in open defiance and rebellion. Either side were not without adherents, and open war was the result. Four or five persons were killed. On one occasion the Webb or government faction captured a party of the rebels – men, women, and children – and sent them off the islands by a passing whaling ship. Others fled to remote parts of the islands, where, it is told, they subsisted for many months on roots and berries, until taken off by a ship that had put in for water. The colony was thus much reduced, but lived in a comparative condition of decency and order. They had become indifferent, however, to everything except their personal wants. There was no observances of religion among them. The mission societies had never found these islands. The inhabitants with growing children were totally without the advantages of religion and education.

      The Shogun government of Japan, heretofore torn with the incessant wars of the Daimios, having fallen upon a period of comparative peace, now turned their attention to recovering possession of these islands. It was not however, until 1861 that any decisive steps were taken, when the minister of foreign affairs gave notice to the representatives of the different powers at the seat of government that it was the intention of the Japanese Government to take possession. Accordingly, the same year, a commission was dispatched to the islands with this purpose, provided with colonists and everything that was necessary for a permanent occupancy. The inhabitants gave them a cordial welcome, and for the first time the Japanese flag was unfolded in testimony of proprietorship. Although the foreign representatives in Japan had communicated to their respective governments the facts concerning the early discoveries of these islands, and the different claims that had been set up by right of such discoveries, and the declared purpose of Japan to take possession notwithstanding, it does not appear that there was any serious purpose anywhere to dispute the possession. The question was settled then.

      The Japanese commission, in addition to the formal act of assuming possession, erected a temple on the main island, dedicated to Daigin Gu (the Great God), and gave new and Japanese names to all places of interest. A monument of stone was also erected at Port Lloyd, commemorating the event, with an inscription of which the following is a literal translation:

INSCRIPTION ON MONUMENT.

      There are a certain number of islands to the east of Hachijio Shima, in the province of Idzu, lying at 27° N. lat. and 40° 27" E. long. from Tokio. In the 2d year of Bunroku (1593), Ogasawara Minbu Shoyu Sadayori, under the command of Tokugawa

526 THE BONIN ISLANDS.

Iyeyasu, getting permission, went over to the islands for the first time, and for a future remembrance of the islands they were called Ogasawara-Shima, after the name of their discoverer. But the sea lying between them and the mainland of the country being very rough, the passage to them ceased afterwards. In the 15th year of Kioko (1728) Kubai Sadayuki, a person descending from Ogasawara, earnestly applied to the government for permission to visit these islands. He was granted leave and went to them; but at that time, the government being much occupied with other affairs, could not attend any further to them. Remote as these islands are, they belong to Japan, and if they be colonized, they will be a very convenient place of resort for ships navigating the rough ocean. For this reason the government dispatched Mizu No Chikugo No Kami and Hattori Kiichi to the islands, entrusting them with the business of colonization. And they, obeying the order, set out from the country for the islands.

      In order to make this expedition known in future days, this account is engraved on this stone monument.

      With the colonists brought by this commission were farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, &c., including their wives and families. Domestic animals and fowls were also brought, and the ground was broken into farms and seeds were planted. A village was founded on the bay of Port Lloyd. The old colonists found on the island were given formal grants for the lands claimed by them, and otherwise protected in their rights. All things promised well for this new occupation, when, in 1863. the Bukufer – the Shogun Government – decided upon expelling all foreigners from every part of Japan. This edict was followed by internal dissension and war; one result of which was to withdraw the colony from the Bonin Islands, which were again left to the winds and the waves and the few of the original colonists who survived.

      In 1869 an American schooner, commanded by Captain Pease, visited the islands and broke the long interval succeeding the Japanese occupation. Captain Pease found the old colonists in a bad condition. Angry disputes had arisen and murder was rife among them. They clamored for the protection and laws of either America or England – any government rather than their present lawless condition. Captain Pease took a cargo of fruit from the islands to Yokohama and brought back necessary supplies in exchange. He made several of such voyages back and forth, and finally, impressed with the condition of these people and the importance of these islands, and commissioned by the people to act, sought the interposition of the American minister, and through him the American Government. Some negotiations, it is said, were put on foot, but in the midst of them Captain Pease, who had made himself prominent in the matter, suddenly disappeared and was heard of no more. It was believed that he was assassinated.

      In 1874 the U.S.S. Tuscarora visited Port Lloyd, the first ship of war that had entered the harbor for seventeen years. The population then numbered sixty-five people. They were scattered throughout the island and engaged in various pursuits, mostly in farming and fishing. Nathaniel Savory had died a few months before, aged eighty years. Webb was still alive, and continued in nominal control over the affairs of the colonists by virtue of his former chief magistracy. The republic, however, had long ceased to exist and the regulations fallen into disuse. The people were profoundly ignorant and apathetic. They did not know or care to whom they owed allegiance.

      The agitation at Yokohama by Captain Pease of the subject of the Bonin Islands and the recent visit of the Tuscarora to Port Lloyd aroused the Japanese to the necessity of a more vigorous and sustained policy in regard to these islands; so that in 1875 a permanent occupancy was determined. Another commission was therefore appointed and forthwith dispatched, accompanied by a hundred colonists. This commission

THE BONIN ISLANDS. 527

arrived at Port Lloyd, held an interview with the old colonists on board one of the vessels, which was satisfactory to all parties, and took final possession. The following is the proclamation the commission issued:

JAPANESE SHIP MEIJE MARU,     
24th of the 11th month of 1875.

The High Commissioners of Japan to the inhabitants of the Bonin Islands:

      As you remember, in the year 1861, Mizu No Chikugo No Kami and Hattori Kiichi, two high commissioners of Japan, and others, were sent to these islands. Certain measures were adopted for the protection of the inhabitants. A government office was established; regulations for the island and the port were drawn up. At that time you were secured in the undisturbed possession of the lands appropriated by yourselves for cultivation, and you were required to sign a declaration acknowledging your willingness to live under the protection of the Japanese Government. It is this Obana Sakusuke, one of the high commissioners on this occasion, who was then appointed resident governor of the islands, and, during his residency on the islands and since, he has not ceased to devote himself to your interests and welfare. These matters having come under your personal observation are, of course, within your knowledge.

      In the year 1863 the resident authorities were temporarily recalled to their country, this step becoming necessary by home affairs of an urgent nature. But previous to their departure they informed you that, although they were about to return to Japan for a time, other Japanese officers would be sent to watch over your interests the same as in times past; in testimony of which they left with you one of our national flags. Some time after this, in consequence of the reorganization of the government, as well as internal troubles, we were so entirely occupied with the administration of home affairs that the government could not dispatch the commissioners as early as we desired.

      Now, tranquility being restored to our country, the government has resolved to resume the administration of the affairs of these islands. Therefore we, the Japanese high commission, were sent here by the commands of our August Imperial Majesty.

      The Japanese colonists brought to the islands by the commissioners went to work at once to establish themselves in permanency. The village which had been erected in 1861 by the former colonists, at the southern bend of Port Lloyd Harbor, was rebuilt. A provincial government was inaugurated, and the laws of Japan extended over the islands. Communication by regular vessels, several times a year, was opened with Yokohama and other ports, and trade and intercourse begun.

      In the winter of that year, and some months subsequent to the establishment of the Japanese colony, H.B.M. ship Curlew visited Port Lloyd, the commanding officer of which, with a penchant for curios, carried off the copper plate left by Captain Beechey in 1827, and placed on record at the governor's office a receipt for the same, which, touching on the right of proprietorship, and besides of a slightly facetious character, I have transcribed in this place:

H.B.M.S. Curlew,     
Port Lloyd, Bonin Islands, December 3, 1875.

      The undersigned wishes to place on record that he has removed from Peel Island the copper plate put up by Captain Beechey, of H.B.M.S. Blossom, on the occasion of his visit to the Bonin Islands in June, 1827, when these islands were taken possession of by Captain Beechey in the name and on behalf of His Majesty King George IV. The plate was found in the possession of Louis Lesseur, a resident of Peel Island, who parted with it for a small pecuniary consideration. The undersigned, however, wishes it to be understood that the removal of the plate is in no way to be considered as the relinquishment of any rights that the British Government may have acquired by the action of Captain Beechey, as the undersigned has no authority to determine or pronounce any opinion, one way or the other, on the question of the acquisition of the islands, past, present, or future. The plate will be retained by the undersigned as an object of curiosity, unless circumstances should demand that it be disposed of in any other way.

EDWARD J. CHURCH,     
Commander H.B.M.B. Curlew.

528 THE BONIN ISLANDS.

      At this time (1875), an account of one of the early colonists, which is given as a curious narrative of the incidents peculiar to this adventurous settlement: –

      The settlers numbered sixty-nine people, of whom thirty-six resided on Peel island and three on Hillsboro Island. Thirty-seven are males and thirty-two females; about twenty are children, whose ages vary from one to fifteen years. Five are whites, namely: Webb, an Englishman, born in Wellington, Surry, England; Lesseur, a Frenchman, who hails from Brittany. Allen, a German, from Bremen; Rose, of uncertain nationality, and John Brava, whose real name is Gonzales, a Portuguese from the island of Brava, Azores. John Brava was born in 1811, and came to Port Lloyd in 1831, in the British whaler Partridge. George Robinson came to Port Lloyd in the whaler Howard some time in 1849, and took up his residence with Webb and Gilly, but soon removed to Hillsboro. After a few years, he left with his family for Guana, and in his absence Mottly went over and occupied his clearing. Robinson eventually returned, bringing with him some natives from the Caroline Islands, and appears to have arranged amicably with Mottly for a joint occupation of the clearing. Soon, however, Mottly and a woman named Kitty fomented a quarrel between her man and Robinson, and enticed the Caroline Islanders over to Mottly's side, whereupon a man known as English Bob, heretofore sheltered by Mottly, went over to Robinson, whose family consisted of John, Henry, Charles, Eliza, Caroline and a seaman, together with a native woman of Raven Island, Zipper by name. Finally, some time in 1861, an attack was made upon Robinson by the Mottly party. English Bob was killed and Robinson fled with his children, John, Henry, and Eliza, in one direction, while Zipper with Caroline (then nineteen), Susan, and Charles fled in another direction. George Robinson and the children with him were after a few days captured by the Mottly party and sent out of the island by a whaler. Zipper and the children with her made their way to the opposite side of the island, where they subsisted for eleven months on shell-fish and berries, until discovered, when they were taken to Webb at Port Lloyd. Caroline subsequently married Webb, and Susan became the wife of Captain Pease, the same who was murdered in the autumn of 1874. Lesseur came to the island in 1862. The seaman, Allen, arrived with Lesseur and married a Kanaka woman, Poconai by name. Rose made his first appearance in the French whaler Gustave. * * *

      In 1880 the United States Ship Alert, under command of Captain Huntington, was dispatched by the admiral commanding the Asiatic station to the Bonin Islands, to determine their latitude and longitude by accurate observations, and to survey and fix on the charts the dangers to navigation in the outlying rocks in the surrounding sea.

      To several of the officers of the Alert, on their return to Nagasaki from this expedition, I am indebted for many of the facts and circumstances attending the settlement of the Bonin Islands, particularly to Mr. F. H. Holmes and to Mr. P. C. Van Buskirk for interesting interviews and the use of their intelligent notes on the subject.

      The Alert made two cruises to these islands, at an interval of some months, the same year, and reports to have found the settlements in a fairly prosperous condition. The islands are described, as seen from the sea, as singularly beautiful, the detached rocks and headlands thrown by violent convulsions of nature into fanciful and grotesque forms and the shores and hills green with verdure and luxuriant in a wealth of waving palms and other tropical vegetation. The harbor of Port Lloyd is well sheltered, with sufficient depth of water and capacity for the anchorage of a considerable fleet. On the southern head of this harbor is a curious natural tunnel, which passes through the basaltic rock to the beach on the other side. The entrance has a width of about 15 feet to a height of about 30 feet, while the roof within rises to a height of 40 or 50 feet, and has much the appearance of a vast cathedral. Boats can pass from one end to the other.

      The Japanese inhabitants, for the most part, occupy a considerable village on the southern side of the bay and are scattered about the islands in various employments. The foreign population, which is now limited in numbers, live around the shores of the bay in comfortable

PATENTS AND TRADE-MARKS IN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 529

houses. They live in seeming peace and plenty. The chief occupations of the inhabitants are farming and fishing. The soil is rich and the climate generous, so that little labor is required in tilling the ground. Two and three crops a year of vegetables and cereals are grown. In addition to corn and potatoes and a variety of vegetables, sugar-cane and cotton have been introduced and cultivated to good advantage. Sugar is said to thrive the best of all.

      There are several small coffee plantations on the island, which have been recently opened and promise a fair success. Some foreign fruits have been introduced, while the orange, lemon, banana, and pineapple are exported, in season, to the markets of Japan. Wild hogs, deer, and goats are found in the woods and mountains. In the settlements are an abundance of domestic animals and fowls. The wild game are ducks, pigeons, plover, pheasants, sandpipers, and woodcock. There are no horses on the islands.

      The fisheries are an important industry. Catching and preparing green turtle employs a number of men, women, and children. The flesh of the turtle is smoked and dried for use as food, as well as eaten fresh. They are also canned for exportation. The hawk-bill turtle is the most valuable for its shell. A considerable business is done in preparing and shipping these shells to Nagasaki and other cities, where they are wrought into combs and other ornaments. Palm fiber, for the manufacture of mats and ropes, is also shipped in considerable quantities. The imports are not yet of any importance, and consist only of a few cheap cotton goods.

      On the return of the Alert from the last cruise to the Bonin islands Captain Huntington brought away seven children, the descendants of the old colonists, who were taken at the request of their parents to Tokio, where they were received for the purpose of educating them at at a mission school.

A. C. JONES,           
Consul.     

      United States Consulate,
                        Nagasaki, Japan.

.  .  .  . 

Alexander C. Jones,
(1830-1898)

      See the article in Wikipedia for information about Alexander C. Jones.

Source:

"The Bonin Islands." - A Report By Consul Jones, Of Nagasaki, Japan. in
U.S. Department of State.
      Commercial Relations of the United States.
Reports from the Consuls of the United States on the Commerce, Manufactures, etc., of their Consular Districts.

No. 24. – October, 1882.
    Washington: Government Printing Office. 1882. pp. 517-529.


Last updated by Tom Tyler, Denver, CO, USA, Dec 1 2021.


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