Regent was a very intelligent young native, name Ichirazichi, who had been educated at Pekin, where he remained three years. He spoke a little English, and had some knowledge, both of the geographical position of the United States, and their history. He spoke of Washington as a very great Mandarin. He had a more swarthy complexion than is usually found among the educated Loo-Chooans, a keen black eye, and a shrewd, cunning expression of countenance.

The Commodore left the Regent's house about one o'clock, when the procession formed in the same order as before. The subordinate officials accompanied us to the gate, and the old Pe-ching again took his station in advance. On starting down the hill, the four ponies, which had gone up with us without finding riders, were again led to the rear. Several of us profited by this neglect, to mount for a ride down, and try the temper of the Loo-Choo horses. The ponies were very small animals, of a bay color, but rather active and spirited. They were accoutred like the Chinese horses, with saddles of Turkish fashion, and enormous iron stirrups, curved backwards, so as to admit not only the foot but part of the leg. They were led by grooms, and we could not succeed in bringing them into line behind the rear company of marines, on account of their jealousy of each other. The little chargers kicked and plunged several times with great vivacity.

The sun, shining full in the face of the hill, made our descent a sultry one, but as we came upon the wooded slopes a sea-breeze met us, and groups of the boats' crews who had come off to convey us back to the vessels, were seen under the trees, watching our approach. Several hundreds of the natives followed us, and as we drew near the shore, they were

seen scampering over the rice-fields in every direction, to get a final view of our array. Fifteen boats, each flying the American colors, lay in the mouth of the creek. The Commodore and suite immediately embarked, and the wind being fair, the cutters hoisted sail, and dashed away over the bright blue waves, passing the slow white launches, with their loads of marines and artillerymen. All were on board by half-past two. without any untoward incident having occurred to mar the successful issue of the trip.

CHAPTER XXXI.

VOYAGE то THE BONIN

ISLANDS.

Departure-The Bonin, or Arzobispo Isles-Death of a Chinese Opium Smoker-A Peruvian Bark-Approach to the Bonin Islands-Pilots-Entering Port Lloyd-Going Ashore-A Settler's Int-Society on the Island-Mode of Life-An Old Inhabitant and his Mate-Productions of the Island-A Coaling Station for SteamersBuckland Island--A Basaltic Cavern-English Claims to the Islands.

On the 9th of June, Commodore Perry left the harbor of Napa in the Susquehanna, for a visit to the Bonin or Arzobispo Isles, which lie in Lat. 27° N., Long. 140° 30' E., or between eight and nine hundred miles from Loo-Choo. We took the sloop-of-war Saratoga in tow, leaving the Mississippi behind, as we did not expect to be absent more than two weeks.

The Bonin Islands have scarcely been heard of in the United States, except through an occasional whaling vessel, some of which are in the habit of touching there, in order to procure fresh provisions. They are about 500 miles in a southerly direction from the Bay of Yedo, and are called by the Japanese Mo or Mou nin sima, signifying "uninhabited islands," whence the English term, Bonin. In Kömpfer's work on Japan, there is an account of their discovery by the Japan ese, two and a half centuries ago, and the same, with a more

minute description of their appearance and productions, is to be found in Klaproth's translation of a Japanese work on the three tributary Kingdoms of Corea, Loo-Choo, and Jeso. They were also discovered by a Spanish Admiral, and named the "Islas del Arzobispo," long prior to Capt. Beechey's visit and survey in 1827. To the latter navigator, however, we are indebted for the first accurate account of their location and extent.

We were favored by the south-west monsoon, and had a delightful run of five days, with nothing to interrupt the uniformity of sea life, except frequent calls to "general quarters," and the death of Mr. Williams' Chinese Secretary. The latter fell a victim to the practice of smoking opium. He attempted to give it up, and this, with a spell of sea-sickness on board the Saratoga, so enfeebled him that no medicines produced any effect, and he sank into a state of nervelessness and emaciation shocking to witness. His body was reduced to a skeleton, and all his nervous energy so completely destroyed, that for a week before his death every fibre in his frame was in a state of constant agitation. His face was a ghastly yellow, the cheeks sunken upon the bones, and the eyes wild and glassy with a semi-madness which fell upon him. His whole aspect reminded me of one of those frightful heads in wax, in the museum of Florence, representing the effects of the plague. He was a complete wreck, both in mind and body, and nothing that I ever saw of the results of intoxication from spirituous liquors has impressed me with half the horror.

On the morning of the 12th we passed a Peruvian bark, with a cargo of coolies, bound for the guano islands. She was

ENTERING PORT LLOYD.

391

steering nearly the same course as ourselves, under a cloud of canvas, with studding-sails and royals set, but we did not pass within hail. The sight of a leviathan steamer-the first that ever ploughed those seas-towing a large vessel after her, must have greatly astonished the Peruvians.

At sunrise on the 14th, we saw the Bonin Islands before us, with the Bailly Islands about fifteen miles distant, in a south-easterly direction, and Parry's Group barely visible in the north-east. The three islands of the Bonin Group, Peel, Buckland, and Stapleton, lie close together, within an extent, collectively, of ten miles from north to south. We made for the harbor of Port Lloyd, on the western side of Peel Island, where the only inhabitants-a small community of Kanakas, with some runaway English and American sailorshave taken up their abode. On approaching the entrance to the harbor a gun was fired for a pilot, which, it appeared, was the first intimation the residents had of our arrival. In a short time two canoes appeared, and we were boarded by two natives, who attracted considerable attention, as being the vagabond inhabitants of that remote corner of the world. One of them appeared to be a cross between Portuguese and Kanaka. He wore a tattered straw hat, blue cotton jacket and pantaloons, and was bare-footed. The other was a youth about twenty years old, lithe and graceful in his form, and with a quick, bright eye and rather intelligent face. He was the only native of the island, and the son of a Portuguese named John Bravo.

Their sailing directions were of little use, but the entrance to the port was broad and deep, and we moved on slowly and securely to an anchorage in twenty-one fathoms, abreast a