The eight ships of the Far East Squadron in Perry's return to Japan Perry now turned his attention to the small islands between Japan and China.  At the time, several of these were small kingdoms.  At each, Perry exacted a treaty similar to the one he would negotiate with Japan. The treaties provided sailors washed ashore would be well treated; that the king would sell supplies to American ships, in return Americans would buy from nobody else on the islands; and, that the kingdoms would serve as coal storage points for the American navy.  This last part encountered opposition.  The islanders had no wish to be responsible for coal that might be washed/blown away in a typhoon, pilfered by the natives, seized by pirates or other navies, etc., and then suffer the threatened consequences by the US Navy. A Russian fleet had reached Japan only a few weeks after Perry in 1853.  The Russians left hurriedly without a treaty on hearing the Crimean War had started ...

  Cover of Harper's Weekly Jan. 3, 1864       In the spirit of the Christmas season 2021, I'm taking a short break posting blog entries.        A few things to notice about the depiction of Santa Claus and the soldiers in the drawing above: Santa wears a Stars and Stripes outfit; the reindeer are not tiny; the two drummer boys at the bottom of the illustration have received a jack-in-the-box; in fact even referring to him as Santa Claus is somewhat new. Previously, he would have been referred to as St. Nicolas.      Christmas was viewed as more of a season rather than focused on one particular date. December 25, 1863 would have been ten days in the past by the time the January 3, 1864 issue appeared. 

  A Japanese illustration of Commodore Perry  In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry, USN carried a letter from then President Millard Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan. The letter invited Japan to open several ports and increase trade with the United States.  Japan had been closed for 220 years to all foreigners. A small group of Dutch traders residing in Nagasaki were the only contact the country had with the outside world.  Fillmore made the point that the outside world had changed over the centuries and Japan could no longer afford isolation.  While the tone of the President's letter was friendly, Commodore Perry's instructions were clear.  He was not to take "no" for an answer.  The following account of Perry's arrival in Japan was widely reprinted in American newspapers. Notice that Perry arrived in Japan on July 8, 1853 and news of the proceedings did not reach even the West coast of the US until November.  After delivering the letter, Perry told t...

  From Harper's Magazine--Yellow Fever strikes. I t was summer when the dying started. The source outright lied, insisting there was no problem and left quarantine. Some authorities failed to report the disease or did not recognize the problem until it was too late. It was contagious. It was not contagious. Many people hardly knew they had been infected while fifteen percent of the infected died horrible deaths, insane with fever, spewing black vomit and gasping for breath.  The immigrant poor, stuffed twelve or more to a room, suffered disproportionately. Dozens of doctors and nurses died while tending the sick. Cemeteries and grave diggers would have been overwhelmed if coffins had not been in short supply. Physicians tried all manner of treatments. Nothing worked. Masks and quarantine proved to be no defense at all. Businesses closed so the remaining healthy population ran short of supplies. Banks closed, so the living had no money. News outlets ceased operatin...

      Then, as now, people are fascinated by the bizarre, scandals, new inventions, and habits of remote nations.    A man in Maine passes a 7 inch lizard; a groom dies upside down in the outhouse an hour before his wedding; a thousand virgins sail for Washington state;    “the first balloon ascent by  man on horseback,”;  a little girl realizes God's having trouble lighting his gas lantern;  tame zebras .  P.T. Barnum’s new museum in New York City demonstrated the public would pay for the bizarre or unusual. Lizards in the Bowels A live lizard 7 inches long and 2 1/2 inches round was passed from the bowels of a gentleman in Maine, and both man and lizard are doing well. “Old Bourboun” (sic) in small quantities is a remedy for lizards, but too much of it makes snakes in the boot. Dead Serious An idiot in Germany was told to watch a corpse. The corpse was a living man and the intention was to fool the poor idiot. Presently, the...

     Coal driven steam engines powered ships across the Atlantic now in one to two weeks.  Under sail, it generally took about six weeks to sail from New York to England or Europe. Steam ships still carried a full complement of masts and sails both to provide movement if the engine failed or to conserve use of coal. Running a paddle wheel on one side of the ship faster than the other side allowed precise steering.      Newspapers printed lists, not only of which ships arrived and which departed, but also which ships had been “spoken,” that is, sighted at a particular time.      Despite progress, hazards remained the same.        Storms and hurricanes were unpredictable. Icebergs lurked in the far northern waters.          Ship travel increased dramatically and so did the loss of life.      Demand for better safety measures increased.  January 1, 1857 Baltimore n...