“We wish only for two things,” we replied, “either to return to our native land, or if that is impossible, to die.”
At this unexpected declaration, the governor made a long and earnest speech, in which he laid particular emphasis on the fact that the Japanese were men, and had feelings like the rest of mankind, and that, therefore, we need not doubt them, nor have any fear, for as soon as it was proved that it was not by the command of the Russian Emperor, that our countrymen had committed violence in Japanese territory, but of their own accord, we should 60 be sent home, abundantly supplied with all things necessary. Until that time, they would take care that we wanted for nothing, and if we needed clothes or any thing else, we must not be ashamed to ask for them.
The Bunjo then left us, and we returned to our cages with the hope, at least, that through favorable circumstances we might escape from our imprisonment.
V.
From that day our food was greatly improved, for besides the rice broth, and salt radishes, which they had hitherto given us, we now received very good fresh and salt fish, roasted or boiled in poppy-oil, soups made from different kinds of savory herbs, or sea-mussles, and when the snow began to fall, they shot sea-dogs, bears, and rabbits, for us, and prepared under our direction, sometimes, a Russian dish, namely, fish eaten with thin grits, and little barley-cakes. Our food was brought to us three times a day. For drink, we received warm and strong tea, and after any fatiguing examination, they gave us two glasses of warm beer, which they did also in cold weather. They also furnished us with furred coats, and night garments, and when they found that it was not customary in Russia to spend the night on the ground, they made us benches to sleep upon.
This amiable behavior, on the part of the Japanese, emboldened us to ask one of the officers, who visited us, whether it was not possible to have a window cut in the back wall of the shed, so that we might be able to see the sky and the tops of the trees. He did not refuse our 61 request, but examined the wall, asked us where we would like to have it made, praised our choice, and went away. We, of course, believed that our entreaty would be complied with, but we were very much mistaken, for when, a few days afterwards, we repeated our request, the officer replied that the Japanese were very anxious about the state of our health, and feared lest the north wind would give us a cold; therefore, they deemed it more prudent not to make a window.
As the autumn came on, and it grew more and more unpleasant to live in an open building, the Japanese, at our earnest solicitation, pasted paper over the lattice work, and made a window in the roof, which could be opened and shut by means of ropes. Through this window we saw the sky at times, which, in a situation like ours, was a great comfort. Moreover, when it grew colder, they dug a couple of holes in the ground, about two paces distant from the cages, and having lined them with flag-stones, filled them with sand. During the day they burnt charcoal on these hearths, and by sitting close to the grating, we could warm ourselves without being within reach of the coals. After a few days, they gave us pipes with very long stems, to the middle of which they tied wooden balls, which were too large to be drawn through the pales. In this way we could smoke the pipes, which they filled for us, as often as we wished, without having the power to draw them into our prisons. This mistrust of us, raised our indignation to the highest pitch; but when we expostulated with them, and told them, in the strongest terms, what a horror and aversion the Europeans entertained for 62 suicide, they merely laughed, and appealed to their laws, which enjoined on them the necessity of keeping from their prisoners every thing with which they could hurt either themselves or others. For this reason they would never trust us with needles to mend our clothes, nor even with a pair of scissors to cut our nails, obliging us to put our hands through the bars of our cages, that the soldiers might perform the operation for us.
In the beginning of our captivity, they had not allowed us even to change our clothes or wash our shirts, but now they provided us with water for that purpose, which relieved one of our most pressing necessities. They also invited us to get into a tub, in which water was warmed by means of a pipe connecting with a little oven, and wash ourselves. I took the lead, and we found that we had all to bathe in the same water. This arrangement displeased us not a little, as we held it to be treatment unworthy of the commonest criminals. But we soon were silent on this point however, for to our great astonishment, we saw the soldiers who guarded us, follow our example, and without adding a drop of fresh water, use the same that we had bathed in! and these soldiers did not by any means hold a low rank in society, but were highly esteemed by their countrymen.
We had, in the meantime, by the command of the governor, by whose orders we were supplied with pen and ink, and with the aid of several interpreters, prepared a written defence which, when finished, we sent to him. On the fifteenth of November, we were again led into the fort, but this time with great rejoicing, and with the assurance 63 that our affairs were prospering, and that our innocence was beginning to be universally acknowledged. The Bunjo too declared that after our assertions, and written defence, he now viewed the attack made on Japanese property by the Russian vessel, in an entirely different light, and that he was fully convinced of our entire innocence. It was true that he had not the disposing of us; that remained with the Emperor, but he would do all in his power to bring our affairs to a happy termination. In the meantime we must not be discouraged, but pray to God. This reference to God, which the Bunjo never failed to make when he examined us, always gave us pleasure, for by it we recognized with joy, that the people into whose power we were fallen, had at least some notion of a Supreme being who cared for man.
After this the ropes were taken from us, at which all the Japanese heartily rejoiced; indeed, some were so much moved as to have tears in their eyes. We thanked the Bunjo and officers for their kindness, and for the first time, returned unbound to our prison, where we found every thing so altered that it was unaccountable to us, how the Japanese had accomplished the work in so short a space of time as that during which we were absent. The lattice work of our cages had been removed, and the gloomy passage was transformed into a roomy and cheerful apartment, in which we could all move about conveniently. Round a hearth on which was boiling tea in copper kettles, they had made a kind of wooden frame, on which each of us found a cup, pipe, and tobacco pouch, 64 and instead of the oil lamp which had formerly given us light, we were now treated to candles.