hed attention by the sovereigns and
dignitaries of Europe. The "Swatara," of the European squadron, was
ordered, in November, 1866, to Civita Vecchia, a port in Italy, to
bring to the United States John H. Surratt, who was charged with being
implicated in the assassination of Lincoln. The fugitive was
apprehended, but he escaped, and fled into the papal dominions. He was
recaptured at Alexandria, and in February was delivered to the marshal
of the District of Columbia.

The Japanese made further advances of a friendly character toward the
United States in 1867, when the "Shenandoah," of the Asiatic squadron,
with the American minister aboard, arrived at the port of Hakodadi,
and the first salute ever given in honor of a foreign minister was
fired. Just previous to this, the Japanese government had expressed
its willingness to open an additional port on the western coast to
foreign trade, and Commodore Goldsborough, in command of the
"Shenandoah," visited and made surveys of several harbors in which no
foreign ship had ever before anchored.

News was received by Rear-Admiral Bell, in the autumn of 1866, that
the schooner "General Sherman" had been wrecked in the Ping Yang
River, one of the streams of Corea, and that her officers, crew, and
passengers had been murdered by the natives. The Rear-Admiral
despatched one of the vessels of his squadron, the "Wachusett," to
investigate the matter, and demand from the authorities that the
survivors, if any, be delivered on board the "Wachusett." The King of
Corea was communicated with, but without satisfactory results. It was
found that there were no survivors of the schooner. A few months
afterward information reached Rear-Admiral Bell that a similar outrage
had been perpetrated on the southeast end of the island of Formosa. It
was reported that the American bark "Rover" had been wrecked, and all
on board murdered. Commander Febiger, with the "Ashuelot," found that
the crime had been committed by a horde of savages, who, the
authorities of the island said, were not obedient to their laws.
Rear-Admiral Bell left Shanghai in June, with the "Wyoming" and
"Hartford," with the intention of destroying, if possible, the
lurking-places of the savages. On the 18th of June the vessels
anchored half a mile from shore, and 181 officers, sailors, and
marines were landed, under the command of Commander Belknap, of the
"Hartford," and Lieutenant-Commander Alexander S. Mackenzie. As the
comp