The city—containing about four thousand houses, in which there is an average of four persons—is built in a convex form reaching the water’s edge, and at the base of a very high and abrupt circular hill, called _Hakodadi Yama_. The most prominent objects are the temples, one of which is some two hundred feet square, whose red tile roofs reflect the sun, and suggest the idea of a Portuguese place. The principal streets are wide, running parallel with the water, rolled with gravel, and very cleanly kept. Those that intersect them are narrower, and closed with gateways of wood. From walls at either end of the place, and entrenchments dug on other sides, it must have been the object to fortify it. The houses of wood, and with more stories and larger than those of Simoda, have great projecting eaves. The clap-boards making the covering of the roof are singularly confined in their places by a number of cobble-stones: such a place would be hard to take by street-fighting, for every roof would furnish missiles for the annoyance of assailants. Every precaution seems to be taken against fire—brooms and barrels of water surmounting each house and before every door. At some places they have primitive little fire-engines, which appear to be stationary. The streets are thronged with the police who are very numerous, armed with sword, and organized as military, and any number of miserable-looking curs, called _yenos_, resembling shouds, or dogs bred between the wolf and the dog; meaner looking than the _cayotes_ of California. Having no previous knowledge of our intended visit, a perfect panic prevailed among the people of the place on the arrival of our sailing ships in their bay, which was increased by the arrival of the two fire-ships. The municipal authorities, it is said, were the first to leave the place; and the women were sent after them. For several days long lines of horses, packed with movables, could be seen leaving the City and winding away over a long sandy plain, like a string of camels in a desert. The cause of all this commotion was afterward found to be a belief among the inhabitants, that our visit was to bring them to account for having imprisoned some American seamen who had been shipwrecked on their coast some years ago. A number of the junks in the harbor also left, though there were some two hundred at anchor continually during our stay. It required some time to pacify the people; although six weeks had elapsed since the signing of the treaty, the authorities protested that they had heard nothing of it, and consequently nothing of the intended visit of the squadron. They said they could not take the responsibility of having any communication with us, except to furnish wood and water. They represented their position as embarrassing, and hoped that we would not come ashore until the arrival of higher officers than themselves.