4. His Departure and Life on the Ocean Fukushi negotiated with Captain Savory of the American ship Berlin which was in Hakodate Port, and was able to get him to allow Neesima to go on the ship. In the middle of the night on July 17th (June 14th in the old calendar) of 1864 he dressed as a local and went to the wharf where Fukushi was waiting, and they took a small boat that he had prepared to go over to the Berlin. Captain Savory was ready, and he took Neesima to the storage room to give him shelter, so he wouldn’t be discovered in the next morning’s check, and was able to escape from Japan without any problems. Captain Savory made Neesima work as a captain’s helper. The first jobs he had were being a waiter and doing cleaning and washing, which he felt he had to endure, so he cut off his topknot and gave up being a samurai. The Berlin was planning to go to Nagasaki after visiting Shanghai, so Neesima asked Captain Savory to find him another ship to take him from Shanghai. Captain Savory tried and failed to find a ship several times, but finally found one that was going to Boston, so he was able to change ships. The captain of the ship going to Boston, the Wild Rover, was Captain Taylor, and he affectionately called Neesima “Joe”, making him a captain’s helper again. Out of appreciation, Neesima gave Captain Taylor his long sword, and Captain Taylor gave Neesima an English Bible in return. At a later port of call in Hong Kong, Neesima sold his short sword to Captain Taylor for $8, and bought himself a Bible with Chinese characters at a book store. Neesima was then able to read the Bible, as he had wanted to do for a long time. On July 20th, 1865, the Wild Rover safely arrived in Boston. Before leaving the ship, Captain Taylor gave Neesima some pocket money and promised to bring someone to take care of him. Neesima endured the lonely days until he was picked up by reading the English version of the story of “Robinson Crusoe" that he had bought at a bookstore. A month after his arrival, Mr. Savory, who had taken Neesima to Shanghai, came to see him. He had been fired because he gave Neesima a ride on his ship, so had returned to his hometown, Boston via England from Nagasaki. However, Mr. Savory didn’t come to the ship to take care of Neesima. Chapter 2 Studying in the United States of America 1. Meeting Hardy
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