Eriki (junk)

In 1850, during the autumn, a junk, the Eriki, laden with sake, sailed for Yedo but the sudden onslaught of a storm caused all rigging to crash to the deck and the crew was just as suddenly shipwrecked and blown out to sea. Among the crew was one Kikoo Hamada, known later in America as Joseph Heco. On January 22, 1851, the bark Auckland Captain W.F. Jennings from Hong Kong to San Francisco with a cargo of sugar, sighted the broken junk. Before Jennings' men could get a small boat over the side during a wild midcean storm, to their amazement, the Japanese put off from their barely floating wreck in what looked like a home-made yawl and rowed to Auckland's side. There were fifteen survivors ranging from 13-year old Heco to the 60-year old Captain. The Auckland's skipper worked his ship close to the junk and in a joint effort by Japanese and Americans, boarded the junk and salvaged all the junk's documents, compass, medicine chest, charts and money, along with silk, flannel and much rice. Auckland sailed throug

Citation: Tacoma Public Library