There are numerous phrases to describe what happened in Danville, Montour County, in July of 1860. Thirty-one townsmen, most well-known, respectable citizens, “pulled a fast one”, strung them along, and “pulled the wool over the eyes” of their fellow townsmen.

Half a century after the Japanese Embassy Hoax, one of the few remaining participants still surviving described the incident, coinciding with the arrival of real Japanese Embassy officials in the United States.

“Fifty years ago, July 4th, 1860, occurred one of the notable events in the history of Danville, the visit of the bogus Japanese Embassy. During my occasional visits to Danville conversation with my fellow conspirators have frequently turned upon that unique affair and our recollections of it exchanged; and I have been asked to prepare a history of it for publication, the reading of which will revive memories of it by the surviving participants and spectators, and may interest the younger generation who have heard, or now for the first time are told of it.

A few years ago, while overhauling some old letters and documents, it pleased me to find among them my Treasurer's Account-book containing the names of all the individuals engaged, with receipts and disbursements.

As a preliminary to the incidents about to be related, a brief synopsis of the events leading to them will be appropriate: Japan for centuries had secluded itself from the other nations of the world, resisting all their efforts to establish diplomatic, commercial or social relations. But in 1854, Commodore Perry, with a formidable fleet of the best vessels in the American Navy, appeared in Yeddo Bay and began negotiations which finally resulted in the signing of a treaty.

The Japanese copy of that treaty was burned in a great fire in Yeddo in 1858, and in 1860, the Japanese Embassy visited this country for the purpose of having a new copy signed. The United States Government was just as anxious as the Japanese authorities were for this opportunity to strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. The American people were greatly excited over the coming of the first official representative which Japan had ever sent to the Western World, or for nearly three hundred years to any Caucasian Nation.

The Embassy, which consisted of two principal Ambassadors and four Princes of the highest rank, with a suite of sixteen officers and a retinue of over fifty servants, arrived in March at San Francisco on the U. S. Frigates Powhatan and Roanoke. After a splendid reception there, they sailed via Cape Horn, anchoring May 13th in Hampton Roads and immediately proceeded to Washington to pay their official respects to President Buchanan, deliver the message from the Tycoon, and attend to the further duties of their mission. Thence, they proceeded to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, everywhere greeted by tremendous crowds and receiving the greatest attention from officials and leading citizens, with a continuous round of balls, banquets, sightseeing, & etc. In New York, fully half a million people witnessed the splendid military and civic parade that hailed their arrival, and there was no abatement in the interest and curiosity during their two-week stay in that city. Rather singularly, the youngest member of the party, "'Tataesi Owasjero," a handsome, witty, and jovial youth of seventeen, although of inferior rank, soon became a prime favorite, a special pet of the ladies, and was familiarly known as "Tommy." On July 1st, the Embassy sailed from New York for home on the U.S. Steamer Niagara.

 In 1860, the citizens of Danville decided to have a more elaborate celebration of the Fourth of July than usual and accordingly arranged for a parade by local and visiting firemen and a patriotic address by Honorable William D. Kelley, for many years the distinguished Philadelphia Member of Congress. From his championship of a Protective Tariff, he was affectionately named " Pig Iron Kelley," and was very popular in the iron-manufacturing town of Danville, and indeed, throughout the State. His presence, therefore, would naturally attract a large crowd. It occurred to some of the young men of the town that it would add to the gaiety of the occasion to have a burlesque of the Japanese reception. The idea, at first broached in a casual conversation between two or three individuals and by them suggested to others, "took*' at once. At that time, William W. Hays was the genial and popular proprietor of what is now Dr. Paules' Drug Store. There, it was the habit of a number of congenial spirits to gather in the evenings to chat over current events, swap stories, &c. This soon became the headquarters where the plans for the proposed affair were formulated, and arrangements were made to carry them out. Selection of the individuals to be asked to participate was made, and a paper was drawn up which was soon signed by thirty-one well-known citizens.

Here is the list: Robert Adams, Peter Baldy, Joseph C. Boyd, Thomas Chalfant, David Clark, Charles Cook, Harry Earp, George M. Gearhart, I. X. Grier, W. A. M. Grier, Jerry Hall, William W. Hays, Dr. Isaac Hughes, John W. Hibler, Samuel Hibler, William C. Johnston, Richard Jones, Charles Kaufman, Joseph W. Keely, Robert D. Magill, James Mitchell, Oscar F. Moore, Robert McCormick, Samuel Pardoe, Joseph F. Ramsey, Joseph R. Patton, Samuel Strawbridge, Dr. Robert Simington, Abram H. Voris, Christopher Woods, Dr. George Yeomans.

 In the discussion of plans, it was decided that instead of a caricature, there should be a reproduction as nearly as possible of the Japanese features, dress, & etc. This, it was soon realized, when the requirements of the scheme were studied, was a pretty large undertaking, and the time to carry it out was short. Preparations were promptly commenced and carried on vigorously. Secret meetings were held and assignments made for the different duties to be attended to. Of greatest importance was the preparation of the costumes. Peter Baldy had for sale in his store a lot of sewing machines. Several of these were taken to the third floor. There, Joseph Doran, a leading tailor of the town, cut out the garments and superintended the job, while the boys who could run the machine did the rest. This work was done at night after store closing hours, and the perspiring operators labored faithfully, often beyond midnight. It was understood that none but those employed should be admitted to the building. The dress consisted of wide and full trousers descending to within five or six inches of the ground. On the ankles and feet, a covering, half sock, half gaiter, with straw sandals would have been in accordance with strict requirements, but we substituted fancy stockings and slippers. The upper dress was a loose blouse (similar in cut to those now seen on Chinese laundrymen) made, as the trousers also were, of cambric muslin in yellow, blue, red, and brown colors. Suitable masks were difficult to obtain, as those on sale were exaggerated caricatures mainly for use at masked balls, while our requirement was for plain ones to resemble as nearly as possible the Japanese features, but Robert Adams finally, after much correspondence and the return to Philadelphia of unsuitable samples, secured what was needed. These were colored to resemble the olive brown Mongolian complexion, and a corresponding shade of brown muslin was sewn to them to be drawn over the head, extending under the blouse at the back and sides and fastened under the chin. A hole was made through which a bunch of hair at the crown of the head was drawn. Col. Samuel Strawbridge was a committee of one on swords. They were made of wood, short and straight, wrapped with fancy colored yarn in open-work design to resemble the richly ornamented Japanese scabbards.

The " Nourimori" (Treaty box) was painted black and varnished, square in shape, thirty inches each way, with a slanting roof, and looked much like a dog kennel.

 By the 3rd of July, our plans were practically completed. Mr. Fonda, Superintendent of the Catawissa Railroad, easily acceded to our request to have the train stop at the upper Sechler farm (now embraced in the Bennett Property), to take on the Embassy, and said he would be on hand himself to see the fun. Citizens who owned carriages were asked to send them to the station to carry us into town. J. Clark Rhodes, then Chief Burgess, agreed to make the speech of welcome, and with members of the Town Council, head the procession. The unexpected departure of the Embassy, earlier than was expected, bid fair to bring a complete collapse to our well-laid plans, but we were equal to the emergency. We determined that if Niagara had sailed without consulting us, she must be brought back! At that time, the New York and Philadelphia papers did not reach Danville until about 4:00 P.M., so that the events of the day were not known, unless telegraphed, until the following afternoon. The telegraph office was in the room above the Hays Drug Store, and George M. Gearhart was the operator. About 3:00 P.M. on the 3rd, I. X. Grier, an expert telegrapher, sent from the Railroad Station to the town office the following dispatch:

“New York, July 3rd, 2:00 P.M.

The Niagara, with the Japanese Embassy on board, returned this afternoon and anchored in the Bay, having broken a shaft and otherwise injured one of her engines when about eighty miles out at sea. Six or eight days will be required to make the necessary repairs. It is rumored that the Embassy will take a train for Niagara Falls, returning via Albany, in season to sail when the repairs to the Niagara shall have been completed."

George Gearhart immediately posted this on the telegraph pole in front of the office, and it quickly attracted attention. A couple of hours later, a second dispatch came as follows:

"New York, July 3rd, 4:00 P.M.

The Embassy will not embark until tomorrow morning, when they will leave via Easton and Mauch Chunk and proceed to Danville to inspect the extensive iron works there, being desirous of witnessing the manufacture of railroad iron with a view to introducing it into Japan. They will leave Danville on the night of the 4th on a special train to Niagara Falls."

This at once created a furor of excitement. The news quickly spread, and hundreds rushed to read the dispatch for themselves. In the crowd, quite accidentally (?) were a number of our party who were loud and earnest in urging that everything possible should be done to give the distinguished visitors a suitable reception. Simon P. Kase, an enterprising citizen, hurried to Mr. Thomas Beaver and urged him to request his men to forego their holiday and operate the Rolling Mill. Mr. Beaver, who was in the secret, agreed that it certainly ought to be done, but doubted if the men could be persuaded. Some of the citizens were suspicious, but the majority believed. Our outfit had been packed in trunks and boxes, and toward midnight on the 3rd, Robert Magill and Abram Voris loaded them on a wagon in the alley in the rear of Peter Baldy's store and drove out to the Sechler barn. On its arrival, Mr. Sechler put his head out of his bedroom window and asked who was there. The answer, of course, was satisfactory, and he said, "Go ahead, the barn door is unlocked and the dogs are tied." Just as they were leaving, Joseph Keeley and another (name not remembered) drove up and deposited the treaty box and swords.

The Fourth was bright and clear and terribly hot. The Firemen's parade, participated in by visiting companies, took place late in the forenoon, and after that, the patriotic exercises with the oration by Judge Kelley were held in the open space between the little old Court House and the Friendship Fire Company's House, then on the alley corner of Market Street. The crowd drawn to this point was fortunate for us, as it gave a better opportunity to slip out to our rendezvous unobserved. We went singly or in pairs by different routes, up the Bloom Road, out Market Street, over the Railroad tracks, across fields, and a perspiring crowd we were on arrival at the barn. In ample time before the train was due, we had donned our suits and adjusted the masks, and then it was only by the voices that we could identify one another. John Hibler, not in costume, but present as general manager, is plainly in my mind's eye now as he was convulsed with laughter at our grotesque appearance. Promptly on time, the train arrived, and we scrambled aboard. The cars were well filled with passengers, and they were very willing to return our salutations, but quite taken aback upon discovering that a brown imprint from the coloring matter used had been transferred from our hands to theirs. About noon, another dispatch dated at Mauch Chunk had been posted on the Bulletin Board:

"The train from New York with the Japanese Embassy on board has just passed here en route to Niagara Falls. They will stop over for a few hours in Danville."

This reassured many, doubt giving way to expectancy, and there was a large crowd at the station on our arrival. Dr. Robert Simington in a Naval Officer's uniform, his face so disguised by false whiskers and moustache that his own family would not have recognized him, represented the   U. S. Commodore in charge of the Embassy, and assisted by Joseph R. Patton, Civilian Government assistant, hastily, In order to prevent too close scrutiny by the crowd, conducted us from the cars to the waiting carriages. The trunks covered with Chinese tea box hieroglyphics, containing our clothing, brought by the train from the barn, with the visitors and accompanying officials in full uniform, presented such a formidable appearance that doubts as to our being the "real thing" vanished. Several amusing incidents occurred here. One of the parties trying to carry himself with the dignity becoming a high Japanese official, held his head erect; the eyeholes in the mask were very small, and not noticing a bundle of sole leather, he stumbled over it and went sprawling on the platform. Another member had his finger pinched by the quick closing of his carriage door. These mishaps elicited the same emphatic phrase, not recommended in the Sunday school, but claimed by its users to be a sure relief for wounded feelings and excellent "first aid" for the wound itself. Lloyd Brittain, Dr. Magill's driver, was greatly awed, but presuming on the fact of his complexion being similar to that of the visitors and wishing to make himself agreeable, turned around and ventured the question, "'How do you like this country?" Col. Strawbridge at his side, with disapproving gestures by head and arm, rebuked his temerity in addressing such royal personages. “Oh, I forgot they don't understand English,” apologetically replied “Brit, " but he had heard the "cuss word, " and said in an undertone, "Well, they can swear in English anyhow."'

With the Borough officials leading, we proceeded downtown. At the Montgomery building (corner of Bloom and Mill Streets) we were met by the band which had been detained by their engagement with the firemen, and thus escorted, passed over the route, up Mill Street to and down Mahoning, crossing through Chestnut over to Market, and up to the stand at the Court House. Mill Street from Bloom to Market was crowded. The firemen were massed on the east side between the canal bridge and Mahoning Street. Robert Adams, impersonating "Tommy" and the writer, had charge of the Treaty Box, carried in a suitably decorated open spring wagon drawn by two horses hitched tandem. The street at that time sloped down from its center to the curbs. Opposite Thomas Wood's shoe store, our horses became temporarily unmanageable and swerved to the gutter on the east side. We sat on low stools with the treaty box between us, and were squeezed into very contracted limits, and to avoid falling, I jumped, landing in the arms of Jacob Miller of the Friendship Fire Company. I said "Jake help me back," which he promptly did, assisted by others of the Friendship boys, with the exclamation “Alex Grier, by thunder !' Another "give-away" followed when, as "Tommy" extended his hands to pull me in and made some remark, there was a shout, "That's Bob Adams!”  These, with the two trifling accidents at the station, were our only mishaps.

Passing up Market street the venerable Rev. Dr. Yeomans on his doorstep (on the side where is now Mrs. Clark Rhodes' residence) and a block beyond Dr. Clarence H. Frick, the gallant Captain of the "Columbia Guards"' in the Mexican war standing on the same marble step that is there now, both of them universally esteemed citizens and then confirmed invalids, received special attention from us, and in spite of their feebleness, their faces beamed with mirth at the ludicrousness of the affair, one feature of which was that according to Japanese custom, along the route we used as handkerchiefs and then threw away, small squares of fancy rice-paper.

Leaving our carriages, we formed in line in front of the stand, the Treaty box, carefully guarded in a conspicuous position. Chief Burgess Rhodes gave a hearty welcome to the town. His speech was repeated in a mixture of Japanese and Dutch by Charles Cook (Editor of the Danville Democrat) with  Mamura Gohatsiro as the Chief Interpreter. Dr. George Yeomans impersonating the 1st No-Kami, "Simme Boojsen," the ranking Ambassador replied in a conglomerate of Latin, Greek, and Indian, which was heartily applauded by the Town officials and distinguished visitors on the stand, and by the crowd.

The reception over, we re-formed and, with our precious Treaty box on the shoulders of four carriers, marched to the Montour House. Someone announced to the crowd that we wished to be undisturbed while taking a needed rest. Safely in the hotel we repaired to the large attic room and selected our clothing from the trunks which the omnibus driver "Billy Smith"' had brought from the station; and then innocently sauntered down and mingling with the crowd amusedly listened to their comments; most of them earnestly contending that they had not been "fooled;" others, both residents and strangers were disposed to admit that they had been 'sold'. For instance, the bogus telegram, as public news, had been sent to all the offices on the line and brought many visitors, among them a large party from Sunbury, led by. H. B. Masser, Editor of the "American," who came up by canal on a packet boat.  Mr. Masser was the patentee of an ice cream freezer, the merits of which he wished to exploit for the Japanese. The sample freezer was wisely left on the boat until after a survey of the situation could be made, the result of which was such that it remained there, and its owner and his friends hastily weighed anchor and headed their mule-propelled craft for home.

With a waiting party at the second-story window of the St. Nicholas building (now Cleaver's Department Store) was a Welsh miner just arrived from San Francisco, where he had witnessed the reception at the Embassy. As the procession turned the corner at the Montgomery building opposite, he announced to all in hearing, “They are the real, genuine fellows." Judge Kelley was greatly amused and declared that he had never seen anything so original in conception and so successful in execution.

 And what, some thoughtful readers may ask, did all this delicious bunch of fun cost? Including some small bills paid by others and not found in my Treasurer's account, it was a trifle over Fifty Dollars; and the pro rata assessment, One Dollar and seventy cents. The largest items were the bills of Peter Baldy and Waterman & Beaver, amounting to Thirty Dollars and forty-three cents for the muslin for the suits, &c. ; " Joe" Doran, six Dollars for services; masks, fans and flags, Three Dollars seventy-eight and one half cents; among the small bills was one for thirty seven and one-half cents paid to your known townsman Frank (familiarly called "' Dad"') Meyers. This I remember, was for assisting in decorating the Treaty box wagon. At that time, the old Spanish Silver currency was still largely in circulation. The 'quarters' were current at twenty-five cents, the 'levies' at twelve and one-half cents, and 'fips' at six and one-quarter cents. "Dad" evidently received a 'quarter' and a 'levy' or three 'levies', for his services.”

At the time of the 1910 article, the author noted that just eight survivors remained from the thirty-one participants.

Another newspaper article of the “Great Hoax” reported that the “embassy” entourage returned to the Sechler’s farm stop-off in time to catch the early afternoon train. Although most townspeople just couldn’t believe it was all a very well-executed camouflage or trick, even weeks afterward, the visitors’ sudden departure did arouse suspicion in the minds of some.

The celebration’s promoters were gleeful over creating “a high old time generally, as evidenced in subsequent articles describing this glorious holiday as a success, with the streets crowded until late and with only several non-serious fights occurring despite considerable consumption of whiskey and lager.”