Picture of Surveying Distances and Recording Data on Land and Sea at Takehama, from the Black Ship scroll

Perry’s men surveyed the coastal area around the small port town of Shimoda upon arrival. This painting captures three men with land surveying equipment such as a telescope, a plane table to record field observations and plot points, and a theodolite to measure distance and angles between designated points. The man in the middle, holding a paint brush, may represent Perry’s official artist William Heine, who was also known to have made topographical drawings and assisted in this survey.