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diff --git a/37873.txt b/37873.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c52ed04 --- /dev/null +++ b/37873.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13385 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Alone with the Hairy Ainu, by A. H. Savage Landor + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Alone with the Hairy Ainu + or, 3,800 miles on a pack saddle in Yezo and a cruise to + the Kurile Islands. + +Author: A. H. Savage Landor + +Release Date: October 28, 2011 [EBook #37873] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALONE WITH THE HAIRY AINU *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, LN Yaddanapudi and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + [Illustration: _Frontispiece_. PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR. + "When my clothes came to an end I did without them."] + + + + + ALONE WITH THE + HAIRY AINU. + + OR, + + 3,800 MILES ON A PACK SADDLE IN YEZO AND + A CRUISE TO THE KURILE ISLANDS. + + BY + A. H. SAVAGE LANDOR. + + [Illustration] + + WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR. + + LONDON: + JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. + 1893. + + + LONDON: + PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, + STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This book is not meant as a literary work, for I am not and do not +pretend to be a literary man. It is but a record--an amplified log-book, +as it were--of what befell me during my solitary peregrinations in +Hokkaido, and a collection of notes and observations which I hope will +prove interesting to anthropologists and ethnologists as well as to the +general public. + +Without any claim to infallibility I have tried to take an open-minded +and sensible view of everything I have attempted to describe; in most +cases, however, I have given facts without passing an opinion at all, +and all I have said I have tried to express as simply and plainly as +possible, so as not to give rise to misunderstandings. + +There are a few points which I want to make quite clear. + +First, that I went to Hokkaido entirely on my own account and for my own +satisfaction. Next, that I accomplished the whole journey (some 4200 +miles, out of which 3800 were ridden on horseback and on a rough +pack-saddle) perfectly alone. By alone I mean that I had with me no +friends, no servants, and no guides. My baggage consisted of next to +nothing, so far as articles for my own convenience or comfort were +concerned. I carried no provisions and no tent. + +I am endowed with a very sensitive nature, and I pride myself in +possessing the gift of adaptability to an extreme degree, and this may +partly explain why and how I could live so long with and like the Ainu, +whose habits and customs, as my readers will see, are somewhat different +to ours. + +When I go to a country I do my best to be like one of the natives +themselves, and, whether they are savage or not, I endeavour to show +respect for them and their ideas, and to conform to their customs for +the time being. I make up my mind that what is good for them must be +good enough for me, and though I have occasionally had to swear at +myself for "doing in Ainuland as the Ainu does," especially as regards +the food, I was not much the worse for it in the end. I never use force +when I can win with kindness, and in my small experience in Hokkaido and +other countries I have always found that real savages in their +simplicity are most "gentleman-like" people. With few exceptions they +are good-natured, dignified, and sensible, and the chances are that if +you are fair to them they will be fair to you. Civilised savages and +barbarians I always found untrustworthy and dangerous. + +The Island of Yezo, with the smaller islands near its coast, and the +Kurile group, taken together, are called "the Hokkaido." The Hokkaido +extends roughly from 41 deg. to 51 deg. latitude north, and between 139 deg. and +157 deg. longitude east of Greenwich. + +My view of the origin of the word Ainu is this: _Ainu_ is but a +corruption or abbreviation of _Ai-num_, "they with hair," or "hairy +men," or else of _Hain-num_, "come with hair," or "descended hairy." +Considering that the Ainu pride themselves above all things on their +hairiness, it does not seem improbable to me that this may be the +correct origin of the word, and that they called themselves after the +distinguishing characteristic of their race. + +The word Ainu is a generic term, and is used both in the singular and +plural; but when specifying, the words _Kuru_ (people, men), _utaragesh_ +(woman), etc., are generally added to it: viz., _Ainu kuru_, Ainu +people, Ainu men; _Ainu utaragesh_, an Ainu woman; _Ainu utaragesh +utara_, several Ainu women. + +The Ainu population of Yezo is roughly reckoned by the Japanese at about +15,000 or 17,000 souls, but at least half this number are half-castes, +and in my opinion (and I have visited nearly every Ainu village in Yezo) +the number of thoroughbred Ainu does not exceed 8000 souls. + +The illustrations in this book are my own, and are the reproductions +from sketches which I took on the spot. They may not show much artistic +merit, but they seem to me to be characteristic of the country and the +people, and I hope that my readers will be impressed with them in the +same way. + +A. HENRY SAVAGE LANDOR. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + From Hakodate to Mororran--Volcano Bay--The first Ainu--A + strange institution among them 1 + + CHAPTER II. + From Mororran to the Saru River 12 + + CHAPTER III. + Up the Saru River--Piratori and its chief 22 + + CHAPTER IV. + An Ainu Festival 30 + + CHAPTER V. + From the Saru River to Cape Erimo 35 + + CHAPTER VI. + From Cape Erimo to the Tokachi River 44 + + CHAPTER VII. + The Tokachi Region--Pure Ainu Types--Curious Mode of River + Fishing 50 + + CHAPTER VIII. + From the Tokachi River to the Kutcharo River 68 + + CHAPTER IX. + The Koro-pok-kuru, or Pit-dwellers 78 + + CHAPTER X. + The Kutcharo River and Lake--A Sulphur Mine--Akkeshi and + its Bay 95 + + CHAPTER XI. + From Akkeshi to Nemuro--A Horse Station--Nemuro and its + People 106 + + CHAPTER XII. + The Kurile Islands 121 + + CHAPTER XIII. + On the East and North-East Coast--From Nemuro to Shari-Mombets 133 + + CHAPTER XIV. + Along the Lagoons of the North-East Coast--From Shari-Mombets + to Poronai 145 + + CHAPTER XV. + On the North-East Coast--From Poronai to Cape Soya 157 + + CHAPTER XVI. + From Cape Soya to the Ishikari River 167 + + CHAPTER XVII. + The Ishikari River 179 + + CHAPTER XVIII. + Nearing Civilisation 187 + + CHAPTER XIX. + Completing the Circuit of Yezo--The End of my Journey 196 + + CHAPTER XX. + Ainu Habitations, Storehouses, Trophies, Furniture--Conservatism 207 + + CHAPTER XXI. + Ainu Art, Ainu Marks, Ornamentations, Weapons--Graves and + Tattoos 218 + + CHAPTER XXII. + Ainu Heads, and their Physiognomy 229 + + CHAPTER XXIII. + Movements and Attitudes 236 + + CHAPTER XXIV. + Ainu Clothes, Ornaments, and Tattooing 245 + + CHAPTER XXV. + Ainu Music, Poetry, and Dancing 255 + + CHAPTER XXVI. + Heredity--Crosses--Psychological Observations 266 + + CHAPTER XXVII. + Physiological Observations--Pulse-beat and Respiration--Exposure-- + Odour of the Ainu--The Five Senses 274 + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + The Ainu Superstitions--Morals--Laws and Punishments 281 + + CHAPTER XXIX. + Marital Relations, and Causes that limit Population 293 + + APPENDIX. + + I.--Measurements of the Ainu Body, and Descriptive Characters 298 + + II.--Glossary of Ainu Words, many of which are found in + Geographical Names in Yezo and the Kurile Islands 304 + + INDEX 313 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + Portrait of the Author _Frontispiece._ + Aputa 1 + Ainu Woman saluting 6 + Toya Lake, near Aputa 11 + Fisherman's Hut 12 + Pack-Saddle 18 + Norboribets Volcano 19 + Horobets 21 + Storehouses at Piratori 22 + Benry, the Ainu Chief of Piratori 25 + Ainu Man waving his Moustache-lifter before drinking 29 + Ainu Festival, An 30 + Ainu Women dancing 33 + Piratori Woman in Costume 34 + Utarop Rocks 35 + Ainu Lashed Canoe 37 + Front View of Lashed Canoe 38 + Ainu Oars 38 + Sailing Canoe 38 + Ainu Wooden Anchors 39 + Ainu Canoe, Top View of an 39 + Erimo Cape 43 + Natural Stone Archway, A 44 + Iwa Rocks at Biru 49 + Ainu Houses and Storehouse, Frishikobets, Tokachi River 50 + Madwoman of Yammakka 55 + Ainu Woman of Frishikobets, on the Tokachi River 60 + Shikarubets Otchirsh, The 67 + Ainu Man of the Upper Tokachi 68 + Ainu Hook for Smoking Bear-Meat 77 + Koro-pok-kuru Fort 78 + Flint Arrow-Heads 78 + Flint Knives 79 + Koro-pok-kuru Pottery and Fragments of Designs 86 + Stone Adzes and Hammer 94 + Ainu Huts and Storehouses on Kutcharo Lake 95 + Kutcharo Lake from Mount Yuzan 98 + Sulphur Mine 100 + Akkeshi in a Fog 105 + Ainu Man and Woman on Horseback 106 + Ainu Bits 110 + Semi-Ainu Rat Trap 120 + Ainu Woman of the Kurile Islands 121 + Shikotan Ainu 126 + Woman of the Kurile Islands 132 + Abashiri Island 133 + Ainu Belle, An 140 + Saruma Lagoon 144 + Eagle-displayed Sable, An 145 + My Host, the Madman 148 + Sarubuts, showing River-Course altered by Drift Sand 157 + Ainu Village on the East Coast of Yezo 166 + Mashike Mountain 167 + Ishikari Kraftu Ainu 178 + Kamui Kotan Rapids, The 179 + Woman of Ishikari River 186 + Ainu Bark Water Jugs 187 + Ainu Half-caste Child of Volcano Bay 194 + Komatage Volcano, Volcano Bay 196 + Wooden Drinking Vessels 207 + Kammakappe, The, &c. 209 + Ahunkanitte, The, &c. 210 + Atzis-Cloth in process of Weaving 210 + Roasting Hook 211 + Ape-Kilai, The, or Earth-Rake 214 + Pestle, Mortar, Spoon, &c. 215 + Ainu Pipe Holder and Tobacco Pouch 217 + Ainu Knife, with ornamented Sheath, &c. 218 + Kike-ush-bashui, or Moustache-Lifters 220 + Suggestions of Leaves, &c. 221 + Elaborations of Chevrons, Wave Patterns, &c. 222 + Tchutti, or War-Clubs, &c. 223 + Ainu Knives 224 + Monuments for Women 225 + Wooden Monuments over Men's Grave 225 + Wooden Blade 226 + Ainu Pipe, An 228 + Ainu Man walking with Snow-Shoes 236 + Thiaske-Tarra, The 238 + Atzis, The 245 + Atzis, after Japanese Pattern 245 + Winter Bear-skin Coat 245 + Atzis, Back of 246 + "Hoshi," The 247 + Boots, Deer-Skin Shoe, &c. 248 + Tattoo-marks on Women's Arms 253 + Snow-Shoes 254 + Ainu Salutation 255 + "Mukko," A, or Musical Instrument 258 + Wooden Pipe, A 265 + Naked Ainu Man from the North-East Coast of Yezo 274 + Trophy of Bears' Skulls 281 + Inao-netuba, &c. 292 + + + + +[Illustration: APUTA.] + +CHAPTER I. + +From Hakodate to Mororran--Volcano Bay--The first Ainu--A strange +Institution among them. + + +I have often asked myself _why_ I went to Yezo; and, when there, what +possessed me to undertake the laborious task of going round the island, +up its largest rivers, travelling through jungles and round lakes, +climbing its highest peaks, and then proceeding to the Kuriles. There +are certain things in one's life that cannot be accounted for, and the +journey which I am going to relate is one of them. + +Pleasure and rest were the two principal objects which had primarily +induced me to steer northwards; but it was my fate not to get either the +one or the other. + +I was on the Japanese ship the _Satsuma Maru_. Rapidly nearing the +Hakodate Head, which we soon passed, we entered the well-protected bay +and the town of Hakodate at the foot of the Peak came into view. It +looked extremely pretty, with its paper-walled houses and its tiled +roofs, set against the background of brown rock with its fringe of green +at the foot. As we cast anchor, hundreds of coolies, carrying on their +backs loads of dried fish and seaweed, were running along the _bund_ or +wharf. A few _musemes_ (girls), in their pretty _kimonos_ (gowns) and +with oil-paper umbrellas, were toddling along on their wooden clogs, and +a crowd of loafers stood gazing at the ship as she came to anchor. The +Peak, more than 1000 feet high, was towering on our south side, forming +a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a sandy isthmus, and the large +bay swept round us, forming nearly a circle. The place has a striking +resemblance to Gibraltar. + +I landed, and put up at a tea-house, where I was in hopes of learning +something regarding the island from the Japanese settlers, but no one +knew anything. The reports that there were no roads extending beyond a +few miles; that there was but very poor and scarce accommodation along +the coast; that the Ainu, who lived further north, were dirty people; +and that the country was full of bears, were certainly not encouraging +to an intending traveller. + +I must confess that my first day in Yezo was a dull one; but the second +day I had the pleasure of meeting a Mr. H., a resident, who kindly +offered me his hospitality, and the next two were pleasantly spent at +his house. In conversation with a friend of his, I heard the remark that +no man alone could possibly complete the circuit of the island of Yezo, +owing to the difficulties of travel; and my readers can imagine the +astonishment of my interlocutors when I meekly said, that if no one had +ever done it, I was going to do it; and, indeed, that I intended to set +out alone the next morning. + +"Impossible!" said one, "you are too young and too delicate." + +"Absurd!" said my kind host, "it would take a very strong man to do +it--a man who could stand any amount of hardships and roughing." At the +same time he gave me a pitiful look, which undoubtedly meant, "You are a +mere bag of skin and bones." + +However, the bag of skin and bones kept his word, notwithstanding the +poor opinion that his new friends had formed of him. + +The preparations for my journey were simple. In two large Japanese +baskets I packed three hundred small wooden panels for oil-painting, a +large supply of oil colours and brushes, a dozen small sketch-books, my +diary, three pairs of boots, three shirts, an equal number of pairs of +woollen stockings, a revolver, and a hundred cartridges. The remainder +of my luggage was left in charge of Mr. H. till my return. I did not +burden myself with either provisions or a tent. + +I rose early the following morning and bade good-bye to my kind host. +"Good-bye," said he, "I expect we shall see you back to-night to +dinner." The word "dinner" was the last English word I heard from the +mouth of an Englishman, and it was five long months before I heard +another. + +The first thirty miles of my journey were ridden in a _basha_, a covered +cart built on four wheels that ought to have been round, but were not. +There were no springs for the comfort of the traveller, and no cushions +on the seats. The conveyance was public, and was drawn by two sturdy +ponies. The driver, a Japanese, carried a brass trumpet, on which he +continually played. + +I might have begun my story by the usual "One fine day," if, +unfortunately, the day on which I started the rain had not poured +in torrents. A Japanese policeman and a girl were my only +fellow-passengers. Travelling at full gallop, on a rough road, in a trap +with unsymmetrical wheels and with no springs, during a heavy storm, is +scarcely what one would call a pleasant mode of progression; but after +some hours of "being knocked about," we went zig-zag fashion, first up a +steep hill, then down on the other side, giving the horses a rest at a +roadside tea-house by the famous lakes of Zenzai. The larger of these +two lakes--the Ko-numa--is extremely picturesque, with its numerous +little islands wooded with deciduous trees. In shape it is very +irregular, and many points, which project into the lake, add to the +loveliness of the scene, while the high ridge over which I had come, on +the one side, and the rugged volcano of Komagatake on the other, form a +beautiful background to the limpid sheet of water. The outlet of this +lake empties itself into Volcano Bay, S.E. of the Komagatake Volcano. +The other lake, though smaller, is quite as striking, and possesses the +same characteristics of its larger brother. It goes by the name of +Ono-numa. A peculiarity of these lakes is that they abound in a smallish +fish--the _funa_--which is greatly appreciated by the Japanese. + +I sat down in the tea-house on the soft mats, and my _bento_--Japanese +lunch--was served to me on a tiny table. There was water soup; there was +sea-weed; there was a bowl of rice, and raw fish. The fish--a small +_funa_--was in a diminutive dish and its back was covered by a leaf; the +head projected over the side of the plate. On the leaf were placed +several neatly-cut pieces of the raw flesh, which had apparently been +removed from the back of the underlying animal. As I had been long +accustomed to Japanese food of this kind I ate to my heart's content, +when, to my great horror, the _funa_, which had been staring at me with +its round eyes, relieved of the weight that had passed from its back +into my digestive organs, leaped up, leaf and all, from the dish and +fell on the mat. All the vital parts had carefully been left in the +fish, and the wretched creature was still alive! + +"Horrible!" I cried, violently pushing away the table and walking out +disgusted, to the great surprise of the people present, who expected me +to revel in the deliciousness of the dish. + +For days and days after I could see in my mind the staring eyes of the +_funa_, watching each movement of my chopsticks, and its own back being +eaten piecemeal! Wherever I went this big eye stood before me, and +increased or diminished in size according to my being more or less +lonely, more or less hungry. I had often eaten raw fish before, but +never had I eaten live fish! + +The journey in the _basha_ was resumed that afternoon, and, more dead +than alive, I alighted in the evening at Mori, a small Japanese village +at the foot of the Komagatake Volcano. The peak of this mountain is 4000 +feet above the level of the sea, but its basin-like crater is at a +somewhat lower altitude. Up to a certain height it is thickly wooded +with deciduous trees and firs, thence its slopes are bare of vegetation, +rugged in form, and very rich in colour. It makes part of a volcanic +mass which extends from the Esan Volcano, further south, to the limit of +the Shiribeshi province, crossing straight through the province of +Oshima as far as the Yurapdake Mountain. Komagatake is one of the most +majestic and picturesque mountains I have ever seen, as it possesses +lovely lines on nearly every side. Its isolation and sudden sharp +elevation, rising as it does directly from the sea, gives, of course, a +grand appearance to its weird and sterile slopes, which are covered with +warmly-tinted cinders, pumice, and lava. + +I went over to Mororran, across Volcano Bay, and the following morning I +risked my life on a small craft, which took me over to Mombets. From +this place I rode on to Uso and Aputa, two Ainu villages at a short +distance from each other. + +Coming from Japan the first thing that strikes a traveller in the Ainu +country is the odour of dried fish, which one can smell everywhere; the +next is the great number of crows--the scavengers of the country; +lastly, the volcanic nature of the island. On visiting an Ainu village +what impressed me most were the miserable and filthy huts, compared with +the neat and clean Japanese houses; the poverty and almost appalling +dirt of the people and their gentle, submissive nature. + +I shall not dwell at length on these Volcano Bay Ainu, as this part of +the country is comparatively civilised, and has been travelled over by +many people previous to my going there. Besides, most of them have +intermarried with Japanese, and have consequently adopted many Japanese +customs and manners. + +The Ainu of the coast build their huts generally on a single line, near +the shore, and each family has its "dug out" canoe drawn up on the +beach, ready to hand when wanted. The huts are small and +miserable-looking, and they have no furniture or bedding to speak of. +The roof and walls are thatched with _arundinaria_, but so imperfectly +that wind and rain find easy access through their reedy covering. +Curiosity is the only good quality which I ever possessed, and in +obedience to it I poked my nose into several of the huts along the +beach. This was a mistake on my part, for in the Ainu country the nose +is the last thing one ought to poke in anywhere. I was more than +astonished to see how human beings could live in such filth! The natives +kindly asked me to enter, and I of course did so, stooping low through +the small door and raising the mat which protects the aperture. When I +was in I could smell a great deal more than I could see, for the east +window--the size of a small handkerchief, and the only one in the +hut--did not give light enough to illuminate the premises. However, I +soon got accustomed to the dimness, and then I could make out my +surroundings clearly enough. There was an old man, perfectly naked, with +a fine head, long white hair and beard, sitting on the ground among a +mass of seaweeds, which he was disentangling and packing. Two young +women and two young men, with bright, intelligent eyes and high +cheek-bones, were helping him in his work. In their quiet, gentle way +they all brought their hands forward, each rubbed the palms together, +and, lifting the arms, slowly stroked their hair, and the men their +beard with the backs of their hands, while the women rubbed the first +finger under the nose from the left to the right. This is their +salutation, and it is most graceful. They seemed pleased to see me, and +asked me to sit down. As there were neither chairs nor sofas, stools nor +cushions, I squatted on the ground. + +[Illustration: AINU WOMAN SALUTING.] + +Most Ainu of Volcano Bay understand Japanese, and they also speak it, +interpolating Ainu words when necessary, so I began a conversation. My +presence did not seem to disturb them or arouse their curiosity, and, +beyond gazing at the mother-of-pearl buttons on my white coat, they did +not appear to be struck by me. Evidently the buttons were much more +interesting to them than the person who wore them. Now and then they +uttered a few words, but whenever one spoke some of the company seemed +to be angry, as at an impertinence or a breach of etiquette. Men and +women wore large ear-rings or pieces of red or black cloth, which added +a great deal to their picturesqueness; but the women were disfigured by +a long moustache tattooed across the face from ear to ear. Rough +drawings adorn the arms and hands of the women, and some of the younger +females would undoubtedly be fine-looking if not disfigured by the +tattoos, for they carry themselves well when walking, and possess comely +features. Judging from appearances, I should think them very passionate. + +Coming out of the hut I saw a scene which I shall never forget. Two +naked boys, covered with horrible skin eruptions, had got hold of a +large fish-bone, out of which they were endeavouring to make a meal. +Round them were gathered about thirty dogs, wild with hunger, barking +furiously at the frightened children, and attacking and fighting them +for that miserable repast. + +I walked along the beach, and endeavoured to make friends with some of +the Ainu who were less shy than the others. One little girl was +especially picturesque. She was only about ten, and her large eyes, +tanned complexion, white teeth, the tiny bluish-black tattoo on her +upper lip, her uncombed long black hair flying around her, and her red +cloth ear-rings, made her indeed one of the quaintest studies of colour +that I have seen in my life. I got her to sit for me; and while I was +painting her, an old man, the chief of the village, dressed up in a +gaudy costume, with a crown of willow shavings on his head, came to me +and made his "salaams." He bore the name of Angotsuro, and before all +his salaams were over he found himself "caught in the action" in my +sketch-book. Many of the villagers had collected round, and one of them, +a half-caste, expressed the wish that I should paint the chief in +colours, like the picture of the girl. I asked for nothing better, and +started an oil-sketch of him. The excitement of the natives who were +witnessing the operation grew greater and greater as each new ornament +in the chief's dress was put in the picture. Some seemed to approve of +it, others were grumpy, and apparently objected to the picture being +taken at all. The _seance_ was indeed a stormy one; and though the chief +had his regal crown knocked off his head two or three times by the +anti-artistic party, he sat well for his likeness, especially as I +promised him in Japanese, that when the picture was completed he should +be given a few coins and two buttons off my coat. + +It was while portraying him that I noticed what extraordinary effects +colours produce on those whose eyes are unaccustomed to them. A man in +the crowd would get excited, and open his eyes wide and show his teeth +every time I happened to touch with my brush the cobalt blue on my +palette. Other colours had not the same effect on him. His eyes were +continually fixed on the blue, anxiously waiting for the brush to dip in +it, and this would then send him into fits of merriment. I squeezed some +blue paint from a tube on to the palm of his hand, and he nearly went +off his head with delight. He sprang and jumped and yelled, and then ran +some way off, where he squatted on the sand, still in admiration of the +blue dab on his hand, still grinning at intervals with irrepressible +enjoyment. Where the point of the joke was no one but himself ever knew. + +When the picture was finished I had no little trouble to keep the many +fingers of my audience off the wet painting. Moreover, some person +endowed with kindly feelings threw a handful of sand in my face, which +nearly blinded me for the moment and partly ruined the two pictures I +had painted. The money and the buttons were duly paid to Angotsuro and I +moved on. + +That same evening I went out for a walk. It was a very dark night, and I +love dark nights. When for some years you have done nothing but see +strange things and new places there is indeed a great fascination in +going about in complete darkness; it rests both your eyes and your +brain. I walked for some time along the beach, stumbling against the +canoes drawn on shore and against anything that was in my way. Hut after +hut was passed, but everything was silent; there was not a sound to be +heard, not a light to be seen. The Ainu are early people; they retire +with the sun. I walked on yet farther and farther afield, till through +the thatched wall of one of the huts I discerned a faint light. I stood +and listened. The sad voice of a man was singing a weird, weird song, +the weirdest song I have ever heard. Then came a pause, and another +voice, even more plaintive than the first, continued the same air. + +What with the strange melody in the hut, the soothing noise of the waves +gently breaking on the shingle, and the distant howling of dogs or +wolves, the mystic effect was such that I could not resist the +temptation, and I crept into the hut. A fire was burning in the centre, +but it had almost gone out, leaving a lot of smoke. Three old men were +sitting on the ground. They decidedly looked as if they did not expect +me, but, after their first astonishment was over, they asked me to squat +down in a corner, and there I was left to amuse myself, while they +resumed their singing and drinking. Of the latter they seemed to have +had enough already; but, all the same, several wooden bowls, about five +inches in diameter and two deep, were passed round and emptied in no +time. The more they drank, the wilder and more melancholy the song +became. Only one at a time sang, and he would begin in a very low tone +of voice and go up in a _crescendo_, gradually getting awfully excited; +then all at once he would stop, as if the effort had been too great for +him. His head drooped, and he seemed to sleep. Then, suddenly waking up, +coming back to his full senses in a startling manner, he drained one of +the bowls, which meantime had been refilled, and resumed the song. The +three men were facing each other, and so absorbed were they in their +music that, though I was not more than four feet away from them, they +seemed to have forgotten me altogether. + +I was so impressed with the strangeness of the song that I pulled out my +pencil and paper to write down the air. As there was no light but the +flicker of the fire, I turned the white leaf of my sketch-book toward it +to see what I was writing. This caught the eye of one of the men. He +woke up, startled from his musical dream, jumped to his feet, and made a +dash for me, yelling some words which I did not understand, and holding +over my head something that I could not distinguish at the moment owing +to the dimness of the light. Standing thus he paused, evidently waiting +for an answer to something he had said. It came from one of the other +fellows, who pushed him so violently as to send him sprawling on the +floor, while, what he held in his hand--a big, heavy, pointed +knife--fell and stuck deep in the ground about an inch from my toes. A +dispute arose among themselves, but among the Ainu everything ends up in +a drink. The large wooden bowls were again refilled; grand bows were +made to me, and they all stroked their hair and beard several times--a +sign of great respect. I was then handed one of the bowls and made to +swallow the contents. But, heavens! never have I felt any liquid work +its way down so far. Had I swallowed fire it could not have been as bad; +and, indeed, it was neither more nor less than liquid fire. + +As the night was wearing fast, and the old fellows had got on well with +their drink, the sing-song became rather too languid and monotonous; and +I crept out of the hut as quietly as I had entered it, not without first +giving the inmates something for their trouble. I had some difficulty +in finding my way back to my less musical quarters; and passing too +close to some of the other huts, the dogs--which infest all Ainu +villages--barked furiously and roused the whole place. + +I learned afterwards that it is an Ainu fashion to try a man's courage. +This is done in the way in which my musical friends tried mine, namely, +by making a sudden rush with a knife as if death and destruction were +imminent, which to a perfect stranger, unconscious of the strain of +"bluff" in the action, is not very reassuring. If the person to be +tested is aware of this fashion he has to submit to an unlimited number +of whacks, administered to him on his bare back, with a heavy war-club. +These tests of a man's courage and endurance are called the _Ukorra_. + +In the first instance it is done, in a certain sense, good-naturedly, +and not meaning to hurt one. Should, however, the person apparently so +dangerously threatened show fright or signs of cowardice, he loses the +respect of the Ainu, unless he has the happy thought of giving them a +sufficient quantity of some intoxicating liquor to make them all +drunk--which is a sure means of turning the most inimical Ainu you may +meet into your fast friend, even if you have had a deadly feud with him. + +The second way--with the war-club--of course is a painful process, and +the Ainu have recourse to it when it is necessary to determine the +relative amount of courage possessed by certain members of a community. +The one that can stand the greater number of blows is naturally entitled +to the respect and admiration of his neighbours, and he is elected +leader in bear-hunts or similar expeditions. At the election of a new +chief--when the chief's line of descendants dies out--this process, I +was told, is often practised; for bravery is the first quality which an +Ainu chief must possess. + +At Aputa, through some of the half-castes, I was able to pick up a great +number of Ainu words, which were most useful to me afterwards; and from +that, gradually increasing my stock of words, I soon knew enough to +understand a little and also to make myself understood. + +One day I went along the coast to the next village of Repun, and then +retraced my steps to Aputa, as there was nothing of interest at the +former place. + +An excursion which I enjoyed more was to the Toya Lake, with its three +pretty islands in the centre and the magnificent Uso Volcano on its +southern shores. The walk there and back was hardly fifteen miles, over +a mountain track and through forests of pine-trees and oaks. The lake is +about 250 feet above the level of the sea, and is about five miles in +diameter. Its shores are surrounded with thickly-wooded hills, which +have grassy terraces at a certain altitude, extending especially towards +the north-western shores of the lake. The barren Uso Volcano, with its +sterile slopes, is a great contrast to the beautiful green of the +comparatively luxuriant vegetation of the lower altitudes. The lake +finds an outlet into the Osaru River by means of a high waterfall. + +The following day I rode back to Mombets, and the next on to +Shin-Mororran (the _new_ Mororran, distinguished by this affix from +Kiu-Mororran, the _old_ settlement on the northern shore). + +Mororran has a well-protected harbour, and it would be the best future +port in Hokkaido if the anchorage were of a larger capacity. In more +speculative hands than the Japanese this port would be a great rival to +Hakodate. It consists of a thickly-wooded peninsula, which forms a +well-sheltered bay, at the entrance of which the picturesque island of +Daikuku stands high above the sea-level. In the harbour itself, smaller +islets and huge rocks contribute to its beauty. + +The village of Mororran is a mere streak of fourth-rate tea-houses along +the road by the side of the cliffs. Apart from the natural loveliness of +the harbour, it has, indeed, no claims to consideration at present. In +former days it was called by the Ainu, Tokri-moi, "the home of the +seals," for these valuable amphibious animals were said to be then +plentiful in the bay. + +[Illustration: TOYA LAKE, NEAR APUTA.] + + + + +[Illustration: FISHERMAN'S HUT.] + +CHAPTER II. + +From Mororran to the Saru River. + + +Thirteen more miles in a _basha_--for I was still in civilised +regions--took me to Horobets--a village half Ainu and half Japanese. + +The Ainu often name their villages after rivers, and this word Horobets, +which in English means "large river," is an instance of this custom. In +Southern Japan, previous to my visiting Yezo, I was told that nearly all +the Ainu of Horobets had become "good Christians." If such were the +case, which I do not wish my readers to doubt, the small experience +which I had here, led me to believe that "good Christians" often make +"very bad heathens." + +I left all my baggage in a tea-house at the entrance of the village, +and, taking my paint-box with me, I went for a walk along the beach. I +saw a crowd of Ainu in the distance, and I hurried up to them. They were +busy skinning a large Ushi-sakana (cow-fish), cutting it into pieces +with their long knives. They did not pay much attention to me, and this +disregard of what would be to others a cause of curiosity and +interruption I afterwards found to be a characteristic of the Ainu. They +are seldom distracted from any particular idea that occupies their mind +at a certain moment. In fact, they are so little accustomed to reflect +at all, that it seems almost impossible for them to think of two things +at the same time. Of all the existing races of mankind they may be said +to be the most purely one-idea'd. + +Stark naked, with their long hair streaming in the wind, they formed a +picturesque group. What a chance for a sketch! I sat down on the sand, +opened my paint-box, and dashed off a picture, when a young lad, who had +taken his share of the fish, came over to see what I was doing. "What is +it?" he asked me in broken Japanese, to which question I answered that I +was painting the group of them. The news seemed to give him a shock. He +rejoined the others, excitedly muttered some words, and apparently told +them that I had painted the whole group, fish and all. Had anyone among +them been struck by lightning, they could certainly not have looked more +dismayed. I never knew until then that painting could have such an +overpowering effect on people, except, perhaps, when one has sat to an +amateur artist for one's own likeness, the result of which is often one +of dumb and blank amazement. Anger and disgust naturally followed. The +fish was thrown aside, but not the knives, armed with which they all +rushed at my back. The sudden change of ideas had evidently made them +exceedingly angry. The grumbling became very loud, and louder still when +they saw me complacently giving the finishing touches to the fish, which +was now left alone, and not as before shifted about every second. They +grew wilder and wilder, until one of the crowd shouted in my ears some +words which sounded remarkably like swearing. Nevertheless it takes more +than that to stop me from sketching; but ... "By Jove!" I exclaimed, +when, all of a sudden, a rush was made on me. My paint-box, picture, +palette and brushes were snatched out of my hands and smashed or flung +away, and I found myself stretched on the sand, my late involuntary +sitters holding me down fast by the legs and arms. A big knife was kept +well over my head, so that I should not attempt to move, while the +painting, on a heavy wooden panel, was being mercilessly destroyed by +others. "If these are Christians, well I am ..." were, I must confess, +the first words that rose to my lips. + +It is, indeed, difficult to describe how and what one feels when, to all +appearance, one is going to be murdered--for painting a fish! My first +thought, of course, went to my parents. My next was, what a nuisance it +was to be murdered with the sun shining in my eyes, so that I could not +even see who would give me the "finishing touch." All the events of my +life, the bad ones first, flashed across my mind in those few seconds, +and then I almost began to feel as if I had made my first steps into the +other world, and I could see angels and devils disputing for my +company--the devils, of course, having by far the largest claims. The +bitterness of death had in some sense passed, when, to my great +astonishment, and with a few, but very sound, kicks I was made to +understand that I could get up and go. + +The sensation of being brought back to life, when one has made up one's +mind to be dead, notwithstanding the abrupt manner in which it was +produced, was indeed a pleasant one. I did get up, and pretty quick, I +can tell you; but only to see my poor wooden paint-box floating +half-smashed in the sea, my brushes stuck here and there in the sand, +and the sketch utterly destroyed. + +My assailants were about fifteen or twenty, and I was alone. Stupidly +enough, and relying on the Christianity of the people, I had not +burdened myself with the extra weight of my revolver; I had left it with +my heavy luggage in the small Japanese tea-house where I had put up, +nearly a mile away. The Japanese police-station was at Washibets, +another village some miles off. Nothing was left for me but to pick up +the few unbroken brushes which were within easy reach and retire; but I +was neither frightened nor conquered, and I swore to myself that I would +have my revenge. I hurried to the tea-house, took my revolver, and +filled my pocket with cartridges, then I ran back to the spot where I +had sketched and been assaulted. There they all were as I had left them, +one of them mimicking me with the broken palette, which he had fished +out of the sea. I had kept well behind some thick brushwood, so that +they should not see me, and for some time watched them unobserved. The +imitation was perfect. The impromptu Raphael's hair was long enough to +give him the look of an artist, and he was sufficiently brave to carry +on his imitation sketching under a shower of missiles and sand thrown at +him by his friends and companions. As he turned his head I recognised in +my brother-artist the man who had been holding the knife over my head +about an hour before, and also the very person who had given me the +soundest kick. Just like a brother-artist! If my sketching had not +lasted long, his parody was even shorter. I sprang out from the +brushwood screen and caught him by the throat, pointing my revolver at +his head, and telling him in Japanese to follow me to the +police-station. Another man, attacking me from behind, stabbed me in my +left arm, but not very severely, as I saw him just in time to avoid his +blow. The sight of my revolver had a salutary effect on my hairy +friends, and they were done out of their fun when, keeping them at bay, +I told them that if they did not follow me they would all be dead men +before they knew where they were. They had seen guns of the Japanese, +and they knew the effects of them, so the saucy gentlemen stroked their +hair and beard and made signs of submission and obedience. However, I +was not to be easily appeased, as it was necessary to give them a lesson +to prevent the same thing happening to future travellers; so I made them +march in front of me, not caring to have them at my back, and thus took +them all to the Japanese police-station, where they were duly arrested. +The Japanese are very severe with recalcitrant Ainu, and my assailants +would have been unmercifully dealt with had it not been for their wives +and children, who came to me begging me to forgive their husbands and +fathers for what they had done. I willingly did so, on condition that +they should all come and prostrate themselves at my feet, imploring +pardon and forgiveness and offering submission, as well as confessing +their sorrow. This penitential function was reluctantly fixed by the +Japanese policeman--the only one in the place--at a late hour in the +afternoon. During the interval, as I fortunately had a large supply of +painting materials, I managed to repaint from memory the scene +represented in the sketch destroyed. The evening came, and the little +Japanese policeman brought the resigned and humbled Ainu to the inn. +Their wives and relatives followed, and they all looked supremely +mournful and sad. I sat, Japanese fashion, on the small verandah on the +ground-floor, and the policeman placed the Ainu on a line in front of +me, and then came to sit by my side. He then addressed them, partly in +the Ainu language, partly in Japanese, and bestowed on them names which +went well to the point. He scolded them harshly, and asked them why they +had assaulted me. + +One of them, as grave as a judge, with his eyes cast down, and in a +half-broken voice, came forward and said, that if once you have your +likeness taken you have to give up your life to it, and it brings +illness to yourself, to your children, your parents, and your +neighbours. Not only that, but as I had _taken_ many people together, +famine was sure to fall on the country. "Then," he added--and he seemed +positive of what he was talking about--"then there was a fish the +stranger _made_"--the Ainu have no word for painting--"and had we not +destroyed his _makings_ all the fish would have disappeared from the +sea, and all the Ainu would have died of starvation"--which was a +terrible contingency, as the Ainu live mainly by fishing. "We have not +hurt the stranger," continued this hairy representative of Master +Eustache de St. Pierre, "and now that all the Ainu and the fish he made +are destroyed we are safe." + +"You are mistaken," said I, when, by the aid of the policeman, I +understood the meaning of this long harangue, and I produced the large +sketch of the scene which I had repainted from memory. This certainly +beat them. They could hardly believe their own eyes, and looked at each +other as if some great calamity were approaching. I have no doubt that +they considered me an evil spirit, and, as such, too powerful to be +contended with. Discretion was their best part of valour, as they +proved. One by one they approached the verandah, sat cross-legged in +front of me, rubbed their hands together, stroked their hair and beard +three times, and three times each put his head down to my feet, begging +my pardon. The Ainu women and children who had assembled in the back +yard, where the function took place, were crying and moaning piteously. +The most trying part for me was, of course, to keep serious during this +long tragi-comic performance, and I was indeed glad when it was all +over; when my supremacy was acknowledged, and my immunity from further +insult secured; when submission had been made, and such whips and stings +of outrageous fortune as might come from the painting of a fish had been +humbly accepted. + +The Ainu are gentle and mild by nature, but, like all ignorant people, +they are extremely superstitious, and superstition is a powerful +excitant. Nevertheless, they are good people in their own way, and it +must not be inferred from this small experience of mine that they are +bullies, for they are not. The superstition regarding the reproduction +of images is common all through the East, with the exception of the +Japanese, and in many parts of Europe itself strange ideas are connected +with portrait-painting. In Spain or Italy many a girl of the lower +classes would think herself dishonoured if she happened to be sketched +unawares, or if her picture were shown without the consent of her +parents, brothers, relatives, and the parish priest. + +However, these Horobets Ainu are said, since civilisation has set in in +that part of Yezo, of late years to have become untrustworthy and +violent. They are more given to drunkenness than their neighbours, as +they can procure from the Japanese stronger beverages than their own. +_Sake_ (Japanese wine) of inferior quality is sold and exchanged in +large quantities, and has the same fatal effects on them as rum--our +fire-water--had on the American Indians. + +I was not sorry to leave a village which had displayed so little +appreciation of my art. I took two ponies and two pack-saddles, to one +of which was lashed my baggage, while I sat on the other. Riding is a +delightful pastime when you have a good horse and a good saddle; but not +when you have to look after two vicious animals, and are yourself +perched on a rough wooden pack-saddle. Moreover, Ainu pack-saddles are +perhaps the most uncomfortable of their kind. The illustration shows one +of them. It is made with a rough, solid wooden frame, of which the front +and back parts are semicircular. One large hole is perforated in each of +these to allow ropes to be passed through. Under this frame are two mat +cushions or pads, which are somehow supposed to fit the pony's back; and +by means of three ropes, one of which is passed under the pony's body +and fastened on each side of the saddle, while the others hang loose +across its chest and under its tail respectively, the pack-saddle is +made to remain in position either going uphill, downhill, or on level +ground. Stirrups, of course, there are none; and mounting involves some +difficulties at first. One has to face one's pony and place the left +foot on the breast-piece, lift oneself up and swing right round, +describing three-quarters of a circle before attaining one's seat in the +saddle. If distances are miscalculated in this gymnastic feat, it is a +common occurrence to find oneself seated on the pony's neck, or else +landed heavily on either of the two hard wooden arches of the saddle, +instead of gracefully falling between them. Keeping your equilibrium +when you are on is also a trying exercise to anybody not born and bred a +circus rider, and balancing your baggage perfectly on each side of the +saddle is somewhat more difficult than it sounds. + +[Illustration: PACK-SADDLE.] + +Nine miles from Horobets one comes across the Nobori-bets[1] +hot-springs. There was, formerly, a _geiser_ here, but it is seldom +active now. These hot-springs are situated two-and-a-half miles from the +sea-coast, and a miserable building, which is a mere shanty, is built in +the vicinity of them, where people who wish to be cured of different +complaints put up and take the waters. + + [1] _Nobori_, mountain, volcano; _bets_, river, stream. + +I rode on to the Noboribets village, consisting of a few houses only; +and, though I reached it late in the evening, I had to ride fourteen +miles further to Shiraoi, "a place of horse-flies."[2] + + [2] _Shirao_, horse-fly; _i_, a suffix meaning _a place_. + +At sunrise I was up again and on my way to Tomakomai,[3] the largest +Japanese fishing village between Mororran and Cape Erimo. + + [3] _To_, lake, swamp; _mak_, behind; _oma_, inside; _i_, a suffix + meaning _a place_, or "a place behind which a hidden swamp is + found." + +[Illustration: NOBORIBETS VOLCANO.] + +Sardine fishing is the principal and, indeed, the only industry of the +place. It is carried on in a practical way. When the long nets are +ready, and one end of them is fastened to the shore, they launch the +boat, which is rowed rapidly by twenty or thirty strong men, while the +net is dropped as the boat goes along. Having thus described a +semicircle, the boat is beached. All on board jump out, and the net is +pulled on shore amid the shrieks and yells of the excited fishermen. +Myriads of sardines are caught each time the net is hauled in; and it is +a fantastic scene to see the naked crowd which, in clearing the nets +from the beheaded fish, get covered with silver scales, which stick to +their arms, legs, and body, and give them a strange appearance. + +_Look-out_ towers are built on four high posts, where a watchman is +posted to signal the arrival and approach of the shoals. The sea is so +dense with them that it changes its colour, and these moving banks of +sardines are distinguishable four or five miles from the coast. This +method is the same as that adopted in Cornwall when the pilchards are +expected, and the same discoloration of the sea takes place. + +From Tomakomai a road branches to the north leading to Sappro, the +capital of Hokkaido, and it is the last place on the southern coast +which is visited by that rare specimen of the globe-trotter who ventures +to Yezo. He hastily makes his way from here to Sappro and Otaru on the +northern coast, and waits for a ship to be conveyed back to Hakodate. He +then, of course, tells his friends that he has been round and about and +through Yezo, while in fact he has seen absolutely nothing of Yezo or +its inhabitants. About half-a-dozen Europeans, however, have been +further on--as far as the Saru River; and each one has written a book on +the Ainu, for the most part copying what the previous author had +written. + +As far as Tomakomai there is a road--a sure sign of civilisation--but +nothing but a horse-track is to be found all along the southern coast +after this place has been passed. + +Changing my ponies at Yuhuts,[4] nine miles east, and again at Mukawa +and Saru-buto, I was able to reach Saru Mombets that same night. Many +Ainu and Japanese fishermen's huts are scattered between Horohuts[5] and +Yuhuts, on the sandy track along the sea. + + [4] _Yu_, springs; _huts_, mouth of river. + + [5] _Horo_, large; _hut_, _huts_, _put_, the mouth of a river. + +The traveller then leaves the sea on the right, and by a very uneven +track, and after fording several rivers of little importance comes to +Mukawa, a dirty little village fourteen miles from Yuhuts. My lunch that +day consisted of a large piece of raw salmon, which was easily digested +in riding nine more miles to Saru-buto. Sharu in Ainu, corrupted into +Saru, means a grassy plain; and _buto_ is a Japanese corruption of the +Ainu word _huts_, the mouth of a river. My ponies must have known of +this "grassy plain," for they went remarkably well, and I reached the +latter village some time before dark, so that I was able to push on to +Saru Mombets, a larger village nearly four miles further. Saru Mombets +translated means "a tranquil river in a grassy plain," a name thoroughly +appropriate to the locality. + +There is nothing to interest the traveller along the coast, unless he be +a geologist. Almost the whole of the western part of the Iburi district +is of volcanic formation. The eastern part is abundant in sandstones, +breccias, and shales. In the neighbourhood of Yuhuts, and all along the +coast as far west as Horobets, pumice forms the surface soil, showing +that in former days frequent eruptions must have taken place. Vegetable +mould alternates with pumice. Sand, clay, tufa, with beds of peat and +gravel, are the components of the soil which is found filling up the +declivities of mountains, covering low-lands and sea-beaches in this +part of the island. Specimens of the palaeozoic group are found in the +pebbles of the Mukawa River and valley, like amphibolite, limestone, +phyllite, sandstone, and clay-slate, besides variegated quartzite of +greenish and red layers. Primary rocks are common all through Iburi and +Hidaka. + +The terraces surrounding the Saru valley are mostly wooded with oak, and +the swampy region between the Mukawa and Sarubuto has many patches of +green grass, and a thick growth of high swamp reeds. + +[Illustration: HOROBETS.] + + + + +[Illustration: STOREHOUSES AT PIRATORI.] + +CHAPTER III. + +Up the Saru River--Piratori and its chief. + + +A large number of Ainu have taken up their abode on the banks of the +River Saru, or Sharu, as it is called by them, and Piratori, nearly +fifteen miles from the coast, is the largest village of the whole +series. + +The scenery from the coast to this village is not grand, but pretty, +through a thickly-wooded country and along grassy plains. The Ainu give +to the plain itself the name of Sharu-Ru, which corresponds in English +to a "track in a grassy plain." Along this water-way, or not far from +it, one meets with numerous small Ainu villages and scattered huts until +Piratori is reached. + +Piratori is a string or succession of many villages on undulating +ground, the last of them being situated on a high cliff overlooking the +river. In the Ainu language _Pira_ means "a cliff," and _Tori_ "a +residence." As in all Ainu villages, the huts are in one line, some few +yards one from the other. Each has a separate structure--a small +storehouse built on piles--generally at the west end of the hut. + +On my arrival at Piratori, I was welcomed by Benry, the _Ottena_ (chief) +of the village, who invited me to his hut and _salaamed_ me in the most +solemn manner, not forgetting to mention incidentally that "his throat +was very dry," and that _sake_ (Japanese wine) could be obtained from a +Japanese who lives opposite to his hut. + +"He is a bad man," said Benry confidentially; "but he sells very good +_sake_." + +The _sake_ was procured, and Benry, beaming with joy, poured it with his +shaky, drunken hands into a large bowl. He then produced a wooden stick, +shaped like a paper-knife, about five inches in length, and waved it in +the air five or six times with his right hand, dipping the point of it +each time into the fluid. "_Nishpa_"--sir, master--said he. Then, +leaning forwards and lifting up his heavy moustache with the small +stick, he swallowed the contents of the bowl at a draught. The same +performance took place each time that some fresh _sake_ was poured into +his bowl, and then Benry, with an inimitable cunning, and a comically +self-sacrificing expression on his face, meekly enquired whether I would +care to see "how much an Ainu could drink." + +"Yes," said I, "we will go down to the river, and you shall show me +there if you can drink it dry." + +"Yie, yie, yie"--no, no, no--hurriedly replied in Japanese the Ainu +chief; "water is too heavy, and I meant wine." Owing to this small +difference of opinion, and having no wish to encourage him in his +drunkenness, Benry's capacity for intoxicating fluids is yet unknown to +the civilised world. + +Benry's house is a palace compared to other Ainu huts. It is much larger +than most of them, and boasts of a wooden floor, in the centre of which +a rectangular fire-place is cut out. The hut has two windows, one toward +the east, the other opening to the south; but no chimney is provided as +an outlet for the smoke. A hole in the west corner of the roof answers +this purpose. The rough wooden frame is thatched with tall reeds and +_arundinaria_, and the roof is shaped like a prism. The different huts +of Piratori vary in size, but not in type. The larger ones cover an area +of about sixteen or eighteen feet square. Most of them, however, do not +measure more than ten or twelve feet square. Benry's house was +exceptionally large, and being such a "swell" one, two rough _kinna_ +(mats) were spread on the floor and a number of Japanese rice boxes and +_shokuji_ tables[6] adorned one side of the dwelling. Over these were +hung a number of swords, knives, etc., most of them with no blade at +all, or with only a wooden one. The few old blades which Benry possessed +were of Japanese workmanship, probably obtained by the Ainu in their +former wars with the Japanese. A few Ainu spears and arrows with bone +and bamboo poisoned points were fastened to the roof. + + [6] Small Japanese dinner tables. + +These Ainu of Piratori have frequent intercourse with the Japanese, who +get from them furs and other articles in exchange for _sake_ or a few +worthless beads. A few half-castes are also found at Piratori. The +Piratori Ainu, with those of Volcano Bay, as we have seen, are those +best known to the civilised world, as a few foreigners have travelled so +far to see them. I may mention that as types the inhabitants of Piratori +are a great deal better than the residents of Volcano Bay, most of whom +are half-breeds; but even they themselves cannot be taken as fair +specimens of their race, for they have adopted several customs and +habits of the Japanese, which the incautious traveller has then reported +as purely Ainu customs. For instance, the pure Ainu diet consists almost +entirely of fish, meat, and seaweeds. Only occasionally are the roots of +certain trees eaten. At Piratori I found that many grow and eat millet, +and corn and bad rice are also sometimes procured from the Japanese. +Benry has also gone so far in the way of civilisation as to invest his +small fortune in buying half-a-dozen hens and a cock, with whom he +shares his regal home. These hens lay eggs according to custom, and +Benry and his "wife" eat them. As the Ainu language has no special word +for this imported kind of bird, they are known by the name of "kikkiri." + +[Illustration: BENRY, THE AINU CHIEF OF PIRATORI.] + +After the experience which I had had at Horobets I decided to be more +careful with my sketching. I broached the subject to Benry, and asked +him to sit to me for his portrait. At first he was very reluctant, but +the prospect of receiving a present finally overcame his scruples--for +he was indeed civilised in this respect, and understood the worth of his +version of the almighty dollar to perfection--and, consenting to be +sketched, he sat--at the outset with as much courage as docility. He +produced a crown of shavings and seaweed, which he solemnly placed on +his head, whilst his better-half helped him on with his regal _imi_ +(garments), as well as a large sword, which also made part of his regal +insignia. The crown had in front a small bear's head roughly carved in +wood, and the clothes were very gaudy. They were made of strips of blue, +white, and red cloth sewn together. The materials used were Japanese, +but they were cut and arranged in a thoroughly Ainu pattern. Though he +began well, Benry was not a good sitter, and, like most animals, he did +not like to be stared at. He felt the weight of a look, as it were, and +it made him uncomfortable. Not many minutes had elapsed before he became +openly impatient; he even showed his temper by flinging away his crown +and his wooden sword. On the other hand, sketching in Benry's house was +no easy matter for me. With all the respect due to the chief of +Piratori, I am bound to say that his house was not a model of +cleanliness. Those of his hairy brothers and subjects were no better +than his, and many were a great deal worse. Fleas and other insects were +so numerous that in a few minutes I was literally covered with them, +each one of them having a peaceful and hearty meal at my expense, while +I, for the sake of art, had to go on with my sketch and leave them +undisturbed. Notwithstanding all this Benry was immortalised twice that +day, and his maid, housekeeper, or wife--three words which have the same +meaning to the Ainu--was also handed down to posterity while in the act +of spinning the inner fibre of the _Ulmus campestris_ bark, destined to +form a new garment for her lord, master, and husband. + +When I went out to sketch the houses and storehouses in the village +Benry and another man followed me everywhere; but neither he nor his +fellow-shadow seemed to take any interest in the sketching. In Japan, +Corea, and China I have often been surrounded by hundreds of people +attentively watching every stroke of the brush, and I have always found +them clever and quick in making out the meaning of each line or +brush-mark. I can assert, without fear of being contradicted, that the +majority of Japanese, Coreans, and Chinese are even quicker than +Europeans in that respect, owing to the fact that lines constitute for +them the study of a lifetime. Chinese characters, which are nothing but +a deep study of lines, are adopted by the three above-mentioned nations, +and I consider this to be the original cause why this artistic insight +is to be found even among the lowest classes. The Ainu have no such +insight; they have no characters, no writing of any kind, no books, and +it is therefore not astonishing that they are not trained to understand +art, bad as it may have been in my case. Their appreciation of lines is +yet in the rudest form, and they possess no more than what is +instinctive with them. For instance, while I was sketching, Benry and +his friend either sat or crouched down by my side like two dogs, and +when my sketch was finished I showed it to them. + +"Pirika, Pirika! Nishpa!" ("Very pretty, very pretty, sir!") Benry +exclaimed with perfect self-assurance; but when I asked him what he +thought the sketch represented, he cut me short by saying that _I_ had +done the picture and _I_ ought to know what it was meant for; he did +not. His friend agreed with him. + +When my work was done we three walked back to Benry's house, my two Ainu +friends being very anxious that I should get something to eat. From +their conversation and gestures I caught that it seemed incomprehensible +to them that I should sit in front of an Ainu hut and--to use their +expression--"make all sorts of signs on a wooden panel." After a lengthy +discussion the two came to the conclusion that houses in our country +were so bad that I had been sent to the Ainu country to "copy" the +pattern of Ainu huts! + +Benry seemed excited about something, and hurried us back with curious +haste and eagerness. When we left the house in the morning I saw Benry's +better-half placing a few eggs in water to boil over the fire. When we +entered the hut, nearly two hours afterwards, the eggs were still +boiling, and no fair maid within yelling reach. In order that the fire +might not go out during her absence the thoughtful girl had placed the +largest portion of the trunk of a tree in the fireplace! + +Taken altogether, Benry and all his Saru Ainu are very good-natured. +They gradually got accustomed to being sketched, seeing that after all +it really did not bring on them "immediate death." + +The more one sees of the Ainu the dirtier they appear, but as dirt to a +great extent contributes to picturesqueness, I was indeed sorry when +Benry, exercising his authority, sent several of my sitters to dress up +in their best clothes--often Japanese--while I should have preferred to +sketch them in their every-day rags. I must say, for their sake, that +they were never sent to wash. Being a rapid sketcher, I had recourse to +a trick. I pretended to sketch one given person, who, of course, was +sent at once to "dress up," and while he or she, after having returned, +posed patiently for half an hour or more, I in the meantime took +sketches of four or five different natives, who were not aware that they +were being portrayed. As the Ainu--and they are probably not the only +people--could not make either head or tail of my sketches, my trick was +never found out. + +One day, old Benry led me by the hand in the most affectionate manner to +a hut some way off, and confidentially told me that we were going to see +his favourite girl and her boy. + +"This," said the chief triumphantly as we went in, "this is Benry's +_Pirika menoko_" (pretty girl), "and that"--pointing to a youth--"her +only son." + +"And what about the old hairy lady in your own hut?" I inquired. + +"That is my _Poromachi_" (great wife), said he, qualifying matters with +a compliment to the elder woman, "and this is my _Pon-machi_" (small +wife). + +"Why should you have two wives, you old Mormon?" + +"Nishpa," retorted he, "my great wife is old, and she is only fit to do +all the rough work in the house and out. My hair is white, but I am +strong, and I wanted yet a young wife." + +Indeed, there was enough mother-wit in Benry to have made him either a +scamp or a philosopher. His theories were as remarkable as they were +accommodating, particularly to himself. + +Returning from the house of his love, the chief was in a very talkative +mood, and he related two or three Japanese stories, which he wanted me +to believe to be pure Ainu legends. A learned missionary and two or +three travellers before him, who had visited Piratori previous to +myself, have accepted these so-called legends wholesale, taking Benry's +word for their accuracy, which, as the old chief speaks very good +Japanese, of course simplified the task of understanding and +transcribing them. I was, however, much surprised to find that such +learned Europeans could yield such ready credence to a barbarian Ainu +chief. + +Thinking that it would please me, Benry told me the story of a deluge +and a big flood, in which nearly all the Ainu were drowned. The few that +escaped did so by finding refuge on a high mountain. + +"Where did you learn this story, Benry?" I asked sternly. + +"Nishpa, it is an old Ainu story, and all strangers who come to Piratori +write it in their books." + +"Oh, no, Benry, you know well that _one_ stranger did not write it in +his book," said I quickly, as if I knew all about it. + +"Oh, yes, nishpa; _that_ was the stranger who told me the story!" + +This small anecdote shows how careful one ought to be in accepting +information which may sound extremely interesting at first, but is +absolutely worthless in the end. + +[Illustration: AINU MAN WAVING HIS MOUSTACHE-LIFTER PREVIOUS TO +DRINKING.] + + + + +[Illustration: AN AINU FESTIVAL.] + +CHAPTER IV. + +An Ainu Festival. + + +The Ainu have few public performances, and no special time of the year +is fixed for them. As it so happened, a festival--a "Iyomanrei"--took +place while I was at Piratori. + +The performance was held in a large hut belonging to the heir apparent +to the chieftainship of Piratori. I went to the hut and asked whether I +could attend the performance. The host, in answer, came to meet me at +the door, and, taking me by the hand, led me in. I was shown where to +sit, on the southern side of the hut, the place of honour for strangers, +and my host sat in front of me and saluted me in Ainu fashion. + +Benry and several old men were squatting on the floor, Benry in the +middle, and he was again gorgeous in his regal clothes. Some of the +others, who wore a crown like Benry's, were chiefs of the neighbouring +villages, who had come up for the grand occasion. + +One by one all the men present rose and came to stroke their hair and +beard before me, and I returned the compliment as well as I could in +Ainu fashion. The hut was gradually getting filled, and each man that +entered first saluted the landlord, then Benry, then myself, and +ultimately the two guests between whom he sat. Women and children +occupied the darker west end of the hut, and they took no active part in +the function. Other chiefs came in, and Benry was surrounded by many of +them and by elderly men. + +The whole group of these chiefs, with their long white beards, lighted +up by a brilliant ray of sunshine, which penetrated through the small +east window, was extremely picturesque. + +In its savagery it was almost grand, with a barbaric quasi-animal sense +of power and irresponsibility. In truth, it was a wonderful sight to see +all these hairy people assembled in this small place--men, yet not men +like ourselves--men, and not brutes, yet still having curiously brutish +traits athwart their humanity. + +The performance was simple, but really fine in its simplicity. A fire +burning in the centre of the hut, and filling the place with smoke, +added, by its suggestive dimness, to the picturesqueness of the scene. +It was strange that the only ray of sun which came in should fall on the +most interesting group. Was it chance or design? Rembrandt himself would +have delighted in painting that scene. + +Benry looked every inch a king, and several of the younger men were +busily engaged lighting his pipe and refilling it with tobacco. He +puffed away at such a rate that no sooner was the pipe filled than it +was smoked and handed over again to undergo the same process. + +Two large casks of Japanese _sake_ were brought in, and each man +produced his wooden bowl. + +The host came slowly forward, and planted an _Inao_--a willow wand with +overhanging shavings--in one corner of the fireplace; then muttered a +few words, which implied that the _sake_ could now be poured out. A +Japanese lacquer rice-box was filled with the intoxicating liquid, and +no sooner had this been done than old Benry, forgetting his dignity, +jumped up and made a rush for it, filled a large bowl, and retired to a +corner to drink it. All the men present followed his example. Benry was +never selfish when he had had enough for himself. He filled his bowl +again and brought it to me, saying that I was a friend of the Ainu, and +must join them in the drinking. + +My attention was suddenly drawn to three old chiefs, who, half drunk, +stood in front of the small east window. They dipped their +moustache-lifters in their bowls, waving them towards the sun as a +salutation to the "Chop Kamui," the "Great Sun." There was no religious +character attached to this libation offered to the sun, no more than +when we take off our hats passing a respected friend in the street. It +is a mere sign of respect, not of worship. Besides, it must be clearly +understood that no "offerings" of wine are ever made by the Ainu to the +"Great Sun," and that the "libations" offered are invariably consumed by +the offerer. + +I managed to get several sketches of the assembly, and every moment I +expected to get into trouble again; but this time they took it most +kindly. + +The hut became very stuffy, owing to the large number of persons and the +smoke. There were nearly two hundred people in it, packed closely +together, and there was nothing in the show to interest one--certainly +not the disgusting sight of this drunkenness, which, moreover, became +monotonous as well as disgusting. + +I stroked my hair and beard--the latter only figuratively--in sign of +salute, to the host, Benry, and the other drowsy chiefs, and, carefully +avoiding pushing or treading on any member of the unsteady crowd, I made +my exit. + +Oh, what a treat it was to breathe fresh air again! + +Outside the hut the pretty _menokos_ (girls) of Piratori were having a +lot of fun all to themselves. They were all dressed in long yellowish +gowns, with rough white and red ornamentations on a patch of blue cloth, +on their backs; and each girl took a very active part in a game, or a +kind of savage dance, called Tapkara. They all ranged themselves in a +circle, and a child or two was sometimes placed in the centre. The game +consisted in collectively hopping an indefinite number of times, calling +out either the name, or the accompanying sound, of some of their +everyday occupations, and clapping the hands so as to keep time. For +instance, one sound was "Ouye, ouye" ("Fire, fire"), and they all blew +as when making a fire, and hopped till they were nearly senseless. + +Then the next was "R-r-r, r-r-r, r-r-r," and with this they imitated the +pulling of a rope. + +Then "Pirrero, pirrero; pirrero, pirrero," was the sound accompanying +the action of rowing, imitating the squeaking of the paddle produced by +the friction on the canoe. + +The movement of the arms changed according to the sounds uttered, but +the hopping was kept up continuously. The game reminded me much of our +Sir Roger de Coverley, in a more barbarous form, but certainly not less +pretty than our old country dance. + +[Illustration: AINU WOMEN DANCING, PIRATORI.] + +Late in the afternoon all the men came out of the hut, and by a winding +path I was taken to the valley along the river, at the foot of the cliff +on which Piratori is built. Benry and all the other chiefs remained on +the cliff. Bareback races formed the next and last event in the +programme, and the chiefs were to witness them from their "high point of +view." + +There was great excitement as to who should ride the ponies. The Ainu +are fond of sports, and I noticed that ultimately they were sharp enough +to select their jockeys from among the lightest men. The winner of each +race had a good time of it, but the other unfortunate jockeys were +pulled off the ponies by the angry mob, and knocked about as worthless +beings. + +The evening came, and with the dying sun ended that memorable day of +festivities. I retired. Distant sounds of the _menokos_, still enjoying +themselves, came to me with the wind, but fainter and fainter they grew +as it was getting darker. + +"Pirrero! Pirrero! Pirrero!" I heard again, till at last the sounds +faded away into a mere murmur, and I fell asleep. + +The morning that I left Piratori, old Benry put on his regal clothes and +crown to bid me good-bye. + +"Nishpa, Popka-no-okkayan" ("Sir, may you be preserved warm"), said the +old chief, in the Ainu fashion of bidding farewell; "I have a pain in my +chest, owing to your leaving Piratori, but I shall accompany you part of +the way." + +[Illustration: PIRATORI WOMAN IN COSTUME.] + +I dissuaded the old chief from doing that, but he went on, with his +plaintive voice: "Nishpa, you must tell in your country that Piratori is +a nice place, and all the Ainu are good people. Not like the Shamo" +(Japanese; also half-breeds), "for they are bad. You must return soon," +he added, and, taking my hand, he pressed it to his hairy chest. He then +took me to his hut again, and there renewed his farewells, and I renewed +mine to him, to his _great_ wife, and to his house, for it is part of +the Ainu etiquette to bid good-bye to the house of a friend as well as +to the owner of it. + +The return journey to Saru Mombets was accomplished without much +difficulty. + + + + +[Illustration: UTAROP ROCKS.] + +CHAPTER V. + +From the Saru River to Cape Erimo. + + +After quitting Saru Mombets I was altogether out of the beaten tracks. +The twenty-two miles to Shimokebo were monotonous in the extreme. High +cliffs towered above me on the one side, and the sea stretched into +infinity on the other. River after river had to be waded, the +At-pets,[7] the Nii-pak-pets,[8] and the Shibe-gari-pets.[9] The +Nii-pak-pets is wide and fairly deep. Near the At-pets river the +Japanese Government has established a horse farm, in order to improve +the breed of Yezo ponies. A few miserable Ainu huts are scattered along +the coast, and millions of scavenger crows, with their monotonous cries, +seem to claim sovereignty over these shores. Near the Takae village, on +the Nii-kap-pets, is an enormous perpendicular cliff, which, jutting out +into the sea, bars the way to the traveller; therefore I had to abandon +the sandy shore, and with considerable trouble get the ponies to climb +over the steep banks, which was no easy task for them. Shimokebo is a +peculiar-looking place. It is entirely a fishermen's village, and I put +up at the Ogingawa Zunubi yadoya--a tea-house owned by a Japanese +fisherman. + + [7] At-pets--Elm-tree river (_at_, elm-tree; _pets_, river). + + [8] Nii-pak-pets--also called Nakap-pets. _Nii_, a wood; _pak_, + under; _na_, more; _kap_, bark of tree. + + [9] Shibe-gari-pets--Salmon-trout river. + +Japanese will be Japanese wherever they go, and people who have had +anything to do with them know how difficult it is to satisfy their +curiosity. + +"How old are you?" inquired the _occamisan_--the landlady. "Where do you +come from? What is your country? Why are you travelling? Have you a wife +and children? Can you eat Japanese food; also Ainu food? Can you sleep +in _foutangs_?" (Japanese bedding). "Also with a _makura_?" (a wooden +pillow). + +About fifty more personal and indiscreet questions were also asked, and +all my belongings were examined with ever-increasing astonishment as one +thing after another was handled and investigated. I was tired, and felt +as if I could have kicked the whole crowd of them out of my room; but I +was unintentionally polite to them to such an extent that the +_occamisan_ loudly exclaimed-- + +"_Honto Danna, Anata Nihonno shto, onaji koto!_"--"Really, sir, you are +just like a Japanese!" + +"_Domo neh!_" rose up in a chorus from the large assembly, "_nandemo +dannasan wakarimas!_"--"The gentleman really understands everything!" +This was a decided compliment, and I was bound to accept it as it was +intended. When they heard that I was indeed "_Taihen kutabire mashita_" +(very tired), they reluctantly left the room, and closed the _shoji_ +(sliding doors of tissue paper on a wooden frame). Each bowed +gracefully, drawing in his breath at the same time. This is the Japanese +polite way of leaving a room. Their conversation was resumed in the next +apartment, regardless of the fact that tissue paper walls are not +sound-proof. Remarks on me, not quite in harmony with their courteous +bearing, were passed freely about, and the politest thing I heard them +say was that I must be a _lunatic_ to travel alone in these inhospitable +regions, and what a pity it was for a man _so young_ to be so fearfully +afflicted. + +"Oh, those _seyono shto_ (foreigners) are all born lunatics," said the +voice of one who knew better. + +The Shibegari River, at the mouth of which Shimokebo is situated, is +also called Shibe-chari--"sprinkled salmon river." Very minute traces of +gold are found in the river-sands and gravels, and also some +well-developed brown garnet crystals and quartzite and phyllite pebbles. +The gold, however, is not in sufficient quantity to enable it to be +worked profitably. Seven and a half miles from Shimokebo the Japanese +Government has another horse farm similar to that of the At-pets. + +The travelling along the coast was heavy, and I could ride but slowly. I +had to make the ponies go where the sand was wet along the beach, as +there it was harder and they did not sink. This had its drawbacks, for +the sea was very rough, and once or twice my ponies and I came very near +being washed against the cliffs by some extra large wave. Instead of +green banks, as between Tomakomai and Shimokebo, here were high cliffs +of volcanic formation, with a narrow strip of sand at their foot. + +The few Ainu along the coast were decidedly ugly. It was only now and +then that in a sheltered nook I came across a hut or two of seaweed +gatherers; and, still following the cliffs, I passed two or three small +villages of a few houses each. After fifteen miles of this heavy track I +reached the fishing station of Ubahu, where I was able to obtain some +fresh horses. Prowling along the beach, I examined some of the Ainu +canoes that had been drawn on shore. They might be divided into three +classes--(_a_) the "dug-outs," used mostly for river navigation; (_b_) +the lashed canoe; and (_c_) a larger kind used for sailing. The +"dug-out" does not require explanation, as everyone knows that it is a +trunk of a tree hollowed out in the shape of a boat, and propelled +either by paddling or punting. + +[Illustration: AINU LASHED CANOE.] + +[Illustration: FRONT VIEW OF LASHED CANOE.] + +[Illustration: AINU OARS.] + +The lashed canoes are made of nine pieces of wood lashed together with +the fibre of a kind of vine. The concave bottom is all of one piece--a +partial "dug-out"--to which are added the side pieces, of three planks +each, sewn together at an angle of about 170 deg., and made to fit the sides +of the "dug-out." Two more pieces, one aft and one forward, meet the +side planks at right angles. The length of these canoes varies from 10 +to 15 feet, the width from 3 to 3-1/2 feet. Two pieces of wood are then +lashed horizontally, which answer the double purpose of strengthening +the sides of the canoe and, being provided with pins outside the canoe, +of allowing it to be used as an outrigger when rowing. Canoes are either +rowed or sailed. The oars are made of two pieces firmly lashed together. +A hole is bored in the part which is to be passed through the pin in the +outrigger. One person is generally sufficient to row an Ainu canoe, and +he does so standing. There is no steering gear or rudder, and when +rowing the oars are used for that purpose. Ainu canoes are not decked, +and therefore cannot stand heavy seas. They are alike on both sides, and +in most cases the two ends of the canoe are also shaped alike. There +are, however, certain canoes which, in my opinion, have been suggested +to the Ainu by Japanese boats, and which are flat at the stern. These +are generally larger, and used for sailing. A square mat sail is rigged +on a short mast forward, and the steering is done with one of the oars +at the stern. The sailing qualities of these canoes, however, are not +very great, and the slightest squall causes them to capsize and "turn +turtle." The anchors used by the Ainu are very ingenious; they are cut +out of a piece of wood, with either one or two barbs, and two stones are +fastened on the sides of the stem so as to carry the anchor to the +bottom. No compass is either known or used by the Ainu, and the natives +shape their course by sight of land. They very seldom go long distances +out at sea, as they are fully aware of the dangers of the ocean and of +the imperfection of their own methods of navigation, though they are +wholly incapable of making any improvements by their own judgment. The +canoes are always beached when not used, and each family possesses its +own. There are none which are the property of companies or are common to +certain villages. + +[Illustration: SAILING CANOE.] + +[Illustration: AINU WOODEN ANCHORS.] + +[Illustration: TOP VIEW OF AN AINU CANOE.] + +The track between Ubahu and Urakawa is rough, and the rivers are +somewhat troublesome. Not far from the Mitsuashi river one has to pass a +tunnel which has been made through a rock projecting into the sea. In +rough weather it is difficult and dangerous to get through, as the waves +wash right through the tunnel. In fair weather it affords a safe passage +to the traveller. + +The Matourabets (the winter fishing river) was successfully waded, and +the Ikantai[10] village passed. Then at Urakawa or Urapets (the fish +river) I made a halt for the night. There are many half-breeds at +Urakawa, and a few real Ainu, but the small population is composed +mostly of Japanese fishermen. + + [10] _Ikan_, a canal made by salmon on river-beds to lay their + spawn; _tai_ thick. + +Seven and a half miles further, at Shama-ne--a corruption of _Shuna_, +stones, and _ne_, together--there are some magnificent granite pillars +boldly standing out of the sea. The sandy beach came to an end, and huge +cliffs barred my way in front. I could see that the water was not very +deep round these rocks, as the waves were breaking a long distance from +the cliff, a sure sign of shallow water, though even then it might have +been too deep for my ponies to go through. With great difficulty I got +the two brutes into the sea, trying to round the large rocks for the +better ground, which I hoped to find on the other side. The tide was +low, but the sea was still rough, and nearly every wave as it came in +went right over my ponies, frightening them, and made them extremely +difficult to hold. The instinct of self-preservation made them rush for +the cliff, with the only result that they missed their footing, and they +and I were both swept away by the next receding wave. I was carried off +the saddle, but I had sufficient presence of mind to hold on to the +bridle. An awful struggle ensued between my ponies and myself. Each wave +that came carried and knocked us one way, each wave that retired carried +and knocked us the other. In the midst of all this danger I suddenly +remembered that some years ago a lady who knew all about palmistry +prophesied that I should one day be drowned. + +Had the day come now? Not if energy and perseverance would avert the +doom! After a long struggle, I succeeded in pulling my horses where the +water was a little shallower, and there we three stood for some minutes, +trembling with cold, my two ponies looking reproachfully at me with +those half-human eyes of animals when forced into positions of danger +which they can neither understand nor overcome. It is wonderful the +amount of expression that horses have in their eyes, and how plainly one +can read their dumb thoughts and formless emotions! + +From the point where I was standing I could see that I had to go on but +a few hundred feet more, and that then my ponies and I would be safe. +Sure enough, the water grew shallower and shallower, and, to my delight, +I was soon on the other side of the cliff. At high tide, and in very +rough weather, it is impossible to pass by this ocean-ford. + +Shamane is a picturesque little fishing village, built on the side of a +promontory jutting out into the sea. From there, looking towards +Urakawa, there is a lovely view of all the small islands and +picturesque rocks, standing like huge jewels in the water, while on the +Horoizumi side, as far as the eye can see, there are only cliffs of +peculiar shapes, and marvellously rich in colour. + +I got two fresh animals, and pursued my journey towards Horoizumi. +Rocks, rocks, nothing but rocks! My ponies stumbled and slipped all the +time, and for eighteen miles the riding was hard and intricate. I had to +lead my ponies most of the way, and help them, pull them, or push them, +from one rock on to another, and down the next, and so on. + +The scenery all along was magnificent and grand. A short distance from +Shamane a large natural archway emerges from the sea, which is called by +the Ainu, Shui-shma, "a hole in stone." + +Holes have been pierced through the rocks in several places, to give +comparative safe passage, and to prevent wayfarers from being carried +away by the waves. Over the entrance of one of these tunnels a pretty +waterfall, descending from a great height, gives a poetic effect to the +scene, while it obliges the unfortunate traveller to take an extremely +cold shower-bath, should he wish to push forward on his journey. + +As if all these discomforts combined were not enough, it is to be added +that the rivers in this part of the coast, though not wide, are +extremely swift and dangerous to cross. My second pony was carried away +by the strong current when I crossed the Poro-nam-bets,[11] and I had +great difficulty in rescuing him. + + [11] _Poro_, large; _nam_, cold; _bets_, river. + +At Shamane there are a few Ainu, but from there to Horoizumi I saw none. + +Sardines are very plentiful all along this coast, and long seaweeds also +abound. The latter is used for export, chiefly to China. Horoizumi, a +nice little village of one hundred and fifty houses, is the most +picturesque in Yezo. It is built on the slopes of a high cliff, and it +reminds one much of the pretty villages in the Gulf of Spezia. I arrived +at sunset, and the warm red and yellow tints which the dying orb of day +was shedding on the weather-beaten brownish houses, gave a heavenly +appearance to this very earthly place. As I got nearer, a good deal of +the heavenly had to be discarded, for the odours of fish-manure and of +seaweed are two smells which can hardly claim to be classed under that +heading. The inhabitants of the place themselves seem to feel the +ill-effects of constantly living in that corrupted atmosphere and on a +fish and seaweed diet; for, indeed, it is revolting to see the amount of +horrible cutaneous diseases which affect them. One hardly sees one +creature out of ten that is not covered with a repulsive eruption of +some sort. Leprosy, too, has found its way among the fishermen; and my +readers can easily imagine how pleasant it was for me, when I was +sketching, to be surrounded by a crowd of these loathsome people, who +all wished to touch my clothes and all my belongings, and who would even +lean on my back and rub their heads against mine, when trying to get a +better view of the sketch. + +Poor things! I never had the courage to scold and send them away. It was +enough that they were afflicted, and I did not like to add humiliation +to their other sorrows by showing them my disgust. + +I rode on to Erimo-zaki, or Rat Cape. Thick fogs are prevalent during +the summer months along the whole of the south-east coast, of which +Erimo-zaki is the most southern cape. It is the terminating point of the +backbone of the main portion of Yezo, which extends from Cape Soya to +Cape Erimo from N.NW. to S.SE. A lighthouse has lately been erected on +the cliffs by the Japanese Maritime Department, and a steam fog-horn has +also been provided for the greater safety of navigation, as a reef of +rocks and a stretch of shallow water extend out in the sea for about two +and a half miles from the coast. + +The foghorn, I was informed, was only blown when the lighthouse-keeper +suspected some ship was likely to make for the rocks! A likely thing, +indeed! + +"But how are you to know, especially when there is a thick fog on?" I +asked. + +"So few ships pass near here," was the reply; "and it would not be much +use keeping steam up all the time to blow the horn, considering that we +have fog during nearly four months in the year." + +"Then," I could not help remarking, "I expect you only light the +lighthouse when there is going to be a wreck?" + +"Oh, no; we show the light every night." + +This was just like the Japanese! Owing to the imperfectness of +charts--none delineating correctly that part of the coast--the strong +currents, the thick fogs, and the dangerous reefs, there could not be a +more perilous coast for navigation than that which terminates in Cape +Erimo. The ships which go from Shanghai, or some of the ports in the +Petchili Gulf in China, to North American ports, often steer this course +through the Tsugaru Strait and pass directly south of Cape Erimo. Thus +the _Mary Tatham_ (an English screw-steamer), while on her journey from +Shanghai to Oregon, was lost in 1882, with nearly all lives on board, +about two miles from this cape. + +At the foot of the Erimo cliffs is a small fishing village called Okos. +The sea is shallow at this place, and there are many low-lying reefs +which afford abundance of kelp and seaweeds. + +A short time before I arrived at Okos a man had gone out in his boat to +save some nets in which a large fish had got entangled. His boat +capsized, and he was drowned. His wife was in a dreadful state of mind, +not for the loss of her better half, but for the more irreparable loss +of the nets. + +The distance between Horoizumi and Cape Erimo is seven and a half miles, +and the track is exceedingly rough in many places. Nearly half-way +between the last-mentioned village and the cape are the three high +pillars called _Utarop_, which are represented in the illustration at +the head of the chapter. + +As it was impossible to take my ponies along the few miles between Cape +Erimo and Shoya, following the precipitous coast, I retraced my steps to +Horoizumi, meaning to attempt the mountain pass the next morning. + +[Illustration: ERIMO CAPE.] + + + + +[Illustration: A NATURAL STONE ARCHWAY NEAR SHOYA.] + +CHAPTER VI. + +From Cape Erimo to the Tokachi River + + +The mountain pass between Horoizumi and Shoya is supposed to be very +dangerous on account of bears. I rode the ten miles quietly, but failed +to meet or see any. The way through thick woods is exceedingly pretty. +After traversing a small valley with a dense growth of scrub-bamboo, it +climbs a small hill, from the top of which a lovely view of Cape Erimo +lies like a picture before one's eyes. There are only thirty houses at +Shoya, and the place could not be better described than by the words "a +miserable hole." The rough weather, as well as several landslips, had +some time before my arrival broken all communication between Shoya and +the next village east of it. There is a rough mountain trail as far as +Saruru, but my ponies could not possibly get through the scrub-wood and +heavy climbing, and none of the natives could be induced to carry my +luggage. They all positively refused to follow me on account of the +multitude of bears which they said were on the mountains. + +"If the sea goes down," said an old fisherman, "you may be able to get +through early to-morrow morning at low tide; and, if you are careful, +you will not be washed away by the waves." The cliffs near Shoya are +remarkable for their beauty. They are mostly older eruptive rocks which +nature has carved into hundreds of rugged and fantastic forms. About a +mile from the village is a huge natural archway, and from this point +begin the precipitous cliffs, pillars, and rocks which make the journey +so difficult. + +At Shoya there are no pure Ainu, but some of the fishermen exhibit +traces of Ainu blood. My recollection of Shoya is decidedly not of a +pleasant character. I put up in the house of a fisherman, which also +answers the purpose of a tea-house for the few stranded native +travellers. + +"We are so poor," said the landlord when I asked for something to eat, +"and we have finished our provisions of rice. The other people in the +village are poorer than we are, and they also have none; and as for +fish, the sea has been so rough for several days that we have not been +able to catch any. We ate the last scrap of fish we had just before you +arrived! If you gave me a fortune, I could not give you anything to +eat." + +When the landlord confessed this to me in the evening, I had already +been fourteen hours without food. The prospect of not getting any more +for at least the next eighteen or twenty hours was not an agreeable +look-out. I was very hungry, but, failing a meal, the next best thing +was to try and go to sleep. Even that did not prove successful, for +hunger keeps you awake, and in its first stages sharpens all your senses +considerably. + +The night I spent at Shoya is worthy of a description. From top to +bottom the corners of my room were filled with webs, which the spiders +had spun undisturbed in all directions across the room. Hundreds of +flies and horseflies rose buzzing when I entered the room, and I had to +engage in a very unequal war against them before I could settle down on +the hard planks. In one corner of the ceiling a big, long-legged spider, +too high for me to reach, was enjoying a good meal out of a huge +horsefly which he had captured in his net. I almost envied the +long-legged epicure. Nature will be ironical sometimes. When night came, +and I was still sleepless, the planks on which I was lying seemed harder +than any planks I had ever slept on before. I turned round one way, +then the other, then another, till all my bones were aching. Finally, +through exhaustion, I fell asleep, and even had a nightmare. In my +dreams, the ghosts of all the spiders I had killed, magnified to the +size of human beings, were dancing round me, while one fat old +fellow--fatter than any two others put together--was gravely sitting on +my chest watching the performance. His weight was such that I was nearly +suffocated. Sometimes he would seize me by the throat and almost choke +me, while the dancing spiders would choke themselves with laughing ... +when-- + +"_Hayaku Danna!_"--"Quick, sir!" said a Japanese voice, waking me +suddenly; "get up, or else the tide will rise, and you will not be able +to get to Saruru." + +I opened my eyes; the dream passed, and the monstrous spiders vanished; +but the pain caused by the emptiness of my stomach was still there, and +my throat was dry and aching. + +It was before sunrise, and it was almost in complete darkness that I +left Shoya. I was weak and chilly. The monotonous sound of the waves +breaking over the shore added melancholy to _malaise_, and made me very +doleful and limp. Nevertheless, as I was in for it, I pushed my way with +my ponies along high cliffs and among rocks, and got on as best I could. + +Where the sea had receded the stones were slippery, and my two animals +were no sooner on their feet than they were down again on their knees. +The hollow sound of their hoofs on the rocks was echoed from cliff to +cliff, and awakened the sleepy crows from their night's repose. I had to +walk most of the way, and urge on my ponies with howls, as well as stir +them up with the whip. Though the tide was low, the waves often washed +up to my waist. Daylight came, and I went along, following the high, +rugged cliffs, through tunnels occasionally, among rocks continually. +The scenery was really magnificent, seen as it was in the mysterious +morning light of the rising sun. My horses were done up when I got to +Saruru, and I exchanged them for fresh ones. By this time the tide had +risen, and it was not possible to proceed any further along the +sea-shore. I was glad of it, as I should thus be forced to try the +mountain track, which I was told was not so very rough from this point. +A half-caste offered to show me the way. It was a very stiff climb among +thick shrub, but it was comparatively smooth work after the experience +of my journey from Shoya. I came across many tracks and footprints of +bears on the mountain. In some places the marks were quite fresh and of +different sizes, varying in length from one foot to four inches. The +half-caste told me that black bears seldom attack men unless they are +hungry. They often attack horses. + +"But if they hear that a man is near they will not dare to attack even +the horses," he said, and then began to sing at the top of his voice. +His singing, half Japanese, half Ainu, was so excruciating that it was +no wonder to me that it kept the bears away. + +We crossed two rapid streams before reaching the summit of the mountain +range. The view from the summit was lovely. In the distance I could +distinguish two headlands, while an immense stretch of stormy sea and a +high mountain were in the foreground. I began to descend, and again I +got into the region of thick forest and scrub. I perceived a few houses +near the coast, and we made for them. It was the village of Moyoro,[12] +or Biru, as it is called by others. + + [12] Moyoro. _Moy_, a bay; _oro_, to be in. + +Between Saruru and Biru, where the mountain track sometimes descends to +the shore, I found many Ainu and half-breeds, especially in the two +villages of Onnito[13] and Bitatannuki.[14] They are said to be very +bad, and what I saw of them, even at Biru, corroborated this assertion. + + [13] Onnito. _Onni_ or _Onne_, great, large; _to_, lake, swamp. + + [14] Bitatannuki. _Bita_, to undo; _tannu_, long; _ki_, rushes, + reeds. + +Biru is situated on a small bay, in the centre of which some gigantic +pillars stand out at a great height. The rough sea dashes against them, +and thousands of crows and sea-birds have chosen these rocks for their +abode. Biru is not a large village. There are only forty fishermen's +huts, most of which are on the high cliff surrounding the small bay; the +others are down on the beach. Kelp, seaweed, and sardines are as +abundant here as on the south-west coast, and maintain the staple +industries of the inhabitants. The sea-weed is of great length but small +width. Fourteen more miles over the cliffs brought me to Perohune.[15] +There were four large deltas to cross, that of the Toyoi-pets[16] being +the largest. The current in all these rivers is extremely swift. + + [15] _Pero_ or _Pira_, cliff; _Hune_, _Hun_, a particle indicating + the existence of something at a place. + + [16] _Toy_, earth; _o_, (?) _i_, a place; _pets,_ river. + +Perohune enjoys a big name, but there is only one house in the place. I +was, however, fortunate enough to get two good ponies there. The fog was +settling down thicker and thicker, and I could not see more than a yard +or two in front of me; but at times it lifted up for a few moments, and +showed me either the dangers I was nearing or the landscape I was +losing. I passed two lakes, the Tobuts,[17] otherwise called Oputs, and +the Yuto. Both are divided from the sea by a narrow sand-ridge. There is +but little of human interest along this deserted coast. There are no +houses and no people, but many small rivers, and now and then high +cliffs. My ponies, driven mad by the _abus_, the terrible horseflies of +Yezo, constantly threw themselves down and rolled on the sand. + + [17] _To_, lake, swamp; _buts_, mouth of a river. _O_, a meaningless + prefix; _puts_, mouth of a river. + +From Perohune to Yuto Lake the distance is about eleven miles, and from +Yuto to Otsu it is eleven more miles, on a very easy track. I saw some +large sea-birds and penguins, and I was struck by the great number of +drift logs which had been washed on shore by the sea. The last +thirty-eight miles of the coast was literally covered with this drift +wood. During the summer months the fog is always dense along this coast, +greatly owing to a cold current which comes from the Otkoshk Sea, passes +through the strait between Kunashiri and Etorofu, in the Kuriles, and +then turns south, following a great part of the south-east coast of +Yezo. Not far from Erimo Cape it meets a warm current from the China +Sea, which passes through the Tsugaru Strait, and which in all +probability is the Kuro-shiwo, or Japan current. This Japan current +parts from the main stream near the south-western extremity of Japan, +goes through the Corean Strait, and follows the north-west coast of +Nippon, passing then through the Tsugaru Strait. As will be seen later, +a branch of this current runs along the north-west coast of Yezo, and +through the La Perouse Strait. + +[Illustration: IWA ROCKS AT BIRU.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU HOUSES AND STOREHOUSE, FRISHIKOBETS, TOKACHI RIVER.] + +CHAPTER VII. + +The Tokachi Region--Pure Ainu Types--Curious Mode of River Fishing. + + +The Tokachi River is one of the largest and most important in Yezo. +Knowing that the Ainu either settle on the sea-shore or up +river-courses, I formed an idea that some good types were to be found up +this river. On reaching Otsu, a small settlement at the mouth of the +Otsugawa--a branch of the large delta formed by the Tokachi--my idea was +confirmed by the report that there were no Japanese villages in the +interior. The expedition up the Tokachi River was by no means easy from +the accounts I heard at Otsu. None of the Japanese ever dare to +penetrate into the interior from Otsu, and, so far as foreigners are +concerned, the Tokachi River was utterly unexplored. There is a certain +charm in being the first man to do something, and I decided to attempt +the experiment. The Japanese of Otsu dissuaded me strongly from carrying +out my plan; for they said the grass and reeds were so high that I could +not possibly get through. + +"It is a kind of a jungle, in fact," said they, "in which yellow and +black bears are plentiful. The rivers, which are numerous, are swollen +by the heavy rains that have fallen lately. The natives up the river are +unsociable and bad, and they will kill you. Then in the high grass +horse-flies, black-flies, and mosquitoes abound." + +"If you attempt it alone," said the wise man of the party, "you will not +come back alive." + +These reports were not encouraging, but, anyhow, I determined that, +Irish as it may sound, _dead_ or _alive_, if there were any Ainu up the +stream I would see them. Owing to the difficulty of taking even my usual +baggage, and not wishing to burden my ponies with more than was +necessary, I decided to carry with me only a paint-box, many wooden +sketching panels, my diary, and my revolver. I left all my other things +at Otsu to wait for my return. + +"Should you not come back again, can I keep all your belongings as my +property?" kindly enquired the landlord of the tea-house, when I bade +good-bye to him and to all the villagers who had collected round early +in the morning to see me start. + +I took two ponies, as usual. I left Otsu at dawn, and followed as well +as I could the winding course of the river. Not far from Otsu I came to +the thick jungle of high reeds and tall grass of which I had already +heard. I made my way through the first obstructions; but I had not been +in the jungle more than a few minutes when I was simply devoured by +horse-flies, mosquitoes, and black-flies. My ponies were kicking, +bucking, and trying to bolt, as they also were literally covered with +horse-flies, sucking their blood and stinging them to madness. The reeds +and grass were about ten or twelve feet high, so that, being higher than +myself on my horse, I could not see where I was going. I kept along the +river bank as much as I could; but in many places it was difficult to +get through the ravines which one invariably finds along rivers, so I +kept a little way off on the west side, and had the noise of the running +river to guide me. For many wearisome hours I rode through this jungle, +the dividing reeds continually rubbing against my face, arms, and legs, +sometimes making pretty deep cuts with their razor-edged long leaves. +The huge _shirau_--the horse-flies--grew more and more tiresome as the +sun got warmer, and my head and hands were swollen and bleeding. The sun +was by this time high in the sky, but there were no signs of the jungle +coming to an end, no indications of huts anywhere near--no other noise +but the sound of the crashing reeds and the running water of the river. +My ponies were feeding well, as grass was plentiful; but I was faring +badly. What with the exertion of keeping the ponies in order, while the +densely-entangled reeds nearly dragged me off the saddle--what with the +plague of mosquitoes and horse-flies, added to the sense of weakness +caused by fatigue and hunger--it was really a terrible time for me--one +of the worst episodes in my life. Nevertheless, I persevered, and went +on and on, determined to reach my destination. I came upon two very +large swamps, which forced me to make a wide _detour_. The ponies were +very tired, and so was I. When darkness set in I halted, took the heavy +pack-saddles off the ponies, and tied the animals to them, so that they +could not bolt during the night; and wearied, disheartened, and +discouraged as I was, I began to think how stupid I had been to start on +such an expedition without carrying any provisions with me--without +having provided myself with even a tent or a covering of any kind. + +Circumstances made me a philosopher. What is the use of worrying about +things that cannot be helped? After all, when you get accustomed to it, +starving is really not so bad as people think. One of my ponies was of a +sentimental disposition, and he seemed to understand my troubles. He +came close and rubbed himself against me, placing his head near mine. It +was touching, and in the solitude in which I was the sympathy of the +dumb beast was as precious as that of a human being. Had he been able to +speak, he might have been taken for a Christian, and a good one, too! He +had been fearfully stung by horse-flies, and my petting him seemed to +alleviate his pain. There is nothing like sympathy and a little personal +kindness if one wants to make friends with animals. The last few rays of +light were spent in putting together the notes which I had taken during +the day, and which enabled me to draw a sketch-map of the river. At +Horoizumi some days previously I was able to buy myself a compass from +a Japanese fisherman, and on this occasion it was extremely useful to +me. + +By the soft, or rather shrill, music of a full orchestra of mosquitoes I +fell asleep. It was poetic, but not comfortable. Strange noises woke me +several times during the night. My ponies also were very restless, and +repeatedly tried to get loose while I was lying down on the two saddles +to which they were fastened. + +It was some time after sunrise when I woke up, and with stiff bones set +off again. A heavy dew had fallen during the night, and had made my +clothes very damp. The reeds and grass also were saturated with water, +and riding through them caused a continuous shower to fall over me, +giving me an uncomfortable and by no means efficient kind of shower +bath. + +I rode in a westerly direction till about two or three in the afternoon, +when suddenly the jungle came to an end. Not only that, but a short +distance away I saw some Ainu huts. I soon reached them, dismounted, and +tied my ponies to a tree. I went to the first hut, and previous to going +in I called out: "Hem, hem, hem, hem!" which in the Ainu country is the +polite preliminary when a stranger wishes to enter a hut. The usual +practice of _knocking_ at the door is dispensed with, for Ainu doorways +have no doors. + +"Hem, hem, hem, hem, hem!" called I again much louder, but I heard no +answer; so I lifted the mat and entered the hut. It was empty. No one +was there. I came out again, and went into the next hut, into another, +and yet another; but nobody was to be found. I supposed that they were +all out fishing. From the roof in each hut was hanging some dried and +half-dried salmon. I could not resist the temptation after nearly +thirty-four hours of involuntary fasting; and I stole--I mean +"conveyed," or helped myself to the largest fish. I was greedily eating +it--and how good it was!--when I thought I heard a groan inside the hut. +I listened, and I distinctly heard some one sniffing in a corner of the +dark dwelling. Had I been caught stealing? The crime I had committed +would be called felony at home, but in the Ainu country it has not +nearly so bad a name as that. However, felony or not, I dropped the +fish, or rather what remained of it, and made for the corner whence the +noise came. As I got closer I discerned a mass of white hair and two +claws, almost like thin human feet with long hooked nails. A few +fish-bones scattered on the ground and a lot of filth were massed +together in that corner; and the disgusting odours these exhaled were +beyond measure horrible. + +"What the devil is that!" I said aloud in my own native tongue. I could +hear someone breathing heavily under that mass of white hair, but I +could not make out the shape of a human body. I touched the hair, I +pulled it, and with a groan, and movements similar to those of a snake +uncoiling itself, two thin bony arms suddenly stretched out and clasped +my hand. As my eyes were getting accustomed to the dim light I thought I +saw some almost worn-out tattoo marks on her arms. Yes, it was a woman +in that corner, though her limbs were merely skin and bone, and her long +hair and long nails gave her a ghastly appearance. Indeed, crouched as +she was, doubled up, with her head on her knees, and the long hair +falling over her face and shoulders, it was really difficult to make out +what she was. + +I asked her to come out, but she was apparently deaf and dumb. I dragged +her out, and she made but little resistance; only she preferred crawling +on her hands and knees to walking upright on her feet. There is no +accounting for people's tastes, and I let her please herself in her +manner of locomotion. When she was fairly out in the light I shivered as +I looked at the miserable being before me. I lifted up her hair to see +the face. Her eyebrows were thick and shaggy, and were joined over the +nose. Her eyes were half closed, and dead-looking. The strong light +seemed to affect her, and with her hands she was feeling the ground, +probably in order to retrace her steps back to the dark spot. Nature +could not have inflicted more evils on that wretched creature. She was +nearly blind, deaf, and dumb; she apparently suffered from rheumatism, +which had doubled up her body and stiffened her bony arms and legs; and, +moreover, she showed many of the symptoms of leprosy. Altogether, she +was painful, horrible, disgusting, and humiliating to contemplate. + +I went back to my ponies to fetch my paint-box. During my absence there +had collected round them half-a-dozen Ainu. They did not know what to +think of the appearance of the two animals, and the few articles +fastened to the pack-saddle were regarded with suspicion. When I +appeared on the scene their astonishment was even greater, and it +reached its climax when I saluted them in the Ainu fashion, and told +them that I was a friend of the Ainu. I unfastened my paint-box and went +back to the old woman. She was still where I had left her. All the Ainu +present followed me, and when I squatted down they did the same in a +semicircle round me. My wretched model attempted several times to crawl +inside the hut, but as I was sitting close to her, I prevented her from +doing so. There she sat in the most extraordinary position, with her +head resting on her left hand, and the stiff fingers of her right hand +pressed on the ground. One leg was bent up and the other was folded, +resting on the ground and on the foot of the first. She was sniffing the +wind, and making efforts to see with her half-blind eyes. + +[Illustration: MADWOMAN OF YAMMAKKA.] + +It is hardly necessary to say that I did not keep my model longer than +was strictly necessary, and when the sketch was finished I took her by +the arm, brought her back into the hut, and led her to her favourite +corner. There she crouched herself again, as I had found her; and there +I left her, to bear the miseries of her life, till death, the cure of +all woes, shall take away her soul, if not her body, from the filth she +had lived in. She was neither ill-treated nor taken care of by the +villagers or by her son, who lived in the same hut; but she was regarded +as a worthless object, and treated accordingly. A fish was occasionally +flung to her, as one would to a beast, and in such a condition this +human being had lived, or rather existed, apparently for several years. +Not a word was uttered by the villagers during the few minutes I took to +paint the sketch. I turned round to inspect my new friends. Others had +come up, and these men and women, hairy and partly naked, squatting down +amidst filth, and driven half mad by the horse-flies and black-flies, +looked just like a large family of restless monkeys. They were gentle +and kind--much more so than any of their more civilised brethren; and +one of them, a fine old man, came forward when I came out of the hut and +wished me to go and see a big yellow bear they had captured. I went, and +near the man's hut, in a rough square cage made of crossed branches of +trees, was Bruin grinding his teeth as we drew near. In a sing-song +monotone the man told me the story of the hunt, and how the bear had +been captured. Then we went from one hut to another all through the +village. Yamakubiro is the name given to the huts taken collectively, +but the man took good care to explain to me that one part of the village +(numbering only seven houses) was called Tchiota, and the other, a short +distance away, was named Yammakka. Tchiota in the Ainu language means +"dead-sand," and Yammakka is "land in behind." + +Yammakka has ten huts. The hut in which I had to put up was more than +filthy, and I had a sort of presentiment that my landlord was a +scoundrel. He saw me giving a small silver Japanese coin to a girl I had +painted. From that moment I noticed his eyes were continually fixed on +my waistcoat pocket, out of which I had taken the coin. However, I did +not think much of that, as all Ainu are fond of beads, metals, or +anything that shines. When the evening came I tried to go to sleep on +the hard planks, as usual. There is undoubtedly more _board_ than +_lodging_ about Ainu accommodation. Myriads of Taikkis, the tiny but +troublesome and uninvited guests of all dirty dwellings, did me the +honour to sup off the few drops of blood which remained in my veins. I +owed it to a bottle of Keating's Powder that I was not carried away +bodily by them. I felt cold and feverish, and having no civilised +bed-clothes to cover me, I slept with my clothes on; and this the more +willingly, as I felt an instinctive mistrust of my host, and I thought +it was as well to be ready for any emergency. + +A few salmon were hanging right over my nose. They hung low, but they +smelt high. I had been given a place in the south-west corner of the +hut, and my landlord retired to the north-east corner. Though this may +sound very far, my host was really not more than a few feet away from +me. He apparently thought that I had gone to sleep, for I heard him +creep to my side. I could not see him, being in absolute darkness, but +though he was evidently holding his breath, I could feel the warmth of +his face near mine. He was listening to hear if I were asleep. I kept +quiet, and pretended to snore. This gave him courage, and sliding his +hand gently along my arm, he came to a pocket in my coat. He began to +explore it--but the Ainu are an unfortunate people even when they try to +steal. He had got hold of a pocket with no bottom to it--a common +occurrence in my coats. The more he explored, the more he found there +was to explore. I am fond myself of explorations, and I have no +objection to a fellow-being, hairy or not hairy, "prospecting" my empty +pockets or my pockets which have no bottom to them. However, my host was +not satisfied with the first results of his researches, and with his +hand still through the torn lining of the coat-pocket proceeded to +investigate the contents of my waistcoat pockets. This was a different +matter altogether, and catching hold of him before he was able to +disentangle himself, I swung his arm away and hit him hard on the head +with my right fist. + +"Wooi!" cried he in despair, and half stunned, as he scrambled away as +best he could to his north-east corner. By way of apology and excuse, +and with a trembling voice, the man from his corner said that he had +only come to sleep on my side of the hut, as the wind was blowing strong +where he had lain down, and that my side was warmer. A good excuse +indeed when you are caught _flagrante delicto_ pickpocketing! + +The salmon which my host gave me last night for dinner and this morning +for breakfast was so rotten, that, hungry as I was, I could not eat it. +From Yammakka, in a westerly direction, the way begins with a gentle +incline; therefore there is a complete absence of the high and +troublesome reeds which I had found in the vast marshy plain I had +crossed on my way here from the coast. I intended pushing on to +Frishikobets, a larger village some miles off. The old scoundrel wanted +to accompany me part of the way, saying that there were two dangerous +rivers to cross, and he would show me where to wade them. I fancied that +they were as dangerous as they were imaginary, and I started off +declining his offer. I came across several Ainu huts on my way, passed +the village of Pensatsunai--six Ainu huts--on the Satsunai river, an +affluent of the Tokachi, and then arrived at Obishiro in the afternoon. +There are seven houses at Obishiro. I entered one of them, and to my +astonishment I found myself in front of an old man and a pretty woman, +whose appearance and manners were as refined as those of the better +classes in Japan. A younger man also came in. Their astonishment was as +great as mine, as they had not seen any civilised beings since they had +been there. Though the outside of their dwelling was not prepossessing, +the inside was so clean that I felt as if I had dropped into heaven. +After what I had gone through, this unexpected _rencontre_ brought me +back to life and a belief in the proprieties of a civilised existence, +almost forgotten by now! + +These people had a romantic history. Watanabe Masaru--the younger +man--was a Japanese gentleman by birth and education, but he had no +fortune. Of an adventurous disposition, clever, sensitive, and tired of +the conventionalities of his fatherland, he decided eight or ten years +ago to emigrate to Hokkaido, and there lead the life of a colonist. The +woman he loved was as brave and constant as he. She sailed with him and +her father from Japan, and after a long and perilous journey in a junk +(sailing boat), they landed at the mouth of the Tokachi River. In Ainu +canoes they went up the river, and established themselves at Obishiro, +far from civilisation, nearly in the centre of Yezo. At first they had a +great deal of trouble with the natives, but now they are loved by all. +There, with two lovely children, they lead an ideal life, far from the +madding crowd and noise of the world, and freed from the vulgarity of +society. + +I rode on to Frishikobets village, situated on the Frishiko, "old +river," and in the midst of a beautiful plain. There are only +twenty-eight houses, and they are scattered about in the plain at a +distance of several hundred yards one from the other. Some of the huts +were hidden in the forest. A peculiarity of the Ainu of the Upper +Tokachi River is, that they frequently cover their dwellings and +storehouses with the bark of trees, instead of with reeds, as is the +custom among the Ainu of the Saru River and Volcano Bay. + +I was told here again that Ainu women often suckle small bears at their +breasts so as to fatten them up for the festival; and one not +infrequently sees the women in Ainu households chewing food, and letting +the young cub take it from their lips. + +These Ainu are much more interesting as types, and also much purer in +race, than either the Piratori or the Volcano Bay Ainu. A learned +missionary, who has not himself visited these people, writes as follows +regarding them:--"The Ainu of the Tokapchi district, in Yezo, are spoken +of as having been particularly addicted to this kind of warfare (night +raids against each other, in which the men were murdered, and the women +stolen and used as slaves or kept as concubines), and are even now held +in abhorrence by the people of some villages. They are said not only to +have murdered people, but also to have eaten some of them. They were, +therefore, cannibals, and I have heard them spoken of as 'eaters of +their own kind.'"[18] + + [18] Rev. John Batchelor, 'The Ainu of Japan,' chap. xx. + +From my own personal experience--and I may add I am the only foreigner +who has seen these Tokachi, or as others call them, Tokapchi Ainu--I +came to a conclusion very different from this. I found that not only +were they not cannibals, but that, taken altogether, they were the most +peaceable, gentle, and kind Ainu I came across during my peregrinations +through the land of the hairy people. Indeed, I am sorry to say that it +is not savagery that makes the Ainu bad, but it is civilisation that +demoralises them. The only place in Yezo where I was actually +ill-treated by Ainu, as my readers will remember, is the village where +they were said to be "very civilised." + +I have no wish to force my opinion on the public as the correct one. I +do but describe what I have actually seen in a district in which others +who have written on this subject have never set foot, and I leave it to +my readers to judge who has most claim to be heard. + +The language of the Tokachi Ainu varies considerably from the language +spoken in more civilised districts, and none of the natives up the river +could speak Japanese when I was there. + +[Illustration: AINU WOMAN OF FRISHIKOBETS, ON THE TOKACHI RIVER.] + +Unfortunately, the Ainu of this region are not very numerous, and +constant intermarriage among near relations has proved detrimental to +the race. However, a glance at them is quite sufficient to show the +difference between them and Ainu of other tribes. They are not so +picturesquely arrayed as their more western brothers, and the large +Japanese brass and silver earrings, as well as the glass bead necklaces +which make such a brave show yonder, are replaced here by rough bone or +wooden ornaments. Men and women in summer are almost entirely naked, and +all children are clad in their own bare skins only. Their winter +garments are made of bear and deer skins. Some peculiar snow-sandals, +made of the bark of a kind of ash-tree called _shina_, are sometimes +worn over the winter salmon-skin boots or moccasins. The Ainu make their +ropes out of the bark of this _shina_, though often young vine stems are +used for the same purpose. River fishing-nets are generally made of +young vines twisted. They are of the roughest description, and are only +fit for rivers where fish is abundant, as in the Yezo watercourses. The +Ainu at Frishikobets took very kindly to sitting for their portraits, +and one after the other--all the best types--were immortalised either in +oils or in pencil. Strange to say, I came across another old woman, a +lunatic, very similar to the one I saw at Yammakka. Her face was that of +a witch, her eyebrows joining downwards somewhat in the shape of an +owl's beak. Her long pale hands and face, and the long wild hair +covering half her face, gave her a striking appearance. She had, +however, not yet reached the stage of imbecility which her Yammakka +sister had attained. Lunacy is very common among the Ainu, and the +unfortunate creature thus afflicted seems to lose not only the respect, +but also the pity, as well as care, of all the others, and is treated by +them as a worthless animal. + +After crossing the Frishikobets River, some distance off, on the east +side of the Tokachi River, are the villages of Upar-penai,[19] +twenty-one Ainu huts, Memuro-puto,[20] sixteen huts, and Ottoinnai,[21] +fourteen huts. Then comes Kinney, with seven houses; and finally +Nitumap,[22] the last village on the Tokachi River, has as many as +thirty-six houses. + + [19] _U_, place; _par_, mouth; _pe_, undrinkable water; _nai_, + stream; _Upar-penai_, a place at the mouth of a stream of + undrinkable water. + + [20] _Me_, in front; _mu_, sheltered spot in a river; _ro_, track; + _puto_, mouth of river; _Memuro-puto_, track in front of a + sheltered spot at the mouth of a river. + + [21] _Otto_, into; _i_, a place; _nai_, stream; _Ottoinnai_, a place + in a stream. + + [22] _Nitumap_, open trunk of a tree. + +The huts of the Tokachi region are much smaller than those on the Saru +River, and near many of them is a cage, in which a big yellow or black +bear is confined. The natives told me that yellow and black bears were +numerous in the neighbourhood. Deer (the _yuk_, male deer, and +_mowambe_, female), were formerly plentiful, but now are very scarce. A +few years ago a pestilence killed great numbers of them, and since then +they have dwindled away. + +Not many miles from Frishikobets a huge cliff rises perpendicularly +along the Shikarubets River. A landslip seems to have taken place, which +leaves one side of the cliff perfectly bare and rugged, showing the +strata composing the soil. It is of a light yellowish colour, and it is +called by the Ainu the _Shikarubets Otchirsh_, which translated into +English means "the white cliff on the bend of the river." This cliff +stands very high, and can be seen from a great distance, especially in a +north-east, east, or southerly direction. In winter, when the rushes and +reeds are not so high in the south-eastern portion of the plain, the +white cliff can be distinguished from the whole of the Tokachi valley. +The Ainu themselves use the Shikarubets Otchirsh as a landmark when out +hunting bears. Owing to its light colour it is visible even at night. I +was anxious to ascend it, as I was sure no European foot had ever +trodden on it before. Accompanied by Watanabe Masaru, I started out on +horseback and crossed the Frishikobets village and river. Here we left +our horses under the care of an Ainu till our return. We had to cross +the Tokachi in an Ainu "dug-out," and then, proceeding for several miles +in a northerly direction, we arrived at the foot of the mountain. It +would have been impossible to climb it on the east side, as it is quite +perpendicular; but we were fortunate in getting an Ainu called Unacharo, +who said he knew a point from which we could ascend, and that he would +show us the way. He had been hunting bears on that mountain, and he knew +its slopes well; but as to the way which he was to show us, we had to +make it for ourselves. With our large knives we were forced to break, +cut, and tear the entangled branches of trees and shrubs before we could +get on. We actually had to cut our way through the dense scrubwood until +we reached the summit. The ascent was rather dangerous in some places, +and extremely rough when going through the brushwood. We had to keep as +much as possible near the edge of the cliff, for though it involved more +danger if we slipped or stumbled, the entangled shrubs were not so thick +on the edge as farther inland. Finally, after several hours' hard work, +we reached the top, and were well repaid for our fatigues. The whole of +the Tokachi valley was stretched before us as far as the sea, and almost +the whole course of the winding river, with all its numerous affluents, +could be distinguished like so many shining silver ribbons on the green +background formed by the tall grass and reeds. As a farming region the +Tokachi valley and high plains are certainly the most fertile in +Hokkaido. All the requisites for successful agriculture can be found +there. The absence of the mountain masses of volcanic rocks, so common +all over Hokkaido, the richness of the soil, the quantity of water for +irrigation or for motive power, besides the comparative facility of +making roads on such flat ground, are qualities that good farmers do not +generally despise. It is therefore a great pity to see all that Tokachi +valley practically deserted and so much good land wasted. Hemp, wheat, +corn, potatoes, beans, and all kinds of vegetables and cereals, could be +grown with advantage, and the produce carried down the river to the sea +without much difficulty and at little expense. At Yamakubiro the land +begins to rise in a gentle slope, but only to form a plateau, of which +the top is another large plain reaching to the foot of the Oputateishike +mountain mass. The Otopke Mountain is the highest peak, and resembles in +shape the Fujiama of Japan. On the north-east side of this mountain are +the hot springs of Ni-piri-bets.[23] A kind of wood is said by the Ainu +to be found near these hot springs which is good for curing wounds, +cuts, rheumatism, and other ailments. These hot springs are not of much +importance, and it is but seldom that even the Ainu themselves visit +them. In going to and returning from these springs the Shikarubets +Otchirsh is never lost sight of by the Ainu, and by the aid of this +landmark they return safely to their homes. + + [23] _Ni_, wood; _piri_, wound; _bets_, river. + +All the Oputateishike mountain mass is volcanic, and forms the backbone +of the island of Yezo. From the Shikarubets Otchirsh I was able to draw +a bird's-eye view of the course of the Tokachi River and its affluents, +which afterwards helped me much in delineating a sketch-map of the +Tokachi region, with its complicated watercourses. The two high +mountains of Satsumai and Ghifzan could also be plainly seen from there. +Coming down was much easier than going up, and when we had again reached +the bottom of the mountain we turned northward until we came to the +Shorui-washi River, an affluent of the Tokachi. Previous to this, while +following the course of the Otsu River, I saw a strange sight. When on +the summit of the Shikarubets Otchirsh I had seen two Ainu "dug-outs" +pass up the river, and the Ainu who accompanied us said we should soon +see them coming back again. We were not far from the river banks when +shouts and cries of excitement reached my ears. I hurried on to the +water-side and saw the two "dug-outs" swiftly coming down with the +strong current, parallel with each other at a distance of about seven +feet apart. There were three people in each "dug-out," viz., a woman +with a paddle steering at the prow; another woman crouched up at the +stern, and a man in the middle. A coarse net made of young vines, and +about five feet square, was fastened to two poles seven or eight feet +long. The man who stood in the centre of each canoe held one of the +poles, to the upper end of which the net was attached, and attentively +watched the water. + +"They are catching salmon--look!" said Unacharo to me; "the salmon are +coming up the stream from the sea." The small net was plunged into the +water between the two canoes, and nearly each time a large salmon was +scooped out and flung into one or other of the "dug-outs," where the +woman sitting at the stern crushed its head with a large stone. If a +fish escaped, yells of indignation, especially from the women folk, +broke out from the boats, to be echoed by the high white cliff. Both men +and women were naked, and the dexterity and speed with which they +paddled their canoes down the stream, working the coarse net at the same +time, seldom missing a fish, was simply marvellous. On the other hand, +it must be remembered that fish were so plentiful in the river, that it +was really easier to catch than to miss. In wading the Shikarubets +(river) I could see large salmon passing me by the dozen, and I felt +quite uncomfortable when some large fish either rubbed itself against or +passed between my legs. We got across the Shorui-washi--literally "very +burning a place to stand"--and having then gone far enough from the +Shikarubets Otchirsh to see the whole of it, I managed to take a good +sketch of it. Near this river are some hot springs, called Nishibets, +from which the river has taken its peculiar name. The easiest way to the +Otopke Mountain is to follow the valley between the Shikarubets and the +Otopke River, and then climb the mountain on the north-east side. The +latter part of the journey is extremely rough and difficult. Watanabe +and I returned to Obishiro. It is not often that one anywhere meets with +such simple, straightforward people as these Watanabes. They have lived +alone at Obishiro for eight years among savages, but never in my life +have I met with more civilised, kind, thoughtful, gentle beings than +Watanabe and his wife. As civilisation makes savages bad, I dare say +savage life makes civilised people good! I go away carrying with me a +deep affection for these gentle strangers, whose kindness to me has made +them my friends. + +The day came for me to return to the coast. My ponies, probably +frightened by bears, broke loose during the night, and one of them ran +away; and I was rather in a difficulty as to how I should get back +whence I had come. Watanabe, adding kindness to kindness, allowed me to +have one of his ponies, and after repeated good-byes I started on my +journey back to the coast. About four miles east of Yammakka the Tokachi +River receives a large affluent, the Toshibets, or "river of high +swamps." The Tunnui Puto is the largest of these swamps, about four +miles north of the mouth of the Toshibets. _Tunnui_ means a kind of +tree, probably the _Quercus dentata_; _puto_ or _put_ means the mouth of +a river. The course of the Toshibets River is almost from due north to +south from its source, then for about six or seven miles from north-west +to south-east, and, sharply turning again from north to south, continues +in this direction winding continually for eighteen or twenty miles, till +it throws itself with a large body of water in the Tokachi River. On the +southern side of the latter part of the watercourse are found the Ainu +villages of Pombets, twenty-two huts; Purokenashpa,[24] three huts; +Kenashpa,[25] twelve huts; and Beppo,[26] eleven huts. The +characteristics of the natives of these villages and their habitations +are similar to those already described at Frishikobets. The journey down +was much the same as that coming up. Tobuts, on the north side of the +Tokachi, is the largest Ainu village in the district, and has as many as +sixty huts. The inhabitants are possessed of a somewhat fiery temper in +this particular village, and the day previous to my going through two +men were killed in a row. I felt awfully annoyed at being just one day +too late to see it, as then I might have described how the Ainu die. +However, I reached the other side of the Tokachi again. A way through +the same tall rushes and reeds had to be forced, and the same army of +mosquitoes and horse-flies had to be met and endured. It was my +intention to push on and reach the coast as soon as possible. At +Yammakka the natives had seen my runaway pony galloping at full speed +towards the coast, but no one had caught it. Probably no one had tried. + + [24] _Puro_, great; _ke_, I; _nashpa_, deafening noise. + + [25] _Ke_, I; _nashpa_, deafening noise. + + [26] _Beppo_ or _pet put_, at the mouth of a river. + +My ponies went well. I could plainly see where I had already come +through the jungle, by the long trail of crushed and broken reeds I had +left behind me. Everything was calm, but for the monotonous sound of +crashing leaves produced by my forcing my way through the reeds. +Suddenly my ponies stopped, shied, and began to back. They sniffed the +ground, then the air. Their ears were straight up, their eyes were +restless, and their nostrils widely distended. They were certainly under +some great excitement, and showed unmistakable signs of terror. "What +could be the cause of it?" I asked myself, but all the same gave the +ponies a sound thrashing to make them go. It was useless--they would not +stir. The second pony came by the side of mine, and they both put their +heads together, in their own way consulting and concerting. They were +utterly demoralised, and were kicking awfully. It was getting dark, and +this riotous conduct on the part of my ponies was annoying. +Unexpectedly, and with a tremendous growl, a huge black bear sprang +towards us, and tried to seize the baggage pony. However, he and the +beast I was riding bolted, and ran a desperate race for life; and though +Bruin followed us clumsily for some time, we soon were far ahead, and +lost sight of him. It was more than I could do to stop the frightened +brutes; but finally, after a reckless steeplechase of many miles, after +jumping over brooks and splashing across torrents, flying over the +ground and through the jungle, without omitting to anathematise a +horsefly that had settled on the back of my neck, and was amusing itself +by boring holes in different parts of it to find a suitable spot for +feeding, finally we came to a halt. It was about time. During the +violent ride the reeds had cut my face and neck and hands, and I was +bleeding all over. I went on and on, and, as my ponies did not seem to +be very tired, I tried to reach the coast that night. It grew dark, but +the night was fine, and I let the noise of the running river guide me. +Each minute seemed an hour, each hour an age. I rode and rode, and still +rode, till I was nearly exhausted; and still I was surrounded by the +tall reeds and rushes. "Thank God!" I heartily exclaimed, when finally, +at a small hour of the morning, I found myself in open ground again, and +the wind brought in waves the salt smell of the sea. + +An hour or so afterwards two tired ponies were easily pulled up at the +tea-house at Otsu, the landlord was roused, and a wearied and +half-starved traveller was let in. + +[Illustration: THE SHIKARUBETS OTCHIRSH.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU MAN OF THE UPPER TOKACHI.] + +CHAPTER VIII. + +From the Tokachi River to the Kutcharo River. + + +I decided to stop a day at Otsu, so as to recover from the fatigue of my +late travels and adventures, and I chose my quarters in the _yadoya_ of +a Japanese called Inomata Yoshitaro. I was told that he was an +ex-convict. Be that as it may, he had now turned into a fisherman and +innkeeper. Like all Japanese, he was an inexhaustible talker, and his +politeness was so great that it became a bore. + +It was about three in the morning when I reached Otsu. I had taken off +my boots on entering his house--for it is an insult to enter Japanese +houses with one's boots on--and I had seated myself on the soft mat in +order to rest my aching limbs, when Yoshitaro made me get up to place a +small square cushion under me, on which he said I should be more +comfortable. I had not been on it one minute before Yoshitaro, wanting +to increase my comforts, made me rise again to exchange the first +cushion covered with cotton for one covered with silk--a detail to which +a man is not likely to pay much attention when tired to death, and only +anxious to be left alone. It followed as a matter of course that before +I was allowed to go to sleep I had to sip several cups of tea, which +Yoshitaro's wife had hurriedly made, and I had to relate the result of +my expedition to the sleepy fishermen who had crept out of their +_foutangs_ at the news of my arrival. In spite of all this, when I had +got rid of my audience I had a good night's rest; but when I woke up the +next day at noon I found myself surrounded by a crowd of fishermen of +Otsu, who had invaded the _yadoya_ to have a peep at the young +foreigner, while in the back yard I recognised the voices of Yoshitaro +and his wife, who evidently were occupied in the exciting chase of a +fowl. + +A few minutes later Yoshitaro triumphantly entered the room with a large +dish, on which the same fowl, uncooked, and cut into a thousand little +bits, was served to me, together with pieces of raw salmon, _daikon_ (a +vegetable), and boiled rice. This he called a European dinner! I did my +best to roast the chicken bits on the _hibachi_ (the brazier); but I was +never well up in the culinary art, and, as my landlord remarked, he had +brought up the meat for me to eat, not to "burn." + +Fowls are very scarce indeed in Hokkaido, and the few found have been +imported; therefore the landlord did not fail to explain, in a +roundabout manner, under what great obligation I was to him for killing +such a precious bird. + +I said that I had not asked him to do this, and with his perfect +Japanese politeness, bowing gracefully down to the ground, he said: + +"Sayo de gozarimas" ("Yes, your honourable sir"). "But," he added, "the +bird was so old that if I had not killed it I fear it would have died by +itself ere long." Such a sacrifice undoubtedly deserved a reward, and he +assured me that we should be "quite even" if I, being an artist, would +condescend to paint twelve portraits of him. I had no little trouble to +make him understand that he was mistaking me for a photographic camera, +but I offered to paint him a small sketch the next morning if he would +leave me alone all that day. + +Punctually at sunrise he entered my room. He had his best clothes on, +and his anxiety to be painted was such that he had not been able to +sleep all night. I painted the sketch, and Yoshitaro and his male and +female friends joined in exclamations of admiration at the good result +of the _abura e_ (oil painting). He professed to be very grateful, and +carefully packed the picture in a box, which he carried into another +room. + +I took advantage of his absence to pack up my traps, as I wished to +leave for Shaubets that same morning. In a short time Yoshitaro came +back to my room, but a different man. He was rude, and tried to bully +me. He presented a bill for the sum of sixteen _yen_, equivalent to L3 +in English money, which I considered exorbitant for two nights' rest, a +few bowls of rice, and the "European dinner." The highest charge made by +the very best tea-houses in Hokkaido never exceeds one yen--two +shillings and tenpence a day--including all meals. I quietly told the +landlord that he was a thief, and that I would punish him by taking the +picture away from him; but he swore that he would not surrender it, and +that he would fight for it if necessary. + +I seldom refuse a challenge when I know that I am going to get the best +of it, and as it so happened that my arms were a great deal longer than +those of Yoshitaro, I caught him by the throat and shook him so +violently that he was nearly strangled. His friends came to his rescue, +and when I dropped him he fell heavily on the mats, and had to be +carried away. Some minutes elapsed, and while I was hastily taking my +heavier luggage out of the house I heard Yoshitaro in the next room call +out to his wife to bring him a sword, as he wanted to kill the "_ijinsan +bakka_"--"the fool of a foreigner." I entered his room. Yoshitaro, pale +with rage, was sitting by his _hibachi_, and round him were eight or ten +of his men. They were apparently holding a congress on what to do, and +each one of them, as is usual on all occasions in Japan, had pulled out +his little pipe, and was continually refilling it with tobacco as they +all discussed the matter on hand. I had my boots on this time, as I +wished to show the scorn I had for him, his friends, and his house. In +my coat pocket--the only sound one--I had my revolver, but it was not +loaded. + +"Yoshitaro," I said, "deliver the picture at once." + +"I will not," said he. + +"Good!" said his friends in a chorus. + +"Yoshitaro," I said again, producing the revolver and pointing it at +him, "if I have not the picture before I count twenty you will be a dead +man." + +I never in my life saw a crowd of bullies so scared. Covering their +faces with their hands, Yoshitaro's friends bolted in all directions, +some jumping out of the semi-European window, some dashing through the +violently-opened paper _shojis_ (sliding doors), leaving eight or ten +pipes and as many tobacco pouches scattered on the mats. The landlord, a +moment ago so brave, had not strength to get up, so great was his +terror. Pale as death, and with a trembling voice, he called imploringly +to his wife, servants, and friends to come and deliver up the picture. + +I had counted up to number fourteen, and no one had put in an +appearance. Then I incidentally mentioned to Yoshitaro that time was +nearly up, and enquired if he preferred to be shot through the head or +the heart, at the same time cocking my revolver. Yoshitaro shuddered. + +At number sixteen a little girl, the only brave one of the lot, was sent +to his help. + +"Dutchera Danna?" ("Where is it, sir?") she asked him, quite perplexed. + +"Hatchera, hayaku, hayaku nesan!" ("It is there; quick, quick, girl!") +pointing to a closet in which a pile of _foutangs_ (small mattresses) +were kept rolled during the day. + +Yoshitaro had hidden the sketch so well in the closet that the little +_nesan_[27] could not find it, and when I called out number nineteen the +poor girl, discomfited, cried out, "Mi-imasen" ("I do not see it!") + + [27] _Nesan_, a corruption of _annesan_. + +Yoshitaro was more dead than alive; his lips were white, and he tried to +articulate some words, but could not. His eyes, fixed on the closet, +were glazed and set. His body was beginning to collapse, and every +moment I thought that he would faint. + +In the meantime the _nesan_ hurriedly pulled out all the _foutangs_ and +unrolled them, and the box with the sketch fell out just as I was about +to call out number twenty. She gave me the box and sketch, and I told +Yoshitaro that he must now come out with me, and, putting my revolver in +my pocket, I pulled the man to the entrance door. + +Several villagers had collected at a respectful distance on the road, +waiting for the report of the revolver. Yoshitaro's wife was the +farthest of all. + +I signed to them to come nearer, and seeing that the revolver was no +longer in my hands, they came, though very reluctantly. Yoshitaro was +beginning to breathe again; and when a sufficient crowd had collected, I +compelled him to accuse himself before them all of being a thief, and to +confess that he was glad to have been punished. Also I made him promise +that he would not play such tricks again on any other traveller. + +The Japanese are fond of a good joke, even when it is played off on one +of themselves; and when I had seen all my baggage safe on my +pack-saddles, I gave Yoshitaro the sixteen dollars he had asked me: "Two +dollars," I said, "in settlement of my bill, and fourteen to go to your +doctor for restoring you to good health after the fright you have had +to-day." + +To show how shabby Yoshitaro's nature was, it is enough to state that +out of the sum received his munificence went to the extent of five _sen_ +(2-1/2_d._) as a present to the girl who had come to save his life! + +When my ponies were ready, I showed Yoshitaro and his knavish friends +how I had sold them. I brought out my revolver again, and they all saw +that not a single cartridge was in any of its chambers. This done, I +bade them good-bye, and left them to reflect that it is not always the +quietest persons who can be imposed on with most impunity, but that +sometimes such quiet persons get the best of it, even against ten +bullies or more banded together. I have no doubt that a good many of my +readers will think me cruel for carrying a joke so far; but, on the +other hand, if placed in similar circumstances, when no redress from +without is to be obtained, and one must defend oneself by main force, +very few would treat such a serious imposition and offence as a joke. + +In going through the village more than one fisherman came to tell me +that I had done right in dealing severely with Yoshitaro, as he was +known to be a scoundrel and a thief, and they all detested him. + +There was little of interest between Otsu and Shaubets, with the +exception of the beautiful delta formed in the low alluvial valley by +the Otsu River and the Tokachi River, two large estuaries nearly two +miles apart, by which the Tokachi River enters the sea. The Tokachi is a +river of large volume and considerable length, and even when divided, +the body of water carried by both outlets is so great as to make it +necessary to cross in boats, fording on foot being quite impossible. + +The Urahoro River was successfully crossed, but for the twenty miles on +to Shahubets the track was flat and sandy, lying mostly under high clay +banks, some of which form picturesque headlands. The country is not +mountainous in the proximity of the coast, but it is of a moderate +elevation all through, and wooded with deciduous trees. The formation of +the south-east coast from Cape Erimo to Cape Noshafu is in many ways +unlike that of the south-west coast. The south-western part is more +mountainous, and is further characterised by the absence of extensive +plains. The coast-line is indented, and there is a striking want of +broad beaches. Precipitous rocks are also frequent along the south-west +coast, and thick deposits of pumice--as we have seen--are lying over +quaternary rocks, filling up the declivities of mountain lands and river +shores. + +In the western part the tertiaries are more tufaceous than on the +south-east coast, and they are distinguished mainly by the presence of +shales and andesite breccia. The south-eastern part is characterized by +the almost entire absence of volcanic rocks and older eruptive rocks. +After leaving the range of mountains forming the _Sparti acque_, east +and west of Cape Erimo, high land is met all the way along the +south-east coast. Nevertheless, pumice is found in the basin of the +Tokachi River, and also in that of the Kushiro River, but it does not +form the surface soil, covering large areas of ground, as in many places +on the south-western portion of the coast. + +The different aspect in the tertiaries of the south-east and south-west +coast may be accounted for by the presence of breccia and conglomerate, +shales and sandstones, on the western part, while on the eastern coast +beds of lignite, coal of inferior quality, and diatom earth form the +tertiary strata. If it were not for the total want of harbours, or even +moderately sheltered anchorages for ships, this south-west portion of +Yezo, with its agricultural resources, its milder climate, and the +facilities that it offers for the construction of roads and railways, +ought to support a large population. As things stand now, there are no +colonists inland, and the coast is deserted and desolate-looking. As I +have mentioned before, the only drawbacks are the thick fogs prevailing +during the summer months along the south-east coast, and I believe that +this in some measure accounts for the Japanese not wishing to settle in +a part of the country so depressing to their spirits and so trying to +their nerves. I have often noticed how easily affected the Mikado's +subjects are by atmospheric and geographical conditions, and how, before +settling to do business, they make a point of finding some pleasant spot +where to cast anchor, thinking more of the amenities of physical +existence than of the facilities for successful trade. I did not see a +single house for twenty miles until I reached Shaubets, a village of +eleven Ainu huts and one Japanese house. Thousands of sea-gulls and +penguins lined the sandy shore, and I saw several large black +sea-eagles. A pretty waterfall, gently descending from the high grey +cliff, was decidedly ornamental to the scenery and useful to the +wayfarer, as it afforded my ponies and myself a good drink of +deliciously fresh water. Far off in the distance I could distinguish a +long tongue of land. At Shaubets I was told that it was the peninsula on +which _Kossuri_, or _Kushiro_, as the Japanese call it, is situated. I +left Shaubets early in the morning, with the intention of pushing on to +Kushiro, thirty-one miles distant. At Shiranuka, only ten miles from +Shaubets, I changed my ponies. Shiranuka is an Ainu village, the +inhabitants of which employ themselves in collecting and drying seaweed. +There are also seven or eight Japanese shanties besides the Ainu huts. +At the mouth of the Tcharo-bets, near the latter village, coal and +lignite of inferior quality are found; but this coalfield was not worked +at the time I passed through Shiranuka. The remaining twenty-one miles +were monotonous and uninteresting. The long _Kossuri_ peninsula was +before me, increasing in size as I drew nearer; and after having gone +through the two small villages of To'tori and Akan-gawa, in the +neighbourhood of Kossuri, I crossed the Kutcharo River, on a +nicely-built wooden bridge, and found myself at Kushiro, an important +Japanese settlement on the south-east coast. From its favourable +situation Kushiro is likely to become one of the chief towns in Yezo, +though unfortunately it does not possess a good harbour, and is much +exposed to westerly winds. The largest number of the houses are situated +on a slight elevation above the reef-harbour, immediately south of the +river mouth. In the proximity of Kushiro, and just beyond the range of +hills which stretches for about three miles from the entrance of the +harbour in a northerly, and for about two miles in an easterly +direction, is a lagoon, called by the Ainu "Harutori." This lagoon is +nearly two miles long, and certainly not more than a quarter of a mile +wide. It is divided from the sea by a very narrow strip of sand, through +which the water of the lagoon finds its outlet. On the east side of the +Harutori coal has been discovered, and it seems to be of fairly good +quality; and three miles further, quite close to the sea-coast, coal was +dug out some years ago, but the quality was so inferior that the works +had to be abandoned. + +There is a considerable area of good land in the neighbourhood of +Kushiro, and here again it is to be regretted that Japanese farmers do +not emigrate to work it. Yezo has a very small population for its size, +and I was surprised that emigration from the mainland was not carried +out on a larger scale. Yezo is a rich country in many ways. Why do not +all the troublesome students, the fiery _soshi_ of Japan, abandon +politics and futile rows and go and do men's work in that northern +region of the empire? They would profit by it, and so would their +country. An immense loss occurs every year simply because no one is +there to take the profit; and it is a great pity, and almost a shame, to +see so much waste and neglect in a region which, after all, is not +difficult of access from the main island of Nippon. To the mineral +products of the Kushiro district must be added the exports of fish +(salmon and herrings), fish manure, and seaweed, which could be greatly +increased if more practical processes were used. + +The town of Kushiro itself is not picturesque. There are, I dare say, as +many as five hundred houses, some built in Japanese, some in +semi-foreign style. The streets are very wide, and along the main street +rails have been laid to carry coal trucks from the Harutori mine down to +the shipping point. Thus the town has a civilised appearance, which was +artistically ugly enough, but refreshing to my eyes after my experiences +along the south-west and south-east coasts. There are Ainu huts along +the river banks, on the high lands, and on the strip of sand between +Lake Harutori and the sea. Unfortunately, most of the Ainu here, being +in the employ of the Japanese, have adopted Japanese clothes, customs, +manners, and language. Nearly all the younger folks are half-castes. A +select few have even gone so far as to forget their strongest national +characteristic of dirt; and, to my great amazement, one day I saw an +Ainu half-caste actually taking a hot bath. It may amuse the reader to +learn of what this Japanese bathing accommodation generally consists. It +is one of the features in nearly all fishing stations in Yezo, and it is +worth describing. + +When the day's work is over, one or more of the iron fish-kettles or +caldrons used for extracting the oil from herrings are filled with +water. These caldrons rest each on a cylindrical base of stones and +clay, thus allowing a big fire of wood to be lighted under them. When +the water has reached a high temperature, the bather either provides +himself with an old pair of straw sandals (_waraji_), and steps in, or, +placing a small board on the water, places his foot on it, and forces it +down to the bottom of the caldron by his own weight. He thus avoids +scalding his feet, which otherwise he would do severely. I have often +seen two or three men (Japanese) placidly sitting up to their necks in +the steaming water of the same caldron, with a huge fire burning under +it; and several times I have been _warmly_ invited by the bathers to +join them, which _very warm_ invitation, however, I invariably _coolly_ +considered and declined with thanks. + +As regards the Ainu, they are not fond of bathing or washing, and they +share the Chinese idea that it is only dirty people who need continual +washing. They do not regard themselves as dirty, and therefore dispense +with such an "uncleanly habit." + +"You white people must be very dirty," once said an Ainu to me, as I was +taking a plunge into a limpid river, "as you tell me that you bathe in +the river every day." + +"And what about yourself?" I asked him. + +"Oh, Nishpa," he replied with an air of contempt, "I am very clean, and +have never needed washing!" + +If Kushiro is not interesting to an artist, it is decidedly so from an +archaeological point of view. Numerous pits, forts, and camps, flint +implements, and fragments of pottery, are found in the immediate +neighbourhood of the town, both on the range of hills and along the west +shore of Lake Harutori. The pits are found in such numbers as to lead +one to believe that the old "Kossuri" of the Ainu was once the capital +of a race of pit-dwellers previous to the conquest of the whole of Yezo +by the hairy race. The Ainu gave these people the name of +_Koro-pok-kuru_--men of the holes. A few words on them may not be out of +place, though, unfortunately, little is to be learned from the Ainu as +to who their predecessors were, and it is merely by a close examination +of their pits, and relics found in different parts of Yezo and the +Kuriles, that we can to a certain extent trace the existence of such a +race of people, and also prove that they were in no way connected with +the present Ainu. + +[Illustration: AINU HOOK FOR SMOKING BEAR-MEAT.] + + + + +[Illustration: KORO-POK-KURU FORT.] + +CHAPTER IX. + +The Koro-pok-kuru, or Pit-dwellers. + + +[Illustration: FLINT ARROW-HEADS.] + +All over Yezo and the Kurile Islands remains of an extinct race of +pit-dwellers are to be seen. It is especially near lakes and swamps or +along the coast that rectangular, circular, and elliptical pits are +numerous, but square pits are not so common. None of these pits have yet +been discovered on the main island of Nippon, but many are still to be +found as far south as Hakodate, in Yezo. On the east and north-east side +of the peak, at the latter port, these pits, flint implements, and rude +pottery, mostly in fragments, are met with in great abundance. The +implements consist mostly of arrow-heads, stone adzes, hammers, flint +knives, and round pebbles, which were used as war ammunition. The +arrow-heads vary in size, length, and breadth. The larger ones I saw +measured an inch and three-quarters in length by an inch and +five-eighths in breadth, while the smaller were seven-eighths of an inch +by half an inch. They were triangular, with the angle at the point +sometimes more, sometimes less acute, or lozenge-shaped; they are +chipped, and not ground. Most of the arrow-heads and a good many of the +knives were made of a dark reddish siliceous rock. The adzes also, of +course, varied in size and shape, some being oblong in section, others +almost rectangular, while others again were oval. They were ground, and +always made so that the hand could have a good grip on them. The average +length from the sharp edge to the other end would be about four inches, +and the sides were rounded. It is apparent that most of these adzes were +not originally fastened to a stick or club, but were held in the hand. +They usually have a smooth surface, while the knives, as well as the +arrow-points, exhibit marks of chipping quite plainly; their edges are +very sharp. Hard stones are often found on which the people of the Stone +Age used to grind their implements. The knives are mostly rectangular, +with very sharp edges, sometimes on both sides. Then there are some in +the shape of a sword-blade, rounded at the top, and with a rounded place +at the other end, where they were held. Those with two sharp edges were +triangular in shape, and were held by the upper part of the triangle, +which point ends with a kind of knob. It is a curious fact that bone and +bamboo arrow-points--probably Ainu--are sometimes found in pits, and +this would lead me to believe, either that the conquering Ainu used +these weapons in their attacks upon the pit-dwellers, or, supposing for +a moment that the Ainu themselves were the pit-dwellers in former days, +that they had abandoned their stone implements and had adopted bone and +wood, which they found easier to work. I am inclined to the first +supposition as the correct one. The pits are numerous in Yezo, and, +following the southern coast from south-west to north-east, we find that +they increase in number towards the north. Though stone implements and +fragments of pottery are numerous nearly all along the southern coast, +but few pits are found either on Volcano Bay or on the south-west part +of the coast as far as Erimo Cape. As we pass this cape and go north, on +the south-east coast the pits become more numerous, and at Kushiro--or +Kossuri, as the Ainu call it--they are found in great quantities. +Further on are some at Akkeshi, and they are plentiful nearly all along +that stretch of the coast as far as Nemuro, and on Bentenjima, the small +island which forms one side of the harbour at that place. North-east of +that, in the Kuriles, at Kunashiri and Etorofu, we have abundant +evidence that a large population of these pit-dwellers once existed +there. In Etorofu particularly the pits, besides being frequent, are in +much better preservation than any on the island of Yezo. + +[Illustration: FLINT KNIVES.] + +The pit-dwellers do not seem to have been particular as to the shape of +their dwellings, though they evidently had a certain predilection for +the elliptical and rectangular forms. The pits at Kushiro are nearly all +rectangular, while those from Akkeshi to Nemuro are either rectangular +or circular. + +The average dimensions of rectangular pits are about twelve feet by nine +feet, but I have seen some as large as sixteen feet by twelve feet. The +sides slope inwards, and the average depth is from three to six feet. +Pits which are situated on cliffs, or at any height, are generally +deeper, probably for the extra shelter required by those living at an +altitude, compared with those living on the sea-level. The round pits +are from ten to fourteen feet in diameter, and the elliptical have a +length of about sixteen feet, and are about eight feet at the widest +part of the ellipse. The pits which I found on the north-east coast of +Yezo, from Shari to Cape Soya, were not so numerous as those on the +southern coast; but some of them were larger in size, as probably, owing +to the greater severity of the climate, more people lived in the same +hut for the purpose of creating natural heat. At Tobuts, on the Saruma +Lake, are three of elliptical shape. Near Abashiri several +well-preserved specimens of pottery have been found, especially in the +mud of swamps or lakes; but after leaving Lake Saruma, I did not see any +traces of the pit-dwellers till I approached Soya Cape. When these pits +are excavated, a stratum of sand is generally found, and beneath it a +large quantity of charcoal in the centre of the pit. Under the charcoal +the earth is burnt, showing that the hearth was in the centre of the +dwelling, as it is now in the Ainu huts. This goes to prove that there +was one fire, and not, as some travellers have endeavoured to show, five +or six burning at the same time, round which, or, rather, between which, +the pit-dwellers slept. I have often dug in different parts of pits, and +have invariably come upon this burnt charcoal in or near the middle. I +never saw any signs of more than one fire in the same pit. Digging in a +large pit at Kushiro, I found some stag-horns, and numerous bits of +black and red pottery. Some of the fragments had rough line +ornamentations on them. There was also a large quantity of war +ammunition, in the shape of big pebbles and round stones. Most pits +contain heaps of rubbish and bones of animals. Sometimes there are heaps +of oyster shells, as near the pits on Saruma Lake; and these shell-heaps +are similar to those found on the main island of Nippon. In another pit +on one of the forts at Kushiro I found what I thought was part of a +human skull; but on a closer examination it turned out to be the skull +of an animal--probably a fox or a stag. A bone arrow-point also came to +light in the same pit, and several stone defensive weapons. It was +interesting to note that this pit was built on the top of a small +conical hill, and that the hill itself was surrounded by a ditch only a +few feet wide, thus forming a kind of fort. On the side and at the +bottom of the fort I saw numbers of stones, which had in all probability +been used by the pit-dwellers as missiles against the attacking Ainu +during a battle. Besides forts, the pit-dwellers had camps, generally +situated in a commanding position above a river, a lake, or a harbour. +Single pits also are found only under similar conditions. + +Near Kushiro, on the Lake Harutori, which is divided from the sea by a +sand isthmus, are several camps and one or two forts, the first of +which overlooks the sea. Along the Kutcharo River are forts and camps. +These camps are on the crowns of the hills, and each is surrounded by a +small ditch. In the last, about three miles from the coast, were several +square pits, larger than those on the other three forts. This last fort +stands some distance back from the river, and is situated in a little +plain at the summit of a detached mound, which has the appearance of +having been artificially cut from the larger remaining portion of the +hill itself. The shape of the fort is a broken cone, and the base +measures about nine hundred feet in circumference, while the upper one +is about three hundred. From the top, where there is only a small pit, +the entrance of the river can easily be watched; and it must have been +almost impregnable, as the walls of the fort, or, rather, the sides of +the conical hill, rise nearly perpendicularly from the plain. A small +stream runs at the foot of the fort. + +On the Lake Harutori the range of hills which stretches from the sea for +three or four miles along its eastern shores is literally covered with +these pits, and on the sandy isthmus separating the sea from the lake +some very large pits can be observed. The fort near the sea is called +_Shirito_ by the Ainu, and that at the other end of the range goes by +the name of _Moshiriya_. It was in the latter fort that the well-shaped +bone arrow-point was found, as well as one or two stone adzes, which +were so shaped as to fit the hand, and evidently had been used as +hammers, or weapons of offence at close quarters. In the same fort I +found two stags' horns in good preservation, and many bones of different +animals. It is doubtful whether these heaps of horns and bones were +brought into the pits for the purpose of making arrow-points and other +weapons, or whether the stags had been used merely for food. The bone +arrow-point found in the same pit was not in such a decayed condition as +most of the bones I found there, which led me to believe that it was not +made out of the same kind of bone, or that the bone out of which it was +made had been cured before its conversion into an arrow-point. I believe +that in the neighbourhood of Kusuri--or Kushiro, as it is now called by +the Japanese--there are as many as a thousand or fifteen hundred pits. +In Etorofu, at Bet-to-bu, on the north-west coast of the island, nearly +as many are to be found along the seashore, mostly on the plain at the +top of the cliffs overlooking the sea, while the rest are situated on +the banks of a narrow stream and along what appears to have been a river +course. On the same island, at Ru-pets, are several pits of a similar +description, and a fort. + +As the pit-dwellers have disappeared from Yezo and the Kuriles, and only +pre-historic remains and relics have been left behind to indicate their +former existence, the questions naturally arise: Who were these +pit-dwellers? Whence did they come? and whither have they gone? We can +place no reliance on the accounts given by the Ainu or by the highly +imaginative Japanese, who, moreover, are perfectly ignorant on this +subject. Some Ainu say that Yezo was formerly peopled by a race of +dwarfs, who were their enemies, and were extirpated by them after many +sanguinary battles. The Ainu are very vague as to when and where these +battles were fought, but according to their accounts these pit-dwellers, +whom they call the _Koro-pok-kuru_--literally "men of holes"--once +inhabited Yezo and the Kuriles. They were only three or four feet in +height, and some semi-Ainu stories represent them as being only a few +inches tall. This of course might be taken to mean that they were very +small by comparison. A few Ainu, yet more imaginative than others, go so +far as to say gravely that the Koro-pok-kuru were so tiny that when a +shower of rain came they hid under burdock leaves for shelter. Others, +however, tell us that these Koro-pok-kuru were their ancestors, and much +more hairy than the Ainu of the present day. They were strong, fond of +hunting, and able to cross the mountains with great facility and speed. +According to Mr. Batchelor, some Ainu state that they themselves +formerly lived in huts over pits, and that they changed their method of +house-building on coming in contact with the Japanese; but if this were +the case it seems unaccountable that they should distinguish their +predecessors as pit-dwellers. Moreover, if the influence of the Japanese +was sufficiently strong to cause them to make this most important change +in their habitations and mode of living, how comes it that in other +matters they have not adopted Japanese customs? I was unable to trace +the slightest resemblance between Ainu huts and Japanese edifices of any +kind, either in their general appearance or in any of the smaller +details, and I was always struck by the small extent to which the Ainu +have adopted the customs of the dominant race. Indeed, the character of +Ainu buildings is peculiar to the Ainu themselves, and, far from +constructing their dwellings over pits, they go to the other extreme, +and perch their storehouses on piles or posts. It is a remarkable +coincidence that on the Lake Kutcharo, not many miles from Kusuri, where +the Koro-pok-kuru pits are numerous, the roofs of the Ainu huts and +storehouses are not angular, but circular, which gives them the +appearance of half a cylinder resting on the ground. This struck me as +being in all probability the shape of structures built over rectangular +pits, while the coverings of round pits must have been shaped like half +a sphere, similar to the snow houses of the Esquimaux, and the +elliptical like the longer half of an egg. + +The present houses of the Kutcharo Lake Ainu, however, are not built on +pits; and on my questioning the few inhabitants of the village, all were +perfectly ignorant of the existence of the Koro-pok-kuru, and they knew +nothing of their own ancestors, nor whether they had built structures +over pits or not. The idea seemed to them highly ludicrous, and afforded +them a great deal of amusement. + +On the north-east coast of Yezo, where pits are found, some Ainu huts +have round and others angular roofs; but even in the latter instance, +the angle of the two sides of the roof is not as acute as with the huts +on the Saru and the Tokachi River; but both slant in a more gentle way, +forming an obtuse angle of about 135 deg. In fact, these variations in the +Ainu architecture have not yet been accounted for, and whether they +copied their roofs from their foes the Koro-pok-kuru, or whether it is a +mere chance that the roofs bear a certain resemblance, cannot be +discovered from tradition or hearsay. I may mention incidentally my own +theory, which may afford an explanation of this point. As the Saru, the +Tokachi, and the Ishikari districts have no very severe weather in +winter, and only a comparatively small quantity of snow falls during the +colder months, the Ainu build huts with very slanting roofs, so that the +snow should not remain on them in winter, while during the summer months +the rain should fall off the steep incline of the roof before it could +filter through into the hut. On the Kutcharo Lake and on the north-east +coast, where strong winds are prevalent, the huts have round roofs, so +as to offer the least possible resistance to the gales, and thus escape +the danger of being blown down. + +With regard to the snow, the opposite of the Saru Ainu method is +practised. Instead of preventing the snow from resting on their roofs, +the Ainu of the colder regions do all they can to let it remain, for by +thus forming an air-tight vault it renders the hut much warmer in +winter. In other words, the system is the same as that adopted by the +Esquimaux, with the exception that the latter, I believe, have no frame +to their huts, and the vault is entirely of snow and ice; while with the +Ainu of the north-east coast the snow vault is directly over the hut +itself. I invariably noticed on the north-east coast, where the Ainu +have a mixed architecture, that wherever a hut was built in an exposed +position it had a round roof, while those built under the shelter of a +cliff or a hill had angular ones, and this is what led me to the above +conclusion. + +To return to the Koro-pok-kuru, they undoubtedly must have had +semi-spherical and semi-cylindrical roofs over their pits, whether the +vault was constructed of mud, sticks, and reeds, or simply of snow and +ice, like the Esquimaux dwellings. For all that we know, the +Koro-pok-kuru huts may have had conical roofs, like those of the present +American Indians; but one fact is certain, that whatever shape the roof +may have had, it was not supported by a central pole, for the hearth is +invariably in the centre of the pit. + +The curious fact already mentioned, that in every pit we find a thick +layer of sand, seems to prove that it was certainly intended to render +the ground less damp; and it is my own impression that these +pit-dwellers, having snow or ice vaults over their heads, resorted to +that expedient to keep the floor of their huts dry under the continuous +dripping of the vault, melted by the heat of the fire inside. +Undoubtedly Yezo was a much colder country in bygone years than it is +now; and though we cannot implicitly rely on the information given by +the Ainu, they are all of one opinion in believing that their country +was all ice and snow in former days, and to give a proof of it they say: +"Why should we be as hairy as a bear if not to keep the cold out?" + +The Japanese know the pit-dwellers by the name of "Ko-bito," or +"Ko-shto," the latter word meaning "men of the lakes,"[28] but they know +nothing of their history. + + [28] _Ko_, lake; _shto_, man. _Ko_ is probably a corruption of the + Ainu word _to_, a lake or a swamp, and it is used by the + Japanese of Yezo for "lake," instead of the word "_numa_." + +One fact still remains to be explained, namely, who made the pottery +that is disinterred in almost every pit and by the shores of lakes. The +present Ainu do not know how to make pottery, and they have never been +known to manufacture anything of the kind. All Ainu implements are made +of wood, though of course the more civilised tribes have now purchased +iron or porcelain implements from the Japanese. The question, then, is, +supposing that the Ainu were formerly the pit-dwellers, have they lost +the art of making pottery, or did the pottery belong to a different race +of people? + +[Illustration: KORO-POK-KURU POTTERY AND FRAGMENTS OF DESIGNS.] + +It seemed singular to me that, conservative as the Ainu are of their +relics, even allowing for its brittle nature, no pottery of the kind +found in pits is ever to be seen in any Ainu hut. Had they made the +pottery themselves, surely some specimens or parts of specimens would +have been preserved. + +Comparing facts, we find, then, that the Koro-pok-kuru built their huts +over pits, made pottery, and used stone and flint implements; while the +Ainu have never been known to dwell in pits, have never made pottery, +and have always used bone or bamboo implements. Moreover, Ainu +traditions of internecine wars, vague as they are, and their designating +the enemy by the name of Koro-pok-kuru, are further proofs that the Ainu +themselves do not regard the pit-dwellers as their forefathers. As, +then, the few facts collected tend to prove that the Ainu and the +Koro-pok-kuru were two distinct races, it would be interesting to know +who the latter really were, and what became of them. A learned +missionary, Mr. Batchelor, writing on this subject, says:--"But I am of +opinion that these pit-dwellers were closely allied to the Ainu in +descent, and that the remains of them may now be seen in Shikotan and +other islands of the Kurile Group. The inhabitants of Shikotan are much +shorter in stature than the Ainu of Yezo. They are not so good-looking, +and are said to be a very improvident race. The Ainu look upon the +Kurile Islanders as the remnants of the Koro-pok-gurus; but this is a +mere opinion, to be adopted or rejected at pleasure. That they are +pit-dwellers _is quite certain_, for _they live in pits_ at the present +day." + +Before being so certain as to what he was stating, it would have been +well had the writer of the above lines visited the island in question. +He would not then have committed so many blunders in so few lines. The +inhabitants of Shikotan are _not_ shorter than the Ainu of Yezo, and I +cannot give a better proof of this than by asking my readers to compare +the measurements which I took while there with the measurements of the +Yezo Ainu. The medium height of the Shikotan Ainu is between sixty-one +inches and sixty-two and three-quarter inches; the medium height of the +Yezo Ainu is between sixty-one inches and sixty-two and three-quarters, +or exactly the same. The chest inflated measures thirty-seven and a half +inches with the Shikotan Ainu, and thirty-seven and a half with the Yezo +Ainu, while the spinal column is only twenty-four inches with the +Shikotan Ainu, and about twenty-six and three-quarters with the Yezo +Ainu. + +The Shikotan Ainu have the same structural peculiarity as the Yezo Ainu, +namely, the length of their arms, which peculiarity, by the way, is +greatly accentuated with them. The humerus is much longer than with the +Yezo Ainu, while the ulna and radius are shorter; the hand is the same +length. A Shikotan Ainu with outstretched arms is generally the length +of one hand longer than his own height, which is more than is usually +found with the Yezo Ainu. The medium foot is nine and a half inches with +both Ainu. In the Ainu the tibia is rather flattened at its angular +part, but the Shikotan Ainu have a nearly circular tibia. I do not know +of any other existing race in the world in which such an extraordinary +phenomenon occurs, and the tibia struck me also as being extremely long, +while the femur appeared proportionately short. However, with the +exception that the tibia is more circular than with the Ainu of Yezo, I +could not see any material difference between them and the other Ainu. +As we have already seen, each tribe in Yezo has certain characteristics +which other tribes have not; each tribe has conformed its habits to the +climate of the district in which it lives, as well as to other +circumstances; and each of these tribes has adopted a slightly different +architecture for its dwellings; but it is plain that all belong to the +same original race. The same might be said of the Shikotan Ainu. At this +point it is well to explain that the Kurile Islands not many years ago +belonged to Russia; but they were exchanged for the southern half of +Sakhalin, then belonging to Japan, and now form part of the Japanese +Empire. The two larger islands--Kunashiri and Etorofu--are inhabited +mainly by Ainu and a few Japanese, who migrate there from Yezo during +the fishing season; while the Island of Shikotan is inhabited by sixty +Ainu, brought there from the northern islands of Shirajima or Shimushir, +and Urup, leaving thus all the islands north-east of Etorofu +uninhabited. + +Of Kunashiri and Etorofu I shall say no more in connection with the +pit-dwellers, but a few more words on the Shikotan inhabitants may prove +interesting, especially as people have been led to believe that they are +the descendants of the Koro-pok-kuru, and not really Ainu. + +I shall begin by saying that the Shikotan people call themselves +Kurilsky _Ainu_, and that they speak both Ainu and Russian. Their +features are not very massive, and their cheek and temple bones slightly +project. They have strong mouths, and eyes identical in shape and colour +with those of the Yezo Ainu. They are as hairy; they live by fishing and +hunting; they clothe themselves in skins; and they are fond of beads and +shining ornaments. Their huts have angular roofs, and are built in the +same style as those of the Yezo Ainu, but on a smaller scale. The +interiors are also alike, and equally dirty, if not more so. The Ainu +huts at Shikotan are sixteen in number, and _not one_ of them is built +over a pit, thus showing that Mr. Batchelor was a little rash, when, +relying on mistaken information, he drew a conclusion which is not in +accordance with the facts. One thing that has misled most people as +regards these Kurilsky Ainu is, that they were compelled to cut their +hair and shave their beards. To the superficial observer this naturally +gives them a different physiognomy from that of the Yezo Ainu, who let +their hair grow long, and have flowing beards. Prof. Milne, who some +years ago visited the Island of Shumshu,[29] relates that he saw there a +small group of Kurilsky Ainu, who, all included, numbered twenty-two. +Their dress, although made of skins, was European in form, and the upper +garment, shaped like a shirt, was made of bird-skins (puffins) with the +feathers inside. The back was ornamented with the plumes of the yellow +puffin, and the edge was trimmed with seal-fur. The men wore garments +tied at the waist with a belt of sea-lion hide. Their feet and legs up +to the knee were covered with moccasins, also made of sea-lion skin, and +their food consisted of a few berries, the eggs and flesh of sea-birds, +seals, and other meat. They were few and migratory, and carried with +them all their property when migrating. Prof. Milne, in a paper +contributed to the Asiatic Society of Japan, thinks that the chief point +in connection with these people is, that they constructed houses by +making shallow excavations in the ground, which were then roofed over +with turf, and that these excavations had a striking resemblance to the +pits now found further south. I believe, however, that Prof. Milne never +saw them excavating these pits, and the fact that hardly two dozen +people in the extreme north-east Kuriles having temporarily adopted +shallow excavations which they roofed over, is barely sufficient proof +that they were pit-dwellers, and, as will be seen later, I had ample +evidence afterwards that they were not. It is probable that this +wandering band, owing to the scarcity or difficulty of procuring timber +in those regions--the smallness of their canoes not permitting them to +transport the materials for above-ground structures from one island to +another--it is probable, I say, that, having come upon pits already dug, +they had roofed them over and lived in them, finding them suitable to +the severe climate. When I visited Shikotan (September, 1890), where not +only these Shimushir people, but all the Kurilsky Ainu, numbering sixty, +are now collected, and where they have built dwellings in their own +style, the architecture and mode of construction were identical with +those of the Yezo Ainu, and there were _no_ pits whatever to their huts. + + [29] The correct name and pronunciation is _Shimushir_. + +Had they been pit-dwellers, why should they have so suddenly modified +their habits as to construct huts wholly above-ground without any reason +for so doing? Supposing they were actually pit-dwellers, and had lived +generation after generation in pits, why should they abandon this chief +structural characteristic in a place where the climate is as severe as +in the islands they formerly inhabited? I am willing to admit that the +Kurilsky Ainu, like all barbarians, made the best of what they found in +their migrations from one island to another, and that, having found pits +already dug, they had lived in them simply for convenience, and to +protect themselves from the cold. The impossibility of constructing +their own style of dwellings, which would have required too much time +and a great amount of timber and reeds--two articles scarce in the +north-east Kuriles--may account for their being driven to occupy pits +already dug; but I am certainly not inclined to admit that therefore the +few remaining Kurilsky Ainu are in any way connected with or related to +the Koro-pok-kuru. I believe that I have given sufficient evidence to +prove this. At any rate, I have given such evidence as it was in my +power to collect, and I have based my statements on what I actually saw, +and not on what I heard people say. As others have speculated on this +subject, I shall now ask the forgiveness of the reader if I am also +dragged into a little pre-historic speculation as to who the +Koro-pok-kuru were, and whence they came. + +As I remarked at the beginning of this chapter, we find that pits are +more numerous as we go in a north-east direction. Thus, few are found at +Hakodate; and though none or few have been found along the south-west +coast of Yezo, still, flint arrow-heads, pottery, and stone adzes +collected here and there, show us that the Koro-pok-kuru had travelled +along that coast, probably journeying in their canoes, landing to hunt, +or to fight the Ainu. + +Along the south-east coast the pits increase in number as we approach +Kusuri, and at this place the largest number of pits in Hokkaido is +found; then they are numerous all along the coast as far as Nemuro; and +in the islands of Kunashiri and Etorofu the population must have been +large, as there are numerous pits throughout. Pits are found in the +smaller islands of the Kurile group, and I believe also in Kamschatka. +From Nemuro, following the coast-line of Yezo, we find some along the +north-east coast of Yezo, and none down the west coast until we reach +the narrower part of the island near Sappro. This said, we have two +points to consider:-- + +(1.) That the pit-dwellers moved from north-east to south-west. + +(2.) That the main bulk of the population settled in Etorofu, Kunashiri, +and at Kushiro. Few went further south to settle. + +All evidence tends to show that they came either from Kamschatka, or +perhaps more probably from the Aleutian Islands. It seems not +improbable, looking at the volcanic formation of the Kurile group, that +in bygone days Yezo was joined to Kamschatka, affording a land passage +to the migratory people; but this we need not take into consideration. + +From what one can gather of this race, the habits and customs of the +Koro-pok-kuru must have had many points in common with the present +Esquimaux. Very likely their pits were roofed over with a snow vault. +They evidently lived by fishing and hunting, like the Esquimaux, and all +that we know identifies them more with the latter race than with the +Ainu. + +I believe that the present Aleuts have a striking resemblance to the +Esquimaux; and if this were the case, there is no reason why we should +not suppose that they in former days inhabited the Kuriles, part of +Kamschatka and the north-east portion of Yezo. It is a well-known fact +that the Esquimaux formerly lived in corresponding latitudes on the east +coast of America, and that they withdrew little by little to the more +inhospitable regions of the north, and the same might have occurred here +after the Ainu invasion of Yezo. The Koro-pok-kuru were apparently more +civilised than their conquerors the Ainu, for they made pottery and +worked stone; but owing to their retiring nature and weaker physique, +and outnumbered by the savage hairy people, they became extinct. As to +the Ainu, they also are undoubtedly a race of the north. Their music, +their decorations, their habits, display characteristics of northern +origin; but the Ainu, as we have seen from their structures and customs, +were by no means accustomed to so cold a climate as their predecessors +the pit-dwellers. In my opinion they did not invade Yezo from the +Kuriles, but came from the continent of Asia, probably across Siberia, +and descended as far as Sakhalin Island, where many Ainu are still to be +found. As the Koro-pok-kuru resemble the Esquimaux, the Ainu have a +striking resemblance in many ways to the Northmen of Europe, and this is +what makes me suppose that they came across the northern part of the +continent, and not from the northern islands of the Pacific. They made +their way south, probably crossing over the La Perouse Strait, and the +main contingent of them came down the north-east coast of Yezo. I base +this theory on the fact that the strong current which passes through the +La Perouse Strait from west to east would have made it impossible for +the Ainu in their light "dug-outs" to navigate against it, or straight +across from Sakhalin to Soya Cape, and in crossing they were undoubtedly +drifted far south-east on the north-east coast, probably landing near +Abashiri or Shari. Another evidence which made me think that the Ainu +came from Sakhalin is, that all knew of another island besides Yezo, +which they called Krafto, by which name they designate Sakhalin. Of the +Kuriles no one knew except those in the immediate neighbourhood. At one +time the Ainu are said to have inhabited the whole of Japan as far south +as Satsuma. Archaeologists are puzzled by the discovery in the main +island of Nippon of various kitchen-middens, which include fragments of +pottery identical with those attributed to the Koro-pok-kuru, and also +of shell heaps, which some consider of Ainu origin, others as pre-Ainu. +No pits, however, have been found near these shell heaps, nor on any +part of Nippon. Thus another question is raised as to who the +originators of these shell heaps and kitchen-middens were. Is it not +likely that, as the Ainu proceeded south, they encountered the +Koro-pok-kuru at Nemuro and then at Kushiro, and, having easily defeated +them, forced some of them to retreat in the direction of the Kuriles, +while the rest went towards the south? They probably fled along the +coastline in their "dug-outs," those who moved south occasionally +landing to hunt or to attack their pursuers. Thus we can account for the +occurrence along that coast of some of their implements, but of no pits, +which they were not likely to dig in such circumstances. Having then +retreated as far south as Ushongosh (Hakodate), and with the conquering +Ainu still at their heels, there was nothing more natural than that they +should cross the Tsugaru Strait,[30] only a few miles in width, carrying +with them their kitchen-middens and pottery. + + [30] The opposite coast of Nippon can be seen plainly from Hakodate. + +The Ainu crossed after them, and, pushing the retreating Koro-pok-kuru +further and further south, exterminated them, and became the masters of +the whole of Japan, the Kuriles, and Sakhalin. As they were thus pursued +by the Ainu, whom they knew as a warlike people, and stronger than +themselves, there seems to me no cause for wonder that the Koro-pok-kuru +did not dig any pits while on the main island of Nippon, first, because +these pits would have been the sure means of bringing the Ainu on their +track, to their certain annihilation; next, because the climate, being a +great deal warmer, they had no need for them. On the other hand, it is +more than probable that the retreaters carried with them their +kitchen-middens and pottery, which constituted their treasures, and +without which they could not have prepared their food. The barbarous +Ainu then came in contact with the Japanese, at whose hands they +received the same treatment as that which they had inflicted on the +Koro-pok-kuru. Little by little the land so easily conquered was lost +again, and the conquering Ainu were ere long in retreat towards the +north. They were beaten and defeated by the more civilised Japanese, and +the few who survived had to cross over the Tsugaru Strait back to Yezo. +There is not a single Ainu now to be found in Nippon, with the exception +of a child, a half-caste, whose mother was an Ainu, and who lives about +sixty miles south of Awomori. The mother of this child was the last of +her race who was born on and who inhabited the main island of Nippon. + +Ainu blood can be traced in many of the Japanese in the northern part of +Nippon, especially between Shiranoka to Awomori, and also some corrupted +Ainu words are still in use in the dialect spoken in that part of +Japan. Names of places, rivers, towns, etc., of Ainu origin, are common +all over Japan. It was this former occupation of Japan by the Ainu that +for some time led people to believe that the Ainu were the forefathers +of the Japanese; and when pits were found in Yezo, the same +hastily-judging people attributed them to the Ainu; and then, when +mention was made of the Koro-pok-kuru and the Ko-shto, they affixed this +name to the Kurilsky Ainu whom they had never seen nor studied. + +I am not prepared to say whether or not traces of these Koro-pok-kuru +are to be found in the Aleutian Islands, as I have not visited them; but +it would prove interesting to trace a connection between them and some +existing race, in case my supposition be not correct, though I am sure +that it is nearer the mark than any of the conjectures made by others +with regard either to the Ainu or the Koro-pok-kuru. At any rate, as I +do not pretend to infallibility; should my supposition be wrong, the +facts given above will remain, and a more successful student and +investigator will be able to work on them with a decided advantage over +the writer, who had to start from the very beginning, and work on +information which was more of an obstacle than a help. + +[Illustration: STONE ADZES AND HAMMERS.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU HUTS AND STOREHOUSES ON KUTCHARO LAKE.] + +CHAPTER X. + +The Kutcharo River and Lake--A Sulphur Mine--Akkeshi and its Bay. + + +The Kutcharo River is of some importance, for though not of great +length, it is navigable by small boats for nearly twenty miles from its +mouth. + +I left Kushiro one morning, and made my way up the river, not by boat +but along its banks on horseback, so as to get a better idea of the +surrounding country and its inhabitants. At Kushiro I left more than +half my luggage, to be sent down to Hakodate by the first ship that +happened to call, and this greatly changed my mode of travelling. +Instead of two ponies, one pony would now be quite sufficient to carry +my baggage and myself; and where ponies were not obtainable, I could +carry all my paraphernalia on my own back with no very great difficulty, +and in this way I should not be hindered on my journey. + +I daresay the baggage I was carrying now weighed about forty-five +pounds. It mostly consisted of painting materials, and wooden panels, on +which I usually paint my sketches when travelling. + +As to clothes and boots, I was beginning to be rather "hard up." No +weaver's work, no tailor's garments, nor tanner's hides, can stand the +wear and tear of such rough travelling as I had had, and the old saying, +that a "light heart and a thin pair of breeches carry you a long way," +is most decidedly not to be applied to anyone journeying to and fro on a +pack-saddle in Yezo. My coat and trousers were showing signs of rapid +decay, and I thought with vain desire of needle and thread, buttons and +hooks. My boots were falling to pieces owing to their continual +immersion in salt water. The impossibility of cleaning or greasing them +added to the original damage; and, worse luck of all, they could not be +replaced. Altogether, what with frayed garments, leaky boots, a battered +hat, and a general out-at-elbows air, I was scarcely presentable in any +society a grade above that of the hairy Ainu. + +A road has been cut between Kushiro and Shibetcha, a distance of thirty +miles; but though quite new, it is already out of repair, and it will +not be long before it is washed away entirely. The Japanese Government +does its best to open roads near the largest settlements, but Japanese +officials do not seem to understand that after a road has been made it +has to be kept in repair. + +The country all along is good, and the soil seems rich and fertile. +Nearly half-way up, on the east side of the Kutcharo River, are three +lakes,--the Takkobe, the Tori Lake, and the Shirin. The Tori is the +largest. Its length is five miles, its width about one mile. On the +southern shore of this lake is a picturesque Ainu village, with its old +tumble-down huts, and close to it is a group of Japanese houses. The +contrast between the dirty and neglected old hovels of the Ainu and the +clean, spruce, and somewhat finikin houses of the Japanese is very +striking. In this difference we read an epitome of the way in which +civilisation has travelled from primitive barbarism. The road runs +through dense forests; but in several places, especially on its highest +level, we come to lovely views of mountain scenery, towering over the +shimmering water of the underlying lakes. + +In the evening I reached Shibetcha, a nice little place, constructed on +each side of a large road which rises considerably as it goes through +the village. The village lies in a small valley surrounded by moderately +high mountains, and is on the western side of the Kutcharo River, which +intersects the valley. A wooden bridge and a three-storied Japanese +tea-house are the two main structures in the place. There are +sixty-eight houses in the village, and nearly half of them are houses of +ill-fame, the three-storied tea-house being the principal. + +At a distance of twenty-five miles from here is a sulphur mine, and the +miners, after having amassed sufficient money, come and squander it at +Shibetcha, thus supporting this nook of demoralization in the wilderness +of these mountains. As the river becomes very shallow, the mineral from +the sulphur mine of Yuzan was carried until quite recently on +pack-saddles as far as here, whence it was brought down by boat to +Kushiro for shipment; but a small railway, on which only a "truck train" +is now running once a day from the mine to Shibetcha, has greatly +simplified matters, and increased the export returns of the mine. + +By the kind permission of the Mitsui Company I was allowed to travel on +one of the trucks (no passenger carriages being provided), and the two +and a half hours' journey was thus accomplished much more comfortably +than if I had ridden the twenty-five miles on my pack-saddle. The +railway took me to the foot of Mount Yuzan, and that same afternoon I +made the ascent of the mountain. The most valuable sulphur deposits in +Japan are found on this mountain, the quantity of the mineral being +practically unlimited. The ascent was hard work, but it was interesting +to see the _fumaroles_, whence the sulphur is extracted, and whence a +dense smoke shoots out with great force. The whole mountain is covered +with thick layers of sulphur of very good quality, and when more +practical processes are employed for the extraction and carriage of the +mineral there is no doubt that the sulphur trade will assume a very +prominent place in the exports of Yezo. Dozens of men are employed now +to carry the sulphur from the mountain to the railway, but there is work +enough for hundreds and hundreds more. All the sulphur is at present +carried on small wheelbarrows, which each man slings on to his shoulders +when empty and he is going up the mountain. When the sulphur is reached +the workman sits down, pulls out his pipe, which he fills from the folds +of his tobacco-pouch, has a quiet smoke and a good rest, then he slowly +fills his wheelbarrow with the primrose-yellow blocks, and comfortably +wheels it down hill to the station, a considerable distance. Such a +primitive fashion of carriage involves great loss of time, and a simple +mechanical contrivance, by which a large quantity of mineral could be +brought down at one time, would save an enormous amount of labour, and +therefore expense. A cable railway would answer the purpose to +perfection, and the cost of running the steam motor would be +insignificant, owing to the amount of wood and coal found within easy +reach. I passed through a large gorge in the mountain, and finally +reached the summit of Yuzan. Walking on sulphur beds is like walking on +ice, and many a time in the climb I landed on my knees. Near the summit +is a huge pinnacle of volcanic rock, standing up perpendicularly, and of +impossible access. From the foot of this pinnacle a lovely view of the +Kutcharo Lake is obtained, and it has as a background chain after chain +of thickly-wooded mountains, beyond which are visible Oakan and Moyokan, +two volcanic peaks, respectively four thousand and three thousand four +hundred feet above the level of the sea. On Moyokan are some hot springs +and accumulations of sulphur. Both these peaks can be seen from the +coast on a clear day. A small lake lies between Moyokan and Oakan, which +takes its name from the latter mountain, and finds an outlet in the +Oakan River. The Oakan joins the Kutcharo River not far from the sea. + +[Illustration: KUTCHARO LAKE FROM MOUNT YUZAN.] + +The descent was easier than the ascent, and I put up at a small +tea-house, the only one in the place. The landlord promised to get me a +good pony early the next morning, but, like a true Japanese, he did not +keep his promise. He called me at 5 A.M., saying that the pony would be +ready in a few minutes, and at 9 A.M. the quadruped had not put in an +appearance; and after numberless excuses, compliments, bows, and lies, +the landlord acknowledged that no ponies were to be had. I gave my +luggage to a railway _employe_, who undertook to bring it back to +Shibetcha, and I started on foot for Lake Kutcharo. From Yuzan a track +across the mountains goes due north to Abashiri, on the north-east +coast. I went in a south-westerly direction, and as on the previous day +from the summit of Yuzan I had noted the position of Lake Kutcharo, I +had no difficulty in finding my way there; in fact, I came upon a small +Ainu track leading to it. A delightful walk of ten miles in the forest +took me to the Ainu village of Kutcharo, on the borders of the lake of +the same name. The village is a miserable one; it differs from all other +Ainu villages in its huts, which have semicircular roofs instead of +angular ones, as is the case with the Ainu of Volcano Bay and of the +Saru and Tokachi Rivers. I entered some of the huts, and in a few +minutes I was surrounded by the small population--I daresay about twenty +souls, all included--whom I led out into the open air to see what they +were like. They appeared to me smaller than other Ainu, and their bones +were less massive; they were not so hairy, and more inclined to +baldness. Their garments were wretched, and resembled those worn by the +Tokachi Ainu; namely, a few rags held together one could scarcely say +how. Women were tattooed on their lips and arms, but less extensively +than are those of other tribes, and the tattooing was not so accurately +done. + +Other Ainu whom I met in the forest in the neighbourhood of this village +bore the same characteristics, and everyone seemed to be curiously +melancholy and depressed. An Ainu existence is certainly not one's ideal +of comfort and hilarity, but their gloom and melancholy seem to me to be +purely racial and congenital. + +The Lake Kutcharo is very large--too large to be seen to advantage from +its borders, as one can see only parts, and not the whole of it at once. +It has a pretty island in the centre, and on the west side is a +peninsula projecting almost as far as the island. On this peninsula a +small active geyser is found, which rises to a height of about twelve +feet, and acts spasmodically. The high mountains which surround the lake +would make the latter a pleasant summer resort were the place within the +circle of civilisation. The scenery is very similar to that of Norway or +the Scotch lakes. The Kutcharo River, as can be seen on the map, is an +outlet of the Lake Kutcharo, into which the waters of the latter +discharge themselves a few hundred yards west of the Ainu village. + +[Illustration: SULPHUR MINE.] + +An Ainu pointed out to me the track leading to Tetcha, or Tetchkanga, +and I directed my steps in that direction, the Ainu having informed me +that it was very far, and that I could only reach it at night. I crossed +the stream in a "dug-out," and found the track on the other side. I +walked fast, for the most part through a thickly-wooded country, and at +about sunset I reached Tetcha. The distance from Kutcharo, I should +think, is about ten or twelve miles. Tetcha is an Ainu village, near +which a few Japanese houses have been built. The Kutcharo River +intersects it, and the sulphur train from Yuzan stops here to take water +on its way to Shibetcha. The train had gone through some hours +previously, and I was left the alternative of walking on to Shibetcha, +twenty miles further, or of sleeping at Tetcha. I had walked twenty or +twenty-two miles already that day, and I felt in very good form. I knew +that it would be full moon that night; and walking through a forest by +moonlight has always had a great charm for me. Watching the shadows, +with their thousand different fantastic forms, running in and out +through the trees and playing round them, has the same weird fascination +for me as one of Tieck's tales, or the suggestive music of an aeolian +harp. Some of the Ainu and a Jap entreated me not to attempt to cross +the forest at night, for wolves and bears were numerous, they said, and +in all probability I should be attacked by them. This last announcement, +which I was destined to hear every day in Yezo, and which, of course, I +did not believe, decided me to go, and I started. + +"But," cried after me the astonished Japanese, "_anata micci +wakarimasen_!"--"You do not know the way!" + +"_Kamaimasen, Sayonara!_"--"It little matters; good-bye!" was my reply; +and I left him standing there perplexed, looking after me as if I had +been a phenomenon. + +The Japanese in Yezo and the Ainu never on any account travel far at +night; and as for going through a forest alone, unprotected, and without +knowing the way, they evidently regarded it as something more +reprehensible than folly. Two days previously, when in the train, I had +noticed that the railway described a curve several miles long, and I +knew then that by cutting across I could considerably shorten my way. +When I entered the forest, the sun with its last rays was casting warm +tints on the tops of the pine-trees. Everything was still, and only now +and then some huge owl, awakened by the noise of my steps from its day's +long sleep, would fly away, starting off on its night's peregrinations +and depredations. I walked mile after mile, and finally struck the rails +again. On a white post I saw a cipher in Chinese characters, which +brought me back to the reality that I was still seventeen miles away +from Shibetcha. I followed the line of rail as closely as I could, and +late at night I reached Shibetcha. I roused the people at the _Marui +yadoya_, and, having eaten some salmon and water soup, I retired to my +_foutangs_, between which, it is useless to say, I slept well. I had +walked forty-two odd miles that day, and it had been a pleasant change +from the continuous riding on pack-saddles. + +The next day I rode down to the coast to the bay of Akkeshi, about +forty-two miles east of Kushiro. The road is very good all the way, and +has on each side woods of oak and pine trees. The traffic on it is at +present very small, and the only living creatures I saw during the +twenty-eight or thirty miles were a beautiful long-tailed red fox and a +number of Japanese convicts led by a policeman. These were dressed in +red trousers and a short red coat made of coarse material. They were +walking in a row, and they were chained two by two, and, moreover, a +long rope joined the chain of each couple to that of the next, so that +all couples were tied together. The end of this rope was held by the +policeman. Some of them wore large hats entirely covering their face; +others wore no hat at all, and had their head shaved in a peculiar +manner. They were mostly bare-footed, but a few wore straw sandals. The +Government wisely makes use of these convicts in opening roads and other +public works, and after their term of punishment is expired, these men +almost invariably become fishermen. A great part of the Japanese +population of Yezo is composed of exiles and ex-convicts; in other +words, Yezo is nothing more or less to Japan than what Australia was to +England some years ago. + +Nearing the coast I passed the "Tonden" of Hondemura, a colonial militia +farming settlement. A long line of new houses, all exactly alike in +shape and size, and built at intervals, stretches on each side of the +wide road. Each of these houses is inhabited by a man who has served his +time as a soldier, and who has now his family about him, and does work +as a farmer in this settlement assigned to him. These "Tondens" were +established by the Government, and I believe that the farmer-soldiers +give fairly good results in the zeal and industry with which they +cultivate the land, and the honesty and morality of their lives. I saw +most of them occupied in stubbing up the scrub, and tearing or cutting +down the trees, burning the more worthless parts; but it will be some +years yet before they have cleared an area of cultivable land +sufficiently large for profit, as the country is very thickly wooded in +that neighbourhood. + +Soon after I had passed the settlement, going down a steep hill I came +upon a small and dirty semi-Ainu village, and ultimately reached the +seashore. + +The distance from Shibetcha is thirty miles, and the riding was +beginning to be unpleasant, owing to the gathering darkness, which made +my pony shy at everything it passed. At the mouth of the Pehambe Ushi +River I had great difficulty in getting my pony on the ferry-boat, which +was to take me across the mouth of the lagoon to Akkeshi. Several +drunken fishermen came on board, and were disagreeably noisy. One of +these fellows had a pony, which he tied to mine when on board. The ferry +was to take us across the entrance of the Akkeshi lagoon, and it was +more than a quarter of an hour before we reached the opposite shore. +When we were still nearly twenty feet from _terra firma_, my pony, +frightened at the cries of the drunken crowd, jumped overboard, carrying +with him his companion steed. The sudden shock and lurch of the boat +knocked down everybody on board, and nearly capsized us. As it was we +shipped a lot of water. The ponies found the water deeper than they +expected, and they had to swim for it. Having landed before he came +ashore, I recaptured mine, gave him a sound thrashing, and rode on to +Akkeshi, a few hundred yards from the landing-place. Akkeshi lies at the +north-east side of the large bay which goes by the same name, and which, +by the way, is probably one of the best anchorages on the south coast of +Yezo. The mouth of the bay is to the southward; it extends seven miles +in a northerly direction, and is about six miles wide in its widest +part. The bay is prolonged further inland by a large lagoon, called +Se-Cherippe, which contains many shoals and low islands, near which are +beds of oysters of enormous size, the shells of some measuring as much +as eighteen inches in length. The Koro-pok-kuru, by whom this district +was formerly thickly populated, seem to have relished this diet, as we +find thick beds of discarded shells on the top of some of the lower +hills, and in many places, especially in the vicinity of pits. These +shell heaps are similar to those found on the main island of Nippon, and +attributed to the Ainu. (_See_ Chapter IX.) + +The country round the bay and the lagoon forms a high land or plateau +between two hundred and three hundred feet above the level of the sea, +and the higher ground is thickly wooded, thus supplying Akkeshi with +abundance of timber, mostly of evergreen trees, as Todo and Yezo-matzu, +two spruces common in other parts of Yezo as well. With its good +harbour, its large export of oysters, salmon, herrings, fish-manure, and +seaweed, besides its seal-fishery and the quantity of good timber easily +cut and transported down the lagoon and across the bay for shipment, it +is not surprising that Akkeshi has become, after Hakodate, the most +important centre on the southern coast. It is nearly half as large again +as Kushiro, and has as many as nine hundred Japanese houses, besides +sixty or seventy Ainu huts. + +The Ainu were formerly extremely numerous in this district; but few of +them are left now, and those few are indeed poor specimens of their +race. They have nearly all become bald, and they seem to suffer very +severely from rheumatism. Thick fogs are very prevalent along the coast, +and it is but seldom that one can obtain a view of the whole bay. These +fogs naturally render navigation unsafe, and are one of the great +drawbacks to the prosperity of the place. However, our good Londoners +could tell us that greater evils than fogs can exist. I have no doubt +that at some future date we shall hear of Akkeshi as being the most +important port in Yezo, when a railway to join it to Shibetcha shall +have been constructed. The sulphur of Mount Yuzan will probably then be +taken direct to this place instead of Kushiro, owing to the safety of +its harbour, an advantage which Kushiro does not possess. The Akkeshi +Bay is also interesting from a picturesque point of view, when fogs give +one a chance of seeing the surrounding scenery. Some fine headlands are +found near the town of Akkeshi, and also on each side of the opening of +the bay into the ocean. On the eastern side, the two islands of Daikuku +and Kodaikuku, joined to the mainland by the low reef, slightly under +water-level, which goes round the bay, are of some importance for an +artist. This is especially true of the larger island of Daikuku, which +rises at a considerable height above the sea, forming majestic cliffs, +beautiful in shape and colour, on which myriads of seagulls, +albatrosses, and penguins have chosen their abode, finding in these +almost untrodden and picturesque cliffs a safe place in which to lay +their eggs and rear their young. Here they live undisturbed, save for +the dashing waves of the ocean, which make the earth tremble and the +rock crumble to pieces, but only meet with a blithesome welcome from the +screaming, light-hearted, fat, and lazy-winged inhabitants, to whom +those waves bring good stores of daily food. + +[Illustration: AKKESHI IN A FOG.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU MAN AND WOMAN ON HORSEBACK.] + +CHAPTER XI. + +From Akkeshi to Nemuro--A Horse Station--Nemuro and its People. + + +The road in the proximity of Akkeshi was extremely muddy and slippery, +owing to the continuous fogs and rain. A north wind was blowing hard the +day I left for Kiritap, and it drove the mist and drizzly rain right +through one's skin into one's bones. The fogs, which are prevalent all +along the coast, seem to excel between Akkeshi and Kiritap; so much so +that the Japanese in the neighbourhood make them answerable for their +baldness, and the local Ainu say they are so scantily hirsute because of +the everlasting dampness in which they live. They clinch their argument +by reminding you that when their forefathers came to this part of the +coast they were as hairy as the bear, so what can have caused their own +comparative smoothness but these everlasting fogs? I believe that to a +great extent they are right, for when, after a day's wet ride, I have +sat near a fire even for some hours, I have felt as if my skin were +soaking with wet--as if I had been too long in a bath--and neither +rubbing with cotton towels nor the warmth of the fire seemed thoroughly +to dry it; and perhaps such an extraordinary dampness, constantly +saturating the pores of the skin, may have an injurious effect upon the +hair, and cause it to decay and fall off. It was in a thick fog like +this that I had to find my way to Riruran, the next horse station, about +eight miles further east. The road soon became a mere track, running +through an undulating country, chiefly pasture land. As luck would have +it, I had hired a pony which belonged to the Riruran station, and the +beast was as anxious to get there as I was. He knew the way and I did +not, so I let him guide me. Now and then, when the wind blew with +increased strength, the fog lifted for a few minutes, and disclosed some +pretty bits of landscape. The country all around was grassy, with the +familiar densely-wooded hills in the background. It somewhat resembled +the slopes and high lands of Cornwall, without, however, the herds of +sheep and cattle, which in our country are connected with green fields; +without the trim fences and stiles, the ploughed fields and meadows, the +trim hedges and park-like trees, the bye-lanes and well-kept roads. + +Hill after hill was ascended and descended, the sturdy little pony going +well towards his former home; but as yet I had come on no signs of any +living creature. No labourers are here to work and plough the dark rich +soil. Potato fields; cottages with their plots of vegetable grounds; +cows and sheep scattered over the green pastures--all signs of vigorous +and successful husbandry--are things that an intending traveller to Yezo +will miss. Everywhere are solitude and monotony. Still, even solitude +and monotony are not always to be abhorred, and if they have their +drawbacks they also have their advantages. You can go undisturbed for +mile after mile; you can think; you can dream; you can sing; you can +keep to the track or go across country; you can go fast or slow, and +there is no one to object, to obstruct, or to comment. You breathe air +that no one has breathed before, and you quench your thirst in a limpid +stream unpolluted by sewage, chemical refuse, or poisonous dye-stuffs. +You lead a simple life, and, what is more, an independent life. Many a +time, when I woke up to the real state of my new condition, I could not +help laughing at our civilised conceptions of what constitutes a free +man in a free country, viz. that he can have a voice in choosing which +of two men shall be sent as a member to Parliament. + +Absorbed, now in my own thoughts on many subjects, and now in gazing at +the monotonous scenes, which, as if reflected from a magic-lantern, +suddenly appeared and as suddenly faded away, I had not seen how far my +pony had hurried on, when, rapidly descending a steep hill, I discerned +through the grey fog a solitary shed in the small valley below. The +neighing of my steed, responded to by the neighing of his compatriots in +the valley, told me that I had reached the horse station of Riruran, and +a few minutes later my baggage and pack-saddle were removed from my +steaming quadruped, and a fresh animal was burdened with my possessions. +These horse stations generally consist of one shed, in which the owner +and his family live; near it is a rough enclosure formed of branches and +trunks of trees laid down horizontally, and strengthened at intervals by +poles stuck in the ground. The ponies are kept in this enclosure during +the day, but are let loose at sunset, when they go for their food +wherever they can get it--generally on the near hills. Early in the +morning one or two Ainu employed in the stations start off to recapture +the ponies, and after a struggle bring back the herd to the paddock. My +readers, who may not be well acquainted with the habits of semi-wild +horses, will wonder that the ponies, once free in an unenclosed country, +do not bolt away altogether inland, thus making it impossible to +recapture them; and, moreover, these readers will think what a difficult +task it must be for the Ainu horsemen to recover all the ponies, each +one of which, they probably imagine, has bolted in an independent and +different direction. This is not the case. When a herd of ponies is let +loose they invariably all go together in one direction, generally +following those of the older animals which have bells hanging to their +necks. When they come to a proper feeding-ground they all graze within a +few yards of one another; and the chances are that the herd will not go +a step further than is necessary, as they are terribly afraid of bears, +their most dreaded enemy, by which they well know the more distant +hills are infested. When their hunger is satisfied they shoulder up +together and form a circle, in the centre of which the young colts are +placed, these being thus well protected from bears, who would find a +sturdy resistance in the hind hoofs of the outstanding guard should they +come to close quarters. The Ainu are good trackers, and have little +difficulty in finding in which direction the herd has moved. When this +preliminary is ascertained, the horseman, mounted on a swift pony, which +he has taken good care to keep behind, starts from the station about an +hour before sunrise, so as to allow himself ample time to reach the herd +before the sun is up. He finds the ponies in this circular position of +defence. With a long stick he breaks their ranks, and by shouting, and +wildly galloping to and fro, drives them on in front till the station +and the pen are reached. When they have all entered the latter, a heavy +wooden bar is rested on two biforked poles, one on each side of the +entrance, thus barring their way out; and there they are kept all day, +waiting for such native travellers or traders as may require their +services along the coast. + +Most of the stations are owned by Japanese and by Ainu half-castes. Some +have large numbers of ponies; some only a few, according to the wants of +the neighbourhood. + +The average market value of a beast is between five and ten _yen_, or +about fifteen to thirty shillings in English currency. + +At stations where the ponies are but little worked, good animals can +sometimes be obtained for a small sum of money; but at stations near +large settlements--where trade with other villages is carried on +entirely by pack-ponies--they are mostly sorry beasts, with their backs +one mass of sores, produced by the friction of the rough pack-saddles. +Moreover, the cruel habit of letting colts follow mares for long +distances--sometimes forty or fifty miles--is as painful a sight to +witness as it is injurious to the breed. The Yezo ponies are +characterised by their long hair and mane. They are short, sturdy, +punchy brutes, not more than ten or twelve hands high, with a rather +large and massive head, and thick, crooked legs. They are by no means +fine-looking animals, nor are they well groomed--in fact, they are not +groomed at all--but they serve capitally for the rough tracks and +precipitous wastes of Hokkaido. They have none of the good qualities we +require in our horses, but they possess others which fit them for the +country they are in. Their enormous power of endurance, and the +wonderful way in which they can go over the steepest tracks--almost +unclimbable on foot; their sure step when going along precipices; and +the marvellous manner in which they pick their way over rocky coasts, +which the waves would seem to make impassable, and where none of our +good horses could go without breaking their legs, are all endowments +which I feel bound to quote in honour of the Yezo ponies. They are not +shod, and they can hardly be called trained. Indeed, if a traveller be a +good rider, it is advisable to obtain a perfectly unbroken animal, as +from my own personal experience I can say that, though the riding was a +little more exciting, I could invariably make better time with a totally +unbroken beast, than with one of the worn-out, sore-backed "quiet +ponies," which needed any amount of thrashing to make him go. + +[Illustration: AINU BITS.] + +A curious method is adopted for directing the animal. It is as simple as +it is ingenious. The necessary "bit" by which we control our horses is +dispensed with, and it is replaced by two wooden wands about twelve +inches long and two inches wide, tied together at one end, allowing a +distance of three inches between them. In the middle of these wands a +rope is passed which goes over the pony's head behind its ears; while +the wands themselves, thus supported by it, rest one on each side of the +pony's nose. Another rope, five or six feet in length, and acting as a +rein, is fastened at the lower end of one of the wands, and passes +through a hole in the other, thus allowing this simple contrivance, +based on the lever principle, to be worked exactly in the same way as a +nut-cracker, the pony's nose being the nut. The disadvantage of the +system is, that having only one rein, this has to be passed over the +pony's head each time one wishes to turn to the right or to the left, +as by pulling the rope hard, and thus squeezing the animal's nose, its +head is turned in the direction in which it is pulled, and it is soon +taught that this is the way it must go. Furthermore, should the pony +bolt, it can be stopped by pulling its head close to its haunches, +thereby making it impossible to continue its race. In the latter case it +often happens, especially with an untrained pony, that it will spin +round, trying to stretch its twisted neck by pushing its head away from +the side of its body, and the result is generally a bad fall of horse +and rider. + +Another thing of which one ought to be careful is to keep one's legs out +of the reach of the brute's teeth; for it is not infrequent that instead +of the man punishing the animal, the animal revenges itself on the man; +and the incautious traveller realises Sydney Smith's position, and finds +that to a Yezo pony, as well as to an English cart-horse, "all flesh is +grass." + +From Riruran, for about fifteen miles, the way is merely a mountain +track; and I dare say that in fine weather the scenery along it is +picturesque. Unfortunately, when I went through, the fog had become more +and more intense, and I saw very little of the landscape. At places the +track led down to the sea, and then mounted up again over cliffs and +high lands. As the mist, which came in gusts and waves, deepened or +lightened in intensity, the rugged precipitous rocks, formed mostly of +conglomerate, sandstone, and breccia, took all sorts of fantastic forms. +Along the coast were many Ainu huts inhabited by half-castes and by +Japanese. The Ainu were once very numerous in this district, but few of +them are to be found now. The few remaining ones have yielded to the +more civilised Japanese, and have become their servants. They are used +as menials in most of the fishing stations, always acting under the +directions of Japanese masters. Very frequently they are employed as +tenders of horses, and in some places as guides for traders and +travellers from one station to another. + +Not far from Riruran the mouths of two lagoons have to be crossed, the +larger of which is called Saruffo-Ko, or "Lake in a grassy plain." +Cranes, swans, and ducks are numerous in these lagoons. + +The track continues mostly over cliffs and mountains till Birvase, a +small village of seaweed gatherers, is reached, and the next two and a +half miles are along a sandy beach as far as Hammanaka. A short bridge +joins this place to the island of Kiritap, which is separated from the +mainland by a channel only a few feet wide. Towards the evening the fog +lifted, and I caught a glimpse of the village. + +The ponies of the Kiritap village had just been let loose, and were +running over the small wooden bridge with great clamour. The houses, +which number about a hundred and twenty, are all poor and dirty. There +is a main street, and most of the houses are on each side of it. The +people are fishermen, seaweed gatherers, and small traders; for +Hammanaka Bay, being a good anchorage for junks and small craft under +the lee of Kiritap Island, is a place of some importance for its export +trade of seaweeds, fish-oil, and herring guano; these products being +sent down to Hakodate. + +If a few Ainu have adopted the Japanese language, clothes, and customs, +there are also many Japanese who have taken up the Ainu language and +ways. I noticed this more particularly in this district, where the Ainu +have almost entirely disappeared. The older Japanese and many of the +younger folks have Ainu features; and not only have they adopted a great +number of Ainu words, but when talking Japanese they speak it with the +peculiar intonation and accent pertaining to the Ainu. This is not +surprising, nor yet peculiar to the Japanese or the Chinese; for we find +that almost all English residents in Chinese ports adopt many of the +words of our pig-tailed brothers, and have thus formed a kind of local +English, besides the "pidgeon-English"--a corruption of "business +English"--which almost constitutes a language of its own. + +The Ainu, like the Scotch or the French, give a rolling sound to the +"r." Thus, for instance, if I had written the word "Riruran" as it is +pronounced I should have spelt it "Rrirrurran." Then the Ainu almost +sing their words--the women in a falsetto voice, ending in a singularly +mournful kind of cadenza. On his return from a journey, a hunt, or a +fishing expedition, the Ainu squats down cross-legged in his hut, and, +after the conventional introductory ceremony of rubbing the palms of his +hands together and then repeatedly stroking his hair and beard, proceeds +to relate the adventures that have befallen him during his absence. +This he does by singing out his story in a sort of monotone, or +sometimes chanting it. When conversing with Japanese the Ainu have +slightly modified this habit, which gave rise to much mirth to the +light-hearted sons of the Mikado's empire. However, like all people who +are ready to laugh at everything novel, the local Japanese have now +themselves fallen into that same manner of speaking, which, after all, +has its charms, as it is rather sentimental in spirit, and so far +pleasant to the ear. What is more, they have also acquired the slow ways +of the Ainu. + +All along the beach between Hammanaka and Hattaushi, a distance of +nearly twenty miles, there are fishermen's and seaweed gatherers' huts; +but none of them is inhabited by Ainu. Men, women, and children are all +occupied in the seaweed gathering industry; and it is when the sea is +stormy that the largest quantity of kelp is collected. The numerous +reefs and rocks all along the shore-line afford suitable ground and +bottom for its growth and production; and during a stormy sea quantities +of kelp float on the breaking waves, to be finally thrown on shore. The +industrious gatherers seldom wait for this "jetsam," as the long weeds, +after they are washed off the rock, and before they are finally swept on +shore, are apt to be damaged by the waves, and are therefore of less +value for the export market than when long and fresh; wherefore, each +gatherer provides himself with a long pole or hook, and from morning +till night these half-naked "toilers of the sea" can be seen running to +and fro in and out of the waves dragging bunches of long ribbon-like +seaweeds, which are then carefully disentangled, stretched on the sands +to dry, and, after several days of exposure, are packed for the market. + +Some huge cliffs towering over the sandy beach make the track +interesting; and here and there, scattered in the Hammanaka Bay, are +some oyster-banks before reaching the single shed of Hattaushi. The +following twelve miles were on an extremely bad track, partly over steep +hills and partly on tiresome soft sand. Then I arrived at +Otchishi--without exception the loveliest little spot in Yezo. It lies +in the centre of a small bay, on the two sides of which are magnificent +headlands with precipitous cliffs and rocks of volcanic formation. On a +pretty bit of green grass in the foreground, only a few feet above the +sea-level, were a shed and a storehouse. A reef and shallow water closed +the entrance of the bay to the foaming waves of the Pacific. In the +sheltered water, which was as smooth as a mirror, the dark rich colour +of the overhanging rocks, caressed by the last warm rays of the dying +sun, was reflected with absolute fidelity and almost increased +loveliness. A cold whitish sky, and the _white horses_ breaking on the +reef, completed the _ensemble_ of that lovely scene; and it was with +great regret, after having attempted a sketch, that I was told my horse +was ready, and I had to leave this poetical and exquisite scene. + +On the slight elevations near Otchishi, and in the valley, pits are +still to be seen, showing that the pit-dwellers were once numerous in +this district. They are found both along the coast as well as slightly +inland by the side of small rivers, and on the shores of the Saruffu +lagoon. A well-kept road begins at Otchishi, and goes on to Nemuro. At +first it runs over hilly ground and through an oak-wooded country, then +through thick forests of spruce trees, the trees standing very +close together. About four miles from Nemuro a military +settlement--"Hanasaki"--similar to the one on the Shibetcha-Akkeshi +road, has been established by the Japanese Government. Here, again, I +was struck by the difficulty and the amount of labour involved in +clearing the trees off the ground. It will take many years before the +industrious farmers will have any return for their hard labour. I do not +know what the object of the Japanese Government may have been in +starting these two militia settlements in spots so unfit for +cultivation, but it seems a great pity to see the Tokachi region, which +has all the requisites for successful agriculture, quite deserted, while +hundreds of men are wasting their strength and time at other places, +where it will take several years to open enough ground for even a +kitchen-garden. + +Past the long row of houses at Hanasaki the road descends gently, and I +arrived at Nemuro, a thriving place of about fifteen hundred houses, on +the south-west coast of the plateau-like peninsula ending at Cape +Noshafu. The general elevation of the plateau is between sixty and one +hundred and twenty feet above the sea-level, and the high land is +covered with undergrowth and stunted trees, such as scrub bamboo, oak, +birch, and alder, the east winds and fogs no doubt preventing the latter +from attaining a larger growth. Some low islands and reefs lie north and +south off Cape Noshafu, and make navigation very unsafe for the small +coasting crafts which sometimes during the summer call at Nemuro for +sea-weed, herring, salt, salmon, and herring guano; the first exported +chiefly to China, the others to Tokio and Southern Japan. Herrings are +caught in large numbers during the spring and summer, and the export of +fish-manure would be considerably increased if the harbour at Nemuro +could be safely entered by larger ships. As it is now, though well +sheltered by the small island of Bentenjima, it can only harbour small +ships, as, besides not being deep, its entrance is narrow and of +difficult access during the thick fogs of the summer. In the winter and +part of the spring the harbour and the coast as far as Noshafu Cape are +blocked with drift ice, thus stopping navigation altogether. The trade +from the adjoining coast and the Kurile Islands concentrates at this +port, and as a farming region the small portion of available land +north-west of the town has given fairly good results. Horse-breeding has +proved a success for the local wants, but hardly so in producing a fine +breed of horses. Cattle-breeding, on the other hand, has been a failure +all through, owing to the severe weather in winter, which the imported +animals could not stand. In spite of strong easterly winds, heavy fogs, +ice, and snow, fair crops of _daikon_, potatoes, turnips, barley, beans, +wheat, and hemp are successfully raised here, as the soil is of +extremely good quality. As to the town itself, it is prettily laid out, +the streets crossing each other at right angles, while some of the +houses are built in semi-European style, to meet the severity of the +climate. A Shinto temple is erected on the high level; and from this is +obtained a fine bird's-eye view of the harbour and town, with the +numerous storehouses overlooking the sea. + +As I have given a short description of the town--uninteresting save from +a commercial point of view--I feel that I owe a few lines to its +go-ahead inhabitants. Belonging, nearly all, to a young and adventurous +generation, they reminded me of the same type of Englishmen who have +abandoned their fatherland and settled in America and Australia, +striving, and often succeeding, in making a fortune. Such men are +invariably of a different "make" from that of the young fellows who are +satisfied to drudge for life in a bank, a merchant's office, or a +shop--vegetating rather than living; following their day's routine in a +mechanical sort of way; grumbling continually, but never bold enough to +attempt any improvement of their position. As one is born an artist, a +musician, or a literary man, one has to be born a colonist to be a +successful one. + +The young Japanese whom I met at Nemuro impressed me as being thoroughly +different from any I had come across in my one year's stay in Southern +Japan; and I was agreeably surprised when I found that I was dealing +with a lot of young, clever, and serious men, willing to improve their +country and themselves, and anxious to accept any practical hint that +would enable them to accomplish this in the shortest time possible. In +other words, they had lost the slow, phlegmatic way of transacting +business of the "stay-at-homes," and had accepted the quick perception +of the true colonist, who is always ready to catch all the chances which +will help him to get on in life. + +I had been struck with this energy, this go-ahead faculty, several times +along the south-west and south-east coasts, when conversing with the +Japanese with whom I came in contact; but I was never so much impressed +as at Nemuro, where, indeed, the men are of a superior class, +well-educated, and belonging to good families, while most of the +Japanese at fishing stations along the coast are taken from the scum of +the towns. They are often escaped or ex-convicts, or else people who +found it advisable to abandon the livelier shores of Nippon, leaving no +trace of themselves rather than end their days in a prison cell. + +Nemuro is a progressive place in every way, and had it been built five +miles further west it would have been intersected by the Onnetto +River--a short outlet of the Onnetto Lagoon, which would have formed a +larger and safer harbour than the present Nemuro anchorage. As it is, +prosperity showed itself in the usual way, by the number of +eating-houses for all classes, a theatre, numerous _guechas_--singers +and dancers--and a whole street of houses of light morals, in which, +behind a wooden grating similar to a huge cage, dozens of girls are +shown in their gaudy red and gold embroidered _kimonos_, with elaborate +_obis_ round their waist, and expensive long tortoise-shell hairpins +artistically surrounding their heads like a halo. There in a line the +pretty girls sit for several hours on their heels in front of a +_hibachi_--brazier--smoking their diminutive pipes. They are fair game +for now the compliments and now the jokes of the crowd promenading up +and down the street in the evening. Every now and then, when an admirer +approaches the cage, one of the girls gets up, refills her tiny pipe +with tobacco, and offers it to him, not forgetting to wipe the +mouthpiece with the palm of her hand before so doing. He (the admirer) +puffs away, and returns the empty pipe with thanks, shifting on to +another cage to have his next smoke. Japanese men cannot live without +_guechas_, and it follows as a matter of course that Nemuro, being a +prosperous place, there are many of them. + +A _guecha_ is a singer or dancer (posturing), or both, and one or more +generally attend dinner-parties and festivities of any kind. Some sing +with self-accompaniment of _shamesen;_ others display their wonderful +powers of mimicking and posturising, in which grace is never lacking. A +long _kimono_, a carefully-arranged _obi_, and a pretty pair of white +_tabi_--short socks with split toes--make up the graceful and simple +attire in which they appear in the house. Their hair, plastered down +with camelia oil, is a veritable work of art. It is carefully combed, +oiled, and flattened behind the ears. A metal fastener at the lowest +point of the curve keeps it in this flat position, and it is then raised +again and fastened at the back of the head, first in a most elaborate +twist, and then rolled up in graceful curves. A pretty, tasteful +_kanzashi_--a long hairpin--is placed on the left side of the head, thus +completing that part of a _guecha's_ toilette. + +The sallow complexion characteristic of the race is despised by the +womankind of Japan, and all women are given to "painting" themselves. +With us such a custom is not uncommon, but it is disregarded by most +sensible women. In Japan it is part of the ordinary woman's daily +toilette. A thick layer of white chalk is first smeared with a soft +brush over the face, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands; then the pretty +_mouseme_, dipping her first finger in red paint, gently rubs this on +her cheeks, her temples, and over the upper eyelids. The middle finger +is the "black brush," and adds sentiment to the expression by blackening +under the eyes; and sometimes when the eyebrows are not shaved it is +also used to accentuate them. A piece of burnt cork is often used as a +substitute for black paint. The fourth finger has no occupation, but the +little finger is for finishing touches, brightening up the mouth with +carmine, and adding a bit of gold on the lower lip. A _guecha_ paints +herself to a much greater extent than other women, and with brighter +colours. As to her moral qualities, a _guecha_ is usually not immoral +enough to be called "fast," yet too fast to be qualified as "moral." +Their music and posturing have a great charm for Japanese; and when +money is made, a good quantity of it goes to keeping up these feminine +musicians and their establishments. + + * * * * * + +To show how enterprising and Americanised the Nemuro people are, I shall +ask the reader's forgiveness for again relating a personal experience +which at the time greatly amused me. + +I was in the midst of my simple Japanese dinner in the Jamaruru +tea-house, when four youths entered my room and offered to shake hands +with me--a most unusual thing with Japanese. One of them handed me his +card, on which I read, "K. Sato, _Nemuro Shimbun_" (Nemuro newspaper). + +"Oh," I said in Japanese, "you have even a newspaper at Nemuro." + +"Yes," answered in English one of his friends, a Mr. Yuasa, handing me +his own card. + +"You speak English, then, Mr. Yuasa?" + +"Yes." + +"Can I offer you and your friends anything to drink or to eat?" + +"Yes." + +"What will you have?" + +"Yes." + +"Will you have some _sake_?" + +"No, no; I come to speak to you." + +"Thank you." + +"No, no; I come to _take your life_ in Nemuro newspaper. Please speak +where come? How old? Where go?" + +When I had sufficiently recovered from the shock of his announcement +that he had come to take my life, and understood what he meant by it, I +had a most pleasant conversation in English with him, and in Japanese +with the others. Mr. Yuasa's English improved as his shyness wore off, +showing that he had a very fair knowledge of the language. The interview +lasted many hours, continually interrupted by the _nara honto_ and the +_sajo deska_--"really" and "indeed" of my visitors--while notes were +taken by the editor and his staff. They finally departed, and early the +next morning I received the following letter:-- + + "SIR,--I long that you will correspond to me any events wherever + you have met them in your journey when you are not so awful busy, + as I have to translate and write on the Nemuro _News_. I meet the + first time here, and I hope to have your friendly favor hitherto, + and thanks for your kindness I have received ever, believe me, your + humble servant, F. YUASA." + +The same afternoon the editor and his staff called again, accompanied by +the two Mr. Nakamuras, the richest merchants in Nemuro, and they +insisted on giving me a European dinner. After my experience at Otsu as +regards European cooking by Japanese, I was rather loth to accept their +kind invitation, but I had to yield. The feast began with biscuits and +jam,[31] and the soup was brought immediately after; then vegetables +were followed by roast chicken, and the latter by salad and fried fish. +With the exception of the somewhat inverted order of the courses, this +time it was actually a European dinner, and even well-cooked; but my +hosts were seen at a great disadvantage when using a knife and fork. As +for the anatomy of the chicken, that was decidedly their weakest point. +Those of the party who were shy gave up the carving as a bad job; the +bolder only fought bravely; and every now and then a knife gave a +terrible squeak on the plate, and half a leg, a wing, or a carcase was +fired right across the table into one's plate, if not in one's face, or +on one's lap. + + [31] The Japanese always begin their meals with sweets. + +"_Honto taihen muskashi_"--"Really it is very difficult"--said the wit +of the party, helplessly putting down his knife and fork after trying to +separate the two parts of a wing. "This bird's bones have lost all their +joints in the cooking." + +My hosts were extremely kind, and were, besides, so clever and bright +that I enjoyed their good company immensely. At the same time I gained +from them valuable information as regards the neighbouring country and +the Kurile Islands. + +[Illustration: SEMI-AINU RAT TRAP.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU WOMAN OF KURILE ISLANDS.] + +CHAPTER XII. + +The Kurile Islands. + + +From Nemuro I put to sea in a miserable little Japanese craft--a kind of +tug-boat--which once or twice a year goes to the principal islands of +the Kurile group, and brings back their products to Nemuro. It is +needless to say that I was the only passenger on board, though it is +fair to add that the saloon was large enough to "accommodate" two, but +not more. As for the only cabin, it had two berths, one over the other, +but no available space for dressing or undressing, which therefore had +to be got through outside, unless it was to be done by instalments, +lying down in the berth itself. I shall spare my readers a minute +description of this "ocean clipper," her tonnage, and horse-power, and I +shall not attempt to narrate the many disadvantages of travelling in a +ship engaged in the fish-manure, dried-fish, and sea-weed trade. These +three very strongly scented articles speak for themselves without the +need of words. + +The Kuriles are the islands which stretch like a row of beads from the +most north-easterly coast of Yezo to the most southerly point of +Kamschatka. They extend from 145 deg. to 158 deg. longitude east of Greenwich, +and between 42 deg. and 51 deg. latitude north. + +The archipelago forms part of the Japanese Empire, having been exchanged +by Russia not many years ago for the southern half of Saghalien Island, +then belonging to Japan. This group of islands is characterised mainly +by the great extent of its volcanic rocks and tertiaries, showing marked +evidence that it is only a continuation of the volcanic mountain-range +forming the backbone of Yezo, and extending from Yubaridake, in the +upper Ishikari province, to Cape Shiretoko; which volcanic region +embraces a large portion of the Tokachi, Kitami, and Nemuro provinces. +In this chain of islands there are many beautiful volcanic cones, +especially in Kunashiri and Etorofu. Iron, copper, and other metal veins +are found in small quantities in tuffs and andesites, but more important +here, moreover, are the large sulphur accumulations near and in craters, +both extinct and active; as on Mount Rahush, in Kunashiri, and the +Ichibishinai, in Etorofu, the largest island of the Kuriles. At Pontoo, +in Kunashiri, sulphur bubbles out from the bottom of a volcanic lake, +which is probably an extinct crater. + +Beside being rich in minerals, the larger islands of the Kuriles abound +in game; but fishing is the main industry practised by the sparse +population of these rugged regions. The origin of the word "Kuriles" is +not certain, but in all probability it is from the Russian _kuril_, +smoke, as there are many active volcanoes in the islands. The more +poetical Japanese call them _Chishima_, or the "Thousand Islands," +meaning that they are numberless, and the _nonchalant_ Ainu of Yezo +profess entire ignorance as to their existence, and only some of the +better informed give them the name of _Krafto_, by which they really +mean Sakhalin. The hairy people are emphatically poor geographers, and +have but little faculty for locating islands or any other places. In +fact, how could they, having no maps, and no idea even of what a map is? +The Chishima group and the island of Yezo, with all the smaller islands +along and near its coast, when taken collectively, are called by the +Japanese "The Hokkaido." The nearest of the Kuriles to Yezo is +Kunashiri, and south of it lies the smaller island of Shikotan; then +comes Etorofu, the largest of the group; then Urup; after this a number +of unhabited islets, reefs, and rocks form a barrier separating the +Otkoshk Sea from the Pacific Ocean. Shimushir, at the south-western end +of this barrier, and Onekotan, at the north-eastern, are the two +largest, Shimushir being about thirty miles in length and four or five +wide, and Onekotan about twenty-five miles long and eight wide. +Paromushir (a corruption of the Ainu words _poro_, large, and _mushiri_, +island) is the last island of the group. It has a large reef on its +south-east coast, and is divided by a channel six or seven miles wide +from Cape Lopatka, the most southern point of the Kamschatkan peninsula. +Paromushir is about twice the size of Urup, and is very mountainous, +with rugged cliffs of volcanic formation, and high picturesque peaks, +bearing the same characteristics as the scenery in Etorofu and +Kunashiri, and also of Kamschatka. I have mentioned this last island, as +it is of some interest, being the most northern point of the Japanese +empire; and also to a certain extent it is interesting from a geological +point of view, but, as far as I know, it is not inhabited now, and the +few Kurilsky Ainu who formerly lived there migrated further south from +one island to another, till Shimushir[32] and Urup[33] afforded them a +more hospitable home. However, they were not to live there for long, for +the Japanese Government, asserting that subjects of the empire who chose +to live so far could not be properly looked after, sent the small ship +on which I was now travelling on a mission with orders to bring them all +down to the formerly deserted island of Shikotan. The orders had to be +obeyed; and reluctantly setting fire to the huts which they were about +to abandon and never to see again, ninety souls, all that remained of +that nomad tribe of Ainu, were embarked and carried into exile at +Shikotan. The quiet life on the Shikotan rocks little suits the roaming +disposition of the Kurilsky Ainu; and though even formerly they were +rapidly dying out, the rate of mortality has increased since their +exile. Having thus verified the fact that of the "Thousand Islands" of +the Chishima group only three are inhabited, I shall avoid giving a +monotonous description of each bare-looking islet and rock, and I shall +land my readers at Shikotan, on a visit to the Kurilsky Ainu, who are +important to us in connection with the Ainu of Yezo. + + [32] _Shimushir_, High Island. + + [33] _Urup_, name given to a kind of salmon. + +It was early in the morning when I looked out of the porthole, and by a +fine moonlight saw that we were close to the coast. Huge cliffs and +peaks, ending in a sharp point, some converging towards one another, +some standing upright against the whitish cold sky, were reflected in +the smooth water under the lee of the island. The moon, surrounded by a +yellowish halo, shone bright over the rugged scene, giving delicate +bluish tints to all the shadows; while the water, disturbed and cut by +the prow of our craft, rose in gentle waves, pursuing one another, as if +running for a place of refuge in the mysterious dark shadows of the +cliffs. So weird, so enchanted and wild was the scene, that I jumped out +of my stuffy bunk and went on deck. There I stood, notwithstanding the +cold, gazing at the gigantic overhanging black rocks, at the precipices, +crevices, and natural openings through which now and then the radiant +moon peeped, covering the dark green water with a long undulating streak +of silver dashes. There I stood, listening to the voices of the waves, +which rippled on the shingle, contemplating this strange and poetic work +of nature. I am certain that if sirens there ever were in this world, +their home must have been among the whimsical and _bizarre_ rocks of +Shikotan Island. The old "tub" on which I was "ploughing the waves" +moved slowly through this heavenly spectacle of ever-increasing beauty. +When the sun rose, enchantment was added to enchantment. The cold bluish +colour of the rocks became gradually warmer; and, as the light grew +stronger, the tops of the cliffs turned into a mass of brilliant +colours. Nature was waking slowly from her torpid sleep, and, in the +freshness of the morning, a light breeze, caressing the shore, brought +with it the smell of land. + +The captain, a Japanese, informed me that we should soon enter the +harbour of Shikotan, and, pointing to some huge pillars, said that was +the entrance. We drew nearer and nearer to it, and the nearer we drew +the more I became convinced that the captain was under an +hallucination. I could only see rock after rock, huge pillar after huge +pillar; but no entrance whatever. + +"We are just going in," said the captain, laughing at my astonishment, +and he gave orders to the quartermaster at the wheel to steer straight +for one of the pillars. We were but a few yards from it when our craft +was made to swing rapidly on her starboard side, and we turned round a +gigantic shoulder of rock, to find ourselves in a narrow channel. One +minute later we were in a pretty circular harbour, surrounded by high +peaks--in fact, a kind of "fiord." The access to this harbour is +certainly difficult to find, but when you are fairly in, it is seen to +afford a well-sheltered anchorage. It has more the appearance of a small +mountain lake than that of a sea-harbour; and undoubtedly it is a +submerged crater. It is perfectly circular, and very deep, but not of +large capacity. Directly opposite the entrance, on the shore, is a small +narrow valley, on which is situated the village of the Kurilsky Ainu. +Four men rowed me ashore, and I went to the village. + +When the Japanese imported these Kurilsky Ainu to Shikotan, they allowed +them to build their huts in their own way; but this done, a railing with +a gate was erected, closing the entrance of the valley which overlooks +the harbour, thus preventing the poor wretches from abandoning the +island to resume their migratory habits, and return to their more +northern homes. Inside this gate two rows of huts, exactly similar to +those of the Yezo Ainu, have been constructed by the exiles. There are +sixteen huts altogether, and not a single one of them is built over a +pit. In Chapter IX, I have fully explained the characteristics and mode +of living, which leaves no doubt as to these people being proper Ainu, +and not pit-dwellers, as some have asserted; though of course their type +is slightly modified by external conditions--a common occurrence in all +races. Take a Londoner, a provincial, and a seaman, and though they be +all three Englishmen, one will have a washed-out look, the other will be +healthy and strong, but not so sturdy, wiry, and weather-beaten as the +sailor. The same natural process is at work with this tribe of Ainu. +They conform their life according to circumstances and places; and +though they possess the same general characteristics as the rest of the +Ainu, in some small details they cannot but differ from them. + +Shikotan was a deserted island previous to these poor wretches being +transplanted there by the Japanese Government. It does not abound in +game, like Shimushir, Urup, or Poromushir, whence they were taken. + +[Illustration: SHIKOTAN AINU.] + +The story of this tribe of Ainu is a sad one. Hunting, sealing, and +fishing were their only aims in life, their only pastimes, the only +things they lived for. At Shikotan they have none of these things. There +is no big game; the only animal found being a beautiful species of white +long-tailed fox. There are no large rivers at Shikotan; there is hardly +any vegetation, and the whole island is nothing but a mass of barren +rocks. + +The food of the Kurilsky Ainu consisted chiefly of meat of bear and +seals, berries, and eggs of sea-birds. They were a migratory people, and +in their small cranky canoes they often crossed from one island to +another, carrying with them all their property, consisting of skin +garments and fishing and hunting implements, these latter the same as +those employed by other Ainu. The dress of the men is shaped like a +short tunic, made of sea-birds' skins, with the feathers inside. Some of +the smart ones are trimmed with seal, and they are worn fastened round +the waist with a girdle of sealskin or a belt of sea-lion hide, often +ornamented with molten lead buttons or Chinese cash. The women's garment +is much longer, and reaches nearly to the feet; it falls loosely, and +has long sleeves covering the hands; it is fastened with a girdle in bad +weather, and the gown is then pulled up to the knee, showing the long +yellow boots. When carrying water or working this is also done, as it +gives greater freedom to the limbs, making walking and all movement much +easier. A red, yellow, or brightly-coloured handkerchief, of Russian +manufacture, is tied round the neck and another round the back of the +head, and this makes the women look like Italian peasants. As the gown +is worn usually loose it has the identical shape of a dressing-gown; it +is ornamented with yellow feathers of puffins round the neck and the +edge. Both men and women wear either moccasins, or long boots made of +sealskin, with the fur inside, or else they wear salmon-skin boots, like +the Ainu of Yezo. No woman that I saw at Shikotan had a moustache +tattooed round her lips, or any tattoo marks on her arms. Very few of +them wore earrings, though all had the ears bored for that purpose, and +had worn them. The earrings which they possessed were mostly strings of +coral beads and metal ornaments of Russian manufacture, which, like the +brightly-coloured handkerchiefs, they had received in bartering with the +crew of a sealing schooner. Since they have been at Shikotan the men +have been presented with old caps and overcoats, similar to those of the +Japanese police. Previous to this, however, when the Kuriles were under +the rigid Russian _regime_, the Kurilsky Ainu men were compelled to trim +their hair and beard, which was the first step taken by the priests of +the Coptic Church in Christianising these nomadic barbarians. When this +hair-dressing order was complied with, as the first link of the chain, +the Coptic creed was enforced on them, and the barbarous Kurilsky Ainu +became well-trimmed orthodox Christians. + +At Shikotan, as it is, fishing on a small scale is their main +occupation, praying the next, and Jacko, the chief of the village, is +the high priest. Jacko's predecessor, in fulfilling the duties of this +high post, was a man who had dropped his Ainu name, and had been +baptized as Alexandrovitch. His house is now occupied by Jacko. It is +the first on the right-hand side when the village is entered from the +harbour side, and it is larger than any of the others; it is built of +wood instead of rushes and reeds. The interior is divided into two +rooms, and in the second are three stands, the middle one of which has a +cross on it. On each of these stands is a Russian Bible, with images +hanging on the page-marks. Several rough stools and a couple of benches +are placed in rows in front of these stands, and on the walls hang two +or three Russian religious images. Taken altogether, and compared with +other Ainu huts, Jacko's chapel had quite a stately appearance. + +Just as the Ainu of Yezo have partly acquired the Japanese language, the +Kurilsky Ainu have learned to talk Russian, besides speaking an Ainu +dialect. + +On Sundays, or on any day which Jacko thinks is a Sunday, the chief +reads the mass before a congregation of the other fifty-nine hairy +Christians of the Russian Orthodox Church; he does not spare them a +sermon, which sometimes lasts half the day, and his audience are most +attentive and well behaved. None of them would think of leaving church +before service is over; but one detail in which these hairy Christians +are not yet fully Christianised is, that no collection plate is ever +sent round! The Kurilsky Ainu have undoubtedly accepted the form of +their adopted religion, but I rather doubt whether they have fallen in +with the principle. Their former barbarian ideas and superstitions are +still well rooted in their brain, and each individual was a curious and +enviable combination of a perfect heathen and a thorough Christian, +according to what suited him or her better at the time being. In other +words, they believed in two diametrically opposed principles, one of +which fitted in with every phase of their life when the other was +deficient. + +As many as ninety people, all told, were landed at Shikotan, but thirty +had already succumbed when I visited the island. A graveyard on a hill +on the west side of the village was indeed a sad reminder of this fact. +It will not be long before all the others will pass away, for +consumption and rheumatism have a great hold on most of the wretches. In +ten years from now, I dare say, not one of the Kurilsky tribe of Ainu +will be left on this earth. It is pitiful that the last remains of these +independent people will end their days secluded and in exile on the +barren rocks of Shikotan. + +As it is, they seem to take life easily, and, with a characteristic +proper to all nomadic peoples, they make the best of what they can get. +They are not shy, and they have dropped the formalities and grand +salutations of other Ainu. They are, however, as dirty, especially in +their homes. The women dress their hair in small tresses. + +The children wear long gowns similar to those of the women, and one or +two of the children I saw had very fair hair. As will be seen by the +illustrations, some of the men and women possess good features, more +resembling those of European races than those of Mongolian type. They +are gentle and quiet, like all other Ainu. They are submissive, and +resigned to their sad fate. + +The island of Skikotan is almost circular in shape, and it has one or +two small anchorages on its north coast. I judged its diameter to be +about twelve or thirteen miles. Etorofu and Kunashiri, though much +larger in size, are of less interest to us in connection with the Ainu, +as most of that race found there migrate from Yezo during the fishing +season; therefore, nothing is to be added about them. + +Etorofu is a long, narrow, but irregular island, over one hundred miles +in length, and varying in breadth from five or six to twenty miles. It +is very mountainous, and has some bold, rugged scenery, owing to its +volcanic formation. Etorofu is by far the largest island of the Kurile +group, and it possesses many safe anchorages, especially on its +north-west coast, where several mountainous capes branch off the narrow +strip of land, and afford small ships a fairly safe harbourage from west +and south-westerly winds. Unfortunately, however, they are open to +northerly and north-east gales, during the prevalence of which, should a +ship happen to be cruising about in those latitudes, she would have to +run for a shelter to the south-east coast. The south-east coast is not +peopled, with the exception of a very few huts near Moyorotake, or "Bear +Bay," at its most south-eastern point. A better shelter, however, is to +be found in the bay, nearly in the middle of the island, on the shores +of which are a few huts at Onembets and Imotsuto. Most of the coast is +deserted, and the south-east portion is very rocky, huge cliffs, with +high richly-coloured mountains in the background, ending like an +impassable wall into the sea. Where the island is narrower there are +some low terraces with scrub bamboo and stunted trees. Larch is found in +Etorofu, while it is seldom found in Yezo. Heather-like plants are also +indigenous in Etorofu, and cranberry bushes are frequent near the coast. +From Betoya or Bettobu Bay down to its most south-western point Etorofu +is all mountainous, with the exception of a small valley near Rubets. +It is along the banks of the Bettobu River, in that small valley and on +those terraces, that the numerous pits of the Koro-pok-kuru are found, +and also at Rupets, further south on the same coast. This, however, I +have already explained in connection with the pit-dwellers. The two +small fishing-stations above mentioned are respectively under the lee of +the headlands ending in Cape Ikahasonets and Notoro Cape. On the first +headland the mountain of Tsiriju rises to a great altitude. The largest +fishing-station is at Shana, on the western side of this headland, and +further north, besides Bettobu, is the small station of Shibets. +South-west of Shana one finds Rubets, Furubets, Oitoi, and Naibo, the +latter in the bay of the same name. There are five lakes in Etorofu, two +of which are between Shana and Bettobu, one near Rubets, the other close +to Naibo; the fifth is a very small one, fifteen or sixteen miles +north-east of Bettobu. The country has a rugged look, and in some +places, as near Rubets, where the volcanic mountain masses leave space +for low terraces the scrub-bamboo is very thick, as in Yezo, and small +and stunted trees form the chief vegetation. Larch is more common on the +north-west coast than on the south-east. Good timber is rather scarce in +Etorofu, but a fair quantity of it is to be found inland, and also at +the south-western portion of the island about Naipo. + +Accumulations of sulphur are found at Ichibishinai, and there is an +active volcano south-east of Bettobu, besides the beautiful volcanic +cone of Atzosa, three or four thousand feet above sea-level. All this +volcanic mountain mass, with its warmly-tinted peaks, bears the +characteristics of the central portion of Yezo; and there seems to be +little doubt that all this row of islands, with the frequent submerged +craters and volcanic cones, is nothing but the continuation of the +volcanic zone in Yezo. The main resource of Etorofu is the fishing. Four +different kinds of salmon and salmon-trout are found, one similar to the +salmon common in Yezo, the others somewhat differently marked. Salmon is +extremely plentiful, and in July and August enormous catches are made, +especially at the mouths of the rivers, where the fish are closely +packed together. + +The Pico Strait, between Etorofu and Kunashiri, is about fourteen miles +wide, and a strong current from the Okhotsk Sea passes through it, +causing the sea to break in heavy tide-rips and overfalls similar to +those observed in the La Perouse Strait, between Yezo and Sakhalin. +Similar tide-rips are observed also in the channel between Etorofu and +Urup, but, being much wider (about twenty-four miles), they seem there +less formidable. + +Kunashiri is the next largest island in the Kuriles after Etorofu. It is +about sixty-five miles long, and very narrow; varying from three to +eight miles in width. The north-east portion is somewhat wider, and +extremely mountainous. The highest peak of this mountain range is the +Tcha-Tcha-Nobori (the old-old-mountain), which is said to be about seven +thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. From this volcano +starts a chain of hills--some pyramidal in form, others somewhat rounder +at the top--which forms the backbone of the island. Two more active +volcanoes besides the Tcha-Tcha are on the south-west portion of +Kunashiri, but they do not rise to a very great altitude. On Horanaho or +Rausu volcano sulphur accumulations are found, and at Pontoo (small +lake) sulphur bubbles out from the lake bottom, and seems to be worked +with profit. The Tcha-Tcha-Nobori is curiously shaped. It is like a +large cone cut about half-way up in a section, to which a smaller cone +has been attached, leaving a wide ring right round. It is extremely +picturesque, and a worthy finish to the strange outline of Kunashiri +Island. + +Vegetation and products are the same as in Etorofu. Salmon is plentiful, +and a few fishing-stations are spread out here and there at long +intervals on the coast. As in Etorofu, the population of Kunashiri +migrates there from Yezo during the fishing season, and leaves the +island almost deserted in winter. The strait separating it from Yezo is +only ten or twelve miles wide. Bears and foxes are said to be very +numerous in all the larger islands of the Kuriles, and seals are +captured in large quantities during the winter months, more especially +in the islands nearer Kamschatka. Small game, as ducks, snipes, and +sandpipers, is abundant. Besides the ruggedness and strange aspect of +its numerous volcanic peaks, the bareness and the loneliness of the +coast, there is nothing in the Kurile group to entice the sightseer and +the pleasure-seeker to a cruise among the islands. The geologist and +zoologist, however, would find in the Kuriles a very rough but very +interesting field for their investigations, and a "good shot," who does +not mind a self-sacrificing and lonely life, would find some good sport +among the bears, especially in Kunashiri and Etorofu. + +[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE KURILE ISLANDS] + + + + +[Illustration: ABASHIRI ISLAND.] + +CHAPTER XIII. + +On the East and North-East Coast--From Nemuro to Shari-Mombets. + + +I did not remain long at Nemuro after my return from the Kuriles; in +fact, I remained only a few hours, and again my baggage was lashed to +the pack-saddle, again I was perched on the top of this instrument of +torture, and soon was rapidly moving north towards the inhospitable +coast of the Okhotsk Sea. + +The first few days of the lonely life of a peripatetic Robinson Crusoe +are unmistakably disagreeable, but after that initiation there is no +doubt that it is a fascinating life. I was more than glad when the gay +Nemuro was out of sight, and the noise and rumble of semi-civilisation +out of hearing. The editor and seven gentlemen of Nemuro accompanied me +for a few miles--then I was left to myself and my own resources. +Crossing the Onnetto River, the outlet of a large lagoon of the same +name, I passed through Nishibets and then Bitskai, where in former days +the Japanese had established a salmon-canning factory, which proved a +failure, owing to the incapacity of its directors and workmen. Salmon is +very abundant in the Nishibets River, and a well-managed canning factory +would be a great success. About ten or eleven miles north of Bitskai a +peculiar peninsula stretches out from north-east to south-west, which +affords a shelter for small junks from northerly winds. It is called +Noshike, and is not more than a few feet above the sea-level. The soil +all along is very marshy, and the numerous little rivulets and rivers +are extremely troublesome to cross. My pony was continually sinking into +and struggling out of mud-holes, into which it had fallen when wading +across these small watercourses, sometimes not more than a few feet +wide. I pushed on as far as Shimbets, where there are only a shed and a +couple of Ainu huts inhabited by half-castes. I had to put up here for +the night, and by the light of a wick burning in a large oyster-shell +filled with fish-oil I wrote a few notes in my diary. The fleas in that +house were something appalling. The next morning I had some fun with a +wild pony, which I received in exchange for the tired animal I had +brought. + +"Nobody can get on him," said the Ainu half-caste, "but if you think you +can ride him he will go like the wind." + +It took all hands in the small village to get the pack-saddle and +baggage on to his back, and after we had tied him to a post and lashed +his fore legs together I mounted. By instalments he was untied, let +loose, and then afforded us some real fun. He revolved, bucked, kicked, +stood on his hind legs, and did his very best to bite my legs and knock +me off the saddle. A small fence was kicked and smashed into a thousand +bits, and he even attempted to enter the huts--anything to get rid of +his rider; but he did not succeed. His next trick was to plunge into the +river close by, and when he reached the middle to shake himself +violently. He then came out on the other side, and, turning his head, +saw as well as felt that I was still on his back; then he neighed as if +in great distress, and bolted. He galloped along the small track, and +really did go "like the wind." As a punishment I made him keep up the +pace even when he was tired of his contumacy, and in less than no time I +reached Shibets, ten miles distant from where I had started. + +Shibets is a village of one hundred Japanese houses and twenty Ainu +huts. The Ainu here have almost altogether adopted Japanese clothes, as +well as something of the Japanese style of living. The river which goes +by the same name is notable for the quantity and good quality of salmon +caught in it, and it is the best salmon-fishing river on the north-east +coast of Yezo. Herrings are also abundant, but not to the same extent +as on the south-east coast. A peculiarity of the river is that before +entering the sea it turns sharply south and runs along a bank of sand +and mud, which is growing larger every year, which shows that a current +from the Okhotsk Sea must travel down in that direction through the +strait between Kunashiri and Yezo. The same peculiarity is noticeable in +nearly all the rivers of the north-east coast. + +From Shibets to Wembets the track is fairly even, but from Wembets round +Cape Shiretoko it is in many places impassable even on foot. The +Peninsula, ending in Cape Shiretoko, is a mass of high volcanic +mountains towards the interior, while scabrous cliffs and huge rocks +fringe the line of coast. However, from Shibets there is a small +mountain track inland which brings the traveller across to the +north-east coast near Shari. The track was through beautiful forests of +pine trees, oak, birch, and elm, and during the first few miles it is on +almost level ground. After that, hill after hill is ascended and +descended, and one goes ever onwards at a higher altitude, until Rubets, +a small shed, is reached. From here the track follows a zig-zag +direction till it reaches the summit of the mountain range, and one then +begins to descend on the other side. From the summit there is a lovely +view of beautiful blue mountains in the distant west, one of which is +called Oakan, and the other Moyokan. The mountainous part of the track +from Igiani, three miles from Shibets, as far as the north-east coast, +reminded me much of the scenery in Switzerland, with its rapid and +limpid fresh-water rivers, thickly-wooded country, and green grass, +which last was replaced here by an undergrowth of scrub bamboo. When I +went across this mountain pass the rain was pouring in torrents, and the +road, such as it was, being very slippery and heavy, I only reached the +north-east coast at dark. The moon would not rise till late, there were +heavy black clouds, and I was more than puzzled how to find my way. + +To add to my bad luck, my pony this time was a sorry beast, with his +back a mass of sores. I was simply drenched with the rain that never +ceased. Now and then, by the blinding flash of lightning, I could see a +long stretch of sand and a line of sand-hills; I could also see the +reeds bending low under the squalls, and then everything was darkness +again. I was leading my tired beast, and dragging him along as well as +I could. Every few yards the wretched creature collapsed, and it took a +lot of petting, caressing, encouraging and beating to make him get up +again. I had ridden and walked about fourteen hours in the rain, and was +nearly frozen to death. + +Since I had got out of the forest a bitterly cold north wind chilled me +through and through, and added the last touch to my weariness and +discomfort. Again the pony fell, and all my efforts to make him get up +were useless. The storm, if anything, seemed to increase in violence, +while my own strength was decreasing every minute. I lay down by the +side of the pony, trying to warm myself by his heat, and, shivering and +rattling my teeth together, I tried to go to sleep. + +A couple of hours were spent in this way, and when the moon rose I could +see a little clearer. I climbed with hands and feet on to the +sand-hills, and I fancied I saw some dark spots in the distance. Could +they be Shari? First one end of my whip, then the other, was reduced +into pulp on my pony's back, and with a great effort he again stood on +all four legs. I had to support the wretch all the way, as you would a +drunken man, and we went at the rate of less than a mile an hour. The +spots grew bigger and bigger, and took the shape of huts. + +"Hem, hem, hem, hem!" I called out at the first hut, while three or four +dogs barked furiously and went for my legs. "Will you let a stranger +sleep here to-night?" + +"This is no house for strangers; go elsewhere!" answered a drowsy hoarse +voice from inside. + +"May you be kept--hot!" said I, in pure Ainu fashion, though in my heart +I attached quite a different meaning to the sentence from that which the +hairy people give it; and wearily I pulled myself together and passed +on. + +A shadow crept out of one of the huts, and thanks to that shadow I found +a shelter for the night. There are fifty Ainu huts at Shari, and ten +Japanese, with an Ainu population of about one hundred souls. The Ainu +here have adopted Japanese clothes, and many of them eat Japanese food +when they can get it. The Ainu women of Shari are exceedingly pretty, +as they do not tattoo the long moustache across their faces, like other +Ainu. Some of them have a small semicircular tattoo on the upper lip, +which is not very displeasing to the eye; and in some cases is even +becoming. The girls have also given up tattooing their arms. The men are +much taller than the Ainu men of other regions, and they seem to be +rather ill-natured. Japanese blood can be detected in many of them, and +that may account for it. While the women are prettier, the men have +repulsive faces, possessing all the characteristics of purely criminal +types. + +One young fellow who sat for me was the very image of Robespierre in his +worst moments, and an old man who sat for me afterwards would, according +to Phrenology, prove to be a murderer of the first water. This gentleman +was a troublesome sitter, and excelled in making the most awful faces, +which were accompanied by sounds imitating those of wild beasts. The +Shari Ainu build their storehouses with cylindrical roofs, similar to +those of their brethren on the Kutcharo Lake. + +After the heavy storm of the previous night the weather cleared up for +the rest of the day, and the sunset, reflected in the limpid waters of +the river, was simply magnificent. On the other side, sheltered by the +sand-hills, were a few Ainu huts standing out against the brilliant red +and yellow sky, and here and there a large fish jumped out of the water, +leaving circle after circle of concentric rings to break for the moment +the reflection in the water. + +From Shari to Abashiri the road is for some distance among trees, mostly +fir and spruce, and then the Tobuts Lake is reached, half of which is a +mere marsh. It is picturesquely situated, and I followed its borders for +about three miles, having the sea on one side, the lake on the other. +The track was easy and mostly on sand. At the outlet of the lake into +the sea is the Ainu village of Tobuts, access to which is to be had only +by boat, as the river is extremely deep, and its current very swift. + +In the proximity of Tobuts another and smaller lake, the Opoto, with its +short and winding estuary, is on the left of the traveller, while a long +way ahead the Abashiri rocks stand high on the horizon. A few Ainu huts +are scattered along the coast, and some of them have peculiarly shaped +storehouses. They are small, built entirely of wood, and roofed with +shingles. Some have two floors, and in this case, though built on piles, +the first floor is only a few inches above the ground. The "mat" was +supplanted by a wooden door at the entrance of the storehouse. + +The Abashiri cliffs are grand, and from a distance have all the +appearance of, though they are not in reality, basaltic rocks. They are +scarred, riven, and fractured in all directions, as if by excessive +heat. The upper portion of the cliffs is of a beautiful grey-whitish +colour, blending into yellow and red at their warm brown bases. The +small cylindrical islet which I give in the illustration is on the north +side of this cliff, and is of the same volcanic formation. It has +certain traces of sulphur as a further evidence of its origin. Flocks of +sea-gulls, penguins, and cormorants have chosen this island for their +abode. + +Abashiri is the only place on the north-east coast which may eventually +be of some importance, as it has a fair anchorage for small craft under +the lee of the islet and outstretching cliff. No other place on the +north-east coast possesses such an advantage. On the Shiretoko Peninsula +sulphur accumulations are found at Itashibeoni; but, unfortunately, the +want of a safe harbour, the ruggedness of the coast, and the lack of +drinkable water in the vicinity, are all facts which make it improbable +that it could be worked with profit for some years to come. The Ainu at +Abashiri are repulsive creatures, especially the men, and have more the +appearance of wild beasts than human beings. Their faces are almost +square, the mouth large, with narrow lips, the ends of which converge +towards the ears. The nose is short and stumpy, they have very heavy +eyebrows, and the eyes are almost lost under the shadow of their +projecting forehead. + +Ponies are scarce and bad along this coast, and the further north one +goes the more difficult the travelling becomes; the huts are rarer; the +human beings more uncouth and solitary. The north-east coast is a region +of swamps, lagoons, and quicksand rivers. + +Not far inland from Abashiri there is a large lagoon, the Abashiri-ko; +then, a few miles further north, another as large--the Notoro-ko. The +Abashiri Lake finds an outlet in a river which goes by the same name of, +and falls into the pretty Bay of Abashiri; but the Notoro-ko, as well as +the larger lagoon of Saruma-ko, which one comes upon after having passed +the two villages of Tukoro and Tobuts, open directly into the sea. The +strong current and the tide often block the entrance of these lagoons, +and the rising water finds an outlet in a different spot. These lagoons +are separated from the sea by a long and narrow strip of sand-hill; and +crossing the outlet always involves great danger if the unwary traveller +does not choose the right moment. The tide creating a great inequality +of level between the sea and the lake, it follows that at the opening of +the lagoon the water either throws itself from the sea into the lagoon, +or _vice versa_, according to the ebb or flow, and makes a kind of +whirlpool. The Saruma Lake being much larger than any of the others, +while its mouth is much smaller, and underlaid with quicksands, the +danger is even greater, and the safest way is always to get across in a +boat at slack water. The Saruma Lake is about fifteen miles in length +and from two to three miles wide. Its water is salt, and large +oyster-banks are found in it. It is also a favourite resort for seal and +mallard. In winter they can be killed in great numbers, but in the +warmer months they are shy, and very difficult to approach. The +south-western shore of the lake is thickly wooded, and has as a +background a long range of high mountains with smaller mountains in +front of it. + +At Tobuts, a small village of a few huts, situated at the mouth of the +Saruma lagoon, I halted for the night. There was a change in my diet +that day, and I was entertained, or rather I entertained myself, to an +oyster supper. They were enormous oysters, similar to those found at +Akkeshi, but not very palatable. However, I was in luck that day, and +not only did I have this oyster supper, but I actually was the hero of a +tender little idyll. In this country surprises never come alone, and +while I was sketching in the twilight to pass away the time, a tall slim +figure of a girl came out of one of the huts. She had slipped her arms +out of her robe, leaving the latter to hang from the girdle, and her +breasts, arms, and the lower half of her legs were uncovered. She was +pretty and quaint with her tattooed arms and a semicircular black spot +on her upper lip. She walked a few steps forward, and when she saw me +she stopped. She looked at me and I looked at her. Hers, with her soft +eyes, was one of those looks which a man feels right through his body, +notwithstanding all the self-control he may possess. There she stood, a +graceful silhouette, with a bucket made of tree-bark in one hand and a +vine-tree rope in the other, her supple figure almost motionless, and +her eyes fixed on me. She was the most lovely Ainu girl I had ever come +across, and not nearly so hairy as most of them. Indeed, in that soft +twilight, and her wavy long hair blown by the fresh breeze, she was a +perfect dream. + +[Illustration: AN AINU BELLE.] + +"Wakka!" ("Water!") cried an angry old voice from inside the hut, +interrupting the beginning of our romance, and she sadly went to the +brook, filled her bucket with water, and took it into the hut. It was +only a few seconds before she reappeared, and came closer, and I +finished the sketch somewhat hurriedly. + +"Let me see the tattoo on your arm," I asked her, and to my surprise the +pretty maid took my hand in both her own, gave me one of those looks +that I shall never forget, and her head fell on my shoulder. She +clutched my hand tightly, and pressed it to her chest, and a force +stronger than myself brought her and myself to the neighbouring forest. +There we wandered and wandered till it grew very dark; we sat down, we +chattered, we made love to each other; then we returned. I would not +have mentioned this small episode if her ways of flirting had not been +so extraordinary and funny. Loving and biting went together with her. +She could not do the one without doing the other. As we sat on a stone +in the semi-darkness she began by gently biting my fingers, without +hurting me, as affectionate dogs often do to their masters; she then bit +my arm, then my shoulder, and when she had worked herself up into a +passion she put her arms round my neck and bit my cheeks. It was +undoubtedly a curious way of making love, and when I had been bitten all +over, and was pretty tired of the new sensation, we retired to our +respective homes. + +In the evening, as I was writing my diary by the light of one of the +oyster-shell primitive lamps, somebody noiselessly crept by my side. I +turned my head round. It was she! She grew more and more sentimental as +it grew later, and she bestowed on me caresses and bites in profusion. +Kissing, apparently, was an unknown art to her. The old woman, in whose +house I was, slept soundly all through this, as old women generally do +on such occasions. By the mysterious light of the dying wick, casting +heavy shadows, which marked her features strongly, with her jet-black +wild hair fading away into the black background, with her passionate +eyes, and her round, statue-like arms, the girl was more like a strange +fairy than a human being. + +I sketched her twice in pencil, and the wick--that wretched wick!--grew +feeble, and, for the lack of oil, began to dwindle away. I persuaded her +to return to her hut, and with a few "bites" my hairy maid and I parted. + +The morning came, and I was up early. In the vicinity of the huts I +found three Koro-pok-kuru pits similar to those we have already seen; +and previous to arriving at Tobuts I also found a fort belonging to the +pre-Ainu race. From Tobuts, continuing my journey north, on the stretch +of sand between the water of the sea and that of the Saruma lake the +travelling was fairly easy but monotonous. The long chain of mountains +on the other side of the lake was magnificent in the morning light. For +twenty-two miles this went on; then I had to cross the Yubets River in +the picturesque spot where its waters divide before again uniting close +to the sea. North of this river there are three more lagoons--the +Komuki, the Shibumotzunai, and the Yassuchi, the first two of which have +direct estuaries into the sea, generally blocked by drift-sand, and both +are as dangerous as the Saruma lagoon when the water unexpectedly +overflows. Owing to the heavy rains on the mountains the level of the +lakes had risen considerably when I went through, and crossing the mouth +of the first in a flat-bottomed boat, I was nearly swamped. The Ainu who +was ferrying me across did not lose his presence of mind, and after a +long struggle and violent efforts we reached the opposite shore. Yubets +is a village of eighteen Ainu and three Japanese huts. The Ainu along +these shores are extremely hairy, and some of them have red beards, +while others are bald. Near some of their huts you may see cages where +foxes and eagles are kept in captivity. + +The women, all the way to Soya Cape, the most northern point of Yezo, +have given up tattooing a long moustache and their arms. A small +semicircular spot, similar to the tattoo of the Shari women, is +nevertheless not uncommon. Bears, yellow and black, again are said to be +in huge quantities on the thickly-wooded mountains at the back of the +Saruma and other lagoons. + +The coast is most desolate-looking. One may travel mile after mile +without seeing a hut or meeting a single human being. Now and then, when +I came to a lonely fisherman's hut, I was civilly treated; and, riding +from morn till night, I reached Shari Mombets, where there are forty +Ainu huts and about the same number of Japanese fishermen's shanties. It +has a small anchorage for small junks only; but, unfortunately, it is +not well protected, as the reef of rocks which runs in a north-east +direction does not extend far out to sea. I was roughly treated here at +first, for some Russian convicts, who had escaped from Sakhalin in an +open boat, had been drifted by the current down this coast, and +previously to my arrival had landed in the vicinity of this village. +They were half starved, and could not speak a word of the language. They +had no money and no clothes, and none of the natives seemed willing to +help them in any way. Now that the long-wished-for freedom was obtained +after years of servitude and chains, the four brave men, who had +suffered agonies for days, and had almost miraculously escaped death in +the treacherous currents of the Otkoshk Sea, were certainly not to be +outwitted by a handful of hard-hearted Japanese or by a pack of hairy +Ainu. They begged for food and could not obtain it, so they stole it, +and ill-treated some of the natives who interfered. They then +disappeared towards the south. When I put in an appearance, all alone +and almost in rags, leading and dragging my tired pony, it is not +astonishing that the first thing that struck them was that I must be +another escaped Russian, "or bad man from Krafto,"[34] as the Ainu +called me. + + [34] _Krafto_, Ainu word for Sakhalin. + +The reception I received was pretty stormy; but when I understood what +the matter was which caused the rioting, I set their minds at rest, and, +speaking in their own language, told them that the "bad men of Krafto" +were my enemies as well as theirs, and that, should I find them, I would +punish them. Not only that, but, to make them perfectly at ease, I gave +them some little present of money, which turned them at once into +friends. As to the Russian convicts, there was no possibility of my +finding them, for they were travelling towards the south from this +point, and I was moving towards the north, so I was perfectly safe in +passing myself off as a kind of supreme judge. + +Shari Mombets is a miserable place. In the house where I put up I was +received by a young man, but the owner of the house did not show +himself. The next morning, however, as I gave much more money than they +expected, the landlord was brought to my room to thank me. The poor man +suffered from elephantiasis--the wretched disease by which the head and +all the limbs of the body assume gigantic proportions. His head was +swollen to more than twice its normal size, and had lost its shape; his +body was piteously deformed and inflated, his eyes nearly buried in +flesh. The weight of his head was such that the cervical vertebrae were +scarcely strong enough to support it erect; and when he bowed down in +Japanese fashion to thank me and bid me good-bye, I had to run to his +help, for he could not get up again. Poor man! And when we reflect that +in more civilised countries many people think themselves very ill and +suffering when they have a pimple on their nose, or a cold in their +head! + +[Illustration: SARUMA LAGOON.] + + + + +[Illustration: AN EAGLE-DISPLAYED SABLE.] + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Along the Lagoons of the North-east Coast--From Shari Mombets to +Poronai. + + +I proceeded north. The Ainu scattered here and there on the coast seemed +to be hairier and uglier than any of their inland brethren. Two or three +women had already put on their winter fur garments, as the cold weather +had begun; and they looked extremely picturesque in them. Most of the +huts were uninhabited, and had been abandoned by their owners. The sky +was whitish and cold, and here and there along the beach some huge bones +of whales had been washed on shore by the tide. Some distance off an +outcast horse was attacked by thousands of famished crows. It is not an +uncommon occurrence in Yezo. The black scavengers generally attack very +young animals, and, flying on the pony's head, peck out its eyes. The +pony, frightened, and driven mad by pain, bolts, and in his blind and +reckless race either falls down a precipice and is killed outright, or +else is driven to the coast by these daring wretches, which continue to +peck at him with cruel and ceaseless avidity. There, with its way barred +by the waves, tortured to death, and neighing desperately, the helpless +beast succumbs, and affords the hungry birds a good meal, while hundreds +gathered thick on the body, peck the poor brute to death. Thousands of +others sit screaming in long rows round the scene of the fight, +attentively watching for the final result, when they too can join in, +and experience the joys of sated hunger. Nature can indeed be cruel. + +I stopped at a hut. My host was decidedly peculiar. For convenience we +shall call him Omangus, which only means a "gone man," or a lunatic. I +had heard of him further south, and I was anxious to make his +acquaintance. I had not been five minutes in his hut before I perceived +that he really was a lunatic. His head was of an abnormally large size; +his skull was well developed at the back, with those prominent bumps +behind the ears which show great love of eating. His forehead was high, +and very slanting; the upper part was wider than near the eyebrows, +which were so thick and bushy as nearly to cover the eyes. His nose, +with its large nostrils, was stumpy and covered with hair, while his +enormous projecting eyes were restless and fierce. His luxuriant +moustache and beard matched the thick crop of long black hair which +covered his whole body. His legs were short, wiry, with stiff and +swollen joints, probably owing to rheumatism. His arms were very long, +and his toes were also abnormally long. Altogether he had the appearance +of a large orang-outang more than that of a human being. All his +movements resembled those of a wild beast, and now and then, when +pleased or dissatisfied, he would groan in a way not dissimilar to the +growling of a bear. In fact, he was labouring under the belief that he +was a wild beast of some sort, and apparently he regarded himself as a +"bruin." I never heard him speak or utter words, but whether he was +actually dumb or not I was not able to ascertain, as every time I tried +to examine his mouth he attempted to bite me. His biting, however, was +of a different nature from that of the sweet girl on the Saruma shores, +and when he did bite he bit well. One day in a struggle I came off +nearly minus two joints of the third finger of my right hand. + +I several times attempted to take measurements of his skull and bones, +but with no success. Once, as I had got hold of him and was feeling the +"bumps" on his skull, he managed to disentangle himself, and grabbed me +by the hair, which led to a conflict, and caused me a "tres mauvais +quart d'heure." We fought desperately, and I was thoroughly "licked"; +not, however, before having found out that he had no bump of +sensitiveness and none of philoprogenitiveness. He was pleased with his +victory, and the hostilities ended. He hopped away cautiously, and I saw +him climb on his hands and feet over the cliff near his hut, where he +disappeared. + +Some hours later I saw the monomaniac stealthily creeping back among the +rocks. I was some way from the hut, in a place where he could not see +me. He came slowly forward, watching the hut suspiciously, as he +evidently thought I was still inside. When he got near he stopped to +pick up a large stone, and with it in his right hand he sneaked along +towards the hut. He listened, and crept in. I followed immediately +after. He was furious when I entered, and tried to escape, but I barred +his way. He retreated into a corner, crouched down groaning, and showed +signs of impatience. I could see that he was frightened, and I went to +him and endeavoured to soothe him; not without success, for he became +quieter, and I once more noticed the great power that a stronger will +can exercise over a weaker one. As long as I was staring at him he never +dared to move, and I could "will" him to do almost anything I wanted by +thinking hard that he should do it; but when once I turned my eyes away +I had no more control over him. + +This is just what happened that day. Thinking that he would keep quiet +for some minutes, I got out my palette and brushes in order to take his +likeness. I had till then relied on my power of "willing" people, when +my host, seizing the opportunity of my turning my head away for one +moment, grabbed the stone which he had picked up, and threw it with +great force at me. I was hit in the ribs, and was hurt sufficiently to +lose my temper. I went for him, and gave him a sound thrashing, which +sometimes has more effect than all the "willing" in the world. He became +docile after that, and I took him outside and forced him to squat down. + +[Illustration: MY HOST, THE MADMAN.] + +He was restless while I was painting him, and hundreds of half-starved +crows, which seemed to be on good terms with my sitter, gathered round +him, chatting in their incomprehensible and noisy language. Some of them +even flew on to his back and shoulders, and he touched them without +their flying away. + +I was astounded at the familiarity which existed between the madman and +the birds. They seemed to understand each other, and had I only been +sufficiently imaginative I might have asserted that I even saw them +kissing him. Unfortunately, when the first astonishment was over I +understood the reason of the affection on the part of the scavengers, +and the whole mystery was unveiled to me. Like all mysteries, the +apparently extraordinary friendship between the madman and the black +birds turned out to be a plain bit of literal prose, and, I must add, a +very disgusting bit. The maniac was covered with vermin, and the +affectionate kisses of the crows were not kisses of love or sympathy, +but only mouthfuls of parasites, which they found among the thick hair +of his body. + +Two or three times the maniac crawled up to me, and seemed anxious to +touch the colours on my palette, and also to put his fingers on the +sketch. He saw that he gained nothing by being a foe, so he became a +friend. He even became a great friend when I presented him with a shiny +silver coin. + +Though Omangus was undoubtedly insane, he was a very practical person. +As will be seen by the illustration, his attire was simple, and no +allowance was made for pockets. He looked at the coin, turned it over in +his hands several times, and grinned; then he placed it in his mouth for +safe keeping. His mouth was apparently his purse. As I saw that he was +fond of silver coins, I gave him one or two more, and all of them were +religiously kept in the same natural pocket, except at night, when he +hid them under a large stone. At sunrise they were collected again and +placed back under his tongue or in one of his cheeks. + +I cannot say that my host was by any means brilliant, but, like most +lunatics, he was a good soul apart from his little peculiarities. It was +unfortunate that he had lost the power of speech, or I might have learnt +some strange things from him. + +Omangus was generally restless at night, and while asleep he seemed to +suffer from awful nightmares. Most Ainu as a rule do not. One morning at +dawn, as the first rays of light penetrated the hut, I watched him. He +had been groaning frightfully all night, and I had not been able to +sleep. He was lying flat on his back breathing heavily, and now and then +he had a kind of spasm, during which he ground his teeth together with +violence. It was during these spasms, or nervous contractions, that he +groaned most fiercely. As he was so stretched I noticed how +extraordinarily long his femur was compared to his tibia. I gently +placed my hand over his heart, and found it was beating rapidly and +irregularly. His forehead also was feverish and abnormally warm. He did +not wake up, but as soon as the nervous strain was over he fell into a +lethargic state. He appeared to have lost all strength, and it took me +some time to awake him; but he finally opened his eyes, and, drowsily +getting up, yawned to his heart's content, and went to fetch the hidden +coins. + +The more I saw of Omangus, the more he puzzled me. His faculties were +defective; still, he seemed to possess a fairly good memory. If not, how +could he remember the concealed treasure? Although he was not able to +form ideas of his own, he could retain those which he had grasped. His +hearing was extremely acute, and his inability to speak must have +undoubtedly been caused by paralysis of the tongue and vocal organs. +Several times he made violent attempts to utter words, which he would +not have done had he been born dumb. + +After the second day of my pleasant stay in Omangus' ten feet square +sea-side residence my host became more genial and even affectionate. +Instead of constantly running away from me he sat opposite me, +attentively watching all my movements; and if I happened to be +whistling, he slowly crept nearer, grinning with delight. Occasionally +he crouched himself by my side, even resting against me. I did not +approve of the latter proof of affection, not so much for his own sake +as on account of the "large company" which he carried with him; but I +had to put up with it until I found a counter-action in loud singing, +which frightened him away. + +Omangus had a quantity of last year's salmon, which he had dried in the +sun, and which was now hanging from the roof of the little hut. The +first day or two of my stay there I had but little to eat, owing to his +belligerent behaviour. He rebelled every time that I attempted to touch +his provisions, and what I had to eat was generally appropriated while +my host was out. Afterwards, however, he became generous, and gave me +more than I wanted. He took good care to draw the three coins out of his +mouth while he was eating, but once, during a nervous fit, to which he +was often subject, he swallowed one of them. + +One morning, weary of my lunatic friend's company, I packed all my traps +and went to fetch my pony. Omangus seemed aghast, suspecting that I was +about to leave. He was restless, and followed me, moaning, from the hut +to the pony and back, and, with a forlorn look in his eyes, watched me +bring the baggage outside and lash it to the pack-saddle. I gave him a +couple more silver coins, which I thought would make him happy; but he +dropped them in the sand. I bade good-bye to him and left; and there +poor Omangus stood motionless, gazing at me until the winding shore took +me round the cliff. He was out of sight for some minutes, but he soon +reappeared on the summit of the cliff itself, on to which he rapidly +climbed, and from this point of vantage he could see the coast for +several miles. There standing, a black figure against the rising sun, +the hairy Ainu became smaller and smaller as I moved away from him, +until nothing but a black spot could be seen against the sky; then even +that spot disappeared. It was the last I saw of my host the madman. + +The rivers were troublesome all along this part of my journey, and as +most of them had quicksands, the safest plan was to cross them in a +boat, when this was obtainable. However, as I went further north the +boats became scarce and more scarce, and the small villages, few and +very far between. I seldom came across a human being with whom I could +exchange a word, and the constant solitude induced in me the bad habit +of talking to myself, to animals, or to inanimate objects. My +unfortunate pony was often lectured on different subjects, and the +millions of seagulls and penguins all along the coast were asked +questions of all sorts, which, however, they invariably left unanswered. +It was strange to see the myriads of birds stretched in two or three +lines along the shore. Like the "beasts which roamed over the plains" in +Alexander Selkirk's lament, they had seen so few human beings as to be +indifferent to me and my pony, and I could walk among them without +disturbing them or causing them to fly away. The penguins were my +greatest source of amusement, with their fat bodies and their funny way +of lifting up one leg as I was approaching, in order to get enough +spring to raise themselves from the ground had I attempted to capture +them. I was soliloquising, according to my then custom, while watching +these droll birds, when not more than two hundred yards ahead I saw two +large eagles. One of them was perched on a low cliff, the other was +flying about, now and then returning near to its mate. I dismounted, +with my revolver in my hand; I had a pocketful of cartridges. I crept +stealthily from rock to rock, keeping well out of their sight until I +came close to the pinnacled rock on which they stood. I was then about +fifty yards from them, and it was useless my firing at such a distance +with a revolver. I peeped over the rocks, and one of them saw me and +flew away, while the other remained where it was, stretching its neck in +my direction. Its piercing eyes were fixed full on me as I was +approaching; it understood that danger was imminent, and it seemed ready +to resist the attack. I drew nearer and nearer, and when about four +yards away I fired two shots, both of which went through its breast, and +the eagle, with its widespread wings, fell from its lofty pinnacle and +came down heavily on its back. + +In its last convulsions it made desperate efforts to clutch me with its +long sharp claws; but a couple more shots finished it. The male bird, +which meanwhile had been describing circles high up in the sky over my +head, plunged down on me with incredible velocity. I emptied the last +chamber of my revolver into him, just as the wind of his large wings +made my eyes twinkle; and to evade the grip of his outstretched claws I +had to cover my face with my left arm. The report stunned him, and +flapping his wings, he rose again, to resume his circling over my head, +leaving a few of his feathers floating in the air. I reloaded quickly, +and each time he attacked me he was received with a volley. Another +bullet went through his wing, and his flying became unsteady; he flew +on to a distant cliff, and there he remained. I seized this opportunity +of carrying the dead bird away and lash it on to my saddle; but while I +was so engaged the male eagle flew back to the pinnacle where I had +first seen the two together, and stretching his enormous wings to their +full width, screamed as if in despair. On the pinnacle was their nest +and young, and that was why the female had kept watch and ward over her +eyrie, and also why she had not abandoned it even when I approached. + +I mounted my pony and away I rode with my prey. The male bird followed +me for miles and miles, and now and then I had to fire to keep him at a +respectful distance. Ultimately he left me, and my delight was immense +when, instead of seeing him over my head, ready to plunge on me at any +moment, I saw him disappear behind the cliff, flying rapidly but +unsteadily back to his eyrie. + +As I now made sure that he had no intention of pursuing me any longer, I +dismounted, and proceeded to skin the eagle I had shot. It was decidedly +a magnificent specimen. It measured seven feet from tip to tip of wings, +and its claws were nearly as large as a child's hand. The semicircular +nails measured two inches, and were extremely pointed, which fact made +me feel very thankful that I had just escaped the grip of its male +companion. The beak was enormous, of a rich yellow colour, the upper +mandible overlapping the lower. The feathers were black all over, with +the exception of the tail, which was white. I believe that this kind of +eagle is generally called the "black sea-eagle," and is found in +Kamschatka, Yezo, and also along the Siberian coast of the Japan Sea and +Gulf of Tartary. + +I found a sheltered spot, and with my large Ainu knife proceeded to +dissect the bird. Each minute seemed as long as hours, for I feared the +male bird might reappear on the scene as I was thus occupied in +stripping the skin from the carcass of his beloved helpmate. There is no +knowing what effect anatomical researches might have on a Yezo eagle. My +heart bounded with joy when the operation was successfully completed, +and I went to wash my hands in the sea. I came back to the bird, or +rather its skin, and I was indeed proud of my work, when a horrid idea +struck me. How was I to get the skin dried? I should be moving day +after day, and it would not be possible to pack it in that condition +among my sketches; I had no arsenical soap, and unless I dried it in the +sun it would certainly rot, and get spoiled. + +I resorted to a trick. I fastened two sticks crossways, and having stuck +one up the eagle's neck, I fastened the two opened wings to the two side +branches of the cross. The skin was thus kept well opened, and with two +additional strings, one at each wing, the frame was fastened on to my +back, the feathered side against my coat, while the inside was exposed +to the sun and the wind. In wading a river I saw my own image reflected +in the water, and I must confess the appearance was strange. A few hours +after a group of Ainu were able to certify to this. I was riding slowly +along the shore, when I saw a few of them not very far ahead. Two men +were the first to notice me, and they seemed terror-stricken. As I +approached they stood still for a minute, shading their eyes with their +hands so as to make out what kind of winged animal it was they saw +riding on horseback. When they discovered that the black wings were on a +human being, the two brave Ainu fled, crying out, "_Wooi, wooi!_" the +hairy people's cry of distress. + +As I got nearer the village, dozens of wild dogs came to meet me, and, +barking furiously, followed my pony, while the few inhabitants, +frightened out of their wits at such an unusual sight, hid themselves +inside their huts. Two or three hurriedly launched their "dug-outs" and +put out to sea. When I passed the first hut some large salmon were +thrown at me from inside, probably with the idea that I might satisfy my +appetite on them, and spare the lives of the trembling donors. Food was +not over-plentiful along that coast, so I dismounted and picked up the +provisions so munificently provided by the scared natives. I tied them +on each side of my pack-saddle, not sorry to be thus saved from the +danger of dying of starvation--at least for the next two or three days. + +As I was so occupied, a little child about four years old, evading the +vigilance of his parents, ran out of one of the huts. I took him in my +arms; whereat he cried bitterly, and when the people inside heard it +there were screams of indignation and despair. + +Maternal love is occasionally strong even among Ainu women, and while I +tried hard to quiet the shrieking baby, his mother, as pale as the dirt +on her face allowed her to be, came out trembling, and, offering me +another large salmon, begged me to accept it in exchange for her child, +who, she said, was not good to eat! It is needless to say that I was +magnanimous enough to accept her offer, and thereupon handed the child +over to his mother, who fled with him back into the hut. Then I took off +my wings and went in after her, explaining to the frightened natives +what I really was. It took them some minutes, however, to overcome their +first impression, and then the men were pretty hard on the women for +having given all the salmon away. The same scene was more or less +vividly repeated when I came across any other natives during all the +time that I wore the eagle-skin on my back. I have related this small +anecdote, as, a few years hence, when some worthy missionary or +imaginative traveller visits that barren coast of Yezo, it is not +improbable that he may hear of some additional Ainu legend, which, the +good missionaries will say, proves that the Ainu are fully aware of the +existence of heaven and hell. + +"A heathen child," the legend will very likely run, "whose parents had +not embraced our Christian faith, was one day plainly seen by his mother +in the arms of a black-winged devil. The devil was seen by many, and he +came from the lower regions on an unknown animal with huge side +paunches, in which he kept the heathen children he had eaten. The +mother, who, through her wickedness, saw herself deprived of her child, +gave offerings to the gods, some through the eastern window for the +sun-god, and some through the door for the other gods. The offerings +were accepted, but none of the gods came to her help, and the child was +nearly lost. Her guiding star appeared to her in that supreme moment, +and inspired her to reach down from the roof the largest salmon in +store. She walked out of the hut and offered it to another god, whom she +knew not before. Instantly the child was restored to his mother. (That +the god took the salmon would probably be omitted in the legend.) The +black-winged demon vanished, and the hut was visited by a white being +(freely translated, "the guardian angel"), with a halo (my white terai +hat) round his head. He rewarded them, and from that day the family has +been happy in the faith which they learned in such a miraculous manner." + +"Does not this legend speak for itself?" the good missionaries will tell +us. "Does it not show that the savage Ainu are Christians without +knowing it?" + +I have given these two versions of the same story, as they show the +reader how easy it is to garble accounts and misrepresent facts. It is a +good illustration of what I say in my chapter on the Ainu beliefs and +superstitions, and I must be forgiven if I have ventured to make fun of +the missionaries. It is not because I dislike them, for I gladly admit +that some of them out in the East have done good work; but, +unfortunately, most of them will not take an open-minded view of facts. +They are so wrapped up in their good work of converting people to +Christianity that, outside of that, they occasionally have a tendency to +tinge with their own preconceived ideas, facts which to a less biased +mind appear simple enough. + + + + +[Illustration: SARUBUTS, SHOWING RIVER-COURSE ALTERED BY DRIFT SAND.] + +CHAPTER XV. + +On the North-East Coast--From Poronai to Cape Soya. + + +It was late in the evening when I arrived at Poronai.[35] Saruru, the +last village I had passed, had only six Ainu and three Japanese huts, +and the nine or ten miles between there and this place were most +uninteresting. I was taken across one of the quicksand rivers in the +ferry by a lovely Ainu girl of about twelve years of age. I have never +seen a more picturesque being than she was. She was partly dressed in +skins, but half her chest was bare; her wildly-curled black hair fell +over her shoulders, and while gracefully paddling across the ferry she +occasionally threw back her head, thus shaking back the hair that the +wind had blown over her eyes. + + [35] _Poro_, large; _nai_, stream. + +I have often noticed how supple the children of savages are, and how +like in ease and grace and unconscious rhythm their movements are to +those of wild animals. Sometimes, to be sure, they have the jerky, +quick, and ungraceful movements of monkeys, but as a rule their actions +are unconsciously graceful. Of course, with our children such +unconscious grace is rare at any time, even when found at all, as from +the day when they are born we train them to artificiality of all kinds, +and this artificiality becomes in a sense second nature, overlaying, if +not destroying, the original impress. And yet that impress is probably +not wholly destroyed, for, so far as my own experience goes, I, who had +from my birth led a civilised life, now that I had been for some months +among barbarians had so little conventionality left in me as to be quite +happy, or even happier than before, in leading a perfectly uncivilised +existence. In the absence of chairs and sofas, instinct and the example +of the natives taught me to squat as they did, and when I had once got +into the way of it I found the position much more restful than any of +our European so-called comfortable ways of sitting. It was the same +thing when I had to sleep, either in the open air or in Ainu huts, where +there was no more bedding than sofas or easy chairs. To protect myself +from the cold I almost invariably slept sitting on the ground, with my +head resting on my knees, just like the apes in the Zoological Gardens. +I am sure that a good many of my readers, who have never gone through +such an experience, will put me down as a "crank;" others will say that +I am a worthy companion of my friend the hairy lunatic, and the most +charitable will think that, bearing the name of "Savage Landor," I am +only indulging in a new edition of "Imaginary Conversations," without +the literary merits of the old. Such is not the case. I have mentioned +these facts, not to amuse the reader, or merely for the sake of paradox, +but to show how shallow is the veneer of civilisation which we are apt +to think so thorough, and how a very short time spent unaccompanied by +men of one's own stamp, and alone with "nature," rubs the whole thing +away, and brings us back to instinct rather than education. I am willing +to admit that not many people would care to follow in my footsteps, and +live as I lived for months among the Ainu in order to prove whether I am +right or wrong. Many who have only sat in comfortable chairs or slept in +soft beds will hardly think my statements credible; but as the +experiences, besides being of great amusement, were of great interest to +me, I shall pass them on to my readers, no matter what opinion they may +form of him who has written them. + +Another quality, merely instinctive, which I developed in my lonesome +peregrinations was the power of accurate tracking. Most people are +astonished at the wonderful tales told of the tracking abilities of the +Australian black fellows, and of savages in general; but few ever think +that if when young they had led the same life as these savages they +would be as good trackers as the best. As there were absolutely no +roads, and I travelled with no guide, servant, or companion, the power +of discovering traces became invaluable to me. It was instinctive in me, +developed rather than acquired, and therefore I mention it in connection +with the other facts relating to animal and human instincts. +Furthermore, I may assert that, until I was thus compelled to make use +of that faculty, I was not aware that I possessed it. + +We find that horses, bears, and most animals are good trackers. Dogs, +the nearest in intelligence to men, are better than any other quadruped. +Then come savages, who are the masters of tracking among human beings; +but as we rise in the scale of civilisation we find that this faculty of +following a slightly indicated track hardly exists. Does, then, +intellectual education destroy our instincts instead of improving them? + +Tracking on sandy or tufaceous ground is an easy matter, as of course +the foot leaves a well-marked print; but where I found real difficulty +was over rocky ground, until I got used to it, and knew all the signs +and what I had to look for. However, with a little practice, even over +rocks which the sea has washed, it is not impossible to know if such and +such creatures, human or animal, have passed that way. + +One of the first things in tracking is to look for marks where they are +likely to be; and this is just where the instinct comes in. Next to +this, a clear knowledge of the person's or animal's way of walking and +general habits is necessary. For instance, when I tried to discern +tracks of Ainu, I invariably looked for them along the sea-shore, and +failing that, on the adjoining cliffs, as I well knew that if any Ainu +had passed by there he would have kept either along the coast or not far +from it. By examination it is easy to see if the ground has been in any +way disturbed of late. Sometimes a small stone moved from the place +where it had been for years shows a difference in colour where it has +been affected by the weather and where not, thus giving a distinct clue +of some passer-by, man or brute; and when once you have found what the +characteristics of the tracks are, the most difficult part of the task +is accomplished. + +On weather-beaten rocks the trail is more difficult to strike, and more +difficult still on rocks over which the sea washes. "For," say the +simple people, "how can you see tracks on hard stone? The foot certainly +does not leave a print on rocks as on sand; and even supposing that the +feet were dirty, the sea would wash away the marks, and you could not +see anything." + +In my case I limited my search to bare-footed marks, as the Ainu +generally go bare-footed. Everybody knows that dogs track by scent, and +this is a sure proof that every footmark must have a certain special +odour, however infinitesimal. When we remember that the act of walking +makes the feet warm and perspire, it is easy to understand that this +perspiration, which is a greasy substance, leaves a mark on the +stone--though to be sure it is sometimes almost imperceptible, +especially when quite fresh. But most of us, when children at school, +have noticed that touching a slate with moist fingers leaves a greasy +mark, which could not be rubbed off again. The same thing happens when +we tread on stones with bare feet. If the sea washes over the stones +after the greasy impression has been thus made on them, it does nothing +but accentuate these marks, and show them more plainly, as the salt +water acts in one way on the untouched parts of the stone, but in a +different way where the grease has been absorbed. These marks are +generally very faint, and it requires some training before they can be +discerned; but when the knack is once acquired, they become evident +enough. To an observant eye, and with a little practice, it is not +difficult to perceive whether one or more persons have tramped on a +given place, and in what direction they have travelled. The marks on +stones which are washed over by the sea are usually of a lightish +colour. + +I could almost invariably distinguish the footmarks of an Ainu from +those of a Japanese, as the Ainu take longer strides, and their toes are +longer than those of the Japanese. Moreover, with the latter, when +walking the greater pressure is forward under the foot, and their toes +are turned in; while in Ainu footprints the whole foot rests on the +ground, and they keep it perfectly straight, moving the two feet +parallel to each other. + +I have given these few points on tracking, as it will explain to the +reader how I was able to find my way from one village to another miles +apart, to steer for huts where I had never been, and to overcome great +difficulties, which I could not have surmounted if I had not learnt the +art of tracking, and so far developed my natural powers. My ponies were +also to a great extent my teachers; and by a close examination of their +instinct I learned that I myself possessed it, and improved on it. + +Between Sawaki, or Fujima, and Poronai there is a beautiful forest of +oak and hard-wood trees on the hills and firs on the higher mountains, +while the shore above the sea-wash is covered with thick scrub-bamboo, +which reaches a height of about ten feet. + +On the sandy beach, besides a large number of whales' bones, there is +any amount of driftwood. + +At Poronai, which consisted of only eight huts, the Ainu had adopted an +architecture for their storehouses different to that of other tribes. +The walls and the roof were made partly of wood, partly of the bark of +trees. Heavy stones were placed on the roof to prevent it from being +blown away during the strong gales so frequent along that coast. + +The natives described the winter weather as very severe, especially +during northerly winds, and they told me that some years the sea all +along the coast is frozen for some eight or ten miles out, besides the +drift-ice which sets in from the north and works its way along the coast +as far as Cape Nossyap, in the neighbourhood of Nemuro. At the beginning +of the winter this ice, probably drifted across from Sakhalin by the +strong current in the La Perouse Strait, sets in from the north and +works down all along the north-east coast of Yezo, filling up all +indentations in the coast-line, and forming a solid mass on the surface +of the water. + +Seals are very plentiful on these shores as far as Abashiri, but the +greatest number are found on the Saruma lagoon. In winter it is not +difficult to come within reach of them, but even in September I saw many +of them. They were, however, very shy, and when they caught sight of me +instantly disappeared under water. + +A few miles from Poronai I came to a headland, and about one mile from +it lay the small island of Chuskin. + +The coast again, instead of being sandy, showed traces of its volcanic +formation, forming beautiful cliffs and a rugged outline, rising in +terraces at places, or cliffs of clay and gravel sediments, with reefs +extending far out to sea, while below them stretched a beach of coarse +sand or pebbles, strewn with enormous volcanic boulders. These terraces +are wooded mostly with alder, Yezo fir, and beech. + +Soon after crossing the Porobets River I came across the wreck of a +sailing ship, which lay flat on the shore disabled and dismasted; and at +last I reached Esashi. There I again noticed a curious fact, which may +be of some interest to anthropologists; namely, that Yezo is mostly +formed of Tertiaries and volcanic rocks, and that the Ainu are mostly to +be found in regions of Cainozoic or Tertiary formation. In volcanic +districts they are very scarce. This is curious, for it is a well-known +fact that the typical life-form of Tertiaries is anthropoid apes, and it +is a remarkable coincidence that we should find ape-like men populating +the same strata. + +From Esashi the coast is extremely rough and rocky for about eight +miles. I had to take my famished pony up and down steep mountains rising +directly from the sea in places where the beach was impassable. Owing to +the lack of grass my wretched beast had but little to eat; and what with +the danger of riding, and the miserable condition my pony was in, I had +to walk most of the way and lead him. Shanoi, about thirteen miles +further, came in sight--a group of wretched fishermen's huts; and from +here the coast was somewhat better. The scenery all along is beautiful, +especially looking back towards the Shanoi Mountains. I saw one or two +abandoned huts blown down by the wind, but no people. + +Near Shanoi the eruptive rocks and granitic cliffs suddenly come to an +end, as well as the mountainous character of the country, and for +fifteen miles, till one comes to Sarubuts, the country is pretty flat +and swampy, with a thick vegetation inland of spruce trees. There is a +small lagoon formed by the Tombets River, and which often has its mouth +blocked by the quicksands, which cause it to overflow. + +I left Sarubuts in pouring rain, following the trail along the beach. +The river forms a long narrow lake similar to that of Tombets, and at +the back of it are terraces and high lands, but no very high mountains. +Another wreck of a large boat lay in fragments on the sand, and after +fifteen miles of very uninteresting scenery I arrived at Chietomamai, a +group of four or five fishermen's huts. Here again the coast was rough, +but my pony did not sink in the sand as it did on leaving Sarubuts, but +it stumbled among large pebbles and stones as pointed as needles. +Further on were grey and brown steep cliffs, which were extremely +picturesque. The Mezozoic nature of this coast shows more distinctly +between Chietomamai and Soya Cape, and a large rock emerging from the +sea is both peculiar and picturesque with its numerous square sections. +It is from this point that one gets the first view of Soya Cape. Going +round a bay one passes a few fishermen's houses, and on the cliffs above +them has been erected the Siliusi lighthouse. I cleared the Cape and +rounded the bay on the other side, where I saw another wreck of a +sailing ship dashed upon the rocks, making the scene a sad one. I still +went on, and went round two or three smaller headlands, when the +melancholy sight of a fourth wreck stood before me. This last ship had +her stern out of the water, and a Turkish name was painted on it. Her +appearance also was Turkish, and I was more than once puzzled as to what +a Turkish ship could have been doing in the La Perouse Strait. Many +months afterwards, on my return to Yokohama, but too late to be of any +help to them, the sad story of the survivors of that ship was revealed +to me. The mission of the ship in those far-off seas was a mysterious +one. No one ever knew exactly whence she came, or whither she was bound. +No one ever learned whether she had been disabled in a typhoon in the +Chinese Sea, and had been drifted so far north by the strong currents, +or whether the careless Turkish master had mistaken his course and had +met his fate in the dangerous currents of La Perouse Strait. Only four +of the crew survived. There they were on that deserted coast, with no +clothes, no food, no money; but the few natives treated them kindly. Two +of them wore "_Tarbouches_" (red caps), the only things they had saved +from the wreck. The natives on the north-west coast told me of these men +who were tramping their way south, unable to make themselves understood, +continually asking for "_Sekhara_," or "_Sakhara_," which, I believe, in +the Turkish language means tobacco or cigarettes. After months of +privations, half starved, and worn out with fatigue, they reached +Hakodate, where, having no passport, and not being able to explain +themselves, they were duly arrested and sent down to Yokohama. +Unfortunately for them, at that time the "Entogroul," a Turkish +man-of-war, had come to Japan, a voyage which took her two years, to +bring some decorations which the Sultan had bestowed on the Mikado. +Osman Pasha, the Admiral, had the poor devils brought before him, and +they told him their sad story, what they had suffered, and how they had +lost their ship. The story was too true to be believed, or too strange +to sound true! + +"Impostors!" said Osman Pasha, and declining to listen any more to their +tale of woe, which he called "pure lies," had them "put in irons," in +which condition they were to be taken back to Constantinople. None of +the foreign residents in Japan believed the story of these wretches, and +all were glad to see the miscreants punished. "Impossible," said +everybody, "that a Turkish ship should have been up there!" + +As it so happened, the "Entogroul," on her return trip to +Constantinople, was herself caught in a typhoon, and, steaming full +speed to resist the force of the wind and the waves, her boilers burst, +and Osman Pasha and nearly all hands on board were blown to pieces or +drowned. If I remember right, over three hundred and sixty lives were +lost, and no doubt the four men, whose prison, I was told, was near the +boilers, thus found a tragic end to their life of misery. + +When I arrived at Yokohama all this had already happened, and my +evidence, which probably might have saved the life of these men, was +therefore useless. + +But let us return to Soya Cape, where we have left the wreck. + +The rapid current which comes through the Strait gives a horrid look to +the water, and I have never seen the sea look so vicious. The natives of +the small Soya village told me that it is impossible to cross over to +Sakhalin, the high mountains of which, covered with snow and glaciers, I +could see distinctly. The distance from land to land is about +twenty-eight miles, but no small boat can get across without being +swamped. They told me also that often dead bodies of Russians are washed +on shore, probably unfortunate convicts who found their death in +attempting to obtain liberty. H.M.S. "Rattler" was wrecked in 1868 on +one of the numerous reefs near this Cape, so the record of Soya could +hardly be more mournful. + +After the Cape has been well rounded one finds oneself in a bay opening +due north. In the winter time this bay is completely blocked with ice, +but the Strait itself is never entirely frozen, owing to the strong warm +current from the Chinese Sea, which the Japanese call by the name of +Kuroshiwo. + +Soya village is a wretched place of thirty or forty sheds. A few planks, +badly joined together, and with a kind of a roof over them, made my +shelter for the night. Soya Cape is the most northern point of the +north-east coast, and before we abandon it to move towards the south, +along the west coast, it is important to mention the peculiar and +conspicuous characteristic of the marked bending of watercourses in a +south or south-easterly direction. They are forced that way by the +drift-sand travelling along the coast from north-west to south-east with +the Kuroshiwo current, which drift-sand is in such quantities as often +to block altogether the mouths of some rivers, and form the large +lagoons so common along this coast. The lack of harbours or sheltered +anchorages, the inhospitable and unfertile shores, the quicksands, and +the severe climate, besides the danger of being swamped and carried away +by the overflow of a lagoon or lake, make this coast of little +attraction for intending settlers or for pleasure-seekers. + +Herrings are plentiful all along the coast, but fishing stations could +not possibly pay, even if any were established, owing to the difficulty +and expense of carriage and freight, and the risk that ships would run +in calling at such exposed and unprotected shores. + +[Illustration: AINU VILLAGE ON THE EAST COAST OF YEZO.] + + + + +[Illustration: MASHIKE MOUNTAIN.] + +CHAPTER XVI. + +From Cape Soya to the Ishikari River. + + +From Soya the coast forms a large bay, which opens due north, and which +ends in Cape Soya on the eastern side and in Cape Nossyap on the +western. Almost in the middle is the small village of Coittoe, and from +this place, towering beyond the flat Nossyap peninsula, one can see +Rishiri Island. Near the western part of the bay are some small hills, +covered mainly with fir-trees. Wakkanai, a Japanese village, is on the +west coast of the bay, and north of it is Cape Nossyap. From this cape +is a lovely view of Rishiri and Repunshiri Islands. Rishiri is a +volcanic cone 6,400 feet above the level of the sea. It has the +identical shape of the famous Fujiama in Southern Japan, and rising as +it does in graceful slopes directly from the sea, has the appearance of +being higher than it really is. Repunshiri is hilly and partly of +volcanic formation, but none of its peaks rise to a higher altitude than +five hundred feet. + +Rishiri is almost circular at sea-level, and it has no well-sheltered +nor safe anchorages; but Repunshiri has one good anchorage on its north +coast. Rishiri is about six and a half miles in diameter and twenty-five +miles distant, directly west of Cape Nossyap; Repunshiri is eleven miles +long, about four and a-half wide, and eleven miles distant to Ikaru, its +nearest point east on the Yezo coast. As the Kuriles are a continuation +east of the volcanic zone of Yezo, there is no doubt that Rishiri and +Repunshiri are the terminus of the same volcanic zone at its north-west +end. + +From Wakkanai a new horse-track has been opened to Bakkai, on the +north-west coast. The ride for the first eleven miles was uncomfortable, +as my pony, a worn-out brute, sank up to its belly in the mud; but in +due course I came to the hilly part, and after having gone up one steep +pitch and down another for a considerable distance, I rapidly descended +a precipitous bank, and followed the soft sandy beach till I reached +Bakkai. Here there is a large and peculiar stone, which the Ainu say +resembles an old woman carrying a child on her back. It stands +perpendicularly out of the ground at a great height, and it is of a rich +dark-brown colour. If the north-east coast was barren and deserted, the +western shore of Yezo was even yet more desolate. For thirty or forty +miles, as far as the Teshio River, the beach was strewn with wrecks and +wreckage. Here you saw a boat smashed to pieces; there a mast cast on +the shore; further on a wheel-house washed away by the waves; then the +helm of a disabled ship. It was a sight sad enough to break one's heart, +with all the tragic circumstances it suggested. + +Between Bakkai and Wadamanai especially, I do not think that one can go +more than a few yards at a time without being reminded by the wreckage +which is strewn thick on the coast of some calamity. A white life-boat, +with her stern smashed, lay on the sand helpless to save, and as a kind +of satire on her name; and at Wadamanai, a large Russian cruiser, the +"Crisorok," dismasted and broken in two, lay flat on the beach half +covered with sand. Her bridge had been washed away and her deck had sunk +in. Some of the bodies of her gallant officers and crew had been washed +on shore by the sea. No one knows in what circumstances the ship was +lost, but it is probable that during last winter, when she came to her +ill-fated end, her rigging and sails got top-heavy with ice, and that +she capsized. Some of the wreckage one finds on that coast has been +drifted there from the Chinese Sea by the Kuroshiwo current; and then, +owing to the La Perouse Strait turning so sharply to the east, has been +left on this last portion of the coast. Here and there a rough tent made +with a torn sail, or a deserted shed knocked up out of pieces of +wreckage, is a suggestive reminder that some unfortunate derelict +seafarer had suffered and striven for life on these forlorn sands. An +enormous quantity of drift-logs, and here and there some bones of +whales, are strewn all along the beach. + +At Wadamanai there is a mere rough shed under the shelter of the +sand-hills. When I left this place, moving south, a strong gale blew, +which made the travelling most unpleasant. It was getting fearfully +cold, and now that I needed clothes so badly mine were falling +altogether to pieces. My "unmentionables," which reached down to my feet +when I left Hakodate at the beginning of my journey, had long since been +trimmed and reduced to a kind of knickerbockers. Then the knees got worn +out, and they became more like bathing-breeches; and finally I dispensed +with them altogether, and made use of them to protect my sketch-book and +diary, round which I wrapped what remained of the ex-garment. My boots, +of course, were a dream of the past, and little by little I was getting +accustomed to walking barefooted. Thus, dressed in a coat, a belt ... +and nothing else, I moved along this inhospitable coast, half frozen, +but not discomfited. + +The mouths of some of the small rivulets were extremely nasty to cross, +as my pony sank in the quicksands. I had to help him out, and that meant +a cold bath each time. From Wadamanai I kept a little more inland, still +steering for the south, and every now and then I again struck the beach. +Still the old sad story of wreckages strewn all over the shore, sailing +boats smashed to pieces, junks disabled and half buried in sand, met me +at every turn, creating in my mind a very monotony of melancholy. + +Late in the evening I reached the mouth of the Teshio River, a broad +deep watercourse, one of the three largest rivers in Hokkaido, the other +two being the Ishikari and the Tokachi. It has a long course in a +general north-westerly direction, and then sharply turns southward, +running parallel with the coast for about four miles, and forming a +kind of lagoon at its outlet, which seems now to be working towards the +northward again. All the other rivers on the west coast tend northward +owing to the drift-sand which the current brings north. It is strange +that the Teshio should partly be an exception to this rule, though we +have ample evidence, even in this watercourse, of the movement of the +sand, for the bar at its mouth almost entirely blocks its entrance, and +rapidly works in a northerly direction. Thus there is no doubt that the +sand travels towards the north all along the west coast. + +Sea-trout is abundant in the Teshio River, but salmon, with which this +stream formerly abounded, are now less plentiful owing to the sand-bar +which blocks the entrance. + +A gale was blowing fiercely when I crossed the lagoon in a small Ainu +"dug-out," and my pony was made to swim across. Two or three times we +nearly capsized, and we shipped a lot of water. It was just like sitting +in a bath with water up to my waist; but the Ainu, who had as much as he +could do to paddle me across and tow the pony as well, comforted me by +saying, "Now that his 'dug-out' was full, we could not ship any more +water, and that his skiff, being made of wood, could not sink!" + +After a long struggle we got safely to the other side, and the Ainu +boatman guided me for a mile or so to the fishing village at the mouth +of the river. It has but ten huts, all more or less miserable. The pony +was so done up that he was hardly fit to carry my traps, much less could +he have borne my weight. I could not get a fresh animal, so I had to +push forward walking, and dragging the beast on as well as I could. This +had the advantage of keeping me warm, which I needed badly, for what +with the cold and my dilapidated costume I was more nearly frozen to +death than was pleasant. The track was heavy in the soft sand, and the +dangerous and numerous quicksand streams were enough to make a saint +swear--if swearing would have done any good. How unspeakably desolate it +all was! Not a soul to be met; not a hut to be seen! Here and there more +wreckage and drift-wood on the shore, telling of storms and death, and +the absence of all human aid. At last I came in sight of an Ainu hut; +but as I drew near I found that it was abandoned. My meals, never very +plentiful, were now specially scanty--few and far between; and, taken +altogether, this part of my travels in Ainuland was somewhat lacking in +cheerfulness. + +The cliffs near Wembets have the strange appearance of so many cones at +equal intervals along the coast. On the Wembets River there were as many +as two huts; and here again I had to cross in a boat, the stream being +too deep to ford on foot or horseback; then again along the sand, +dragging my pony, while I myself could hardly stand on my half-skinned +feet, I went on and on, wearied of the monotony of my miserable +experiences. The track grew narrow, and always worse. The high grey +cliffs of clay-rock began, and the rough sea washed up to the foot of +them, making progress more than ever unpleasant and dangerous. Each wave +that came brought the water up to my knees, often up to my waist, and +for about ten miles I was continually in and out of water. On a cold day +my readers can imagine how pleasant it was! About sunset I came in sight +of the two flat islands of Teuri and Yangeshiri, about fifteen miles off +the coast. It then grew dark; but the moon came to my help, shining +brightly on the greyish cliffs. The tide had risen, and in several +places I had great difficulty in getting across on account of the +furious waves dashing against the cliffs, and making a picturesque and +living sheet of foam. + +Late at night, as I had almost given up all hope of finding a shelter, I +came upon a shed on the Furembets River, where I put up for the night. + +My wretched pony was nearly dead with fatigue, and I let him loose so +that he might get a feed of grass. The next morning, after the inmates +of the hut had volunteered to go and bring him back to me, I heard them +on the distant hills calling, "_Pop, pop, pop, pop!_" the Ainu way of +approaching and calling horses. After a time they came back hopeless, +saying that the brute had bolted, and there was no hope of getting him +again. He could not be found anywhere! I was in the most awful dilemma, +for had that been the case I would have been forced to abandon all my +impedimenta, consisting of sketches and painting materials, and proceed +as best I could on foot. Under other circumstances I could have carried +the baggage on my back easily; but as I was half-starved, and had my +feet badly cut, I was hardly able to carry my own weight; therefore this +was not possible now. + +As incredulity is one of the useful qualities I possess, I went to look +after my pony myself. The shed was protected by a sand-mound at the +back, and a small space was left between the mound and the wall of the +shed. I do not know what made me go and look there, but sure enough +there was my pony lying flat, and almost too weak to get up again. This +was no horse-stealing ruse on the part of the Ainu; simply the wretched +animal's own idea of good stabling and likely fodder. I dragged him out +of his involuntary prison, and after having done what I could for his +comfort and well-being, we set out once more on our melancholy travels. +This may sound cruel to some who in the course of their life have never +travelled in out-of-the-way places, and who are ready to condemn anyone +who is the means of letting an animal suffer. It may sound cruel in our +humane country, where animals are protected and prize-fights tolerated +and enjoyed; so to avoid misunderstandings it might be as well for me to +say, that as regards this tired pony it was simply the matter to push on +with him as far as I could or lose all the valuable materials I had +collected during months of sufferings and privations. No ponies were to +be got for any money along that deserted coast, for there were none in +existence. I did my best to alleviate the poor animal's sufferings by +undergoing myself a considerable amount of pain, walking most of the way +with my feet a mass of sores; and as winter was rapidly coming on, I was +more than anxious to make my way south with all the speed I could, to +prevent being blocked up with snow and ice and forced to spend the +winter on this inhospitable coast. Consequently, I was, as a matter of +fact, more cruel to myself than to my animals; to the others, those who +will still cast the first stone at me, I can wish no better punishment +than to be placed in the same position I was then. The trail became +somewhat better, as it led over the cliffs for about three miles; then +again it was on the beach. The high cliffs varied from a very rich burnt +sienna colour to a nice warm grey, and in some places they are perfectly +white, like the cliffs at Dover. Conical mounds frequently occur, and +give a curious aspect to this deserted shore. Ten miles further on, at +Chukbets, I found a couple of huts; then I walked and dragged the pony +on the cliffs for about four miles; then again I resorted to the beach; +and finally I entered Hamboro, a small village, or rather a picturesque +group of sheds and huts, and a capital fishing-station. _Shake_, salmon, +_mashe_, and herrings are caught in abundance at the mouth of this +river. A short distance from here hundreds of carcasses of seals were +scattered on the beach, whence emanated pestilential odours. On account +of the slowness of my pony I had to-night a modified repetition of last +night's experience, but neither was the sea so rough nor the trail so +narrow at the bottom of the cliffs; and though my wretched animal was +naturally in a worse condition than before, I was able to push on to +Tomamai that same night, where I arrived at a small hour of the morning. + +At Tomamai, the coast, which had described a long curve, the two ends of +which are Ikuru north and this point south, turns sharply in a southerly +direction, running straight for many miles from north to south. + +From Tomamai southwards the coast is not quite as deserted as it was +further north, for here and there are villages of fishermen's houses. +The population, however, is a migratory one, and when I went through, +the herring-fishing season was over, and consequently most of the houses +were abandoned and the people had migrated south. The winter weather is +very severe, and the houses have to be barricaded with thick piles of +wood as a protection against the strong westerly gales. The boats had +been drawn far on shore, where they were well fastened to posts, and +rough sheds thatched with grass built over them. + +Along the coast there was a string of these habitations, hut after hut, +storehouse after storehouse, but hardly a soul to be seen. It was like +going through the city of the dead. Many of the fishermen's huts were +built on the side of the rugged cliffs, and they stood on piles about +fifteen feet high, the back of the house resting on the cliff itself. +Twelve and a half miles further another row of houses, similarly +deserted for the winter, stood along the shore-line at Onishika. In this +part of the coast salmon are very scarce, and the chief industry is the +herring fishery. There are no Ainu to be found either at Tomamai or +Onishika. + +I continued my lonesome ride in the pouring rain, and soon came to a +peculiar long tunnel, natural and partly excavated, between this place +and Rumoi, a village prettily situated on the slope of a hill fifteen +miles further. This place possesses a small anchorage at the mouth of +the river, which is now only fit for junks and small sailing-boats, but +could be considerably improved. Good coal has been discovered some way +up the river. There is a track on the cliffs leading to Mashike. All +along the coast are any number of fishermen's houses, but they were all +closed and barricaded. Ultimately, descending from the cliffs in a +zig-zag fashion, after another ten miles' ride I found myself at +Mashike, the largest Japanese village in the Teshio district. Close to +the tunnel there is a small Ainu village, where the natives let their +hair grow very long, and then tie it up in a kind of knot, similar to +the Corean fashion of head-dress, while the women have given up +tattooing altogether. The fishermen at Mashike seem to suffer greatly +from "_Kaki_," or rheumatism, and cancer, while consumption, malarial +fever, and typhus are in a small proportion. + +I had to stop over one day at Mashike, for the river was swollen by the +heavy rains, and it was impossible to get across. On the other side of +it stood Mashike-san, a huge volcanic mountain rising sheer from the +sea, and forming Cape Kamuieto, under the shelter of which lies Mashike +village; and further south Cape Uhui projects into the sea. It is the +end of a mountain range which here runs north and then south again, in +the latter part forming one side of the upper basin of the Teshio River. +Mashike is the largest settlement either on the north-east or west coast +of Yezo. Its population is partly migratory, but not so wholly as is the +case with the villages I had previously passed. I was delayed still +another day owing to the condition of the river; for the rain, instead +of decreasing, poured down to such an extent that the stream could not +be crossed, the current being too swift and the water too deep. The sea +was also too rough to allow of my leaving Mashike in a canoe. + +On the third day I rose early, and decided to attempt this much-desired +crossing of the river. It had not rained during the night, and the +waters seemed to have slightly diminished. As the stream runs down a +very steep incline on the slopes of Mashike Mountain, the current rushes +with tremendous force. It was about five in the morning when I took my +baggage to the river bank. It was made up in two bundles, which I tied +together firmly with a leather strap. Some of the natives who had +collected round me entreated me to give up this foolish idea, for they +said I should infallibly lose my life if I attempted to wade across the +swollen river. + +I saw at once that my pony would never be able to cross, so I left him, +and, taking the baggage on my head, and passing my hands through the +strap, I went into the water. The current was indeed so strong that, +weak as I was, I could hardly stand against it. I had nearly reached the +middle, with the water up to my mouth, when I fancied I heard the +anxious crowd scream to me, "_Abunai! abunai! abunai!_"--"Look out! look +out! look out!" Startled and alarmed at this piercing cry I turned my +head, and saw within a few yards of me a huge trunk of a tree coming +swiftly down with the current. There was a bump, and I saw nothing more. +Half a minute later I was violently thrown on the opposite bank, and in +trying to stand up on my feet in the shallow water my right foot +unfortunately got jammed between two stones in the river bed; I was +knocked down again, and broke my heel-bone just under the ankle. Several +natives came to my rescue and I was lifted out of the water, +half-stunned, half-drowned, but still holding fast to my load. I was +nearly frozen, and trembling like a leaf from cold. When I tried to +stand my right leg collapsed, and I had to lie down on the ground. What +with the blow which I had received from the floating wood, what with the +muddy water I had involuntarily swallowed, it took me some minutes +before I could quite understand my situation, or what had befallen me. +When I did I felt a terrible pain in my right leg. I looked, and there, +on the sand, under my foot and leg, which were swollen up to an enormous +size, was a pool of blood; the broken bone had penetrated the skin, and +was exposed to the air. When I recovered my senses well enough I got a +man to tear the wet lining of my drenched coat, and with it and a few +improvised splints I proceeded to set my own broken bone. It was hard +work; but with the help of some natives I bandaged it up as well as I +could, and with the extra help of a coarse flaxen rope I made a fairly +good surgical job of the whole thing. + +Stopping there till I grew better would have been foolish, for winter +was setting in; everything would soon be frozen and snowed up, and, far +from all my friends, as well as from anything like civilised life or +elementary comforts as I was, I should probably have died. As long as I +had a spark of life left in me I decided that I would struggle and push +on, come what might. Two men undertook to carry me over the Mashike +Mountain, which rises to an altitude of 3,600 feet above the sea-level. +The mountain is thickly wooded, and the trail is steep, heavy, and in +many places dangerous, and when we reached a sufficient altitude the +trail was merely in the bed of a rivulet composed mainly of huge stones. +Travelling in the state in which I was, was something like going to +one's own funeral. The jerking and the cold were excruciating; the +continuous stumbling and unsteady walk of my men over the rough and +slippery slopes did not improve my condition; but finally we reached the +summit. What a lovely view! One could see far along the Teshio coast on +the one side and down towards the Ishikari on the other, and towards the +east rose up a picturesque chain of thickly-wooded mountains. Rising +from the sea stood the fine Cape Airup, near Moi; then far beyond, dimly +seen in the mist, was the towering outline of Shakotan. We went down the +other side, and my men, poor fellows, did their best to cheer me up. One +of them told me a cheering story of a grizzly bear--which, by the way, +he said were numberless on this mountain--that had killed and eaten two +children, and also their father when the latter went to their rescue. +The other told me of the many men who had perished in crossing the +mountain; some had been overtaken by a snowstorm, others had lost their +way and fallen over precipices, while others again had been killed by +avalanches in winter. + +Listening to this lively conversation, shaken and suffering, I arrived +late at night at Moi, having been carried over a distance of twenty-five +miles, to do which occupied about eighteen hours. There was no possible +way of getting across the mountains between here and Atzta, as the high +granitic perpendicular cliffs are unscalable, and I was bound to +entrust my life to a small Ainu canoe. Two other passengers, a Japanese +woman and a man, asked if I would allow them to travel in the boat with +me; and then we three, rowed by an Ainu man, put out to sea. The sea was +rough outside, but as the large bay was well protected by the Aikap +Cape, all went right at first; but in rounding the point we went too +near the rocks, got caught in a breaker, and shipped so much water that +the canoe began to slowly sink under the additional weight. The Ainu was +pretty smart, and he put his skiff on the rocks. Between him and the two +passengers I was helped out, and while the Ainu emptied the canoe, the +two Japanese undressed entirely and spread out all their clothes and +underclothes in the sun to dry. + +We got on board again, and, coasting more carefully, passed several +small fishing villages, of which Gokibira is the largest and most +important. It is backed by high mountains ranging from twelve hundred to +seventeen hundred and more feet above the sea. One of the mountains--the +highest--is called Okashi-nae-yama. + +Atzta is a long narrow village, of which almost all the houses are built +against the cliff. From here I had to begin riding again along the bad +and stony coast, among drift-wood, and up and down cliffs. Anyone who +has ever had any broken bones will appreciate the tortures which I had +to go through. Owing to pain, exhaustion, and fatigue I had no control +over my pony, and could hardly stick on to the saddle. I took the +precaution of tying the bridle to my wrist, for should the pony knock me +off, he could not bolt away; but, unhappily, sometimes this was the +means of his dragging me mercilessly on the ground for dozens of yards +before he would stop. Then I had to wait for some charitable passer-by +to help me into the saddle again, for I could no longer mount by myself. +Day after day of this wretched life made me feel almost unconscious that +I had a pain. I took things as they came, and I went on. Now that I sit +here in a comfortable chair writing this by a cosy fire, I am myself +astonished at my own perseverance. If I were called upon to go through +the same experience now I could not. But in truth there are many things +that one does not mind doing for motives of pleasure which one would +never dream of attempting under the compulsion of an external will. +Kutambets is picturesquely situated in a large gully formed by a break +in the red-tinted cliffs. From Kutambets to Moroi the track is slightly +better, and from this to Ishikari it is quite easy. The latter river, a +very large one, has to be crossed by a ferry, as the habitations are on +the south banks of the stream. + +[Illustration: ISHIKARI KRAFTU AINU.] + + + + +[Illustration: THE KAMUIKOTAN RAPIDS.] + +CHAPTER XVII. + +The Ishikari River. + + +On the north side of the mouth of the Ishikari River is an Ainu village +called Raishats. Its inhabitants are not natives of this island, but +were imported by the Japanese Government from Sakhalin when it was +exchanged with Russia for the Kuriles. + +At the entrance of the river, and close to this village, another +wreck--of the "Kamida Maru"--a schooner, ended the mournful list of +disasters on this inhospitable coast. + +The Ainu of Raishats are different in some ways from the Yezo Ainu +proper. They call themselves Kraftu Ainu, "Kraftu"[36] being the Ainu +name for Sakhalin. Their skin is of a lighter colour; but the principal +difference is in their eyes and eyebrows. The Kraftu Ainu have eyes of +the Mongolian type, though larger, while the Yezo Ainu have not; and +their eyebrows have a very pronounced curve near the nose. Most of the +women seemed to suffer from consumption, and the men also did not seem +as strong as the other Ainu. The women tattoo on their lips a small +square pattern instead of the long moustache, and most of them have now +adopted Japanese _kimonos_, or else wear gowns similar to those of +Russian peasants. Some also wear skin gowns similar to those of the +Kurilsky Ainu, ornamented with feathers and bits of molten lead sewn on +them. A velvet cap or a kind of tiara is their head-gear, and this also +is ornamented with gold and silver or red beads, or else is embroidered +in bright colours. + + [36] Sometimes also pronounced _Krafto._ + +The children are arrayed in more gaudy colours than their elders. They +have bright red embroideries round their necks, and the whole gown is +full of spangles and beads, the proceeds of parental barter. A peculiar +paunch-suspender, which I saw here for the first time, was ingenious, +and answered a great want in the Ainu country. As will be seen later, +the majority of Ainu children have huge paunches, mostly due to the +inability of the hairy people to tie and secure properly the umbilical +cord at the child's birth. This not only produces great discomfort to +the child, but often causes its death. The belt which I saw was made on +the principle that the weight of the paunch, under which passed a kind +of net made of strips of skin, was supported by braces going over the +shoulders, and by this contrivance, if the original lesion did not get +much better it did not get worse, as it does when not taken any care of +at all. Neither men nor women wore earrings; but the fair sex wore a +kind of velvet ribbon necklace round their neck, and on this ribbon were +sewn ornaments of molten lead, silver, and other metals. + +The habitations, storehouses, and customs of these Ainu are similar to +those of the others. As I slowly rode along the banks of the river just +before sunset, retracing my steps towards the Ishikari village, I saw a +hidden trail, which apparently led to the woods. I made my pony follow +it, and shortly afterwards I came to a graveyard. As I have said, the +Ainu are extremely jealous of their burial-places, and they resent +strangers, even Japanese, going near them. It was nearly fifteen days +since the accident to my leg had occurred, and though I could neither +walk nor stand on it, still I was beginning to be accustomed to the +agony, and with great trouble and pain I could dismount from my tiny +pony. Strange to say, mounting was not so difficult, for I could pull +myself up with my arms, lie flat on my stomach on the saddle, and then +swing round, and it did not jar me as much as coming down. I had my +paint-box fastened to the saddle, and I unlashed it to take a sketch. +The tombs were so many trunks of trees cut and carved, and with one +branch left on one side (_see_ Chapter XXI.). One tomb particularly was +more ornamented, and it had a flat-shaped monument, roughly but well +carved at its head. An object resembling the bottom of a "dug-out" +covered the body, and this was also carved. At each of the four corners +a wooden blade was stuck in the ground. From the stench I should think +that the body was only a few inches underground. + +Fate had punished me so severely of late for faults which I never +committed that I thought myself now entitled to commit a fault for the +sake of squaring accounts. One of the small wooden blades, nicely +carved, would just go under my coat. I decided to steal it. To my mind +it was hardly a big enough crime even to balance the last accident I had +had. + +I turned round to see that no one was looking. I put down my paint-box, +crawled to the grave, took the blade, put it under my coat, and, ashamed +of myself for committing the outrage--though with prepaid punishment--I +scrambled up on my pony as well I could, and hurriedly left the place. I +rode back to the ferry, a long way off, and went across to Ishikari, and +catching a moment when no one was watching me, I quickly passed the +carved blade from under my coat into my baggage. + +"What a good thief I would make," I thought to myself, when to my horror +I remembered that in the hurry of leaving the graveyard I had forgotten +my paint-box in the very same spot from which I had taken the blade! + +If any Ainu had gone to the graveyard and found it, I would get into a +nice mess! During the night I felt more than uncomfortable about it, and +at dawn the next morning I got the tea-house man to bring my horse and +set me on it, for I said, "I wish to go and see the sunrise from the +other side of the river." + +The landlord thought it rather funny, and funnier still when he saw me +coming back a couple of hours later with a paint-box lashed to my +saddle, while he said he was sure I had started without one. + +"Did you not see it this morning?" said I with assumed innocence. + +"No, your honourable," said he, drawing in his breath. + +"You did not look for it in the right place," said I, and up to this day +the landlord does not know where the right place was. + +The Ishikari is one of the great salmon rivers of Yezo. About the end of +September the salmon enter the river to spawn. They are in such +abundance then that the stream is crowded thick with them, and it is +quite sufficient to have a hook fastened to a stick to pull out a large +fish each time it is dipped into the water. Millions of fine salmon are +caught within a few days, and the banks of the river are packed with +dead fish, while the whole population is occupied in splitting open each +fish, taking out its inside, for preservation. + +The same method of netting as is practised for sardine fishing is +employed for salmon. Eighteen or twenty excited men vigorously row the +boats out into mid-stream, and after describing a semicircle, return to +the bank. The nets are hauled in, the fish flung out on the river banks, +and the same process begins _de novo_. A man in a "dug-out" watches when +the salmon are more or less plentiful, and signals for the boat to +start, while he himself spears them with a harpoon. At the right time of +the year as many as 1500 or 2,000 and more good fish are caught each +time the net is hauled in. This grand take of course only lasts a few +days. + +Though good, the Yezo salmon has none of the fine qualities of the +salmon of northern European rivers, and it is not quite so good as that +of the Canadian rivers. It does not keep so well, and in colour is much +lighter than our salmon. + +The Ishikari River opens to the north, and runs parallel to the coast, +leaving a flat tongue of sand between it and the sea. Following the +course of the stream against the current, it goes winding south, then +sharply turns to the south-east, following this direction for about +fourteen miles. Then again it winds up to the north, and then to the +east for a distance of over one hundred miles, where its source lies in +the very heart of Yezo. + +The Ishikari carries a large body of water, and it is nine hundred and +twenty feet wide near its mouth. Its "drainage area" has been estimated +to be over three thousand square miles, including mountain slopes, while +the actual valley does not, in my opinion, exceed eight hundred square +miles. The river receives many affluents, of which the most important +are the Rubeshibe, Chupets, Piegawa, the Sorachi River, and the Toyohira +on its south side, and the Uriugawa on its north side. Near the coast +the valley is wooded mainly with scrub oak, but further inland its banks +are heavily timbered. The Sorachi River is the most important affluent +on the south side. It is navigable for "dug-outs" and small sailing +boats for some considerable distance. At Sorachi one strikes the new +road which leads from the Poronai coal mines to Kamikawa, where the site +has been chosen for the intended new capital of Hokkaido. + +The road between Sorachi and the latter place not being metalled, was +exceedingly bad owing to the heavy rains, and my pony continually sank +in mud up to his belly. The road follows the course of the Ishikari +River more or less; and in the woods is a military settlement like those +we have seen near Nemuro and Akkeshi. At Otoyebukets the traveller must +change horses. About eight miles further on one reaches the Kamuikotan +rapids, a poetic spot: huge rocks in the water, violently rushing +between and over them, form pretty waterfalls. The Ainu occasionally +shoot down these rapids in their "dug-outs," and remains of these are to +be seen here and there smashed on the rocks. From this point the road +rises almost all the way, and the wayfarer must cross over the hill +range, from the top of which the whole plain of Kamikawa can be seen, in +the upper basin of the Ishikari, which, winding like a silver snake, +intersects the flat valley. + +Descending the hill on the other side, I reached the future capital of +Hokkaido. It is indeed a town of the future, for at the present moment +there are only five houses, if I may call them so. The site of this +embryo metropolis is by the Chubets River; and on the hill called +Nayosami I was told a palace for the Emperor is to be erected. However, +they were not certain about it yet. It is a pretty hill, almost in the +centre of the large plain, and from the top of it one gets a lovely view +of a volcanic cone standing in front of you to the south. Near this hill +the new road turns sharply almost at a right angle, and two miles +further some _Tondens_ have been begun (_Ciuta Hombu_). Hundreds of +convicts, who, by the way, have made the road between here and Poronai, +were at work continuing the same road towards the east. I believe that +eventually it will be prolonged to the north-east coast, where it will +end near Abashiri. In my opinion the scheme practically will be a +failure, for Kamikawa will never be a flourishing place, as there is +nothing to support a large population. From a strategic point of view of +course Kamikawa has the advantage of being in the centre of Yezo. + +Kamikawa is 342 feet above the level of the sea, but it is well +sheltered, and the climate, though very cold, is not quite so severe as +in other parts of Yezo. + +The Ainu of the upper Ishikari are nearly the same as the Saru Ainu, +only somewhat taller and more ill-tempered. They show greater skill than +other Ainu in wood-carving and general ornamentation. Along the banks of +the river huts are scattered here and there; but the largest number is +at Chubets. + +At the present moment the Japanese population of Kamikawa is, with the +exception of half-a-dozen policemen and as many civilians, composed +entirely of convicts. These are dressed in red coats and trousers, and +those who have committed murder have the top of their head shaved in the +shape of a bottle (Jap., _Hetzui_). If any misbehave, they are beaten +with the flat side of the long sword worn by the policeman in charge; +but I must confess that otherwise the policemen are extremely kind in +every way to these fellows. The well-behaved have one, two, or three +small pieces of black cloth sewn to their left sleeve. They are made to +work hard, but save this enforced diligence they seem to have a pretty +good time. As I was talking to a policeman in charge, two dead men were +brought on a cart by a man who had a towel over his mouth and a red +blanket over his head. The two men had died suddenly. They had arrived +only a few days previously from Southern Japan, where cholera was +raging, and they had all the symptoms of having died of that deadly +disease. + +A very exciting way of retracing your steps down to the Sorachi River is +to shoot the rapids in an Ainu "dug-out." You make one or two Ainu +moderately drunk, as otherwise they do not seem anxious to attempt it, +and when they are in that pot-valiant condition you get them to paddle +your canoe down the stream, while you sit in the bottom holding on to +the sides. You start with the velocity of a turtle, increase it to that +of a horse, then to that of a swallow, and when you are well in the +rapids it is like travelling on an arrow. You go rubbing against rocks, +and are shot in the air when going over a small waterfall, only to fall +with a splash in the water some yards further, with an increase of +velocity as you go on. It really requires but little skill to navigate +rapids, for it is the current itself that does all the work. All that is +needed is to keep the "dug-out" straight in the water. Of course if you +should happen to collide with a rock when you are going at nearly double +the rate of an express train you would have little chance of saving your +life; but if you are neither smashed nor drowned, and you do not come to +grief in any way, you can accomplish the journey, which takes you the +whole day by land, in little over one hour when there is plenty of water +in the stream. + +On the road from Sorachi to Poronai, and halfway between the villages of +Naye and Takigawa, a new coal mine has been discovered and opened, which +is said to be very rich in mineral of good quality; in fact, superior to +the coal of Poronai. It is ten miles from Otaussi Nai village, where the +high road has to be abandoned if the mine is to be visited. + +There are many Ainu both at Takikawa-Mura (Waterfall-River village), at +Otaussi, and at Poronai-buts. Poronai has in its neighbourhood some rich +coal mines. As others have reported more accurately and correctly than I +can on the quality and extent of these coal seams, I shall abstain from +repeating or copying what has been already said. I may, however, mention +that the seams cut the valley of the Ikusum River eight miles from +Poronai-buts, and a continuation of them is found near the springs of +the Sorachi. The coal beds of Poronai are about three and a half feet +deep, and many different beds have been found deeper than these, but of +inferior quality. Poronai also goes by the name of Ishikishiri, and a +large penitentiary has been erected here for the accommodation of the +numerous convicts exported from the Main Island to improve the scheme +for the colonisation of Yezo. I was called on by the chief _yakunin_ +(officer), and he expressed a wish that I should inspect the prisons. A +splendid horse was sent to convey me thither, and two policemen helped +me on my progress through the buildings, owing to my inability to walk +more than a few yards at a time. It was a large walled enclosure, with +houses for the officials and cells for the _akambos_, a jocular term, +meaning "babies," which is applied to convicts, because they wear red +clothes like children. The buildings were beautifully clean, but what +astonished me most was that no precaution whatever was adopted to +prevent convicts from escaping. The outside gates were all wide open; +there were neither soldiers nor policemen at the gates, and, moreover, +the _concierge_ was himself a convict! + +"But," said I, "do not many of these fellows escape?" + +"Oh, no, not many. Last month only sixteen ran away," was the +_insouciant_ answer of my guide. + +From Poronai-buts to Sappro there is a small railway, by which the coal +trains are run to the coast as far as Otaru. + +[Illustration: WOMAN OF ISHIKARI RIVER.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU BARK WATER-JUGS] + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Nearing Civilisation. + + +Sappro, the present capital of Hokkaido, is a town of fairly large size, +with wide streets intersecting each other at right angles. The +Hokkaido-cho, a high red-brick building, the law courts, the _Kofikan_, +the palace built for the Emperor, and used now as a kind of hotel, and +the houses of officials, are the main buildings of the place. There are, +besides, a sugar refinery, a hemp and silk factory, and a brewery, +mainly supported by the Government. Neither of the first two were +"flourishing industries," and one of the factories, if I remember +aright, had long ceased working, and the other was soon to follow suit. +The Government, I must say, have done their best to encourage and push +on industries as well as agriculture in this district, but their efforts +have produced but poor results. Machinery, which had been imported at +great expense from England, America, Germany, and France, was left to +rust and perish, and no private company seemed ready to continue the +works. As a farming region the Sappro district has also proved more or +less a failure from a financial point of view, though again the +Government cannot but be highly praised for the money they have spent in +trying to educate the people up to some kind of scientific, and +therefore paying, method of agriculture. They have a large model farm of +about 350 acres laid down in grain fields, as well as in meadows and +pastures, stocked with cattle imported mainly from America. In the +Toyoshira valley, south of the town, a cattle farm is in full +operation, but it yields the Government a very poor return. However, the +Government, I believe, only wish to teach the people foreign ways of +agriculture, and expect no direct returns for the pains taken and the +money sunk--so at least it would appear. Another colonial militia +settlement is also found near Baratte, eight miles north of Sappro. +Regarding these settlements, it may prove interesting to transcribe the +Imperial Ordinance No. 181, dated August 28th, 1890, by which they were +brought into existence and the Tondens were built:-- + + ARTICLE 1.--Colonial Militia shall be composed of colonial + infantry, cavalry, and colonial artillery and colonial military + engineers, and shall be set apart for the defence of Hokkaido, + where they shall be stationed. + + ARTICLE 2.--The Colonial Militia shall be organised as soldiers, in + addition to their ordinary occupation of farmers; shall live in + military houses which shall be provided for them, and shall take + part in military drill, in cultivation, and in farming. + + ARTICLE 3.--The Colonial Militia shall also be composed of + volunteers from cities and prefectures, and shall change their + registered residence (_Houseki_) to Hokkaido, and live there with + their families. + + ARTICLE 4.--The term of service of Colonial Militia shall be twenty + years: the service with the colours being three years, in the first + reserve four years, and in the second reserve thirteen years. + Should a colonial militiaman be released from service during his + term, owing to the attainment of the full age of forty years, or + through death, or some other cause, a suitable male of the family + shall be ordered to fulfil the remaining term of service. Such + service may be remitted if there be no suitable male. + + ARTICLE 5.--The Colonial Militia shall fulfil supplementary + military service during ten years after the end of service in the + second reserve, and shall be mobilised in time of war or other + emergency. + + ARTICLE 6.--The term of each stage of military service under + Articles 4 and 5 shall be counted from April 1st of the year in + which the soldier enters the Militia. + + ARTICLE 7.--The terms may be prolonged, even though the period for + each stage has fully elapsed, should war or other emergency, or the + requirements of military discipline, or the inspection of soldiers + (_kwampei-shiki_) demand the same, or should the soldier be then in + transit from or to, or be stationed in, a foreign country. + + SUPPLEMENTARY RULES:-- + + ARTICLE 8.--Colonial Militia enlisted before the carrying out of + these regulations shall be treated according to the following + distinctions:-- + + (_a_) Those enlisted between the eighth year of Meji and the + sixteenth year of Meji shall serve in the first reserve during four + years and in the second reserve during nine years. + + (_b_) Those who were enlisted between the seventeenth year of Meji + and the twentieth shall serve in the first reserve during four + years from the twenty-fourth year of Meji, and in the second + reserve after the lapse of the above period during twenty years, + reckoned from the year in which they were enlisted. + + (_c_) Those who were enlisted in the twenty-first year of Meji + shall serve in the first reserve during four years from the + twenty-fifth year of Meji, and in the second reserve after the + lapse of the above period during twenty years, reckoned from the + year in which they were enlisted. + + (_d_) Those who were enlisted in and after the twenty-second year + of Meji shall be treated in accordance with these regulations. + + ARTICLE 9.--The mode of reckoning the terms of service of Colonial + Militia levied before the twenty-first year of Meji shall be in + accordance with Article 6 of these regulations. The term of service + with the colours of those levied in the twenty-second and + twenty-third years of Meji shall be counted from the day on which + they were included in the Colonial Militia, and their term of + service in the first and second reserves from the day next to the + lapse of the full term of the former service. + + ARTICLE 10.--These regulations shall come into force on and after + the first day of the fourth month of the twenty-fourth year of + Meji. + + (Colonial Militia.) Imperial Ordinance No. 181. + + We hereby give our sanction to the present amendment of the + regulations relating to Colonial Militia, and order the same to be + duly promulgated. + + (His Imperial Majesty's sign-manual), + Great Seal. + + Dated August 29th, 1890. + (Countersigned) COUNT OYAMA IWAO, + (Minister of State for War). + + (_Japan Daily Mail_, September 14th, 1890.) + +Sappro was a civilised place compared to others I had seen in Yezo; but +it had neither the picturesqueness, nor the strangeness, nor yet the +interest of more uncivilised spots. + +There is no doubt that savagery--when you have got accustomed to it--is +a great deal more fascinating than civilised life, and infinitely more +so than a base imitation of civilisation. + +It might have been thought that after the months of privation to which I +had been subjected, after all the harassing experiences I had gone +through, after the accident which had made the last thirty days of my +journey so agonising, I should have been glad to rest in this "London" +of the Ainu country, at least until I was well again. But in truth this +indirectly reflected civilisation worried me. The bustle of the people, +the lights in the streets, the sounds of the _Shamesen_--everything +annoyed me. + +His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Nagayama, kindly called on me, and when +I put on some decent clothes which were lent me, he drove me to his +house, where I had a lengthy conversation on the future of Yezo and the +Kurile Islands. He seemed to approve of many of the points which I put +before him, among which I suggested that the exports of sulphur from +Kushiro, on the south-eastern coast, would be greatly increased if it +were opened to foreign trade, and I was pleased to hear several months +later that a motion to that effect was proposed in the Japanese +Parliament. He also agreed with me that Yezo needed roads and railways +badly, and that when more facile ways of communication should be +established along the coast and across country, then without doubt Yezo +would be rich and flourishing. + +He expressed sorrow that emigration was not carried on on a larger scale +from the Southern Island of Japan, and that private companies of +capitalists in no way helped the Government. + +His Excellency was also kind enough to drive me round the town and show +me all the sights of Sappro, including the small museum containing +zoological specimens from Hokkaido, and the implements of the Ainu and +the Koro-pok-kuru. A huge grizzly bear which had killed two babies and a +man is now stuffed, and occupies the first small room, while a bottle by +the side preserves in spirit the head and foot of one baby and some +parts of the man which were found in its stomach when captured and +dissected. + +I left Sappro for Otaru by the coal train. Otaru is situated on a +semicircular well-sheltered bay, which makes it the best and only safe +port on the western coast of Yezo. + +The coast at the mouth of the Ishikari River curves gently round, and is +exposed to the north as far as Cape Shakotan. Otaru is rapidly growing +in importance, owing to the fact that it is the nearest shipping port to +the Poronai coal mines. Unfortunately, three small hills, which were +being levelled when I was there, had greatly interfered with the first +laying out of the settlement, which accounts for the town being all +crooked and irregularly planned. It has the appearance of a thriving +place, and much resembles one of the small seaports of Southern Japan. +In the main street a go-ahead tailor had written over his door the +following inscription for the attraction of foreign clients: "Tailor. +New Forms of every country shall be made here." The notice was tempting, +and I went in to request his services in furnishing me with "new forms," +as he called them, of English fashion; but to my great regret he had +come to an end of his stock of goods, and I had to be contented with my +"old forms," and go on as best I could with what I had till I should +reach Hakodate, where I had left most of my baggage. At Otaru I left all +my paraphernalia to be shipped to Hakodate by the first ship calling, +and I proceeded by land on the north and then on the north-west coast. I +felt that, suffering as I still was, I should keep alive as long as I +kept moving, as long as I was distracted by new scenery and new +excitements. I felt that if I were left to myself, not pitied or +sympathised with, I should be able to drag on and conquer in the end. +There is nothing, it seems to me, that makes people feel so ill or is so +enervating as the sympathy of friends and the verdict of a doctor. Among +civilised people nine out of ten do not know whether they are very ill +or not until the doctor pronounces his opinion, which shows that many +complaints would be scarcely felt at all if the patient did not know the +name of his malady, or if he had sufficient determination as to prevent +his physical pain from becoming a moral one as well. We have a proof of +this in hypnotism, by which sicknesses of many kinds can be cured by +impressing on the subject the belief that his body is perfectly free +from disease. Of course in this case it is a stronger will acting on a +weaker one, which, so reinforced, is able to overpower the physical +trouble. Again, I may be allowed to state that savages and barbarians, +though affected with horrid diseases of all kinds, do not seem to suffer +from them as much as we do. If an Ainu man breaks his leg he does not +think for a moment of lying in bed for the regulation forty days; first +of all, because he has no bed to lie on; and next, because the +confinement and inaction would simply kill him. He may lie down on the +hard ground for two or three days, after which time he crawls about as +best he can until nature makes his broken bone right again. He does not +worry himself much about it. Wild animals do the same. If, then, the +Ainu, and with them savages of other countries, do that, why should not +I, a human being like them, do the same? + +Freed from the encumbrance of my baggage, I set off on a good horse down +the north coast, and moving from east to west. My baggage now consisted +of a crutch which I had made for myself, a stick, a couple of Japanese +_kimonos_, and a few sketch-books. + +The travelling was extremely slow, and I shall not dwell at length on +this part of my journey, for it has no interest in connection with the +Ainu, as I met with scarcely any. On a practicable and pleasant track +leading all across the hills beyond Oshoro village, a lovely view of the +cliffs between that place and Yoichi, lying to the west, is to be had. +In some parts the scenery is really grand. Coming down on the other side +of the hill, Momonai and Kawamura, two fishermen's villages of some +importance, are passed, and further west, through a picturesque and +narrow entrance of rugged volcanic rocks, is Yoichi, a large village, +which was entirely burnt down last year, but has since been built up +again. The road to Iwanai branches off at Kawamura, across the Shakotan +peninsula. This peninsula is partly volcanic, partly composed of +tertiaries, on which metal veins are found, especially along the course +of the Yoichi River. + +About three miles from Yoichi a small flax factory was being built as an +experiment by a Mr. Tokumatz Kuroda, in the employ of the Mitzui +Company. Twenty-five miles further south-west of Yoichi is Iwanai. +About ten miles from Kawamura, at Hando, a black tumbledown shed, like a +haunted house, stands in the middle of the woods, and from here the +track again goes over a mountain. On the other side is Iwanai. Five or +six weeks previous to my arrival a large fire had destroyed nearly the +whole of the village, and--just my luck again!--I had great difficulty +in finding a place in which to obtain shelter for the night. + +From Iwanai the coast-line roughly describes a semicircle, which is +almost concentric with Volcano Bay on the south coast, the distance +between the two seas being about twenty or twenty-five miles, so that it +forms a kind of large peninsula stretching towards the south, and +widening considerably at its most southern part on the Tsugaru Strait. +The first two or three miles from Iwanai were a pretty flat and easy +track, but then I struck the mountain trail, which was steep and heavy +for my pony. It was raining in torrents, and the narrow track was +literally turned into a running rivulet. By good luck the rain stopped, +and when I reached the summit I had a glorious panorama of the brilliant +rocks and cliffs of the Shakotan Cape to the north-east, with the Kamui +and the Hurupira Mountains on one side, and the villages of Shiribets, +Isoya, and Karibayama along the coast on the other. I descended into the +valley and then went up again the next mountain, the Iwaonobori, a +higher peak than the first. I went down its slopes on the other side in +a zig-zag fashion, and then came to the snake-like river called +Shiribets, on both sides of which a few fishermen's houses are found, +forming the Shiribets village. + +Three miles further is a larger settlement, Isoya, the half of which is +called Notto Isoya, the other Shimakotan Isoya. It is a long row of +fishermen's houses scattered along the coast until we get to Ushoro, +eight miles further, a settlement of 120 houses. + +Ushoro is connected by a road to Oshamambe, on Volcano Bay, but I went +on to Shitzo, four miles north-west of Ushoro. The way was fairly good +in some parts, and execrably bad in others. The heavy rain which had +again come on was not exactly suited to my present state of health; +moreover, it swelled all the small brooks, which fell in a series of +picturesque waterfalls over the high cliffs down on to the beach. As the +beach was narrow, this meant each time a cold shower-bath, which, +however, did not much matter, for I was already drenched by the rain, +and I had no very "swell" garments to spoil, as my readers know. + +[Illustration: AINU HALF-CASTE CHILD OF VOLCANO BAY.] + +Shitzo is an old-looking place, but there is nothing attractive about +it. It is in a small bay sheltered by Cape Benke, but its anchorage is +only fit for junks or very small skiffs. It is much exposed to northerly +and easterly winds. The coast from Shitzo to the Cape is lined with +rocky bluffs and cliffs of conglomerate and volcanic formation, with +bare hills inland. + +There are many reefs stretching out, both along the coast and off the +Cape; but in many places channels are cut in them, to all appearance +produced by some remote volcanic action. + +On the western side of Cape Benke is the village of Masatomari. There +were formerly some Ainu villages on this part of the coast, but hardly +any natives are to be found now. The few remaining have adopted to a +certain extent Japanese customs and manners. + +At Baraputa I heard that it was impossible to continue my journey south +on horseback along the coast, for the track was almost impassable, even +on foot. It was a steep and difficult trail over the mountains, among +rocks and precipitous cliffs, and I was quite unable to accomplish it; +so I retraced my steps to Shitzo, and from there struck across the +peninsula on the road for Oshamambe, on Volcano Bay. The road is a good +one, and when bridges are built where needed it will be practicable for +_bashas_, the four-wheeled vehicles of Southern Yezo. The way is across +mountains or among well-wooded hills. Kuromatsunai is the largest group +of houses found along the road. It is about halfway between the two +coasts. + +Late at night, after having ridden twenty-five miles, I arrived at +Oshamambe, a semi-Ainu village on Volcano Bay. + + + + +[Illustration: KOMATAGE VOLCANO, VOLCANO BAY.] + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Completing the Circuit of Yezo--The End of my Journey. + + +Oshamambe is a group of seventy houses, just midway between Mororran and +Mori. The Ainu of this bay are poor specimens of their race, as most of +them have intermarried with Japanese. They are, however, those most +talked about by Europeans, for they are of easy access to +globe-trotters. + +They are mostly half-castes, and even second and third crosses; +wherefore it is no wonder that the incautious travellers who have +written on the Ainu, studying only these easily-visited specimens, have +discovered in them a remarkable likeness to the Japanese! + +The fact that I was rapidly nearing the end of my trip half filled me +with pleasure, yet pleasure mingled with regret. It was nearly six weeks +now since I met with the accident to my foot, and I was decidedly +better. The cold weather had greatly contributed to this improvement of +my condition; and had it not been for my bone which kept sticking out of +my skin, I should have considered myself in fine case. I could hop along +with my self-made crutch and my stick, and when riding the pain was not +nearly as acute as it had been the first fifteen or twenty days. + +As the road was good, and there was nothing interesting to me on this +portion of the journey, I tried to push on rapidly towards Mori. +Unfortunately, at the last minute my patience was put to a trial. I +hired a horse, and it was lame. No others were to be had that day for +love or money. The animal had been lame for two years, they said, and +though uncomfortable to ride he did not suffer any pain. This I +ascertained afterwards was true, for that day the sturdy brute carried +me 48-1/2 miles without once requiring punishment. It is needless to say +that what I suffered that day by the continuous jerking is beyond +description. I rode fourteen hours in a fearful storm of rain and snow, +and my feverish anxiety to reach Hakodate soon, so that I might receive +letters, and have news of my parents and friends--from whom I had not +heard for five months--helped me to pull through all the fatigue and +worry of the way. The road between Oshamambe and Kunnui is fair, getting +still better towards Yurap and Yamakushinai. But to shorten the journey +and lessen the jerking I followed the sandy sea-beach, which, describing +a smaller circle than the road, necessarily diminishes the distance. +From Yamakushinai the road is very good and wide, and it has +nicely-built bridges over the Otoshibe and Nigori Rivers. The small +fishing villages, though not so imposing in appearance as some of those +in other parts of Yezo, add to the picturesqueness of the bay, with its +beautiful volcanic cone of Komagatage towering in the distance towards +the south-east. + +The fishing in Volcano Bay consists mostly of mackerel, sprats, halibut, +and herrings. + +I reached Mori late in the evening, and was received with a friendly +greeting by the people of the tea-house in which I had stayed on my way +up at the beginning of my journey. + +The place was brilliantly lighted with numberless candles, and opposite +the entrance was a kind of altar decked with flowers and cakes. A few +_bonzes_, with their shaven heads and long, thin, depraved fingers, were +saying their prayers and beating with a small wand on the round wooden +bells. With the gods of Japan you must ring a bell or clap your hands +before you begin to pray, or else the god will pay no attention to your +petitions. In the next room another Japanese, with less depraved +fingers, but with a more wicked face, was dressed in European clothes, +and was apparently giving a sermon, and sure enough he proved to be a +native Christian minister! + +"Hallo!" said I to the landlord; "what does all this mean?" + +"Oh," said he, smiling--for Buddhism teaches you not to show pain--"my +old mother is dead. You saw her when you were here before. She died +yesterday, and as she was formerly a Buddhist and had become a +Christian, I have now got some Buddhist _bonzes_ and a Christian +minister to pray for her, for I want her to be happy in the other +world." + +"But do you not think," I replied, "that so much praying of different +kinds might interfere with her happiness?" + +"Oh, no, your honourable," he said quickly, "I have paid the _bonzes_ +and the clergyman in advance, and the gods cannot get angry now!" + +It was curious to notice the competition between the representatives of +the two different creeds. + +On the one side the Christian shouted his prayers and sang his hymns in +a stentorian voice, to put the _bonzes_ in the shade and get the start +of them in the contest; and on the other side these rattled on the +wooden bells with all their might, so that their prayers should be heard +first. I was more than happy when this religious race was over, and I +was allowed a few hours' rest. + +Instead of going straight to Hakodate by _basha_ by the road I had +already once traversed, I followed the coast in a south-easterly +direction towards the volcano of Esan. + +Near Usushiri, some two miles inland, are the hot springs of Obune, +where, in a picturesque gully surrounded by mountains, are two dirty +shanties for the benefit of those who wish to take the waters. At Isoya, +five miles north of this place, similar springs are found, and three and +a half miles south-east of Usushiri still more can be seen at Kakumi. +The latter place is a picturesque little spot, with its three old sheds +and the steaming bath-room framed in the multi-coloured foliage of trees +with their lovely autumn tints. A clean path a few hundred yards long +leads from the coast to the springs, and a track across the mountains is +found between that place and Hakodate; also another leading from Obune +to the latter port. By both these tracks a most lovely view of Hakodate +Bay can be obtained when the summit of the mountain range is reached. +From Kakumi the coast-line is wretched for travelling, set thick as it +is with stones as sharp as knives, while the waves continually wash over +the narrow beach, drenching the wayfarer to the skin. + +I reached Otatsube, a group of a few fishermen's huts; and as there is +no traffic whatever along this coast, there were no regular tea-houses. +Unfortunately for me, the British Squadron in the Pacific had spent the +summer at Hakodate, and the ships had often gone for gun-practice +somewhere near this place, scaring the natives to death, and furthermore +angering them against foreigners in general, for they said the report of +the guns frightened away all the fish. When I asked for food and offered +money for it, they flatly refused me, saying contemptuously,-- + +"You foreigners come and scare all the fish away, and now you shall die +of starvation before you shall get food from us. We do not want your +money. We are rich." + +And so I was held responsible for the doings of Her Majesty's fleet, +which until then I did not even know had been in those waters! + +At Furimbe, the next small village, only a few miles further on, my +experience was even more unpleasant. Not only would they not give me +food, but they would not shelter me for the night in any of the houses; +and many of the fishermen, taking advantage of my wretched condition, +were impudent to such a point that I thought we should have come to +blows. + +It was getting quite dark, and I was fearfully hungry and exhausted. The +only course open to me was to push on, and see if I could come across +some other hut where the owners were not so churlish. As it turned out, +for the first time since I had been in Hokkaido I had some good luck +that night! + +A few hundred yards from this Japanese village, among the trees, was a +little wooden shrine. Through the grating of the door I caught sight of +offerings of cakes and rice which the religious fishermen had deposited +on the kind of altar, probably to appease the angry gods, and induce +them to fill the sea with fish again. The door of the shrine, as is +usual in country places in Japan, was not locked, but a small outside +bolt was all there was to keep it closed. I had no difficulty in +entering. The night was a terrible one. The rain was pouring in +torrents, and having had nothing to eat all day, I felt I had not the +strength to go another yard. "After all," I said to myself, "the home of +the gods, Japanese or not, is good enough for me. So is this supper," I +soliloquized, swallowing now a white cake, now a red one, then a green +one, till nothing but the empty vessels were left. "Delicious" was my +last word, when, smacking my lips over the last green cake, I proceeded +to make myself comfortable for the night. It is needless to add that I +left very early in the morning, when the first rays of light broke the +dimness of the night, and I dare say that, for the sake of morality, I +ought to add that I was sorry for committing the sacrilege; but I was +not--indeed I was not! + +The mountain track continued, rough and steep in many places, and the +autumn tints on the foliage were lovely, though not as varied as those +of Northern America. Past Todohotke another volcano, the Esan, stared me +in the face. Its crater, or rather its craters, for there are several, +are not on the summit of the mountain, which is well rounded, but nearly +halfway down its western slopes. Accumulations of very pure sulphur are +deposited in and around these craters, and a continuous rumbling can be +heard inside the mountain. The craters eject sulphurous vapours, and +molten lava bubbles up as if in gigantic caldrons, congealing at the +mouths of the craters and cracking with the extreme heat. + +The coast-line is precipitous and almost impassable round Cape Esan, +therefore the track leads over the mountain. The altitude of Esan is +1740 feet above the sea-level, but owing to its rising directly from the +sea it has the look of a much more lofty mountain. Komagatage, near +Mori, is 4,011, or more than double the height of Esan, while +Makkarinupuri volcano, or Shiribeshi Mountain, as others call it, about +forty-five miles south-west of Sappro, and ten miles north of Toya Lake, +reaches an altitude of 6,440 feet. + +Iwaonobori, which I passed on the north coast in this latter part of my +journey, is 3,374 feet. Usu, on Volcano Bay, 1868 feet. Tarumai, +directly south of Sappro, only reaches a height of 2,800 feet. + +When this volcanic part of the coast round Esan Cape is passed the track +becomes easier and flatter. One comes again to the sandy beaches, and +the coast is lively with numbers of fishermen's huts, and a couple of +villages like Shirikishinai and Toi. One day's journey on horseback from +here takes you to Hakodate. The Hakodate Peak can be seen in the +distance to the west; and only a few more hours, only a few more miles, +and I should be in civilisation, I should see a few European faces, and +I should hear English spoken again. + +As I approached the sandy isthmus, and the peak grew bigger before me, I +wondered what had been going on in the world, and what news I should +receive of my dear ones. I imagined myself already devouring with my +eyes the hundreds of letters which must have been amassed at Hakodate, +waiting for me during the many months I had been away. I imagined myself +half buried in newspapers months old, anxiously reading the news of the +world. I hurried on my pony, I crossed the sand isthmus--and there I was +in the lively streets of Hakodate, gazed at by the astonished Japanese, +who, I believe, were more than a little amazed--perhaps scandalised--at +my turn-out. + +Such as I was, and before I went to the Japanese tea-house, I called at +the Consulate for my correspondence. Her Britannic Majesty's +representative, who knew me well enough, was more than thunderstruck +when I appeared before him in such a strange attire. He was smoking a +pipe, and he almost let it drop, such was his surprise. + +"Who are you?" he feebly exclaimed, looking me all over from head to +foot. "Surely you are not Landor?" he said when I told him my name. + +"I believe I am," I answered, "and I have come to trouble you for my +letters." + +"Oh, none have come; we have none," he said drily. + +And now that I was not quite so well dressed as when I had called on my +arrival at Hakodate from Southern Japan, he seemed anxious to see me off +the premises as soon as possible, I dare say for fear lest I should +expire on his doorstep. + +"But there _must_ be some letters," I said, as I was sadly leaving. + +"No, there are none. Good-bye," he repeated. + +The first glimpse of civilisation and of a civilised being was certainly +not a pleasing one. In a town where there are hardly half-a-dozen +British subjects, all told, I expected a better reception than one which +many would not bestow on a beggar to a compatriot in a foreign country. +Kindness costs nothing, and I was asking no favour. + +I left the place disheartened, but feeling that the pompous official had +made a blunder, unluckily at my expense. + +Mr. Henson, in whose house I had left all my luggage, greeted me with +open arms. He was kindness itself, and very different from the +gold-collared gentleman of the Consulate. I must say that I felt most +uncomfortable when, after having opened my trunks, I put on fresh +clothes and boots; in fact, such was the change from my late airy +costume that I caught a cold! I had now almost finished my self-imposed +task. I had made the whole circuit of Yezo, and been up all its largest +rivers, with the exception of that part of the western coast which lies +between Barabuta and Hakodate. It would mean only a few more days of +agony, and for the sake of completing my journey I left Hakodate again +the next morning at 2 A.M. in a _basha_ for Esashi, on the west coast. +The distance is fifty-seven miles, and we employed sixteen hours in +covering it. It was snowing when we crossed the hills, and it was +fearfully cold. Fortunately, the road is one of the best in Hokkaido. +Just in front of me sat a poor man piteously ill with _kaki_. His body +was dreadfully swollen and his limbs were stiff. What the poor man must +have suffered in being shaken for so many hours is beyond description. +His lamentations were heartrending. He had come to Hakodate in the hope +of getting cured, and now he was returning--to use his words--"to die +near his home." When we reached Esashi he was truly more dead than +alive. He was senseless, and had to be lifted up bodily and carried into +the house. + +Esashi is a large place, and is one of the oldest towns in Yezo. In +front lies a small oblong island, with which various wonderful tales of +treasure are connected. Its harbour is too unsafe, being exposed to all +winds, and I was told that the sea is always rough except during the +months of July and August. I believe that this is greatly due to the +currents. + +I went north to Kumaishi and Cape Ota, the most westerly point of Yezo. +About ten miles west of this cape is the small island of Okushiri, +peopled mostly by Japanese. + +The track is tolerably fair for about twenty-four miles as far as +Kumaishi. It runs either along the beach or around clay and conglomerate +rocky points, occasionally over the cliffs and through ravines. North of +Esashi, along the Assap River, is a good stretch of cultivable land; +then the thickly-wooded mountainous region begins again towards the +north. + +Kumaishi is said to be the best district for herring fishing along that +coast. + +From Kumaishi to Kudo numerous reefs extend out at sea, and small +headlands afford a safe anchorage to junks. The track is mostly on a +rough coast backed by high and well-wooded hills. Striking across the +mountains, which rise sheer from the sea, we come to Cape Ota, the most +westerly point of Yezo. From here the coast turns towards the north-east +as far as Barabuta; but as it was impossible for me to go on horseback +to that place, though only a few miles distant, I turned back and +returned to Esashi, then following the coast towards the south to +Matsumai or Fukuyama, one of the first Japanese settlements established +in Yezo, and formerly the capital of the island. The coast is rugged and +picturesque from Esashi to the two villages of Kaminokumi and Shiofuki, +after which a mountain path leads to Ishisaki. + +I found the Japanese on this coast most polite and honest, and more like +the "old Japanese" than the younger generations. + +The cliffs on the south side of the Ishizaki River were resplendent in +beauty under the brilliant red and yellow light of the setting sun. +Oshima (or Large Island) could be seen on the horizon in the distant +south. Five miles further, across a mountain track, I came to Cisango, +and five more miles beyond that place landed me at Haraguchi, two small +fishing villages, with houses resting on high posts and against the +cliffs, somewhat similar to the villages I found previous to my reaching +the Ishikari River. + +After that are eight or ten miles of a monotonous hilly road, where you +do nothing but ascend and descend one small hill after another, up and +down a snake-like or a zig-zag path; but when Eramachi is passed the +track becomes much more interesting, with its peculiar groups of rocks +of all shapes sticking out of the sea, and the long line of reef over +which the breakers roll foaming and thundering. From here by the side of +Oshima, another small island, "Koshima," is seen on the horizon. Going +south the coast gradually gets more and more picturesque, with its +pretty little fishing villages hidden among the rocks and sheltered +under the high cliffs. At Neptka a good road leads over the cliffs to +Fukuyama. + +About a mile before the town is reached, from a high point of vantage on +the road, is a pretty peep of Benten Island, just off the shore, with an +old temple on it, and by its side a new lighthouse. On the shore, a few +yards from the road opposite the island, a large rock is literally +covered with hundreds of stone images of Amida and different gods, and +two _Torii_, sacred emblems of Japan, are placed in front of it. + +I descended the slope gently and reached Koromatsumai, otherwise called +Matsumai, or Fukuyama. It is a "dear old spot," the most picturesque of +all the towns in Hokkaido. It is ancient, for one thing, while other +places are modern--some villages, indeed, only a year or two old, or +even less. Thus weather has toned down the light yellow colour of the +new wood, which is so offensive to the eye in a landscape, and is so +common in all Japanese villages of Yezo. Besides, Fukuyama has pretty +temples on the surrounding hills, and prettily-laid-out gardens with +tiny stone bridges, bronze lanterns, and dwarfed trees. It is more like +a town of old Japan. It has a three-storied castle with turned-up roofs, +as one sees on the willow-pattern plates. + +The castle, formerly the residence of the Daimio, a feudal prince, is +now a restaurant. The irregular streets of the town, the narrow lanes, +the houses blackened by smoke and age, give a certain _cachet_ which is +peculiar to the place itself. The inhabitants, too, are more +conservative than the younger colonists, and are quite "in keeping" with +the place. Unluckily, the town has seen better days! It possesses no +good harbour, and all its trade, little by little, is being carried +away by its more fortunate rival, Hakodate. The population of Matsumai +decreases considerably every year, as the inhabitants leave this +poetical but dead-alive and decaying spot for the more exciting life to +be found in newly-opened districts further east or north. + +Between Fukuyama and Hakodate, a distance of over sixty miles, the road +is extremely bad, and there is nothing whatever to see. Shirakami Cape +is interesting as being the most southern point of Yezo, and from here +the coast turns slightly towards the north-east. + +Fukushima is an old village. The other headlands, and the Cape of +Yagoshi, have no special features calling for attention. Near the latter +cape the coast is volcanic, which renders it very rugged in shape and +warmly tinted in colour. There are many villages along the coast, as +Yoshioka, Shiriuchi, Kikonai, Idzumizawa, Mohechi, and Kamiiro, and the +inhabitants seem well off and well-to-do people. + +A great quantity of coal and firewood is carried on pony-back from these +mountains to Hakodate. Rows of ten, twelve, or fifteen ponies one after +the other, loaded with as much as they can carry, can be seen slowly +travelling, under the care of one man, down to the principal port of +Yezo, especially at the beginning of the winter season; and here and +there stacks of split wood are piled ready for transportation. + +Rounding the Hakodate Bay, I was again at the point whence I had first +started, and happy that, notwithstanding all the ill-luck I had had, +notwithstanding the strain on my physique, which is not by any means +herculean, and notwithstanding all the obstacles which had come in my +way, I had finally succeeded in doing what no European had ever done +before, namely, in completing the whole circuit of Yezo at one time, +exploring all its most important rivers and lakes, studying the habits, +customs, and manners of that strange race of people, the Hairy Ainu, and +visiting the Kuriles besides. + +Many parts which I travelled over had never been trodden by European +foot, and this made my journey all the more interesting to me. As the +book stands I have related but the principal adventures which I had +during my long peregrinations in Hokkaido, most of which are intended to +illustrate Ainu customs and traits by my own personal experience rather +than to excite sympathy for my hardships. Really, though the journey +nearly cost me my life, I have never, in my extensive wanderings, +enjoyed a trip more than that to Ainuland. + +I have touched but slightly, and not more than was absolutely necessary, +on subjects relating to the Japanese; for this is intended as a work on +the Ainu. + +I was happy yet sorry to be at the end of my journey! This was the 146th +day since I first left Hakodate, and the distance I had travelled was +about 4,200 miles, out of which 3,800 were ridden on horseback, or an +average of twenty-five miles a day. The remaining 400 miles were either +by steamer or canoe travelling. + +From the day I broke the bone in my foot I travelled fifty-eight days, +mostly on horseback, and the first time it was attended to and properly +bandaged up was sixty days after it occurred, or two days after my +arrival in Hakodate, by Mr. Pooley, chief engineer on board the SS. +_Satsuma Maru_. + +Mr. Henson was again extremely kind, and pressed me to leave the +tea-house and go and stay at his place, and after five months of "hard +planks" I slept again in a comfortable bed. What a treat it was! What a +curious sensation to sleep in a bed again, and actually have sheets and +blankets! But this was not all, for surprise followed surprise. + +The pompous Consul, who for the sake of saving himself the trouble of +looking into his desk, had made my last portion of the journey wretched +and sorrowful, found that after all he was mistaken, and on the +breakfast-table in my place I found a packet of about 100 letters and +newspapers, which the Consul sent to me with a message saying that when +I called last time he had forgotten who I was, and therefore had +forgotten to give me my correspondence! + +Now that we have travelled round and through the country in every +direction; now that we have seen where the different tribes of Ainu are, +I shall attempt to give my readers some insight into the Ainu +themselves, and their mode of living. + + + + +[Illustration: WOODEN DRINKING VESSELS.] + +CHAPTER XX. + +Ainu Habitations, Storehouses, Trophies, Furniture--Conservatism. + + +Ainu architecture is by no means elaborate, let alone beautiful; but +though it is so simple, it is to a certain extent varied, differing +according to the exigencies of climate and locality. Huts of one +district vary from those of another not only in small details, but also +in the whole shape; or if the shape is the same, the materials are +different. + +The principal characteristics of the Volcano Bay and Saru River huts is, +that they have angular roofs and are thatched with tall reeds and +arundinaria, while the huts up the Tokachi River are more often covered +with bark, though in form they are almost identical with those others. + +On the Kutcharo Lake, again, the huts are thatched with tall reeds like +those of Volcano Bay, but the building itself has a totally different +shape. The roof is semicircular, and each hut is in appearance like the +half of a cylinder lying on its rectangular base. + +On the north-east coast the huts have either roofs similar to the +Kutcharo ones, or else the angle is very obtuse instead of being sharp, +as with the Piratori or Volcano Bay huts. + +In the Kuriles, at Shikotan, the Ainu have houses exactly similar to +those at Piratori. + +Setting aside the varieties of form, we shall now consider how the huts +are built. A frame is first made by horizontally lashing at short +intervals long poles to others at the angles of the roof. Often the roof +is made first and lifted up bodily on the forked poles on which it +rests. Then long reeds and arundinaria are collected in sufficient +quantity to thatch the frame thickly on each side. Other poles or +rafters are then placed over these reeds, and through them lashed +tightly to the under frame, thus preventing the thatch from being blown +or washed away. Care is taken to leave an opening for the door; and the +small east window--usually the only one in Ainu huts--is cut out +afterwards by means of a knife. Ainu huts have never more than one +storey and never more than one room and a small porch. In districts +where the climate is less severe the porch is often dispensed with. In +building their habitations the hairy people make no attempt whatever at +symmetry or beauty; all they aim at is to make themselves a shelter and +nothing more. + +There are no more professional architects than professionals of any +other kind in the Ainu country. Each man is his own architect, builder, +and carpenter. He may occasionally receive the help of a neighbour when +he is building his hut, if all hands in the family are not sufficient to +carry him through his work. + +Each family has its own hut, which is used day and night by all the +members. If one of the sons gets married he sometimes brings his bride +to live in his father's hut, or else he goes to live in his bride's hut; +but as the "hairy mother-in-law" is no better than other +"mothers-in-law," the end of this arrangement is that generally the +bridegroom has to build a habitation for himself and his better-half. +Fortunately for him, he has to pay no ground-rent; nor has he to take a +lease, nor pay the lawyer for an agreement, nor yet to buy the ground +nor the materials on which and of which his not too luxurious abode is +to be built. He chooses the site which is most suitable to him, and +there he builds his hut as best he can; and no one is any the worse or +the wiser for it. The "furnishing" is a matter of no consideration with +the Ainu, as he prefers to live in an "unfurnished house." By +instalments, however, as he finds his floor becoming rather damp, he +provides himself with a few rough planks, which afford him comfortable +sleeping accommodation; and during the winter, when fishing is not +practicable, and he spends most of his day at home, he roughly carves +for himself a moustache-lifter (the _Kike-ush-bashui_); a small paddle, +the _Hera_ (which is used both to stir the wine and as an implement in +weaving); a pestle and mortar carved out of the trunk of a tree; and, if +he be a very ambitious person and fond of his wife, he will probably +make her a weaving loom as well as two or three "water-jugs" if we may +call them so--vessels made of bark bent into shape, and lashed so +strongly as to be water-tight, and used for carrying water as needed. + +A few wooden bowls, a wooden hook, which is suspended over the fire when +bear-meat is smoked, occasionally a _Kinna_ (a mat), and a skin or two, +are all the articles of furniture of Ainu manufacture which an Ainu can +possess, though few of them possess so many. The Ainu hut has a +fire-place in the centre, or rather, a fire is lighted in the centre of +the hut. The fire is lighted with a flint and steel--a method learned +from the Japanese--or by the friction of two sticks. The more civilised +Ainu have now adopted matches. A hole in the angle of the roof acts as +chimney, but unfortunately more in name than in practice. + +Chairs, stools, sofas, beds, tables, etc., are all things unknown to the +Ainu. While inspecting the hut it may be as well to see how the +weaving-loom, the most complicated article of the Ainu household, is +made and worked. There is a "yarn beam" (the _Kammakappe_), on which the +"warp" of unwoven thread is wound and kept separated, and another "roll" +by which the warp threads in the process of weaving are kept in tension +between the two gratings. There then is the _Poro-usa_ (the "large +grating"), through the intervals of which the warp threads pass, and the +_Usa_, a similar but smaller grating placed on the other side of the +roll. + +[Illustration: THE KAMMAKAPPE.] + +[Illustration: PORO-USA, OR "LARGE GRATING."] + +[Illustration: THE USA.] + +[Illustration: STICKS.] + +The cloth is wound round a stick which rests on the lap of the weaver, +and is kept in tension by means of her wrists; and at the same time the +_Ahunkanitte_ (the "shuttle"), is passed between the two sets of warp +threads carrying the transverse thread, or "woof," from one side of the +cloth to the other and back again. This is then beaten up by means of a +long shuttle like a netting mesh, which first draws the weft into its +place, and is then used to beat it up. In some ways this form of loom is +similar to that of India. The "netting mesh" is called _Atzis-Hera_. +Finally, the _Pekoatnit_ is a bi-forked instrument for separating the +threads. + +[Illustration: THE AHUNKANITTE.] + +[Illustration: THE PEKOATNIT.] + +It is needless to say that with this primitive and homemade loom it +takes a very long time to weave a very short piece of cloth; but as time +is not money with Ainu women, and patience is one of their virtues, it +answers their purpose, and they wish for nothing better. + +[Illustration: ATZIS-CLOTH IN PROCESS OF WEAVING.] + +The thread used for manufacturing the cloth is made of the inner fibre +of the _Ulmus campestris_ bark. At the beginning of the spring the elm +bark is peeled off the trees and is put in water to soak and soften +until the inner fibres can be separated, made into threads, and wound up +round reeds. The material woven from these threads is very coarse and +brittle, except in wet weather or when soaked in water, in which case +clothes made of it cannot be worn out. + +The weaving is usually plain, but sometimes a simple pattern of black +parallel lines is woven in with the material. The natural colour of the +elm-fibre thread is dark yellow, and the black lines are composed of the +same thread stained. + +The other contrivance in Ainu huts which strikes one as being simple +but clever is the hook suspended over the fire. The rope is passed over +a rafter. One end of it is fastened to the hook, the other, as shown in +the illustration, to a piece of wood through which the hook has +previously been passed. + +[Illustration: ROASTING HOOK.] + +Mat-making is closely allied to weaving, and is worked entirely on the +same principle, but without the aid of any kind of machinery. The +bulrushes are crossed and woven coarsely, and plaited flat. One of these +mats is used in Ainu huts as a door--"the _Apa Otki_." A smaller one is +hung over or by the window. + +Naturally, Ainu huts are somewhat draughty. The imperfectness of the +door and window-fittings, the large outlet for the smoke, besides the +wind which finds its way through the thatched walls, make Ainu dwellings +"ideal" to anyone wishing to "catch his death of cold." The Ainu do not +much mind it. + +The roof is low, and from it hang the winter provisions of dried salmon +captured during the autumn. This gives an additional odour to the +already strong scent of the hut--an "ancient fish-like smell," not +redolent of the perfumes of Arabia. The smoke inside the hut is so dense +when there happens to be a fire burning that one's eyes stream with +involuntary tears, and one is nearly choked. When the days are short in +winter the Ainu sometimes light their dwellings with a stick to which is +fastened a piece of animal fat. It is hung up aloft, and when the lower +end is lighted the fat slowly melting serves to feed the flame and keep +this primitive lamp alight. Another mode of illumination is by firing a +lighted piece of birch bark on a stick previously split at the upper +end. The third way is by filling a large shell with fish-oil and burning +in it a few strings of elm-fibre. None of these methods come much into +use for everyday life, as, unlike the negroes, the Ainu are not fond of +sitting up at night, except on extraordinary occasions; and when by +chance they do sit up it is by the light of the fire only. + +If a stranger stops for the night in an Ainu hut, he is made to sleep +directly under the east window; but the family take good care to sleep +all together on the north side, which is the most distant point from +the door and the window. Occasional callers are received on the side +nearest to the door. + +The few Ainu who possess mats on which they sit during the day hang them +up at night round the hut, probably to protect themselves from the +liberal ventilation, which even those who are used to it find trying +when a gale is blowing or the thermometer is very low. + +There is no particular spot inside the hut set apart for meals, and the +refuse is either thrown into a corner of the hut or flung outside the +door and left there. It is difficult to say whether the inside or the +outside of an Ainu hut is the dirtier. Heaps of stinking refuse are +accumulated round the dwellings, and in summer-time these heaps are +alive with vermin--mosquitoes, flies, _abu_, and black-flies. It is +quite sufficient to move a step from the door to see a cloud of these +noxious insects rise, and each one of them will have a bite at you. + +Inside the house you are no better off. _Taikki_ (fleas) are +innumerable, and of all sizes, not to mention other well-known but +usually anonymous enemies of the human skin. + +The first night I slept in an Ainu hut, though I was provided with +insecticide powder, I was literally covered with bites. With my fondness +for statistics I proceeded to count them, and only from my ankle to my +knee I counted as many as 220. The rest of my body and my head were +covered in the same proportion, but I gave up the attempt to ascertain +the exact number--the task was too overwhelming. My skin, however, got +so inflamed by these bites as to produce fever, which lasted two or +three days. After that time I never again suffered to such an extent, +perhaps owing to the fact that no free spot was left to attack, or may +be from that curious process called acclimatisation. + +The Ainu huts are built entirely above ground, and are used alike in +winter and summer. + +In olden times the hut was always destroyed at the death of its owner, +or when abandoned; but in the former case the custom is seldom practised +now, and in the latter they are merely left to decay. + +It is singular that migrating Ainu, coming across an uninhabited hut, +never live in it, but build a new one for themselves. + +The Kurilsky Ainu until quite recently destroyed their huts when +migrating from one island to another. They also burnt the huts of +deceased persons. It is needless to say that the Ainu have no churches, +no hotels, no hospitals, and no public buildings of any kind. The huts +in villages are a little way from one another, and each hut has directly +in front a separate storehouse, built on piles or posts so as not to be +accessible to wolves, dogs, or rats. These are small structures, the +architecture of which has the local characteristics of the habitations, +with the exception that they are invariably on piles, while the +habitations are on the ground. Clothes, furs, mats, and winter +provisions of sea-weed are kept in these storehouses, and access to them +is by means of a peculiar ladder. It is a mere log of wood, six or seven +feet in length, pointed at one end, and with five or six incisions, +which serve as steps, and remind me of the steps cut by an ice-axe in a +glacier or on frozen snow. Natives go up and down these ladders with +ease, even when carrying heavy weights on their heads; and good care is +always taken to remove the ladder when leaving the storehouse. Women +principally look after these storehouses, and seem to have the whole +care and control of them. I have often seen an Ainu girl--for a +storehouse could hardly hold more than one--sitting on the tiny door +working at her lord and master's _Atzis_ robe. Hour after hour I have +seen her sitting there, working patiently till the sun has set and the +darkness has come. Her materials were then stowed away; the mat at the +door was let down; the ladder descended and kicked away; and sadly +singing in her soft falsetto voice, she retired into the dirt and dark +of her habitation. + +The storehouses stand about six feet above the level of the ground, and +are generally on four, six, or eight piles. Upon each pile is placed a +large square piece of wood turned downwards at the sides, so as not to +be accessible to rats and mice. Upon these square pieces of wood rest +horizontally four rafters, forming a quadrangle about eight feet square. +The small storehouse has as a base this quadrangle, and is seldom high +enough to allow of an adult to stand inside. + +Storehouses are thatched like all other houses. On the upper Tokachi, +however, they are covered with the bark of trees. + +Next in connection with Ainu habitations comes the skull-trophy at the +east end of the hut. This is on a parallel line to the hut wall, and +only a few yards away from it, and is made of a number of bi-forked +poles, upon which are placed the skulls of the bears, wolves, and foxes +killed by the owner of the hut. The Ainu is proud of this trophy, and if +the number of bear skulls is very large, he commands a certain amount of +respect from his hairy brethren. There is nothing that Ainu admire more +than courage, and there is nothing in the world that an Ainu desires +more than to be thought brave. When he has gained this character a man +becomes in a certain way the "lion" of the village. He embellishes his +trophy with a _Nusa_ and _Inaos_ (willow wands with overhanging +shavings--_see_ Chapter on Superstitions), and he always looks on it as +an evidence of his manly glory. Besides this, many Ainu possess one or +two live bears kept in cages. Bear hunters often secure one or more +cubs, which they bring home and allow to live in the hut like one of the +family or an Irishman's pig. These cubs are nursed along with and in the +same manner as the children, and Ainu say that women often put them to +the breast and suckle them like their own infants. Whether this is true +or not I cannot say; but though I have never seen it, and therefore +cannot vouch for it, it is not unlike Ainu women to do such a thing. + +When the new-comers grow big and powerful enough to be dangerous, the +men make a rough cage with logs of timber, placing them one over the +other in a quadrangular shape, and lashing them strongly together. The +bear is driven into the cage, which is then roofed over; and after a +couple of years of confinement, during which it is fattened, poor Bruin +is killed for a bear festival. In the lower part of the cage there is a +small wooden tray by which food is served to the captive. + +[Illustration: THE APE-KILAI, OR EARTH-RAKE, AS USED BY PIRATORI AINU.] + +On the north-east coast of Yezo I have also seen smaller cages, in which +foxes, eagles, or other animals are kept; and I always noticed the care +which Ainu took to feed up the imprisoned animals. That "charity begins +at home" is true even among the hairy people; for if they are kind to +animals it is only for the sake of making a good meal of them on the +first occasion that presents itself. + +It may be as well to state that the Ainu have never been known to make +pottery. What they have of the kind is imported and sold to or exchanged +with them by the Japanese. If I were an Irishman I should say that real +Ainu pottery is made of wood. Nevertheless, large shells are often used +by them as drinking vessels where wooden bowls are not obtainable. It is +a common occurrence in Ainu households that one bowl is used by several +individuals, and a more common occurrence still that none of the bowls +are ever washed or cleaned after having been used. + +[Illustration: MORTAR.] + +[Illustration: PESTLE.] + +The small Ainu porch which stands frequently at the entrance of Ainu +huts answers the purpose of a stackhouse, and in it is stored the +firewood used in the house. The wooden mortar and the long pestle are +kept in a corner under the porch. In the more civilised parts of Yezo +these pestles and mortars are general, as the natives use them for +pounding millet. + +[Illustration: BONE SPOON.] + +[Illustration: WOODEN SPOONS AS USED BY THE MORE CIVILISED AINU.] + +[Illustration: PESTLE AND MORTAR USED FOR POUNDING SALMON.] + +The pure Ainu live principally on animal food--fish and meat--sea-weed, +and some kinds of roots and herbs, which they find on the mountains. +Metallurgy is utterly unknown to the Ainu. Until of late years they +possessed nothing made of metal. Their arrows had bamboo or bone heads; +tin or iron cooking utensils they had none; and the blades of their +knives were and are of Japanese origin. Some of these blades are very +old, and were acquired by the Ainu in the battles which they fought +against the Japanese; others have been got by barter-metal exchanged for +skins of animals. + +Furthermore, save the weaving-loom, the Ainu possess no machinery of +their own make. This too, as we have seen, is but a very rude and simple +kind of machine. The application of wind or water power to economise +human labour is in no way known to them; thus they have no windlasses, +no pumps, no bellows, no windmills, no waterwheels; neither have they +any signs of the rudest form of machinery moved by manual power which +they have imagined and made for themselves. Furthermore, they are very +loth to accept those mechanical means of economising labour which are +employed by their neighbours the Japanese. + +The Ainu are very conservative, little as they may have to preserve. +They show a great dislike to change or reform their habits and customs, +or to improve themselves in any way. Worse they could certainly not be. +They have no ancestral attachment which makes them unwilling to discard +their rude practices for more civilised ways; but, acting according to +their instincts, and not by their intelligence, they preserve customs +which seem inconvenient and unpractical to us, which habit has rendered +familiar and pleasant to them. + +Various natives in other parts of the world show signs of an earlier +state of civilisation, but the Ainu do not. They have never had a past +civilisation, they are not civilised now, and what is more, they will +never be civilised. Civilisation kills them. As a hog delights in filth, +so the Ainu can only live in dirt, neglect, and savagery of personal +habits. They are made that way, and they cannot help it. They are +excluded from progress by an impassable barrier. They have many miseries +in their life, but no greater misery could befall an Ainu than to be +forced to lead a civilised existence. Even after they have been educated +in Japanese schools, when they return home, in a short time they forget +all they have learned, and discard their acquired civilisation for the +old, free, untrammelled mountain life; the wild habits of the woods and +sea-shore; the nakedness of summer and the stifling squalor of the one +small dingy hut in winter; the uncombed hair and matted beard; the +putrid flesh of salmon, and the vile compound they revel in till they +get gloriously drunk and bestial. + +[Illustration: AINU PIPE-HOLDER AND TOBACCO POUCH, AS USED BY THE MORE +CIVILISED AINU.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU KNIFE, WITH ORNAMENTED SHEATH.] + +CHAPTER XXI. + +Ainu Art, Ainu Marks, Ornamentations, Weapons--Graves and Tattoos. + + +The expression of ideas by graphic signs is utterly unknown to the Ainu. +They have no alphabet, and furthermore, they have no methods whatever of +writing. Hence the utter incapacity of the hairy people to record +events, time, or circumstances in their history; for even the system of +picture-writing is not known to them. + +Thus they have neither graven records nor any form of visible history; +and tradition transmitted from mouth to mouth is all they have by way of +historic continuity. The nearest approach made to graphic signs is in +the owner's marks, which we occasionally find on some of their +implements. The moustache-lifter is the article on which this mark is +most commonly found. What these marks are meant to represent I do not +know for certain; but I believe that Fig. 1 is supposed to convey the +idea of a house, and Fig. 2 that of a boat; Fig. 3 a bear cage, and 4 +the mere result of fancy. Even these marks are only rarely found, and +have probably been suggested by Japanese writing. + +The illustration shows the four specimens which I found carved on +moustache-lifters. + +[Illustration: 1 2 3 4] + +Closely allied with writing is, of course, map-drawing and +ornamentations. Map drawing can be dismissed at once, like that famous +chapter on snakes in Iceland, as the Ainu know nothing of it. + +Rough ornamentations on bone and wooden implements are their only +artistic efforts. Truthful representations of figures and animals are +seldom attempted,[37] but conventionalised symbols, suggested by and +based on certain forms of animal or vegetable life, are occasionally +used for ornamentation. + + [37] The only attempt at animal representation is the small + bear-head in chiefs' crowns. + +The Ainu have no rock-sculptures, and can neither paint nor draw in any +form; what they have are mere simple wood-carvings. But only a few have +any aptitude for even this crude work, though of course they are not all +alike. As with us we have people who are artistic and people who are +Philistine, so with the Ainu, in that very humble degree which is to +Western art what an acorn is to an oak. + +Like all early work, Ainu art--if we may call it so--aims at a certain +uniformity, especially in leaf-portraiture, so as to produce a somewhat +symmetrical pattern; for at all times geometry has been the mother of +design. + +An Ainu does not go for his models direct to Nature, neither does he +servilely copy his neighbour's work; but he gets his ideas indirectly +from both these sources, and through inability to copy accurately, +negligence in close study, and some amount of native imagination +combined, varies the design which he has seen to such an extent as to +make it in a sense original. The talent shown by different men in the +art of carving varies considerably, even in men of the same tribe; while +certain tribes show both aptitude and fondness for these ornamentations, +whereas others have little of either. + +It is the Ainu of the upper Ishikari River who chiefly excel in these +carved ornamentations. The knife represented in the illustration comes +from Kamikawa, and was carved with the point of a knife by the chief of +the Ainu there. It took the man many months to accomplish, and it is by +far the best specimen of Ainu workmanship that I saw in Yezo, though the +ornamentations on it are not purely Ainu in character. + +This man was a genius as compared to other Ainu, and his ideas of form +and precision were considerably more developed than in most of his race. +He has ornamented the sheath with conventionalised symbols, which were +apparently suggested to him by leaves and branches of trees; and the +suggestion of a flower can be noticed in the upper part of the handle. +A suggestion of fish-scales has been used by him to fill up small open +spaces; others he filled up with parallel lines. The sheath is made of +two parts, to allow the carver to cut the space for the blade inside; +but these two parts are well fitted together, and kept fast by six rings +of neatly-cut bark fastened on while fresh, so that by shrinking the two +sides of the sheath are brought close together, and are as if made of +one single piece. + +The side view of the same knife shows the clever contrivance for +fastening it on to the girdle without removing the latter from around +the body. This knife may be ranked among the _chefs d'[oe]uvre_ of Ainu +art. + +[Illustration: SIDE VIEW.] + +The principal characteristics of the more usual ornamentations are +interesting to study. + +[Illustration: KIKE-USH-BASHUI, OR MOUSTACHE-LIFTERS.] + +Art of course is only the personification, so to speak, the expression +of the mind, character, and knowledge of the artist; thus, in Ainu +ornamentations we have patterns which could be nothing but Ainu, taken +collectively, yet which show distinctly the temperament of each +individual. For instance, taking the moustache-lifters (Figs. 1, 2, 4 in +the illustration). Fig. 1, with its roundish, undecided, lines, was +carved by a man weak in physique and _morale_; Fig. 2, which is much +simpler and with more decided lines, was the work of a quiet but strong +and proud man; and Fig. 4, with its coarse incisions, was the outcome of +a brutal mind. + +Ainu designs, though slightly varied by each individual, are principally +formed of simple geometrical patterns; then of coils and scrolls; and, +rarest of all, because the highest attainment of all, of +conventionalised representations of animal or vegetable forms. Of the +representations from animal forms the fish-scale is the only one adopted +by the Ainu, but suggestions of leaves may not infrequently be found in +these designs. Some of these are long and narrow; others are short and +stumpy. + +[Illustration: SUGGESTIONS OF LEAVES.] + +The above are, to my mind, the models which the Ainu have chiefly taken +for their leaf patterns, following nature at a long distance indeed! + +[Illustration: ROPE-PATTERN AND SIMPLE BANDS.] + +Beside these, and much more common, are the rope-pattern and the simple +bands. Often the rope-pattern has bands above and below, especially in +drinking vessels. + +Triangles filled with lines parallel to one of the sides are frequently +met with in moustache-lifters, and occasionally the annexed patterns are +found: but as a rule the Ainu are not fond of merely straight single +lines except for "filling" purposes. These patterns are mostly used on +their graves. In articles of every-day use they prefer curves as a +foundation of their ornamentations. The lozenge pattern, especially one +lozenge inside the other, is a favourite among their geometrical +designs; also contiguous and detached circles, chevrons, double +chevrons, and triple chevrons. The chevrons are mainly used by them on +their graves, and they are invariably enclosed between two or four +lines. + +[Illustration: TRIANGLES.] + +[Illustration: CHEVRONS.] + +The two following patterns are elaborations of the foregoing, but are +much more uncommon. + +[Illustration: ELABORATIONS OF CHEVRONS.] + +The parallel incised lines and parallel lines crossing each other at +right angles are met with again and again in Ainu patterns. More common +still is the occurrence of a number of parallel lines meeting +perpendicularly another lot of parallel lines without crossing them. + +[Illustration: A COMMON PATTERN.] + +Parallel lines have a fascination for the Ainu, as we find them in most +of their designs. + +Concentric circles are not often met with, neither is the plain or loop +coil often found, owing to the difficulty of execution; but the wave +pattern and double wave are typical Ainu patterns; also the reversed +wave. + +[Illustration: WAVE PATTERNS.] + +From these may have been derived the other two, the last of which is a +mere double reversed coil. + +[Illustration: REVERSED COIL.] + +Triangular marks are occasionally "put in" by the Ainu in some of their +more complicated designs, and finally we find that, though rarely, they +sometimes attempt a kind of fret. + +Other strange forms of lines which are thoroughly characteristic of the +Ainu are the following. + +[Illustration: FRETS.] + +[Illustration: OTHER CHARACTERISTIC DESIGNS.] + +I never came across any Ainu wood-carvings that were coloured, but in +bone-carvings--which, I must add, are very rare--black is used to assist +shade, and bring out the higher lights by contrast. The Ainu have no +idea of tones, semi-tones, or gradations; the contrast is merely between +the strong black and strong white. Enamelling is not known by them. + +The objects which bear these incised ornamentations, beside the sheaths +and handles of their knives and swords and their moustache-lifters, as +has been shown, are the _Tchutti_, or war-clubs; the _Hera_, or +netting-mesh used in weaving; drinking-vessels, quivers, pipes and +tobacco-boxes, the thread-reeds, cloth-hangers, and graves. + +[Illustration: TCHUTTI, OR WAR-CLUBS.] + +The modern Ainu are not a warlike people, therefore many of the weapons +which were used in former days for defence and offence are rarely found +now. For instance, the old war-clubs are not used by the present +generation. These clubs were long and heavy, and were carried on the +wrist by a piece of rope passed through a hole at the upper end. Some +were plain and straight, others were curved towards the end to make them +heavier. Now and again some carved all over are found. Pieces of leather +or rope were often knotted round the heavier part to make the blow more +severe. In some of the very old clubs a stone was inlaid to add to the +weight and consequent efficiency of the weapon. These clubs are from two +to two and a half feet in length, and are made of hard wood. + +[Illustration: TROUGH IN WHICH RESIN IS KEPT FOR FIXING ARROW-POINTS.] + +Ainu bows are simple, and not very powerful. They are about fifty inches +in length, and made of only one piece of yew. The arrows, which are +poisoned, are of bamboo or bone. The poison is extracted from aconite +roots mixed with other ingredients. It is somewhat greasy owing to +certain fatty matters which it contains, and is smeared into the cavity +in the arrow-point, which has previously been treated with pine-tree gum +to fix the poison. The arrow-point is barbed, and so fashioned that when +the shaft is drawn from the wound this poisoned point remains. + +[Illustration: POISONED ARROWS.] + +The illustration gives two different kinds of poisoned arrows. In Figs. +2 and 3, the black part in the point shows the cavity filled with +poison. Fig. 2 shows how the arrow-head is separated from the reed, and +how when the arrow is drawn from the flesh the poisoned point remains +inside the wound. + +The arrows, when in war or hunting, are kept in a quiver, and a small +_Inao_ is hung to it to bring good luck to the owner. + +Spears and harpoons of one barb are common, and some of the poisoned +spears have heads similar to the arrows but of a larger size. Spears are +out of date now, but harpoons are still employed in fishing. + +Knives are the weapons on which a modern Ainu most relies. Some of these +knives are of such length that they might pass for swords. The blade is +single-edged, and is protected by a wooden sheath. Nearly every man +possesses one, which he carries in his girdle when dressed; when naked, +he carries it in his hand. The illustration shows knives of different +sizes, and with different patterns worked on them. From an artistic +point of view the sheaths of knives are the most carefully wrought over, +and ornamented to a greater extent than any other article of Ainu +manufacture. + +[Illustration: AINU KNIVES.] + +Then come the graves. The Ainu are very jealous of these places of +eternal rest, and good care is taken to hide them either in the midst of +a forest, on a distant and almost inaccessible hill, or in some remote +spot, difficult to find or reach. + +[Illustration: WOODEN MONUMENTS OVER MEN'S GRAVES.] + +[Illustration: MONUMENTS FOR WOMEN.] + +Each village has its own semi-secret graveyard, in which all its dead +are buried. Occasionally, when the site of a graveyard has become known +to others than these local Ainu, the place is deserted, and a fresh +place of sepulture is chosen. The manner of burial is as follows. The +body, wrapped up in a _Kinna_ (mat), is fastened to a long pole and +carried to the grave by two men. All the villagers follow, each carrying +some article which was owned by the deceased. A grave is dug, wide and +long enough to hold the body laid flat. In it are placed the bow and +arrows with their quiver, the knife--from which, for the sake of +economy, the blade has been previously removed--and the drinking-vessel +which belonged to the deceased, if he were a man. Women are usually +buried with some beads, earrings, and furs. All these articles, carried +by the mourners, are broken before they are laid in the grave with the +corpse; a few boards are then placed over the body, and earth is thrown +over these till the ground is level again. + +The grave is generally so shallow that the body is only a few inches +underground--sometimes not more than four inches. The body lies flat on +its back. Close to its head is erected a monument. For men it is the +trunk of a tree, about six feet in length, from which the bark has been +peeled off, and whereon certain ornamentations are cut. A short branch +is left on one side. The top of the tree-trunk and the end of the branch +are cut either in the shape of a lozenge, a hexagon, or a semicircle; +and a hole is made through it. At the branch end, the cloth-earrings or +the head-gear of the deceased are hung and left to decay. + +[Illustration: WOODEN BLADE.] + +Women have simpler graves; they are flat instead of round, and are cut +into the shape of a canoe-paddle. The chief of a village has a more +elaborate tomb than others if he has been liked by the villagers. At +Raishats, on the Ishikari River, I saw a really imposing monument put +over the grave of the chief who had recently died. It was of very large +size, and well carved--in the same patterns as those shown in the +illustration. Its chief peculiarity was that the body, instead of being +covered by earth, was covered by what appeared to be a canoe or +"dug-out" turned upside down, the bottom of which had been laboriously +carved. On each of the two sides, at the head and foot of the grave, was +stuck into the ground a wooden blade twenty-one inches in length, +resembling in shape the blade of a sword. Each of these four blades was +carved alike, and had a strange design resembling the number 88. Whether +a meaning is attached by the Ainu to this design I cannot say, and the +curious circumstance, as my readers will remember, through which I came +into possession of one of these blades, did not permit me to ask many +questions on the subject. I often wondered whether it meant that life +begins, goes its way round, and ends where it began? It is more likely, +though, that no meaning whatever is attached to those lines, for such +deep thoughts would hardly harmonise with the Ainu philosophy--such as +it is. The Ainu do not stop to mourn or pray or trouble themselves about +a grave when the body is once buried. Those who have touched the body +wash their hands in a tub of water which has been brought for the +purpose; afterwards the water is thrown over the grave and the tub is +smashed. The Ainu seldom visit their graveyards except when some one has +to be buried. They hate their dead to be disturbed, and nothing makes +them more angry than to know that a stranger has been near their +burial-ground. When a man is dead they try to forget all about him and +his doings, in which they generally succeed to perfection. This +naturally is not conducive to anything like continuity in the history of +the country, and may partly account for their having none. Moreover, +none of the tombs bear the name or the mark of the person to whom it was +erected. Tombs of children are of similar shape to those of adults, only +smaller in size. When carrying the dead--or, as we should say, going to +a funeral--the Ainu put on their best clothes, and when the burial is +over they all get helplessly drunk to make up for the loss of the +departed friend. + +To leave this somewhat grim subject and to return to every-day art, it +may be well to mention that the designs for embroideries differ in no +way from the wood-carvings. They are often more accurately finished, +owing to the greater facility of materials, but the lines and all the +characteristics of the patterns are the same. In the tattoos the lozenge +pattern and bands are the two more commonly used. The Egyptian cross is +sometimes met with([Illustration: egyptian cross]), and also a kind of +reversed _fylfot_, or _svastika_. Moreover, the St. Andrew's cross with +an additional line is not uncommon(X|). In the present volume this is +all I have to say on Ainu art. I may, however, add that their +ornamentations could not be more primitive, but their frequency on +weapons, clothing, implements, and graves shows us that art, though not +understood by the Ainu, has a certain fascination, which, in their +ignorance, they cannot explain. They know art without knowing what art +means. Certain lines and simple designs which are familiar to them +appeal to their taste, else they would not ornament all their articles +with them. But this does not show any great intellectual activity, for +beyond that point the Ainu brain cannot go. As art in its natural state +is merely the pictorial outcome of what the brain has grasped, we have +in these crude beginnings another strong proof that the brain-power of +the Ainu is indeed very limited, and their inability to represent animal +form seems extraordinary in view of what other savages have done; but of +course superstition may have something to say to the omission. The Ainu +rank very low in the scale of civilisation; they are probably below the +Australian blacks and the tree-dwellers of India, who are supposed to be +among the lowest races in creation. The Terra del Fuegians and certain +African tribes run them hard; but, taken all in all, the Ainu are the +furthest behind in the great race of human development. + +[Illustration: AN AINU PIPE.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Ainu Heads, and their Physiognomy. + + +The faces of the Ainu are far from ugly, and their heads are singularly +picturesque, though of course there are the finer types as there are the +meaner; by which we come to gradation and comparison. The general idea +that all Ainu are hideous has arisen from the accounts of the few who +have travelled in the more civilised parts of Yezo, and have seen and +studied only a limited number of half-breeds and actual Japanese, +mistaking them for Ainu. In one of the last publications on the Ainu, +photographs of Japanese and half-breeds are given as typical specimens +of the Ainu race; and one or two real Ainu are given as phenomena and +exceptions. That the Ainu are disgustingly filthy is undoubted; that in +many ways they are monkey-like is certain; but also that on a close +examination many are not devoid of good features is undeniable. As +regards looks, it is a great mistake to compare savages with ourselves, +and to judge of them from our own standpoint. This is no more fair than +to compare a thoroughbred fox-terrier with a thoroughbred poodle-dog, to +the disadvantage of the one or the other. Passing off half-breeds as +pure types of course makes things ten times worse, and complicates +matters for those who care for accuracy, and are interested in +anthropological researches. + +Ainu physiognomy is an interesting study. When seen full-face the +forehead is narrow, and sharply sloped backward. The cheek-bones are +prominent, and the nose is hooked, slightly flattened, and broad, with +wide, strong nostrils. The mouth is generally large, with thick, firm +lips, and the underlip well developed. The space from the nose to the +mouth is extremely long, while the chin, which is rather round, is +comparatively short and not very prominent. Thus the face has the shape +of a short oval. The profile is concave and the mouth and eyebrows are +prominent, though of course the nose projects more than the lips, yet +without being too markedly projecting. The chin and forehead recede, as +has been said, and in the supraorbital region the central boss is +extremely well marked; also the brow ridges, which, however, are +slightly less conspicuous than the central boss. The ears are usually +large, flat, and simply-developed, with long lobes; but unfortunately, +owing to the heavy weight of their enormous earrings this part of their +ears is generally much deformed. Sometimes I have seen children with a +hole in their lobes large enough for me to pass my finger through; with +others, where the skin was not so elastic, the lobes were torn right +through and the two sides hung down. In older people one does not see +this so much, as their long hair entirely covers their ears. The average +length of a man's ear is two and three-quarter inches; of a woman's, two +and a half inches. + +People have classified the Ainu as Mongolians, notwithstanding that they +possess no characteristics whatsoever of the Mongolian races. + +The colour of their skin is light reddish-brown, and not yellow and +sallow, like that of Mongolians; they are very hairy, and the Mongolians +are smooth-skinned; the features of the one race are diametrically +opposed to those of the other; the mouth is strong and firm in the Ainu +and weak in the Mongolian; and the Ainu eyes, the strongest +characteristic of Mongolian races, do not slant upwards, nor are they +long and almond-shaped, as with the Chinese or the Japanese, but with +their long axes are in one horizontal plane, as in most Europeans. +Indeed, the Ainu have a much greater resemblance to the northmen of +Europe in their prehistoric stage than to any modern races, and least of +all to the Mongolians. + +But let us examine the eye more carefully. The iris is light brown, +sometimes tending towards dark grey. One seldom sees black or very dark +brown eyes save in half-breeds; and they are deeply set, as with +Europeans. The eyelids are no thicker than those of Caucasian races, +though they droop, as is common among people exposed to the full glare +of the sun. The broad ridges being very heavy and prominent, cover part +of the upper eyelid over the outer angle of the opening. The eyelashes +are extremely long, and the eyebrows are shaggy and bushy. The eyes are +full of animal-like expression and emotional warmth, a thing very rare +with their neighbours the Japanese or Chinese. The long eyelashes +shading the large eyes and rendering them soft, together with their +pathetic and slow way of talking, make men and women singularly +interesting. Like most animals, the Ainu can "speak" with their eyes. + +The hair in Ainu adults is for the most part black, wavy, and easily +breaking into large curls. Among children, however, one sees brown +shades, which darken with years, until the hair turns quite black. Along +the north-east coast of Yezo I came across several Ainu adults who had +reddish hair and beard; and in the Kurile Islands, at Shikotan, several +of the children had light auburn hair hanging in large loose curls and +rather flaxy in texture, while the hair of adults was even darker than +that of the Yezo Ainu. + +The hair, which is coarse and strong, is uniformly and thickly planted +over the whole scalp, and reaches well down over the forehead, where, as +my readers will remember, a space is cut out or shaved off. It grows +long in men as in women, but when it exceeds ten or twelve inches it is +generally trimmed in the shape of a half-circle at the back of the head, +and is cut off level with the shoulders at the sides. The men have a +luxuriant beard, whiskers, and moustache, which grow to a great length. +The hair of the beard often begins directly under the eyes, and covers +all the lower part of the face. Many of the natives also have a few +short coarse hairs on the nose (especially noticeable in natives of the +north-east coast of Yezo). The beard, whiskers, and moustache begin to +grow in the Ainu when they are fairly young. A man at about twenty can +grow a good beard, and at thirty his beard is very long. Ainu women, +whom nature has not provided with such a luxuriant growth of hair on the +lower part of the face, make up for it by having a long moustache +tattooed on the upper and lower lip, which in their idea makes them +look "very manly" (_see_ Tattoos). Baldness is not common among +thoroughbred Ainu, even at a very old age, when, however, they generally +turn grey and then white, which gives a patriarchal appearance to the +hairy people. + +The Ainu face seldom undergoes the marked changes common to civilised +nations, as they are not subject to large emotions; but different +expressions are as easily discernible by anyone who really knows and has +studied the natives, as the different expressions in the eyes of animals +by one who is familiar with them. When the Ainu is pleased he seldom +wrinkles his face and draws back his mouth at the corners, as we do, but +he shows it by a peculiar sparkle in the eyes and by an almost +imperceptible wrinkle in his eyelids, which contract and diminish the +opening. The corners of the mouth turn slightly upwards. The smile is an +accentuation of this expression, with the additional lowering of the +eyebrows, especially in the middle near the nose, causing the forehead +to wrinkle. + +Laughter Ainu know not. During my long stay among them I never once saw +a _real_ Ainu laugh heartily, for the hero of the dab of blue paint +laughed less than he roared with pleasure; and I do not remember even +direct crosses doing so; hence travellers have reported the Ainu to be +"dull," "sad," "expressionless." + +Certainly, the first thing that strikes one on coming in contact with +them is, how depressed they look, and how, even in their work, their +games, their festivals, sadness is greater than joy. In fact, the Ainu, +with their sentimental nature, enjoy sadness. + +Astonishment and surprise are expressed by a perplexed look in the +wide-opened eyes, by raising the eyebrows, and by the contraction of the +mouth. The hands are not raised nor directed towards the object or +person causing astonishment; but if the arms be hanging down, the +fingers are widely separated. With the Ainu sorrowful emotions are more +marked than the more pleasing, the more joyous. Thus, when in low +spirits the head is bent forwards, the eyes are staring and drooping, +and the mouth is drawn downwards. In greater grief howling is added to +these signs. Ainu men occasionally indulge in quiet tears without +sobbing, but women weep copiously at the death of their children when +these are young. + +When an Ainu stands very erect, with one hand in the other in front, +and, turning his head on either shoulder, throws it back and looks down +at you with expressionless eyes, in the meanwhile raising his eyebrows, +you may be sure that he means to show contempt. If, however, his eyes +are restless and his lips quiver, if the eyebrows are rapidly brought +down over the eyelids, while he opens his eyes wide showing the whole of +the iris; if the nostrils are inflated and he breathes heavily; if the +head is thrown forward and he is slowly arching, and, as the French say, +"making a round back," you may be certain that he is in a very bad +temper, and means to go for you, if he sees his way to it. + +When obstinate, the pose of the arms and legs is similar to that by +which he wishes to show contempt, but the expression of the face is +absolutely stolid, the eyes are firm and frigid, meaning in that way to +impress you with the certainty that, come what may, he will not move +from his decision. + +When actively angry, the Ainu sneer and snarl at one another, frowning +ferociously, and showing all their front teeth, but specially uncovering +their fangs or dog teeth; the arms are stretched out, but always with +the fist open--if no knife or other weapon be held in the hand. Shame +and disgust are two expressions which one does not often see on Ainu +faces. The former I cannot describe, for I never saw an Ainu who was +ashamed of anything he had done; the latter is manifested by an upward +movement of the corners of the lips, and a curling of the nose, with a +sudden expiration almost like a snort. + +Shyness, which is the nearest approach to shame, is shown by women when +meeting a stranger, and gives them a submissive look. They bend their +heads and look down until the first emotion has passed, when they gaze +at the new-comer with a certain restlessness and curiosity, again, as in +so many of their gestures and ways, reminding one of monkeys. I never +found any shyness whatever in Ainu men; neither could I detect in them +any signs of fear for objects, animals, or powers with which they were +familiar. Things which they do not understand of course frighten them, +like eclipses of the sun or moon, or as my revolver did when I was +attacked by them at Horobets; and also when I appeared as a black-winged +rider on the north-east coast. In the latter case, unfortunately, I was +too far off to see their faces clearly, and in the former, after the +attack they showed more sensible submission to the inevitable than true +cowardice. What I chiefly saw then was here and there a face with +wide-open, undecided eyes heavily frowning; while some of the others +shrugged their shoulders and closed their eyes, waiting for the loud +report of the revolver, which unpleasant noise, heard before from +Japanese guns, always gives a shock to their nerves. + +When an Ainu wishes to show that something cannot be done, or that he +cannot prevent someone else from doing it, he neither shrugs his +shoulders like a Frenchman, nor shakes his head laterally like an +Englishman; nor does he throw out his hands like a Neapolitan, but, +quietly standing erect, and with his head slightly bent forward, he +gently lifts it up, and slowly winking his eyes, says that he cannot do +it. + +When children are sulky or displeased they frown and protrude their +lips, making a nasal noise similar to this--"Ohim"--without any of the +vowels clearly pronounced. + +Our way of nodding the head vertically in sign of affirmation and +shaking it laterally in negation is not known to the thoroughbred race. +Those, either Ainu or half-castes, who practise it have learned it from +the Japanese. The right hand is generally used in negation, passing it +from right to left and back in front of the chest; and both hands are +gracefully brought up to the chest and prettily waved downwards--palms +upwards--in sign of affirmation. In other words, their affirmation is a +simpler form of their salute, just the same as with us the nodding of +the head is similarly used both ways. + +It is quite enough to look at an Ainu's eyes to see at once whether he +consents or not, just as it is quite enough to look at a monkey's face +to know if it will accept the apple you offer it. Slyness and jealousy +are well marked in the Ainu face, and the former is seen in the +glittering, restless eyes, the latter in the sulky glance and protruding +mouth. Slyness is a very common characteristic among Ainu men; jealousy +is recognised and frequent in women. + +I could give a large number of other characteristic expressions, of less +ethnological importance, but in the present work I shall limit myself to +the principal ones which I have attempted to describe, leaving out +altogether "expressions" of half-castes, so as to avoid confusion. + +I must beg my reader's forgiveness for the "dryness" of the imperfect +description I have given of the Ainu physiognomy, as many will agree +with me that it is a great deal easier to notice unfamiliar expressions +on faces than to describe them accurately in so many words. + + + + +[Illustration: AINU MAN WALKING WITH SNOW-SHOES.] + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +Movements and Attitudes. + + +The Ainu people may be called physically strong, but yet they are not to +be compared to the Caucasian races. They are fairly good walkers, +capable mountaineers, and deft marksmen, but they do not excel in any of +these exercises, either by speed and endurance in the former two, or by +special accuracy and long-range in the latter. + +In the Ainu country most of the hard work is done by the women, who thus +surpass the men in both endurance and muscular strength. Ainu men are +indolent, save under excitement. They will cover a long distance--say +forty miles--in one day, bear-hunting, and not suffer from great +fatigue, while they will not be able to walk half that distance under +less exciting conditions. The average distance which an Ainu can walk in +one day on a fairly level track does not exceed twenty-five miles at the +rate of two and a half miles an hour. The distance he can run would not +go beyond ten English miles, and this is partly from want of training, +as he never runs if he can help it. If, however, the walk of twenty-five +miles, or the run of ten miles, had to be kept up for several days in +succession at the same pace, few Ainu could manage to hold out for more +than three days at most; while a walking average of fifteen miles and a +running average of six miles each day could be kept up for a week. In +walking and running women are as good as men in one day's distances; +but, contrary to what they are in manual labour, they lack endurance in +locomotion, and break down after the second or third day. Men regard +running as unbecoming after childhood. "If we must go quick, why not go +on horseback?" says the practical Ainu, who is as perfect a horseman as +the Indian. + +When riding, he is able to cover a distance of fifty-five miles easily +in one day on a good pony, and about seventy miles if he changes his +quadruped four times. Both men and women ride in the same fashion, +astride, and nearly always on bareback, or with simply a bear-skin +thrown over the horse. Pack-saddles are only used when carrying wood, +fish, sea-weed, or other heavy articles; and though the Japanese of Yezo +designate these by the name of _Ainu kurah_ (Ainu saddles), they are +only in reality rough imitations of their own pack-saddles. Though women +do ride on occasions, it is the men who are the true equestrians. From +their infancy they spend a great deal of their time on horseback, while +women ride only when obliged. Being, therefore, accustomed from their +earliest days to ride pretty nearly from morning to night, men can stand +many days of hard riding, and are not so easily exhausted as by walking +or running. The Ainu are good at horse-racing, as we have seen at the +Piratori festival, but foot-racing, even when the distance was short, +gave but poor results. + +Weights and burdens are carried entirely by women, and they carry them +either on the head, if the load be not too heavy, or on the back by +means of a _Thiaske Tarra_, or simply _Tarra_, a long ribbon-like band +tied round the bundle, leaving a loop which goes over the forehead, thus +dividing the weight between the shoulders and the forehead. When +carrying a weight with the _Tarra_ the woman stoops, and the greater the +weight the lower the head has to be. The strain on the forehead and +muscles of the neck is greatly modified by bending the body more or +less; the weight increasing on the shoulders in proportion as the pull +decreases from the forehead. The advantage of this contrivance is that +it leaves both hands free. Very heavy loads can be carried by average +women with this simple contrivance, and its common use may account for +the strong and well-developed necks noticeable among them, but not among +the men. Children are carried on the back of other children by means of +a modified _Tarra_ that has a stick about twenty inches long, the two +ends of which are fastened to the two ends of the band. The child +carried sits comfortably on this stick while the centre part of the +_Tarra_ rests on the head of the child-carrier. This centre part is +generally lined with a piece of skin or cloth, and ornamented with a few +simple Ainu designs. A weight which cannot be lifted with both hands is +easily borne for a long distance by the aid of the _Tarra_; and I should +think that with it a strong woman could carry on her back a load, say, +of from eighty to ninety pounds. It is difficult to institute +comparative tests of strength, as constant practice, without counting +"knack," often enables a person to perform feats which baffle a much +stronger man. Taken altogether, the Ainu strength is relative to their +height; but they are somewhat below the average Caucasian races both in +endurance, and yet more in speed and muscular power. + +[Illustration: THE THIASKE-TARRA, FOR CARRYING CHILDREN.] + +When actively employed, the Ainu can abstain from food for fourteen or +sixteen hours; when quiescent for about twenty. They can go without +drink (when it is not alcoholic) for ten or twelve hours without feeling +inconvenience. A pebble is often sucked, or a straw is chewed when fluid +is not obtainable, thus causing a flow of saliva, which to a certain +extent quenches their thirst. However, the reason given by the Ainu is +not this. According to them, certain stones and some kinds of grass +contain a great amount of water. + +More interesting to me than their physical characteristics were their +movements and attitudes, which I was able to study and note correctly +without their observation. For instance when Ainu try to move some heavy +object they pull it towards them. Thus, when they drag their "dug-outs" +and canoes on shore, and again when they launch them, they never push +from them, but always pull towards them. If an Ainu has to break a stick +planted in the ground he does it by pulling it; whereas a Japanese will +push it. Again, in pulling a rope the Ainu pull; the Japanese push by +placing the rope over one shoulder and walking in the direction wanted. +In a crowd where a Japanese would push his way through by extending his +arms and thus separating people, the Ainu seizes a man on each side, +pulling one to the right and the other to the left till space for him to +pass is made. + +As muscles are only strengthened by exercise, it is not astonishing that +we never find well-developed arms among the hairy people, who so seldom +make vigorous use of them. Children are as fond of climbing trees as the +average English boy; and sometimes this is done in our way, by putting +the legs and arms round the trunk and gradually "swarming" up; but with +trees of a small diameter the ways of monkeys are adopted. The arms are +stretched, and one hand is placed on each side of the tree. Both feet +are then pushed against the trunk, keeping the leg slightly bent, but +stiff. One hand goes rapidly over the other, one foot above the other, +and so on; and the more rapid the movement the easier the climb, if care +be taken to plant the feet firmly so as not to slip. Ainu boys are +dexterous at this; but I have never seen full-grown men attempt it, +though I am sure they could if they chose. Elderly people are very +sedate in Ainuland, and violent movements are generally avoided. + +Where the Ainu are indeed great is at making grimaces. The Ainu resemble +monkeys in many ways, but in this special accomplishment they beat +monkeys hollow. It would take volumes to describe all the different +grimaces which I saw them make, especially at myself while I was +sketching them; but one or two of their "favourites" may prove worth +describing. + +One Ainu at Shari, on the north-east coast, excelled in moving his +scalp, and by raising his eyebrows at the same time creased the skin of +his forehead to such an extent as to make his eyebrows almost meet his +hair. The nostrils were expanded and the upper lip was raised so as to +show the teeth firmly closed. The same man was also good at moving his +ears. Others preferred to put out their tongue, emitting at the same +time a harsh sound from the throat. + +Although many Ainu could not voluntarily move their scalp they often did +so unaware. When eating, especially if a piece of food required some +effort to swallow, the neck was outstretched, the mouth closed tight, +the eyebrows raised high, and the scalp brought far forward over the +forehead. In masticating, the ears would sometimes move involuntarily, +as with dogs or monkeys. + +The Ainu are also good at rapid "winking," first with one eye, then the +other, each eye playing at an inexpressibly funny kind of bo-peep. _En +revanche_, they make no great use of their hands, and it is not uncommon +for them to use their feet to assist their hands. Indeed, their toes are +supplementary fingers, and they often hold things between the big toe +and the next, as when making nets or _Inaos_ (wooden wands with +overhanging shavings). When making nets, the string is firmly held by +the big toe bent over; when shaping _Inaos_ the lower point of the wand +is passed between the two toes, which keep it fast while the long +shavings are cut. + +When women wind the thread made of the _Ulmus campestris_ fibre, they +often let it run between the two larger toes while they wind it on a +spool or a reed. Then, again, the toes are often used to pick up small +objects out of the reach of the hands, and also to scratch the lower +extremities. The two middle fingers of the hand and the three smaller +toes of the foot are seldom used by the Ainu, and are somewhat inert. +The little finger is slightly more active. Whenever Ainu point at +anything they habitually do so with the open hand, for they have a +certain difficulty in using any finger separately. This difficulty is +not so great with the first finger; but where a European would use only +his thumb and first finger, an Ainu uses all four fingers and his thumb +as well, as in carrying food to his mouth, picking up small objects, +lifting a cup, pulling his own hair, scratching his ears, &c. That the +Ainu have more muscular power in the head than either in the hands or +feet when violent exertion is required is certain, as I had frequent +proof when requiring natives to make my baggage fast with ropes to my +pack-saddle. Where a European would have done this by passing the ropes +round the baggage and pulling them fast to the saddle, the Ainu set his +foot (generally the right) against the baggage and pulled the ropes with +his teeth. By this method he used one-third more force than he would had +he done his work with his hands. Though the Ainu are very supple about +the body, they are nevertheless stiffer than we are about the knees and +hands, which last peculiarity prevents them from learning any kind of +sleight-of-hand. They are supple because of the singular flexibility of +their spine and the "looseness" of their arms about their shoulders. +When resting or tired, the shoulders droop so far forward as to prove +that the muscular tension which we constantly exert to have "square +shoulders" is foreign to the hairy people. The Ainu are deficient in +biceps, and such an arm as a blacksmith's or athlete's, which is not +uncommon among ourselves, is in Ainuland a thing unknown. Their muscles +have not the firmness of those of civilised men. Want of use entails +loss of power in the muscular system, and that, unfortunately, produces +further results in paralysis, _kaki_, and rheumatism. In the legs the +_tendo Achillis_, which often assumes such enormous proportions with us, +is only moderately developed with them, though it is generally larger +than the biceps, owing to the habit of walking and riding. +Notwithstanding this, the centre of muscular power, as we have seen, is +undoubtedly in the head, as with inferior animals; and the Ainu are +fully aware of this, for if not why should they carry all weights on the +head or by the help of the head? Why should they use their teeth instead +of their hands when an extra powerful pull is required? And why should +they _push_ with their heads when pulling with their teeth is not +practicable? + +Having examined the different movements of the Ainu, let us now take +some account of their attitudes. What struck me most was the +unconscious ease with which they stood, sat, and slept, no matter in +what circumstances. + +It may be well to repeat here that the Ainu are not burdened, as we are, +with articles of furniture and a code of manners which so greatly modify +our attitudes and make us conscious of all we do. Moreover, we wear +crippling boots and nonsensical garments, which, besides not being +ornamental, more or less alter and deform different parts of our body, +considerably restrict certain attitudes, and greatly stiffen some of our +limbs; as, for example, the exaggerated smallness of waist in women. + +It is remarkable what a close resemblance the hairy people bear to the +prehistoric man as constructed by _savants_ out of skulls and +skeletons--a resemblance found, I believe, in no other race of savages. + +Take an Ainu standing at ease; he carries his head straight, but without +stretching his neck, so that if a horizontal line were passed through +the _meatus auditorius_ it would cut the face directly under the eyes. +If another line were drawn perpendicular to the horizontal, we should +find that the front of the face is not on the same plane with the +forehead, but projects considerably beyond in its lower part. In +thoroughbred Ainu the head is well posed on the cervical vertebrae, and +seldom shows an inclination from back to front, from right to left, or +_vice versa_; but in half-castes an inclination forward, and also +slightly from the left to the right, is a marked characteristic. + +The body when standing still is a trifle inclined forward, but when +walking the inclination is greatly increased. + +The body is well balanced, and this inclination is partly due to the +head being abnormally large for the body; also to the habit of keeping +the knees slightly bent either when standing still or when in motion. + +The women, through carrying heavy weights on the head, are straighter +than men when standing as well as when walking without a burden. Their +spinal column describes a gentle curve inwards, while with men it has a +slight tendency outwards. When an Ainu is standing at rest his arms hang +by his side, the palms of the hands are turned inwards with a small +inclination towards the front. But a pose which is even more +characteristic than this is when both hands are placed in front, the +fingers of the right hand overlapping those of the left. When sitting +this is their invariable attitude, but in walking the arms hang by the +side, and no swing is given to them to help the motion. In running, the +arms are bent, and sometimes the hands are kept half opened about the +level of the shoulders. + +The Ainu legs, notwithstanding their greater muscular power than that of +the arms, are neither stout nor well-developed--but they are wiry. The +hips are narrow, and the legs are slightly curved. + +The gait is energetic but not fast, each step being flat, with the foot +firmly planted on the ground. When in motion the feet are perfectly +straight, and move parallel to each other, and at each step the heel and +toes touch the ground at the same time--an undeniable proof that the +body is well balanced when they walk. + +The Ainu walk mostly unshod, and the average length of the step in men +is twenty-six inches (from heel of left to tip of right foot), and in +women about twenty inches. The average number of steps to the minute is +ninety-two in men and ninety-eight in women. Where the Ainu is seen at +his best is when he is riding bareback. He sits so firmly that animal +and rider seem to be only one body. The knees are slightly bent, and the +legs and feet hang so that the toes are a great deal lower than the +heels, and are also turned in. No voluntary muscular contraction is +affected on the muscles of the legs; for if the knees are bent this is +because of the shape of the horse's body, and if the rider "sticks" on +his steed it is merely by the counterbalance of the dead weight of his +two legs. The body of the rider is quite erect when riding gently, but +on increasing speed the body is thrown backwards, the legs remaining in +the same position. The single rein is held in the right hand resting on +the horse's mane, and the left arm habitually hangs or rests on the +rider's leg. When feeding in his hut, the Ainu sits cross-legged, but in +places where he can lean against something, or out in the open, he +squats, bearing his weight on both feet, but with the legs bent to such +an extent that his head is on a level with his knees. Often his arms are +rested on the knees themselves, and food is passed with the hands to +the mouth, to be then torn by the teeth. No forks, spoons, or chopsticks +are used by the thoroughbred Ainu; but Japanese influence has induced +some of the more civilised specimens of Volcano Bay and Piratori to give +up partly the use of mother Nature's forks and take to the _Hashi_ +(chopsticks), also to adopt some ugly tin spoons as the sign of their +adherence to civilisation. Lastly, when asleep the Ainu generally lie +flat on the back. Sleeping on the right side and resting the head on the +bent elbow is also a common posture; and when sleeping for a short +period of time during the day I have often seen men still sitting, bring +up their legs, cross their arms on their knees, and then rest the head +on the arms; thus placidly having a "nap" without waking up with a stiff +neck, stiff legs, and "pins and needles" in their arms, which would be +the sure result if the average European tried that mode of repose. + +Most Ainu have no bedding of any kind, and most of them sleep on hard +rough planks or on the ground itself. Some of the people, however, sleep +on bear-skins in winter, as it keeps them warm, and the colder the night +the closer all the members of the family pack together to warm each +other with their natural heat. A strange peculiarity, when Ainu are +asleep, lying flat on their back, is, that instead of keeping both legs +fully stretched out, one, or sometimes both, are raised and bent, with +the sole of the foot planted on the ground. This peculiarity is chiefly +noticeable in men, and I have observed it many times, especially in old +people. The reason of it is this. The Ainu having no pillow, the head +has to be turned so far back to rest on the ground itself that action at +the other end of the body is necessary to counterbalance the strain on +the spine. I came to this conclusion by being often placed in the same +circumstances as the hairy people themselves, when I found that lying +flat on my back on the hard unpillowed ground, if the legs were +straightened only a small portion of the spine between the shoulders was +supported, but by raising the legs the whole spinal column rested on the +level surface. + +As we have now seen the Ainu asleep in a "comfortable attitude," we +shall leave them for the present, and I shall take my readers to examine +their clothes, their ornaments, and their tattoos. + + + + +[Illustration: THE ATZIS.] + +[Illustration: ATZIS, AFTER JAPANESE PATTERN.] + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +Ainu Clothes, Ornaments, and Tattooing. + + +[Illustration: WINTER BEAR-SKIN COAT.] + +The Ainu men generally go naked in summer time, but in some parts of +Yezo civilisation has forced them to adopt cheap Japanese clothes. It +must not be supposed from this that the real Ainu never wear any clothes +at all, for indeed on grand occasions they dress gaudily enough, but +always in a rude, elementary kind of way. For winter use they sew +together the skins of either bear or deer, fox or wolf, making a kind of +sleeveless jacket, which protects the chest, the shoulders, and the +back. Another kind of fur garment of deer-skin is longer and has +sleeves, is large at the shoulders, and very narrow at the wrist, as a +still further protection against the cold. This deer-skin coat is mostly +worn by women as an under-garment. Besides these fur garments for winter +weather, they wear the _atzis_, a long reddish-yellow wrapper, made of +the woven fibre of the _Ulmus campestris_. It has sleeves similar to the +deer-skin coat, only these sleeves are a great deal wider. + +[Illustration: BACK OF ATZIS.] + +On the southern coast some of the civilised tribes have either adopted +Japanese _kimonos_ altogether, or make their _atzis_ after the same +pattern, to ingratiate themselves with their masters, on the principle +of imitation being the sincerest flattery, and perhaps also because they +come cheaper in the end. The _atzis_ reaches below the knees, and is +folded round the body. It is kept in position by a girdle or belt of the +same material, or of bear or sea-lion skin. This _atzis_ is ornamented +with embroidery both back and front, round the sleeves, round the neck, +and all round the border, or, as we should say, hem. The embroideries +are done in Japanese coloured cottons and threads. The colours are +invariably red, blue, and white, on a background of this yellow _Ulmus +campestris_ cloth. They have the same characteristic patterns, and are +identical with the ornaments on knife-sheaths, drinking-bowls, +moustache-lifters, &c., as the readers will find in the chapter on the +"Arts of the Ainu." Men and women wear _atzis_ of the same shape, only +those of the women are longer than those of the men, and reach nearly to +the feet. Moreover, the patterns which are embroidered on the men's +dresses are not considered suitable for the women's, and _vice versa_. +Women--who, by the way, do all these embroideries--have to content +themselves with the simplest patterns devisable--a mere thin line of +blue stitches; but they give to the men a more elaborate ornament. They +first sew on heavy bands of material, which then they embroider in +highly complicated patterns, thus giving a much heavier and handsomer +appearance to the male _atzis_. In winter the sleeveless fur jacket is +sewn over the _atzis_, and, as has been said, women wear the deer-skin +gown as an under-garment. Ainu embroideries vary considerably, not only +in different tribes and different villages, but also in each family, +according to the talent and patience possessed by the embroidress. It +takes an affectionate wife a year or longer to ornament the elm-bark +dress of her beloved husband, and in the case of a chief's robe the work +never comes to an end, as additions are constantly made. Children have +an extremely simple embroidery, when any, round the sleeves and hem of +the _atzis_, but never any, simple or elaborate, either on the back or +front. + +I have often seen women working patiently hour after hour while sitting +on the tiny door of their storehouses; and the result of their labour +would be half an inch of coarse stitching, which for them was a great +work of art. Most Ainu now possess needles of Japanese manufacture, but +in former days they had only bone needles, and instead of fine well-dyed +Japanese thread were obliged to be content with the fibre of the elm +tree dyed black. The ornamentations on the _atzis_ of Ainu who have no +Japanese needles are necessarily a great deal coarser and simpler than +those which are done with steel needles and cotton threads. The +essential characteristics are the same in both. In sewing together skins +for winter garments fish-bone needles are often used up to this day. + +These embroidered clothes, when new, are only worn on grand occasions, +as at a bear festival, or when paying a visit to a neighbouring village. +A few rags constitute the usual every-day costume, and no difference is +made between the in-door and the out-of-door clothing. In fact, most +Ainu sleep in their clothes, such as they are. + +[Illustration: THE "HOSHI."] + +One article of dress which is worn by all alike, young and old, male or +female, is the _hoshi_, or leggings. Like their gowns, these are +sometimes made of the inner fibre of the elm-tree bark and sometimes of +rushes and reeds plaited as in the ordinary rush matting. When of +elm-tree bark, they are often embroidered in the upper part, as can be +seen in the illustration. They are fastened just under the knee by means +of the two upper strings, then wrapped tightly round the leg and bound +round the ankle with the lower and longer ribbon. The Ainu go barefooted +in the summer, but during the winter months, when the cold is too severe +for this, they cover their feet with mocassins and long boots made of +salmon-skin, and often of deer-skin. When the Ainu goes for a long +journey or a hunt, during which he has to traverse rough ground, he +generally protects his skin boots--the soles of which would soon be +destroyed by the sharp stones and ice--by slipping over them a pair of +thick rope sandals, which protect the sides, the back, the toes, and +sole of the foot. If to this inventory be added a head-gear consisting +of a band wound round the head, and an occasional apron, the whole of +the Ainu wardrobe is catalogued. This band, which is worn principally by +women, is untied and removed when saluting or meeting a man, whether on +the road or in the woods. A Japanese towel often takes the place of the +native manufacture. I am inclined to think that this custom of covering +the head has been acquired from the Japanese, as none of the Ainu of the +Upper Tokachi--the only pure ones remaining--wore anything in the shape +of band or kerchief, while it is extremely common with the Ainu of +Volcano Bay and Piratori to wear these unbecoming towels. At Piratori +the Ainu women give a more artistic character to this ugly headgear by +embroidering it in front and wearing it like a tiara. An apron is +occasionally worn by Ainu, but this too, in my opinion, has been +borrowed from the Japanese. Ainu clothes often get undone, owing to +their shape, and therefore Ainu men sometimes wear these aprons, but +rather because they are made to wear them than from native modesty or +inclination to be commonly decent. I have seen Ainu on the north-east +coast of Yezo and on Lake Kutcharo wear coarse hats of matted rushes. +When laid flat, these hats have a diameter of about thirty inches; but +when worn, they are folded in two, and kept in this position by a string +tied under the chin and passed through the hat. They are used +principally in winter as a protection against the snow. The Ainu care +more to adorn than to clothe themselves. A few glass beads, a metal +earring, a silver coin, or anything that shines, can make a man or a +woman as happy as a king. Intoxicants come first of all things, but +after them there is nothing in this world that Ainu cherish more than +personal ornaments, and this is, of course, even truer of women than of +men. What strikes a stranger when looking at an Ainu for the first time +is, as I have already said, the size of their metal earrings and heavy +glass necklaces. As the Ainu cannot work in metals or make glass, these +ornaments have been purchased from Japanese, Chinese, and Corean +adventurers, and many costly skins of bears, foxes, wolves, or seals are +gaily bartered for a few beads, worth next to nothing. The Ainu is fond +of metals, but he does not know the difference between one and the +other. All that glitters is gold for him; and if it is not gold then it +must be silver. Therefore some Ainu are known to have invested all their +fortune of valuable furs for a pair of brass earrings, and, what is +more, they have never grudged the bargain! Previous to the importation +of these worthless articles their ornaments were made of wood, bone, and +shells, of which "survivals" are still to be seen with the Ainu of the +Upper Tokachi. + +[Illustration: BOOTS TO BE SOAKED IN WATER SO AS TO TAKE SHAPE OF FOOT, +AND TO BE KEPT UP WITH A STRING.] + +[Illustration: DEER-SKIN SHOE.] + +[Illustration: THE TARRA OR HEAD-BAND.] + +The large circular earrings are much prized: men and women alike wear +them. Many men, however, do not wear these metal earrings, but prefer +instead a long strip of red or black cloth, or skin. + +The lobes of the ears are frequently torn down by wearing these heavy +earrings from early childhood, and they know not how to mend them by +sewing them. Another hole is sometimes bored in the upper and sound +part. + +Ainu women of civilised districts occasionally wear metal finger-rings, +but these are of course of foreign make, and imported. + +Ainu _menokos_ (girls) seem to have no partiality for bracelets or +amulets, but necklaces are the dream of their life. The delight of an +Ainu woman in a new necklace is in proportion to the size and number of +the beads. A woman who possesses one of extra large beads is envied by +all her less fortunate neighbours; and she who has several strings is at +once admired and hated by all the womankind of the village. For, indeed, +Ainu women are "human" enough to know how to hate each other! The beads +which most take their fancy are the blue, black, white, or metal ones. +The larger beads in the necklace are in front; and the rough wooden +pendants with bits of bone, metal, or broken beads inlaid in it, which +hang to the necklace, rest on the breast. Large Japanese sword-hilts are +often used as pendants by the Volcano Bay natives. + +The Ainu of the Upper Tokachi region had none of these beads, but a +rough wooden pendant was suspended round their neck by a leather string. + +Girdles are worn by men and women for two purposes--first, to keep their +clothes together; next, to support the large knives which the Ainu +always carry with them. + +The Ishikari Ainu who lived formerly in Sakhalin wear leather belts, and +the women wear besides a peculiar cloth headgear. Both these articles +are ornamented with drops of melted lead and Chinese cash sewn on to the +cloth. + +These are all the articles of clothing and ornament which are in common +use among the Ainu. None of them are worn as symbols of rank, or to +denote virginity. No Ainu can explain why he or she wears one thing more +than another, except for the reason that he or she likes it. There are +no Ainu laws as regards clothing, and with the exception of the "chief," +who on special occasions dresses more gaudily, and wears a crown made +either of willow-tree shavings or dried sea-weed, with a small +carved-wood bear head in front, they all dress pretty much alike. A +chief could not be distinguished from a commoner by his everyday +clothing. + +Speaking of personal ornamentation, I may as well describe the way in +which the hair is dressed, and also the tattoo-marks. + +Little care is taken of the long hair, which reaches down to the +shoulders. It is never washed, nor brushed, nor combed. At the back it +is cut in a semicircle round the neck. Over the forehead the men shave a +small part of the long hair, which, falling over their eyes, is +uncomfortable to them; but women do not. Until lately this shaving was +done with sharp shells, and wives shaved their husbands. The process was +said to be rather painful, and the thoughtful women have now adopted +knives for that purpose, to the great delight of the stronger sex. The +part shaved is in the shape of a lozenge two and a half inches by two +inches respectively from angle to angle. This open space causes the hair +to part in two different directions and hang down in large wavy curls. +The fingers are occasionally passed through it, and then with the palms +of the hands it is plastered down on both sides. + +A characteristic Ainu method of making the morning "toilette" is to bend +the head low and let the long hair fall over the forehead. The two hands +are then placed under it on the temples, and suddenly and violently the +head is shaken and thrown back, the hair being pressed down by the hands +at the same time. If the first attempt at neatness is not approved of, +the process is repeated two or more times. I must confess that +personally I could seldom see any marked difference between a head of +hair "dressed" and one "not dressed"; but it must be remembered that the +Ainu have no looking-glasses, and what they think is right is of course +right for them. + +Formerly, when an old woman lost her husband she had her head entirely +shaved, and when the hair had grown long again she repeated the process +as a proof of fidelity and affection to her deceased spouse. It is very +rarely done now. She used to wear a sort of cap, with an aperture at the +top, round the crown of the head during the time that her hair was +short; and it was incumbent on the widow to wear a look of sorrow and +pain till her hair grew long again. + +The Ainu men have long beards and moustaches, which are never trimmed, +with the exception of the Kurilsky Ainu, who trim theirs. The beard +begins to grow when they are very young, but it is shaved till they +reach manhood. It is then left to grow naturally, and never touched +again as long as they live. Ainu women, whom nature has not favoured +with such a manly ornament, supplement their deficiency by having a long +moustache tattooed on their lips. Their hands and arms are also +tattooed. + +The tattooing among the Ainu is limited to the fair sex, and it is +confined to the head and arms. Why and when the fashion was adopted is +not known, and the semi-Ainu legends on the subject are very vague. One +legend says that when the Ainu conquered Yezo, which was then inhabited +by a race of dwarfs--"the Koro-pok-kuru"--some Koro-pok-kuru women came +to the Ainu camp to beg food from them, and they did so by passing their +arms through the reed walls of the Ainu huts. One day an Ainu clutched +one of these arms and pulled it in, when a tattooed pattern on the tiny +arm was greatly admired by the hairy conquerors, who adopted the +practice from that day. + +A simpler reason is that the women, not being so hairy as the men, are +humiliated by their inferiority in that respect, and try to make up for +it by tattooing themselves. In support of this theory may be quoted the +fact that women are only tattooed in parts which are left uncovered when +clad in their long _atzis_ gowns. + +The Ainu process of tattooing is a painful one. The tattoo marks are +usually done with the point of a knife; not with tattooing needles, as +by the Japanese. Many incisions are cut nearly parallel to each other. +These are then filled with cuttlefish-black. Sometimes smoke-black mixed +with the blood from the incisions is used instead. On the lips the +operation is so painful that it has to be done by instalments. It is +begun with a small semicircle on the upper lip when the girl is only two +or three years of age, and a few incisions are added every year till she +is married, the moustache then reaching nearly to the ears, where at its +completion it ends in a point. Both lips are surrounded by it; but not +all women are thus marked. Some have no more than a semicircular tattoo +on the upper lip; others have an additional semicircle under the lower +lip; and many get tired of the painful process when the tattoo is hardly +large enough to surround their lips. The father of the girl is generally +the operator, but occasionally it is the mother who "decorates" the lips +and arms of her female offspring. Besides this tattooed moustache, a +horizontal line joins the eyebrows, and another line, parallel to it, +runs across the forehead. The tattoo could not be of a coarser kind. A +rough geometrical drawing adorns the arms and hands of women, the +pattern of one arm being often different from that of the other. +Frequently only one arm is tattooed. I never saw tattoos that went +further than the elbow, neither did I see any other part of the body +tattooed. The four specimens given in the illustration show the patterns +most usual in different tribes, though each individual has some slight +variations. + +Fig. 1 was copied by me from the arm of a woman at Frishikobets +(Tokachi River); Figs. 2 and 3 are the two arms of Kawata Tera, a girl +of Tobuts (north-east coast of Yezo); and Fig. 4 is the left arm of a +girl at Piratori. + +[Illustration: TATTOO-MARKS ON WOMEN'S ARMS.] + +It will be noticed that in the regions where the Ainu have come in +contact with Japanese, rings are tattooed round the fingers, while the +Tokachi Ainu women have none. In the two arms of Kawata Tera (Figs. 2 +and 3) the dissimilarity of the two patterns is very marked at first +sight, but on a close examination it is easy to perceive that the +operator meant to carry out the same pattern on the right arm as on the +left; only through his incapacity to reproduce correctly his former +lines, or for other reasons, he got muddled up in the design, and left +his work unfinished. If all the lines in the upper half of Fig. 3 were +continued, the design would be very similar to Fig. 2. + +Tattooing is considered an ornament, besides, as I have already +mentioned, adding the coveted air of "virility" to women. There is no +religious feeling connected with it, and the practice is rapidly dying +out, as the Japanese men make fun of the Ainu women, who after all only +tattoo their mouths and arms, while they themselves often tattoo the +whole of the body. The Ainu have no rules as to when the girls are to be +operated on. They are done both before and after marriage, contrary to +what has been said, that the women do not tattoo themselves after they +have become wives. The moustache is generally finished before a girl +gets married, as she herself is anxious to be thus decorated; but there +are no rules as to virginity or marriage, for the arms and hands are as +often tattooed after marriage as before. Indeed, in the Ainu country, +"tattooing" one's wife seems to be one of the pleasures of the +honeymoon. The design of these tattoos is meant to be, but is seldom, +symmetrical. The Ainu apparently execute these designs on a preconceived +plan, but the results rarely come up to expectation, as no drawing of +the design is prepared beforehand. The bluish-black colour of the tattoo +is very permanent and strong, and many an Ainu woman is disfigured for +life, who, according to our ideas, would otherwise be good-looking. + +[Illustration: SNOW-SHOES.] + + + + +[Illustration: AINU SALUTATION.] + +CHAPTER XXV. + +Ainu Music, Poetry, and Dancing. + + +The music of each nation has certain characteristics of its own; and +though according to European ideas the music of what are called +barbarous peoples may sound in some sense excruciating, it always has a +certain occult charm, more especially to one who is able to forget his +former training, and teach himself to see, hear, and think in the same +way as the natives he is studying. + +Undoubtedly we Westerns have brought music to a pitch of refinement that +no savage nation has even attempted to reach; but in my opinion we do +savages injustice when we call their music "unmitigated discord." +Barbarians like the Ainu do not indicate their rhythmical effects and +modulations by means of a musical notation; and harmony is of course +very defective with them, from our point of view. On the other hand, the +feeling and passion with which they chant their songs make them go +straight to the heart, if as a melody they are not always pleasing to +the cultivated Western ear. + +An Ainu seldom sings for the mere pleasure of art as art, and it is only +when full of joy or "crazed with care" that he gives expression to his +feelings in music. Then he pours out his whole soul in that which to +him is melody beyond the power of words to compass. + +After a hunt, a fishing expedition, a journey, or a misfortune, the Ainu +enters his hut and seats himself cross-legged on the ground. He then +holds out both hands with the palms together, and rubs them backwards +and forwards three or four times; after this he raises them, palms +upwards, to a level with his head, gracefully lowers them to his knees, +and then, raising them again, strokes his hair and beard. Again he +lowers his hands twice, thrice, or even more times, according to the +amount of respect to which the person saluted is entitled, the latter +following in every smallest detail the motions of his saluting friend. +When this complicated salutation has been performed separately before +each male member of the household, the new arrival relates the tale of +his good-or ill-luck; and if the events be of an unusual character the +story is chanted in a sort of sing-song which makes each note of joy or +lamentation vibrate in the heart of the listener. It is only in such +circumstances of stress of feeling that I ever heard the Ainu sing, +though sometimes women and young folks when alone, fishing, riding, or +travelling, sing out bits of their past lives as they remember this +scene or that event. + +Ainu music is almost entirely vocal, and their singing has more the +character of the _recitative_ than of the _aria_ proper. Their songs are +always for _solo_; and during my stay among the hairy people I never +heard a concerted piece, nor even an air or a single voice with a chorus +for a number of voices; neither did I hear any songs performed by men +and women together, but invariably by men to other men, and by women to +other women. It seems to me that the reason why they have no choruses is +their strict etiquette, which forbids them to interrupt a speaker till +he has finished his narrative; and as their songs are only narratives +which the musical sing-song makes more impressive, it seems more than +probable that the reason I have given is the right one. If a singer +during his narrative stops, and is silent for a minute or two, another +takes up the "lost chord" in exactly the same intonation of voice, +asking a question or singing words of comfort, anger, or scorn, as the +case may be; but no Ainu ever joins in the song before the person +singing has stopped. + +The hairy people are fond, not only of their own, but of all music, and +their ear is acute enough to hit a tone or note when sung to them, and +even to remember with more or less accuracy a short air after they have +heard it two or three times. Many who have come in contact with the +Japanese have learned from them songs of a totally different character +from their own. Of my personal experience I can speak of a boy who, +while I was sketching, heard me sing a few bars of the _Trovatore_. An +hour or two later I heard him repeat this passage, certainly with an +Ainu _libretto_, and somewhat Ainuized; but for all that he had managed +to catch the melody, which showed that the lad must have had some +musical instinct as well as a good musical memory. + +[Illustration: SIDE VIEW OF THE "MUKKO."] + +[Illustration: A "MUKKO," OR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.] + +The Ainu are remarkably quick at reproducing sounds which are direct +imitations of noises, cries of animals, &c., and it is instinctive in +them, as when children they are not taught or trained to do so. The +education of Ainu children is indeed a thing far to seek in every way, +and what they know is self-taught. Nature is their only school. The Ainu +voice is pleasant, flexible, and very soft in quality. The men are +mostly baritone and bass, the women alto; but when singing, a falsetto +is preferred to the natural voice, especially by the women, and this +always without an instrumental accompaniment. Musical instruments are +more than rare among the Ainu; indeed, I saw only one, which is now in +my own possession. It is a black-stained wooden instrument, fifty-one +inches in length and three wide. The upper part is flat, the under is +half a cylinder scooped out by a knife, while five keys are fixed in the +short neck, in which a cavity is cut, leaving a space for the strings to +be tied to each key. The top is circular, and flattened on each side. +One very small hole is bored exactly in the middle of the instrument and +another is at the lower end, where the point of a triangular piece of +leather, seven inches long, is passed through and fastened by a knot +tied in the leather on the opposite side. The five strings, which are of +_Ulmus campestris_ fibre, are fastened to this leather piece and then to +each key. A peculiarity of this instrument is, that it has two +prism-shaped bridges, and they are placed at each end of the harmonic +case. The Ainu call it _mukko_, which word, however, means only a +musical instrument; and as it is applied by them to all Japanese +instruments of music, it shows that they do not distinguish very sharply +one instrument from another. Though in my long journeying I found one of +these _mukkos_, I was never able to discover any Ainu who could play on +it, and the Ainu of Ishikari from whom I bought it told me that the man, +the only one, who could play on it, was dead. This was unfortunate, as +none of the others could tell me how he tuned it; and one old man, in +attempting to solve the problem, broke three strings. Seeing that I was +then quite unable to learn any of the tunes of the deceased Ainu +Paganini I purchased the instrument, and found by cross-examining the +natives that it was played by twanging the strings with the fingers, and +not with a plectrum, as is the case with the Japanese _shamesen_. In the +illustration I have faithfully drawn a front and a side view of this +instrument, so as to give the reader an exact idea of its shape. The +Ainu of Volcano Bay sometimes make bamboo jew's-harps for their +children; but even those are very uncommon, so we might as well define +Ainu music as entirely vocal. Ainu music is sentimental, and not +displeasing, but it is monotonous, and continually repeats itself. It is +difficult to establish a rule as to what order of intervals their music +is founded on, as their progressions, modulations, and rhythmical +effects are often so peculiar as to make it impossible to indicate them +accurately by means of our musical notation; but the nearest approach to +it is the diatonic minor scale. The Ainu are fond of chromatic +intervals, and when their recital comes to an exciting point they make +use of this method in a _crescendo_ to give strength to the narrative, +especially at the end of the tune, which invariably winds up in the +tonic. The intervals which are of most frequent occurrence in the Ainu +tunes are as follows:-- + +[Illustration] + +The tunes seldom contain modulations from one key into another, except +in the case of genius-gifted improvisators, who sometimes indulge in +such a luxury, especially when intoxicated; but the usual modulation is +generally begun _pianissimo_ and in irregular time, and is sometimes +like a slow lamentation gradually and irregularly increasing in force, +some notes marked violently and the next very faintly, thus giving a +weird effect of light and shade. When a sentence comes to an end, there +is a chromatic interval _fortissimo_, and the keynote generally +concludes the tune. The melody repeats itself again in the next +sentence, sometimes altering the _pianissimo_ into _fortissimo_, and +_vice versa_, according to the force which the narrator wishes to give +to certain words. The Ainu, as far as I could judge, have no fixed +rhythmical method, and each man constructs his own. Their melodies are +generally short and simple, and the same phrases and passages--in fact, +usually the whole melody--occur again and again in their songs. No Ainu +melody that I heard was constructed according to any rule of musical +form. All were invariably of one part only, in which the name of the +tune was often applied to a certain form of rude poetical composition. +For instance, some of the folk-lore legends--which, unfortunately, are +not purely Ainu--are chanted in a musical intonation, and are a kind of +extempore composition, though the roots of the songs and the verse have +probably been brought down from former generations. This is proved by +the preservation in them of some obsolete words and forms of speech +which are never used in current conversation, and which none of the +younger folks can understand or explain. I believe, however, that none +of these legends are very old. The Ainu, having no written language, it +is but natural that their tradition and legends should have been greatly +changed and corrupted, especially by intercourse with the more +imaginative Japanese. It is to be noted, however, that the Ainu, though +to a certain extent as imitative as monkeys, have also a large amount of +personality and originality, due to their shy and unsocial habits. This +originality is not surprising when we remember that they are taught +nothing, and that each man provides for himself and his family, but has +no markedly friendly feelings towards his neighbours; in other words, it +is a state of degradation very similar to that of wild animals. Perfect +indifference is shown by the people of one village towards those of +another. They are neither friends nor foes. All have a right to live, +but as for helping one another, that is out of the question. + +Having no written documents, each man, in his easy-going manner, recites +and sings as best pleases himself such verses or legends as he has heard +from his father or from some other person, and the result is that, +according to the reciter's greater or smaller poetical and musical +tastes, the grandfather's composition, already altered by his father, is +again altered by the son, which makes it a composition of his own. This +transformation of a given theme is common even among civilised nations +when people are set to repeat the same story verbally transmitted from +one to the other--the version of the third person has but little in +common with that of the first. If this we do with a spoken narrative, +how much more with tunes learned by ear only, and characterised in the +delivery by individual temperament and transient mood. + +The Ainu do not teach these legends to their children, and if learned at +all they are merely "picked up" by ear and, in a manner, at random; +therefore, most Ainu profess ignorance as to their existence, and a man, +when I asked him if he knew any, scornfully answered in these identical +words, translated:--"The Ainu are taught nothing, and they know +nothing." + +The few legends, &c., that I heard were told me by Benry at Piratori, +and by another old man, the chief of a village up the Saru River. The +title of one was "Tushi-une-pan"--"Twice Below;" the story of +Yoshitsune, a Japanese hero, and Samoro-kuru (a Japanese man-friend of +Yoshitsune), who came to Yezo and had a great struggle with a huge fish, +which was harpooned by them and disappeared twice under the water, +capsizing the boat which contained the two fishermen. Yoshitsune's +temper was roused, and he cut the _nipesh_[38] rope to which the harpoon +was fastened. The fish went to die at the mouth of the Saru River, when +plains of hemp sprouted out of its body. + + [38] _Nipesh_: a kind of hemp. + +Another legend, called "Kimta-na," is a rather different and more simple +version of Tushi-une-pan's story which I have just related. + +Yet another variant of the same legend is found in the "Inu-sapk"--or "A +Summer Story" (literally translated: _Inu_, hear, relate; _sapk_, +summer), which was so very confused that I could not make head or tail +of its minuter details; but, like the "Kimta-na," it was about a famine +in the Ainu land. + +Then there was a fourth, which went by the name of +"Abe-ten-rui"--"Burning to embrace," or love-sick. It was again about +Yoshitsune, who had fallen in love with a pretty Ainu maid, and could +not eat either good or bad fish until she appeared to him in a dream. As +Yoshitsune was a strong-minded man he got over his love, and taught the +Ainu not to be deceived by woman's wiles. + +These and other similar legends, some of which do not bear repeating, +being too improper, can be collected at Piratori or on Volcano Bay from +the half-civilised Ainu; but I am inclined to think that they are mostly +concoctions of Japanese ideas construed or misconstrued in the Ainu +language. + +Ainu do not indulge in poetic compositions which have a definite metre, +nor do they use special words for rhyme or rhythm; but all the words in +their songs are intelligible, and seldom meaningless syllables are used, +as in many of the chants of other savage nations. This of course is +because, as has been said, their songs are merely a form of conversation +adopted on certain occasions. + +Some of their music seems to have been suggested to them by such animal +sounds as the plaintive howling of bears, wolves, and dogs. + +Music is believed by the Ainu to have the power of curing illness, or +rather, of scaring away from the body those evil spirits which are +supposed to have taken possession of it; but, when used as exorcism, the +music is no longer grave, slow, and sentimental, but verily diabolical, +consisting mainly of wild howling with an accompaniment of stamping feet +and the rattling of sword and knife, and followed by a disgusting +expectoration of chewed convolvulus roots, which are said to be powerful +in expelling the evil spirit and restoring the sick person to health. + +Furthermore, music is invariably used by the Ainu--especially by the +women--to facilitate manual labour, as when pounding millet, rowing, +pulling canoes on shore, or drawing water from a well, when packing +sea-weed, or when preparing salmon for the winter; and also in their +games, which I have already described in the chapter on the festival at +Piratori. + +During the process of pounding millet--which is only practised in the +southern part of Yezo--two or three girls stand round a mortar in which +the millet has been placed, and each girl, holding with both hands a +pestle, beats and sings, one after the other, the words "_Huye, huye_," +as the pestle is let down, increasing in loudness when the grain +requires harder pounding, and slowly decreasing in volume towards the +end. This pounding begins about sunset, and the place chosen for the +operation is generally the small porch of the huts. It has indeed a +weird effect to hear these many voices from the distant huts gradually +dying away as darkness comes on, till finally only two or three break +the stillness of the coming night. Then even those wear away, and +everything becomes as silent as the grave. + +When riding on horseback, especially if alone, young men are fond of +singing, and when going through forests, chopping and collecting +firewood, Ainu invariably sing. + +I have often heard two or three Ainu, when packing sea-weed within a few +yards of one another, each singing to himself, and each so much absorbed +in his own composition as not to even hear his neighbours. An Ainu does +not and cannot sing unless he feels in the mood for it; but if he sings +he is carried away by his own music. Of course this is a good quality in +Ainu music, as in all arts where "feeling" is to be appreciated as much +as execution. The latter is to be got by constant practice and teaching; +but the first has to be born in one. + +My readers must forgive me if I am judging Ainu music, not from the +European, but from the native standpoint, for I think it is only fair to +give things as they are, without too much reference to our own ideas. + +With savage nations, music is the expression of the feelings and +passions of the musician. Thus, it is necessary to well know the man +himself before we can understand his productions and appreciate them; +and such knowledge is only attained by constantly living with natives, +not as a mere stranger, but as one of them. + +Very few travellers have seen the real Ainu, or studied them accurately, +while many, partly owing to their inability to differentiate one race +from another, have given us highly imaginative descriptions, and even +photographs, of Japanese half-castes and actual Japanese, describing +them as Ainu. If such worthy ethnologists as have visited the "civilised +part only" of the Ainu country, have been unable to distinguish types of +the hairy Ainu race from those of the hairless Japanese, or from +mixtures of the two, undoubtedly racial characteristics have been but +imperfectly recorded. + +It is more particularly in music and poetry, as I have already +explained, that temperamental characteristics are shown, and one ought +to be careful to clearly define what is native music and poetry--in +which I include legends, traditions, and folk-lore--and what has been +transmitted by neighbouring and conquering races. Loud music is not +appreciated by the Ainu, and makes them grin with more scorn than +enjoyment. I could only try experiments in this direction by singing to +them, as I had no European musical instruments with me; but I found that +singing _con brio_ at the top of my voice was not so pleasing to them as +when I sang _piano con passione_. For instance, the song "Toreador," in +the opera _Carmen_, created fits of merriment from a crowd at +Frishikobets, while the same crowd, a few minutes later, listened +attentively and silently to Gounod's "Ave Maria," sung in a kind of +"miaoling" voice. + +I may here mention incidentally, to show the different musical tastes of +Ainu and Japanese, that some months previous to this I was at a concert +at Tokio in which the same "Ave Maria" was performed by some +distinguished European musicians. The large Japanese audience, who had +been attentive and well-composed till then, went into fits of laughter +when Gounod's masterpiece was played, and all through it the noise of +people laughing was so great as to drown entirely the orchestra and +singers. Some of the women in the audience nearly went into hysterics at +the long _legato_ notes at the beginning of the piece. Louder melodies +and of a livelier character did not affect them so. I wish to draw +attention to this fact, that amongst all primitive peoples the native +music is sad and slow--the livelier melodies coming later; and also, +that with both wild and domestic animals the most noteworthy effects are +produced by slow and simple music. We all know how dogs will remain +quiet and calm when a soft and gentle air is played, but get furious to +the point of savageness under the "plan-plan-rataplan" of a merry noisy +tune. As for the last item connected with Ainu music, viz., dancing, it +is rarely practised, even by the Ainu women, to whom alone it pertains. +At the best it is of a very rude form. In the Piratori festival (Chapter +IV.) we have seen that their dancing is accompanied by rhythmical sounds +imitating the noises produced by implements in everyday use, as the +squeaking of a paddle by the friction on the canoe, the cry which +accompanies the pounding of millet, blowing alight the fire, and similar +sounds. Time is kept by clapping the hands and by vociferations which +tell the partners what position or action to assume, each action being +accompanied by a different sound, but all performed while the hopping is +kept up. I have not felt justified in classifying these rhythmical +sounds, which accompany the dancing, as choruses, for there is not +enough in them to constitute either a tune or a melody. They are +suggested more by the action of the arms and upper part of the body than +by the steps; in fact, if it were not for the continuous hopping it +would be more accurate to describe Ainu dancing as "posturing." The +dancers form a circle, with sometimes one or two children in the centre. +As there are no professional musicians, there are no professional +dancers; but though each man may be his own composer of music, the women +never alter their dances, which are handed down unchanged from one +generation to another. It is only at festivals that the dance is +performed, and never inside the huts, but in the open air. It is not for +the amusement of spectators, for besides one or two of the older women, +spectators there are none; but it is for the enjoyment of the dancers +themselves. The men do not seem to take the slightest interest in the +dancing, and apparently regard it as unmanly. They remain in the hut +drinking while the girls enjoy themselves in this way outside, and +should one of them by chance come out, he would stop and look on no more +than men in civilised countries would stop and watch little children at +play. On the other hand, on such occasions Ainu matrons squat in a +semicircle not far from the dancers, and keep up a lament-like or +sometimes quarrelsome conversation among themselves, and occasionally +encourage the girls in their hopping, and suggesting _encores_ of this +figure or that, which, between one quarrel and another, has taken their +fancy. + +[Illustration: A WOODEN PIPE.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +Heredity--Crosses--Psychological Observations. + + +The mental qualities of the Ainu are not many, and what they have are by +no means great; nor are they improved by education, for what they know +comes more from inheritance than personal acquirement, though naturally +every rule has its exceptions. I repeatedly noticed that talent, such as +it was, ran in certain families, the members of which were all more or +less intelligent. Certain families were more musical than others; other +families were more artistic--if, indeed, such a word could be applied to +the very low development of the artistic faculty when at its best among +the hairy people. Various members of one household were potently insane; +others were as potently idiotic. I shall not class under this heading of +heredity transmitted disease, like leprosy, consumption, &c., but I +shall limit myself to heredity in physical traits and mental qualities. +Unfortunately, with the Ainu intercourse between the sexes is so +imperfectly regulated as to often lead one to erroneous conclusions. The +reader may easily imagine the difficulty of establishing precise rules +of transmission in a race like the Ainu, where castes are not marked, +with the exception of the chieftainship in each village, the only +necessary qualifications for which are a sound, sharp intellect, a +strong physique, and personal courage. The office is hereditary if these +qualifications are also inherited; but should the sons or brothers of +the chief prove unworthy of his place, the Ainu would assemble in a +"village council" and elect another strong, clear-headed, and brave man +in place of the _roi faineant_ thus summarily deposed. These chiefs have +no absolute authority, though the men often consult them in their +quarrels and difficulties, which they are asked to settle. Thus, because +of these qualities necessary for the office, these chiefs are a slightly +superior type to the other natives; for with savages, as with civilised +people, sharp-witted, strong, and brave men are naturally of a finer +type than those who are their inferiors in these qualities: but the +difference among the best Ainu and the worst is so small that I do not +feel justified in classing chiefs as of a different caste. Besides, +exceptional beauty, strength, or larger stature is not necessarily +transmitted in the families of chiefs, nor do the Ainu themselves +consider them better-looking than others. + +As Ainu laws of marriage have no relation to the physical and moral +improvement of the race, the only way of classifying the natives for +purposes of heredity is by tribes, each village being considered as a +tribe. Ainu villages are generally very small, and the inhabitants of +each village intermarry among themselves, therefore each member of the +community is in some way related to every other member; hence heredity +in certain physical traits, mental qualities, and diseases shows itself +in one community and not in another. The difficulty of tracing the exact +connection of each individual with his or her relations beyond the +acknowledged father and mother also baffles research in more minute +details. Abnormal formations are sometimes transmitted to many members +of one tribe, as, for instance, the hare-lip and webbed fingers, of +which deformities two or three specimens could be found in a small +village numbering fifteen or twenty houses. Malformation of the +umbilicus is common--sometimes in almost every member of one small +community--while it is very rare in others. Children are mostly affected +by this, as in some villages the cord is not treated at all at birth; +and this leads to an abnormality till the child grows older, when the +few who survive seem to get all right. In other villages the cord is +fastened in a very primitive, not to say imperfect, manner, with a +common string of _Ulmus campestris_ fibre. + +Albinism is very uncommon among the Ainu. I do not know of any case when +it has been transmitted, as albinos are greatly disregarded by the Ainu, +and, I was told, seldom marry. + +Red hair, or hair with red shades in it, is common among the Ainu of +the north-east coast of Yezo, and also among the Kurilsky Ainu of +Shikotan, where nearly all the children have light hair. It darkens +considerably as they grow older, as many of the men said they had light +hair when young, which turned dark with age. Members of certain +communities have inherited the love of bear-hunting; others the love of +fishing; some tribes have a musical aptitude, and a certain artistic +talent for rough ornamentations on wood; others have developed their +inherited power of sustaining hunger and thirst. The only characteristic +which all the different tribes have inherited, without exception, is +love for intoxicating drinks; and this love is not only inherited by +thoroughbred Ainu, but also by half-castes. + +Mixed marriages between Japanese and Ainu are frequent, but the progeny +are unfortunate beings, of whom a large percentage die when very young: +those who live are generally malformed, ill-natured, and often idiotic. +Their sight and hearing are not so acute as with the pure Ainu, and +crosses are said to be sterile, with very few exceptions. If children of +second crosses are born they seldom live to be more than five years old. + +Half-breeds are invariably from a Japanese man with an Ainu woman, but +occasionally an Ainu man marries or cohabits with a half-caste woman. I +have never seen a pure-blood Ainu man marry a pure-blood Japanese woman. +The majority of half-breeds are males: I should think two-thirds males +and one-third females. The half-caste women are physically finer than +the men, but they are said to be very generally, if not uniformly, +sterile. + +The products of the first cross greatly resemble in general look the +Ainu parent, without being quite as hairy, though still very hairy; but +a strange peculiarity is, that they get bald while quite young. One can +easily detect them by their eyes, which are frequently like those of the +Japanese, by the wide flat forehead, and by the pose of the head, which +inclines forward. They generally walk with their toes turned in, instead +of keeping their feet perfectly straight, like the pure Ainu. The moral +and intellectual position of these half-breeds is a pitiful one. They +are rejected by both the Ainu and Japanese, and are held inferior to +both alike. + +A high moral standard, whether got from philosophic breadth or Christian +virtues, does not suit a despised barbarian race like the Ainu. Nothing +could or does kill them quicker than civilisation. Experiments have been +tried to civilise certain Ainu: they were made to wash, bathe, and live +in comfortable, clean quarters: they were instructed and got good food; +but after a few months they had to be sent back to their native place +and ways, for civilisation only killed them. + +The half-castes have none of the good qualities of either race. They are +neither as brave as the Ainu nor courteous and light-hearted like the +Japanese. The following remarks, which I take direct from my diary, were +written by me between Shimokebo and Tomakomai, on the south-west coast +of Yezo, where many half-breeds are found along the sea-shore, and I +shall pass them on untouched to my readers. + +"The Ainu along this coast were decidedly ugly. Many half-breeds are +also found along this coast. These half-breeds invariably grow bald in +early life, whereas the Ainu do not. The hair on their back, arms, and +legs is not so long or so thick as with the pure Ainu. Their teeth are +neither so strong nor so sound. As is usually the case when a mixture of +two or more races takes place, the lower and upper jaws not being of the +right proportion, it follows as a matter of course that unusual pressure +and friction injure and wear out the enamel of the teeth, thus causing +premature decay. The Americans and Australians are good examples of this +premature decay caused by the disproportion of the upper and lower jaws. +Also, teeth which do not fit well together sometimes grow so long as to +be a nuisance to the person who owns them. I found that these +half-breeds have all the bad qualities of both the Ainu and the +Japanese, and have not retained any of the good ones. They are +ill-tempered, lazy, and vindictive. It is well to mention that, on the +Japanese side, they have come mostly from the criminals exported by the +Japanese Government, which fact partly explains why they are so +evil-minded and untrustworthy. Instead of falling into the more +civilised ways of the Japanese, these half-breeds prefer the wild life +of their Ainu ancestors; and if anything they are wilder than the Ainu +themselves. Insanity is very common among half-breeds. The head is in +most instances of an abnormal size; the frontal bone is generally more +sloping than with the thoroughbred Ainu; and though the skull be wide +from one temple to the other, it is not spacious enough from the frontal +bone to the back of the head. They have heads so shaped that the +animal propensities are in excess of the moral and mental +faculties. In thoroughbred Ainu I found the bumps of amativeness, +philoprogenitiveness, and tune very well developed. In the half-breeds +these bumps hardly show at all, and in some cases the back of the +head--where the two first bumps are found--is almost flat. + +"Ainu half-breeds never live to be very old. They are often affected +with rheumatism--_kaki_, a disease peculiar to the Far East--leprosy, +and consumption, and they suffer from these diseases much more than do +the pure Ainu. I found leprosy quite common among half-breeds--while I +have seen but few Ainu affected with it. In most instances, though, +leprosy had only attained its first stages--contraction of fingers and +subsequent dropping off of the three phalanges, ears, and nose; but this +may be explained by the fact that the sufferers in general succumb +before the disease attains its more serious character, when the whole +body is visibly affected by it." + +Precise laws as to the degree of quickness of perception, power of +reasoning, and learning of the Ainu race cannot be given, for, as I have +mentioned before, almost each individual would require a special rule +for himself. My readers may have noticed that, while some Ainu were but +little above monkeys, others were sharp, and gave answers very much to +the point. This may apparently be regarded as a contradiction on my part +by people who have neither lived with savages, nor studied the +temperament of beasts. But it is not a contradiction. There are in this +world clever monkeys and stupid monkeys: some can never be made to learn +any tricks; others will learn them in no time. Intelligence is +instinctive, and not acquired, though of course it can be greatly +developed with education; thus, the Ainu are instinctively intelligent, +but I wish my readers clearly to understand that their intelligence does +not go much further than that of an intelligent monkey, though of course +the Ainu have the advantage over beasts of being able to talk, and +therefore, to a limited extent, discuss and combine. The Ainu memory is +a perfect blank in certain respects, as with arithmetic, science, +mechanics, reading, writing, drawing, and delineating maps; while in +other directions it seems to be fairly keen, as in hunting, fishing, +tracking, and acquiring languages up to a certain point. This last +faculty is noticeable in nearly all the lowest races, as the Australian +aborigines, the Tasmanian natives (now extinct), the Tierra del +Fuegians, &c. The Ainu ideas of time are vague, and if you add to that +the extreme difficulty which they experience in counting even up to ten, +and their inability to count beyond that number, it is easy to +understand why we can never learn the exact age of Ainu individuals. + +Like the monkeys, the Ainu cannot concentrate their attention, and they +are easily wearied. Beads and shiny objects have a fascination for them; +but other objects, even perfectly new to them, arouse but little +curiosity, which soon passes, and they show no intelligence and less +imagination as to the probable use of these strange objects. They show +no inquisitiveness, and no wish to be taught the use of anything new and +unfamiliar. + +It will be remembered that at Yamakubiro, on the Tokachi River, beyond +the natural astonishment caused by the first appearance of my ponies, +the strange baggage, and myself, the Ainu did not pay much attention to +this novel sight, and did not show any wish to have it explained, while +more civilised people, like the Japanese, would not have been satisfied +until I had shown and explained every article in my possession, and +allowed each person to try its use, &c., after which they would talk for +hours of what they had seen. The Ainu are not "built" so, and therefore +they have never made any progress. In the more civilised parts of Yezo +we have a proof of it. Their backwardness in acquiring the habits and +customs of their conquerors the Japanese, arises from incapacity more +than from conservatism. Yet for all that the Ainu are so incapable of +improving themselves, they are very persevering in what they do attempt, +as in their rough wooden carvings, the hollowing of their "dug-outs," +the construction of their wooden tools and weapons, the weaving of their +rough garments, and the ornamentation thereof; but in all these they +appear to act more automatically than with keen and constructive +intelligence. + +The Ainu are not to be taken _au pied de la lettre_, for the illusions +produced by ignorance and untutored imagination prevent anything like +literal accuracy; but they are not what we may call conscious and +immoral liars. A good example of this is my adventure at Horobets, when, +although they knew that they would be severely punished by the Japanese +policeman, the Ainu confessed their attack on me, and did not attempt +either denial or evasion. They are often plucky, and even distinctly +courageous; as, when out bear-hunting, a man armed only with a large and +not over sharp knife unhesitatingly attacks this formidable beast, who +sits up on his hind quarters, sure to crush the life out of his +assailant should he miss his stroke. The Ainu, protecting his head with +his left arm, and having taken the precaution to cover his back with +skins, goes merrily for the embrace; and while Bruin squeezes, the hairy +man splits its body open with the large knife. + +The Ainu are cool-blooded. They are not subject to strong emotions, and +therefore they are not much affected by dreams and nightmares. They are +not affectionate except for a momentary impulse; but, like most animals, +they are faithful when they love. Mothers are fond of their children +till they have reached puberty; but after that the affection seems to +fade away. Paternal love is much less strong. + +The pure Ainu are comparatively honest people, which may be due to the +incapacity for being dishonest. In a country where there is no exact +definition of property, where anybody can get what he requires without +resorting to theft, there is no reason why everybody should not be +honest. Then, according to Ainu ideas, stealing is not always stealing. +For instance, if an Ainu, without asking, takes away some of the salmon +caught by one of his hairy brethren, he will be blamed for it, he will +get into a row, and probably be beaten; but if the theft is perpetrated +on a Japanese or a stranger he will be praised, though the Ainu well +knows that he is not acting right. Their desire is stronger than their +conscience, such as it is; and having no laws of their own to rule them +worth speaking of, they often do according to their desire, without +deserving the accusation of conscious dishonesty. It is exactly the +same case as when a dog jumps on the dining-table when everybody is +absent and carries off the leg of mutton which he knows he ought not to +touch; but the temptation was too strong, and he could not resist it. +The Ainu are fond of independence, though in many instances I found them +gentle, and apparently submissive to a stronger will than their own. The +field of their brain-power is of course very narrow, and the same rough, +rude, primitive thoughts and ideas are constantly repeated in their +conversation as well as in their designs. + + + + +[Illustration: NAKED AINU MAN FROM THE NORTH-EAST COAST OF YEZO, PACKING +SEAWEED FOR WINTER USE.] + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +Physiological Observations--Pulse-beat and Respiration--Exposure--Odour +of the Ainu--The Five Senses. + + +The following physiological remarks are mostly from observations made on +Ainu of the Upper Tokachi district, the natives of which have had no +communication with Europeans and little with Japanese previous to my own +visit to them. Observations made on the semi-civilised Ainu of Volcano +Bay and Piratori, on those of the north-east and west coasts, and the +Ishikari River, as well as on half-castes of different districts, have +been taken into consideration. + +Owing to the lack of a clinical thermometer and other instruments, I, +unfortunately, was not able to ascertain the normal temperature of the +body; nor could I get any very accurate observations as to the frequency +of the pulse-beat, owing to the miserable condition of my watch and the +difficult task of getting natives to sit perfectly still while their +pulse was felt. A superstitious fear, too, that some evil would befall +them accelerated the pulsations, and they invariably moved away rubbing +the spot I had touched on their wrist. Though I could not count the +exact number of pulsations to a minute, the movement of the pulse was as +a rule slow and rather weak. Respirations were fourteen to seventeen to +a minute in men, and about sixteen to twenty in women, and the +respiratory movements were similar in both sexes, viz., costal breathing +was predominant. In half-castes I have sometimes noticed abdominal +breathing. + +The Ainu not only bear cold well, but prefer it to heat, though, indeed, +their country is never very hot. The sun's rays have no fascination for +them, as with so many other races; and I have seldom seen Ainu basking +in the sun for purely physical pleasure, although they go about with +uncovered heads, and do not seem to suffer any ill effects from the +practice. The Ainu of Piratori wear Japanese hats of wicker-work; and +others, especially women, tie round their head a Japanese towel--a +fashion, as we have seen, also adopted from the Japanese. With this +head-dress the crown of the head is left uncovered. + +The Ainu are not massively formed, but they are sturdy, and, as we have +seen, can bear almost any amount of privation as regards food and drink. +Sleep is necessary to them, and they require a great deal to be in +anything like good condition. The sleeping hours are generally from an +hour or so after sunset to sunrise; but during the day they are often +drowsy, and turn in to have a siesta after food and exercise. In men the +voice is soft and deep; shriller but still gentle in women. The Ainu +seldom perspire, partly because the pores of their skin are blocked with +dirt; partly because their long hair absorbs a great quantity of +natural moisture; and mostly because they do not drink much except when +they can get hold of intoxicants. + +The skin is greasy--the natural result of many years of an unwashed +existence; and this gives to the hairy people a peculiar and strong +odour, much resembling that of monkeys. Many are familiar with the +peculiar odour of an uncleaned monkey's cage, and the same, intensified +a thousand times, characterises an Ainu village. Hundreds of yards off +you can distinctly smell out a village, or if the wind is blowing +towards you, that peculiar odour is perceptible for a full half-mile. +Although the sense of smell is acute in the Ainu--for they sometimes +employ it in tracking animals--they are not aware of their own strong +odour; but they are quick in distinguishing that of other races. I have +several times heard Ainu of the coast remark that I possessed a +different odour from that of the Japanese; but they could neither define +it nor assimilate it to that of any animal they knew, though several of +them one day held a lengthy pow-wow about it; and in the interest of +anthropology I submitted to the unpleasant process of being smelt all +over by them. The Chinese unanimously assert that Europeans smell like +sheep, and they say this is the reason we constantly wash and bathe, +being aware of our infirmity, and doing our best to diminish it by soap +and water. We ourselves attribute to Jews one distinct odour, and yet +another to the Russians; not to speak of those belonging to the negroes, +the Chinese, and, in fact, all other nations. Thus, the odour has some +importance in the classification of peoples, as it largely depends on +the kind of food as well as the personal habits of a race. Meat-eaters +smell differently from fish-eaters, and these again from vegetarians. As +regards the Ainu, their filthy habits of course increase their +offensiveness, while bodily exercise renders them intolerable. The +Japanese recognise the Ainu odour as a distinguishing mark of the race, +and Japanese fishermen have often said to me, "_Aino shto taihen +kusai_"; "_Saru_," or else "_Kumma onaji koto_"--"Ainu men smell bad, +just like a monkey or a bear." + +As an Ainu grows older this peculiarity increases. The weaker sex is +generally more "strongly scented" than are the men, owing to the fact +that women wear skins and rough cloth rags nearly all the year round, +while in summer the men go about either entirely naked, or very lightly +clad. + +On the north-east coast of Yezo and in Shikotan (Kurile Islands) I saw +some Ainu who, contrary to the rule, had red hair, and their animal +odour was terribly offensive. The Ainu do not use any unguents like +palm-oil, cocoanut-oil, or the like, by which the unpleasantness of +certain African tribes and Eastern peoples is to be accounted for. What +they have is natural and national, and due to their food, habits, and +race alone. + +The Ainu have no partiality or dislike for any particular scents, and +their sense of smell shows itself mainly in their power of tracking game +or animals, as was said before. The same might be said of the sense of +"touch," which they seldom apply practically, notwithstanding their +sensitiveness in certain parts of the body, especially under the +arm-pits and on each side of the spinal column and the back of the +head--just those parts which in most animals are the most sensitive; but +they have no developed sense of touch in their finger-tips, as with +civilised nations. + +Most Ainu find it difficult to declare which is the heavier of two not +very unequal weights. Differences in the temperature of two bodies, and +in the smoothness or texture of two surfaces, are also extremely +difficult for them to define, while it is easy for them to judge of +weights and texture by eyesight. The palms of the hands, which are so +sensitive with us, owing to the papillae being more thickly studded there +than in other parts of the body, are less intelligently sensitive with +the Ainu. When they touch cold or hot objects they feel pain, but not +difference of temperature, as when with us a wound is touched it makes +little difference whether it is by something hot or cold, it is simply +pain, and not discrimination. Their lips, as well as the tip of the +tongue, are slightly more sensitive; the lower lip more so than the +upper. I was never able to determine the relative sensibility of the +sensitive parts of the Ainu body, as my experiments either caused anger +and impatience, or hilarity and mockery. If the first, the observations +had to be stopped before they were well begun; if the second, beyond the +general results which I have quoted, the answers were mere guesswork on +their part, and therefore not worth recording. Most of my observations +are based on experiments made while the men were unaware that they were +observed at all. Often, when asleep, I have touched them on the soles of +the feet and the palms of the hands without causing them to awake, while +when touched on the lower lip or in the lumbar region they invariably +woke up startled. One day I tried this experiment on an Ainu who was +sleeping on his back, with his mouth wide open. I touched his tongue +with a well-sharpened lead-pencil, and the effect was subitaneous; more +so than on either the lips or the lumbar region. The skin directly over +the spine was dull, but the ears showed a certain amount of sensibility. +The sense of "taste," which is a mere modification of the sense of +touch, is also dull, although naturally, when stimulated by very acid or +bitter substances, it produced distinct impressions. Even with +ourselves, though more perfected than the sense of smell--which, +however, often comes to its assistance--few can boast of having the +sense of taste very acute. In our lower classes an extraordinary amount +of salt, mustard, pepper, or sugar is needed before they can call their +food "tasty," whereas a person of more refined education will detect the +lack or excess of even the smallest portion. Over-stimulation of the +lingual nerves and extremes of heat or cold deaden the sensibility of +the tongue, palate, and fauces, and destroy the power of distinguishing +flavours; bad digestion also frequently affects the organs of taste. +From this we may argue, then, that the sense of taste, though born in +one, has to be cultivated before it is brought to any degree of +refinement. The Ainu not only do not possess this acquired refinement, +but, through monotony of food, learn only one kind of flavour, and +cannot distinguish differences. Thus, as many labourers in our country +would not find any difference between a beef-steak slightly underdone +and one over-cooked, so an Ainu finds no difference whatever between a +piece of salmon properly dried and one perfectly rotten. In this respect +the Ainu are far below beasts. + +In tribes of natives like the Ainu, who have lived an adventurous life, +mostly in the open air, it is but natural that the two senses of "sight" +and "hearing" should be more developed than those of "touch," "smell" +and "taste;" as life itself depends mostly on their accuracy and +acuteness. The Ainu possess good sight. Inflammation of the eyes is very +common among their children, owing to their filthy condition; but it +seldom affects their permanent sight; very few Ainu suffer either from +myopy or cataract, or other eye affections such as are frequent among +civilised and more studious nations. In very warm climates, where the +sun is powerful and the light strong, the eyes are generally shielded by +specially long and thick eyelashes and eyebrows, which last prevent the +sweat from running down the forehead into the orbit; but, strange to +say, the Ainu, who are a northern race, and have always lived in cold +climates, have eyelashes even longer and thicker than any race of people +in tropical climates. The iris is of a somewhat greyish tint, sometimes +traversed with brown shades. The white of the eye is less pearly than +with Caucasian races, and the eyes, shaded as they are by long eyelashes +and heavy eyelids, seem to possess all the qualities necessary for +abnormally long vision. And this we find to be the case, for the Ainu +can distinguish objects a long way off, but they are dense as to +minutiae. In other words, the eye of an Ainu is ready to receive an +impression, but very slow in transmitting to the brain the impression +received. + +As we have seen, they cannot reproduce the "human form divine," or any +faithful representation of anything animate or inanimate which they have +seen. They see _en gros_; thus, should an Ainu's attention be drawn to +some very distant object rapidly moving on the shore, he will at once +say that it is a horse, because he knows that the chances are it is a +horse, but he will be unable to describe its colour, and whether +cantering or galloping, saddled or unsaddled, by a single glance at the +horse, unless his attention is called to each particular detail, when he +will answer each question correctly enough. The Ainu vision is then +strong, but the brain is not quick in response. Testing their sight by +"test dots," as used in the British Army, was not a success, greatly +owing to their inability to count and the inaccuracy of their answers. + +The most fully-developed sense in the hairy people is, in my opinion, +that of hearing. Distant sounds are clearly recognised and specified, +and they are also aware that by placing one ear near the ground, far-off +sounds of horse's hoofs and the like can be clearly distinguished. The +ticking of a Waterbury watch could be heard by Ainu at a distance of +twenty and twenty-two feet, while I could only hear it nineteen feet +away. I was often struck by the quickness with which they detected the +tick-tack even when the watch was in my pocket, and they were six or +eight feet away. The unusual sound fixed their attention and made them +curious as to the cause, and they showed a childish kind of surprise and +delight when the watch was produced and passed round among them, each +one being allowed to enjoy his share of the ticking. + +Resuming these few remarks on the characteristic points of Ainu senses, +my readers will probably have noticed certain facts which strongly +support Darwin's theory of evolution, and the hairy arboreal ancestor +with pointed ears from which the races of men are descended. + + + + +[Illustration: TROPHY OF BEARS' SKULLS.] + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +The Ainu Superstitions--Morals--Laws and Punishments. + + +I cannot begin this chapter better than by saying that Ainu religious +ideas are essentially chaotic. They recognise no supreme God, and no +intelligent Creator; and they cannot be called polytheists, for indeed +they are not _worshippers_ of any power--taking the word in its full +meaning. The Ainu worship nothing. + +If they have any belief at all it is an imperfect kind of Totemism, and +the central point of that belief is their own descent from the "bear." +This does not include the smallest reverence for their ancestor. They +capture their "Totem" and keep it in captivity; they speak to it and +feed it; but no prayers are offered to it. When the bear is fat, it is +taken out of the cage to be ill-treated and baited by all the men +present. It is tied to a stake and a pole is thrust into its mouth; and +when the poor beast has been sufficiently tortured, pricked with pointed +sticks, shot at with blunted arrows, bruised with stones, maddened with +rage and ill-usage, it is killed outright, and, "ancestor" as it may be, +it makes the chief dish and _raison d'etre_ of a festival, where all the +members of the tribe partake of its flesh. The owner of the hut in which +the feast takes place then sticks the skull on to a forked pole, and +sets it outside with the others at the east end of his hut. The skin is +made into garments, or is spread on the ground to sleep on. + +In addition to this rudimentary kind of Totemism--if I may call it +so--the Ainu show a certain amount of fear and respect for anything +which supports their life or can destroy it. This, however, is under the +form of an "instinct" rather than a "religious feeling." Dumb animals of +any kind are similarly affected by powers which they cannot explain; but +as we would not think for a moment that when a dog is barking at the +moon the dog is worshipping the orb of night, or when it basks in the +sun that it is offering prayers and reverence to the orb of day, no more +should we think that the Ainu, who are not much above dumb animals, +worship all they respect and fear. + +If other writers, most of whom have never visited the Ainu country, had +not written on this subject, I would have limited myself to saying that +the Ainu, properly speaking, have no religion, but as certain untenable +theories and false ideas have been published, I feel bound to state what +I know on the subject, that, so far as I can, I may correct these +erroneous impressions. I regard myself as qualified to speak with some +authority, as I am the _only_ foreigner who has seen and studied _all_ +the different tribes of Ainu in Yezo and the Kuriles; while other +writers, the few who have actually been there, have based their +statements on a few half-castes or Ainu in the more civilised part of +southern Yezo, collecting from them ideas left behind by previous +travellers, and offering them to the public as purely Ainu. That these +hasty travellers and cursory writers have been deceived, or have +deceived themselves, is not astonishing; for it must be borne in mind +that the Ainu language is as poor in words as the Ainu brain is +deficient in thoughts. Thus it is no easy matter to explain to an Ainu +what is meant by "religion," by "divinities," and by "worship." The +nearest approach can be made only by comparisons and analogies, which +often lead far from the point aimed at. Like all savages and barbarians, +the Ainu are more apt to answer as they think will please the questioner +than to give a definition of their own beliefs. The manner in which a +question is put gives the keynote to the reply, which is in no sense an +independent statement of their own thoughts. + +For instance, if you were to say to an Ainu, "You are old, are you not?" +he would answer "Yes"; but if you asked the same man, "You are not old, +are you?" he would equally answer "Yes." Knowingly speaking the truth is +not one of their characteristics; indeed, they do not know the +difference between falsehood and truth. This is a common failing with +all savages as well as with all Orientals; but with the Ainu it is even +more accentuated; and when, in addition to this, the difficulty of +making them understand exactly what one means is taken into +consideration, it is not astonishing that a traveller arrives at a wrong +conclusion if the utmost pains be not taken in pursuing one's +investigations. + +Of course the Ainu who have come in contact with Japanese know of a God, +and some of them, at the instigation of Japanese _bonzes_, have become +nominal Buddhists. Benry, at Piratori, showed me a small Buddhist +shrine, of Japanese manufacture, which had been put up on a neighbouring +hill. All the time I stayed at Piratori I never observed any Ainu +worship at it. One day I saw two boys throwing stones at it, but that +could hardly be called an act of reverence, even among my hairy friends. + +On my inquiring as to the origin and use of the shrine, I was told by +some that it was erected to the God of the Japanese. Benry, who was +always "well informed," both in things that he knew and those that he +did not know, said that it was built in honour of Yoshitsune, the +Japanese personage who, as we have seen, is the hero in semi-Ainu +legends, and whose image or spirit, according to travellers' tales, is +worshipped by the Ainu. + +It always appeared strange to me that the Piratori Ainu had this +Japanese hero in their legends, but still more strange that they should +make him their deity. Yet what was most singular of all was, that with +the exception of Benry and a few others at Piratori, no other Ainu I +met in any other part of Yezo seemed to know about Yoshitsune--or +Okikurumi, as he is sometimes called by them; and, moreover, they knew +nothing of his doings, or of the reason of his being worshipped. The +Ainu of the Tokachi knew nothing whatever of this personage. + +The Ainu idea of soul is always associated with "breath" or "life;" and +as for the resurrection of the body and the future life of the soul, +they have never even dreamt of it. Metempsychosis is equally unknown to +them. + +As my readers have seen, in the description of a burial the implements +and weapons which belonged to a deceased person are buried with him. The +articles, however, previous to being thrown into the grave, are smashed +to pieces; for the idea is, not that the dead body should profit by +these things in the other world, but that no other person should make +use of what had been his property in this. The reasoning power of the +Ainu does not carry him beyond what is purely material; his mind has +never been trained to go beyond that limit, and he finds that he can +live well within it. Like all animals, he is guided by his instinct, +which tells him what is good and what is bad for him; but as to any +attempt to find out _why_ such things are good or bad for him, he is +utterly at a loss, and has to give up the quest. Though not devoid of a +rudimentary kind of shrewdness, the Ainu is dense and ignorant to the +last degree, and just as he is reluctant to adopt new modes of living, +so he is unable to accept new ideas or larger thoughts. The mere +conception of a Superior Being, who is the Maker of all things and above +all things, is far beyond the comprehension of any Ainu. Eating and +drinking are what he principally lives for. He does not thirst for +knowledge, nor strive after the Divine; and he has no creed of any kind +and no formula of sacrifice or worship, which two conditions are +essential to even the most elementary religion. + +What the Ainu do really possess in the way of supernaturalism is the +ordinary savage's credulous superstition, which manifests itself in +certain charms or fear of certain omens. However, after that degree they +take the world as it comes. They have no idea of who made it, and they +are not anxious to learn. The sun, the moon, bears, salmon, water, fire, +mountains, trees, are all things for which an Ainu has a dumb kind of +regard, not amounting to reverence, as he knows that he could not live +without them. This has led some persons to define these objects as the +principal divinities of the Ainu, and to call the people themselves +polytheists. The word _Kamoi_, or _Kamui_, has been rendered as "god," +gods "divinity." Now, what does the word _Kamoi_, or _Kamui_, really +mean? Translated literally it means "old" or "ancient"; but amongst a +hundred other meanings it also denotes "large," "beautiful," "strange," +"it," "the man," "he who," &c. In fact, it is used to qualify anything, +whether good or bad; and in some ways corresponds to our adjectives +"wonderful," "awful," "grand "; but assuredly the Ainu do not by this +word mean to designate the objects thus described as so many gods. +Anything for which they entertain respect or fear is described as +_Kamoi_, or _Kamui_, which thus is applied to the sun, the moon, the +stars, mountains, rivers, old trees, bears, salmon, large stones, &c., +not with the intention of making them divinities, but simply to specify +their power, greatness, or antiquity. The word is applied to every kind +of thing, animate or inanimate, good or bad, respected or derided, +dreaded or revered, admired or abhorred. It is sometimes a prefix, +sometimes an affix, and is the most universal attribute the Ainu world +or language contains. We are, therefore, forced to the conclusion, that +either the Ainu are polytheists or pantheists to such an extent as +occasionally to make everything and everybody a god; or else, that +translators have given their own, and a greatly exaggerated, meaning to +the word _Kamui_, and that these so-called gods are not gods at all. To +me there is no alternative opinion on the matter. The Ainu have no gods +in our sense. + +Basing conclusions on wrong premises, writers on the Ainu religion have +been naturally led astray altogether. For instance, the composite word +_Kotan-kara-kamui_,[39] which a learned missionary has translated +"Creator," only means "the man who made the village"--a description +which hardly corresponds to the grandeur attributed to the words by its +imaginative translator. + + [39] _Kotan_, village, place, site; _kara_, to make, build; _kamui_, + the man, ancient, strength. + +Then again, _Kamui kotan_, which according to some means "the home of +God," in its real signification is "an ancient village; a beautiful +place." When _Kamui_ is applied to persons, it is generally a suffix; +when to things, it is a prefix. + +But let us come to the _inao_, which by some have been called the "Ainu +gods," by others "Divine symbols." These _inao_ are willow-wands, with +shavings depending from the upper end, sometimes from the middle, and +occasionally from near the lower end as well. + +The larger wands are about four feet in length, and have either one or +two bunches of shavings at the upper end only. They go by the name of +_inao netuba_, or "big _inao_." Other smaller _inao_, like the +_Chisei-kara-inao_,[40] are kept in the house, and stuck in the eastern +corner of the hearth, and in the wall directly opposite the entrance +door. Some of the _inao_ are shaved upwards from the bottom, others +downwards from the top; and one, a big _inao_, is often thrust through +the small window facing the east. Sometimes they are placed about +singly, especially inside the huts; but outside, close to the eastern +wall, I have often seen eight or ten standing together in a row. When so +taken collectively they are called _nuza_. On Volcano Bay, up the Saru +River, and on the Lake Kutcharo, where it is the custom of the Ainu to +make trophies of the skulls of bears and deer which have been killed in +the hunt, one or two _inao_ are placed at the foot of the trophy. +Sometimes, but very rarely, a whole _nuza_ is to be seen in front of a +trophy; but in most cases the _nuza_ I saw were near huts that had no +trophy at all, and, as I say, only very seldom were they in front of the +trophy itself, unless a bear feast was going on. I am therefore under +the impression that these _nuza_ are only put up when some festival +takes place, and that they are not kept there permanently. I remember +that at Piratori there were no _inao_ and no _nuza_ outside Benry's +house, but on the day that the festival took place one was put up, and +several _inao_ were placed inside the hut, in the hearth and on the +north wall. Likewise, a _nuza_ was put up on the same day at the east +end of the hut in which the feast was given, and the inside was also +adorned with _inao_ of various sizes and descriptions. Each _inao_ is +pointed at the lower end, so as to be easily stuck in the ground. The +_inao_ of all sizes and shapes impressed me as being mostly for +ornament. Then some are held as charms against misfortune and disease; +but they never impressed me as being offerings to the gods. _Inao_ are +placed near springs, so that the good water may not turn into +pestilential, and occasionally _inao_ of a peculiar shape are hung in +the doorway of newly-built huts. They are made of a number of small +willow sticks tied together, from which hang five or six bunches of +shavings; they are hung horizontally, and not in a vertical position, +like the other _inao_. They are very uncommon, and only used on certain +specified occasions. For example, when a child is born an _inao_, in the +shape of a doll, is made of a bunch of reeds folded double and tied with +a string about an inch from the bend, which thus forms the head; it is +then tied lower down to indicate the waist. By dividing the reeds into +two equal portions they produce a pair of legs, and a stick is then +passed through the reeds between the head and the waist to form the +arms. When this doll is made it is placed near the infant, so that +should any disease or misfortune, in the shape of a kind of evil spirit, +be tempted to enter the child's body, it may be averted, and enter the +doll instead. Should a person fall ill new _inao_ are stuck in the +hearth, as the Ainu share our own idea that evil spirits dwell mostly in +fire; others are placed near the sick person. They are not meant as +offerings to the gods for his or her quick recovery, but merely to bring +good luck to the individual whose body they think has been taken +possession of by "animals inside," or, in other words, evil spirits. + + [40] _Chisei_, house, dwelling, hut; _kara_, make; also, have. + +Even at the present day in England and on the Continent horseshoes for +luck are hung over entrance doors, and if a horseshoe be fastened on to +a stable-door, the beasts within are supposed to be held free from +accidents and illness. + +In Spain and Italy little red rags tied to a small wand, not dissimilar +in shape to a small Ainu _inao_, are stuck in flower-pots near windows, +over beds, doors, and up chimneys, to keep witches at bay, red being a +powerful exorcist in the way of colours, and as good as the "running +stream which witches dare not cross." Some hysterical women have +declared that they have seen witches hiding in the smoke of the boiling +_Pentola_ (the earthenware pot in which the soup is boiled)--but that on +seeing the red rags they vanished, and never visited the house again. +Italian and Spanish women and children almost invariably carry charms +round their necks, that are to keep them safe from harm; and, +furthermore, when a child falls ill, one or more red rags are fastened +to its bed before a doctor is sent for. Then, again, people suffering +from epileptic fits have often been supposed to be "possessed," and +beaten to death or burnt alive, so that the evil spirit which was in +them should thus be destroyed. It must be borne in mind that not many +centuries ago similar beliefs were prevalent even in free and +enlightened England. + +If we compare these beliefs with those of the Ainu, we find that they +differ very little either in form or substance. In place of the witches +which our own ancestors, modern Italians, and Spaniards, and some +benighted peasantry still to be found in the West of England, believed, +and do still believe in, the Ainu have imaginary animals or evil +spirits. The wands and red rags of our Latin neighbours are represented +by their _inao_; and our lucky horseshoe is with them the horizontal +_inao_. Charms are worn by the Ainu men, women, and children; and when +going to war or to hunt the men carry a block of wood to which their +knife or sword is attached, and on the right-hand side of which hangs a +small _inao_. + +These blocks of wood are flattened, and are elliptical at both ends. +Their length varies from four to fifteen inches, and sometimes +ornaments--generally circles--are carved on them. A string is fastened +on one side so as to sling them to the shoulder; but they are usually +carried under the arm. They are supposed to protect the carrier from +accidents, and also to bring him good fortune. + +We see, then, that similar ideas are entertained by utterly different +peoples thousands of miles distant from one another; and that certain +superstitious beliefs left on this side of the globe find their parallel +among the hairy people on the other. Of course with them it is natural +that their beliefs should count for more than with Europeans, as +civilisation has not in any way enlarged or improved their minds; but it +seems to me unfair that the same identical beliefs should go under the +name of _superstitions_ when applied to Europeans, and called the "Ainu +religion" when practised by the hairy inhabitants of Northern Japan. +Though to this I know it may be replied that, as all things spring from +germs, so these ignorant superstitions of the Ainu may be in a manner +called their religion, as the germ of a more developed system--the +cotyledonous state of what might grow into a more advanced spirituality. +Like the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Ainu wave their +moustache-lifters, during their libations, towards the sun, the fire, +and the person who has paid for the wine, before they address themselves +to the large wooden bowls wherein lies their happiness; but this also is +not a religious ceremony, and no religious feeling whatever is connected +with it. It is a mere _toast_--part of their etiquette--which exactly +corresponds to the German "_Prosit_," or to our English "Your good +health." The Ainu of course have no special high-days, no Sundays, no +religious services, no prayers, no priests, no sacrificial priests, no +churches, and no bells; but they can "swear"; and as the Neapolitans +invoke their saints, so they occasionally call the sun, the moon, the +fire, and everything else, all sorts of bad names if things do not go as +they ought. This "swearing" has been defined as _Ainu praying_ by one +authority on the Ainu religion; moreover, the same authority calls the +Ainu a "distinctly religious people," and an "exceedingly religious +race!" To anyone who visits a country and regards all that he finds from +one point of view only, it is not difficult to interpret words and +things in accordance with the preconceived idea; but however high the +principles sought to be established, I do not consider a man justified +in attributing to definite facts an importance and significance to which +they have no claim. I have no doubt that a native who had associated +with or been in the employment of a Christian would make statements in +accordance with his master's belief as it had been taught him; but it is +incorrect to offer these "borrowed statements" as the religious beliefs +of a whole nation. + +I shall not discuss this question at greater length; but for the sake of +readers who are interested in the subject it may be well to make two or +three more statements before closing this chapter. The Ainu do not know +of a heaven and hell; but in one of the latest publications on the +aborigines of Japan we are told that they do; and, moreover, that they +are fully aware of the resurrection of the body in the other world! + +Even assuming, for the moment, that the Ainu are theists, or +polytheists, after what we have heard of their gods, this is a somewhat +surprising statement. It will be remembered that anything good or bad, +dreaded or repulsive, respected or not respected, is qualified by the +Ainu as _Kamui_, and we shall attribute for a while the imaginary +meaning of "God" to the word. Now, if everything and everybody, good or +bad, is equally a god, I myself fail to see the necessity of a hell, as +the chances are that all the gods would inhabit heaven. This alone +serves to show how absurd the theory is; but I wish to give the exact +translation of the words _Kando_ and _Teine-pokna-moshiri_, which are +said to be the two Ainu expressions for "heaven" and "hell." + +_Kando_ means "sky," not "heaven." _Teine-pokna-moshiri_[41] stands for +the "wet earth under(ground)." As the Ainu are in the habit of burying +their dead, I find it more rational to apply to the words in question +the meaning of a "burial-place," a "cold place of rest" rather than that +of Hades or Gehenna. + + [41] _Teine_, wet; _pokna_, under; _moshiri_, earth, place, island. + +"They" (the Ainu), says a learned missionary, "seem to conceive of men +and women as living in large communities in the other world in the same +way and under the same conditions as they do in this, excepting that +they can know no death." In other words, resurrection of the body and +eternal life. + +Strange to say, the writer of the same lines asserted in the +"Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan,"[42] that "The Ainu _know +nothing_ of a resurrection of the body." + + [42] Vol. X., Part II., Sec.6. + +It must not be argued that because they have no religion the Ainu are +bad people. They are far from it. They are decidedly not moral, for +nothing is immoral among them. The Ainu must be considered more as +animals than as human beings. When we speak of a dog, we do not ask +whether it is a moral dog, but only if it is a good dog. The same can be +said of the Ainu. We cannot compare them to ourselves, nor judge them by +our own standard of morality. Taken by themselves they are gentle, kind, +brave, and above everything they are simple. Their language, manners, +customs, arts, habits, as we have seen, are the very simplest and rudest +possible. Thus, it is absurd to suppose that such simple brains could +entertain high religious ideas. If they had brains enough to compass +high religious beliefs they would long ago have used those brains in +bettering their miserable condition and filthy mode of living. They +would have striven to make the beginnings of a history and a literature, +or at least to have devised or adopted some mode of writing with which +they could preserve these high ideas, and pass them on from generation +to generation. Even their language is so poor in words as to hardly +express their everyday wants. The Ainu are low in the scale of humanity. +They have always been low; they have not sunk, for they have never +risen. They have never done any harm in this world, and they will never +do any good. + +The Ainu are without laws, which, paradoxical as it sounds, to a great +extent makes them good. People are never so good as when no harm can be +done. There are indeed few crimes among them; no voluntary infanticides; +very very rarely murders; no suicides; little theft, and as little +treachery among people of the same tribe. Though usually retiring and +reserved, they are hospitable on special occasions, and generous with +what little they possess. The young show an instinctive reverence for +the aged, without considering it a virtue or a duty. Cowardice is +despised by the Ainu, but courage, endurance of pain, and hardship, +drunkenness, and similar qualities, are looked on as the chief virtues +in men. Punishments are seldom inflicted by Ainu on any of their +tribesmen, and the crime must indeed be great to raise the whole +community against the criminal. If by rare chance some great evil has +been done, the chief of the village and all the men assemble, and decide +on the punishment to be inflicted. Flogging is the general punishment +for the lesser crimes, which, according to Ainu ideas, are theft and +assault. The murder of a tribesman is sometimes punished by cutting the +tendons of the hands and feet of the murderer, thus disabling him from +hunting or fishing. If, however, the man murdered was of another tribe, +or a Japanese, this Draconian kind of justice is not administered. +Quarrels among tribesmen are settled by private retribution, and no one +interferes either one way or the other. These quarrels, however, very +seldom occur, as the Ainu are naturally a peaceful people. Imprisonment +does not exist, for the simple reason that the Ainu have no prisons. +They do not know what a prison is; neither is capital punishment +practised by them. According to their own ideas they are not cruel to +children, for we seldom see them wilfully ill-treating them; but +according to civilised notions Ainu women make shockingly bad mothers. +They love, but they do not look after, nor practically take care of, +their little ones after these are about a year and a half old; and as to +washing them, combing their hair, educating them, or trying to cure them +of the thousand and one wretched skin diseases, which come chiefly by +their own neglect, an Ainu mother puts her hand to these things no more +than the men put theirs to the building of a temple or the creation of a +literature. This neglect is not with them, as it would be with us, an +intolerable crime, but is the natural result of their animal instinct as +contradistinguished from rational development. For if a baby is not old +enough at one and a half years of age to take care of himself, he is of +no good as an Ainu. It is needless to add that, in these circumstances, +most of them are of no good, and that the percentage of infantile deaths +is appalling to a civilised mind. + +[Illustration: 1, 7, INAO-NETUBA. 2, 3, 4, 5, CHISEI-KARA-INAO. 6, A +PESTLE OR POUNDER.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +Marital Relations, and Causes that Limit Population. + + +The laws of marriage in the Ainu country are not very stringent; in +fact, there are no laws. If a young man takes a fancy to a pretty hairy +maid, and the maid reciprocates his affections, all they have to do is +to go and live together, and there is no Mrs. Grundy to be scandalised +at the want of closer forms and ceremonies. There is no function to +celebrate the occasion; there are no wedding presents, no bridesmaids, +no officiating clergyman, and no old slipper flung after the happy pair +as soon as the knot is tied. The bridegroom either goes to live in his +bride's hut, or, if he does not care for his mother-in-law, he will +bring his lady-love to his own father's hut. Usually, however, the two, +especially if their respective families are large, prefer to build a hut +of their own. The honeymoon is spent in house-building, and while the +bride carries the loads of timber and long reeds, the bridegroom +accomplishes the more difficult task of putting them together as well as +he can for future shelter. All goes well with the happy couple until the +roof has to be lifted up bodily and perched on the forked poles, during +which process "family rows" generally begin. But they do not last long, +and when the house is finished, though not decorated, home peace reigns +within, and the bridegroom, as we have already seen, proceeds to +ornament his chief treasure--his wife--with tattoos on her arms. This +idyllic state of things is not specially permanent, for soon after this +first marriage the Ainu feels that he would like another wife, and, +without thinking twice about it, he marries again. Though savage and +barbarian, the Ainu is shrewd enough not to take his second wife to live +with his first, for he knows what the result would be, human nature +being the same in Yezo as it is in London, and jealousy as strong among +the tattooed women of the hairy people as among the fair-skinned +daughters of the West. All women are bad enough when out of temper, but +the Ainu women are pre-eminent in this respect. Our shock-haired +bigamist calls his first wife _poro-machi_--"great wife," and he calls +the other _pon-machi_--"small wife;" and as long as the two females do +not live under the same roof they are all happy with the arrangement. +If, indeed, he chooses to have more than these two wives he thinks small +blame to himself. There is no bar of any kind in his code to his having +a third "half;" but this seldom happens now, for the women are not in +such over abundance in the Ainu country as to allow each man to indulge +in a "triple alliance." The Ainu are therefore polygamists when they can +find the third woman, and almost always bigamists when this is possible. +The wife does not take her husband's name, for no Ainu has a family +surname; and each man or woman is called after some peculiarity which he +or she possesses, or after some event or accident which has befallen +them. For instance, _Una-charo_, a man's name, means "Sprinkled-ashes," +and _Yei-Ainu_, "Dangerous Ainu," &c.; and _Korunke_, a woman's name, +means "Ice-eater;" _Reoback_, "Who burst three times," and so on, each +person having a different name, which is nothing more than a nick-name. +When the girl gets married she does not drop this nick-name, neither, as +has been said, does she take her husband's name, though sometimes she is +called So-and-So's wife. Supposing that Miss Burst-three-times were to +marry Mr. Sprinkled-ashes, she would be Mr. Sprinkled-ashes' wife, and +would still be called by her maiden name, Burst-three-times. + +It is impossible to quote exact statistics of the Ainu population, and +whether the women outnumber the men, but from my own observation I +should think that females are in excess of the males in some districts, +and about even in others. + +The man, naturally, is the lord and master of the household, and the +wife is like a kind of inferior being or a slave, whose duty it is to +obey her male companion. She has to yield in everything, whether she is +right or wrong; she is occasionally beaten; she never takes active part +in any of her husband's Bacchanalian revels; but though she leads a sad +kind of life, a life of hard work and no pleasure, she does not seem to +be any the worse for it. There are wives, of course, who, as in other +countries, give a "pretty rough time" to their husbands; but in the Ainu +country these are certainly the exception. As there is no ceremony of +marriage, there is naturally no "divorce;" but if an Ainu gets sick of +his wife, all he has to do is to leave her and go elsewhere, or else to +banish her from his hut. This, however, very seldom happens, for that +rare creature the henpecked Ainu husband is willing to put up with a +lot; and though brave enough to encounter single-handed a bear, the +hairy man is by no means valiant enough to face his wife's temper; +while, for all that she is practically a slave, and personally an +inferior, is sometimes in Ainuland, as everywhere else, the strongest +factor in the domestic sum. + +As long as the wife does her duty well as a "beast of burden," little +more is required from her. Her morals, as far as I could make out, are +not well looked after. Adultery is not considered a crime. I do not mean +by this that adultery is practised on principle, for it is not so: there +is no reason whatever why it should be, for each man has his own wife or +wives; but if adultery were practised by any members of a community, +what we consider a dreadful crime would be regarded as a mere "joke" +among the hairy people. The husband, like any other animal, dumb or not, +would naturally resent the intrusion, but the community would in no way +interfere, or punish the offender. A girl is considered fit to be +married when she is about sixteen years of age; a man about twenty, or +as soon as the body is fully developed. + +People as a rule marry in the same village. It is but seldom that a girl +marries a man or a man a girl of a different village. Villages, as we +have seen, are generally composed of only a few houses, and the result +of this strict endogamy is, that marriages take place among very near +relations. In very small villages of only one or two houses, the father +has been known to marry his own daughter, the uncle his own niece, &c. +But enough of this. The result of this dreadful state of affairs is, +that the race is rapidly dying out, destroyed by consumption, lunacy, +and poverty of blood. All the members of one village are necessarily +related to one another; and, as I have demonstrated in a previous +chapter, this is the main cause why certain diseases are common to one +community and utterly unknown to others, and certain hereditary talents +or tendencies are frequent in one village and imperceptible in the next. + +The Ainu seem to have no Platonic love; their love is purely sexual. It +is not to be wondered at, in a country where marital relations are so +peculiar, that very little love is felt for children beyond a certain +age. The mother suckles her own child usually for seven or eight months. +She can bear children till she is about thirty-five, though some who +seem to be much older are still fruitful. It was difficult to ascertain +this fact for no Ainu knows his own age. As far as I could learn +fertility is neither hindered nor checked in any way--either by adopting +a peculiar diet or by other practices. On the other hand, many a woman +is sterile, and many are also affected with the most horrible of all +diseases. I am inclined to think, however, that this special malady was +imported to Yezo with Japanese civilisation, for it is in the more +civilised parts of the Ainu country that it is most frequent. + +There is probably no country in the world where there is so much loss of +infant life due to want, accidents, and diseases, as with the Ainu. +Abortion is common, owing to the severe exertion of the mother during +pregnancy; and many a child dies not many days after birth for the same +reason, and consequent disappearance of milk in the mother's breasts. +The greater mortality of children, however, is between the age of six +and ten. Only a small percentage of these poor creatures live to take +part in the game of life; while many succumb to ill-treatment and the +most horrible skin eruptions. Thus we have a good explanation of the +frightful rapidity with which the Ainu race is fast disappearing. +Naturally, those few who survive grow strong and healthy; but their +great fondness for alcoholic drinks, which they can now so easily +procure from the Japanese, destroys even them. + +One is generally struck in Ainuland by the number of old men and +children, and by the almost entire lack of young fellows between the age +of fifteen and thirty. This is due mainly to the great increase of +mortality in children during the last two generations. The sadness which +seems to oppress the Ainu, and which we see depicted on the face of each +individual, is nothing but the outcome of this degeneration of the race. +As a race the Ainu will soon be extinct. I dare say that in fifty years +from now--probably not so long--not one of the hairy savages, who were +once the masters of Sakhalin, Yezo, the Kuriles, Kamschatka, and the +whole of the southern Japanese Empire, will be left. Not one of these +strange people--soft, good, and gentle, but savage, brave, and +disreputable--will live to see their country civilised; and in the life +which they have led of filth and vice they will die in front of that +greater scourge, civilisation, leaving behind no traces of themselves, +of their past, of their history, nor of their present--nothing but a +faint recollection, a tradition, that in Yezo and the Kuriles died the +last remains of those curious people, the Hairy Ainu. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +I.--MEASUREMENTS OF THE AINU BODY, AND DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. + + +The following measurements were taken on five men and five women of the +pure Ainu of Frishikobets (Upper Tokachi River). They were carefully +chosen among the best types. + +The names of the men were:-- + +1. Unacharo: _Una_, ashes; _charo_, sprinkled = "Sprinkled-ashes." + +2. Aba pukuro: _Aba_, a relation; _pu_, storehouse; _kuro_, a man = +"Related to the man of the storehouse." + +3. Pe chantwe; _Pe_, undrinkable water; _chan_, to run away; _we_, to +tell = "Who ran to tell of the undrinkable water." + +4. Kosankeyan: _Ko san_, to go down; _ke_, eating; _yan_, cold. + +5. Yei Ainu: _Yei_, dangerous; _Ainu_, Ainu. + +The following were the names of the women:-- + +1. Usattean: _Usat_, cinders; _tean_, long. + +2. Korunke: _Korun_, ice; _ke_, to eat = "Ice-eater." + +3. Sho kem: _Sho_, so; _kem_, blood = "Covered with blood." + +4. Uina mon: _Uina or Una_, ashes; _mon_, tranquil. + +5. Reoback: _Re_, three; _oback_, to burst = "Who burst three times." + + + HEIGHT. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 61 } 1. 58-3/4 } + 2. 65 } 2. 59-7/8 } + 3. 60-1/2 } Med. 62-19/40 3. 59-1/2 } Med. 58-3/8 + 4. 64-7/8 } 4. 54-5/8 } + 5. 61 } 5. 59-1/8 } + + + LENGTH FROM TIP TO TIP OF FINGERS WITH ARMS + OUTSTRETCHED. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 64-5/8 } 1. 59-1/8 } + 2. 65 } 2. 62-1/2 } + 3. 63-1/2 } Med. 65-3/8. 3. 62-1/2 } Med. 61-13/40. + 4. 69-1/2 } 4. 60 } + 5. 64-1/4 } 5. 62-1/2 } + + +It is interesting to notice the great difference between the height and +this latter measurement, showing the great length of the arms in the +Ainu race. + + + THE HUMERUS. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 9 } 1. 8-1/2 } + 2. 9-5/8 } 2. 8-3/4 } + 3. 8-1/2 } Med. 9-9/40. 3. 10-3/8 } Med. 9-19/40. + 4. 9 } 4. 9-3/4 } + 5. 10 } 5. 10 } + + + THE ARM. + + THE ULNA. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 9-1/4 } 1. 9-1/4 } + 2. 10-3/4 } 2. 9-1/8 } + 3. 9-1/8 } Med. 9-37/40. 3. 8-7/8 } Med. 9-1/4. + 4. 11 } 4. 9-3/8 } + 5. 9-1/2 } 5. 9-5/8 } + + THE HAND. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 7-3/8 } 1. 6-7/8 } + 2. 7-1/2 } 2. 7 } + 3. 7-1/4 } Med. 7-2/5. 3. 6-7/8 } Med. 6-9/10. + 4. 7-7/8 } 4. 6-3/4 } + 5. 7 } 5. 7 } + + + THE SPINE (dorsal and lumbar vertebrae to the sacrum). + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 25-1/2 } 1. 27 } + 2. 28-5/8 } 2. 26-3/4 } + 3. 27-1/2 } Med. 27-4/5. 3. 28-1/4 } Med. 27-5/8. + 4. 29-5/8 } 4. 27 } + 5. 27-3/4 } 5. 29-1/8 } + + + THE LEG (Femur, Tibia and Foot.) + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 34-3/8 } 1. 32-7/8 } + 2. 36-1/4 } 2. 35-1/2 } + 3. 32-1/2 } Med. 35-1/20. 3. 34 } Med. 33-13/20. + 4. 37-7/8 } 4. 30-1/2 } + 5. 34-1/4 } 5. 35-3/8 } + + + FEMUR. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 17-1/2 } 1. 18-3/8 } + 2. 18-3/8 } 2. 19-7/8 } + 3. 17-1/8 } Med. 18-5/8. 3. 18-1/2 } Med. 17-33/40. + 4. 20 } 4. 14 } + 5. 20-1/8 } 5. 18-3/8 } + + + TIBIA. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 14 } 1. 14-1/4 } + 2. 14-7/8 } 2. 13 } + 3. 12-5/8 } Med. 13-1/2. 3. 13-1/2 } Med. 13-4/5. + 4. 14-7/8 } 4. 14 } + 5. 11-1/8 } 5. 14-1/4 } + (The Tibia is very flattened with the Ainu.) + + + TARSUS (from ground to Ankle). + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 2-3/4 } 1. 2 } + 2. 3 } 2. 2-5/8 } + 3. 3 } Med. 3. 3. 2 } Med. 2-3/8. + 4. 3-1/4 } 4. 2-1/2 } + 5. 3 } 5. 2-3/4 } + + + CHEST (from Arm-pit to Arm-pit). + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 13-1/2 } 1. 12-5/8 } + 2. 13-5/8 } 2. 14-1/4 } + 3. 13-1/2 } Med. 13-19/40. 3. 14-1/4 } Med. 13-7/20. + 4. 13 } 4. 12-1/4 } + 5. 13-3/4 } 5. 13-3/8 } + + + AROUND CHEST. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 36-1/2 } 1. 33-3/8 } + 2. 35-3/8 } 2. 34-1/2 } + 3. 37-1/2 } Med. 37-3/40. 3. 35-1/2 } Med. 34-1/5. + 4. 37-5/8 } 4. 32-7/8 } + 5. 38-1/8 } 5. 34-3/4 } + + + AROUND WAIST. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 33 } 1. 28-3/8 } + 2. 37 } 2. 31-1/2 } + 3. 34 } Med. 34-7/10. 3. 34-7/8 } Med. 31-7/20. + 4. 36 } 4. 31 } + 5. 33-1/2 } 5. (37-5/8 but was conceived.) + + + MAXIMUM BREADTH OF SHOULDERS. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 19-1/4 } 1. 15-1/2 } + 2. 16 } 2. 13-5/8 } + 3. 18 } Med. 17-1/2. 3. 13-7/8 } Med. 14-2/5. + 4. 18 } 4. 13-7/8 } + 5. 16-1/4 } 5. 15-1/8 } + + + THE FOOT. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 9-1/4 } 1. 8-5/8 } + 2. 9-5/8 } 2. 9-1/8 } + 3. 9-1/2 } Med. 9-23/40. 3. 9-1/8 } Med. 8-4/5. + 4. 10-1/4 } 4. 8-1/4 } + 5. 9-1/4 } 5. 8-7/8 } + + + THE HEAD + (around the Head, just above the Ears). + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 23-1/2 } 1. 23-3/8 } + 2. 23-1/2 } 2. 22-5/8 } + 3. 24-3/8 } Med. 23-3/4. 3. 23-5/8 } Med. 22-29/40. + 4. 22-3/8 } 4. 22 } + 5. 23-1/8 } 5. 23 } + + + LENGTH OF FACE. + (From Hair to Chin.) + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 7-1/2 } 1. 7-1/4 } + 2. 9 } 2. 6-3/4 } + 3. 7-1/2 } Med. 7-31/40. 3. 6-3/4 } Med. 6-7/8. + 4. 6-7/8 } 4. 7 } + 5. 8 } 5. 6-5/8 } + + + WIDTH OF FACE FROM EAR TO EAR + (over Forehead and Cheek Bones). + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 11-7/8 } 1. 11-1/8 } + 2. 12-1/2 } 2. 11 } + 3. 12 } Med. 11-19/20. 3. 11-3/4 } Med. 11-21/40. + 4. 12 } 4. 11-7/8 } + 5. 12-1/8 } 5. 11-1/8 } + + + HEIGHT OF FOREHEAD. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 2-1/4 } 1. 2-1/4 } + 2. 2-7/8 } 2. 1-3/4 } + 3. 2-3/8 } Med. 2-2/5. 3. 2-1/8 } Med. 2. + 4. 2 } 4. 2 } + 5. 2-3/4 } 5. 1-7/8 } + + + WIDTH OF FOREHEAD. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 5 } 1. 6 } + 2. 5-1/4 } 2. 5-1/2 } + 3. 5-1/2 } Med. 5-1/5. 3. 5 } Med. 5-3/8. + 4. 5-3/4 } 4. 4-7/8 } + 5. 6 } 5. 5-1/2 } + + + LENGTH OF EARS. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 3 } 1. 2-3/8 } + 2. 3-1/4 } 2. 2-3/8 } + 3. 2-3/4 } Med. 2-23/40. 3. 2-3/4 } Med. 2-23/40. + 4. 2-1/2 } 4. 2-7/8 } + 5. 2-5/8 } 5. 2-1/2 } + + + LENGTH OF FINGERS. + MEN. WOMEN. + inches. inches. + 1. 3-1/8 } 1. 3 } + 2. 3-3/8 } 2. 3 } + 3. 3 } Med. 3-9/40. 3. 3 } Med. 2-39/40. + 4. 3-5/8 } 4. 2-7/8 } + 5. 3 } 5. 3 } + + (_a_) Colour of skin (in parts not exposed to air)--light reddish + slightly tending towards brown, but almost as light as with + Europeans. + + (_b_) Colour of hair--black, dark-brown, reddish-black, red. + + (_c_) Colour of eyes--light-brown tending towards dark-grey. + + (_d_) Character of hair--wavy. + + (_e_) Amount of hair--abundant on face and all over the body in + males more so than in females. + + +MEASUREMENTS OF SHIKOTAN AINU. + +The skin and eyes are the same colour as with the Yezo Ainu. The hair is +black, dark-red, or dark-brown. Black is the prevalent colour. Children +often have fair hair, which grows darker as they grow older. The hair is +abundant over body and face, and it is wavy. + +The face possesses the identical characteristics of the Yezo Ainu. + + Medium height: 61 inches to 62-3/4 inches. + Round waist: 32-7/8 inches. + Chest: Empty, 35-7/8 inches; inflated, 37-1/2 inches. + Humerus: 11-7/8 inches. + Ulna: 8-11/16 inches. + Hand: 6-3/4 inches. + Foot: 9-1/2 inches. + Spinal vertebrae: 24 inches. + Scapula (from shoulder to shoulder): 17 inches. + Between shoulder-blades: 5-7/8 inches. + Femur: short. + Tibia: very long. + (Natives objected to have their legs measured.) + The Tibia is much rounder than with the Yezo Ainu. + Length of face: 7-1/2 inches. + Width of face from ear to ear: 11-1/8 inches. + Round head above ears: 21-5/8 inches. + Ears: small. + Forehead: 2-3/8 inches high; 5-1/4 inches wide. + +With arms outstretched and from tip to tip of fingers the Shikotan Ainu +measure generally the length of one hand (about 6-3/4 inches) more than +their own height. Consumption, _kaki_, and syphilis are common +complaints among them. + + + + +II.--GLOSSARY OF AINU WORDS, MANY OF WHICH ARE FOUND IN GEOGRAPHICAL +NAMES IN YEZO AND THE KURILE ISLANDS.[43] + + [43] The vowels to be pronounced as in Italian. + + A. + + A = (a suffix). + Apa = an open space, a doorway. + Aikap = impossible, impassable. + Ambe = that is. + An = to be. + Aota = near. + Apta = rain. + Apun = gently. + At = a tree. + Atsu = barren, naked. + + + B. + + Bets, or pets, pet = river. + Be, or pe = pestilential water. + But, or put = mouth of a river. + + + C. + + Cha = old. + Cha cha = very old. + Chip = fish. + Chippe = a canoe, a boat. + Chup = the sun. + + + E. + + Erimu = a rat. + Etoko = formerly, in front of. + Etu = a cape. + + + F. + + Fu = bare. + Fun = green. + Fure = red (also pronounced Hure). + Frishiko = old. + + + H. + + Haru = grass. + Hattara = a deep pool in a watercourse. + Hure = a bad smell. + Hure = red. + + + I. + + I = a suffix for "a place." + Ibe = to feed. + Ichan = a canal made by salmon in river-beds to lay their, spawn. + Ikam = against. + Iwa = stone, a rock. + Itapk = word, story. + Iwashi (Japanese) = sardine. + Iwao = sulphur. + + + K. + + Kama = cliffs, rocks, to go over. + Kamui = great, wonderful, ancient. + Kap = bark of a tree. + Kara = to take, to make. + Kashi = towards. + Kerimba = a berry. + Kene = an alder tree. + Kem = blood. + Kenashi = a meadow. + Keshup = head. + Kesh = towards the west. + Ki = rushes. + Kim = mountain. + Kinna = mat. + Kinna = reeds. + Kinna = grass. + Kiri = to know. + Kitai = mountain. + Koi = the waves of the sea. + Kochi = level. + Kombo = sea-weed. + Koro = to possess, to have. + Kotan = a village, a place. + Kotcha = in front of. + Ku = a bow. + Kuano = straight. + Kume = black, very dark. + Kuru, or guru = a person. + + + M. + + Ma = to swim, deep. + Mak = behind. + Makta = away. + Mata = winter. + Meak = female. + Mean = cold. + Mo = tranquil. + Mon = small, tranquil. + Mom = to flow like a river. + Moire = slow. + Moi = a bay, a sheltered bend in a river where the water is quiet. + Moshiri, or mushir = island, country, place, land. + Moshiri Kes = the east. + Moshitte-chu-pok = north. + Moshiri pok = west. + Moshitte-chu-pka = south. + Mun = grass. + + + N. + + Na = again. + Na = bigger, or smaller (also sign of comparative). + Nai, or Nae = a rivulet, a small stream. + Nai yau = a tributary stream. + Nak = where. + Nam = cold, as water, as ice. + Naoak = yet more shallow. + Ne = together, where, and, also, which, &c. + Neatka = also, again. + Nen = who. + Neto = where. + Ni = wood, or tree. + Nikam = leaves of a tree. + Nibeshi = name of a tree (probably _Tilia_). + Nikap = bark of a tree. + Nipek = a fire, a flame. + Nisei = valley. + Nisusu = scenery, panorama, view. + Nitat = swampy ground, a swamp, a lagoon. + Nitai = a forest. + Nitt = a thorn. + Nitek = branches of trees. + Nituman = trunk of a tree. + Nobori = mountain. + No = (meaningless ending of words). + Noshike = middle. + Noshihike = half. + Nupka = a forest. + Nup = a treeless plain. + Nup = a deep silent pool in a river. + Nuburi = mountain. + Nupuru = turbid (as water). + Nupuri = a mountain (volcano). + Nutap = the projecting part of a river bend. + + + O. + + O = a meaningless prefix, sometimes used as an adjective. + Oara = one. + Oboso = to pass through (as water). + Oak = shallow--not deep. + Oha = empty. + Ohoho = deep. + Okai = at a place. + Okai = a male. + Okari = around. + Oakau = to hide. + Oakan = a male. + Omanne = to go. + Oma = to be inside. + Onne = large, old, great. + Opattek = a volcanic eruption. + Opeka = straight. + Oro = to be in. + Oropak = as far as. + Oshima = to go in. + Oshimak = behind. + Ota = sand. + Otaru = sandy. + Opke = a spear. + Ot = in, inside, into. + Oya = another. + Oushike = a place. + Oyapk = away, abroad. + Oyapk moshiri = away, country (foreign country). + + + P. + + Pa = smoke. + Pa = east-end of villages. + Pai = bushes. + Pakne = as far as. + Panke = lower. + Paru = the mouth. + Pase = heavy. + Patek = only. + Pe = pestilential water, bad water, not good to drink. + Pei = something. + Pene = inland. + Pet, pets, bets = river. + Pet bena = source of a river. + Pet samo = bank of a river. + Petsamata = by the side of a river. + Pet put = the mouth of a river. + Pet-urara = a stream. + Pet yao = an affluent. + Pet-ka-shu = to wade a river. + Penke = upper. + Pinni = ash-tree. + Pinne = male. + Piuta = sand (coarse). + Pipa = a spring of fresh water. + Pira = a bank, a cliff. + Piri = a wound. + Pirika = pretty, good, well, all-right. + Pishita = sea-beach. + Pita = to untie, to undo. + Pitara = a dry place in a river-bed. + Po = a small thing. + Pon = small. + Poi-shuma = pebbles, stones. + Poka = only. + Popke = hot, steaming (also Topke). + Poro = large. + Pui = a hole. + Puri = natural, very, usual. + Put, Putu (corrupted into Buto by the Japanese) = the mouth of a river. + + + R. + + Rai = death. + Rakka = seal. + Rahuru = a fog. + Ram = low. + Ran = to descend (a mountain). + Rangu = a kind of tree. + Rarumani = a kind of tree (_Taxus cuspidata_). + Re = three. + Repun = to go, in the sea, surrounded by water. + Repun moshiri = an island. + Rera = wind. + Retara = white. + Ri = high. + Rikkin = to ascend. + Riri = a wave. + Riri-shiye-tuye = ebb tide. + Riri-ya = flow tide. + Roru = at the head. + Ru = a road, a track, a pathway + Rui = to burn. + Rukoppe = where roads cross. + Rui = great, big. + Rubeshipe = a ravine. + Rupne = large. + + + S. + + Sapk = summer. + Sak = without. + Sama = by the side of. + San = to descend. + Sara, Saru = a grassy plain. + Sat = dry. + Sattek = shallow water. + Sesek = hot. + Seta = dog. + Shep = broad. + Shi = high. + Shibe = autumn salmon. + Shiki = a kind of tall grass. + Shiko = a view, a sight. + Shimon = on the right-hand side. + Shimoye = to shake, to move. + Shenai = a large river. + Shirari = a cliff, mass of loose texture. + Shirau = a horse-fly. + Shiretu = a cape. + Shiri = land. + Shiruturu = a small island in a river. + Sho = so. + Shoi = a hole. + Shum = foam. + Shuma = a stone. + So = a waterfall. + Shupun = a kind of fish. + Shusu = a willow tree. + + + T. + + Ta = to, towards, to take, to cut. + Taanni = on this side. + Taksep = a rock. + Tapne = short. + Tanne = long. + Tap kop = an isolated hill. + Tat = Birch-tree (_Betula_). + To, or ko = a lake, a swamp. + Toambe = that. + Toi = earth. + Tokap = day, light. + Tomari = a harbour, a sheltered place. + Top = scrub bamboo. + Tope = _Acer_--a kind of tree. + Tukara, also Tokari = sea-otter. + Tunni = _Quercus dentata_. + Tureshi = to ascend. + Turep = a plant, the roots of which are eaten by the Ainu. + + + U. + + U = a suffix to indicate a place. + Uhui, also Ouye = a fire. + Uhui nobori = a volcano. + Un = a particle denoting that something is to be found at a place. + Upas = snow. + Ush = a bay. + Ush = a gulf. + Ush = a locative particle. + Uta = a master. + Utka = the rapids of a river. + + + W. + + Wa = from. + Wakka = water. + Wen = bad. + + + Y. + + Ya = land. + Yai = danger. + Yaikap = awkward. + Yam = cold, a chestnut. + Yuk = a deer. + Yutta = greatest. + + + + +INDEX. + + + A. + + Abashiri, 81, 92, 137-139, 161, 184. + + Abashiri Lagoon, 138, 139. + + Abnormalities, 267. + + Abortion, 296. + + Abstinence from food and drink, 238, 239. + + Abus, 48. + + Adultery, 295. + + Adzes (stone), 78, 79. + + Affection, 272. + + Affirmation, 234. + + Age of the Ainu, 271. + + Agriculture, 62. + + Ahunkanitte, 210. + + Aikap, Cape, 177. + + Ainu bits, 110. + capacity for drink, 23. + conclusion, an, 27. + diet, 24. + dirt, 27. + gentleness, 17. + good-nature, 27. + implements, 86. + legends, 28, 29. + names on Nippon, 94. + names, 298. + Paganini, 258. + pronunciation, 112. + village, 74. + way of approaching huts, 171. + + Airup, Cape, 176. + + Akangawa, 75. + + Akkeshi, 80, 102-104, 106, 139. + + Akkeshi bay, 104, 105. + lagoon, 103. + + Albinism, 268. + + Aleutian Islands, 94. + + Aleuts, 91. + + Alexandrovitch, 127. + + Amida, 204. + + Ancestral attachment, 216. + + Anchors, 39. + + Anchorages, 112, 129, 142, 167, 168, 174, 194, 203. + + Angotsuro, 7. + + Apa-otki (door-mat), 211. + + Aputa, 5, 10. + + Archaeology, 77. + + Architecture, 207. + + Arms, 243. + + Arrows, 216. + + Arrow-heads (flint), 78, 79. + + Art, 218-220, 227, 228. + + Artist, 69. + + Arundinaria, 5, 23. + + Asiatic Society of Japan, 89, 290. + + Assap River, 203. + + Attacked by the Ainu, 13-15. + + Attitudes, 241. + + At-pets, River, 35. + + Atzis-robe, 213, 246, 247, 252. + + Atzosa Volcano, 130. + + Atzta, 176, 177. + + Australia, 102. + + Australian blacks, 159, 228. + + Authority of chiefs, 267. + + Awomori, 93. + + + B. + + Backbone of Yezo, 63, 122. + + Bakkai, 168. + + Baldness, 104, 232, 269. + + Bamboo arrow-points, 79. + + Barabuta, 202, 203. + + Baratte, 188. + + Barter, 216, 249. + + Basha, 3, 12, 195, 198, 202. + + Batchelor, Rev. I., 59, 83, 87, 88. + + Bathing, 76. + + Battles, 81, 86, 93. + + Beaches, 73. + + Bears, 44, 51, 56, 61, 65, 66, 85, 101, 131, 142, 147, 159, 214. + + Bear (descent from the), 281. + hunting, 272. + (ill-usage of), 282. + skins, 245. + skull trophy, 286. + + Beliefs compared, 288. + + Bending of watercourses, 165. + + Benke, Cape, 194, 195. + + Benry, 23, 26, 27, 30-34, 260, 283, 286. + + Benten Island, 204. + + Bentenjima (Nemuro), 80, 115. + + Bento, 3, 4. + + Beppo, 65. + + Betoya, 129. + + Bettobu, 82, 130. + Bay, 129, 130. + + Birvase, 112. + + Bitskai, 133. + + Bone arrow-point, 81, 82. + carvings, 222. + setting, 176. + + Bonzes, 197, 198, 283. + + Bowls, 209, 225. + + Bows and arrows, 223, 225. + + Buddhists, 283. + + Buddhist shrine, 283. + + Burial, 225, 227, 284. + + + C. + + Cancer, 174. + + Cannibalism, 59. + + Canoes, 37-39, 90, 177. + + Carrying children, 238. + weights and burdens, 238. + + Castes, 266. + + Castle, 204. + + Caucasian races, 236, 238. + + Chanting, 113, 258. + + Charcoal in pits, 81. + + Charms, 288. + + Chevrons, 221. + + Child-bearing, 296. + + Children of Kurile Islands, 129. + + Chimney, 23. + + Chiefs at a festival, 30, 31. + + Chief's crown, 250. + tomb, 226. + + Chieftainship, 266. + + Chietomamai, 163. + + China, 26. + + Chinese, 276. + idea, 77. + sea, 163. + + Chisei-kara-inao, 286. + + Cholera, 184. + + Choruses, 256, 264. + + Christians, 12, 127, 128, 156, 289. + + Christian minister, 198. + virtues, 269. + + Chukbets, 173. + + Chuppets, River, 183. + + Chuskin Island, 162. + + Cisango, 203. + + Civilisation, 58, 59, 65, 216, 217, 288, 297. + + Clothes, 2, 3, 60, 190, 245, 250. + and boots, 2, 3, 95, 96, 202, 246, 247. + + Coal, 75, 174, 205. + field, 75. + mines, 183, 185. + trains, 186. + trucks, 76. + + Coins, 151. + + Colonial militia, 188, 189. + + Colonisation scheme, 185. + + Colonists, 74, 115, 116. + + Comparisons, 229. + + Compass, 53. + + Concert, 263, 264. + + Conservatism, 216. + + Consul, 206. + + Consumption, 128, 174, 179, 296, 304. + + Convicts (Japanese), 102, 184-186. + + Copper, 122. + + Coptic Church, 127, 128. + + Corea, 26, 174. + + Creator, 281, 285. + + Criminals, 269. + + Crosses, 268, 269. + + Crows, 35, 46. + attacking a pony, 146. + (familiarity of), 149. + (multitude of), 5. + + Cruelty to children, 292. + + Currents, 48, 139, 143, 161, 163, 165, 169. + + Cutaneous diseases, 42. + + + D. + + Daikuku Island, 11. + + Daikuku and Kodaikuku Islands, 105. + + Daimio, 204. + + Dancing, 264, 265. + + Darwin's theory of evolution, 280. + + Deer-skin coat, 245. + + Degeneration of the race, 297. + + Deluge, the, 29. + + Descriptive characters of Yezo Ainu (Appendix), 298, 303. + of Shikotan Ainu (Appendix), 303, 304. + + Designs, 221, 227. + + Dew, 53. + + Dirt, 88, 128. + + Divinities, 282. + + Divorce, 295. + + Dogs (wild), 154, 159. + + Drainage area of Ishikari River, 181, 182. + + Dress of Kurilsky Ainu, 126, 127. + + Drift-ice, 161. + logs, 48, 169. + sand, 139, 142, 170. + + Drinking vessels, 215, 223. + + Drunkenness, 17, 32, 291. + + Dug-outs, 5, 63, 64, 92, 170, 183. + + Dwarfs, 251. + + Dying out of the race, 296. + + + E. + + Eagles, 142, 152, 153, 214. + + Ear-rings, 6, 249. + + Ears, 230, 303, 304. + + Eclipses, 234. + + Education, 266. + + Egyptian cross, 227. + + Election of chief, 10, 266. + + Elephantiasis, 143. + + Embroideries, 180, 246, 247. + + Emperor's palace, 183. + + Enamelling, 222. + + Endogamy, 295. + + Entogroul, 164. + + Eramachi, 204. + + Erimo Cape, 19, 42-44, 73, 80. + + Esan Volcano, 4, 198, 200, 201. + + Esashi, 162, 202, 203. + + Esquimaux, 84, 85, 91. + + Ethnologists, 263. + + Etiquette, 31, 211, 212. + + Etorofu, 80, 82, 88, 91, 123, 129, 131, 132. + + European comforts, 158. + dinner, 69, 119. + + Eyelashes, 231, 279. + + + F. + + Face, 229, 230, 232, 302, 304. + (width of), 302, 304. + + Factories, 187, 192. + + Falsetto voice, 257. + + Family rows, 293. + + Farming region, 187. + + Fasting, 53. + + Ferry, 178, 181. + + Ferry-boat, 103. + + Finger-rings, 249. + + Fingers, 303. + + Fish diet, 42. + manure, 41. + + Fishermen, 39, 103, 142, 163, 174, 192, 193, 199. + + Fishermen's huts, 20. + + Fishing, 53, 64, 130, 224. + nets, 60. + villages, 203. + + Fire, 193, 209. + + Fleas, etc., 26, 212. + + Flies--black flies and horseflies, 45, 66, 212. + + Flint implements, 78, 79. + knives, 78, 79. + + Flirting (curious way of), 141. + + Folk-lores, 259. + + Footprints, 159, 160, 161. + of Ainu, 160, 161. + of Japanese, 160, 161. + of bears, 47. + + Forest, 101, 135, 161. + + Forts, 77, 81, 82, 141. + + Foxes, 102, 126, 131, 142, 214. + + Frishikobets village, 58, 61, 65, 252. + + Fujiama, 161, 167. + + Fukushima, 205. + + Funa, 3. + + Funerals, 227. + + Furembets river, 171. + + Furimbe, 199. + + Furniture, 208. + + Furubets, 130. + + Future legend, 155, 156. + + Fylfot, 227. + + + G. + + Geology, 21. + + Geometrical patterns, 221. + + Geyser, 100. + + Girdles, 250. + + Girls (Ainu), 157. + (Japanese) shown in cages, 117. + + Glossary of Ainu words, 304-311. + + God, 281, 282. + + Gokibira, 177. + + Graphic signs, 218. + + Grass, 21, 52, 62. + + Graves, 221, 223, 225-227. + + Graveyard, 128, 180, 225, 227. + + Guechas, or singers, 116, 117. + + Gun-practice, 199. + + + H. + + Habits and customs of pit-dwellers, 91. + + Hakodate, 11, 78, 90, 93, 104, 112, 199, 201. + + Hakodate Bay, 1, 2, 205. + Bund, 1. + Head, 1. + Isthmus, 2. + Peak, 1, 2, 201. + + Hair, 231, 250, 251. + + Hairiness, 85, 88, 142, 145. + + Half-breeds, 34, 39, 47, 268, 270. + castes, 7, 93, 109, 111, 196, 229, 269, 275, 282. + (photographs of Japanese half-castes), 263. + frontal bone, 270. + skull, 270. + animal propensities, 270. + bumps, 270. + age, 270. + rheumatism, leprosy and kaki, 270. + + Hamboro, 173. + + Hammanaka, 112, 113. + + Hanasaki, 114. + + Hand-clapping, 264. + + Hando, 193. + + Haraguchi, 203. + + Harbours (want of), 74. + and anchorages, 75, 104, 115, 116, 124, 125, 165, 202, 204. + + Harpoons, 224. + + Harutori Lagoon, 75-77, 82. + + Hattaushi, 113. + + Head, 229, 302, 304. + (muscular power), 241. + + Heaven and hell, 290. + + Henson (Mr.), 2, 202. + + Hera, or netting-mesh, 223. + + Herrings, 104, 115, 134, 166, 173, 203. + + High-days, 289. + + High-land, 73, 104, 111. + + History, 218. + + Hokkaido, 11, 122, 123. + + Hokkaido-cho, 187. + + Hondemura, 102. + + Horanaho or Rausu Volcano, 131. + + Horse-breeding, 115. + + Horse-farm, 35. + + Horsemen (Ainu), 108. + + Horse-racing, 237. + + Horobets, 12, 234, 272. + Ainu, 17. + + Horohuts, 20. + + Horoizumi, 41, 43, 44, 52. + + Hoshi or leggings, 247. + + Hospitality, 291. + + Hostilities, 147. + + Hunger, 45, 52, 199. + + Hungry dogs, 7. + + Hunting, 126. + + Hurupira, Mount, 193. + + Hut building, 207. + burning, 123, 212, 213. + + Huts, 5, 8, 24, 35, 56, 58, 76, 81, 84, 85, 86, 89, 90, 96, 99, 104, + 111, 125, 128, 157, 158, 170, 171, 180, 207, 210-212. + + Hypnotism, 191. + + + I. + + Ice, 85. + + Ichibishinai (Etorofu), 122. + + Idyll, 139, 140. + + Idzumizawa, 205. + + Igiani, 135. + + Ikahasonets Cape, 130. + + Ikuru, 173. + + Ikusum River, 185. + + Imi (garments), 25. + + Imotsuto, 129. + + Imprisonment, 292. + + Improvisators, 259. + + Inao, 31, 214, 224, 286-288. + in shape of a doll, 287. + making, 240. + netuba, 286. + + Infanticides, 291. + + Inflammation of the eyes, 279. + + Inomata Yoshitaro, 68-72. + + Insanity and idiocy, 266. + in half-castes, 270. + + Instincts, 158, 159, 216, 282. + + Intermarriage, 60, 196, 267. + with Japanese, 5. + + Iris, 231, 279. + + Iron, 122. + + Irrigation, 63. + + Ishikari, 84, 176. + river, 169, 178, 179, 181-183, 191, 275. + (course of), 182. + Ainu, 179, 183, 184, 219, 226, 250. + village, 180. + + Ishikishiri penitentiary, 185. + + Ishisaki, 203. + + Isoya, 193, 198. + (Motto Isoya, Shimakotan, Isoya), 193. + + Italy, 287. + + Iwanai, 193. + + Iwaonobori, 193, 200. + + Iwa Rocks, 47, 49. + + Iyomanrei, 30. + + + J. + + Jacko (chief of Shikotan Ainu), 127. + + Japan, 26. + Daily Mail, 189. + + Japanese customs, 5. + + Japanese adoption of Ainu language and ways, 112, 113. + clothes, 245, 246. + Empire, 122, 123. + government, 96, 103, 114, 123, 179, 187, 188. + hero, 283, 284. + parliament, 190. + politeness, 36, 69. + settlers, 2. + songs, 257. + villages, 50. + woman's toilette, 117, 118. + + Jealousy, 234, 235, 294. + + Jew's harp, 258. + + Jockeys, 33. + + Jungle, 51-53, 66. + + + K. + + Kaki, 174, 202, 241, 304. + + Kakumi, 198, 199. + + Kamida Maru (wreck of), 179. + + Kamikawa, 183, 184. + (population of), 184. + + Kamiiro, 205. + + Kaminokumi, 203. + + Kammakappe, 209. + + Kamschatka, 91, 122, 123, 153, 297. + + Kamui or Kamoi, 285, 286, 290. + + Kamuieto Cape, 174. + + Kamuikotan, 286. + rapids, 183. + + Kamui Mount, 193. + + _Kando_ and _Teine-pokna-moshiri_, 290. + + Karibayama, 193. + + Kawamura, 192, 193. + + Kawata Tera, 253. + + Kenashpa, 65. + + Kikonai, 205. + + Kimonos, 2. + + Kinna (mats), 209, 225. + + Kinney, 61. + + Kiritap, 106, 112. + + Kitchen-middens, 92. + + Knife-blades, 216. + + Knives, 13, 219, 220, 223-225, 272. + + Kofikan, 187. + + Komagatake Volcano, 3, 4, 197, 200. + + Komuki lagoon, 142. + + Ko-numa, 3. + + Koshima, 204. + + Kotan-kara-kamui, 285. + + Kudo, 203. + + Kumaishi, 203. + + Kunashiri, 80, 88, 91, 123, 131, 132. + + Kunnui, 197. + + Kurile Islands, 78, 80, 87-89, 92, 121, 122, 131, 132, 190, 201, + 231, 282, 297. + + Kurile Islands (trade of), 115. + + Kurilsky Ainu, 87-90, 94, 123-128, 180, 213, 251, 268. + + Kuromatsunai, 195. + + Kuro-shiwo, or Japan current, 48, 165, 169. + + Kushiro, 74-77, 81, 82, 91, 95-97, 104, 190. + + Kutambets, 178. + + Kutcharo lake, 84, 85, 98-101, 137, 207, 286. + river, 74, 75, 80, 82, 95, 96, 101, 207. + + + L. + + Lagoons, 139, 142, 163, 170. + + Language, 59, 283, 291. + + La Perouse Strait, 131, 161, 164, 169. + + Laws, 273, 291. + + Laws of marriage, 293. + + Legends, 28, 29, 260. + + Legend + : Abe-ten-rui, 261. + : Inu-sapk, 261. + : Kimta-na, 261. + : Tushi-une-pan, 260. + + Leprosy, 42, 54. + + Letters, 201, 202. + + Libations, 289. + + Life-boat, 168. + + Lighting, 135. + + Lines, 227. + + Lopatka Cape, 123. + + Lunatics, 61, 146-149. + + + M. + + Machinery, 187, 216. + + Madwoman, 54, 55. + + Makkarinupuri (Volcano), 200. + + Malaise, 46. + + Malarial fever, 174. + + Manners, 242. + + Map-drawing, 218. + + Marks (owner's), 218. + + Masatomari, 195. + + Mashe (fish), 173. + + Mashike, 174. + Mount, 174-176. + + Maternal love, 155. + + Mat-making, 211. + + Matrons, 265. + + Matsumai, 203-205. + + Meals, 170, 171. + + Measurements of Yezo Ainu body (Appendix), 298-302. + + Measurements of Shikotan Ainu (Appendix), 303, 304. + + Measurements of Ainu with arms outstretched, 299, 304. + + Memuro-puto, 61. + + Menoko (girls), 32. + + Metallurgy, 216. + + Metempsychosis, 284. + + Mice and rats, 213. + + Migratory people, 91. + population, 173, 174. + + Milne (Prof.), 89. + + Missionaries, 28, 29, 59, 155, 156, 285, 290. + + Mitsuashi River, 39. + + Mocassins, 60, 127. + and boots, 247. + + Model farm, 187, 188. + + Mohechi, 205. + + Moi, 176. + + Mombets, 5, 11. + + Momonai, 192. + + Mongolian, 129, 230. + type, 179. + + Monuments, 226. + + Morality, 269, 290, 295. + + Mori, 4, 196, 197, 200. + + Moroi, 178. + + Mororran, 5, 19, 196. + (Shin-, and Kiu-), 11. + + Mortality, 123, 128, 296, 297. + + Mourning, 227. + + Moustache lifter, 23, 208, 220, 221, 289. + + Moustache tattooed, 252, 254. + + Movements and attitudes, 239. + + Moyoro or Biru, 47. + + Moyorotake or Bear Bay, 129. + + Mukawa, 20, 21. + + Musemes, 1. + + Music, 255. + of Ainu, 255. + of Westerns, 255. + as a cure of illness, 261. + Chromatic intervals, 258, 259. + diabolical, 262. + Diatonic minor scale, 258. + education in, 257. + to facilitate manual labour, 262. + feeling in, 255. + fondness for, 257. + imitation of noises in, 257. + key note, 259. + loud, 263. + melody, 259. + metre, 261. + modulations, 255. + modulations in tunes, 258, 259. + passion in, 255. + personality in, 260. + rhythmical effects in, 255, 258. + rhythmical method, 259. + sad, 264. + suggestions of animal sounds in, 261. + teaching of, 260. + + temperamental characteristics in, 263. + transformation of a theme, 260. + vocal, 256. + + Musical instruments, 257, 258. + memory, 257. + notation, 255. + strings, 257. + + Myopy, 279. + + + N. + + Nagayama, Governor of the Hokkaido, 192. + + Naibo, 130. + + Naye, 185. + + Nayosami Hill, 183. + + Necklaces and earrings, 60, 249. + + Nemuro, 114-116, 118, 119, 121, 133, 161. + + Neptka, 204. + + Nigori River, 197. + + Nii-pak-pets, River, 35. + + Nippon, 92, 93, 104. + + Nishibets, 133. + + Nitumap, 61. + + Nobori-bets village, 18. + Volcano, 18, 19. + + Noshafo Cape, 73, 114, 115, 161. + + Nossyap Cape, 167, 168. + Peninsula, 167, 168. + + Notoro Cape, 130. + Lake, 139. + + Notski Peninsula, 133. + + Nusa, 214, 286. + + + O. + + Oak, 21. + + Oakan and Moyokan, 98, 135. + + Oakan River, 99. + + Obishiro, 58. + + Obune, 198, 199. + + Odour, 276. + + Odour of Europeans, 276. + of women, 276, 277. + + Oitoi, 130. + + Okashi-nae Mountain, 177. + + Okos, 43. + + Okushiri Island, 203. + + Omangus, 146-150. + + Onekotan, 123. + + Onembets, 129. + + Onishika, 173, 174. + + Onnetto Lagoon, 116. + River, 116, 133. + + Ono-numa, 3. + + Opoto Lake, 137. + + Oputateishike Mountain-mass, 63. + + Oputs, 48. + + Orang-outang, 146. + + Ornamentations, 218-220. + + Osaru River, 11. + + Oshamambe, 193, 196, 197. + + Oshima Island, 203, 204. + province, 4. + + Oshoro, 192. + + Osman Pasha, 164. + + Ota Cape, 203. + + Otaru, 20, 191. + + Otaussi-nai Village, 185. + + Otatsube, 199. + + Otchishi, 113, 114. + + Otkoshk sea, 123, 131, 133, 135, 143. + + Otopke Mount, 63, 64. + + Otoshibe River, 197. + + Otoyebukets, 183. + + Otsu, 48, 50, 51, 68, 73. + + Otsugawa River, 50. + + Ottoinnai, 61. + + Owls, 102. + + Oyama Iwao (Count), Minister of State for War, 189. + + Oysters, 104, 113, 139. + + + P. + + Pack-saddles, 17, 18, 237. + + Paddle (Hera), 208. + + Para-puta, 195. + + Paro-mushir, 123, 126. + + Pasture-land, 107. + + Pehambe-ushi River, 103. + + Pekoatnit, 210. + + Pensatsunai, 58. + + Perohune, 48. + + Pestilence, 61. + + Physiognomy, 230. + + Physiological observations, 274. + + Pico Strait, 131. + + Piegawa River, 183. + + Pipes, etc., 223. + + Piratori, 22, 30, 248, 253, 260, 261, 264, 275, 283, 284. + Valley, 33. + + Pit-dwellers (Koro-pok-kuru), 77-80, 83-87, 90, 92, 104, 114, 125, + 130, 251. + + Pit-dwellers' implements, 190. + + Pits, 77-84, 88-94, 114, 130, 141. + + Plateau, 63. + like peninsula, 114. + + Poisoned arrows, 223, 224. + + Polygamy, 294. + + Polytheists, 281, 285, 290. + + Pombets, 65. + + Ponies, 3, 21, 65, 66, 138. + + Pon-machi (small wife), 28, 294. + + Pontoo, 122, 131. + + Pooley, Mr., 206. + + Population, 294. + + Porobets River, 162. + + Poronai, 157, 161, 183-186. + coal-mines, 191. + + Poro-machi (great wife), 28, 294. + + Poro-nam-bets River, 41. + + Poro-usa, 209. + + Posturing, 264. + + Pottery, 80, 86, 215. + + Poverty of the Ainu, 5. + of blood, 296. + + Prayers, 289. + + Prehistoric man, 242. + + Progeny of mixed marriages, 268. + + Provisions, 3, 211. + + Publications on the Ainu, 229. + + Pulse-beat, 275. + + Pumice, 5, 21, 73. + + Punishments, 291. + + Purokenashpa, 65. + + + Q. + + Quarrels, 292. + + Quicksands, 139, 169, 170. + + Quicksand River, 157. + + Quiver, 224, 225. + + + R. + + Rags, 247. + + Rahush Mount (Kunashiri), 122. + + Rain, 3, 135, 193, 197, 200. + + Raishats, 179, 226. + + Rattler (H.M.S.), 165. + + Recitative, 256. + + Reeds and rushes, 51, 57, 62, 66, 67, 90. + + Reefs, 123, 194. + + Relations, 296. + + Religion, 283. + + Religious ideas, 281. + race, 198. + + Repun, 10. + + Repunshiri, 167, 168. + + Resurrection of the body, 284, 290. + + Reversed coil, 222. + + Rheumatism, 128, 174, 241. + + Rhyme, 261. + + Riding, 17, 237. + bareback, 243. + + Riruran, 107, 108, 111. + + Rishiri Island, 167, 168. + + Rivers, + peculiarity in, 135. + troublesome, 151. + + Roasting hook, 211. + + Robinson Crusoe, 133. + + Rocks, 41, 111, 163. + + Roofs, 207. + + Rubeshibe River, 183. + + Rubets, 83, 130, 135. + + Rumoi, 174. + + Russia, 88, 122. + exchange with, 179. + + Russian Bible, 127. + convicts, 142, 143, 165. + cruiser, Crisorok, 168. + regime, 127. + + + S. + + Sacrilege, 200. + + Sadness, 232, 297. + + Saint Andrew's Cross, 227. + + Sake, 17, 23, 24, 31. + + Sakhalin or Krafto, 88, 92, 93, 122, 142, 161, 165, 297. + + Sakhalin Ainu, 179. + + Salaams, 7, 23. + + Salutation, Ainu, 6, 128, 256. + + Salmon, 130, 131, 133, 134, 173. + + Salmon, dried, 211. + + Salmon-fishing, 63, 64, 182. + + Salmon-trout, 130. + + Sandals, 248. + + Sappro, 20, 91, 186, 187-191. + + Sardine fishing, 19, 20, 41, 47, 48. + + Saru-buto, 20. + + Saru district, climate of, 84. + + Sarubuts, 163. + + Saruffo-Ko Lagoon, 111, 114. + + Saruma Lagoon, 81, 139, 142, 162. + + Saru-Mombets, 20, 21, 34, 35. + + Saru River, 22, 58, 207, 286. + Ainu, 260. + + Saruru, 44, 46, 47, 157. + + Satsuma, 92. + + Satsumai and Ghifzan, 63. + + Satsuma Maru, 1, 206. + + Savage dance, 32. + + Savage Landor, 158. + + Savages, 159. + + Sawaki, 161. + + Scenery, 41, 46, 100, 111, 114, 129, 135, 162, 176, 192, 193. + + Scitzo, 193-195. + + Sea-birds, 48, 105, 138, 151, 152. + + Se-Cherippe Lagoon, 104. + + Seal-fishery, 104. + + Seals, 126, 131, 139, 161. + + Sea-trout, 170. + + Sea-weed, 41, 47, 104, 113, 115. + + Sensation, 14. + + Sense + of hearing, 278-280. + of sight, 278, 279. + of smell, 276. + of taste, 278. + of touch, 277. + + Sensitiveness, 277. + of lips, tongue, hands, fingers, lumbar region, etc., 278. + + Sexual love, 296. + + Shakotan, 176. + Cape, 191. + Peninsula, 192, 193. + + Shama-ne, 39-41. + + Shame and disgust, 233. + + Shamesen, 258. + + Shana, 131. + + Shanoi, 162. + + Shari, 80, 92, 135-137, 240. + + Shari-Mombets, 142, 143. + + Shaubets, 70, 73, 74. + + Shell-heaps, 81, 92, 104. + + Shibe-gari-pets, 35, 37. + + Shibetcha, 96, 97, 99, 101-104. + + Shibets, 134, 135. + + Shibumotzunai Lagoon, 142. + + Shikarubets Otchirsh, 61-64. + + Shikotan, 123-129, 207, 231. + Ainu, 87, 88. + Island, 88, 89. + + Shimokebo, 35-37. + + Shimushir, 88-90, 123, 126. + + Shina, 60. + + Shiofuki, 203. + + Shirakami Cape, 205. + + Shiranuka, 74, 75. + + Shiraoi, 19. + + Shiretoko Cape, 122, 135. + Peninsula, 135, 138. + + Shiribeshi Province, 4. + + Shiribets, 193. + + Shirikishinai, 201. + + Shirin Lake, 96. + + Shiriuchi, 205. + + Shoals and reefs, 104. + + Shooting rapids, 183-185. + + Shorui-washi, 64. + + Shoulders, 301, 304. + + Shoya, 44-47. + + Shrine, 199, 200. + + Siberian coast, 153. + + Siliusi lighthouse, 163. + + Skin, 276. + colour of, 230. + eruptions, 6, 296. + + Skull trophy, 214. + + Sleep, 275. + + Sleeping, 244. + + Slyness, 234, 235. + + Smoke, 211. + black, 252. + + Snow, 84, 85, 115, 197. + and glaciers, 165. + sandals, 60. + + Singing, 256. + + Sitting, 243. + + Soldiers, 102, 103. + + Songs, 255, 256. + + Sorachi river, 183, 185. + + Soshi, 75. + + Soul, 284. + + Soya Cape, 42, 80, 81, 92, 163, 165, 167. + + Spain, 287. + + Spears, 224. + + Speculation, 90, 91. + + Spezia, Gulf of, 41. + + Spiders, 45. + + Spoons, 215. + + Spruces, 104. + + Stackhouse, 215. + + Statistics, 212. + + Stealing, 53, 57, 181, 272. + + Steeplechase, 66. + + Stone (peculiar), 168. + images, 204. + + Storehouses, 23, 26, 137, 138, 161, 173, 180, 213, 247. + + Storeys, 208. + + Storm, 135, 136, 197. + + Strength, 238. + + Struggle, 40. + + Submerged crater, 125. + + Submission, 16, 273. + + Suicides, 291. + + Sulkiness, 234. + + Sulphur, 97, 104, 122, 130, 131, 138, 190, 200. + + Sulphur beds, 97, 98. + mine, 97. + + Supernaturalism, 284. + + Superstition, 17, 289. + + Swamps, 65. + + Swearing, 289. + + Swift rivers, 41. + + Sword-hilts (Japanese), 250. + + Sydney Smith's position, 111. + + Symbols, 219. + + Sympathy, 52, 191. + + + T. + + Taikki (fleas), 56. + + Tailor's sign-post, 191. + + Takae village, 35. + + Takigawa, 185. + + Takkobe Lake, 96. + + Tapkara (a savage dance), 32. + + Tarbouches, 164. + + Tartary, Gulf of, 153. + + Tarsus, 300. + + Tarumai Volcano, 201. + + Tattoos, 6, 137, 142, 179, 227, 232, 251-253, 293. + (colour of), 254. + (legend on), 251, 252. + + Tattooing (process of), 252. + + Tattooed women, 99. + + Tcharo-bets, 75. + + Tcha-tcha-nobori Volcano, 131. + + Tchiota, 56. + + Tears, 233. + + Teeth of half-castes, 269. + + Temper, 65, 233, 294. + + Tendo Achillis, 241. + + Tent, 3. + + Terra del Fuegians, 228. + + Terror, 154. + + Teshio coast, 176. + River, 168-170, 174. + + Tetcha or Tetchkanga, 100, 101. + + Teuri, 171. + + Thatching, 208. + + Theft, 291. + + Thiaske Tarra, 238. + + Thousand Islands, or Chishima, 123. + + Thread-winding, 240. + + Tibia, 88, 300, 304. + + Tide-rips, 131. + + Tobuts, 80, 139, 141, 253. + + Tobuts Lake, 48, 137. + + Todohotke, 200. + + Toi, 201. + + Tokachi, 84. + Ainu, 99, 248-250, 253. + district, 274. + region, 114. + River, 50, 58, 59, 61-66, 73, 169, 207, 214, 271. + + Tokio, 115. + + Tokri-moi, 11. + + Tokumatz Kuroda, 192. + + Tomamai, 173, 174. + + Tomakomai, 19, 20, 269. + + Tombets River, 163. + + Tombs, 181. + + Tonden, or military settlement 102, 103, 114, 183, 188. + + Tones, 222. + + Toreador, in Carmen, 263. + + Torii (emblems), 204. + + Tori Lake, 96. + + Totemism, 281, 282. + + To'tori, 75. + + Toshibets River, 65. + + Toya Lake, 10, 11, 200. + + Toyohira River, 183. + + Toyoshira Valley, 187. + + Trackers (Ainu), 109. + + Tracking, 159-161. + + Tradition, 218. + + Transmission of diseases, 266. + of images to the brain, 279. + + Travellers (foreign), 263. + + Tree-dwellers of India, 228. + + Trees, 129, 130, 135, 137, 161, 162, 166, 198. + + Triangles, 221. + + Tribes, 88, 267. + + Trovatore, 257. + + Tukoro, 139. + + Tunnel, 39, 41, 174. + + Tunnui-puto, 65. + + Turkish ship (wreck of), 163. + + Tsiriju Mount, 130. + + Tsugaru Strait, 93, 193. + + Types, 229. + + Typhoon, 164, 174. + + + U. + + Ubahu, 37, 39. + + Uhui Cape, 174. + + Ukorra, 10. + + Ulmus Campestris, 26, 245, 246. + Campestris bark, 210. + Campestris fibre, 267. + + Ulna, 299, 303. + + Uparpenai, 61. + + Urahoro River, 73. + + Urakawa, 39, 40. + + Urapets River, 39. + + Uriugawa River, 183. + + Urup, 88, 123, 126, 131. + + Usa, 209. + + Ushoro, 193. + + Uso, 5. + + Uso Volcano, 11, 200. + + Utarop Rocks, 43. + + Usushiri, 198. + + + V. + + Vegetation, 131. + + Villages, Ainu, 5, 22. + + Vines, 60. + + Virginity, 250. + + Virility, 253. + + Volcanic nature, 5. + formation, 37, 122, 129, 162, 167, 168, 192, 205. + mass, 4. + zone, 130. + + Volcano, 130. + + Volcano Bay, 5, 58, 193, 195, 197, 286. + Ainu, 6, 248, 274. + + Volcanoes, 131. + + + W. + + Wadamanai, 168, 169. + + Wakkanai, 167, 168. + + War-clubs, 10, 223. + + Washibets, 14. + + Washing, 28. + + Watanabe Masaru, 58, 64, 65. + + Waterfalls, 11, 41, 74, 194. + + Water-soup, 4. + + Weaving, 210. + + Wembets, 135. + + Wembets River, 171. + + Westerns, 255. + + Whales' bones, 145, 161, 169. + + Wife, 294, 295. + (great wife), 34. + (second), 294. + + Winter, 161. + garments, 60, 145. + + Witches, 287, 288. + + Wolves, 101. + + Women, 136, 137, 142, 232, 236, 249, 252, 253, 294. + + Women standing, 242. + and children at a festival, 31. + (burial of), 225. + feeding bears, 59. + suckling bear cubs, 214. + + Women's graves, 226. + + Wood-carving, 219. + + Wooden blade, carved, 226. + bowls, 8. + panels, 2. + + Wrecks, 42, 43, 162, 163, 165, 168-170, 179. + + Written language, 259. + + Worship, 281, 283, 284. + + + Y. + + Yagoshi Cape, 205. + + Yamakubiro, 56, 63, 271. + + Yamakushinai, 197. + + Yammakka, 56, 57, 61, 65, 66. + + Yangeshiri, 171. + + Yassuchi, 142. + Lagoon, 142. + + Yezo, 297. + + Yoichi, 192, 193. + + Yoshioka village, 205. + + Yoshitsune or Okikurumi, 260, 261, 283, 284. (Also see Hero, Japanese.) + + Yubaridake, 122. + + Yubets, 142. + River, 141. + + Yuhuts, 20. + + Yurap, 197. + + Yurapdake Mount, 4. + + Yuto Lake, 48. + + Yuzan Volcano, 97, 98, 101, 104. + + + Z. + + Zenzai lakes, 3. + + +LONDON: PRINTED BY WM. CLOWES AND SONS, LTD., STAMFORD STREET AND +CHARING CROSS. + + + +--------------------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | Transcriber's Notes | + | | + | The following changes have been made to the text. | + | | + | |Page |Original |Changed to |Context | | + | |53 |do |no |doorways have no doors. | | + | |305 |2/8 |1/4 |5-1/4 inches wide | | + | | + | Some words occur in both hyphenated and unhyphenated forms | + | in the text. | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------------------+ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Alone with the Hairy Ainu, by A. H. 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