AINU HOUSES AND THEIR FURNISHING. 497 



The snake-house in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's 

 Park is a most perfectly designed building for keeping the snakes 

 in health, and for exhibiting them to the public. The late King 

 of Oude had built a snakery in the gardens of his palace at Gar- 

 den Reach, near Calcutta. It was an oblong pit about thirty feet 

 long by twenty feet broad, the walls being about twelve feet high, 

 and perfectly smooth, so that a snake could not climb up. In the 

 center of the pit there was a large block of rough masonry, per- 

 forated so that it was as full of holes as a sponge. In this honey- 

 combed block the snakes dwelt ; and when the sun shone brightly 

 they came out to bask or to feed. His majesty used to have live 

 frogs put into the pit, and amused himself by seeing the hungry 

 snakes catch the frogs. When a large snake catches a small frog, 

 it is all over in an instant ; but if a smallish snake catches a 

 largish frog, so that he can not swallow it at once, the frog's cries 

 are piteous to hear. Again and again I have heard them while 

 out shooting, and have gone to the bush or tuft of grass from 

 which the piercing cries came — sometimes in time, sometimes too 

 late to save poor froggy, though the snake generally got shot. As 

 a final story let me tell how a frog has been seen to turn the tables 

 on the snake. Two gentlemen in Cachar some years ago saw 

 a small snake seize a small frog and attempt to swallow it. But 

 suddenly a large frog jumped forward, seized the snake's tail, and 

 began to swallow the snake. How the affair might have ended 

 can not be told, because my friends imprudently drew near to 

 watch the combat, when the frogs and the snake took alarm, and 

 the big frog disgorged the snake's tail, and the snake released the 

 little frog, and they all scuttled off. But the tale is perfectly true, 

 and both the gentlemen who saw it are still alive ; and I only 

 regret that it was not my good luck to see the affair with my own 

 eyes. — Longmaris Magazine. 



AINU HOUSES AND THEIR FURNISHING. 



By J. K. GOODRICH. 



ON approaching an Ainu village one is deceived as to the num- 

 ber of houses, and apt to underestimate them. I fancy this 

 is because of their being scattered about most irregularly, and be- 

 cause there are no streets to guide the eye. Along the coast the 

 villages are, as a rule, built just inside of the first row of sand- 

 dunes, which afford considerable protection from the heavy gales. 

 Since the Japanese Government has undertaken the management 

 and development of the Hokkaido, a good road leads through each 

 village ; but off on either side of this road the houses are built 

 according to the fancy of the various occupants, and if a stranger 



VOL. XXXIII. — 32 



