504 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



are tacitly permitted to go fishing by themselves on moonlight 

 nights, when they use the spear and nets almost as dexterously as 

 the men. 



There was no ceiling of any kind, and the inner side of the 

 thatch, the beams, girders, etc., were black with smoke and glis- 

 tening with oil and grease. When foreign guests remain over- 

 night, a temporary room is set off for them at the eastern end by 

 spreading a mat over the beams and hanging others therefrom. 



There was nothing resembling a chair in the remotest degree ; 

 the men sit in true Turkish fashion, and the women either rest in 

 that way or squat upon their heels like the Japanese. The near- 

 est approach to a table was the small zen upon which the dishes 

 of food are placed, an independent zen for each person, but these 

 are not often used by the Ainu. At meals each person's bowl is 

 filled from the pot by the mistress and handed to him, and, as 

 their dishes are generally stews containing a little of everything 

 in one grand mess, a series of bowls or dishes for a variety of 

 courses is not necessary. Of wall ornaments, such as pictures 

 and Icdkemono (the favorite hanging scroll picture of the Japa- 

 nese), there was nothing at all. 



This is rather a superficial description of an Ainu hut. Not 

 the slightest attempt at architectural ornamentation was any- 

 where visible, the single idea seemingly being to provide a slight 

 protection from the worst of the weather. 



At a short distance from each hut is a small storehouse, raised 

 on a framework about five feet from the ground. In construction 

 this is quite the same as the house itself, the walls sloping inward 

 slightly for the sake of strength. The door is at one end, and is 

 reached by a ladder or a notched stick. It was a delightful com- 

 ment upon the character of the Ainu to note that none of these 

 storehouses were locked or fastened in any way against thieves. 

 They contain the spare food, the unthrashed grain, etc. I should 

 think, however, that some sort of locks would be necessary now 

 that the population of the villages is becoming more and more 

 mixed each year, for the average Japanese's ideas of meum and 

 tuum are apt to be somewhat vague. 



Another hut which I visited, and where I made a much longer 

 stay, was not so large as the first, having no western extension. 

 It was more modern in its appointments, being floored over en- 

 tirely, excepting a small space just inside the western door, where 

 visitors put off their sandals or shoes. We were fortunate in find- 

 ing some men here, and the master took great pride and appar- 

 ently much pleasure in displaying his treasures, but he refused to 

 be at all communicative as to their history. He, too, possessed 

 many choice bits of old lacquer, and many Japanese curios, which 

 he said had been given to his ancestors. More than that he would 



