12 NOTES ON THE KURIL ISLANDS, 



III. 



INHABITANTS OF THE KURTLS. 



Inhabitants. — The only islands of the Knril chain which are 

 at present inhabited are Yetorup, Kunashir, and the off-lying 

 Shikotan. The number of people on these islands in January, 

 1801, was 2886, distributed as follows : Yetorup, 1843 ; Kunashir, 

 1476; and Shikotan, 67. At least three-fourths of the total number 

 of inhabitants are Japanese, the rest are Ainu. Of the 67 people 

 on Shikotan, all but two are Kurilsky Ainu. 



Besides the permanent residents, Yetorup and Kunashir are 

 visited during the fishing season — which extends over half the 

 j'ear — by several hundred fishermen, who are employed principally 

 in the capture, salting down, and shipping of salmon and salmon 

 ti"out, by Japanese having fishing rights in the islands. 



Having unwisely ventured to try a winter season's hunting 

 in the vicinity of the Kurils, I had the misfortune, on December 4, 

 1874, to be wrecked on the east coast of Yetorup, near Onebets, 

 where we lived for twenty days in an Ainu hut. We then made 

 our way through the snow across the island to the settlement 

 of Furebets, on the north-west coast, where we were housed and 

 most kindly cared for by the Japanese. There were no means 

 of getting away from the island at that time of year, and we 

 had to remain at Furebets until nearly the end of May, when 

 a Japanese Government steamer called in, and we were sent 

 down to Hakodate in her. The British Government showed its 

 appreciation of the kind treatment we had received by distributing 

 amongst those who had seen to our welfare presents to the amount 

 of 3500. 



During this forced residence on Yetorup I saw a great deal 

 of the aboriginal Ainu of the island, and since that time I have 



