GEOGKAPIHCAL SKETCH OF JAPAN 27 



war the total yearly production amoimted to al)out 50,000 tons. 



In South Sakhalin, the Kawahami colliery in the Naibuchi coal- 

 field deserves si)ecial attention. All the coal ]iroduced is consumed 

 locally, for railway engines, coasting steamers, and pulp mills. On the 

 Tertiary hills and foothills, extending some 400 km. along tlie eastern 

 coast of Piussian Sakhalin, many seei")ages of petroleum have been 

 observed for many years. Eussians and others tried drilling in various 

 spots, and at some a certain amount of oil was produced. 



For a long time the island was a hermit land of primitive 

 peoples, Ainus in the south, Giliaks and Orochons in the middle and 

 north. They spent their days peacefully, fishing in summer and 

 hunting in winter. The Giliaks led a happy nomad life, possessing 

 herds of reindeer. Then came Russians from the west, and Japanese 

 from the south. The territories of these newcomers were not settled, 

 until in 1878 the two nations came to negotiations, by which Sakhalin 

 becajne Russian, while Japan obtained all the Kurile Islands. 



When Sakhalin became the penal colony of Russia, convicts wore 

 sent there to dig coal, or to cultivate bread-stuffs. The island is 

 situated partly within the limits of cultivation. Oats and rye are 

 I'aised in the plain of the central zone of depression, even on the banks 

 of the River Tym or in the vicinity of Alexandrovsk. Some immi- 

 grants at the time of Russian possession Avere engaged in fishing in 

 the rivers and seas. Instead of the simple huts of the natives, covered 

 with seal-skin, stout log-houses of Slav construction were built here 

 and there. Both on the coast and in the inner plain, new types of 

 villages and towns came into existence, following the Russian style. 



For many years the Japanese have called the island Karafuto. In 

 1905, when the region south of the parallel of 50° N. was ceded by 

 Russia to Japan, the same name was applied, politically to that 

 region. The Russians called the island Sakhalin after its Tungusic 

 name. 



In Japanese Karafuto, we have at present only a few natives and 

 Russians ; 98 o/o of the population is Japanese. The Japanese have 

 immigrated here since the days of Russian control for the purpose of 

 fishing for herring and salmon. Of course, the population has in- 

 creased remarkably since 1905, and now most i)arts of the coast regions 

 and the central plain are pretty well colonized. Tlie number of 

 villages and towais is gradually increasing. Railways already run 

 along the west coast and the central plain, and are connected by a 



