438 Canadian Record of Science. 



associated with the present writer, a few years since, in 

 studying the Ainos. His familiarity with their language 

 and also with the Japanese language, as well as frequent 

 and continued residence among the Ainos, enables him to 

 present work of the highest value. His "Ainu Grammar" 

 is a most welcome and important contribution, and he is 

 able to speak with an authority no one else can claim. 



The experience of Prof. Chamberlain in gaining trust- 

 worthy testimony, appears to have been that of all his pre- 

 decessors, for " As a warning to others who might be 

 inclined to accept ^statements of fact made by the Ainos 

 with regard to their own history, the present writer would 

 remark that, such statements made by an uncultured people 

 are quite untrustworthy, unless supported by extraneous 

 evidence. Tests of Aino inconsistency and unreliableness, 

 crop up whenever proof can be applied." This will doubt- 

 less apply to all barbarous or semi- barbarous people whose 

 moral sense is not yet raised to that level which enables 

 them to distinguish between the value of truth and false- 

 hood ; and in the case of the Ainos, this may apply with 

 greater force, on account of the extent to which, for cen- 

 turies, they have been accustomed to dissimulate in their 

 relations with the Japanese. Our own experience has re- 

 peatedly shown that constant and more than ordinarily 

 frequent verification was needed. 



The author deals with the physical characteristics of the 

 Ainos very briefly, and only incidentally. He inclines to 

 the view which has so often been exj>ressed, that extreme 

 hairiness is a peculiarity of the people, and refers to ancient 

 Chinese accounts which speak of them as the " Hairy Men." 

 In the absence of exact data, however, we hardly feel satis- 

 fied with his explanation that smoothness of skin is the 

 result of ci-ossing with the Japanese. To be sure he notes 

 that such half-breeds are usually smooth, but then he does 

 not attempt to show that the pure type are never otherwise 

 than hairy. "While this may be an important factor, our 

 own observations would lead us to believe there are other 

 causes, as already pointed out. 1 



1 Can. Rec. Sc. II. 119. 



