YESSO. 5 



snow. Ten species of duck, and a few swans and geese, 

 still remained, as if loath to leave this favourite winter 

 resort. I shot one swan, which proved to be Cygnus 

 musicus, and excellent eating it was. Numerous skele- 

 tons of this bird lay scattered round the margin of the 

 lagoon; they had been killed by the Ainos for their 

 downy skins, which were used as part of their winter 

 dress. In exploring the country at the head of the 

 lagoon and for some distance up the river's bank, I 

 found a solitary Aino living by himself at a part of the 

 river where others of his tribe usually crossed when 

 passing to and fro from the interior. The grass hut 

 this lonely being lived in was filled with the most 

 extraordinary mixture of things possible to imagine. 

 Dried deer's flesh, skins and robes of the same animal, 

 horns, fishing-lines made of birch bark, swan's wings, and 

 odds and ends of skins, etc. etc., strewed the ground for 

 some distance round his hut. This aboriginal savage 

 was most polite. He took me out in his log canoe, after 

 some swans which were feeding in the river, saluted my 

 retriever most profoundly, and offered the dog some dried 

 flesh to eat. "Pat" was a source of extreme wonder 

 to this queer hairy being, and I shall never forget 

 the expression of the dog's face at being addressed 

 by him. 



The country about here is a perfect wilderness of 



