THE KII COAST. 131 



now ; but on one occasion a man was seriously impaired 

 by some hungry fish, and after this accident the fair 

 sex only were considered fit or suitable for this pursuit. 

 On an island, a couple of miles from the shore, where I 

 frequently had to go, these women used to assemble in 

 numbers, and at first, when my boat appeared, they 

 were rather scared, and ran to some cover ; but their 

 fear soon wore off, and they would come tumbling into 

 the surf, and, catching hold of the boat, with a run 

 and a laugh, haul her, crew and all, high and dry 

 out of the water. They are short-lived, according to 

 their own account. How they stand it at all is a 

 mystery to me; for they not only work during the 

 summer, when the atmosphere is warm and pleasant, 

 but in mid-winter as well ; at which season the strong 

 and constant westerly winds are very sharp and keen, 

 coming off snow-covered mountains, and blowing across 

 this lower land with intense bitterness. 



Nothing can be more charming than the winter 

 months in this particular part of Japan. The healthy 

 bright but cold winds, the clear atmosphere, the wild 

 grand scenery, coupled with abundance of game, and 

 the nice, polite inhabitants, makes a visit most enjoy- 

 able. At least I give those I made a high place among 

 my happy memories of Japan. 



