JANUARY 18, 1884] 
of inconsiderable interest, in comparison to the soft, 
melancholy, but melodious music, with its perfect 
time, which accompanied it. This singing would not 
have surprised me in the least in Norway, for exam- 
ple; but here it appeared in the most striking con- 
trast with similar efforts of the Japanese, and indi- 
eated quite a different cast of mind. 
In the vicinity of Sapporo was Juishikari, an Aino 
* village of especial interest. It was here that I came 
to know the construction of their huts (great squares 
with smaller additions, 
all hung with rushes 
and reeds), many of 
their customs, their 
touching adhesion to 
their old nature-wor- 
ship, their worship of 
the sun by the Inawo 
(a sacred staff frilled 
with shavings pendent 
from its upper end, and 
placed in the eastern 
window of the hut), 
and their fear of the 
dead. Their food con- 
sists mainly of millet 
and salted salmon. 
The intelligence ef 
the Ainos is byno means 
small. They learn the 
Japanese language very 
easily, accustom them- 
selves very readily to all 
innovations which are 
not in conflict with 
their religious concep- 
tions, occasionally make 
improvements, and are 
ready to answer ques- 
tions in a precise man- 
ner. They never betray 
their age, and pretend 
not to know it. With 
this exception, I learned 
every thing I wished 
fromthem. I obtained, 
for example, a detailed 
account of their terms 
for different colors. Af- 
_ter what I had seen, I 
was not surprised to 
find that these terms 
quite conformed to our own, and deviated fundamen- 
tally from those of the Japanese. The Japanese 
have only one word for blue and green ; while the 
Ainos have distinct names for both colors, which 
often appear to be confounded when interpreted by 
the Japanese. 
In Saru (or Sara) I had an opportunity to see all of 
an ancient state organization that has survived the 
introduction of a village government. Here I found 
the seat of the chief among the village elders, which 
was formerly located somewhat farther in the inte- 
AN OLD AINO. 
SCIENCE. 71 
rior, at Biratori or Piratoru. The chief was regarded 
by the Ainos as a sort of king. Under Japanese 
domination his power and rank were lost. 
The mode of travelling has been well described by 
Miss Bird. It is impossible to make any progress 
without horses; and these, although not of the mean- 
est sort, are most shamefully abused by the Japanese. 
In this respect the Ainos generally prove useful and 
agreeable servants, but they are often the too sub- 
servient tools of their masters. However, I have 
never seen the Ainos 
abuse their horses, their 
only domestic animals, 
in the reckless and bru- 
tal manner observed 
among the Japanese: 
indeed, I have _ wit- 
nessed on many occa- 
sions quite the opposite 
mode of treatment. 
In my journeys along 
the coast, I became con- 
vineed that the popula- 
tion of the Ainos had 
been under - estimated, 
just as that of the Japa- 
nese had been over-esti- 
mated. While the num- 
ber of the latter is cer- 
tainly less than a hun- 
dred thousand, instead 
of more, as officially re- 
ported, the number of 
the Ainos (said to be 
eighteen thousand) 
must be trebled in order 
to reach approximately 
accurate figures. The 
erroneous estimate of 
the Japanese govern- 
ment is explained by the 
fact that it takes no ac- 
count of the large num- 
ber of Aino villages on 
the large rivers of re- 
mote parts of the island, 
aud particularly along 
the coast, but is based on 
therelation of the square 
surfaces of known and 
unknown parts. In some 
of the better known parts 
of the island, especially in the south-west, the Ainos 
have been completely dislodged; and in the mixed dis- 
tricts their number has also been much reduced. 
From all these observations, as well as from the 
traditions of the Ainos, in which are ever-recurring 
laments for a better past, and from many peculiari- 
ties in their customs (e.g., loss of the use of really 
good weapons, the poisoning of the arrows and snares 
for beasts of the chase, particularly bears), we must 
conclude that the Ainos are to be classed with those 
peoples that have earlier been more richly supplied 
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