THE KURILSKY AINU 
27 
from an otter-hunting craft was therefore a godsend, 
as it gave them an opportunity of obtaining a supply 
of what they most needed. Eor a couple of pounds 
of powder, a box of caps, some lead, and a couple 
of pounds of tobacco, one could get a fine sea-otter 
skin, and for a foxskin a plug of tobacco was the 
usual exchange. However, they always got some¬ 
thing else. At the end of the season we used to 
make a point of calling at their islands and giving 
them all our old clothing, as well as a supply of sugar, 
matches, tea, biscuit r and any other little luxuries 
we could spare. The women always begged for 
needles, thread, and soap, but I must say I never saw 
them use the latter article. 
Some of these Kurilsky Ainu were similar in 
appearance to their confreres on Yetorup and Yezo. 
Others were evidently of mixed blood ; they were less 
hairy, had smaller eyes, and the open lips and 
“ blubbery ” appearance of some of the Kamchatkan 
tribes. Besides their uncleanliness, their fondness 
for strong drink, their fear of the Japanese, and their 
language, they had hardly anything in common with 
their brethren of the south. Their clothing, dwell¬ 
ings, weapons, etc., were all different, no doubt due 
to the fact that the materials differed from those 
used by the southern Ainu. Their old Ainu customs 
were in all probability abandoned at the instigation 
of the Russian priests when they became converted. 
I never saw with them the carved wooden knife- 
sheaths and household utensils, and the peculiar 
salmon spear or gaff, as used by the southern Ainu ; 
nor did I ever witness any bear-feasts or dances, or 
the custom of raising the moustache with a stick 
when drinking, so universal in the south. 
