THE KURILSKY AINU 
19 
we lived for twenty days in an Ainu hut. We then 
made our way through the snow across the island 
to the settlement of Furebetsu, on the north-west 
coast, where we were housed and most kindly cared 
for by the Japanese. There were no means of getting 
away from the island at that time of year ; we had 
to remain at Furebetsu until nearly the end of May, 
when a Japanese Government steamer called in, 
and we were taken to Hakodate in her. During 
this enforced residence on Yetorup (which will be 
described more in detail in a later chapter), and on 
many subsequent occasions, I saw a great deal of the 
aboriginal Ainu of the islands. I have also had some 
experience of those inhabiting Yezo, Saghalin, and 
the northern Kurils. 
The Yetorup natives were, and are still, nearly 
all employed by the Japanese fish-merchants. During 
the spring they take cod, later on salmon trout and 
salmon. The winter is chiefly occupied in wood¬ 
cutting. 
The Ainu houses of Yetorup are similar to those 
of Yezo, being made of grass or reeds lashed upon 
a framework of wood. Sometimes slabs of bark 
are placed outside the grass. The roofs are high, 
of steep pitch, and thatched with grass. The 
windows are small, and closed generally by a board, 
and the entrance is closed by a mat. There is a 
firehole in the centre of the house, and the smoke 
escapes through a hole in the roof. On Yetorup I 
never met with Ainu occupying the half-underground 
dwellings, like those used by the natives of the 
islands farther north. The remains of these pit- 
dwellings are, however, very common. 
The clothing of these Ainu consisted chiefly of 
