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IN FORBIDDEN SEAS 
him. Ho fell from the topsail-yard to the deck, 
and was killed. 
Thompson, who built the Snowdrop and the 
Ottosei, was a “ Geordie,” and had served his time 
in a Sunderland shipyard. He was a first-rate ship¬ 
wright, thoroughly acquainted with his business, and 
was, moreover, a genial soul, full of fun, wit, music, 
and at times religion. He settled in Hakodate after 
being wrecked on the coast in a sailing-ship, on board 
which he was taking a trip as ship’s carpenter. He 
was in Hakodate in the early days when, so far as 
foreigners were concerned, it was a much busier 
place than it is to-day. It was then much frequented 
by American whalers. Regular British, American, 
Russian, and Danish Consulates were established 
there. Foreign men-o’-war from the China Station 
resorted to the port during the hot summer months. 
To-day, outside the missionary element, there are 
not more than a dozen foreigners residing there. 
Thompson was in Hakodate at the time of the Ainu 
skeleton scandal, which created some stir. In 
addition to his own business, he was acting as 
Consular Constable, and as such took his part in 
the affair officially, as he did unofficially in his 
private capacity. Thompson was an excellent racon¬ 
teur, and could recall many an amusing story. From 
him I learned the real story of the affair mentioned, 
which is somewhat different from the official one. 
Mixed up in the Ainu skeleton scandal were some 
junior members of the Consular service, and the 
exposure caused them some trouble and disgrace. 
At that time the anatomical museums of Europe 
and America were without representative specimens 
of skulls and skeletons of the Ainu race, the conse- 
