The Ainos have a great respect for the graves of their dead, and
Japanese legislation has taken the necessary steps to prevent any
tampering therewith. Some years ago a few scientists from Europe went
on an expedition from Hakodate with a view of obtaining information
respecting the manners and customs of the Ainos. In the course of this
expedition some graves were broken into and skulls and limbs extracted
therefrom for the purpose of being taken to Europe for scientific
research. This proceeding occasioned an angry outburst on the part of
this usually placid people, and the Japanese authorities gave the
necessary instructions to prevent the possibility of such an
occurrence in future. I suppose the scientists, in the ardour of their
enthusiasm, are hardly to be blamed. Science too frequently overlooks
sentiment, which is, after all, one of the most potent forces in the
world.

The dwellings of the Japanese are supposed to have been evolved from
those of the Ainos. Both build their houses roof first, making the
framework and placing the supports with shorter pieces for rafters,
all being tied together with a rope made of some kind of fibre. Poles,
5 or 6 feet high at regular intervals are then placed in the ground,
each pole having a fork at the top and short horizontal pieces from
one to the other, the roof frame is then erected on and secured to the
poles and subsequently thatched with straw. The floor is of earth,
with the fireplace in the centre. As in Japanese houses, mats are used
for sitting and sleeping purposes. The utensils of the Ainos are much
more primitive than those in use by the Japanese people, and generally
it may be remarked of the Ainos that their wants are few and that the
people are content to live their own life in their own way and only
desire to be severely left alone.

The dress is very similar to that of the Japanese peasant. The men,
however, wear at certain seasons thick rain-coats made of salmon skin,
as also leggings made of a fibre peculiar to themselves, and high
boots constructed of straw. I am sorry to have to relate that the
Ainos have a fondness for sake, and there is a good deal of
intoxication among them. The climate of the island of Yesso, as I have
already remarked, is extremely severe in the winter-time, and there
can be little doubt that many of the Ainos suffer extreme privations.
There have been a few cases of intermarriage between the two races,
but unions of this nature