The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1881-04-21
THE Amos OF YEZO.

commonly supposed that they were the original
inhabitants of Japan, and that they con- |
quered and driven into their present northern
home by the race which peoples the land, |
just the Indians of North America have re-
treated into the western wilds before the white |
man. Comparatively little has been known of
these Amos, but Miss Bird, author of ''Unbeaten
Tracks in Japan" spent many days among them, |
living in the house of a village chief and talking
with them freely of all their affairs That she /
could do this, having but a single japanese at |
tendant and receive nothing but courtesy and |
kindness from young and old, shows that they
are not savage in disposition however rude their
mode of life may be.
A common name given to this people is the
'Hairy AinOs,n since the first point that strikes
stranger is the abundance of their flowing locks. !
Miss Bird thus describes them: 'The men are
about the middle height, broad-chested, broad
shOuldered, thck-set very strongly built the legs
and arms short, thick and muscular, the feet and
hands large The bodies, and especially the limbs,
of many covered with short, bristly hair l
have seen two boys whose backs covered with
fur as fine and soft as that OF a cat The heads
and faces very striking. The foreheads are
very high, broad and prominent. The eyes are
large tolerably deeply set, and very beautiful the
color a rich liquid brown, the expression singu-
larly soft, and the eye-lashes long, silky and
The teeth are small, regular, and very white"
These, then, are quite magnificent savages, and
when it is added that their voices are peculiarly
soft and musical, and their smile sweet and gentle
as that of a woman, wonder how il is possible
for them to be so degraded ndstupid They know
nothing of their history, their tradition being that
they were descended from a dog. The Japanese
call them dogs. They live by fishing and hunt
ing, and seem like grown-up children having
little care about the past future and but little
more care for the present than some animals have
Their language is very simple, but not written
they are clad, but only in skins and garments
made from bark; and they seem TO have almost
no ideas about spiritual things Their idols %
which there are several in each house are very
rude, consisting simply of small sticks OF wood
the upper ends of which cut into shavinps 50
that they look not unlike small and coarse wooden
brOOms Before these gods the people often wave
their hands and pour out offerings Of sake their
favorite drink, an intoxicating beer; but they
have no temples in which they meet for worship
Aside from these sticks of whitfield wood the
Amos pay some sort of homage, which NAV. per-
haps, be called worship, to the sur and moon and
sea, and also to the bear, which abounds in Yezo.
and which IS hunted continually. Each vear a
cub IS capture and fed until Autumn, when a /
great religious iestival is held and the bear is let
loose, and after long fight, in which all the peo-
pie engage, is kIiled and eaten amid great uproar
and drunkenuess.
The people VINO worship in this rude way we
might be sure would have little thought about
fne future. They seem TO have some faint notion
that the soul passes into another form after death
bu. they have a great dread Of death and of places
Oi burial They vii not follow their game if it
happens 20 I'd near grave. When asked about
their id.ss Qf A future, one of them said GLOW
can ae know NOOne ever came back to tell us ~
AN Alno lou e has one room, with walls of reed
and roof OF tch. There is a slight platform in
one part o he house, covered with a mat. on
which the sleep. They sit on the floor the
n1e being ole at the center, while the smoke
hnos iI- .aE trough an opening in the roof j
Their ~ D. 'oked in the single iron pot in
which ail sorts )f edibes, roots, vegetables. fish |
1esfi ine41alng -lugs and seaweed are stewed To-
gethef The people very polite in their m9n-
neFs aAd otter lutte each other in formal cut |
a li "a o extending their hands and way
ing tIem inWafds and then strokng their ba,,,,, |
=. s aid that even little children iust
p 20 walk 'ere- enter or leave a house without
rnai salu on to every person in it. The
mot ~ 1l1ae epted. This latter fact shows
sl 'ently Loa 3 tile care is had for the women.
llT work FL ne time and attend to all the
o igely. h'w quickly would civilization lift
tlsa poor women out Of the degradation in which
With ah Their pOliteness and hospitality, these
people are dly addicted to strong drink /
'c.v conslrle immense quantities Of sake of
lich .ne' drink all they can get. The habit of
-lougt INDUCED in, is ordinarily be-
e'eo eve -y hose who indulge it, to be op-
e ~ rel ion, }ut among the Amos it is part |
lsi'h iher have no idea that they could |
aH} hip without first drinking to
heir highest notion of happiness