The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-01-22
a strange Japan Race.

The Alnos, or abfiglnes of the Island
of Yezo, Japan, are fus described by Miss
Bird, After the yellow skins, the stiff
horse hair, the fccbldeyelids, he elongated
eyes, the slopng eyebrows, tho flat noses,
the sunkcn cheeks, tie Mongollan features,
tho puny physique, tic shaky walk of the
men, the restricted tdter of the women,
and the general impression of degencracy
conveyed by the APPEARANCE of the Japan
csc, the Amos make very singular i'm.
preston. All but twp or three that have
seen are the most fc1cious- looking of saw
ages, with physiqu9 vigorous enough for
carrying out the mos fcrocious intentions,
but as soon as they s1cak the countcnancc
brightens into smild as gentle as that of a
woman, something Which can never be
forgotten. The men are about the middle
height, broad .chcstdi, broad -shouldered,
'thick-sct,' very stroigly built, the arms
and legs short, thick and muscular, tho
hands and feet large. The bodies, and
especially the limbs, bf many are covered
with short brlstly hail. l have seen two
boys whose backs art covered with fur
as fine and soft as thtt of cat. The heads
and faces are very stfking. The foreheads
are very higE, broad hnd prominent, and
at first sight give one the impression Of an
unusual capacity for intellectual develop
ment; the ears are small and set low;
the noses are straight, but short, and
broad at the nostrIls; the mouths arc wide
but we'll formed, and the lips rarely show a
tendency to fulness. The neck IS short,
the cranlum rounded, the check bones low,
and the lower part Of the face is small as
compared with the upper, the peculiarly
called tjowr being unknown. The eye
brows are full, and form a straight line
nearly across the face. The eyes arc large,
tolcrably deeply set and very beautiful, the
color o rich liquid brown, the expression
sipgularly soft, and the eyelashcs long,
silky, and abundant The skin has tho
Italian olive tint, but in most cases is thin,
and light enough to show the changes of
color in the cheek. The teeth are small
regular, and very white; the incisors and
EYE teeth are not disproportionatcly large.
as is usually the case among the Japanese;
there is no tendency toward prognathism
and the fold Of intcgumcnt which conceals
the upper eyellds Of the Japanese is never
to be met with. The features, expression
and aspect are European rather than
Asiatic.
t'Thc 'fcrocious savagcry' of the appear
ance of the men is produced bya profusion
of thick soft black hair, divided in tue mid
die and falling in heavy masses nearly to the
shoulders, Out of doors it is kept from
falling over the face by a filleL round the
brow. The boards are equally profusc,
quite magnificent, and general wavy, and
IN the case Of the old men they give truly
patrarcbal and venerable aspect, in spite
of the yellow tinge produced by smoke and
want of cleanliness. The savage look pro-
duced by the masses Of hair and beard,
and the thick eyebrows, is mitigated by
tho "est.>.-" l.. .i-- drnanv brown n,.ea
and is altogether obliterated by the
exceeding sweetness of the smile,
which belongs in greater or less degree to
all the rougher sex. l have measured the
height of thirty Of the adult men of this
village, and it ranges from five feet four
inches to five feet six and half inches
The circumference of the heads averages,
%, inches, and they arc, from car to ear,
thirteen inches. The average weight OF
Aino adult masculine brain, asccrtained by
measurement of Aino skulls, is45. 90 ounces
avoirdupols, a brain weight said to excel
that of all races, Hindoo and Mussulman,
on the Indian plains, and that of the abort
ginal races Of India and Ceylon, and is
only paralleled by that of the races of the
Himalayas, the Siamese, and the Chinese
Burmese.