They wear very
large earrings with hoops an inch and a half in diameter, a pair
constituting the dowry of an Aino bride; but they would not part
with these.
A house was burned down two nights ago, and "custom" in such a case
requires that all the men should work at rebuilding it, so in their
absence I got two boys to take me in a "dug-out" as far as we could
go up the Sarufutogawa - a lovely river, which winds tortuously
through the forests and mountains in unspeakable loveliness. I had
much of the feeling of the ancient mariner -
"We were the first
Who ever burst
Into that silent sea."
For certainly no European had ever previously floated on the dark
and forest-shrouded waters. I enjoyed those hours thoroughly, for
the silence was profound, and the faint blue of the autumn sky, and
the soft blue veil which "spiritualised" the distances, were so
exquisitely like the Indian summer.
The evening was spent like the previous one, but the hearts of the
savages were sad, for there was no more sake in Biratori, so they
could not "drink to the god," and the fire and the post with the
shavings had to go without libations. There was no more oil, so
after the strangers retired the hut was in complete darkness.
