The Samoiede Family.
The Samoiedes are a wandering race, spread over both sides of the great Siberian promontory ending in Cape North. Some of their tribes are also to be met with pretty far to the west, to the east, and to the south of this region. They support themselves by hunting and fishing on the borders of the Frozen Ocean. They bear much resemblance to the Tunguses of whom we shall speak later. Their face is flat, round and broad, their lips are thick and turned up, and their nose is wide and open at the nostrils. Their hair is black and coarse, and they have but little on their face. Most of them are rather under the middle size, well proportioned and rather thick set. ([Fig. 92].) They are wild and restless in disposition.
The Kamtschadale Family.
We can only just make a note of the Kamtschadales, with whom the navigators of the Arctic seas have been for a long time acquainted. They inhabit the southern portion of the peninsula that bears their name. They are short men with a tawny skin, black hair, a meagre beard, a broad face, a short flat nose, small deep-set eyes, scanty eyebrows, immense stomachs, and thin legs.
92.—SAMOIEDES.
More to the South, in the Kourile Islands, and on the adjacent continent, we meet with a race differing widely from the preceding one. They are the inhabitants of these islands, and are called Aïnos. They are of short stature, but their features are regular. The most remarkable of their physical characteristics is the extraordinary development of their hair. They are the hairiest of men, and it is this peculiarity that makes us allude to them. Their beards cover their breasts, and their arms, neck, and back are covered with hair. This is an exceptional peculiarity, particularly with men of the Mongol type.
The language spoken by the Aïnos, is strikingly like that spoken by the Samoiedes and by some of the inhabitants of the Caucasus. Their bodies are well formed and their disposition is gentle and hospitable. They live by hunting and fishing.