千島列島

22. The Kurile Islands.

The Kurile Islands, or Kuriles; so named by the Russians for the smoking volcanoes thereon, are called Chishima, or Thousand Islands, by the Japanese, to whom they were ceded by Russia in 1875, in part exchange for a section of Saghalien. They are 18 in number and comprise a lofty, sparsely inhabited volcanic chain extending in a S.W. direction between the S. extreme of Kamchatka and the N.E. part of Yezo, and between the 43d and 51st degrees of N. lat. Tomari, the chief town of Kunashiri-shima (the southernmost of the group) is almost within view of Nemuro, across the Nemuro Strait (50 M. long; 9-20 M. wide), and is a regular port of call for the steamships of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha's Hakodate-Kuriles service. Few of the Japanese possessions are less known to foreign tourists, and few are more deserving of being known, since certain of the islands are the paradise of the fisherman, the hunter, the volcanist, the botanist, and the lover of the awe-inspiring and unusual in nature. The environing seas and the splendid island rivers teem with fine fish — chiefly salmon

and salmon-trout. Huge grizzly bears — perchance the forebears of the magnificent fighters of the American Northwest — gorge themselves on these salmon and roam the great forests practically unhunted by man; while the active volcanoes are spouting fountains of fiery beauty, finer than anything in Japan proper, and of a spectacular splendor quite indescribable. From Sept. to Nov. is the best season in which to visit the Kuriles, as the weather is then bright, clear, and with slow westerly winds. The spring is cold and boisterous, and with but little fog, but this prevails almost constantly throughout the summer months, with but few bright intervals. June has been known to have 16 days of fog, July 26, and Aug. 20. From Dec. to Feb. is cold, with N.W. winds. There are, however, many fine days, and during the coldest nights the mercury rarely falls below zero Fahr. Snow falls between Nov. and May, with an occasional fall in June. The climate is decidedly moist, with considerable rain. The Ainu who live on some of the islands in a state of almost incredible filth and poverty, protect themselves from the weather by holes dug in the earth and roofed over. When the salmon run up the rivers in the fall to spawn in the upper reaches, and the bears come down to the streams to flirt them out with their paws and fatten themselves for their long winter sleep, hundreds of salmon fishers come over from Yezo along with a few sportsmen from Japan proper, and for a few weeks there is considerable activity, and bear-skins are a drug in the market. Prospective hunters can always get detailed information regarding hunting and fishing from the Hakodate agent (English spoken) of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha S.S. Line.

When the ships of the above company drop anchor off the small port of Chinomiji in Kunashiri Island (known for its crab-canneries), all hands fall to fishing for crabs, which abound in such numbers that when the nets are hauled up almost as many of the spiny crustaceans hang outside as inside, as if anxious to be canned. The most conspicuous feature of the island (N.E. section) is Chachadake, a magnificent volcano (6051 ft. high), a truncated cone in shape, with a second peak rising out of its crater. The culminating peak of the mt. mass which occupies the middle of the island is Shimanobori (2933 ft.). Groves of timber and isolated trees grow on the lower spurs of the range, with thick bamboo grass. The coast is rocky, but the waters abound with herring, salmon, and sardines. Bears are numerous.

Yetorofu, 110 M. long and from 2 to 20 M. wide, the largest (pop. about 1500) and richest of the Kurile group, is separated from Kunashiri by the Tannemoi Strait (12 M. wide; 50-80 fathoms deep), and is formed of 8 groups of mts. 3000 to 5000 ft. high, connected by low and comparatively flat valleys. As many as 5 volcanoes are sometimes active at

one time. All the principal settlements and fishing-stations are on the Okhotsk Sea side (N.W.), as this is the most free from fog in summer. Whales are often seen on the Pacific side. Rubetsu is the capital.

Uruppu Island, which is divided into 4 mt. groups each nearly 4000 ft. high, has several fine rivers which empty into the Okhotsk Sea. The run of salmon here is of peculiar interest. Many fishermen come hither in the autumn season and establish themselves temporarily to take and dispose of the huge catch. At the village of Nobetsu the men use long nets in which they not unfrequently secure 2000 fish at a time. Usually in the afternoon, between 4 o'clock and sunset, when the fish are running strongly, the bay is invaded by schools of Orca whales, or killers, which feed voraciously upon the luckless salmon and provide a singular spectacle of carnage and destruction. During the summer the island is a vast flower-garden, and immense wild roses grow in profusion. The small lakes are well stocked with a species of salmon-trout called ito, of which the Japanese are very fond. The scenery on the Okhotsk side of the island reminds one of the Scottish Highlands. Large ice-fields drift across this sea in Feb. and the coast is sometimes ice-bound until May. Uruppu is the N. limit in the Kuriles of the growth of bamboo grass; the W. side of the islands is generally high and perpendicular, with no beach; ships can approach to within 40-50 ft. of the shore. The old Russian-American Factory which once had its office at Port Tawano, on the E. side, is now closed and deserted.

The Chishima Strait, which separates Kamchatka from Shumshu, the northernmost island of the Kurile group, is about 4 M. wide. The island differs from the others in that it has no mts., its surface consisting of undulating hills with swampy valleys and a growth of scrub pine, alder, and grasses. Fish are abundant everywhere off the coast, and the lakes and streams teem with unhunted waterfowl. These are features of many of the islets, and the sea-birds comprise fulmars, auks, puffins, guillemots, gulls, shags, sandpipers, and doterel. The land-birds include ptarmigan, snipe, plover, swans, geese, ducks, and divers (particularly where there is much fresh water). Ravens, falcons, wagtails, and wrens are common. Harlequin ducks frequent certain of the islands in great numbers in summer. Sea-lions and leopard-seals are numerous, and fur-seals are found near the Shrednoi and Mushir rocks. On some of the islands foxes, wolves, and land-otters are found, along with a species of lemming.

Alaid (Araido-shima), W. of Shumshu, the loftiest of the Kuriles (7640 ft.), is an extinct volcano, with slopes sweeping downward in a graceful curve, and ending in low cliffs; a deserted village stands on the S.E. side where an old lava

stream has formed a small point. Paramushiru (or Paramoshiri-jima) at the S. of Shumshu is mountainous throughout, with 4 splendid volcanoes, the most prominent of which, Mosotofuji, or Fuss Peak, rises from a peninsula at the S.W. side of the island, in a magnificent solitary cone 6900 ft. high, and terminates seaward in steep cliffs. About 10 M. to the N. stands the lordly Chikuratski (or Chikuramine), 6400 ft. In the S. part of the island there are numerous peaks over 6000 ft. high. Nearly all the remaining islands are marked by series of volcanic peaks which are glowing beacons to mariners on the high seas adjacent.