" Scott, again, refers us
back to Einar Gudmund, an Icelandic writer of the second half of the
sixteenth century, whom I would cite as the earliest "Euhemerus" of
northern lands, were it not for the fact that he is obviously much more
than a theorist, and is beyond all doubt speaking of an actual race, as
may be seen from an incident which he relates.
But, although the popular memory may retain for many centuries the
impress of historical facts, these become inevitably blurred and
modified by the lapse of time and the ignorance of the very people who
preserve the tradition. As an illustration of this, I may cite the
instance of the dwarfs of Yesso, referred to in the following pages.
These people still survived as a separate community until the first
half of the seventeenth century, if not later. They occupied
semi-subterranean or "pit" dwellings, and are said to have been under
four feet in height. But, although the modern inhabitants of that island
still describe them, on the whole, in these terms, a new belief
regarding them has recently sprouted up in one corner. The Aino word
signifying "pit-dweller" is also not unlike the word for a burdock leaf.
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