"The Ainos, a bearded and gentle race, who are supposed to have been the aborigines of the Kurile and Japanese Archipelago, are now restricted to the southern districts of Sakhalin. But the Aino geographical terms occurring even in the extreme north show that this race formerly occupied a much wider range. They have been driven south and since the middle of the present century some of their villages have been completely wasted by small-pox. The slavery to which all the Ainos have been reduced by the Japanese fishers has also contributed to diminish their numbers as well as to increase their moral debasement. "
"... But a Japanese etymology quoted by Satow explains the word "Aino" to mean "Dog" (Inu), and an old tradition refers the origin of the race to a dog and a Japanese princess banished northwards. The Aleutians havea similar tradition, and seem to be very proud of their canine descent, pretending that for a long time they had paws and tails like those of a dog but were deprived of them on account their crimes."
(The Earth and Its Inhabitants: A Universal Geography, 1876)