454 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



where, to supply the potential energy required by the organism to con- 

 struct the tissues and maintain the body, the temperature of the body 

 being about the same in all climates. Fat does not stand alone in 

 this regard, except under such extraordinary circumstances as those 

 referred to. Carbohydrates of various kinds contribute to the same 

 functions as fat, under ordinary conditions, but they do not suffice to 

 maintain the stamina of the organism to the highest degree anywhere 

 without the assistance of, or being supplemented by, some kind of fat. 



A correct appreciation of the benefit of fat food in the Arctic 

 regions serves as an index to its advantages under other conditions. It 

 is not limited to blubber, 'toodnoo' or oil, even among the Laplanders. 

 It includes the solid portions of reindeer, seal and other meat. And 

 this in its composition doubtless compares favorably with the choicest 

 cuts of beef and mutton, which consist of 20 to 30 per cent, of fat; or 

 possibly with good bacon or ham, 35 to 50 per cent. Good butter, it 

 need hardly be said, is almost wholly fat — 85 to 90 per cent. 



Of approximate stamina and exemption from tuberculosis, it is 

 not far fetched to refer to the history of most of the North American 

 Indians, before the cultivation of cereals was introduced by the white 

 settlers. Their food was almost exclusively the fat game which they 

 hunted and killed in such a manner as to retain the blood. Of the 

 wonderful physical strength and endurance of those savages, their his- 

 tory of them furnishes many examples. And the earliest records of 

 consumption among them are contemporary with the attempted methods 

 of civilizing them — inducing them to leave their tents and live in 

 houses; restricting their game supply and supplying them with an ex- 

 cess of farinaceous food. They have ceased to be a hardy race and 

 tuberculosis is common among them. The Gauchos of the South 

 American pampas, who live almost exclusively upon fat animal food, 

 are alike remarkable for their extraordinary stamina. The flesh-eating 

 Mahometans of India are described by historians as being the most 

 powerful, active-minded and hardy race of human beings in the world, 

 presenting the widest possible contrast in physical development to the 

 rice-eating and feeble Hindoos, of whom but few reach the age of 

 forty years. 



A striking example of what appears to be the result of a change 

 from an almost exclusive fat meat diet to one largely farinaceous, in 

 relation with tuberculosis, is afforded by the history of the New 

 Zealanders, who, until about fifty years ago, were cannibals, eating 

 their captives in war, but who besides consumed an enormous amount 

 of fat pork. Dogs also composed a part of their dietary, and fish to 

 some extent. They were remarkable for their physical development 

 and exemption from tubercular diseases. But soon after the intro- 

 duction of the potato as a staple food, at about the time mentioned, 



