FITTING FOR ARCTIC WEATHER 65 



nor do they keep warm " in the coldest nights." The 

 contrary is all miserable boasting. My experience con- 

 vinced me they could stand no greater cold than I ; 

 when it was merely discomforting they were more indif- 

 ferent to it than a white man, for the very good reason 

 that while the white man has always been well clothed 

 and fed and protected, the red man has been half clothed 

 and fed and never protected. Naturally the latter does 

 not mind exposures that are somewhat trying on first ex- 

 perience to the former. For instance, in sitting about 

 camp, the Indians, as a rule, wore the same coat in which 

 they had been running, whereas I found a heavier one 

 more comfortable. It was not that the Indians were 

 warm, but they were used to discomfort. I wrapped up 

 less than they when snow-shoeing, but more than they in 

 camp. When it came to withstanding the fearful cold 

 and withering storms of the Barren Grounds, my endur- 

 ance was as great, and my suffering, judging from appear- 

 ances, not so much as theirs. This is because this par- 

 ticular Indian has no heart, no nervous energy, no re- 

 serve force. Confronted by the unexpected or inex- 

 plicable, he gives no urgency to his efforts ; he seeks no 

 solution ; he simply gives up. He has none of that do- 

 or-die sentiment ; he prefers to die. Dump an Indian 

 and a bound white man into a snow-bank, and the lat- 

 ter would probably freeze to death first, but in a strug- 

 gle for existence under any conditions the white man 

 would go farther and keep going longer than the red 

 man. 



As to the bedding question, when I was on my home- 

 ward journey in May I noted Indians sleeping under the 

 same number of blankets they had used while I was mak- 

 ing my way towards Great Slave Lake in January. What 

 did surprise me at first, however, was the toughness of 



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