THE SUN GOES AWAY FOR THE WINTER 105 



no market value gave the Eskimos the impression that 

 the whaler goods must be inferior in quality. In some 

 cases this may really have been true, as with the velvets, 

 blankets, etc. But in other cases the opposite was ob- 

 viously true. Take, for instance, shotguns. The whaling 

 officers frequently brought in double-barreled guns of 

 Greener and other well-known English types. These they 

 used to present to the Eskimos in return for special favors 

 or as mere acts of friendliness. In other cases they sold 

 them to the Eskimos for small quantities of fresh meat. 

 The Hudson's Bay Company had been bringing in only 

 single- or double-barreled muzzle loaders. In the world 

 markets the muzzle loaders would probably have cost 

 less than ten dollars each while the breech loaders of the 

 whalers were in some cases worth over a hundred dollars. 

 But the Hudson's Bay Company had never given away 

 any muzzle loaders and had instead insisted on a fabulous 

 price for them. The impression then grew up among 

 the Eskimos that the muzzle loaders were much better 

 guns than the breech loaders. When I tried to argue 

 them out of this, it was like trying to convince a woman 

 that silk and lace are less valuable than woolens because 

 they give less warmth and wear out more easily, The 

 Eskimos I met said to me quite plainly: "It is true that 

 the breech loaders shoot as well and are much more con- 

 venient." "But," they added, "they are, nevertheless, 

 inferior guns" — just as women might admit that a lace 

 gown is neither strong nor warm but is, nevertheless, a 

 better dress than a stronger, warmer one made out of a 

 cheap fabric. 



For a similar reason Roxy wanted Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany's tea. I knew the price of that tea in Winnipeg to 

 be eighteen cents a pound and I knew that some of the 



