XXV. THE RANGE OF ANIMAL DIET 



LIEUTENANT PEARY, discussing the hardships of Arctic 

 travel, refuses to admit that living on Esquimaux diet 

 is any hardship at all. On the contrary, he holds that 

 conformity to the food and habits of indigenous peoples 

 is the safest course for an explorer, and that * fat and 

 lean ' whale or seal, eaten raw in alternate bites, makes 

 rather an appetizing meal in high latitudes. Most 

 people would prefer to do their exploring within reach 

 of the comforts of the Pram's store -cupboard, so feel- 

 ingly described by Dr. Nansen. But the experience of 

 Lieutenant Peary and his wife, like that of many Arctic 

 travellers before them, is evidence that the human 

 digestion can cope with a potent change of diet when 

 the change of climate and temperature corresponds. 



It is self-evident that in the case of different human 

 races the greater the range of diet the better chance of 

 survival accrues. The districts of India where the 

 population will only eat rice are at a disadvantage in 



times of scarcity compared with others which affect no 



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