263 
Xearin^ their end also, it would seem, are the Athapaskaii tribes 
of the Mackenzie valley. Yet civilizavion did not come to them sud- 
denly, nor flid it require from them revolutionary changes. Appar- 
ently these Athapaskans were less virile than other tribes, lacked 
stamina and self-confidence in the presence of unforeseen difficulties 
and of situations for which there were no parallels. They had scat- 
tered like sheep before the advance of the Crees in the eighteenth 
century, and evaded in terror the Eskimo who occasionally ascended 
the river a hundred or more miles from its mouth. Nevertheless they 
could not endure bondage or the loss of their former freedom. The 
trading-posts that destroyed their economic independence destroyed 
also their weak moral and mental fibre, dissipating any resistance they 
might have offered to the tuberculosis that now seems endemic and 
the epidemics of influenza and other diseases that periodically sweep 
through their ranks. Sturdier peoj^les would have thriven under the 
new economic regime, which offered security and reasonable prosper- 
ity in place of per]:>etual hardship and strife; but the Athapaskans 
lacked vigour to react to the stimulus and are slowly fading away in 
despair. ^ 
The Eskimo of the Arctic and sub-Arctic coasts differed from the 
Indians not only in their mode of life, but in temperament. They 
were a hardy, resourceful people, fond of laughter and cheerful even 
in extreme adversities. Their resourcefulness permitted their rapid 
and easy adaptation to the new conditions, and their exceptional 
mechanical ability enabled them to grasp and use effectively even 
modern inventions like the marine gas-engine. The diseases that 
ravaged all the aborigines of Canada impaired their numbers but 
neither lessened their courage nor lowered their vitality. Ever since 
these natives came into close contact with Europeans they have 
served the white man loyally, as hunters and drivers of dog-teams, 
and more recently as seamen and engineers on small power-boats. 
If medical attention and instruction in hygiene reduces the present 
high death rate, and a wise regulation of the fur trade or the suc- 
cessful establishment of reindeer introduces an era of continuous 
prosperity, thereby preventing the recurrence of the famines that 
were so destructive of the race in past ages, the Eskimo will undoubt- 
edly rebuild their lives on a secure foundation and play an important 
role in the development of Canada’s far north. 
1 It may be that tlie ^^aiiie psyelmloi^iea] weakiies.i lias contributed to the decline of the Atliajiaskan- 
speak’nir Sareee, who ibd not descend to the jiridrics until a few eeninrie.s afro. 
86 !) 59— 18 
