vernment, and even an
art. And look at these Digger Indians, filthy, thieving creatures,
grubbing for roots like wild animals, eating slugs and lizards, because
they are too lazy to cultivate a piece of ground!"

"I remember," said Norris, "one of my favorite professors at Yale always
said that civilization was largely dependent upon civilization," and he
pointed out the Indians as an illustration. Of course he gave due credit
to what he termed inherent mental capacity. But to climate he laid the
energy with which that capacity is developed,--always provided there were
sufficient material resources. That is to say, even white men with fine
brains could not evolve as high a degree of civilization in the Arctic
Circle as they can where they have the material resources necessary to
supply the physical needs.

"But I should think the material resources of the Arctic Circle were a
result of the climate."

"In large part, they are. That just strengthens the point that climate
has had a lot to do with civilization, and incidentally with the
differences between different tribes of Indians. I wonder if I can give
his theory straight! Well, anyway, here's the general idea. It applies
quite as much to all nationalities as it does to Indians in particular.

"What is our conception of The Noble Red Man? He is observant, he has
unlimited physical endurance, but he does not adapt himself to our
civilization, nor does he work out new methods for himself, as we have
done since America was settled. He is conservative, in other
words,--lacking in originality and inventiveness.

"Of course they came at some stage of their evolution from the primitive
home of man in Asia. So also did the Scandinavians,--so also did the
Japanese. But while both of these finally located in cold but not too
cold climates, nor steadily cold, they were merely stimulated. The
Indian, though,--the American Indian,--likely migrated by way of Bering
Strait, and passing generations in the Esquimo lands, where it is about
all they can manage to keep alive at all during the long, dark winters.
The result? Those who were high strung nervously went insane,--just as
many an Esquimo and many a white man does to-day, under the necessity of
idling in a stuffy hut in the cold and darkness. It was only the mentally
lazy who could survive that phase of their evolution. That accounts for
certain differences between all Indians and all white men.

"Remember, it wasn't the s