I could once endure as much cold and hunger
as any of them; but now if I miss one meal or
accidentally wet my feet, I feel it as much as if I
had never lived in the manner I have described,
when it was a matter of course to get myself soak-
ing wet many a time. Even if there was plenty
to eat, it was thought better for us to practice fast-
ing sometimes; and hard exercise was kept up
continually, both for the sake of health and to
prepare the body for the extraordinary exertions
that it might, at any moment, be required
to undergo. In my own remembrance, my
uncle used often to bring home a deer on his
shoulder. The distance was sometimes con-
siderable; yet he did not consider it any sort of
a feat.

The usual custom with us was to eat only two
meals a day and these were served at each end
of the day. This rule was not invariable, how-
ever, for if there should be any callers, it was
Indian etiquette to offer either tobacco or food, or
both. The rule of two meals a day was more
closely observed by the men -- especially the
younger men -- than by the women and children.
This was when the Indians recognized that a true
manhood, one of physical activity and endurance,
depends upon dieting and regular exercise. No

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