Note 327 — Chapter II · HUNTERS AND FISHERS.

2º. Subsistence does not depend on capital. We are, of course, aware that a man, to procure his subsistence, always wants some implements, such as a spear, bow and arrow, etc. But he does not, therefore, depend on capital; for he can always make a spear or bow for himself; so after all, he depends only on his own strength and skill. If an Eskimo loses his boat, he wants a long time to make a new one; in the meantime he has to live, and so is thrown upon the mercy of others. But where the necessary implements can always be procured at a moment’s notice, subsistence is not dependent on capital: the man who has broken his spear can immediately make a new one; he need not ask anybody to feed him in the meantime327.