238 THE ARCTIC FOXES. 



The hill-sicle seemed to be alive with foxes ; and, 

 scenting the blood of the dead deer, they flocked in 

 from all directions. These little animals were at first 

 quite tame, bat thej' had been cured of their famil- 

 iarity by the lessons learned from the hunters, and 

 had to be approached with adroitness. Of both the 

 blue and white varieties I had living sjDecimens in my 

 cabin. One of them was the gentle creature, named 

 Birdie, which I have already mentioned. The other 

 one was purely white, and did not differ from Birdie 

 in shape, although it was somewhat larger. The fur 

 of the latter was much more coarse than the former. 

 Their cry was exactly the same. But, while Birdie 

 was very docile, and had grown quite domesticated, 

 the other was thoroughly w"ild and untamable. Their 

 respective weights were 4| and 7 pounds. The latter 

 was full grown and unusually large. 



These two varieties of the fox, notwithstanding 

 their many points of resemblance, are evidently dis- 

 tinct species. I have not known them to mix, the 

 coat of each preserving its distinctive hue, that of the 

 blue fox varying merely in degree of shade, while the 

 white changes only from pure white to a slightly yel- 

 lowish tinge. The term "blue," as applied to the 

 species to which Birdie belonged, is not wholly a mis- 

 nomer, for, as seen upon the snow, its color gives 

 something of that effect. The color is in truth a solid 

 gray, the white and black being harmoniously blended, 

 and not mixed as in the gray fox of Northern Amer- 

 ica. Their skins are much sought after by the trap- 

 pers of Southern Greenland, where the animals are 

 rare, for the fur commands a fabulous price in the 

 Copenhagen market. 



These foxes obtain a very precarious subsistence, 



