FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 293 



the scanty supply of sea otters the natives have turned their 

 attention to the protection and preservation of the blue fox, and 

 of these they now kill about 200 annually, with every prospect 

 of increasing their stock in hand." Again, he says: 'The blue 

 fox exists now on several of the Aleutian Islands, where it was 

 found by the first discoverers in 1741." He mentions that traders 

 reported the presence of blue foxes to a limited extent at Ugashik, 

 on Alaska Peninsula. 



However, Petroff's records may be doubted, because he says 

 that the red fox is "everywhere" on all the Aleutians, as far as 

 Attu, on the Pribilofs, and on the Shumagins, and he also states 

 that the brown bear is present on the Shumagins. 



There is historical evidence that originally there were blue foxes 

 on at least a part of the Aleutian chain, as well as on the Com- 

 mander Islands. It is a well-known fact, first reported by Steller, 

 that, when Bering and his crew were wrecked on Bering Island 

 on their return from Alaska in 1741, Bering Island was well popu- 

 lated with foxes. Speaking of this island, Bancroft (1886, p. 88) 

 says, "The only animals visible on land were the pestsi or Arctic 

 foxes, exceedingly bold and rapacious. They fell upon the car- 

 casses and devoured them almost before the survivors could 

 make preparations for their burial. It seemed to be impossible to 

 frighten them away." Again (p. 112), he says, "This vessel was 

 named the Yeremy and carried the castaways to Kamchatka in 

 the autumn of 1752, with a cargo of 820 sea otters, 1,900 blue 

 foxes, and 7,000 fur seals, all collected on the island upon which 

 they were wrecked." A footnote explains that this island probably 

 was one of the Commander Group. 



Bancroft continues (p. 100), "Besides Bering Island, Bassof 

 also visited Copper Island, and collected 1,600 sea otters, 2,000 

 fur seals, and 2,000 blue Arctic foxes. From this trip Bassof 

 returned on the 31st of July 1746." 



Such commercial records show that the Commander Islands 

 were heavily populated with blue foxes in early times. Barabash- 

 Nikiforov (1938, p. 424) points out that Alopex lagopus bering- 

 ensis Merriam is the form on Bering Island and Alopex I. semenovi 

 Ognev on Copper Island; and that the latter is the larger and 

 darker of the two forms. 



Historical records also point to the presence of blue foxes on 

 the Near Islands of the Aleutian Chain. Early Russian expedi- 

 tions obtained profitable cargoes of furs from these western is- 

 lands. Bancroft (1886) furnishes several pertinent passages. 

 On page 112 he says, "During the same year, 1749, the mer- 



