MAMMALS. 



243 



YULPES FULTUS AEGENTATUS (Shaw). Bliick or Silver Fox (Esk. Kd-bvi-ukchWchW- 

 plii-ik, or A-(fhmugY(liUtoJ{). 



This beautiful auimal is much less common thau the Cross Fox, iuto which it grades. Although 

 Black Foxes are taken wherever the Red Fox is found in the north, yet they are of extreme rarity 

 except in a few districts. The Hudson Bay Company obtains many of their finest Black Fox skins 

 from the Lower Mackenzie Elver country, and the adjacent district in Alaska, on the headwaters 

 of the Yukon and Kuskoquim Eivers, is the most productive ground for this animal, both in num- 

 ber and quality. It is also numerous to the south of this district, and particularly on Kadiak 

 Island and the adjacent shore. Except in the districts named, not more than one Black Fox is 

 taken to every five hundred of the red kind, although occasional Black Foxes occur north to the 

 70th degree of latitude, and west to the vicinity of Bering Straits and on most of the Aleutian 

 Islands. In trade, a Black Fox skin brings from two to eight or ten times the value of a Bed Fox 

 skin, according to its quality. As mentioned before, the district about the headwaters of the 

 Yukon, where the Black Foxes are most numerous, is also most productive of Black Wolf skins. 



When the skin of a fox is removed by an Eskimo he makes a short incantation and dismisses 

 the animal's spirit, hoping thereby to remove any ill will it may bear him for capturing it. 



MUSTELIDiE. 



MusTELA AMEEiCANA Turtoii. American Sable (Esk. Kaf-chichuul;). 



Two skins of this species were obtained. They represent very nearly the extremes of varia- 

 tion in color. One skin, No. 13879 (131), from Nulato, is of the usual snuff color ciouded with 

 blackish brown, which latter color becomes dominant on the tail and feet. The second skin, on the 

 contrary, is of a light orange tint, the extremity of the tail alone (the feet are wanting) being of a 

 dark brown color. This specimen, No. 13371 (149), is a hunter's skin from Anvik. 



Among the skulls obtained, the largest (No. 21395), from Shaktolik, has a length of SS""" and a 

 width of SS'""". It is impossible to say, however, whether it is a male or female. There are in the 

 collection of the National Museum a female skull from Peel River (0087) which has a length of 89""° 

 and a width of 40'""', and two male skulls from Yukon having fi length of 88""'" and a width of 40™"'. 



List of specimens and measurements. 

 SKINS. 



