of the Mackenzie River District. 21 



side of Slave Lake, once at Resolution and once at Big Island. 

 Its fur is thick, about 2 inches long, white in color with the under 

 fur a lead tint. In winter the animal is white all over excepting the 

 tip of the nose which is black, a light shade of lead is, however 

 visible on the shanks and feet. These are densely furred and the nails 

 are brown. In summer the fur is about an inch in length, white 

 beneath the belly, but owing to the falling off of the long hairs a 

 stripe of plumbous grey annulated with white, and about three 

 inches broad extends from the nape of the neck to the tail? 

 widening towards the rump and passing over the tops of the thighs. 

 The whiskers white in winter, have brown hairs intermixed, and 

 a yellowish tint surrounds the ears, eyes, and mouth, and tinges 

 the shanks and feet. A. few long dark hairs may be perceived by 

 careful examination, sprinkled down the back, and the tail has a 

 slight plumbous shade mixed with faint yellow. The color does 

 not approximate in either summer or winter pelage to that of the 

 blue Fox which has been erroneously stated to be the young of 

 the white. The white fox measures in a good specimen which I 

 have before me 22 inches from the tip of the nose to the root of 

 the tail, which measures 13 inches to the end of the hairs. It is 

 an extremely stupid animal, easily killed and very tame. It is 

 sometimes knocked on the head in open day while following the 

 sleds of the Indians, It lives on mice, carrion, birds, especially 

 Ptarmigan, to which it is a deadly enemy. 



Borealis, — Blue Fox. 



In the lack of positive information upon the subject I am un- 

 certain whether to consider this as a mere variety of the white 

 fox, or to class it as a distinct species, but I will,for the present, con- 

 sider it as the former. 



The Arctic Blue Fox measures 35 inches from the tip of the 

 nose to the root of the tail, which is 13 inches in length to the 

 end of the hairs. Its color in winter is a plumbous brown ; the 

 under fur plumbous, and the larger hairs brown at the tips, with 

 white hairs interspersed but not in great numbers. On the head 

 and nape of the neck the color is a reddish grey, like the tint of 

 a silver fox in summer pelage. Under the throat down to the 

 chest, the color is nearly a pure chocolate paling on the belly 

 into a shade similar to that of the back, the sides and flanks are 

 nearly pure plumbous, mingled with white hairs. The legs are 

 brownish grey, and the fur, which covers the soles of the feet 



