NO. 1405. MAAfMALS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORIES— MACFARLANE. 703 



were .sevenil inontlis old. it was very difficult to dotoniiiiu^ the xarioty 

 to which they belonged. The red tirst declared itself. Two of tiie lit- 

 ters (five and seven cubs, respectively) were all red, as was their mother; 

 two were all cross (mothers were cross), live cubs each; and the lifth 

 consisted of one red, one very fitie, and three fair cross foxes, from a 

 red female. 1 would remark that tiiey were successivel}' kept within 

 a small, closely stockaded yard adjoining the office building- at Fort 

 Chipewyan. At first, each litter was placed in a small wooden ken- 

 nel, and they were very lively and frolicsome. They soon came to 

 know those who fed and visited them, ))ut they were timid, snappy, 

 and retiring with strangers. As they grew u]) and the season 

 advanced, they took to burrowing in the ground under the office, l)ut 

 the}' never tried to get away. So soon, however, as winter approached 

 and snow began to fall, they ])et'ame very restive and made frequent 

 attempts to escape by tunneling under the l)uilding and the outer 

 stockades. In time, one or more of each litter were successful in 

 their efforts, and soon after fell victinus to outside trappers at no great 

 distance from the establishment. This, of course, led us to dispatch 

 the others for the benefit of their attendant. Dogs also managed to 

 kill two or three of the total number. 



The female brings forth annually in spring from three to as many 

 as six and seven at a birth. They arc born l)lind, and are very help- 

 less for some days. Gestation occupies about two months, and the 

 young are said to leave their natal home when several months old. 

 They are generally most numerous around the shores of lakes and 

 among marshy tracts in the vicinity of the larger rivers. 



It is a well-known fact that foxes greatly fluctuate in numbers — for 

 some years in succession the}- are very abundant, and then for a longer or 

 shorter period they become comparative!}" scarce. Chief Trader Ber- 

 nard R. Ross (lS-t8and 1862) estimated that the proportion of the various 

 colored foxes traded by the company in the Mackenzie River District 

 for ten years of his time w^ould be about six-fifteenths red, seven- 

 fifteenths cross, and two-fifteenths silver and black. From 1<S,53 to 

 1877, inclusive, the Hudson Bay sales in London totalled 50,650 

 cross, 260,775 red, and 20,100 silver and black. For thirteen of the 

 twenty-five years, the cross-fox sales fell below the average of 2,886 a 

 year, say from 1853 to 185(5, 1862 to 1866, and 1872 to 1875, and these 

 minus quantities ranged from 1,172 in 1854 to 2,315 in 1873. The 

 other twelve years varied between the lowest, 2,155 for 1876, and the 

 highest, 5,174 skins in 1869. If we observe the same rule in dealing 

 with red foxes, we have onh' eight years which exceeded the average 

 of 10,131 skins. These are 1857 with 10,526, 185!) with ll,-t88, 1860 

 with 11,031, 1867 with 20,824, 1868 with 26,822, 1869 with 20,267, 

 1870 with 13,058, and 1877 with 11,233. Four more years were not 

 far under the mark: 1858 with 9,707, 1861 with 8,897, 1875, with 



