18963 Bad Neighbo7^s 



All foxes are monogamous for life. Alopex makes 

 its nest deep down in crevices of the lava blocks 

 along the shore, where the young are born, and where 

 they gurgle-gurgle in their throats until big enough 

 to come out and run along the ancient "fox walks" Fox walks 

 from one hole to another. The adult animals have 

 a very high, sharp, rasping note. " K/ing-g-gy 

 kling-g'g-g!'' like the noise of a "scared buzz-saw" 

 as I once ventured to put it. 



From August on, the Pribilof foxes feed largely 

 on the starved or trampled pups which they fur- 

 tively steal as soon as discipline is sufficiently re- 

 laxed to allow them to enter the harems. In the 

 height of the breeding season it would surely be 

 more than a fox's life is worth to try to break in. 

 They then make raids on the chutchki and other .hi odd 

 auks which abound about the cliffs, especially on 

 the black sea-parrot or tufted puffin, tall, erect, 

 and dignified, with a great red bill apparently made 

 of sealing wax, a white mask over his face, and a 

 white plume at his crown. 



Once as I lay without apparent sign of life on the 

 moss behind remote Vostochni, a little blue fox 

 espied me and ran round and round in narrowing 

 circles until at last he got near enough to make a 

 quick snap at my rubber boot, meanwhile fixing on 

 me his hard, gray, selfish eye; for among all the Cmei n^s 

 beasts no other has an eye so cruel-cold as his. But 

 the boot being unexpectedly tough, he ran away as 

 fast as he could, crying " Kling-g, kling-g, k!ing-g-gf" 

 while all the little foxes went gurgle-gurgle-gurgle 

 underneath the rocks. 



On Morjovi once lived also the greatest of all 

 Northern beasts, the Walrus, for which, in fact, the 



c 565 :i 



counte- 

 nance 



