530 



POX. 



and yelled like dogs, by which they' betrayed their 

 covert. But no sooner did they perceive that their 

 retreat was discovered, than (unless they were pre- 

 vented) they dragged the young away in their 

 mouths, and endeavoured to conceal them in some 

 more secret place. On one of us killing the young,' 

 the dam would follow us with dreadful howlings, by 

 night and day, for a hundred versts or more, and would 

 not even then cease till she had done her enemy 

 some material injury, or was herself killed by him." 



This species is "very ragged and rough looking, 

 during the process of changing its colour, and until 

 near its conclusion. The change is no sooner com- 

 pleted, than the colour becomes uniform. It is of a 

 pure white during winter. A dorsal line of a darker 

 colour is observable in summer, with transverse stripes 

 upon the shoulders, from which peculiarities it lias 

 been occasionally confounded with the cross fox. The 

 paws are entirely covered with long hairs, and those 

 on the other parts of the body are about two inches 

 and a half in length. 



Mr. Lloyd, in his " Field Sports of the North of 

 Europe," describes the arctic fox as differing very 

 materially from those of the common species. " He 

 has," says Mr. Lloyd," neither the cunning nor speed, 

 and he is besides less cautious and timid." And ac- 

 cording to the concurrent testimony of all travellers 

 to the arctic regions, he is so little afraid of man that 

 he may be readily knocked on the head with a blud- 

 geon. " It has happened that this species has been 

 killed in the most southern parts of Sweden ; but it 

 has been noticed that, instead of flying from his assail- 

 ants, as is the case with the common fox, he has stood 

 contemplating his approach until the fatal trigger has 

 been drawn, and the loaded messenger has made him 

 bite the ground." 



This difference of character between the arctic and 

 the common fox, points to a difference in prey and in 

 manner of prey-ing. In summer he appears to feed 

 chiefly upon those birds which resort in such numbers 

 to the bogs and borders of the northern marshes to 

 breed ; while in winter, when the birds are gone, and 

 the waters frozen, he appears to resort farther upland, 

 and subsist upon the small burrowing quadrupeds, of 

 which there are vast numbers in that country, and 

 many of which hybernate, and thus become an easy 

 prey, just as the close-sitting birds do in summer 

 when they are on their nests ; the broad feet with 

 which this species are furnished serve equally for tra- 

 versing the bog in summer and the snow in winter ; and 

 the fur on the under part enables the animal to prowl 

 with silent footfall, so as never to startle the game. 



BLACK AND SILVER Fox (V. argcntatui). The 

 black and silver foxes are considered by the Indians 

 to be the same kind, varying accidentally in the colour 

 of the feet. The black are very rare, and fetch a 

 very high price. Its skin is so rare, that Dr. Richard- 

 son* says " a greater number than four or five are 

 seldom taken in a season at any one part in the fur 

 countries." The skins are sometimes entirely black, 

 and are preferred when they have not any silver hairs 

 in them ; and when without any are considered the 

 mot valuable of furs, and are worth near 20/. a skin. 



This animal is often the size of the ordinary fox ; 

 in its entire organisation it closely resembles that 

 well-known animal. The organs of sense, of den- 

 tition, and of generation, are the same, and its gait 

 and movements exactly similar. It walks with its 

 head and tail depresse'd. Its glances are pregnant 



with distrust and penetration, and, in a word, it would 

 be completely'our European fox, if it were fawn- 

 coloured instead of black and silver. The hair of the 

 body and of the tail is long and tufted. Silken hairs 

 widely dispersed, extremely fine, and of a grey, ap- 

 proaching to black, form the immediate covering of the 

 skin, and the peculiar colour of the animal is owing to 

 silken hairs which are generally of a. brilliant black, 

 though occasionally terminated by a white point, and 



Blade and Silver Fox. 



sometimes, but rarely, altogether white. The ex- 

 tretnity of the tail is almost entirely white, the fore 

 part of the head and the sides are whitish, and some 

 white hairs are detached, as it were, from all the other 

 parts of the fur, and have no other effect, than to set 

 off to better advantage the lustrous brilliancy of the 

 black, of which it is generally composed. The eyes 

 are yellowish. These animals play like dogs, and 

 like them, express their displeasure by growling. 

 When the animal's hunger is satisfied, it conceals the 

 rest of its food, lies down, and goes to sleep. It 

 has a very disagreeable odour,l)ut differs a little from 

 that of the common fox. The exhaustion which it 

 suffers from heat, sufficiently indicates the countries 

 of which it is a native. Nearly all authors who have 

 travelled in the northern parts of the old world, speak 

 of black foxes, which has given rise to an opinion, in 

 which there appears probability, that the species 

 which we have been describing is to be found in both 

 continents. Some doubt, however, must be preserved 

 respecting their identity, until such time as it shall be 

 confirmed by new observations, and a more exact 

 comparison of characters. 



Arctic Fox. 



The foxes of the arctic countries, especially of 

 Siberia and America, where they are most abundant, 

 present nearly the same kind of difficulties to the 

 systematic naturalist as the intermediately sized cats 

 do in the tropical forests. They are all formed nearly 

 alike, and do not differ much in size and strengh ; and 

 thus the only palpable distinction is that of colour, 



