IN THE FAR WEST. 365 



on the Pacific slope, for the gray is not much behind \\\c fells 

 in its power to get among the branches. They tell of a Cali- 

 fornian youth who was sent to a university in the Atlantic 

 States to complete his education, and who corrected his teacher 

 (a native of Europe) in Natural History about the ability of 

 the fox to climb. " What \" said the irritated tutor, "do you 

 mean to tell me an untruth, and say that a fox can climb a 

 tree?" "It aint an untruth/' said the other, "because I've seen 

 him do it." The teacher appealed to the class to know if any of 

 them had seen such a phenomenon, and they all replied in the 

 negative. The daring student was then escorted to the President 

 to learn what should be done with him for his impertinence, and 

 making the statement he did, but that worthy individual, 

 turning to the tutor, said, " I think, Mr. P., that in future 

 this young man might help you to teach Natural History to 

 the class, as he observes for himself, while you accept every 

 statement because it is uttered by a Professor, who probably 

 never saw the animal. Now, I have seen gray foxes climb 

 trees myself, so that he is right, and you owe him an apology." 

 The crestfallen birch-wielder returned to his duties with a 

 much less exalted opinion of himself, but he solaced his pride 

 after awhile by telling a friend that he was not supposed to 

 know how animals acted in America, being a stranger there ; 

 but he was positive that students, presidents of colleges, and 

 foxes at least differed from their congeners in any other part 

 of the world. 



The creature which caused this dispute is disappearing before 

 the advance of population, for, as the forest is cleared away, it 

 has to seek other quarters to find food and shelter. It lives 

 almost entirely on birds and small quadrupeds, and seems in- 

 different whether it feasts on a grouse, hare, squirrel, wood-rat, 

 or field-mouse. As it recedes from settlements, its place is 

 taken by the red fox, which finds shelter convenient to the 

 farmyard in a deep and tortuous burrow, whence it can make its 

 nightly raids on the poultry. It is, therefore, a much greater 

 enemy to the former than the other; hence every effort is 

 made to exterminate it with rifle, trap, and strychnine. 



One of the most curious specimens of the rufpidfc to be found 



