MAMMALS. . 235 



Being to a great extent nocturnal in their habits, and excessively shy, they are rarely seen, 

 except when trapped, even by the natives, who spend much of their time in the forest. 



Mr. McQuesten, a fur trader living at Fort Vukon, witnessed one winter day a combat 

 between a lynx and a red fox, which he described to me as follows: "The lynx sprang upon the 

 fox, in comparatively open ground, evidently trying to capture it for food. The fox instantly 

 made tight, and for a few moments the fur flew right and left. Then a short pause followed and 

 the fight was renewed. A second pause ensued, and after the two had glared at one another for 

 a few moments they slowly withdrew in opposite directions, the hair on each bristling defiance, 

 but each apparently satisfied to close accounts." This lynx was probably weakened by hunger, 

 for a vigorous lynx is certainly more than a match for a fox. 



So far as I could learn, they are never known to attack pei'sous, and their principal food is the 

 white rabbit, which is abundant in all the wooded districts of the north. Euffed Grouse, Ptarmigan, 

 and other birds are preyed upon, but the fur traders and natives agree in stating that the abun- 

 dance of lynxes in a district is directly iiroportioned to the abundance of rabbits. 



When rabbits increase in a district for a number of years, the yield of lynx-skins is large, 

 until, suddenly, an epidemic breaks out among the rabbits and they are almost exterminated. The 

 succeeding seasons are marked by a heavy decrease in the number of lynx-skins secured by the 

 natives, and until the rabbits become common again the If nxes are scarce. Lynxes are trapped 

 by means of a strong sinew noose at the end of a bent sapling, with a bait and trigger so arranged 

 that when the bait is taken the sapling is freed and swings the lynx up in the noose. 



Another mode is to heap up a lot of brush in a pile, 3 or 4, feet high, with a clear space 

 on the ground in the middle, where some fragments of meat are placed. A carelessly-made open- 

 ing leads to this on one side, and the bushes are laid close on all the other sides. A sinew noose 

 is then made fast to some stationary object and laid at the entrance, so that the animal is almost 

 certain to snare itself in getting the bait. Steel traps are sometimes used in place of the snare in 

 this latter style of trapping. 



The district about the mouth of the Tanana and the head of the Kuskoquim Kiver is the 

 center of abundance of this species in Alaska. 



The fur traders and Indians of the Upper Yukon claim that the lynxes sometimes unite in par- 

 ties of five or six and make rabbit drives on the small islands in the Yukon. They claim to have 

 heard the lynxes utter a sharp whistling noise, and to have found their tracks in the snow where 

 the line had swept the island, until each secured its prey, near the farther end. The flesh of the 

 lynx is said by the natives to be white, tender, and excellent eating. 



CANID.S:. 

 Canis familiabis boeealis (Desmarest). Eskimo Dog (Esk. Kt-mukli-t&). 



In the icy regions of Arctic America the dog is indeed a faithful friend and valued ally of 

 man, more so, perhaps, than in any other portion of the world, although his services in other 

 regions have brought him well-earned iiraise. Without dogs the larger portion of the great 

 Eskimo family peopling the barren northern coast of America would find it impossible to exist in 

 its chosen home. 



In winter, the hunter is accompanied by his sledge and dogs on every important hunt. The 

 dogs are invaluable aids in fluding the game in many cases, and are used to drag it homeward 

 across the icy hummocks or snowy plains. They haul the sledges laden with household goods and 

 childreu when a change of abode becomes necessary, and are ever at hand for the unstinted amount 

 of work heaped upon them, spiced with a plenitude of kicks and blows. During the summer 

 months they are forced to shift for themselves, unless put into harness to tow a large boat along the 

 coast, or to accompany a hunter in the chase. On the Alaskan coast, when this latter oflice is 

 demanded of them, a pair of small leather panniers is strapped upon their backs, in which is placed 

 the small supply of food, and perhaps other small articles needed on the trip. In spite of much 

 ill usage, they are a rollicking lot, full of good nature and playfulness, fond of the society of man, 

 and, like a lot of school-boys, continually winding up their humor in pitched battle. They are 



