259 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
belief of the existence of so many species, are not at ali 
extraordinary or peculiar; and, indeed, this is the com- 
mon cause of a vast and unnecessary accession of species, 
which so complicates and involves the whole history of quad- 
rupeds. Where such differences are not owning to age or 
sex, they are frequently to the accidents of disease, locality, 
climate, &. I once saw three cubs taken from the bed of a 
Gray Fox, two of which were white as milk, and the other 
gray. It would have been very wise of me to have announced 
the discovery of a new species on the strength of these 
Albinoes ! 
There is a curious and interesting case in point, given from 
the personal experience of Dr. Bachman, the editorial asso- 
ciate of Mr. Audubon in the “ Quadrupeds.” After pre- 
mising that the swiftness of the animal has most probably 
been greatly exaggerated, he says :— 
In regard to the cunning of this variety, there may be 
some truth in the general opinion, but this can be accounted 
for on natural principles; the skin is considered very valuable, 
and the animal is always regarded as a curiosity ; hence the 
hunters make every endeavor to obtain one when seen, and 
it would not be surprising if a constant succession of attempts 
to capture it, together with the instinctive desire for self-pre- 
servation possessed by all animals, should sharpen its wits 
and render it more cautious and wild than those species that 
are less frequently molested. We rémember an instance of 
this kind, which we will here relate. 
A Cross Fox, nearly black, was frequently seen in a par- 
ticular cover. We offered what was in those days considered 
a high premium for the animal in the flesh. The Fox was 
accordingly chased, and shot at by the farmers’ boys in the 
neighborhood. The autumn and winter passed away, nay, 
a whole year, and still the Fox was going at large. It was 
at last regarded by some of the more credulous, as possess- 
ing a charmed life, and it was thought that nothing but a silver 
