360 Fur-bearing Foxes. 



is a very much more appropriate name. The vast prairies, not 

 nnlike grassy oceans, over which, the bisons roam in countless 

 herds, east of the Eocky Mountains, are the favourite haunts of 

 the kitt-fox. The little fellow can outrun the fleetest horse or 

 dog, and even the long-legged and swift-footed greyhound- 

 wolves fail to overtake it in a fair race across the rolling plain. 

 As the trappers aptly say, Ci The kitt-fox goes like a ball from 

 a rifle.'" As far as my own observations have been able to 

 settle the question, I think I may safely say that the kitt-fox 

 is entirely confined to the eastern side of the Eocky Mountains. 

 There is not even any tradition, so far as I know, existing 

 amongst the Eed Indians concerning the existence of the kitt- 

 fox west of the Eocky Mountain range j and, moreover, they 

 do not even know the animal by name. I sought informa- 

 tion from the Hudson's Bay Company's traders and the white 

 trappers I from time to time met with, relative to their know- 

 ledge of the kitt-fox being known anywhere in our possessions 

 westward of the Eocky Mountains ; but in no case could I dis- 

 cover that the animal had either been seen or trapped. The 

 number of kitt-fox skins sold in London annually, when compared 

 with either red or grey fox skins, seems to be a very diminutive 

 quantity, nevertheless, 8657 skins of the kitt-fox is about the 

 yearly supply sent to our markets, 



This quaint little fox differs entirely from all the other fur- 

 bearing foxes. Firstly, we are amazed at its diminutive size 

 when contrasted with its brethren. The extreme length 

 of the kitt fox, measured from the tip of the nose to the root 

 of the tail, does not exceed twenty-four inches ; the tail is 

 likewise remarkably short for a fox, being only from nine to 

 ten inches from its junction with the body to the very extremity 

 of its brush-like termination. The limbs are short, but strongly 

 formed, which gives to the animal an appearance of being dis- 

 proportionately long for its height. The toes are each armed 

 with a claw, very much curved and always sharp, and during 

 the winter months the soles of the feet are clothed with a 

 perfect mat of hair — a good coating of hair invariably covers 

 the lower part of the feet during the summer, but it is not 

 nearly so thick and so dense as it is in the winter. 



We can easily see the utility of this hairy kind of shoe or 

 mocassin — it affords perfect protection to the fleshy " pads " 

 whilst the animal is going at full speed over angular stones 

 and rocks, or over that still sharper material, the " crust " upon 

 the frozen snow. 



The fur of the kitt-fox is close, soft, velvety, and very like 

 dressed seal-fur to the touch. The head is remarkably short, 

 and very broad between tin- ears, and the Bkull exhibits a very 

 close analogy to that of the red fox, except that it is consider- 



