i68 TRAVELS IN 
did not agree with that naturaUft's defcripiion, 
and 1 conceive it to have been a fpecies of ar£tic 
fox (ifatis). The favages aiTurcd me, that 
the animal burrows in the earth, and there 
brings up its young. The fur is foft and beau-? 
tiful, and I purchafed feveral pieces of it. 
When I departed, the chief fent fome of his 
men to accompany me to Schoenmaker's. 
my arrival, I found a little man in a red cap 
and the drefs of a Dutch failor. He was fur- 
rounded by a number of charming little girls, 
entirely naked, the oldeft of whom was not 
nine years of age. Nothing could be more 
engaging than the fight of this family. The 
natural graces of thefe children, their live- 
ly endearments, their pleafing features, an4 
even their very nakednefs, prefented to my 
mind the image of a brood of young Loves. 
Their unfortunate protedor had deferted twelve 
years ago, and the fear pf being dragged from 
his retreat had condemned him to perpetual 
anxiety. Ever alone, ever impelled to fhun 
the fociety of his fellows, he led a wandering 
life, and dared not return to the colony. 
In fuch a fituation my prefence could nol; 
\)Vii alarm him, Th^ train that followed me, 
the 
