A BLACK FOX. 
147 
have taken for a fox. One of our officers fired at anotli- 
er, and I saw a tliird fifteen miles further north, both 
of which were undoubtedly of the same species. 
They were probably the " black fox" of Sir John 
Ross, about which there has been much discussion. 
Throwing aside less obvious marks of distinction, this 
fox was dark sooty brown or black, not blue, nor, as I 
am disposed to think, of the shed sunimer-coat-color 
of the white fox (Canis lagopus). Its pinched expres- 
sion of head and diminished size might be explained 
by the absence of its winter covering. 
The rest of the day was beautifully clear. We spent 
it in working to windward, and at 4 P.M. again land- 
ed to get observations. This spot, the most northern 
that we reached in Baffin's Bay, was in latitude 76° 25'. 
I here saw and collected in the protected nooks, among 
the grasses and saxifrages, a large number of the Coch- 
learia [C. Danica) and Banunculus. Einberiza and 
Plectrophanes were seen also. 
The calm which had given us these two days of 
shore rambles left us suddenly on the 18th, We stood 
towards Wolstenholme Sound, and bore across to the 
west in more open water than we had seen for several 
weeks. It was now beyond doubt that we were to 
winter somewhere among the scenes of Arctic trial. 
We were past the barrier, heading direct for Lancas- 
ter Sound, with the motion of waves once more under 
us, and a breeze aloft. As I refer to my journal, I see 
how the tone of feeling rose among our little party. 
We began again vf ith something of confidence to con- 
nect the probable results with the objects of the ex- 
pedition. We had lost three weeks off the Devil's 
Tongue, the British steamers were far ahead of us in 
point of time, and their superior ability and practice 
1 
