92 
ARCTIC FOX. 
acquire the pure white dress even in winter ; many have a little duskiness 
on the nose, and others, probably young individuals, remain more or less 
coloured on the body all the year. On the other hand, a pure white Arctic 
Fox is occasionally met with in the middle of summer, and forms the 
variety named Kakkortak by the Greenlanders. 
Mr. William Morton, ship’s steward of the Advance, one of Mr. Henry 
Grinnell’s vessels sent in search of Sir John Franklin and his party, 
although not a naturalist, has furnished us with some account of this 
species. He informs us that whilst the vessels (the Advance and Rescue) 
were in the ice, the men caught a good many Arctic Foxes in traps made 
of old empty barrels set with bait on the ice : they caught the same indi- 
viduals in the same trap several times, their hunger or their want of caution 
leading them again into the barrel when only a short time released from 
captivity. 
They were kept on board the vessels for some days, and afterwards let 
loose ; they did not always appear very anxious to make their escape from 
the ships, and those that had not been caught sometimes approached the 
vessels on the ice, where first one would appear, and after a while another, 
showing that several were in the neighbourhood. They were occasionally 
observed on the rocks and snow on the land, but were not seen in packs 
like wolves ; they do not take to the water or attempt to swim. 
These Foxes when they see a man do not appear to be frightened : they 
run a little way, and then sit down on their haunches like a dog, and face 
the enemy before running off entirely. They are said to be good eating, 
the crews of the vessels having feasted on them, and are fat all the winter. 
They were occasionally seen following the polar bear to feed on his 
leavings, seals, flesh of any kind, or fish. 
Those they captured were easily tamed, seldom attempting to bite even 
when first caught, and by wrapping a cloth around the hand some of them 
could be taken out of the barrel and held, not offering more resistance 
than a snap at the cloth. 
Several beautiful skins of this animal were brought home by Dr. E. K. 
Kane, the accomplished surgeon of the expedition, and have since been 
presented by him to the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. 
Captain Lyon, during two winters passed on Melville peninsula, studied 
with attention the manners of several of these animals. He says : “ The 
Arctic Fox is an extremely cleanly animal, being very careful not to dirt 
those places in which he eats or sleeps. No unpleasant smell is to be per- 
ceived even in a male, which is a remarkable circumstance. To come 
unawares on one of these creatures is, in my opinion, impossible, for even 
when in an apparently sound sleep they open their eyes at the slightest 
