50 
though traps were set, not a specimen was secured until September 27. 
It was apparent that lemmings were very scarce, but the Eskimo expected 
an early return. After snowfalls in late September, 1924, a number of 
fresh lemming trails were seen on the small, isolated flats and amongst the 
boulders along Duval river near the post. Persistent trapping yielded 
several specimens. 
While travelling during the winter of 1924-25, very few signs of 
lemmings were seen. For days at a time not a trail was crossed. One 
trail was seen at Padle, Merchants bay, and a few in Kingnait pass. 
From April to September, 1925, while on the Nettilling Lake expedition, 
very few lemmings were seen. The first specimen was secured on June 7, 
another was taken on June 11; both animals were shot as they sat erect 
on the snow at the entrance to their burrows. On July 4, a large female 
(specimen No. 6024) was secured at Takuirbing river. She was carrying 
nine embryos about ready for birth. Signs of lemmings were observed in 
places about Nettilling lake, but no further specimens were secured until 
August 29 when one (No. 6034 $ ) was taken and one ’other animal was 
seen. A few signs of lemmings were seen along Koukjuak river. The 
land there is very low and wet, and some of the much travelled trails and 
feeding-pockets were saturated with water. In September, signs at Net- 
tilling fiord were much more plentiful than they had been inland. 
On reaching Pangnirtung on September 23, 1925, signs were very 
conspicuous in localities where in 1923 and 1924 the lemmings had been 
scarce or wanting. Obviously the population was again increasing. On 
October 12, a mild spell set in and the snow disappeared from below a 
height of 1,200 feet. During a period of ten days at this time, a line of 
traps daily yielded specimens, and in all forty or fifty were secured. The 
traps were set on ground which had been trapped for eleven days in Sep- 
tember, 1923, without yielding a specimen. 
On the trip from Cumberland sound to Foxe basin and return, in 
January and February, 1926, lemming trails were observed at intervals 
along the w T hole route. Signs, however, were much more common east of 
Nettilling lake than on the plains to the west of it where trails were observed 
only at very wide intervals. On the return trip, lemming trails were found 
on February 8 to be very common on the islands in the east part of Nettil- 
ling lake where, thirteen days earlier, very few trails had been seen. 
In April, 1926, signs of lemmings were more or less common along the 
route from Cumberland sound to Amadjuak bay. In early June, when 
the snow had partly disappeared, the back lemming was found to be fairly 
numerous and easy to trap at cape Dorset. On June 5, eighteen traps set 
on an old Eskimo campsite yielded eight animals. Comparable results 
were obtained on succeeding days and lemmings were frequently seen. 
Nearly matured juveniles predominated amongst the animals trapped. 
On June 15 the traps were still yielding the customary number of animals, 
for the colony was large and flourishing, and the animals, both adults and 
juveniles, daily were seen running about or sunning themselves at the 
entrances to the burrows. 
The species was found in late June, 1926, on many of Fox islands 
east of cape Dorset. One island of about 100 acres, with scanty vegetation, 
and lying several miles offshore, was so overrun with lemmings that pools, 
streams, and the land were filthy from their excreta. On other islands, 
lemmings appeared to be wholly lacking. 
