132 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 28, 1906. 
Blue Fox Farming in Alaska. 
From time to time the newspapers of the 
country publish what purports to be news about 
the blue fox islands of Alaska, but many of the 
articles only show how little is known about the 
blue fox industry, the conditions in Alaska and 
the subject generally. Too often they contain 
hardly a word of truth, and are usually from in¬ 
terviews of reporters with some one who has 
seen a fox island from a steamship deck. The 
people along the Pacific Coast are not much 
better informed about Alaska than those on the 
Atlantic or in the interior. In fact, no one can 
understand conditions there who has not paid a 
visit to that country. Very little is known about 
the fox islands except by those interested. The 
fox islands are not accessible to the traveling 
public. Some of the mail steamers visit the 
islands to land passengers and supplies, but 
usually only those islands in Prince William’s 
Sound and Cook Inlet are so visited. 
The business of propagating the blue fox origi¬ 
nated with Messrs. Thomas F. Morgan, of 
Groton, Conn.; W. B. Taylor, of Omaha, Neb., 
and Wardner, of Pittsburg, Pa., about the year 
1884. These gentlemen were located on the Seal 
Islands, where the blue fox was originally found 
and on Attu. They placed a few foxes on North 
Semidi Island. Later a stock company was 
formed called the Semidi Propagating Company, 
with Mr. M. L. Washburn as general manager, 
Mr. Washburn being located at Kadiak. As the 
foxes did well and increased rapidly under par¬ 
tial domestication, other islands were leased 
from the U. S. Government at a yearly rental of 
$100 each. The Semidi Propagating Company 
leased four or five islands, stocking them from 
North Semidi. Others saw the new industry 
growing up and leased unoccupied islands, pur¬ 
chasing their breeding stock from the Semidi 
Company. These islands sold stock to others, 
until now there are about forty islands occupied 
by the blue fox ranches in Alaskan waters, a 
few in Canadian waters and one on the coast of 
Maine. 
The islands were leased from the Government 
through the Treasury Department. Application 
to lease an island is made, and the first year’s 
rent ($100) paid to an officer of the revenue 
cutter that visits those waters annually to collect 
rent from fox islands, canneries and for other 
purposes. For the past few years the Govern¬ 
ment has not attempted to collect this rental, 
the Attorney-General, I believe, having decided 
that the Government has no right under any 
law to do so. I understand, too, that they de¬ 
cided not to rent or lease any more islands, but 
to continue those already leased for ten years 
longer. 
Several islands have been stocked since, by per¬ 
sons taking them as homes, but not filing on 
them, expecting no trouble, as the islands are 
valueless except for fox breeding. Some islands 
have been stocked with martens, but the time has 
been too short for any results. 
That the blue fox industry and the domesti¬ 
cation and propagation of as many different fur 
bearing animals as possible should be en¬ 
couraged by the Government is self-evident, as 
well as that the many unproductive unoccupied 
islands along the Alaskan coast suitable for such 
purposes ought to be leased to those who are 
willing to spend time and money in the effort to 
prevent the extermination of those most beau¬ 
tiful and valuable animals, now fast disappear¬ 
ing. To-day the buffalo would be exterminated 
were it not for the domesticated herds. The 
sea otters are very scarce. At one time it was 
thought they were about exterminated. In re¬ 
stricted localities there is still some profit in hunt¬ 
ing them. The fur seal is going fast, marten, 
fisher, sable, land otter, ermine, beaver and 
all other valuable furs are getting scarcer 
every year. The country that once pro¬ 
duced annually millions of dollars’ worth of fur 
has been settled. • The settlements—ranchers, 
cattle and sheep men, miners and all kinds of 
farmers are pushing north. Even the Arctic is 
invaded by the miners. 
Some of the great fur companies have gone 
out of business. Those now doing business in the 
North do not derive all their revenue from the 
fur trade. They are interested in canneries, 
steamboats, and merchandise, and a few in 
mines. One company, The North American 
Commercial Company, have an interest in the 
islands where the blue fox originated. That 
many fur-bearing animals can be successfully 
raised on the Alaskan islands is an assured fact. 
The Semidi Propagating Company were the 
first to attempt to breed the blue fox. The Rus¬ 
sian Fur Company, long before Alaska was pur¬ 
chased by the United States Government, 
stocked some islands with the black or silver 
gray fox, and, I believe, one island with bears, 
but their attempt to breed the silver gray fox 
was unsuccessful. They appear never to have 
attempted to stock any of the islands with the 
blue fox. 
Some of the islands now occupied as fox 
islands were taken up by natives. As they had 
not much money, they could purchase but a few 
pairs of foxes. Some only had two or three pair 
for a start. One island—Pearl—was started 
with, as I am informed, twelve pairs. This 
island has produced many hundred skins and 
has a fine stock of foxes. Some of the parties 
who started with but a few pairs have become 
discouraged, more by the lonely life than any¬ 
thing else, and wish to get out of the business. 
Some of the islands first stocked were found to 
be unsuitable for the business. Some were too 
small;' others so close to other islands or to the 
mainland that the foxes swam off. Against 
others ice drifted, so that foxes were carried 
away. Most of the islands have been very suc¬ 
cessful, but it is just the same as with any busi¬ 
ness. There are always some failures. The fail¬ 
ures were not the fault of the foxes or the in¬ 
dustry, but of bad location or management, or 
neglect, or all combined. That the business is a 
success is proved by the fact that an island once 
stocked with blue foxes has not been abandoned 
except where the location was unsuitable. The 
foxes require close attention and careful feeding 
and protection. 
I do not pretend to know how the blue fox 
originated. It is supposed by many naturalists 
to be the Arctic fox. The Arctic fox turns blue 
in summer and white in winter, while freaks will 
remain blue all winter or white all summer in 
the Arctic. The blue fox is supposed to have 
reached the Pribilof Islands and the island of 
Attu on ice floes from the North. The Arctic 
fox is a great wanderer and has been found at 
sea on ice sometimes alPve and sometimes dead. 
In such a way they could easily have reached 
the islands mentioned, and landing there in a 
warmer climate than that of the frozen North, 
nature, finding no use for their snow-white 
coat, they remained blue, although even now 
there occur instances of a tendency to revert or 
throw back to their old coloration. Pups are 
born white, or with white markings, some with 
only a' large white patch, usually on the rump. 
These are killed off before old enough to breed. 
The object is to keep them one solid color; the 
darker the more valuable. 
After several years’ experience, I have come to 
the conclusion that there is a tendency in the 
animals to become gray, or rather silver blue. 
Such skins are very beautiful but. are not as 
valuable as the very dark ones. Some are quite 
light and are called “pale.” Others have only a 
few of the long guard hairs white. 
The Semidi Propagating Company had every¬ 
thing to learn about the fox business. They had 
to learn what kind of food was best and cheap¬ 
est. How to preserve it and how to prepare it 
for the foxes. They had to learn as much as 
possible about their habits in a very short time, 
as communication with the first few islands 
stocked could be had only twice a year. Later 
they purchased Long Island, only about four 
miles from their headquarters—Kadiak—and so 
very accessible. A very intelligent and observ¬ 
ing man was placed in charge, and his observa¬ 
tions have been very valuable to the company 
and to other breeders. It has been learned, 
after many mistakes and costly experiments, 
that the blue fox is monogamous—living in 
pairs—the male taking care of the female during 
the breeding season and assisting in the care of 
the young. He carries food to her, caching it 
about the burrow when not wanted for imme¬ 
diate use, and protecting her and her young 
from disturbance, as far as his power goes. 
But one litter is born each year and that in 
May. The number of cubs ranges from four to 
as high as eleven. The average number that 
reach maturity is about two or three to the 
female. The fox lives and brings forth its 
young in a burrow or den about like that of a 
red fox, except that the blue fox is very fond 
of digging under the buildings on the islands. 
If there is a floor they are sure to have one or 
two dens under it if permitted to do so. They 
will also den under suitable piles of old lumber, 
logs or trash of any kind that will keep the 
water off. They are very suspicious of any per¬ 
son or thing coming near their burrows. If 
they are at all disturbed while their pups are 
young, they are said to move their young to 
another burrow. This is one reason why it is a 
bad plan to keep cattle on the same island with, 
or on that part of the island frequented by, the 
foxes and used for burrows. They are not 
quarrelsome or vicious like other foxes. In close 
confinement they will kill and eat one of their 
own kind that is injured or weak, and I suppose 
if starved to it would eat each other. I have 
found a bit of a fox skull in the stomach of a 
fox, and once found what we were sure was blue 
fox hair. It is difficult to learn very much about 
their habits where they are running loose on 
an island. They now and then have 
“scraps.” Let a fox go where he does 
not belong and you will soon hear a great 
racket. You would think a fox was being killed, 
and if in sight will soon see one getting away 
as fast as possible, yelping like a whipped dog. 
During the time just before, and for a while 
after the cubs are born, their food should be in 
such a shape as to be carried to the burrows, 
and it should be as conveniently placed as pos¬ 
sible, for this is the most important 'season to 
the blue fox rancher. At any other season the 
food can be given to them only at the feed 
houses and feeding-traps. Even if they travel 
three or four miles for their food, it won’t hurt 
them, only give them exercise, but when the 
cubs are young the mother should not have to 
leave her young for any great distance to seek 
food, except the food the male has cached is the 
right kind. Many fox breeders make the mis¬ 
take of feeding soft food, thin mush, at this 
season, and all the time for that matter. Their 
food is usually fish, cooked with corn meal, sea 
lion meat, whale meat, porpoise, seal, and refuse 
from canneries, scrap-cracklings, a coarse corn 
meal, oat meal middlings, tallow, whale and seal 
oil, and oil-cake meal. Usually these are cooked 
in the form of a mush. Again, they are given 
dried salmon and fresh fish. The islands all 
have cooking and feed houses. The food is pre¬ 
pared for the fox in large cauldrons, holding 
from eighty to one hundred gallons and carried 
to the near by feeding places. 
