BY THE CHIEF OF THE GREELY EXPEDITION.
The animals we have spoken of live on grass or other vegetation, and their ability to exist depends primarily on their ability to cover enough pasture ground to ensure sufficient food. Their dinner always awaits their coming. With the fox and wolf the question is more serious, for they live on flesh, either of animals or of fish. The long silky hair makes the arctic fox beautiful in winter, and, indeed, quite the whole year, for in the farthest north his color remains quite unchanged from a snowy whiteness. They are much smaller than the common fox, the total length, including the bushy tail, varying from two to three feet, and their weight is from eight to twenty pounds; in late winter, however, some do not weigh over five pounds. As the arctic ptarmigan has feet quite clothed with fine feathers as a protection against cold, so the arctic fox needs for the soles of his feet the thick covering of hair that earns for him the designation of lagopus (hairy).
After fifteen years' experience in South Greenland, Dr. Rink, fully recognizing the craftiness of the fox, but also knowing the great difficulty of obtaining animal food, says: "How these little fellows are able to find food necessary to support life during eight months of the year at the northern fiords remains somewhat of a mystery. Hares and partridges are scarce, and seem unable to yield sufficient food for the foxes. In summer the fox seeks the water's edge for mussels or other food there exposed at low tide. He follows the seal-hunter, whether he be man or bear, for the drops of blood or bits of skin and meat yielded by the chase."
In Boothia Felix, Captain Ross found that he burrows and accumulates supplies. He says: "One of their burrows was discovered on the sandy margin of a lake; it had several passages, each opening into a common cell, beyond which was an inner cell, where the young, six in number, were taken. In the outer cell, and in the several passages leading to it, we found a great number of the two species of lemmings, several ermines, and the bones of hares, fish, and ducks in great quantities."
In the extreme north the difficulties of life for the fox greatly increase. Shell-fish disappear, seal as a rule migrate for the winter, and the hunting season shortens wofully with the lengthening winter. Moreover, in Grinnell Land the fox cannot burrow, for the earth never thaws more than a foot or two. However, the cunning animal utilizes nooks and crevices as dens and store-houses. The theory advanced by Professor Newton that the foxes of Spitsbergen lay up in summer a store of food for winter use has been confirmed as to the foxes of North Grinnell Land and Greenland.
THE ARCTIC FOX CATCHING HIS DINNER.
In 1876, near the 83d degree of north latitude, Colonel Feilden shot a fox who, with his mate, occupied a lair in a hillock of broken rocks. "While resting," says Feilden, "we noticed that numerous dead lemmings were scattered around. In every case they had been killed in the same manner—the sharp canine teeth of the foxes had penetrated the brain. Presently we came upon two ermines killed in the same manner. Then, to our surprise, we discovered numerous deposits of dead lemmings; in one hidden nook under a rock we pulled out a heap of over fifty. We disturbed numerous caches of twenty and thirty, and the ground was honeycombed with holes, each of which contained several bodies of these little animals, a small quantity of earth being placed over them. In one hole we found the greater part of a hare hidden away. The wings of young brent-geese were also lying about, and as these birds were at that date only just hatching, it showed that they must have been the results of successful forays of prior seasons, and that consequently the foxes occupy the same abode from year to year."
It appears evident that the hoarding of supplies is peculiar to the fox of North Grinnell Land, for two we held in captivity regularly hid such portion of their food as was not needed for immediate consumption, and it was also noted that the fox was an unusually frugal eater. Curiously enough, our captive foxes would not hide anything while being watched, and a piece of meat has been allowed to lie on the snow undisturbed for half an hour or more while persons were around; but leaving the fox for only four or five minutes, it would be found, upon returning, that the piece of meat had been carried to a corner, a hole dug in the snow, and the surface so carefully restored that it was difficult to notice any change.
One of the foxes, under gentle treatment, became quite tame, and permitted us to handle him, although he always caught the advancing hand and gently applied his teeth, as if to give warning that he was not to be trifled with. When stroked he seemed pleased, and gave forth a purring noise very like that uttered by a contented cat. He would not tolerate the bringing of the face near to, nor blowing at him, invariably jumping at the person so offending.