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192 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN
collectors; and while it is just probable that the different
varieties have occasionally been found among the l i t t e r of a
red fox mother, yet I have for a l o n g time been of the opini
o n that there must have been o r i g i n a l l y two distinct and
well- defined species of N o r t h A m e r i c a n fox— the pure red
and the pure black ( Vulpes fulva et V. nigra)— and, as a
matter of fact, there s t i l l exist many of the former and some
of the latter throughout the entire' region under review.
I also firmly believe that sexual intercourse between a male
and female red fox i n v a r i a b l y results i n the production of
only red foxes. I am equally satisfied that s i m i l a r results
always follow cohabitation between a male and female black
fox. In course of many years' t r a d i n g of fox skins, I have
observed perhaps every possible degree of v a r i a t i o n between
the p r a c t i c a l l y perfect, t y p i c a l red fox and the same descript
i o n of the black form. These varieties between the two
are easily accounted for- as a consequence of the natural
commerce w h i c h exists among the sexes d u r i n g the annual
seasons of copulation.
Since w r i t i n g the above, I have come across C h i e f Trader
B e r n a r d R. Ross's " P o p u l a r Treatise on the F u r - B e a r i ng
A n i m a l s of the Mackenzie R i v e r D i s t r i c t . " I w i l l now
quote f r om page 16 thereof the views held b y h i m and therei
n stated, and w i t h which I f u l l y agree i n this connection:
In treating on the different varieties of foxes I have spoken of,
it is extremely difficult to mark the line where one ends and the
other commences. During my residence in these regions I have
seen every shade of colour among them, from a bright flame tint
to a perfectly black pelt, always excepting the tip of the tail, which
in all cases is white. Even the judgment of an experienced fur
trader is sometimes at fault to decide, in bartering, to which of
the three varieties a skin should belong, as they bear different
prices. Still, notwithstanding this, I consider these colours to havd
been produced by intermixture of breed; the different varieties
being, in my opinion, quite as distinct as those of the human race.
And I do not think that any of the progeny of two pairs of red
foxes would be either black or cross. In cohabiting, the male foxes
accompany the females in bands of from 3 to 10, much in the
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| Title | Page 215 |
| OCR | 192 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN collectors; and while it is just probable that the different varieties have occasionally been found among the l i t t e r of a red fox mother, yet I have for a l o n g time been of the opini o n that there must have been o r i g i n a l l y two distinct and well- defined species of N o r t h A m e r i c a n fox— the pure red and the pure black ( Vulpes fulva et V. nigra)— and, as a matter of fact, there s t i l l exist many of the former and some of the latter throughout the entire' region under review. I also firmly believe that sexual intercourse between a male and female red fox i n v a r i a b l y results i n the production of only red foxes. I am equally satisfied that s i m i l a r results always follow cohabitation between a male and female black fox. In course of many years' t r a d i n g of fox skins, I have observed perhaps every possible degree of v a r i a t i o n between the p r a c t i c a l l y perfect, t y p i c a l red fox and the same descript i o n of the black form. These varieties between the two are easily accounted for- as a consequence of the natural commerce w h i c h exists among the sexes d u r i n g the annual seasons of copulation. Since w r i t i n g the above, I have come across C h i e f Trader B e r n a r d R. Ross's " P o p u l a r Treatise on the F u r - B e a r i ng A n i m a l s of the Mackenzie R i v e r D i s t r i c t . " I w i l l now quote f r om page 16 thereof the views held b y h i m and therei n stated, and w i t h which I f u l l y agree i n this connection: In treating on the different varieties of foxes I have spoken of, it is extremely difficult to mark the line where one ends and the other commences. During my residence in these regions I have seen every shade of colour among them, from a bright flame tint to a perfectly black pelt, always excepting the tip of the tail, which in all cases is white. Even the judgment of an experienced fur trader is sometimes at fault to decide, in bartering, to which of the three varieties a skin should belong, as they bear different prices. Still, notwithstanding this, I consider these colours to havd been produced by intermixture of breed; the different varieties being, in my opinion, quite as distinct as those of the human race. And I do not think that any of the progeny of two pairs of red foxes would be either black or cross. In cohabiting, the male foxes accompany the females in bands of from 3 to 10, much in the |
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