in killing
it: he wished to compare it with some ermines he had seen while
travelling upon Lake Winnipeg, which, as he thought, were much larger--
one that he had caught having measured more than a foot in length,
without including the tail. He wished, also, to make some comparison
between it and the common weasel; for in its _winter dress_, in the
snowy regions, the latter very much resembles the ermine; and, indeed,
the trappers make no distinction between them.

With these ideas Lucien had grasped his gun, and was raising himself to
creep a little nearer, when his eye was arrested by the motions of
another creature coming along the top of the wreath. This last was a
snow-white animal, with long, shaggy fur, sharp-pointed snout, erect
ears, and bushy tail. Its aspect was fox-like, and its movements and
attitudes had all that semblance of cunning and caution so
characteristic of these animals. Well might it, for it _was_ a fox--the
beautiful white fox of the Arctic regions.

It is commonly supposed that there are but two or three kinds of foxes
in America; and that these are only varieties of the European species.

This is an erroneous idea, as there are nearly a dozen varieties
existing in North America, although they may be referred to a less
number of species. There is the Arctic fox, which is confined to the
cold Northern regions, and which in winter is white.

The "sooty fox" is a variety of the "Arctic," distinguished from it only
by its colour, which is of a uniform blackish brown.

The "American fox" (_Vulpes fulvus_), or, as it is commonly called, the
"red fox," has been long supposed to be the same as the European red
fox. This is erroneous. They differ in many points; and, what is
somewhat curious, these points of difference are similar to those that
exist between the European and American wolves, as already given.

The "cross fox" is supposed by the Indians and some naturalists to be
only a variety of the last. It derives its name from its having two
dark stripes crossing each other upon the shoulders. Its fur from this
circumstance, and perhaps because the animal is scarce, is more prized
than that of the red variety. When a single skin of the latter is worth
only fifteen shillings, one of the cross fox will bring as much as five
guineas.

Another variety of the red fox, and a much more rare one, is the
"black," or "silver" fox. The skins of these command six times the
price of any othe