, guns and strings! No man
knows better than he the meaning of foot-tracks in the snow, and how
long they have been there, and which way they lead; thus, those that
survive their enemies have acquired extreme wisdom, and keep carefully
away from everything that is at all suspicious to their eyes and
nostrils.

The Siberian fox is one of those wise creatures that has defied in a
most extraordinary way his handicaps, and, refusing to admit them, has
boldly selected the strangest dwelling-place known to the animal
world--the horn of the mountain sheep. This unique dwelling-place has
been the home of the Siberian fox for ages, and his ancestors have known
no other. The mountain sheep, which are giants among their kind, have
the longest horns in proportion to their size of any animal in
existence. The argali of Siberia is the largest of all sheep, and is
equal in bulk and weight to an average-sized ox, with horns
proportionally large. The horns of these animals are strikingly like
those of the Rocky Mountain sheep of America, except they are much
larger. They spring up from the forehead, tilt backward, then boldly
curve below the muzzle, before finally again pointing upward and
tapering into a sharp and delicate point. They are hollow, though
exceedingly stout and elastic, and strengthened on the outside by a
number of ridges or horny rings set very close together. They are found
in large numbers in this land of perpetual ice and snow, and it is
thought that they break from the sheep's heads very easily.

It is not uncommon to find them lying in a spot which has been a
battlefield, where two sheep in attempting to settle some dispute have
fought and fallen. It is not long after they have thus fallen before
they are utilised by Mr. Fox. He stores himself carefully away in these
roomy horns, one of which Mrs. Fox uses as a nursery, finding it a snug,
safe, and warm place to rear her little family.

The other varieties of foxes, especially the grey and red, are not so
skilled in home-making. This may be due to the fact that they do not
have need of such elaborate houses as their arctic cousins. Again, it
may be that the existence of numerous deserted homes of badgers, or even
rabbits, makes it unnecessary for them to spend their time in building
homes of their own. It is much easier to enlarge the ready-made burrow
of a rabbit than to dig a new tunnel, of course.

If there is no ready-made burrow to be had, then the wise fo