Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1894-1895, 1895-11-01
FOX RAISING INAL ASkA.
Hope:u .s-rlizins Large Fronts
from a.. OF Many Pelts.

from a.. of Many Pelts.
Fox farming in Alasks which has as
summed .M:nenae prOpOrt ons, was orig
mated bl a Pittsburfher. In 1879
George Wsr.-.an was travelling abr
the coast in The steame, Rush.
saw a valuable black fox skin sole
s. a. and eouceived the notion
farming tie fox would be profitat
lie got Peach Taylor, Thomas F. M
gan ana james G. Redpath interested
and company was formed. The gen
tlemen are AGENTS of the Alaska Com
iuercial company at St George.
Morgan suggested as a place for the
experiment The Semedies group OF
seventy rocky islets. sixty miles west
OF Kodiak. which produced nothing but
sea birds and sea lions, and are unin-
habited. At the seal islands of the
Pribyloff group the Alaska Commercial
Company eaten 1000 to 1000 blue
foxes every winter. The black foxes
are scarce. while the blue fox is not
nearly so valuable.
During the winter of 1880 ARA re
ments were made with an agent al
dlak 10 get some black fox cubs.
secured half a dozen. and while he As
away on business the natives killed the
cubs by kindness and by overlooking
them. No more of the cubs could be
found. and no further effort to carry
out The scheme WAS made until the sum
mer OF 1881. when about twenty blue fox
cubs were caught. They were taken in a
steamer TO l'nalaska and thence In a
chartered schooner, with a quantity Of
seal meat TO the Semedies Islands.
where they were released.
The islands are inaccessible except
IN calm weather. which helped the en-
terprise rs L kept poachers and Ind -
from catching the stock. At first Ii W
difficult to get any right on the lanG.
The treasury department, however, ad-
dressed a letter to revenue steamers
and the provisional government OF
Alaska, TO give their protection to the
fox farmers under the law protecting
squatters. and the company has not
been mOlesied in It's enterprise
The foxes eat eggs and catch birds
in the summer They are also adopts
at killing sea lions. which serve them
for food. They are very intelligent
They take the eggs in summer and
hide them in the thick moss, which
is like mattresses. and leave them until
they get hungry in winter and can find
nothing else to eat II they hid the
eggs in the dirt they would be unable
to scratch the frozen ground away froI
them in winter. hence the wisdom di
played in covering them with mos
The foxes have been watched during
the months of July and August on the
lifts searching for eggs. and have been
tracked to their hiding places.
The blue fox pelt is valued at SIS.
and as seals become scarcer it becomes
more valuable. All attempts to catch
black foxes have proved failures. as
they are so scarce. Natives are hired
TO live on the island and watch the
foxes. The latter are trapped in certain
seasons. killed. and skinned. The car
casSes are valueleSs, as the Indians.
who will eat almost anything. will not
touch the fox meat. The number las
multiplied from twenty cubs to about
5000 foxes. and they have been trapped
every season since they were large
enough to De of value Mr. Wardman
sold his interest TO Byron Andrews OF
Washington.