St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-09
Profitable Business Inaugurated
in Our Northern Possessions


in Our Northern Possessions.
Fox farming in Alaska, which has
assumed immense proportions, was
originated by a Pittsburger. In 1879
George Wardman was travelling
about the coast in the steamer Rush.
He saw a valuable fox skin sold
for $500, and conceived the notion
that farming the fox would be profit
able. He got Preach Taylor, Thomas
F. Morgan and James c. Redpath
Interested and a company formed.
The gentlemen are agents of the
Alaska Commercial 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 produce
nothing but sea birds and sea lions
and are uninhabited At the seal
islands Of the Pribyloff group the
Alaskan Commercial company catch
from 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 arrange
mentS were made with an agent at
Kodiak to get some black fox cubs.
He secured half a dozen, and while
he was away on business the natives
killed the cubs by kindness and over
feeding them. No more of the cubs
could be found and no further effort
to carry out the scheme was made
until the summer of 1884, when about
twenty-five blue fox cubs were
caught. They We're taken in a steam
er. to Unalaska and thence in a char
tered schooner, with a quantity of
seal meat, to the Semedies islands.
where they We're released.
The islands are inaccessible ex-
cept in calm weather, which helped
the enterprise, as it kept poachers
and Indians from catching the stock
At first it was difficult to get anv
right on the land. The treasury de-
partment, however, addressed 2. let
ter to revenue steamers and the pro-
Vlslonal government of Alaska to
give their protection to the fox farm
ers under the law protecting SQUAT
tiers, and the company has not been
molested in its 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 i'm
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. If they hid the eggs in the
dirt they would be unable to scratch
the frozen ground away from them
IN winter, hence the wisdom dis
prayed IN covering them with moss.
Inc foxes have been watched dur
ing the months of July and August
on the cliffs searching for eggs and
nave been tracked to their hidine
places.
The blue fox pelt is valued at
3d. and as seals become scarcer it
becomes more valuable. All attennts
TO catch black foxes have proved
failures, as they are so scarce. Ma
tlves are hired to live on the island
ana watch the foxes. The latter are
trapped in certain seasons. killed
ana Skinned. The carcasses are VAL
ueiess, as the Indians, who will eat
almost anything, will not touch the
Iox meat The number has multiplied
from twenty cubs to about 5000
Ioxes, and they have been trapped
every season since they were large
enough to be Of value. Mr.. Ward
man sold his interest to Byron An
crews, Of Washington. The com
pany is in fair way to make large
fortunes from fox farming.