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Chasers from fraud. Its head office is in Summerside and is still operating on’behalf of the members. Values stayed high in the 1920’s, and began a decline in the late I930’s and the early 40’s.

Prince Edward Island, though gradually losing its monopoly on silver- fox pelt production, remained the financial and geographical centre of the Industry. More than one Island former was saved from severe economic plight during the hungry thirties because he kept a few foxes.

In our own area of Lot 16, Percy Millar carried on a very successful privately owned ranch on his farm, and later other farmers supplemented their income by establishing small ranches. In the latter stages of the ”gold rush” around Dawson City, Roy E. MacLean travelled to that part of the country On a number of occasions, not to pan for gold, but to trap foxes which were later to partially stock the only fox company in Lot 16. For a few years Mr. MacLean ranched the foxes on the farm of his father, William J. MacLean, and crossed them with Island stock. On one trip North, previous to I910, he returned with ninetteen foxes. However, these Northern foxes were not considered to be of as good quality as the native stock. In I910 Mr. MacLean purchased the form now owned by Kenneth MacLean from Joseph Lecky and established the ”Richmond Bay Silver Black Fox Com- pany”about one half mile back of the main buildings in a bush which was considered to be the most suitable environment for ranching foxes in those early days. In the late 1920’s the ranch was closed out due to disuse and other problems. In later years a ranch was located close to the farm

buildings.

Many stories have been told about the fox industry, particularly about the tracking down and catching foxes which escaped. Some foxes were more adept at escaping than others, and had to be ”chased”, as the exercise was called, on numerous occasions. The foxes were identified by a tattoo in the ear. In later years almost every farmer had a few foxes privately owned, and when a fox escaped captivity, the word spread like wildfire from farm to farm, amid great excitement, and everyone would gather for the chase. For many years Edward Millar kept dogs which were very suitable for the fox hunt of that day. Previous to that period they would bring in fox hounds from West Prince for the chase. On one occasion a fox was missing, and the rumor went that he was seen entering a straw stock on the farm of Roy E. MacLean. The neighbours gathered, and ’Ed’, as he was best known, brought in the dogs and held them ready waiting for an abrupt appearance of the fox, and a ring of men was made around the stack. When the numerous men-who had ioined the search had finally forked the last of the big straw stack'over into another pile, a big black cat emerged and ran for its life, and to use the words of one of the volunteers, ”that cat went out of that stock like a greased pigI”. Needless to say, there was a moment of disappointment; however they soon recovered and saw

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