THE LAKE TROUTS. 4 6 3 



Naturalists have been sadly misled by their protean modifications. The 

 "Namaycush" of the North, the " Togue " or " Tuladi " of the Maine 

 and New Brunswick Indians and lumbermen, the " Siscowet " or " Sis- 

 kawitz " of Lake Superior, the "Trout" of Winnipiseogee, and that of 

 the Adirondack lakes, have each been honored with a distinct binomial. 



The angling authorities still refuse to admit that the Lake Trout of the 

 East is identical with the Mackinaw Trout, or Namaycush, supporting 

 their views by accounts of their very different habits. A careful study of 

 the dead fish is sufficient, however, to convince a trained observer that 

 there are no structural characters by which these different forms may be 

 separated into species. The local variations should, undoubtedly, be taken 

 into consideration, and when these are better understood it is probable 

 that zoologists and anglers will compromise by agreeing to consider the 

 most strongly marked types as races, or breeds, such as are now recog- 

 nized among dogs, pigeons, and other domesticated animals. 



The Namaycush reaches its greatest perfection in the northern parts of 

 Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, where it is quite generally known 

 as the "Mackinaw Trout." In the lakes of Northern New York the same 

 species occurs, being known by the names "Lake Salmon," "Lake 

 Trout," and "Salmon Trout." This form, which is considerably smaller 

 than that of the northern lakes, was described by DeKay under the name 

 Salmo confinis, and was observed by this author as far south as Silver Lake, 

 in Northern Pennsylvania. Still another form is recognized by sportsmen, 

 which, although undoubtedly specifically identical with that of the Great 

 Lakes, has been described under various names, such as Salmo toma and 

 Salmo symmetrica. 



"This fish," writes Lanman, "is found in all the great lakes of New- 

 Brunswick, and in very many of those of Maine, but it is believed not to 

 exist in the lakes of Nova Scotia. It is called by the lumbermen the 

 ' Togue ;' the Indians designate it by a name equivalent to ' Fresh-water 

 Cod.' It is found in great numbers and of large size in the Eagle Lakes, 

 at the head of Fish River, in the St. Francis lakes, from which it follows 

 the river of that name, and in the Matapediac Lake, which discharges 

 itself into the Restigouche, and in the Miramichi Lake, at the head of the 

 river. In Lake Temiscouata this fish has been taken of the weight of 

 twenty-one pounds. It is there called the ' Tuladi.' It is often taken of 

 the weight of twelve pounds and upwards in the Cheputnecticook lakes, at 

 the head of the eastern branch of the St. Croix. It has been found of 

 late years that this species offish exists in considerable numbers in Loch 

 Lomond, twelve miles from the city of St. John." 



