DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA. 19 



specimen, displayed in Devils Lake city, weighed 10 pounds. The 

 average length was about 2 feet, the largest measured 3 feet, and 

 those under 7 inches were rarely seen or caught. The flesh was 

 reported to be firm and of fine flavor. No other species of fish was 

 known to have been captured from this lake. 



No special attention seems to have been given to the protection 

 of the pickerel and they were caught at all seasons of the year. 

 Lured by artificial minnows weighted and controlled by a cord, the 

 pickerel were speared as they seized the bait. Holes were cut in the 

 ice to continue this practice in winter. It was the most efficient and 

 common method of capture, though the spoon hook and bright-colored 

 cloths were also employed with success. 



Though abundant in all portions of the lake, nearly all of the 

 fish Avere caught in the bays or tributaries of the main lake, and 

 Creel Bay was the principal fishing ground. Devils Lake city was 

 located on the northern shore of that bay and between the town and 

 the " Narrows " — now the northern limit of the bay — the extensive 

 area then existing formed the favorite spawning ground for pickerel. 

 To this point in spring the fish would run through the narrows, 

 where they were speared by thousands. At one time fifty shacks 

 for the fishermen were located in that locality. Where the depth 

 of water was then 6 to 7 feet and the width of the narrows approxi- 

 mately 300 yards, brown, dried-up, barren lands and broad wastes 

 of weeds with incrustations of alkali now cover the famous fishing 

 and spawning grounds. 



The abundance of the fish may be deduced from the facts that the 

 Laiited States agent at Fort Totten purchased at one time two car- 

 loads of pickerel for shipment; that a butcher of Devils Lake city 

 received also at one time two carloads, and finally the same man 

 held during one season a standing order for 1,200 pounds daily. The 

 fish received were in excellent condition. Pickerel occurred in great- 

 est abundance during the years 1884-1887, and the last ones received 

 were caught by an Indian at Fort Totten in 1889. 



Many theories have been advanced to account for their mysterious 

 disappearance, but none is sufficiently supported by the evidence. 

 Destructive fishing methods, the corrosive efl^ect of lake water, desic- 

 cation of spawning beds due both to meteorological causes and 

 absorption of precipitation by plowed lands, and even the possi- 

 bility of underground outlets to the lake have been adduced as 

 explanations. 



The following facts, however, merit consideration. The former 

 connection of Devils Lake by the Mauvaise Coulee with the Chain 

 Lakes and ultimately with Dry and Sweetwater lakes has been de- 

 scribed in previous pages of this report. During the years 1884 to 

 1887 Mauvaise Coulee was running throughout the entire year and 



