85 



so heavy, so water-soaked, and misshapen by the pressure 

 as to be hardly recognizable as the symmetrical floats pre- 

 pared with such care and sunk only a few hours before, many 

 of them so crushed and broken as to be useless ever after. 



There are curious things going on in the deeps of this 

 great abyss. One locality is pointed out, and is called by 

 the flshermen " The Hospital," because of the great num- 

 ber of cripi^led and misshapen tish raised from the bot- 

 tom ; with its sharp, jagged rocks, among which a tierce, 

 strong current seems ever surging, I conjecture to be the 

 cause of the great number of maimed and unsymmetrical 

 tish taken at this particular spot. 



In the neighborhood of Isle Royale, in water from 120 

 to 150 fathoms, on a blue clay bottom, over which myriads 

 of worms seem to swarm and upon which the siskiwit 

 delight to feed, it is a noticeable fact that the deeper the 

 water the fatter the tish. Indeed, the deepest-water tish 

 are so exceedingly fat that when brought to the surface, 

 relieved from the enormous pressure, seem almost jelly- 

 like and ready to burst, in fact the floating oil on the surface 

 of the lake show many of the oil vesicles are ruptured, 

 even the bones of the head are so soft and tender that the 

 hook or gaflf tears through them, so little resistance is 

 offered. That the relief from the deep water pressure has 

 greatly changed the appearance of the flsh there is no 

 doubt, and the flabby, almost liquid, animal at the surface, 

 when at its chosen habit, at from 150 to 200 fathoms, istirm 

 of texture: and as active of every function as those of the 

 watery strata above. Upon examination, tish were found 

 in various stages of development ; in some the eggs are 

 tirm and hard and undeveloped, in others fully developed, 

 soft, and ripe, ready for spawning. The males are also in 

 the same stages of readiness ; from some the milt flows 

 freely and in great abundance ; others seem spent, while 

 others, again, seem immature and the milt undeveloped. 



