CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 147 
It was in the year 1909 that the Fish and Game Commission first 
took charge of the planting of the golden trout. Previous to this 
time the work had been done by sportsmen or clubs at their own 
expense. After the Commission took hold of the work, improved pack 
cans were provided and the loss of the fish in transportation was much 
reduced. The work of distributing the golden trout on the east slope 
of the Divide was carried on by Deputy E. H. Ober, who in the face of 
many difficulties successfully transferred 1500 trout, ranging in size 
from two to seven inches, to Independence, over the Hockett trail. 
There the outfit was divided, half went over to Kearsarge Pass via Lake 
Charlotte to Gardner Creek and Gardner Lakes, and the other half went 
to Grouse Meadows on the head waters of the Middle Fork of the Kings 
River, via Bishop and South Lake on Bishop Creek. The fish for this 
plant were obtained by diverting the creek at Long Meadows from its 
course. 
District Deputy A. D. Ferguson of Fresno, assisted by Deputy 
S. L. N. Ellis in the field, directed the work in the Kern River, Kings 
and Kaweah basins, on the western slope. Mr. Ellis says in regard 
to his experience : 
‘On my return trip from Whitney Meadows, I brought back three 
mule loads of golden trout for planting in Roaring River and nearby 
streams with scarcely any loss. This was partly due to improved pack 
cans, but more especially to the fact that I had learned that the fish can 
not stand too long a trip. Prior to this time I had made eleven or 
twelve hours a day and had lost as many as 75 per cent of my fish. On 
this trip I learned from observation that by making short. trips—say 
of five or six hours a day—a much greater percentage of the fish could 
be saved. Up to seven hours the fish can keep away from the sides of 
the cans, even though the trail may be very rough, but after this time 
they become exhausted and are bruised by striking against the sides 
of the containers. During the stops made, the cans were set in a 
ereek and fresh water allowed to flow over them. Prior to this time 
my idea had been to hurry the fish to their destination as quickly as 
possible. ”’ 
The following year Mr. Ellis’ party took 183 adult Salmo roosevelts 
caught with a seine at Whitney Meadows and planted them in the 
watershed drained by the tributaries flowing in to Roaring River. 
They lost only six of the trout although they travelled for six days 
over 100 miles of extremely rough country. Mr. Ober and. his assist- 
ants, Sam MeMurray and George Hall, in the same year covered about 
115 miles and stocked Center Basin and Bench Lake as well as the 
head waters of the South Fork of the Kings. This made the total plant 
for July and August, 1910, more than 1800 large golden trout dis- 
tributed among twenty-three lakes and streams in which no fish had 
previously existed, but which were rich in fish food. In a recent letter 
Mr. Ober says, ‘‘I. felt that the waters I had selected would be ideal 
for fish, and my judgment seems to have been good, for in 1918 I 
took two golden trout out of Bench Lake that weighed three pounds 
each.’’ 
The following summer Mr. Ellis and Mr. Ferguson, with a group of 
friends and assistants, secured over 1300 Salmo roosevelti, by changing 
the course of the stream at Little Whitney Meadows and by hook and 
