' INVESTIGATIONS IN MINNESOTA AND NORTH DAKOTA. 353 
, long as head, almost reaching anal fin; ventrals short, 14 in pectoral. 
Color of male in alcohol, dusky, with ten or eleven darker vertical bars extend- 
ing from median line of back to below lateral line, the anterior ones narrow, 
those on posterior part of body broader; the spaces between these bars with 
small, dark punctulations; top and sides of head profusely punctulate; a 
dark suborbital spot; spinous dorsal black on membrane connecting first 
two or three spines, the rest of spinous part punctate, and edged with black; 
a small black spot on posterior part; soft dorsal more or less mottled; 
caudal paler, some black on tip and edges; anal profusely covered with fine 
dark points, thickest on edge; ventrals blue-black; pectorals pale. Length 
2inches. Found by us only in the Minnesota River at the outlet of the Big 
Stone Lake. Though differing somewhat from typical specimensof EZ. nigrum, 
our specimen is apparently a breeding male of that species. 
(22. Perca flavescens (Mitchill). Yellow Perch; Ringed Perch. Little Minnesota 
River at Browns Valley, common; Little Minnesota River near Sisseton 
Indian agency, 2specimens; Big Stone Lake at Creager’s farm, common; Big 
Stone Lake at Ortonville, common. Especially numerous in Big Stone Lake. 
|23. Stizostedion vitreum (Mitchill). Wall-eyed Pike; Pike Perch. Big Stone Lake 
at Creager’s farm, 6 specimens; Big Stone Lake at Ortonville, 4. An excel- 
lent food-fish and frequently taken. 
/24. Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque. Sheepshead; White Perch; Croaker. Little 
Minnesota Riverat Browns Valley, 2 specimens; Big Stone Lake at Creager’s 
farm, 5; Big Stone Lake at Ortonville, 2. This species reaches a weight of 
4 to 6 pounds, but is not much prized as food. It is much sought after by 
the boys for the otolith of the ear—“ luck stones in the head.” 
MINNESOTA RIVER. 
The Minnesota River is 255 miles long and occupies a deep, somewhat 
‘regular valley from 150 to 250 feet below the level of the surrounding 
country, and from 14 to 24 miles wide. The upper part of this valley 
extends from Traverse Lake to Mankato in a southeasterly direction 
(for 175 miles. The lower course extends from Mankato in a northeast- 
erly direction to the Mississippi River, 7 miles below the falls of St. 
‘Anthony. The river is subject to great fluctuations, as is shown by 
(the flood-plain, which is frequently more than one hundred times the 
(width of the river. The bed is of sand and mud. Huge sand-banks 
‘along the shores and in the middle of the stream are common. 
Ortonville, Minn., July 18, 1892.—The Minnesota River was exam- 
ined a mile below Big Stone Lake, just below the mill. The river here 
‘during the summer season is a mere brook, winding among the knobs 
of granite that outcrop in the valley. The size of the stream at the 
outlet of the lake can scarcely be estimated, since half a mile below 
it receives a western tributary, the Wheatstone, and a mile below the 
foot of the lake it is dammed, so that the waters of the two streams are 
collected, forming a marshy mill-pond from the dam tothe lake. Below 
the dam the course of the river is almost straight for half a mile, and 
here it is from 3 to 5 miles wide and from 12 inches to 2 feet deep, with 
ia current of possibly 14 to 2 miles per hour. The immediate banks are 
low and fringed with willows, and the bed is of fine sand and gravel. 
‘Th addition to the waters from the lake and the Wheatstone the stream 
F. R. 93——23 
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