DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA. 19 
specimen, displayed in Devils Lake city, weighed 19 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 were 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 
United 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 effect 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 Coulée 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 Coulée was running throughout the entire year and 
