20 DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA. 
in 1888 until the fall. In 1889 it was completely dried up. The 
water of the coulée was much fresher prior to that time, and pick- 
erel were often observed entering it, headed northward. Mr. Charles 
E. Taylor reports that in 1888 he “ discovered pickerel by the wagon 
loads dead along the shores and sloughs at the south end of Dry 
Lake.” He affirms that they perished because the lake “ froze dry,” 
and Lake Irvine, Lac aux Morts, Dry Lake, and Sweetwater Lake 
were also reported to have been frozen dry in 1889. It thus ap- 
pears that the retreat of the migrating fish was completely cut off 
by the drying up of Mauvaise Coulée. The extent of destruction 
io fish by the freezing of Sweetwater or the Chain Lakes could not 
be ascertained. The influx of considerable fresh water to these 
lakes, and the more favorable conditions offered for spawning pur- 
poses were without doubt impelling causes for migration. The loss 
of extensive spawning areas in Mission and Creel bays, the decima- 
tion of their species by overfishing, and the increasing alkalinity of 
water in Devils Lake contributed to the extensive migration and 
extermination. 
The appearance of pickerel with slimy eyes and scales, as also 
those bearing sores or injuries, as reported by certain reliable per- 
sons, are conditions not infrequently found in fish of advanced age 
or in spawning individuals. Sufficient evidence could not be gath- 
ered to support the theory of any fish disease. All specimens cap- 
tured during the closing years of their presence were observed to 
be in healthy condition. 
ACCLIMATIZATION EXPERIMENTS. 
During the period of the investigations at Devils Lake, observa- 
tions were made upon several species of food and game fishes intro- 
duced and held in control for the purpose of determining respec- 
tively their adaptability to the water of the lake. These experi- 
ments were of varying character and yielded gratifying results. 
Pickerel (Hsox lucius), suckers (Catostomus commersonit), cat- 
fish (Ameiurus nebulosus), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and 
large-mouth black bass (J/icropterus salmoides) were experimented 
with. Attempts to construct fences of galvanized wire cloth and 
thus pen in the fish under experiment were found impracticable, and 
live cars of the same material were adopted. 
On August 9, 7 suckers and 3 pickerel, all of good size, were 
confined in a live car measuring 12 by 8 by 6 feet, the frame con- 
structed of 2 by 4 timber, and the sides of 1-inch wire mesh. The 
fish were seined from the Cheyenne River, at a poimt 20 miles 
from the North Dakota Chautauqua grounds. The car was buoyed, 
resting on the bottom, on the eastern shore of Creel Bay, but a few 
