12 



most of the lakes along the Illinois river. The illustrations rep- 

 resent Phelps Lake, near Havana, and the photographs from which 

 they were made were furnished us by Prof. Forbes. 



The season of 1894 was one of the greatest drouth ever known 

 in our State. Usually, the water in oiir principal rivers overflows 

 the banks in the spring, to an extent sufficient to allow it to back 

 into all the larger inland lakes and pockets? in the bottoms, but 

 this year has proved an exception, and the water, while over the 

 banks, was so only to such a limited extent and for so short a 

 time as to furnish but little opportunity for the general spawning 

 of such fish as spawn in inland and shallow waters. 



The intensely hot weather of spring and early summer, together 

 with the rapid falling of the water through evaporation and seep- 

 age brought about a very unusual state of affairs; lakes and ponds 

 which in ordinary seasons heretofore had retained sufficient water 

 to sustain the life of fish through the entire year, became perfectly 

 dry in early summer this year, and immense numbers of fish, left 

 stranded by the diminishing waters, perished. As many of these 

 bodies of water were remote from any river the labor of removing 

 the fish to deeper water was greatly increased. 



Never before has the value and necessity of this work of the 

 Commission been so apparent as this season. In this work the 

 steamer "Lotus" has proven a valuable auxiliary; in fact, without 

 the boat our work would have to have been confined to a narrow 

 compass, but by its use we have been able to cover long distances 

 and move fish needed for distribution from point to point as re- 

 quired, quickly, and with safety. 



To give some idea of the elEPect of the drouth this season as 

 mentioned, the two large lakes opposite Meredosia crossed by the 

 Wabash Railway and known as the first and second trestle lakes, 

 may be cited. Two seasons ago fish were taken from them in 

 November; this year they became dry early in April and a crop 

 of turnips and corn was planted and matured in the bed of the 

 lakes. In an examination of the entire Illinois river bottoms, from 

 Havana to a point seventy miles down the river, less than half a 

 dozen lakes were found containing water enough to keep fish alive 

 through the winter, where ordinarily they would number hundreds, 

 for fish are very apt to freeze to death in shallow water during a 

 severe winter. 



One lake, known as Chisel Lake, between j\[eredosia and Naples, 

 on the west shore of the river, which at a good stage of water 

 covered an area of 125 acres and represented the water-shed of 

 perhaps 5,000 acres, we found not only perfectly dry, bat the bed 

 of the lake so dry tliafc it had opened up in crevices at least 

 twelve inches deep, from the extreme heat. 



It would, of course, be impossible to save all the fish that per- 

 ish in this way every year, as it would require a larger force at 

 greater expense than we could command, but if it could be accom- 

 plished and the fish protected after placing them in the rivers, it 

 would yield a greater anion ut of food than could be produced ia 

 any other way by the same amount of expenditure. 



