20 



navigable. The crew have taken up hundreds of nets, warned hun- 

 dreds of fishermen against illegal fishing and posted every part of the 

 river. In the spring of lb98, the river rose very early, and reached 

 an exceptionally high stage by the 1st of April. The rapid rise in 

 the river caught a good many people unprepared who were living in 

 the bottoms, in many instances without a boat or any way of getting 

 to the main land from the bottoms or islands. Families were com- 

 pelled to take refuge in upper stories of their houses or build log floats 

 to get out of the way of the rising water. Corn in cribs and lots of it 

 was in great danger of being lost. These people were mostly poor 

 and dependent on what they had grown for a livelihood. Gov. Tanner, 

 learning the situation, directed the Commission to have the crew and 

 boats devote their time to the rescue of these people, their stock, etc. 

 We engaged in this work for several weeks and did what we could to 

 assist the unfortunate people. A number of families were removed 

 to higher ground, and with the assistance of a barge their stock and 

 grain were saved. With a boat large and swift enough, we tnink we 

 can largely increase the value of the work, now assuming large pro- 

 j)ortions, and will ask the Legislature for money enough to buy, 

 equij), and maintain such a craft. 



The Lotus crew consists ot four men, as follows: Thos. Williams, 

 Capt. and Pilot, Wm. V. McKinley, Engineer, J. D. Crompton, Fire- 

 man, A. T. Lorenz, Cook. 



POLLUTION OF STREAMS. 



One of the most frequent complaints reaching us is the pollution 

 of streams by allowing the waste from gas factories, paper mills, etc., 

 to escape into them. We have investigated the matter thorougly and 

 find we have no jurisdiction in the matter as a board. 



The destruction of fish from this source is great, and some legisla- 

 tion touching on the subject should be enacted. Several times dur- 

 ing the past seasons we have been called upon to investigate the 

 great mortality among the fish, presumably from this cause. At 

 several points on Fox river, particularly at Elgin, at Columbia Park 

 on Desplaines river, and several points along the Illinois river, we 

 have made personal investigation, and while we could not determine 

 just what was the cause and definitely locate it enough was ascertained 

 to leave no doubt in our minds that the fish were destroyed by those 

 conditions. 



Pollution of the waters to an extent sufficient to kill fish, must 

 surely present a menace to the public health and some vigorous ef- 

 forts should be put forth to arrest and prevent further danger from 

 such causes. The ordinary sewage from towns emptying into the 

 rivers is enough of itself to entlanger life and health, but when to 

 that is added acids and other poisonous matter, it would seem that 

 such conditions would call for legislative interference. 



