REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 133 



Investigations were begun July 1 and continued until the latter 

 part of October. Professor Evermann was assisted by Dr. J. T. Sco- 

 vell, Prof. C. H. Eigenmann, Messrs. T. B. Evermann, R. S. Gillum, 

 C. Juday, Leonard Young, and T. Large. Both the biological and 

 physical conditions of the lake were carefully studied, and much 

 useful information was collected for the period mentioned. Many 

 lines of soundings, with conjoint temperature observations, were 

 run across the lake, and the location and extent of the bars and deep 

 holes were determined. A sounding machine adapted for use from 

 a rowboat was especially designed and constructed for this work. 

 Material for cataloguing most of the groups of animals of the lake 

 was collected, and many data were obtained regarding the habits, 

 distribution, food, growth, abundance, etc., of the various animals, 

 the fishes naturally receiving most attention. The species of plants 

 . in the lake were determined, together with the maximum and minimum 

 depth at which each is found ; many of the patches of vegetation on 

 the bottom were mapped out, and the animals associated with each 

 kind of plant were noted. It is proposed to continue the investigations 

 and provide for observations at other seasons of the year. 



LAKE MATTAMUSKEET, NORTH CAROLINA. 



In the winter of 1899-1900, while the Fish Hawk wa,s engaged in 

 surveying the oyster-grounds of Pamlico Sound, Dr. John D. Milligan, 

 of the vessel, was detailed to visit Lake Mattamuskeet and determine 

 the nature of its fish fauna and the fisheries therein prosecuted. A 

 number of trips were made, specimens were collected by means of a 

 fine-meshed seine, and information was obtained by personal observa- 

 tion and from the people living near the shores. Although the winter 

 is an unfavorable time for examining the lake, much information was 

 gathered and a good idea of the character of the fish life was obtained. 



The following account is taken from Dr. Milligan's report : 



This, the largest lake in North Carolina, is situated in Hyde County; its length 



is 14 miles and its greatest width 7 miles. The water is very shallow, being only 



2^ feet deep over a large part and having a maximum depth of 7 feet in the 



middle of the western end. In winter and early spring the lake is muddy and 



roily, owing to strong winds stirring the bottom and to the suspension of light soil 



and vegetable matter brought from the swamps and farm lands; but in summer the 



. water is generally clear, with a brownish color, and is what is known as" juniper 



i water." The bottom is mostly of fine sand mixed with mud, and is fairly hard. 



j This section was at one time inhabited by a tribe of Indians, and the lake has 



I received the tribal name of Mattamuskeet. The Indian tradition as to the origin 



of the lake — which is the popular one to-day — is that it wa^« due to a fire which 



burned many months, affecting a far larger area than is now covered by the lake. 



In support of this theory the people point out the blackened and water-worn 



I cypress stumps everywhere abundant near the shores, and argue that the 



surrounding territory, being swampy and peaty and covered with cypress trees, is 



' even now liable to have just such another fire. Prof. J. A. Holmes, of the North 



[ Carolina Geological Survey, states that this tradition is untenable and that 



Mattamuskeet, like others with the same story of origin — Lake Drummond, in 



the Dismal Swamp, for instance — is a natural lake. 



