Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes 119 
the very crest of the great continental divide,—to Two-Ocean 
Pass; through this pass it may have a choice of two routes to 
Atlantic Creek, in which the downstream journey is begun. Soon 
it reaches the Yellowstone, down which it continues to Yel- 
lowstone Lake, then through the lower Yellowstone out into 
the turbid waters of the Missouri; for many hundred miles it 
may continue down this mighty river before reaching the 
Father of Waters, which will finally carry it to the Gulf of 
Mexico—a wonderful journey of nearly 6,000 miles, by far the 
longest possible fresh-water journey in the world. 
“We found trout in Pacific Creek at every point where we 
examined it. In Two-Ocean Pass we found trout in each of 
the streams and in such positions as would have permitted 
them to pass easily from one side of the divide to the other. 
We also found trout in Atlantic Creek below the pass, and in 
the upper Yellowstone they were abundant. Thus it is cer- 
tain that there is no obstruction, even in dry weather, to pre- 
vent the passage of trout from the Snake River to Yellowstone 
Lake; it is quite evident that trout do pass over in this way; 
and itis almost certain that Yellowstone Lake was stocked with 
trout from the west via Two-Ocean Pass.’’—-EVERMANN. 
Mountain Chains.— The Sierra Nevada constitutes also a 
very important barrier to the diffusion of species. This is, 
however, broken by the passage of the Columbia River, and 
many species thus find their way across it. That the waters 
to the west of it are not unfavorable for the growth of 
Eastern fishes is shown by the fact of the rapid spread of the com- 
mon Eastern catfish,* or horned pout, when transported from 
the Schuylkill to the Sacramento. The catfish is now one of the 
important food fishes of the San Francisco markets, and with 
the Chinaman its patron, it has gone from California to Hawai. 
The Chinese catfish, described by Bleeker as Ameiurus can- 
tonensis, was doubtless carried home by some Chinaman return- 
ing from San Francisco. In like fashion the small-mouthed 
black bass is now frequent in California streams, as is also the 
blue-green sunfish, Apomotis cyanellus, introduced as food for 
the bass. 
* Ameiurus nebulosus Le Sueur: Ameturus catus Linneus. 
