DE- 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



< 



are omitted in the invitation to l.lie feast. Hence this class 



und. I think the lied-IIot Church 



is gathering hi far more converts than the Stone-Cold. Heads 

 of families' of the hike-warm class, I observe, listen with a 

 feverish sort of interest while being told that eels constituted 

 the principal diet of the renowned Cleopatra, imparting to her 

 that poetry of expression and comeliness of form by which 

 ■red great Antony. These once thought to perse- 

 cute the "saints;" now they are of the very "elect." As for 

 my single self, 1 am not ashamed to be found a-shouting, 

 " Bless the Lord for eels.'' C4eo. H. Jkkome, 



Layman in the Red-Hot Church. 



Lwni-LooicKD Salmon- in New /Hampshire. — Mauihesier, 



.hnii: Kith.— I DOIlCe in Forest axd STREAM for the 14th 

 a Statement in regard to the introduction of land-locked salmon 

 in N. H. It may be interesting to your readers to know that 

 besides those mentjoned, the Fish Commissioners of ST, II. 

 have also placed 1,00.0 each in Sunapee and Squaw Lakes, 

 '1 "li-Echo Pond in Milton, and Lovewell'sPond iu Wakefield, 

 and have divided another thousand between ponds in Brad- 

 ford and Croydon. We have also brought 25 la -go pike perch 

 from Canada und put them in Mascoma Lake, in fin field, 

 within a few weeks, and transplanted black bass from Sunapee 

 B&Bt Fond, in Wakefield, to other suitable waters 

 iti different parts of the State where they were (teemed to be 

 desirable. AVcdonot propose, however, to stock the State 

 indiscriminately with black bass, as we are not convinced of 

 "heir great superiority to several other varieties of fish. They 

 lUug rapidly '-on their own hook," aud thereby 

 getting in those of others. 



; in River is becoming well-stocked by those which 

 escaped ten years ago from Livingston Stone's hatching ponds 

 at Ohaiiestown, and" those which are continually getting out of 

 Sunapee Lake and going down Sugar Hiver, sometimes fifty 

 pir mem having been seen on their navels at the mill ttumeson 

 the latter stream. 



The most important, event, however, which I have to 

 • •In . uncle is the arrival of the first sain, on smee 1847, when 

 the Lawrence Dam was built. This gentleman made bis ap- 

 pearance at the foot of Ainoskcag Falls on the morning of the 

 I2ch last;, and was seen by many of our citizens, who are 

 now convinced that the fishway at Lawrence, designed by 

 Commissioner Bracked, of Mass.", is a success. More than a 

 dozen salmon have been seen in it at different times When the 

 water has been drawn out for a few minutes ha- examination, 

 and have immediately started up stream when the current was 

 let on again, so that "it is probable that quite a number have 

 come up. 



The one found at Manchester was just at the foot of the waste- 

 -:i takes ofi the surplus water from the canal and 

 was caught among the rocks, when the water was let on 10 the 

 mills iu the morning and the flow over the waste-weir stopped. 

 We shall improve the fishway here at once, it being one of 

 the old "Foster "pattern, put'in nearly ten years since, and 

 hope to send the salmon along on their way" to the spawning 

 grounds in the Pemigewasset. These fish are probably of the 

 lot put iuto the Permgewa8sel as young Fry in 1872. 



We put in 100. 000 California salmon fry last Dee., and pro- 

 pose to put in 100,000 inure next winter if we are successful 

 in getting the spawn [mm the St. Cloud River. 



.'<-)•, June S4. — The success of the attempt to restore 

 salmon to the waters of the Merrimae River, his been further 

 confirmed, since my letter to you of the 17th, by the appear 

 ance of one, estimated to weigh at least twelve pounds, in 

 the same pool below the dam at Amoskeag Falls where the 

 first one was seen; and, still better, by the arrival of another 

 one of about the same size at the mouth of a small brook, at 

 Martin's Ferry Station, about four miles above the Falls, 

 showing that be had passed the fishway at that place. 



The present fishway is an old one of the Foster pattern, and 

 the Amoskeag Co. have decided to build a new one of the 

 !■ i Style at once. Mr. Uobb's, the company's engineer, 

 went with me to Laurence on the 22d to take dimensions of 

 the fishway there, and, on drawing out, the water for that pur- 

 pose, a fine twelve pounder was found about three-fourths of 

 the way up; aud Mr. Holmes, the gate keeper, told me he 

 had seen another the same morning. He has seen over thirty 

 on their way, aud there have probably been ten times that 

 number come up. The Brackett plan is a success, but the 

 mouth or foot of it must lead into the main current under the 

 fall, so that the fish can find it. The upper end may be any- 

 where above the dam. Sam'l W-kbbeu. 



V Frsrr Crn/rims in Nbbsaski. — Oherry Hill, May 15.— 



Have ju.it returned from a jaaat down the Hue of the Union 



Pacific railroad, between here aud Omaha, and jotted down a few notes: 



Estopped at Elkhorn for a couple of days. 1'ouud that large numbers 



of caillsh and •' buffalo " were being caught, both by net aud by hook; 



also a fair sprinkling Of baas, perch and plko. These latter kinds are 



said to be the produce of Prof. Livingston Stone's famous *' plant," 



made In June. 1S73. They are found in large numbers in the small 



lakes or ponds. Any one de9lring to visit this section will probably 



Uad fair sport for both rod and gun. They should take the Union 



MroaJJ to Waterloo, where I am told good accommodations 



cau he secured, and the sport Is right at hand, Waterloo being on the 



west bank of the Elkhorn SIVer. 



While in the Union depot in Omaha, our attention was called to 

 several small tanks, which we found to contain thousands of young 

 brook trout. Inquiry elioted the tact that they belonged to Mr. J. T. 

 Rouilne, a gentleman living near South Bend, Cass county, Nebraska, 

 about 35 miles from Omaha. 

 Wc sought out Mr. Romine, who Informed ns that he had purchased 

 mi, si -iiihl in number, iu Wisconsin, and will put them in a lake on 

 his farm. If we recollect aright, Mr. liomlue's lake covers about two 

 acres of varying depth. It if fed by springs, and the temperature re- 

 mains about equal summer and winter. Last February Mr. ltomine 

 placed in his lake about 1,800 youugtroi.it, and a similar number of 

 California salmon. The former are now, at the age of one year, from 

 six to eight inches iu length, and the latter anont four inchea. Both 

 Kinds are thriving, and mortality slight. Ills success with ihe llrst 

 batch induced him to go after more, and he expresses fall confidence 

 that it. will prove a successful undertaking. There cau be no doubt of 

 it In our mind, and in a few years he will have something equal to a 

 gold mine, and we wish there were a hundred more in Nebraska who 

 would follow hia example. H. G. C. 



nossee river at Chattanooga and Louisville some two years 

 auo are bring caught this season in quantities, and are report- 

 ed to be well grown for the time they have been in these 

 streams, and as thrifty as if in their' own Eastern waters. 

 These facts satisfactorily solve the question as to whether or 

 not shad and Oregon salmon can be domesticated in streams 

 from which they are compelled to seek the ocean through the 

 muddy and turbid waters.of the Mississippi. It seems clear 

 that the efforts of the Government to stock the water courses 

 of the Mississippi Valley with the most prolific and nutritious 

 oi the mime fish family is a demonstrated fact, and we con- 

 gratulate oar Isaac Waltons and our people generally on the 

 prospect of future sport and feasts.— Jackwn{ Tt/ni, 



IJnfimtl Zjisfow. 



Salmon and Shad.— Two of the Oregon salmon, placed in 

 the river near this city nearly a year ago, have been caught 

 si. They were hooked, one each, by W. N. Harris 

 and B. J. Gregory. They measured about three or four 

 inches in length and were evidently growing rapidly and 

 (loins as well as if in native water. Shad placed in the Ten- 



EXPLORATION OF SOME INDIAN 

 GRAVES IN UTAH. 



IN the May number of Field and Forest appears an article 

 from the pen of that accomplished zoologist Dr. H. C. 

 Yarrow, which will prove delightful reading to the arcluenlo- 

 gist. In this short paper Dr. Yarrow gives a most interesting 

 account of the examination of a number of graves of Pah-Ute 

 and Gosh-L'te Indians in Western Utah, and holds forth to his 

 readers the hope that before long he will relate facts connected 

 with the burial places and ceremonies of other Indian tribes. 



Few explorers have had more experience in this field than 

 T)r. Yarrow, and the collection of cranie sad (tone implements 

 which he obtained in lh'To in Southern California was probably 



the finest ever obtained by an American tnusenm. in the arti- 

 cle to which we have referred, Dr. Yarrow says 



It is hardly worth While to describe the road, suffice it to 

 say that it was the worst mountain trail 1 have ever ridden 

 over, and so obscure that without a guide we had most assur- 

 edly lost OUT way both going and returning; at sonic parts it 

 was necessary to alight or run the risk of being thrown over 

 fearful precipices. Finally our guide made a halt, and we 

 found that we had arrived at a sort of plateau some few hun- 

 dred feet below the mountain'Bpeafc. Pointing to a. rod -slide, 

 composed of masses of stone ranging ha size from a pebble to 



ihe enormous boulder, he said, '•There are the graves." At 

 Aral we saw Only a confused mass oi rocks piled up apparently 

 without design, but a nearer inspect ion revealed a grave-like 

 outline. To reach them we were, obliged to walk over the 

 osseous remains of many unfortunate horses, butchered to ac- 

 company their masters to the happy hunting grounds. It was 

 not our intention to disturb the remains at this time with a 

 looker-on who might object, but we removed enough of the 

 stones from one of the piles to satisfy ourselves that they 

 actually contained dead Indians, idler which We carefully re- 

 placed them and descended again 10 camp, not however with- 

 out marking the trail in such a way that it could easily he 

 found again: this task was intrusted to cue of our cavalry- 

 men, who purposely Jagged behind. 



The next day were on ihe ground at an early hour, and the 

 work of exhumation commenced. It was found after remov- 

 ing the boulders that a layer of branches was reached upon 

 which the stones had been piled, displacing these the bo I. 

 was perceived resting in a soil of concavity formed by the re- 

 moval of stones, in all, seven such graves were opened, and 

 in each instance the skeleton was found lying on the back with 

 weapons and utensils of different kinds op either side, jn a 

 grave supposed to be that of a medicine-man were found a 

 number of articles pertaining to his trade, a gourd rattle, paint- 

 ed truncheon or wood, besides beads, bow and arrows and 

 various cooking implements. J n a grave separated a little from 

 the restaskeli ton was found wrapped in skins and surrounded 



fashioned rifles and quite a number of brass buttons, Ju this 

 same grave was found the head of a child, the other bones having 

 been probably dragged out by animals. Tradition relates that 

 a Chief was fumed at this place aud that a captive Piegan boy 

 was interred with him to act as his servant on the trip to the 

 other world, and the discovery of the cranium would seem to 

 lend a plausibility to the. story. It is hardly necessary to add 

 that we secured the crania from all the graves, aud such ar- 

 ticles as seemed to have a certain ethnological aud arch I, ri- 

 cal value, after which every stone was carefully replaced so 

 as to leave no indication that a disturbance of "the bones of 

 the dead had taken place. 



At the time of the burial of the Chief already alluded to as 

 having been watched by our guide, the following ceremonies 

 took place: the funeral party, consisting of most of the men 

 and women of the village mounted on horseback, started at 

 about dusk in the evening to ascend the mountains; the 

 corpse was fastened upon a horse like a sack of grain, the ani- 

 mal led by one of the mourners. During the whole of the 

 ascent the entire party shrieked and wailed in the most mourn- 

 ful manner, this noise not ceasing, as my informant stated, 

 until daylight next, morning. Arriving at the. spot, the grave 

 was hastily made, as already described, the body deposited 

 and shots tired, either to scare away bad spirits or its a parting 

 salute, after which the butchery of horses commenced % cut- 

 ting their throats. At the burial or this Chief twenty are 

 said to have been sacrificed. In removing these remains the 

 requirements of poetic and retributive justice was, to a certain 

 extent, fultiLled, as the baud to which their owners belonged 

 murdered Lt. Gunnison and his patty on the Sevier Fiver 

 seine years previously. 



In the vicinity of Beaver, Utah, several graves were ex 

 plored which were situated near the mouth of a canyon at the 

 foot of a mountain; these were five feet deep aud exactly simi- 

 lar to the graves of white persons. In one of them was found 

 Be . 'I, tOJ D B ' did, i I perl ps tWi -/ears, who had suf- 

 fered from a diseasi 3i I be dorsal ■ 'erti '■■' ■■■-■- With the body 

 had been buried a number of rude toys and play-things. 



In Western Utah a cave was discovered in which the Gosh- 

 Ute Indians deposited their d. ad wrapped in skins, and sur- 

 rounded with different ohiecls used In life, and another simi- 

 lar eu\ e was heard of near the Nevada border. Neil her of 

 these wire explored for want of time. 



It seems to be well established from these observations that 



the Indians of Utah had ho systematic jhethddof burial, but 

 that the customs varied with each little lund. "We hope be- 

 fore long to hear further from Dr. Yarrow on this extremely 



interesting subject. 



.,,,»■ 



— Dr. II. C. Yarrow is preparing a monograph on the "Bn- 

 riil Customs aud Disposal of the Dead among the North 

 American Indians. " 



Goph-ek (Testudo piilypjiemus) Holbrook. — A vegetable feed 

 ing land tortoise, from ten to twenty inches long, lives in pine 

 barrens and sandy soils, where it digs burrows five to ten feet 

 in depth for its residence, which are sometimes jointly occu- 

 pied by it and the rattlesnake or blacksuake. Comes out at 

 uood to feed on grass and herbage ; the palmetto berries are 

 also a favorite food, which it is said to sometimes store away 

 in its burrow for future use. A perfectly inoffensive animal, 

 except that it eats sometimes the early corn and vegetables ; 

 possessed of immense strength, a gopher of twenty inches 

 long being able to walk away with a man on its back ; and if 

 it can get hold of a root in its den hardly any force can drag 

 it out. 



It lays three times a year from sis to twelve eggs in the 

 sand, which are much prized by raccoons, opossums and 

 bears, the latter of which animals often digs out. the gopher, 

 and tears it in pieces with its strong claws. The flesh of the 

 gopher is also prized by the native Floridian, on whose table 

 it forms a common dish. My host has a couple of hounds 

 which are trained to hunt the gopher, which when found they 

 turn over on its' back, thus preventing its escape until their 

 master ai-rives at the spot. I have, often eaten it, and consider 

 it superior in richness and flavor to the green turtle. 



8. C. C. 



THE YOUNG OF PH YCIS AMERICANUS- 

 Stoper. 



IlALUMX, N, S„ Jnne S, 1S7T. 

 Editor Forest axd Stream: 



Being informed by u friend of mine that he had recently taken sev- 

 eral medinm-sized pollack in the waters of the Northwest Attn, near 

 this city, having their stomachs well filled with small try of some 

 kind, I accompanied him In hie boar, on the evening of Jnne H, In the 

 hope of securing some pollack for the purpose of getting specimens of 

 the fry. We Suou caught one iv hteli wits full of the Small gab, bright 

 and silvery to look at. On taking them home lor examination, ihey 

 proved to be the young of Phyds amei-iauuis. 



Their length was generally 2',i metres, and tUey agreed with tho 

 descriptions of mature fi.sh according lo different authors, With Ode 

 exception : the ventralB, which are .-.rated to cousibt of oue ray, divided 

 at its extremity into two fllamenis, are in my specimens composed of 

 three separate filaments, only Joined together for a short distance 

 above the base. Two of them are larger than the third. The longest 

 reaches exactly to the origin of the anal, the next to the vent, while 

 the third is shorter. Color, brownish above, extending lo lateial line ; 

 Silvery beneath. ' 



The fry is now iu great abundance In the Northwest Arm, and is, so 

 I believe, always abundant at tin* season each year. Tue cod and pol- 

 lack were greedily devouring the fry while we were out tubing lor 

 abont an nour, the sut face water iu places literally " boiling wid 'em,' 

 as Pat would say. 



Where can I liu I any description or the minute young of , 

 those nnlhors I possess— Oouther, De Kay, Varr.dl. Storer, etc.— fall 

 to mention tuein J J. Matthew Jonbsi 



To answer Mr. Jones' apparently simple question has taxed 

 the resouTQps of the naturalists. Dr. H. C. Yarrow, to whom 

 we referred his letter, has kindly favored us with the follow- 

 ing reply. Possibly Mr. J. Carson Brevooit can add oilier 

 information. Dr. Yarrow says : 



^ "The only work I know of which describes the young of 

 Phycis amerimnux (chuso of Gill;, is Couch's "British fishes," 

 and he, I think, describes it as another species. I have 

 looked over a number of young specimens of P. nmniainux 

 at the Smithsonian, and in no instance do 1 find the centrals 

 as described by Mr. Jones. Moreover, 1 am informed by 

 Prof. Gill that he has not seen them so, from which 1 im- 

 agine that perhaps Jlr. J. may poxtdhly be mistaken in bis 

 identification; There is a small fish, tee three -bearded rock- 

 ling {Onos eiim— Gill) which may be the individuals in ques- 

 tii in, or it may be the mackerel-midge ( ( 'Uinta anjt tttala — Gill). 

 I should not' forget to state that. Prof. Gill states that no sci- 

 entific (not considering Couch as authority) description of the 

 young of Phycis ameriQanua has ever been published in the 

 English language. I'eihaps Sars may have published some- 

 thing. Be this as it may, I would strongly advise your cor- 

 respondent to send on his specimens for iiientilieution, and you 

 can send them to ine aud I will send them back identified': " 



Tin: Fkohsu of toe Nobthwest. — Mr. Oscar Spitsser, of 



San Francisco, sends us the following interesting notes on this 

 redfish, of which little is known, We find nothing dehniie iu 

 the Government reports, nor has inquiry among icle ! 

 at Washington availed to elicit anything of importance i 



"The redfish of Wallows Lake. Cal.. are described as beiinr 

 blood-red in color, very fat, and weighing about eight, pounds,' 

 and are preferred, when taken, to salmon. It is said there are 



only four lakes known in the world in which this fish is i 



Payette, in Idaho, a lake in .Maine, one in Scottan I .,. I 

 low's Lake. A company engaged in commercial ii-1, 

 latter frequently bring in a ton of redfish at a haul, with a 

 seine of medium length. Lake Wallows is two thousand leeL 

 deep, and the fish suddenly appear on the Surface iu August 

 aud disappear in December. 11 



\ Albany, June 10, 1*;;. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



I , ,, , [s so much ii iiiji said of late abont fresh water HsheBuetne 



in salt water, tie to] m lag e | e from tin . 



can, may prove acceptable! Mr. Paul Bert, in experimenttr.g. .says that 



■ ', Ira:, i salmon plumed suddcr.li m sea nater ,viii ,jte in live or 



sir hours, from which he couclui , ii , i e mere , , ,-, i suddenly 

 to sail water, but enter brackish water where the nde'ebbs and HOWS, and 

 live there a sufficient time to habituate themselves to the change; thus 

 accounting tor the frci,io-ut discovery of large numbers oi 

 Halt in the vicinity of the months 81 rivers which they a.-ceud. A fresh 

 waler eel plunged in salt water ,1,'H's t,r,t soeat to be nllected, but If in 

 handling them any of the slime is rubbed off osmosis occurs in the de- 

 nuded porlion aud tie- e-i ntna . e . xratei Esh placed 'in 

 resh li| re I ■' Iflai Bste, although a little salt thrown in ihe water 

 prolongs their lives. Ills conclusions are that the death of the creature 

 is not to any toxic action, but is simply a phenomenon of osmosis or 

 transmission of fluids through the tl del to prove Una 

 ii is only necessary to weigh the animal before and after the experi- 

 ment. A frog, for example, plunged in si , one third Its 



weight. If only the foot of the trog be introduced the blood ,, .. 



can be seen to leave the vessels and distribute themselves under the 

 skin. In hopes this may bring forth more real facts on the subject, 

 ] am yours expectantly, Dextek, 



