FOREST M'O STREAM. 



387 



sport on account of his rapid flight, but poor table food 

 owing to his fishy diet. We notice also a goodly represen- 

 tation of old "Bell tong coots" {Ordemia fused), and occa- 

 sionally a bunch of broad-bills go swiftly by overhead, too 

 high f° r S un t0 b arm - ^ a y over tlie Pl ac *d water the ducks 

 are seen flying to and fro, looking as large as geese at times 

 as they rise, and skimming alona: disappear in a second, so 

 suddenly as to make it seem almost magical. It is the 

 deceptive effect of mirage; the sun just over the water 

 gives a quivering appearance to the atmosphere, and the 

 shimmer of wing*, apparently so distant, is in reality quite 

 near. The old coots are seen in countless numbers still 

 further out, stretching in a dense black mass as far as the 

 eye can reach. It seems impossible that these thousands 

 can all find subsistence from under the waters of the Sound; 

 but this vast magazine of nature's bounty is ever replen- 

 ished. 



Sport now begins in earnest, and such sudden ejacula- 

 tions as "All solid to the eastr'd!" "To the southr'd!" 

 "All down!" etc., are constantly passed from boat to boat, 

 as the birds come on from the different points. We are 

 warned by a cry from our left, and flattening ourselves on 

 the dry grass carpeting the bottom of our craft we look 

 iu the direction indicated. A fine bunch of old-wives are 

 sweeping down toward us, close over the water. They are 

 within sixty yards of the line, when some over-anxious 

 gunner raises himself too soon, and they whirl off, only to 

 return, however, to another portion of the barricade. 

 Now they are around again, and quicker than thought are 

 onus. Bang! bang-bang! bang bang-bang'! The guns are 

 fired in quick succession, as the birds skirt the boats seek- 

 ing an opening. It sounds like the discharge of a whole 

 battalion. Birds drop right and left. Some merely wing- 

 tipped disappear as they touch the water. Others from 

 sheer impetus bound ten or twenty feet, then floating 

 lightly rise and fall with the swell. We unsnap the buoy- 

 rope and row for our game. They are soon retrieved, and 

 now all the birds which were within the circuit of a mile 

 have been put on the wing by the rolling and reverbera- 

 tion of the gun reports. They come towards us from 

 every direction, and a sharp lookout must be maintained 

 or some good chances will pass unnoticed. Our Scott & 

 Son's 10-guage choke-bore breech-loader stands us in good 

 stead, and some long range shots call forth hearty and 

 frequent applause from our neighbors on right and left. 

 "We are kept busy shooting, retrieving, and getting into 

 place again, and the time speeds merrily. Now and then 

 the old white-winged coots in pairs, or mingled with "Old 

 Injuns," sail over the line and become the target for a 

 dozen guns. So the sport proceeds, and the hours glide 

 by, until when the village spire sends its music quivering 

 across the bay, telling the hour of eleven, we weigh anchor 

 and start for the shore . Counting our birds we find our 

 two boats aggregate forty-five, among which are three 

 broad bills and a black duck, the balance beiug Old 

 Squaws and a few Coots. So ends a morning's ducking 



in line on the Connecticut shore. Ramon. 



-»♦«- 



THE HAYDEN SURVEY. 



BUMMARV OF THE FIELD WORK OF THE ZOOLOGICAL AND 

 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES UNDER THE 

 DIRECTION OF PROF. F. B. HAYDEN, FOR THE SEASON OF 



1876. 



{Concluded from our issue of Jan IStJi.) 



VERTICAL walls inclose the narrow river-bottoms, 

 and the slopes of the higher portions are ornamented 

 by thousands of curiously-eroded rocks. "Monuments" 

 of all kinds, and figures that can readily be compared to 

 those of animated beings, enliven the scenery, which 

 otherwise would be very monotonous; 2-3,000 feet may be 

 stated as the height of the walls, inclosing the While river. 



Geologically speaking, the district was one of singular 

 uniformity. Traveling westward, the older formations, 

 reaching back as for as the triassic, were found. This was 

 followed by cretaceous, which in turn was covered by 

 tertiary. About three-quarters of the region surveyed was 

 found to contain beds belonging to this period. Owing to 

 the lithological character of the strata, water was a rare 

 luxury in this region, and men and animals were frequently 

 dependent upon looking for springs. Farther west still the 

 Green river group sets in, forming those numerous canyons 

 of which that of the white river is one. 



Having completed their work by October 14th, the party 

 marched eastward through Middle Park, and after twelve 

 days of rain and snow, reached Boulder City, Colorado. 



The field-work of the Yampah division during the past 

 season was principally confined to a district of northeast- 

 ern Colorado lying between the Yampah and White rivers, 

 and between Green river and the subordinate range of 

 mountains that lies west of and parallel with the Park 

 range. The area is embraced between parallels 39 deg. 

 30 min. and 40 deg. 30 min., and meridian 107 deg. 30min. 

 and 109 deg, 30 min. 



The party consisted of Mr. G. E. Bechler, topographer, 

 directing, accompanied by Dr. C. A. White, the well- 

 known geologist. They proceeded southward toward 

 Rawiin's Springs, a station on the Union Pacific railroad, 

 August 6th, toward their field of labor. From Rawlin's 

 Springs to Snake river, a distance of eighty miles, table 

 lands form the chief feature of the topography, while 

 rom Snake river to the Yampah river the surface is more 

 undulating, and thickly covered with sage. Between the 

 Yam-pah and White rivers, a distance of fifty miles, the 

 country is mountainous, and on the divide between the 

 *ampah and White rivers the elevation is 8,000-9,000 feet, 



Mr. Bechler, after having formed the geodetic counectio n 

 with the work of previous years, concluded to finish the 

 more mountainous portion of the area assigned to him, 

 which began from a line of meridian with the White river 

 agency, and extended westward to about 108 deg. 10 

 min. Here the party found water and grass in abundance, 

 with one excep tion. The plateau country, however, was 

 so destitute of water and so cut up with gorges and can- 

 yons, with scarcely any grass or timber of any kind, that 

 traveling was rendered very difficult. The party therefore 

 made White river its base of supply for water and grass, 

 making side trips into the barren hilltops or plateaus in 

 every direction. 



From the Ute agency, which is located approximately 

 in latitude 38 deg. 58 min., and longitude 107 deg. 48 min., 

 the White river takes an almost due west course for fifteen 

 or eighteen miles, most of the way through an open valley, 

 with here and there narrow gorges. About fifty miles 

 from the agency the river opens into a broad, barren 

 valley, with only here and there scanty patches of vegeta- 

 tion. Soon after, the river enters a deep canyon, with 

 vertical walls 1,000 feet or more in height, and continues 

 to increase in depth until the river flows into the Colorado 

 of the west. 



The Yampah, or Bear river, deviates from a westerly 

 course only for a few miles occasionally. Like White 

 river, it flows through a plateau country, which rises 

 gently from the river, back for a distance of about eight 

 miles. South of the river lie the Williams river moun- 

 tains, which have a gradual slope to the north. Williams 

 fork, flowing from a southeastern direction, joins the 

 Yampah river west of the junction. Yampah traverses 

 the country more or less in a canyon, occasionally emerg- 

 ing into an open, grassy valley, then enters a deep. canyon, 

 cuts through the Yampah mountains, when it joins with 

 the Snake river. The place of junction resembles a fine 

 park, surrounded on all sides with eroded terraces and 

 plateau spurs that rise by steps to the divide on either 

 side. This park is about eight miles in length from east 

 to west. Alter leaving ibis park the river enters a huge 



tion with the Yampah, the Green river continues in a 

 canyon for fourteen miles, where it passes through the 

 picturesque palisades of Split mountain into an open, 

 broad valley, longitude 10!) deg. 15 min ., latitude 40 deg. 

 28 min., from which point it takes a southwest direction 

 through the Wamsnta valley, whereitunit.es with the White 

 river. Into both While and Yampah rivers numerous 

 branches extend from either side, forming deep can} ons 

 the greater portion of their length. We may say, in brief, 

 that the sides of the valleys expand and contract, at one 

 time lormingthe beautiful, grassy valleys, which in olden 

 times were celebrated as the favorite wintering places for 

 the trappers, or contracting so as to form narrow canyons 

 or gorges with walls of varied height. 



The walls of Yampah canyon average about 1,000 feet, 

 while the mountains receding back to the northward, 

 attain an elevation of 4,200 feet, while the highest point of 

 the plateau on the south side is 3,400 feet above the river 

 level . 



Of the plateaus between White and Yampah rivers, 

 Yampah plateau is the largest, and occupies an area of 

 400 square miles. The suriace of the summit is undu- 

 lating, and on the south side it presents a steep face, sev- 

 eral hundred feet in height, covered with debris, rendering 

 it almost inaccessable. This plateau is covered with ex- 

 cellent grass and gives origin 10 numerous springs, all of 

 which dry up within a short distance of their source. 



As a wnole, this district is very arid, barren, and almost 

 destitute of tree vegetation. 



The toial number of stations made by Mr. Bechler in the 

 district assigned to him was torty, and the entire area was 

 about 3,00b square miles. Barometric observations were 

 made whenever needed, and about 2,000 angles of eleva- 

 tion and depression with fore and back sights, so that the 

 material for obtaining the correct altitudes is abundant. 



The rocks of this district embrace all the bedimentary 

 formations yet recognized by the investigators who have 

 studied the region mat lies between the Park Range and 

 the great Salt Lake, namely, from the uinta quartzite 

 (which underlies the carboniferous) to the Brown's Park 

 group, or latest tertiary inclusive. Not only has the 

 geographical distribution of these formations been mapped, 

 but all the displacements of the strata have been traced 

 and delineated. The last named investigations bring out 

 some interesting and important facts in relation to the 

 orographic geology of the region, especially as regards the 

 eastern termination of the great uinta uplitt and the blend 

 ing of its vanishing primary and accessory displacements 

 wiih those of the north and south range above mentioned. 

 Much information was also obtained concerning the distri- 

 bution of the local drift of that region, the extent and 

 geological date of outflow of trap, etc. 



The brackish water-beds at the uaseof the tertiary series, 

 containing the characteristic fossils, werediscoveied in the 

 valley of the Yampah. They are thus shown to be exactly 

 equivalent with those, now so well known, in the valley of 

 Bitter creek, Wyoming Territory. These last-named lo- 

 calities were also visited at the close of the season's work, 

 and from the strata of this horizon at Black Buttes stat on 

 three new species of unio were obtained, making six clearly 

 distinct species in all that have been obtained, associated 

 together in one stratum at that locality. They are all of 

 eimer distinctively American types or closely related to 

 species now living in American fresh waters. They rep- 

 recent by their affinities the following living species: 

 Umoelavus, Lamarck; U. securis, Lea; U. gibbosus, Barnes, 

 U . metaneorus, Rafinesque; and U. comptanatus, Solander. 

 '1 hey are associated in the same stratum with species of 

 the genera Oorbulo, Corbieuto, Meritina, Vinparus, etc., and 

 which stratum alternates with layers containing ostra and 

 Anomia . 



The close affinity of these fossil unios with species now 

 living in the Mississippi liver and its tributaries, seems 

 plainly suggestive of the fact that they represent the an- 

 cestry of the living ones. An interesting series of facts 

 has also been collected, showing that some of the so-called 

 American types of unio were introduced in what is now 

 the great Rocky mountain region as early as the Jurassic 

 period, and that their differentiation had become great and 

 clearly defined as early as late cretaceous and early tartiary 

 times. Other observations suggest the probable lines of 

 geographical distribution, during the late geological periods 

 of their evolutional descent, by one or more of which they 



have probably reached the Mississippi river system and 

 culminated in the numerous and diverse forms that now 

 exist there. 



The work of the past season shows very clearly the har- 

 monious relations of the various groups of strata over vast 

 area, that although there may be a thickening or a thin- 

 ning out of beds at different points, they can all be cor- 

 related from the Missouri river to the Sierra Nevada basin. 

 The fact also that there is no physical or paleontological 

 break in these groups over large areas from the cretaceous 

 to the middle tertiary, is fully established. The transition 

 from marine to brackish water forms of life commences 

 at the close of the cretaceous epoch, and without any line 

 of separation that can yet be detected, continues on up- 

 ward until only purely fresh-water forms are to be found. 

 Dr. White, an eminent paleontologist and geologist, says 

 that the line must be drawn somewhere between the cre- 

 taceous and tertiary epochs, but that it will be strictly 

 arbitrary, as there is no well marked physical break to the 

 summit of the Biidger group. 



ABSTRACT OF THE TENTH ANNUAL 

 REPORT OF THE FISH COMMIS- 

 SIONERS OF THE STATE OF MAINE. 



CONSIDERING that the whole amount appropriated 

 by the Maine Legislature for the use of the Com- 

 missioners was but $2,000 the amount of work accomplished 

 is remarkable. Of the appropriation of the previous year 

 the Commissioners had subscribed $1,000 to the Penobscot 

 Salmon Breeding Works. The return from this sum was 

 three hundred and twenty thousand salmon eggs, which 

 were sent, one hundred thousand to Dixfleld to be hatched 

 and distributed in the Androscoggin aud tiibutaries, and 

 the remaining two hundred and twenty thousand to Norway 

 and Songo, to be hatched and distributed in the tributaries 

 of the Pesumpscot river. Prof. Baird, TJ. S. Commis- 

 sioner, presented to the State of Maine through the Messrs. 

 Coffin, of the Pembroke Iron Works, seventy-two thous- 

 and ova, which were successfully hatched and planted in 

 the Penquaman and Dennys rivers by Mr. Supt. Whit- 

 man, to whom Maine is so much indebted for fostering and 

 cultivating an interest in fish culture in his section of the 

 State. Two hundred and fifty thousand salmon eggs were 

 turned over by the U. S. Commissioner, of which one 

 hundred thousand were assigned to the town of Surrey, 

 and the balance were planted in the Mattawamkeag, at 

 Bancroft and Kingman, and in the Penobscot at Winn. 

 The Commissioners acknowledge their obligations to 

 President Jewett and Superintendent Cram, of the Euro- 

 pean and N. A. Railway Company, for many acts of 

 courtesy and kindness in the transportation of fish. Of 

 the young salmon planted in the rivers of Maine in previous 

 years large numbers have been seen, the smolts congregat- 

 ing in large numbers from the branches of the Penobscot 

 to Bangor. On the Androscoggin, where the first salmon 

 fry were turned in four years since at Norway, more or 

 less are caught both in smelt nets and weirs, as w T ell as 

 with hook and line, and there is no doubt that were a 

 good angler to make a cast below the dam at Brunswick 

 or Topham, with rod and fly in July or August, he would 

 take either smolt, grilse or salmon. A large number of 

 letters from intelligent persons are printed, all going to 

 show that the turned out*fry have returned to the rivers. 

 The Commissioners suggest, as the surest mode of suc- 

 ceeding, that a close term for six or more years be de- 

 clared, during which period all fishing save with hook and 

 line from source to mouth be declared illegal. The de- 

 mand for the ova of the Schoodic or Land-locked Salmon 

 continues. Mr. Atkins has organized an establishment on 

 Grand Lake Stream, something after the plan of that at 

 Bucksport. At present the subscribing parties are United 

 States Commissioner Baird, and the Commissioners of 

 Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Commission only- 

 exact, as compensation to the Grand Lake waters, that the 

 parent fish, after being used, be turned back alive into the 

 waters whence taken, and twenty-five per cent, of the 

 hatched product of the ova. It is hoped the Legislature 

 will enable the Commissioners, another year, to become 

 subscribers, that they may be able to stock those immense 

 wastes of unproductive waters that have been cut off from 

 access to the migratory fishes; all that line of lakes empty- 

 ing into the Kennebec at Halloweil and Gardiner and 

 Waterville. These waters are all capable of not only pro- 

 ducing an important amount of food, but of making the 

 towns on their shores as favorite places of summer resort, 

 as much frequented, and introducing as much money into 

 the State as Moosehead Lake. About thirty thousand eggs 

 of this fish were distributed in various ponds in Oxford, 

 Penobscot and Somerset counties. The presence of 

 pickerel does not seem to interfere with the increase of 

 land-locked salmon as it does with brook trout, as in 

 Sebec, Sebago and the Grand lakes, the pickerel are said to 

 be in such numbers as to be very destructive to the young 

 water fowd that feed in Stillwater among the lily pads. 

 Several of the Sebago salmon have been taken in Rangeley 

 with a fly, weighing from half a pound to four and a half. 

 Moosehead Lake should be stocked with these fish, and it 

 is hoped that the sportsmen who visit Moosehead in the 

 season, will see to it that a hatching house be provided 

 there, by subscription, if necessary, and its care enforced 

 upon the hotel keepers. One million, at least, of young 

 trout, should be turned into the lake every year, to supply 

 the immense drain upon its waters. If a hatching house 

 is provided, the Commissioners will endeavor by some 

 means to obtain Schoodic salmon eggs enough to stock its 

 waters, 



