THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



frequent. In fact, if the air is cold and the pack train is kept moving, 

 many hours may elapse without a necessary change of water. 



On one occasion we set out from camp with two thousand fish for 

 Three-Creek lake, near the head of Squaw creek. We did not find tho 

 lake for about six hours, during which time we were unable to supply 

 fresh water. However, the weather was cool and horses were constantly 

 traveling. When at last we had located the lake and had planted the 

 fish, we found that we had lost only two fish out of the two thousand. 



The distance traveled each day when fish were being carried was 

 from fifteen to thirty miles. Several factors had to be considered in 

 deciding how far to journey each day. In the first place, very little 

 grain feed could be carried for the horses. Therefore it was necessary 

 to camp at a place where grass was plentiful. We also made it a point 

 to stop only where there was a running stream of water. When the fish 

 cans were taken from the horses' backs, they were placed in the stream 

 so as to allow a current to pass continually through the can. Unless we 

 could find flowing water at the night stopping place one of the party 

 would have to remain awake during the night in order to pour fresh water 

 in the cans at short intervals. 



The small fish were fed before leaving the hatchery but not so while 

 they were being transported to the lakes. In fact, it has been shown that 

 fish keep in a more healthy conditition if they are not fed during transit. 

 Fingerling trout can live for thirty days or more without being fed. 



THE FINGERLINGS AT HOME. 



Upon being released in the mountain lakes, the fish adapted themselves 

 immediately to their new environment. They avoided dangerous objects with 

 the speed of the wildest fish. Small insects such as mosquitoes served as prey 

 almost the moment the trout were released. It is necessary to watch the 

 liberated fish but a few minutes in order to convince oneself that the little 

 trout are well able to keep out of the path of danger. 



A two-inch rainbow or eastern brook trout will grow to a length of 

 from six to eight inches in one year. At the end of the second year the 

 fish spawn. Each female trout lays from one to three thousand eggs. 

 Ordinarily a small percentage of these eggs hatch and reach the mature 

 state. However, the percentage of eggs laid in these lakes for the next 

 few years will show an increase over the ordinary rate. There are not so 

 many egg eating creatures in the lakes and there is an abundance of insect 

 life and other food. 



THE FIRST SHIPMENT. 



The first shipment of 10,000 fish of the eastern brook variety was 

 received at Detroit, the terminal of the Corvallis & Eastern Railroad, 

 on July 8th, 1913. The fish were at once transferred from the fish cans 

 used on the fish car to the cans used in packing the trout fry through the 

 mountains. These cans were then placed bodily in the Santiam river 



Page fourteen 



