494 Clinton's letter on the fishes of new-york. 



liberty of addressing to you a few observations, which either occurred to 

 me during a short visit to that country, or which have since been sug- 

 gested by intelligent gentlemen with better opportunities for information. 



In the first place, there is a marked distinction between the waters 

 above and below the cataract of Niagara, in respect to certain species of 

 fishes. That wonder of nature interposes an insurmountable barrier 

 against the ascent of fishes : The salmon and the eel are never seen 

 above the Niagara Falls, and it is probable that there are some fishes in 

 the upper lakes which are not to be found in the waters below the 

 cataract. 



Secondly, it may be asked, how then did fishes "get into the upper 

 lakes ? This is susceptible of a satisfactory answer : It may have been 

 accomplished in three ways. 



1. When, after the submersion of the whole earth by the general de^- 

 luge, the ocean retreated, and dry land was formed, fishes would, of 

 course, be left in the waters that remained ; and as lakes, which have 

 outlets as well as inlets, like our great western lakes, would in process 

 of time, lose their saline qualities and become fresh, their inhabitants 

 would either accommodate themselves to this new situation, or gradu- 

 ally become extinct. 



2. In every spring and fall there is a communication between the lakes 

 and the ocean, by means of the Chicago, Illinois, and Mississippi, and it 

 is highly probable that this is the route of some kinds of fishes from the 

 ocean. The carp, chub, sturgeon, pike, and cat fish of the Mississippi, 

 are to be seen in the lakes and their tributary streams. There is, cer- 

 tainly, a great resemblance between some of the fishes of the ocean and 

 of the lakes, and this similarity has been traced to such a fanciful ex- 

 tent, that a very ill-tasted fish in Erie, is called the sheep's head, on account 

 of a supposed resemblance to its salt water namesake. The salmon 

 does not pass by this route into the lakes, because he never visits the 



