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



but owing to the declivity in Niagara river from Lewiston to the fort, 

 there is no advantageous position to draw the seine, except on the beach 

 between Fort George and the Light House, on the British side, where 

 it is practised with great success. 



Pike or pickerel, weighing from three to twelve pounds, are taken in 

 great numbers in the lakes, and as high up as the whirlpool, in the Nia- 

 gara river; their bodies are long, and nearly round ; their flesh somewhat 

 soft, but fat, and much esteemed when boiled ; they are not good when 

 dried or salted. 



The muscalinga, a species of pike, is greatly esteemed, and is gene- 

 rally caught in rivers emptying into the lakes : It weighs from ten to 

 forty pounds, and in a few instances forty-five pounds,, and is generally 

 very fat. 



The salmon-trout, and cat fish, are also excellent, and are not usually 

 as large as the muscalinga; but some of the first have weighed fifty 

 pounds. 



The sturgeon is an inhabitant of all the lakes, and has been caught, I 

 am told, weighing more than one hundred pounds. Its flesh is of a 

 firmer and finer structure than those taken in the Hudson, 



White, black, and rock basse, are also seen in great numbers. The 

 first is said to resemble the sea basse ; the second, the black fish ; and the 

 third, the rock or streaked basse of the ocean. They are all much liked,, 

 generally weighing from one to three pounds, and are good salted or 

 dried : It affords fine amusement to trail for the black or Oswego basse, 

 when passing over the Oneida lake : Even when the boat is in full mo- 

 tion, they bite with avidity at a red rag tied to a hook. 



Although the eel cannot ascend the Niagara falls, yet it is continually 

 making attempts, and is sometimes- found as high up as fifty feet, and is 



