254 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



space for the animals with their packs to pass through. For 

 twenty feet the descent was so steep and curved that it was neces- 

 sary to shoot the animals down one at a time and risk their safe 

 arrival at the bottom. 



The second planting of two hundred fish was made in the 

 Middle Fork of Kings River at Langue Meadows the evening 

 of the 23d, and the party, worn and tired, camped in the shade 

 of Langue Peak. 



The morning of the 24th they traveled down the river to 

 Grouse Meadows and planted the balance of the trout in two 

 different places, the water through the Meadows being about 

 three feet deep and fifteen to twenty feet wide for a quarter of a 

 mile. The entire distance covered by this expedition was one 

 hundred and fifty miles, and the loss of fish but fifty in number. 



The small loss of the fish in both expeditions was due to the 

 movement of the cans en route, which furnished oxygen suffi- 

 cient to preserve the life of the fish, and to the care taken in 

 placing the cans in water wherever a halt was made, with the 

 mouth of the can, over which a barley sack had been drawn, up 

 stream. The temperature of the water containing the fish was 

 changed to that of the stream by gradually pouring water from 

 the stream into the cans. 



These transplantings were made to ascertain definitely if the 

 golden trout is a distinct species, or whether the golden color 

 is due to a reddish deposit found a few inches below the beds of 

 the Mt. Whitney creeks. 



The waters of Gardner Creek and Kings River, in which these 

 trout were placed, are free from fish and the bottoms are covered 

 with a white granite sand; also, these streams are fed by melting 

 snows, while the waters of the Mt. Whitney streams are supplied 

 from subterranean sources. Should the trout retain their golden 

 hue in the changed environments, all question of a distinct specie 

 will be removed. These expeditions were financed by a few 

 citizens of Independence and Bishop, and all services, with the 

 exception of packers and guides, were furnished free of charge. 



The Kings River party spent a day hunting in Grouse Meadows, 

 and then hurried homeward for fear that a threatened snow 

 storm would obliterate the trail, thereby making the removal of 

 the pack animals from Grouse Meadows impossible until spring, 

 and the return of the men very hazardous. So great was the 

 anxiety that no camp was made until they arrived at Slim Lake, 

 on the far side of the summit, at 10 p. m. 



A. A. Forbes, 

 Mary R. Forbes. 



