508 



NOKTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



Fno. 27. 



in nets set at right angles to the bank. A special net, having a \ ery 

 small mesh, is necessary for the capture of this species, as it is 

 smaller than any other fish regularly taken in the region. Its excel- 

 lent flavor and good condition, however, make it one of the most 

 desirable. The Hudson's Bay and other trading companies, as well as 

 the mission establishments, regularly establish a fishery at the west- 

 ern end of Great Bear Lake, where great quantities are taken each 

 autumn. During a period of about eighteen months in 1825-2G, 

 when Franklin's second expedition was quartered at Fort Franklin, 

 about 50,000 were taken.^ 



A specimen taken at Arctic Red River July 16, 1904, measured 

 16| inches in length; 3 J inches in depth. This was as large as any I 

 saw, and larger than the usual size of the fish in Great Bear Lake, 

 where I saw large numbers. 



MacFarlane states that some were obtained in Anderson River ,^ 

 and it has been recorded from Herschel Island and other points west 

 of the Mackenzie. 



Stenodus mackenzii (Richardson). Inconnu; Coney 



This large and important fish has a rather extensive distribution, 

 being found in the Yukon and Mackenzie (and probably in the larger 

 intermediate rivers), and also in the Anderson. It ascends these 

 rivers in numbers to the first strong rapids, which it very rarely 

 surmounts. Its range is thus limited by the Smith Rapids at Fort 

 Smith, although great numbers ascend to their very foot. It also 

 ascends all of the larger tributaries of Great Slave Lake to the first 

 rapids. 



I find that Hearne first recorded this fish from the Mackenzie 

 region, taking it in Great Slave Lake in January, 1772, when he 

 crossed its eastern arm from north to south. After mentioning a 

 number of species common in this lake, he says : 



Besides these, we also caught another kind of fish, which is said by the 

 Northern Indians to be peculiar to this lake ; at least none of the same kind 

 have been met with in any other. The body of this fish mnch resembles a pike 

 in shape; bnt the scales, which are very large and stiff, are of a beautifully 

 bright silver colour : the mouth is large, * * * and though not provided 

 with any teeth, takes a bait as ravenously as a pike or a trout. The sizes we 

 caught were from two feet long to four feet. * * * The Northern Indians 

 call this fish Shees.^' 



This description undeniably refers to the inconnu. True, Steno- 

 dus is provided with teeth, but as they are small and inconspicuous, 

 the fish is quite generally supposed to be toothless, and is called the 

 ' toothless fish ' by some of the native tribes. 



Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, III, p. 208, 1836. 

 ^ Second Rept. Committee of Senate (Canada) on Mackenzie Basin, p. 54, 1891. 

 ^ Journey to Northern Ocean, p. 249, 1795. 



