512 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[NO. 21. 



small stream, called locally Bluefish River, flowing into the Mac- 

 kenzie opposite Fort Simpson, was the scene of operations. The fish, 

 descend the stream in large numbers at this season, and the natives 

 take advantage of this habit. When I visited the place, on May 16, 

 the fishing was well under way. A tight dam (here called a 

 ' barrier ') constructed of logs, stones, and interlacing spruce branches 

 supported by stakes driven into the gravelly bottom, was built across 

 the river at a favorable point. This dam was > -shaped and at the 

 point of convergence an opening was left in which was fixed a sort 

 of trough-like basket. This was constructed by binding together 

 side by side slender peeled spruce poles about 10 feet in length, the 

 thicker ends being all placed together, so that the finished article was 

 a basket 10 feet long, open at the top and the larger end, where it was 

 about 2 feet wide, and tapering to a point at the other. This trough 

 or basket projected down stream from the apex of the dam, the 

 broader open end nearly submerged, while the smaller end was 

 slightly tilted and was practically dry, the structure being sufficiently 

 open to allow the inrushing current to escape without overflowing. 

 In descending the stream the fish encounter this barrier, and following 

 its converging arms are led into the basket. When they find them- 

 selves trapped the}^ quickly turn and would mount the rushing cur- 

 rent and escape were they not instantly scooped up b}^ the watchful 

 native, who kneels on a platform beside the trap. The amount of 

 labor involved in constructing one of these ' barriers ' is considerable, 

 as the dam must be built anew each spring just after the stream 

 opens, when the water is ice cold; but as 200 or more fish are often 

 taken in a night, at a season when the natives are usually short of 

 food, the method is quite generally employed. The fish which I saw 

 taken at this place varied from 11 to 16 inches in length. The fish 

 of Rabbitskin River, a tributary of the Mackenzie above Fort Simp- 

 son, are said to average larger. 



The grayling is said to be scarce in the Liard bislow the mouth of 

 the Nelson, but to be common above that point. It is also found in 

 most of the tributaries of the Mackenzie, several of which have local 

 names referring to its occurrence. 



As an index to the distribution of this interesting fish I have se- 

 lected the following references : Back recorded it from the mouth of 

 Hoarfrost River, Great Slave Lake; from the head of Back River; 

 and from Lake Pelly on the same stream." Dr. G. M. Dawson re- 

 ported its capture in upper Peace River; ^ and in the Finlayson, a 

 tributary of the upper Liard.^ MacFarlane has recorded it from 

 Anderson River.'^ 



« Narrative Expedition to Mouth Great Fish River, pp. 114, 157, 346, 1836. 

 ^ Kept. Prog. Geol. Surv. Canada, 1875-76, p. 38, 1877. 

 f'Ann. Kept. Geol. Surv. Canada, 1887, p. 231B, 1888. 

 ^ Canadian Record of Science, IV, p. 52, 1890. 



