10 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF MAUMEE EIVER. 



especially abundant, except below the dam at Defiance. According to 

 residents of the region along the river, fishing was in general rather 

 poor, although in a few places, as several miles above Defiance and 

 below Defiance Dam, angling was enthusiastically carried on by 

 men wading out in the stream in high boots and casting. In the 

 autumn of 1907 a good deal of angling was observed in the St. 

 Joseph River just above its mouth, at Fort Wayne. The anglers 

 there were catching a good number of the wall-eyed pike, or pike 

 perch, Stizostedion. vitreum^ which they called " pickerel." We did 

 not see many fishes in the water during most of the cruise, although 

 at Fort Wayne, where we had opportunity to examine carefully, a 

 number of species were observed, and all along the Maumee the 

 small-mouthed black bass seemed fairly common. The darting fishes 

 frequently struck the boat with resounding whacks and occasionally 

 jumped over the boat or even over our heads as we sat in the boat. 

 They frequently jumped against different members of the party and 

 fell back into the water, and 6 examples, most of them quite large 

 and fine, jumped into the boat and were captured. At one place, a 

 little above Woodburn, Ind., we passed through a large school of 

 basking gars. 



Among aquatic birds and waders, kingfishers {Ceryle alcyon) were 

 fairly common, green herons {Ardea virescens) and the great blue 

 heron {Ardea herodias) were quite abundant, the former along shore 

 or on branches of trees and the latter standing statuesquely on rocks 

 in midstream and rising with a low level flight as we approached. 

 We saw several small flocks of wood ducks {Aix sponsa) which seem 

 to be summer residents. Sandpipers were common along shore and 

 flocks of killdeer occasional on bars. On account of the northern lati- 

 tude it is perhaps worthy of note that the song of the Carolina wren 

 came to us frequently from the woodlands along the upper stretches 

 of the river. 



No aquatic mammals were seen, although occasional shell piles gave 

 evidence of the presence of a few muskrats. 



MUSSEL SURVEY. 



HEADWATERS OF MAUMEE AND LITTLE WABASH BASINS. 



The region in and around Fort Wayne is of peculiar interest, since 

 it is the borderland between the two river basins, and also furnishes 

 much evidence of the influence of the old Wabash and Erie Canal 

 upon the mussel fauna. For this reason, considerable time was spent 

 here before beginning the specific work upon the basins themselves. 

 Most of the localities reported upon were worked over several times 



