116 
FORES'! AND STREAM 
<f(islf $nltnr L e. 
OVERLAND WITH 
For Forest and Stream. 
LIVE SHAD. 
BY LIVINGSTON STONE. 
E ARLY the next morning after the accident to the first 
California nq arium car in 1873, I received a tele- 
gram from Hon. Spencer P. Baird, the head of the United 
Stales Commissioner of Pish and Fisheries, to come East 
with my mi n, and without delay to take out a lot of live 
shad to California under the auspices of the United States 
Fish Commission. At six o’clock in the afternoon of Wed- 
nesday, June '-’Bill, I left the New York 8tRtcshad hatching 
camp at Castlcton, on the Hudson, with 40,000 young shad, 
packed in eight ten gallon cans. They had been Just taken 
from the shad hatching boxes in the the river by Mr. Mon- 
roe Green, and appeared very healthy and lively, but they 
looked so frail and delicate that it seemed almost a hope- 
levs i-.sk to undertake to carry them alive 3,000 miles and 
deposit them in a river at the other extremity of the conti- 
nent. There were four of us in all at the start— Mr. H. W. 
Webber, Mr. W. T Perrin. Mr. Myron Green, and myself. 
Mr. Welsher accompanied us as far as Omaha, and the suc- 
cess of the expedition is largely owing to his skill and ex- 
perience. The remaining three went through to California 
with the shad. Beside the eight cans containing the fish, 
our outfit consisted of one similar can filled with water for 
a reserve, two or three pails and dippere, a thermometer, 
and the apparatus for changing the water. This apparatus 
and its use demand a few words of explanation. The re- 
quirements demanded for keeping young shad alive in 
transit are radically different trorn those involved in carry- 
ing any other li-li, I believe, that have yet been experi- 
mented will). They require change of water, of course, 
like any other fish, but they always scatter indiscriminately 
through all portions of the water containing them instead 
of dropping to the bottom of their can and remaining 
quietly there, as is the custom with my young trout and sal- 
mon. In consequence of this, the water cannot be dipped 
out and thrown away to make room for fresh supplies with- 
out dipping out amt throwing away the fish with it. It 
heroines necessary therefore to separate the fish from the 
Water before renewing it. To accomplish this the appa- 
ratus in question is formed of a cylinder two inches in 
diameter, made of very fine copper wire netting, and about 
ns long as the can is deep. The bottom is closed with the 
same netting. The top is open. In eonnectiou with this 
is used a piece of half inch rubber tubing, six feet long. 
To change the water, the wire cylinder is thrust into the 
can to any desirable depth; the water immediately enters 
the cylinder through the wire net-work, which also keeps 
tile fi»h out. One cud of the rubber hose is now dropped 
into the cylinder, the other end being placed in the pail or 
cun intended for the wuste water. The water being started 
in the hose by applying suction at the lower end in the 
pail, it acts at once as a syphon, and begins to draw the 
water out of the cylinder. As the fish cannot get into the 
cylinder. Iho water is drawn off without drawing off the 
fish. When a sufficient quantity has been removed, the 
cylinder and t-yplion are taken out, and the spare room in 
the cun replaced by putting in fresh reserves of water very 
carefully with u dipper. Thus the changing of the water 
is salely accomplished. This very simple, ingenious, and 
effective method is the invention of Seth Green. 
'I he conditions requisite in transplanting living young 
Bhad sately are substantially as follows:— 
1. To Dinko conMnnt changes of water. 
2. To keep tho temperature of the water within specified limits, 
flsn UVOU1 “ uddl “ chuu e i ® of temperalnro in the cans containing the 
■J. To avoid any agitation of the water in die cans. 
6 To furnUh cousiuut supplies of water containing minute natural 
food. 
ti To guard vigilantly against tho use of water In the least degree un- 
wboletomc. 
Any luiluro to fulfill the above conditions will be imme- 
diately loilowed by fatal results. In our case, tho water 
wus changed every two hours night and day for the first 
half of tliu trip, and alrno-t every hour for tho last half. 
As we hud eight chus of fish, and were seven days and 
nights on the wav, we made almost a Ihousund changes of 
water. The labor, of course, was almost incessant. It 
wus like wulkiug a thousand miles in a thousand hours. 
It 1 ms bee u ascertained that a lower degree of tempera- 
ture tbun iw 0 Fuliienhcit, or a higher degree than 75° F. is 
unfavorable to young shad. It becomes necessary Ihcre- 
lqrc to kei p the water in the cans between these two points, 
viz: 02° F. and 75 F. Most trips with shad are made in 
warm weather, and in a warm climate, and the main diffi- 
culty is to gel the water cool enough, which can easily be 
done with ice. On our overland journey, however, we 
pusseu through a very cold climate in crossing the high 
ridges of the continent. Indeed, at one poiul on the Iiocky 
Mountains it snDweu in I lie duy time, although almost the 
lust ul July, and at these high altitudes the nights were 
always very cold. To keep the temperature of the water 
up to u sale point under these circutuslauces, in a cold car 
with no file m it, uud with reserves of water which them- 
6el.es w ere cold, was no easy matter. 8uddcn changes of 
lempirutute are very injurious, aud sometimes fatal. If 
we could have simply put a piece of ice iu the cans, or 
Lave puied iu some warm water when it became necessary 
to depress or ruUe the temperature, the work of keeping it 
right would Jin ye been comparatively simple; but to be 
obliged to grade it us we did, by u slow process of prepar- 
ing l no wuier ueforehand, and then to affect the tempera- 
ture ut the cans only two degrees at a lime, was a compli- 
cated work Five sieps became necessary to regulate ibe 
temperature, (a) To heat the irons iu the engine luruuce. 
Ity 1 o heat waier with these irons, (c) To wurm the reserve 
water used lor a chaDge by placing a vessel of it iu the 
waier heuied by the irons, [d) To make the change with 
the pupated reserve, (d) To continue alteriug the tempera- 
ture in i his way — two degrees at u lime — until the desired 
poiut wii» reached. To work all night at this, iu a moving 
runway car, in a cold climate, with the temperature of the 
water lulling taster than you can possibly raise it, two do 
g.eea at a line, fiy the mo.-t active exertions, while all the 
liine me lives ol the tlsh aud the success of the whole ex- 
peuJUou aie hanging iu the baluuce, is no child's play. It 
was like tne micieui puuiahmeut of being fastened to a 
pump, up to oue’s chm in water, which rose as fast as the 
most vigorous pumping could keep it down. 
Agitaiiou ol the water, which is to the utmost degree 
ben. nctul to young trout and salmon, is equally injurious 
VO shad. To avoid this, shad are carried iu lull and (com- 
paratively) slender cans, instead of in broad and shallow 
vessels, as with trout and salmon. These cans, which have 
rather a narrow neck, are filled up to the narrowest point 
with water. By these precautions, the motion of the trains 
is almost entirely prevented from agitating the water. In 
supplying the fresh reserve, care is taken to place the water 
in very gently. As our cans were properly made, having 
been prepared under the direction of the very efficient as- 
sistant of Prof. Baird, Mr. James M. Milner, we ln.d no 
trouble from the motion of the train agitating the water. 
To furnish the fish with constant supplies of water con- 
taining minute natural food is obviously necessary nfter 
fish are two or three days old, and the yolk sac absorbed, 
for then they are ready to feed- Nearly’ all creatures, as is 
well known, when first born, require, with great frequency, 
supplies of nourishment to replace the waste produced by 
the vital processes; but with fish this is particularly true, 
and especially so with young shad. The warmer the water, 
other things being equal, the greater is the amount of nu- 
triment in it. We had no particular trouble on our jour- 
ney on Ibis score. 
To avoid the use of water in the least degree unwhole- 
some various precautions are employed. Passengers and 
railrond employees on the train are consulted as to the char- 
acter of the water ahead. If it is ascertained Hint the 
wuter is calcareous, or alkaline, or otherwise unsuitable, it 
is given up. If not, a few fish are placed in a tumbler full 
of it and their movements watched. If it is very unwhole- 
some they will show it at once by their action's. If they 
do not seem uneasy under it the tumbler may he set aside 
for an hour or or two, and if at the end of that time the 
fish appear to be doing well it is considered safe to use the 
water. I may add here that it is surprising how sensitive 
aud accurate one's taste will become, after a few days’ 
practice, in detecting traces of lime or alkali. The im- 
provement in this respect during the journey, in the case 
of our party, astonished us. Our palates seemed to become 
as quick and positive in their notion as the most sensitive 
chemical test9. Before we had acquired confidence in our 
judgment the thought "’as appalling that one mistake in 
the thousand changes of water would he fatal to the enter- 
prise. I fonvurded to Prof. Baird, at. Washington, a list 
of the places en route where we fouud good water, so that 
hereafter, with this for a guide, there need not be so much 
danger of going wrong. 
As before mentioned, v:e left the shad hatching works at 
Guslleton on the Hudson, for the Costletou Railroad sta- 
tion, at 6 o’clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 
25th. At the Castleton station, we changed the water once 
and left for Albany at 9:15 p. m., the water standing at 70 \ 
At Albany we made two changes, and took the westward 
bound train for Sacramento at 11:30 p. m. 
Wc took on water at Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, 
Duukirk, Erie, Puinesville, Cleveland, Illyria, (doubtful 
well-water), Edgerton, Elkliardt, South Bend (lime water, 
had), and Chicago, keeping the temperature of the cans 
very neai to 70“, and arriving at Chicago on Friday morn- 
ing, June 27lh, with the fish in good order. It was exceed- 
ingly hot at Chicago, the mercury standing at 100 in the 
shade, aud it was only with the utmost difficulty, and by 
constant changes of water that we succeeded in keeping 
the water down to a safe poiut. As it was, the heat made 
the temperature of the cans rise to 74°. On leaving Chi- 
cago the air grew cooler, and by night, we had brought the 
temperature down to 68 ; but approaching Omaha, the 
next morning, it went up again fo 70°; and while waiting 
Omaha, and returned to Rochester, N. Y. We left Omaha 
on the Union Pucific Railroad at 3 o’clock on Saturday, 
with the fish in excellent order. Through the courtesy of 
Mr. C. B. Havens, the U. P. train dispatcher, I was per- 
mitted to stop the train at the Elkhorn river, where the 
aquarium car accident happened, to take on a reserve of 
river water at that point, the little experience I had had in 
it, leading me to think that it would be good for the shad. 
The country west of Omaha for fifteen hundred 
(1,500) miles is, as is well known, very poorly sup- 
plied with good water. I accordingly took on at Omaha a 
30 gallon lunk, which had been rescued from the aquarium 
car wreck, which, with our pails, and spare cans, gave the 
reserve a capacity of 50 gallons. At the Elkhorn we took 
on 50 gallons The river wus somewhat roily, and the 
temperature wa9 from 84 to 85°, hut the water tasted good 
and soft, and by a singular coincidence it proved to be the 
best for the shad that we fouud on the road. The river 
that had swallowed up so unsparingly the car load of Cali- 
fornia fish, thus contributed more than any other towards 
assisting the shad across safely to that State. We reduced 
its temperature with ice, and by one o’clock Sunday morn- 
ing we had the temperature of the cans down to 09 and 
70"; the air in the car being at 09 . Wc took on ice Sat- 
urday night at Grand Island, Nebraska, 154 miles beyond 
Otnalia, and water at daylight on Sunday morning at Big 
Springs, Nebraska, 301 miles from Omaha. The water at 
Big Springs was clear and very good, with a temperature 
ot 58". The shad placed in a tumbler of it scented to like 
it. At 10 o’clock on Sunday, June 29th, the temperulure 
of the cans was at 07 to 09". We were now gradually 
climbing up the Eastetu slope of the continent, the air was 
cool and pleasant, and we had no difficulty iu keeping the 
water ut about 08 all day. At 6 o’clock, p. m., on Sunday 
afternoon, we reached Laramie, Wyoming Territory, and 
took on 50 gallons of Laramie River water, which had a 
temperature of 02°, and proved to be good. We were now 
at an altitude of over 7,000 feet, aud as soon os the sun set 
.the air grew very cold. In spite of our best efforts the 
water in the cans dropped to 05°. This I considered too 
rapid an decrease from the 72° of Saturday afternoon, so 
we built a fire in the itove of the express car iu which the 
cans of fish were carried, and heated our reserves, but only 
succeeded with difficulty iu raising the temperature of the 
cans to (id and 67“. Monday morning opened with a warm 
bright suu, and the promise of a warm day; aud we let the 
fire in the stove go down; but before noon it became very 
cold again, with a squall of snow at Bryun, Wyoming Ter- 
ritory. There was also snow ou the side of the track. Wo 
built up another tire in the stove, aud kept the water in the 
cuns at 06 °. 
We arrived at Evanstown, Utah, about 2 o’clock p. m., 
on Monday, and took on a reserve of river water. It was 
clear aud comparatively good, with a temperature of 57°. 
as we descended Weber caflon, towards Great Salt Lake, 
the weather grew warmer, and we descended to Ogden 
without mishap, reaching ibis point at half past five Mon- 
day afternoon, with the fish all in first rate order. Here I 
left five thousand (5,000) of the shad, as fresh and as lively 
as when they left the Hudson, in the care of Mr. Rock- 
wood, of Salt Lake City, who deposited them in the Jor- 
dan river, a few miles above its outlet into Great Salt Lake. 
We also took on here 50 gallons of water, from the Weber 
river, and started westward again on the Central Pacific 
Railroad. We had now only 400 miles to run to the be- 
ginning of good water at Humboldt, and only 314 miles 
more from there to Sacramento. Wc thought we had rea- 
Ron to fed encouraged, and our spirits rose accordingly. 
The terrible strain of the past five days of anxiety began 
to slacken; but the next night was the most alarming aud 
critical of the whole journey. Tho temperature of the 
cans was standing at 05°, or within three degrees of the 
limit of danger, our reserves of water stood at 60°, or two 
degrees below the limit. The night came on extremely 
cold, there was no stove or place for a tire iu the car, and 
the temperature of the cans was falling every moment. 
In the day time hot water could have been obtained by 
telegraphing ahead, but at night this was quite impractic- 
able. The situation was exceedingly alarming. Through 
Mr. Perrin’s foresight, however, at Ogden, we made a fa- 
vorable beginning of the night. While I was busy arrang- 
ing for the transfer of the shad for Salt Lake, and attend- 
ing to indispensable matters which absorbed all my atten- 
tion at the Ogden depot, Mr. Perrin on discovering that 
there was no stove in the Central Pacific Express car, with 
admirable foresight, went into the kitchen of the depot 
restaurant, and got permission to heat some water ou the 
stove, by which we obtained eight gallous of hot water and 
got a good start. 
I also took the first opportunity to go forward into the 
postal car, and obtain permission to heat water on the mail 
car stove during the night. The dagger was now appar- 
ently averted, and It being my night for sleep, I having 
been up the greater part of the night previous, retired, 
leaving Mr. Green to remain on duty till midnight, and Mr. 
Perrin from midnight till daylight, when I was to go on. 
Mr. Perrin and Mr. Green deserve the entire credit of 
taking the shad through the critical night that followed. 
Ou Monday, at daylight, I joined the car again, and it 
made my blood run cold to hear of the dangers that had 
passed the night before. The water in the cans now stood 
at 03°?. We were ou a descending grade, the sun was quite 
warm, and by ten o’clock, at Carlin, Nevada, we had the 
water up to GO*. The sun and air grew warm, and by noon 
the temperature in the cars rose to 70°. We had now de- 
scended 1,600 feet, and it was so warm that we began to 
use ice again to cool the water. We reached Humboldt at 
half past six the same day, Tuesday, July 1st, and look on 
eight gallons of hot water and thirty gallons of cold water. 
The water, which was frQm a spring, was very good in- 
deed, and had a temperature of 65°?. In three hours more, 
to our great consolation, we began climbing the Sierra Ne- 
vada, with all the bad water lett behind us, and were only 
fourteen hours from Sacramento City. The rest of the 
journey was comparatively free from anxiety or danger, or 
any marked events. About sunrise on the morning of 
Wednesday. July 2d, our last day, we crossed the summit 
of the Sierra Nevada, and began descending the Pacific 
slope into California, the water in the cans now standing ut 
G5 W to 66°*. At nine o'clock we took on twenty gallons of 
water, with a temperature of 60.°°, at Aita. California, and 
arrived at Sucramento City at half past one Wednesday after- 
noon, with the shad as fresh and lively as when they left 
the Hudson River, a week before. It seemed like a miracle. 
At Saciatnento we met Mr. Throckmorton, and took on 
the ice and water which he had provided at the depot. At 
twenty minutes past two we took the California and Oregon 
cars up the Sacramento River valley, in company with Mr. 
John G. Woodbury, the California State Fish Warden, and 
after severul changes of water, aud no mishaps, arrived at 
Tehama, California, about nine o’clock in the evening. In 
a few minutes we were at the river side, and just at ten 
minutes past nine o’clock, on the evening of Wednesday, 
July 2d, 1873, in the presence of Mr. Woodbury, Mr. Green, 
Mr. Perrin, aud several others, citizens of ‘Tehama, the 
35,1)00 shad were deposited safely aud in good order iu 
the Sacramento, and we turned away from the river to- 
wards our hotel, feeling as if a weight of incalculable mag- 
nitude had been lifted from us. 
I ought to ndd here that at Ogden, aud various other 
places on the road, we removed the sediment and dead fish 
front the water by placing the can end of the rubber sy- 
phon close to the bottom of the cans, and starting the 
stream through the syphon without using the protecting 
cylinder, the live shad not resting on the bottom at all. 
This simple method will clean up every particle of impu- 
rity that has settled iu the water without drawing off the 
live fish; but it draws off all the dead fish where they can 
be seen and counted. In this way we arrived at a very 
near estimate of the loss en route, which we placed at about 
400 fish, or only one per cent, of the whole. 
I append some of the experiments with the shad en route, 
to ascertain the character of the water;— 
Elkhorn Tliver water, Nebraskn, Saturday, June 28th.— Soft, but roily 
Put one chad In h tumbler containing three lablespooiWui at four P, M 
lie appeared to like it. Was a ive uud doing well ut midnight. Showed 
rlgnaot distress towards morning. At sunrise was just alive; at seven 
A. M. on Suiuluy was dead. 
Big Spring water, Ncbrutka. -Clear, hot a little hard. Put one shad In 
a tumbler comuiutng three tablesnoonsful of wuter at eight o'clock Sun- 
day morning. Showed signs of distress at noon; was alive at two P M 
died soon after. " 
Laruinic River water, Wyoming Territory. -Not quite clear. Pnt sev- 
eral shad in a tumbler full of water at seven P.M. on Sunday Appeared 
to like It ut first, but afterwards to Buffer some. At midnight were in 
considerable aistres*. At one A..M. Monday morninj they began to die; 
ut four A, M. nearly all dead; at sunrise all dead. 
River water, Evanstown, Uiah Territory.— Somewhat roily Put two 
wetlVn it lUmt,ler rul1 of waU ' r nt lUr ‘ x ‘ P- M - Monday, June 30th. Did 
Humboldt Spring wnter. Hnmboldt, Nevadn.-Put several slmd In tum- 
bler at Uve P M . ou Tuosday, July 1 st. Seemed to like It. Appeared 
Tbe forenopn tUC " ghl ' ,n “K real heal of distress at daylight; deud In 
West of Humboldt all the water is good, and it is not 
necessary to test it. We took on water east of Omaha at 
Cleveland. Bnreau, (rain water.) 
Illyria (well water doubtful). Flskllwu, (spring water,) 
khseftvn. Rock Maud, (good.) 
Ikhanl1 - Lavenpori, from Missis- 
sippi River. 
Albany. 
Utica. 
Syracuse. 
RoC neater. 
Bullalo. 
Dunkirk 
Erie. 
Puinesville, 
West of Omaha we took on water at 
Elkhorn River, fifty gallons, 84* F. ; roily*. 
*i d ° “ ol “" 6i . d . er roily water at all objectionable, but the reverse. I 
think It much better to take on largo reserves ul a few places than smalt 
reserves at moDy places, because every change of water involve* a risk. 
Elkliardt. 
Soutn Bend, bad lime water. Kellogg* 
Chicago, Rock Island K. K. Casey 
La Ssaile [depot. Avoca. 
Bellowe Station. 
