70 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
wide, but the water is usually iu pools 2 to 4 feet deep, connected by shallow reaches 
but a few inches in depth. Over these shallow reaches there is considerable current. 
A good deal of Char a was seen in one large pool, and a few bunches of Nupliar 
were noticed. Logs and snags filled the stream. But few species of fish were found, 
the most abundant being Notropis venustus and Micropterus salmoides. 
San Jacinto River.—' This is a small river rising north of Houston and joining 
Buffalo Bayou at its mouth. In the mouths of these two streams aud in San Jacinto 
Bay — the small arm of Galveston Bay into which they empty — are the chief fishiug- 
grounds for the Houston market. Among the species from that locality seen in the 
market were buffalo, channel cat, fork-tailed cat, yellow cat, war-moutli, fresh water 
drum, calico bass, big-mouthed black bass, yellow bass, and several species of sunflsh. 
The amount of valuable food brought daily to Houston from this place is enormous. 
The number of pounds of the two species of Ictalurus greatly exceeds that of any other 
species. 
Trinity River. — The Trinity is one of the most important rivers in Texas. It rises 
near the northern line of the State and flows in a very tortuous course for about 1,000 
miles southeast to Galveston Bay, into the northern part of which it empties. The 
Indian name of this stream was Arkokisa, thought by some to be a corruption of Orqui- 
saco. La Salle called it the River of Canoes. We examined the Trinity River at Fort 
Worth, Dallas, Palestine, and Riverside. It is, through the greater part of its course, 
a rather sluggish stream, whose banks are moderately high and well wooded. We 
examined it most carefully in the vicinity of Magnolia Point, about 10 miles southwest 
of Palestine, November 23. At this place the stream was about 60 feet wide, 2 feet 
in average depth, and flowed with a 2-foot current. This indicates a discharge of 
about 14,400 cubic feet per minute. Both above and below Magnolia Point the cur- 
rent is less swift aud the stream is deeper and wider. This is a very low stage of 
water, but during the spring rains, from March to May, the river rises very greatly, 
sometimes as much as 30 or 40 feet, thus rising above its rather high banks and flood- 
ing much of the adjacent land. 
The shores are composed of sand and clay, with some ledges of sandstone and 
clay ironstone. This is especially the case on the left bauk just below the ferry. In 
many places the shores are greatly eroded, forming numerous gullies or ravines coming 
down to the river. Generally the shores are covered with a pretty heavy growth of 
timber, willows of large size being most abundant. Besides these there are oaks, 
hickories, gums, and a few others. The bottom of the stream is muddy in some places, 
in others sandy or pebbly, and generally full of snags. The water is probably never 
very clear; its temperature at noon, when the air was 51°, was 53°. 
The Trinity River is perhaps as good a fish stream as any of those of Texas flow- 
ing into the Gulf. We obtained no less than 30 species from it, the principal genera 
represented being Leptops , Ameiurus , Noturus , Ictalurus , Ictiobus, Minytrema , Moxos- 
toma , Notemigonus , Hybognathus , Hybopsis , Notropis , Phenacobms , Cliola, Dorosoma , 
Zygonectes , Micropterus , Chcenobryttus, Pomoxis , Lepomis , and Etlieostoma. 
Long Lake. — A few miles below Magnolia Point is Long Lake. This is evidently 
a portion of a former bed of the Trinity River. It lies near the river and is a little 
over a mile in length and 100 yards in average width. During the dry season it is 12 
to 13 feet deep in the deepest places. Its shores are G to 10 feet above the surface of 
