10.— A REPORT UPON THE RIVERS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA TRIBUTARY TO 
THE GULF OF MEXICO. WITH LISTS OF FISHES INHABITING THEM. 
BY ALBERT J. WOODMAN. 
INTRODUCTION. 
During December, 1890, and January, 1891, the writer, accompanied by Prof. 
Louis J. Rettger, of Huntingburg, Indiana, made an examination of several of the larger 
rivers which empty into the Gulf of Mexico on the west side of Florida. The work 
was conducted under the direction of the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. 
It began in the vicinity of Punta Gorda, on Charlotte Harbor (the most southern 
point that could conveniently be reached), and was carried northward through the 
central part of the State to the tributaries of the Suwanee, in Bradford County. The 
fishes collected were subsequently studied at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, 
Indiana; annotated lists of them follow the description of each stream or river basin. 
The streams examined were as follows : 
1. Alligator River: The main river and the ponds and ditches near Punta Gorda. 
2. Peace River: Joshua Creek, Charlie Apopka, Oak Creek, and Alligator Creek. 
3. Hillsboro River: Pemberton Creek, Galliger Drain, and Mill Creek. 
4. Withlaeooche River: Little Withlacooche River and Pond Creek. 
5. Sante Fe River : The main river, Sampson Creek, and New River. 
ALLIGATOR RIVER. 
Emptying into Charlotte Harbor, about 5 miles below Punta Gorda, is a small 
stream called Alligator River. Its proportions, however, would not entitle it to be 
regarded as more than a creek, except, perhaps, near its mouth, where for a mile or 
more small boats may ascend it without being impeded by sandbars or overhanging 
vegetation. The stream was visited about 5 miles from its mouth, where it was shal- 
low enough to permit seining. Here it has cut a narrow, deep channel with very steep 
banks, mostly through the sand, but in places through a loose limestone. The banks 
are composed of fine white sand, mixed to a greater or less extent with the debris of 
mollusk shells. The bottom of the stream, in most places, is smooth and sandy, and quite 
suitable for seining. At intervals, however, there are deep basins in which the accu- 
mulated deposits of organic matter, together with a few inches of a fine black mud, 
combine to form a treacherous bottom for the collector. The steep banks are lined 
with a subtropical vegetation which overhangs the stream and makes access to it 
almost impossible. The average width of the stream where visited was about 15 feet, 
