The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-08-06
Made a Study of
the Missouri River

Inc o. StatlOn at lewis
Lake, an adjunct of the university, has
had an expedition in the field this
summer, studying the life Of the Mis-
souri, river and it's tributaries, with es-
pecial reference to fish. The party was
in charge Of DR.. r. T. Young, assistant
professor Of biology at the university,
assisted by w. Lynn Radke, a univer-
sity student. They travelled in a row.
boat from Mondak, Mont, on the west
ern boundary of North Dakota. to the
Cannon Ball river, some fifty miles
south Of Bismarck. The distance COW
cred by the party was about $40 miles.
They left Mondak on June 25, and
reached the Cannon Ball July 20, max
ing five weeks spent on the trip. They
carried with them the necessary camp
ing equipment and scientific apparat-
us, stopping at various points along
the river to make collections and
scientific observations. -
Aided by the current, which averag-
es about three miles an hour, and In
places runs much sWifter. a speed Of
about five miles an hour was made by
the party when travelling; but owing
to the necessity of occasional stops for
making collections and observations,
and to Unforeseen delays of various
kinds, the total III for any one day
never exceeded thirty-fiVe miles. Thus,
on the run from Painted Woods lake,
about six miles below Washburn, to
Bismarck, a distance Of about thirty
three miles, an early start was plan
ned in the hope of reaching Bismarck
early in the afternoon; but when the
boat was being loaded it was discov-
cred that her keel had become loosen
ed and the boat had to be unloa0ed.
hauled up or shore and the keel re-
placed, causing a loss of two hours at
the start of the days journey. This
delay came very near placing one
member of the party in an unhappy
predicament, for or his arrival at Bis
marck the office Of the Western Ex-
press Co., containing his grip, was
closed, and it was only the courtesy Of
the agent in making a special trip to
the office after hours which enabled
him to secure his grip and a change
of clothes for the night.
The observations made on the riv-
er include temperature determine
lions at both top and bottom deter
limitations of turbidity or amount of
sediment contained in the water,
soundings, the collection of samples
Of the river bottom by means of a
dredge, and their examination by
screening with fine meshed sleeves to
discover any specimens of animals in
them, the collection of microscopic
animals and plants from the water by
means of nets made Of the finest bolt
ing silk used for screening flour, and
approximate counts of the number of
microscopic animals contained in the
river at any point by s%training known
quantities Of water CASUALLY about six
teen quarts) through a net and count
ing the number of animals and plants
thus obtained. Collections of fish are
made by means of nets and hook
line, and the fish taken are examined
| for the kind of food which they have
eaten and the parasites which infest
them. Among these latter may oe
mentioned the lamprey, an eel-like
animal, but standing much lower In
the scale of life than the true fishes,
which, by means of it's sucking mouth,
attaches itself to fish, and then with
it's rasping, horny teeth scrapes away
| the scales and sucks the blood of Its
prey. Fish are frequently found with
scars left by the wounds from this
| parasite, an attack by many of which
results In the death of the fish.
One Of the most interesting fishes
found in the river is the sturgeon
usually of small size, but occasionally
attaining a length of several feet and
a weight Of over 100 pounds. The
interesting features about this fish
are the very heavy pIate-like scales
covering the body and the cartilagin.
Gus, rather than bony, inner skeleton
Other interesting species are the
shovel-billed sturgeon, so-called from
the great fat shove1-1ike bill project
ing from the head for a foot or more
and the gar pike, a long, slender fish
with a sword-like bill armed with
numerous strong, sharp teeth, its
body covered with unusually heavy
scales. 1t Is a very strong, active
fish, a hard fighter and possessing re-
markable vitality. specimens taker
by the party were strong and lively
several hours after removal from the
water.
The Missouri river itself furnishes
but poor breeding grounds for fish, the
latter probably running up the creeks
still water of these streams there are