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<br />386 Robert Rush Miller <br />• <br /> <br />but also for other Piutes from far to the south, who sometimes reached <br />the fishing grounds in such a starved condition that many were unable <br />to survive the first feast. At present numerous little camps may be <br />seen along the river during the spawning period. The fishes are caught <br />in large numbers and tons of them are dried for later use. They are <br />taken most easily when the river is roily, the fishermen hooking them <br />with an improvised gaff which is drawn quickly through the muddy <br />water. Knowing the `cui-ui' habit of resting in schools in quiet water, <br />the Indian establishes his camp accordingly, and the willows, wire <br />fence, or hastily constructed rack are soon covered with unsalted dry- <br />ing fish, which attract numbers of flies and send characteristic odors <br />a long distance down the wind." <br />With the development of dams, irrigation, and reclamation proj- <br />ects during the past half century, the lowered water level of the ' <br />Truckee River and the complete desiccation of Winnemucca Lake <br />have restricted the cui-ui to Pyramid make where, fortunately, the <br />species has been able to spawn successMy along the shoreline. Un- <br />like the native cutthroat trout (see elsewhere), this sucker is main- <br />taining a sizable population in Pyramid Lake at the present time <br />(1958), and thus is surviving despite the environmental disturbance <br />wrought by man. The early life history is unknown, since specimens <br />smaller than a foot in length have never been captured. <br />Empetrichthys merriami Gilbert, Asb Meadows killifish.-This <br />and the following species of the relict gas Empetrichthys are con- <br />fined to isolated waters of the Death Valley system in southern <br />Nevada (Miller, 1948, pp. 99-105, pls. 19-11). E. merriami, rare 20 f <br />years ago, may now be extinct; it has not been taken in Ash Meadows <br />since 1942 and, during the period from 1936to 1942, only 22 specimens <br />were secured by myself and others. <br />Empetrichthys latos Miller, Pahrump killifish.-This species was <br />locally abundant at 3 places in Pahrump Valley in 1942. However, <br />Ira La Rivers has written (February 2, 1960) that many changes <br />have taken place in the valley since then and that a couple of years <br />ago only 1 of the 3 localities was still relatively undisturbed by man's <br />activities. Although all 3 populations were then extant, the abundance <br />of carp and bullfrogs and the pumping dry of the spring sources and <br />ponds render it unlikely that this killifish can survive indefinitely <br />without protection, <br />Cyprinodon diabolic Wales, Devils Hole pupfish.-This extraor- <br />