Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-11-29
FIGHT BETWEEN SEA MONSTERS.

ELECTROMAGNETIC, sSOou upob t'fo
bank Of a lofty cliff on that part OF
the coast between Placentia and st.
Mary's Bays. Everything was still.
Only the faintest murmur, the angry
tones of the ocean roar upon the surf
melted into delicious music, stole up
from the strand to where stood.
The sea fowl, which inhabited small
island in myriads to my left, seemed
too, to have fallen under the spell
and gone to sleep. The ocean beav-
ed its breast in feeble pillows rolling
landward with o drowsy motion, and
the fisherman in his small boat rested
upon his oars to listen to the still
ness and calm which had fallen over
everything.
A dozen or more of fishing skitfs
and boats, d little less than schooner
size, stood motionless where the last
breeze had tainted on their sails, and
were photographed TO perfection in
the smooth liquid deep, and even the
"unerriug tides forgot for the mo-
ment, or seemed to forget, to set Ell
ther north or south. As stood, like
everything about me, mute under
the influence of the afternoon, a sound
OF innumerable aud gentle tGppings
came MP from the still sea, and look
ing, saw that myriads of fishes, cod
and the lesser creatures on which the
former preyed, had risen to the sur
face and were "breaching." The tap
ping sound was made by beating the
water with their tails and fins. Such
a scene was not uncommon but al
most simultaneously with this |
heard hollow whistling sound, and
saw a column of spray rise like a
seyser, about fourteen feet from the
water.
I saw then that whale had risen
among the fishes, and with his mon
ster, gaping jaws, in a fourth OF the
time it takes to write it, had engulted
several hundred of the preaching fish
es, and was about to plunge under
the waves again to swallow his prey
piecemeal, when two other creatures
appeared npon the scene. They were
the united and implacable foes of the
whale-the swordfish and thrasher.
The sw0rdfsh is q long, 1.-THE crea-
ture, armed with long, hard sub
stauce protruding from It's snont, re-
sembIiuga sword. from which it de-
rives its name. Thrasher is u spe-
cies of sea shark or fox shark, scien-
tiicaIIy known as Carchalias wipes.
1t was evident that they had come
for the double purpose of making wal
upon the whale and getting some OF
the feast for themselves In the
space it takes eye to twinkle the Il
fensive and defensive were assumed.
The sw0rdfsh attacked the whale
under water, the thrasher attacked
him above. As the whale made an
effort to dive he impelled himself
acaint the armed heard of his 1.-THE
foe, and if he remained where he was
the thrasher brought it's .ungainly
body with the precision of machinery
down upon the unfortunate monster;
back. Such q "thrashing" had new
er conceived of, even in my dreams
when used to 60 on the hills ant
rob birds nests, when / saw the
. teacher, more terrible than a wrath
full dragon, with a cowhide to eypiatt
my guilt. The sounds were dur
thuds when the titrasher struck hi
antagonist, and sharper and loude
when he missed his ann and strucl
the water. The waves were beatel
about in foam and spray, the whal'
trying to ply his tail upon his enc
mics. but before he could get his I'm
calmly body into position his enemle
|. were out of harms way and maxim!
new attack upon an unexpected
quarter.
The contest continued, broken oni,
by short intervals, when the whal
went below the surface for about tel
minutes. Then the sword fish, as
satisfied with the part he had played
dived down into the clear, blue wa
fer. and the thrasher followed hi