The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-11-22
Hespooniag the Swordlsh.

'T'vc got standin' offer Of s1O0 for
the first young so'dfsh can git" said
Cape Cod swordfisherman to your
correspondent. You'd Think lie
continued, ''that that was a hefty sort of
an offer, when the fish is only bringin'
eight cents pound, but ye see, there's
never been so'dfish seen in American
waters less nor forty pounds, and only
one at that. Where do they breed?
Wall. that's the very pint. They don't
breed-leastwse around these diggins.
I've been a so 'dfshipg around the south
OF the cape goin' on twenty years and
never seen one less ncF four foot long,
and I've took thousands cs 'elsi. Yes,
it's q big business. I don't know just
how ma'2y are Il it, but kin count forty
oc fifty sail rightround here that makes
it pint to take all they kin git July,
August and September is the best
months, and between the fust and 10Th
of September in warm seasons I've
done pretty well and caught as many
as seventeen in day, but that was ex-
traordinary work. We hev regular rig;
jest step aboard" and the reporter,
who had been talking from the edge of
the dock, accepted the invitation and
jumped aboard the trim fore and aft
schooner that, with its sharp how and
rakish mast, was not incompatible to
the jaunty fish it followed.
"There's not very much toggery to
speak of, said the skipper, walking
forward. ''There, you see, is the place
where the man stands in striking
the fsh-merely an iron stanchion
extending up from the end of the bow
spirit, with a resting pad of wood nailed
to it, so the man can lean against it in
striking. The harpoon is called lily,
and is always kept lashed near the rest,
all ready, you see, for an emergency
Why a lilyP Wall, the prongs are
branched out something like a flower.
There are five-or six, all barbcd, and
the whole thing ends in an iron cap
that fits into wooden handle about ten
feet long A line is made fast to the
iron that is about two hundred feet long,
the other end being fastened to keg
or barrel. When we're out to sea, the
watch is always in the foretop, and as
soon as he sees a fish he sings out, and
the harpooner takes his place in the
rest, and, as soon as the man at the
wheel gets sight of the fish, he tries to
put it over the bow; then the man jams
her with the iron; the line is kept clear
and, when it all runs out, the keg is
tossed over for the fish to tow until tired
out, and the schooner keeps away for
another fish. Sometimes five or six are
sighted and struck before any are taken
in. The kegs are generally painted
white and easily followed, and you
usually don't have much of fight with
the fish, as towing the keg a mile plays
'em out. But sometimes we get a big
fellow on and then there's what green
hands call fun, though l don't see it in
that light. l call to mind one fish we
struck off Nantucket a year or so ago
that KEN near cleanin' us all out. We
got on to him all right and followed
close up, nothin' else bein' in sight,
and me and two of the boys jumped
into the dory and soon had the keg
aboard; but as soon as we touched the
rope to take in slack he started off, and
you'd a thought we'd run foul of
whale. 1t was an hour before we got
the fish alongside, the schooner keep
ing on and by, but we were afraid of
passing the rope, thinking it might pull
out the iron.
''Well, we gradually hauled in and
stood up, holding an oar already to hit
the brute on the head, when it gave
kind of lunge or side cut, taking the
oar right between my hands and knock
ing me head over heels down in the
bottom. In the confusion the man in
the bow Stacked the rope and the next
minute crunch! KEN the fish and up its
sod KEN through the planking, stick
ing about foot into the boat not three
60 IN,
grab it, and while hung on and lashed
it with the painter the boys pulled
alongside the schooner and we got it
aboard. He measured fourteen foot-a
putty big one. In fair weather they lie
mostly on the surface, and whether they
are asleep or just summing themselves
is hard TO tell. It's great sight," he
added, ''to see 'em in among the bony
fish. They go just like a cavalryman,
striking up and down, right and left,
KILN hundreds of 'em; and I've seen
'em keep adding it, which shows they
kind O. like the fun of it. This season
has been putty Fable; makerel have
been very scarce, and that makes
sO'dfish scarce, too. OFF Nantucket,
the Vineyard, the cape and to the
south ard to Noman's Land, is what we
calculate the best fishin'."
The swordfish is perhaps one of the
most interesting of our coast fishes,
and the 800 offered for young one
would be as safe as Sl.00, as the fish
do not breed on this side of the Allan
tic, and the young only being occa-
sionally found out to sea in the mid
Atlantic or on the shores of the Medi-
terranean, where they are followed by
the fishermen of Messina. Here row.
boat is used, having tall mast upon
which the watcher sits. The young
swordfish, even if found here, would
hardly be recognized, SO different are
they in appearance from the adults. A
young histiophorous, seven inches long,
resembles if anything young stickle-
back more than it does swordfish,
with head like plesiosaurus. The
jaws are equal in length and armed
with fine teeth; the eyes are enormous
for the size of the body, while from the
head over the dorsal and ventral ion
extend two sharp spines. When about
sixteen inches long the dorsal fin has
become higher, the spines begin to dis
appear and the upper jaw commences
to look like a sword.-Cor. n. Y.
Times.