The herald., 1894-11-07
FIGHTERS OFTHE SEA
THE SWoRDFlSH AND HIS DEATH
DEALING BILL.

ifornia Waters Described.
A short time ago the attention Of the
passengers on steamer off the southern
California coast was attracted by what
was evidently fight between two sea
monsters. What appeared to be moun-
lain Of foam first caught their attention.
Then an enormous tail was seen tossed
Into the air. Then the monster preached
Ind rolled over and over, beating the
water into foam with resounding blows
that could be heard mile Or more with
she wind. Nothing but the great black
mass could be seen, and for 90 minutes
she strange sight continued, to the won
ierment of the voyagers.
If the steamer could have approached,
they would have witnessed most un-
equal struggle between large whale
and foe of insignificant size. Beneath
the water several swordfish, or possibly
one were literally prodding the large
animal to its death, running their sharp
swords into it's unwieldy form until the
creature was in a perfect fury and could
only fling it's huge tail about in impo-
tent rage. Such incidents are by no
means rare at sea. and the presence of
the swordfish as the cause O. the tro1ble
Is often disputed, but in nine cases out
Of ten it is the offender. Enraged for
some reason at the presence Of the
whale, it dashes repeatedly at it, send
ing its sharp sword into it and in some
instances producing its death. The un
relenting and ferocious nature of the
swordfish is not generally known, but
the latter may be set down as among
the most dreaded of all fishes, consider
ing the damage it does and the havoc it
plays among other fishes. 1t may be
said that the fish is utterly without fear.
The combats with its own kind are
most interesting and may be compared
to two expert swordsmen who have
rushed to the contest, not with foils, but
with rapiers, and fence for blood. Such
a contest was observed in California wa
ters not long ago. Some fishermen no.
ticed two big fish leaping out of the wa
ter and dashing along at the surface.
Soon they saw that they were swordfish.
The season was when the fish are sup
posed to be pairing, and the males are
usually ferocious. They had made sew
eral rushes and when observed were at
close quarters, striking each other pow
erful side blows like cavlarymen. This
was unsatisfactory, and finally they sep
arated and darted at each other like ar
rows, the water kissing as their sharp
dorsal fins cut through it. They evi.
IDENTIFY struck head on, one missing,
while the sword of the other struck just
below the eye and plowed deep furrow
in the fish, partly disabling it, SO that
it turned and attempted to escape But
its adversary, now thoroughly aroused.
also turned and, with a rush, drove its
sword completely through its body and,
despite its struggles, held it fast, only
wrenching its weapon Loose when its
enemy stopped swimming. This one
lunge had finished the battle, and the
victor left the field. The vanquished,
floating on the surface, was picked up by
the fishermen. The writer later observed
the wounds, which gave ample evidence
of the ferocity of the attack. The force
with which swordfish strikes has been
variously estimated, but that it is equal
to that which drives "a pound shot
from howitzer can be believed from
viewing the results.
In the waters of California at least
three kinds of swordfishes can be SEEN
Xiphius gladius, Tetrapturus albidus
and Histophorus gladius. The two for
mer have been observed by the writer.
The fish engaged in the battle described
were of the kind first named. 1t is the
ordinary swordfish found on both sides
of the Atlantic, in appearance trim and
shipshape, veritable privateer. 1t is
a piratical cousin of the mackerel. The
striking feature is the sword, which is
a continuation of the upper jaw into a
sharp, bony sword The jaws are tooth
less, the lower one being hard or horny.
The eyes are large and prominent, the
tail sickle shaped and powerful, and the
whole appearance Of the fish denotes
speed and activity. 1t attains length
of from to 9 feet, and when working
at full speed can pierce any ship of
wooden hull sheathed with copper.
Many remarkable instances of this are
known, and there is hardly week in
the year but something of the kind is
recorded by shipping agents.
One of the most remarkable cases ON
record is that of the ship Dreadnaught.
One day at sea the crew felt sudden
shock, and soon after that the ship
sprang leak and was obliged to put
into port. 1t was found when she was
drydocked that large swordfish had
struck her.
One of the finest specimens Of the
Tetrapturus albidus ever seen in Cali
fornia waters was found recently by the
writer in a little bay on one of the is
lands off shore. 1t was a magnificent
specimen, about feet in length. the
body massive and powerful and remark
able for its shape. 1t did not taper to
the tail, as many Of the tribe do, but
continued large all the way to the tail,
which was powerful organ. 1t had
:ong dorsal fin almost the entire length
of the back, and it's sword was short.
Evidently it had been partly broken in
fierce combat with another of its kind.
The head was large, as We're also the
eyes. ! examined the fish for the cause
IF its death and found that it, too, had
doubtless succumbed to fierce thrust
from an enemy, possibly Xiphius, on
long swordfish. as it had q single c1t
Q "a inches wide, that penetrated the en-
tire body like knife. The defeated
swordsman had apparently been carry