The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-11-24
swordhgh are Fighters.

linen the monster Dreacneu anu rolleu over
and over, beating the water into foam with
resembling blows that could be heard a
mile or more with the wind. Nothing but
the great black mass could be seen, and
for twenty minutes the strange sight con-
tinued. to the wondement of the voyagers.
If the steamer could have approached
they would have witnessed most unequal
struggle between large whale and foe
of insignificant size. Beneath the water
several swordfsh, or possibly one, were
literally prodding the large animal to its
death, running their sharp swords into its
unwiedly form until the creature was in
perfect fury, and could only fling its
huge tail about in impotent rage. Such
incidents are by no means rare at sea, and
the presence of the sword6sh as the cause
of the trouble is often disputed, but in nine
cases out Of ten it is the offender. Enrag-
ed for some reason at the presence of the
whale, it dashes repeatedly at it, sending
its sharp sword into it, and in some in
stances producing its death. The unre-
lenting and ferocious nature of the sword
fish is not generally known, but the latter
may be set down as among the most dread
ed of all fishes, considering the damage it
does and the havoc it plays among other
fishes. 1t may be said that the fish is
utterly without fear and will, like Cape
buffalo or a rhinoceros, charge anything
that ofends the eye, in this way often do
ing an amount of execution hardly to be
believed did not the evidence exist.
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 contest was
observed in California waters not long ago.
Some fishermen noticed two big fish leap
ing out of the water and dashing along at
the surface Soon they saw that they
were swordfsh. The season was when the
fish are supposed to be pairing, and the
males are unusually ferocious. They had
made several rushes, and when observed
were at close quarters, striking each other
powerful side blows like cavalrymen. This
was unsatisfactory, and finally they sepa-
rated and darted at each other like arrows,
the water kissing as their sharp dorsal fins
cut through it They evidently struck
head on, one missing, while the sword Of
the other struck just below the eye and
ploughed deep furrow in the fish, partly
disabling it, so that it turned and attempt
ed 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 vic
tor left the field The vanquished, float
ing 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 swordfsh strikes has been vari-
ously estimated, but that it is equal to that
which drives a twenty-four- pound shot
from howitzer can believed from viewing
the results
In the waters Of California at least three
kinds of swordfshes can be seen-Xiphius
gladius, Tetrapturus albidus, and Histop-
horous gladius The two former have
been observed by the writer, The fish
engaged in the battle described were of the
kind first named 1t is the ordinary sword
fish found on both sides of the Atlantic,
in appearance trim and shipshape-a YER
liable privateer. 1t is a piratical cousin of
the mackerel The striking feature is the
sword, which is continuation of the upper
jaw into a sharp, bony sword. The jaws
are toothless, 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
FIVE to nine feet, and, when working at
full speed, can pierce any ship of wooden
hull sheathed with copper. Many re-
markable instances of this are known, and
there is hardly week in the year but
something of the kind is recorded by ship
ping 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 dry-docked,
that large swordfsh had struck her.
One of the finest specimens of the Tet-
rapturus alibidus ever seen in California
waters was found recently by the writer in
little bay on one of the islands off shore
1t was magnificent specimen about six
feet in length, the body massive and
powerful and remarkable for its shape: 1t
did not taper to the tail, as many of its
tribe do, but continued large all the way
to the tail, which was powerful organ
1t had long dorsal fin almost the entire
length of the back, and its sword was
short. Evidently it had been partly broken
in fierce combat with another of its kind
The head was large, as were also the eyes.
| examined the fish for the cause of his
DEATH and found that it, too, had doubt
less succumbed to fierce thrust from an
enemy, possibly a Xiphius. or long-sword
fish, as it had a single cut D inches wide
that penetrated the entire body like
knife The defeated swordsman had APP
parently been carrying on an unequal fight.
Armed with a short sword or dagger, it
had been struck by cavalryman of the sea-
whose keen rapier had killed it, the fish
being blown in shore to the amazement of
the fishermen of the island, who had never
seen a fish of the kind on the California
coast before
when it game drifting in, 2 said an
old sea dog, Il thought it was a porpoise,
it was SO big; but when it got in shore
see it was something Ike swordfsh,
though never saw the likes of it before.
Its sword was short, but it had body like !
a batterin' ram, and if it struck anything
it would have to give in sure
A singular thing in connection with the
swordfsh is that little or nothing is known
regarding its breeding habits, and young
,wordfsh, so far as known, has never been
zen on the California coast. The young