The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-10-14

The vanuuished, floating on the surface.
was pfcked up by the fishermen The
writer later observed the wounds, wnich
gave ample evidence of the fsrocity OF me
attack. The force with which a swordnsn
strikes has been variously estInaSeu, out
that it is equal to that wnlcn 1Tlvss :
In In tn the waters of California at least three
giadsus. Tetrapturus albidus and Histopho-
rus gladius. TIL two former nave pee5
observed by the writer. The 1sh engaged
first named. II is the ordinary swordhsh
found on both sides of the Atlantic, IN ap-
pearanee trim and shipshape2 veritapie
privateer. 1t is a ~piratical cousin or the
mackerel. The striking feature is the
sword. which is a continuation OF the upper
are toothIess. the lower one being hard or
horny. The eyes are large and prominent,
the tail sickle-shaped and poWerf9l ana
the whole appearance OF the nsh ueno'es
speed and activity. Ii attains a length or
from five to nine feet. and, when working
wooden hnIi sbeathed with copper. Many
remarkable instances of this are known.
and there is hardly a week in the year nut
something of the kind is recoroeu py snip
one of the most remarkable cases on
record is that of the ship Dreadnaught
One day at sea the crew felt a sudden
shock. and soon after that the ship sprang
a leak and was Obliged 10 put into port;
1t was found when. she, was dry-docKeo
mat a ldTSE NOIUllCA AAao
One of the finest specimens OF the Ietrap-
turus albidus ever seen in California
waters was found recently by the writer
ia a little bay on one of the Islands OF
shore. 1t was a magnificent specimen
about six feet in length, the body massive
and powerful and remarkable for it's shape.
II did not taper to the tail, as many or
its tribe do, but continued large all the
way TO the tail. which was a powerful or
gan. 1t had a long dorsal fin almost the
entire length of the back and its sword
was short. Evidently it had been partly
broken in a fierce combat with another
of its kind. The head was large, as were
also the eyes. I examined the fish for the
cause Of his death, and found That 1t, too,
had doubtless succumbed to a fierce thrust
sword fish. as it had a single cut two and
a half inches wide that penetrated the
entire body like a knife. The defeated
sv,ordsman had apparently been carrying
on an unequal fight. Armed with a snort
sword or dagger. it had been struck by
a cavalryman of the sea, whose keen
rapier had killed it. the fish being blown
in shore to the amazement or the Usher
men of the island, who had never seen
q fish Of the kind on the California coast
before.
when 1t came drifting H." said an old
sea dog, II thought it was a porpoise, it
was SO big; but when it got in shore L
see it was something like a sWordfish,
though 1 never saw the likes of it before.
Its sword was short, but 1t had a body
like a batterin' ram, and If it struck any
thing 1t would have to give in sure"
A singular thing in connection with the
swordhsh is that little or nothing is
known regarding its breeding habits. and
a young swordfsh, so far as known, has
never been seen on the California coast.
The young are curious creatures, with
enormous eyes, and the bills, upper and
lower. of equal length.