Omaha daily bee., 1895-11-17

funy tribes II Is seldom that they swallow
food without first killing. when in the
midst OF a school the sword does wonderful
| execution, lashing the water into foam with a
wide swinging sweep that would break a
| mans back In a jiffy. There is not the slight
est suggestion Of a thrust in the motion. A
series OF lightning-lke sweeps is their method
| OF assault.
The boatmen easily locate the swordhsh as
/ he rolls along the surface. The curved back
/ lin and tail furnish a mark that can be dis
| cerned a long distance. II there is sufficient
wind the boat can be brought over the Ash
| so as to throw the iron with fair degree Of
| certainty, but In a calm II Is a case of watch
and wait Sometimes the men go after the
| hsh in tender. II one is at hand yet as a
| rule they prefer to wait for wind so that the
fish. when struck, will not swim the float
keg out of sight and carry away the gear An
able-bodled fish will make a stubborn fight
for freedom and II is not safe to interfere
with him when fighting for life
Upon sighting one Of these slippery fellows
the boat Is speedily put as nearly as possible
to him. and the keg and gear so arranged
mat 1t VIII go adrift with no possibility of
foutng. The man who is to dart the iron
crawls out to the pulpit, and after lashing
himself to the stay, grasps the iron The
| lanyard that leads from the barb is coiled so
that 1t will run freely, great care being taken
| 70 see that everything is In proper position.
difticult matter to stand in the pulpit and do
a good job Of darting The boat rushes head
long into the waves, and the motion to a
sreenhorn, Is OF the ball and socket order,
| without the least suggestion of stability
AS the catboat draws up to the swordfsh
the man In the pulpit raises his iron and his
partner at the tiller prepares to shoot the
boat right over the laziy swimming victim.
AZ distance of perhaps ten feet the iron is
hurled II It hits its mark the barb goes
| M hp IHpb a
Is locked on the opposite side The lanyard
holds 1t securely and there is little chance
OF ripping II free.
The instant the fish is hit the helmsman
sends the boat away on the jump and before
the FISH knows what has happened the llttle
craft is we'll out If the immediate neigh
borhood.
AT the first spasm Of pain the sword6sh
souhus, or IN other words, goes down at
top speed. The keg at the end of the lam
yard dances through the waves. and at times
is submerged by the heavy strain
Each instant the fish is losing it's strength
ana his speed diminishes. The first symp-
tom of weakness is evident when the kep
rides on the surface of the waves with n
peculiar buoyancy, the dragging motion
having disappeared. The catboat is sent in
pursuit. being held well to windward of the
nsh' so that II the keg begins to tack ship
and move away toward the winds eve the
boat may keep it well covered
the iron has performed its mission the
fish vSill breach that is. come to the sur
lace now and then, much after the fashion
vi vi salmon or trout when shaking a hook
from its gills. Woe betde the boat that
happens to be handy when "swordie" reaches
the surface in his mad career. He Will omen
VIDE MS throttle of wrath and go for II like
torpedo boat. What he hits goes by tho
board, or his sword is fractured in tho on
counter. "
The other day an Edgartown fisherman han
pened TO be in dory handy to preaching
hsh. The dory was smashed according TO
witnesses and the fisherman was hurled n
distance Of thirty feet by the concusson. He
couldn't swim, and when his boatmate got
TO him with boat hook there was no time
to be lost, for the victim of circumstances
was sinking for the last time in 15O feet NJ
deep blue sea to bed Of white sand AS II
was 1t required fifteen feet of boat hook 70
haul him out of his predcament. and an
ailopathic dose out of a boiler to put him on
his pins again.
Gloucester ran into fish off Gray Head and
the creature at once butted a thirty foot
seine boat in tow at the vessels stern The
boat was stove, and 81 900 worth of seine
went adrft
Some years ago a whale shin was ot New
bedtotd dock dscharging a cargo of oil
casks. One Of the casks could not be lifted
from Its position near the keel and when II
was pried away wicked sword was found
protruding through the ships bottom 1t
mad cut a three-inch plank of oak. two
| men hard pine piece of sheathing and en-
tered the oak head of the cask and then
broken OF near the nose of the fellow who
had so determinedly directed It,
Many narrow escapes are told by the fish
ermen. Some of them have been injured by
a sword suddenly piercing the bottom of the
boat In which they were seated
Skill Is required to get a heavy sword
fish into small boat If much sea is run
ming If spark of life remains the job is
still mere difficult. The final quietus is
given with the whalemans spade thrust
into the gills. cutting the fsh's throat, and
the loss of blood very quickly puts an end
10 all struggles. The blight of rope is
then passed around the fellow as he lies
alongside. the tnboard ends being well Sc
cured. The loop or blight is seized by the
men, and as 1t is passed around the body
OF the hsh great purchase is applied and
ne Is hauled into the cockpit. the roll OF
the craft greatly assisting in the operation
Swordhsh is worth about 6 cents pound to
the boatmen. They earn it.