The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-09-06

y
minutes later the schooner Spectator,
which had been fishing on the same
I grounds the previous day. hailed them,
saying they had just picked up the
( Centennial's net 1t was so badly torn,
! however. having been sliced in a score
/ of places by the swordfsh's jagged
I blade, that the Centennial fishermen
started for Gloucester to have it re-
{ paired.
/ In the past five seasons two fisher
men of Block island waters have been
MORALLY injured, and half a dozen
others severely hurt. by wounded
swordfsh, whose blades were driven
through their cookie shells with the
speed of rifle shot. In one instance
the sword went through the bottom of
the boat-the crew did not even know
that the monster was approaching
them-slid through its middle seat OF
plank as easily as If it was paste board
and buried more than two feet in the
body OF an unhappy seaman. The man
survived his frightful wound for only
few hours.
In two other instances in Block
island waters swordish have even at
tackled fishing schooners and smacks.
and driven their sabers straight
through planking three inches thick,
the sword each time sharply broken,
and the fragments remained so tightly
imbedded in the opening it had made
that no water leaked into the vessel.
The swordtish season in these waters
has been wonderfully fine one. Big
fellows have been harpooned in the
past month in waters not more than
ten or fifteen miles to the eastward of
the island. though the greatest fishing
IS done along the margin of the gulf
stream, thirty to forty miles southeast
Of here. In fact, swordfishing, thrill
ing and dangerous sport though it is,
is a prime diversion of visitors to Block
island There are not fewer than a
dozen regular swordfshinr boats here,
whose owners earn a : Jod living. and
besides the sailing craft the trim steam
yacht Ocean View cruises all the time
on the swordtish grounds. a dozen
more active swordfishmen hail from
Rhode Island and Connecticut seaports,
notably little fleet from Stonington
and Noank hamlet.
If the swordfisherman five years ago
bagged three to five of the big fellows
on single cruise, every one along the
shore reckoled the achievement to be
wondrously smart" Not MANY DAYS
ago the steamer Ethel, Capt. Latham,
of Noank. ran home from the grounds
with eighteen swordfish on the decks
and several of them weighed from
three to four hundred pounds each.
The biggest one weighed four hundred
and fifteen pounds. One day on that
trip Capt. Latham landed just thirteen
fish.
On recent trip part of the Block
island fleet had remarkably fine luck,
and their catches were all taken in
waters no more distant from their
homes than those of No Mans Land
and South Shoal lightship about
thirty-five miles south of Gay Head,
Martha's Vineyard. They came into
port in this order: Earl and Nettie,
fifteen swordfsh, taken in two days;
Edward Ii. Smead, fifteen in two days:
w. Talbot Dodge, seventeen in five
days.
But the biggest catch of the season,
probably the greatest one ever taken
by vessel, was made by the Noank
steamer Ethel, which came into port a
day or two ago with sixty-three sword.
fish, ranging in weight from two hun.
dred to five hundred pounds each. Now
and then fish is taken weighing from
six hundred to eight hundred pounds,
but such catches are rare. Early in
the season Maine swordfishermen hunt
the big game in their waters, and
later-in August, as rule-the south.
ern New England feet go to the Maine
swordfsh grounds All the fish are
sold in Boston and Providence, whence
they are chiefly shipped into rural re-
giops. Many Massachusetts and Con.
necticut farmers purchase quantities
of fish, and salt it in barrels for winter
use. Swordtish is sweet, rich, tooth.
some, and free from bones, like hall.
hut. Still New York, which is fond of
oany beef'-will not
have it. Not pound of swordfish goes
to the metrop olis.-N Y. Sun.
Why Fees Were Nuisance.
irnn