The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-07
BATTLE WITH A SWoRDFISH.
. WHALE KILLED OFF THE COAST
OF CALIFORNIA,

T,OS Angeles 1cllC1 4NCHi LOAA A4AAicos
The passengers on the little steamer that
,,l,es daily trips between San Pedro Har-
bcr near Los Angeles, and Santa Catalina
1s,and some thirty miles out in the Pa
,iec ocean, were excited the other day by
. terrible battle between two sea monsters.
The spectacle from the deck Of the steam
-. about a mile away from the scene of
,ho combat, was a small mountain of mist
tossing in the air. at the base of which a
hinge black TAN churned the water like the
b,ades of a screw propeller. The monster,
a very large-sized whale, turned this way
and that. all the time flashing it's black
coil with fury and beating the water so
chat the sound came like claps of thunder
"a every one on board the Catalina Island
staamer. The whale suddenly turned, and
,nonting a powerful stream of water and
Hood some twenty feet in the air, dashed
tho water with several powerful fiops of
.,a toll and sank beneath the surface Of
the ocean.
The little steamer made for the scene Of
.bo battIe with all speed, and every one
~ the passengers was terribly excited by
tha scene. but when the boat reached the
snot where the great whale was last seen
norhing but foaming water, reddened with
Mood. marked the locality There was sew
aral old-tirne sailors on board the steamer,
and tbev all agreed that battle unto
10Th between a swordfish and a female
-,,baia had been fought before their eyes.
,rba swordhsh had the advantage of the
,rreat sea mammal, and was thrustlng It's
onlv weapon of attack and defense-the
lang sharp and pointed sword-into the
Vulnerable sides of the unwieldly whale.
me great mammal could but thrash its
tail about in impotent rage, until at last
vital sDot was reached by the attacking
swordfsh and the whale was vanquished.
A dozen or more old men who SIT ABOUT
tho docks and the custom house at san
pedro and San Diego, after long career
in the whaling fields of the Pacific ocean,
saw that the battle between the whale and
the sWordfsh last week was not uncom-
mon Several of the old tars say they
have Witnessed just as good fights be-
tween similar combatantss and besides,
mat in nearly every case the swordtsh
&c the attacking party. Many men who
have been on whaling voyages nave FOUND
wounds in the carcasses of whales that
were undoubtedly left there by an angry
swordfsh. 1t is seldom, howeyei tuo
swordfsh is able to stab the whale to
DEATH
will like buffalo or rhinoceros, charge
ANYTHING that offends it, often doing an
amount of execution hardly to be believed
did not the evidence exist. Combats De
tween swordfish are most interesting, and
NAV be compared to a duel between two
expert swordsmen. Such a contest was
observed off the long pier that extends
out into the ocean at Santa Monica, near
Los Angeles, last year. Some fishermen
fEb leaning OlIt of the
water and dashing along the surface.
Soon it was seen that they were sword
fish The season was when the fish are
unusually ferocious. The had made sew
eral PUSHES, and when observed were at
close quarters, striking each other pow
erful side blows like cavalrymen. This
was unsatisfactory, and finally they sepa-
rated and darted at each other IKE ar
rows the water kissing as their sharp
dorsal fins cut through it. They evident
" struck headon, one missing, While the
sword of the other struck just below the
eye and plowed a deep furrow in the hsn,
partly disabling it so that 1t turned ana
attempted to escape. But its adversary
also turned, and with a rush drove lts
sword completely through the body of its
foe and held it fast, only wrenching It's
weapon loose when its enemy stopped
swimming.
This one lunge finished the battle, and
the victor left the field. The vanquished,
floating on the surface, was picked up oH
the fishermen. The wounds in the dead
fish were examined by several
hundred people in Los Angeles
and Santa Monica. They gave
binary ferocity of thrust by a sword
fish. The force with which a swordlish
strikes has been variously estimated, but
that it is equal to that which drives
twenty-four-pound shot from howitzer
will be believed easily after viewing the
result.
In the waters Of California three kinds
of swordfish can be seen-Xiphius gladius,
Tetrapturus albidus, and Histophorns.
The fish engaged in the battle described
were of the kind first named. 1t is the or
binary swordfsh. found on both sides OF
The Atlantic, in appearance trim and snip
shape-a veritable privateer. 1t is a pi-
ratical 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 tooth
less, the lower one being hard or bony.
The eyes are large and prominent, the
tail sickle-shaped and powerful, and the
whole appearance of the fish denotes speed
and activity.
II attains a length of from five to nine
feet, and when working at full speed car
one Of the most remarkable cases on rec.
ord is that of the ship Dreadnaught. One
day at sea the crew felt a sudden shock
anG soon after that the ship sprang q
leak and was obliged to put into port. Il
was found when she was dry-docked thai
large swordfish had struck her. The
sword had penetrated the copper, then The
mick oak hull, passing through the thicl
pine sheathing, and finally entering the
mead Of BARREL The sword was broker
oiI short, partly plugging the wound.
me ship Wanderer was struck in tbs
south Atlantic in the same way, and thC
pumps had to be manned. When she wa'
uocked the terrible sword was found Thu
United States government has recently
collected testimony relating to such cases
ana It makes a most Interesting showing
hundred of instances have been brought
70 ilght where swordfish have struck yes
Sels with disastrous results, one case cited
pelng the sinking of the sloop Red Hot
winch was employed around New Bedford
~ 'he United States Fish Company. TIL
sNordlsh, undoubtedly enraged at IN,
presence Of what it considered an enemy
uasAed at the vessel and sank it,
Ohe OF the finest specimens of the Tetrap
suIus albidus ever seen in California wat
's was found recently on the shores of