The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-16
AMONG THp BILLIONS.

The heated term makes any refer ence to bluefshing and swordashing, and the dancing pillows off our Con necticut shore very attractive reading. Some of the newspaper letter writers Tn that region seem to think the limits to be set to their imaginative faculties Tn telling sea-fishing stories, are right fully as large and wide as the sea ltseii. But there is no good reason to doubt the published stories of the appearance of whales off the Easthampton coast, on the outside of Long Island, for a. few whales do show up off Ammagan- sett every year-sometimes a school or whales. Among the sand dunes of the Ammagansett shore the hardy seafar- ing men of that village have long had a whaleboat under cover, ready to be run out and launched at a. minutes warning, and big try-kettle for try ing out the oil when the junks of whale blubber are cut off and thrown in. Lifelong habit leads them to keep an eye on the lofty flagstaff, to see If at any time the signal has been run up that a whale has been sighted-and when that signal Is seen they rush for the whaleboat. It is likely to be launch- ed only with the watchful care, knoWl- edge and quicknesis that are usually necessary there; for the ocean billoWs come booming in with unintermitting regularity and force, and to make a successful launch calls for trained eye and quick work at the right mo- ment Many times the whale leads the hardy harpooners a long and risky chase out to sea. Frequently the at- tempt to set him Is a failure, Even after the monster has been harpooned his would-be captors are not sure or him.; sometimes they have to cut the | line and let him go-or be carried, at fearful rate, to distant and uncertain parts of the ocean in an open boat. But when they do "bag" big fellow the prize is a paying one to all hands.
 A recent letter from New London had Ithis item, after telling about school of whales off the Long Island coast | fifteen or twenty miles west Of Mon tauk:
 "Swordfishing Is good now around Block Island and Montauk The Mo- ank steamer Ethel came in lately with three swords broken off in her pot tom"
 | 0WOTuHSHlnS. llhG WIldIC lNAAetiA6s AZ apt to be exciting sport. With a plat form built out by the side of the bow spirit, for the harpooner to stand upon, | he watches the sea far and wide to de- tect the sharp dorsal fin cutting the surface of the water. The vessel is di- rected towards the fish, and if the lat
 ter permits it to get pretty nearly over to him he Is pierced the next moment
 by the merciless weapon, which, with
 It's toggle-iron, is so designed that 1t holds fast, no matter how lightning
 like the leap of the fish to get away.
 The line Is applied at the end to an empty cask, which is instantly thrown
 overheard, and serves for a long time and at great distances to betray the course of the swift and angry fish. The latter is supposed to get tired out and
 ready to drown" after a. while, and then the boat is lowered, and, with | two men, sent out to draw the ugly fellow In. This Is apt to be risky busi- ness The worlds ocean probably holds
 no livelier, swifter or more malicious
 fish than the swordfsh, even in cir
 cumstances free from all provocation or incentive to attack people, and when
 aroused by the pain and anger of a deadly wound this naturally aggres-
 sive and very ugly customer, animated
 with the spirit of vengeance, is apt to turn upon his pursuers and become, in | turn. the attacking party. With one flashing dart at the boat, he Is likely
 to thrust his bony sword quite through
 the bottom, and it Is lucky if one of
 the men is not impaled on it. Parties
 from Hartford, it is said, have had
 some narrow escapes. But the sword fish, after his weapon has been broken
 off, Is practically at the mercy of his
 pursuers. He is brought in in triumph,
 and his flesh, solid like old salt pork,
 is esteemed desirable purchase at the fish arkets.-Hartford Times.