The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-31
sAWFISH AND swORDFIsH.
Two Entirely Different Creatures and
Their Habits.
owing, l suppose, to the plentif

a certain similarity of sound betwee
sword and saw, multitudes of peopl
continually confound two sea monster
with each other. Between the saWtfsl
ana the sWordfish the only points o
similarity that exist are that both ar
flsh and that both wear a weapon oil
their heads. Beyond these common
! features the two creatures are essen
TALLY unlike. And l have often beer
amused by people pointing out with al
air of pride huge Sword" as the.
have called it, suspended in some con
sp1cuous place on their walls, and by
their informing me with an air of wis
dom that this Is the weapon with wlliet
ships bottoms are often pierced anc
thereby many lives are lost.
These saws are very plentiful il
East India ports, where they form one
of the regular stock articles for the
curio dealers-so plentiful, in fact that
for rupee a very fine specimen may
be purchased. They consist of a broad
blade of cartilage (of which the whole
skeleton of shark is composed), and
are studded at regular intervals. The
end of the weapon, however, is thick
ened, being far more like a snout than
point, and is Mithal so soft that the
most cursory glance should convince
anybody that as a thrusting implement
is must be worse than useless.
AS matter of fact the shark to
which it belongs uses it in quite diff
ferent fashion. From the fact of his
teeth being very SMALL although eX-
ceedingly numerous, he is compelled to
feed upon soft matter. and he therefore
supplies his need by the diagreeable
practice of disemboweling other fish
and feeding upon the entrails. This he
does by gliding beneath them and draw
ing his saw across their bellies in work
manlike fashion, after which he is able
to proceed with his meal and leave the
rest of the body to the other sea scav-
engers that are sure to be in the vi
entity.
The swordfish, on the other hand, is
really a gigantic mackerel, dividing
pretty evenly the honor of being CHIEF
of the Scombridae with the huge alba
core, of deep-sea funny. Its weapon Is
a solid spear of bone sometimes reach
ing two feet in length, an elongaton OF
the upper jaw which tapers to a Keen
point. These weapons are an exceed
ing rare possession, very seldom seen
except in museums, and then generally
found on exhibition just as they have
been sawed out of some ships timbers,
the result of Just such an error of judg-
ment on the part of the Xiphias was re-
ported last week from Kragero, into
which port the bark Passe Partout had
put in leaking. Upon examination part
of the weapon of a swordfish was found
imbedded, in a five-inch plank, having
first passed through the outer sheath
ing of metal.
In the Natural History museum at
South Kensington may also been seen
one of these bony javelins transf1Xing
an oaken beam more than six inches in
thickness, giving those who see 1t
very fair idea of the truly tremendous
force with which the blow was deliv-
cred
Now. 1t has never been my lot to be
by swordfish, l am happy to
say, though I have witnessed several
examples of their prowess But on one
never-to- be-forgotten occasion ] saw a
swordfish come signally to grief |
through making the mistake of attack
ng that monarch of the deep, sperm |
whale The big mackerel had Joined |
himself unto pair of ."kilers' 0rca |
gladiator. the trio being indeed a for
nidable syndicate for attack. 1t fell to I
he Xiphias to lead off, and he did so by |
himself, like torpedo,
straight for the whales most vulner-
lbe part, just abaft the pectoral fin.
But the cachalot, like a wary old war
ior. lust swerved the least bit in the
world meeting the blow upon the al
most impenetrable mass of his head. 1t
ook effect just before the whales eye,
tipping white streak diagonally up
ward, but spending its force in the air
bove, while the great, 1.-THE body of
he xiphias glided helplessl?
whales head. As it fell the whale gave
sdeway Writhe, catching his hapless
ssaiIant between his vast jaw and
hearing that unwise creature into two
ortions. Sundry slight movements fol-
owed on the part of the whale. the re-
ult of which was the diappearance of
What had so recently been a terribly
ca monster down the cavenous throat
his intended victim.
On another occasion we witnessed the
ush of a xiphias past the sheltering
ullS of a COW humpback and the
disappearance of her calf
npaled upon the lethal sword. The
reat mackerel sped out like a long
hadow, leaving the bereaved mother :
'anticaly searching for the youngling
hich she would never see again. The ,
lsh of a swordfish is thing to see
nee and never forget. 1t hurls itself ;
Ito the midst of a school of fish, each ,
ldividual of which nearly approaches i,
,e enemy in size, and often in that :, :,
,arful >rush will split asunder two or =.
zen three of it's frightened victims. !
Tt appears to slay from sheer lust :
slaughter, for it is quite impossible 7
lat a fish of this size (the longest eX-
nple ever seen was not fifteen feet
ng, and Of quite slender girth) could :,
-er eat 1.-THE of the fish he destroys. .
o other fish seems to be endowed with =
ch relentless forocity, although all :
III prey upon another, making the =
ep wide sea one vast battlefield, .
here warfare knows no truce from
.e to age. The killers mentioned above :.
e quite as savage, but they are not y
h; they are whales, warm bloded ami y
ais, who are the terror of their own II
ngeners. =,
The swordfish has some small initat- Il
S in the garfish of our own coasts and =,
e billfish of the tropics. These, how :,
off, fta-,. 49, |