The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-01-24
A THRILLING SIGHT.
CATCHING AND KILLING THE MON
sTER TuNNY FISH.
They Arr First Driven Into Enor-
mons Nets In the Mediterranean
Sea aud Are Then Stabbed and
Siashed 60 Death with spears.

they Arr First Driven Into Enor-
mons nets In the Mediterranean
Sea aud Are Then Stabbed and
SIaxhed 10 Death with spears.
One OF the most thrilling and Won
derful sights in the world is that Of the
funny fisheries OF the Mediterranean
sea. The pursuit OF these great and
swift fishes is uota mere tame operation
OF netting. IL Is 4 tight between man
aud sea creatures such as Is duplicated
nowhere except In the whale fisheries
The funny is huge mackereL lie Is
predaceous fish. aud his course through
the seas is that OF destroyer without
parallel So deadly is the funny 10 the
schools OF herring and similar food
fishes that he is called the herring hog.
In our waters he is known more gen
orally as the horse niackereL
The funny fisheries are distinctly Eu-
ropean. and they are the oldest indus
try that is known In the Mediterranean
sea. To capture them men must band
themselves together Ia large bodies.
for fishermen singiy could do IothinS
with these fishes. which grow 10 length
of ten feet and weigh over half u ton
sometimes. Therefore there Is sys-
TEN Of cooperation ON the coasts that
are visited by the funny. system
which dates lack to the Phwnicians.
who were great funny catchers la their
time.
The perfection of this system is due.
the big fishes have absolutely regular
habits In normal times they can be
relied on 10 make their appearance at
certain periods almost to the minute.
When they come. il is in huge schools
that can be seen afar. for they scour
the waters like ships OF war. ana the
leapings of their prey and the leapings
OF their own bulky bodies beat the
deep4nio white foam and lather.
Since they are so exact IN their hab-
its. the tishcrInen prepare for them al
ways before they arrive. Al some des-
ignated spoi are spread enormous nets.
exceedingly deep and made of the
strongest of line. These are not de-
signed To catch the tunnics. They are
spread out merely To force the fishes To
edge In and in until they are led 10 the
real prison net. which is vast con
trivance set in an immense square aud
powerful enough TO defy anything that
swims.
As soon as the last OF the school has
entered this boxlike Enclosure the sides
of the great net are raised al signal
At first the imprisoned fishes do not
show any signs OF alarm. but as the
net rises. inch by inch. FROM the water
depths cleaning. swordlike backs ap-
pear here aud there above the surface.
darting with Incredible swiftness from
side TO side OF the net Each instant
more of these living blades appear
above the surface.
Then the fishes begin to leap. Here
one launches himself straight out of the
water-JOO pounds OF glorious life-to-
ward the sky. 10 crash back into the
tail that makes the ocean echo. An
other and another rises and falls back.
SOou the scene is as If the abysSes Of
the sra were spouting their inhabit-
ants. for hundreds of immense silver
flashing fishes rise everywhere at once
within the neL
But now new element enters.
Long. narrow fishing boats push into
the Enclosure. In them stand brown
men with lances and spears and big
knives dashed to poles. Then begins a
light that is terrible TO see. The men
thrust madly into the struggling mass
es OF fishes. The fishes leap and roll and
dive and leap again, hammering the
sea with tails that ehurn like tie
screws of steamships and whiten the
waves with foam. Before many min
utes boats and men are drenched with
bloody water. The surface OF the
ocean is red. Out OF the smoking
spray peer faces now and then that are
dabbled with blood till shey took
scarcely human.
Now and then n man slips and falls
among the harried fishes. Then there
dEc iouu SCitdLiS lIoil us CONiiistAtolS
and cries of supplication from him rs
he calls to his patron saint. for 1t is no
joke TO fan among those mighty bodies
that are dashing around in their death
throes.
So the fight continues till in that in.
closed space of sea there is not fish
alive. Every boat Is half full OF water
and loaded down with living silver.
where the slim. piratical bodies OF the
beautiful fishes lie. The Inhabitants OF
the towns near the scene OF this fishing
make n fete day of the arrival of the
funny. for IL means food and employ
ment for many hundreds OF men. wom-
en- and children. The fish is a favOrlte
article of fcod. especially when salted.
and the rec is n great delicacy. which
brings fancy prices. The tunnies that
are caught OF the Italian coasts have
10 be- passed through the custom hOus'
when they are landed. like any other
merchandise. and the streets there pre-
sent strange appearance then. for on
Rll sides are wheelbarrows full of the
shapely. monstrous creatures.-New
York Press.