Evening star., 1901-05-31

| pfoaCn OF TWO vessels at the same tine.
Hard Days Work.
| And so another fish was struck. and the
| sport grew exciting. Within three minutes
after the boat was dropped the third fish
was sighted, and proved. on near approach
| to be accompanied by two more and ere
long four dories were out, exhausting the
crew and leaving no one on board except
| the COOK at the wheel and the striker on
| the bowsprit. So numerous were the fms
| sticking up into the sunshine tha. it was
| continuous run from one to another
| swordfish. harpooning them from the bow
| dropping dory to capture them ard t,Ien
making curve back to pick up the dory
whose inmates had secured their prize and
| Moist the whole TO the deck. Four dorios
| We're out continuously during the best part
| of the afternoon and nineteen large fish lay
upon the deck when the evening fell and
| all hands came, at the cali of the skipper
to dress and pack away"
| heads and tails and dorsal fins shorn off
by the ruthless axes. and the viscera re-
| moved, the victims are deposited one by
one, in the ice of the hold. to be hoist ed
| out at t wharf for the Boston market and
| New ENGLAND consumption. And as the
| offal is thrown overheard it is usually APP
| prcpriated by those fiendish scavengers of
| the ocean, the sharks, and dragged under
| for their refreshment. In the swordish
| season the banks are alive with sharks of
| all sizes, following behind the fishing
| schooners. waiting for something to be
| thrown over, occasionally mistaken for the
| SworiSh whose fins much resemble
theirs. and If captured made the victim of
| all the cruelty the hatred of the fisherman
can devise. 1t is clear that sharks
| afraid of swordfsh, for they frequently
| observed to decamp when the long-uosed
| gentry put in appearance. whale,
| also. is no match for the pikeman of the
! deep. and takes refuge in long dive when
attacked by one of them, slapping the sur
| face of the ocean with that enormous tail
! in A way to be heard for miles as he
DllIngeS is fSf
| or cetacean able to cope in battle with
| large male sWordfish Of n pugnacious dis
| position, and flight is the common resource
| of the finny creation when the issue is
| forced upon them.
SwOrd6sh's Deadly Enemy.
| 1t is an illustration of the common irony
| of fate that such a stout and warlike hero
| of the waves should be overcome and often
destroyed by Shiny and contemplate
| parasite But sort of eel with sucker
! like mouth is able to attack itself to that
noble fish and by it's bite and powerful
| suction deprive it's victim of the greater
! part of his blood and so bring him to an
| lgnobie death. Large swordfish weighing
from 300 to 800 pounds are not infrequently
| seen leaping from the water to a height of
| no less than ten feet. apparently trying to
| shake off these parasites; but the latter
are seldom dislodged. sticking close like the
| great barnacles seen upon the back and
| sides of whales. when these giistening
| monsters rise from the water near ces-
| Sci.
'Swordfish is Gurus" was the skipper's
pregnant summary of the charact eriSticS Of
this Interesting genus of the piscene group.
| They're as smart as chain lghtnin' when
| They're walked up. an stupid CLAIMS
| when they're dozin'. A swordfsh a sun
| min 'imself on top of the water is as in
nercent as er baby, an you n come right
! up an nail i'm with harpoon through
! is harslet. Almost easy as chopin
| bump often log. But if e happens to have
| one corner of one of is big eyes open. that
is. open to see with ye know. not jest
! open a moonin' at the sun like a big. fat.
| ole fool-why, there's no use sneakin' UP
| to m. He'll run fer 1t jest before you
| git near enough to heave an iron. An if
q happens to git mad at the schooner,
! why. Great Scott. I've seen um charge
on it like a torpedo boat. and ram their
| blade right through the piankin'. Ever
| hear about the way the Blue Bell of
| ProvincetOwn sprung er leak last summer
right out here on this end Of Georges?
I Well Bill keene he's skipper aboard OF
| her, he run 'er alongside of lis day
| for a sociable sort of a game with me. an
! sez ee, We're a-leakin, Nathan. Have to
1 keep the pump a-goin' twenty-five strokes
! er SO ev'ry hour or she takes in too much
| for easy saiin'. Some er the boys thinks
| we've bumped er whale but | low gut
| er swordfish blade through u.s.. Sure
enough. come to that vessel up on the
rine railway there to Gloucester, they
| found er big piece of Swsrdfish blade
stuck clean through the plankin and three
inches through the sheathin', an broke off
| erbout in the middle er the blade the
outside. That shows what er husky sort
| of er brute er swordfsh is when 'e's
feelin' fairly good and ready fer er fight"
An Exciting Business.
The outer edge of Georges Bank is not
far from the landward side Of the gulf
! stream, the highway followed by the mi
grating fish as they come north in the
| summer from the Gulf of Mexico and the
| southern Atlantic. where they spend the
! cooler portions of the year. The small
! fish and squids upon which they feed here
| are available at that time, which either
partly or wholly accounts for the journey.
| But what part of the banks will be the
| scene of their activities is a puzzle. to
| whose solving the shippers of scores OF
| New England fishing craft devote their best
m. ntai power. The bank is 100 miles long
| and from twenty to forty wide, extending
! along on the edge of the continental
! shoulder. off the Massachusetts coast.
| Sometimes a large school of swordfish re-
wards the fisherman who goes the first of
July to the extreme outer edge Of the bank.
But the school is likely to disappear as
| suddenly a phantom, and no fins be
seen for another week. 1t is this
certainty which makes one of the fasci-
nations of the work, and any fisherman
will tell you that though in the long run
he has made more money from Seining
| and trawling yet the annual return of the
swordfish season finds him anxious
ever to ship for Georges and chase the
tiger of the seas" for few toilsome but
exciting and delightful weeks. There is
none of the monotony OF the setting and
hauling of travis with no fish. the depres-
sion of days and nights of anchorage in
the fogs. but every day is passed in sail
ing back and forth across the fishing
grounds and when the fish are found all
is stir and excitement and activity as long
as fins are in sight.
The mass Of ice In the hold allows the
taking of plenty of fresh meat and vege-
tables for the table. and the lusty fisher
men Chamber down the ladder into the
forecastle four times day for the liberal
re freshment provided by the cook. Boiled
beef potatoes, cabbages. onions. variety
of cakes and pies, evaporated apple and
other dried fruits, these are some OF the
staples of diet in Boston fishing schooner
.'out to Georges" The one thing never
seen on the table is the thing that
costs little nothing there, namely, fresh
fish. I'D be mighty hungry before I'd eat
any fresh fish," one of these jolly bank
ers'' remarked in an Atlantic avenue res
taurant last summer. "A little smoked
herrin or salt cod will do and then,
but not too often"