The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-13

kinds of swordfish can be .seen-Xiphi-
us gladius, Tetrapturus alhidus, and
Histophorus. The fish engaged in the
battle described were of the kind first
named. 1t is the ordinary swordfish
found on both sides of the Atlantic. in
appearance, trim and shipshape-a
veritable privateer. 1t is a piratical
cousin of the mackerel The striking
feature is the sword, which is a con-
tinuation of the upper jaw into q
sharp. bony point. The jaws are tooth
less, the lower one being hard or bony
The eyes are large and prominent. and
the tail sickle-shaped and powerful.
The whole appearance of the fish
shows speed and activity.
1t attains a length of from five to
nine feet, and when working at full
speed can pierce a wooden hull sheath
ed with copper. One of the most re-
markable cases on record is that of the
ship D'eadpought. One day at sea the
crew felt a sudden shock, and soon
after that the ship sprung a leak and
had to put into port, 1t was found
when she was dry-docked that a large
swordflsh had struck her The sword
had penetrated the copper and then the
thick oak hull, passing through the
thick pine sheathing and finally enter
ing the head of a barrel. The sword
was broken off short, partly plugging
the wound.
The ship Wanderer was struck in the
South Atlantic in the same way. and
the pumps had to be manned. When
she was locked, the terrible sword was
found. The United States government
has recently collected testimony relat-
ing to such cases, and ii makes a most
interesting showing Hundreds of in
stances have been brought to light
where swordfsh have struck vessels
with disastrous results. one case cited
being the sinking of the sloop Red
Hot, which was employed around New
Bedford by the United States Fish
Company. The swordfish. undoubtedly
enraged at the presence of what 1t con-
sidered an enemy dashed at the vessel
and sunk it.
An Unusual Specimen.
One of the finest specimens of the Te-
trapturus albidus ever seen in Califor-
MIA waters was found recently on the
shore off San Diego. 1t was a magnih-
cent specimen, about six feet long, the
body massive and powerful and re-
markable for its shape. II did not tap
er to the TAIL, as many Of it's tribe do
but continued large all the way to the
tail, which was powerful. 1t had long
dorsal fin, almost the entire length Of
the back, and its sword was short. Evil
IDENTIFY the sword had been partly brok-
en- off in a fierce combat with another
/ of its kind. The head was large and
so were the eyes An examination of
the carcass showed that it had doubt
less succumbed to a fierce thrust
I from an enemy, possibly a
| Riphius, or long swordfish, as 1t had a
! single cut, two and half inches wide,
/ that penetrated the entire body like a
knife-thrust The defeated swordfish
| had apparently been carrying on an
| unequal fight. Armed with a short
| sword or dagger, it had been struck by
| a cavalrxman of the sea, whose keen
rapier had killed 1t.
when 1t came drifting in" said an
old sea-dog, Il thought it was a por-
poise, 1t was so big; but when IT. got in
shore / could see it was something like
! swordfsh. though / never saw the
like of it before. Its sword was short
but it had body like a batterin' ram
and anything it struck would have
| given in, sure
A singular thing in connection with
the sword1sh is that little or nothing is
! known regarding its breeding habits
! and young swordfsh, 1t is said, has
never been seen on the California
\ coast. The young are curious crea-
lures, with enormous eyes and the
jaws, upper and lower. of equal length.
The swordfish Of California are rare
| ly brought into port, being found prin-
cipally at sea or on the windward coast
| of the Los Angeles county islands,
| where they follow the schools of mack
erel and other fish, upon which they
| feed. They are not seen in sufficient
numbers to Justify fishermen in fol-
! lowing them.