The Vinita weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1905, 1904-11-03
HOW swoRDFlsH ARE TAKEN
The Fishermen Watch for Their wav-
ing Dorsal Fin, Then Throw
Their Spears

Their spears.
In ell that blue and dancing water OF
the open ocean between Montauk Point.
on the east end OF Long island and
Block island. No Mans Land and Mar
tha's Vineyard. the swordfish Is al
home In the summer months That Is
the grown-up swordnsh Is: nobod.
ever saw really little one there. says
the Hartford Courant They show up
as yisitors 10 this country when they
reach say rs pounds in weight It Is
said that the young are found only in
thu Mediterranean. How the mature
ones learned the attractions OF SUM
mer at the New England coast resorts
ia 10 be guessed BY those who have
active imaginations. and how the fish
hnd their way over here year after
year II equally puzxling.
They come and feed on the auuid.
young mackerel and other objects OF
interest that they encounter. This fat
tenlng diet moves them along TO
weight OF sometimes as much ae 500
pounds. With their swords and thei~
amazing powers OF locomotion the
have no fear OF anything, and they lie
on top OF the ocean as serene as If
there was nothing else 10 creation The
big black dorsal I'm waves gracefully
10 and fro In the air as the fish lies
there, and often the tail sticks out al
most as conspIcuously. That Is what
gives them away Il seems almost n
credible that on the great expanse OF
the ocean 80 slight an object should BE-
noticeable. but II Is discovering the
waving fms that the fish are found
The boats searching for them has
lookout who scans the surface OF the
sea and finds what he Is looking for
too. II indicates that there must be
lot Of fish about.
After swordfsh has been sighted
the next thing to do is 10 leep him 1
sight until the vessel can be brought
around behind him. Usually she e
moving so fast as to run past at first
Sometimes the FISH sees her and
quickly sinks himself out of sight. but
usually he stands by and the only trlci
Is to keep the eye on him. The vessel
comes up behind 10 avoid disturbing
him. and when the bow Is directly over
his idle and lmpasslve majesty a SKILLED
hand takes up a lance and drives Il
down into his back. The arrow-shaped
dart at the end dislodges itself from
the shaft. which comes back TO the
vessel, and on goes the swordhsh. with
the dart sticking TO him like poor re-
lation He ls no longer a sleepy and
loanng idler. but a magnificent fish ex-
erting all his enormous powers to es-
caps.
A cask Is tied 70 the rope, which has
the dart at It's other end. and when the
FISH Is struck the cask Is thrown over
board Then away Il sails, sometimes
out Of sight and at other times skim
ming the water and making the foam
ny as Il dashes along In the course OF
time the fsh tires himself 80 that a
sailor puts out In dory and picks up
the cask Then he hauls slowly on the
rope and gently brings his catch 10 the
top. n the flsh IL ugly. there Ia oppoy-
tunity for a lot OF trouble But II he
comes In peacably he soon gets q cut
In the throat from a sharp knife and
goes out Of business summarlly Then
the welghty body Is holsted aboard and
the prize Is secured New York has
no fancy for swordfsh steak. which Il
mighty good eating. but Boston IS
ready buyer. and the wholesale prices
range from six to eight 70 IS or %
cents a pound, according to the sup
ply.