Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-10-15
FRANK BROTHERS & GO '' sa s'''h aai ia i's s,s s'
HOW sWoRDFIsH ARE TAKEN
The Fishermen Watch for Their Wave ing Dorsa1 Fin, Then Throw r Their Spears

Tn all that blue and dancing water ol Ehe open ocean between Montauk Point, on the east end of Long island and Block island, No Mans Land and Mar tha's Vineyard, the. swordnsh Is at home in the summer months That is the grown-up Bwordfsh is; nobody ever saw really little one there, says the Hartford Courant. They show up as visitors to this country when they reach say 75 pounds in weight. It is said that the young are found only in the Mediterranean. How the mature ones learned the attractions of sufn- mer at the New England coast resorts is to be guessed by those who h&v8 active imaginations, and how the fish find, their way over here year after year is equally puzxIing.
 They come and feed on the sduid. young mackerel and other objects of interest that they encounter. This fat- tening diet moves them along to d weight of sometimes as much as 500
 pounds. With their swords and theis amazing powers Of 1ocomotion they have no fear of anything and they lie pn top of the ocean as serene as IA there was nothing else in creation. The big black dorsal fin waves gracefully to and fro in the air as the dBh 1iea there. and often the tail sticks out a1- most as conspicuously. That is what gives them away. It seems almost in- credible that on the great expansc of the ocean so slight an object should ba noticeable, but ft is discovering the waving fins that the fish are founds The boats searching for them has lookout who scans the surface of tho sea and finds what he is looking for. too. It indicates that there must bs . lot Of fish about.
 After a swordfsh has been sighted the next thing to do IS to keep him m sight until the vessel can be brought around behind him. Usually she is moving so fast as to run past ct first. Sometimes the fish sees her ana quickly sinks himself out of sight, buu usually he stands by and the only trick is to keep the eye on him. Tha vessel comes up behind to avoid disturbing him, and when the bow is directly over his idle and fmpassive majesty skilled hand takes up lance and drives i4 down into his back. The arrow-ahaped dart at the end dislodges itself from the shaft, which comes back to tha vessel, and of goes the swordfish, with the dart sticking to him like poor re- lation. He is no longer a sleepy and ioafng idler, but magnificent fish exc erting all his enormous powers to esq cape.
 A cask is tied to the rope, which has the dart at its other end, and when the fish is struck the cask is thrown over- board. Then away it sails, sometimes out of sight and at other times skiua- ming the water and making the foam fly as it dashes along. Tn the course of time the fish tiresA himself so that sailor puts out in dory and picks up the cask. Then he hauls slowly on the rope and gently brings his catch to the top. If the fish is ugly, there is oppor- tunity for lot of trouble. But if he comes in peacably he soon gets cut in the throat from sharp knife and goes out of business ssammarily. Then the weighty body is hoisted aboard and the prize Is secured. New York has no fancy for swordf1sh steak. which is mighty good eating, but Boston is ready buyer, and the wholesale prices range from six So eight to I5 or % cents q pound, according to the sup- sss.