The Cook County herald., 1904-11-19

The swordfish is lord and master
# every creature that lives in the sea.
De is an absolute ruler, and holds the
'ower of life and death over all the
inhabitants of the mighty deep.
What about sharks?"I hear. some
eader say. The shark is fraud, a
akir, a sneak and a coward He eats
alrion and attacks only cripples and
eaklings; he is disgusting to look
t. Every deeD-sea fisherman holds
he shark in utter contempt, not fear
'e is the most despised inhabitant
the ocean. The only man a shark
yer attacks is dead man or man
le shark thinks is dead Get the
'hark once for all in your mind as
e hyena OF the sea.
The swordfish is a ruler by divine
-Ght' If there ever was one. He
ooks every inch a king. He is the
lcarnatiOn OF Independence, courage
.trength and speed. He eats nothing
has not killed with his own sword
a open battle, and when angered or
Cunded he will attack anything
float The killing OF the swordfish
S more suggestive Of hunting big
anne than OF catching any kind Of
ish. Indeed the sport may be justly
compared to hunting lions or grizzly
oears. The element OF danger is,
believe, even greater, for these ami
nals are not more ferocious when
wounded than is the swordfsh, and
on have the added danger OF being
crowned if upset by one of their
charges.
1t was o'clock one July morning.
The sun made the eastern sky look
ike fire in the oil tanks at Green
5oint. The Earl and Nettie, a two
master, sailed out of Block Island har-
Der under pOWG". With Capt Tai at
the wheel. bound for the sworGfishing
grounds, thirty miles to sea off Mon
'2uk Point
Ihe proper equipment for hunting
;WOrcfish is a twomasted schooner,
having twenty-five horse power
gasoline engine to furnish power"
FOR rapid maneuvering, and a crew of
six men, who are not only expert sail
ors, but are also expert swordfish
hunters, as this is very special and
dangerous kind of sport, and one
which novices had better let alone. A
heavy bar of iron is firmly bOlted to
the free end Of the schooner's bow
spirit; it is long enough to reach to
:he waistband Of an average man, and
stand perpendicular and almost at
right angle to the bowsprit. A strong
iron band bent into a half circle is
welded at it's middle to the free end
CT the upright bar, the half circle be-
ing large enough to admit a mans
body. The free ends Of this semi
circular band are braced by iron bars,
which slant backward and are bo)ted
10 the sides of the bowsprit some dis
tance from its end. This structure is
called the pulpit And it makes it
possible for man to stand safely on
the very end of the bowsprit with
both hands free while he leans
against the semi-circular band. which
catches him around the middle. The
man in the pulpit" is called the
"striker," and it is his business to
drive the dart into the swordfish. He
has a wooden pole some fifteen feet
long, in one end of which an iron rod
two feet long is firmly set. barbed,
dart. made of brass Or bronze, four
inches long, is loosely fitted on the
end of this rod. In the middle Of the
dart there is hole, in which q thin,
strong rope is fastened. This rope
masses taut along the pole and Is
rrasped by the strikers hand along
with the pole, and thus the dart is
kept in position on the end OF the iron
rod until it is driven through the
swordfish, when the striker lets go
the rope and draws back the rod ard
pole, leaving the dart buried in the
Gsh's body or hanging below its belly
and at right angles to it, thus rem
dering it impossible to pull out the
dart when the fish rushes through the
water or when it is being hauled
aboard. The rope, the end of which
is attached to the dart as described
above, is three hundred feet long and
is coiled up in tub on deck. To the
other end of this rope keg is attach
ed by a bride fastened round eacn
end Of it. This keg is about the size
of an ordinary beer keg, but lightS-...
and is painted black SO it can be read
lily seen at a distance.
Three stanch rowboats in tow COM
plete the rig" necessary for sword
fish hunting. On July 4, 1904, at
a. M, the Earl and Nettie lifted her
anchor, put up her sails and, with her
gasoline engine giving An imitation
Of a Gatling or Nordenfelt rapid-fire
gun in action, passed out Of the bar
hor at Block island.