Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-17
HOW TO CATCH sWORDFIsH.
Watch for Their Waving Dorsal Fin,
Then Spear Them.

From the Hartford Courant.
This is the swordfish season. In all 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 Marthas Vineyard the swordfsh
Is at home In the summer months. That is,
the grown-up swordfsh is; nobody ever saw
really little one there. They show UP
visitors to this country when they reach
say seventy-five pounds in weight. 1t is
said that the young are found only in the
Mediterranean. How the mature ones
learned the attractions of a summer at the
New England coast resorts is to be guessed
by those who have active magma tons, and
how the fish find their way over here year
after year is equally puzzling.
They come and feed on the squid young
mackerel and other objects Of interest that
they encounter. This fattening diet moves
them along to weight of sometimes as
much as 500 pounds With their swords
and their amazing powers of locomotion
they have no fear of anything, and they
lie on the top of the ocean as serene as If
there was nothing else in creation The big
black dorsal fin waves gracefully to and
fro in the air as the fish lies there, and
often the tail sticks out almost as con-
spicuously. That is what gives them AWAY.
1t seems almost Incredible that on the great
expanse of the ocean so slight an object
should be noticeable, but it is by discover
ing the waving fins that the fish are found
The boats searching for them has a lookout
who scans the surface Of the sea and finds
what he is looking for, too. 1t indicates
that there must be lot of the fish about.
After a swordfish Is sighted the next
thing to do is to keep him in sight until
the vessel can be brought around behind
him. Usually she is 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
trick is to keep the eye on him. The YES
sci comes up behind to avoid disturbing
Idle and impressive majesty a skilled hand
takes up lance and drives it down into
his back The arrow-shaped dart at the
end dislodges itself from the shaft which
comes back to the vessel, and off goes the
swordfish with the dart sticking to him
like a poor relation. He is no longer a
sleepy and loafing idler, but a magnificent
fish exerting all his enormous powers to
escape.
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 overheard
Then away it sails, sometimes out of sight
and at other times skimming the water and
making the foam. fly as it dashes along
In the course of time the fish tires himself
so. that sailor puts out in a 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 peaceably he soon gets a cut in the
throat from a sharp knife and goes out of
business summarily. Then the weighty
body is hoisted aboard and the prize is Sc
cured. New York has no fancy for sword
fish steak, which is mighty good eating but
Boston is a ready buyer, and the wholesale
price ranges from to s to 10 or 20 cents
pound, according to the supply.