Middletown transcript., 1904-10-03
HOW TO CATCH swonprIs1E
Watch for Their waving .
Fin, Then Spear Them.

This Is the swordfsh season, &.
Hartford Courant In all that 81 ari
dancing water Of the open ocean betwe,
Montauk Point. en- the cast end OF LIN
Island and Block Island, No Mans Lani
and Martha's Vineyard. the swordfsh il
at home in the summer mcnths That Is,
the grown-up swordfish is; nobody ever
saw really little one thee. They show
up as visitors to this country when they
reach, say seventy-fiye pounds in weight.
1t Is said that the young are found only
in the Mediterran, an. How the maiur,
ones learned the attractions of a sumner
at the New England coast resorts Is to be
guessed by those who have active imagi-
nations, and how the fish find their way
over here year after year is equally puz-
zling.
Ihey come and fed on the squid. young
mackeral and other objects of interest
that they encounter. The fattening Diet
moves them along to a weight of some-
times as much as 500 pounds. With Their
swords and their amazing powers CT loco
motion they have no fear of anything.
and they lie On the top of the ocean As
serene as If there was nothing else n
creation. The big black dorsal fin waves
gracefully to and fro in the air as the
hsh lies there, and often the tail sticks
out almost as conspicuously That is what
gives them away. 1t seems almost iu-
credible that on the great expanse CT
the ocean so slight an object should b.
noticeable, but it is by discovering tn.
waving fins that the fish are fund. The
boats searching for them has a lookout
who scans the surface OF the sea and finds
what he Is looking FOR, too 1t indi, atcs
that there must be a lot OF the fish about
After swcrdfsh 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 t6s; a. ID
run past at first Sometimes the fish Sc
her and quickly sinks himself out II eh,
out usually he stands by and the My
trick Is to keep the eye on him. The ves-
sci comes up behind to avoid disturbing
him, and when the bow is directly ovsf
his idle and impassive majesty a skilled
hand takes up a lance and drives II do
into his back. The arrow-sbaped dat at
the end dislodges Itself from the sha.:
which comes back to the vessel, anG of
goes the swordfsh with the dart sticking
longer sleepy and loafing idler. brit a
magnificent FISH exerting all his tn5r.nous
powers to escape
A cask is tied to the rofe which Has
he dart at its other end, and when the
ish is struck the cask is thro&n over
board. Then away 1t sails s m mes
'ut Of sight and at other times skmming
he water and making the foam ny as It
iashes along. In the course OF time The
ish tires himself so that a sailor puts Gu.
n dory and picks up the cask. Thtn lie
lauls slowly on the rope and gently
'rings his catch to the tsp. II the fish Is
Ugly, there is opportunity for a lot Gf
rouble. But if he comes in peacefully
lie socns get cut In the throat from Z
harp knife and goes out OF bus:ne s sum
narly. Then the weigh body is hNi.tsi
board and the prize is secured. New
'ork has no fancy for swordfsh st-aF,
'hich is mighty good eating, but Boston
5 ready buyer, and the Wholesale price
an~es from TO s 10 Is TO 20 cents a
ouni, Gcco ding 10 the supply.