322 HISTORY AND METHODS OP TUE FISHERIES. 



length from G to nine feet, and as we returned to Wood's Holl I felt that I had well earned my 

 experience." 



A correspondent of the Philadelphia Times gives the following spirited account of spearing 

 swordfish off Cape May : 



"'Hey-o!' came from the man in the cross-trees. 



'"Where away?' yelled the skipper, unhooking his booted leg from the wheel and glancing 

 around. 



'"Right off the weather bow,' sang out the mate, who had sprung into the rigging. 



'"Aye, I see him,' replied the skipper. A moment later all eyes on board were watching a 

 sharp glistening fin that was darting through the water in the same general direction as ourselves. 



"The mate now took his place in the pulpit, and seizing the steel lily stood ready for the game, 

 while the rope was carefully coiled and the keg made ready to toss at the right moment. For ten 

 minutes the vessel and fish moved along gallantly side by side. The skipper, however, was grad- 

 ually hauling the vessel on the wind, and the two approached each other until the swordfish was 

 close alongside. Then came the supremo moment. The skipper wound away at the wheel, and 

 the little vessel shot into the wind, laying the swordfish right across the bows, and as it rushed 

 along amid the foam, the harpooner raised his weapon ; for a moment the steel lily flashed, then, 

 with a crushing sound, it entered the back of the fish. 



'"Stand clear the line!' shouted the mate, as he sprang back upon deck and the schooner fell 

 away again. 



" The warning was well heeded, as the rope was rushing over the side like a ' streak of greased 

 lightning,' as the skipper had it. It was soon exhausted, and as the end came the mate held aloft 

 the keg, and as the last fathom of rope rushed away, tossed it over, and away it went, followed by 

 a wave of foam and spray, to ultimately tire the gamey fish. 



"We had now gained on the flying keg, and, as the dory was hauled alongside, two of the crew 

 and the writer as volunteer, tumbled in, and in a few moments had the keg alongside. The oars 

 were then pulled in, and in a moment later the bowman had seized the keg and the dory was rush- 

 ing along a swordfish express. The work of 'taking in' now commenced, one man steering the 

 dory after the erratic steed, the other slowly hauling in on the rope. As the fish felt the strain it 

 renewed its exertions and started off at a furious pace that threatened to leave the vessel far 

 behind. But the spurt was of short duration, and the dory was rapidly hauled ahead, until finally 

 the sharp fin was seen close by, and with a rush the fish was laid alongside, one man holding it 

 while the rest got to the windward to prevent a capsize. 



"Hauled partly out of water by the rope, the great fish gave a vicious cut to the left with its 

 sharp weapon that caused all hands to drop as if sent for, and for some time this lowly position 

 was the best, all things considered. The rope was kept taut, and the struggles of the game were 

 terrific. If a head was raised it seemed immediately to become the object of attack. Finally, 

 however, an oar was lifted and a violent blow upon the head placed the swordfish liors du combat. 

 The schooner now came alongside, a block and tackle was rigged, and the gamey fish was hoisted 

 aboard." 



8. THE CAPTURE OF SWORDFISH BY HOOK AND LINE. 



One or two instances are on record of the capture of swordfish upon an ordinary hand-line, 

 and it is probable that this is much more common than has been usually supposed. Capt. George 

 H. Martin, of Gloucester, informed me that he had seen seven caught in this manner in one day 

 in the South Channel. They were caught in water 15 to 25 fathoms deep, on the old-fashioned 



