SWORD^FISH, SPEAR-FISH AND CUTLASS-FISH. 255 



is discarded and the species of America is assumed to be identical with 

 that of the Indian Ocean. 



The materials in the National Museum consist of a skeleton and a 

 painted plaster cast of the specimen taken near Newport, R. I., in 1872, 

 and a drawing made from the same, while fresh, by Mr. J. H. Blake. 



The occurrence of the Sail-fish is, as has been already stated, very 

 unusual. Marcgrave saw it in Brazil as early as 1648. Sagra and Poey 

 mention that it has been seen about Cuba, and Schomburgk includes it in 

 his Barbadoes list. The specimen in the United States National Museum 

 was taken off Newport, R. I., in August, 1872, and given to Prof. Baird 

 by Mr. Samuel Powell, of Newport. No others were observed in our 

 waters until March, 1878, when, according to Mr. Neyle Habersham, of 

 Savannah, Ga., two were taken by a vessel between Savannah and Indian 

 River, Fla., and were brought to Savannah, where they attracted much 

 attention in the market. In 1S73, according to Mr. E. G. Blackford, a 

 specimen in a very mutilated condition was brought from Key West to 

 New York City. 



No observations have been made in this country, and recourse must be 

 had to the statements of observers in the other hemisphere. 



In the life of Sir Stamford Raffles, is printed a letter from Singapore, 

 under date of November 30, 1822, with the following statement : 



" The only amusing discovery we have recently made is that of a sailing 

 fish, called by the natives, Ikaii layer, of about ten or twelve feet long, 

 which hoists a mainsail, and often sails in the manner of a native boat, 

 and with considerable swiftness. I have sent a set of the sails home, as 

 they are beautifully cut and form a model for a fast-sailing boat. A\*hen 

 a school of these are under sail together they are frequently mistaken for 

 a fleet of native boats." 



The fish referred to is in all likelihood HistiopJiortis gladius, a species 

 very closely related to, if not identical, with our own. 



The Cutlass-fish, Trichiurus lepUirus, unfortunately known in Eastern 

 Florida and at Pensacola as the "Sword-fish"; at New Orleans, in the 

 St. John's River, and at Brunswick, Ga., it is known as the "Silver Eel," 

 on the coast of Texas as " Sabre-fish," while in the Indian River region 

 it is called the " Skipjack." No one of these names is particularly appli- 

 cable, and the latter being pre-occupied, it would seem advantageous to 

 use in this country the name " Cutlass-fish," which is current for the same 

 species in the British West Indies. 



