2 44 AMERICAN FISHES. 



" Last Wednesday the court of common pleas — rather a strange place, 

 by-the-by, for inquiring into the natural history of fishes — was engaged 

 for several hours in trying to determine under what circumstances a 

 Sword-fish might be able to escape scot-free after thrusting his snout into 

 the side of a ship. The gallant ship ' Dreadnought,' thoroughly repaired 

 and classed A-i at Lloyd's, had been insured for £3,000 against all risks 

 of the seas. She sailed on March 10, 1864, from Colombo, for London. 

 Three days later the crew, while fishing, hooked a Sword-fish. Xiphias, 

 however, broke the line, and a few moments after leaped half out of the 

 water, with the object, it should seem, of taking a look at his persecutor, 

 the ' Dreadnought.' Probably he satisfied himself that the enemy was 

 some abnormally large cetacean, which it was his natural duty to attack 

 forthwith. Be this as it may, the attack was made, and at four o'clock 

 the next morning the captain was awakened with the unwelcome intelli- 

 gence that the ship had sprung a leak. She was taken back to Colombo, 

 and thence to Cochin, where she hove down. Near the keel was found a 

 round hole, an inch in diameter, running completely through the copper 

 sheathing and planking. 



"As attacks by Sword-fish are included among sea-risks, the insurance 

 company was willing to pay the damages claimed by the owners of the 

 ship if only it could be proved that the hole had really been made by a 

 Sword-fish. No instance had ever been recorded in which a Sword-fish 

 had been able to withdraw his sword after attacking a ship. A defense 

 was founded on the possibility that the hole had been made in some other 

 way. Prof. Owen and Mr. Frank Buckland gave their evidence, but 

 neither of them could state quite positively whether a Sword-fish which 

 had passed its beak through three inches of stout planking could withdraw 

 without the loss of its sword. Mr. Buckland said that fish have no power 

 of ' backing,' and expressed his belief that he could hold a Sword-fish by 

 the beak ; but then he admitted that the fish had considerable lateral 

 power, and might so -'wriggle its sword out of the hold.' And so the in- 

 surance company will have to pay nearly £600 because an ill-tempered fish 

 objected to be hooked, and took its revenge by running full tilt against 

 copper sheathing and oak planking." 



The food of the Sword-fish is of a very mixed nature. 



Dr. Fleming found the remains of Sepias in its stomach, and also small 

 fishes. Oppian stated that it eagerly devours the Hippuris (probably 

 CoryphcBJia) . A specimen taken off Seaconnet, July 22, 1S75, had in its 

 stomach the remains of small fish, perhaps Stromateus triacantlnis. and 

 jaws of a squid, perhaps Loligo PeaUL Their food in the Western Atlan- 

 tic consists for the most part of the common schooling species of fishes. 

 They feed on menhaden, mackerel, bonitoes, bluefish, and other species 



