FISHES. 201 



ments of death, — broad, sliarji, and cutting hooks, which arc cithir inserted into a long 

 pole, or fitted to the end of a short massive handle, which is deeply cut to enable the 

 hand to obtain a firmer hold of the weapon. In the midst of the enclosure, a little 

 black rowing-boat, manned by two oarsmen, contains the master-fisherman, from whom 

 emanate all orders, and who is ever at hand to encourage and lead on the workmen, 

 or to carry reinforcements from side to side, as they may be needed. 



"During all this time the capstans, which are fixed at the extremities of the net, 

 have never ceased turning ; and as the moving floor of the corpon gradually rises, the 

 tunnies begin to appear, and, on looking through the transparent water, we see the fish 

 darting uneasily from one side to the other of a vast enclosure in which they are im- 

 prisoned. Some of them rise to the surface, or even spring out of the water ; but woe 

 be to those who rise near one of the boats, for no sooner does one a]}pear than hands 

 of iron are stretched forth to bury their sharpened points in its sides. Even though ' 

 they may be wounded, the fish generally escape from the first attack ; for, beino- full of 

 life and strength, and in the enjoyment of entire liberty of motion within the laro-e 

 basin that encloses them, they tear themselves from the hands of their enemies, leaving 

 only a few bleeding shreds of flesh attached to the hooks ; but still the capstan turns 

 remorselessly to the modulated songs of the sailors, and the net rises higher and higher. 

 The master-fisherman is always at hand in his little boat to drive the tunnies towards 

 the edges of the net. Wounds are now dealt on every side ; and soon some fish, more 

 deeply struck than his companions, slackens his course, showing from time to time his 

 broad silvery sides, along which the black blood is streaming forth. At every new 

 stroke his resistance diminishes, and soon the victim pauses for an instant ; but that 

 instant is enough ; a dozen hooks are at once buried in his flesh, a dozen arms are bent 

 to lift him to the surface of the water. In vain the skin has given way ; each hook 

 that loses its hold is raised on high only to be buried still deeper in the quivering flesh ; 

 and soon the unfortunate animal is drawn to the side of the boat. In another moment 

 he is seized by two men, who, each grasping one of his large pectoral fins, lift him to 

 the beam which is placed behind tliom and throw him into the hold." 



The slaughter goes on, and, after two hours of carnage, symptoms of exhaustion 

 begin to a]i]iear, the fish almost cease to come to the surface, and the capstans are 

 again brought into play. Soon the iimer net is raised upwards to a level with the 

 water, and " a picked crew ))ursuo the tunnies within the narrow limits to which they 

 are now circumscribed, and, striking tliem with long harpoons, urge them forward 

 against the hooks which are projected from the boats, and which sjjeedily secure 

 them." 



As a result of the haul, " in three liours 554 fisii h.ad been harpooned, weighing on 

 an average 176 pounds. Besides this, the chamber of the madrague still contained 

 about 400 captives; the proprietor might therefore count, at the very beginning of the 

 season, upon having caught about 70 tons of the tunny fish, which would, at the least, 

 be equivalent to the sum of 43,000 francs. Here, then, in one fishing, nearly enough 

 had been gained to pay the whole expenses of the tonnara." 



One of the most esteemed fishes of the American markets is the scombrid known 

 in the United States as the Spanish mackerel, but very different from .the so-called 

 Spanish mackerel of England. The English fish of that name. Scomber colias, is 

 closely related to the true mackerel, but the American fish so named belongs to a 

 widely distinct genus, and is the Scomberoniorus niaculatas of American authors, and 

 the Cybium tnacidatian of EuropeaiL This fish is slender and elongated, with a small 



