[85] MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY OF THE SWORD-FISHES. 373 
proportion of the fish then taken were salted and shipped to West In- 
dies and the Southern States; especially was this the case with the fish 
taken around Noman’s Land, Vineyard Sound; now nearly all are con- 
sumed fresh, and the average price is somewhat higher than then. 
It is impossible to say how many smacks, &c., are engaged in the 
fishery; there are about a dozen from here, but every Vineyard boat, 
packet, &c., carry the gear in the season, with outrigger or stand on the 
bowsprit for taking them. Captain Tripp told me yesterday he had 
brought in 52; some have caught 80 or 90 each. About 1,000 fish have 
been brought here the past year, and passed through the hands of our 
marketmen; about 500 more have been consumed on the Vineyard and 
Nantucket. The catch carried to New London and Boston I am unable 
to state. 
It will keep good packed in ice perhaps longer than any other fish, and 
is therefore more easily transported fresh to the surrounding towns and 
cities. 
Should any of the above statements be of account to you, I think you 
can rely on their general accuracy. 
Yours, truly, 
JOHN H. THOMSON. 
LY. 
FROM WILLARD NYE, JR., OF NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
NEW BEDFORD, March 24, 1875. 
DEAR SIR: I find that the Sword-fish which Capt. Dyer caught was 
at the west, not east, of South America. He says they are very plenty 
off the Peruvian coast, a pumber being often in sight; the largest he 
ever saw was one caught by himself about 150 miles from shore; the 
ship’s crew lived on it for several days, and they then salted 400 pounds— 
supposed the fish must have weighed from 900 to 1,000. 
A few years ago Captain Dyerstruck aSword-fish from a30-foot boat, 
about 40 miles southwest of Noman’s Land, threw over the keg, tacked, 
and stcod by to the windward of same. When about abreast of it the 
man at masthead said, ‘“‘ Why, here he is, right along side.” @The fish 
was then about 10 feet from the boat, going in the same direction. On 
getting where he could see the splash of the water around the bow, 
he turned and struck her about two feet from the stem, just below the 
water-line. The sword went through the plank, 13-inch cedar, into a 
lot of loose iron ballast, breaking off short at the fish’s head. 
Captain Allen says, while cruising for whales, he has faund the 
Sword-fish very abundant off Peru and Chili, from the immediate coast 
to 300 miles out, beyond which they are seldom seen; are very plenty 
during the month of January, when they feed on the common mackerel, 
with which the waters at that time abound. The largest he has ever 
caught weighed about 6V0 pounds. Beth Captains Allen and Dyer 
