52 Big Game Fishes 



the Atlantic, gorging itself with the great flying- 

 fish or squid in the Pacific ; everywhere a terror 

 to the smaller denizens of the deep. For cen- 

 turies it has been caught in great nets in the 

 Mediterranean Sea, on whose shores it is con- 

 sidered a dainty ; and from the mouth of the St. 

 Lawrence to Cape Cod it is more or less common 

 in summer and occasionally harpooned, its cres- 

 cent-shaped tail being seen on many a longshore 

 fish house from Cape Breton to Swampscott, a 

 talisman of good luck. 



The fishermen along the coast of Nova Scotia, 

 especially in the vicinity of Cape Breton, the 

 mouth of the Myra River, and the region about 

 Sydney, have long been familiar with the big fish 

 which they call the " albacore," and which chases 

 schools of herring into the great bays in July, 

 August, and September, often playing havoc with 

 nets. From inquiries among fishermen, I believe 

 that the Atlantic fish averages much larger than 

 those of the Pacific coast, entire schools of which 

 often range from eighty to one hundred and 

 fifty pounds. In the Mediterranean, five hun- 

 dred pounds is considered a large fish, and two 

 hundred, according to Kingsley, is the average. 

 At Cape Cod, near which they are often har- 



