THE SWORDFISH FISHERY. 321 



6. THE PERILS AND THE ROMANCE OF SWORDFISHING. 



The pursuit of the swordfish is much more exciting than ordinary fishing, for it resembles the 

 hunting of large animals upon the laud, and partakes more of the nature of the chase. There is 

 no slow and careful baiting and patient waiting, and no disappointment caused by the accidental 

 capture of worthless " bait-stealers." The game is seen and followed, and outwitted by wary 

 tactics, and killed by strength of arm and skill. The swordflsh is a powerful antagonist some- 

 times, and sends his pursuers' vessel into harbor leaking, and almost sinking, from injuries which, 

 he has inflicted. I have known a vessel to be struck -by-wounded swordfish as many as twenty 

 times in one season. There is even the spice of personal danger to give savor to the chase 

 for the men are occasionally injured by the infuriated fish. One of Captain Ashby's crew was 

 severely wounded by a swordfish, which thrust his beak through the oak floor of a boat on which 

 he was standing and penetrated about two inches in his naked heel. The strange fascination 

 draws men to this pursuit when they have once learned its charm. An old swordfisherman, who 

 had followed the pursuit for twenty years, told me that when he was on Ihe cruising ground he 

 fished all night in his dreams, and that many a time he has bruised his hands and rubbed the skin 

 off his knuckles by striking them against the ceiling of his bunk when he raised his arms to thrust 

 the harpoon into visionary monster swordfishes. 



7. LANDSMEN'S DESCRIPTIONS OF SWORDFISHING. 



Mr. C. F. Holder, of New York, published in Forest and Stream February 17, 1876, the fol- 

 lowing description of a trip after ewordfish in Block Island Sound: 



"Lying all night in the harbor of Wood's Holl, we bad ample time to prepare for sport, and 

 at three o'clock in the morning our little sloop was swinging around, and, gathering herself 

 together, headed for Gay Head. The vessel was a common sloop of about 60 tons, its only pecul- 

 iarity being a stanchion with a curved top, to hold the harpoouer, rigged on the extreme end of 

 the bowsprit. At 9 o'clock we were out of sight of the Vineyard. The wind settling, I was informed 

 that I could go aloft and look out for the game. We were slowly moving along, and I was 

 scanning the horizon for miles around, when the man at the bow uttered a sound, which was a 

 sort of a cross between a cluck and a groan, which I saw meant ' port,' and that something had 

 been sighted. The sloop fell lazily away, and I then saw two dark forms with their razor-like fins 

 out of the water slowly moving along ahead of us. The captain signaled at once for me to come 

 down, and as I reached the deck the work commenced. The man waited until we were almost 

 upon them, and as one of them turned, as if in idle curiosity, to see what the great shadow meant, 

 he hurled a harpoon, and the next moment the huge fish sprang from the water and with a furious 

 twist tried to shake out the iron. So great was the effort that it fell on its side with a crash, and 

 for a moment was still, but it was only for a second. The line jumped into activity and rushed 

 out so you could not follow it, now swaying to and fro, and making the water fly like rain. About 

 50 feet of line had gone out, when six of us managed to get a fair hold on the line. He would 

 undoubtedly have dragged us all overboard if the rope had not been sure and fast. His struggles 

 were kept up for about fifteen minutes, after which he perceptibly weakened, and the long rushes 

 to the right and left grew feebler aud feebler, until we ventured to haul in. At last we had the 

 brute alongside. A rope was rigged from the peak and fastened around the long sword, and the 

 monster was rolled on board the sloop. We measured our prize, which was 9 feet 6 inches long. 



" We cruised about all day in the vicinity, and succeeded in capturing three more, varying in 

 SEC V 21 



