134 FISH-CULTURAL. ASSOCIATION. 
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, 
making the water fly like rain. About fifty feet of line had gone 
out when six of us managed to get a fair hold on the line, and 
attempted to try our strength. If six individuals were ever 
jerked around in a more vivacious manner, they have my utmost 
sympathies. Now the swordfish would land us altogether in a 
heap, then slacken up and take us unawares, throwing us to the 
deck with a force that fully came up to my preconceived ideas 
of the sport. He would undoubtedly have dragged us all over 
board if the rope had not been sure and fast. This sort of fuz 
was kept up for about fifteen minutes, when the fish perceptibly 
weakened, and the long rushes to the right and the left grew 
feebler and feebler, until we ventured to haul in. At last we had 
the brute alongside. A rope was rigged from the peak and fast- 
ened around the long sword, and the monster was rolled on 
board the sloop. We measured our game, which was nine feet, 
six inches long. Though I have frequently caught sharks which 
measured thirteen feet, ] never saw any that showed near the 
strength of this peculiar creature. 
‘We cruised all day in the vicinity, and succeeded in capturing 
three more, varying in length from six to nine feet, and as we 
returned to Wood’s Holl I felt that I had well earned my expe- 
rience.” 
THE CAPTURE OF SWORDFISH BY HOOK AND LINE. 
One or two instances are on record of the capture of swordfish 
upon an ordinary hand-line, and it is probable that this is much 
more common than has been usually supposed. Captain George 
H. Martin, of Gloucester, informed me that he had seen seven 
caught in this manner in one day in the South Channel. They 
were caught in water fifteen to twenty-five fathoms deep, on the 
old-fashioned George’s cod-hook, with a six-inch shank. Mack- 
erel were used for bait ; these were split down the tail so that 
the shank of the hook could be entirely hidden in the gash. 
