TALES OF FISHES 



of the swordfish is simple in the extreme. It is the 

 harpoon with the detachable head. When the fish 

 is struck, the head of the harpoon remains in the 

 body of the fish, and carries with it a light rope 

 which is either made fast or held by a man in a 

 small boat, or is attached to some kind of a buoy, 

 which is towed through the water by the struggling 

 fish, and which marks its whereabouts after death. 



The harpoon consists of a pole fifteen or sixteen 

 feet in length, usually of hickory or some other hard 

 wood, upon which the bark has been left, so that the 

 harpooner may Tiave a firmer hand-grip. This pole 

 is from an inch and a half to two inches in diameter, 

 and at one end is provided with an iron rod, or 

 "shank," about two feet long and five-eighths of an 

 inch in diameter. This "shank" is fastened to the 

 pole by means of a conical or elongated, cuplike ex- 

 pansion at one end, which fits over the sharpened 

 end of the pole, to which it is secured by screws or 

 spikes. A light line extends from one end of the 

 pole to the point where it joins the "shank" and in 

 this line is tied a loop by which is made fast another 

 short line which secures the pole to the vessel or 

 boat, so that when it is thrown at the fish it cannot 

 be lost. 



Upon the end of the "shank" fits the head of 

 the harpoon, known by the names swordfish-iron, 

 lily-iron, and Indian dart. The form of this weapon 

 has undergone much variation. The fundamental 

 idea may very possibly have been derived from the 

 Indian fish-dart, numerous specimens of which are 

 in the National Museum, from various tribes of 

 Indians of New England, British America, and the 



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