314 SCOMBEROIDES. 



Within five or six years, a Boston ship, on a 

 return from a long voyage, being overhauled for 

 repairs, presented the stump of a sword-fish's 

 blade, the point of which was driven a considerable 

 way into the hard oak. In repairing his Britannic 

 Majesty's ship Leopard, in 1725, on her return 

 from the coast of Guinea, a sword of this fish was 

 found to have gone through the sheathing one inch, 

 next through a three inch plank, and beyond that 

 four inches and a half into the firm timber. It was 

 the opinion of mechanics, that it would require 

 nine strokes of a hammer, weighing twentyfive 

 pounds, to drive an iron bolt of similar size and 

 form, to the same depth in the same hull ; yet 

 this was accomplished by a single thrust. 



The Hon. Josiah Robbins of Plymouth, rela- 

 ted to us the following extraordinary fact. On the 

 return of the ship Fortune, of Plymouth, from a 

 whaling voyage, in the Pacific, some time in the 

 year 1826, or 7, he does not recollect which ; 

 the stump of a sword-fish's blade was discovered 

 on the outside of the hull, which, on examin- 

 ation, was found to have penetrated through the 

 copper sheathing, an inch board sheathing, a three 

 inch hard wood plank, the solid white oak timber 

 of the ship, twelve inches thick, through anoth- 

 er two and a half inch hard oak ceiling-plank, and 

 lastly perforated the head of an oil cask, where 



