SWORD-FISHING AT BLOCK ISLAND.* 
By AMORY AUSTIN. 
.Having now completed my description of 
the sword-fish and his habits, let me invite you to accom¬ 
pany me upon a cruise in his pursuit. It is a beautifully 
bright and cloudless morning, say about the Twenty-fourth 
of July, and the day promises to be a very hot one upon 
land, with not a breath of air stirring, but it will not be 
so hot upon the water. Let us take an early breakfast and 
then walk down to the quaint old harbor of New Shoreham 
where we shall find the steamer Ocean Vina, under command 
of Captain Edwin Dodge, waiting for us, ready to start at 
eight o’clock. It will be well to take a lunch with you, as 
we shall not return until three in the afternoon. If you 
have a camera, bring it by all means. 
We embark, ladies as well as men, for the trip promises 
to be a delightful one, and there is no danger, not even of 
sea-sickness, as the vessel is staunch and the water smooth. 
We are not going to do the fishing ourselves, but merely 
to look on and see a sight we’ve never seen before. Twenty 
or thirty passengers can be comfortably accommodated and 
the steamer is easily manned by a crew of four. 
We proceed out of the harbor and follow the eastern 
shore until we have passed the great southern lighthouse 
on Mohegan Bluff, and then take a course due south and 
directly out to sea. The water is like glass, its mirror-like 
surface without a ripple, the immense plain glittering in the 
sunlight and broken only by a gentle swell—a perfect day 
for sword-fishing! On the horizon we may see four or five 
sail, not more, and nearer, perhaps, an ocean tug with its 
•Extract from a paper read before the Society January 11th, lHaS. 
