American fishes; a popular treatise upon the game and food fishes of North America, with especial reference to habits and methods of capture by Goode G. Brown (George Brown) 1851-1896

Author:Goode, G. Brown (George Brown), 1851-1896
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fishes -- North America
Publisher: New York, Standard book company
Published: 1888-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

" Last Wednesday the court of common pleas—rather a strange place, by-the-by, for inquiring into the natural history of fishes—was engaged for several hours in trying to determine under what circumstances a Sword-fish might be able to escape scot-free after thrusting his snout into the side of a ship. The gallant ship ' Dreadnought,' thoroughly repaired and classed A-i at Lloyd's, had been insured for £3,000 against all risks of the seas. She sailed on March 10, 1864, from Colombo, for London. Three days later the crew, while fishing, hooked a Sword-fish. Xiphias, how^ever, broke the line, and a few moments after leaped half out of the water, with the object, it should seem, of taking a look at his persecutor, the ' Dreadnought.' Probably he satisfied himself that the enemy was some abnormally large cetacean, which it was his natural duty to attack forthwith. Be this as it may, the attack w\as made, and at four o'clock the next morning the captain was awakened with the unwelcome intelligence that the ship had sprung a leak. She was taken back to Colombo, and thence to Cochin, where she hove down. Near the keel was found a round hole, an inch in diameter, running completely through the copper sheathing and planking.

"As attacks by Sword-fish are included among sea-risks, the insurance company was willing to pay the damages claimed by the owners of the ship if only it could be proved that the hole had really been made by a Sword-fish. No instance had ever been recorded in which a- Sword-fish had been able to withdraw his sword after attacking a ship. A defense was founded on the possibility that the hole had been made in some other way. Prof. Owen and Mr. Frank Buckland gave their evidence, but neither of them could state quite positively whether a Sword-fish which had passed its beak through three inches of stout planking could withdraw without the loss of its sword. Mr. Buckland said that fish have no power of ' backing,' and expressed his belief that he could hold a Sword-fish by the beak; but then he admitted that the fish had considerable lateral power, and might so -'wriggle its sword out of the hold.' And so the insurance company will have to pay nearly £600 because an ill-tempered fish objected to be hooked, and took its revenge by running full tilt against copper sheathing and oak planking."

The food of the Sword-fish is of a very mixed nature.

Dr. Fleming found the remains of Sepias in its stomach, and also small fishes. Oppian stated that it eagerly devours the Hippuris (probably Coryphizna). A specimen taken off Seaconnet, July 22, 1875, had in its stomach the remains of small fish, perhaps Stromateus triacantlius, and jaws of a squid, perhaps Loligo Pcalii. Their food in the Western Atlantic consists for the most part of the common schooling species of fishes. They feed on menhaden, mackerel, bonitoes, bluefish, and other species

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