Fish spear

“ Sometimes the natives use a rather curious fish spear, about fifteen feet long in the shaft, and with a double head, made of wapiti bone. The head is only slightly fixed in the shaft, to which it is attached by a line, as in the harpoon arrow already described. Should the fish be a very heavy one, the hunter merely ties to the line a number of inflated bladders, and causes it to tire itself by useless struggles before he risks the fracture of the line or loss of the barbed head, one or both of which events would probably happen if he were to try to secure a fresh and powerful fish. ”

“ The fish, as they enter the rivers, may be deterred from entering, or all captured in nets spread entirely across the mouth, and when those that do pass have [98] reached the spawning beds, they are peculiarly exposed to the cruel spear. At night, by this instrument, with the aid of flambeaux, hundreds may be killed and many more wounded and left to perish miserably. If they are to continue in reasonable numbers, nets must not be set close together, the spawning beds must be undisturbed, and the murderous spear utterly prohibited. ”

“ He stands rigidly for hours, with his spear poised, patiently waiting for the opportunity, which will allow him to thrust the sharp point into the body of the unsuspecting prey. The spear is thrown with such force that it either sticks in the mud below or disappears under water for a while. In either case, the native has to wade or swim out to the missile, and when he retakes it, the fish, if he has been successful, is found sticking to the end of the spear. ”

“ But more exciting still is the fishing by torch-light on the dark moonless nights, when a torch made of dried weeds is carried in one hand, and the spear in the other, ready to strike the unwary fish, attracted by the glare. Small fish are caught with a different sort of spear, consisting of six or eight metal rods lashed to a long stick; when this is dexterously plunged into a shoal, some fish are pretty sure to be pinched and held firm.
Very often large parties go together to the reef, each bearing a flaming torch, and sometimes they fish for eels in the rivers in the same way. ”

“ After they had travelled some days they came to the place where the cannibal waylaid and pierced the shadows of his victims. It was his custom to stand in the river at a certain place where the road ran close to the water, with a little magic copper-headed spear in his hand, as if he were spearing fish; and when the shadow of the passer-by fell on the water, he would thrust his spear through it, and the person above would immediately fall down dead. He would then take the body home to his wife, who would skin and cook it, and they would afterwards feast together upon it. ”

“ It is obvious how, to prevent the spear from coming out of the wound, it came to be barbed. Another device, known widely among rude hunters and fishers, is to put the point loosely on to the shaft, attaching it by a cord of some length which uncoils when the point sticks in the animal and the shaft drops off, so that the struck beast cannot break away the shaft but drags it trailing, or the fish is held and marked down by the floating wood. The distance to which the spear can be hurled by hand is much increased by using a spear-thrower, acting like a sling. ”

“ Besides fish of ordinary size the larger species, such as rays and sharks, are generally captured by spearing. Nowadays the spear is a piece of round bar iron, half an inch in diameter, a rough unbarbed point at one end and with an eyehole, to which a line is attached, at the other. ”

“ Sometimes the men adopt this method of driving larger fish into shallow water, and then spear them in the way I have just described. The best marksmen stand a little apart, watching keenly for any fish that may escape the net, and throwing their spears at such fugitives with almost unerring aim. ”

“ When the spearsman makes a sure blow, he often strikes the head of the spear through the body of the fish. It comes off easily, and leaves the salmon struggling with the string through its body, while the pole is still held by the spearsman. Were it not for the precaution of the string, the willow shaft would be snapped by the struggles and the weight of the fish. Mr. Miller, in the course of his wanderings, had been at these falls, and had seen several thousand salmon taken in the course of one afternoon. ”

“ The spear is a favourite weapon with which to obtain a fish. A special type is used by the Larrekiya, Wogait, the Alligator River, and other coastal tribes in the north. The spear is about eleven feet long, has a shaft of reed or bamboo, and three barbed prongs of ironwood grouped in a circle around the head of the shaft. These spikes, measuring from twelve to fifteen inches, are attached with resin and string or paperbark. The barbs are short and directed backwards, each prong containing from eight to eleven, gradually increasing in size from the point towards the shaft. ”

“ Uncle Charlie handed his nephew a wicked, lethal-looking weapon. Its tip was needle sharp.
“I doubt you’ll run into any bad fish here. But you might. And don’t, do not use it except in case of extreme danger. If you spear an attacking fish—shark, barracuda or octopus—remember any blood will attract other sharks, and then you’ll be in real trouble.”
Biff took the spear and examined it.
“Each of you take one of these wire baskets. They’re to load the oysters in—if you find any. I’m the puller-up. I’ve a line on each basket. Now get these signals. ”

“ Such fishing is not without danger, for the spear-fish sometimes rushes upon the boat, drowning the fisherman, or wounding him with its terrible weapon. The fish becomes furious at the appearance of sharks, which are its natural enemies. They engage in violent combats, and when the spear-fish is attached to the fisherman’s line it often receives frightful wounds from the adversaries.
The spear-fish strikes vessels in the same manner as the swordfish. I am indebted to Capt. William Spicer, of Noank, Connecticut, for this note:
Mr. ”

“ They wade into the water, and getting among the shoals of the fish as they are passing to and fro, strike them dead with their paws. The fish are killed as instantaneously as if impaled upon a fishing spear ”

“ They have neither nets, nor hook and line, and the only weapon they use is the spear, with which they are very dexterous. In the mouths of streams they take large quantities by weirs made of bushes; hut the most common method is pursuing the fish into shoal water and spearing them, or as they lie basking on the surface. Fish being very plentiful, they often kill more than is sufficient for present use; in this case they roast them, and, separating the flesh in large flakes from the bones, pack it carefully up in soft bark, in which way it will keep good for several days. ”

“ By spearing.—Various kinds of spears, as figured and described in this work, are used for taking fish of all kinds, both in the sea and in fresh water. The natives are very skilful in all sports, as already stated, but in using the spear in fishing they are astonishingly expert. ”

“ The clubs and grubbing sticks of natives are generally fortified in this way. Spear, arrow, and blow-pipe darts have their points so hardened by the action of heat, that they more closely resemble the texture of bone than aught else, and perforate almost as readily as sharpened iron. We have seen the tough, dense scales of a large fish penetrated with the greatest facility by a spear prepared in this way. Flat strips or laths of bamboo cut to a fine edge, and fire-hardened, are used by many of the inhabitants of the islands of the Eastern seas as substitutes for knives ”

“ Fig. 7 is a fishing spear composed of a shaft made from the stem of the grass-tree, 7 ft. 6 in. in length, and four pieces of hardwood 25 inches in length lashed together, but with the points separated by means of pieces of wood thrust in between them, and fastened into the shaft by means of gum and twine. This spear is used in catching the large fish. Going into the water as far as he can, to use the spear with effect, the native stands like a statue holding the spear obliquely in poised hands ready to strike his prey as it passes. ”

“ A fish, rising to examine the decoy, is immediately thrust with the spear, which, pressing down on its back, causes the portions of antler to spread, and the nails to sink into its flesh and makes escape almost impossible. ”

“ The weapon of the sword-fish is used as a spear-head by the wild tribes of Cambodia, and some idea may be formed of its efficiency for this purpose, and of the confidence with which it is used, by the following account of an attack on a rhinoceros with this weapon, by Mons. ”

“ Their chief ornaments are blue and yellow beads, worn about their wrists. The men arm themselves with bows and arrows, lances, broad swords, like those of Mindanao; their lances are pointed with bone: they strike fish very ingeniously with wooden fish-spears, and have a very ingenious way of making the fish rise ”

“ "Half fish," he said. "Fish that you were. I am sorry that I went too far out. I ruined us both. But we have killed many sharks, you and I, and ruined many others. How many did you ever kill, old fish? You do not have that spear on your head for nothing." ”

“ Time would fail to tell of the ravages of the swordfish, also a mackerel of great size and ferocity, who launches himself torpedo-like at the bulky whale, the scavenger-shark, or a comrade, with strict impartiality. And of the “killer” whale, eater of the tongue only of the mysticetus; the thresher-shark, aider and abettor of the killer; or the saw-fish, who disembowels his prey that his feeble teeth may have tender food. Their warfare knows no armistice; they live but to eat and be eaten in their turn, and as to eat they must fight, the battle rages evermore. ”

“ As he approached the ship, the struggle continuing and becoming more violent, it was perceived that a fish, apparently about twenty feet long, held him by the jaw, his contortions, spouting, and throes, all betokening the agony of the huge monster. The whale now threw himself at full length from the water with open mouth, his pursuer still hanging to the jaw, the blood issuing from the wound and dyeing the sea to a distance around; but all his flounderings were of no avail; his pertinacious enemy still maintained his hold, and was evidently getting the advantage of him. ”

“ Attacks by swordfish upon boats are not uncommon. It seems likely enough that they mistake the hull of the boat for the body of a whale. Attacks on the hull of a ship, however, seem to me to be due to accident. The fish which are the common prey of the swordfish often huddle close to the hull of a vessel, and the swordfish, in its attack upon them, may run its sword into the hull, although there have been instances where several swordfish have made a concerted attack upon the hull. ”

“ In this case, whilst a constant volley of blows falls on the whale’s devoted back, the sword-fish dive beneath his belly and stab upwards with their much more formidable sword or lance. As against the thresher, the whale’s best resource is to dive, but this brings no relief from the attacks of the other, and on his rising to breathe again, the flagellation is renewed. It is no wonder that, weakened with loss of blood, and covered with deep stabs, some of which, perhaps, may be mortal, the whale has at last to succumb. ”

“ The sea was dyed in blood from the stabs inflicted by the saw-fishes under the water, while the thrashers, watching their opportunity, struck at the unwieldy monster as often as it rose to breathe.
The sword-fish is also furnished with a powerful weapon in the shape of a bony snout about four or five feet long, not serrated like the saw-fish, but of a much firmer consistency—in fact, the hardest material known. [Pg 156]
THE STORY OF OBED, ORAH, AND THE SMOKING-CAP. BY MRS. A. M. DIAZ.
A cozy room, a wood fire, bright andirons, and a waiting company. ”

“ When the bomb fails to cause instant death or inflict a mortal wound, a second harpoon with a dynamite attachment is thrown, the needle [Pg 265] point of the spear, as it sinks into the flesh, exploding the bomb. The second wound nearly always causes instant death; but if not, the harpoons cling to the whale, and with lines attached, the whalers quietly await the reappearance of the whale—which seeks relief by plunging beneath the surface—for another shot at it from the gun, which has in the meantime been reloaded. ”

“ Who would expect to find millions of poisoned darts in a Jelly-fish? Who would guess that these weapons are coiled up, ready to spring out at their prey? Men have made many weapons for killing, from the bow-and-arrow to the torpedo, but none of them is more wonderful than the weapon of the Jelly-fish. ”

“ Notwithstanding its formidable weapon, its great strength, and its almost incredible celerity, a small crustaceous animal penetrates the flesh of the Sword-fish, and sometimes so torments it that it dashes itself on the shore with mortal violence. ”

“ He will charge the boat, and nothing but the churning propeller will keep him from ramming the boat. There were eight broadbill swordfish hooked at Avalon during the summer, and not one brought to gaff. This is an old story. Only two have been caught to date. They are so powerful, so resistless, so desperate, and so cunning that it seems impossible to catch them. They will cut bait after bait off your hook as clean as if it had been done with a knife. For that matter, their broad bill is a straight, long, powerful two-edged sword. And the fish perfectly understands its use. ”