Swordfish Stories
August 23, 1909
Swordfish Had Attacked Craft
Sword was Imbedded in Hull of Sch.
Hattie A. Heckman
When sch.
Hattie A. Heckman, which has been
seining, hauled out on Burnham's Railway Saturday afternoon, there was found, sticking in
her port side amidships and just under the turn of
the bilge, a large swordfish sword,
broken off.
The sword was evidently that of a very large fish and had been broken off
pretty close to the snout. It struck out over a foot clear of the wood and the end
was imbedded so deep that it had actually penetrated the three inches of hard pine
planking
The fish had evidently mistaken the bottom of the vessel for a whale or
some marine enemy and with the customary courage of its kind had attacked it immediately
with its sword. The blow must have been a terrific one as the sword went through the
planking. The struggles of the great fish to free himself must have been fierce.
Many visited the craft yesterday to see the strange sight.
Copyright © by R. Sheedy - all rights reserved.
July 1902
Drowned by Swordfish
Big Fish Hauls Isadore Bouchee From Dory
Road Line Had Hard Turn Around His Leg
Sch. W. B. Keep,
Capt. John McKinnon, engaged
in swordfishing, arrived form George's this morning with her flag at half-mast for the
loss of Isadore Bouchee, one of her crew. The sad accident happened
at 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon. A big swordfish had been harpooned from the pulpit
and Bouchee put off in a dory to pick up the buoy and haul in on the road
line. The fish came in easy, and Bouchee had the road line all in
but eight fathoms, when those on the schooner saw the line pull tight and, to their
horror, noticed Bouchee go over the rail and disappear beneath the
surface. The line had caught around one of his legs and when the fish darted off he
had pulled the unfortunate man, who was unable to clear himself, overboard, and under
water with the road line.
In less than four minutes another dory from the vessel was on the scene
and two men were hauling as hard as they knew how on the line, but could not gain an inch.
After a while the fish played out, and there, eight fathoms from the 400-pound
swordfish, was Bouchee caught securely by the road line around the leg
and evidently dead. He was taken on board the vessel and all efforts to resuscitate
him were unsuccessful, so the vessel headed for home to bring in his body.
Bouchee was 48 years old and leaves a widow at No. 12
Taylor street, Gloucester.
Copyright © by R. Sheedy - all rights reserved.
August 11, 1926
Wounded Swordfish Turned on Pursuer
Charles MacVane,
a fisherman living on Long Island, Casco
Bay, was hauled aboard the fishing schooner, Audrey and Theo
of
this city just as his dory pierced by the rapier of a giant swordfish, was sinking under
him recently on Georges. The fishing schooner Alice M. Doughty
of
which MacVane was one of the crew arrived yesterday at Portland, after a
10 days trip to Georges.
The crew of the
Doughty had succeeded in ironing
a big fish and the customary buoy was attached to the line. MacVane,
in
a dory, started after the capture when the big fish rammed the bottom of the dory. A
piece of planking a foot square was torn away and the sword of the fish came through,
followed by part of his head. In less than two minutes the dory filled.
MacVane's
own schooner was half a mile distant and but for the lucky appearance of the
local craft he probably would have drowned. The fish was captured.
Copyright © by R. Sheedy - all rights reserved.
These stories are from
Out of Gloucester by R. Sheedy
Copyright © by R. Sheedy - all rights reserved.
