In the pale light of an Arctic summer afternoon, a boat was lowered from the deck of the whaling ship Star of the East and set out towards a school of sperm whales that was cruising nearby.
Thirty-five -yearrr-old James Bartley was steering, six men were rowing, and another four were preparing harpoons. Behind them, Star of the East edged in to pick up the whales they caught.
It was to be the last short trip before the whaler, stocked with blubber sailed for Egland. The 1891 season had been her most successful. And it was to be capped by one of the most incredible experiences in the history of the sea.
So improbable did the incident seem that the captain and the entire crew of Star of the East later thought it necessary to tell under oath how James Bartley was swallowed by a whale.
By late afternoon the harpoon team had killed one whale and wounded another. Bartley steered towards the wounded whale and three men prepared to spear it again.
Suddenly the whale turned. Seizing the prow of the boat in its jaws, it shook it the way a dog shakes a bone, splitting the vessel in half.
The sailors dived into the water and were picked up by another boat from Star of the East. James Bartley was the last to jump. As he leaped over the stern, the whale made a quick turn in the water, opened its mouth and caught him. The huge jaws closed tigghtly over the man.
The next day, a dead whale floated to the surface of the ocean, a harpoon stuck in its side. The whale was hauled aboard Star of the East, and for two days the men worked to remove its blubber.
When the job was finished, it occurred to one of the sailors that the only whale that had been harpooned and not caught during recent trips was the one that had eaten Bartley.
The men decided to cut up the whale. As they opened the stomach, to their amazement and horror the outline of a man showed through the tissue. Carefully slicing the muscles away, they uncovered the missing sailor, unconscious but still alive!
Carefully they got the man out and placed him on the deck, rubbing his limbs and forcing brandy down his throat. Working on him in relays, the sailors slowly restored his circulation and Bartley recovered at least partial consciousness.
He seemed delirious and repeatedly cried out that he was "in a fiery furnace." After several days he recovered. By the time the ship returned to England he was able to make a statement about his terrible experience. This is what he said:
"I remember very well from the moment I jumped from the boad and felt my feet strike some soft substance.
"Ilooked up and saw a big-ribbed canopy of light pink and white descending over me, and the next moment I felt myself being drawnwards, feet first. I realized I was being swallowed by a whale.
"I was drawn lower and lower, a wall of flesh surrounding me and hemming me in on every side, yet the pressure was not painful and the flesh easily gave way before my slightest movement.
"Suddenly I found myself in a sack much larger than my body, but completely dark. I felt about me and my hand came in contact with several fishes, some of which seemed to be still alive because they squirmed in my fingers and slipped back to my feet.Soon I felt a great pain in the head and breathing became more and more difficult. At the same time, I felt a terrible heat, and it seemed to consume me, growing hotter and hotter.
"My eyes became coals of fire in my head. I believed every minute that I was about to die.
"There was an awful silence in my prison. I tried to rise, to move my arms and legs, to cry out. All action was now impossible but my brain was abnormally clear, and with a full comprehension of my awful fate, I finally lost consciousness."
The only lasting effect of the experience seems to have been a recurring nightmare in which he relived the sensations he felt in yhe whale's stomach. After his recovery, Bartley returned to sea and died in 1926 at the age of 65.
The whole crew of the whaler gave their testimony on oath before a Justice of the Peace.
Even so, M. Henri de Parville, scientific editorr of the Paris magazine Journal des Debated for four and a half years whether to publish the facts in his possession. Every item was checked and rechecked. Bartley was interviewed privately and his story compared with those of his companions. Finally convinced of the truth, de Parville published the story.
Bartley became a celebrity. Doctors discovered had an extraordinarily strong constitution. Even so, to remain alive for nearly three days in a virtually airless prison made medical history.
Bartley just failed to equal Jonah's feat centuries before. The Bible records that Jonah was in full possession of his faculties for four days while inside the whale.
No comments:
Post a Comment