Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-07-30
A REAL LIVING JONAH.
BIBLICAL HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
IN MODERN TIMES.

IAS NAdIIuS VESSEL Quar- Vi GIS EdSI ar
rived here after cruise of two years and a
| half in the South Atlantic waters. She
| had on board man who is a veritable
| Jonah, having existed In whales belly
| thirty-six hours.
| The mans statement is vouched for by
the captain and crew of the vessel, and to-
! day he is an object of great curiosity among
/ the sailors. The mans name is James
! BARLEY, and he halls from New Bedford
! where he was born thirty eight years ago.
! He has made two voyages from this port
! on the Star of the East and notwithstand-
| Ing his exciting experience during his last
! trip, he says that he will ship for another
! voyage as soon as an opportunity to do so
offers itself The strange story told by
! him is in substance as follows:
The Star of the East was in the vicinity
of the Falkland islands searching for
whales, which were very scarce. One
morning the lookout sighted a whale about
| three miles away on the starboard quarter
Two boats were manned.
In a short time one of the boats was near
enough to enable the harpooner to send a
spear into the whale, which proved to be
an exceedingly large one. With the shaft
| in his side the animal sounded and then
sped away dragging the boat after him
with terrible speed. He swan straight
away about five miles, when he turned and
came back almost directly toward the spot
where he had been harpooned The second
boat waited for him, and when but a short
! distance away from it he arose to the sur
! face. AS soon as his back showed above
tie surface of the water the harpooner in
the second boat drove another spear into
| him.
SWALLOWED BY A BIG FISH.
The pain apparently crazed the whale,
for it thrashed about fearfully, and it was
feared that the boats would be swamped
and the crews drowned. Finally the whale
swan away, ,,ragging the two boats after
him. He went about three miles and
sounded or sank, and his whereabouts
could not be exactly told. The lines at
tached to the harpoons were slack, and the
harpooners began slowly to draw them in
and coil them in the tubs.
AS soon as they were taughted the whale
arose to the surface and beat about with
| his Ill in the madQeSt fashion. The boats
attempted to get beyond the reach of the
animal, which was apparently in its death
| agOnleS, and one of them succeeded, but
the other was less fortunate. The whale
struck it with his nose and upset it. The
men were thrown into the water, and be
fore the crew of the other boat could pick
them up one man was drowned and James
| BARLEY had disappeared. When the whale
| became quiet from exhaustion the waters
were searched for BARLEY. but he could
not be found, and, under the impression
that he had been struck by the whale
tail and sunk to the bottom. the survivors
rowed back to the ship
The whale was dead, and in a few hours
the great body was lying by the ships
side, and the men were busy with axes and
spades cutting through the flesh to secure
the fat. They worked all day and part
Of the night They resumed operations
the next forenoon, and were soon down to
the stomach, which was to be hcsted to
the deck The workmen were startled
while laboring to clear it and to fasten the
chain about it to discover something
) doubled up in it that gave spasmodic signs
OF life.
BARTLEY'S STORY.
The vast pouch was hoisted to the deck
and cut open, and inside was found the
missing sailor doubled up and unconscious.
He was laid out on the deck and treated to
a bath of sea water, which soon revived
him, but his mind was not clear, and he
was placed in the captains quarters, where
he remained two weeks, raving lunatic.
He was carefully treated by the captain
and officers Of the ship, and he finally be
gan to get possession of his senses. At the
end of the third week he had entirely re
covered from the shock and resumed his
duties.
During his brief sojourn III the whales
belly liartey's skin, where it was exposed
to the action of the gastric juices, under
went a striking change. His face and
hands were bleached to deathly white
ness and the skin was wrinkled, giving the
man the appearance of having been par
boiled.
Bartley affirms that he would probably
have lived inside his house Of flesh until
he starved, for he lost his senses through
fright and not through lack of air He
says that he remembers the sensation OF
being lifted into the air by the nose of the
whale and of falling into the water; then
there was fearful rushing sound, which
he believed to be the beating of the water
by the whales tail; then he was encom
passed by a fearful darkness, and he felt
himself slipping along smooth passage
Of some sort that seemed to move and
carry him forward. This sensation lasted
but an instant, then he felt that he had
more room.
HOW HE FELT INSIDE A WHALE.
He felt about him, and his hands came
in contact with yielding, Shiny substance
that seemed to shrink from his touch 1t
!. finally dawned upon him that he had been
swallowed by the whale, and he was over
. come with horror at the situation. He
! could breathe easily, but the heat was ter
rible. 1t was not of scorching, sitting
nature but it seemed to open the pores OF
J his skin and to draw out his vitality.
He became very weak and grew sick at
! his stomach He knew that there was nc
! hope of escape from his strange prison
Death stared him in the face and he tried
to look at it bravely, but the awful quiet
the fearful darkness, the horrible knowl
edge of his environments and the terrible
+ heat finally overcame him, and he must
have tainted, for the next he remembered
being in the captains cabin.
! BARLEY is not man of timid nature,
! but he says that it was many weeks before
he could pass a night without having his
= sleep disturbed with narrowing dreams OF
: angry whales and the horrors OF his fearful
prison.
3 The skin on the face and hands of Bart
ley has never recovered its natural appear
/ ance. 1t is yellow and wrinkled and looks
J like old parchment The health of the man
: does not seem to have been affected by his
t terrible experience; he is in splendid spirits
3 and apparently fully enjoys all the bless
ings of life that come his way.
4 The whaling captains who sail from this
, port say that they never knew a parallel
: case to this before. They say that it fire
4uently occurs that men are swallowed by
whales who become infuriated by the pair
of the harpoon and attack the boats. bu,
J r i,aaT- In1y l-n1 n ~
through the ordeal that BARLEY did a,'l
come out alive.-New london Conn Ger