The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-01
THE MODERN JONAH.
STORY OF AN ENGLISH SAILOR SWAL-
LOWED BY A WHALE.
The Account Bears Seine Resemblance To
That In the Bible, Though James Bart
ley Was Not So Long In the whale's
Belly as Jonah Was.

ley Was Not SO Long In the Whale,
Belly as Jonah Was.
John TowEeLcal Of 302 West Seventy
third street gives information that Tie
story Of the sailcr, James BARLEY, sup
posed to have been swallowed by whale
and rescued alive, was printed in detail
in The Mercury of South Yarmouth,
England, in October, 1891.
BARLEY sailed on the Star Of the East
and is supposed 20 have met with HE
adventure in the vicinity of the Falk-
land islands. Mr. Townshend says the
story is good seaman's yarn, whether
one chooses to believe il on not.
According to the story, which is told
in great detail, "the ship sighted a
whale one morning on her starboard
quarter. Two boats were manned, and
in q short time one was near enough to
spear the whale, which was an musu-
ally large one. The fish made terrific
fight. Both boats got spears fastened in
1t and were dragged some three miles.
Finally, when the Whale came to
the surface, it managed TO strike one Of
the boats with its nose. The boat was
upset One man was drowned, and an
other, named James Bartiey, disappear
ed 1t was supposed at the time that he,
too, had been drowned.
1.-The whale gave up at last and was
taken back to the side Of the ship. The
crew went to work with axes and spades
to secure the fat. They worked all day
and part Of the night and resumed
operations the next forenoon. They had
now reached the stomach and were
clearing it to hoist it on deck when
they were startled to notice something
inside of it which gave spasmodic signs
of life
1.-The vast pouch was hoisted to the
deck and cut open, and inside was found
the missing sailor doubled up and un-
conscious
"He was laid out OH deck and treated
to bath Of sea water, which soon re-
vived him, but his mind was not clear,
and he was placed in the captains quar-
ters, where he remained two weeks Il
raving lunatic. He was carefully treated
by the captain and officers of the ship,
and he finally began to get possession Of
his senses AT the end of the third week
he had entirely recovered from his shock
and resumed his duties.
During the brief sojourn i'll the
;rhale's belly Bartley's skin, where il
was exposed to the action of the gastric
juices, underwent a striking change.
fiiis face and hands were bleached to a
doathly whiteness, and the skin was
wrinkled, giving the man the appear,
! ance of having been parboiled.
BARLEY affirmed that he could prob
! ably have lived inside of 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 all
by the nose of the whale and of falling
into the water. Then there was fear
full rushing sound, which he believed tC
J be the beating of the water by the
| whales tail. Then he was encompasse6
/ by fearful darkness, and he felt him
self slipping along a smooth passage OF
some sort that seemed to move ard carry
{ him forward.
( "This sensation lasted but an instant.
! Then he felt that he had more room.
! He felt about him, and his hands came
in contact with yielding, Shiny sub
stance that seemed to shrink from his
! touch. 1t finally dawned on him that he
( had been swallowed by the whale, and
he was overcome with horror at the sit
| uation. He could breathe easily, but the
| heat was terrible. It was not of Il scorch-
| ing, sitting nature, but it seemed &c
! open the pores of his skin and draw out
I his vitality.
"Ie became very weak and grew sick
at the stomach. He knew that theirs
was no 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 knowledge Of his environ
ment and the terrible heat finally over
came him, and he must have tainted
| for he next remembered being i'll the
| captains cabin.
| The account further says: "ThC
| health of the man does not seem to have
been affected. He is in splendid spirits
and apparently enjoys all the blessings
of life that come in his way. The whal
ing captains say they never knew par
allel case. They say that it frequently
occurs that men are swallowed by
whales who become Infatuated by the
pain of the harpoon and attack the boats
but they have never known man to e
through the ordeal that BARLEY did ant
come out alive. New York Times.
! l;s wf,,I CbaaLx MD