The sun., 1897-08-21
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Bricr Reviews OF Important ana unterestinE
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The Bible story OF Jonah has been widely dis.
credited on tho ground that the throat Of
whale lie not big enough to permit 1t to swallow a
man, and that man would be killed speedily by
the gastric iuices Of whale, even supposing
that IL did swallow him. The recently expressed
skopticism of DIR. Lyman Abbott in regard to
the story OF Jonah may have had its founda.
tion in the belief that Jonah could not have
got through the throat of whale, and could
not, IL he had got through, survived the power.
ful action of the gastric juices. Doubt, MS well
as belief, is frequently founded upon mistaken
premises, and In the consideration of the re-
corded experience OF Jonah it is undoniably
proper to DO acquainted with the plain. un-
theoretical testimony bearing upon the sub.
ject. In The Story OF Jonah in the
Light of the Higher Criticism" Funk
s. Wagnals) tho Rov. Dr. Luther Tracy
Townsend corrects, as we must think,
the general impression in regard to whales, ad.
duces excellent testimony to show us, not only
that whale can swallow man, but that man
can live In the stomach Of n whale, and have his
senees about him. and DO fully aware OF the
specific thing that has happened 1t is not
necessarily to be assumed, indeed. that Jonah
was swallowed by whale. The word that has
been supposed to stand for whale in all the
ancient texts means simply great FISH,
| or monster. Whale is the word OF the
burden Of responsibility. What is known to
English readers of the Bible as a whale may have
been in fact a shark. sea serpent or any other
| monster Of the deep. Mr.. Townsend says that II
may have been also sea lion, but this surely is
| too small monster TO have swallowed Jonah.
! Like the prairie dog. tho lion is not at all
| what Its namo seems to indicate. 1t is
| disappointing tho horse, upon
which no generous person would ever
think Of imposing the burden OF a saddle. But
| the evidence is not wanting to support the con-
tenton that 1t was actually whale that swal-
lowed Jonah. DR.. Townsend quotes the testi.
| mony OF one of the crew OF new Bedford
whalcr. This mariner though he weighed ITO
| pounds. submits that he has passed frequently
| through the mouth and throat OF a dead sperm
whale He AYERS that he did this latter tho
| head of the whale had been cut from the body,
| and when the Jaws and the smallest part OF the
| throat had been taken on deck" He mentions
| specifically large whale captured Off the coast
| OF Borneo, which came near swallowing him.
and adds: when we killed other whales, from
| time to time, some Of the men lifted up the lower
| jaws. while the rest, one after another, would
| crawl through the throat. not down where Jonah
| went, but to the deck. Although a sperm whale
is large" the New Bedford witness continues,
"the bowhead whale is much larger, with a
throat not only capable OF swallowing a
| well,built man, but, in my judgment, a
| good.sizcd horse or cow" 1t may have
| been either sperm or bowhcad whale that
i swallowed Jonah. VI. Courbct describing in
| the Paris Cosmos OF March 7, 1895. the scientific
expedition of the Prince of Monaco, says that
! the discoveries OF this Prince were such as to
relieve US OF all difficulty in believing that a
! whalo could swallow JONAH" and another
French writer. NJ. Joubin. declares, in an article
| contributed TO the Academy OF Sciences, that
"a sperm whale easily can swallow animals
| taller and heavier than man. These
animals" he adds. when swallowed. can keep
| alive for some time in the whales stomach and
be cast up by 1t at the moment OF its death"
| Perfectly explicit testimony to the same end is
quoted by DIR. Townsend from the Literary
| Digest In this II Is said: In the month Of
February. 1891. the whsler Star of the East
| launched two whaleboats with an equip
ment Of men to pursue q superb whale
| that was observed at some distance. The
| huge creature harpooned and wound
| cd to the death. While it was writhng
| In its last aSonies one of the whaleboats was
| struck by its tail and shattered to pieces. The
| sailors who were In 1t were thrown into the
| water; all but two were saved shortly after
| ward by the other boats. The body of one was re-
| covered, but the other-a man named James Bart
| ley-could not be found. When the monster had
1
It was hoisted alongside the ship. and the work
of cutting 1t up began. = day and night were
devoted to this task. When it was ended the
stomach OF the whale was opened. What WAS
| the surprise of the whalemen to find in IL their
lost comrade, James BARLEY unconscious but
alivel They had much trouble in reviving him.
| For several days he was delrious and could not
speak an in ntelligent word. Not till three weeks
had elapsed did he recover his reason
sufficiently to narrate his impressions. L
remember very WE'LL said he, tho mo-
ment when the whale threw me into the
air. Then I swallowed, and found myself
in firm. slippery channel, whose contractions
forced me continually downward. This lasted
| only an instant. Then found myself In large
sac, and by feeling about, realized that had
| been swallowed by whale and that l was in
his stomach. l could still breathe, though with
much difficulty. ! had feeling of insupport-
able heat. and 1t seemed as If were being
boiled alive The horrible thought that was
doomed to perish in tho whales belly
tortured ME. and my anguish was intensified by
the calm and silence that reigned about me.
Finally lost the consciousness OF my frightfui
situation James BARLEY. the English papers
add, 10 known to be one OF the most hardy OF
whalemen. But his experience In the whale Q
stomach was 30 terrible that he was Obliged TO
undergo treatment in London hospital on his
return. Nevertheless his general state OF health
was not affected by this accident. The only effect
was that his skin was. Ms It were. tanned by the
action OF the gastric juice. The Captain OF the
Star OF the East adds that cases where furious
whales have swallowed men not rare but
that this was the first time that he ever saw the
victim come out alive after his experience" "
Unless it Is suspected that James BARLEY WAS
incensed by the inqulsitive persistence of the
higher critics. and deliberately falsined his
experience in order TO circumvent md
dlsprove them. IL Is hard TO see
why his testimony should not be per
mitted to stand in support OF the story of Jonah.
He seems to have been q cool observer in UNI
usually trying circumstances. including the cir
cumstanco that no felt as II he were being boiled
That he should have been aware OF the calm and
silence of his situation. while the whale was
writhing in its last agonies and while It's gastric
juices were very terribly at work upon him.
goes TO show that he was observer with
whom fact was competent to triumph over i'm.
agination. What Pliny says In regard IN cor.