SWALLOWING JONAH EASY FOR A WHALE!

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 June 1927, Page 12

SWALLOWING JONAH EASY FOR A WHALE!

THE age-old story of Jonah and the whale is one that has been argued about ever since science began to show up over the horizon. Undoubtedly, people in the old days—say until about the beginning of the eighteenth century—were good swallowers, and they probably accepted the tale of Jonah as they accepted quite a number of other tales about which scepticism has appeared during the past 200 years. But science has done rather more than throw doubt upon a few of the tales of the Scriptures: it has shown

that some of these accounts probably have a foundation in fact, and it has explained just why this is so, giving chapter and verse for its findings One of the severest criticisms of the story of Jonah and the whale was based on the supposed fact that it is impossible for a whale to swallow a man, because a whale’s gullet is so small that nothing larger, say, than a Rugby football could possibly pass down it. Of course, the Bible does not actually say it was a whale that did the deed. The exact words are “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.” There is nothing he-e about a whale: it may have been a huge shark. But as a matter of fact the “fish” is generally accepted as a whale of some sort. Those who dismiss the whale theory with scorn, for (he reason given above, seem to forget that there are whales and whales, which reminds me of a little story by wav of illustration. li was not so very long ago that 1 paid a visit to a whaling station. Where it was doesn’t matter, but it was a fairly flourishing place and apparently did a good business. It certainly had an appalling smell! The manager of the station, a fine unstanding Scandinavian, courteously showed me all over the works. I saw whaleboats and harpoons and bombs and flensing knives and boilers and the slip-way up which the “fish” wore hauled and all the various apparatus of the industry. Anon I entered into conversation with a gnarled old salt who had something to do with the station and asked him what particular breed of whale was usually caught. “There are four kinds we usually hunt here,” was the reply. “Finbacks, bottle-nose, blue and sperm.” After some casual talk I mentioned that it was strange that such huge creatures had such tiny “swallows.” and that it must be annoying for them to have to eat nothing but sprats. “Sprats?” was the reply. “They’re sprats of some size then. You see that sperm whale on the slipway? Well, he’s not a very big one but he had the remains of a shark 16 feet long in his inside!” “But 1 thought whales could only swallow things a few inches in diameter,” I objected. “I tell you a sperm whale can take lumps of food eight feet thick!” was the emphatic reply. “Well, then, a whale could have swallowed Jonah!” I remarked. “Sure he could,” assented the old sailor. “But how Jonah could have lived three days and three nights in the whale’s belly was what always got me when 1 heard that yarn!” Now, queerly enough, an instance has come to light, duly authenticated, of a case where a man actually did live for many hours in the belly of a sperm whale! Two separate accounts have been given of the strange occurrence, one by the captain of the whaler and the other by one of the ship’s officers; and the matter has been thoroughly investigated by at least one reputable scientist—M. de Parville, the scientific editor of the Journal des Debats, of Paris, a man well-known as being of sound judgment and a careful writer. M. de Parville died in Paris towards the end of the Great War, and for some time his notes of the case were mislaid among his papers could not be found. In 1919 they were ’unearthed, and they tell the following Strange and terrible story. In February, 1891, the whaler Star of the East was near the Falkland Islands when the look-out in the crow’s

nest sighted a large sperm whale som t distance from the ship. Two boat? were quickly launched and in a short time one of the harpooners got fast to the whale. The second boat ap proached to assist with the harpoon ing, but was promptly upset by the monster by a blow from its flukes The boat’s crew was thrown into the water, one man being injured and drowned, and another man. James Bartley, disappeared and could not b< found. It was naturally thought thn Bartley was also drowned and »” sunk.

The sperm whale was eventually killed and in a few hours’ time the great carcase was lashed to the ship's side and the flensers were busily engaged in cutting it up for the blubber. They worked all that day and for part of the night, and next morning they attached tackles to the whale's stomach and hauled it on deck. The men who were doing the work noticed in the stomach a queer lump, which moved spasmodically now and then, and on opening the organ they were astounded to find the missing sailor, James Bartley, doubled up and unconscious. Bartley was promptly lifted out and laid on deck and soon “came round” when restorative measures were applied, but it was clear that his mind was affected. He remained for about two weeks mentally unbalanced; but kindly treatment had its effect, and he gradually regained possession of his mental faculties. At the end of three weeks he had quite recovered from his strange and terrible experience anff he was quite normal in mind. During his sojourn in the sperm whale’s stomach Bartley’s skin, where it was exposed to the action of the gastric juices, underwent a striking change. His face, neck, and hands were bleached to a deadly whiteness and took on the appearance of parchment. Bartley himself said that he believed he would have lived in the whale’s stomach until he starved, for he lost his senses through fright and not through lack of air. He said he remembered being thrown out of the boat into the sea. Then there was a fearful rushing sound and all became pitch dark. He felt himself slipping along a smooth warm passage of some sort that seemed to move and carry him forwards. This sensation lasted for but a few moments and then he felt he had more room. He groped about him with his hands, which came into contact with yielding, slimy walls which seemed to shrink from his touch. It came upon him like a flash that he had been swallowed by the whale and he was overcome with horror at his situation, as well he might be. He said he could easily breathe, but the heat was terrible. It was not of a scorching, sliding nature, but it seemed to open the pores of his skin and draw out all his vitality. He became very weak and grew very sick. He knew there was no escape from his prison and felt that death could not be far away. He cried to face his hideous end bravely, but his feelings overcame him and he fftll unconscious. The next thing he remembered was returning to consciousness on the deck of the whaler! According to M. de Parville’s record the skin on Bartley’s hands and face did not recover its natural appearance, but the health of the man did not seem to be affected by his terrible experience. M. de Parville states that, in his opinion, the account of the episode given by the captain and officer of the whaler is worthy of credence. There have been many cases reported where sperm whales have rushed at an upset boat's crew and swallowed a man, but Bartley’s is the only case where the engulfed seaman has been rescued while the life was still in him. With regard to the great heat reported by Bartley while in the whale’s belly, this is quite understandable, for the temperature of a whale is about 104.6 degrees Fahr.—what would be a high fever heat in a human being—a provision, no doubt, to enable whales to stand the extreme cold of arctic and antarctic seas. But what about Jonah now!