I am dubious about a claim my girlfriend made about a human swallowed by a whale and surviving, and I’d like to know if you can help me research it. Apparently she heard as a child that in the UK in the 1800s a man fell overboard and was swallowed by a whale. A day or two later the whale was caught by a crew that had no idea there was a man inside. They were surprised when they saw something moving as they were cutting up the whale and rescued the man. The only harm to him was that he was bleached by the stomach juices. She claims that she heard the same story 40 years later on a Christian radio station. I told her those were not credible sources. Thanks for any help you can give.
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Inquirer magazine, which sent him to me with the comment “If you can get an answer to this question anywhere, it will be here.” Always glad to help with the dirty work, gang. Do I get a free subscription?
Various attempts have been made over the years to come up with real-life Jonahs, but the most famous, and undoubtedly the one your girl heard about, is James Bartley. As claimed in numerous religious tracts, whaling books, and the like, Bartley was a seaman aboard the whaling ship Star of the East. In February 1891, while the ship was near the Falkland Islands, a lookout spotted a sperm whale several miles off. Two boats were launched; one succeeded in harpooning the whale, but the second was upended by the whale’s tail and its crew tossed into the water. One man drowned and another, Bartley, could not be found. The whale was killed and hauled to the side of the ship, where the crew set to work carving up the carcass. The next morning they hoisted the stomach on deck and were surprised to see signs of life. Inside they found the unconscious Bartley, who they doused with seawater and soon revived. For two weeks he was a raving lunatic, but by the end of the third week he’d fully recovered.
(3) In June 1891 a rorqual whale was beached near the town of Gorleston, just south of Great Yarmouth, and was killed, stuffed, and exhibited around England.
