Swallowed by a Whale: The Incredible Survival of James Bartley

Judah Blau describes: On October 14, 1771, the Boston Post Boy reported an intriguing incident: a massive whale pursued by a whaling ship in the southern seas attacked the boats and, in a fit of rage, swallowed one of its crew members, Marshall Jenkins. The whale then dived deep, but when it surfaced, it expelled the unfortunate sailor, who was seriously injured but alive. The incident was almost forgotten, even in Hudson, USA, where Jenkins lived until the British "Daily Telegraph" saw fit to publish it on February 17, 1928. That year, a similar case reported to have happened 37 years earlier also surfaced.

On February 9, 1891, not far from the Falkland Islands, the lookout perched high on the mast cried out, announcing the presence of a whale nearby. The bell rang, and the crew quickly lowered the boats into the water. James Bartley, a 21-year-old sailor on his first voyage, had joined the crew of "Star of the East," a whaling ship. He was among the first boat crew rowing towards the gigantic mammal. The crew approached the whale and unleashed their harpoons all at once.

The startled whale immediately dove deep and disappeared. Minutes later, it erupted in fury directly above their boat, shattering it to pieces. Everyone aboard was flung into the water. Except for two men, the others were rescued by their fellow crew members from other boats. One was found lifeless, and the other was missing. That was James Bartley. Searches yielded nothing, and the ship waited where it was until the wounded whale would perish and float to the surface.

As night descended, the dying whale could be seen in its final throes, and the boats were once again lowered into the sea. After another harpoon strike, the crew began pulling it with ropes towards the ship's stern. The giant mammal, weighing many tons, required its flesh to be cut into pieces as its carcass lay afloat. Meanwhile, many sharks gathered, drawn by the scent of blood from afar. Finally, nearing midnight, they reached the whale's colossal stomach and carved their way inside. Suddenly, they noticed strange movements within the mass of flesh. Upon approaching, they could hear heavy breathing. The ship's captain immediately called for the doctor, who arrived with sharp scissors. With great care, he cut through the flesh until he exposed a foot encased in a shoe. Within a minute, they pulled out the body of a young man—James Bartley, though shriveled and unconscious, was alive and breathing.

The unfortunate Bartley was lifted onto the ship. His body was washed in seawater, and he was laid in the captain's quarters. After a few hours, the doctor managed to bring him back to consciousness, but he soon lost it again. Two weeks passed as he battled for his life, suffering from hallucinations and high fever, waking from his delirium gripped by madness. Only after a month did he start gradually regaining strength. Several weeks more passed before he regained the ability to speak, enabling him to recount his experience: "I was flung into the air, and as I fell back into the water, I found a massive mouth gaping towards me. I let out a scream. It was horrifying and terrible. I slipped inside between small, sharp teeth, into what seemed like a quivering rubber tube filled with oily fluid. I almost lost my breath. I struggled to inhale, yet hardly could. I felt the space I was in with my hands—a repulsive space. The darkness was absolute and the heat intense. I understood the whale had swallowed me, and shock overwhelmed me until I lost consciousness. When I awoke, I found you all standing around my bed."

James Bartley spent nearly fifteen hours inside the whale's belly. It turns out the whale's stomach acids had a detrimental effect on his body. His skin turned white and continuously peeled. Additionally, every strand of his hair fell out. His vision deteriorated until he was nearly blind. For 18 years, until his death, many medical experts visited him but could not assist him, marveling at how he survived inside the whale for hours. On the stone monument in the city of Gloucester, it reads:

James Bartley, 1870-1909, a modern Jonah

(James Bartley, 1870-1909, a modern Jonah).