By BC Cook
YOU are familiar with the traditional ceremony of a funeral at sea. When a sailor died the body was enclosed in canvas or sewn in a blanket and laid on a plank. The captain said a few words, read from the Bible, usually that part in Revelation that speaks of the sea giving up her dead, the sailors raised the plank and the body slid over the rail into the ocean. Extra weight was added to help send it to the bottom. It did not always go that smoothly. This is the true tale of a time when everything went wrong.
In the Age of Sail, as great wood sailing ships crossed the Pacific, vessels did not stop to bury a sailor who died, which due to constant violence and a terrible diet, occurred rather often. Instead they sent his body overboard and did the best they could do be respectful and dignified. Jim was different. He did not go without a fight.
Even though Jim and everyone else on board knew he was going to die, he just wouldn’t get it over with, lingering on in the surgery for days, sometimes feeling better and sometimes ready to expire. The crew finally tired of waiting and wished he would die already. Perhaps what followed was his payback for their impatience.
As they carried Jim’s body to the edge of the deck, ready to slide him into the depths, a wind picked up and grabbed enough sail to jerk the boat, causing the pallbearers to lose their grip, and sending old Jim tumbling to the deck. He also ripped out of the canvas sack so everyone got one last chance to see his tortured face.
The crew picked him up and noticed how badly he smelled in death, and he did not smell all that great when alive. Then the captain realized he grabbed the wrong book. Instead of picking up his Bible he held the ship’s log, not very useful during a burial ceremony. All stood by awkwardly as he ran to his cabin to retrieve the scriptures.
Having blessed the wretched man and asking God to forgive Jim’s sins, the captain ordered him over the side, but they did not hear the comforting sound of the package splashing into the water. Jim’s canvas snagged on a nail. He hung there suspended from the edge of the ship until someone climbed out and cut him down.
Certain this was the end of their ship mate, the crew busied themselves to get underway. But someone noticed something floating in the water. In spite of the weights added to the sack, Jim did not quickly plunge to the bottom. Instead, his head bobbed menacingly a solid two feet above the water. It seemed the crew did not add enough weight to put him on the bottom, but only enough to pull his feet downward, causing his head to stand erect, as if staring in disapproval of the shabby business.
The captain decided that, rather than hauling him back on board and adding more weight, they would let the sea do the work. So they broke out a few guns and started shooting at Jim. After a few hits the sack filled with water and poor Jim headed for everlasting rest.
The story ends there as far as the crew was concerned, but it was Jim who had the last laugh, for many years later Jim showed up again. Off the coast of Australia a couple was taking a pleasure cruise. Near sunset, as the couple embraced and enjoyed their isolation, they heard a thump. Guessing they had hit a log or other piece of flotsam, they looked over the side and stared right into the face of Jim. There was not much left of him by that time, but enough for authorities to figure out who he was. The sailor that would not go quietly.
Dr. BC Cook taught history for 30 years and is a director and Pacific historian at Sealark Exploration (sealarkexploration.org). He currently lives in Hawaii.
