228 
IN FORBIDDEN SEAS 
hands were engaged in stowing the jib. Suddenly 
one of them, a very fat man nicknamed “ the 
Elephant,” lost his hold and dropped into the sea, 
the vessel passing right over him. He came up 
about 20 yards astern, and I threw a life-buoy 
towards him, at the same time ordering a boat to 
be lowered. This was quickly done, notwithstanding 
the high seas, and the boat pulled towards him. I 
could see him floating high out of the water; indeed, 
he appeared to be almost sitting on it at one time. 
The men in the boat said that as they pulled towards 
him he took off his coat and boots, and then started 
to swim towards them. The bow oarsman shipped 
his oar and stood by ready to grab him, but 
when within two boats 5 lengths of him a high sea 
broke between the boat and the man in the water, 
and when it had passed no trace of him could 
be seen. 
In every case of drowning in these cold waters 
which I have witnessed, or which has been described 
to me, there has been a striking similarity. While 
the man in the water appears to be all right and 
swimming strongly, all at once a collapse takes 
place and he goes down like a stone. Where men 
hang on to an upset boat, they suddenly become un¬ 
conscious, but if the water is smooth they still 
manage to hold on with their stiffened fingers or 
arms ; should the sea be rough, however, they are 
•unable to retain their grip, and that is the last of 
them. The cause of the sudden collapse is probably 
due to the cold reaching the heart and paralyzing 
its action, thus producing unconsciousness. 
On one occasion off Yetorup, when the sea was 
perfectly smooth but with a long swell, one of three 
