1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Mankey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Even though thousands of soldiers may fight in 7 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: a war, few become household names like Georges Patton, Ulysses S. 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: Grant or Robert E. Lee. But one man was so 9 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: beloved by his country that when he died, all efforts 10 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: were exhausted to preserve his body, and in the process 11 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: they also made a pretty gross cocktail out of him. 12 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: Horatio Nelson was born in England in seventy eight to 13 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: a well to do family. He joined his uncle, a 14 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: Royal Navy captain, on January one of seventeen seventy one, 15 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: aboard the HMS Reasonable as a seaman. He was only 16 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: thirteen at the time. After serving aboard several ships in 17 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: the East and West Indies for the next six years, 18 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: Nelson returned to London for his Lieutenant's exam, which was 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: presided over by two Navy captains and his uncle. It's 20 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: safe to say that he passed and was almost immediately 21 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: appointed to a ship bound for the Caribbean. Throughout his career, 22 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: he commanded a number of vessels and continued to fight 23 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: for his country. He may have been the poster child 24 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: for nepotism, but he made the most of that privilege 25 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: and it earned him a great amount of acclaim and 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: admiration from his fellow Briton's. He was a strong leader 27 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: who tried not to let politics influence his decisions, so 28 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: when he was killed by a musket ball in October 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: of eighteen oh five, his death was mourn all over England. 30 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: He'd been shot while standing on the deck of his ship, 31 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: the HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. He'd been 32 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: shot through his left shoulder and spine. The musket ball 33 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: had also punctured one of his lungs as it traveled 34 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: through his body. He died from his injuries three hours later. 35 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: Word of his death made its way back home in 36 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: sixteen days, which sent the country into an emotional tail spin. 37 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: People wrote so many poems and letters to newspapers expressing 38 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: their grief that the press had to issue statements asking 39 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: them to stop. But there was a greater problem than 40 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: the abundance of odes. Vice Admiral Nelson's body still had 41 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: to travel back to England, and it was rotting. It 42 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: was brought to the ship's surgeon, William Beatty, who believed 43 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: that he could help. Beatty was something of an anomaly 44 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: among surgeons. At the time, surgery was not the respected 45 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: profession it is today. If someone needed a limb amputated, 46 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: they had about thirty percent chance of surviving the procedure, 47 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: and if they needed a new organ, well that was 48 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: the end of them. But Beatty was different. During the 49 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: Battle of Trafalgar, where Nelson was killed, he treated one 50 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: and two injured soldiers. NINETI survived thanks to his efforts. Unfortunately, 51 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: by the time Nelson made it to his table, the 52 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: Vice Admiral was already gone, which left Baby with the 53 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: job of preserving his corpse for transport. Common practice dictated 54 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: that Nelson be submerged in navy rum. The alcohol would 55 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: keep him fresh ish until he could be properly interred, 56 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: but the surgeon chose to go another way. Rather than 57 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: use rum, he opted for something a little stronger, namely 58 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: ethanol and brandy. It was a daring choice, but one 59 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: that was made while the ship was struggling to stay afloat. 60 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: The Victory had taken serious damage during the battle, and 61 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: the goal was to get Nelson home in one piece. 62 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: More or less, the brandy ethanol combination was of a 63 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: higher proof than the rum, and Baby believed that it 64 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: would better preserve the corpse. Nelson was quickly placed in 65 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: a cask of the mixture as the ship began its 66 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: arduous journey home. The thing about brandy, though, is that 67 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: it doesn't make a great embalming fluid. After two weeks 68 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 1: at sea, the cask erupted, It's lid blown off due 69 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: to the gas building up inside. It was so shocking 70 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: that a watchman task was standing guard over Nelson's body 71 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: thought the Vice Admiral had come back to life and 72 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: had pushed the cask open from the inside. The Victory 73 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: eventually arrived back in England to throngs of people, all 74 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: hoping to catch a glimpse of their beloved hero. But 75 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: he wasn't exactly ready for his close up. For one, 76 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: Baby still needed to conduct an autopsy. What was left 77 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: of Nelson was then wrapped in linen and removed from 78 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: the cask so the surgeon could locate the bullet that 79 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: had killed him. From there, the remains were moved into 80 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: a lead coffin, which was also filled with a concoction 81 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: made of brandy, mirror and camphor for further preservation. There 82 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: was concern that Nelson's skin might slough off like a 83 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: loose sweater when moved one last time, but luckily his 84 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: corpse retained its composure and was placed in a wooden 85 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: coffin its final resting place. The funeral was held on 86 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: January nine, eighteen oh six, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. 87 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: It was a spectacle too, totally one point two million 88 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,799 Speaker 1: dollars by today's standards, and the ordeal left a lasting 89 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: legacy on British culture, specifically it's drinking culture. Folks started 90 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: calling Navy rum Nelson's blood, and if someone stole liquors 91 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: straight from the cask, they referred to it as tapping 92 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: the admiral. As for Baby, he was given the musket 93 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,239 Speaker 1: ball as a gift. He turned it into a watch fob, 94 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: which he carried in his pocket for the remainder of 95 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: his life. Baby died in eighteen forty two, and the 96 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: ball was then passed on to another high ranking official, 97 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria. It's been a show piece at Windsor Castle 98 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: ever since. But although it was an impressive artifact from 99 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: the Battle of Trafalgar, it pales in comparison to the 100 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: story of how Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was pickled and 101 00:05:48,800 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: brought home after his death a curiosity. Indeed, when we're young, 102 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: many of us think our parents are superheroes, invincible and constant, 103 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: like they'll be here forever. It's hard to imagine a 104 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: world without them in it. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky. 105 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: Our parents are not bulletproof or invulnerable, and before long 106 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: we must confront their mortality head on. In eighteen eighty, 107 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: the Lang children didn't have a chance to say goodbye 108 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: to their father. They had no reason to think anything 109 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,679 Speaker 1: would happen to him, But on one afternoon they witnessed 110 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: the unthinkable and couldn't explain how it had happened. David 111 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: Lange was a farmer in Gallatin, Texas. He was a 112 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: humble man, living a modest life with his wife and children, 113 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: just trying to get by. It was a sunny September 114 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: twenty three and David was walking through his fields taking 115 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: care of the day's work. These fields were fairly flat, 116 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,840 Speaker 1: with no obstructions or plant life to get in his way. 117 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: He wasn't behind a fence, and there wasn't a ingletree, 118 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: and he were in sight. Mrs Lang and the kids 119 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: were back at the house watching him move across the property. 120 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: As they sat inside observing his movements, they suddenly realized 121 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: that he wasn't there. Literally, in the blink of an eye, 122 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: David had simply disappeared. Their first thought was that he 123 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: had tripped and fallen, maybe down a sinkhole or other 124 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: open cavity, but as they ran toward where he was 125 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: last seen, they realized there was no hole to be found. 126 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: He was just gone. Others who had heard the commotion 127 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: came to help Mrs Lang, who was beside herself with 128 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: fear and grief at the disappearance of her husband. They 129 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: helped her back to the house while her neighbors formed 130 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,239 Speaker 1: a search party. After some time, though it was clear 131 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: that David was nowhere to be found. Such an event 132 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,119 Speaker 1: would be enough to traumatize anyone, but David's children never 133 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: gave up hope. They knew their father was still out 134 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: there somewhere, And so one year later, their daughter returned 135 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: to the field where he had disappeared. Perhaps there was 136 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: a clue or a remnant from that day that indicate 137 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: where he had gone. As she stood there, looking out 138 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: on the vast expanse before her, she called out to him. 139 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: She shouted for him several times, but heard nothing in return. 140 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: It was a silly thing to think that someone who 141 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: had up and vanished would just reappear out of nowhere, 142 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: and so she began her trek back to the house. 143 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: Perhaps she had been distraught or the wind had hit 144 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: her ear in a certain way. But as she was 145 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: turning away from the field, she heard her father's voice, 146 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: and he was in distress. She ran back to the 147 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: house and fetched her mother, bringing her back to the 148 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,439 Speaker 1: field with her. She called out again her father's voice 149 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: let out another cry for help. The next day they 150 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: heard it yet again. It lingered for almost a week 151 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: until it just disappeared, just as Lang had done one 152 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: year prior. Those who were familiar with the story claimed 153 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: that the grass where Lange was less seen grew better 154 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 1: than anywhere else on the farm, and that his cattle 155 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: wouldn't eat there Others said that the spot was barren, 156 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: with the grass only growing around it. Maybe a beam 157 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: of light or energy had carried him off into another 158 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: dimension or a plane of existence. Whatever the case, there 159 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: was something about that part of the farm that drew 160 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: inquiry from the family and neighbors, or did it. After 161 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,559 Speaker 1: the tale had been reported a number of times over 162 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: the years, researchers looked into it. A Tennessee librarian in 163 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies claimed it had come from a hoaxer 164 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: named Joseph Mulhattan. Mulhatton had lived in Tennessee in eighteen 165 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: eighty and had invented the story to win a lying contest, 166 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: although there was no evidence of that having never happened either. 167 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: Some attribute David Ling's disappearance to Student Palmer, a mystery 168 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: writer who wrote his own version of the story in 169 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three. Palmer's narrative was published in Fate magazine 170 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,959 Speaker 1: and was believed to be the first account, or at 171 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: least among the earliest. When asked about its origins, Palmer 172 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: said the story was not his. Sarah Lang, David's real 173 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 1: life daughter, had told it to him. He had simply 174 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:02,199 Speaker 1: written the account down for them. Magazine, but experts believe 175 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: that Lange had actually borrowed the idea from author Ambrose Beers, 176 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: who had published a similar tale in eighteen eighty eight 177 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: titled The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. It was about 178 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: a plantation owner who disappeared under similar circumstances. But when 179 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: she was challenged, Sarah Lange said that Beers was actually 180 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: the story thief and not her. Ever since then, it's 181 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,079 Speaker 1: been a case of he said, she said, And despite 182 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: the lack of proof that anyone named Lange was living 183 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,359 Speaker 1: in Gallatin, Tennessee in eighteen eighty David's story has persisted 184 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: to this day. But hey, if you want to see 185 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:35,839 Speaker 1: it for yourself, you can always try to catch a 186 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: production of the two thousand two stage adaptation of Beers's tail. 187 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: It too, is called The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, 188 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: with music written by a composer named David Lane. I 189 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 190 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 191 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: the show by visiting curiosity these podcast dot com. The 192 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with 193 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: how Stuff works. I make another award winning show called 194 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television show 195 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 196 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:20,559 Speaker 1: world of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.