I have long used the term "restless corpse" to tag the many posts in which most of the story takes place after the subject died. Only this time, it's not a human subject.
Ethelbert was the name given to an 13-foot orca that swam 100 miles up the Columbia River in 1931. No one had ever seen a whale so far inland, and people came from miles around to see Ethelbert. But officials didn't know what to do with the orca, slowly dying miles away from salt water. The governor already had to stop people from shooting at it. Businessmen wanted to capture and exhibit it. The Humane Society wanted to put Ethelbert out of its misery. Some wanted to tow the orca back to sea, and others wanted to let nature take its course. Meanwhile, Edward Lesserd and his son got in a boat and harpooned Ethelbert, killing the orca almost instantly.
But then what? Lesserd was arrested, but no one could find a law that he broke. Ethelbert's corpse was preserved in formaldehyde, and the story really takes off after that. Read the whole whale of a tale of Ethelbert the orca at Amusing Planet.
(Unrelated image credit: Liam Quinn)
free ethelbert doesnt have the same ring as free willy
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