The last stitch in a sailor's burial hammock

Did sailors really put the final hammock stitch through a dead shipmate's nose before burial at sea?

Versions of the tradition did exist as a final check for any response before burial.

The custom recalled in Master and Commander puts the final stitch through the nose while a dead sailor is sewn into a hammock. The stitch was intended to reveal any remaining response. Versions of this checking tradition existed, although its use was not established as universal.