CAPTAIN MARTIN.
It will be long before Britons will hear the name of John Bohun Martin
without tears, as they think of his noble heroism amid circumstances
sufficiently appalling to rob the bravest of his self-possession; of
his disregard for his own personal safety while duty commanded him to
remain at a post of imminent danger; of his resolute perseverance in
doing all that the most skilful seaman could, to ride out the furious
gale. He was not new to the sea, for from his boyhood he had been
accustomed to cope with its storms and dangers, and had not risen to
the post of Master without passing through years of the most careful
training and discipline. He was born at Brompton, April 27th, 1819.
When yet young, having a love for the sea, he was entered as midshipman
in the East India ship _True Briton_, and made several voyages to
Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. He remained in this ship four years, and
during this time he diligently studied navigation, particularly in its
scientific branches. In 1840, he was appointed third officer of the
_Southampton_, a vessel trading to the East Indies, and having in those
days some celebrity as a fast-sailing ship. He passed through twelve
additional years of service before he was entrusted with the command of
a vessel, but all who knew him spoke very highly of his diligence and
general character. He enjoyed the esteem and friendship of the Captains
under whom he served: among them were the well-known names of Beach,
and Wimble, and Nash.
[Illustration: J. B. Martin]
In the year 1852 he was appointed to the command of the _Essex_, and
continued her Master four years; at the end of which period he took
the command of the _Suffolk_. There is no doubt that he owed this
appointment entirely to his own merits as a navigator, and to the
confidence which his general character inspired. The post which the
Captain of the _Suffolk_ was expected creditably to fill, was in every
way an honourable, but, at the same time, a most responsible one. The
ship was one of Messrs. Wigram’s best and fastest-sailing clippers,
and was expressly designed for the Australian trade. In 1856 the
gold-digging mania in Australia was attracting great numbers of people
from our shores, and there was a sharp competition amongst ship-owners,
both for passengers and cargo. Fast vessels were much in demand,
for, to the travellers athirst for gold, a single day was deemed of
the greatest importance; and safe ships were of course sought after,
because of the precious cargo entrusted to their keeping.
Accordingly, during that period a number of fine vessels were built
and launched, and their owners were accustomed to start them at the
same time and for the same destination. The _Suffolk_, however, could
successfully compare with any vessel of her class, as she had been
expressly built for the Australian trade, and, regardless of cost, had
been fitted by her wealthy owners with all the equipments necessary
to render her one of the fastest and, at the same time, safest ships
afloat.
From a host of able and experienced navigators, who would have counted
it an honour to have assumed the command, Messrs. Wigram selected John
Bohun Martin to be Captain of the _Suffolk_, and never did owners make
a better choice. Many are still living who crossed the seas with him
during those days of well-nigh angry competition, and who will recall
with pleasure his practised skill, his genial, open disposition, his
gentlemanly bearing, and his studious care for the comfort of his
passengers in all the little details which have so much to do with the
making or marring of the pleasure of a long voyage. He was one of the
kindliest and most simple-hearted of men, pleased with very simple
things, delighting in riddles in which a very child would have seen
no mystery, and with all a sailor’s superstition about him; fond of
cats, and a great partiality for absolutely doing nothing at all when
he was not on board. With his attached relatives in Highbury Park he
would always spend his time when ashore, and go about with them here
and there; but he was perhaps never happier than when he could throw
himself back in the large easy chair, and read the advertisements of
the _Times_ and the advertisement especially of his own ship. Not tall,
and not short, and every inch the gentleman; with a fresh-coloured
face, light hair and blue eyes, and ambling motion, as if in any place
he wanted sea-room and must have it; with a fine cheery voice, and a
laugh of sterling quality; with a woman’s heart of tenderness within
the strength that seemed equal to any danger--as such, John Bohun
Martin will long be remembered.
One who knew him well, and who could not speak of his loss without
deep emotion, told the writer of many little acts of attention, which,
although too trivial to appear in print, are not without importance
when measured by the comfort they imparted, and by the void which their
absence would have created. His heart was truly in his profession,
and he had all the genuine sailor’s enthusiasm, and, we might almost
say, affection, for his ship, of whose equipments, beauty, and good
qualities he spoke with glowing pride. As he was never married, some
used laughingly to say that the Captain had no bride but his ship; and
certainly he had reason to be proud of the _Suffolk_ during the eight
years she was under his command.
Her first trip to Australia was performed with unusual rapidity. It
is true that, on this passage, she encountered very heavy weather:
a violent hurricane carried away her topmasts, and for a short
time crippled her; but the damage was quickly repaired at sea, and
notwithstanding this mishap, the _Suffolk_ arrived in Australia in an
unusually short time, and could bear to be favourably compared with
some of the finest vessels afloat, which had started at the same time.
Captain Martin had displayed such skill, and had shewn such energy in
circumstances that were fraught with much danger both to passengers and
cargo, that, upon his return to England, the mercantile portion of the
city of London presented him with a handsome testimonial as a mark of
their esteem. A sum of more than £500 was presented to him.
An interesting story stands connected with the first voyage of the
_Suffolk_. While she was in a dismantled condition, and her crew
were repairing damages, an American vessel, also bound from London
for Melbourne, spoke the _Suffolk_, and offered assistance. Captain
Martin courteously declined, whereupon the American Captain said he
would report the _Suffolk_ on his arrival at Melbourne. Captain Martin
replied, that he had better take care the _Suffolk_ did not report
_him_. The vessel proved that Captain Martin’s confidence in his ship,
and in his own seamanship, was not ill-founded. The American Captain
reached Melbourne after what he considered a rapid passage, and the day
after his arrival called on the agents of the _Suffolk_ and reported
having fell in with her. They thanked him, and asked would he like to
see Captain Martin, who was in the next room. The American Captain was
much surprised to find that the _Suffolk_ had arrived five days before
and reported him.
The _Suffolk_ now commenced a career of success which enabled her,
under the direction of her able commander, to take rank before all
other ships in the same trade. She made, during eight years he
commanded her, ten voyages to Australia and back; nor did she meet
with any mishap or casualty of any kind, save that to which we have
referred on her first trip. During these years Captain Martin not only
enjoyed the high esteem and friendship of her owners, but also of men
high in position both in England and Australia. It will be hard to
say, perhaps, in which country his loss will be the more deeply felt;
for, both at home and abroad, he numbered a multitude of attached and
admiring friends. He was a man pre-eminently fitted, it seems, to
infuse what was loving and kindly in others: not only among passengers,
but among those who were under his command, he is described as being
one of the most trueminded and unselfish of men. Mr. Greenhill, the
second engineer of the _London_, and one of the survivors, a man who,
without a tear, had faced all the horrors of the wreck, and all the
dangers of the raging sea for twenty-four hours, in an open boat,
fairly broke down, and sobbed like a child, as the thought of his last
interview with the gallant Captain presented itself to his mind.
Many of the passengers with him on former voyages can recall, not only
his gentlemanly tastes, but the extreme simplicity of his habits. While
he kept one of the best and most hospitable of tables for those on
board his ship, his own wants were of the most moderate description. On
last Christmas-day his moderation at the table of his relatives called
even for remark: he touched neither wine nor spirits throughout the
feast; indeed, generally speaking he was a man of the most abstemious
habits, and never touched spirits. The writer has heard from one most
likely best to know, that only once in his life did he taste a small
quantity of spirits, but the alcohol had such an effect upon him, that
he never repeated the experiment.
Who can tell what influence the fact of their captain’s abstemiousness,
and his taking nothing stronger than coffee during those dreadful days
and nights of suspense--who can tell the influence that such an example
may have exerted upon the minds of the crew? There have been many
painful instances of sailors, when it has been made known to them that
there is no hope, rushing to the spirit and wine stores, and meeting
death at last in a state of intoxication; but on board the _London_
there was nothing approaching to this. On the contrary, there was the
strictest sobriety among the crew and passengers, and we cannot help
believing that Captain Martin’s example had much to do with it.
Such is a brief sketch of the man whose name will, for many years,
henceforth be a household word for all that was enduring and brave amid
the most distracting perils, and for all that was gentle and endearing
among his relatives and friends.
He had served a tolerably long apprenticeship to the sea--his last
voyage was his thirteenth to Melbourne as commander--and his reputation
as Master of the _Suffolk_ had been so brilliant, that in the
forty-seventh year of his age, and at the end of 1864, he was appointed
Captain of the _London_, a vessel on which still greater care and cost
had been expended than on the _Suffolk_, which he had so successfully
navigated for upwards of eight years. The _London_ was built in
pursuance of the plan for steaming to Australia round the Southern
Cape. She made two very rapid voyages to Australia and back, and fully
justified all the cost and care expended upon her construction. Her
value, exclusive of cargo, was estimated at about 80,000_l._ Captain
Martin’s share in her may have been about 5000_l._
The _London_ was therefore on her third voyage, and, commanded by a
Captain whose good fortune had become almost proverbial, and belonging
to a firm who, in their time, had never lost a ship, she set sail upon
the voyage which was so soon terribly interrupted. But while she is
yet in sight of Plymouth, we must call the reader’s attention to one
passenger who has gone on board, whose name will live as long as there
are hearts to feel what is life-giving in the gospel, what is majestic
in faith, and what is sustaining in death. We need scarcely say that we
allude to the Rev. D. J. Draper.
[Illustration]