In the year 1804, the Government sent out the Hindostan, of 1100 tons,
laden with supplies for Lord Nelson, then commander-in-chief of the
Mediterranean fleet. This ship was commanded by Captain Le Gros, with
259 persons on board, including passengers, women, and children.
She arrived at Gibraltar in the month of March, and sailed again from
thence in company with the Phoebe frigate, to join Lord Nelson off
Toulon, but she was separated from her consort during a heavy gale of
wind, in the Gulf of Lyons.
On the 2nd of April, at about seven o'clock in the morning, the ship
being then thirteen leagues to the south-east of Cape St. Sebastian, a
thick smoke was observed to issue from the fore and main hatchways.
Lieutenant Tailour, who was on the quarter-deck, heard the cry of
"fire," and saw the people rushing up the hatchway in the midst of
volumes of smoke, coming from the orlop deck. He instantly called for
the drummer and the mate of the watch, and desired the former to beat
to quarters, and the latter to inform Captain Le Gros of what had
occurred, whilst he himself would go below, and endeavour to ascertain
the cause and the place of the fire.
Lieutenant Tailour then went down into the orlop gratings, and
penetrated some distance into each tier; the smoke was very thick in
both, particularly forward. He next went to the sail room, where there
was no appearance of either fire or smoke. He was then joined by
Lieutenant Banks and several other officers, and they proceeded
together to the hold. Here the smoke was very dense, and it affected
the throat like that from hot tar. The officers were satisfied, upon
inquiry, that there had not been either light or tar in the hold. They
then tried to re-enter the tiers, but were driven back by the
suffocating smoke. The absence of heat, however, convinced them that
the fire was not in that part of the ship. A cry was heard that the
fire was down forward,--but we will use Lieutenant Tailour's own words
to describe the scene. He says,--
'When I reached the fore-ladder, none being able to tell me where the
fire was, I went down to examine, when at the orlop, I put my head
over the spars which were stowed in the starboard side, then behind
the ladder in the larboard side; the smoke came thickest in the
starboard side from aft; feeling nothing like fire heat, I attempted
to go down to the cockpit, but ere I reached the third or fourth step
on the ladder, I felt myself overpowered, and called for help. Several
men had passed me upwards on my way down, none I believe were below
me. By the time I came up to the orlop ladder, some one came and
helped me; when I reached the lower deck, I fell, but not, as many
did that day, lifeless.'
When Lieutenant Tailour recovered, he made strict inquiries, whether
any fire had been discovered in the cockpit or store-rooms, and being
assured that there had not, he ordered the lower deck to be scuttled.
So energetic was this officer, that eight or ten minutes only had
elapsed since the first alarm had been given, before the hammocks were
all got on deck, and the ports opened, to give light and room below,
until the place of fire could be discovered, and better means obtained
for drawing water. Mr. Tailour did not recover from the suffocation so
fast as he expected, and was obliged to go upon deck for air. There he
found Captain Le Gros in consultation with the master, who, being of
opinion that the fire was on the larboard side, gave orders to wear
the ship, so as to allow the water which had been hove in to flow over
her. Mr. Tailour differed from them, and said he was convinced that
the fire was on the orlop starboard side. In a few minutes he again
went below and assisted in working the engine, and giving directions
for scuttling on the larboard side, where the smoke appeared most
dense.
The engine, however, proved of little avail, for the smoke increased
to such a degree as to prevent the people working on the orlop deck;
the hatches were, therefore, laid over, the ports lowered, everything
covered up, and all means used to prevent the circulation of air.
Having taken these precautions, Lieutenant Tailour reported to Captain
Le Gros what had been done, and at the same time advised that the
boats should be got out without loss of time. The captain seems to
have objected to this, on the plea that if the boats were got out, the
people would all crowd into them, and abandon the ship without an
effort to save her. To this objection Mr. Tailour replied, that to
save human life must be their first consideration, and that every
moment's delay was fraught with peril and death. 'If we wait,' said
he, 'till the last moment, it may not be possible to save any; we can
get the marines under arms.' Captain Le Gros yielded the point; he
directed the sergeant of marines to get his men under arms, with
orders to load with ball, and to shoot without hesitation the first
man who should attempt to go into the boats without permission. All
hands were then turned up, and the command given to 'out boats.'
The order was promptly executed, and as soon as the boats were out and
secure for towing, the ship's head was pointed to the north-west, with
the view of nearing the land, and in hopes that she might fall in with
the Juno.
In the meantime, a party was employed in getting the booms overboard
for a raft, the fore and main gratings were laid up and covered over,
and Lieutenant Banks was sent down to get the powder out of the
magazine, and stow it away in the stern gallery. He could only
partially accomplish this; for the smoke increased upon them so much
that the men were obliged to desist. The powder they had got up was
thrown overboard, and water was poured down to drown that which
remained; but the task of filling the magazine was hopeless, and
therefore abandoned. Many of the men were drawn up apparently
lifeless, amongst whom were Lieutenant Banks and the gunner.
Lieutenant Tailour then went below to ascertain how matters were going
on; he found only the boatswain's mate in the cockpit, who was almost
stupified by the smoke. Mr. Tailour assisted him to reach the deck,
and then the gallant officer was preparing to return to the magazine,
taking a rope with him by way of precaution, when Lieutenant Banks,
with noble generosity, darted past him, also with a rope in his hand,
and descended on the dangerous service; but in a short time he was
drawn up in a state of insensibility. All hope of doing anything with
the magazine was then given up; but although the smoke was so powerful
below, it had not yet got possession of the after part of the lower
deck.
It was therefore proposed, and the proposition was immediately acted
on, to cut scuttles through the starboard foremost cabin in the
ward-room, and one under it in the gun-room, into the magazine. This
was found more practicable than was at first supposed, as the cabins
kept out the smoke. When they were cutting these scuttles, the smoke
came up in such dense volumes through the after-hatchway, that it was
necessary to shut it closely up, and the scuttle in the after-part of
the captain's cabin was opened for a passage to the ward-room, and
they began to haul up the powder, and heave it overboard out of the
gallery windows. The ward-room doors, and every other passage for the
smoke were carefully closed, and thus it was kept tolerably well
under; yet many of the men employed in the duty were taken up to all
appearance dead. Amongst them we again find Lieutenant Banks, and Mr.
Pearce, the gunner. We cannot proceed without expressing the
admiration we feel for the heroism and self-devotion displayed by
officers and men. This is the third time we have seen Lieutenant Banks
risk his life in the performance of his duty, and it was not the last
of such efforts to save the vessel and the lives of his
fellow-sufferers.
For the present, we will again adopt the language of Lieutenant
Tailour:--'About noon,' said he, 'I went aft upon the poop, where
many were collected, but the marines were drawn up on duty upon the
poop above. Francis Burke, the purser's steward, was lying dead on one
of the arm chests, said to have been suffocated by the smoke below.
Soon after this, my attention was drawn forward, where a vast body of
smoke issued from the hatchway, gallery doors, funnels, and scuttles,
which I soon saw were blown off; I rushed forward and got them secured
again, and in coming aft found the hatches had all been blown off; the
two foremost main-gratings had gone down the hatchway. The after one I
assisted to replace, also the tarpaulin, which was excessively hot,
and left the carpenter to get it secured on. I next thought of the
magazine, where I dreaded some accident. On my way aft, I met some
people again bringing Mr. Banks up in their arms. On reaching the
ward-room, I saw through the windows the stern ladders filled with
people; I broke a pane of glass, and ordered them on the poop,
threatening instant death to any one who dared disobey. On their
beginning to move up, I just took time to summons the men from the
magazine, and went up to the poop to see every one was once more under
the eye of the marines. This done, the smoke having in a great measure
subsided, the maintop-sail was filled, and top-gallant sails set.'
About two o'clock in the afternoon, when they had been seven hours
contending with the fire and smoke, land was discerned through the
haze, on the weather-bow, and it was supposed to be above Cape Creux.
Captain Le Gros, fearing the signals might fall into the enemy's
hands, hove them all overboard. The sight of land gave a turn to the
men's thoughts, and spurred them on to greater exertion. The fire
rapidly increased; but the efforts of the captain and his noble crew
increased with the danger.
Again they attempted to clear the magazine; but the smoke again drove
the men from below, and rendered them powerless. Their courage was,
indeed, kept up by the sight of land, though still five leagues
distant; but there was still much to be done--many perils yet
surrounded them.--and it was awful to feel that fire and water were
contending for the mastery, and that they must be the victims of one
of these elements, unless by the mercy of God the progress of the
conflagration was stayed, and time allowed them to reach the distant
shore. The fire was increasing fearfully; so much so, that Lieutenant
Tailour describes the lower deck 'burning like the flame in an oven.'
All communication was cut off from the fore-part of the ship. The
flames flew up the fore and main hatchways as high as the lower yards,
but still the brave crew remained firm to their duty; and by keeping
tarpaulins over the hatchways, and pouring down water, they managed
for a time to keep the fire from taking serious hold abaft.
But the crisis was fast approaching when human skill and human
fortitude could be of no avail. In defiance of all their exertions and
precautions, the devouring element pursued its course. Every moment it
was gaining aft; and had not officers and men been true to themselves
and to each other, they must all have perished. The mizenmast was on
fire in the captain's cabin, and the flames were bursting from all the
lee-ports. It was now a quarter past five o'clock, and they were
entering the Bay of Rosas. Could they venture to hold on their way,
and still remain in the ship? A moment's glance around him sufficed
for Captain Le Gros to decide the question. The now triumphant element
was no longer smouldering and creeping stealthily onwards amidst smoke
and darkness, but with a lurid glare, and a sullen roar, the flames
rolled on. The word was given to launch the raft; it was obeyed, and
in a few minutes more the vessel struck, about a mile from the beach,
between the Fort of Ampurius and the Church of St. Pierre. She was now
on fire both fore and aft. Self-preservation is the law of nature, it
is said; but there is a stronger law governing the actions of the
British seaman. Officers and men were of one mind. They all united in
putting first the women and children, then the sick and the
foreigners, into the launch. The two yawls and the jolly-boat took as
many as they could carry from the stern, and put them on board some
Spanish boats from La Escada, which had been sent to their assistance,
but which neither threats nor entreaties could avail to bring near to
the ship.
The remainder of the people were then ordered on to the raft, and by
the time it was covered, the flames came aft so thick, that it was
necessary to send it off from the stern. All now had left the
ill-fated vessel, except the gallant Captain Le Gros, Lieutenant
Tailour, and the master. When they saw all the rest clear away, and
not till then, did they descend by the stern ladders into one of the
yauls and pulled towards the shore, which they had scarcely reached
when she blew up.
The value of this ship was estimated at 100,000_l._, and the loss to
Lord Nelson must have been incalculable. Yet it is said that he was
much more distressed by the loss of the despatches, which were taken
by the enemy, about the same time, in the Swift cutter.
In a letter to Lord St. Vincent, dated the 19th of April, Admiral
Nelson says, speaking of Captain Le Gros.--"If his account be correct
(he was then upon his trial), he had great merit for the order in
which the ship was kept. The fire must have originated from medicine
chests breaking, or from wet getting down, which caused the things to
heat. The preservation of the crew seems little short of a miracle. I
never read such a journal of exertions in my whole life."[6]
The captain, officers, and ship's company were most honourably
acquitted by the sentence of court-martial.
Brenton, in his _Naval History_, remarks, 'In support of the
reasonable conjectures of the Admiral (Lord Nelson), as to the origin
of the fire, we might adduce many instances of ships in the cotton
trade having been on fire in the hold during a great part of their
voyage from China, owing to the cargo having been wet when compressed
into the ship. Hemp has been known to ignite from the same cause; and
the dockyard of Brest was set on fire by this means in 1757. New
painted canvas or tarpaulin, laid by before it is completely dry, will
take fire; and two Russian frigates were nearly burnt by the
accidental combination of a small quantity of soot, of burnt fir wood,
hemp, and oil, tied up with some matting,'
Mr. Thomas Banks, acting-lieutenant of the Hindostan, was recommended
to Lord Nelson for promotion, by the members of the court-martial, in
consequence of his conduct on this occasion; and he was advanced to
the rank of lieutenant on the 23rd of June, 1804. This gallant officer
died in 1811. Lieutenant George Tailour was appointed to the Tigre in
1808, and was promoted for his gallant conduct in cutting out a convoy
of transports which had taken refuge in this same Bay of Rosas, where,
five years before, he had equally distinguished himself, under even
more trying circumstances.