During
His Imprisonment In Mauritius, One Of His Men Stayed With Him Voluntarily
For Several Years, Enduring The Unpleasantness Of
Life in confinement far
away from home, out of sheer devotion to his commander; and did not leave
until Flinders,
Becoming hopeless of liberation, insisted on his taking
advantage of an opportunity of going to England.
There is a touching proof of Flinders' tender regard for his men in the
naming of a small group of islands to the west of the bell-mouth of
Spencer's Gulf. A boat's crew commanded by the mate, John Thistle, was
drowned there, through the boat capsizing. Thistle was an excellent
seaman, who had been one of Bass's whale-boat crew in 1798, and had
volunteered for service with the Investigator. Not only did Flinders name
an island after him, and another after a midshipman, Taylor, who perished
on the same occasion, but he gave to each of the islands near Cape
Catastrophe the name of one of the seamen who lost their lives in the
accident. In a country where men are valued for their native worth rather
than on account of rank or wealth, such as is happily the case to a very
large degree in Australia - and this is a far finer thing than mere
political democracy - perhaps nothing in the career of Flinders is more
likely to ensure respect for his memory, apart from the value of his
achievements, than this perpetuation of the names of the sailors who died
in the service.
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