1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



99 



IN MEMORIAM OF THE RAMBLER. 

 His Last Hours and his Life History. 



BY E. R. ROOT. 



John H. Martin was born in Hartford, 

 N. Y., Dec. 30, 1839, and died at the Hos- 

 pital Reina Mercedes. Havana, Cuba, Jan. 

 13, 1''03. About a month ago he was seen 

 by our friend Mr. Danzenbaker, at his cab- 

 in in Taco-Taco. At that time he appeared 

 to be reasonably well, and seemed like the 

 John H. Martin of old, bubbling over with 

 his eft'ervescing- jollity and kindly good na- 

 ture. But little did he think then that the 

 end was so near. Soon after, the Rambler 

 told Mr. Moe, one of his neighbors, that he 

 was not well, and that he would have to go 

 to Havana, to some hospital where he could 

 get the best care. Mr. Danzenbaker, Mr. de 

 Beche, and others, called on him every day 

 thereafter, onlj' to find that he was a very 

 sick man. He began to rail}', and seemed 

 better until pneumonia took hold of him, 

 with the results above stated. Mr. Danzen- 

 baker, who visited him during his last 

 hours, writes concerning him: 



Mr. de Beche and I went together to see him. He 

 seemed so much better, and so hopeful, that we both 

 thought he wouhi soon be able to sit up. He again told 

 us that it seemt d too much for us to come every dav ; 

 but we assured him we felt it a pleasant duty to come 

 and see him gaining so nicelj'. 



Monday, Jan. IJ, Mr Hilbert (Mr. A. I. Root's Mich- 

 igan neighborl went with me to see friend Martin, 

 that he might have a clear knowledge of his condition 

 to report to Bro. Root, as he was going to him ne.xt 

 day. We found him sitfFt ring severelv from pneumi - 

 Ilia, his breathing being fast and painful. He was glad 

 to .see us. As i took his hand for ttie last time he 

 seemed to realize fully the gravity of his condition. 

 The nurse re<iuested us to be brief, as he was very 

 weak. As I bade him good by I told hiin I would come 

 again the next day. and he replied, " All right." That 

 was the last word that he utttred to an Atnerican ex- 

 cept his faithfvil nurse. It was then S p. m Two 

 hours later he was delirious and unconscious till 7:80 

 p. M., Jan. rUh, when the kindlj- genial spirit of our 

 dear friend passed on to a higher life, free from sick- 

 ness and sorrow for ever. He was very much stronger 

 than many of us. Who will be the next ? 



Havana, Jan. H. F. Danzenbaker. 



Thus our friend has gone to meet that 

 dear companion his wife, from whom he has 

 been separated these many years. Not- 

 withstanding the light vein of humor that 

 pervaded his writings there was in his 

 heart a cloud of sorrow that seems never to 

 have left him entirelj' — sorrow for the long- 

 lost loved one of his younger days. Mr. 

 Martin was an earnest Christian, and we 

 have every reason to think he has gone to 

 meet that dear one, where fever, where sor- 

 rows, where pains, where heart-longings 

 never come, and where life blossoms out 

 into full fruition. 



Mr. Martin began writing his Rambles 

 in June, 1888. He sent us a batch of three 

 or four articles, giving an account of visits 

 among some of the prominent bee-keepers of 

 Northeastern New York. There were some 

 rude pencil-sketches representing' himself 

 and his hosts, and in the note accompany- 

 ing he said he doubted whether we could 

 use the stuff or not. After reading the 



manuscript through I remember writing 

 him that he needed to make no apologies — 

 the articles were good, and had been pass- 

 ed in to our printers. The rough sketches, 

 a prominent feature of the Rambler articles 

 from the very first, were turned over to R. 

 V. Murray, of Cleveland, to work over for 

 publication. Little did I know then that he 

 would Jieep on writing for us, traveling 

 clear across the United States, and finally 

 land in Cuba. But such was the beginning 

 of his series of Rambles. 



JOHN H. MARTIN. 



Mr. Martin gradually widened the circle 

 of his visits (around Hartford, N. Y., his 

 old home), taking in some surrounding 

 States. As time went on he finally wrote 

 us that he had an itching to go to Califor- 

 nia, and asked if we had any choice as to 

 which portion of the country he should trav- 

 el through before stopping at the Pacific 

 coast. Our preferences were given, and the 

 trip west was begun. 



Our older readers will remember how in- 

 teresting these articles were. He cartooned 

 all the fads and foibles of bee-keepers as he 

 visited them. He was always depicted 

 with a camera, an umbrella, stovepipe hat, 

 striped pants, and long frock coat. Like 

 " innocents abroad " he was constantly 

 blundering into new fields at unexpected 

 times, and how his visits were received he 

 graphicallj^ portrayed in these columns. I 

 should like, if space permitted, to give a 

 few samples from his humorous writings, 



