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 Ef fugfrinirfuuirinjrrugffugr^ 
 
A DESCRIPTION 
 
 PI T CAIRN'S ISLAND 
 
 ITS INHABITANTS. 
 
 WITH AN JLUTHENTIO ACCOUNT OP THB 
 
 ■\ 
 
 MUTINY OF THE SHIP BOTtNTI"^' 
 
 AND or THB 
 
 SUBSEqUENT FORTUNES OF THE MUTINEERS. 
 
 ■^vm 4<5hvn Jia^ ' 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 HAEPEK fc BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS. 
 
 339 ♦ 531 PEARL STREET, 
 ^BANKXIN SQUABB. 
 
 1S54. 
 
\:.<^^sr\V^'KTu<: 
 
 
 \l^{ 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 The Editor of this little volume (for he pre- 
 sumes not to write Author) has been induced to 
 bring into one connected view what has hitherto 
 appeared only in detached fragments (and some of 
 these not generally accessible) — the historical 
 narrative of an event which deeply interested the 
 public at the time of its occurrence, and from 
 which the naval service in particular, in all its 
 ranks, may still draw instructive and useful les- 
 sons. 
 
 The story in itself is replete with interest. We 
 are taught by The Book of sacred history, that the 
 disobedience of our first parents entailed on our 
 globe of earth a sinful and a suffering race : in our 
 time there has sprung up from the most abandoned 
 of this sinful family — from pirates, mutineers, and 
 murderers — a little society which, under the pre- 
 cepts of that sacred volume, is characterized by 
 religion, morality, and innocence. The discovery 
 of this happy people, as unexpected as it was ac- 
 cidental, and all that regards their condition and 
 history, partake so much of the romantic, as to 
 render the story not ill adapted for an epic poem. 
 Lord Byron, indeed, has partially treated the sub- 
 ject ; but by blending two incongruous stories, and 
 leaving both of them imperfect, and by mixing up 
 fact with fiction, has been less felicitous than usual ; 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 for, beautiful as many passages in his * Island' are, 
 in a region where every tree, and flower, and foun- 
 tain breathe poetry, yet as a whole the poem is 
 feeble and deficient in dramatic efflect. 
 
 There still remains to us at least one Poet, who, 
 if he could be prevailed on to undertake it, would 
 do justice to the story. To his suggestion the 
 publication of the present narrative owes its appear- 
 ance. But a higher object at present is engaging 
 his attention, which, when completed, judging from 
 that portion already before the public, will have 
 raised a splendid and lasting monument to the 
 name of William Sotheby, in his translation of the 
 Iliad and the Odyssey. 
 
 To the kindness of Mrs. Hey wood, the relict of 
 the late Captain Peter Hey wood, the Editor is in- 
 debted for those beautiful and affectionate letters, 
 ♦vritten by a beloved sister to her unfortunate bro- 
 ther, while a prisoner and under sentence of death ; 
 as well as for some occasional poetry, which dis- 
 plays an intensity of feeling, a tenderness of ex- 
 pression, and a high tone of sentiment, that do 
 'lonour to the head and heart of this amiable and 
 ccomplished lady. Those letters also from the 
 -Other to his deeply afflicted family will be read 
 /ith peculiar interest. 
 
 The publishers of the present edition of this 
 tvork, in order to render it more acceptable to the 
 American public, have taken the liberty of omit- 
 ting a few of the author's observations which were 
 not deemed necessary to the history, and also of 
 slightly modifying its title. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OTAHEITE. 
 
 Brief description of Otalieit6, as it was :.C tlie Time of its first Disco* 
 ery by Captain Wallis, and when subiequently visited by Captain 
 Cook Page 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 Expedition of the Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant Bligh, to convey 
 the Bread-Fruit Tree from Otaheit^ to the West India Islands. .. . 45 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE MUTINY. 
 
 Lieutenant Bligh's Narrative of (he Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of the 
 Bounty by Mr. Fletcher Christian and Part of the Crew, with Obser* 
 vationa tliereon 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 Narrative of the unparalleled Voyage of Four Thousand Miles, per- 
 formed by Lieutenant Bligh and seventeen others in an open Boat 92 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PANDORA. 
 
 Narrative of the Expedition of the Ship Pandora in Search of the Muti 
 neers — Of the Treatment of those taken on board that Ship ; and ol 
 her Destruction by crossing the Barrier Reef off the Coast of New 
 South Wales \2a 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 Abstract of the Proceedings of the Court-Martial helal on the Mutineera, 
 and the Sentence passed on them page 181 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE king's warrant. 
 
 The King's Warrant for the Pardon of those recommended by the Court 
 to his Majesty's Mercy, and for the Execution of those condemned 214 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS. 
 
 The Last of the Mutineers discovered with their Offspring: on Pitcaim's 
 Island— The History and Fate of those who carried off the Bounty, 
 and the present State and Condition of their innocent Offspring. . 244 
 
 PLATES. 
 
 View of a Creek in Matavai Bay, Otaheit^ Page 44 
 
 Besidence of John Adams on Pitcaim's Island 97} 
 
THE 
 
 EVENTFUL HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OTAHEITE. 
 
 •*The gentle Island, and the genial soil, 
 The friendly hearts, the feasts without a toil. 
 The courteous manners, but from nature caught, 
 The wealth unhoarded, and the love unbought, 
 
 The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare, yields 
 
 The unreap'd harvest of unfurrowVl fields, 
 
 And bakes its unadulterated loaves 
 
 Without a furnace in unpurchas'd groves, 
 
 And flings off famine from its fertile breast, 
 
 A priceless market for the gathrring guest ; — 
 
 These," &c. Byrom.* 
 
 The rei^ of George IH. will be distinguished in 
 history by the great extension and improvement 
 which geographical knowledge received under the 
 immediate auspices of this sovereign. At a very 
 early period after his accession to the throne of 
 these realms, expeditions of discovery were under- 
 taken, " not," as Dr. Hawkesworth observes, "with a 
 view to the acquisition of treasure, or the extent of 
 dominion, but for the improvement of commerce 
 and the increase and diffusion of knowledge." This 
 (excellent monarch was himself no mean proficient 
 in the science of geography ; and it may be doubted 
 if any one of his subjects, at the period alluded to. 
 
14 OTAHEITE. 
 
 was in possession of so extensive or so well-arranged 
 a cabinet of maps and charts as his was, or who 
 understood their merits or their defects so well as 
 he did. 
 
 The first expeditions that were sent forth, after 
 the conclusion of the war, were those of Byron, 
 Walhs, and Carteret. In the instructions to the 
 first of these commanders it is said, " there is reason 
 to believe that lands and islands of great extent, 
 hitherto unvisited by any European power, may be 
 found in the Atlantic Ocean, between the Cape of 
 Good Hope and the Magellanic Strait, within the 
 latitudes convenient for navigation, and in climates 
 adapted to the produce of commodities useful in 
 commerce." It could not require much knowledge 
 or consideration to be assured that between the 
 Cape and the Strait climates producing commodities 
 useful in commerce, with the exception of whales 
 and seals, were likely to be found. The fact was, 
 that among the real objects of this and other subse- 
 quent voyages, there was one which had engaged 
 the attention of certain philosophers, from the time 
 of the Spanish navigator Quiros : this able navigator 
 had maintained that a Terra Australis incognita must 
 necessarily exist, somewhere in the high latitudes 
 of the southern hemisphere, to counterbalance the 
 great masses of land in those of the northern one, 
 and thus maintain a just equipoise of the globe. 
 
 While these expeditions were in progress, the 
 Royal Society, in 1768, addressed an application to 
 the king, praying him to appoint a ship of war to 
 convey to the South Seas Mr. Alexander Dalrymple 
 (who had adopted the opinion of Quiros), and cer- 
 tain others, for the main purpose, however, of ob- 
 serving the transit of Venus over the sun's disk, 
 which was to happen in the year 1769. By the 
 king's command, a bark of three hundred and seventy 
 tons was taken up by the Admiralty to perform this 
 service, but as Mr. Dalrymple was a civilian, he 
 
OTAHEITE. 15 
 
 could not be intrHsted with the command of the 
 ship, and on that account dechned going in her. 
 
 The command was therefore conferred on Lieu- 
 tenant James Cook, an officer of undoubted abihty, 
 and well versed in astronomy and the theory and 
 practice of navigation, with whom the Royal Society 
 associated Mr. Charles Green, who had long been 
 assistant to Dr. Bradley, the astronomer royal, to 
 aid him in the observation of the transit. Mr. Banks, 
 a private gentleman of good fortune, who afterAvard 
 became the valuable and distinguished President of 
 the Royal Society, and Dr. Solander, a Swedish 
 gentleman of great acquirements, particularly in 
 natural history, accompanied Lieutenant Cook on 
 this interesting voyage. The islands of Marquesas 
 de Mendoza, or those of Rotterdam or Amsterdam, 
 were proposed by the Royal Society as proper 
 places for making the obserA'ation. While fitting 
 out, however, Captain Wallis returned from his ex- 
 pedition, and strongly recommended, as most suit- 
 able for the purpose, Port Royal Harbour, on an 
 island he had discovered, to which he had given the 
 name of" King George's Island," and which has since 
 been known by its native name, Otaheite or Tahite.* 
 
 This lovely island is most intimately connected 
 with the mutiny which took place on board the 
 Bounty, and with the fate of the mutineers and their 
 innocent offspring. Its many seducing temptations 
 have been urged as one, if n( it the main, cause of the 
 mutiny, which w^as supposed, at least by the com- 
 mander o-f that ship, to have been excited by 
 
 " Young hearts which languished for some sunny isle, 
 Where summer years, and summer women smile, 
 
 * The discovery of this island is owing to Fernandez de Quiros in 
 1606. which he named La Sa^ittann. Some doubts were at first enter- 
 tained of its identity with Oiaheite, but the small difference of a few 
 miles in latitude, and about two lie'^irees of longitude, the description as 
 to size, the low isthmus, the (;;e;iani-e from it of any other island at all 
 similar, and above all, the gtH-rrviiii-'al jKisition — all prove its identity— 
 altho^jgh Quiros calls u. \vnit it ctriainiy is not, a low island. 
 
16 OTAHEITE. 
 
 Men without country, who, too long estrange 
 Had found no native home, or fojind it changeu^ 
 And, half uncivilized, preferred the cave 
 Of some soft savage to the uncenain wave." 
 
 It may be proper, therefore, as introductory to 
 the present narrative, to f^ive a g'eneral description 
 of the rich and spontaneous gifts which Nature has 
 lavished on this once " happy island ;" — of the simple 
 and ingenuous manners of its natives,— and of those 
 allurements which were supposed, erroneously how- 
 ever, to have occasioned the unfortunate catastrophe 
 alluded to ; — to glance at 
 
 " The nymphs' sedacements and the magic bower," 
 
 as they existed at the period of the first intercourse 
 between the Otaheitans and the crews of those 
 ships which carried to their shores, in succession, 
 Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook. 
 
 The first communication which Wallis had with 
 these j>eople was unfortunately of a hostile nature. 
 Having approached with his ship close to the shore, 
 the usual symbol of peace and friendship, a branch 
 of the plantain-tree, was held up by a native in one 
 of the numerous canoes that surrounded the ship. 
 Great numbers, on being invited, crowded on board 
 the stranger ship, but one of them, be4ng butted on 
 the haunches by a goat, and turning hastily round, 
 perceived it rearing on its hind legs, ready to repeat 
 the blow, was so terrified at the appearance of this 
 strange animal, so different from any he had ever 
 seen, that, in the moment of terror, he jumped over- 
 board, and all the rest followed his example Avith 
 the utmost precipitation. 
 
 This little incident, however, produced no mis- 
 chief; but as the boats were sounding in the bay, 
 and several canoes crowding round them, Wallis 
 suspected the islanders had a design to attack them, 
 and, on this mere suspicion, ordered the boats by 
 signal to come on board, " and at the same time," he 
 
OTAHEITE. 17 
 
 says, "to intimidate the Indians, I fired a nine- 
 pounder over their heads." This, as might have 
 been imagined, startled the islanders, but did not 
 prevent them from attempting immediately to cut 
 off the cutter, as she was standing towards the ship. 
 Several stones were thrown into this boat, on which 
 the commanding officer fired a musket, loaded with 
 buckshot, at the man who threw the first stone, 
 and wounded him in the shoulder. 
 
 Finding no good anchorage at this place, the ship 
 proceeded to another part of the island, where, on 
 one of the boats being assailed by the Indians in two 
 or three canoes, with their clubs and paddles in their 
 hands, " Our people," says the commander, " being 
 much pressed, were obliged to fire, by which one of 
 the assailants was killed, and another much wounded." 
 This unlucky rencounter did not, however, prevent, 
 as soon as the ship was moored, a great number of 
 canoes from coming off" the next morning, with hogs, 
 fowls, and fruit. A brisk traffic soon commenced, 
 our people" exchanging knives, nails, and trinkets 
 for more substantial articles of food, of which they 
 were in want. Among the canoes that came out 
 last were some double ones of very large size, with 
 twelve or fifteen stout men in each, and it was ob- 
 served that they had little on board except a quan- 
 tity of round pebble stones. Other canoes came off 
 along with them, having only women on board ; 
 and while these females v/ere assiduously practising 
 their allurements, by attitudes that could not be mis- 
 understood, with the view, as it would seem, to dis- 
 tract the attention of the crew, the large double 
 canoes closed round the ship ; and as these advanced, 
 some of the men began singing, some blowing 
 conchs, and others playing on flutes. One of them, 
 with a person sitting under a canopy, approached 
 £he ship so close, as to allow this person to hand up 
 a bunch of red and yellow feathers, making signs it 
 was for the captain. He then put off" to a little dis;- 
 
18 OTAHEITE. 
 
 tance, and, on holding- up the branch of a cocoanut- 
 tree, there was a universal shout from all the 
 canoes, which at the same moment moved towards 
 the ship, and a sliower of stones was poured into 
 her on every side. The guard was now ordered to 
 fire, and two of the quarter-deck guns, loaded with 
 small shot, were fired among them at the same time, 
 which created great terror and confusion, and caused 
 them to retreat to a short distance. In a few min- 
 utes, however, they renewed the attack. The great 
 guns were now ordered to be discharged among 
 them, and also into a mass of canoes that were put- 
 ting off" from the shore. It is stated, that at this 
 time there could not be less than three hundred 
 canoes about the ship, having on board at least two 
 thousand men. Again they dispersed, but having 
 soon collected into something like order, they hoisted 
 white streamers, and pulled towards the ship's stern, 
 when they again began to throw stones with great 
 force and dexterity, by the help of slings, each of 
 the stones weighing about two pounds, and many 
 of them wounded the people on board. At length 
 a shot hit the canoe that apparently had the chief 
 on board, and cut it asunder. This was no sooner 
 observed by the rest than they all dispersed, in such 
 haste that in half an hour there was not a single 
 canoe to be seen ; and all the people who had 
 crowded the shore fled over the hills with the ut- 
 most precipitation. What was to happen on the 
 following day was matter of conjecture, but this 
 point was soon decided. 
 
 "The Avhite man landed ; — need the rest be told? 
 The nev/ world stretch'(Mlsdusk hand to the old." 
 
 Lieutenant Furneaux, on the next morning, landed 
 without opposition close to a fine river that fell into 
 the bay, — stuck up a staff on which was hoisted a 
 pendant, — turned a turf, — and by this process took 
 possession of the island in the name of his majesty, 
 
OTAHEITE. 19 
 
 and called it King George the Third's Island. Just 
 as he was embarking, an old man, to whom the lieu- 
 tenant had given a few trifles, brought some green 
 boughs, which he threw down at the foot of the 
 staff, then retiring, brought about a dozen of his 
 countrymen, who approached the staff in a suppli- 
 cating posture, then retired and brought two live 
 hogs, which they laid down at the foot of the staff, 
 and tlien began to dance. After this ceremony the 
 hogs were put into a canoe, and the old man carried 
 them on board, handing up several green plantain 
 leaves, and uttering a sentence on the delivery of 
 each. Some presents were offered him i^i return, 
 but he would accept of none. 
 
 Concluding that peace was now estabhshed, and 
 that no further attack would be made, the boats 
 were sent on shore the following day to get water. 
 While the casks were filling, several natives w^ere 
 perceived coming from behind the hills and through 
 the woods, and at the same time a multitude of 
 canoes from behind a projecting point of the bay 
 As these were discovered to be laden with stones 
 and were making towards the ship, it was concluded 
 their intention was to try their fortune in a second 
 grand attack. " As to shorten the contest would 
 certainly lessen the mischief, I determined," says 
 Captain Wallis, " to make this action decisive, and 
 put au end to hostilities at once." Accordingly a 
 tremendous fire was opened at once on all the 
 groups of canoes, which had the effect of imme- 
 diately dispersing them. The fire was then directed 
 into the wood, to drive out the islanders, who had 
 assembled in large numbers, on which they all fled 
 to the hill, where the women and children had seated 
 themselves. Here they collected to the amount of 
 several thousands, imagining themselves at that dis- 
 tance to be perfectly safe. The captain, however, 
 ordered four shot to be fired over them ; but two of 
 he balls liaving fallen close to a tree where a numbei 
 
20 OTAHEITE. 
 
 of thciii were sitting, they were so struck with terror 
 and consternation, that in less than two minutes 
 not a creature was to be seen. The coast being 
 cleared, the boats were manned and armed, and all 
 the carpenters with their axes were sent on shore, 
 with directions to destroy every canoe they could 
 find ; and we are told this service was effectually 
 performed, and that more than fifty canoes, many of 
 which were sixty feet long and three broad, and 
 lashed together, were cut to pieces. 
 
 This act of severity must have been cruelly felt 
 by these poor people, who, without iron or any kind 
 of tools, but such as stones, shells, teeth, and bones 
 supplied them with, must have spent months and 
 probably years in the construction of one of these 
 extraordinary double boats. 
 
 Such was the inauspicious commencement of our 
 acquaintance with the natives of Otaheite. Their 
 determined hostility and perseverance in an unequal 
 combat could only have arisen from one of two 
 motives — either from an opinion that a ship of such 
 magnitude as they had never before beheld could 
 only be come to their coast to take their country 
 from them ; or an irresistible temptation to endea- 
 vour, at all hazards, to possess themselves of so 
 valuable a prize. Be that as it may, the dread in- 
 spired by the effects of the cannon, and perhaps a 
 conviction of the truth of what had been explained 
 to them, that the " strangers wanted only provisions 
 and water," had the effect of allaying all jealousy; 
 for from the day of the last action, the most friendly 
 and uninterrupted intercourse was established, and 
 contmued to the day of the Dolphin's departure ; 
 and provisions of all kinds, hogs, dogs, fruit, and 
 vegetables, weie supplied in the greatest abundance, 
 hi exchange for pieces of iron, nails, and frinkets. 
 
 As a proof of the readiness of these simple 
 people to forgive injuries, a poor woman, accompa- 
 nied by a young man bearing a branch of the plan- 
 
OTAHEITE. 
 
 21 
 
 tain-tree, and another man with two hoa:s, ap- 
 proached the gunner, whom Captain Wallis had 
 appointed to regulate the market, and looking round 
 on the strangers with great attention, fixnig her eyes 
 sometimes on one and sometimes on another, at 
 length burst into tears. It appeared that her hus- 
 band and three of her sons had been killed in the 
 attack on the ship. While this was under explana- 
 tion, the poor creature was so affected as to require 
 the support of the two young men, who from their 
 weeping were probably two more of her sons. 
 "When somewhat composed, she ordered the two 
 hogs to be delivered to the gunner, and gave him her 
 hand in token of friendship, but would accept nothing 
 in return. 
 
 Captain Wallis was now so well satisfied that 
 there was nothing further to apprehend from the 
 hostility of the natives, that he sent a party up the 
 country to cut wood, who were treated with great 
 kindness and hospitality by all they met, and the 
 ship was visited by persons of both sexes, who by 
 their dress and behaviour appeared to be of a supe- 
 rior rank. Among others was a tall lady about five- 
 and-forty years of age, of a pleasing countenance 
 and majestic deportment. She was under no re- 
 straint, either from diffidence or fear, and conducted 
 herself with that easy freedom which generally dis- 
 tinguishes conscious superiority and habitual com- 
 mand. She accepted some small present which the 
 captain gave her, with a good grace and much plea- 
 sure ; and having observed that he was weak and 
 suffering from ill health, she pointed to the shore, 
 which he understood to be an invitation, and made 
 signs that he would go thither the next morning. 
 His visit to this lady displays so much character and 
 good feeling, that it will best be described in the 
 captain's own words. 
 
 " The next morning I went on shore for the first 
 time, and my princess, or rather queen, for such by 
 
22 
 
 OTAHEITE. 
 
 her authority she appeared to be, soon after came 
 to me, followed by many of her attendants. As she 
 perceived that my disorder had left me very weak, 
 she ordered her people to take me in their arms, and 
 carry me, not only over the river, but all the way to 
 her house ; and observing that some of the people 
 who were with me, particularly the first lieutenant 
 and purser, had also been sick, she caused them also 
 to be carried in the same manner, and a guard, 
 which I had ordered out upon the occasion, fol- 
 lowed. In our way, avast multitude crowded about 
 us, but upon her waving her hand, without speaking 
 a word, they withdrew, and left us a free passage. 
 When we approached near her house, a great num- 
 ber of both sexes- came out to meet her; these she 
 presented to me, after having intimated by signs 
 that they were her relations, and taking hold of my 
 hand she made them kiss it. 
 
 " We then entered the house, which covered a 
 piece of ground three hundred and twenty-seven 
 feet long, and forty-two feet broad. It consisted of 
 a roof thatched with palm leaves, and raised upon 
 thirty-nine pillars on each side, and fourteen in the 
 middle. The ridge of the thatch, on the inside, was 
 thirty feet high, and the sides of the house, to the 
 edge of the roof, were twelve feet high ; all below 
 the roof being open. As soon as we entered the 
 house she made us sit down, and then calling four 
 young girls, she assisted them to take off my shoes, 
 draw down my stockings, and pull off my coat, and 
 then directed them to smooth down the skin, and 
 gently chafe it Avith their hands. The same opera- 
 tion was also performed on the first lieutenant and 
 the purser, but upon none of those who appeared to 
 be in health. While this was doing, our surgeon, 
 who had walked till he was very warm, took off his 
 wig to cool and refresh himself : a sudden exclama- 
 tion of one of the Indians, who saw it, drew the 
 attention of the rest, and in a moment every eye 
 
3TAHEITE. 23 
 
 was fixed upon the prodigy, and every operation 
 was suspended. The whole assembly stood some 
 time motionless, in silent astonishment, which could 
 not have been more strongly expressed if the}^ had 
 discovered that our friend's limbs had been screwed 
 on to the trunk. In a short time, however, the 
 young women who were chafing us resumed their 
 employment, and having continued for about half an 
 hour, they dressed us again, but in this they were, 
 as may easily be imagined, very awkward ; I found 
 great benefit, however, from the chafing, and so did 
 the lieutenant and the purser. 
 
 " After a little time our generous benefactress or- 
 dered some bales of Indian cloth to be brought out, 
 with which she clothed me and all that were with 
 me, according to the fashion of the country. At first 
 1 declined the acceptance of this favour; but being 
 unwilling not to seem pleased Avith what was in- 
 tended to please me, I acquiesced. When we went 
 away, she ordered a very large sow big with 3'oung 
 to be taken down to the boat, and accompanied us 
 thither herself. She had given directions to her 
 people to carry me, as they had done when I came, 
 but as I chose rather to walk, she took me by the 
 arm, and whenever we came to a plash of water or 
 dirt, she lifted me over with as little trouble as it 
 would have cost me to have lifted over a child if 1 
 had been well." 
 
 The following morning Captain Wallis sent her a 
 present by the gunner, who found her in the midst 
 of an entertainment given to at least a thousand 
 people. The messes were put into shells of cocoa- 
 nuts, and the shells into wooden trays, like those 
 used by our butchers, and she distributed them with 
 her own hands to the guests, who were seated in 
 rov/s in the open air round the great house. When 
 tliis was done she sat down herself upon a place 
 somi what elevated above the rest, and tv/o women, 
 placing themselves one on each side oi" her, fed hr>y 
 
24 
 
 OTAHEITE. 
 
 she opening her mouth as they brought their hands 
 up with the food. From this time provisions were 
 sent to market in the greatest abundance. The queen 
 frequently visited the captain on board, and always 
 with a present ; but she never condescended to. bar- 
 ter, nor would she accept of any return. 
 
 One day, after visiting her at her house, the cap- 
 tain at parting made her comprehend by signs that he 
 intended to quit the island in seven days. She im- 
 mediately understood his meaning, and by similar 
 signs expressed her wish that he should stay twenty 
 days, that he should go with her a couple of days' 
 journey into the country, stay there a few days, re- 
 turn with plenty of hogs and poultry, and then go 
 away; but on persisting in his first intention she 
 burst into tears, and it was not without great diffi- 
 culty that she could be pacified. The next time that 
 she went on board Captain Wallis ordered a good 
 dinner for her entertainment and those chiefs who 
 were of her party ; but the queen would neither eat 
 nor drink. As she was going over the ship's side 
 she asked, by signs, whether he still persisted in leav- 
 ing the island at the time he had fixed ; and on re- 
 ceiving an answer in the affirmative, she expressed 
 her regret by a flood of tears ; and as soon as her 
 passion subsided she told the captain that she would 
 come on board again the following day. 
 
 Accordingly the next day she again visited the 
 ship twice, bringing each time large presents of hogs, 
 fowls, and fruits. The captain, after expressing his 
 sense of her kindness and bounty, announced his in- 
 tention of sailing the following morning. This, as 
 usual, threw her into tears, and, after recovering 
 herself, she made anxious inquiry when he should 
 return. He said in fifty days, with which she seemed 
 to be satisfied. " She staid on board," says Captain 
 Wallis, " till night, and it was then with the greatest 
 difficulty that she could be prevailed upon to eo on 
 shore. \^nien she was told that the boat was ready, 
 
OTAHEITE. 25 
 
 she threw herself down upon the arm-chest, and 
 wept a long- time with an excess of passion that 
 conld not be pacified. At last, however, with the 
 greatest rekictance, she was prevailed upon to g-o jito 
 the boat, and was followed by her attendants." 
 
 The next day, while the ship was unmooring, the 
 whole beach was covered with the inhabitants. The 
 queen came down, and, having ordered a double 
 canoe to be launched, was rowed off by her own 
 people, followed by fifteen or sixteen other canoes. 
 She soon made her appearance on board, but, not 
 being able to speak, she sat down, and gave vent to 
 her passion by weeping. Shortly H.fter, a breeze 
 springing up, the ship made sail ; and finding it now 
 necessary to return into her canoe. " she embraced 
 us all," says Captain Walhs, " in the nx)st affection- 
 ate manner, and with many tears ; all her attendants 
 also expressed great sorrow at our departure. In a 
 few minutes she came into the bow of her canoe, 
 where she sat weeping with inconsolable sorrow. I 
 gave her many things which I thought would be of 
 great use to her, and some for ornament. She si- 
 lently accepted of all, but took little notice of any 
 thing. About ten o'clock we had got without the 
 reef, and a fresh breeze springing up, our Indian 
 friends, and particularly the queen, once more bade 
 us farewell, with such tendeniess of affection and 
 grief as filled both my heart and my eyes." 
 
 The tender passion had certainly caught hold of 
 one or both of these v/orthies ; and if her majesty's 
 language had been as well understood by Captain 
 Wallis as that of Dido was to ^Eneas when pressing 
 him to stay with her, there is no doubt it v/ould 
 have been found not less pathetic. 
 
 Nee te noster amor, nee te data dextera quondam, 
 Nee moritura tenet crudeli funere Dido ? 
 
 This lady, however, did not sink, like the '♦ miser- 
 rima Dido," under her griefs ; on the contrary, we 
 
26- 
 
 OTAHEITF. 
 
 find her in full activity and animation, and equally 
 generous to Lieut. Cook and his party, under the 
 name of Oberea, who, it now appeared, was no queen, 
 but whose husband they discovered was uncle to the 
 young king, then a minor, but from whom she was 
 separated. She soon evinced a partiality for Mr 
 Banks, though not quite so strong as that for Wallis , 
 but it appears to have been mutual, until an unlucky 
 discovery took place that she had at her command 
 a stout, strong-boned cavaliere servente ; added to 
 which, a theft rather of an amusing nature contrib- 
 uted for a time to create a coolness, and somewhat 
 \o disturb the good understanding that had subsisted 
 between them. It happened that a party, consisting 
 of Cook, Banks, Solander, and three or7our others, 
 was benighted at a distance from the anchorage. 
 Mr. Banks, says Lieut. Cook, thought himself fortu- 
 nate in being offered a place by Oberea in her own 
 canoe, and, wishing his friends a good night, took 
 his leave. He went to rest early, according to the 
 custom of the country ; and taking off his clothes, as 
 was his constant practice, the nig'lits being hot, Obe- 
 rea kindly insisted upon taking them into her own 
 custody, for otherwise, she said, they would cer- 
 tainly be stolen. Mr. Banks, having, as he thought, 
 so good a safeguard, resigned himself to sleep with 
 all imaginable tranquilhty ; but awakening about 
 eleven o'clock, and wanting to get up, he searched 
 for his clothes Avhere he had seen them carefully 
 deposited by Oberea when he lay down to sleep, and 
 perceived, to his sorrow and surprise, that they were 
 missing. He immediately awakened Oberea, who, 
 starting up and hearing his complaint, ordered lights, 
 and prepared in great haste to recover what had been 
 lost. Tootahah, the regent, slept in the next canoe, 
 and, being soon alarmed, he came to them, and set 
 out with Oberea in search of the thiel. Mr. Banks 
 was not in a condition to go with them, as of his 
 apparel scarcely any thing was left him but his 
 
OTAHEITE. 27 
 
 breeches. In about half an hour his two noble 
 friends returned, but without having obtained any 
 intelligence of his clothes or of the thief. Where 
 Cook and Solander had disposed of themselves he 
 did not know ; but hearing music, Vv^hich was sure 
 to bring a crowd together, in which there was a 
 chance of his associates being among them, he rose, 
 and made the bes%of his way towards it, and joined 
 liis party, as Cook says, " more than half-naked, and 
 told us his melancholy story." 
 
 It was some consolation to find that his friends 
 were fellow-sufferers, Cook having lost his stockings, 
 that had been stolen from under his head, though he 
 had never been asleep, and his associates their jack- 
 ets- At daybreak Oberea brought to Mr. Banks some 
 of her countiy clothes; "so that when he came to 
 us," says Cook, "he made a most motley appear- 
 ance, half Indian and half English." Such an adven- 
 ture must have been highly amusing to him who 
 was the object of it when the inconvenience had 
 been removed, as every one will admit who knew 
 the late venerable president of the Royal Society. 
 He never doubted, however, that Oberea was privy 
 to the theft, and there was strong suspicion of her 
 having some of the articles in her custody. Being 
 aware that this feehng existed, she absented herself 
 for some time, and when she again appeared she 
 said a favourite of hers h'ad taken them away, whom 
 she had beaten and dismissed ; " but she seemed 
 conscious," says Cook, " that she had no right to be 
 believed ; she discovered the strongest signs of fear, 
 yet she surmounted it with astonishing resolution, 
 and was very pressing to be allowed to sleep with 
 her attendants in Mr. Banks's tent. In this, how- 
 ever, she was not gratified." Sir Joseph might have 
 thought, that if he complied with her requesf his 
 breeches might be in danger of following the other 
 articles of his dress. 
 
 The Otaheitans cannot resist pilfering. " f must 
 
28 OTAHEITE. 
 
 bear my testimony," says Cook, " that the people of 
 this country, of all ranks, men and women, are the 
 arrantest thieves upon the face of the earth ; but," 
 he adds, " we must not hastity conclude that theft is 
 a testimony of the same depravity in them that it is 
 in us, in the instances in vvhich our people were suf- 
 ferers by their dishonesty; for their temptation was 
 such as to surmount what would fee considered as a 
 proof of uncommon integrity among those who have 
 more knovrledge, better principles, and stronger mo- 
 tives to resist the temptations of ilhcit advantage 
 An Indian among penny knives and beads, and even 
 nails and broken glass, is in the same state of mind 
 with the meanest servant in Europe among unlocked 
 coffers of jewels and gold." Captain Wallis has 
 illustrated the truth of this position by an experi- 
 ment he made on some persons whose dress and be- 
 haviour indicated that they were of a superior cast. 
 " To discover what present," he says, "would most 
 gratify them, I laid down before them a Johannes, a 
 guinea, a crown-piece, a Spanish dollar, a few shil 
 lings, some new halfpence, and two large nails, 
 making signs that they should take what they liked 
 best. The nails were first seized with great eager- 
 ness, and then a few of the halfpence, but the silver 
 and gold lay neglected." Here, then, it might with 
 truth be said was discovered 
 
 The goldless age where gold disturbs no dreams. 
 
 But their thirst after iron was irresistible. Wallis's 
 ship was stripped of all the nails in her by the sea- 
 men to purchase the good graces of the women, who 
 assembled in crowds on the shore. The men even 
 drew out of different parts of the ship those nails 
 that fastened the cleats to her side. This commerce 
 established with the Avomen rendered the men, as 
 might readily be expected, less obedient to com- 
 mand, and made it necessary to punish some of them 
 by flogging. The Otaheitans regarded this punish- 
 went with horror. One of Cook's men having in- 
 
OTAHEITE. 29 
 
 Stilted a chief's wife, he was ordered to be flog-ged 
 in their presence. The Indians saw him stripped 
 and tied up to the rigging with a fixed attention, 
 waiting in silent suspense for the event ; but as soon 
 as the first stroke was given they interfered with 
 great agitation, earnestly entreating Vhat the rest of 
 the punishment might be remitted ; and when they 
 found they were unable to prevail, they gave vent to 
 their pity by tears. " But their tears," as Cook ob- 
 serves, " like those of children, were aUvays ready 
 to express any passion that Avas strongly excited, 
 and, like those of children, they also appeared to be 
 forgotten as soon as shed." And he instances this 
 by the following incident : — Mr. Banks, seeing a 
 young woman in great affiiction, the tears streaming 
 from her eyes, inquired earnestly the cause ; but in- 
 stead of answering, she took from under her garment 
 a shark's tooth, and struck it six or seven times into 
 her head with great force ; a profusion of blood fol- 
 lowed, and, disregarding his inquiries, she continued 
 to talk loud in a melancholy tone, while those around 
 were laughing and talking without taking the least 
 notice of her distress. The bleeding having ceased, 
 she looked up with a smile, and, collecting the pieces 
 of cloth which she had used to stanch the blood, 
 threw them into the sea; then plunging into the 
 river, and washing her whole body, she returned to 
 the tents with the same gayety and cheerfulness as 
 if nothing had happened. The same thing occurred 
 in the case of a chief, who had given great offence 
 to Mr. Banks, when he and all his followers were over- 
 whelmed with grief and dejection ; but one of his 
 women having struck a shark's tooth into her head 
 several times till it was covered with blood, the 
 scene was immediately changed, and laughing and 
 good-humour took place. Wallis witnessed the 
 same kind of conduct. This, therefore, and the tears 
 are probably considered a sort of expiation or doing 
 penance for a fault. 
 
 C 
 
30 OTAHEITE. 
 
 But the sorrows of these simple and artless people 
 are transient. Cook justly observes, that what they 
 feel they have never been taught either to disguis'e 
 or suppress ; and having- no habits of thinking, which 
 perpetually recall the past and anticipate the future, 
 they are affected by ail the changes of the passing 
 hour, and reflect the colour of the time, however fre- 
 quently it may vary. They grieve for the death of 
 a relation, and place the body on a stage erected 
 on piles and covered with a roof of thatch; for they 
 never bury the dead, and never approach one of these 
 morais without great solemnity ; but theirs is no last- 
 ing grief. 
 
 An old woman having died, Mr. Banks, whose pur- 
 suit was knowledge of every kind, and to gain it 
 made himself one of the people, requested he might 
 attend the ceremony and witness all the mysteries 
 of the solemnity of depositing the body in the moral. 
 The request was complied with, but on no other con 
 dition than his taking a part in it. This was just 
 what he wished. In the evening he repaired to the 
 house of mourning, where he was received by the 
 daughter of the deceased and several others, among 
 whom was a boy about fourteen years old. One of 
 the chiefs of the district was the principal mourner, 
 wearing a fantastical dress. Mr. Banks was stripped 
 entirely of his European clothes, and a small piece 
 of cloth was tied round his middle. His face and 
 body were then smeared with charcoal and water as 
 low as the shoulders till they were as black as those 
 of a negro. The same operation was performed on 
 the rest, among whom were some women, who were 
 reduced to a state as near to nakedness as himself. 
 The boy was blacked all over, after which the pro- 
 cession set forward, the chief mourner having mum- 
 bled something like a prayer over the body. It is 
 the custom of the Indians to fly from these proces- 
 sions with the utmost precipitation. On the present 
 occasion several large bodies of the natives were put 
 
OTAHEITE. 31 
 
 to flight, all the houses were deserted, and not an Ota- 
 he itan was to be seen. The body being deposited 
 on the stage, the mourners were dismissed to wash 
 themselves in the river, and to resume their custom- 
 ary dresses and their usual gayety. 
 
 They are, however, so jealous of any one approach- 
 ing these abodes of the dead, that one of Cook's 
 party, happening one day to pull a flower from a tree 
 which grew in one of "these sepulchral enclosures, 
 was struck by a native who saw it, and came sud- 
 denly behind him. The moral of Oberea was a pile 
 of stone-work, raised pyramidically, two hundred and 
 sixty-seven feet long, eighty-seven feet wide, and 
 forty-four feet high, terminating in a ridge like the 
 roof of a house, and ascended by steps of white coral 
 stone neatly squared and polished, some of them not 
 less than three feet and a half by two feet and a half. 
 Such a structure, observes Cook, raised without the 
 assistance of iron tools or mortar to join them, struck 
 us with astonishment, as a work of considerable 
 skill and incredible labour. 
 
 On the same principle of making himself ac- 
 quainted with every novelty that presented itself, 
 Captain Cook states that " Mr. Banks saw the opera- 
 tion of tattooing performed upon the back of a girl 
 about thirteen years old. The instrument used upon 
 this occasion had thirty teeth, and every stroke, of 
 which at least a hundred were made in a minute, 
 drew an ichor or serum a little tinged with blood. 
 The girl bore it with most stoical resolution for 
 about a quarter of an hour ; but the pain of so many 
 hundred punctures as she had received in that time 
 then became intolerable : she first complained in 
 murmurs, then wept, and at last burst into loud 
 lamentations, earnestly imploring the operator to 
 desist. He was, however, inexorable ; and when she 
 began to struggle, she was held down by two women, 
 who sometimes soothed and sometimes chid her, 
 and now and then, when she was most unruly, gave 
 
82 GTAHEITE. 
 
 her a smart blow. Mr. Banks staid in the neigh- 
 bouring house an hour, and the operation was not 
 over when he went away." 
 
 The sufferings of this young lady did not, how- 
 ever, deter the late president of the Royal Society 
 from undergoing the operation on his own person. 
 
 The skill and labour which the Otaheitans bestow 
 on their large double boats is not less wonderful 
 than their stone morals, from the felling of the tree 
 and splitting it into plank, lo the minutest carved 
 ornaments that decorate the head and the stern. 
 The whole operation is performed without the use 
 of any metallic instrument. " To fabricate one of 
 their principal vessels with their tools is," says 
 Cook, " as great a work as to build a British man 
 of war with ours." The fighting boats are some- 
 times more than seventy feet long, but not above 
 three broad ; but they are fastened in pairs, side by 
 side, at the distance of about three feet ; the head 
 and stern rise in a semicircular form, the latter to 
 the height of seventeen or eighteen feet. To build 
 these boats, and the smaller kinds of canoes, — to 
 build their houses, and finish the slight furniture they 
 contain, — to fell, cleave, carve, and polish timber for 
 various purposes, — and, in short, for every conver- 
 sion of wood, — the tools they make use of are the 
 following : an adze of stone ; a chisel or gouge of 
 bone, generally that of a man's arm between the 
 wrist and elbow ; a rasp of coral ; and the skin of a 
 stingray, wiih coral sand as a file or polisher. 
 
 The persons of the Otaheitan men are in general 
 tall, strong, well-limbed, and finely shaped ; equal in 
 size to the largest of Europeans. The women of 
 superior rank are also above the middle stature of 
 Europeans, but the inferior class are rather below it. 
 The complexion of the former class is that which 
 we call a brunette, and the skin is most delicately 
 smooth and soft. The shape of the face is comely, 
 the cheek bones are not hiich* neither are the eyes 
 
OTAHEITE. 33 
 
 hollow, nor the brow prominent ; the nose is a little, 
 but not much, flattened ; but their eyes, and more 
 particularly those of the women, are full of expres- 
 sion, sometimes sparkling with fire, and sometimes 
 melting with softness ; their teeth also are, almost 
 without exception, most beautifully even and white, 
 and their breath perfectly without taint. In their 
 motions there is at once vigour as well as ease ; 
 their walk is graceful, their deportment liberal, and 
 their behaviour to 'strangers and to each other affa- 
 ble and courteous. In their dispositions they appear 
 to be brave, open, and candid, without suspicion or 
 treachery, cruelty or revenge. Mr. Banks had such 
 confidence in them as to sleep frequently in their 
 houses in the woods without a companion, and con- 
 sequently wholl}^ in their power. They are delicate 
 and cleanly, almost wholly without example. 
 
 " The natives of Otaheite," says Cook, " both men 
 and women, constantly wash their whole bodies in 
 running water three times every day ; once as soon 
 as they rise in the morning, once at noon, and again 
 before they sleep at night, whether the sea or river 
 be near them or at a distance. They wash, not only 
 the mouth, but the hands at their meals, almost be- 
 tween every morsel ; and their clothes, as well as 
 their persons, are kept without spot or stain." 
 
 If any one should think this picture somewhat 
 overcharged, he will find it fully confirmed in an 
 account of them made by gentlemen of the highest 
 respectability. In the first missionary voyage, in 
 the year 1797, the natives of Otaheite are thus 
 described : 
 
 "Natural colour olive, inclining to copper; the 
 women, who carefully clothe themselves and avoid 
 the sunbeams, are but a shade or two darker than a 
 European brunette ; their eyes are black and spar- 
 kling ; their teeth white and even ; their skin soft and 
 delicate ; their limbs finely turned ; their hair jetty 
 
34 OTAHEITE. 
 
 perfumed and ornamented with flowers ; they are in 
 general large and wide over the shoulders ; we were 
 therefore disappointed in the judgment we had 
 formed from the report of preceding visiters ; and 
 though here and there was to be seen a young per- 
 son who might be esteemed comely, we saw few 
 who, in fact, could be called beauties ; yet they pos- 
 sess eminent feminine graces : their faces are never 
 darkened with a scowl, or covered with a cloud of 
 suUenness or suspicion. Their manners are affable 
 and engaging; their step easy, firm, and graceful; 
 their behaviour free and unguarded ; always bound- 
 less in generosity to each other and to strangers; 
 their tempers mild, gentle, and unaffected ; slow to 
 take offence, easily pacified, and seldom retaining 
 resentment or revenge, whatever provocation they 
 may have received. Their arms and hands are very 
 delicately formed; and though they go barefoot, 
 their feet are not coarse and spreading. 
 
 " As wives in private life, they are affectionate, 
 tender, and obedient to their husbands, and uncom- 
 monly fond of their children : they nurse them with 
 the utmost care, and are particularly attentive to 
 keep the infant's limbs supple and straight. A crip- 
 ple is hardly ever seen among them in early life. A 
 rickety child is never known ; any thing resembling 
 it would reflect the highest disgrace on the mother. 
 
 " The Otaheitans have no partitions in their houses ; 
 but it may be affirmed they have in many instances 
 more refined ideas of decency than ourselves ; and 
 one long a resident scruples not to declare, that he 
 never saw any appetite, hunger and thirst excepted, 
 gratified in public. It is too true, that for the sake 
 of gaining our extraordinary curiosities, and to please 
 our brutes, they have appeared immodest in the ex- 
 treme. Yet they lay this charge wholly at our door, 
 and say that Englishmen are ashamed of nothing, 
 and that we have led them to public acts of inde- 
 cency never before practised among themselves. 
 
OTAHEITE. 35 
 
 Iron here, more precious than gold, bears down every 
 barrier of restraint; honesty and modesty yield to 
 the force of temptation."* 
 
 Such are the females and the mothers here de- 
 scribed, whose interesting- offspring are now peo- 
 plnig P.itcairn's Island, and who, while they inherit 
 their mothers' virtues, have hitherto kept themselves 
 free from their vices. 
 
 The greater part of th\3 food of Otaheitans is vege- 
 table. Hogs, dogs, and poultry are their only ani- 
 mals, and all of them serve for food. " We all 
 agreed," says Cook, " that a South Sea dog was little 
 inferior to an English lamb," w-hich he ascribes to 
 its being kept up and fed wholly on vegetables. 
 Broiling and baking are the only two modes of ap- 
 plying fire to their cookery. Captain Wallis ob- 
 serves, that having no vessel in which water could 
 be subjected to the action of fire, they had no more 
 idea that it could be made hot, than that it could be 
 made solid; and he mentions that one of the attend- 
 ants of the supposed queen, having observed the sur- 
 geon fill the teapot from an urn, turned the cock 
 himself, and received the wat'^r in his hand ; and 
 that as soon as he felt himself scalded, he roared out 
 and began to dance about the cabin with the most 
 extravagant and ridiculous expressions of pain and 
 astonishment ; his companions, unable to conceive 
 what was the matter, staring at him in amaze, and 
 not without some mixture of teiTor. 
 
 One of Oberea's peace-offerings to Mr. Banks, for 
 the robbery of his clothes committed in her boat, 
 was a fine fat dog, and the way in which it was pre- 
 pared and baked was as follows. Tupei, the high- 
 priest, undertook to perform the double office of 
 butcher and cook. He first killed him by holding 
 his hands close over his mouth and nose for the 
 space of a quarter of an hour. A hole was then 
 
 * A Missionai J' Vo3'age lo the Soutbern Pacific Ocean, Appendix, 
 p. 536, 34:'. 
 
36 OTAHEITE. 
 
 made in tlie ground about a foot deep, in which a 
 fire was kindled, and some small stones placed in 
 layers, alternately with the wood, to be heated. 
 The dog was then singed, scraped with a shell, and 
 the hair taken off as clean as if he had been scalded 
 in hot water. He v/as then cut up with the Scime 
 instrument, and his entrails carefully washed. When 
 the hole was sufficiently heated, the fire was taken 
 out, and some of the stones, being placed at the bot- 
 tom, were covered with green leaves. The dog, 
 with the entrails, was then placed upon the leaves, 
 and other leaves being laid upon them, the whole 
 was covered with the rest of the hot stones, and the 
 mouth of the hole close stopped with mould. In 
 somewhat less than four hours, it was again opened, 
 and the dog taken out excellently baked, and the 
 party all agreed that he made a very good dish. 
 These dogs, it seems, are bred to be eaten, and live 
 wholly on bread-fruit, cocoanuts, yams, and oth 
 vegetables of the like kind. 
 
 The food of the natives, being chiefly vegetable, 
 consists of the various preparations of the bread- 
 fruit, of cocoanuts, bananas, plantains, and a great 
 variety of other fruit, the spontaneous products of 
 a rich soil and genial chmate. The bread-fruit, 
 when baked in the same manner as the dog was, is 
 rendered soft, and not unlike a boiled potato ; not 
 quite so farinaceous as a good one, but more so than 
 those of the middling sort. Much of this fruit is 
 gathered before it is ripe, and by a certain process 
 is made to undergo the two states of fermentation, 
 the saccharine and acetous, in the latter of which 
 it is moulded into balls, and called mahie. The 
 natives seldom make a meal without this sour paste. 
 Salt water is the universal sauce, without which no 
 meal is eaten. Their drink in general consists of 
 water, or the juice of the eocoaniit, the art of pro- 
 ducing liquors that intoxicate by fermentation being 
 at this time happily unknown among them ; neithei 
 
OTAHEITE. ^ 37 
 
 did they make use of any narcotic, as the natives 
 of some other comitries do opium, betel-nut, and 
 tobacco. One day the wife of one of the chiefs 
 came running to Mr. Banks, who was always applied 
 to in every emergency and distress, and with a mix- 
 ture of grief and terror in her countenance, made 
 him understand that her husband was dying, in con- 
 sequence of something the strangers had given him 
 to eat. Mr. Banks found his friend leaning his head 
 against a post, in an attitude of the utmost languor 
 and despondency. His attendants brought out a 
 leaf folded up with great care, containing part of the 
 poison of the effects of which their master was now 
 dying. On opening the leaf Mr. Banks found in it 
 a chew of tobacco, which the chief had asked from 
 some of the seamen, and imitating them, as he 
 thought, he had roiled it about in his mouth, grind- 
 ing it to powder with his teeth, and ultimately swal- 
 lowing it. During Ihe examination of the leaf he 
 looked up at Mr. Banks wilh the most piteous coun- 
 tenance, and intimated that he had but a very short 
 time to live. A copious draught of cocoanut milk, 
 however, set all to riglits, and the chief and his at- 
 tendants were at once restored to that flow of cheer- 
 fulness and good-humour, which is the characteristic 
 of these single-minded people. 
 
 There is, however, one plant from the root of 
 which they extract a juice of an intoxicating quality, 
 called ava, but Cook's party saw nothing of its 
 effects, probably owing to their considering drunk- 
 enness as a disgrace. This vice of drinking ava is 
 said to be peculiar almos^ to the chiefs, who vie 
 with each other in drinkmg the greatest number of 
 draughts, each draught being about a pint. They 
 keep this intoxicating juice with great care from the 
 women. 
 
 As eating is one of the most important concerns 
 of life here as well as elsewhere. Captain Cook's 
 description of a meal made bv one of the chiefs of 
 
38 OTAHEITB 
 
 tlie island cannot be considered as uninteresting, and 
 is here given in his own words. 
 
 " He sits down under the shade of the next tree, 
 or on the shady side of his house, and a large quan- 
 tity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit or bananas, 
 are neatly spread before him upon the ground as a 
 tablecloth ; a basket is then set by him, that contains 
 his provision, which, if fish or flesh, is ready dressed, 
 and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoanut shells, 
 one full of salt water and one of fresh. His attend- 
 ants, which are not fev/, seat themselves round him. 
 and when all is ready, he begins by washing his 
 hands and his mouth thoroughly with the freshwater, 
 and this he repeats almost continually throughout 
 the whole meal. He then takes part of his provi- 
 sion out of the basket, which generally consists of 
 a small fish or two, two or three bread-fruits, four- 
 teen or fifteen ripe bananas, or six or seven apples. 
 He first takes half a bread-fruit, peels oflf the rind, 
 and takes out the core with his nails ; of this he 
 puts as much into his mouth as it can hold, and 
 while he chews it, takes the fish out of the leaves 
 and breaks one of them into the salt w^ater, placing 
 the other, and what remains of the bread-fruit, upon 
 the leaves that have been spread before him. When 
 this is done, he takes up a small piece of the fish 
 that has been broken into the salt water, with all 
 the fingers of one hand, and sucks it into his mouth, 
 so as to get with it as much of the salt water as 
 possible. In the same manner he takes the rest by 
 different morsels, and between each, at least very 
 frequently, takes a small sup of the salt Avater, 
 either out of the cocoanut shell, or the palm of his 
 hand. In the mean time one of his attencants has 
 prepared a young cocoanut, by peeling off the outer 
 rind with his teeth, an operation which to a Euro- 
 pean appears very surprising; but it depends so 
 nmch upon sleight, that many of us were able to do 
 it before we left the island, and some that coulf* 
 
OTAHEITE. 39 
 
 scarcely crack a filbert. The master when he 
 chooses to drink takes the cocoanut thus prepared, 
 and boring- a hole through the sheil with his fingers, 
 or breaking it with a stone, he sucks out the hquor. 
 When he has eaten his bread-fruit and fish, he begins 
 With his plantains, one of which makes but a mouth- 
 ful, though it be as big as a black-pudding ; if in- 
 stead of plantains he has apples, he never tastes 
 them till they have been pared ; to do this a shell is 
 picked up from the ground, where they are always 
 in plenty, and tossed to him by an attendant. He 
 immediatoly begins to cut or scrape off the rind, 
 but so awkwardly that great part of the fruit is 
 wasted. If, instead of fish, he has flesh, he must 
 have some succedaneum for a knife to divide it; and 
 for this purpose a piece of bamboo is tossed to him, 
 of which he makes the necessary implement by 
 splitting it transversely Avith his nail. While all 
 this has been doing, some of his attendants have 
 been employed in beating bread-fruit with a stone 
 pestle upon a block of wood ; by being beaten in 
 this manner, and sprinkled from time to time with 
 water, it is reduced to the consistence of a soft 
 paste, and is then put into a vessel somewhat like a 
 butcher's tray, and either made up alone, or mixed 
 with banana or mahie, according to the taste of the 
 master, by pouring water upon it by degrees and 
 squeezing it often through the hand. Under this 
 operation it acquires the consistence of a thick cus- 
 tard, and a large cocoanut shell full of it oeing set 
 before him, he sips it as we should do a jelly if we 
 had no spoon to take it from the glass. The meal 
 is then finished by again washing his hands and 
 his mouth. After which the cocoanut shells are 
 cleaned, and every thing that is left is replaced in the 
 basket." 
 
 Captain Cook adds, " the quantity of food which 
 these people eat at a meal is prodigious. I have 
 seen one man devour t\vo or three fishes as big as 
 
40 OTAHEITE. 
 
 a perch; three bread-fruits, each bigger than two 
 fists ; fourteen or fifteen plantains or bananas, each 
 of them six or seven inches long, and four or five 
 round ; and near a quart of the pounded bread-fruit, 
 wliich is as substantial as the thickest unbaked cus- 
 tard. This is so extraordinary that I scarcely expect 
 to be believed ; and I w^ould not have related it upon 
 my own single testimony, but Mr. Banks, Dr. So- 
 lander, and most of the other gentlemen have had 
 ocular demonstration of its truth, and know^ that I 
 mention them on the occasion." 
 
 The women, who, on other occasions, always mix 
 in the amusements of the men, who are particularly 
 fond of their society, are wholly excluded from their 
 meals ; nor could the latter be prevailed on to partake 
 of any thing when dining in company on board ship ; 
 they said it was not right ; even brothers and sisters 
 have each their sepaiate baskets, and their provi- 
 sions are separately prepared ; but the Enghsh oflfi- 
 cers and men, when visiting the young ones at their 
 own houses, frequently ate out of the same basket 
 and drank out of the same cup, to the horror and 
 dismay of the older ladies, who were always offended 
 at this liberty ; and if by chance any of the victuals 
 were touched, or even the basket that contained them, 
 they would throw them away. 
 
 In this fine climate houses are almost unneces- 
 sary. The minimum range ^f the thermometer is 
 about 63°, the maximum 85°, giving an average of 
 74°. Their sheds or houses consist generally of a 
 thatched roof raised on posts, the eaves reaching to 
 within three or four feet of the ground ; the floor is 
 •covered with soft hay, over which are laid mats, so 
 that the whole is one cushion, on which they sit by 
 day and sleep by night. They eat in the open air, 
 under the shade of the nearest tree. In each dis- 
 trict there is a house erected for general use, much 
 larger than common, some of them exceeding two 
 hundred feet in length, thirty broad, and twenty high. 
 
OTAHEITE. 4 1 
 
 The dwelling-houses all stand in the woody bel 
 which surrounds the island, between the feet of th •. 
 central mountains and the sea, each having- a very 
 small piece of ground cleared, just enough to keen 
 the dropping of the trees from the thatch. An Ot;;- 
 heitan wood consists chiefly of groves of bread- 
 fruit and cocoanuts, without underwood, and inter- 
 sected in all directions by the paths that lead from 
 one house to another. " Nothing," says Cook, 
 " can be more grateful than this shade, in so warm 
 a climate, nor any thing more beautiful than these 
 walks." 
 
 With all the activity they are capable of display- 
 ing, and the sprightliness of their disposition, they 
 are fond of indulging in ease and indolence. The 
 trees that produce their food are mostly of sponta- 
 neous growth, — the bread-fruit, cocoanut, bananas 
 of thirteen sorts, besides plantains, — a fruit not un- 
 like an apple, which, when ripe, is very pleasant ; 
 sweet potatoes, yams, and a species of arum ; the 
 pandanus, the jambu, and the sugar-cane ; a variety 
 of plants whose roots are esculent — these, with 
 many others, are produced with so little culture, 
 that, as Cook observes, they seem to be exempted 
 from the first general curse that " man should eat 
 his bread in the sweat of his brow." Then for 
 clothing they have the bark of three different trees, 
 the paper mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, and a tree 
 which resembles the wild fig-tree of the West 
 Indies ; of these the mulberry only requires to be 
 cultivated. 
 
 In preparing the cloth they display a very consid- 
 erable degree of ingenuity. Red and yellow are 
 the two colours most in use for dying their cloth ; 
 the red is stated to be exceedingly brilhant and 
 beautiful, approaching nearest to our full scarlet ; it 
 is produced by the mixture of the juices of two 
 vegetables, neither of which separately has the least 
 tend ^ncy to that hue : one ^ ^he cordia sebestina, the 
 
42 OTAHEITE. 
 
 other a species of Jicus; of the formef the leaves, 
 of the latter the fruits yield the juices. The yellow 
 die is extracted from the bark of the root of the 
 morinda citrifoUa, by scraping and infusing it in 
 water. 
 
 Their matting is exceedingly beautiful, particularly 
 that which is made from the bark of the hibiscus 
 tiliaceus, and of a species of pandamis. Others ai-e 
 made of rushes and grass with amazing facility and 
 despatch. In the same manner their basket and 
 wicker work are most ingeniously made ; the 
 former in patterns of a thousand different kinds. 
 Their nets and fishing-lines are strong and neatly 
 made, so are their fish-hooks of pearl-shell ; and 
 their clubs are admirable specimens of wood- 
 carving. 
 
 A people so lively, sprightly, and good-humoured 
 as the Otaheitans are, must necessarily have their 
 amusements. They are fond of music, such as is 
 derived from a rude flute and a drum ; of dancing, 
 wrestling, shooting with the bow, and throwing the 
 lance. They exhibit frequent trials of skill and 
 strength in wrestling ; and Cook says it is scarcely 
 possible for those who are acquainted with the ath- 
 letic sports of very remote antiquity, not to remark 
 a rude resemblance of them in a wrestling-match 
 (which he describes) among the natives of a little 
 island in tlie midst of the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 But these simple-minded people have their vices, 
 and great ones too. Chastity is almost unknown 
 among a certain description of women : there is a 
 detestable society called Arreoy^ composed, it would 
 seem, of a particular class, who are supposed to be 
 the chief warriors of the island. In tliis society 
 the men and women live in common ; and on the 
 birth of a child it is immediately smothered, that its 
 bringing up may not interfere with the brutal plea- 
 sures of either father or mother. Another savage 
 practice is that of immolating human beings at the 
 
•• v^> 
 
 tnf^^'^ /// , . .^/^/7// ^^'j^/// /^^laAa/^- 
 
OTATIEITE. 43 
 
 morals, which serve as temples as well as sepulchres. 
 " With regard to their worship," Captain Cook does 
 the Otaheitans but justice in saying-, " they reproach 
 many who bear the name of Christians. You see 
 no instances of an Otaheitan drawing near the Eatooa 
 with carelessness and inattention. He is all devo- 
 tion; he approaches the place of worship with reve- 
 rential awe ; uncovers when he treads on sacred 
 ground; and prays with a fervour that would do 
 honour to a better profession. He firmly credits 
 the traditions of his ancestors. None dares dispute 
 the existence of the Deity." Thieving may also be 
 reckoned as one of their vices; this, however, is 
 common to all uncivilized nations, and, it may be 
 added, civilized too. But to judge them fairly in 
 this respect, we should compare their situation \vith 
 that of a more civilized people. A native of Ota- 
 heite goes on board a ship, and finds himself in the 
 midst of iron bolts, nails, knives, scattered about, and 
 is tempted to carry off a few of them. If we could 
 suppose a ship from El Dorado to arrive in the 
 Thames, and that the custom-house officers, on 
 boarding her, found themselves in the midst of bolts, 
 hatchets, chisels, all of solid gold, scattered about 
 the deck, one need scarcely say what would be likeiy 
 to happen. If the former found the temptation irre- 
 sistible to supply himself with what was essentially 
 useful, the latter would be as little able to resist that 
 which would contribute to the indulgence of his ava- 
 rice, or the gratification of his pleasures, or of both. 
 Cook appears not to have exercised his usua' judg- 
 ment in estimating the population of this island. 
 After stating the number of war-canoes at seventeen 
 hundred and twenty, and able men to man them at 
 sixty-eight thousand eight hundred, he comes to the 
 conclusion that the population must consist of two 
 hundred and four thousand souls ; and, reflecting on 
 the vast swarms which everywhere appeared, "I 
 was convinced," he says, " that this estimate was 
 
44 OtAHEITE. 
 
 not much, if at all, too great." By a survey of the 
 first missionaries, and a ceasus of the inhabitants 
 taken in 1797, the population was estimated at six- 
 teen thousand and iifty souls. Captain Waldegrave, 
 in 1830, states it to be nuich less. 
 
 The island of Otaheite is in shape two circles 
 united by a low and narrow isthmus. The larger 
 circle is named Otaheite Mooe, and is about thirty 
 miles in diameter; the lesser, named Tiaraboo, about 
 ten miles in diameter. A. belt of low laud, termi- 
 nating in numerous valleys, ascending by gentle 
 slopes to the central mountain, which is about seven 
 thousand feet high, surrounds the larger circle, and 
 the same is the case with the smaller circle on a pro- 
 portionate scale. Down these valleys flow streams 
 and rivulets of clear water, and the most luxuriant 
 and verdant foliage fills their sides and the hilly 
 ridges that separate them, among which are scat- 
 tered the smiling cottages and little plantations of 
 the natives. 
 
 [The following remarks, by Mr. C. S. Stewart, in 
 relation to these islanders, are worthy of the en- 
 lightened mind of the author, and forcibly contras' 
 the former with the present state of the people : — 
 
 " If the aspect of the people in general, and Uie 
 animated declaration and lively sensibihty, even to 
 tears seemingly of deep feeling, of those who have a 
 full remembrance, and who largely share in their 
 own experience of the evils of heathenism, are to be 
 accredited, the islanders themselves are far from 
 bemg insensible to the benefit and blessing of the 
 change they naie experienced; and would not for 
 worlds be deprived of the light and mercy they have 
 received, or again he subjected to the mental and 
 moral darkness and various degradation from which 
 they have escaped. 
 
 " Yet there are those who have visited the South 
 Seas — men bearing the Christian name, with a repu- 
 tation for science, and holding stations of honour — 
 
THE BREAD-FRUIT. "45 
 
 who have affected to discover a greater de^ee of 
 depravity and more wretchedness at Tahiti and Rai- 
 aten than was known in tlie reign and terror of idol- 
 atrv: and have ventured to proclaim to the woild. 
 that Christianity has here, for the first time in eigh 
 teen nandred years, had the effect of rendering the 
 inhabitants vindictive and hatefid, indolent and cor- 
 rupt, superstitious and unhappy, and more pitiable in 
 all their circumstances than when fully in a pagan 
 state : and that the wars introduced and encouraged 
 by the messengers of peace have nearly exterminated 
 the race ! 
 
 " Whence the data for such a sentiment could have 
 been drawn must for ever remain a mystery, at least 
 to all who, like ourselves, have had the advantage of 
 a personal observation in the case."] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 • " The happy shores without a law. 
 
 ****** 
 
 Where all partake the earth without dispute, 
 
 And bread itself is gather'd as a fruit ; 
 
 Where none contest the fields, the woods, the streams, 
 
 The (loldless age, where gold disturbs no dreams, 
 
 Inhabits or inhabited the shore, 
 
 Till Europe taught them better than before."— Byron. 
 
 In the year 1787, being seventeen years after 
 Cook's return from his first voyage, the merchants 
 and planters resident in London, and interested in 
 the West India possessions, having represented to 
 his majesty that the introduction of the bread-fruit 
 tree into the islands of those seas, to constitute an 
 article of food, would be of very essential benefit td 
 D 
 
46 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 the inhabitants, the king was graciously pleased to 
 comply with their request : and a vessel was ac- 
 cordingly purchased, and fitted at Deptford with the 
 necessary fixtures and preparations for carrying 
 into effect the benevolent object of the voyage. The 
 arrangements for disposing the plants were under- 
 taken, and completed in a most ingenious and eftec- 
 tive manner, by Sir Joseph Banks, who superintended 
 the whole equipment of the ship with the greatest 
 attention and assiduity till she was in all respects 
 ready for sea. He named the ship the Bounty, and 
 recommended Lieutenant Bligh, who had been with 
 Captain Cook, to command her. Her burden was 
 about two hundred and fifteen tons; and her estab- 
 lishment consisted of one lieutenant, who was com- 
 manding officer, one master, three warrant officers, 
 one surgeon, two master's mates, two midshipmen, 
 and thirty-four petty office] s and seamen, making in 
 all forty-four ; to which were added two skilful and 
 careful' men, recommended by Sir Joseph Banks, to 
 have the management of the phnits intended to be 
 carried to the West Indies, and others to be brought 
 home for his majesty's garden at Kew : one was 
 David Nelson, who had served in a similar situation 
 in Capain Cook's last voyage; the other WiUiam 
 Brown, as an assistant to him. 
 
 The object of all the former voyages to the 
 South Seas undertaken by command of his majesty 
 George HI., was the increase of knowledge by new^ 
 discoveries, and the advancement of science, more 
 particularly of natural history and geography : the 
 intention of the present voyage was to derive some 
 practical benefit from the distant discoveries that had 
 already been made ; and no object was deemed more 
 likely to realize the expectation of benefit than the 
 bread-fruit, which afforded to the natives of Olaheite 
 BO very considerable a portion of their food, and 
 which it was hoped it might also do for the black 
 
THE BREAD-FR15 fT. 47 
 
 population of the West India islands The bread- 
 fruit plant was no new discovery of either Wallis or 
 Cook. So early as the year 1G88, that excellent old 
 navigator Dampier thus describes it : — " The bread- 
 fruit, as we call it, grows on a large tree, as big and 
 high as our largest apple-trees ; it hath a spread- 
 ing head, full of branches and dark leaves. The 
 fruit grows on the boughs like apples ; it is as big as 
 a penny loaf, when wheat is at five shillings the 
 bushel ; it is of a round shape, and hath a thick 
 tough rind ; when the fruit is ripe it is yellow and 
 soft, and the taste is sweet and pleasant. The 
 natives of Guam use it for bread. They gather it, 
 when full grown, while it is green and hard ; then 
 they bake it in an oven, which scorcheth the rind and 
 makes it black, but they scrape off the outside black 
 crust, and there remains a tender thin crust ; and the 
 inside is soft, tender, and white, like the crumb of a 
 penny-loaf. There is neither seed nor stone in the 
 inside, but all is of a pure substance like bread. It 
 wiust be eaten new ; for if it is kept above twenty- 
 four hours, it grows harsh and choaky ; but it is very 
 pleasant before it is too stale. This fruit lasts in 
 season eight months in the year, during which the 
 natives sat no other sort of food of bread kind. I 
 did never see of this fruit anywhere but here. The 
 natives told us that there is plenty of this fruit grow- 
 ing on the rest of the Ladrone "ishrnds ; and I did 
 never hear of it anywhere else." 
 
 Lord Anson corroborates this account of the 
 bread-fruit, and says that while at Tinian it was 
 constantly eaten by his officers and ship's company 
 during their two months' stay, instead of bread ; and 
 so universally preferred, that no ship's bread was 
 expended in that whole interval. The only essential 
 difference between Dampier's and Cook's descrip- 
 tion is, where the latter says, which is true, that this 
 fruit has a core^ and that the eatable part lies be- 
 tween the skin and the core. Cook says also that 
 
48 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness, some • 
 what resembling that of the crumb of whealen bread 
 mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke. From such a 
 description, it is not surprising that the West India 
 planters should have felt desirous of introducing it 
 into those islands ; and accordingly the introduction 
 of it was subsequently accomplished, notwithstand- 
 ing the failure of the present voyage; it has not, 
 however, been fomid to answer the expectation that 
 had reasonably been entertained. The climate, as 
 to latitude, ought to be the same, or nearly so, as 
 that of Otaheite, but there would appear to be some 
 difference in the situation or nature of the soil, that 
 prevents it from thriving in the West India islands. 
 At Otaheite, and on several of the Pacific islands, 
 
 " The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare, yields 
 The unr. ap'd harvest of unfurrow'd fields, 
 And bakes its unadultertited loaves 
 Without a furnace in unpurchased groves, 
 And flings off fannine from its fertile breast, 
 A priceless market for the gathering guest—" 
 
 IS, to the natives of those islands a most invaluable 
 gift, but it has not been found to yield similar bene- 
 fits to the West India islands. 
 
 On the 23d December, 1787, the Bounty sailed 
 from Spithead, and on the 26th it blew a" severe 
 storm of wind from the eastward, v/hich continued 
 to the 29th, in the course of which the ship suffered 
 greatly. One sea broke away the spare yards and 
 spars out of the starboard main-chains. Another 
 heavy sea broke into the ship and stove all the boats, 
 s^-jveral casks of beer that had been lashed upon 
 u^jk were broke loose and washed overboard; and 
 it was not without great difhciilty and risk that they 
 were able to secure the boats from being washed 
 away entirely. Besides other mischief done to them 
 in this storm, a large quantity of bread was dam 
 aged and rendered useless, for the sea had stove in 
 the stern and filled the cabin Avitli water. 
 
THE BKEAD-FRUIT. 49 
 
 This made it desirable to touch at Teneriffe to put 
 the ship to rights, where they arrived on the 5th 
 January, 1788, and having refitted and refreshed, 
 they sailed again on the 10th. 
 
 "I now," says Bligh, " divided the people into three 
 watches, and gave the charge of the third watch to 
 Mr. Fletcher Christian, one of the mates. I have 
 always considered this a desirable regulation wheij' 
 circumstances will admit of it, and I am persuaded 
 that unbroken rest not only contributes much to- 
 wards the health of the ship's company, but enables 
 theni more readily to exert themselves in cases of 
 sudden emergency." 
 
 Wishing to proceed to Otaheite without stopping, 
 and the late storm having diminished their supply 
 of provisions, it was deemed expedient to put ail 
 hands on an allovvance of two-thirds of bread. It was 
 also decided that water for drinking should be passed 
 through filtermg-stones that had been procured at 
 Teneriffe. " I now," says Bligh, " made the ship's 
 company acquainted with the object of the voyage, 
 and gave assurances of the certainty of promotion to 
 every one whose endeavours should merit it." No- 
 thing, indeed, seemed to be neglected on the part of 
 the commander to make his officers and men com- 
 fortable and happy. He was himself a thorough- 
 bred sailor, and availed himself of every possible 
 means of preserving the health of his crew. Con- 
 tinued rain and a close atmosphere had covered every 
 thing in the ship with mildew. She was therefore 
 aired below with fires, and frequently sprinkled with 
 vinegar, and every interval of dry weather v/as taken 
 advantage of to open all the hatchways, and clean 
 the ship, and to have all the people's wet things 
 washed and dried. With these precautions to se- 
 cure health, they passed the hazy and sultry atmos- 
 phere of the low latitudes without a single com* 
 plamt. 
 
 On Sunday, the 2d March, Lieutenant Bligh ob- 
 
50 THE BREAD-TRUIT. 
 
 serves, " after seeing that every person was cieaiv, 
 divine service was performed, according to my usual 
 custom. On this day I gave to Mr. Fletcher Chris- 
 tian, whom I had before desired to take charge of 
 the third watch, a written order to act as lieutenant." 
 
 Having reached as far as the latitude of 36^ south, 
 on the 9th March, " the change of temperature," he 
 observes, " began now to be sensibly felt, there being 
 a variation in the thermometer, since yesterday, of 
 eight degrees. That the people might not sufter by 
 their own negligence, I gave orders for their light 
 tropical clothing to be put by, and made them dress 
 in a manner mure suited to a cold climate. I had 
 provided for this before I left England, by givhig di- 
 rections for such clothes to be purchased as would 
 be found necessary. On this day, on a complaint of 
 the master, I found it necessary to punish Matthew 
 Quintal, one of the seamen, with two dozr'n lashes, 
 for insolence and mutinous behaviour. B^^fore this 
 1. had not had occasion to punish any person on 
 board." 
 
 The sight of New-year's Harbour, in Staaten 
 Land, almost tempted him, he says, to put m ; but 
 the lateness of the season, and tlie people being in 
 good health, determined him to lay aside all thoughts 
 of refreshment until they should reach Otaheite. 
 Indeed, the extraordinary care he had taken to pre- 
 serve the health of the ship's company rendered 
 any delay in this cold and inhospitable region un- 
 necessary. 
 
 They soon after this had to encounter tremendous 
 weather off Cape Horn, storms of wind, with haij 
 and sleet, which made it necessary to keep a con- 
 stant fire night and day; and one of the watch 
 always attended to dry the people's wet clotlies. 
 This stormy weather continued for nine days; the 
 ship began to complain, and required pumping every 
 hour; the decks became so leaky that the com- 
 mander was obliged to allot the great cabin to those 
 
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 51 
 
 u-lio had wet berths, to hang their hammocks in. 
 F'incUng- they were losing ground every day, and tliat 
 it was hopeless to persist in attempting a passage by 
 this route, at this season of the year, to the Society 
 Islands, and after struggling for thirty days in this 
 tempestuous ocean, it was determined to bear away 
 for the Cape of Good Hope. The helm was accord- 
 ingly put a- weather, to the great joy of every person 
 on board. 
 
 They arrived at the Cape on the 23d May, and 
 having remained there thirty-eight days to refit the 
 ship, replenish provisions, and refresh the crew, they 
 sailed again on the 1st July, and anchored in Adven- 
 ture Bay, in Van Dieman's Land, on the l^Oth August. 
 Here they remained taking in wood and w-ater till 
 the 4th September, and on the evening of the 25th 
 October they saw Otaheite ; and the next day came 
 to anchor in Matavai Bay, after a distance which the 
 ship had run over, by the log, since leaving England, 
 of twenty-seven thousand and eighty-six miles, being 
 on an average one hundred and eight miles each 
 twenty-four hours. Of their proceedings in Ota- 
 heite a short abstract from Bligh's Journal will 
 suffice. 
 
 Many inquiries were made by the natives after 
 Captain Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, and others of their 
 former friends. " One of my first questions," says 
 Bligh, " was after our friend Omai ; and it was a 
 sensible mortification and disappointment for me to 
 hear, that not only Omai, but both the New-Zealand 
 boys who had been left with him, were dead. There 
 appeared among the natives in general great good- 
 v;ijl towards us, and they seemed to be much 
 rejoiced at our arrival. The whole day we expe- 
 rienced no instance of dishonesty ; and we were so 
 much crowded, that I could not undertake to remove 
 to a more proper station without danger of dis- 
 obhging our visiters, by desiring them to leave the 
 ihip." 
 
62 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 Otoo, the chief of the district, on hearing of the 
 arrival of the Bounty, sent a small pig and a young 
 plantain-tree, as a token of friendship. The ship 
 was now plentifully supplied with provisions ; every 
 man on board having as much as he could consume. 
 
 As soon as the ship was secured, Lieutenant Bligh 
 went on shore with the chief, Poeeno, passing 
 through a walk delightfully shaded with bread-fruit 
 trees to his own house, where his wife and her sister 
 were busily employed staining a piece of cloth red. 
 They desired him 'to sit down on a mat, and with 
 great kindness offered him refreshments. Several 
 strangers were now introduced, who came to offer 
 their congratulations, and behaved with great de- 
 corum and attention. On taking leave, he says, 
 " the ladies, for they deserve to be called such from 
 their natural and unaffected manners, and elegance 
 of deportment, got up, and taking some of their 
 finest cloth and a mat, clothed me in the Otaheitan 
 fashion, and then said, ' We will go with you to 
 your boat ;' and each taking me by the hand, amid 
 a great crowd, led me to the water-side, and then 
 took their leave." In this day's walk, Bligh had the 
 satisfaction to see that the island had received some 
 benefit from the former visits of Captain Cook. 
 Two shaddocks were brought to him, a fruit which 
 they had not till Cook introduced it ; and among the 
 articles which they brought off to the ship, and 
 offered for sale, v\^ere capsicums, pumpkins, and two 
 young goats. " In the course of two or three days," 
 says he, " an intimacy between the natives and the 
 ship's company was become so general, that there 
 was scarcely a man in the ship who had not already 
 his tayo or friend." 
 
 Nelson, the gardener, and his assistant, being sent 
 out to look for young plants, it was no small degree 
 of pleasure to find them report, on their return, that 
 according to appearances, the object of the voyage 
 would probably be accomplished with ease: the 
 
THE BREAD-FPUIT. 63 
 
 plants were plentiful, and no apparent objection oij 
 tlie part of the natives to collect as many as might 
 be wanted. Nelson had the gratification to meet 
 with two fine shaddock-trees which he had planted 
 in 1777, and which were now full of fruit, but not 
 dpe. 
 
 Presents were now given to Otoo, the chief of 
 Matavai, who had changed his name to Tinah. He 
 was told, that on account of the kindness of his 
 people to Captain Cook, and from a desire to serve 
 him and his country, King George had sent out those 
 valuable presents to him ; " and will you not, Tinah,'' 
 said Bligh, " send something to King George in re- 
 turn ?" — " Yes," he said, " I will send him any thing 
 I have ;" and then began to enumeratie the different 
 articles in his power, among which he mentioned the- 
 bread-fruit. Tiiis was the exact point to which 
 Bligh was endeavouring to lead him, and he -was im- 
 mediately told that the bread-fruit-trees w^ere what 
 King George would like very much, on which he 
 promised that a great man}^ should be put on board. 
 
 Hitherto no thefts had been committed, and Bligh 
 was congratulating himself on the improvement of 
 the Otaheitans in this respect, as the same facilities 
 and the same temptations were open to them as be- 
 fore. The ship, as on former occasions, was con- 
 stantly crowded with visiters. One day, hoAvever, 
 the gudgeon of the rudder belonging to the large 
 culter was drawn out and stolen, without being per- 
 ceived b}^ the man Avho was stationed to take care 
 of her; and as this and some other petty thefts, 
 mustly owing to the negligence of the men, were 
 conmiencing, and would have a tendency to interrupt 
 the good terms on which they were with the chiefs, 
 *'I thought," says Bligh, ""'it would have a good 
 effect to punish "the boatkeeper in their presence, 
 and accordingly I ordered him a dozen lashes. All 
 who attended the punishment interceded very ear- 
 nestly to get i* mitigated ; the women showed great 
 E 
 
64 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 sympathy, and that degree of feeling which charac 
 tehzes the amiable part of their sex." 
 
 The longer they remained on the island the more 
 they had occasion to be pleased with the conduct of 
 the islanders, and the less incommoded, either on 
 board or when on shore, by the natives following 
 them as at first. Into every house they wished to 
 enter they always experienced a kind reception. 
 The Otaheitans, we are told, have the most perfect 
 easiness of manner, equally free from forwardness 
 and formahty ; and that " there is a candour and sin- 
 cerity about them that is quite delightful." When 
 they offer refreshments, for instance, if they are not 
 accepted they do not think of offering them a second 
 time ; for they have not the least idea of that cere- 
 monious kind of refusal which expects a second in- 
 vitation. " Having one day," says Bligh, " exposed 
 myself too much in the sun, I was taken ill, on which 
 all the powerful people, both men and women, col- 
 lected round me, offering their assistance. For this 
 short illness I was made ample amends by the plea- 
 sure 1 received from the attention and appearance 
 of affection in these kind people." 
 
 On one occasion the Bounty had nearly gone 
 ashore in a tremendous gale of wind, and on another 
 did actually get aground ; on both which accidents 
 these kind-hearted people came in crowds to con- 
 gratulate the captain on her escape ; and many of 
 them are stated to have been affected in the most 
 lively manner, shedding tears, while the danger in 
 which the ship was placed continued. 
 
 On the 9th December the surgeon of the Bounty 
 died from the effects of intemperance and indolence. 
 This unfortunate man is represented to have been in 
 a constant state of intoxication, and was so averse 
 from any kind of exercise that he never could be 
 prevailed on to take half a dozen hours upon deck 
 at a time in the whole course of the voyage. Lieu- 
 tenant Bligh had obtained permission to bury him 
 
THE BREAD-TRT^rr. 55 
 
 on shore ; and on going with the chief Tinah to the 
 spot intended for his burial-place, " I found," says 
 he. •' the natives had already begun to dig his grave." 
 Tinah asked' if they were doing it right. " There," 
 says he, " the sun rises, and there it sets." Whether 
 the idea of making the grave east and west rs their 
 own, or whether they learned it from the Spaniards 
 who buried the captain of their ship on the island in 
 1774, there were no means of ascertaining; but it 
 was certain they had no intimation of that kind from 
 anybody belonging to the Bounty. When the fune- 
 ral took place the chiefs and many of the natives 
 attended the ceremony, and showed great attention 
 during the service. Many of the principal natives 
 attended divine service on Sundays, and behaved 
 with great decency. Some of the women at one 
 time betrayed an inclination to laugh at the general 
 responses ; but the captain says, on looking at them 
 they appeared much ashamed. 
 
 The border of low land, which is of the breadth 
 of about three miles between the seacoast and the 
 foot of the hills, consists of a very delightful coun- 
 try', well covered with bread-fruit and cocoa-trees, 
 and strewed with houses in which are swarms of 
 children playing about. " It is delightful," Bligh ob- 
 serves, " to see the swarms of little children that 
 are everywhere to be seen employed at their several 
 amusements ; some flying kites, some swinging in 
 ropes suspended from the boughs of trees, others 
 walking on stilts, some wrestling, and others play- 
 ing all manner of antic tricks, such as are common 
 to boys in England. The little girls have also their 
 amusements, consisting generally of heivahs or 
 dances." On an evening, just before sunset, the 
 whole beach abreast the ship is described as being 
 like a parade, crowded with men, women, and chil- 
 dren, who go on with their sports and amusements 
 till nearly dark, when every one peaceably returns 
 to his home. At such times, we are told, from three 
 
66 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 to four hundred people are assembled tog-ether, and 
 all happily diverted, good-humoured, and aflectionate 
 to one another, without a single quarrel having ever 
 Happened to disturb the harmony that existed among 
 these amiable people. Both boys and girls are said 
 to be handsome and very sprightly. 
 
 It did not appear that much pains were taken in 
 their plantations, except those of the ava and the 
 cloth-plant ; many of the latter are fenced with stone, 
 and surrounded with a ditch. In fact, Nature has 
 done so much for them that they have no great oc- 
 ca.sion to use exertion in obtaining a sufficient sup- 
 ply of either food or raiment. Yet when Bligh com- 
 menced taking up the bread-fruit plants he derived 
 much assistance from the natives in collecting and 
 pruning them, which they understood perfectly well. 
 
 The behaviour of these people on all occasions 
 was highly deserving of praise. One morning, at 
 the relief of the watch, the small cutter was missing. 
 The ship's company were immediately mustered, 
 when it appeared that three men were absent. 
 The)'- had taken with them eight stand of arms and 
 ammunition ; but what their plan Avas, or which way 
 they had gone, no one on board seemed to have the 
 least knowledge. Information being given of the 
 route they had taken, the master was despatched to 
 search for the cutter, and one of the chiefs went with 
 him ; hut belore they had got half-way they met the 
 boat with five of the natives, who were bringing her 
 back to the ship. For this service they were hand- 
 somely rewarded. The chiefs promised to use every 
 possible means to detect and bring back the de- 
 serters, which in a few days some of the isl.mders 
 had so far accomplished as to seize and bind them, 
 but let them loose again on a promise that they 
 would return to their ship, which they did not ex- 
 actly fulfil, but gave themselves up soon after on a 
 search being made for them. 
 
 A. few days after this a much more serious occur* 
 
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 67 
 
 rence happened, that was calculated to give to the 
 commander great concern. The wind had blown 
 fresh in the night, and at daylight it was discovered 
 that the cable by which the ship rode had been cut 
 near the v/ater's edge in such a manner that only 
 one strand remained whole. While they were se- 
 curing the ship Tinah came on board ; and though 
 there was no reason whatever to suppose otherwise 
 than that he was perfectly innocent of the transac- 
 tion, nevertheless, says the commander, " I spoke to 
 him in a very peremptory manner, and insisted upon 
 his discovering and bringing to me the offender. He 
 promised to use his utmost endeavours to discover 
 the guilty person. The next morning he and his 
 wife came to me, and assured me that they had made 
 the strictest inquiries without success. This was 
 not at all satisfactory, and I behaved towards them 
 with great coolness, at which they were much dis- 
 tressed ; and the lady at length gave vent to her 
 sorrow by tears. I could no longer keep up the ap- 
 pearance of mistrusting them, but 1 earnestly recom- 
 mended to them, as they valued the King of Eng- 
 land's friendship, that they would exert their utmost 
 endeavours to find out the offenders, which they 
 faithfully promised to do." 
 
 Here Bligh observes, it had. since occurred to him 
 that this attempt to cut the ship adrift was most 
 probably the act of some of his own people, whose 
 purpose of remaining at Otaheite might have been 
 effectually answered without danger if the ship had 
 been driven on shore. At the time it occurred, he 
 says, he entertained not the least thought of this 
 kind, nor did the possibihty of it enter into his ideas, 
 having no suspicion that so general an indication or 
 so strong an attachment to these islands could pre- 
 vail among his people, as to induce them to abandon 
 every prospect of returning to their native country. 
 
 This after-thought of Bligh Vv'ill appear in the se- 
 quel to be wholly gratuitous ; and yet he might natu- 
 
6S THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 rally encfii^h have concluded that so long and unre- 
 strained an intercourse with a people among whom 
 every man had his tayo or friend, among whom every 
 man was free to indulge every wish of his heart, 
 where from the moment he set his foot on shore he 
 found himself surrounded by female allurements in 
 the midst of ease and indolence, and living in a state 
 of luxury without submitting to any kind of labour, 
 — such enticemenfs to a common sailor might natu- 
 rally enough be supposed to create a desire for a 
 longer residence in such a country ; but this suppo- 
 sition is not borne out by subsequent events. The 
 damage done to the cable was, in all probability, 
 owing to its chafing over the rocky bottom. 
 
 The Bounty arrived on the 26th October, 1788, 
 and. remained till the 4th April, 1789. On the 31st 
 March, the commander says, " To-day all the plants 
 were on board, being in seven hundred and seventh- 
 four pots, thirty-nine tubs, and twenty-four boxes. 
 The number of bread-fruit plants were one thousand 
 and fifteen; besides which we had collected a num- 
 ber of other plants : the ame, which is one of the 
 finest flavoured fruits in the world ; the ayyah, which 
 is a fruit not so rich, but of a fine flavour, and very 
 refreshing; the rattah, not much unlike a chestnut, 
 which grows on a large tree in great quantities; 
 they are singly, in large'pods, from one to two inches 
 broad, and' may be eaten raw, or boiled in the same 
 manner as Windsor beans, and so dressed are equally 
 good ; the orai-ab, which is a very superior kind of 
 plantain. All these 1 was particularly lecommended 
 to collect by my worthy friend Sir Joseph Banks." 
 
 While these active preparations for departure were 
 going on, the good chief Tinah, on bringing a pres- 
 ent for King George, could not refrain from shedding 
 tears. During the remainder of their stay there ap- 
 peared among the natives an evident degree of sor- 
 row that they were so soon to leave them, wliich 
 they showed by a more than usual degree of kind- 
 
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 59 
 
 ness and attention. The above-mentioned excellent 
 chief, with his wife, brothers, and lister, requested 
 permission to remain on board for the night pre- 
 vious to the saiUng of the Bounty. The ship was 
 crowded the whole day with the natives, and she 
 was loaded with presents of cocoanuts, plantains, 
 bread-fruits, hogs, and goats. Contrary to what had 
 been the usual practice, there was this evening no 
 dancing or mirth on the beach, such as they had long 
 been accustomed to, but all was silent. 
 
 At sunset the boat returned from landing Tinah 
 and his wife, and the ship made sail, bidding farewell 
 to Otaheite, where, Biigh observes, "for twenty- 
 three weeks we had been treated with the utmost 
 aflfection and regard, and which seemed to increase in 
 proportion to our stay. That we were not insensi- 
 ble to their kindness the events which followed 
 more than sufficiently prove ; for to the friendly and 
 endearing behaviour of these people may be ascribed 
 the motives for that event which effected the ruin 
 of an expedition that there was every reason to 
 hope would have been completed in the most fortu- 
 nate manner." 
 
 The morning after their departure they got sight 
 of Huaheine; and a double canoe soon coming along- 
 side containing ten natives, amon^ them was a young 
 man who recollected Captain Biigh, and called him 
 by name, having known him when here in the year 
 1780 with Captain Cook in the Resolution. Several 
 other canoes arrived with hogs, yams, and other 
 provisions, which they purchased. This person con- 
 firmed the account that had already been received 
 of Omai, and said, that of all the animals which had 
 been left with Omai, the mare only remained alive ; 
 that the seeds and plants had been all destroyed ex- 
 cept one tree, but of what kind that was he could 
 not satisfactorily explain. A few days after sailing 
 from this island the weather became squally, and a 
 thick body of black clouds collected in the east. A. 
 
60 THE BREAD-rRtriT. 
 
 water-spout was in a short time seen at no crrep*. 
 distance from the ship, which appeared to great ad- 
 vantag-e from the darkness of the clouds beliind it. 
 The upper part is described a's being about two feet 
 in diameter, and the lower about eight inches. It 
 advanced rapidly towards the ship, when it was 
 deemed expedient to alter the course, and to take 
 in all the sails except the foresail ; soon after 
 which it passed within ten yards of the stern, mak- 
 hig a rusthng noise, but without their feeling the 
 least effect from its being so near. The rate at 
 which it travelled was judged to be about ten nnles 
 per hour, going towards the west, in the direction 
 of the wind ; and in a quarter of an hour after pass- 
 ing the ship it dispersed. As they passed several 
 low islands, the natives of one of them came ouc in 
 their canoes, and it was observed that they all spoke 
 the language of Otaheite. Presents of iron, beads, 
 and a looking-glass were given to them ; but it was 
 observed that the chief, on leaving the ship, took 
 possession of every thing that had been distributed. 
 One of them showed some signs of dissatisfaction ; 
 but, after a little altercation,^hey joined noses and 
 were reconciled. 
 
 The Bounty anchored at Anamooka on the 23d 
 April; and an old lame man named Tepa, whom 
 Bligh had known here in 1777, and immediately 
 recollected, came on board, along with others from 
 different islands in the vicinity. This man having 
 formerly been accustomed to' the English manner 
 of speaking their language, the commander found he 
 could converse with him tolerably well. He told 
 him that the cattle which had been left at Tongata- 
 boo had all bred, and that the old ones were ypt liv- 
 ing. Being desirous of seeing the ship, he and his 
 companions were taken below, and the Dread-fruit 
 and other plants were shown to them; on seenig 
 which they were greatly surprised. 
 " T landed," says Bligh, " in order to procure soma 
 
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 61 
 
 bread-fniit plants to supply the place of one that was 
 dead, and two or three others that were a little 
 sickly. I walked to the west part of the bay, where 
 some plants and seeds had been sown by Captain 
 Cook, and had the satisfaction to see, in a plantation 
 close by, about twenty fine pineapple plants, but no 
 fruit, this not being the proper season. They told 
 me that they had eaten many of them, that they 
 \vere very fine and laige, and tliat at Tongataboo 
 there were great numbers." 
 
 Numerous were the marks of mourning with which 
 these people disfigure themselves, such as bloody 
 temples, their heads deprived of most of the hair, 
 and, which was worse, almost all of them with the 
 loss of some of their fingers. Several fine boys, not 
 above six years of age, had lost both their little 
 fingers : and some of the men had parted with the 
 middle finger of the right hand. 
 
 A brisk trade soon began to be carried on for 
 yams ; some plantains and bread-fruit were likewise 
 brouglit on board, but no hogs. Some of the sailing 
 canoes, which arrived in the course of the day, were 
 large enough to contain not less than ninety passen- 
 gers. From these the officers and crew purchased 
 hogs, dogs, fowls, and shaddocks ; yams, very fine 
 and large ; one of them actually weighed above forty- 
 five pounds. The crowd of natives had become so 
 great the next day, Sunday 26th, that it became im- 
 possible to do any thing. The w^atering party were 
 therefore ordered" to go on board, and it was deter- 
 mined to sail ; the ship was accordingly unmoored 
 and got under way. A grapnel, however, had been 
 stolen, and Bligh informed the chiefs that were still 
 on board, that unless it was returned they must re- 
 main in the ship, at which they were surprised and 
 not a little alarmed. " 1 detained them," he says, 
 " till sunset, when their uneasiness and impatience 
 increased to such a degree, that they began to beat 
 themselves about the face and eyes, and some of 
 
62 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 
 
 them cried bitterly. As this distress was more than 
 the .s:rapnel was worth, I could not think of detain- 
 ing them longer, and called their canoes alongside. 
 I told them they were at liberty to go, and made 
 each of them a present of a hatchet, a saw, with 
 some knives, gimblets, and nails. This unexpected 
 present, and the sudden change in their situation, 
 affected them not less with joy than they had before 
 been with apprehension. They were unbounded in 
 their acknowledgments ; and I have little doubt but 
 that we parted better friends than if the affair had 
 never happened." 
 
 From this island the ship stood to the northward 
 all night, with light winds ; and on the next day, the 
 27th, at noon, they were between the islands Tofoa 
 and Kotoo. 
 
 " Thus far," says Bligh, " the voyage had advanced 
 in a course of uninterrupted prosperity, and had been 
 attended with many circumstances equally pleasing 
 and satisfactory. A very different scene was now 
 to be experienced. A conspiracy had been formed, 
 which was to render all our past labour productive 
 only of extreme misery and distress. The means 
 had been concerted and prepared with so much 
 secrecy and circumspection, that no one circum- 
 stance appeared to occasion the smallest suspicion 
 of the impending calamity, the result of an act of 
 piracy the most consummate and atrocious that was 
 probably ever committed." 
 
 How far Bligh was justified in ascribing the 
 calamity to a conspiracy will be seen hereafter. 
 The following chapter will detail the facts of the 
 mutinous proceedings as stated by the lieutenant, 
 in his own words. 
 
THE MUTINY. 63 
 
 CHAPTER IJT. 
 
 THE MUTINY. 
 "ITiat, Captain Bligb, that is the thing ; 1 am in hell !— T am in hell !" 
 
 FlKICHEK CUKISTIAN, 
 
 -" Horror and doubt distract 
 His troubled thoughts, and from llie boitom stir 
 The hell within him ; for within liim hell 
 He brings, and round about him, nor from hell ' 
 
 One step no more than from himself can fly 
 By change of place ; now conscience wakes despair 
 That slumber'd, wakes the bitter memory 
 Of what he was, what is, and what must be 
 Worse ; of worse deeds worse sufferings must ensue." 
 
 **In the morning of the 28th April, the north- 
 westernmost of the Friendly Islands, called Tofoa, 
 bearing north-east, 1 was steering to the westward, 
 with a ship in most perfect order, all my plants in a 
 most flourishing condition, all my men and officers 
 in good health, aiid, in short, every thing to flatter 
 and ensure my most sanguine expectations. On 
 leaving the deck I gave directions for the course to 
 be steered during the night. The master had the 
 first watch, the gunner the middle watch, and Mr. 
 Christian the morning watch. This was the turn 
 of duty for the night. 
 
 " Just before sun-rising on Tuesday the 28th, while 
 I was yet asleep, Mr. Christian, officer of the watch; 
 Charles Churchill, ship's corporal, John Mills, gun- 
 ner's mate, and Thomas Burkitt, seaman, came into 
 my cabin, and seizing me, tied my hands with a cord 
 behind my back, threatening me with instant death 
 if I spoke or made the least noise. I called, how- 
 ever, as loud as I could, in hopes of assistance ; but 
 they had already secured the officers who were not 
 of their party, by placing sentinels at their doors. 
 
64 THE MUTINY. 
 
 Thore were three men at my cabin-door, besides the 
 four within ; Christian had only a cutlass in his 
 hand, the others had muskets and bayonets. I was 
 hauled out of bed, and forced on deck in my shirt, 
 suffering- great pain from the tig-htness with which 
 they had tied my hands* [behind my back, held by 
 Fletcher Christian, and Charles Churchill, with a 
 bayonet at my breast, and two men, Alexander Smith 
 and Thomas Burkitt, behind me, with loaded mus- 
 kets cocked and bayonets fixed.] I demanded the 
 reason of such violence, but received no other an- 
 swer than abuse for not holding my tongue. The 
 master, the gunner, IMr. Elphinstone the master's 
 mate, and Nelson were kept confined below ; and 
 the fore-hatchway w^as guarded by sentinels. The 
 boatswain and carpenter, and also Mr. Samuel the 
 clerk, were allowed to come upon deck, where they 
 saw me standing, abaft the mizenmast, with my 
 hands tied behind my back, under a guard, with 
 Christian at their head. The boatswain was ordered 
 to hoist the launch out, with a threat, if he did not 
 do it instantly, to take care of himself. 
 
 " When the boat was out, Mr. Hay ward and Mr. 
 Hallet, two of the midshipmen, and Mr. Samuel, 
 were ordered into it. I demanded v^^hat their inten- 
 tion was in giving this order, and endeavoured to 
 persuade the people near me not to persist in such 
 acts of violence ; but it was to no effect — ' Hold 
 your tongue, sir, or you are dead this instant,' was 
 constantly repeated to me. 
 
 " The master by this time had sent to request that 
 he might come on deck, which was permitted ; but 
 he was soon ordered back again to his cabin. 
 
 " [When I exerted myself in speaking loud, to try 
 i[ I could rally any with a sense of duty in them, I 
 
 was saluted with — ' D — n his eyes, the , blow 
 
 his brains out ;' while Christian was threatening me 
 with instant death, if 1 did not hold my tongue.] 
 
 ♦ Th» words within brackets are in the original despatch. 
 
THE MUTINY. 65 
 
 " I continued my endeavours to turn the t^ e of 
 affairs, when Christian changed the cutlass which 
 he had in his hand for a bayonet that was brought 
 to him, and holding me with a strong gripe by the 
 cord that tied my hands, he threatened, with many 
 oaths, to kill me immediately, if 1 would not be 
 quiet ; the villams round me had their pieces cocked 
 and bayonets fixed. Particular persons were called 
 on to go hito the boat, and were hurried over the 
 side ; whence I concluded that with these people I 
 was to be set adrift. I therefore made another effort 
 to bring about a change, but with no other eflfect 
 than to be threatened with having my brains blown 
 out. 
 
 " The boatswain and seamen who were to go in 
 the boat were allowed to collect twine, canvass, 
 lines, sails, cordage, an eight-and-twenty gallon cask 
 of water; and Mr. Samuel got on% hundred and fifty 
 pounds of bread, with a small quantity of rum and 
 wine, also a quadrant and compass ; but he was for- 
 bidden, on pain of death, to touch either map, ephe- 
 meris, book of astronomical observations, sextant, 
 timekeeper, or any of my surveys or drawings. 
 
 " The mutineers having forced those of the sea- 
 men whom they meant to get rid of into the boat, 
 Christian directed a dram to be served to each of 
 his own crew. T tlien unhappily saw that nothing 
 could be done to effect the recovery of the ship : 
 there was no one to assist me, and every endeavour 
 on my part was answered with threats of death. 
 
 " The officers were next called upon deck, and 
 forced over the side into the boat, w-hile I was kept 
 apart from every one, abaft the mizenmast; Chris- 
 tian, armed with a bayonet, holding me by the ban- 
 dage that secured my hands. The guard round me 
 had their pieces cocked, but on my daring the un- 
 grateful wretches to fire, they uncocked them. 
 
 " Isaac Martin, one of the guard over me, I saw 
 hafl an molination to assist me, and as he fed me 
 
66 THE MUTINY. 
 
 with shaddock (my lips being- quite parched) we ex- 
 plained our wishes to each other by our looka; but 
 this being observed, Martin was removed from me. 
 He then attempted to leave the ship, for which pur- 
 pose he g-ot into the boat ; but with many threats 
 they obUged him to return. 
 
 " The armourer, Joseph Coleman, and two of the 
 carpenters, M'Intosh and Ncrman, were also kept 
 contrary to their inclination; and they begged of 
 nie, after I was astern in the boat, to remember that 
 they declared they had no hand in the transaction. 
 Michael Byrne, I am told, likewise wanted to leave 
 the ship. 
 
 " It is of no moment for me to recount my endea- 
 vours to bring back the offenders to a sense of their 
 duty; all I could do was by speaking to them in 
 general ; but it was to no purpose, for I was kept 
 securely bound, and no one except the guard suffered 
 to come near me. 
 
 " To Mr. Samuel (clerk) I am indebted for secu- 
 ring ray journals and commission, with some mate- 
 rial ship papers. Without these I had nothing to 
 certify what I had done, and my honour and char- 
 acter might have been suspected, without my pos- 
 sessing a proper document to have defended them. 
 All this he did with great resolution, though guarded 
 and strictly watched. He attempted to save the 
 timekeeper, and a box with my surveys, drawings, 
 and remarks, for fifteen years past, which were 
 numerous; when he was hurried away with 'D — n 
 your eyes, you are well off to get what you have.' 
 
 " It appeared to me that Christian was some time 
 in doubt whether he should keep the carpenter or 
 his mates ; at length he determined on the latter, 
 and the carpenter was ordered into the boat. He 
 was permitted, but not without some opposition, to 
 take his tool-chest. 
 
 "Much altercation took place among the muil- 
 nous crew during the whole business ; some swor« 
 
THE MUTINY. 67 
 
 * I'll be d — d if he does not find his way home, if he 
 gets any thing with him ;' and when the carpenter's 
 chest was carrying- away, ' D — n my eyes, he will 
 have a vessel built in a month ;' while others laughed 
 at the helpless situation of the boat, being very deep, 
 and so little room for those who were in her. As 
 for Christian, he seemed as if meditating destruction 
 on himself and every one else. 
 
 " I asked for arms, but they laughed at me, and 
 said I was well acquainted with the people among 
 whom I was going, and therefore did not want them , 
 four cutlasses, however, were thrown into the boat 
 after we were veered astern. 
 
 "The olhcers and men being in the boat, they 
 only waited for me, of which the master-at-arms 
 informed Christian ; who then said, ' Come, Cap- 
 tain Bhgh, your officers and men are now in the 
 boat, and you must go with them ; if you attempt 
 to make the least resistance, you will instantly be 
 put to death ;' and without further ceremony, with 
 a tribe of armed ruffians about me, I was forced 
 over the side, when they untied my hands. Being 
 in the boat, we were veered astern by a rope. A 
 few pieces of pork Avere thrown to us, and some 
 clothes, also the cutlasses I have already mentioned ; 
 and it was then that the armourer and carpenters 
 called out to me to remember that they had no hand 
 in the transaction. After having undergone a great 
 deal of ridicule, and been kept for some time to 
 make sport for these unfeehng wretches, we were 
 at length cast adrift in the open ocean. 
 
 " T had with me in the boat the following persons: 
 
 Names. Stations. 
 
 John Fryer Master. 
 
 Thorr.as Led ward Act in? Surgeon. 
 
 David Nelson Botanist. 
 
 William Peckover Gunner. 
 
 William Cole Boatswain, 
 
 William Purcell Carpenter. 
 
 William F'.plunstone Master's Mate. 
 
68 THE MUTINY. 
 
 Names. StcUioTts. 
 
 Thomas 1 lay ward ) Midshipmen. 
 
 John Hallet S ' 
 
 JotiM Nonon ) Quarter-masters. 
 
 Peter Leiikietter S 
 
 Lawrence Lebogue Sallmaker. 
 
 John Sniiih 
 
 . Cooka. 
 
 Thomas Hall S 
 
 George Simpson Quarter-master's MaSe, 
 
 Robert Tinkler A Boy, 
 
 Robert Lamb Butcher. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Clerk. 
 
 In all eighteen. 
 
 There remained in the Bounty : — 
 
 Able Seamen. 
 
 Names. Stations. 
 
 Fletcher Christian Master's Mate. 
 
 Peter Heywood ) 
 
 Edward Young ^ Midshipmen. 
 
 George Si f) wart j 
 
 Charles Churchill Master-at-arms. 
 
 John Mills Gunner's Mr.te. 
 
 James Morrison Boatswain's Mate. 
 
 Thomas Burkitl 
 Matthew Quintal 
 John Sumner 
 John Mill ward 
 William M'Koy 
 Henry Hillbrant 
 Michael Byrne 
 William Musprat 
 Alex 'nder Smith 
 John Williams 
 Thomas Ellison 
 Isaac Martin 
 Ric ard Sknner 
 Mat ew Thompson J 
 
 William Brown Gardener. 
 
 .losep.'i Colem m Armourer. 
 
 Charles Norman Car|ieiiier's Mate. 
 
 . Thomas M'lntosh Carpenter's Crew. 
 
 In all twenty-five— and the most able of the ship's company. 
 
 "Christian, the chief of the mutineers, is of a 
 respectable family in the north of Kuglaiid. This 
 was the third voyage he had made with me ; and as 
 I found it necessary to keep my ship's company at 
 ihree watches, I had given him an order to take 
 charge of the third, his abilities being thorougUy 
 
THE MUTINY. 6D 
 
 equal to the task ; and by this means the master 
 eind gunner were not at watch and watch. 
 
 " Heywood is also of a respectable family in the 
 north of England,* and a young man of abilities as 
 well as Christian. These two had been objects of 
 mv particular legard and attention, and I had taken 
 great pains to mstruct them, having entertained 
 hopes that, as professional men, they v^ould have 
 become a credit to their country. 
 
 " Young was well recommended, and had the 
 look of an able, stout seaman; he, however, fell 
 short of what his appearance promised. [In the 
 account sent home he is thus described : Edward 
 Young, midshipman, aged twenty-two years. Dark 
 complexion and rather a bad look — strong made — 
 has lost several of his fore teeth, and those that 
 remain are all rotten.] 
 
 *' Stewart was a young man of creditable parents 
 in the Orkneys ; at v/hich place, on the return of 
 the Resolution from the South Seas, in 1780, we 
 received so many civilities that, on that account 
 only, I should gladly have taken him with me ; but, 
 independent of this recommendation, he was a sea- 
 man, and had always borne a good cliaracter. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the roughness with which I 
 was treated, the remembrance of past kindnesses 
 produced some signs of remorse in Christian. When 
 they were forcing me out of the ship, I asked him 
 if this treatment was a proper return for the many 
 instances he had received of my friendship 1 he ap- 
 peared disturbed at my question, and answered, with 
 much emotion, " That, Captain Bligh, that is the 
 thing ; — I am in hell ! — 1 am in hell !" 
 
 "As soon as I had time to reflect, T felt an in- 
 ward satisfaction, which prevented any depression 
 of mj^ spirits : conscious of my integrity, and anxious 
 solicitude for the good of the service in which I had 
 
 * He was born in the Isle of ^lan.his father being deemster of Man, 
 and seneschal to th" Duke of Athol. 
 
 F 
 
70 THE MUTINY. 
 
 been engaged, I found my mind wonderfully sup- 
 ported, and I began to conceive hopes, notwithstand- 
 ing so heavy a calamity, that I should one day be 
 able to account to my king and country for the mis- 
 fortune. A few hours before my situation had been 
 peculiarly flattering. I had a ship in the most per- 
 fect order, and well stored with every necessary 
 both for Service and health ; by early attention to 
 those particulars I had, as much as lay in my power, 
 provided against any accident in case I could not 
 get through Endeavour Straits, as well as against 
 what might befall me in them ; add to this, the plants 
 had been successfully preserved in the most flourish- 
 ing state : so that, upon the whole, the voyage was 
 two-thirds completed, and the remaining part, to 
 all appearance, in a very promising way ; every per- 
 son on boa^rd being in perfect health, to establish 
 which was ever among the principal objects of my 
 attention. 
 
 " It will very naturally be asked, What could be 
 the reason for such a revolt 1 In answer to which 
 I can only conjecture, that the mutineers had flat- 
 tered themselves wath the hopes of a more happy 
 life among the Otaheitans than they could possibly 
 enjoy in JEngland ; and this, joined to some female 
 connexions, most probably occasioned the whole 
 transaction. The ship, indeed, while within our 
 sight, steered to the W. N. W. ; but I considered 
 this only as a feint, for when we were sent away, 
 * Huzza for Otaheite !' was frequently heard among 
 the mutineers. 
 
 " The women of Otaheite are handsome, mild and 
 cheerful in their manners and conversation, pos- 
 sessed of great sensibility, and have sufficient deli- 
 cacy to make them admired and beloved. The 
 chiefs were so much attached to our people, that 
 they rather encouraged their stay among, them than 
 otherwise, and even made them promises of large 
 possessions. Under these and many other attend 
 
THE MUTINY. 71 
 
 ant circumstances, equally desirable, it is now per 
 haps not so much to be wondered at, though scarcely 
 possible to have been foreseen, that a set of sailors, 
 most of them void of connexions, should be led 
 away ; especially when, in addition to such power- 
 ful inducements, they imagined it in their power to 
 fix themselves in the midst of plenty, on one of the 
 finest islands in the world, where they need not 
 labour, and where the allurements of dissipation are 
 beyond any thing that can be conceived. The ut- 
 most, however, that any commander could have 
 supposed to have happened is, that some of the peo- 
 ple would have been tempted to desert. But if it 
 should be asserted that a commander is to guard 
 against an act of mutiny and piracy in his own ship, 
 more than by the common rui^ of service, it is as 
 much as to say that he must sleep locked up, and 
 when awake be girded with pistols. 
 
 " Desertions have happened, more or less, from 
 most of the ships that have been at the Society 
 Islands ; but it has always been in the commanders' 
 power to make the chiefs return their people ; the 
 knowledge, therefore, that it was unsafe to desert 
 perhaps first led mine to consider with what ease so 
 small a ship might be surprised, and that so favour- 
 able an opportunity would never offer to them again. 
 
 " The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond aU con- 
 ception. Thirteen of the party, who were with me, 
 had always lived forward among the seamen; yet 
 neither they nor the messmates of Christian, Stew- 
 art, Heywood, and Young had ever observed any 
 circumstance that made them in the least suspect 
 what was going on. To such a close-planned act 
 of viliauy, my mind being entirely free from any 
 suspicion, it is not wonderful that I fell a sacrifice, 
 Perhaps, if there had been- marines on' board, a sen^ 
 tinel at my cabiii-door might have prevented it ; for 
 1 slept with the door always open, that the officer 
 of the watch might have access to me on all occa- 
 
72 THE MUTINY. 
 
 sions, the possinilitj' of such a conspiracy being ever 
 the furthest from my thoughts. Had their mutiny 
 been occasioned by any grievances, either veal or 
 imaginary, I must have discovered symptoms of 
 their discontent, which would have put me on my 
 guard: but the case was far otherwise. Christian, 
 in particular, I was on the most friendly terms with : 
 that very day he was engaged to have dined with me ; 
 and the preceding night he excused himself from 
 supping with me, on pretence of being nnwel! ; for 
 which I felt concerned, having no suspicions of his 
 integrity and honour." 
 
 Such is the story published by Lieutenant Eligh 
 immediately on his return to England, after one of 
 the most distressing and perilous passages over 
 nearly four thousand miles of the wide ocean, with 
 eighteen persons, in an open boat. The story ob- 
 tained implicit credit ; and though Lieutenant Bligh's 
 character never stood high in the navy for suavity 
 of manners or mildness of temper, he was always 
 considered as an excellent seaman, and his veracity 
 stood unimpeached. But in this age of refined lib- 
 erality, when the most atrocious criminals find their 
 apologists, it is not surprising it should now be dis- 
 covered, when all are dead that could either prove 
 or disprove it, that it was the tyranny of the com- 
 mander alone, and not the wickedness of the ring- 
 leader of the mutineers of the Bounty, that caused 
 that event. " We all know," it is said, " that mutiny 
 can arise but from one of these two sources, exces- 
 sive folly or excessive tyranny; therefore"— the logic 
 is admirable—" as it is admitted that Bligh was no 
 idiot, the inference is obvious."* If this be so, it 
 may be asked to which of the two causes must be 
 ascribed the mutiny at the Nore, &c. ? The true 
 answer will be, to neither. " Not only," continues 
 the writer, " was the narrative which he published 
 
 ♦ United Service Journal for April, 1831. 
 
THE MUTINY. 73 
 
 proved to be false in many material bearings by evi- 
 dence before a court-martial, but every act of his 
 public life after this event, from his successive com- 
 mand of the Director, the Glatton, and the Warrior, 
 to his disgraceful expulsion from New South. Wales, 
 was stamped with an insolence, an inhumanity, 
 and coarseness which fully developed his c?iaracter." 
 There is no intention, in narrating this eveiitful 
 /listory, to accuse or defend either the character or 
 the conduct of the late Admiral Bligh ; it is well 
 Known his temper was irritable in the extreme; but 
 (he circumstance of his having been the friend of 
 Captain Cook, v/ith whom he sailed as his master, 
 ■ — of his ever afterward being patronised by Sir Jo- 
 seph Banks — of the Admiralty promoting him to the 
 rank of commander, appointing him immediately to 
 the Providence, to proceed on the same expedition 
 to Otaheite, — and of his returning in a very short 
 time to England with complete success, and recom- 
 mending all his officers forpromotiiDn on account of 
 their exemplary conduct; — of his holding several 
 subsequent employments in the service, — of his 
 having commanded ships of the line'in the battles of 
 Copenhagen and Camperdown, — and risen to the 
 rank of a flag-officer, — these may perhaps be con- 
 sidered to speak something in his favour, and be 
 allowed to stand as some proof, that with all his 
 failings he had his merits. That he was a man of 
 coarse habits, and entertained very mistaken notions 
 v/ith regard to discipline, is quite true : yet he had 
 many redeeming qualities. The accusation, by the 
 VvTiter in question, of Biigh having falsified his " nar- 
 rative," is a very heavy charge, and, it is to be feared 
 is not wholly without foundation ; though it would 
 perhaps be more correct to say, tljat in the printed 
 narrative of his voyage, and the narrative on which 
 the mutineers were tried, there are many important 
 omissions from his original manuscript journal, some 
 of which it will be necessary to notice presently. 
 
74 THE MUTINY. 
 
 The same writer further says, " We know that the 
 officers fared in every way worse than the men, and 
 that even young Hey wood was kept at the masthead 
 no less than eight hours at one spell, in the worst 
 weather which they encountered off Cape Horn." 
 
 Perhaps Ileywood may himself be brought for- 
 ward as authority, if not to disprove, at least to ren- 
 der highly improbable, his experiencing any such 
 treatment on the part of his captam. This yoimg 
 officer, in his defence, says, " Captain Bligh in his 
 narrative acknowledges that he had left some friends 
 on board the Bounty, and no part of my conduct 
 could have induced him to believe that I ought not 
 to be reckoned of the number. Indeed, from his at- 
 tention to, and very kind treatment of me 'personally, 
 1 should have been a monster of depravity to have 
 betrayed him. The idea alone is sufficient to dis- 
 turb a mind where liumanity and gratitude have, I 
 hope, ever been noticed as its characteristic fea- 
 tures." Bligh, too, has declared in a letter to Hey- 
 wood's uncle, Holwell, after accusing him of ingrati- 
 tude, that "he never once had an angry word from 
 me during the whole course of the voyage, as his 
 conduct always gave me much pleasure and satis- 
 faction." 
 
 In looking over a manuscript journal kept by 
 Mornson, the boatswain's mate, who was tried and 
 convicted as one of the mutineers, but received the 
 king's pardon, the condu(;t of Bligh appears in a very 
 unfavourable point of view. Tliis Morrison was a 
 person from talent and education fiir above the situa- 
 tion he held in the Bounty ; he had previously served 
 in the navy as midshipman, and after his pardon was 
 appointed gunner of the Blenheim, in which he 
 perished with Sir Thomas Trowbridge. In com- 
 paring this journal with other documents, the dates 
 and transactions appear to be correctly stated, though 
 the latter may occasionally be somewhat too highly 
 coloured. How he contrived to ^reserve this jour- 
 
THE MUTINY. 7.1 
 
 nal in the wreck of the Pandora does not appear ; 
 but there can be no doubt of its authenticity, having 
 been kept among- the late Captain Heywood's pa- 
 pers; various passages in it have been corrected 
 either by this officer or some other person, but with- 
 out altering their sense. 
 
 It would appear from this important document 
 that the seeds of discord in the unfortunate ship 
 Bounty were sown at a very early period of the 
 voyage. It happened, as was the case in all small 
 vessels, that the duties of commander and purser 
 were united in the person of Lieutenant Bligh ; and 
 it would seem that this proved the cause of very se- 
 rious discontent among the officers and crew ; of 
 the mischief arising out of this union the following 
 statement of Mr. Morrison may serve as a specimen. 
 At Teneriffe, Lieutenant Bligh ordered the cheese to 
 be hoisted up and exposed to the air ; which was no 
 sooner done than he pretended to miss a certain 
 quantit3% and declared that it had been stolen. The 
 cooper, Henry Hillbrant, informed him that the cask 
 in question had been opene^ by the orders of Mr. 
 Samuel, his clerk, who acted also as steward, and 
 the cheese sent on shore to his own house, previous 
 to the Bounty leaving the river on her way to Ports- 
 mouth. Lieutenant Biigh,without making any further 
 inquiry, immediately ordered the allowance of that 
 article to be stopped, both from officers and wen, until 
 the deficiency should be made good, and told the 
 
 cooper he should give him a d d good flogging 
 
 if he said another w^ord on the subject. It can 
 hardly be supposed that a man of Bligh's shrewd- 
 ness, if disposed to play the rogue, would have 
 placed himself so completely in the hands of the 
 cooper, in a transaction which, if revealed, must 
 have cost him his commission. 
 
 Again, on approaching the equator, some decayed 
 pumpkins, purchased at Teneriffe, were ordered to 
 be issued to the crew, at the rate of one pound of 
 
76 THE MUTINY. 
 
 pumpkin for two pounds of biscuit. The reluctance 
 of the men to accept this proposed substitute on such 
 terms being- reported to Lieutenant Bhgh, lie tiew 
 upon deck in a violent rage, turned the hands up, 
 and ordered the first man on the list of each mess to 
 be called by name ; at the same time saying-, " I'll see 
 who will dare to refuse the pumpkin, or any thing- else I 
 may order to be served out ;" to which he added, " You 
 
 d d infernal scoundrels, I'll make you eat grass, 
 
 or any thing you can catch, before I have done with 
 you." This speech had the desired efi'ect, every one 
 receiving the pumpkins, even the officers. 
 
 Next comes a complaint respecting the mode of 
 issuing beef and pork ; but when a representation 
 was made to Lieutenant Bligh in the quiet and oi'- 
 derly manner prescribed by the twenty-first article 
 of war, he called the crew aft, told them that every 
 thing relative to the provisions was transacted by 
 his orders ; that it v/as therefore needless for them 
 to complain, as they would get no redress, he being 
 the fittest judge of what was right or wrong, and that 
 he would flog the first man who should dare attempt 
 to make any complaint in future. To this imperious 
 menace they bowed in silence, and not another 
 murmur was heard from them during the remainder 
 of the voyage to Otaheite, it being their determina- 
 tion to seek legal redress on the Bounty's return to 
 England. Happy would it have been had they kept 
 their resolution. By so doing, if the story be true, 
 they would amply have been avenged, a vast num- 
 ber of human lives spared, and a world of misery 
 avoided. 
 
 According to this journalist, " the seeds of eternal 
 discord were sown between Lieutenant Bligh and 
 some of his officers" while in Adventure Bay, Van 
 Dieman's Land; and on arriving at Matavai Bay, 
 in Otaheite, he is accused of taking the officers' 
 hogs and bread-fruit, and serving them to the ship's 
 ^-ompany ; and when the master remonstrated with 
 
THE MUTINY. 77 
 
 him on the subject, he rephed, that " he would con- 
 vince him that every thing- became his as soon as it 
 was brought on board; that he would take nine- 
 tenths of ever}' man's property, and let him see who 
 dared to sa} any thing- to the contrary." The 
 sailors' pigs were seized without ceremony, and it 
 became a favour for a man to obtain an extra pound 
 of his own meat. 
 
 The writer then says, " the object of our visit to 
 the Society Islands being at length accomplished, we 
 weighed on the 4th April, 1789. Every one seemed 
 in high spirits, and began to talk of home, as though 
 they had just left Jamaica instead of Otaheite, so far 
 onward did their flattering fancies waft them. On 
 the 23d we anchored off Annamooka, the inhabitants 
 of which island were very rude, and attempted to 
 take the casks and axes from the parties sent to fill 
 water and cut wood. A musket pointed at them 
 produced no other effect than a return of the com- 
 phment, by poising their cluhs or spears with men- 
 acing looks ; and as it was Lieutenant Bligh's orders 
 that no person should affront them on any occasion, 
 they were imboldened by meeting with no check to 
 their insolence. They at length became so trouble- 
 some, that Mr. Christian, wlio commanded the wa- 
 tering party, found it difficult to carry on his duty; 
 but on acquainting Lieutenant Bligh with their be- 
 haviour, he received a volley of abuse, was d d 
 
 as a cowardly rascal, and asked if he were afraid of 
 naked savages while he had weapons in his handl 
 To this he replied in a respectful manner, "The 
 arms are of no effect, sir, while your orders prohibit 
 their use." 
 
 This happened but three days before the mutiny, 
 and the same circumstance is noticed, but somewhat 
 differently, in Bligh's MS. journal, where he says, 
 " the men cleared themselves, and they therefore 
 merit no punisnment. As tu the officers I have no 
 resource, nor do I ever feel myself safe in the few 
 
78 THK MUTINY 
 
 instances I trust to them." A perusal of all the 
 documents certainly leads to the conclusion that all 
 his officers were of a very inferior description ; they 
 had no proper feeling of their own situation ; and 
 this, tog^ether with the contempt in which they were 
 held by Bligh, and which he could not disguise, may 
 account for that perfect indifference with regard both 
 to the captain and the ship which was mamfested on 
 the day of the mutiny. 
 
 That sad catastrophe, if the writer cf the journal 
 be correct, was hastened, if not brought about, by 
 the following circumstance, of which Bhgh takes no 
 notice. " In the afternoon of the 27th Lieutenant 
 Bligh came upon deck, and missing some of the 
 cocoanuts which had been piled up between the 
 guns, said they had been stolen, and could not have 
 been taken away without the knov/ ledge of the offi- 
 cers, all of whom were sent for and questioned on 
 the subject. On their declaring that they had not 
 seen any of the people touch them, he exclaimed, 
 ' Then you must have taken them yourselves ;' and 
 proceeded to inquire of thern separately how many 
 they had purchased. On coming to Mr. Christian, 
 that gentleman answered, 'I do not know, sir; but 
 I hope you do not think me so mean as to be guilty 
 of stealing yours.' Mr. Bligh replied, 'Yes, you 
 
 d d hound, I do — you must have stolen them from 
 
 me, or you would be able to give a better account of 
 them ;' then turning to the other officers, he said, 
 ' God d — n you, you scoundrels, you are all thieves 
 alike, and combine witli the men to rob me : I sup- 
 pose you will steal my yams next ; but I'll sweat you 
 for it, you rascals — I'll make half of you jump over- 
 board before you get tlirough Endeavour Straits.' 
 This threat was followed by an order to the clerk 
 'to stop the villains' grog, and give them but lialf 
 a pound of yams to-morrow ; if they steal them, I'll 
 reduce them to a quarter.' " 
 
 It is difficult to beheve that an officer in hi* 
 
THK MUTINY. 79 
 
 majesty's service could condescend to make use o< 
 such language to the meanest of the crew, mucii 
 less to gentlemen; it is to be feared, however, that 
 there is sutficient ground for the truth of these state- 
 ments : with regard to the last, it is borne out by the 
 evidence of Mr. Fryer, the master, on the court- 
 martial. This officer being asked, " What did you 
 suppose to be Mr. Cliristian's meaning when he said 
 he had been in hell for a fortnight ?" answered, 
 " From the frequent quarrels they had had, and the 
 abuse which he had received from Mr. Bligh." — 
 " Had there been any very recent quarrel V — " The 
 day before, Mr. Bligh challenged all the young gen- 
 tlemen and people y/ith stealing his cocoanuts." It 
 was on the evening of this day that Lieutenant Bligh, 
 according to his printed narrative, says Christian 
 was to have supped with him, but excused himself 
 on account of being unwell ; and that he was invited 
 to dine with hinr on the day of the mutiny. 
 
 Every one of these circumstances, and many 
 others which might be stated from Mr. Morrison's 
 journal, are omitted in Bhgh's published narrative ; 
 but many of them are alluded to in his original jour- 
 nal, and others that prove distinctly the constant 
 reproofs to which his officers Avere subject, and the 
 bad terms on v/hich they stood with their com- 
 mander. A few extracts from this journal will suf- 
 ficiently establish this point. 
 
 In so early a part of the voyage as their arrival in 
 Adventure Bay, he found fault v/ith his officers, and 
 put the carpenter into confinement. Again, at Ma- 
 tavai Bay, on the 5th December, Bligh says, "I 
 ordered the carpenter to cut a large stone that was 
 brought off by one of the natives, requesting me to 
 get it made fit for them to grind their hatchets on ; 
 but, to my astonishment, he refused, in direct terms, 
 to comply, saying, ' I will not cut the stone, for it 
 will spoil my chisel; and though there may be law 
 to take away my clothes, there is none to take awav 
 
80 THE MUTINY. 
 
 my tools.' This man having before shown his mu- 
 tinous and insolent behaviour, I was under the neces- 
 sity of confining him to his cabin." 
 
 On the 5th January three men deserted in the cutter, 
 on which occasion Bligh says, " Had the mate of the 
 watch been awake, no trouble of this kind would 
 have happened. I have therefore disrated and turned 
 him before the mast: such neglectful and worthless 
 petty officers, I believe, never were in a ship as are 
 in thi?. No orders for a few hours together are 
 obeyed by them, and their conduct in general is so 
 bad that no confidence or trust can be reposed in 
 them ; in short, they have driven me to every thing 
 but corporal punishment, and that must follow if 
 they do not improve." 
 
 By Morrison's journal it would appear that "cor- 
 poral punishment" was not long delayed ; for on the 
 very da^^, he says, the midshipman Vvas put in irons, 
 and confined from the 5th January to the 23d March 
 — eleven weeks ! 
 
 On the 17th January, orders being given to clear 
 out the sail-room and to air the sails, many of them 
 were found very much mildewed, and rotten in many 
 places, on which he observes, " If I had any officers 
 to supersede the master and boatswain, or was 
 capable of doing without them, considering them as 
 common seamen, they should no longer occupy their 
 respective stations; scarcel}^ any neglect of duty 
 can equal the criminality of this." 
 
 On the 24th January the three deserters were 
 brought back and flogged, then put in irons for fur- 
 ther punishment. " As this afi'air," he says, " w^as 
 solely caused by the neglect of the officers who had 
 the watch, I was induced to give them all a lecture 
 on this occasion, and endeavour to show them, that 
 however exempt they were at present from the like 
 punishment, yet they were equally subject, by the 
 ailicles of war, to a condign one." He then tells 
 them that it is oolv necessity that makes him have 
 
THE MTTTINY. 81 
 
 recourse to reprimand, because there are no means 
 of trying them by court-martial ; and adds a remark, 
 not very intelhcrfble, but what he calls an unpleasant 
 one, about such offenders having no feehngs of honour 
 or sense of shame. 
 
 On the 7th March a native Otaheitan, whom Bligh 
 had confined in irons, contrived to break the lock of 
 the bilboa-bolt and make his escape. " I had given," 
 says Bligh, " a written order that the mate of the 
 watch was fo be answerable for the prisoners, and 
 to visit and see that they were safe in his watch, but 
 I have such a neglectful set about me that I believe 
 nothing but condign punishment can alter their con- 
 duct. Verbal orders, in the course of a month, v.ere 
 so forgotten that they w^ould impudently assert no 
 such thing or directions were given,- and 1 have been 
 at last under the necessity to trouble myself with 
 writing what, by decent young officers, would be 
 complied with as the common rules of the service. 
 Mr. Stewart was the mate of the watch." 
 
 These extracts show the terms on which Bligh was 
 with his officers; and these few instances, with others 
 from Morrison's journal, make it pretty clear, that 
 though Christian, as fieiy and passionate a youth as 
 his commander could well be, and with feelings too 
 acute to bear the foul and opprobrious language con- 
 stantly addressed to him, was the sole instigator of 
 the mutiny ; — and that the captain had no support to 
 expect, and certainly received none from the rest of 
 his officers. That Christian was the sole author 
 appears still more strongly from the following pas- 
 sage in Morrison's journal. " When Mr. Bligh found 
 he must go into the boat, he begged of Mr. Christian 
 to desist, saying, ' I'll pawn my honour, I'll give my 
 bond, Mr. Christian, never to think of this if you'll 
 desist,' and urged his wife and family; to which Mr. 
 Christian replied, ' No, Captain Bligh, if you had 
 any honour, things had not come to this ; and if you 
 had any regard for your wife and family, you should 
 
B2 THE MUTINY. 
 
 have thought on them before, and not behaved so 
 much Uke a villain.' Lieutenant Bligh again at- 
 tempted to speak, but Avas ordered to be'silent. The 
 boatswain also tried t» pacify Mr. Christian, to 
 whom he replied, ' It is too late ; I have been in hell 
 for this fortnight past, and am determined to bear it 
 no longer; and you know, Mr. Cole, that I have 
 been used like a dog all the voyage.' " 
 
 It is pretty evident, therefore, that the mutiny vras 
 not, as Bligh in his narrative states it Hb have been, 
 the result of a conspiracy. It will be seen by the 
 minutes of the court-martial, that the whole affair 
 was planned and executed between the hours of four 
 and eight o'clock on the morning of the 28th April, 
 when Christian had the watch upon deck ; that Chris- 
 tian, unable longer to bear the abusive and insulting 
 language, had meditated his own escape from the 
 ship the day before, choosing to trust himself to fate 
 rather than submit to the constant upbraiding to 
 which he had been subject ; but the unfortunate busi- 
 ness of the cocoanuts drove him to the commission 
 of the rash and felonious act which ended, as such 
 criminal acts usually do, in his own destruction and 
 that of a great number of others, many of whom 
 were wholly innocent. 
 
 Lieutenant Bligh, like most passionate men whose 
 unruly tempers get the better of their reason, having 
 vented his rage about the cocoanuts, became imme- 
 diately calm, and by inviting Christian to sup with 
 him the same evening, evidently wished to renew 
 their friendly intercourse ; and happy would it have 
 been for all parties had he accepted the invitation. 
 On the same night, towards ten o'clock, when the 
 master had the watch, Bligh came on deck, as was 
 his custom, before retiring to sleep. It v/as one of 
 those calm and beautiful nights, so frequent in tropi- 
 cal regions, whose soothing influence can be ap- 
 preciated only by those who have felt it, when, after 
 a scorching day, the air breathes a most refreshing 
 
THE MUTINY. 83 
 
 coolness.— it was an evening of this sort, when 
 Blig-h lor the last time came upon deck in the capa- 
 city of commander; a gentle breeze scarcely rip- 
 pied the water, and the moon, then in its first quarter, 
 shed its soft light along the surface of the sea. The 
 short and quiet conversation that took place between 
 Bhgh and the master on this evening, after the irrita- 
 tion of the morning had subsided only to burst forth 
 again in all the horrors of mutiny and piracy, recalls 
 to one's recollection that beautiful passage of Shaks- 
 peare, where, on the evening of the murder, Dun- 
 can, on approaching the castle of Macbeth, observes 
 to Banquo — ■ 
 
 " The air . 
 
 Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself 
 Unto our gentle senses," &;c. — 
 
 a passage which Sir Joshua Reynolds considers as 
 a striking instance of what in painting is termed 
 repose. " The subject," he says, " of this quiet and 
 easy conversation gives that repose so necessary to 
 the mind after the tumultuous bustle of the prece- 
 ding scenes, and beautifully contrasts the scene of 
 terror that immediately succeeds." While on this 
 lovely night Bligh and his master were congratu- 
 lating themselves on the pleasing prospect of fine 
 weather and a full moon to light them through En- 
 deavour's dangerous straits, the unhappy and deluded 
 Christian was, in all probability, brooding over his 
 wrongs, and meditating on the criminal act he was 
 to perpetrate the following morning; for he has 
 himself stated, that he had just fallen asleep about 
 half after three in the morning, and wa? much out 
 of order. 
 
 The evidence on the court-martial is sufficiently 
 explicit as to the mode in which this act of piracy 
 was committed. By the journal of James Morrison, 
 the following is the account of the transaction as 
 given by Christian himself to the two midshipmpp 
 
84 THE MUTINY. 
 
 Heywood and Stewart (both of whom had been kept 
 below), the moment they were allowed to come upon 
 deck, after the boat in which were Bligh and his 
 companions had been turned adrift. 
 
 He said, that "finding- himself much hurt by the 
 treatment he had received from Lieutenant Bhgh, 
 he had determined to quit the ship the preceding 
 evening, and had informed the boatswain, carpenter, 
 and two midshipmen (Stewart and Hayivard) of his 
 intention to do so ; that by them he was supplied 
 with part of a roasted pig, some nails, beads, and 
 other articles of trade, which he put into a bag that 
 was given him by the last-named gentleman ; that 
 he put this bag into the clue of Robert Tinkler's ham- 
 mock, where it was discovered by that young gen- 
 tleman when going to bed^t night, but the business 
 vv'as smothered, and passed oft' without any further 
 notice. He said he had fastened some staves to a 
 stout plank, with which he intended to make his 
 escape ; but finding he could not efl^ect it during 
 the first and middle watches, as the ship had no way 
 til rough the water and the people were all moving 
 about, he laid down to rest about half past three in 
 the morning ; that when Mr. Stewart called him to 
 relieve the deck at four o'clock, he had but just fallen 
 asleep, and was much out of order ; upon observing 
 which Mr. Stewart strenuously advised him to 
 abandon his intention ; that as soon as he had taken 
 charge of the deck, he saw Mr. Hayward, the mate 
 of his watch, lie down on the arm-chest to take a 
 nap ; and finding that Mr. Hallet, the other midship- 
 man, did not make his appearance, he suddenly 
 formed the resolution of seizing the ship. Dis- 
 closing his intention to Matthew Quintal and Isaac 
 Martin, both of whom had been flogged ny Lieu- 
 tenant Bligh, they called up Charles Churchill, wlio 
 had also tasted the cat, and Matthew Thompson, 
 both of whom readily joined in the plot. That 
 Alexander Smith {alias John Adams), John WiUiams, 
 
THE MUTINY. 8Jl 
 
 and William M'Koy evinced equal willin^ess, and 
 went with Churchill to the armourer, of whom they 
 obtained the keys of the arm-chest, under pretence 
 of wanting a musket to fire at a shark then aloni;- 
 side ; that finding Mr. Hallet asleep on an arnirchest 
 in the main-hatchway, they roused and sent him oh 
 deck. Charles Norman, unconscious of their pro- 
 ceedings, had in the mean time awaked Mr. Ha}'-- 
 ward and directed his attention to the shark, whose 
 movements he was watching at the moment that 
 Mr. Christian and his confederates came up the fore- 
 hatchway, after having placed arms in the hands of 
 several men who were not aware of their design. 
 One man, Matthew Thompson, was left in charge 
 of the chest, and he served out arms to Thomas 
 Burkitt and Robert Lamb. Mr. Christian said he 
 then proceeded to secure Lieutenant Bligh. the 
 master, gunner, and botanist." 
 
 " When Mr. Christian," observes Morrison, in his 
 journal, "related the above circumstances, I recol- 
 lected having seen him fasten some staves to a plank 
 lying on the larboard gangway, as also having heard 
 the boatswain say to the carpenter, ' It will not do 
 to-night.' I likewise rem.embered that Mr. Chris- 
 tian had visited the fore-cockpit several times that 
 evening, although he had very seldom, if ever, fre- 
 quented the warrant-officers' cabins before." 
 
 If this be a correct statement (and the greater 
 part of it is borne out by evidence on the court- 
 martial), it removes every doubt of Christian being 
 the sole instigator of the mutiny, and that no con- 
 spiracy nor preconcerted measures had any exist- 
 ence, but that it was suddenly conceived by a hot- 
 headed young man, in a state of great excitement of 
 mind, amounting to a tempo.rary aberration of intel- 
 lect, caused by the frequent abusive and insulting 
 language of his commanding officer. Waking out 
 of a short half-hour's disturbed sleep to take the 
 command of the deck, — finding the two mates of the 
 G 
 
86 THE MUTINY. 
 
 watch, Hayward and Hallet, asleep (for which they 
 ought to have been dismissed the service instead of 
 being, as they were, promoted), — the opportunity 
 tempting, and the ship completely in his power,— 
 with a momentary mipulse he darted down the fore 
 hatchway, got possession of the keys of the arm 
 chest, and made the hazardous experiment of arm 
 ing such of the men as he thought he could trust, 
 and effected his purpose. 
 
 There is a passage in Captain Beechey's account 
 of Pitcairn's Island, which, if correct, would cast a 
 stain on the memory of the unfortunate Stewart, he 
 who, if there was one innocent man in the ship, was 
 that man. Captain Beechey says, speaking of Chris- 
 tian, "His plan, strange as it must appear for a 
 young officer to adopt who was fairly advanced in 
 an h-onourable profession, was to set himself adrift 
 upon a raft, and make his way to the island (Tofoa) 
 then in sight. As quick in the execution as in the 
 design, the raft was soon constructed, various use- 
 ful articles were got together, and he was on the 
 point of launching it, when a young officer jt^Ao after- 
 ward perished in the Pandora, to whom Christian com- 
 municated his intention, recommended him, rather 
 than risk his life on so hazardous an expedition, to 
 endeavour to take possession of the ship, which he 
 thought would not be very difficult, as many of the 
 ship's company were not well disposed towards the 
 commander, and would all be very glad to return to 
 Otaheite, and reside among their friends in tliat 
 island. This daring proposition is even more extra- 
 ordinary than the premeditated scheme of his com- 
 panion, and, if true, certainly relieves Christian from 
 part of the odium which has hitherto attached to 
 him as the sole instigator of the mutiny." Relieve 
 him •?— not a jot ! But on the best authority it may 
 boldly be stated that it is not true ;— the authority 
 of Stewart's friend and messmate, the late Captain 
 Heywood. ' 
 
THE MUTINY. 87 
 
 C/aptaiii Beechey, desirous of being- correct in his 
 statement, very properly sent his chapter on Pil- 
 cairn's Island for any observations Captain Hey wood 
 might have to make on what was said therein re- 
 garding the mutiny ; observing in his note which ac- 
 companied it, that this account received from Adams 
 differed materially from a foot-note in " IMarshall's 
 Naval Biography ;" to which Captain Hey wood re- 
 turned the following reply : — 
 
 ''bth April, 1830. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — 1 have perused the account you re. 
 ceived from Adams of the mutiny in the Bounty, 
 which does indeed differ very materially from a foot- 
 note in Marshall's Naval Biography by the editor, to 
 whom I verbally detailed the facts, which are strictly 
 true. 
 
 " That Christian informed the boatswain and the 
 carpenter, Messrs. Hayward and Stewart, of his de- 
 termination to leave the ship upon a raft on the night 
 preceding the mutiny is certain ; but that any one 
 of them (Stewart in particular) should have 'recom- 
 mended, rather than risk his life on so hazardous an 
 expedition, that he should tr}- the expedient of taking 
 the ship from the captain,' &c., is entirely at vari- 
 ance with the whole character and conduct of the 
 latter, both before and after the mutiny; as well as 
 with the assurance of Christian himself the very 
 night he quitted Taheite, that the idea of attempting 
 to take the ship had never entered his distracted 
 mind until the moment he relieved the deck, and 
 found his mate and midshipman asleep.* 
 
 "At that last interview with Christian he also 
 communicated to me, for the satisfaction of his rela- 
 tions, other circumstances connected with that un- 
 fortunate disaster, which, after their deaths, may oi 
 may not be laid before the public. And although 
 
 * Hayward and ilallet, who may thus be considered as the passive 
 cCthe iimtiny. 
 
88 THE MUTINY. 
 
 they can implicate none but himself, either living or 
 dead, they may extenuate, but will contain not a 
 word of his in defence of the crime he committed 
 against the laws of his country. 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 P. Heywood." 
 
 Captain Beechey stated only what he had heard 
 from old Adams, who was not always correct in the 
 information he gave to the visiters of his island ; 
 but this part of his statement gave great pain to 
 Heywood, who adverted to it on his deathbed, wish- 
 ing, out of regard for Stewart's memory wnd his 
 surviving friends, that it should be publicly contra- 
 dicted ; and v/ith this view the above reply of ("ap- 
 tain Heywood is here inserted. 
 
 The temptations, therefore, which it was sup{:osed 
 Otaheite held out to the deluded men of the Bouiity 
 had no more share in the transaction than the .sup- 
 posed conspiracy. It does not appear, indeed, tliat 
 the cry of " Huzza for Otaheite !" was ever utteied. 
 If this island had been the object of either Christian 
 or the crew, they v/ould not have left it three liun- 
 dred miles behind them before they perpetrated the 
 act of piracy ; but after the deed had been commit- 
 ted, it would be natural enough that they should turn 
 their minds to the lovely island and its fascinating in- 
 habitants which they had but just quitted, and that in 
 the moment of excitement some of them should have 
 so called out ; but Bligh is the only person wlio has 
 said they did so. 
 
 If, however, the recollection of the " sunny isle" 
 and its "smiling Avomen" had really tempted the 
 men to mutiny, Bligh would himself not be free 
 from blame, for having allowed them to indulge foi 
 six whole months among this valuptuous mid fasci- 
 nating people ; for though he was one of the most 
 active and anxious commanders of his tin]e, " the 
 service." as is observed by a naval officer, " was car- 
 
THE MUTINY 89 
 
 rjed on in those days in a very different spirit from 
 that which regulates its movements now ; othei wise 
 the Bounty would never have passed six whole 
 months at one island ' stowing away the fruit,' dur- 
 ing which time the officers and seamen had free 
 access to the shore. Under similar circumstances 
 nowadays, if the fruit happened not to be ready, the 
 ship would have been off, after ten days' relaxatiori, 
 to survey other islands, or speculate on coral-reefs, 
 or make astronomical observations ; in short, to do 
 something or other to keep the devil out of the 
 heads of the crew."* Bligli would appear to have 
 been sensible of this on his next expedition in the 
 Providence ; for on that occasion he collected more 
 bread-fruit plants than on the former, and spent only 
 half the time in doing so. 
 
 Be that as it may, Bligh might naturally enough 
 conclude that the seamen were casting "a lingering 
 look behind" towards Otaheite. " If," says Forster, 
 who accompanied Cook, '• we fairly consider the 
 different situations of a common sailor on board the 
 Resolution, and of a Taheitan on his island, we can- 
 not blame the former if he attempt to rid himself of 
 the numberless discomforts of a voyage round the 
 world, and prefer an easy life, free 'from cares, in 
 the happiest climate of the world, to the frequent 
 vicissitudes which are entailed upon the mariner. 
 The most favourable prospects of future success in 
 England, which he might form in idea, could never 
 be so flattering to his senses as the lowly hope of 
 living like the meanest Taheitan. And supposing 
 him to escape the misfortunes incident to seamen, 
 still he must earn his subsistence in England at the 
 expense of labour and ' in the sweat of his brow,' 
 v/hen this oldest curse on mankind is scarcely felt 
 at Taheite. Two or tnree bread-fruit trees, which 
 grow almost without any culture, and which flourish 
 
 * Quarterly Review, No 8* 
 
90 THE MUTINY. 
 
 as long as he himself can expect to live, supply him 
 with abundant food during three-fourths of the year. 
 The cloth-trees and eddo-roots are cultivated'with 
 much less trouble than our cabbages and kitchen- 
 herbs. The banana, the royal palm, the golden 
 apple, all thrive with such luxuriance, and require 
 so little trouble, that I may venture to call them 
 spontaneous. Most of their days are therefore spent 
 in a round of various enjoyments, where Nature has 
 lavished many a pleasing landscape ; where the tem- 
 perature of the air is warm, but continuallj^ refreshed 
 by a wholesome breeze from the sea; and where the 
 sky is almost constantly serene. A kind of happy 
 uniformity runs through the whole life of the Tahei- 
 tans. They rise with the sun, and hasten to rivers 
 and fountains to perform an ablution equally reviv- 
 ing and cleanly. They pass the morning at work, 
 or walk about till the heat of the day increases, when 
 they retreat to their dwellings, or repose under some 
 tufted tree. There they amuse themselves with 
 smoothing their hair, and anoint it with fragrant oils ; 
 or they blow the flute, and sing to it, or listen to the 
 songs of the birds. At the hour of noon, or a little 
 later, they go to dinner. After their meals they re- 
 sume their domestic amusements, during which the 
 flame of mutual affection spreads in every heart, and 
 unites the rising generation with new and tender 
 ties. The lively jest without any ill-nature, the art- 
 less tale, the jocund dance, and frugal supper bring 
 on the evening, and another visit to the river con- 
 cludes the actions of the day. Thus contented with 
 their simple way of life, and placed in a delightful 
 country, they are free from cares and happy in their 
 ignorance." 
 
 Such is the picture drawn of the happy people of 
 Otaheite by a cold, philosophical German doctor; 
 and such, with very little change, Bligh found themi. 
 As far, hov/ever, as the mutiny of his people was 
 f.jncerned, we must wholly discard the idea thrown 
 
THE mutin:'. 91 
 
 otjt by him, that the seductions of Otaheite nad r^ny 
 shaie ill producing it. It could not have escape" ?.. p. 
 person of Christian's sagacity, that certain intcV- 
 rogatories would unquestionably be pu- by the na- 
 tives of Otaheite on finding the ship return so sor.n 
 without her commander, without the bread-fruit 
 plants, and with only about half her crew ; question?, 
 he knew, to which no satisfactory answer could be 
 made ; and though at subsequent periods he twice 
 visited that island, it was some time afterward, and 
 not from choice, but necessity. Ilis object was to 
 find a place of concealment, where he might pass ihe 
 remainder of his days unheard of and unknown, and 
 where it is to be hoped he had time for sincere re- 
 pentance, the only atonement he could make for the 
 commission of a crime v/hich involved so many hu- 
 man beings in misery, and brought others to an un- 
 timely end But tf this he?'^after. 
 
02 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 •*The boat is lower'd with all the haste of hate, 
 With its slight plank between thee and ihy fate; 
 Her only cargo such a scant snpplr 
 As promises the death their hands deny 
 And just enough of water and of bread 
 To keej), some days, the dying from the dead ; 
 Some cordage, canvass, sails, and lines, and twin* 
 But treasures all to hermits of the brine, 
 Were added after, to the parnest prayer 
 Of thosH who saw nr hope save Pca and air; 
 And last, that trcrnblinj; vassal of ihe Pole, 
 The feeling compass, Navigation's soul. 
 
 The launch is crowded with the faithful few 
 That wait their chief- a melancholy crew ; 
 But someremain'd reluctant on the deck 
 Of that proud vessel, now a moral wreck— 
 And view'd their captain's fate with piteous eyes ; 
 While others scoff'd his augurM miseries, 
 Sneer'd a: the prospect of his pigmy sail, 
 And the .slight bark, so laden and so frail.'' 
 
 Christian had intended to send away his captain 
 and associates in the cutter, and ordered that it 
 should be hoisted out ibr that purpose, which was 
 done — a small wretched boat, that could hold but 
 eight or ten men at the most, with a very small ad- 
 ditional weight ; and, what was still worse, she was 
 so worm-eaten and decayed, especially in the bot- 
 tom planks, that the probability was, she would have 
 gone down before she had proceeded a mile from the 
 ship. In this "rotten carcass of a boat," not unlike 
 that into which Prospero and his lovely daughter 
 were " hoist," 
 
 " not rigg'd. 
 Nor tackle, sail, nor mast ; the ver)' rats 
 Instinctively had quit it." 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 93 
 
 did Christian intend to cast adrift his late commander 
 and his eighteen innocent companions, or as many 
 of them as she would stow, to find, as they inevi- 
 tably must have found, a wateiy grave. But the 
 remonstrances of the m.aster, boatswain, and carpen- 
 ter prevailed on him to let those unfortunate men 
 have the launch, into which nineteen persons were 
 thrust, whose weight, together with that of the few 
 articles, they were permitted to take, brought down 
 the boat so near to the water as to endanger her 
 sinking with but a moderate swell of the sea— and to 
 all human appearance, in no state to survive the 
 length of voyage they were destined to perform over 
 the wide ocean, but which they did most miracu- 
 lously survive. 
 
 The first consideration of Lieutenant Bligh and 
 his eighteen unfortunate companions, on being cast 
 adrift in their open boat, was to examine the state 
 of their resources. The quantity of provisions 
 which they found to have been thrown into the boat 
 by seme few kind-hearted »nessmates amounted to 
 one hundred and fifty pounds of bread, sixteen pieces 
 of pork, each weighing two pounds, six quarts of 
 rum, six bottles of wine, with twenty-eight gallons 
 of water, and four empty barricoes. Being so near 
 to the island of Tofoa, it was resolved to seek there 
 a supply of bread-fruit and water, to preserve if pos- 
 sible the above-mentioned stock entire ; but after 
 rowing along the coast, they discovered only some 
 cocoanut-trees on the top of high precipices, from 
 which, with mich danger, owing to the surf, and 
 great difficulty in climbing the cliffs, they succeeded 
 in obtaining about twenty nuts. The second day 
 they made excursions into the island, but without 
 success. They met, however, v,ath a few natives, 
 who came down with them to the cove where the 
 boat was lying; and others presently followed. 
 7'hey made inquiries after the ship, and Bligh unfor- 
 tunately advised thej' should say that the ship had 
 H 
 
94 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 overset and sunk, and that they only were saved. The 
 story might be innocent, but it was certainly indis. 
 creet to put the people in possession of their de- 
 fenceless situation ; however, they brought in small 
 quantities of bread-fruit, plantains, and cocoanuts, 
 but little or no water could be procured. These 
 supplies, scanty as they were, served to keep up the 
 spiiits of the men : " They no longer," says Bligh, 
 " regarded me with those anxious looks which had 
 constantly been directed towards me since we lost 
 sight of the ship : every countenance appeared to 
 have a degree of cheerfulness, and ihey all seemed 
 determined to do their best." 
 
 The numbers of the natives having so much in- 
 creased as to line the whole beach, they began 
 knocking stones together, which was known to be 
 the preparatory signal for an attack. With some 
 difficulty, on account of the surf, our seamen suc- 
 ceeded in getting the things that were on shore into 
 the boat, together with all the men, except John 
 Norton, quarter-master, «iwho was casting off the 
 itern-fast. The natives immediately rushed upon 
 .his poor man, and actually stoned him to death. A 
 /olley of stones was also discharged at the boat, and 
 .every one in it was more or less hurt. This induced 
 the people to push out to sea with all the speed they 
 were able to give to the launch, but to their sur- 
 prise and alarm, several canoes filled with stones 
 followed close after them and renewed the attack ; 
 against which, the only return the unfortunate men 
 in the boat could make, was with the stones of tlie 
 assailants that lodged in her, a species of warfare in 
 which they were very inferior to the Indians. IMie 
 only expedient left was to tempt the enemy to desist 
 from the pursuit, by throwing overboard s^me 
 clothes, which fortunately induced the canoes to 
 stop and pick them up ; and night coming on they 
 returned to the shore, leaving the party in the boat 
 to reflect on their unhappv situation. 
 
THE OPEN- BOAT NAVIGATION. 95 
 
 The men now entreated their commander to take 
 them towards home ; and on being told that no hope 
 of relief could be entertained till they reached Timor, 
 a distance of full twelve hundred leagues, they all 
 readily agreed to be content with an allowance, 
 which, on calculation of their resources, the com- 
 mander informed them would not exceed one ounce 
 of bread and a quarter of a pint of water per day. 
 Recommending them, therefore, in the most solemn 
 manner, not to depart from their promise in this re- 
 spect, " we bore away," says Bhgh, " across a sea 
 where the navigation is but little known, in a small 
 boat, twenty-three feet long from stem to stern, 
 deeply laden with eighteen men. I was happy, how- 
 ever, to see that every one seemed better satisfied 
 with our situation than myself. It was about eight 
 o'clock at night on the 2d May when we bore away 
 under a reefed lug-foresail ; and having divided the 
 people into watches, and got the boat into a little 
 order, we returned thanks to God for our miraculous 
 preservation, and in full confidence of his gracious 
 support, I found my mind more at ease than it had 
 been for some time past." 
 
 At daybreak on the 3d, the forlorn and almost 
 hopeless navigators saw with alarm the sun to rise 
 fiery and red, — a sure indication of a severe gale of 
 wind ; and accordingly, at eight o'clock it blew a 
 violent storm, and the sea ran so very high, that the 
 sail was becalmed when between the' seas, and too 
 much to have set when on the top of the sea ; yet it 
 is stated that they could not venture to take it in, 
 as they were in very imminent danger and distress, 
 the sea curling over the stern of the boat, and 
 obliging them to bale v/ith all their might. " A situa^ 
 tion," observes the commander, " more distressing 
 has perhaps, seldom been experienced." 
 
 The bread, being in bags, was in the greatest dan* 
 ger of being spoiled by the wet, the consequence of 
 which, if not prevented, must have been fatal, as the 
 
96 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 whole party would inevitably be starved to death, if 
 they should fortunately escape the fury of the 
 waves. It was determined, therefore, that all super- 
 fluous clothes, with some rope and spare sails, 
 should be thrown overboard, by which the boat w ;is 
 considerably lig:htened. The carpenters tool-cliest 
 was cleared, and the tools stowed in the bottem of 
 the boat, and the bread secured in the chest. All 
 the people being thoroughly wet and cold, a tea- 
 spoonful of rum was served out to each person, witli 
 a quarter of a bread-fruit, which is stated to have 
 been scarcely eatable, for dinner; Bligh having ("e- 
 terrnined to preserve sacredly, and at the peril of liis 
 life, the engagement they entered into, and to make 
 their small stock of provisions last eight weeks, let 
 the daily proportion be ever so small. 
 
 The sea continuing to run even higher than in the 
 morning, the fatigue of bailing became very great ; 
 the boat was necessarily kept before the sea. The 
 men were constantly wet, the night very cold, and 
 at daylight their limbs were so benumbed that they 
 could scarcely find the use of them. At this time a 
 tea-spoonful of rum served out to each person was 
 found of great benefit to all. Five small cocoanuts 
 were distributed for dinner, and every one was satis- 
 fied; and in the evening a few broken pieces of 
 bread-fruit were served for supper, after which 
 prayers were performed. 
 
 On the night of the 4th and morning of the 5th 
 the gale had abated ; the first step to be taken was 
 to examine the state of the bread, a great part of 
 which was found to be damaged and rotten — but 
 even this was carefully preserved for use. The boat 
 was now running among some islands, but after their 
 reception at Tofoa, they did not venture to land. On 
 the 6th they still continued to see islands at a dis- 
 tance ; and this day, for the first time, they hooked 
 a fish, to their great joy ; " but," says the commandtir, 
 ** we were miserably disappointed by its being lost in 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATIOM. 97 
 
 trying to get it into the boat." In the evening each 
 person had an ounce of the damaged bread, and a 
 quarter of a pint of water for supper. 
 
 Lieutenant Bligh observes, " It will readily be sup- 
 posed our lodgings were very miserable, and con- 
 fined for want of room ;" but he endeavoured to 
 remedy the latter defect by putting themselves at 
 watch and watch ; so that one half always sat up, 
 while the other lay down on the boat's bottom, or 
 upon a chest, but with nothing to cover them ex- 
 cept the heavens. Their limbs, he says, were dread- 
 fully cramped, for they could not stretch them out ; 
 and the nights were so cold, and they were so con- 
 stantly wet, that after a few hours' sleep, they were 
 scarcely able to move. At dawn of day on the 7th, 
 bemg very wet and cold, he says, " I served aspoon- 
 *"ul of rum and a morsel of bread for breakfast." 
 
 In the course of this day they passed close to 
 some rocky isles, from which two large sailing- 
 canoes came swiftly after them, but in the afternoon 
 gave over the chase. They were of the same con- 
 struction as those of the Friendly Islands, and t^ 
 land seen for the last two da> s V7as supposed to b» 
 the Fejee Islands. But being constantly wet, Bligh 
 says, "It is with the utmost difSculiy I can open a 
 book to write, and I feel truly sensible I can do no 
 more than point out where these lands are to be 
 found, and give some iueaof their extent." Heavy 
 rain came on in the afternoon, when every person in 
 the, boat did his utmost to cat^h some water, and 
 thus succeeded in increasing their stock to thirty- 
 four gallons, besides quenching their thirst for the 
 first time they had been able to do so since they had 
 been at sea : but it seems an attendant consequence 
 of the heavy rain caused them to pass the night very 
 miserably ; for being extremely wet, and having no 
 dry things to shift or cover themselves, they expe- 
 rienced cold and shiverings scarcely to be conceived. 
 
 Oa the 8th, the allowance issued was an ounce and 
 
98 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 a half of pork, a tea-spoonful of mm, half a pint of 
 cocoanut milk, and an ounce of bread. The rum, 
 though so small in quantity, is stated to have been 
 of the greatest service. In the afternoon they were 
 employed in cleaning out the boat, which occupied 
 them until sunset before they got every thing dry 
 and in order. " Hitherto," Bligh says, " I had issued 
 the allowance by guess, but I now made a pair of 
 scales ^vith two cocoanut shells ; and having acci- 
 dentally some pistol-balls in the boat, twenty-five of 
 which weighed one pound, or sixteen ounces, I 
 adopted one of these balls as the proportion of 
 weight that each person should receive of bread at 
 the times I served it. I also amused all hands with 
 describing the situations of New-Guinea and New- 
 Holland, and gave them every information in my 
 power, that in case any accident should happen to 
 me, those who survived might have some idea of 
 what they were about, and be able to find their way 
 to Timor, which at present they knew nothing of 
 more than the name, and some not even that. At 
 night I served a quarter of a pint of water and half 
 an ounce of bread for supper. 
 
 On the morning of the 9th, a quarter of a pint of 
 cocoanut milk and some of the decayed bread were 
 served for breakfast ; and for dinner, the kernels of 
 four cocoanuts, with the remainder of the rotten 
 bread, which, he says, was eatable only by such dis- 
 tressed people as themselves. A storm of thunder 
 and lightning gave them about twenty gallon* of 
 water. " Being miserably wet and cold, I served to 
 the people a tea-spoonful of rum each, to enable 
 them to bear with their distressing situation. The 
 weather continued extremely bad, and the wind in- 
 creased ; we spent a very miserable night, without 
 sleep, except such as could be got in the midst of 
 rain.-' 
 
 The following day, the 10th, brought no relief, 
 except that of its light. The sea broke over the 
 
THK OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 99 
 
 boat so much, that two men were kept constantly 
 bailing- ; and it was necesc^ary to keep the boat before 
 the waves for fear of its filling-. The allowance 
 now served regularly to each person was one 
 twenty-fifth part of a pound of bread and a quarter 
 of a pint of water, at eight in the mogiing, at noon, 
 and at sunset. To-day was added about half an 
 ounce of pork for dinner, which, though any mode- 
 rate person would have considered onl)'' as a 
 mouthful, was divided into three or four. 
 
 The morning of the 11th did not improve. "At 
 daybreak I served to every person a tea-spoonful of 
 rum, our limbs being so much cramped that we could 
 scarcely move them. Our situation was now ex- 
 tremely dangerous, the sea frequently running over 
 our stern, which kept us bailing with all our strength. 
 At noon the sun appeared, which gave us as much 
 pleasure as is felt when it shows itself on a winter's 
 day in England. 
 
 " In the evening of the 12th it still rained hard, 
 and we again experienced a dreadful night. At 
 length the day came, and showed a miserable set of 
 beings, full of wants, without any thing to relieve 
 them. Some complained of great pain in their 
 bowels, and every one of having almost lost the use 
 of his limbs. The little sleep we got was in no way 
 refreshing, as we were constantly covered Avith tlie 
 sea and rain. The weather continuing, and no sun 
 affording the least prospect of getting our clothes 
 dried, 1 recommended to every one to strip and 
 wring them through the sea-water, by which means 
 they received a warmth that, while wet with rain- 
 water, they could not have." The shipping of seas 
 and constant baihng continued ; and though the men 
 were shivering with wet and cold, the commander 
 was under the necessity of informing them, that he 
 could no longer afford them the comfort they had 
 derived from the tea-spoonful of rum. 
 On the 13th and 14th the stormy weather and 
 
100 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 heavy sea continued unabated, and on these days 
 they saw distant land, and passed several islands. 
 The sight of these islands, i't may well be supposed, 
 served only to increase the misery of their situation. 
 They were as men very little better than starving 
 with plenty ill their view; yet, to attempt procuring 
 any relief was considered to be attended with so 
 much danger, that the prolongation of life, even in 
 the midst of misery, was thought preferable, while 
 there remained hopes of being able to surmount 
 their hardships. 
 
 The whole day and night of the 15th were still 
 rainy ; the latter was dark, not a star to be seen by 
 which the steerage could be directed, and the sea 
 was continually breaking over the boat. On the 
 next day, the 16th, was issued for dinner an ounce 
 of salt pork, in addition to their miserable allowance 
 of one twenty-fifth part of a pound of bread. The 
 night was again truly horrible, with storms of 
 thunder, lightning, and rain ; not a star visible, so 
 that the steerage w^as quite uncertain. 
 
 (5n the morning of the 17th, at dawn of day, "1 
 found," says the commander, " every person com- 
 plaining, and some of them solicited extra allowance, 
 which 1 positively refused. Our situation was 
 miserable ; always wet, and suffering extreme cold 
 in the night, without the least shelter from the 
 weather. The little rum we had was of the greatest 
 service : when our nights were particularly distress- 
 ing, I generally served a tea-spoonful or two to 
 each person, and it was always joyful tidings when 
 they heard of my intentions. The night was again 
 n dark and dismal one, the sea constantly breaking 
 over us, and nothing but the wind and waves to 
 direct our steerage. It was my intention, if pos- 
 sible, to make the coast of New-Holland to the 
 southward of Endeavour Straits, being sensible that 
 it was necessary to preserve such a situation as 
 would make a southerlv wind a fair one ; that we 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 101 
 
 might range along, the reefs till an opening sTiould be 
 found into smooth water, and we the sooner be abfe 
 to pick up some refreshments." 
 
 0:i the 18th the rain abated, when, at their com- 
 mander's recommendation, they all stripped and 
 wrung their clothes through the sea-water, from 
 which, as usual, they derived much warmth and re- 
 freshment; but every one complained of violent 
 pains in their bones. At night the heavy rain re- 
 commenced, with severe lightning, which obliged 
 them to keep baiUng without intermission. The 
 same weather continued through the 19th and 20th ; 
 the rain constant — at times a deluge — the men al- 
 ways bailing; the commander, too, found it neces- 
 sary to issue for dinner only half an ounce of pork. 
 
 At dawn of day, Lieutenant Bligh states, that 
 some of his people seemed half-dead ; that their ap- 
 pearances were horrible; " and I could look," says 
 he, " no way, but I caught the eye of some one in 
 distress. Extreme hunger was now too evident, but 
 no one suffered from thirst, nor had we nuich incli- 
 nation to drink, that desire perhaps being satisfied 
 through the skin. The little sleep we got was in 
 the midst of water, and we constantly awoke with 
 severe cramps and pains in our bones. At noon the 
 sun broke out and revived every one. 
 
 " During the whole of the afternoon of the 2Ist 
 we were so covered with rain and salt water, that 
 we could scarcely see. We suffered extreme cold, 
 and every one dreaded the approach of night. 
 Sleep, though we longed for it, afforded no comfort ; 
 for my own part, I almost lived without it. On the 
 2-2d our situation was extremely calamitous. We 
 vreve obliged to take the course of the sea, running 
 right before it, and watching with the utmost care, 
 as the least error in the helm would in a moment 
 have been our destruction. It continued thrnugh 
 ne day to blow hard, and the foam of the sea kept 
 running over our stern and Quarters. 
 
102 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 " The misery we suffered this night exceeded the 
 preceding. The sea flew over us with great force, 
 and kept us bailing with horror and anxiety. At 
 dawn of day I found every one in a most distressed 
 condition, and I began to fear that another such 
 night would put an end to the lives of several, who 
 seemed no longer able to support their sufferings 
 I served an allowance of tioo tea-spoonfuls of rum; 
 after drinking which, and having wrung our clothes 
 and taken our breakfast of bread and water, we be- 
 came a little refreshed. 
 
 " On the evening of the 24th, the wind moderated 
 and the weather looked much better, which rejoiced 
 all hands, so that they ate their scanty allowance 
 with more satisfaction than for some time past. 
 The night also was fair ; but being always wet with 
 the sea, we suffered much from the cold. I had the 
 pleasure to see a fine morningproduce some cheerful 
 countenances ; and for the first time during the last 
 fifteen days we experienced comfort from the 
 warmth of the sun. We stripped and hung up our 
 clothes to dry, which were by this time become so 
 threadbare, that they could not keep out either wet 
 or cold. In the afternoon we had many birds about 
 us, which are never seen far from land, such as 
 boobies and noddies." 
 
 As the sea now began to run fair, and the boat 
 shipped but little water, Lieutenant Bligh took the 
 opportunity to examine into the state of their 
 bread ; and it was found that, according to the pres- 
 ent mode of hving, there was a sufficient quantity 
 remaining for twenty-nine days' allowance, by which 
 time there was every reason to expect Ihey would 
 be able to reach Timor. But as this w^as still un- 
 certain, and it was possible that, after all, tliey might 
 be obliged to go to Java, it was determined to pro- 
 portion the allowance, so as to make the stock hold 
 out six weeks. "I was apprehensive," he says, 
 ** that this would be ill received, and that it would 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 103 
 
 require my utmost resolution to enforce it; for, 
 small as the quantity was which I intended to take 
 away for our future good, yet it might appear to my 
 people like robbing them of life ; and some who 
 were less patient than their companions, I expected 
 would very ill brook it. However, on my repre- 
 senting the necessity of guarding against delays that 
 might be occasioned by contrary winds, or other 
 causes, and promising to enlarge upon the allowance 
 as we got on, they cheerfully agreed to my pro- 
 posal." It was accordingly settled that every person 
 should receive one twenty-fifth part of a pound of 
 bread for breakfast, and the same quantity for dinner 
 as usual, but that the proportion for supper should 
 oe discontinued ; this arrangement left them forty- 
 three days' consumption. 
 
 On the 25th, about noon, some noddies came so 
 near to the boat that one of them was caught by 
 hand. This bird was about the size of a small pigeon. 
 '' I divided it," says Bligh, " with its entrails, into 
 eighteen portions, and by a Avell-known method at 
 sea, of ' Who shall have this?''* it was distributed, 
 with the allowance of bread and water for dinner, 
 and eaten up, bones and all, witj^salt water for sauce. 
 In the evening, several boobies flying near to us, we 
 had the good fortune to catch one of them. This 
 bird is as large as a duck. They are the most 
 presumptive proof of being near land of any sea- 
 fowl we are acquainted with. I directed the bird to 
 be killed for supper, and the blood to be given to 
 three of the people who were the most distressed 
 for want of food. The body, with the entrails, beak, 
 and feet, I divided into eighteen shares, and with the 
 allowance of bread, which I made a merit of 
 
 * One person turns his back on the object that is to be divided; 
 mother then points separately to ttie portions, at each of them asking 
 alouil, " Who shall have this ■?" to which the first answers by naming 
 somebody. This impartial method of distribution gives every man an 
 equal chance of the best share. Bligh used to speak of the great amuse 
 cent the poor people bad at the b .ak and^laws falling to his share. 
 
104 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 granting, we made a good supper compared with our 
 usual fare. 
 
 " On the next da^^ the 26th, we caught another 
 booby, so that Providence appeared to be relieving 
 our wants in an extraordinary manner. The people 
 were overjoyed at this addition to their dinner, 
 which was distributed in the same manner as on the 
 preceding evening; giving the blood to those who 
 were the most in want of food. To make the bread 
 a little savoury, most of the men frequently dipped 
 it in salt water, but I generally broke mine into 
 small pieces, and ate it in my allowance of water, 
 out of a cocoanut shell, with a spoon; economically 
 avoiding to take too large a piece at a time, so that I 
 was as long at dinner as if it had been a much more 
 plentiful meal." 
 
 The weather was now serene, which, neverthe- 
 less, was not without its inconveniences, for, it 
 appears, they began to feel distress of a different 
 kind from that which they had hitherto been accus- 
 tomed to suffer. The heat of the sun was now so 
 powerful, that several of the people were seized 
 with a languor and faintness, which made life indif- 
 ferent. But the litt^ circumstance of catching two 
 boobies in the evening, trifling as it may appear, had 
 the effect of raising their spirits. The stomachs of 
 these birds contained several flying-fish, and small 
 cuttle-fish, all of which were carefully saved to be 
 divided for dinner the next day; which were ac- 
 cordingly divided, with their entrails tnd the con- 
 tents of their maws, into eighteen portions, and, as 
 the prize was a very valuable one, it was distributed 
 as before, by calling out, " Who shall have this?'''' — 
 ''SO that to-day," says the lieutenant, "with the 
 usual allowance of bread at breakfast and at dinner, 
 I was happy to see that every person thought he 
 had feasted." From the appearance of the clouds 
 in the evening, Mr. Bligh had no doubt they were 
 then near the land, and theDeocle amused themselves 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT ^NAVIGATION. 105 
 
 R'ith conversing on the probability of what they 
 would meet vvith on it. 
 
 Accordingly, at one in the morning of the ^Sth, 
 the person at the helm heard the sound of breai^ers. 
 It was the "barrier reef" which runs along the 
 eastern coast of New-Holland, through which it 
 now became the anxious object to discover a pas- 
 sage ; Mr. Bligh says this was now become abso- 
 Intely necessary, without a moment's loss of time. 
 The idea of getting into smooth water and finding 
 refreshments kept up the people's spirits. The sea 
 broke furiously over the reef in every part ; within, 
 the water was so smooth and calm that every man 
 already anticipated the heartfelt satisfaction he was 
 about to receive, as soon as he should have passed 
 the barrier. At length a break in the reef was dis- 
 covered, a quarter of a mile in width, and through 
 this the boat rapidly passed with a strong stream 
 running to the westward, and came immediately into 
 smooth water, and all the past hardships seemed at 
 once to be forgotten. 
 
 They now returned thanks to God for his generous 
 protection, and vvith much content took their misera- 
 ble allowance of the twenty-fifth part of a pound of 
 bread and a quarter of a pint of water for dinner. 
 
 The coast now began to show itself very distinctly, 
 and in the evening they landed on the sandy point 
 of an island, when it was soon discovered there were 
 oysters on the rocks, it being low water. The party 
 sent out to reconnoitre returned highly rejoiced at 
 having found plenty of oysters and fresh water. By 
 help of a small magnifying glass a fire was made, 
 and among the things that had been thrown into the 
 boat was a tind^rbox and a piece of brimstone, so 
 ihat in future they had the ready means of making a 
 fire. One of the men, too, had been so provident as 
 to bring av^ay with him from the ship a copper-pot; 
 and thus with a mixture of oysters, bread, and pork, 
 a stew was made, of which each person received a 
 
106 THE OPEN-B(iAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 full pint. It is remarked that the oysters grew so 
 fast to the rocks, that it was with great difficulty 
 they could be broken off; but they at length dis- 
 covered it to be the most expeditious way to open 
 them where they were fixed. 
 
 The general complaints among the people were a 
 dizziness in the head, great weakness in the joints, 
 and violent tenesmus, but none of them are stated 
 to have been alarming; and notwithstanding their 
 sufferings/rom cold and hunger, all of them retained 
 marks of strength. Mr. Bligh had cautioned them 
 not to touch any kind of berry or fruit that they 
 might find ; yet it appears they were no sooner out 
 of sight than they began to make free with three 
 different kinds that grew all over the island, eating 
 without any reserve. The symptoms of having eaten 
 too much began at last to frighten some of them : 
 they fancied they were all poisoned, and regarded 
 each other with the strongest marks of apprehen- 
 sion, uncertain what might be the issue of their im- 
 prudence : fortunately the fruit proved to be whole- 
 some and good. 
 
 " This day (29th May) being," says Lieutenant 
 Bhgh, " the anniversary' of the restoration of King 
 Charles II., and the name not being inapplicable to 
 our present situation (for we were restored to fresh 
 life and strength), I named this 'Restoration Island;' 
 for I thought it probable that Captain Cook mighl 
 not have taken notice of it." 
 
 With oysters and palm-tops stewed together the 
 people now made excellent meals, without con 
 suming any of their bread. In the morning of the 
 30th Mr. Bligh saw with great delight a visible 
 alteration in the men for the better, and he sent them 
 away to gather oysters, in order to carry a stock of 
 them to sea, for he determined to put off again that 
 evening. They also procured fresh water, and filled 
 all their vessels to the amount of nearly sixty gal- 
 lons. On examining the bread, it was found there 
 still remained about thirtv-oi^iht days' allowance. . 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 107 
 
 Being now ready for sea, every person was or- 
 dered to attend prayers ; but just as they were em- 
 barking, about twenty naked savages made their ap- 
 pearance, running and hallooing, and beckoning the 
 strangers to come to them ; but as each was armed 
 with a spear or lance, it was thought prudent to 
 hold no communication with them. They now pro- 
 ceeded to the northward, having the continent on 
 >heir left, and severayslands and reefs on their right. 
 
 On the 3 1st they landed on one of these islands, 
 ;o which was given the name of " Sunday." " I 
 sent out two parties," says Bligh, " one to the north- 
 ward and the other to the southward, to seek for 
 supplies, and others I ordered to stay by the boat. 
 On this occasion fatigue and weakness so far got the 
 better of their sense of duty, that some of the people 
 expressed their discontent at havmg worked harder 
 than their companions, and declared that they would 
 rather be without their dinner than go in search of 
 it. One person in particular went so far as to tell 
 me with a mutinous look, that he was as good a man 
 as myself. It was not possible for one to judge 
 where this might have an end, if not stopped in time ; 
 to prevent, therefore, such disputes in future, I deter- 
 mined either to preserve my command or die in the 
 attempt ; and seizing a cutlass, I ordered him to lay 
 hold of another and defend himself; on which he 
 called out that I was going to kill him, and imme- 
 diately made concessions. I did not allow this to 
 interfere further with the harmony of the boat's 
 crew, and every thing soon became quiet." 
 
 On this island they obtained oysters, and clams, 
 and dogfish ; also a small bean, which Nelson, the 
 botanist, pronounced to be a species of dolichos. On 
 the 1st of June they stopped in the midst of some 
 sandy islands, such as are known by the name of 
 A:ey.9, where they procured a few clams and beans. 
 Here Nelson was taken very ill with a violent heat 
 in his botvels, a loss of sight, great thirst, and an in 
 
108 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 ability to walk. A little wine, which had carefully 
 been saved, with some pieces of bread soaked in it, 
 was given to him in small quantities, and he soon 
 began to recover. The boatswain and carpenter 
 were also ill, and complained of headache and sick- 
 ness of the stomach. Others became shockingly 
 distressed with tenesmus ; in fact, there were few 
 without complaints. 
 
 A party was sent out by nj^ht to catch birds ; 
 they returned with only twelve noddies, but it is 
 stated, that had it not been for the folly and o])sti- 
 nacy of one of the party, who separated from the 
 others and disturbed the birds, a great many more 
 might have been taken. The offender was Robert 
 Lamb, who acknowledged, when he got to Java, 
 that he had that night eaten nine raw birds, after he 
 separated from his two companions. The birds, 
 with a few clams, were the whole of the supplies 
 afforded at these small islands. 
 
 On the 3d of June, after passing several keys and 
 islands, and doubling Cape York, the north-eastern- 
 most point of New-Holland, at eight in the evening 
 the little boat and her brave crew once more launched 
 into the open ocean. " Miserable," says Lieutenant 
 Bligh, " as ouv situation was in every respect, I was 
 secretly surprised to see that it did not appear to 
 affect any one so strongly as myself; on the con- 
 trary, it seemed as if they had embarked on a voy- 
 age to Timor in a vessel sufficiently calculated for 
 safety and convenience. So much confidence gave 
 me great pleasure, and I may venture to assert that 
 to this cause our preservation is chiefl}'' to be attri- 
 buted. I encouraged every one with hopes that 
 eight or ten days would bring us to a land of safety : 
 and, after praying to God for a continuance oi his 
 most gracious protection, I served out an allowance 
 of water for supper, and directed our course to the 
 west-south-Avest. 
 
 " We had been just six days on the coast of New 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 109 
 
 Holland, in the course of which we found oysters, 
 a few clams, some birds, and water. But a benefit 
 probably not less than this was that of being re- 
 lieved from the fatigue of sitting constantly in the 
 boat, and enjoying good rest at night. These ad- 
 vantages certainly preserved our lives ; and small as 
 the supply was, I am very sensible how much it al- 
 leviated our distresses. Before this time nature must 
 have sunk under the extremes of hunger and fatigue. 
 Even in our present situation, we were most de- 
 plorable objects, but the hopes of a speedy relief 
 kept up our spirits. For my own part, incredible as 
 it may appear, I felt neither extreme hunger nor 
 thirst. My allowance contented me, knowing that 
 I could have no more." In his manuscript journal, 
 he adds, " This, perhaps, does not permit me to be 
 a proper judge on a story of miserable people like us 
 being at last driven to the necessity of destroying 
 one another for food ; but, if I may be allowed, I 
 deny the fact in its greatest extent. I say, I do not 
 believe that among us such a thing could happen, 
 but death through famine would be received in the 
 same way as any mortal disease."* 
 
 On the 5th a booby was caught by the hand, the 
 blood of which was divided among three of the 
 men who were weakest, and the bird kept for next 
 day's dinner; and on the evening of the Gth the al- 
 lowance for supper was recommenced, according to 
 a promise made when it had been discontinued. 
 On the 7th, after a miserably wet and cold night, 
 nothing more could be afforded than the usual al- 
 lowance for breakfast; but at dinner each person 
 
 * If Bliiih here meant to deny the fact of men in extreme cases de- 
 stroying c;ich other for the sake of appeasin<r hunger, he is greatly mis- 
 taken. The fact was but too well established, and to a great extent, on 
 the raft of the French frigate Meduse, when wrecked on the coast of 
 Africa, and also on the rock in the Mediterranean, when the Nautilus 
 frigate was lost. There may be a difference between men in danger of 
 perishing by famine when in robust health, and men like those of th' 
 Bonntv. worn by degrees to skeletons by protracted famine, who tiutf 
 thus have becoms equally ia(Meren» to life o? death 
 
110 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 had the luxury of an ounce of dried claras, which 
 consumed all that remained. The sea was running 
 high and breaking over the boat the whole of this 
 day. Mr. Ledward, the surgeon, and Lawrence Le- 
 bogue, an old hardy seaman, appeared to be giving 
 way very fast. No other assistance could be given 
 to them than a tea-spoonful or two of wine, that had 
 been carefully saved for such a melancholy occasion, 
 which was not at all unexpected. 
 
 On the 8th the weather was more moderate, and 
 a small dolphin was caught, which gave about two 
 ounces to each man: in the night it again blew 
 strong, the boat shipped much water, and they all 
 suffered greatly from wet and cold. The surgeon 
 and Lebogue still continued very ill, and the only 
 relief that could be afforded them was a small quan- 
 tity of wine, and encouraging them with the hope 
 that a very few days more, at the rate they were 
 then sailing, would bring them to Timor. 
 
 " In the morning of the 10th, after a very comfort- 
 less night, there was a visible alteration for the 
 worse," saj^s Mr. Bligh, " in many of the people, 
 which gave me great apprehensions. An extreme 
 weakness, swelled legs, hollow and ghastly counte- 
 nances, a more than common inclination to sleep, 
 with an apparent debility of understanding, seemed 
 to me the melancholy presages of an approaching 
 dissolution. The surgeon and Lebogue, in particu- 
 lar, were most miserable objects. I occasionally 
 gave them a few tea-spoonfuls of wine out of the 
 little that remained, which greatly assisted them. 
 The hopes of being able to accomplish the voyage 
 was our principal support. The boatswain very in- 
 nocently told me that he really thought I looked 
 worse than any in the boat. The simplicity with 
 which he uttered such an opinion amused me, and I 
 returned him a better compliment." 
 
 On the 11th Lieutenant Bligh announced to his 
 wretched companions that he hsd no doubt they had 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATIOX. Ill 
 
 now passed tlie meridian of the eastern part of 
 Timor, a piece of intelligence that diffused universal 
 joy and satisfaction. Accordingly, at three in the 
 morning of the following day Timor was discovered 
 at the distance only of. two leagues from the shore. 
 
 " It is no-t possible for me," says this experienced 
 navigator, " to describe the pleasure which the 
 blessing of the sight of this land diffused among us. 
 It appeared scarcely credible to ourselves, that in 
 an open boat, and so poorly provided, we should 
 have been able to reach the coast of Timor in forty- 
 one days after leaving Tofoa, having in that time run 
 by our log a distance of three thousand six hundred 
 and eighteen nautical miles ; and that, notvvithstand 
 ing our extreme distress, no one should have perished 
 in the voyage." 
 
 On Sunday the 14th they came safely to anchor ii 
 Coupang Bay, where they were received with every 
 mark of kindness, hospitality, and humanity. The 
 houses of the principal people were thrown open for 
 their reception. The poor sufferers when landed 
 were scarcely able to walk ; their condition is de- 
 scribed as most deplorable. " The abilities of a 
 painter could rarely, perhaps, have been displayed to 
 more advantage than in the delineation of the two 
 groups of figures which at this time presented them- 
 selves to each other. An indifferent spectator, if 
 such could be found, would have been at a loss which 
 most to admire, the eyes of famine sparkUng at im- 
 mediate relief, or the horror of their preservers at 
 the sight of so many spectres, whose ghastly counte- 
 nances, if the cause had been unknown, would rather 
 have excited terror than pity. Our bodies were 
 nothing but skin and bones, our limbs were full of 
 sores, and we were clothed in rags ; in this con- 
 dition, with the tears of joy and gratitude flowing 
 down our cheeks, the people of Timor beheld us 
 with a mixture of horror, surprise, and pity. 
 
 " When," continues the commander, " I reflect 
 
112 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 how providentially our lives were saved at Tofoa, 
 by the Indians delaying their attack ; and that, with 
 scarcely any thing to support life, we crossed a sea 
 of more than twelve hundred leagues, without shel- 
 ter from the inclemency of the weather ; when I 
 reflect that in an open boat, with so much stormy 
 weather, we escaped foundering, that not any of us 
 were taken off by disease, that we had the great good 
 fortune to pass the unfriendly natives of other coun. 
 tries without accident, and at last to meet with the 
 most friendly and best of people to relieve our dis- 
 tresses — I say, when I reflect on all these wonderful 
 escapes, the remembrance of such great mercies 
 enables me to bear with resignation and cheerfulness 
 the failure of an expedition, the success of which I 
 had so much at heart, and which was frustrated at a 
 time when I was congratulating myself on the fairest 
 prospect of being able to complete it in a manner 
 that would fully have answered the intention of his 
 majesty and the humane promoters of so benevo- 
 lent a plan." 
 
 Having recniited their strength by a residence of 
 two months among the friendly inhabitants of Cou- 
 pang, they proceeded to the westward on the 20th 
 August in a small schooner, which was purchased 
 and armed for the purpose, and arrived on the 1st 
 October in Batavia Road, where Mr. Bligh embarked 
 in a Dutch packet, and was landed on the Isle of 
 Wight on the 14th of March, 1790. The rest of the 
 people had passages provided for them in ships of 
 the Dutch East India Company, then about to sail 
 for Europe. All of them, however, did not survive 
 to reach England. Nelson, the botanist, died at 
 Coupang; Mr. Elphinstone, master's mate, Peter 
 Linkletter and Thomas Hall, seamen, died at Ba- 
 tavia; Robert Lamb, seaman (the booby-eater), died 
 on the passage ; and Mr. Ledward, the surgeon, 
 was left behind, and not afterward heard of. These 
 six, with John Norton, who was stoned to death, left 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 113 
 
 twelve of the nineteen, forced by the mutineers into 
 the launch, to survive the difficulties and dangers of 
 this unparalleled voyag-e, and to revisit their native 
 country. With great truth might Bligh exclaim with 
 the poet, 
 
 " 'Tis mine to tell their tale of griff, 
 
 Their constant peril and tiieir scant relief; 
 
 Their days of danger, and their nij^hts of pain ; 
 
 Their manly courage, e'en when deem'd in vain; 
 
 The sapping famine, rendering scarce a son 
 
 Known to his mother in the skeleton ; 
 
 The ills that iessen'd still their little store. 
 
 And starved e'en hunger till he wrung no more; 
 
 The varying frowns and favours of the deep, 
 
 That now almost ingulphs, then leaves to creep 
 
 With crazy oar and shattered strength along 
 
 The tide, that yields reluctint to the strong; 
 
 Th' incessant fever of that arid thirst 
 
 Which welcomes, as a well, the clouds that bursl 
 
 Above their naked bones, and feels delight 
 
 In the cold drenching of the stormy night. 
 
 And from the outspread canvass gladly wrings 
 
 A drop to moisten life's all-gasping springs ; 
 
 Th • savage foe escaped, to seek again 
 
 More hospitable shelter from the main ; 
 
 The ghastly spectres which were doom'd at last 
 
 To tell as true a tale of dangers past, 
 
 As ever the dark annals of the deep 
 
 Disclosed for man to dread or woman weep." 
 
 It is impossible not fully to accord with Bligh 
 when he s-ays, " Thus happily ended, through the 
 assistance of Divine Providence, without accident, 
 a voyage of the most extraordinary nature that ever 
 happened in the world,* let it be taken either in its 
 
 * The escape of the Centaur's boat, perhaps, comes nearest to it. 
 When the Centaur was sinking, Captain Inglefield and eleven others, 
 in a small leaky boat, five feet broad, with one of the gunwales stove, 
 nearly in the middle of the Western Ocean, without compass, without 
 quadrant, without sail, without great-coat or cloak all very thinly 
 clothed, in a gale of wind, with a great sea running, and the winter fast 
 approaching,— the sun and stars, by which alone they could shape their 
 course, soirietimes hidden for twenty-four hours;— these unhappy men, 
 m this destitute and hopeless condition, had to brave the billows of the 
 Wormy Atlantic for nearly a thousand miles. A blanket, which was 
 by accident in the boat, served as a sail, and with this they scudded be- 
 fore the wind, in expectation of being swallowed up by every wave: 
 with great difficulty the boat was cleared of wf.ter before the retura « 
 
114 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 extent, duration, or the want of every necessary of 
 life." We may go further, and say it is impossible 
 
 the next great sea; all of the people were half-drowned, and sitting, 
 except the bailers, at the bottom of the boat. On quilting the ship the 
 tli.siance of Fayai was two hundred and sixty leagues, or about nine 
 lumrlred English miles. 
 
 'J'h«;ir jirovisions were a bag of bread, a small ham, a single piece of 
 pork, two quart bottles of waier, and a few of French cordials. One 
 biscuit, divided into twelve morsels, was served for breakfast, and the 
 same for dinner ; the neck of a bottle broken ofT, with the cork in, sup- 
 plied the place of a glass ; and this filled with water was the allowance 
 for twenty-four hours for each man. 
 
 On the fifteenth day. they had only one day's brtad and one bottle 
 of water" remaming of a second supply of rain : on this day Matthews, a 
 quarter-master, ihe stoutest man in the boat, perishedof hunger and cold. 
 Tliis poor man, on the day before, had complained of want of strength 
 in his throat, as he expressed it, to swallow his morsel; and in the 
 night drank salt-water, grew delirious, and died without a groan. 
 Hitherto despair and gloom had been successfully prevented, the men, 
 when the evenings closed in. having been encouraged by turns to sing 
 a song, or relate a stor}-, instead of a supper : " but," says the captain, 
 " this evening I found it impossible to raise either.'' The captain had 
 directed the clothes to be takpn from the corpse of Matthews and given 
 to some of the men who were perishing with cold; but the shocking 
 skeleton-like appearance of his remains made such an impression on the 
 people, that all efforts to raise their si)irits were ineffectual. On the 
 following day, the sixteenth, their last breakfist was served with the 
 bread and water remaining, when John Gregory, the quarter-master, 
 declared with much confidence that he saw land in the south-east, 
 which turned out to be Fayal. 
 
 But the most extraordmary feat of navigatio7i is that which is related 
 (on good authority) in a note of the Quarterly Revktv, vol. xviii. p. 
 337-339 :— 
 
 Of all the feats of navigation on record, however, that of Diogo Bo- 
 telho Perreira, in the early period of 1536 7, stands pre-eminent ; it is 
 extracted from the voluminous Decades of Diogo de Couto, whose work, 
 though abounding with much curious matter, like those of mo.st of the 
 old Portuguese writers, has not been fortunate enough to obtain an 
 English translation. We are indebted to a friend for pointing it out to 
 us, and we conceive it will be read with interest. 
 
 " In the time of the viceroyalty of Don Francisco de Almeyda there 
 was a young gentleman in India of thii name of Diogo Botelho Perreira, 
 son of the commander of Cochin, who educated him with great care, so 
 that he soon became skilled in the art of navigation, and an adept in the 
 construction ot marine charts. As he grew up, he felt anxious to visit 
 Portugal, where, on his arrival, he was well received at court, and the 
 Iting took pleasure in conversing with him on those subjects which had 
 been the particular objects of his studies. Confident of his own talents, 
 and presuming on the favour with which the king always treated him, 
 he ventured one day to request his majesty to appoint him commander 
 of the fortress of Chaul. The king smiled at his request, and replied, 
 that 'the command of the fortress was not for pilots.' Botelho was 
 piqued at this answer, and on returning into the antechamber, was 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 115 
 
 to read this extraordinary and unparalleled voyage 
 without bestowing the meed of unqualified praise on 
 
 met by Don Antonio Noronhfi, second son of the Marquis of Villa Real, 
 who asked him if his suit had been granted -. he answered, " .^ir. I will 
 apply where my suit will not be neglected." When this answer came 
 to the ears of the king, he immediately ordered Botelho to be conSned 
 in the castle of Lisbon, lest he should follow the example of jMegalhavns, 
 and !ro over to Spain. There he remained a prisoner until the admiral- 
 viceroy, Don Vasco da Gama, solicited his release, and was permitted 
 to take him to India; but on the express condition that he should not 
 return to Portugal, except by special permission. Under these un- 
 pleasant circumstances this gentleman proceeded to India, anxious for 
 an opporianity of distingnishiag himself, that he might be permitted 
 again to visit Portugal. 
 
 " It happened about this time that the Snltan Badur, sovereign of 
 Cambaya, gave the governor, Nuno da Cunha, permission to erect a 
 fortress on the island of Diu,— an object long and anxiously wished for, 
 as being of the greatest importance to the security of the Portu;juese 
 possessions in India. Botelho was aware how acceptable this intbrma 
 iion would be to the king, and therefore deemed this a fiivourable opportu- 
 nity of regaining his lavour, by conveying such important intelligence-, 
 and he resolved to i)erform the voyage in a vessel so small, and so un- 
 like what had ever appeared in Portugal, that it should not (ail to excite 
 astonishment, how any man could undertake so long and perilous a 
 navigation in such a frail and diminutive bottom. 
 
 " Without communicating his scheme to any person, he procured a 
 fusta, put a deck on it from head to stern, furnished it with spare sail3 
 and spars, and every other necessary, and constructed two small tanks 
 Ibr water. 
 
 " As soon as the monsoon served, he embarked with some men in hia 
 service, giving out that he was going to Melinde ; and to give colour to 
 this story, he proceeded to Baticala, where he purchased some cloths 
 and beads for tliat market, and laid in provisions ; some native mer- 
 chants also embarked with a few articles on board for the Melinde 
 market, to which he did not choose to object, Il-sI it should alarm his 
 sailors. 
 
 " He set sail with the eastern monsoon, in the beginning of October, 
 and arrived safely at Melinde, where he landv^d the native merchants, 
 took in wood, water, and refreshments, and again put to sea, informing 
 bis crew that he was going to Quiloa. When he had got to a distance 
 from the land, it would appear that some of his crew had mutinied ; but 
 this he h.ad foreseen and provided for; putting some of them in irons, 
 and promising at the same time amply to reward the services of the rest, 
 and giving them to understand that he .vas going to Sofala on account 
 of the trade in gold. Thus he proceeded, touching at various places for 
 refreshments, which he met with in great plenty and very cheap. 
 
 " From ^'ofala he proceeded along the coast till he had passed the 
 Cabo dos Correntes, and from thence along the shore, without ever ven- 
 turing to a distance from the land, and touching at the diiferent rivers, 
 until he passed the Cape of Good Hope, which he did in January, 1537. 
 
 -"From thence he stretched into the ocean with gentle breezes, steer- 
 ing for St. Helena ; where, on arriving, he drew his little vessel ashore, 
 to clean her bottom and repair her, and also to give a few days' rest to 
 
116 THE OPEN-BOAT NAriGATlON. 
 
 the able and judicious conduct of its commander, 
 who is in every respect, as far as this extraordinary 
 enterprise is concerned, fully entitled to rank with 
 Parry, Franklin, and Richardson. Few men, indeed, 
 were ever placed for so long a period in a more try- 
 nig, distressing, and perilous situation than he was: 
 and it may safely be pronounced, that to his discreet 
 management of the men and their scanty resources, 
 
 his crew, of whom some had i>erished of cold, notwithst-andiiig his hav- 
 ing provided warm clothin]Er for tliem. 
 
 " Departing from St. Helena, he boldly steered his little bark across 
 the wide ocean, directing his career, to St. Thoini, where he took i:i 
 provisions, wood, and water; and from thence he proceeded to the ba? 
 ef Lisbon, where he arrived in May, when the king was at Almeyrin.— 
 He entered the river with his oars, his little vessel beirig dressed with 
 flags and pennants, and anchored at Point Leira opposite to Salvaterra, 
 not being able to get farther tip the river. This novelty produced such 
 a sensation in Lisbon that the Tagus v.-as covered with boats to see the 
 fusta. Diogo Boielho Perreira landed in a boat, and proceeded to Al- 
 meyrin, to give the king an account of his voyage, and solicit a gratifi- 
 talion for the good news which he brought, of his majesty now being 
 possessed of a fortress on the island of Diu. 
 
 " The king was highly pleased with this intellig-ence, bat, as Boteiho 
 brought no letters from the governor, he did not give him the kind of re- 
 .^eption which he had expected. On the contrary, the king treated him 
 with coldness and distance ; his majesty, however, embarked to see 
 the fusta, on board of which he examined every thing with much 
 attention, and was gratified in viewing a vessel of such a peculiar form, 
 fcnd ordered money and clothes to be given to the sailors— nor coald he 
 help considering Diogo Boteiho as a man of extraordinary enterprise 
 and courage, on Avhose firmness implicit reliance might be placed. 
 
 " The little vessel was ordered to be drawn ashore at Sacahem, where 
 it remained many years (until it fell to pieces), and was visited by peo- 
 ple from all parts of Earop^?, who beheld it with astonishment. The 
 king subsequently received letters .'"rom the governor of Nuns da Cunha,. 
 confirming the news brought by Boteiho ; the bearer of these letters, a 
 Jew, was immediately rewarded with a pension of a hundred and forty 
 milreas ; but Boteiho was neglected for many years, and at last ap- 
 pointed commander of St. Thorn*, and finally made captain of Cananor 
 in India, that he might bf at a distance from Portagal." 
 
 The vessel named fusta is a long, shallow, Indian-bailt raw-boat, 
 which uses latine sails in fine weather. These boats are usually open, 
 but Hotel ho covered his with a deck : its dimensions, according to La- 
 vanda, .» his edition of De Barros's unfinished Decade, are as follows : 
 —length twenty-two palmos, or sixteen feet six inc! es ; breadth,, 
 twelve palmos, or nine feet ; depth, six palmos, or foar feet six inches, 
 Bligh's boat was twenty-three feet long, six feet n?ne inches broad, and 
 two feet nine inches deep. From the circumstance mention*^! " «ome 
 9f ids crew having j)erished with cold, it is probable that they wtre 
 natives of India, whom the' Portuguese iseEe in tha habit of beingixig 
 '-^rfiQ as part ef their ciew. 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 117 
 
 and to his ability as a thorough seaman, eighteen 
 souls were saved from imminent and otherwise in- 
 evitable destruction. It was not alone the dangers 
 of the sea, in an open boat, crowded with people, 
 that he had to combat, though they required the most 
 consummate nautical skill to be enabled to contend 
 successfully against them ; but the unfortunate situa- 
 tion to which the party were exposed rendered him 
 subject to the almost daily murmuring and caprice 
 of people less conscious than himself of their real 
 danger. From the experience they had acquired at 
 Tofoa of the savage disposition of the people against 
 the defenceless boat's crew, a lesson was learned 
 how little was to be trusted even to the mildest of 
 uncivilized people when a conscious superiority 
 was in their hands. A striking proof of this was 
 experienced in the unprovoked attack made by those 
 amiable people the Otaheitans on Captain Wallis's 
 ship, of whose power they had formed no just con- 
 ception ; but having once experienced the full force 
 of it, on no future occasion was any attempt made 
 to repeat the attack. Lieutenant Bligh, fully aware 
 of his own weakness, deemed it expedient, there- 
 fore, to resist all desires and temptations to land 
 at any of those islands among which they passed 
 in the course of the voyage, well knowing how little 
 could be trusted to the forbearance of savages, un- 
 armed and "wholly defenceless as his parly were. 
 
 But the circumstance of being tantalized with the 
 appearance of land, clothed with perennial verdure, 
 whose approach was forbidden to men chilled with 
 wet and cold, and nearly perishing with hunger, was 
 by no means the most difficult against which the 
 commander had to struggle. " It was not the least 
 of my distresses," he observes, " to be constantly 
 assailed with the melancholy demands of my people 
 for an increase of allowance, which it grieved me 
 to refuse." He well knew that to reason with men 
 reduced to the last stage of famine, yet denied the 
 
118 THK OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 use of provisions within their reach, and with the 
 power to seize upon them in their own hands, would 
 be to no purpose. Something more must be done 
 to ensure even the possibihty of saving- them from 
 the effect of their own imprudence. The first thing 
 he set about, therefore, was to ascertain the exact 
 state of their provisions, which were found to 
 amount to the ordinal y consumption of five days, 
 but which were to be spun out so as to last fifty 
 days. This was at once distinctly stated to the 
 men, and an agreement entered into, and a solemn 
 promise made by all, tliat the settled allowance 
 should never be deviated from, as they were made 
 clearly to understand that on the strict observance 
 of this agreement rested the only hope of their 
 safety ; and this was explained and made so evident 
 to every man, at the time it was concluded, that 
 they unanimously agreed to it; and by reminding 
 them of this compact, whenever they became clam- 
 orous for more, and showing a firm determination 
 not to swerve from it, Lieutenant Bligh succeeded 
 in resisting all their solicitations. 
 
 This rigid adherence to the compact, in doling 
 out their miserable pittance, — the constant exposure 
 to wet, — the imminent peril of being swallowed up 
 by the ocean, — their cramped and confined position, 
 — and the unceasing reflection on their miserable 
 and melancholy situation ; — all these difliculties and 
 sufferings made it not less than miraculous that this 
 voyage, itself a miracle, should have been com- 
 pleted, not only without the loss .of a man from 
 sickness, but with so little loss of health. " With 
 respect to the preservation of our health," says the 
 commander, "during the course of sixteen days of 
 heavy and almost continual rain, I would recommend 
 to every one in a similar situation the method we 
 practised of dipping their clothes in salt water, and 
 to wring them out, as often as they become soaked 
 with vain ; it was the only resource we h-.id^ and ] 
 
THr- OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 119 
 
 believe was of the greatest service to us, for it felt 
 more like a change of dry clothes than could well 
 be imagined. We had occasion to do this so 
 often, that at length all our clothes were wrung to 
 pieces." 
 
 But the great art of all was to divert their atten- 
 tion from the almost hopeless situation in which 
 they were placed, and to prevent despondency from 
 taking possession of theii; minds ; and in order to 
 assist in effecting this, some employment was de- 
 vised for them ; among other things, a log-line, an 
 object of interest to all, was measured and marked, 
 and the men were practised in counting seconds 
 correctly, that the distance run on each day might 
 be ascertained with a nearer approach to accuracy 
 than by mere guessing. These little operations 
 afforded them a temporary amusement; and the log, 
 being daily and hourly hove, gave them also some 
 employment, and diverted their thoughts for the 
 moment from their melancholy situation. Then, 
 every noon, when the sun was out, or at other times 
 before and after noon, and also at night when the 
 stars appeared. Lieutenant Bligh never neglected to 
 take observations for the latitude, and to work the 
 day's work for ascertaining the ship's place. The 
 anxiety of the people to hear how they had pro- 
 ceeded, what progress had been made, and where- 
 abouts they were on the wide ocean, also contributed 
 for the time to drive away gloomy thoughts that but 
 too frequently would intrude themselves. These 
 observations were rigidly attended to, and sometimes 
 made under the most difficult circumstances, the sea 
 breaking over the observer, and the boat pitching 
 and rolling so nmch, that he was obliged to be 
 "propped up," while taking them. In this way, 
 with now and then a little interrupted sleep, about 
 a thousand long and anxious hours were consumed 
 in pain and peril, and a space of sea passed over 
 equal to four thousand five hundred miles, being at 
 
120 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 the rate of four and one-fifth miles an houi, or one 
 hundred miles a day. 
 
 Lieutenant Bligh has expressed his conviction, 
 that the six days spent among the coral islands off 
 the coast of New-Holland, were the salvation of the 
 whole party, by the refreshing sleep they here pro- 
 cured, by the exercise of walking about, and, above 
 all, by the nutriment derived from the oysters and 
 clams, the beans and berries they procured while 
 there ; for that such, he says, was the exhausted 
 condition of all on their arrival at the " barrier reef," 
 that a few days more at sea must have terminated 
 the existence of many of them. This stoppage, 
 however, had lii^ewise been nearly productive of 
 fatal consequences to the whole party. In fact, 
 another mutiny was within an ace of breaking out, 
 which, if not checked at the moment, could only, in 
 their desperate situation, liave ended in irretrievable 
 and total destruction. Bligh mentions, in his printed 
 narrative, the mutinous conduct of a person to whom 
 he gave a cutlass to defend himself. This affair, as 
 stated in his original manuscript journal, wears a far 
 more serious aspect. 
 
 " The carpenter (Purcell) began to be msolent to • 
 a high degree, and at last told me, with a mutinous 
 aspect, he was as good a man as 1 was. I did not 
 just now see where this was to end ; 1 therefore de- 
 termined to strike a final blow at it, and either to 
 preserve my command or die in the attempt ; and 
 taking hold of a cutlass, I ordered the rascal to take 
 hold of another and defend himself, when he called 
 out that I was going to kill him, and began to make 
 concessions. I was now only assisted by Mr. Nel- 
 son ; and the master (Fryer) very deliberately called 
 out to the boatswain to put me under an arrest, and 
 was stirring up a greater disturbance, when I de- 
 clared, if he interfered when I was in the execution 
 of my duty to preserve order and regularit}^ and 
 that in consequence any tumult arose, I would cer- 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 12) 
 
 tainly put him to death the first person. This had a 
 proper effect on this man, and he now assured ma 
 that, on the contrary, I might rely on him to support 
 my orders and directions for the future. This is the 
 . outUne of a tumult that lasted ahout a quarter of an 
 hour;" and he adds, " I was told that the master and 
 carpenter, at the last place, were endeavouring- to 
 produce altercations, and were the principal cause 
 of their murmuring there." This carpenter he 
 brought to a court-martial on their arrival in England, 
 on various charges, of which he was found guilty in 
 part, and reprimanded. Purcell is said to be at this 
 time in a madhouse. 
 
 On another occasion, when a stew of oysters was 
 distributed among the people. Lieutenant Bligh ob- 
 serves (in the MS. journal), " In the distribution of 
 it, the voraciousness of some and the moderation 
 of others were very discernible. The master began 
 to be dissatisfied the first, because it vvas not made 
 into a larger quantity by the addition of water, and 
 showed a turbulent disposition, until I laid my com- 
 mands on him to be silent." Again, on his refusing 
 biead to the men because they were collecting 
 pysters, he says, " This occasioned some murmuring 
 with the master and carpenter, the former of whom 
 endeavoured to prove the propriety of such an ex- 
 penditure, and was troublesomely ignorant, tending 
 to create disorder among those, if any were weak 
 enough to listen to him." 
 
 If what Bligh states with regard to the conduct of 
 the master and the carpenter be true, it was such, on 
 several occasions, as to provoke a man much less 
 irritable than himself. He thus speaks of the latter, 
 when in the ship and in the midst of the mutiny. 
 "The boatswain and carpenter were fully nt liberty; 
 the former was employed, on pain of death, to hoist 
 the boats out, but the latter I saw acting the part of 
 an idler, with an impudent and ill-looking counte- 
 nance, which led me to believe he was one of the 
 
122 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 mutineers, until he was among- the rest ordered to 
 leave the ship, for it appeared to me to be a doubt 
 with Christian, at first, whether he should keep th3 
 carpenter or his mate (Norman), but knowing the 
 former to be a troublesome fellow, he determined on 
 the latter." 
 
 The following- paragraph also appears in his ori- 
 ginal journal, on the day of the mutiny, but is not 
 alluded to in his printed narrative. " The master's 
 cabin was opposite to mine ; he saw them (the mu- 
 tineers) in my cabin, for our eyes met each other 
 through his door-window. He had a pair of ship's 
 pistols loaded, and ammunition in his cabin — a firm 
 resolution might have made a good use of them. 
 After he had sent twice or thrice to Christian to be 
 allowed to come on deck, he was at last permitted, 
 and his question then was, 'Will you let aie remain 
 in the ship V — ' No.' — ' Have you any objection, 
 Captain Bligh V I whispered to him to knock him 
 down — Martin is good (this is the man who gave 
 the shaddock), for this was just before Martin was 
 removed from me. Christian, however, pulled me 
 back, and sent away the master, with orders to go 
 again to his cabin, and I saw no more of him until 
 he was put into the boat. He afterward told me 
 that he could find nobody to act with him; that 
 by staying in the ship he hoped to have retaken 
 her, and that, as to the pistols, he was so flurried 
 and surprised, that he did not recollect he had 
 them." This master tells a very different story 
 respecting the pistols, in his evidence before the 
 court-martial. 
 
 Whatever, therefore, on the whole, may have been 
 the conduct of Bligh towards his officers, that of 
 some of the latter appears to have been on several 
 occasions provoking enough, and well calculated to 
 stir up the irascible temper of a man active and 
 zealous in the extreme, as Bhgh always was, in the 
 execution of his duty. Some excuse may be found 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NATIGATION. 123 
 
 for hasty expressions uttered in a moment of irri- 
 tation, when passion gets the better of reason ; hut 
 no excuse can be found for one who deeply and 
 unfeeUngly, without provocation, and in cold blood, 
 inflicts a wound on the heart of a widowed mother, 
 already torn with anguish and tortured with sus- 
 pense for a beloved son whose life was in imminent 
 jeopardy: such a man was William Bligh. This 
 charge is not loosely asserted ; it is founded on 
 documentary evidence under his own hand. Since 
 the death of the late Captain Hey wood, some papers 
 have been brought to hght that throw a still more 
 unfavourable stigma on the character of the two 
 commanders, Bligh and Edwards, than any censure 
 that has hitherto appeared in print, though the con- 
 duct of neither of them has been spared, whenever 
 an occasion has presented itself for bringing the^r 
 names before the public. 
 
 Bligh, it maybe recollected, mentions young Hey- 
 wood only as one of those left in the ship; he does 
 not charge him with taking any active part in the 
 mutiny ; there is every reason, indeed, to believe 
 that Bligh did not, and indeed could not, see him on 
 the deck on that occasion : in point of fact, he never 
 was within thirty feet of Captain Bhgh, and the 
 booms were between them. About the end of 
 March, IT'^O, two months subsequent to the death 
 of a most beloved and lamented husband, Mrs. Hey- 
 wood received the afflicting information, but by 
 report only, of a mutiny having taken place on board 
 the Bounty. In tliat ship Mrs. Heywood's son had 
 been serving as midshipman, who, when he left his 
 home, in August, 1787, was under fifteen years of 
 age, a boy deservedly admired and beloved by all 
 who knew him, and to his own family almost an 
 object of adoration, for his superior understanding 
 and the amiable qualities of his disposition. In a 
 state of mind little short of distraction, on hearing 
 tjjjs f^tal intelligence, which was at the same tinie 
 
124 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 a^STJivaled by every circumstance of guilt that 
 calumny or malice could invent with respect to this 
 unl'-jrtunate youth, who was said to be one of the 
 ringleaders, and to have gone armed into the cap- 
 tain's cabin, his mother addressed a letter to Captain 
 Bligh, dictated by a mother's tenderness, and strongly 
 expressive of the misery she must necessarily feel 
 on such an occasion. The following is Bligh's 
 reply :— 
 
 « London, April 2d, 1790. 
 " Madam, 
 " I received your letter this day, and feel for you 
 very much, being pe^rfectly sensible of the extreme 
 distress you must suffer from the conduct of youi 
 son Peter. His baseness is beyond all description ; but 
 I hope you will endeavour to prevent the loss of him, 
 heavy as the misfortune is, from afflicting you too 
 severely. I imagine he is, with the rest of the mu- 
 tineers, returned to Otaheite. I am, madam, 
 
 (Signed) " Wm. Bligh." 
 
 Colonel Holwell, the uncle of young Heywood, 
 had previously addressed Bligh on the same melan- 
 choly subject, to whom he returned the following 
 answer ; — 
 
 « 26th March, 1790. 
 "Sir, 
 "I have just this instant received your letter. 
 With much concern I inform you that your nephew% 
 Peter Heywood, is among the mutineers. His in- 
 gratitude to me is of the blackest die, for 1 was a father 
 to him in every respect, and he never once had an 
 angry word from me through the whole course of 
 the voyage, as his conduct always gave me much 
 pleasure and satisfaction. I very much regret that so 
 much baseness formed the character of a young man I had 
 a real regrard for, and it will give me much pleasure 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 125 
 
 to hear that his friends can bear the loss of him with- 
 out much concern. I am, sir, &c. 
 
 (Signed) "Wm. Bligh." 
 
 The only way of accounting for this ferocity of 
 sentiment towards a youth who had in point of fact 
 no concern in the mutiny, is by a reference to cer- 
 tain points of evidence given by Hayward, Hallet, 
 and Purcell on the court-martial, each point wholly 
 unsupported. Those in the boat would no doubt 
 during their long passage, often discuss the conduct 
 of their messmates left in the Bounty, and the unsup- 
 ported evidence given by these three was well cal- 
 culated to create in Bligh's mind a prejudice against 
 young Heywood ; yet, if so, it affords but a poor 
 excuse for harrowing up the feelings of near and 
 dear relatives. 
 
 As a contrast to these ungracious letters, it is a 
 great relief to peruse the correspondence that took 
 place, on this melancholy occasion, between this 
 unfortunate young officer and his amiable but dread- 
 fully afflicted family. The letters of his sister Nessy 
 Heywood (of which a few will be inserted in the 
 course of this narrative) exhibit so lively and ardent 
 an affection for her beloved brother, are couched in 
 so high a tone of feeling for his honour and confi- 
 dence in his innocence, and are so nobly answered 
 by the suffering youth, that no apology seems to be 
 required for their introduction, more especially as 
 their contents are strictly connected with the story 
 of the ill-fated crew of the Bounty. After a state of 
 long suspense, this amiable and accomplished young 
 lady thus addresses her brother : — 
 
 " Me of Man, 2d June, 1792. 
 
 " In a situation of mind only rendered supportable 
 
 by the long and painful state of misery and suspense 
 
 we have suffered on his account, how shall I address 
 
 my dear, my fondly beloved brother ! — how describe 
 
 K 
 
126 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 the anguish we have felt at the idea of this long and 
 painful separation, rendered still more distressing 
 by the terrible circumstances attending it ! Oh ! 
 my ever dearest boy, when I lock back to that dread- 
 ful moment which brought us the fatal intelligence 
 that you had remained in the County after Mr. Bligh 
 had quitted her, and were looked upon by him as a 
 mutineer! — when I contrast that day of horror Mith 
 my present hopes of again beholding you, such as 
 my most sanguine wishes could expect, I know not 
 which is the most predominant sensation, — pity, 
 compassion, and terror for your sufferings, or joy 
 and satisfaction at the prospect of their being near a 
 termination, and of once more embracing the dearest 
 object of our affections. 
 
 " I will not ask you, my beloved brother, whether 
 you are innocent of the dreadful crime of mutiny; 
 if the transactions of that day were as Mr. Bligh has 
 represented them, such is my conviction of your 
 worth and honour that I will, without hesitation, 
 stake my hfe on your innocence. If, on the con- 
 trary, you were concerned in such a conspiracy 
 against your commander, I shall be as firmly per- 
 suaded his conduct was the occasion of it ; but, alas ! 
 could any occasion justify so atrocious an attempt 
 to destroy a number of our fellow-creatures 1 No, 
 my ever dearest brother, nothing but conviction 
 from your own mouth can possibly persuade me that 
 you would commit an action in the smallest degree 
 inconsistent with honour and duty ; and the circum- 
 stance of your having swam off' to the Pandora on 
 her arrival at Otaheite (which filled us with joy to 
 which no words can do justice), is sufficient to 
 convince all who know you, that you certainly 
 staid behind either by force or from views of pre- 
 servation. 
 
 "How strange does it seem to me that I am now 
 engaged in the delightful task of writing to you. 
 A-ias ! my beloved brother, two years ago I never 
 
THE OPEX-BOAT NAVIGATION. 127 
 
 expected again to enjoy such a felicity, and even 
 yet I am in the most painful uncertainty whether 
 you are alive. Gracious God, grant that we may 
 be at length blessed by your return ! but, alas ! the 
 Pandora's people have' been long expected, and are 
 not even yet arrived. Should any accident have 
 happened, after all the miseries you have already 
 suffered, the poor gleam of hope with which we have 
 been lately indulged will render our situation ten 
 thousand times more insupportable than if time had 
 inured us to your loss. 1 send this to the care of 
 Mr. Hay ward, of Hackney, father to the young gen- 
 tleman you so often mention in your letters while 
 you were on board the Bounty, and who w^ent out 
 as third lieutenant of the Pandora — a circumstance 
 which gave us infinite satisfaction, as you would, 
 on entering the Pandora, meet your old friend. On 
 discovering old Mr. Hayvvard's residence, I wrote to 
 him, as I hoped he could give me some information 
 respecting the time of your arrival, and in return he 
 sent me a most friendly letter, and has promised this 
 shall be given to you when you reach England, as I 
 well know how great must be your anxiety to hear 
 of us, and how much satisfaction it will give you to 
 have a letter immediately on your return. Let me 
 conjure you, my dearest Peter, to w^ite to us the 
 very first moment — do not lose a post — 'tis of no 
 consequence how short your letter may be, if it only 
 informs us you are well. I need not tell you that 
 you are the first and dearest object of our afiections. 
 Think, then, my adored boy, of the anxiety we must 
 feel on your account; for my own part, I can know 
 no real joy or happiness independent of you, and if 
 any misfortune should now deprive us of you, my 
 hope^ of fehcity are fled for ever. 
 
 " We are at present making all possible interest 
 with every friend and connexion we have, to ensure 
 you a sufficient support and protection at your ap- 
 p» caching trial; for a trial you must unavoidably 
 
l28 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 undergo, in order to convince the M^orld of fhat inno- 
 cence which those who know you will not for a mo- 
 ment doubt; but, alas! while circumstances are 
 against j^ou, the generality of mankind will judge 
 severely. Bligh's representations to the Admiralty 
 are, I am told, very unfavourable ; and hitherto the 
 tide of public opinion has been greatly in his favour 
 My mamma is at present well, considering the distress 
 she has suffered since you left us; for, my dearest 
 brother, we have experienced a complicated scene 
 of misery from a variety of causes, which, however, 
 when compared with the sorrow we felt on your 
 account, was trifling and insignificant; that misfor- 
 tune made all others Hght, :md to see you once more 
 returned and safely restored to us will be the sum- 
 mit of all earthly happiness. 
 
 " Farewell, my most beloved brother ! God gi ant 
 this may soon be put into your hands ! Perhaps at 
 this moment you are arrived in England, and I ma) 
 soon have the dear delight of again beholding you 
 My mamma, brothers, andsistersjoinwithme ineVeri 
 sentiment of love and tenderness. Write to lil 
 immediately, my ever-loved Peter, and may thfi 
 Almighty preserve you until you bless with youi 
 presence your fondly affectionate family, and pa/- 
 ticularly your unalterably faithful friend and siste /, 
 (Signed) " Nessy Heywood."'' 
 
 * Previous to the writing of this letter, the following copy of- rsej 
 shows how anxiously this young lady's nnind was engaged f > the 
 unhappy circumstances under which her brother was placed 
 
 «'Onthe tedious and ihournful absence of a most beloved brc riiKn, 
 who was in the Bounty with Captain Bi.ioh at the time of the fatal 
 MUTINY which happened April 28th, 1789, in the South Seas, and who, 
 instead of returning with the boat wlien she left the ship, staid 
 behind. 
 
 " Tell me, thou busy flatt'ring telltale, why- 
 Why flow these tears— why heaves this deep-felt sigh, — 
 Why IS all joy from my sad bosom flown, 
 Why lost that cheerfulness 1 thought my own; 
 Why seek I now in solitude for ease. 
 Which once was centred in a wish to please. 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 129 
 
 TJifc ^leam of joy which this unhappy family 
 derived from the circumstance which had beearelateci 
 
 When ev'ry hour in joy and gladness pass'd, 
 
 And eacli new day shone brighter than the last ; 
 
 When in society I lov'd to join ; 
 
 Wheii to enjoy and give delijiht whs mine ? — 
 
 Now— sad reverse I — in sorrow wakes each day, 
 
 And grief's sad tones inspire each plaintive lay: 
 
 Alas ! too [ilain these mournful tears can tell 
 
 The pangs of wo n:y laboring bosom swell I 
 
 Thou best of brothers— t'riend, com|>anion, guide, 
 
 Joy of my youth, my honour, and my pride! 
 
 Lost is all peace -all happiness to me. 
 
 And fled all comfort, since depriv'd of thee 
 
 In vain, my Lycidas, thy loss I mourn — 
 
 In vain indulge a hope of thy return ; 
 
 Still years roll on, and still 1 vainly sigh — 
 
 Still tears of anguish drown each gushing eye. 
 
 Ah, cruel Time 1 how'slow thy ling'ring jmce. 
 
 Which kteps me from his tender, lov'd embrace. 
 
 At home to see him, or to know him neai, 
 
 How much I wish— and yet how much I fear I 
 
 Oh, fatal voyage ! vvliich'robb'd my soul of peace 
 
 And wreck'd my happiness in stormy seas I 
 
 Why, my lov'd Lycidas, why didst thou stay. 
 
 Why waste thy life from friendship far away 1 
 
 Though guiltless thou of mutiny or blame, 
 
 And free from aught which could disgrace thy name. 
 
 Though thy pure soul, in honour's footsteps train'd, 
 
 Was never yet by disobedience stain'd ; 
 
 Yet is thy fame expos"d to slanders wound, 
 
 And fell suspicion whisiiering around. 
 
 In vain— to those who knew thy worth and truth. 
 
 Who watch'd each opening virtue of thy youth. 
 
 When noblest principles inform'd thy mind, 
 
 Where sense and sensibility were join'd ; 
 
 Love to inspire, to charm, to win each heart, 
 
 And ev'ry tender sentiment impart ; 
 
 Thy outward form adorn'd with ev'ry grace ; 
 
 With beauty's softest charms thy heavenly face, 
 
 Where sweet expression beaming ever prov'd 
 
 The index of that soul by all belov'd ; 
 
 Thy wit so keen, thy genius form'd to soar, 
 
 By fancy wing'd, new science to explore; 
 
 Thy temper, ever gentle, good, and kind, 
 
 Where all but guilt an advocate could find : 
 
 To those who know this character was thine 
 
 (And in this truth assenting numbers join), 
 
 How vain th' attempt to fix a crime on thee 
 
 Which thou disdain'st— from which each thought is free I 
 
 No, my lov'd brother, ne'er will I believe 
 
 Thy seeming worth was meant but to deceive : 
 
130 THE OPEN-BOA NAVIGATION. 
 
 to them of young- Hey wood's swimming off to the 
 Pandora, was dissipated by a letter from himself 
 to his mother soon after his arrival in England, in 
 which he says: — "The question, my dear mother, 
 in one of your letters, concerning my s"imming ofl 
 to the Pandora, is one falsity anung the too many 
 in which I have often thought of undeceivmg you 
 and as frequently forgot. The story was this : — On 
 the morning she arrived, accompanied by two of my 
 friends (natives), I was going up the mountains, and 
 having got about a hundred yards from my own 
 house, another of my friends (for I was a universal 
 favourite among those Indians, and perfectly con- 
 versant in their language) came running after me, 
 and informed me there was a ship coming. I imme- 
 diately ascended a rising ground, and, saw, with 
 indescribable joy, a ship laying-to off Hapiano; it 
 was just after daylight, and thinking Coleman might 
 not be awake, and therefore ignorant of this pleasing 
 news, I sent one of my servants to inform him of 
 it, upon which he immediately went off in a single 
 
 Still will I think (each circumstance though strange) 
 
 That thy firm principles could never change; 
 
 That hopes of preservation urged thy slay, 
 
 Or force, which lliose resistless must obRV. 
 
 If this is error, let me still remain 
 
 In error wrapp'd, nor wake to truth again . 
 
 Come then, sweet Hope, with all thy train oi joy, 
 
 Nor let Despair each rapfrous thought destroy; 
 
 Indulgent Heav'a, in pity to our tears, 
 
 At length will bless a parent's sinking years ; 
 
 Again shall 1 behold thy lovely face, 
 
 By manhood form'd, and ripeii'd ev'ry grace ; 
 
 Again I'll press thee to my anxious breast, 
 
 And ev'ry sorrow shall be hush'd to rest. 
 
 Thy presence only can each comfort give. 
 
 Come then, my Lycidas, and let me live ; 
 
 Life without thee is but a wretched load, 
 
 Thy love alone can smooth its thorny road ; 
 
 But, blest with thee, how light were every wo; 
 
 How would my soul with joy and rapture glow ! 
 
 Kind Heav'u I thou iiast my happiness in store, 
 
 Restore him innocent — I ask no more I 
 
 <Nks8Y Heywoob 
 * Isle of Man, Feb. ii5th, 1792." 
 
THE OPKN HOAT NAVIGATION. 13 
 
 canoe. There was a fresh breeze, and the shij 
 working into the bay ; he no sooner got alongside 
 than the rippling capsized the canoe, and he being 
 obliged to let go the tow-rope to get her righted, 
 went astern and was picked up the next tack and 
 taken on board the Pandora, he being the first person. 
 T, along with my messmate Stewart, was then stand- 
 ing upon the beach with a double canoe manned 
 wiUi twelve paddles ready for launching; and just 
 as she made her last tack into her berth (for we did 
 not think it requisite to go off sooner) we put off and 
 got alongside just as they streamed the buoy ; and 
 being dressed in the country manner, tanned as brown 
 as themselves, and I tattooed like them in the most 
 curious manner, 1 do not in the least wonder at their 
 taking us for natives. I was tattooed, not to gratify 
 my own desire, but theirs ; for it was my constant 
 endeavour to acquiesce in any little custom which I 
 thought would be agreeable to them, though painful 
 in the process, provided I gained by it their friend- 
 ship and esteem, which you may suppose is no incon- 
 siderable object in an island where the natives are 
 so numerous. The more a man or woman there is 
 tattooed, the more they are respected ; and a person 
 having none of these marks is looked upon as bear- 
 ing an unworthy badge of disgrace, and considered 
 as a mere outcast of society." 
 
 Among the many anxious friends and family con- 
 nexions of the Heywoods w^as Commodore Pasley, 
 to whom this affectionate young lady addressed her- 
 self on the melancholy occasion; and the following 
 is the reply she received from this ofRcer : — 
 
 " Sheerness, June 8th, 1792. 
 " Would to God, my dearest Nessy, that I could 
 rejoice with you on the early prospect of your 
 brother's arrival in England. One division of the 
 Pandora's people has arrived, and now on board the 
 Vengeance (my ship)- Captain Edwards, with the 
 
32 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 
 
 remainder, and all the prisoners late of the Bounty, 
 in number ten (four having been drowned on the loss 
 of that ship), are daily expected. They have been 
 most rigorously and closely confined since taken, 
 and will continue so, no doubt, till Bligh's arrival. 
 You have no chance of seeing him, for no bail can 
 be offered. Your inteUigence of his swimming oft 
 on the Pandora's arrival" is not founded : a man of 
 the name of Coleman swam off ere she anchored, — 
 your brother and Mr. Stewart the next day. This 
 last youth, when the Pandora was lost, refused to 
 allov/ his irons to be taken off to save his life. 
 
 " I cannot conceal it from you, my dearest Nessy, 
 neither is it proper I should,— your brother appears 
 by all accounts to be the greatest culprit of all. 
 Christian alone excepted. Every exertion, you may 
 /est assured, I shall use to save his life ; but on trial 
 I have no hope of his not being condemned. Three 
 of the ten who are expected are mentioned in Bligh's 
 narrative as men detained against their inclination. 
 Would to God your brother had been one of that 
 number ! I will not distress you m.ore by enlarging 
 on this subject; as- inteUigence arises on their arri- 
 val, you shall be made acquainted. Adieu, my dear- 
 est Nessy. Present my affectionate remembrances 
 to your mother and sisters, and believe me always, 
 with the warmest affection, 
 
 " Your uncle, " Thos. Pasley." 
 
 How unlike is this from the letter of Bligh ! while 
 it frankly apprizes this amiable lady of the real truth 
 of the case, without disguise, as it was then under- 
 stood to be from Mr. Bligh's representations, it as- 
 sures her of his best exertions to save her brother's 
 life. Every reader of sensibility \vill sympathize in 
 the feeling displayed in her reply. 
 
 ''Isle of Man, 22d June, 1792. 
 "Harassed by the mos^; torturing suspense, and 
 
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 133 
 
 miserably wretched as I have been, my dearest uncle, 
 since the receipt of your last, conceive, if it is pos- 
 sible, the heartfelt joy and satisfaction we expe- 
 rienced yesterday morning, when, on the arrival of 
 the packet, the dear delightful letter from our be- 
 loved Peter (a copy of which I send you enclosed) 
 was brought to us. Surely, my excellent friend, you 
 will agree with me in thinking there could not be a 
 stronger proof of his innocence and worth, and that 
 it must prejudice every person who reads it most 
 powerfully in his favour. Such a letter in less dis- 
 tressful circumstances than those in which he writes 
 would, I am persuaded, reflect honour on the pen of 
 a person much older th^n my poor brother. But 
 when we consider his extreme youth (only sixteen 
 at the time of the mutiny, and nov/ but nineteen), 
 his fortitude, patience, and manly resignation under 
 the pressure of sufferings and misfortunes almost 
 unheard of, and scarcely to be supported at any age, 
 without the assistance of that which seems to be my 
 dear brother's greatest comfort, — a quiet conscience, 
 and a thorough conviction of his own innocence, — 
 when I add, at the same time, with real pleasure and 
 satisfaction, that his relation corresponds in many 
 particulars with the accounts we have hitherto heard 
 of the fatal mutiny, — and when I also add, with in- 
 conceivable pride and delight, that my beloved Peter 
 never was known to breathe a syllable inconsistent 
 with truth and honour ; — ^when these circumstances, 
 my dear uncle, are all united, what man on earth 
 can doubt of the innocence which could dictate such 
 a letter 1 In short, let it speak for him. The peru- 
 sal of his artless and pathetic story will, I am per- 
 suaded, be a stronger recommendation in his favour 
 than any thing I can urge.* 
 
 "I need not tire your patience, my ever-loved 
 uncle, by dwelling longer on this subject (the dear- 
 
 * This interesting letter is given in the following chapter, to which U 
 appropriately belongs. 
 
 L 
 
134 THE PANDORA. 
 
 est and most interesting on earth to my heart) ; let 
 me conjure you only, my kind friend, to read it, and 
 consider the innocence and defenceless situation of 
 its unfortunate author, which calls for, and I am 
 sure deserves, all the pity and assistance his friends 
 can afford him, and which, I am sure also, the good- 
 ness and benevolence of your heart will prompt you 
 to exert in his behalf. It is perfectly unnecessary 
 for me to add, after the anxiety I feel, and cannot but 
 express, that no benefit conferred upon myself will 
 be acknowledged with half the gratitude I nmst ever 
 feel for the smallest instance of kindness shown to 
 my beloved Peter. Farewell, my dearest uncle. 
 With the firmest reliance ©n your kind and gene- 
 rous promises, I am ever, with the truest gratitude, 
 and sincerity, 
 
 " Your most affectionate niece, 
 
 " Nessy Heywood.'* 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PANDORA. 
 
 -"Oh! I have siifferM 
 
 With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel, 
 Who had, no doubt, some noble ".reature in her 
 Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock 
 Against my very heart ! Poor souls I they perish'd 
 Had I been any god of power, I would 
 Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere 
 It should the good ship so have swallow'd, and 
 The freighting souls within her." 
 
 The tide of public applause set as strongly in fa- 
 vour of Bligh, on account of his sufferings and the 
 successful issue of his daring enterprise, as its in- 
 dignation was launched agamst Christian and his 
 associates, for the aud.if*ious and criminal deed thev 
 
THE PANDORA. 135 
 
 had committed. Bligh was promoted by the Admi- 
 ralty to the rank of commander, and speedily sent 
 out a second time to transport the bread-fruit to the 
 West Indies, which he without the least obstruction 
 successfully accomphshed ; and his majesty's gov- 
 ernment were no sooner made acquainted with the 
 atrocious act of piracy and mutiny, than it deter- 
 mined to adopt every possible means to appreliend 
 and bring to condign punishment the perpetrators of 
 so foul a deed. For this purpose, the Pandora frig- 
 ate of twenty-four guns, and one hundred and sixty 
 men, was despatched under the command of Captain 
 Edward Edwards, with orders to proceed in the first 
 instance to Otaheite, and, not finding the mutineers 
 there, to visit the different groups of the Society and 
 Friendly Islands, and others in the neighbouring 
 parts of the Pacific, using his best endeavours to 
 seize and bring home in confinement the whole or 
 such part of the delinquents as he might be able to 
 discover. 
 
 This voyage was in the sequel almost as disas- 
 trous as tliat of the Bounty, but from a different 
 cause. The waste of human life was nnich greater, 
 occasioned by the wreck of the ship ; and the dis- 
 tress experienced by the crew not much less, owing 
 to the famine and thirst they had to suffer in a navi- 
 gation of eleven hundred miles in open boats; but 
 the captain succeeded in fulfilling a part of his in- 
 structions, by taking fourteen of the mutineers, of 
 whom ten were brought safe to England, the other 
 four being drowned when the ship was wrecked. 
 
 The only published account of this voyage is con- 
 tained in a small volume by Mr. George Hamilton, 
 the surgeon, who appears to have been a coarse 
 vulgar, and illiterate man, more disposed to relate 
 licentious scenes and adventures in which he and 
 his companions were engaged, than to give any in- 
 formation of proceedings and occurrences connected 
 witb the main object of the voyage. • From this book. 
 
136 THE PANDORA. 
 
 therefore, much information is not to be looked for. 
 In a more modern publication many abusive epithets 
 have been bestowed on Captain Edwards, and obser- 
 vations made on the conduct of this officer highly 
 injurious to his reputation, in regard to his inhuman 
 treatment of, and disgraceful acts of cruelty towards, 
 his prisoners, which, it is to be feared, have but too 
 much foundation in fact. 
 
 The account of his proceedings rendered by him- 
 self to the Admiralty is vague and unsatisfactory; 
 and had it not been for the journal of Morrison, and 
 a ciroimistantial letter of young Heywood to his 
 mother, no record would have remained of the un- 
 feeling conduct of this officer towards his unfortu- 
 nate prisoners, who were treated with a rigour 
 which could not be justified on any ground of neces- 
 sity or prudence. 
 
 The Pandora anchored in Matavai Bay on the 23d 
 March, 1791. Captain Edwards, in his narrative, 
 states that Joseph Coleman, the armourer of the 
 Bounty, attempted to come on board before the Pan- 
 dora had anchored ; that on reaching the ship he 
 began to make inquiries of him after the Bounty and 
 her people, and that he seemed to be ready to give 
 him any information that was required; that the 
 next who came on board, just after the ship had an- 
 chored, were Mr. Peter Heywood and Mr. Stewart, 
 before any boat had been sent on shore ; that tljey 
 were brought down to his cabin, when, after some 
 conversation, Heywood asked if Mr. Hayward (mid- 
 shipman of tie i3ounty, but now^ lieutenant of the 
 Pandora) was on board, as he had heard that he was; 
 that Lieutenant Hayward, whom he sent for, treated 
 Heywood with a sort of contemptuous look, and 
 began to enter into conversation with him respect- 
 ing the Bounty ; but Edwards ordered him to desist, 
 and called in the sentinel to take the prisoners into 
 safe custody, and to put them in irons ; that four 
 other mutineers .soon made their appearance : and 
 
THE PANDORA. 137 
 
 that from them and some of the natives he learned 
 that the rest of the Bounty's people had built a 
 schooner, with which they had sailed the day before 
 from Matavai Bay to the '' orth-west part of the island. 
 He goes on to say, t.-at on this intelligence he 
 despatched the two lieutenants, Corner and Hay- 
 ward, with the pinnace and launch, to endeavouf to 
 intercept her. They soon got sight of her and 
 chased, her out to sea, but the schooner gained so 
 much upon them, and night coming on, they were 
 compelled to give up the pursuit and return to the 
 ship. It was soon made known, however, that she 
 had returned to Paparre, on which they were again 
 despatched in search of her. Lieutenant Corner had 
 taken three of the muti»eers, and Hayward, on 
 arriving at Paparre, found the schooner there, but 
 the mutineers had abandoned her and fled to the 
 mountains. He carried off the schooner, and re- 
 turned next day, when he learned they were not far 
 off; and the following morning, on hearing they 
 were coming down, he drew up his party in order to 
 receive them, and when within hearing, called to 
 them to lay down their arms and to go on one side, 
 which tliey did, when they were confined and 
 brought as prisoners to the ship. 
 
 The following were the persons received onboard 
 the Pandora: — 
 
 Peter Ileywood Midsliipman. 
 
 George Stewart Ditto. 
 
 James Morrison Boatswain's Mate. 
 
 Ciiarles Norman Carpenter's Mate. 
 
 Thomas M'lntosli Carpenter's Crew 
 
 Josep I Coleman Armourer. 
 
 Ric lard Skinner "| 
 Ttiomas Ellison I 
 
 Henry Hillbrant | 
 
 Tiiomas Burkitt 1 c^,.v,o« 
 
 JohnMillward f Seamen. 
 
 Jolin Sumner I 
 
 William Musprat | 
 Riohard Cyrn J 
 
 In all fourteen. The other two, which made up the 
 
138 THE PANDORA. 
 
 sixteen that had been left on the island, were mur- 
 dered, as will appear presently. 
 
 Captain Edwards will himself explain how he 
 disposed of his prisoners. " I put the pirates," he 
 says, " into a round-house which I built on the after- 
 p^t of the quarter-deck, for their more effectual se- 
 curity in this airy and healthy situation, and to sepa- 
 rate them from, and to prevent their having commu- 
 nication with, or to crowd and incommode the ship's 
 company." Dr. Hamilton calls it the most desirable 
 place in the ship, and adds, that " orders were given 
 that the prisoners should be victualled in every re- 
 spect the same as the ship's company, both m meat, 
 liquor, and all the extra indulgences with which they 
 were so liberally supplied^ notwithstanding the estab- 
 lished laws o^ the service, which restrict prisoners 
 to two-thirds allowance ; but Captain Edwards very 
 humanely commiserated their unhappy and inevita- 
 ble length of confinement." Mr. Morrison, one of 
 the prisoners, gives a very different account of their 
 treatment from that of Edwards or Hamilton. He 
 says that Captain Edwards put both legs of the two 
 midshipmen in irons, and that he branded tliem with 
 the opprobrious epithet of " piratical villains ;" that 
 they, with the rest, being strongly handcuffed, were 
 put into a kind of round-house, only eleven feet long, 
 built as a prison, and aptly named " Pandora's Box," 
 which was entered by a scuttle in the roof, about 
 eighteen inches square. This was done in order 
 that they might be kept separate from the crew, and 
 also the more effectually to prevent them from 
 having any communication with the natives ; that 
 such of those friendly creatures as ventured to look 
 pitifully towards them were instantly turned out of 
 the ship, and nev&r again allowed to come on board 
 But two sentinels were kept constantly upon the 
 roof of the prison, with orders to shoot the first of 
 its inmates who should attempt to address another 
 in the Otaheitan dialect. 
 
THE PANDORA. 139 
 
 That Captain Edwards took even'' pr^'^caution to 
 keep his prisoners in safe custodj^and place them in 
 confinement, as by his instructions he ivas directed 
 to do, may be well imagined,* but Mr. Morrison will 
 probably be thought to go somewhat beyond credi- 
 bility in stating that orders were given " to shoot any 
 of the prisoners," when confined in irons. Captain 
 Edwards must have known that such an act would 
 have cost him his commission, or something more. 
 The fact is, that information was given to Edwards, 
 at least he so asserts, by the brother of the King of 
 Otaheite, an intelligent chief, that a conspiracy was ■ 
 formed among the ncitives to cut the ship's cables 
 'the first strong wind that should blow on the shore, 
 which was considered to be the more probable, as 
 many of the prisoners were said to be married to the 
 most respectable chiefs' daughters in the district 
 opposite to the anchorage; that the midshipman 
 Stewart, in particular, had married the daughter of a 
 man of great landed property near Matavai. Bay. 
 This intelligence, no doubt, weighed with the cap- 
 tain in giving his orders for the close confinement 
 of the prisoners ; and particularly in restricting the 
 visits of the natives ; but so far is it from being true 
 that all communication between the mutineers and 
 the natives was cut off, that we are distinctly told 
 by Mr. Hamilton, that " the prisoners' wives visited 
 the ship daily, and brought their children, who were 
 permitted to be carried to their unhappy fathers. To 
 see the poor captives in irons," he says, " weeping 
 over their'^.ender offspring, was too moving a scene for 
 any feeling heart. Their wives brought them ample 
 suppliesof every delicacy that the country afforded, 
 while we lay there, and behaved with the greatest 
 fidelity and affection to them."t 
 
 * His erder* ran thus : — "You are to keep the mutinrers aa closely 
 confined as m.iy preclude all possibility of their ^scaping, having, how- 
 ever, proper regard to the preservation of their lives, that they nnay b« 
 Drought home, to undergo the punishment due to their demerits." . 
 
 t Voyage round the Vvorld, by Mr. George Hamilton, p. 34. 
 
140 THE PANDORA. 
 
 Of the fidelit}^ and attachment, of these simple- 
 minded creatures an instance is afforded in the affect- 
 ins: story which is told, in the. first Missionary 
 Voyag-e of the Duff, of the unfortunate wife of the 
 reputed mutineer Mr. Stewart. It would seem also 
 to exonerate Edwards from some part of the charges 
 which have been brought against him. 
 
 " The history of Peggy Stewart marks a tender- 
 ness of heart that never will be heard" without emo- 
 tion: she was daughter of a chief, and taken for 
 his wafe by Mr. Stewart, one of the unhappy muti- 
 neers. They had lived with the old chief in the 
 most tender state of endearment; a beautiful httle 
 girl had been the fruit of their union, and was at th? 
 breast when the Pandora arrived, seized the crimi- 
 nals, and secured them in irons on board the ship. 
 Frantic with grief, the unhappy Peggy (for so he had 
 named her) flew with her infant in a canoe to the 
 arms of her husband. The interview was so affect- 
 ing and afflicting, that the officers on board were 
 overwhelmed with anguish, and Stewart himself, 
 unable to bear the heart-rendmg scene, begged she 
 might not be admitted again on board. She was 
 separated from him by violence, and conveyed on 
 shore in a state of despair and grief too big for 
 utterance. IVithheld from him, and forbidden to 
 come any more on board, she sunk into the deepest 
 dejection ; it preyed on her vitals ; she lost all relish 
 for food and life, rejoiced no more, pined under a 
 rapid decay of two months, and fell a victim to her 
 feelings, dying literally of a broken heart. Her 
 child is yet alive, and the tender object of our care, 
 having been brought up by a sister, who nursed it as 
 her own, and has discharged all the duties of an 
 affectionate mother to the orphan infant."* 
 
 It does not appear that young Heywood formed 
 any matrimonial engagement during his abode m 
 
 * A. Miasionftrv Voyase to th« Soutbesn Faoigo. o ¥€0- 
 
THE PANDORA. 141 
 
 Otaheite. He was not, howerer, insensible tg the 
 amiable and good qualities of these people. In some 
 la-udatory verses which he wrote while on the island, 
 their numerous g-ood qualities are spoken of in terms 
 of the highest commendation. 
 
 All the mutineers that were left on the island 
 being received on board the Pandora, that ship pro- 
 ceeded in search of those who had gone away in the 
 Bounty. It may be mentioned, however, that two 
 of the most active in the mutiny, Churchill and 
 Thompson, had perished on the island before her ar- 
 rival, by violent deaths. These two men had accom- 
 panied a chief, who was the layo, or sworn friend, of 
 Churchill, and having died without children, this 
 mutineer succeeded to his property and dignity, ac- 
 cording to the custom of the country. Thompson, 
 for some real or fancied insult, took an opportunity 
 of shooting his conipanion. The natives assembled, 
 and came to a resolution to avenge the murder, and 
 literally stoned Thompson to death, and his scull 
 was brought on board the Pandora. This horrible 
 wretch had some time before slain a man and a child 
 through mere wantonness, but escaped punishment 
 by a mistake that had nearly proved fatal to young 
 Heywood. It seems that the description of a per- 
 son in Otaheite is usually given by some distinguish- 
 ing figure of the tattoo^ and Heywood, having the 
 same marks as Thompson, was taken for him ; and 
 just as the club was raised to dash out his brains, the 
 interposition of an old chief, with whom he was 
 travelhng round the island, was just in time to avert 
 the blow. 
 
 Captain Edwards had no rlew to guide him as to 
 the route taken by the Bounty, but he learned from 
 different people, and from journals kept on board that 
 ship, which were found in the chests of the muti- 
 neers at Otaheite, the proceedings of Christian and 
 his associates after Lieutenant Bligh and his com- 
 paoioiis had been turned adrift in the launch. From 
 
142 THE PANDORA. 
 
 these it appears that the pirates proceeded in the 
 first'iii3taiice to the island of Toobouai, in lat. 20° 13' 
 S,, long. 149^ 35' W., where they anchored on the 
 25th May, 1789. They had thrown overboard the 
 greater part of the bread-fruit plants, and divided 
 among themselves the property of the officers and 
 men who had been so inhumanly turned adrift. At 
 this island they intended to form a settlement, but 
 the opposition of the natives, the want of many 
 necessary materials, and quarrels among themselves, 
 determined them to go to Otaheite to procure what 
 might be required to effect their purpose, provided 
 they should agree to prosecute their original inten- 
 tion. They accordingly sailed from Toobouai about 
 the latter end of the month, and arrived at Otaheite 
 on the Gth June. The otoo, or reigning sovereign, 
 and other principal natives, were very inquisitive 
 and anxious to know what had become of Lieuten- 
 ant Bligh and the rest of the crew, and also what 
 had been done with the bread-fruit plants. They 
 v/ere told they had most unexpectedly fallen in with 
 Captain Cook, at an island he had just discovered, 
 called Whytootakee, where he intended to form a 
 settlement, and where the plants had been landed ; 
 and that Lieutenant Bligh and the others were stop- 
 ping there to assist Captain Cook in the business he 
 had in hand, and that he had appointed Mr. Chris- 
 tian conmiander of the Bounty ; and that he was 
 now come by his orders for an additional supply of 
 hogs, goats, fowls, bread-fruit, and various other 
 articles which Otaheite could supply. 
 
 This artful story was quite sufficient to impose on 
 the credulity of these humane and simple-minded 
 islanders ; and so overcome with joy were they to 
 hear that their old friend Captain Cook was alive, 
 and about to settle so near them, that every possible 
 means were forthwith made use of to procure the 
 things that were wanted ; so that in the course of a 
 very few days the Bounty received on board three 
 
THE PANDORA. 143 
 
 hundred and twelve hogs, thirty-eight goats, eight 
 dozen of fowls, a br.ll and a cow, and a large quan- 
 tity of bread-fruit, plantains, bananas, and other fruits. 
 They also took with them eight men, nine women, 
 and seven boys. With these supplies they left Ota- 
 heite on the 1 9th June, and arrived a-secon^ time at 
 Toobouai on the 26th. They warped the ship up 
 the harbour, landed the live stock, and set about 
 building a fott^of fifty yards square. 
 
 While this work was carrying on, quarrels and dis- 
 agreements were daily happening among them, and 
 continual disputes and skirmishes were taking place 
 with the natives, generally brought on by the violent 
 conduct of the invaders, and by depredations com- 
 mitted on their property. Retahations were at- 
 tempted by the natives without success, numbers 
 of whom, being pursued with firearms, were put to 
 death. Still the situation of the mutineers became 
 so disagreeable and unsafe, the work went on so 
 slowly and reluctantly, that tlie building of the fort 
 was agreed to be discontinued. Christian, in fact, 
 had veiy soon perceived that his authority was on 
 the wane, and that no peaceful establishment was 
 likely to be accomplished at Toobouai ; he therefore 
 held a consultation as to what would be the most 
 advisable step to take. After much angiy discus- 
 sion, it was at length determined that Toobouai 
 should be abandoned ; that the ship should once more 
 be taken to Otaheite; and that those who might 
 choose to go on shore there might do so, and those 
 who preferred to remain in the ship might proceed 
 in her to whatever place they should agree upon 
 among themselves. 
 
 In consequence of this determination, they sailed 
 from Toobouai on the 15th, and arrived at Matavai 
 Bay on the 20th September, 1789. Here sixteen of 
 the mutineers were put on shore, at their own re- 
 quest, fourteen of whom were received on board the 
 Pandora, and two of them, as before mentioned. 
 
144 THE PANDORA. 
 
 were murdered on the island. The remaining nine 
 agreed to continue in the Bounty. The small arms, 
 powder, canvass, and the small'stores belonging to 
 the ship were equally divided among the whole 
 crew. 'The Bounty sailed finally from Ot»heite on 
 the night of the 21st September, and was last seen 
 the following morning to the north-west of Point 
 Venus. They took with them seven Otaheitan men 
 and twelve women. It was not even conjectured 
 whither they meant to go ; but Christian had fre- 
 quently been heard to say, that his object was to 
 discover some unknown or uninhabited island, in 
 which there was no harbour for shipping; that he 
 would run the Bounty on shore, and make use of her 
 materials to form a settlement ; but this was the only 
 account, vague as it was, that could be procured 
 to direct Captain Edwards in his intended search. 
 It appears that when the schooner, of which we 
 have spoken, had been finished, six of the fourteen 
 mutineers that were left on Otaheite embarked in 
 her, with the intention of proceeding to the East 
 Indies, and actually put to sea ; but meeting with 
 bad weather, and suspecting the nautical abilities of 
 Morrison, whom they had elected as commanding 
 officer, to conduct her in safety, they resolved on 
 returning to Otaheite. Morrison, it seems, first un- 
 dertook the construction of this schooner, being 
 himself a tolerable mechanic, in which he was as- 
 sisted by the two carpenters, the cooper, and some 
 others. To this little band of architects, we are told, 
 Morrison acted both as director and chaplain, dis- 
 tinguishing the Sabbath-day by reading to them the 
 church liturgy, and hoisting the British colours on 
 a flag-staff erected near the scene of their opera- 
 tions. Conscious of his innocence, his object is 
 stated to have been that of reaching Batavia in time 
 to secure a passage home in the next fleet bound to 
 Holland; but that their return was occasioned, not 
 by any distrust of Morrison's talents, but by a 
 
THE PANDORA. i45 
 
 refusal on the part of the natives to give tliem a 
 sufficient quantity of matting and other necessaries 
 lor so long a voyage, being, in fact, desirous of re- 
 taining them on the island. Stewart and young 
 Heywood took no part in this transaction, having 
 made up their minds to remain at Otaheite,and there 
 to await the arrival of a king's ship, it being morally 
 certain that ere long one would be sent out thither 
 to search for them, whatever might have been the 
 fate of Bligh and his companions ; and that this was 
 really their intention is evident by the alacrity they 
 displayed in getting on board the Pandora the mo- 
 ment of her arrival. 
 
 On the 8th of May. this frigate left Otaheite, ac- 
 companied by the little schooner which- the muti- 
 neers had built, and the history of which is some- 
 what remarkable. In point of size she was not a 
 great deal larger than Lieutenant Bligh's launch, her 
 dimensions being thirty feet length of keel, thirty- 
 five feet length on deck, nine feet and a half ex- 
 treme breadth, five feet depth of the hold. She 
 parted from the Pandora near the Palmerston 
 Islands, when searching for the Bounty, and was not 
 heard of till the arrival of the Pandora's crew at 
 Samarang, in .Java, where the}'- found her lying at 
 anchor, the crew having suffered so dreadfully from 
 famine and the want of water, that one of the young 
 gentlemen belonging to her became delirious. She 
 was a remarkably swift sailer, and being afterward 
 employed in the sea-otter trade, is stated to have 
 made one of the quickest passages ever known from 
 China to the Sandwich Islands. This memorable 
 little vessel was purchased at Canton by the late 
 Captam Broughton, to assist him in surveying the 
 coast of Tartary, and became the means of pre- 
 serving the crew of his majesty's ship Providt nee 
 amounting to one hundred and twelve men, when 
 wrecked to the eastward of Formosa, in the year 1737. 
 
 The Pandora called at numerous islands witLuut 
 
146 THE PANDORA. 
 
 success, but on Lieutenant Corner having landed on 
 one of the Palmerston's group, he found a yard and 
 some spars with the broad arrow upon them, and 
 marked "Bounty." This induced the captain to 
 cause a very minute search to be made in all these 
 islands, in the course of which the Pandora, b'^mg 
 driven out to sea by blowing weather, and very thick 
 and hazy, lost sight of the little tender and a jolly 
 boat, the latter of which was never more heard of. 
 This gives occasion to a little splenetic effusion from 
 a writer in a periodical journal,* Avhich was hardly 
 called for. " When this boat," says the writer, 
 " with a midshipman and several men (four), had 
 been inhumanly ordered from alongside, it was 
 known tha* there was nothing in her but one piece 
 of salt-beef, compassionately thrown in by a sea- 
 man ; and horrid as must have been their fate, the 
 flippant' surgeon, after detailing the disgraceful fact; 
 adds, * that this is the way the world was peopled, 
 or words to that effect, for we quote only from me- 
 mory." The following is quoted from the book : — 
 "It may be difficult to surmise," says the surgeon, 
 " what has been the fate of tliose unfortunate men. 
 They had a piece of salt beef thrown into the boat 
 to them on leaving the ship ; and it rained a good 
 deal that night and the following day, which might 
 satiate their thirst. It is by these accidents the 
 Divine Ruler of the universe has peopled the 
 southern hemisphere." This is no more than as- 
 serting an acknowledged fact that can hardly admit 
 of a dispute, and there appears nothing in the para- 
 graph which at all affects the character of Captain 
 Edwards, against whom it is levelled. 
 
 After a fruitless search of three months, the Pan- 
 dora arrived on the 29th August on the coast of 
 New-Holland, and close to that extraordmary reef. 
 ^^{ coral rocks called the " Barrier Reef," which 
 
 * United Service JournaL 
 
THE PANDORA. 147 
 
 runs along the greater part of the eastern coast, but 
 at a considerable distance from it. The boat had 
 been sent out to look for an opening, which was soon 
 discovered, but in the course of the night the ship 
 had drifted past it. " On getting soundings," says 
 Captain Edwards, in his narrative laid before the 
 court-martial, " the topsails were filled; but before 
 the tacks were hauled on board and other sail made 
 and trimmed, the ship struck upon a reef; we had a 
 quarter less two fathoms on the larboard side, and 
 three fathoms on the starboard side ; the sails were 
 braced about different w^ays to endeavour to get her 
 off, but to no purpose ; they were then clewed up 
 and afterward furled, the top-gallant yards got 
 down and the top-gallant masts struck. Boats 
 were hoisted out with a view to carry out an 
 anchor, but before that could be effected the ship 
 struck so violently on the reef, that the carpenter 
 reported she made eighteen inches of water in five 
 minutes; and in five minutes after this, that there 
 were four feet of water in the hold. Finding the 
 leak increasing so fast, it was thought necessary to 
 turn the hands to the pumps, and to bail at the dif- 
 ferent hatchways; but she still continued to gain 
 upon us so fast, that in little more than an hour and 
 a half after she struck, there were eight feet and a 
 half of water in the hold. About ten we perceived 
 that the ship had beaten over the reef, and was in 
 ten fathoms water; w^e therefore let go the small 
 bower anchor, cleared away a Cable, and let go the 
 best bovver anchor in fifteen and a half fathoms 
 water under foot, to steady the ship. Some of her 
 guns were thrown overboard, and the water gained 
 upon us only in a small degree, and we flattered 
 ourselves that by the assistance of a thrummed 
 lopsail, which we were preparing to haul under the 
 ship's bottom, we might be able to lessen the leak, 
 and to free her of water : but these flattering hopes 
 did not continue long; for, as she settled in the 
 
148 THE PANDOKa. 
 
 water the leak increased again, and in so great a 
 degree that there was reason to apprehend she 
 would sink before daylight. During the night two 
 of the pumps were unfortunately for some time ren- 
 dered useless ; one of them, however, was repaired, 
 and we continued bailing and pumping the remaindei 
 of the night; and every effort that was thought of 
 was made to keep afloat and preserve the ship. 
 Daylight fortunately appeared, and gave us the op- 
 portunity of seeing our situation and the surround- 
 ing danger, and it was evident the ship had been 
 carried to the northward by a tide or current. 
 
 " The officers, whom I had consulted on the sub- 
 ject of our situation, gave it as their opinion that 
 nothing more could be done for the preservation of 
 the ship; it then became necessary to endeavour to 
 provide and to find means for the preservation of 
 the people. Our four boats, which consisted of one 
 launch, one eight-oared pinnace, and two six-oared 
 yawls, with careful hands in them, were kept astern 
 of the ship; a small quantity of bread, water, and 
 other necessary articles were put into them ; two 
 canoes which we had on board were lashed to- 
 gether and put into the water ; rafts were made, and 
 ill floating things upon deck were unlashed. 
 
 " About half-past six in the morning of the 29th 
 the hold was full, and the water was between decks, 
 and it also washed in at the upper deck ports, and 
 there were strong indications that the ship was on 
 the very point of sinking, and we began to leap 
 overboard and take to the boats, and before every- 
 body could get out of her she actually sunk. The 
 boats continued astern of the ship in the direction 
 of the drift of the tide from her, and took up the 
 people that had hold of rafts and other floating 
 things that had been cast loose, for the purpose of 
 supporting them on the water. The double canot, 
 thac was able to support a considerable number of 
 men, broke adrift with only one man, and was 
 
THK PANDORA. 149 
 
 bulged upon a reef, and afForded us no assistance 
 when she was so much wanted on this trying and 
 melancholy occasion. Two of the boats were laden 
 with men, and sent to a small sandy island (or key) 
 a'oout four miles from the wreck ; and 1 remained 
 near the ship for some time with the other two 
 boats, and picked up all the people that could be 
 seen, and then followed the fiist two boats to the 
 key ; and having landed the men and cleared the 
 boats, they were immediately despatched again to 
 look about the wreck and the adjoining reef for any 
 tliat might be missing, but they returned without 
 having found a single i)erson. On mustering the 
 people that were saved, it appeared that eighty-nine 
 of the ship's company, and ten of the mutineers that 
 had been prisoners on board, answered to their 
 names; but thirty-one of tlie ship's company and 
 four mutineers were lost with the ship." 
 
 It is remarkable enough that so little notice is 
 taken of the nuitineers in this narrative of the 
 captain; and as the following statement is supposed 
 to come from the late Lieutenant Corner, who was 
 second lieutenant of the Pandora, it is entitled to be 
 considered as authentic, and if so. Captain Edwards 
 must have deserved the character ascribed to him 
 of being altogether destitute of the common feel- 
 ings of humanity. 
 
 "Three of the Bounty's people, Coleman, Nor- 
 nan, and M'Intosh, were now let out of irons, and 
 j>ent to work at the pumps. The others offered 
 their assistance, and begged to be allowed a chance 
 of saving their lives ; instead of which, two addi- 
 tional sentinels were placed over them, with orders 
 to shoot any who should attempt to get rid of their 
 
 tters. Seeing no prospect of escape, they betook 
 themselves to prayer, and prepared to meet their 
 fate, every one expecting that the ship would soon 
 go to pieces, her rudder and part of the stern-post 
 being already beat awav." 
 
150 THE PANDORA. 
 
 When the ship was actually shiking, and every 
 effort making for the preservation of the crew, it is 
 asserted that " no notice was taken of the prisoners, 
 as is falsely stated by the author of the ' Pandora's 
 Voyage,' although Captain Edwards was entreated 
 by Mr. Heyv»'ood to have mercy upon them, when he 
 passed over their prison, to make his own escape, 
 the ship then lying on her broadside with the lar- 
 board bow completely under water. Fortunately, 
 the master-at-armc, either by accident or design, 
 when slipping from the roof of ' Pandora's Box' 
 into the sea, let the keys of the irons fall through 
 the scuttle or entrance, which he had just belbre 
 opened, and thus enabled them to commence their 
 own liberation, in which they were generously 
 assisted, at the imminent risk of his own life, by 
 WiUiam Moulter, a boatswain's mate, who clung to 
 the coamings, and pulled the long bars through the 
 shackles, saying he would set them free, or go to 
 the bottom with them. 
 
 " Scarcely was this effected when the ship went 
 dovi^n, leaving nothing visible but the topmast cross- 
 trees. The master-at-arms and all the sentinels 
 sunk to rise no more. The cries of them and the 
 other drowning men were awful in the extreme ; 
 and more than half an hour had elapsed before the 
 survivors could be taken up by the boats. Among 
 the former were Mr. Stewart, John Sumner, Richard 
 Skinner, and Henry Hillbrant, the whole of whom 
 perished with their hands still in manacles. 
 
 " On this melancholy occasion Mr. Hey wood was 
 the last person but three who escaped from the 
 prison, into which the water had already found its 
 way through the bulkhead scuttles. Jumping over- 
 board, he seized a plank, and was swimming towards 
 a small sandy quay (key) about three miles distant, 
 when a boat picked him up, and conveyed him thith.er 
 in a state of nudity. It is worthy of remark, that 
 James Morrison endeavoured to Yollow his young 
 
THE PANDORA. 15 I 
 
 companion's example, and, although handcuffed, 
 managed to keep afloat until a boat came to his 
 assistance." 
 
 This account vv^ould appear almost incredible. It 
 is true men are sometimes found to act the part of 
 inhuman monsters, but then they are generally ac- 
 tuated by some motive or extraordinary excitement, 
 here, however, there was neither; but, on the con- 
 trary, the condition of the poor prisoners appealed 
 most forcibly to the n»ercy and humanity of their 
 jailer. The surgeon of the ship states, in his ac- 
 count of her loss, that as soon as the spars, booms, 
 hencoops, and other buoyant articles were cut loose, 
 " the prisoners were ordered to be let out of irons." 
 One would imagine, indeed, that the officers on 
 this dreadful emergency would not be witness to 
 such inhumanity without remonstrating effectually 
 against keeping tliese unfortunate men confined a 
 moment beyond the period when it became evident 
 that the ship must sink. It will be seen, however, 
 presently, from Mr. Heywood's own statement, that 
 they were so kept, and that the brutal and unfeeling 
 conduct which has been imputed to Captain Edwards 
 is but too true. 
 
 It is an awful moment when a ship takes her last 
 heel, just before going down. When the Pandora 
 sunk, the surgeons say, " the crew had just time to 
 leap overboard, accompanying it with a most dread- 
 ful yell. The cries of the men drowning in the 
 water were at first awful in the extreme ; but as they 
 sunk and became faint, thej^died away by degrees." 
 How accurately has Byron described t'he whole pro- 
 gress of a shipwreck to the final catastrophe ! He 
 might have been a spectator of the Pandora at the 
 moment of her foundering, when 
 
 She gave a heel, and then a lurch to port, 
 
 And, going down head foremost— sunk 
 
 Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell ! 
 Then shriek'd the timid and stood still the brave ' 
 
152 THK PANDORA. 
 
 Then some leapM overboard with dreadfnl yell, 
 
 As eager to anticipate their grave ; 
 And the sea yawD'd around her like a hell, 
 
 And down she suck'd wii(i her the whirling wave, 
 Like one who grapples with his enemy, 
 And strives to strangle him betore he die. 
 
 And first one universal shriek there rush'd 
 
 Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash 
 Of echoing thunder; and then all was husli'd, 
 
 Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash 
 Of billows ; but at intervals there gush'd, 
 
 Accompanied with a convulsive splash, 
 A solitary shriek — the bubbling 017 
 Of some strong swimmer in his agony. 
 
 On the sandy key which fortunntely presentee 
 itself the shipwrecked seamen hauled np the boats, 
 to repair those that were damaged and to stretch 
 canvass round the grimwales, the better to keep out 
 the sea from breaking into them. The heat of the 
 sun and the reflection from the sand are described as 
 excruciating, and the thirst of the men was rendered 
 intolerable, from their stomachs being filled with salt- 
 water in the length of time they had to swim before 
 being picked up. Mr. Hamilton says, they were 
 greatly disturbed in the night by the irregular be- 
 haviour of one of the seamen, named Conneli, which 
 made them suspect he had got drunk with some 
 wine that had been saved ; but it turned out that the 
 excruciating torture he suffered from thirst had in- 
 duced him to drink salt-water ; " by which means he 
 went mad, and died in the sequel of the voyage." 
 It seems, a small keg of water and some biscuits 
 had been thrown into one of the boats, which they 
 found by calculation would be sufficient to last six- 
 teen days, on an allowance of two wineglasses of 
 water per day to each man, and a very small quan- 
 tity of bread, the weight of which was accurately 
 ascertained b)'- a musket-ball and a pair of wooden 
 scales made for each boat. 
 
 The crew and the prisoners were now distributed 
 among the four boats. At Bligh's "Mountainous 
 Island" they entered a bay where swarms of natives 
 
THE PANDORA. 153 
 
 came down and made signs for tlieir landing ; but 
 this they declined to do ; on which an arrow was 
 discharged and struck one of the boats.; and as the 
 savages were seen to be collecting their bows and 
 arrows, a volley of muskets, a few of which hap- 
 pened to be in the boats, was discharged, which put 
 them to flight. While sailing among the islands and 
 near the shore, they now and then stopped to pick 
 up a few oysters and procure a little fresh water. 
 On the 2d September they passed the north-west 
 point of New-Holland, and launched into the great 
 Indian Ocean, having a voyage of about a thousand 
 miles still to perform. 
 
 It will be recollected that Captain Bligh's people 
 received warmth and comfort by wringing out their 
 clothes in salt water. The same practice was adopted 
 by the crews of the Pandora's boats ; but the doctor 
 observes, that " this wetting their bodies with salt 
 water is not advisable, if protracted beyond three or 
 four days, as after that time the great absorption 
 from the skin that takes place taints the fluids with 
 the bitter part of salt water, so that the saliva be- 
 comes intolerable in the mouth." Their mouths, 
 indeed, he says, became so parched, that few at- 
 tempted to eat the slender allowance of bread. He 
 also remarks, that as the sufferings of the people 
 continued, their temper became cross and savage. 
 In the captain's boat, it is stated, one of the muti- 
 neers took to praying; but that "the captain, sus- 
 pecting the purity of his doctrines, and unwilling that 
 he should have a monopoly of the business, gave 
 prayers himself." 
 
 On the 13th they saw the island of Timor, and the 
 next morning lauded and got some water and a few 
 small fish from the natives; and on the night of the 
 15th anchored opposite the fort of Coupang. No- 
 thing could exceed the kindness and hospitality of 
 the governor and other Dutch officers of this settle- 
 ment, in affording every possible assistance and 
 
154 THE PANDORA 
 
 relief in their distressed condition. Having- remained 
 here three weeks, they embarked on the 6th of Oc- 
 tober on board the Rembang Dutch Indiaman, and 
 on the 30th anchored at Samaran^, where they were 
 agreeably surprised to find their httle tender, which 
 they had so long given up for lost. On the 7th 
 November they arrived at Batavia, where Captain 
 Edwards agreed with the Dutch East India Company, 
 to divide the whole of the ship's company and 
 prisoners among four of their ships proceeding to 
 Europe. -The latter the captain took with him in 
 the Vreedenburgh ; but finding his majesty's ship 
 Gorgon at the Cape, he transhipped himself and 
 prisoners, and proceeded in her to Spithead, where 
 he arrived on the 19th June, 1792. 
 
 Captain Edwards in his meager narrative takes 
 no more notice of his prisoners with regard to the 
 mode in which they were disposed of at Coupang 
 and Batai'ia, than he does when the Pandora went 
 down. In fact, he suppresses all information re- 
 specting them from the day in which they were 
 consigned to " Pandora's Box." From this total in- 
 difference towards these unfortunate men and their 
 almost unparalleled sufferings, Captain Edwards 
 must be set down as a man whose only feeling was 
 to stick to the letter of his instructions, and rigidly 
 to adhere to what he considered the strict line of his 
 duty ; that, he was a man of a cold phlegmatic dis- 
 positioil, whom no distress could move, and whose 
 feelings were not easily disturbed by the sufferings 
 of his fellow-creatures. He appears to have been 
 one of those mortals who might say with Manfred — 
 
 My spirit walk'd not with the souls of men ; 
 
 * * * V ;f: * * 
 
 My joys, my griefs, my passions, and my powers 
 Made me a stranger ; though 1 wore the form, 
 I had no sympathy with breathing flesh '. 
 
 There seems to have been a general feeling at ana 
 before the court-martial, that Captain Edwards had 
 
THE PANDORA. 155 
 
 exeicised a harsh, unnecessary, and undue degree 
 of severity on his prisoners. It is the custom, 
 sanctioned no doubt by long usage, to place in irons 
 all such as may have been guilty of mutiny in a ship 
 of Avar, and the necessity of so doing is obvious 
 enough — to prevent in the most eifectual manner 
 communication with the rest of the ship's company, 
 who might be contaminated by their intercourse with 
 such mischievous and designing men ; men whose 
 crime is of that die that, if found guilty, they have 
 little hope to escape the punishment of death, to 
 which a mutineer must by the naval articles of war 
 be sentenced ; no alternative being left to a court- 
 martial in such a case but to pronounce a sentence 
 of acquittal or of death. 
 
 In the present case, however, most of the prisoners 
 had surrendered themselves; many of them had 
 taken no active part in the mutiny ; and others had 
 been forcibly compelled to remain in the ship. It 
 was not likely, therefore, that any danger could 
 arise from ^ndulging them occasionally and in turns 
 with a few hours of fresh air on deck. As little 
 danger was there of their escaping; where indeed 
 could they escape to, especially when the ship was 
 going down, at a great distance from any shore, and 
 the nearest one known to be inhabited by savages? 
 All or most of them were desirous of getting home, 
 and throwing tliemselves on God and their country. 
 The captain, however, had no " compunctious visit- 
 ings of nature" to shake his purpose, which seems 
 to have been to keep them strictly in irons during 
 the whole passage, and to deliver them over in that 
 state on his arrival in England. 
 
 Perhaps the circumstance of the crime of piracy 
 being superadded to that of mutiny, may have ope'- 
 rated on his stern nature, and induced him to inflict 
 a greater severity of punishment than he might 
 otherwise have done, and which he certainly did far 
 beyond the letter and spirit of his instructions. He 
 
156 THE PANDORA. 
 
 mighl have considered, that in all ages arid among 
 all nations, with the exception of some of the Greek 
 states,* piracy has been held in the utmost abhor- 
 rence, and those guilty of it treated with singiTlar 
 and barbarous severity; and that the most sangui- 
 nary laws were established for the protection of per- 
 son and property in maritime adventure. The laws 
 of Oleron, which were composed under the imme- 
 diate direction of our Richard I., and became the 
 common usage among maritime states whose ves- 
 sels passed through British seas, are conceived in a 
 spirit of the most barbarous cruelty. f Thus, if a 
 poor pilot through ignorance lost the vessel, he was 
 either required to make full satisfaction to the mer- 
 chant for damages sustained, or to lose his head. 
 In the case of wrecks, where the lord of the coast 
 (something like our present vice-admiral) should be 
 found to be in league with the pilots, and run the 
 ships on rocks in order to get salvage, the said 
 lord, the salvers, and all concerned are declared to 
 be accursed and excommunicated, and mmished as 
 thieves and robbers ; and the pilot condehined to be 
 hanged upon a high gibbet, which is to abide and 
 remain to succeeding ages on the place where 
 erected, as a visible caution to other ships sailing 
 thereby. Nor was the fate of the lord of the coast 
 less severe, — his property was to be confiscated, and 
 himself fastened to a post in the midst of his own 
 mansion, which, being fired at the four corners, were 
 
 * The Phoceans, on account of the sterility of their country, were in 
 the habit of practising piracy, which, according to Justin, was held to be 
 an honourable profession. 
 
 t These laws are contained in an ancient authentic book, called " The 
 Black Book of the Admiralty," in which a'l things (herein comprehended 
 are engrossed on vellum, in an ancient character ; which has been from 
 time to time kept in the registry of the High Ccurt of Admiralty for the 
 use of the judges. When Mr. Luders made inquiry at the office in 
 Doctors' Commons, in 1808, he was informed by the proper officers there 
 that they had never seen such book, and knew nothing of it, nor where 
 to find it. The fact is, the book in question was put into Lord Tliurlow's 
 han'J^ when attorney-general, and never relumed. There is a copy of it 
 in the Admiralty 
 
THE PANDORA. 157 
 
 all to be burned together ; the walls thereof demol- 
 ished, and the spot on which it stood be converted 
 into a market-place for the sale only of hogs and 
 swine, to all posterity. 
 
 These and many other barbarous usages were 
 transferred into the institutions of Wisbuy, which 
 formed the jus mevcatorum for a long period, and in 
 which great care was taken for the security of ships 
 against their crews. Among other articles are the 
 following: — Whoever draws a sword upon the master 
 of a vessel, or wilfully falsifies the compass, shall 
 have his right hand nailed to the mast. Whoever 
 behaves riotously shall be punished by being keel- 
 hauled. Whoever is guilty of rebelUon (or mutiny) 
 shall be thrown overboard. 
 
 For the suppression of piracy, the Portuguese, in 
 their early intercourse with India, had a summary 
 punishment, and accompanied it with a terrible 
 example, to deter others from the commission of 
 the crime. Whenever they took a pirate ship, they 
 instantly hanged every man, carried away the sails, 
 rudder, and every thing that was valuable in the 
 ship, and left her to be buffeted about by the winds 
 and the waves, with the carcasses of the criminals 
 dangling from the yards, a horrid object of terror to 
 aU who might chance to fall in with her. Even to 
 this day a spice of the laws of Oleron still remains 
 in the maritime code of European nations, as far 
 as regards mutiny and pirac)^; and a feeling of this 
 kind may have operated on the mind of Captain 
 Edwards, especially as a tendency even to mutiny, 
 or mutinous expressions, are considered, by the usage 
 of the service, as justifying the commander of a 
 ship of war to put the otfenders hi irons. Besides, 
 tho treatment of Bligh, whose admirable conduct 
 under the unparalleled sufferings of himself and all 
 who accompanied him in the open boat, had roused 
 the people of England to the highest pitch of indig- 
 
158 THE PANDORA. 
 
 nation against Christian and his associates, in which 
 Edwards no doubt participated. 
 
 The following- letter of Mr. Peter Heywood to 
 his mother removes all doubt as to the character 
 and conduct of this officer. It is an artless and 
 pathetic tale, and, as his amiable sister says, 
 " breathes not a syllable inconsistent with truth and 
 honour." 
 
 "Batavia, November 20th, 1791. 
 " My ever-honoured and dearest Mother, 
 " At length the time has arrived when you are 
 once more to hear from your ill-fated son, whose 
 conduct at the capture of that ship in which it was 
 my fortune to embark has, I fear, from what has 
 since happened to me, been grossly misrepresented 
 to you by Lieutenant Bligh, who, by not knowing 
 the real cause of my remaining on board, naturally 
 suspected me, unhappily for me, to be a coadjutor in 
 the mutiny ; but I never, to my knowledge, while 
 under his command, behaved myself in a manner 
 unbecoming the station I occupied, nor so much as 
 even entertained a thought derogatory to his honour, 
 so as to give him the least grounds for entertaining 
 an opinion of me so ungenerous and undeserved ; 
 for I flatter myself he cannot give a character of 
 my conduct, while I was under his tuition, that could 
 merit the slightest scrutiny. Oh ! my dearest mo- 
 ther, I hope you have not so easily credited such an 
 account of me ; do but let me vindicate my conduct, 
 and declare to you the true cause of my remaining 
 in the ship, and you will then see how little I deserve 
 censure, and how I have been injured by so gross 
 an aspersion. I shall then give you a short and 
 cursory account of what has happened to me since ; 
 but I am afraid to say a hundredth part of what 1 
 have got in store, for I am not allowed the use of 
 writing materials, if known, so that this is done by 
 stealth ; but if it should ever come to your hands, it 
 
THE PANDORA. 159 
 
 will, I hope, have the desired effect of removing 
 your uneasiness on my account, when 1 assure you, 
 before the face of God, of my innocence of what is 
 laid to my charge. How I came to remain on hoard 
 was thus : 
 
 "The morning the ship was taken, it being my 
 watch below, happening to awake just after day- 
 light, and looking out of my hammock, I saw a man 
 sitting upon the arm-chest in the main hatchway, 
 witli a drawn cutlass in his hand, the reason of 
 which I could not divine ; so I got out of bed and 
 inquired of him what w-as the cause of it. He told 
 me that Mr. Christian, assisted by some of the ship's 
 company, had seized the captain and put him in con- 
 finement; had taken the command of the ship, and 
 meant to carry Bligh home a prisoner, in order to 
 try him by court-martial for his long tyrannical and 
 oppressive conduct to his people. I was quite 
 thunderstruck; and, hurrying into my berth again, 
 told one of my messmates, whom I awakened out 
 of his sleep, what had happened. Then dressing 
 myself, I went up the fore-hatchway, and saw what 
 he had told me was but too true; and again I asked 
 some of the people who were under arms what 
 was going to be done with the captain, who was 
 then on the larboard side of the quarter-deck, with 
 his hands tied behind his Dack, and Mr. Christian 
 alongside him with a pistol and drawn bayonet. 1 
 now heard a very different story, and that the cap- 
 tain was to be sent ashore to Tofoa in the launch, 
 and that those who would not join M^^ Christian 
 might either accompany the captain, or would be 
 taken in irons to Otaheite and left there. The 
 relation of two stories so different left me unable 
 to judge which could be the true one; but, seeing' 
 them hoisting the boats out, it seemed to prove the 
 latter. 
 
 " In this trying situation, young and inexperienced 
 as T was, and without an adviser (every person being, 
 
160 THE PANDORA. 
 
 as it were, infatuated, and not knowing- what to do), 
 I remained for a while a silent spectator of what 
 was going- on ; and after revolving the matter in my 
 mind, I determined to choose what I thought the 
 less of two evils, and stay by the ship ; for I had 
 no doubt that those who went on shore in the 
 launch would be put to death by the savage natives, 
 whereas the Otaheitans being a humane and generous 
 race, one might have a hope of being kindly received, 
 and remain there until the arrival of some ship, 
 which seemed, to silly me, the most consistent with 
 reason and rectitude. 
 
 "While this resolution possessed my mind, at the 
 same time lending my assistance to hoist out the 
 boats, the hurry and confusion affairs were in, and 
 thinking my intention just, I never thought of going 
 to Mr. Bligh for advice ; besides, what confirmed 
 me in it was, my seeing two experienced officers, 
 when ordered into the boat by Mr. Christian, desire 
 his permission to remain in the ship, (one of whom 
 my own messmate, Mr. Hayward,) and I being as- 
 sisting to clear the launch of yams, he asked me 
 what r intended to do ; I told him, to remain in the 
 ship. Now this answer, I imagine, he has told Mr. 
 Bligh I made to him ; from which, together with my 
 not speaking to him that morning, his suspicions of 
 me have arisen, construing my conduct into what is 
 foreign to my nature. 
 
 " Thus, my dearest mother, it was all owing to 
 my youth and unadvised inexperience, but has been 
 interpreted into villany and disregard of my coun- 
 try's laws, the ill effects of which I at present, and 
 still am to labour under for some months longer. 
 And now, after what I have asserted, I may still 
 once more retrieve my injured reputation, be again 
 reinstated in the affection and favour of the most 
 tender of mothers, and be still considered as her evei; 
 dutiful son. 
 
 " 1 was not undeceived m my erroneous decisio^i 
 
THE PANDORA. 
 
 163 
 
 ,-eated by our kind and friendly natives witli a 
 till too L-|.y ^^^ humanity almost unparalleled, and 
 launch ; ^^^ could hardly have expected iVom the 
 arms, ont -j-^gj people. 
 
 messmatf^ brief— having remained here till the latter 
 berth (Mr. ^,^<^^ ^-gi^ o„ the 26th of that month his 
 if 1 was noi-^ip Pandora arrived, and had scarcely 
 upon which h.-jg,-^ j-j^y messmate and I went on board 
 as remaining bv.gj^.eg |^i^Q^yi-j. and having learned from 
 below with him .^g who had been off in a canoe, that 
 make baste to g(^mate Mr. Hayward, now promoted 
 that by remaimngytenant, was on board, we asked 
 equal share of gun . j^e might prove the assertions of 
 I reluctantly follow ,ji- he (like all worldlinirs when 
 because I knew no bt- >| received us very coolly, and 
 boat swimming very dc our affairs; yet formerly, 
 being far distant, the thoi.fe^otherlv love and friend- 
 by the natives, and the self-^ much against us, we 
 first intention being just, all the n^d looked upon— 
 almost staggered m.y resolution; iiVa,ins. A rebuff 
 ferred my companion's judgment to n.-ed to trou- 
 we both jumped down the main-hatchway to p» but to 
 ourselves for the boat; but, no sooner were we /xf 
 the berth, than the master-at-arms ordered the 
 sentry to keep us both in the berth till he should 
 receive orders to release us. We desired the mas- 
 ter-at-arms to acquaint Mr. Bligh of our intention, 
 which we had reason to think he never did, nor were 
 we permitted to come on deck until the launch was 
 a long way astern. I now, when too late, saw my 
 error. 
 
 " At the latter end of May we got to an island 
 to the southward of Taheite, called Tooboui, where 
 they intended to rgake a settlement; but, finding no 
 stock there of any kind, they agreed to go to Ta- 
 h(^ite, and. after procuring hogs and fowls, to return 
 to Tooboui and remain. So, on the 6th June, we 
 arrived at Taheite, where I was in hopes 1 might 
 find an opportunity of running away and remaining 
 on shore, but 1 could not effect it, as there was 
 O 2 
 
160 
 
 THE PANDORA. 
 
 as It were, infatuated, and not knowino- what^^ ^"^^ 
 I remained for a while a silent spectator ^^ ^^^'^"' 
 was going on ; and after revolving the niat^^ ^^^'^^ 
 mind, I determined to choose what I thc*"^^ ^^^" 
 less of two evils, and stay by the ship ; knowing, 
 no doubt that those who went on sh ^^^^ means 
 launch would be put to death by the sa^'^^^ intended 
 whereas the Otaheitans being a humane-"^'P^"^^t^^^^^^'' 
 race, one might have a hope of beino- }-t as content as 
 and remain there until the arriva'^ ^^^^^ "^^^^^ ^^'^ 
 which seemed, to silly me, the mos® ^^^en out, and 
 reason and rectitude. rry me to Taheite, 
 
 "While this resolution possess- o^ pursuit.* But 
 same time lending my assistar we had no occasion 
 boats, the hurry and confus^-^^zard, for, upon return 
 thinking my intention just ^^^ the latter end of August, 
 to Mr. Bligh for advic-vas almost built, but nothing 
 me in it was, my s^'md as the natives could not be 
 when ordered in«.uly terms, and with whom we had 
 his permissiosnes, and narrow escapes from being 
 my own ^ them, and, what was still worse, internal 
 sistins and discontent, — these things determined part 
 "Of the people to leave the island and go to Taheite, 
 which was carried by a majority of votes. 
 
 "This being carried into execution on the 22d 
 September, and having anchored in Matavai Bay, 
 the next morning my messmate (Mr. Stewart) and 
 I went on shore, to the house of an old landed pro- 
 prietor, our former friend ; and being now set free 
 from a lawless crew, determined to remain as much 
 apart from them as possible, and wait patiently for 
 the arrival of a ship. Fourteen more of the Boun- 
 ty's people came likewise on shore, and Mr. Chris- 
 tian and eight men went away with the ship, but 
 God knows whither. While we remained here we 
 
 * Morrison mentions, in his journal, a plan to this effect, contrived 
 by Hevwood, Stewart, and hinnself, but observes, "It was a foulisli 
 attempt, as, had we met with bad weather our crazy boat wouid cer 
 tainly have made us a colTin " 
 
' • THE PANDORA. 163 
 
 were treated by our kind and friendly natives witli a 
 generosity and humanity almost unparalleled, and 
 such as we could hardly have expected irom tJie 
 most civilized people. 
 
 " To be brief — having: remained here till the latter 
 end of March, 1791, on the 26th of that month his 
 majesty's ship Pandora arrived, and had scarcely 
 anchored, when my messmate and I went on board 
 and made ourselves known; and having learned from 
 one of the natives who had been off in a canoe, that 
 our former messmate Mr. Hayward, now promoted 
 to the rank of lieutenant, was on board, we asked 
 for him, supposing he might prove the assertions of 
 our innocence. But he (like all worldlings when 
 raised a little in life) received us very coolly, and 
 pretended ignorance of our affairs; yet formerly, 
 he and I were bound in brotherly love and friend- 
 ship. Appearances being so much against us, we 
 were ordered to be put in irons, and looked upon — 
 oh, infernal words ! — as piratical villains. A rebuff 
 so severe as this was, to a person unused to tiou- 
 bles, would perhaps have been insupportable; but to 
 me, who had now been long inured to the frowns of 
 fortune, and feehng myself supported by an inward 
 consciousness of not deserving it, it was received 
 with the greatest composure, and a full determina- 
 tion to bear it with patience. 
 
 "My sufferings, however, I have not power to 
 describe; but though they are great, yet I thank God 
 for enabling me to bear them without repining. I 
 endeavour to qualify my affliction with these three 
 considerations, first, my innocence not deserving 
 them; secondly, that the}^ cannot last long; and 
 thirdly, that the change may be for the better. The 
 first improves my hopes, the second my patience, 
 and the third my courage. I am young in yeais, 
 but old in what the world calls adversity ; and it has 
 had such an effect, as to make me consider it the 
 most beneficial incident that could have occurred at 
 
164 THE PANDORA. 
 
 my age. It has made me acquainted with three 
 things which are httle known, and as httle believed 
 by any but those who have felt their effects : first, 
 the viilany and censoriousness of mankind ; sec- 
 ondly, the futility of all human hopes; and thirdly, 
 the happiness of being content in whatever station 
 it may please Providence to place me. In short, it 
 has made me more of a philosopher, than many years 
 of a hfe spent in ease and pleasure would have 
 done. 
 
 " As they will no doubt proceed to the greatest 
 lengths against me, I being the only surviving officer, 
 and they most inchned to believe a prior story, all 
 that can be said to confute it will probably be looked 
 upon as mere falsity and invention. Should that be 
 my unhappy case, and they resolved upon my de- 
 struction as an example to futurity, may God enable 
 me to bear my fate with the fortitude of a man, con- 
 scious that misfortune, not any misconduct, is the 
 cause, and that the Almighty can attest my inno- 
 cence. Yet why should I despond 1 I have, I hope, 
 still a friend in that Providence which hath pre- 
 served me amid many greater dangers, and upon 
 whom alone I now depend for safety. God will 
 always protect those who deserve it. These are 
 the sole considerations which have enabled me to 
 make myself easy and content under my past mis- 
 fortunes. 
 
 " Twelve more of the people who were at Ota- 
 heite having delivered themselves up, there was a 
 sort of prison built on the after-part of the quarter- 
 deck, into which we were all put in close confine- 
 ment, with both legs and both hands in irons, and 
 were treated with great rigour, not being allowed 
 ever to get out of this den ; and, being obliged to 
 eat, drink, sleep, and obey the calls of nature here, 
 you may form some idea of the disagreeable situa- 
 tion I must have been in, unable as I was to help 
 myself (being deprived of the use of both my legs 
 
THE PANDORA. i65 
 
 and hands), but by no means adequate to the 
 reaUty. 
 
 " Oti the 9th May we left Otaheite, and proceeded 
 to the Friendly Islands, and about the beginning of 
 August got in among the reefs of New-Holland, to 
 endeavour to discover a passage through them ; but 
 it was not effected, for the Pandora, ever unlucky, 
 and as if devoted by Heaven to destruction, was 
 driven by a current upon the patch of a reef, and on 
 which, there being a heavy surf, she was soon 
 almost bulged to pieces ; but having thrown all the 
 guns on one side overboard, and the tide flowing at 
 the same time, she beat over the reef into a basin, 
 and brought up in fourteen or fifteen fathoms ; but 
 she was so much damaged while on the reef, that 
 imagining she would go to pieces every moment, we 
 had contrived to wrench ourselves out of our irons, 
 and applied to the captain to have mercy on us, and 
 suffer us to take our chance for the preservation of 
 our lives ; but it was all in vain — he was even so 
 inhuman as to order us all to be put in irons again, 
 though the ship was expected to go down every mo- 
 ment, being scarcely able to keep her under with all 
 the pumps at work. 
 
 "In this miserable situation, with an expected 
 death before our eyes, without the least hope of 
 relief, and in the most trying state of suspense, we 
 spent the night, the ship being by the hand of Provi- 
 dence kept up till the morning. The boats by this 
 time had all been prepared ; and as the captain and 
 ofncers were coming upon the poop or roof of our 
 prison, to abandon the ship, the water being then up 
 to the combings of the hatchways, we again im- 
 plored his mercy ; upon which he sent the corf>oral 
 and an armourer down to let some of us out of 
 irons, but three only were suffered to go up, and the 
 scuttle being then clapped on, and the master-at- 
 arms upon it, the armourer had only time to let two 
 oersons out of iron >, the rest, except three, letting 
 N 
 
166 THE PANDORA. 
 
 themselves out ; two of these three went down with 
 them on their hands, and the third was picked np. 
 She now began to keel over to port so very much, 
 that the master-at-arms, sliding overboard, and 
 leaving the scuttle vacant, we all tried to get up, and 
 I was the last out but three. The water was then 
 pouring in at the bulk-head scuttles, yet I succeeded 
 in getting out, and was scarcely in the sea when I 
 could see nothing above it but the cross-trees, and 
 nothing around me but a scene of the greatest dis- 
 tress. I took a plank (being stark-naked) and swam 
 towards an island about three miles off, but was 
 picked up on my passage by one of the boats. When 
 we got ashore to the small sandy key, we found 
 there were thirty-four men drowned, four of Avhom 
 were prisoners, and among these was my unfortu- 
 nate messmate (Mr. Stewart) ; ten of us, and eighty- 
 nine of the Pandora's crew, were saved. 
 
 " When a survey was made of what provisions 
 had been saved, they were found to consist of two 
 or three bags of bread, two or three beakers of 
 water, and a little wine ; so we subsisted three days 
 upon two wine glasses of water, and two ounces of 
 bread per day. On the 1st September we left the 
 island, and on the 16th arrived at Coupang in the 
 island of Timor, having been on short allowance 
 eighteen days. We were put in confinement in the 
 castle, where we remained till October, and on the 
 5th of that month were sent on board a Dutch ship 
 bound for Batavia. 
 
 " Though I have been eight months in close con- 
 finement in a hot climate, I have kept my health in a 
 most surprising manner, without the least indispo- 
 sition, and am still perfectly well in every respect, in 
 mind as well as body ; but without a friend, and only 
 a shirt and pair of trousers to put on, and carry me 
 home. Yet with ail this 1 have a contented mind, 
 entirely resigned to the will of Providence, vvliich 
 
THE PANDORA. 167 
 
 conduct alone enables me to soar above the reach 
 cf iinhappiness." 
 
 In a subsequent letter to his sister he says, " I 
 send you two little sketches of the manner in which 
 his majesty's ship Pandora went down on the 29th 
 August, and of the appearance which we who sur- 
 vived made on the small sandy key within the reef, 
 about ninety yards long 5nd sixty broad, in all 
 ninety-nine souls ; here we remained three days, 
 subsisting- on a single wineglass of wine or water, 
 and two ounces of bread a day, with no shelter from 
 the meridian and then vertical sun. Captain Ed- 
 wards had tents erected for himself and his people, 
 and we prisoners petitioned him for an old sail 
 which was lying useless, part of the wreck, but he 
 refused it ; and the only shelter we had was to bury 
 ourselves up to the neck in the burning sand, which 
 scorched the skin entirely off our bodies, for we 
 were quite naked, and we appeared as if dipped in 
 large tubs of boiling water. We were nineteen 
 days in the same miserable situation before we 
 landed at Coupang. 1 was in the ship, in irons, 
 hands and feet, much longer than till the position 
 you now see her in, the poop alone being above 
 water (and that knee deep), when a kind Provi 
 dence assisted me to get out of irons and escape 
 from her." 
 
 The treatment of these unhappy men was almost 
 as bad at Batavia as in the Pandora, being closely 
 confined in irons in the castle, and fed on very bad 
 provisions; and the hardships they endured on their 
 passage to England, in Dutoli ships, were very 
 severe, having, as he says, slept on nothing but hard 
 boards on wet canvass, without any bed, for seven- 
 teen months, always subsisting on short allowance 
 of execrable provisions, and without any clothes for 
 some time, except such as the charity of two young 
 men in the ship supplied him with. He had during 
 his confinement at Batavia learned to make straw 
 
168 THE PANDORA. 
 
 hats, and finished several with both his hands in 
 fetters, which he sold for half a crown apiece ; and 
 with the produce of these he procured a suit of 
 coarse clothes, in which, with a cheerful and hght 
 heart, notwithstanding all his sufferings, he arrived 
 at Portsmouth. How he preserved his health under 
 the dreadful sufferings he endured, and in eight 
 months' close confinemAit in a hot climate, is quite 
 wonderful. 
 
 On the second day after the arrival of the Gorgon 
 at Spithead the prisoners were transferred to the 
 Hector, commanded by Captain (the late Admiral 
 Sir George) Montague, where they were treated 
 with the greatest humanity, and eveiy indulgence 
 allowed that could with propriety be extended to 
 men in their unhappy situation, until the period 
 when they were to be arraigned before the com- 
 petent authority, and put on their trials for mutiny 
 and piracy, which did not take place until the month 
 of September. 
 
 In this period of anxious and awful suspense, a 
 most interesting correspondence was carried on be- 
 tween this unfortunate youth and his numerous 
 friends, which exhibits the character of himself and 
 the whole family in the most amiable and affec- 
 tionate colours, and in a more particular manner, of 
 that adorable -creature, his sister Nessy, who, in 
 one of her letters, accounts for the pecuhar warmth 
 of her attachment and expressions by their being 
 nearly of the same age, and engaged in the same 
 pursuits, whether of "study or amusement, in their 
 juvenile years. The poor mother, on hearing of 
 his arrival, thus addresses her unfortunate son ; 
 
 ''Isle of Man, June 29M, 1792. 
 
 " Oh ! my ever dearly-beloved and long-lost son, 
 
 with what anxiety have I waited for this period ! 1 
 
 have 'counted the days, hours, and even minutes since 
 
 I first heard of the hoirjd and unfortunate mutiny 
 
THE PANDORA. 69 
 
 which has so long- deprived me of my dearest boy ; 
 but now the happy time is come wlien, though I 
 cannot have the unspeakable pleasure of seeing and 
 embracing you, yet 1 hope Ave may be allowed to 
 correspond ; surely there can be nothing improper 
 in a liberty of this sort between an affectionate 
 mother and her dutiful and beloved son, who, I am 
 perfectly convinced, was never guilty of the crime 
 he has been suspected of by those who did know 
 his worth and truth. I have not the least doubt but 
 that the all gracious God, wiio of his good provi- 
 dence has protected you so long, and brought you 
 safe through so many dangers and difficulties, will 
 still protect you, and at your trial make your inno- 
 cence appear as clear as the light. All your letters 
 have come safe to me, and to ray very dear good 
 Nessy. Ah ! Peter, with w'hat real joy did we all 
 receive them, and how happy are we that you are 
 now safe in England ! I will endeavour, my dearest 
 lad, to make your present situation as comfortable 
 as possible, for so affectionate and good a son de- 
 # serves my utmost attention. Nessy has written to 
 our faithful and kind friend, Mr. Heywood, of Ply- 
 mouth, for his advice, whether it would be proper 
 for her to come up to you; if he consents to her so 
 doing, not a moment shall be lost, and how happy 
 shall I be when shells with you ! Such a sister as 
 she is ! Oh I Peter, she is a most valuable girl," &c 
 On the same day this " most valuable girl" thus 
 writes : — * 
 
 * The following shows how much her fond mind was fixed on her 
 unfortunate brother : 
 
 On the Arrival of my dearly-beloved Brother, Peter Heywood. in Eng 
 land, VTitten while a Prison t^, and waiting the Event of his Tried on 
 board his Majesty's Ship Hector. 
 
 CoMK, centle Muse, I woo thee once again, 
 Nor woo thee now in mel;\iicholy strain ; 
 Assist my verse in cheerful mood lo flow, 
 Nor let this tender bosom Anguish know ; 
 
170 THE PANDORA. 
 
 '"My dearest and most beloved brother, — Thanks 
 to that Almighty Providence which has so mira- 
 culously preserved you, your fond, anxious, and, till 
 ^ovv, miserable Nessy, is at last permitted to ad- 
 dress the object of her tenderest affection in Eng 
 land ! Oh ! my admirable, my heroic boy, what 
 have we felt on your account ! yet how small, how 
 infinitely trifling was the misery of our situation 
 when compared with the horror of yours ! Let me 
 now, however, Avith confidence hope that the God 
 of all mercies has not so long protected you in vain, 
 but will at length crown 3^our fortitude and pious 
 resignation to his will with that peace and happiness 
 you so richly merit. How blest did your delightful 
 and yet dreadful letter from Batavia make us all ! 
 Surely, my beloved boy, you could not for a mo- 
 ment imagine we ever supposed you guilty of the 
 crime of mutiny'. No, no ; believe me, no earthly 
 power could have persuaded us that it was possible 
 for you to do any thing inconsistent with strict 
 honour and duty. So well did we know your ami- 
 able, steady principles, that we were assured your 
 
 Fill all my soul with notes of I.ove and Joy, 
 No more let Grief each anxious thou<rht employ. 
 With Rapture now alone this heart shall burn, 
 And Joy, my Lycidas, for thy return I 
 Retiirn'd with every charm, acc.omplish'd youth, 
 Adorn'd with Virtue, Innocence, and Truth; 
 Wrapp'd ill thy conscious merit still remain, 
 Till I behold ihy lovely form again. 
 Protect him, Hcav'n, from dangers and alarms, 
 And oil I restore liiin to a sister's arms ; 
 Support his fortitude in thai dread hour 
 VVh''n he must brave Suspicion's cruel pow'r; 
 Grant him lo plead with Eloquence divine, 
 In ev'ry word let Truth and Honour shine ; 
 Through eac!i sweet accent let Persuasion flow ; 
 With manly firmness let his bosom glow, 
 Till strong Conviction, in each faceexpress'd. 
 Grants a reward by Honour's self confess'd. 
 Let thy Omnipotence' preserve him still. 
 And all his future days with Pleasure fill ; 
 And oh I kind Heav'n, though now in chains he be, 
 Restore him soon to Friendship, Love, and me. 
 August btk 11^2, Isle of Man. Nkssy Heywoo* 
 
THE PANDORA. 171 
 
 reasons for staying behind would turn out s'jch as 
 you represent them ; and I firmly trust that Provi- 
 dence will at length restore you to those dear and 
 affectionate friends, who can know no happiness 
 until they are blessed with your loved society. 
 Take care of your precious health, my angehc boy. 
 I shall soon be with you ; I have written to INIr. 
 Heywood (your and our excellent friend and pro- 
 tector) for his permission to go to you immediately, 
 which my uncle Heywood, without first obtaining 
 it, would not allows fearing lest any precipitate step 
 might injure you at present ; and I only Avait the 
 arrival of his next letter to fiy into your arms. Oh ! 
 my best beloved Peter, how I anticipate the rapture 
 of that moment! — for alas! I have no joy, no hap- 
 piness, but in your beloved society, and no hopes, 
 no fears, no wishes, but for you." 
 
 Mr. Heywood's sisters all address their unfor- 
 tunate brother in the same affectionate, but less im- 
 passioned strain ; and a little trait of good feeling 
 is mentioned, on the part of an old female servant, 
 that shows •what a happy and attached family the 
 Heywoods were, previous to the melancholy affair 
 in which their boy became entangled. Mrs. Hey- 
 wood says, " My good honest Birket is very well, 
 and says your safe return has made her more happy 
 than she has been for these two-and-forty years 
 she has been in our family." And Miss Nessy tells 
 him, " Poor Birket, the most faithful and worthiest 
 of servants, desires me to tell you that she almost 
 dies with joy at the thought of your safe arrival in 
 England. What agony, my dear boy, has she felt 
 on your account ; her affection for you knows no 
 bounds, and her misery has indeed been extreme ; 
 but she still lives to bless your virtues." 
 
 The poor prisoner thus replies, from his majesty's 
 ship Hector, to his " beloved sisters all :" — 
 
 " This day I had the supreme happiness of your 
 long expected letters* and I am not able to express 
 
172 THE PANDORA. 
 
 the pleasure and joy they afforded me ; at the sight 
 of them my spirits, low and dejected, were at once 
 exhilarated ; my heart had long and greatly suffered 
 from my impatience to hear of those most dear to 
 me, and was tossed and tormented by the storms of 
 fearful conjecture— but they are now subsided, and 
 my bosom has at length attained that long-lost 
 serenity and calmness it once enj\)yed; for you 
 may believe me when I say it never yet has suffered 
 any disquiet from my own misfortunes, but from a 
 truly anxious solicitude for, and desire to hear of, 
 your welfare. God be thanked, you still entertain 
 such an opinion of me as I will flatter myself I have 
 deserved ; but why do I say so 1 can I make myself 
 too worthy the affectionate praises of such amiable 
 sisters ] Oh ! my Nessy, it grieves me to think I 
 must be under the necessity, however heart-break- 
 ing to myself, of desiring you will rehnquish your 
 most affectionate design of coming to see me ; it is 
 too long and tedious a journey, and even on your 
 arrival you would not be allowed the wished-for 
 happiness, both to you and myself, of seeing, much 
 less conversing with, your unfortunate brother: the 
 rules of the service are so strict, that prisoners are 
 not permitted to have any communication with 
 female relations ; thus even the sight of, and con- 
 versation with, so truly affectionate a sister is for 
 the present denied me ! The happiness of such an 
 interview let us defer till a time (which, please God, 
 will arrive) when it can be enjoyed with more free- 
 dom, and unobserved by the gazing eyes of an inquisi- 
 tive world, which in my present place of confine- 
 ment would of course not be the case. 
 
 " I am very happy to hear that poor old Birket is 
 still aUve ; remember me to her, and tell her not to 
 heave aback, until God grants me the pleasure of 
 seeing her. 
 
 " And now, my dear Nessy, cease to anticipate 
 the happiness of personal communication with your 
 
THE PANDORA. 173 
 
 poor but resigTied brother, until wished-for freedom 
 removes the indignant shackles I now bear from 
 the feet of your fond and most affectionate brother, 
 
 " P. H." 
 
 In a subsequent letter to his sister he says, " Let 
 us at present be resigned to our fate, contented 
 with this sort of communication, and be thankful 
 to God for having even allowed us that happiness — 
 for be assured the present confinement is liberty, com- 
 pared with what it has been for the fifteen months 
 last past." On the 15th July, Commodore Pasley 
 addresses the following business-like letter to Miss 
 Heywood. 
 
 "I received your letter, my dearest Nessy, with 
 the enclosure [her brother's narrative], but did not 
 choose to answer it until I had njade a thorough 
 investigation ; that is, seeii personally all the prin- 
 cipal evidences, which has ever since occupied my 
 whole thoughts and time. I have also had some 
 letters from himself; and notwithstanding he nuist 
 still continue in confinement, ever}'' attention and 
 indulgence possible is granted him by Captain Mon- 
 tague of the Hector, v.'ho is my particular friend. 
 I have no doubt of the triUli of your brother's nar- 
 rative ; the master, boatswain, gunner, and carpen- 
 ter, late of the Bounty, I have seen, and have the 
 pleasure to assure you that they are all favourable, 
 and corroborate what he says. That felloic, Cap 
 tain Edwards, whose inhuman rigour of confinement 
 I shall never forget, I have likewise seen ; he can- 
 not deny that Peter avowed himself late of the 
 Bounty when he came voluntarily aboard ; this is 
 a favourable circumstance. 1 have been at the 
 Admiralty, and read over all the depositions taken 
 and sent home by Bligh and his officers from Ba- 
 tavia, hkewise the court-martial on himself; in 
 none of which appears any thing against Peter. As 
 soon as Lieutenant Hayward arrives with the re- 
 O 
 
174 THE PANDORA. 
 
 mainder of the Pandora^s crew, the court-martial 
 is to take place. I shall certainly attend, and we 
 must have an able counsellor to assist, for 1 will 
 not deceive you, my dear Nessy, however favour- 
 able circumstances may appear, our martial law is 
 severe ; by the tenor of it, the man who stands 
 neuter is equally guilty with him who lifts his arm 
 against his captain in such cases. His extreme 
 youth and his delivering himself up are the strong 
 points of his defence. Adieu ! my dearest Nessy ; 
 present my love to your mother and sisters, and 
 rest assured of my utmost exertions to extricate 
 your brother. 
 
 " Your affectionate uncle, 
 
 « T. Pasley." 
 
 This excellent man did not stop here : knowing 
 that sea-officers have a great aversion from counsel, 
 he writes to say, " A friend of mine, ]\Ir. Graham, 
 who has been secretary to the different admirals 
 on the Newfoundland station for these twelve years, 
 and consequently has acted as judge-advocate at 
 courts-martial all that time, has offered me to at- 
 tend you ; he has a thorough knowledge of the ser- 
 vice, uncommon abilities, and is a very good lawyer. 
 He has already had most of the evidences with him. 
 Adieu ! my young friend ; keep up your spirits, and 
 rest assured! shall be watchful for your good. My 
 heart will be more at ease if I can get my friend 
 Graham to go down, than if you were attended by 
 the first counsel in England."* Mr. Graham accor- 
 dingly attended, and was of the greatest seivice at 
 the trial. 
 
 Nessy Heywoodf having in one of her letters 
 inquired of her brother how tall he was, and having 
 
 * The late Aaron Graham, Esq., the highly respected police magisirate 
 in London. 
 
 t Till the momeni of the tri.il, it will readily be supposed that pvery 
 thought of this amiable young lady was absorbed in her brother's fate 
 In this interval the following lines appear to have been written : — 
 
THE PANDORA. 
 
 175 
 
 received information on this point, expressed some 
 surprise that he was not taller. "And so," he re- 
 
 On receiving information ly a letter from my ever dearly loved brotkej 
 Peter Heywood, that his trial icas soon to takeplace. 
 Oh ! gentle Hope 1 -with eye serene, 
 
 And aspect ever sweetly mild ; 
 Who deck'st with gayest fiow'rs each scene, 
 
 In sportive, rich luxuriance wild. 
 Thou — soother of corroding care, 
 
 Winn sharj) affliction's pangs we feel, 
 Teachest with fortitude to bear, 
 
 And know'st deep sorrow's wounds to heal. 
 Thy timid vot'ry now inspire, 
 
 Thy influence, in pity, lend ; 
 With confidence this bosom fire. 
 
 Till anxious, dread suspense shall end. 
 Let not fear invade my breas'. 
 
 My Lycidas no terror knows ; 
 With conscious innocence he's bless'd, 
 
 And soon will triumph o er his foes. 
 Watch liim, sweet Pow'r, with looks benign. 
 
 Possession of his bosonri keep ; 
 While waking, make each moment shine, 
 
 With fancy gild his hours of sleep. 
 Protect him still, nor let him dread 
 
 The awful, the approaching hour, . 
 When on his poor devoted head 
 
 Fell slander falls with cruel power. 
 Yet, gentle Hope, deceive me nor, 
 
 Nor with deluding smiles betray; 
 Be honour's recompense his lot. 
 
 And glory crown each future day I 
 And oh ' support this fainting heart 
 
 With courage till that hour is past, 
 When, freed from envy's fatal dart. 
 
 His innocence shines forth at last : 
 Then, my loved Lycidas, we'll meet, 
 
 Thy niiseries and trials o'er; 
 With soft delight thy heart shall beat. 
 
 And hail with joy thy native shore ! 
 Then will each hour with rapture fly, 
 
 Then sorrow's plaintive voice will cease 
 No care shall cause the heaving sigh, 
 
 But all our days be crown'd with peace. 
 With love and fond affection bless'd. 
 
 No more shall grief our bliss destroy; 
 No pain disturb each faithful breast, 
 
 But rapture all and endless joy I 
 Me of Man, Aug-ust 22, 1792 Nessy IIkywoco 
 
176 THE PANDORA. 
 
 plies, "you are surprised I am not taller!— Ah, 
 Nessy ! let me ask you this — suppose the last two 
 years of your growth had been retarded by close 
 confinement, — nearly deprived of ail liinds of neces- 
 sary aliment — shut up from the all-cheering light 
 of the sun for the space of five months, and never 
 suffered to breathe the fresh air (an enjoyment which 
 Providence denies to none of his creatures) during 
 all that time — and without any kind of exercise to 
 stretch and supple your limbs — besides many other 
 inconveniences which I will not pain you by men- 
 tioning — how tall should you have been, my dear 
 sister ? — answer, four feet nothing ; but enough of 
 nonsense." 
 
 Nessy Hey wood had expressed a strong desire to 
 see her brother, but was told the rules of the service 
 would not allow it ; also, that it would agitate him, 
 when he ought to be cool and collected, to meet his 
 approaching trial. This was quite enough : — " But 
 as for myself," she says, " no danger, no fatigue, 
 no difficulties would deter me — I have youth, and 
 health, and excellent natural spirits — these and the 
 strength of my affection would support me through 
 H all; if I were not allowed to see you, yet being 
 m the same place which contains you would be 
 joy inexpressible ! 1 will not, however, any longer 
 desire it,-but will learn to imitate your fortitude and 
 patience." 
 
 Mr. Heywood of I\iaristow, and his daughter, 
 Mrs. Bertie, had intimated the same thing. These 
 excellent people, from the moment of young Hey* 
 wood's arrival, had shown him every kindness, sup- 
 phed him with money, and, what v/as better, with 
 friends, who could give him the best advice. To 
 this worthy lady, Miss Nessy Heywood thus ad- 
 dresses herself. 
 
 " Overwhelmed with sensations of gratitude and 
 pleasure, which she is too much agitated to express. 
 
THE PANDORA. 177 
 
 permit me, dearest madam, at my mamma's request, 
 to offer you hers and our most sincere acknow- 
 ledgments for your invaluable letter, which, from 
 the detention of the packet, she did not receive till 
 yesterday. By a letter from my beloved brother of 
 the same date, we are informed that Mr. Larkhajn 
 (who I suppose to be the gentleman you mer.tion 
 having sent to see him) has been on board the Hec- 
 tor, and has kindly offered him the most salutary 
 advice relative to his present situation, for which 
 allow me to request you will present him our best 
 thanks. He also speaks with every expression a 
 grateful heart can dictate of your excellent father's 
 goodness in providing for all his wants, even before 
 he could have received any letters from us to that 
 purpose. 
 
 " Ah ! my dear madam, how truly characteristic 
 is this of the kind fi'iendship with which he has ever 
 honoured our famity ! But my beloved Peter does 
 not know that Mr. Heywood has a daughter whose 
 generosity is equal to his own, and whose amiable 
 com.passion for his sufferings it will be as impossible 
 for us to forget, as it is to express the admiration 
 and gratitude it has inspired. It vvould, I am con- 
 vinced, be unnecessary, as well as a very bad compli- 
 ment to you, madam, were I to presume to point out 
 any thing particular to be done for our poor boy, as 
 I have not the least doubt your goodness and kind 
 intention have long ago rendered every care of that 
 sort on our part unnecessary. T shall only add, that 
 my mamma begs every wish he forms may be granted ; 
 and sure I am., he will not desire a single gratifi- 
 cation that can be deemed in the smallest degree 
 improper. 
 
 " In one of my brother's letters, dated the 23d, he 
 hints that he shall not be permitted to see any of his 
 relatione till his trial is over, and that he therefore 
 does not expect us. I have, however, written to Mr. 
 Heywood (witliout whose approbation I would by 
 
178 THE PANDORA. 
 
 no means take any step) for permission to go to 
 him. If it is absolutely impossible for me to see 
 him (though in the presence of witnesses), yet even 
 that p'-oliibition, cruel as it is, I could bear with pa- 
 tience, provided I might be near him, to see the ship 
 in which he at present exists — to behold those ob- 
 jects vvhich, perhaps, at the same moment attract his 
 notice — to breathe the same air which he breathes. 
 — Ah ! my dearest madam, these are inestimable 
 gratifications, and would convey sensations of rap- 
 ture and delight to the fond bosom of a sister, which 
 it is far, very far beyond my power to describe. 
 Besides, the anxiety and impatience produced by the 
 immense distance which now separates us from him, 
 and the uncertainty attending the packet, render it 
 difficult and sometimes impossible to hear of him so 
 often as we would wish; and, may 1 not add (thongh 
 Heaven in its mercy forbid it — for, alas ! the bare 
 idea is too dreadful, yet it is in the scale of possi- 
 bility), that some accident might happen to deprive 
 us of my dearest brother: how insupportably bitter 
 would then be our reflections, for having omitted the 
 opportunity when it was in our power of administer- 
 ing comfort and consolation to him in person. For 
 these reasons I earnestly hope Mr. Heywood will 
 not judge it improper to comply with my request, 
 and shall wait with eager impatience the arrival of 
 his next letter. Think not, my dear madam, that it 
 is want of confidence in your care and attention 
 which makes me solicitous to be with my beloved 
 brother. Be assured we are all as perfectly easy in 
 that respect as if we were on the spot ; but I am 
 convinced you will pardon the dictates of an affec- 
 tion which an absence of five years, rendered still 
 more painful by his sufferings, has heightened almost 
 to a degree of adoration. I shall with your per- 
 mission take the liberty of enclosing a letter to my 
 brother, which I leave open for perusal, and at the same 
 time request your pardon for mentioning you to liini 
 
THE PANDORA. 179 
 
 iti such terms as I am apprehensive will wound the 
 delicacy which ever accompanies generosity like 
 3^ours; but indeed, my dearest madam, I cannot, 
 must not suffer my beloved boy to remain in igno- 
 rance of that worth and excellence which has 
 prompted you to become his kind protectress. 
 
 ^' I have the honour to be, with every sentiment 
 of gratitude, &c, &c. &c., 
 
 " Nessy Heywood." 
 
 Among the numerous friends that interested them- 
 selves in the fate of this unhappy youth was his 
 uncle Coionei Holwell, The testimony he bears to 
 his excellent character is corroborated by all who 
 knew him while a boy at home. About a fortnight 
 before the trial he writes to him thus : — 
 
 ^ 2lst Augtist, 1792. 
 " My very dear Peter^ 
 " I have this day received yours of the 18th, and 
 am happy to find by its contents, that notwithstand- 
 ing your long and cruel confinement you still pre- 
 serve your health, and write in good spirits. Pre- 
 serve it, my dear boy, awful as the approaching 
 period must be even to the most innocent, but from 
 which all who know you have not a doubt of your 
 rising as immaculate as a new-born infant. I have 
 known you from your cradle, and iiave often marked 
 with pleasure and surprise the many assiduous in- 
 stances (far beyond your years) you have given of 
 filial duty and paternal affection \o the be&i, of pa 
 rents, and to brothers and sisters Mho doted on you. 
 Your education has been the best: and from these 
 considerations alone, without the very clear evidence 
 of your own testimony, I would as soon believe the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury would set fire to the city 
 of London as suppose 50U could, directly or indi- 
 rectty, join in such a d— d absurd piece of business. 
 Truly sorry sm I that my state of health will not 
 
180 THE PANDORA. 
 
 permit me to .^o down to Portsmouth, to give this 
 testimony publicly before that respectable tribunal 
 where your country's laws have justly ordained you 
 must appear ; but consider this as the touchstone^ my 
 dear boy, by which your worth must be known. Six 
 years m the navy myself and twenty-ei^ht years ;i 
 soldier, I flatter myself my judgment will not prove 
 erroneous. That Power, my dear Peter, of v/hose 
 grace and mercy you seem to have sio just a sense, 
 will not no\v forsake you. Your dear aunt is as 
 must be expected in such a trying situation, but 
 more from your present sufferings than any appre- 
 hension of what is to follow," &c. 
 
 With similar testimonies and most favourable* 
 auguries from Commodore Pasley, the Rev. Dr. 
 Scott of the Isle of Man, and others, young Hey- 
 wood went to his long and anxiously expected trial, 
 which took place on the 12th September, and con- 
 tinued to the 18th of that month. Mrs. Heywood 
 had been anxious that Erskine and Mingay should be 
 employed as counsel, but Mr. Graham, whom Com- 
 modore Pasley had so highly recommended, gave his 
 best assistance; as did also Mr. Const, who had 
 been retained, for which the commodore expresses 
 his sorrow, as sea officers, he says, have a great 
 aversion to lawyers. Mr. Peter Heywood assigr.s a 
 better reason ; in a letter to his sister Mary he says, 
 that " Counsel to a naval prisoner is of no effect, and 
 as they are not allowed to speak, their eloquence is 
 not of the least efficacy; I request, therefore, you 
 v/ill desire my dear mother to revoke the letter she 
 has been so good to write to retain Mr. Erskine and 
 Mr. Mingay, and to forbear putting herself to so great 
 and needless an expense from which no good can 
 accrue. No, no ! Mary, it is not the same as a trial 
 on shore ; it would then be highly requisite ; but in 
 this case / alone must fight my own battle ; and I 
 think my telling the truth undisguised, in a plain. 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 181 
 
 short, and concise manner, is as likely to be de- 
 serving the victory as the most elaborate eloquence 
 of a Cicero upon the same subject." 
 
 At this anxious moment many painfully interest- 
 ing letters passed to and from the family in the Isle 
 of Man : the last letter from his beloved Nessy pre- 
 vious to the awful event thus concludes : — " May that 
 Almighty Providence whose tender care has hitherto 
 preserved you be still 5'Our powerful protector ! may 
 he instil in'to the hearts of your judges every senti- 
 ment of justice, generosity, and compassion ! may 
 hope, innocence, and integrity be your firm support ! 
 and liberty, glory, and l^onour your just reward! 
 may all good angels guard you from even the ap- 
 pearance of danger! and may you at length be re- 
 stored to us, the delight, the pride of your adoring 
 friends, and the sole happiness and felicity of that 
 fond heart which animates the bosom of my dear 
 Peter's most fiuthful and truly affectionate sister, 
 
 " N. H." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 " If any person in orbelon<ring to the fleot shall make, or endeavour to 
 make, any mutinous assembly upon any pretence whatsoever, every per- 
 son olf'eiulmg herein, and being convicted thereof by the sentence o( the 
 court-martial, shall suffer Death.'" — Xaval Articles of War, Art. 19. 
 
 The court assembled to try the prisoners on board 
 his majesty's ship Duke, on the 12th September, 
 1792, and continued by adjournment from day to 
 day (Sunday excepted) until the 18th of the same 
 month.* 
 
 * The minutes being very long, a brief abstract only, containing th« 
 principal points of evidence, is here given. 
 
182 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 PRESENT, 
 
 Vice Admiral Lord Hood, President. 
 Capt. Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, Bart 
 " John Colpoys. 
 " Sir Geo-rge Montagu, 
 " Sir Roger ('uriis, 
 " John t'azeley, 
 " Sir Andrew Snape Douglas, 
 " Jolin Ttiomas Duckworth, 
 " John Nicholson Inglefield, 
 " John Knight, 
 " Albemarle Bertie, 
 " Richard Goodwin Keats. 
 
 The charges set forth, that Fletcher Christian, 
 who was mate of the Bounty, assisted by others of 
 the inferior officers and men, armed Avith muskets 
 and bayonets, had violently and forcibly taken that 
 ship from her commander, Lieutenant Bligh ; and 
 that he, tog-ether with the master, boatswain, gun- 
 ner, and carpenter, and other persons (being nine- 
 teen in number), were forced into the launch and 
 cast adrift ;— that Captain Edwards in the Pandora 
 was directed to proceed to Otaheite and other islands 
 in the South Seas, and to use his best endeavours to 
 recover the said vessel, and to bring in confinement 
 to England the said Fletcher Christian and his asso- 
 ciates, or as many of them as he might be able to 
 apprehend, in order that they might be brought to 
 condign punishment, &c. ;— that Peter lieywood, 
 James Morrison, Charles Norman, Joseph Coleman, 
 Thomas Ellison, Thomas M'Intosh, Thomas Burkitt, 
 John Millward, William Muspratt, and Michael Byrne, 
 had been brought to England, &c., and were now put 
 on their trial. 
 
 Mr. Fryer, the master of the Bounty, being first 
 sworn, deposed — 
 
 That he had the first watch ; that between ten and 
 eleven o'clock Mr. Bligh came on deck according to 
 custom, and after a short conversation, and having 
 given his orders for the night, left the deck ; that at 
 twelve he was relieved by the gunner, and reined, 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 183 
 
 leaving all quiet ; that at dawn of day he was greatly 
 alarmed by an unusual noise ; and that, on attempt- 
 ing to jump up, John Sumner and Matthew Quintal 
 laid their hands upon his breast and desired him to 
 lie slill, saying he was their prisoner ; that on ex- 
 postulating with them, he was told, "Hold your 
 tongue, or you are a dead man ; but if you remain 
 quiet there is none on board will hurt a hair of your 
 head :" he further deposes, that on raising himself 
 on the locker, he saw on the ladder, going upon 
 deck, Mr. Bligh in his shirt, with his hands tied be- 
 hind him, and Christian holding him by the cord ; 
 that the master-at-arms, Churchill, then came to his 
 cabin and took a brace of pistols and a hanger, say- 
 ing, " I will take care of these, Mr. Fryer ;" that he 
 asked, on seeing Mr. Bligh bound, what they were 
 going to do with the captain ; that Sumner replied, 
 " D^n his eyes, put him into the boat, and let the 
 
 . see if he can live upon three-fourths of a pound 
 
 of yams a day ;" that he remonstrated with such con- 
 duct, but in vain. They said he must go in the small 
 cutter. " The small cutter !" Mr. Fryer exclaimed ; 
 " why her bottom is almost out, and very much eaten 
 by the worms!" to which Sumner and Quintal both 
 said, " D— n his eyes, the boat is too good for him ;" 
 that after nmch entreaty he prevailed on them to ask 
 Christian if he might be allowed to go on deck, 
 which after some hesitation was granted. When I 
 came on deck, says Mr. Fryer, Mr. Bligh was stand- 
 ing by the mizen-mast with his hands tied behind 
 him, and Christian holding the cord with one hand 
 and a bayonet in the other. I said, " Christian, con- 
 sider what you are about." " Hold your tongue, 
 sir," he said ; " I have been in hell for weeks past ; 
 Captain Bligh has brought all this on himself." I 
 told him that Mr. Bligh and he not agreeing was no 
 reason for taking tlie ship. " Hold your tongue, sir," 
 he said. I said, " Mr. Christian, you and I have 
 been on friendly terms during the voyage, therefore 
 
184 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 give me leave to speak, — let Mr. Bligh go down lo 
 his cabin, and I make no doubt we shall all be fuend.* 
 again :" he then repeated, " Hold your tongue, sir ; it 
 is too late ;" and threatening me if I said any thing 
 more. Mr. Fryer then asked him to give a better 
 boat than the cutter ; he said, " No, that boat is good 
 enough." Bligh now said to the master, that th6 
 man behind the hencoops (Isaac Martin) was his 
 fiidnd, and desired him (the master) to knock Chris 
 tian down, which Christian must have heard, but 
 took no notice ; that Fryer then attempted to get 
 past Christian to speak to Martin, but he put his 
 bayonet to his breast, saying, " Sir, if you advance 
 an inch farther I will run yon through," and ordered 
 two armed men to take him down to his cabin. 
 Shortly afterward he was desired to go on deck, 
 when Christian ordered him into the boat : he said, 
 " I will stay with you, if you will give me leave." 
 " No, sir," he replied, " go directly into the boat." 
 Bligh, then on the gangway, said, " Mr. Fryer, stay 
 in the ship." " No, by G — d, sir," Christian said, 
 " go into the boat, or I will run you through." Mr. 
 Fr5''er states, that during this time very bad language 
 was used by the people towards Mr. Bligh ; that 
 with great difficulty they prevailed on Christian to 
 suffer a few articles to be put into the boat ; that 
 after the persons were ordered into the boat to the 
 number of nineteen, such opprobrious language con- 
 tinued to be used, several of the men calling out, 
 
 " Shoot the ;" that Cole, the boatswain, advised 
 
 they should cast off and take their chance, as the 
 mutineers would certainly do them a mischief if 
 they staid much longer. Mr. Fryer then states the 
 names of those who were under arms ; and that Jo- 
 seph Coleman, Thomas M'lntosh, Charles Norman, 
 and INIichael Byrne (prisoners) wished to come into 
 the boat, declaring they had nothing to do in the 
 business ; that he did not perceive Mr. Peter Hey- 
 wood on deck at the seizure of the ship. 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 186 
 
 On being asked what he supposed Christian meant 
 when he said he had been in hell for a fortnijj^ht 1 
 he said, from the frequent quarrels that tlie}^ had, 
 and the abuse he had received from Mr. Eligh, and 
 that the day before the mutiny Mr. Bligh had chal- 
 lenged all the young gentlemen and people with 
 stealing his eocoanuts. 
 
 Mr. Cole, the boatswain, deposes, — that he had the 
 middle watch ; was awakened out of his sleep in 
 the morning, and heard a man calling out to the 
 carpenter, that the}' had mutinied and taken the sliip ; 
 that Christian had the command, and that the cap- 
 tain was a prisoner on the quarter-deck ; that he 
 went up the hatchwa}-, having seen Mr. Heywood 
 and Mr. Young in the opposite berth ; that coming 
 on deck, he saw the captain with his hands tied be- 
 hind him, and four sentinels standing over him, two 
 of which were Ellison and Buikitt, the prisoners ; 
 that he asked Mr. Christian what he meant to do, 
 and was answered by his ordering him to hoist the 
 boat out, and shook the bayonet, threatening him and 
 damning him if he did not take care ; that when he 
 found the captain was to be sent out of the ship, he 
 again went aft with the carpenter to ask for the 
 long-boat ; that they asked three or four times be- 
 fore he granted it ; that he saw Mr. Peter Hey- 
 wood, one of the prisoners, lending a hand to get the 
 fore-stay fall along, and when ihe boat was hooked 
 on, spoke something to him, but what it nas does 
 not know, as Christian was threatening him at the 
 time ; that Heywood then went below, and does not 
 remember seeing him afcerwajd ; that after the few 
 things were got into the boat, and most of the peo- 
 ple in her, they were trying for the carpenter's tool- 
 chest, when Quintal said, " D — n them, if we let 
 them have these things they will build a vessel in a 
 month ;" but when all were in the boat she was 
 veered astern, when Coleman, Norman and M'Intosh, 
 prisoners, were orving at the gangway, wishing to 
 
188 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 go in the boat ; and Byrne, in the cutter alongside, 
 was also crying; tluit he advised Mr. Bligh to cast 
 off, as he feared they would fire into the boat. 
 
 The Court asked if he had any reason to beHeve 
 that any other of the prisoners than those named 
 were detained contrary to their inclinations 1 An- 
 swer — " I beheve Mr. Heyvvood was ; I thought all 
 along he was intending to come away ; he had no 
 arms, and he assisted to get the boat out, and then 
 went below ; I heard Churchill call out, ' Keep them 
 below.' " The Court — " Do you think he meant 
 Hey wood]" " I have no reason to think any other." 
 
 Mr. Peckover the gunner's evidence is similar to 
 that of Mr. Cole's, and need not be detailed. 
 
 Mr. Purccll, the carpenter, corroborated, gene- 
 rally, the testimony of the three who liad been ex- 
 amined. The Court asked, " Did you see Mr. Hey- 
 wood standing upon the booms'?" "Yes; he was 
 leaning the flat part of his hand on a cutlass, when 
 I exclaimed, ' In the name of God, Peter what do you 
 with that V when he instantly dropped it, and assisted 
 in hoisting the launc-h out, and handing the things 
 into the boat, and then went down below, when I 
 heard Churchill call to Thompson to keep them be- 
 low, but could not tell whom he meant ; I did not 
 see Mr. Heyvvood after that." The Court — " In 
 what light did you look upon Mr. Heywood at the 
 time you say he dropped the cutlass on your speak- 
 ing to him f" Wit7iess — " I looked upon him as a 
 person confused, and that he did not know he had 
 the weapon in his hand, or his hand being on it, for 
 it was not in his hand ; I considered him to be con- 
 fused, by his instantly dropping it, and assisting in 
 hoisting the boat out, which convinced me in my 
 own mind that he had no hand in the conspiracy ; 
 that after this he went below, as I think, on his own 
 account, in order to collect some of his things to put 
 into the boat." The Court—"' Do you, upon the 
 solemn oath you have taken, believe that Mr. Hey- 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 187 
 
 wood, by being armed with a cntlass at the time you 
 hav^" mentioned, by any thing that you could collect 
 fiom his gestures or speeches, had any intention of 
 opposing, or joining others that might oppose, to stop 
 the prog]-ess of the mutiny ]" Witness — ^^" No." 
 The Court — "In the time that Mr. Hey wood was 
 assisting you to get the things into the boat, did he, 
 in any degree whatever, manifest a disposition to 
 assist in the mutiny?" Witness — "No." I'he 
 Court — " Was he, during that time, deliberate or 
 frightened, and in what manner did he behave him- 
 self?" Wit7iess — "I had not an opportunity of ob- 
 serving his every action, being m3'self at that time 
 engaged in getting several things into the boat, so 
 that I cannot tell." The Court — *' Putting every cir- 
 cumstance together, declare to this court, upon the 
 oath you have taken, how you considered his be- 
 haviour, whether as a person joined in the mutiny, 
 or as a person wishing Avell to Captain Bligh?" 
 Witness — " I by no means considered him as a per- 
 son concerned in the mutiny or conspiracy." 
 
 Lieutenant Thomas Hayward, late third lieutenant 
 of the Pandora, and formerly midshipman of the 
 Bounty, deposes, that he had the morning watch ; 
 that at four o'clock Fletcher Christian relieved the 
 watch as usual; that at five he ordered him, as 
 master's mate of his watch, to look out, while he 
 went down to lash his hammock up; that while 
 looking at a shark astern of the ship, to his luiut- 
 terable surprise he saw Fletcher Christian, Charles 
 CJnirchill, Thomas Burkitt (the prisoner), John 
 Sunnier, I\Iatthew Quintal, WiUiam M'Koy, Isaac 
 Martin, Henry Hillbrandt, and Alexander Smith 
 coming aft, armed with muskets and bayonets ; that 
 on going forward, he asked Christian the cause of 
 such an act, who told him to hold his tongue in- 
 stantly ; and leaving Isaac Martin as a sentinel on 
 deck, he proceeded with the rest of his party below, 
 to Lieutenant Bligh's cabin ; that the people on deck 
 
t1S^ THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 were Mr. John Hallet, myself, Robert Lamb, Butcher, 
 Thomas Ellison (prisoner) at the helm, and Johr 
 Mills at the conn ; that he asked Mills if he knew 
 any thing- of the matter, who pleaded total igno- 
 rance, and Thomas Ellison quitted the helm and 
 armed himself with a bayonet ; that the decks now 
 became throng^ed with armed men ; that Peter Hey- 
 wood, James Morrison (two of the prisoners), and 
 George Stewart were unarmed on the booms ; that 
 Fletcher Christian and his gang had not been down 
 long before he heard the cry of murder from Lieu- 
 tenant Bligh, and Churchill calling out for a rope, on 
 which Mills, contrary to all orders and entreaties, 
 cut the deep-sea line, and carried a piece of it to 
 their assistance ; that soon after Lieutenant Bligh 
 was brought upon the quarter-deck with his hands 
 bound behind him, and was surrounded by most of 
 those who came last on deck. 
 
 This witness then states, that on the arrival of the 
 Pandora at Matavai Bay, Joseph Coleman was the 
 first that came on board ; that he was upset in a 
 canoe, and assisted by the natives ; that as soon as 
 the ship was at anchor, George Stewart and Peter 
 Heywood came on board; that they made them- 
 selves known to Captain Edwards, and expressed 
 their happiness that he was arrived ; that he asked 
 them how they came to go away with his majesty's 
 ship the Bounty, when George Stewart said, when 
 called upon hereafter he would answer all particu- 
 lars; that he was prevented by Captain Eiwards 
 from answering further questions, and they were sent 
 out of the cabin to be confined. He then describes 
 the manner in which the rest of the mutineers were 
 taken on tlie island. Having stated that when he 
 went below to get some things he saw Peter Hey- 
 wood in his berth, and told him to go into the boat, 
 he was asked by the Court if Heywood was prevented 
 by any force from going upon deck, he answered, 
 •* No." The Court—'' Did you, from his behaviour, 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL 189 
 
 consider him as a person attached to his duty, or to 
 the party of the mutineers ]" Witness — " I sliouid 
 rather suppose, after my having- told him to go into 
 the boat, and he not joining us, to be on the side of 
 the mutineers ; but that must b^ understood only as, 
 an opinion, as he was not in the least employed 
 during the active part of it." The Court — " Did you 
 observe any marks of joy or sorrow on his counte- 
 nance or behaviour ?" Witness — " Sorrow." 
 
 Lieutenant Hallet, late midshipman of the Bounty, 
 states, — that he had the morning-watch ; that he 
 heard Lieutenant Bligh call out murder, and pres- 
 ently after saw him brought upon deck naked, ex- 
 cepting his shirt, with his hands tied behind him, 
 and Christian holding the end of the cord which tied 
 them in one hand, and either a bayonet or a cutlass 
 in the other ; that the cutter was hoisted out, and 
 Mr. Samuel, Mr. Hayward, and myself ordered to go 
 into her; but the boatswain and carpenter going aft, 
 and telling Christian they wished to go with the 
 captain rather than stay in the ship, and asking to 
 have the launch, it was granted. On being asked if 
 he saw Peter Heywood on that day, he replied, 
 once, on the platform, standing still, and looking at- 
 tentively towards Captain Bhgh ; never saw him 
 under arms, nor spoke to him ; does not know if he 
 offered to go in the boat, nor did he hear any one 
 propose to him to go in the boat ; that when stand- 
 ing on the platform, Captain Bligh said something to 
 him, but what he did not hear, upon which Heywood 
 laughed, turned round, and walked away. 
 
 Captain Edwards, being then called and sworn, was 
 desired by the Court to state the conversation that 
 passed between him and Coleman, Peter Heywood, 
 and George Stewart when they came on board the 
 Pandora. 
 
 Edwards — "Joseph Coleman attempted to come 
 on board before the ship came to an anchor at O^a- 
 heite ; he was soon afterward taken up by canons 
 P 
 
190 THE COURT-MARTIAI.. 
 
 and came on boai d before the ship came to an an» 
 chor ; I began to make inquiries of him after the 
 Bounty and her people*. The next who came on 
 board were Siewart and Peter Hey wood; they came 
 •after the ship was *at anchor, bui before any boat 
 was on shore. I did not see them come alongside. 
 I desired Lieutenant Larkin to bring them down to 
 the cabin. I asked them what news ; Peter Hey- 
 wood, I think, said he supposed I had heard of the 
 affair of the Bounty. I don't recollect all the con- 
 versation that passed between us; he sometimes 
 interrupted me by asking for Mr. Hay ward, the lieu- 
 tenant of the Pandora, whether he was on board or 
 not — he had heard. that he was; at last I acknow- 
 ledgecj that he was, and I desired him to come out 
 of my state-room, where I had' desired him to go into, 
 as he happened to be with me at the time. Lieuten- 
 ant Hayward treated him with a sort of contemptu- 
 ous look, and began to enter into conversation with 
 him respecting the Bounty, but I called the sentinel 
 m to take them into custody, and ordered Lieuten- 
 ant Hayward to desist, and I ordered them to be put 
 into irons : some words passed, and Peter Heywood 
 said he should be able to vindicate his conduct. 
 
 Lieutenant Corner, of the Pandora, merely states 
 his being sent to bring the rest of the mutineers on 
 board, who were at some distance from Matavai 
 Bay. 
 
 The prisoners being called on for their defence, 
 the witnesses were again separately called and ex- 
 amined on the part of the prisoners. 
 
 Mr. Fryer, the master, called in and examined by 
 Mr. He5'"wood. — " If you had been permitted, would 
 you have staid in the ship in preference to going into 
 the boat ]" Witness — " Yes." Prisoner — " Had you 
 staid in the ship in expectation of retaking her, was 
 my conduct such, from the first moment you knew 
 me to this, as would have induced you to intrust me 
 with your design.* and do you believe I woold have 
 
THE COURT-MAR riAL. 191 
 
 favoured it, and given you all the assistance in my 
 power;" Witness — "I believe he would : I should 
 not have hesitated a moment in asking of him when 
 I had had an opportunity of opening ni}^ mind to 
 him." 
 
 The same question being put to Mr. Cole, the 
 boatswain, Mr. Peckover, the gunner, and Mr. Pur- 
 cell, the carpenter, they all answered in the affirma- 
 tive. 
 
 Mr. Heywood asked, " What was my general con- 
 duct, temper, and disposition on board the ship V 
 Witness — "Beloved by everybody, to the best of 
 my recollection." To the same question, Mr. Cole 
 answQrs, " Always a very good character." Mr. 
 Peckover — "The most amiable, and deserving of 
 every one's esteem." Mr. Purcell — " In every respect 
 becoming the character of a gentleman, and such as 
 merited the esteem of everybody." 
 
 Mr. Cole, being examined, gave his testimony, — 
 that he never saw Mr. Heywood armed ; that he did 
 not consider him of the mutineers' party ; that he 
 saw nothing of levity or apparent merriment in his 
 conduct ; tljat when he was below with Stewart, he 
 heard Churchill call out, " Keep them below," and 
 that he believes Heywood was one of the persons 
 meant — has no doubt of it at all ; that Bligh could not 
 have spoken to him when on the booms loud enough 
 to be heard ; that Hayward was alarmed, and Hallet 
 alarmed; that he by no means considers Heywood 
 or Morrison as mutineers. 
 
 Mr. Purcell, being examined, states, — that, re- 
 specting the cutlass on which he saw Mr. Hey- 
 wood's hand resting, he does not consider him as 
 being an armed man ; that he never thought him as of 
 the mutineers' party ; that he never heard Captain 
 Bligh speak to him ; that he thinks, from his situa- 
 tion, he could not have heard him ; that he was by 
 no means guilty of levity or apparent merriment • 
 that he heard the master-at-arms call out to keep 
 
192 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 them belmv; that Mr. Hallet appeared to him to 
 he very much confused ; and that Mr. Hay ward Hke- 
 wise appeared to be very much confused. 
 
 The Court asked,—" As you say you did not look 
 upon the prisoner as a person armed, to what did 
 you allude when you exclaimed, ' Good God, Peter, 
 what do you do with that V " Witness — " I look 
 upon it as an accidental thing." 
 
 Captain Edwards, being- asked by Heywood — " Did 
 I surrender myself to you upon the arrival of the 
 Pandora at Otaheite ?" Witness — " Not to me, to 
 the lieutenant. I apprehend he put himself in my 
 power. I always understood he came voluntarily ; 
 our boats were not in the water." Prisoner — " Did 
 I give you such information respecting myself and 
 the Bounty as afterward proved true ?" Witness — 
 " He gave me some information respecting tlie peo- 
 ple on the island, that corroborated with Coleman's. 
 I do not recollect the particular conversation, but in 
 general it agreed with the account given by Cole- 
 man." Prisoner — "When I told you that I went 
 away the first time from Otaheite with the pirates, 
 did I not at the same time inform you that it was 
 not possible for me to separate myself from Chris- 
 tian, who would not permit any man of the party to 
 leave him at that time, lest, by giving intelligence, 
 they might have been discovered whenever a ship 
 should arrive ]" Witness — " Yes, but I do not recol- 
 lect the latter part of it, respecting giving intelli- 
 gence." 
 
 Mr. Fryer again called in and examined by Mr. 
 Morrison. — Mr. Fryer states he saw him assist in 
 hoisting out the boats ; that he said to him (Fryer), 
 " Go down below." The Court asked, " Whether it 
 might not have been from a laudable motive, as sup- 
 posing your assistance at that time might have pre- 
 vented a more advantageous effort?" Witness— 
 "Probably it might: had I staid in the ship, he 
 would have been one of the first that I should have 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 193 
 
 Opened rrty mind to, from his good behaviour in the 
 former part of the voyage :" states his belief, that 
 he addressed him as advice ; and that, in hoisting 
 out the boat he was assisting Captain Bligh. 
 
 M?: Cole, the boatswain, states, that he ordered 
 Morrison to go and help them with the cutter ; that 
 he told him the boat was overloaded ; that Captain 
 Bligh had begged that no more people should go in 
 her, and said he would take his chance in the 
 ship; that he shook Morrison by the hand, and 
 said he would do him justice in England; that he 
 had no reason to suppose him concerned in the 
 mutiny. 
 
 Lieutenant Thomas Haytvard states, that Morrison 
 appeared joyful, and supposed him to be one of the 
 mutineers ; on being asked by Morrison if he could 
 declare before God and the court that what he stated 
 was not the result of a private pique. Witness — 
 " Not the result of any private pique, but an opinion 
 formed after quitting the ship, from his not coming 
 with us, there being more boats than one ; cannot 
 say they might have had the cutter." This witness 
 was pleased to remember nothing that was in favour 
 of the prisoner. 
 
 Lieutenant Hallet states, he saw Morrison under 
 arms; being asked in what part of the ship, he says, 
 " 1 did not see him under arms till the boat was 
 veered astern, and he was Jhen looking over the taff- 
 rail, and called out, in a jeering manner, 'If my 
 friends inquire after me, tell them I am somewhere 
 in the South Seas.' " 
 
 Captain Edwards bore testimony that Morrison 
 voluntarily surrendered himself. 
 
 Mr. Fryer did not see Morrison armed ; he was in 
 his watch, and he considered him a steady, sober, 
 attentive, good man ; and acknowledged, that if he 
 had remained in the ship, with the view of retaking 
 her, Morrison would have been one of the first h© 
 should have called to his assistance. 
 
194 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 Mr. Cole gave testimony to his being a ff an of 
 good character, attentive to his duty, and he never 
 knew any harm of him. 
 
 Mr. Purcell bore witness to his good character, 
 being always dihgent and attentive ; did not see him 
 under arms on the taffrail ; never heard him use any 
 jeering speeches. 
 
 Respecting the prisoner Muspratty Mr. CoWs evi- 
 dence proves that he had a musket in his hands, but 
 not till the latter part of the business; it is also 
 proved that he assisted in getting things into the 
 launch. Mr.' Peckover saw him standing on the fore- 
 castle doing nothing — he was not armed. 
 
 Lieutenant Hayward saw Muspratt among the 
 armed men : was asked, when Captain Bligh used 
 the words, " Don't let the boat be overloaded, my 
 lads," — " I'll do you justice ;^' do you understand the 
 latter words, " My lads, I'll do you justice," to apply 
 to clothes or to men, whom he apprehended might 
 go into the boat ? Witness — " If Captain Bligh made 
 use of the words ' my lads,' it was to the people 
 already in the boat, and not to those in the shi'p." 
 The Court — ^"To whom do you imagine Captain 
 Bhgh alluded : was it, in your opinion, to the men 
 in the boat with him, or to any persons then remain- 
 ing in the ship V Witness — " To persons remaining 
 in the ship." 
 
 Against the prisoners pilison, Burkitt, and Mill- 
 ward the evidence given by ail the witnesses so 
 clearly and distinctly proved they were under arms 
 the whole time, and actively employed against Bligh, 
 that it is unnecessary to go into any detail as far as 
 Ihey are concerned. 
 
 The Court having called on the prisoners, each 
 separately, for his defence, Mr. Heywood delivered 
 his as follows : — 
 
 " My lords and gentlemen of this honourable 
 court, — Your attention has already been sufficiently 
 exercised in the painful narrative of this trial ; it is 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 195 
 
 Iherefore my duty to trespass further on it as little 
 as possible. 
 
 " The crime of mutiny, for which I am now ar- 
 raigned, is so seriously pregnant with every danger 
 and mischief, that it makes the person so accused, 
 in the eyes, not only of military men of every 
 description, but of every nation, appear at once 
 the object of unpardonable guilt and exemplary ven- 
 geance. 
 
 " In such a character it is my misfortune to 
 appear before this tribunal, and no doubt I must 
 have been gazed at with all that horror and indigna- 
 tion which the conspirators of such a mutiny as 
 that in Captain Bhgh's ship so immediately .pro- 
 voke ; hard, then, indeed is my fate, that circum- 
 stances should so occur to point me out as one of 
 them. 
 
 "Appearances, probably, are against me, but they 
 are appearances only ; for unless 1 may be deemed 
 guilty for feeling a*i-epugnance at embracing death 
 unnecessarily, I declare before this court and the 
 tribunal of Almighty God, 1 am innocent of the 
 charge. 
 
 " I chose rather to defer asking any questions of 
 the witnesses until I heard the whole of the evi- 
 dence ; as the charge itself, although I knew it gene- 
 rally, was not in its full extent, nor in particular 
 points, made known to me before I heard it read by 
 the judge advocate at the beginning of the trial; 
 and I feel myself relieved by having adopted such a 
 mode, as it enables me to SPt right a few particulars 
 of a narrative wliich I had the honour to transmit 
 to the Earl of Chatham, containing an account of 
 all that passed on the fatal morning of the 28th of 
 April, 1789, but which, from the confusion the ship 
 was in during the mutiny, I might have mistaken, or 
 from the errors of an imperfect recollection I might 
 have misstated; the difference, however, will now 
 be onen to correction ; and I have great satisfaction 
 
196 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 in observing, that the mistakes but very sligfhtly re 
 spect my part of the transaction, and I shall conse- 
 quently escape the imputation of endeavouring to 
 save myself by imposing on my judges. 
 
 " When first this sad event took place I vi^as sleep- 
 ing in my hammock ; nor, till the very moment of 
 being awakened from it, had I the least intimation 
 of what was going on. The spectacle was as sudden 
 to my eyes as it was unknown to my heart, and 
 •both were convulsed at the scene. 
 
 " Matthew Thompson was the first that claimed 
 my attention upon waking : he was sitting as a sen- 
 tinel over the arm-chest and my berth, and informed 
 me that the captain was a prisoner, and Christian 
 had taken the command of the ship. I entreated 
 for permission to go upon deck ; and soon after the 
 boatswain and carpenter had seen me in my berth, 
 as they w^ere going up the fore-hatchv/ay, I followed 
 them, as is stated in their evidence. It is not in my 
 power to describe my feelings ftpon seeing the cap 
 tain as I did, who, with his hands tied behind liim, 
 was standing on the quarter-deck, a little abaft the 
 ' mizen-mast, and Christian by his side. My faculties 
 were benumbed, and I did not recover the power of 
 recollection, until called to by somebody to take 
 hold of the tackle-fall, and assist to get out the 
 launch, which I found was to be given to the captain 
 instead of the large cutter, already in the watei 
 alongside the ship. It were in vain to say wha< 
 things I put into the boat, but many were handed ii 
 by me; and in doing this it was that my hanr. 
 touched the cutlass (for I will not attempt to deny 
 what tlie carpenter has deposed), though, on m} 
 conscience, I am persuaded it was of momentar\ 
 duration, and innocent as to intention. The forme, 
 is evident from its being unobserved by every wit 
 ness who saw me upon deck, some of whom mu?' 
 have noticed it had it continued a single minute 
 and the latter is proved by the only person who IojA 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 197 
 
 notice of the circumstance, and has also deposed 
 that at the moment he beheld me I was apparently 
 in a state of absolute stupor. The poison, there- 
 fore, carries with it its antidote ; and it seems need- 
 less to make any further comment on the e^ibject, 
 for no man can he weak enoug-h to suppose, that if 1 
 had been armed for the pur[)ose of assisting in the 
 mutiny, I should have resumed a weapon in the 
 moment of triumph, and when the ship was so com- 
 pletely in the possession of the party, that (as more 
 than one witness has emphatically expressed it) all 
 attempts at recovering her would have been im- 
 practicable. 
 
 " The boat and ship, it is true, presented them- 
 selves to me without its once occurring that I was 
 at liberty to choose, much less that the choice I 
 should make would be afterward deemed criminal; 
 and I bitterly deplore that my extreme youth and 
 inexperience concurred in torturing me with appre- 
 hensions, and prevented me from preferring the 
 former ; for as things have turned out, it would have 
 saved me from the disgrace of appearing before you 
 as I do at this day — it would have spared the sharp 
 conflicts of my own mind ever since, and the ago- 
 nizing tears of a tender mother and my much- 
 beloved sisters. 
 
 " Add to my youth and inexperience, that I was 
 influenced in my conduct by the example of my 
 messmates, Mr. Hallet and Mr. Hayward, the former 
 of whom was very much agitated, and the latter, 
 though he had been many years at sea, yet, when 
 Christiau ordered him into 'the boat, he was evi- 
 dently alarmed at the perilous situation, and so much 
 overcome by the harsh command that he actually 
 shed tears. 
 
 "My own apprehensions were far from being les- 
 sened at such a circumstance as this, and I fearfully 
 oeheld the preparations for the captain's departure 
 ds the prehminaries of inevitable destruction, which. 
 
198 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 althoug-h I did not think could be more certain, yet 
 I feared would be more speedy, by the least addition 
 to their number. 
 
 " To show that I have no disposition to impose 
 upon this court by endeavouring to paint the situa- 
 tion of the boat to be worse than it really was, I 
 need only refer to the captain's own narrative, 
 wherein he says that she would have sunk with 
 them on the evening of the 3d May, had it not been 
 for his timely caution of throwing out some of the 
 stores, and ail the clothes belonging to the people, 
 excepting two suits for each. 
 
 " Now what clothes or stores could they have 
 spared which in weight would have been 'equal to 
 that of two men ] (for if I had been in her, and the 
 poor fellow Norton had not been murdered at 
 Tofoa, she would have been encumbered with our 
 additional weight) — and if it be true that she was 
 saved by those means, which the captain says she 
 was, it must follow that if Norton and myself had 
 been in her (to say nothing of Coleman, M'Intosh, 
 Norman, and Byrne, who, it is confessed, were desi- 
 rous of leaving the ship), she must either have gone 
 down with us, or, to prevent it, we must have light- 
 ened her of the provisions and other necessary arti- 
 cles, and thereby have perished for want — dreadful 
 alternative ! 
 
 "A choice of deaths to those who are certain of 
 dying may be a matter of indifference ; but where, 
 on one hand, death appears inevitable, and the means 
 of salvation present themselves on the other, how- 
 ever imprudent it might be to resort to those means 
 in any other less trying situation, I think (and hope 
 even at my present time of life) that I shall not be 
 suspected of a want of courage for saying, few 
 would hesitate to embrace the latter. 
 
 " Such, then, was exactly my situation on board 
 the Bounty ; to be starved to death, or drowned, ap 
 peared to be inevitable if I went in the boat ; and 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 199 
 
 surely it is not to be wondered at, if at the age of 
 sixteen years, with no one to advise with, and so 
 ignorant of the discipline of tlie service (having 
 never been at sea before) as not to know or even 
 suppose it was possible that what I should determine 
 upon might afterward be alleged against me as a 
 crime — I say, under such circumstances, in so trying 
 a situation, can it be wondered at if I suffered the 
 preservation of my life to be the first, and to super- 
 cede every other consideration. • 
 
 " Besides, through the medium of the master, the 
 captain had directed the rest of the officers to remain 
 on board, in hopes of retaking the ship. Such is 
 the master's assertion, and such the report on board, 
 and as it accorded with my own wishes for the pre- 
 servation of my life, I felt myself doubly justified in 
 staying on board, not only as it appeared to be safer 
 than going in the boat, but from a consideration also 
 of being in the way to be useful in assisting to ac- 
 complish so desirable a wish of the captain. 
 
 " Let it not — for God's sake — let it not be argued 
 that my fears were groundless, and that the arrival 
 of the boat at Timor is a proof that my conduct 
 was wrong. This w^ould be judging from the event, 
 and I think I have plainly shown, that but for the 
 death of Norton at Tofoa, and the prudent order of 
 the captain not to overload the boat, neither himself 
 nor any of the people who were saved with him 
 would at this moment have been alive to have pre- 
 ferred any charge against me, or given evidence at 
 this trial. 
 
 " If deliberate guilt be necessarily afl^ixed to all 
 who continued on board the ship, and that in conse- 
 quence they must be numbered w^ith Christian's 
 party — in such a strict view of matters it must irre- 
 voca!)ly impeach the armourer and tw^o carpenter's 
 mates, as well as Martin and Byrne, who certainly 
 wished to quit the ship. And if Christian's first in- 
 tention of sending away the captain, with a few per- 
 
200 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 orio only, in the small cutter, had not been given 
 up, or if even the large cutter had not been ex- 
 changed for the launch, more than half of those who 
 did go with him would have been obliged to stay 
 with me. Forgetful for a moment of my own mis- 
 fortunes, I caimot help being agitated at the bare 
 thought of their narrow escape. 
 
 " Everybody must, and I am sure that this court 
 will, allow that my case is a peculiarly hard one, 
 inasmuch as the running away with the ship is a 
 proof of the mutiny having b^n committed. The 
 innocent and the guilty are upon exactly the same 
 footing — had the former been confined by sickness, 
 without a leg to stand on, or an arm to assist them in 
 opposing the mutineers, they must have been put 
 upon their trial, and instead of the captain being 
 obliged to prove their guilt, it would have been in- 
 cumbent upon them to have proved themselves inno- 
 cent. How can this be done but negatively ? If all 
 who wished it could not accompany the captain, 
 they were necessarily compelled to stay with Chris- 
 tian ; and being with him, were dependent on him, 
 subject to his orders, however disinclined to obey 
 them, for force in such a state is paramount to every 
 thing. But when, on the contrary, instead of being 
 in arms, or obeying any orders of the mutineers, I 
 did every thing in my power to assist the captain 
 and those who went with him, and by all my actions 
 (except in neglecting to do what, if I had done, 
 must have endangered the lives of those who were 
 so fortunate as to quit the ship) T showed myself 
 faithful to the last moment of the captain's stay, 
 what is there to leave a doubt in the minds of im- 
 partial *and dispassionate men of my being perfectly- 
 innocent ? Happy indeed should I have been if 
 the master had staid on board, which he probably 
 would have done, if his reasons for wishing to do so 
 haa not been overh-^ard by the man who was in the 
 bread-room. 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 201 
 
 " Captain Bligh in his narrative acknowledg-es that 
 he had left some friends on board the Boinity, and 
 no par* of my conduct could have induced him 1o be- 
 lieve that I ought not to be reckoned of the number. 
 Indeed from his attention to and very kind treatment 
 of me personally, 1 should have been a monster of 
 depravity to have betrayed him. The idea alone ^s 
 sufficient to disturb a mind where humanity and 
 gratitude have, I hope, ever been noticed as its.char- 
 acteristic features ; and yet Mr. Hallet has said that 
 he saw me laugh at a time when. Heaven knows, 
 the conflict in my own mind, independent of the* 
 captain's situation, rendered such a want of decency 
 impossible. The charge in its nature is dreadful, 
 but I boldly declare, notwithstanding an internal 
 conviction of my innocence has enabled me to en- 
 dure my sufferings for the last sixteen months, could 
 I have laid to my heart so heavy an accusation, I 
 should not have lived to defend myself from it. And 
 this biings to my recollection another part of 
 Captain Bligh's narrative, in which he says, ' I was 
 kept apart from everv^ one, and all I could do was by 
 speaking to them in general, but my endeavours 
 were of no avail, for I was kept securely bound, and 
 no one but the guard was suffered to come near me.' 
 
 "If the captain, whose narrative we may suppose 
 to have been a detail of every thing which happened 
 could only recollect that he had spoken generally to 
 the people, I trust it will hardly be believed that Mr. 
 Hallet, without notes, at so distant a period as this, 
 should be capLrble of recollecting that he heard him 
 speak to any one in particular ; and here it may not 
 be improper to observe, that at the time to which 1 
 allude, Mr. Hallet (if I am rightly informed) could 
 not have been more than fifteen years of age. I 
 mean not to impeach his courage, but I think if cir- 
 cumstances be considered, and an adequate idea of 
 tlie confused stale of the ship can be formed by this 
 Court, it will not appear probable that this young 
 
203 THE COURT-MAFiTlAl.. ♦ 
 
 g"entleman should have been so perfectly unembar- 
 rassed as to be able to particularize the muscles of 
 a iiian's countenance, even at a considerable distance 
 from him; and what is still more extraordinary is, 
 lliat he heard the captain call to me from abaft the 
 mizen to the platform where I was standing, which 
 required an exertion of voice, and must have been 
 heard and noticed by all who were present, as the 
 captain and Christian were at that awful moment the 
 objects of every one's pecuUar attention; yet he 
 who w^as standing between us, and noticing the 
 transactions of us both, could not hear what was 
 said. 
 
 "To me it has ever occurred that diffidence is 
 very becoming, and of all human attainments a 
 knowledge of ourselves is the most difficult; and if, 
 in the ordinary course of life, it is not an easy matter 
 precisely to account for our own actions, how much 
 nivjre difficult and hazardous must it be, in new and 
 momentous scenes, w-hen the mind is hurried and 
 distressed by conflicting passions, to judge of an- 
 other's conduct; and yet here are two young men, 
 who, after a lapse of near four years (in which 
 period one of them, like m5'^self, has grown from a 
 boy to be a man), without hesitation, in a matter oji 
 which my life is depending, undertake to account for 
 some of my actions, at a time, too, when some of 
 the most experienced officers in the ship are not 
 ashamed to acknowledge they were overcome by the 
 confusion which the mutiny occasioned, and are in- 
 capable of recollecting a number of their own trans- 
 actions on that day. 
 
 " 1 can only oppose to such open boldness the 
 calm suggestions of reason, and would willingly be 
 persuaded that the impression under which this 
 evidence has been given is not in any degree open to 
 suspicion. I would be understood, at the same time, 
 not to mean any thing injurious to the character of 
 Mr. Hallet : and for Mr. Hayward, I ever loved him, 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 203 
 
 and must do him the justice to declare, that what- 
 ever cause I may have to deplore the effect of his 
 evidence, or rather his opinion, for he has deposed 
 no fact against me, yet I am convinced it was given 
 conscientiously, and viath a tenderness and feeling 
 becoming a man of honour. 
 
 " But may they not both be mistaken 1 Let it be 
 remembered that their long intimacy with Captain 
 Bligh, in whose distresses they were partakers, and 
 whose sufl'erings were severely felt by them, natu- 
 rally begot an abhorrence towards those whom thaiy 
 thoughtlhe authors of their misery; — might they not 
 forget that the story had been told to them, and by 
 first of all believing, then constantly thinking of it, 
 be persuaded at last it was a fact within the compass 
 of their own knowledge 1 
 
 " It is the more natural to believe it is so, from 
 Mr. Hallet's forgetting what the captain said upon the 
 occasion ; which, had he been so collected as he pre- 
 tends to have been, he certainly must have heard. 
 Mr. Hay ward, also, it is evident, has made a mistake 
 in point of time as to the seeing me with Morrison 
 and Millward upon the booms; for the boatswain 
 and carpenter in their evidence have said, and the 
 concurringtestimony of every one supports the fact, 
 that the mutiny had taken place, and the captain was 
 on deck, before they came up, and it was not till 
 after that time that the boatswain called Morrison 
 and Millvvard out of their hammocks ; therefore, to 
 have seen me at all upon the booms with those two 
 men, it must have been long after the time that Mr. 
 Hayward has said it was. Again, Mr. Hayward has 
 said that he could not recollect the day nor even the 
 month when the Pandora arrived at Otaheite. Nei- 
 ther did Captain Edwards recollect when, on his 
 return, he wrote to the Admiralty that Michael 
 Byrne had surrendered himself as one of the 
 Bounty's people, but in that letter he reported him 
 a5 having been apprehended, wdiich plainly shows 
 
204 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 that the memory is falhble to a very great degree; 
 and it is a fair conclusion to draw, that if when the 
 minJ is at rest, which must have been the case with 
 Mr. Hayward in the Pandora, and things of a few 
 months' date are difficult to be remembered, it is 
 next to impossible, in the state which everybody 
 was on board the Bounty, to remember their par- 
 ticular actions at the distance of three years and a 
 half after they were observed. 
 
 " As to the advice he says he gave me to go into 
 fee boat, I can only say I have a faint recollection 
 of a short conversation with somebody, — I thought 
 it was Mr. Stewart ; — but be that as it may, I think 
 I mny take upon me to say it was on deck, and not 
 below ; for on hearing it suggested that I should be 
 deemed guilty if I staid in the ship, 1 went down 
 directly, and in passing Mr. Cole, told him, in a low 
 tone of voice, that I would fetch a few necessaries in 
 a bag and follow him into the boat, which at that 
 time I meant to do, but was afterward prevented. 
 
 "Surely I shall not be deemed criminal that I 
 hesitated at getting into a boat whose gunnel, when 
 she left the ship, was not quite eight inches above the 
 surface of the water. And if, in the moment of 
 unexpected trial, fear and confusion assailed my 
 untaught judgment, and that by remaining in the 
 ship I appeared to deny my commander, it was in 
 appearance only — it was the sin of my head — for I 
 solemnly assure you before God, that it was not the 
 vileness of my heart. 
 
 " I was surprised into my error by a mixture of 
 ignorance, apprehension, and the prevalence of ex- 
 ample ; and, alarmed as I was from my sleep, there 
 was little opportunity and less time for better recol- 
 lection. The captain, I am persuaded, did not see 
 me during the mutiny, for I retired, as it were, in 
 sorrowful suspense, alternately agitated between 
 hope and fear, not knowing what to do. The dread 
 of being asked by him, or of being ordered by 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 205 
 
 Christian, to go into the boat, — or, Avhicl appeared 
 to me worse than either, of being desired by the 
 latter to join his party, induced me to Iieep out of 
 the sight of both, until I was a second time confined 
 m my berth by Thompson, when the determination 
 I had made was too late to be useful. 
 
 "One instance of my conduct I had nearly for- 
 gotten, w^hich, W'ith much anxiety and great astonish- 
 ment, 1 have heard observed upon and considered as a 
 fault, though I had imagined it blameless, if not lauda- 
 ble — 1 mean the assistance I gave in hoisting out the 
 launch, w^hich, by a mode of expression of the boat- 
 swain's, who says I did it voluntarily (meaning that 
 I did not refuse my assistance when he asked me to 
 give it), the Court, I am afraid, has considered it as 
 giving assistance to the mutineers, and not done with 
 a view to help the captain; of which, however, I 
 have no doubt of being able to give a satisfactory 
 explanation in evidence. 
 
 " Observations on matters of opinion I will en- 
 deavour to forbear, where they appear to have been 
 formed from the impulse of the moment ; but I shall 
 be pardoned for remembering Mr. Hay ward's (given, 
 I will allow, with great deliberation, and after long 
 weighing the question which called for it), which 
 cannot be reckoned of that description, for although 
 he says he rather considered me as a friend to 
 Christian's party, he states that his last words to me 
 were, " Peter, go into the boat ;" which words could 
 not have been addressed to one who was of the 
 party of the mutineers. And I am sure, if the coun- 
 tenance is at all an index to the hear!, mine must 
 have betrayed the sorrow and distress he has so ac 
 curately described. 
 
 " It were trespassing unnecessarily upon the pa- 
 tience of the Court, to be giving a tedious histoi 
 of what happened in consequence of the mutiny, 
 and how, through one very imprudent step, I was 
 unavoidably led into others. 
 
 Q 
 
206 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 " But, amid all this pilgrimage of distress; I bad a 
 conscience, thank Heaven, wliich lulled away the 
 pain of personal difficulties, .dangers, and distress. 
 It wiis this conscious principle which determined 
 me not to hide myself as if guilty. No — I wel- 
 <:omed the arrival of the Pandora at Otaheite, and 
 embraced the earhest opportunity of freely surren- 
 dering myself to the captain of that ship. 
 
 " By his order I was chained and punished with 
 incredible severity, though the ship was threatened 
 with instant destruction : when fear and trembling 
 came on every man on board, in vain, for a long 
 time, were my earnest repeated cries, that the 
 galling irons might not, in that moment of affrighting 
 consternation, prevent my hands from being lifted 
 up to Heaven for mercy. 
 
 " But though it cannot fail deeply to interest the 
 humanity of this Court, and kindle in the breast of 
 every msmber of it compassion for my sufferings, 
 yet as it is not relative to the point, and as I cannot 
 for a moment beheve that it proceeded from ;my im- 
 proper motive on the part of Captain Edwards, 
 whose character in the navy stands high in estima- 
 tion both as an officer and a man of humanity, but 
 rather that he was actuated in his conduct towards 
 me by the imperious dictates of the laws of the 
 service, I sliall therefore waive it, and say no more 
 upon the subject. 
 
 " Believe me, again I entreat ^ou will believe me, 
 when in the name of the tremendous Judge of heaven 
 and earth (before whose vindictive Majesty I may 
 be destined soon to appear), 1 now assert my inno- 
 cence of plotting, abetting, or assisting, either by 
 word or deed, the mutiny for wdiich I am tried — for, 
 young as 1 am, I am still younger in the school of 
 art and such matured infamy. 
 
 " My parents (but 1 have only one left, a solitary 
 and mournful mother, who is at home weeping and 
 trembling for the event of this day), thanks to their 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 207 
 
 fostering care, taught me betimes to reverence God, 
 to honour the king, and be obedient to his laws ; 
 and at no one time have I resohitely or designedly 
 been an apostate to either. 
 
 " To this honourable Court, then, I now commit 
 myself. 
 
 " My character and my life are at your disposa? ; 
 and as the former is as sacred to jne as the latter 
 is precious, the consolation or settled misery of a 
 dear mother and two sisters, who mingle their tears 
 together, and are all but frantic for my situation- 
 pause for vour verdict. 
 
 " If 1 ani found worthy of life, it shall be improved 
 by past experience, and' especially taught from the 
 serious lesson of what has lately happened ; but if 
 nothing but death itself can atone for my pitiable 
 indiscretion, I bow with submission and all due re- 
 spect to your impartial decision. 
 
 " Not with sullen indifference shall I then medi- 
 tate on my doom as not deserving it — no, such be- 
 haviour w^ould be an insult to God and an affront to 
 man, and the attentive and candid deportment of 
 my judges in this place requires more becommg 
 manners in me. 
 
 " Yet, if I am found guilty this day, they will not 
 construe it, I trust, as the least disrespect offered 
 to their discernment and opinion, if I solemnly de- 
 clare that my heart will rely with confidence in its 
 own innocence, until that awful period when my 
 spirit shall be about to be separated from my body, 
 to take its everlasting flight, and be ushered into the 
 j>resence of that unerring Judge, before whom all 
 hearts are open and from whom no secrets are hid. 
 
 " P. Heywood." 
 
 His witnesses fully established the facts which 
 he assumed -in this defence. He then delivered to 
 the president a paper, of which the following is a 
 copy : — 
 
208 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 "My Lord, — :The Court having heard the witnesses 
 I have been enabled to call, it will be unnecessary 
 to add any thing to their testimony in point of facr, 
 or to observe upon it by way of ilhistration. It is, 
 I trust, sufficient to do away any suspicion which 
 may have fallen upon me, and to ren<ove every ini- 
 plication of guilt which, while unexphiined, might 
 by possibility ^ave attached to me. It is true I 
 have, by the absence of Captain Bligh, Simpson, and 
 Tinkler, been deprived of the opportunity of laying 
 before the Court much that would at least have been 
 grateful to my feelings, though I hope not necessary 
 to my defence ; as the former must have exculpated 
 me from the least disrespect, and the two last would 
 have proved, past all contradiction, that I was un- 
 justly accused. I might regret that in their absence 
 1 have been arraigned, but, thank Heaven, I have 
 been enabled, by the very witnesses who were called 
 to crnninate me, to oppose facts to opinions, and give 
 explanation to circumstances of suspicion. 
 
 " It has been proved that I was asleep at the time 
 of the mutiny, and waked only to confusion and 
 dismay. It has been proved, it is true, that I con- 
 tinued' on board the ship, but it has been also proved 
 I was detained by force ; and to this I must add, I 
 left the society of those with w^hom I was for a 
 time obliged to associate, as soon as possible, and 
 with unbounded satisfaction resigned myself to the 
 captain of the Pandora, to whom I gave myself up, 
 to whom I also delivered my journal* (faithfully 
 brought up to the preceding day), and to whom I also 
 gave every information in my powder. I could do 
 no more ; for at the first time w^e were at Otaheite 
 it was impossible for me, watched and suspected as 
 I was, to separate from the ship. I\Iy information 
 to Captain Edwards was open, sincere, and unquali- 
 fied, and I had many opportunities given me at dif- 
 
 ^ This journal, it is presumed, must have been lost when the Pan- 
 dora was wrecked. 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 209 
 
 ferent times of repeating it. Had :i track been open 
 to my native country, I should have followed it ; liad 
 a vessel arrived earlier, I should earlier with the 
 same eagerness have embraced the opportunity, for 
 I dreaded not an inquiry in winch I foresaw no 
 discredit! But Providence ordained it otherwise. 
 I have been tlie victim of suspicion, and had nearly 
 fallen a sacrifice to misapprehension. I have, how- 
 ever, hitherto surmounted it, and it only remains 
 with this Court to say, if my sufferings have not 
 been equal to my indiscretion. 
 
 "The decision" will be the voice of honour, and 
 to that I must implicitly resign myself. 
 
 "P. Hevwood." 
 
 Mr. MornsoTi's Defence 
 
 Sets out by stating that he was waked at daylight 
 by Mr. Cole the boatswain, who told him that t.h« 
 ship was taken by Christian ; that he assisted in 
 clearing out the boat at Mr. Cole's desire, and says, 
 " While I Avas thus employed Mr. Fryer came to 
 me and asked if I had any hand in the mutiny; I 
 told him no. He then desired me to see who I 
 could find to assist me, and try to rescue the ship ; 
 I told him I feared it was then too late, but would 
 do my endeavour ; w^hen John Millward, who stood 
 by me, and heard what Mr. Fryer said, swore he 
 would stand by me if an opportunity offered. Mr. 
 Fryer was about to speak again, but was prevented 
 by Matthew Quintal, who, with a pistol in one hand, 
 collared hnn with the other, saying, ' Come, Mr. 
 Fryer, you must go down into your cabin ;' and 
 hauled him away. Churchill then came, and shak- 
 ing his cutlass at me, demanded what Mr. Fryei 
 said. I told him that he only asked me if they were 
 going to have the long-boat, upon which Alexandei 
 Smith (Adams), who stood on the opposite side of . 
 the b^at, said, ' T s a d — d lie, Charley, for I saw 
 
210 THK COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 him and Millward shake hands when the mastei 
 spoke to them.' Churchill then said to me, ' I 
 would have you mind how you come on, for I have 
 an eye upon you.' Smith at the same time called 
 out, ' Stand to your arms, for they intend to make 
 a rush.' This, as it was intended, put the mutineers 
 on their guard, and I found it necessary to be very 
 cautious how I acted ; and I heard Captain Bligh 
 say to Smith, ' I did not expect you would be 
 against me, Smith;' I-rut I could not hear what an- 
 swer he made." 
 
 He says, that while clearing the boat, he heard 
 Christian order Churchill to see that no arms were 
 put into her; to keep Norman, M'Intosh, and Cole- 
 man in the ship, and get the officers into the boat 
 as fast as possible ; that Mr. Fryer begged permis- 
 sion to stay, but to no purpose. " On seeing Mr. 
 Fryer and most of the officers going into the boat, 
 without the least appearance of an effort to rescue 
 the ship, I began to reflect on my own situation ; 
 and seeing the situation of the boat, and considering 
 that she was at least a thousand leagues from any- 
 friendly settlement, and judging, from what I had 
 seen of the Friendly Islaliders but a few days before, 
 that nothing could be expected from them but to be 
 plundered or killed, and seeing no choice but of one 
 evil, I chose as I thought the least, to stay in the 
 ship, especially as I considered it as obeying Captain 
 Bligh's orders, and depending on his promise to do 
 justice to those who remained. I informed Mr. Cole 
 of my intention, who made me the like promise, taking 
 me by the hand and saying, ' God bless you, my 
 boy ; I will do you justice if ever I reach England.' 
 
 " I also informed Mr. Hayward of my intention ; 
 and on his dropping a hint to me that he intended 
 to knock Churchill down, I told him I would second 
 him, pointing to some of the Friendly Island clubs 
 which were sticking in the booms, and SiU'ing, 
 'There were tools enough:' but (he adds) I was 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 211 
 
 suddenly damped to find that he went into the boat 
 without making the attempt he liad proposed."* 
 
 He then appeals to the inembers of the Court, 
 as to the alternative they would themselves have 
 taken : — " A boat alongside, already crowded ; those 
 who were in her crying out she would sink ; und 
 Captain Bligh desiring no more might go in — with 
 a slender stock of provisions, — what hope could 
 there be to reach any friendly shore, or withstand 
 the hostile attacks of the boisterous elements ? The 
 perils those underwent who reached the islan*! of 
 Timor, and whom nothing but the apparent inter- 
 ference of Divine Providence could have saved, 
 fully justify my fears, and prove beyond a doubt 
 that they rested on a solid foundation : for by stay- 
 ing in the ship, an opportunity mig|jt offer of es- 
 caping, but by going in the boat nothing but death 
 appea^red, either from the lingering torments of hun- 
 ger and thirst, or from the murderous v/eapcns of 
 cruel savages, or being swallowed up by the deep. 
 
 " I have endeavoured," he says, " to recall to Mr. 
 Hayward's remembrance a proposal he at one time 
 made, by words, of attacking the mutineers, and of 
 my encouraging him to the attempt, promising to 
 back him. He says he has but a faint recollection 
 of the business — so faint, indeed, that he cannot recall 
 to Lis memory the particulars, but owi^.s there wys 
 somethhig passed to that effect. Faint, however, 
 as his remembrance is (which for me is the more 
 unfortunate), ought it not to do away all doubt with 
 respect to the motives by which I was then influ- 
 enced V And, in conclusion, he says, " I beg leave 
 most humbly to remind the members of this hon- 
 ourable Court, that I did freely, and of my own 
 accord, deliver myself up to Lieutenaat Robert 
 Corner, of H. M. S. Pandora, on the first certain 
 notice of her arrival." 
 
212 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 William Musprait''s Defence 
 
 Declares his innocence of any participation in the 
 mutiny ; admits he assisted in hoisting out the boat, 
 and in putting several articles into her; after which 
 he sat down on the booms, when Mill ward came and 
 mentioned to him Mr. Fryer's intention to rescue 
 the ship, when he said he would stand by Mr. Fryei 
 as far as he could ; and with that intention, and for 
 that purpose only, he took up a musket which one 
 of the people fiad laid down, and which he quitted 
 the moment he saw Bligh's people get into the boat. 
 Solemnly denies the charge of MrrPurcell against 
 him, of handing liquor to the ship's company. Mr. 
 Hayward's evidence, he trusts, must stand so im- 
 peached befoij^ the Court as not to receive the leEisi 
 attention, w^hen the lives of so many men are to be 
 affected by it — for, he observes, he swears that 
 Morrison was a mutineer, because he assisted in 
 hoisting out the boats ; and that M'Intosh was not 
 a. mutineer, notwithstanding he w^as precisely em- 
 ployed on the same business— that he criminated 
 Morrison from the appearance of his countenance- 
 that he had only a faint remembrance of that mate- 
 rial and striking circumstance of Morrison offering 
 to join him to retake the ship— that in answer to 
 his (Muspratt's) question respecting Captain Bligh's 
 words, " My lads, I'll do you justice," he considered 
 them applied to the people in the boat, and not to 
 those in the ship — to the same question put by the 
 Court, he said they applied to persons remaining in 
 the ship. And he notices some other instances 
 which he thinks most materially affect Mr. Hay- 
 ward's credit ; and says, that if he had been under 
 arms when Hayward swore he was, he humbly sub- 
 mits Mr. Hallet must have seen him. And he con- 
 cludes wath asserting (what indeed was a very gen- 
 eral opinion), " that the great misfortune attending 
 this unhappy business is, that no one ever attempted 
 
THE COURT-MARTIAL. 213 
 
 to rescue the ship ; that it might have been done, 
 Thompson being the only sentinel over the arm 
 chest." 
 
 Michael Byrne's Defence 
 
 was very short. He says, " It has pleased the Al- 
 mighty, among- the events of his unsearchable provi- 
 dence, nearly to deprive me of sight, which often 
 puts it out of my power to carry the intentions of 
 my mind into execution. 
 
 " I make no doubt but it appears to this honour- 
 able Court, that on the 28th of April, 1789, my in- 
 tention WHS to quit liis majesty's ship Bounty with 
 the ofiicers and men who went away, and that the 
 sorrow I expressed at being detained was real and 
 unfeigned. 
 
 " I do not know whether I may be able to repeat 
 the exact words that were spoken on the occasion, 
 but some said, * We must not part with our fiddler;' 
 and Charles Churchill threatened to send me to the 
 shades if I attempted to quit the cutter, into which 
 1 had gone for the purpose of attending Lieutenant 
 Bligh :" and, without further trespassing on the time 
 of the court, he submits his case to its judgment and 
 mercy. 
 
 It is not necessary to notice any parts of the de- 
 fence made by Coleman, Norman, and M'Intosh, as 
 it is clear from the whole evidence and from Bligh's 
 certificates, that those men were anxious to go in 
 the boat, but were kept in the ship by force. 
 
 It is equally clear that Ellison, ' Millward, and 
 Burkitt were concerned in every stage of the mu- 
 tiny, and had little to offer in their defence in excul- 
 pation of the crime of which they were accused. 
 
 On the sixth day, namely, on the 18th of Septem- 
 ber, 1792, the court met ; the prisoners were brought 
 in, audience admitted, when, the president having 
 asked the prisoners if they or any of them had any 
 R 
 
214 THE king's warrant. 
 
 tiling more to offer in their defence, the conrt Avag 
 cleared, and agreed, — 
 
 " That the charges had been proved against the 
 said Peter Heywood, James Morrison, Thomas Elli- 
 son, Thomas Bnrkitt, John Milhvard, and William 
 Muspratt; and did adjudge them and each of them 
 to suffer death, by being hanged by the neck on 
 board such of his majesty's ship or ships of war, and 
 at such time or times, and at such place or places, 
 as the commissioners for executing the office of 
 Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 &c., or any three of them for the time being should, 
 in writing under their hands, direct ; but the court, 
 in consideration of various circumstances, did hum- 
 bly and most earnestly recommend the said Peter 
 Heywood and James Morrison to his majesty's 
 mercy ; and the court further agreed, that the charges 
 had not been proved against the said Charles Nor- 
 man, Joseph Coleman, Thomas M'Intosh, and Mi- 
 chael Byrne, and did adjudge them and each of them 
 to be acquitted." 
 
 The court was then opened and audience admitted 
 and sentence passed accordingly. 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 THE king's warrant. 
 
 " Well, believe this— 
 No ceremony that to great ones 'longs, 
 Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword, 
 The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, 
 Become them with one half so good a grace 
 As mercy does." 
 
 It was a very common feeling that Heywood ani 
 Morrison, the former in particular, had been hardij 
 dealt with by the court in passing upon them a sen 
 
THE KINGS WARRANT. 215 
 
 tence of death, tempered as it was with the recom- 
 mendation to the king's mercy. It should, however, 
 have been recollected, that the court had no dis- 
 cretional power to pass any other sentence but that, 
 Dr a full acquittal. But earnestly, no doubt, as the 
 .•ourt was disposed towards the latter alternative, it 
 .•(Hild not consistently with the rules and feelings of 
 [he service be adopted. It is not enough in cases of 
 mutiny (and this case was aggravated by the piratical 
 seizure of a king's ship) that the officers and men 
 in his majesty's naval service should take no active 
 part ; to be neutral or passive is considered as tan- 
 tamount to aiding and abetting. Besides, in the 
 present case, the remaining in the ship along with 
 the mutineers, without having recourse to such means 
 as offered of leaving her, presumes a voluntary ad- 
 hesion to the criminal party. The only fault of 
 Heywood, and a pardonable one on account of his 
 youth and inexperience, was his not asking Chris- 
 tian to be allowed to go with his captain, — his not 
 tiying to go in time. M'Intosh, Norman, Byrne, and 
 Coleman were acquitted because they expressed a 
 strong desire to go, but Avere forced to remain. 
 This was not only clearly proved, but they M-ere in 
 possession of written testimonies from Bligh to that 
 effect; and so would Heywood have had, but for 
 some prejudice Bligh had taken against him in the 
 course of the boat-voyage home; for it will be shown 
 that he knew he was confined to his berth below. 
 
 In favour of three of the four men condemned 
 without a recommendation there were unhappily no 
 palliating circumstances. Millward, Burkitt, and 
 EUison were under arms from first to last; and Elli- 
 son not only left the helm to take up arms, but, 
 rushing aft towards Bligh, called out, " D — n him, 
 I'll be sentry over him." The fourth man, Muspratt, 
 was condemned on the evidence of Lieutenant Hay- 
 ward, which, however, appears to have been duly 
 appreciated by the Lords Commissioners of the Ad* 
 
216 THE KING S WARRANT. 
 
 miralty, and in consequence of which the pooriman 
 escaped an ignominious deatn. 
 
 The family of young Hey wood in the Isle of Man 
 had been buoyed up from various quarters with the 
 ahiiost certainty of his full acquittal. From the 12th 
 September, when the court-martial first sat, till the 
 24th of that month, they were prevented by the 
 strong and contrary winds which cut off all com- 
 munication with England from receiving any tidings 
 whatever. But while Mrs. Heywood and her daugh- 
 ters were fondly flattering themselves with every 
 thing being most happily concluded, one evening, as 
 they were indulging these pleasing hopes, a little 
 boy, the son of one of their particular friends, ran 
 into the room, and told them in the most abrupt 
 manner that the trial was over and all the prisoners 
 condemned, but that Peter Heywood was recom- 
 mended to mercy; he added, that a man whose 
 name he mentioned had told him this. The man 
 was sent for, questioned, and repUed he had seen it 
 in a newspaper at Liverpool, from which place he 
 was just arrived in a small fishing-boat, but had for- 
 gotten to bring the paper with him. In this state 
 of doubtful uncertainty this wretched family re- 
 mained another whole week, harassed by the most 
 cruel agony of mind, which no language can express.* 
 
 * It was in this state of mind, while in momentary expectation of 
 receiving an account of the termination of the court-martial, that Hw« 
 wood's charming sister Nessy wrote the following lines : — 
 
 ANXIETY. 
 
 Doubting, dreading, fretful guest, 
 Quit, oh ! quit this mortal breast 
 Why wilt thou my peace invade. 
 And each brighter prospect shade? 
 Pain me not with needless Fear, 
 But let Hope my bosom cheer; 
 While I court her gentle charms, 
 Woo the flatterer to my arms ; 
 While each moment she beguiles 
 W";t^. her sweet eniiv'niiig smiles. 
 While she softly whispers itv» 
 '■* Lycidas again" is fre*-'' 
 
THE king's warrant. 217 
 
 The affectionate Nessy determined at once to pro- 
 ceed to Liverpool, and so on to London. She urges 
 her brother James at Liverpool to hasten to Ports- 
 mouth : " Don't wait for me, I can go alone ; fear, 
 and even despair, will support me through the jour- 
 ney : think only of our poor unfortunate and adored 
 boy ; bestow not one thought on me." And she adds, 
 " yet, if I could listen to reason (which is indeed dif- 
 ficult), it is not likely that any thing serious has 
 taken place, or will do so, as we should then cer- 
 tainly have had an express." She had a tempestuous 
 passage of forty-nine hours, and to save two hours 
 got into an open fishing-boat at the mouth of the 
 Mersey, the sea running high and washing over her 
 every moment; but she observes, " let me but be 
 blessed with the cheering influence oihope, and I have 
 spirit to undertake any thing." From Liverpool she 
 set off the same night in the mail for London ; and 
 arrived at Mr. Graham's on the 5th October, who 
 received her with the greatest kindness, and desired 
 her to make his house her home. 
 
 The suspeiise into which the afflicted family in the 
 Isle of Man had been thrown by the delay of the 
 packet, was painfully relieved on its arrival in the 
 night of the 29th September, by the following letter 
 from Mr. Graham to the Rev. Dr. Scott, which the 
 latter carried to Mrs. Heywood's family the follow- 
 ing morning. 
 
 ** Portsmouth^ Tuesday^ IQth September. 
 « Sir, 
 "Although a stranger, I make no apology in 
 writing to you. 1 have attended and given my 
 
 Wliile I ^aze on Pleasure's gleam, 
 Say not thou " 'Tis all a dream." 
 IleiiL-e — nor darken Joy's soft bloom' 
 With thy pale and sickly gloom : 
 Naught have I to do with thee — 
 Hence — begone — Anxiety. 
 Isle of Man, September lOth. Nkssy Hktwood 
 
218 THE king's warrant. 
 
 assistance at Mr. Hey wood's trial, which was fihished 
 and the sentence passed about half an hour ago. 
 Before I tell you what that sentence is, 1 must in- 
 form you that his life is safe, notwithstanding it is 
 at present at the mercy of the king, to wliich he is 
 iu the strongest terms recommended by the court. 
 That any unnecessary fears may not be productive 
 of misery to the family, I must add, that the king's 
 attorney-general (who with Judge Ashurst attended 
 the trial) desired me to make myself perfectly easy, 
 for that my friend was as safe as if he had not been 
 condemned. I would have avoided making use of 
 this dreadful word, but it must have come to youi 
 knowledge, and perhaps unaccompanied by many 
 others of a pleasing kind. To prevent its being im- 
 properly communicated to Mrs. or the Misses Hey 
 wood, whose distresses first engaged me in the 
 business, and could not fail to calf forth my best ex- 
 ertions upon the occasion, I send you this by ex- 
 press. The mode of communication I must leave 
 to your discretion; and shall only add, that although 
 from a combination of circumstances, ill-nature, and 
 mistaken friendship, the sentence is in itself terrible ; 
 yet it is incumbent on me to assure you, tliat from 
 the same combination of circumstances everybody 
 who attended the trial is perfectly satisfied in his 
 own mind that he was hardly guilty in appearance, in 
 intention he was perfectly innocent. I shall of course 
 write to Commodore Pasley, whose mind from my 
 letter to him of yesterday must be dreadfully agi- 
 tated, and take his advice about what is to be done 
 when Mr. Heywood is released. I shall stay here 
 till then, and my intention is afterward to take him 
 to my house in' town, where, I think, he had better 
 stay till one of the family calls for him : for he will 
 require a great deal of tender management after aU 
 his sufferings ; and it would perhaps be a necessary 
 preparation for seeing his mother, that one or both 
 his sisters should be previously prepared to support 
 her on so trving an occasion " 
 
THE KINGS WARRANT. 219 
 
 On the following day Mr. Graham agam writes to 
 Dr. Scott, and among other things observes, " It will 
 be a great satisfaction to his family to learn, thai 
 the declarations of some of the other prisoners, 
 since the trial, put it past all doubt that the evidence 
 upon which he was convicted must have been (to 
 say nothing worse of it) an unfortunate belief, on 
 the part of the witness, of circumstances which 
 either never had existence, or were applicable to 
 one of the other gentlemen who remained in the 
 ship, and not to Mr. Hey wood."* 
 
 On the SOth September Mr. Heywood addresses 
 the first letter he wrote after his conviction to Dr 
 Scott. 
 
 " Honoured and dear Srr, 
 " On Wednesday the 12th instant the awful trial 
 commenced, and on that day^ivhen in court., I had the 
 pleasure of receiving your most kind and parental 
 letter;! in answer to which 1 now communicate to 
 you the melancholy issue of it, which, as I desired 
 my friend Mr. Graham to inform you of immediately, 
 will be no dreadful news to you. The morning 
 lowers, and all my hope of worldly joy is fled. On 
 Tuesday morning the 18th the dreadful sentence of 
 death was pronounced upon me, to which (being the 
 just decree of that Divine Providence who first gave 
 me breath) I bow my devoted head with that forti- 
 tude, cheerfulness, and resignation which is the 
 duty of every member of the church of our blessed 
 Saviour and Redeemer Christ Jesus. To Him alone 
 I now look up for succour, in full hope that perhaps 
 a few days more will open to the view of my 
 astonished and fearful soul his kingdom of eternal 
 and incomprehensible bliss, prepared only for the 
 righteous of heart. 
 
 * This is supposed to allude to the evidence given by Hallet 
 
 t This refers to a v.ery kind and encouraging letter written to him by 
 
 the Rev. Dr. Scott, of the Isle of Man, who knew him from a boy, and 
 
 tud the highest opinion of 1 is ciiaracier. 
 
220 THE KINGS WARRANT. 
 
 " I have not; been found gnilty of the slightest act 
 connected with that detestable criine of mutinj^^but 
 am doomed to die for not being- active in my endea- 
 vours to suppress it. Could the witnesses who ap- 
 peared on the court-martial be themselves tried, /Ae?; 
 would also suffer for the very same and only crime 
 of which I have been found gnrhy. But I ani to be 
 the victim. Alas! my youthfuf inexperience, and 
 not depravity of will, is the sole cause to which I can 
 attribute my misfortunes. But, so far from repining 
 at my fate, I receive it with a dreadful kind of joy, 
 composure, and serenity of mind ; well assured that it 
 has pleased God to point me out as a subject through 
 which some greatly useful (though at present un- 
 searchable) intention of the divine attributes maybe 
 carried into execution for the future benefit of my 
 country. Then why should I repine at being made 
 a sacrifice for the good, perhaps, of thousands of my 
 fellow-creatures ; forbid it, Heaven ! Why should 
 I be sorry to leave a world in which I have met with 
 nothing but misfortunes and all their concomitant 
 evils ? I shall, on the contrary, endeavour to divest 
 myself of all wishes for the futile and sublunary en- 
 joyments of it, and prepare my soul for its reception 
 into the bosom of its Redeemer. For though the 
 very strong recommendation I have had to his ma- 
 jesty's mercy by all the members of the court may 
 meet with his approbation, yet that is but the bal- 
 ance of a straw, a mere uncertainty, upon Avhich no 
 hope can be built ; the other is a certainty that must 
 one day happen to every mortal, and therefore the 
 salvation of my soul requires my most prompt and 
 powerful exertions during the short time I may have 
 to remain on earth. 
 
 " As this is too tender a subject for me to inform 
 my unhappy and distressed mother and sisters of, I 
 trust, dear sir, you will either show them this letter, 
 or make known to them the truly dreadful intelh- 
 gence in such a manner as (assisted by your whole- 
 
THE KING'S WARRANT. 221 
 
 some and paternal advice) may enable them to bear 
 it with Christian fortitude. The only worldly feel- 
 ings I am now possessed of are for their happiness 
 and welfare ; but even these, in my present situa- 
 tion, I must endeavour, with God's assistance, to 
 eradicate from my heart, how hard soever the task. 
 I must strive against cherishing any temporal affec- 
 tions. But, my dear sir, endeavour to mitigate my 
 distressed mother's sorrow. Give my everlasting 
 duty to her, and unabated love to my disconsolate 
 brothers and sisters, and all my other relations. En- 
 courage them, by my example', to bear up with for- 
 titude and resignation to the Divine will, under their 
 load of misfortunes, almost too great for female na- 
 ture to support, and teach them to be fully persuaded 
 that all hopes of happiness on earth are vain. On 
 my own account I still enjoy the most easy serenity 
 of mind ; and am, dear sir, for ever, your greatly in- 
 debted, and most dutiful, but ill-fated, 
 
 " Peter Heywood." 
 
 His next letter is to his dearly beloved Nessy. 
 
 " Had I not a strong idea that, ere this mournful 
 epistle from your ill-fated brother can reach the 
 trembling hand of my ever dear and much-afflicted 
 Nessy, she must have been informed of the final 
 issue of my trial on Wednesday morning, by my 
 honoured friend Dr. Scott, I would not now add 
 trouble to the afflicted by a confirmation of it. 
 Though I have indeed fallen an early victim to tlie 
 rigid rules of the service, and though the jaws of 
 death are once more opened upon me, yet do I not 
 now nor ever will bow to the tyranny of base-born 
 fear. Conscious of having done my duty to God and 
 man, I feel not one moment's anxiety on my own 
 account, but cherish a full and sanguine hope that 
 perhaps a few days more will free me from the load 
 of misfortune which has ever been m^^portion in 
 
223 THE KING'S WARRANT. 
 
 this transient period of existence ; and that T shall 
 find an everlasting asylum in those blessed regions 
 of eternal bliss where the galling yoke of tyranny 
 and oppression is felt no more. 
 
 "If earthly majesty, to whose mercy I have been 
 recommended by the court, should refuse to put 
 forth its lenient hand and rescue me from what is 
 fancifully called an ignominious death, there is a 
 heavenly King and Redeemer ready to receive the 
 righteous penitent, on whose gracious mercy alone V 
 as we all should, depend, with that pious resignation 
 which is the duty of every Christiai:; well convinced, 
 that without his express permission not even a hair 
 of our head can fall to the ground. 
 
 " Oh ! my sister, my heart yearns when I picture 
 to myself the affliction, indescribable affliction, v/hich 
 this melancholy intelligence must have caused in 
 the mind of my much honoured mother. But let it 
 be your peculiar endeavour to watch over her grief 
 and mitigate her pain. I hope, indeed, this little ad- 
 vice from me will be unnecessary; fori know the 
 holy precepts of that inspired religion which, thank 
 Heaven ! have been implanted in the bosoms of us 
 all, will point out to you, and all my dear relatives, 
 that fortitude and resignation which are required of 
 us in the conflicts of human nature, and prevent you 
 from arraigning the wisdom of that omniscient 
 Providence of which we ought all to have the fullest 
 sense. 
 
 " I have had all my dear Nessy's letters ; the one 
 of the 17th this morning : but alas ! what do they 
 now avail 1 Their contents only serve to prove the 
 instability of all human hopes and expectations; 
 but, my dear sister, I begin to feel the pangs which 
 you must suifer from the perusal of this melancholy 
 paper, and will therefore desist, for 1 know it is more 
 than your nature can support. The contrast between 
 last week's correspondence and this is great indeed ; 
 but why ? ^ had only hope then ; and have we not 
 
THE king's warrant. 223 
 
 the same now 1 certainly. Endeavour then, my love, 
 lo cherish that hope, and with faith rely upon the 
 mercy of that God who does as to him seems best 
 and most conducive to the general good of his mise- 
 rable creatures. 
 
 " Bear it then with Christian patience, and instil 
 ihto the mind of my dear and now sorrowful sis- 
 ters, by your advice, the same disposition; and, for 
 Heaven's sake, let not despair touch the soul of my 
 dear mother — for then all would be over. Let 
 James also employ all his efforts to cheer her spirits 
 under her weight of wo. I will write no more 
 Adieu, my dearest love ! Write but little to me, 
 and pray for your ever affectionate but ill-fated 
 brother. 
 
 " P.S. I am in perfect spirits ; therefore let not 
 your sympathizing feelings for my sufferings hurt 
 your own precious health, which is dearer to me 
 than hfe itself. Adieu !" 
 
 In a letter to his mother he assures her of tlie 
 perfect tranquillity of his mind ; advises her not to 
 entertain too sanguine hopes, but at the same time 
 not to be uneasy ; and he adds, "A minister of the 
 gospel, who now attends me, has advised me not to 
 say too much to any of my dear relations, but now 
 and then 1 cannot avoid it." To his dearest Nessy, 
 who encourages him to take hope, he says, "Alas ! 
 it is but a broken stick which I have leaned on, and 
 it has pierced my soul in such a manner that I will 
 never more trust to it, but wait with a contented 
 mind and patience for the final accomphshment of 
 
 the Divine will Mrs. Hope is a faithless and 
 
 ungrateful acquaintance, wfth whom I have now 
 broken off all connexions, and in her stead have en- 
 deavoured to cultivate a more sure friendship with 
 Resignation, in full trust of tinding her more con- 
 stan' ." He desires her to write through her brother 
 James, who is with him ; and says that the reason 
 
224 THE KING'S WARRANT. 
 
 for his having desired her not to write much was 
 lest she might hurt herself by it ; and he adds, " from 
 an idea that your exalted sentiments upon so tender 
 a subject ought not to be known by an inquiring 
 world;" but, he continues, "do just as you like 
 best: I am conscious that your good sense will 
 prompt you to nothing inconsistent with our present 
 circumstances." To this she replies, in the true 
 spirit of a character like her own, " Yes ! my ever 
 tiearest brother, 1 will write to you ; and I know I 
 need not add, that in that employment (while thus 
 deprived of your loved society) consists my only 
 happiness. But why not express my sentiments to 
 yourself? I have nothing to say which I should 
 blush to have known to all the world ; — nothing to 
 express in my letters to you but love and affection ; 
 and shall I blush for this ? Or can I have a wish 
 to conceal sentiments of such a nature for an object 
 who I am so certain merits all my regard, and in 
 whom the admiration of surrounding friends con- 
 vinces me I am not mistaken. No, surely ; 'tis my 
 pride, my chiefest glory, to love you ; and when you 
 think me worthy of commendation, that praise, and 
 that only, can make me vain. I shall not therefore 
 write to you, my dearest brother, in a private man- 
 lier, for it is unnecessary, and I abhor all deceit ; in 
 which I know you agree with me." 
 
 To her sister Mary, in the Isle of Man, she says, 
 " With respect to that little wretch Hailet, his in- 
 trepidity in court was astonishing; and after every 
 evidence had spoken highly in Peter's favour, and 
 given testimony of his innocence, so strong that not 
 a doubt was entertained of his acquittal, he declared, 
 unasked, that while Bhgh was upon deck, he (Hailet) 
 saw him look at and speak to Peter. What he said 
 to him Hailet could not hear (being at the distance 
 of twenty feet from Bligh, and Peter was twenty 
 feet farther off, consequently a distance of forty feet 
 separated Mr. Bligh and my brother) ; but he added 
 
THE KING'S WARRANT. 225 
 
 that Peter, on hearing what Mr. Bligh said to him, 
 laughcdi and turned contemptuously away. No other 
 witness saw Peter laugh but Hallet; on the con- 
 trary, all agreed he wore a countenance on that day 
 remarkably sorrowful ; yet the effect of this cruel 
 evidence was wonderful upon the minds of the court, 
 and they concluded by pronouncing the dreadful sen- 
 tence, though at the same time accompanied by the 
 strongest recommendation to mercy. Assure your- 
 selves (I have it from Mr. Graham's own mouth), 
 that Peter's honour is, and will be, as secure as his 
 own ; that every professional man, as well as every 
 man of sense, of whatever denomination, does and 
 will esteem him highly; that my dear uncle Pasley 
 (who was in town the night before my arrival) is de- 
 lighted with liis worth ; and that, in short, we shall 
 at length be happy." 
 
 From this time a daily correspondence passed be- 
 tween Peter Heywood and his sister Nessy, the lat- 
 ter indulging hope, even to a certainty, that she will 
 not be deceived, — the other preaching up patience 
 and resignation, with a full reliance on his innocence 
 and integrity. " Cheer up then," says he, " my dear 
 Nessy ; cherish your hope^ and I will exercise my 
 patience.'^'' Indeed so perfectly calm "was this young 
 man under his dreadful calamity, that in a very few 
 days after condemnation his brother says, " While I 
 write this, Peter is sitting by me making an Ota- 
 he itan vocabulary, and so hnppy and intent upon it, 
 that I have scarcely an opportunity of saying a word 
 to him ; he is in excellent spirits, and I am convinced 
 they are better and better every day." 
 
 This vocabidary is a very extraordinary perform- 
 ance ; it consists of one hundred full-written folio 
 pages ; the words alphabetically arranged, and all 
 the syllables accented. It appears from a passage 
 in the " Voyage of the Duff," that a copy of this vo- 
 cabulary was of great use to the missionaries who 
 were first sent to Otaheite in this ship. 
 
226 THE king's warrant. 
 
 During the delay which took place in carrying the 
 sentence into execution, Commodore Pasley, .Mr. 
 Graham, and others were indefatigable in their in- 
 quiries and exertions to ascertain what progress had 
 been made in bringing to a happy issue the recon»- 
 mendation to the fountain of mercy : not less so 
 was Nessy Hey wood ; from Mr. Graham she learned 
 what this excellent man considered to be the princi- 
 pal parts of the evidence that led to the conviction 
 of her unhappy brother, which, having understood 
 to be the following, she transmitted to her brother: — 
 
 First. That he assisted in hoisting out the launch. 
 
 Second. That he was seen by the carpenter 
 resting his hand upon a cutlass. 
 
 Third. That on being called to by Lieutenant 
 Bligh, he laughed. 
 
 Fourth. That he remained m the Bounty, instead 
 of accompanying Bliirh in the launch. 
 
 On these points of the evidence Mr. Hey wood 
 made the following comments, which he sent from 
 Portsmouth to his sister in town. 
 
 ' Peter Hey wood's Remarks upon material points of 
 
 the evidence which was given at his trial, on board 
 
 the Duke, in Portsmouth Harbour. 
 
 " First. Tha'. I assisted in hoisting out the launch. 
 — This boat was asked for by the captain and his 
 officers, and whoever assisted in hoisting her out 
 were their friends; for if the captain had been sent 
 away in the cutter (which was Christian's first in- 
 tention), he could not have taken with him more 
 than nine or ten men, whereas the launch carried 
 nineteen. The boatswain, the master, the gunner, 
 and the carpenter say, in their evidence, that they con- 
 sidered me as helping the captain on this occasion. 
 
 " Second. That I was seen by the carpenter resting 
 my hand on a cutlass. — I was seen in this position by 
 no other person than the carpenter — no other p'^'j^son 
 therefore could be intimidated by my appearance. 
 
THE king's warrant. 227 
 
 Was the carpenter intimidated by it ? — No ; so far 
 from beins^ afraid of me, he did not even look upon 
 me in the light of a person armed, but ponited out to 
 nie the danger there was of my being thought so, 
 and I immediately took away my hand from the 
 cutlass, upon which I had very imiocently put it 
 when I was in a state of stupor. The Court was 
 particularly pointed in its inquiries into this circum- 
 stance ; and the carpenter was pressed to declare, 
 on the oath he had taken, and after maturely con- 
 sidering the matter, whether he did at the time he 
 saw me so situated, or had since been inclined to 
 believe, that, under all the circumstances of the 
 case, I could be considered as an armed man ; to 
 which he unequivocally answered. No : and he gave 
 some good reasons (which will be found in his 
 evidence) for thinking that I had not a wish to be 
 armed during the mutiny. The master, the boat- 
 swain, the gunner, Mr. Hayward, Mr. Hallet, and 
 John Smith (who, with th(; carpenter, were all the 
 witnesses belonging to the Bounty) say, in their 
 evidence, that they did not, any of them, see me 
 armed; and the boatswain and the carpenter further 
 say, in the most pointed terms, that they considered 
 me to be one of the captain's party, and by no means 
 as belonging to the mutineers : and the master, the 
 boatswain, the carpenter, the gunner, all declare, 
 that from what they observed on my conduct during 
 the mutiny, and from a recollection of my behaviour 
 previous thereto, they were convinced I would have 
 afforded them all the assistance in my power, if an 
 opportunity had offered to retake the ship. 
 
 Third. That upon being called to by the captain^ 
 I laughed. — If this was believed by the Court, it 
 must have had, I am afraid, a very great effect upon 
 its judgment ; for, if viewed in too serious a light, 
 it would seem to bring together and combine a 
 number of tiifling circumstances, which by them- 
 selves could only be treated merely as matters of 
 
CSS THE king's warrant. 
 
 suspicion. It was no doubt, therefore, received with 
 caution, and considered with the utmost candour. 
 The countenance, I grant, on some other occasions, 
 may warrant an opinion of good or evil existing in 
 the mind; but on the momentous events of life and 
 death, it is surdy by much too indefinite and hazard- 
 ous even to listen to for a moment. The different 
 ways of expressing our various passions are, with 
 many, as variable as the features they wear. Tears 
 have often been, nay, generally are, the relief of ex- 
 cessive joy ; while misery and dejection have, many 
 a time, disguised themselves in a smile ; and convul- 
 sive laughs have betrayed the anguish of an almost 
 broken heart. To judge, therefore, the principles 
 of the heart by the barometer of the face is as 
 erroneous as it would be absurd and unjust. This 
 matter may likewise be considered in another point 
 of view. Mr. Hallet says 1 laughed in consequence 
 of being called to by 'the captain, who was abaft the 
 mizen-mast, while I was upon the platform near the 
 fore-hatchway, a distance of more than thirt}'' feet : 
 if the captain intended I should hear him, and there 
 can be no doubt that he wished it, if he really 
 called to me, he must have exerted his voice, and 
 very considerably too, upon such an occasion and 
 in such a situation ; and yet Mr. Hallet himself, who, 
 by being on the quarter-deck, could not have been 
 half the distance from the captain that I was, even 
 he, I say, could not hear what was said to me: how 
 then, in the name of God, was it possible that 1 
 should have heard the captain at all, situated, as 1 
 must have been, in the midst of noisy confusion ? 
 And if 1 did not hear him, which I most solemnly 
 aver to be the truth, even granting that I laughed 
 (which, however, in my present awful situation, I 
 declare I believe I did not), it could not have been at 
 what the captain said. Upon this ground, then, J 
 hope I shall stand acquitted of this charge, for if 
 the crime derives its guilt from the knowledge I had 
 
THE king's warrant. 229 
 
 of the captain's speaking to me, it follows, of 
 course, that if 1 did not hear him speak, there could 
 be no crime in my laughing. It may, however, very 
 fairly be asked, why Mr. Hallet did not make known 
 that the captain was calHng to me I His duty to 
 the captain, if not his friendship for me, should have 
 prompted him to it; and the peculiarity of our 
 Situation required this act of kindness at his hands.* 
 I 'hall only observe further upon this head, that the 
 boatswain, the carpenter, and Mr. Hayward, who 
 saw more of me than any other of the witnesses, 
 did say in their evidence that I had rather a sor- 
 rowful countenance on the day of the mutiny. 
 
 " Fourth. That J remained on board the ship instead 
 of going in the boat with the captain. — That I was at 
 first alarmed and afraid of going into the boat I will 
 not pretend to deny ; but that afterward I wished 
 to accompany the captain, and should have done it, 
 if I had not been prevented bfTThompson, who con- 
 fined me below by the order of Churchill, is clearly 
 proved by the evidence of several of the witnesses. 
 The boatswain says, that just before he left the ship 
 I went below, and in passing him said something 
 about a bag — (it was, that I v^'ould put a few things 
 into a bag and follow him) ; the carpenter says he 
 saw me go below at this time ; and both those wit- 
 
 * Captain Bligh states in his journal, that none cf his officers were 
 suffered to come near him vvhiie lield a prisoner by Christian ; and 
 Ilalletwas, no doubt, misialien, but he liad probably said it in the boat, 
 and thought it right to be consistent on the trial. 
 
 It has been said that Hallet, when in the Penelope, in which frigate he 
 died, expressed great regret at the evidence he had given at the court- 
 martial, and Irequently alluded to it, admitting that he might have been 
 mistaken. — There can be very little doubt that he was so. But the 
 editor has ascertained from personal inquiry of one of the most dis- 
 tinguished flag-officers in the service, who was then first lieutenant of 
 the Penelope, that Hallet frequently expressed to him his deep contrition 
 for having given in evidence what on subsequent reflection tie was con- 
 vinced to be incorrect; that he ascribed it to the state of confusion in 
 which his mind was when under exaininalion before the court; and 
 that he had since satisfied himself that, owing to the general alarm and 
 confusion dtiring tha mutiny, he must have confounded Hevwood wijli 
 some other person. 
 
 s 
 
230 THE king's warrant. 
 
 nesses say, that tliey heard the master-at-arms call 
 to Thompson "^o keep them heloio.'' The point, 
 therefore, will be to prove to whom this order, " keep 
 them below,'" would apply. The boatswain and car- 
 penter say, they have no doubt of its meaning me 
 as one ; and that it must have been so, I shall have 
 very little difficulty in showing, by the following 
 statement : — 
 
 " There remained onboard the ship after the boat 
 put off twenty-five men. Messrs. Hayward and 
 Hallet have proved that the following were undo 
 arms :— Christian, Hillbrant, Millward, Burkitt, Mus 
 pratt, Ellison, Sumner, Smith, Young, Skinner 
 Churchill, M'Koy, Quintal, Morrison, Williams. 
 Thompson, Mills,' and Brown,— in all eighteen. The 
 master (and upon this occasion I may be allowed to 
 quote from the captain's printed narrative) mentions 
 Martin as one, which makes the number of armed 
 men nineteen, none dPwhom we may reasonably 
 suppose, were ordered to be kept below. Indeed, Mr. 
 Hayward says that there were at the least eighteen 
 of them upon deck when he went into the boat ; and 
 if Thompson, the sentinel over the arm-chest, be 
 added to them, it exactly agrees with the number 
 above named; there remains then six to whom 
 Churchill's order, " keep them below,'" might apply, 
 namely, Heywood, Stewart, Coleman, Norman, 
 M'Intosh, and Byrne. 
 
 " Could Byrne have been one of them ? No, for 
 he was in the cutter alongside.— Could Coleman 
 have been one of them 1 No, for he was at the 
 gangway when the captain and officers went into the 
 launch, and aft upon the taff*rail when the boat was 
 veered astern. — Could Norman have been one of 
 them 1 No, for he was speaking to the officers. — 
 Could M'Intosh have been one of them 1 No, for 
 he was with Coleman and Norman, desiring the 
 captain and officers to take notice that they v^ere 
 not concerned in the mutiny. It could then hava 
 
THE king's warrant. 231 
 
 jpplied to nobody but to Mr. Stewart and myself; 
 gnd by this order of Churchill, therefore, was I pre* 
 vented from gohig with the captain in the boat. 
 
 " The foreg-oing appear to me the most material 
 points of evidence on the part of the prosecution. 
 My defence being very full, and the body of evidence 
 in my favour too great to admit of observation in 
 this concise manner, I shall refer for an opinion 
 thereon to the minutes of the court-martial. 
 
 (Signed) "P. Heywood." 
 
 There is a note in iMarshall's Naval Biography,* 
 furnished by Captain Heywood, which shows one 
 motive for keeping him and Stewart in the ship. It 
 is as follows: — "Mr. Stewart was no sooner re- 
 leased than he demanded of Christian the reason of 
 his detention ; upon which the latter denied having 
 given any directions to that effect; and his assertion 
 was corroborated by Churchill, who declared that he 
 had kept both him and Mr. Heywood below, 
 knov/ing it was their intention to go away with 
 Bligh ; ' in which case,' added he, ' what would 
 become of us, if any thing should happen to you ; 
 who is there but yourself and them to depend upon, 
 in navigating the ship?'" It may be suspected, 
 however, that neither Christian nor Churchill told 
 the exact truth, and that Mr. Heywood's case is, in 
 point of fact, much stronger than he ever could have 
 imagined ; and that if Bligh had not acted the part 
 of a prejudiced and unfair man towards him, he 
 would have been acquitted by the court on the same 
 ground that Coleman, Norman, M'Intosh, and Byrne 
 were, — namely, that they were detained in the ship 
 against their will, as stated by Bligh in the narrative 
 on which they were tried, and also in his printed 
 report. It has before been observed, that many 
 tilings are s 3t down in Bligh's original manuscript 
 
 * Vol. U. p. 778, 
 
232 THE KING'S WARRANT. 
 
 journal, that have not appeared in any published 
 document ; and on this part of the subject there is, 
 in the former, the following very miportant admis- 
 sion. "As for the officers whose cabins were in 
 the cockpit, there was no rehef for them ; they en- 
 deavoured to come to my assistance, but were not 
 allowed to put their heads above the hatchway.^'' To 
 say, therefore, that in the suppression of this pas- 
 sage Bligh acted with prejudice and unfairness is to 
 make use of mild terms ; it has more the ap- 
 pearance of a deliberate act of malice, by which two 
 inn'>''ent men might have been condemned to suffer 
 an ignominious death, one of whom was actually 
 brought into this predicament ;— the other only es- 
 caped it by a premature death. It may be asked, 
 how did Bligh know that Stewart and Hey wood en- 
 deavoured, but were not allowed, to come to his as- 
 sistance ■? Confined as he was on the quarter-deck, 
 how could he know what was going on below 1 The 
 answer is, he must have known it from Christian 
 himself; Churchill, no doubt, acted entirely by his 
 leader's orders, and the latter could give no orders 
 that were not heard by Bligh, whom he never left 
 but held the cord by which his hands were fettered 
 till he was forced into the boat. Churchill was quite 
 right as to the motive of keeping these young 
 officers ; but Christian had no doubt another and a 
 stronger motive : he knew how necessary it was to 
 interpose a sort of barrier between himself and his 
 mutinous gang ; he was too good an adept not to 
 know that seamen will always pay a more ready and 
 cheerful obedience to officers who 2xe gentlemen, than 
 to those who may have risen to command from among 
 themselves. It is indeed a common observation in 
 the service, that officers who have risen from before 
 the mast are generally the greatest tyrants.* It was 
 
 * Some few captains were in the habit of turning over a delinquen* 
 to be tried by ibeir meaamates, and wbea found gtiilty it invariable 
 
THE king's warrant. 233 
 
 Bligh's misfortune not to have been educated in the 
 cockpit of a man of war, among young gentlemen, 
 which is to the navy what a pubUc' school is to 
 those who are to move in civil society. What 
 painful sufferings to the individual, and how much 
 misery to an affectionate family might have been 
 spared, had Bhgh, instead of suppressing, only suf- 
 fered the passage to stand as originally written in his 
 journal! 
 
 The remarks of young Heywood above recited 
 were received and transmitted by his sister Nessy 
 in a letter to the Earl of Chatham, then first lord 
 of the Admiralty, of which the following is a copy :— 
 
 « Great Russell- Street, Wth Oct, 1792. 
 " My Lord, 
 " To^a nobleman of your lordship's known hu- 
 manity and excellence of heart I dare hope that the 
 unfortunate cannot plead in vain. Deeply impressed 
 as I therefore am with sentiments of the most pro- 
 found respect for a character v/hich I have been ever 
 taught to revere, and alas! nearly interested as I 
 must be in the subject of these hnes, may I request 
 your lordship will generously pardon a sorrowful 
 and mourning sister for presuming to offer the en- 
 closed [remarks] for your candid perusal. It con- 
 tains a few observations made by my most unfor- 
 tunate and tenderly beloved brother, Peter Hey- 
 wood, endeavouring to elucidate some parts of the 
 evidence given at the court-martial lately held at 
 Portsmouth upon himself and other prisoners of his 
 majesty's ship Bounty. When I assure you, my 
 lord, that he is dearer and more precious to me than 
 lany object on earth — nay, infinitely more valuable 
 than life itself— that, deprived of him, the word 
 
 tiapK-ned that the punishment inflicted was doubly spvere to what it 
 would have been in the ordinary way. This practice,— which, as jriving 
 a deliberative voice to tlie ship's company, was highly reprehensible, — 
 U is lo be hopeil, has entirely ceased. 
 
234 THE KING S WARRANT. 
 
 misery -would but ill express my complicated wretch* 
 edness — and that on his fate my own and (shall 1 
 not add 1) that of a tender, fond, and alas ! widowed 
 mother depend, I am persuaded you will not won- 
 der, nor be offended, that 1 am thus bold in conjuring 
 youi lordship will consider with your usual candour 
 and benevolence the " observations" I now offer 
 you, as well as the painful situation of my dear and 
 unhappy brother. 
 
 " I have the honour, &c. 
 
 " Nessy Heywood." 
 
 Whether this letter and its enclosure produced any 
 effect on the mind of Lord Chatham does not appear ; 
 but no immediate steps were taken, nor was any an- 
 swer given ; and this amiable young lady and her 
 friends were suffered to remain in the most painful 
 state of suspense for another fortnight. A da;^ or two 
 before the warrant was despatched, that excellent 
 man Mr. Graham writes thus to Mrs. Heywood : — 
 
 " My dear Madam, 
 
 " If feeling for the distresses and rejoicing in the 
 happiness of others denote a heart which entitles 
 the owner of it to the confidence of the good and 
 virtuous, I would fain be persuaded that mine has 
 been so far interested in your misfortunes, and is 
 now so pleased with the prospect of your being made 
 happy, as cannot fail to procure me the friendship 
 of your family, which, as it is my ambition, it cannot 
 cease to be my desire to cultivate. 
 
 " Unused to the common rewards which are 
 sought after in this world, I will profess to antici- 
 pate more real pleasure and satisfaction from the « 
 simple declaration of you and yours, that "we ac- 
 cept of your services, and we thank you for them," 
 than it is in common minds to conceive ; but, fear- 
 ful lest a too grateful sense should be entertained of 
 the friendly offices I have been engaged in (vvhi'^h. 
 
THE king's warrant. 235 
 
 however, I ought to confess I was prompted to, in 
 the first place, by a remembrance of the many obli- 
 gations I owed to Commodore Pasley), I must beg 
 you will recollect, that by sending to me your charm- 
 ing Nessy (and if strong affection may plead such a 
 privilege, I may be allowed to call her my daughter 
 also) you would have overpaid me if my trouble had 
 boen ten times and my uneasmess ten thousand 
 times greater than they were, upon what I once 
 thought the melancholy, but now deem the fortunate, 
 occasion which has given me the happiness of her 
 acquaintance. Thus far, my dear madam, I have 
 written to please myself. Now, for what must 
 please you ; and in which, too, I have my share of 
 satisfaction. 
 
 "The business, though not publicly known, is 
 most certainly finished ; and what 1 had my doubts 
 about yesterday I am satisfied of to-day. Happy, 
 happy, happy family ! accept of my congratulations ; 
 not for what it is in the power of words to express, 
 but for what I know you will feel, upon being told 
 that your beloved Peter will soon be restored to 
 your "bosom with every virtue that can adorn a man, 
 and ensure to him an affectionate, a tender, and 
 truly welcome reception." 
 
 At the foot of this letter Nessy writes thus : — 
 " Now, my dearest mamma, did you ever in all your 
 life read so charming a letter 1 Be assured it is ex- 
 actly characteristic of the benevolent writer. What 
 would I give to be transported (though only for a 
 moment') "to your elbow, that I might see you- read 
 it ] What will you feel, when you know assuredly 
 that you may with certainty believe its contents ? 
 W'ell may Mr. Graham call us happy ! for ne^'er 
 fehcity could equal ours ! Don't expect connected 
 sentences from me at present, for this joy makes 
 me almost delirious. A.dieu ! love to all — I need 
 
236 THE king's warrant. 
 
 not say be happy and blpssed as I am at this dear 
 hour, my beloved mother, 
 
 " Your most affectionate, 
 
 " N. H." 
 
 On the 24th October the kin<^'8 warrant was de- 
 spatched from the Admiralty, granting a full and free 
 pardon to Hey wood and Morrison, a respite, for 
 Muspratt, which was followed by a pardon ; and for 
 carrying the sentence of Ellison, Burkitt, and Mill- 
 ward into execution, which was done on the 29th, 
 on board his majesty's ship Brunswick, in Ports- 
 mouth harbour. On this melancholy occasion Cap- 
 tain Hamond reports that " the criminals behaved 
 with great penitence and decorum, acknowledged 
 the justice of their sentence for the crime of which 
 they had been found guilty, and exhorted their 
 fellow-sailors to take warning by their untimely 
 fate, and whatever might be their hardships, never 
 to forget their obedience to their officers, as a duty 
 they owed to their king and country." The captain 
 adds, " A party from each ship in the harbour and 
 at Spithe-ced attended the execution, and from the 
 reports I have received, the example seems to have 
 made a great impression upon the minds of all the 
 ships' companies present." 
 
 The same warrant that carried with it affliction to 
 the friends of these unfortunate men was the har 
 binger of joy to the family and friends of young Hey- 
 wood. The happy intelligence was communicated 
 to his affectionate Nessy on the 26th, who instantly 
 despatched the joyful tidings to her anxious mother 
 in the following characteristic note : — 
 
 " Friday, 26th October, four o^clock. . 
 
 " Oh, blessed hour !— little did I think, my beloved 
 
 friends, when I closed my letter this morning, that 
 
 before night I should be out of my senses with joy ! 
 
 — this moment, this ecstatic moment, brought the 
 
THE king's warrant. 237 
 
 enclosed.* I cannot speak my happiness ; let it be 
 sufficient to say, that in a very few hours our angel 
 Peter will be free ! Mr. Graham goes this night to 
 Portsmouth, and to-morrow, or next day at farthest, 
 I shall be — oh, heavens ! what shall I be ? 1 am 
 already transported, even to pain ; then how shall I 
 bear to clasp him to the bosom of your happy, ah ! 
 how very happy, and affectionate, 
 
 " Nessy Heywood." 
 
 " I am too mad to write sense, but 'tis a pleasure 
 
 1 would not forego to be the most reasonable being 
 
 on earth. I asked Mr. Graham, who is at my elbow, 
 
 if he would say any thing to you, ' Lord !' said he, 
 
 * I can't say any thing :' he is almost as mad as 
 myself."! 
 
 * Information that the pardon was gone down to Portsmouth. 
 'She liad received, previous to this, information of what the event 
 would be, and thus gives vent to her feelings. 
 
 * Onreceiving certain Intelligence that my most amiable and beloved 
 
 Brother, Peter Heyivood, would soon be restored to Freedom 
 " Oh, blissful hour !— oh gioment of delight ! 
 Replete with happiness, with rapture bright! 
 An age of pain is sure rejiaid by this, 
 'Tis joy too great— 'lis ecstasy of bliss! 
 Ye sweet sensations crowding on my soul, 
 Which following each other swiftly roll, — 
 Ye dear ideas which unceasing press 
 And pain this bosom by your wild excess, 
 Ah I kindly cease— for pity's sake subside. 
 Nor thus o'erwhelm me with joy's rapid tide : 
 My beating heart, oppress'd with wo and care, 
 Has yet to learn such happiness to bear : 
 From grief, distracting grief, thus high to soar, 
 To know dull pain and misery no more, 
 To hail each op'ning morn with new delight, 
 To rest in peace and joy each happy night, 
 To see my Lycidas from bondage free, 
 Restored to life, to pleasure, and to me, 
 To see him thus — adorn'd with virtue's charms, 
 To give him to a longing mother's arms. 
 To know him by surrounding friends caress'd, 
 Of honour, fame, of life's best gifts possessed. 
 Oh, my full heart ! 'tis joy— 'tis bliss supreme, 
 And though 'tis rea! — yet, how like a dream ! 
 Teach me then, Heav'n, lo bear it as I ought, 
 Inspir ' each rapt'rous, each transporting thought ; 
 
238 THE king's warrant. 
 
 Mr. Graham writes, " I have however my senses 
 sufficiently about me not to suffer this to go witliout 
 begging leave to congratulate you upon, and to 
 assure you that I most sincerely sympathize and 
 participate in, the happiness which 1 am sure the 
 enclosed will convey to the mother and sisters of my 
 charming and beloved Nessy." 
 
 This " charming" girl next writes to Mr. Const, 
 who attended as counsel for her brother, to acquaint 
 him with the joyful intelligence, and thus concludes : 
 " I flatter myself you will partake in the joy which, 
 notwithstanding it is so excessive at this moment 
 as almost to deprive me of my faculties, leaves me 
 however sufficiently collected 'to assure you of the 
 eternal gratitude and esteem with which I am, &c." 
 
 To which Mr. Const, after congratulations and 
 thanks for her polite attention, observes, " Give me 
 leave, my dear Miss Heywood, to assure you that 
 the intelligence has given me a degree of plea- 
 sure which I have not terms to express, and it is 
 even increased by knowing what you must expe- 
 rience on the event. Not is it an immaterial reflec- 
 tion, that although your brother was unfortunately 
 involved in the general calamity which gave birth to 
 the charge, he is uncontaminated by the crime ; for 
 there was not a credible testimony of the slightest 
 fact against him that can make the strictest friend 
 deplore any thing that has passed, except his suffer- 
 ings ; and his uniform conduct under them only 
 proved how little he deserved them." 
 
 Mr. Graham's impatience and generous anxiety to 
 
 Teach me to bend beneath thy bounteous hand, 
 With cratitude my willing: heart exoand : 
 To thy omnipotence I humbly bow, 
 Afflicted once— but ah! how happj now! 
 Restored in peace, submissive to thy will, 
 Oh I bless his da^'s to come — protect him still; 
 Prolong his life, thy goodness to adore, 
 And oh I let sorrow's shafts ne'er wound him more. 
 " London, October \bth, 1792, midnight. "Nkssv HkywooD.* 
 
THE king's warrant. 239 
 
 give the finishing stroke to this joyful event would 
 not permit him to delay one moment in setting out 
 for Portsmouth, and bringing up to his house in 
 town the innocent sufferer, where they arrived on 
 the morning of the 29th October. Miss Heywood 
 can best speak her own feelings. 
 
 " Great RusseU-streeU Monday morning, 
 29ih October, half past ten o'clock — 
 the brightest moment of my existence ! 
 " My dearest mamma, — I have seen him, clasped 
 him to my bosom, and my fehcity is beyond expres- 
 sion ! In person he is almost even now as I could 
 wish ; in mind you know him an angel. I can write 
 no more, but to tell you, that the three happiest beings 
 at this moment on earth are your most dutiful and 
 affectionate children, " Nessy Hevwood. 
 
 " Peter Hevwood. 
 " James Heywood 
 " Love to and from all ten thousand times." 
 
 The worthy Mr. Graham adds, "If, my dearest 
 madam, it were ever given for mortals to be su- 
 premely blest on earth, mine to be sure must be the 
 happy family. Heavens! with what unbounded ex- 
 travagance have we been forming our wishes ! and 
 yet how far beyond our most unbounded wishes we 
 are blest ! Nessy, Maria,* Peter, and James, I see, 
 have all been endeavouring to express their feelings. 
 I will not fail in any such attempt, for I will not at- 
 tempt any thing beyond an assurance that the scene 
 J have been witness of, and in which I am happily so 
 great a sharer, beggars all- description. Permit me, 
 however, to offer my most sincere congratulations 
 upon the joyful occasion.'^ 
 
 This amiable young lady, some of whose letters 
 have been introduced into this narrative, did not long 
 
 * Mr. Graham's daughter. 
 
240 THE KING*S WARliANT. 
 
 survive her brother's liberty. This impassioned aad 
 most affectionate of sisters, with an excess of sensi- 
 bility which acted too powerfully on her bodily 
 frame, sunk, as is often the case with such suscepti- 
 ble minds, on the first attack of consumption. She 
 died within the year of her brother's liberation. On 
 this occasion the following note from her afflicted 
 mother appears among the papers from which the 
 letters and poetry are taken. " My dearest NesSy 
 was seized, while on a visit at Major Yorke's, at 
 Bishop's Grove, near Tunbridge Wells, with a vio- 
 lent cold, and not taking proper care of herself, it 
 soon turned to inflammation on her lungs, which 
 carried her off" at Hastings, to which place she was 
 taken on the 5th September, to try if the change of 
 air, and being near the sea, would recover her ; but 
 alas ! it was too late for her to receive the wished- 
 for benefit, and she died there on the 25th of the 
 same month, 1793, and has left her only su-viving 
 parent a disconsolate mother, to lament, while ever 
 she lives, with the most sincere and deep aftlir.tion, 
 the irreparable loss of her most valuable, aff"ectionate, 
 and darling daughter."* 
 
 * Several elegiac stanzas were written on the death of this accom- 
 
 f'lished young lady. The following are dated from her native place, the 
 sle of Man, where her virtues and accomplishments could best be ap- 
 preciated. 
 
 " How soon, sweet maid ! how like a fleeting dream 
 The winning graces, all thy virtues seem ! 
 How soon arrested in thy early bloom 
 Has fate decreed thee to the joyless tomb ! 
 Nor beauty, geni\is, nor the muse's care. 
 Nor aushf. could move the tyrant Death to spare : 
 Ah ! could their power revoke the stern decree, 
 The fatal shaft had pass'd, unfeitby thee ! 
 But vain thy wit, thy sentiment refin'd. 
 Thy charms external, and accomjjlish'd mind ; 
 Thy artless smiles, that seized (he willing heart. 
 Thy converse, that could pure delight impart ; 
 The melting music ol thy skilful tongue. 
 While judgement iistf-n'd, ravi:-,hM with thy song: 
 Not all th-3 gitls that art and nature gave 
 Could save thee, lovely Nessy I from the grave. 
 Too early lost I from friendship's bosom torn, 
 Oh might i tune thy lyre, and sweetly mourn 
 
THE king's warrant. 24 
 
 But to return to Mr. Heywood. When the king's? 
 full and free pardon had been read to thisyoung^ oili- 
 cer by Captain Montag-u, with a suitable admonition 
 and congratulation, he addressed that ofncer in the 
 following terms, — so suitably characteristic of his 
 nol'le and manly cojiduct throughout the whole ol 
 the distressing business in which he was innocently 
 involved : — 
 
 » *' Sir, — When the sentence of the law was passed 
 upon me, I received it, I trust, as became a man ; 
 and if it had been carried into execution, I should 
 have met my fate, I hope, in a manner becoming a 
 Christian. Your admonition cannot fail to make a 
 Ja'sting impression on my mind. I receive with 
 gratitude my sovereign's mercy, for which my future 
 life shall be faithfully devoted to his service."* 
 
 In strains like thine, when beauteous Margaret's(a) fate 
 Oppress'il thy friendly heart with sorrow's weight; 
 Then should iny iiuinhers flow, and laurels bloom 
 In endless spring around fair Nessy's tomb." 
 {a) /'Eluding to some elegant lines, by the deceased, on the death of a 
 female friend. 
 
 % 
 * The following appears to have been written by Mr. P. Heywood on 
 Ihe day thai the sentence of condemnation was passed on him. 
 
 " Silence then 
 
 The whispers of con^plaint,— low in the dust, 
 
 Dissatisfaction's demon's growl unheard, 
 
 All— all is jjood, ;:U excellent below ; 
 
 Pain is a blessinp — sorrow leads to joy — 
 
 Joy, permanent and solid ! ev'ry ill. 
 
 Grim Death itself, in all its horrors clad, 
 
 Is man's supremesi jirivilege I it frees 
 
 The :iou! from prison, from foul sin, from wo, 
 
 And ;sives it back to glory, rest, and God 1 
 
 Cheerly, my friends.— oh, cheerly ! look not thua 
 
 With Pity's melting soHness I — that alone 
 
 Can shakemy fortitude— all is not lost. 
 
 Lol I have gain'd on this important day 
 
 A victory consummate o'er myself, 
 
 And o'er this life a victory,- on this day, 
 
 My birthday to eternity, I've gain'd 
 
 Dismission from a Avorld. where for a while. 
 
 Like you, like all, a pilgrim, passing poor 
 
 A traveller, a stranger, I have met 
 
242 
 
 And Avell did his future conduct fulfil that promise 
 Notwithitanding the inauspicious manner in which 
 the first five years of his servitude in the navy had 
 been passed, two of which were spent among- muti- 
 neers and savages, and eighteen months as a close 
 prisoner in irons, in which condition he was ship- 
 wrecked and within an ace of perishing, — notwith- 
 standing this unpromising commencement, he re- 
 entered the naval service under the auspices of his 
 uncle. Commodore Pasley, and Lord Hood, who 
 presided at his trial, and who earnestly recommended 
 him to embark again as a midshipman witliout delay, 
 offering to take him into the Victor)^ under his own 
 immediate patronage. In the course of his service, 
 to qualify for the commission of lieutenant, he was 
 under the respective commands of three or four dis- 
 tinguished officers who had sat on his trial, from all 
 of whom he received the most flattering proofs of 
 esteem and approbation. To the application of Sir 
 Thomas Pasley to Lord Spencer, for his promotion, 
 that nobleman, with that due regard he was always 
 
 Still stranger treatment, rude and hafsh I so much 
 The dearer, more desired, the honr'ft I seek, 
 Eternal of my Father, and my God I 
 Then pious Resignation, ineek-ey'J pow'r, 
 Sustain me still I Composure still be mine. 
 Where rests it ? Oh, mysterioiis Providence ! 
 Silence the wild idea. — I have found 
 No mercy yet -no mild humanity, 
 With cruel, unrelenting rigour torn, 
 And lost in prison— lost to all below!" 
 And the following appears to have been written on the day of' Uu) 
 king's pardon being leceived. 
 
 " ©h deem it not 
 
 Presumptuous, that my soul grateful thus rales 
 The present hitrh deliv'rance it hath found ; — 
 Sole effort of thy wisdom, sov'reign Pow'r, 
 Without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls ! 
 Hh I may 1 cease to live, ere cease to bless 
 That interposing hand, which turn'd aside- 
 Nay, to my life and preservation turn'd, — 
 The fatal blow {)reci})itate, ordain'd 
 To level all my little hopes in dust, 
 And give me — to the grave. 
 
THE king's warrant. 243 
 
 Liiown to pay to the honour and interests of the 
 navy, while individual claims w^ere never overlooked, 
 gave the following reply, which must have been 
 highly gratifying to the feelings of Mr. Heywood 
 and his family. 
 
 " Admiralty, Jan. 13th, 1797. 
 « Sir, 
 " I should have returned an earlier answer to youi 
 letter of the Cth instant, if I had not been desirous, 
 before I answered it, to look over, with as much at- 
 tention as was in my power, the proceedings on the 
 court-martial held in the year 1792, by which court 
 Mr. Peter Heywood was condemned for being con- 
 cerned in the mutiny on board the Boun^\ I felt 
 this to be necessary, from having entertained a very 
 strong (Opinion that it might be detrimental to the 
 interests of his majesty's service, if a person under 
 such a predicament should be afterward advanced 
 to the higher and more conspicuous situations of the 
 navy ; but having, v/itli great attention, perused the 
 minutes of that court-martial, as far as they relate 
 to Mr. Peter Heywood, I have now the satisfaction 
 of being able to inform you, that I think his case v;as 
 such a one as, under all its circumstances (though 
 I do not mean to sa}^ that the court were not justi- 
 fied in their sentence), ought not to be considered as 
 a bar to his further progress in his profession ; more 
 especially when the gallantry and proprietj- of his 
 conduct in his subsequent service are taken into con- 
 sideration. T shall therefore have no difficulty in 
 mentioning him to the commander-in-chief on the 
 station to which he belongs, as a person from whose 
 promotion, on a proper opportunity, I shall derive 
 much satisfaction, more particularly from his being 
 so nearly connected with you. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, &c. 
 (Signed) " Spencer.'' 
 
244 PITCAIRNS ISLAND. 
 
 It is not here intended to follow Mr. Heyvvood 
 through his honourable career of service, during the 
 long and arduous contest with France, and in the 
 several commands wfth which he was intrusted. In a 
 note of his own writing it is stated, that on paying otT 
 the Montagu, in July, 1816, he came oa shore, after 
 having been actively employed at sea twenty-seven 
 years, six months, one week, and five days, out of a 
 servitude in the navy of twenty-nine years, seven 
 months, and one day. Having reached nearly the 
 top of the list of captains, he died m the year 
 1831, leaving behind him a high and r.nblemished 
 character in that service of which he vas a most 
 honourable, intelligent, and distinguished member 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS. 
 
 Who by repentance Is not satisfied, 
 Is nor of heaven nor earth ; for these are pleased ; 
 By penitence th' Eternal's wrath 's api)eased, 
 
 TwENTv years had passed away, and the Bounty, 
 and Fletcher Christian, and the piratical crew that 
 he had carried off with him in that ship, had long 
 ceased to occupy a thought in the public mind. 
 Throughout the whole of that eventful period, the 
 attention of all Europe had been absorbed in the con- 
 templation of " enterprises of great pith and mo- 
 ment," — of the revolutions of empires — the bustle 
 and business of warlike preparations — the move- 
 ments of hostile armies — battles by sea and land, 
 and of all " the pomp and circumstance of glorious 
 war." If the subject of the Bounty was accident- 
 a/ly mentioned, it was merely to express an opiniou 
 
PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 245 
 
 that this vessel and those within her had gone down 
 to the bottom, or that some savage islanders ha.d in- 
 flicted on the mutineers that measure of retribution 
 so justly due to their crime. It happened however, 
 some years before the conclusion of this war of un- 
 exampled duration, that an accidental discovery, as 
 interesting as it was wholly unexpected, was brought 
 to light in consequence of an American trading vessel 
 having, by mere chance, approached one of those 
 numerous islands in the Pacific agannst whose steep 
 and iron-bound shore the surf almost everlastingly 
 rolls with such tremendous violence as to bid defi- 
 ance to any attempt of boats to land, except at par- 
 ticular times and in very few places. 
 
 The first intimation of this extraordinary discov- 
 ery was transmitted by Sir Sydney Smith from Rio 
 de .Janeiro, and received at the Admiralty 14th May, 
 1809. It was conveyed to him from Valparaiso by 
 Lieutenant Fitzmaurice, and was as follows: — 
 
 " Captain Folger, of the American ship Topaz, of 
 Boston, relates, that upon landing on Pitcairn's 
 Island, inlat. 25° 2' S., long. 130^ W.,he found there 
 an Englishman, of the name of Alexander Smith, 
 the only person remaining of nine that escaped in 
 his majesty's late ship Bounty, Captain W. Bligh. 
 Smith relates that, after putting Captain Bligh in the 
 boat, Christian, the leader of the mutiny, took com- 
 mand of the ship and went to Otaheite, where great 
 part of the crew left her, except Christian, Smith, 
 and seven others, who each took wives, and six Ota- 
 heitan men-servants, and shortly after arrived at 
 the said island (Pitcairn), where they ran the ship on 
 shore, and broke her up; this event took place in the 
 year 1790. 
 
 "About four years after their arrival (a great 
 jealousy existing), the Otaheitans secretly re- 
 volted, and killed every Englishman except himself, 
 whom they severely wounded in the neck with a 
 pistol ball. The same niifht, the widows of the de- 
 t 
 
246 PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 
 
 ceased Eno:lishraen arose and put to death the whole 
 of the Otaheitans, leavino^ Smith the only man ahve 
 upon the island, with eight or nine women and sev- 
 eral small children. On his recovery, he applied 
 himself to tilling- the ground, so that it now pro- 
 duces plenty of yarns, cocoanuts, bananas, and plan- 
 tains ; hogs and poultry in abundance. There are 
 now some grouTi-up men and w^omen, children of 
 the mutineers, on the island, the whole population 
 amounting to about thirty-five,* who acknowledge 
 Smith as father and commander of them all ; they 
 all speak English, and have been educated by him 
 (as Captain Folger represents) in a religious and 
 moral way. 
 
 " The second mate of the Topaz asserts that 
 Christian, the ringleader, became insane shortly after 
 their arrival on the island, and threw himself off the 
 rocks into the sea ; another died of a fever before 
 the massacre of the remaining six took place. The 
 island is badly supplied with water, sufficient only 
 for the present inhabitants, and no anchorage. 
 
 " Smith gave to Captain Folger a chronometer 
 made by Kendall, which was taken from him by the 
 Governor of .Tuan Fernandez. 
 
 " Extracted from the log-book of the Topaz, 29th 
 Sept. 1808. 
 
 (Signed) " Wm. Fitzmaurice, Lieut. 
 
 « Valparaiso, Oct. lOth, 1808." 
 
 This narrative stated two facts that established 
 its general authenticity — the name of Alexander 
 Smith, who was one of the mutineers, and the name 
 of the m.aker of the chronometer with which the 
 Bounty was actually supplied. Interesting as this 
 discovery was considered to be, it does not appear 
 that any steps were taken in consequence of this 
 authenticated information, the government being at 
 that tmie probably too much engaged in the events 
 of the war ; nor was any thing further heard of this 
 
pitcairn's island. 247 
 
 ftiteresting little society until the latter part of 1814, 
 when a letter was transmitted by Rear Admiral Ho- 
 tham, then cruising- off the coast of America, from 
 Mr. Folger himself, to the same effect as the pre- 
 cedmg extract from his log, but dated March, 1813. 
 
 In Ihe first-mentioned 3^ear (1814) we had two 
 frigates cruising in the Pacific, — the Briton, com- 
 manded by Sir Thomas Staines, and the Tagus, by 
 Captain Pipon. The following letter from the for- 
 mer of these officers was received at the Admiralty 
 early in the year 1815. 
 
 " Briton, Valparaiso, I8th Oct. 1814. 
 
 " I have the honour to inform you, that on my 
 passage from the Marquesas Islands to this port, on 
 the morning of the 17th September, I fell in with 
 an island where none is laid down in the Admiralty 
 or other charts, according to the several chronom- 
 eters of the Briton and Tagus. I therefore hove- 
 to, until daylight, and then closed to ascertain 
 whether it was inhabited, which I soon discovered 
 it to be, and, to my great astonishment, found that 
 every individual on the island (forty in number) 
 spoke very good English. They proved to be the 
 descendants of the deluded crew of the Bounty, 
 who, from Otaheite, proceeded to the above-men- 
 tioned island, where the ship was burned. 
 
 " Christian appeared to have been the leader and 
 sole cause of the mutiny in that ship. A venerable 
 old man, named John Adams, is the only surviving 
 Englishman of those who last quitted Otaheite in 
 her, and whose exemplary conduct and fatherly 
 care of the whole of the little colony could not but 
 command admiration. The pious manner in which 
 all those born on the island have been reared, the 
 correct sense of religion which has been instilled 
 into their young minds by this old man, has given 
 him tlie prr-eminence over the whole of them, to 
 
248 pitcairn's island. 
 
 whom they look up as the father of one and Ih? 
 whole family. 
 
 " A son of Christian was the first born on the 
 island, now about twenty-five years of age, named 
 Thursday October Christian; the elder Christian 
 fell a sacrifice to the jealousy of an Otaheitan man, 
 within three or four years after their arrival on the 
 island. The mutineers were accompanied thither 
 by six Otaheitan men and twelve women ; the for- 
 mer were all swept away by desperate contentions 
 between them and the Englishmen, and five of the 
 latter died at different periods, leaving at present 
 only one man (Adams) and seven women of the 
 original settlers. 
 
 " The island must undoubtedly be that called 
 Pitcairn, although erroneously laid down in the 
 charts. We had the altitude of the meridian sun 
 close to it, which gave us 25° 4' S. latitude, and 
 130^ 25' W. longitude, by the chronometers of the 
 Briton and Tagus. 
 
 " It produces in abundance yams, plantains, hogs, 
 goats, and fowls ; but the coast affords no shelter 
 for a ship or vessel of any description ; neither could 
 a ship water there without great difficulty. 
 
 "I cannot, however, refrain from offering my 
 opinion, that it is well worthy the attention of our 
 laudable rehgious societies, particularly that for 
 propagating the Christian religion, the whole of the 
 inhabitants speaking "the Otaheitan tongue as well 
 as the English. 
 
 " During the whole of the time they have been 
 on the island, only one ship has ever communicated 
 with them, which took place about six years since, 
 and this was the American ship Topaz, of Boston, 
 May hew Folger, master. 
 
 " The island is completely iron-bound with rocky 
 shores, and the landing in boats must be at all times 
 difficult, although the island maybe safely approached 
 within a short distance by a ship. 
 
 (Signed) "T, Staines.'* 
 
PITOAIRN'S ISLAND. 249 
 
 Such was the first official account received of this 
 little colony. As some further particulars of a 
 society so singular, in all respects, were highly de- 
 sirable, Captain Pipon, on being applied to, had the 
 kindness to draw up the following narrative, which 
 has all the freshness and attraction of a first com- 
 munication with a new people. 
 
 Captain Pipon takes a more extended view, in his 
 private letter,* of the condition of this little society. 
 He observes, that when they first saw the island, 
 the latitude made by the Tagus was 24° 40 S. and 
 longitude 130^ 24' W., the ships being then distant 
 from it five or six leagues ; and as in none of the 
 charts in their possession was any land laid down 
 in or near this meridian, they were extremely puz- 
 zled to make out what islaj:d it could possibly be ; 
 for Pitcairn's Island, beinir tlie only one known in 
 the neighbourhood, was rer. resented to be in longi- 
 tude 133° 24' W.f If this'iiiiw discovery, as they 
 supposed it to be, awakened their curiosity, it was 
 still more excited when the}^ ran in for the land the 
 next morning, on perceiving a few huts, neatly built, 
 amid plantations laid out apparently with some- 
 thing like order and regularity ; and these appear- 
 ances confirmed them more than ever tiiat it could 
 
 *" With which the editor, at his request, was favoured at the time. 
 
 t The only authority that then existed for laying down this island 
 was tliHt of C.iptain Carteret, who first saw it in 17G7. " It is so high," 
 he says, '• that we saw it at the distance of more than fifteen leagues, 
 and it having been discovered by a young gentleman, son to M-ajor Pit- 
 cairn of the marines, who was unlortunaiely lost in the Aurora, we 
 called it Pitcairnl's Island." He makes it in lat. 25° 2 S and long. 
 133° 30' W., no less than three degrees out of its true longitude I Three 
 ini/iutes would 7iow be thought a considerable error: such are ihe 
 tfuperior advantages conferred by lunar observations and imjirovementa 
 (ii chronometers. 
 
 Pitcairn's Island has been supposed robe the " Encarnacion''' of Quiros, 
 by whom it is stated to be in "lat. 24° 30', and one thousand ka<:ues 
 ftom the coast of Peru ; but as he describes it as " a low, sandy island, 
 almost level with the sea, having a few trees on it,'' we must look for 
 " Kncariiacioji" somewhere else ; and JJjicies Island, nearly in that lati- 
 tude, very low, and within 6° of longitude from Pitcairn's Island, an- 
 swers precisely to it. 
 
250 pitcairn's island. 
 
 not be Pitcairn's Island, because that was described 
 by navigators to be uninhabited. Presently they 
 observed a few natives coming down a steep descent, 
 with their canoes on their shoulders ; and in a few 
 minutes perceived one of those little vessels darting 
 through a heavy surf, and paddling off towards the 
 ships ; but their astonishment was extreme when, 
 on coming alongside, they were hailed in the Eng- 
 lish language with " Won't you heave u« a rope 
 now ?" 
 
 The first young man that sprung, with extraor- 
 dinary alacrity, up the side, and stood before them 
 on the deck, said, in reply to the question, " Who 
 are you V* — that his name was Thursday October 
 Christian, son of the late Fletcher Christian, by an 
 Otaheitan mother ; that he Avas the first born on the 
 island, and that he was so called because he was 
 brought into the world on a Thursday in October. 
 Singularly strange as all this Avas to Sir Thomas 
 Staines and Captain Pipon, this youth soon satisfied 
 them that he was no other than the person he rep- 
 resented himself to be, and that he was fully ac- 
 quainted v/ith the whole history of the Bounty; 
 and, in short, that the island before them was the 
 retreat of the mutineers of that ship. Young Chris- 
 tian was at this time about twenty-four years of 
 age, a fine tall youth, full six feet high, with dark, 
 almost black, hair, and a countenance open and ex- 
 tremely interesting. As he wore no clothes except 
 a piece of cloth round his loins, and a straw hat, 
 ornamented with black cock's feathers, his fine figure 
 and well-shaped muscular limbs were displayed to 
 great advantage, and attracted general admiration.. 
 His body was much tanned by exposure ta the 
 weather, and his countenance had a brownish cast, 
 unmixed, however, with that tinge of red so common 
 among the nati-ves of the Pacific islands. 
 
 "Added to a great share of good-humour, we 
 were glad to trace." says Captain Pipon, " in his 
 
pitcairn's island. 251 
 
 benevolent countenance, all the features of an lionest 
 English face." He told them he was married to a wo- 
 man much older than himself, one of those that ac- 
 companied his father from Otaheite. The ingenuous 
 manner in which he answered all questions put to 
 him, and his whole deportment, created a lively in- 
 terest among the officers of the ship, who, while they 
 admired, could not but regard him with feelings of 
 tenderness and compassion; his manner, too, of 
 speaking English was exceedingly pleasing, and 
 correct botlf in grammar and pronunciation. His 
 companion was a fine handsome youth of seventeen 
 or eighteen years of age, of the name of George 
 Young, son of Young the midshipman. 
 
 If the astonishment of the two captains was great 
 on making, as they thought, this first and extraor- 
 dinary discovery of a people who had been so long 
 forgotten, and in hearing the offspring of these of- 
 fenders speaking their language correctly, their sur- 
 prise and interest were still more highly excited 
 when, on Sir Thomas Staines taking the t\vo youths 
 below, and setting before tliem something to eat, 
 they both rose up, and one of them, placing his 
 hands together in a posture of devotion, pronounced, 
 distinctly and with emphasis, in a pleasing tone of 
 voice, the words, " For what we a'-.- going to receive 
 the Lord make us truly thankfui " 
 
 The youths were themselves gieatly surprised at 
 the sight of so many novel objects — the size of the 
 ship — of the guns, and every thing around them. 
 Observing a cow, they were at "first somewhat 
 alarmed, and expressed a doubt whether it was a 
 huge goat or a horned hog, these being the only 
 two species of quadrupeds they had ever seen. A 
 little dog amused them much. " Oh ! what a pretty 
 Uttle thing it is !" exclaimed Young. " I know it is 
 a dog, for I have heard of such an animal." 
 
 These young men informed the two captains of 
 many singuhtr events that had taken [)lace among 
 
252 PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 
 
 the first settlers, but referred them for further par- 
 ticulars to an old man on shore, whose name, they 
 said, was John Adams, the only surviving English- 
 man that came away in the Bounty, at which time 
 he was called Alexander Smith. 
 
 This information induced the two captains to go 
 on shore, desirous of learning correctly from this 
 old man the fate, not only of Christian, but of the 
 rest of his deluded accomplices, who had adhered 
 to his fortunes. The landing they found to be diffi- 
 cult, and not wholly free from danger* but, with the 
 assistance of their two able conductors, they passed 
 the surf among many rocks, and reached the shore 
 without any other inconvenience than a complete 
 wetting. Old Adams, having ascertained that the 
 two officers alone had landed, and without arms, 
 concluded they had no intention to take him prisoner, 
 and ventured to come down to the beach, from 
 whence he conducted them to his house. He was 
 accompanied by his wife, a very old woman, and 
 nearly blind. It seems they were both at first con- 
 siderably alarmed ; the sight of the king's uniform, 
 after so many years, having no doubt brought fresh 
 to the recollection of Adams the scene that occurred 
 in the Bounty, in which he bore so conspicuous a 
 part. Sir Thomas Staines, however, to set his 
 mind at ease, assured him, that so far from having 
 come to the island with any intention to take him 
 away, th'^y were not even aware that such a person 
 as himself existed. Captain Pipon observes, " that 
 although in the eye of the law they could only con 
 sider him in the light of a criminal of the deepest 
 die, yet that it would have been an act of the 
 greatest cruelty and inhumanity to have taken him 
 away from his little family, who in such a case 
 would have been left to experience the greatest 
 misery and distress, and ultimately, in all probability, 
 would have perished of want. 
 
 Adams, however, pretended that he had no great 
 
PrrCAlRN's ISLAND. 253 
 
 share in the mutiny : said that he was sick in hed 
 when it broke out, and was afterwards compelled to 
 take a musket in his hand ; and expressed his readi- 
 ness to go in one of the ships to England, and seemed 
 rather desirous to do so. On this being made known 
 to the members of the little society, a scene of con- 
 siderable distress was witnessed ; his daughter, a fine 
 young woman, threw her arms about his neck, en- 
 treating him not to think of leaving them and all his 
 little children to perish. All the women burst into 
 tears, and the young men stood motionless and ab- 
 sorbed in grief; but on their being assured that he 
 should, on no account, be molested, "It is impos- 
 sible," says Captain Pipon, "to describe the uni- 
 versal joy that these poor people manifested, and 
 the gratitude they expressed for the kindness and 
 consideration shown him." 
 
 They now learned from Adams, that Fletcher 
 Christian, on finding no good anchorage close to the 
 island, and the Bounty being too v/eakly manned 
 again to intrust themselves in her at sea, determined 
 to run her into a small creek against the cliff, in 
 order the more conveniently to get out of her such 
 articles as might be of use or necessary for forming 
 an establishment on the island, and to land the hogs, 
 goats, and poultry which the}^ had brought from 
 Otaheite : and having accomplished this point, he 
 ordered her to be set on fire, with the view, probably, 
 of preventing any escape from the island, and also 
 to removi3 an object, that, if seen, might excite the 
 curiosity of some passing vessel, and thus be the 
 means of discov^ering his retreat. His plan suc- 
 ceeded, and, by Adams's account, everything went 
 on smoothly for a short time ; but it was clear 
 enough that this misguided and ill-fated 3"0ung man 
 was never happy after the rash and criminal step 
 he had taken ; that he was always sullen and morose, 
 and committed so many acts of wanton oppression 
 as very soon incurred the hatred and detestation of 
 
 u 
 
i54 PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 
 
 his companions in crime, over whom he practised 
 that same overbearing conduct of which he accused 
 his commander Bligh. The object he had in view- 
 when he last left Otaheite had now been accom- 
 plished; he had discovered an uninhabited island 
 out of the common track of ships, and estabushed 
 himself and his associates ; so far there was a chance 
 that he had escaped all pursuit ; but there was no 
 escaping from 
 
 "Those nxls of scorpions and those whips of steel 
 Which conscience shakes." 
 
 The fate of this misguided young man, brought on 
 by his ill treatment both of his associates and the 
 Indians he had carried off with him, was such as 
 might be expected — he was shot by an Otaheitan 
 while digging in his field, about eleven months after 
 they had settled on tlie island, and his death was 
 only the commencement of feuds and assassina- 
 tions, which ended in the total destruction of the 
 whole party except Adams and Young. By the 
 account of the former, the settlers from this time 
 became divided into two parties, and their grievances 
 and quarrels proceeded to such a height, that each 
 took every opportunity of putting the other to death. 
 Old John Adams was himself shot through the neck, 
 but the ball having entered the fleshy part only, he 
 was enabled to make his escape and avoid the fury 
 of his assailants. The immediate cause of Chris- 
 tian's murder was his having forcibly seized on the 
 wife of one of the Otaheite men, which so exaspe- 
 rated the rest that they not only sought the life of 
 the offender, but of others also who might, as they 
 thought, be disposed to pursue the same course. 
 
 This interesting little colony was now found to 
 contain about forty-six persons, mostly grown-up 
 young people, with a few infants. The young men, 
 all born on the island, were finely formed, athletic, 
 and handsome — their countenances open and pleas- 
 
pitcairn's island. 255 
 
 ing, indicating- much benevolence and goodness of 
 heart; but the young women particularly were 
 objects of attraction, being tall, robust, and beauti- 
 fully formed, their faces beaming with smiles and 
 indicating unruffled good-humour ; while their man- 
 ners and demeanour exhibited a degree of modestj 
 and bashfulness that would have done honour to the 
 most virtuous and enlightened people on earth. 
 Their teeth are described as beautifully white, like 
 the finest ivory, and perfectly regular, without a 
 single exception; and all of them, both male and 
 female, had the marked expression of English fea- 
 tures, though not exactly the clear red and white 
 that distinguish English skins, theirs being the colour 
 of what we call brmiette. Captain Pipon thinks 
 that from such a race of people, consisting of fine 
 young men and handsome well-formed women, there 
 may be expected to arise hereafter, in this little 
 colony, a race of people possessing in a high 
 degree the physical qualifications of great strength, 
 united with symmetry of form and regularity of 
 feature. 
 
 But their personal qualifications, attractive as 
 they v/ere, excited less admiration than the account 
 which Adams gave of their virtuous conduct. He 
 assured his visiters that not one instance of debauch- 
 ery or immoral conduct had occurred among these 
 young people since their settlement on the island; 
 nor did he ever hear or believe that any one instance 
 had occurred of a young woman having suffered inde- 
 cent liberties to be taken with her. Their native mod- 
 esty, assisted by the precepts of religion and morality 
 instilled into their young minds by John Adams, had 
 hitherto preserved these interesting people from 
 every kind of debauchery. The young women told 
 Captain Pipon, with great simplicity, that they were 
 not married, and that their father, as they called 
 Adams, had told them it was right they should 
 wait with patience till they had acquired sufficient 
 
256 pitcairn's island. 
 
 property to bring up a young family before they 
 thought of marrying ; and that they always followed 
 his advice, because they knew it to be good. 
 
 It appeared that from the time when Adams was 
 left alone on the island, the sole survivor of all tlie 
 males that had landed from the Bounty, European 
 and Otaheitan, the greatest harmony had prevailed 
 in their little society; they all declared that no 
 serious quarrels ever occurred among them, though 
 a few hasty words might now and then be uttered ; 
 but, to make use of their own expression, they were 
 only quarrels of the mouth. Adams assured his 
 visiters that they were all strictly honest in all their 
 deaUngs, lending or exchanging their various articles 
 of livestock or produce with each other in the most 
 friendly manner ; and if any little dispute occurred, 
 he never found any difficulty to rectify the mistake 
 or misunderstanding that might have caused it, to 
 the satisfaction of both parties. In their general 
 intercourse they speak the English language com- 
 monly; and even the old Otaheitan women have 
 picked up a good deal of this language. The young 
 people, both male and female, speak it with a 
 pleasing accent, and their voices are extremely har- 
 monious. 
 
 The little village of Pitcairn is described as form- 
 ing a pretty square ; the house of John Adams, with 
 its out-houses, occupying the upper corner, near a 
 large banyan-tree, and that of Thursday October 
 Christian the lower corner opposite to it. The 
 centre space is a fine open lawn, where the poultry 
 wander, and is fenced around so as to prevent the 
 intrusion of the hogs and goats. It was obviously 
 visible, from the manner in which the grounds were 
 laid out and the plantations formed, that in this 
 little establishment the labour and ingenuity of 
 European hands had been employed. In their houses 
 they have a good deal of decent" furniture, consisting 
 of beds and bedst-feads with coverings. They have 
 
pitcairn's island. 257 
 
 also tables and large chests for their clothing-; and 
 their linen is made from the bark of a certain tree, 
 and the manufacture of it is the employment of the 
 elderly portion of the women. The bark is first 
 soaked, then beaten with square pieces of wood of 
 the breadth of one's band, hollowed out into grooves, 
 and the labour is continued until it is brought to 
 the breadth required, in the same manner as the 
 process is conducted in Otaheite. 
 
 The younger part of the females are obliged to 
 attend, with old Adams and their brothers, to the 
 culture of the land ; and Captain Pipon thinks this 
 may be one reason why this old director of the 
 work does not countenance too early marriages, for, 
 as he very properly observed, when once they be- 
 come mothers they are less capable of hard labour, 
 being obliged to attend to their children ; and, judg- 
 ing from appearance, " one may conclude," says the 
 captain, "they would be prolific;" that "he did not 
 see how it could be otherwise, considering the regu- 
 larity of their lives, their simple and excellent though 
 abstemious mode of living, their meals consisting 
 chiefly of a vegetable diet, with now and then good 
 pork, and occasionally fish." 
 
 The young girls, although they have only the 
 example of their Otaheitan mothers to follow in 
 their dress, are modestly clothed, having generally 
 apiece of cloth of their own manufacture reaching 
 from the waist to the knees, and a mantle, or some- 
 thing of that nature, thrown loosely over the shoul- 
 ders, and hanging sometimes as low as the ankles : 
 this mantle, however, is frequently thrown aside, 
 being used rather as a shelter for their bodies from 
 the heat of the sun or the severity of the weather, 
 than for the sake of attaching any idea of modesty 
 to the upper part of the person being uncovered ; 
 and it is not possible, he says, to behold finer forms 
 thai are exhibited by this partial exposure. Cap- 
 tern Pipon observes, " it was pleasing to see the 
 
258 pitcairn's island. 
 
 .^ood taste and quickness with which they form 
 httle shades or parasols of green leaves, to place 
 over the head or bonnets to keep the sun from their 
 eyes. A young girl made one of these in my pres- 
 ence, with such neatness and alacrity as to satisfy 
 me that a fashionable dressmaker of London would 
 be delighted with the simphcity and elegant taste 
 of these untaught females." The same young girl, 
 he says, accompanied them to the boat, carrying on 
 her shoulders, as a present, a large basket of yams, 
 " over such roads and down such precipices as were 
 scarcely passable by any creatures except goats, 
 and over which we could scarcely scramble with the' 
 help of our hands. Yet with this load on her shoul- 
 ders she skipped from rock to rock like a young 
 roe." 
 
 " But," says Captain Pipon, " what delighted us 
 most was the conviction which John Adams had 
 impressed on the minds of these young people, of 
 the propriety and necessity of returning thanks to 
 the Almighty for the many blessings they enjoy. 
 They never omit saying grace before and after 
 meals, and never think of touching food without 
 asking a blessing from Him who gave it. The Lord's 
 Prayer and the Creed they repeat morning and 
 evening." 
 
 Captain Pipon imagines the island to be about six 
 miles long and perhaps three or four miles broad, 
 covered with wood; the soil apparently very rich, 
 and the variety of products great and valuable, but 
 much labour would seem to be required to clear away 
 the woods. The dimensions here given, however, 
 are much greater than they have subsequently been 
 found to be. 
 
 The visiters having supplied these pooi people 
 with some tools, kettles, and other articles, such as 
 the high surf would allow them,wath the assistance 
 of the natives, to land, but to no great extent, the 
 two officers again passed through the surf, with the 
 
PITCAIRN*S ISLAND. 259 
 
 same assistance, and took leave of these interesting 
 people — satisfied that the island is so well fortified 
 by nature as to oppose an invincible barrier to an 
 invading enemy ; that there was no spot apparently 
 where a boat cmild land with safety, and perhaps 
 not more than one wdiere it could land at all; an 
 everlasting swell of the ocean, rolling in on every 
 side, is dashed into foam against its rocky and iron- 
 bound shores* 
 
 Such were the first details that were received 
 respecting this young settlement. It may here be 
 remarked, that at the time when Folger visited the 
 island Alexander Smith went by his proper name, 
 and that he had changed it to John Adams in the 
 intennediate time between his visit and that of Sir 
 Thomas Staines; but it does not appear in any of 
 the accounts which have been given of this inter- 
 esting little colony, when or for what reason he 
 assumed the latter name. It could not be with any 
 view to concealment, for he freel)'- communicated 
 his history to Folger, and equally «o to every subse- 
 quent visiter. 
 
 The interesting account of Captains Sir Thomas 
 Staines and Pipon, in 1814, produced as little effect 
 on the government as that of Folger ; and nothing 
 more was heard of Adams and his family for twelve 
 years nearly, when, in 1825, Captain Beechey, in the 
 Blossom, bound on a voyage of discovery, paid a 
 visit to Pitcairn's Island. Some whale-fishing ship, 
 however, had touched there in the intermediate 
 time, and left on the island a person of the name of 
 John Buffet. " In this man," says Captain Beechey, 
 *" they have very fortunately found an able and will- 
 ing schoolmaster ; he had belonged to a ship which 
 visited the island, and was so infatuated with the 
 behaviour of the people, being himself naturally of 
 a devout and serious turn of mind, that he resolved 
 to remain among them; and, in addition to the 
 instruction of the childreUf has taken upon himself 
 
260 pitcairn's island. 
 
 the duty of clergyman, and is the oracle of tlie com- 
 munity." 
 
 On the approach of the Blossom towards the 
 island, a boat was observed, under all sail, hastening 
 towards the ship, which they considered to be the 
 boat of some whaler, but were soon agreeably un- 
 deceived by the singular appearance of her crew, 
 which consisted of old Adams and many of the young 
 men belonging to the island. They did not venture 
 at once to lay hold of the ship till they had first 
 inquired if they might come on board ; and on per- 
 mission being granted, they spnmg up the side and 
 shook every officer by the hand with undisguised 
 feelings of gratification. 
 
 The activity of the young- men, ten in number, 
 outstripped that of old Adams, wiio was in his sixty- 
 fifth year, and somewhat corpulent. He was dressed 
 in a sailor'^s sliirt and trousers and a low-crowned 
 hat, which he held in his hand until desired to put 
 it on. He still retained his sailor's manners, dof- 
 fing his hat and smoothing down his bald forehead 
 whenever he was addressed by the officers of the 
 Blossom. 
 
 The young men were tall, robust, and healthy, 
 with good-natured countenances, and a simplicity 
 of manner, and a fear of doing something that 
 might be wrong, which at once prevented the pos- 
 sibility of giving oflfence. Their dresses were 
 whim-sical enough; some had long coats without 
 trousers, and others trousers without coats, and 
 others again waistcoats without either. None of 
 them had either shoes or stockings, and there were 
 only two hats among them, "neither of which," 
 Captain Beechey says, " seemed likely to hang long 
 together." 
 
 Captain Beechey procured from Adams a narra- 
 tive of the whole transaction of the mutiny, which, 
 however, is incorrect in many parts ; and also a his- 
 tory of the broils and disputes which led to the via* 
 
FITcairn's island. 261 
 
 lent death of all those misguided men (with the 
 exception of Young and Adams) who accompanied 
 Christian in the Bounty to Pitcairn's Island. 
 
 It may be recollected that the Bounty was carried 
 away from Otaheite by nine of the mutineers. Their 
 names were 
 
 1. Fletcher Christian, Acting Lieutenant, 
 
 2. Edward young, Midshipman. 
 
 3. Alexander Smith {alias John Adams), Seaman. 
 
 4. William M-Koy, \ 
 
 5. Matthew Quintal, f geamen 
 
 6. John Williams, ( ''eamen. 
 
 7. Isaac Martin, ) 
 
 8. John Mills, Gunner's Mate. 
 
 9. William Brown, Botanist's Assistant. 
 
 They brought with them six men and twelve 
 women, natives of Tabouai and Otaheite. The first 
 step after their arrival was to divide the whole island 
 into nine equal portions, to the exclusion of those 
 poor people whom they had seduced to accompany 
 them, and some of whom are stated to have been 
 carried off against their inclination. At first they 
 were considered as the friends of the white men, 
 but very soon became their slaves. They assisted 
 in the cultivation of the soil, in building houses, and 
 in fetching wood and water, without murmuring or 
 complaining; and things went on peaceably and 
 prosperously. for about two years, when Wilhams, 
 who had lost his wife about a month after their 
 arrival, by a fall from a rock while collecting birds' 
 eggs, became dissatisfied, and insisted on having 
 another wife, or threatened to leave the island in 
 one of the Bounty's boats. Being useful as an 
 armourer, the Europeans were unwilling to part 
 with him, and he, still persisting in his unreasonable 
 demand, had the injustice to g3mpel one of the Ota- 
 heitans to give up his wife to him. 
 
 By this act of flagrant oppression his countr}'men 
 made common cause with their injured companion, 
 and laid a plan for the extermination of the Euro- 
 
262 pitcairn's island. 
 
 peans; but the women gave a hint of what was 
 going forward in a song, the burden of which was, 
 " Why does black man sharpen axe? — to kill white 
 man." The plot being thus discovered, the hus- 
 band who had his wife taken from him, and another 
 whom Christian had shot at (though, it is stated, 
 with powder only), fled into the woods, and were 
 treacherously murdered by their countrymen on the 
 promise of pardon for the perpetration of this foul 
 deed. 
 
 Tranquillity being thus restored, matters went on 
 tolerably well for a year or two longer; but the 
 oppression and ill treatment which the Otaheitans 
 received, more particularly from Quintal and M'Koy, 
 the most active and determined of the mutineers, 
 drove them to the formation of another plot for the 
 destruction of their oppressors, which but too sue 
 cessfully succeeded. A day was fixed for attacking 
 and putting to death all the Englishmen while at 
 work in their respective plantations. Williams was 
 the first man that was shot. They next proceeded 
 to Christian, who was working at his yam-plot, and 
 shot him. Mills, confiding in the fidelity of his 
 Otaheitan friend, stood his ground, and was mur- 
 dered by him and another. Martin and Brown were 
 separately attacked and slain, one with a maul, the 
 other with a nmsket. Adams was wounded in the 
 shoulder, but succeeded in making terms- with the 
 Otaheitans, and was conducted by them to Christian's 
 house, w^here he was kindly treated. Young, who 
 was a great favourite of the women, was secreted 
 by them during the attack, and afterward carried 
 to Christian's house. M'Koy and Quintal, the worst 
 of the gang, escaped to the mountains. '' Here," 
 says Captain Beecjjey, " this day of bloodshed 
 ended, leaving only four Englishmen alive out of 
 nine. It was a day of emancipation to the blacks, 
 who were now masters of the island, and of humilia- 
 tion and retribution to the whites." 
 
pitcairn's island. 263 
 
 The men of colour now began to quarrel about 
 choosing the women whose European husbands had 
 been murdered ; the result of which was the destruc- 
 tion of the whole of the former, some falling by the 
 handsofthewomen, and one of them by Young, who, 
 it would seem, coolly and deliberately shot him. 
 Adams now proceeded into the mountains to com- 
 municate the fatal intelligence to the two Euro- 
 peans, M'Koy and Quintal, and to solicit their return 
 to the village. All these events are stated to have 
 happened as early as October, 1793. 
 
 From this time to 1798 the renmant of the colo- 
 nists would appear to have gone on quietly, with 
 the exception of some quarrels thes^ four men had 
 witli the women, and the latter among themselves; 
 ten of them were still remaining, who lived promis- 
 cuously with the men, frequently changing their 
 abode from one house to another. Young, being a 
 man of some education, kept a kind of journal ; but 
 it is a document of very little interest, containing 
 scarcely any thing more than the ordinary occupa- 
 tions of the settlers, the loan or exchange of pro- 
 visions, the dates when the sows farrowed, the num- 
 ber of tish caught, &c., and it begins only at the time 
 when Adams and he were sole masters of the island ; 
 and the truth, therefore, of all that has been told 
 rests solely on the degree of credit that is due to 
 Adams. 
 
 M'Koy, it appears, had formerly been employed 
 m a Scotch distillery, and being much addicted to 
 ardent spirits, s«t about making experiments on the 
 tee-root {drac(2na terminalis), and at length unfor- 
 tunately succeeded ni producing an intoxicating 
 liquor. This success induced his companion Quintal 
 to turn his kettle into a still. The consequence 
 was, that these two men were in a constant state 
 of drunkenness, particularly M'Koy ; on whom, it 
 seems, it had the effect of producing fits of delirium ; 
 and in one of these he threw himself from a cliff and 
 
264 pitcairn's island. 
 
 was killed on the spot. Captain Beechey says, " the 
 melancholy fate of this man created so forcible an 
 impression on the remaining- few, that they resolved 
 never again to touch spirits ; and Adams has, I be- 
 lieve, to this day kept his vow." 
 
 Some time in the following year, that is, about 
 1799, " we learned from Adams," says Captain 
 Beechey, " that Quintal lost his wife by a fall from 
 the cliff, Avhile in search of birds' eggs ; that he 
 grew discontented, and, though there were several 
 disposable women on the island, and he had already 
 experienced the fatal effects of a similar demand, 
 nothing would satisfy him but the wife of one of his 
 companions. • Of course neither of them felt inchned 
 to accede to this unreasonable demand ; and he 
 sought an opportunity of putting them both to death. 
 He was fortunately foiled in his first attempt, but 
 swore openly he would speedily repeat it. Adams 
 and Young, having no doubt he would follow up his 
 intention, and fearing he might be more successful 
 in the next attempt, came to the resolution that, as 
 their own lives were not safe while he was in exist- 
 ence, they were justified in putting him to death, 
 which they did by felling him, as they would an ox, 
 with a hatchet. 
 
 " Such was the melancholy fate of seven of the 
 leading mutineers, who escaped from justice only to 
 add murder to their former crimes;" and such, it 
 may be added, was the polluted source, thus stained 
 with the guilt of mutiny, piracy, and murder, from 
 which the present simple and ^inocent race of 
 islanders has proceeded ; and, what is most of all 
 extraordinary, the very man from whom they have 
 received their moral and religious instruction is one 
 who was among the first and foremost in the mu- 
 tiny, and deeply implicated in all the deplorable con- 
 sequences that were the results of it. This man 
 and Young were now the sole survivors out of the 
 fifteen males that had landed upon the island. 
 
pitcairn's island. 265 
 
 Young, as has been stated, was a man of some edu- 
 cation, and of a serious turn of mind ; and, as 
 Beechey siays, it would have been wonderful, after 
 the many dreadful scenes at which they had assisted, 
 if the solitude and tranquillity that ensued had not 
 disposed them to repentance. They had a Bible and 
 a Prayer Book, which were found in the Bounty, 
 and they read the church service regularly every 
 Sunday. They now resolved to have morning and 
 evening family prayers, and to instruct the children, 
 who amounted to nineteen, many of them between 
 the ages of seven and nine years. Young, however, 
 was not long suffered to survive his repentance. An 
 asthmatic complaint terminated his existence about 
 a year after the death of Quintal ; and Adams was 
 now left the sole survivor of the guilty and mis- 
 guided mutineers of the Bounty, It is remarkable 
 that the name of Young should never once occur in 
 any shape as connected with the mutiny, except in 
 the evidence of Lieutenant Hay ward, who includes 
 his name in a mass of others. He neither appears 
 among the armed nor the unarmed ; he is not stated 
 to be among those who were on deck, and was 
 probably therefore one of those who were confined 
 below. Bligh, nevertheless, has not omitted to give 
 him a character. " Young was an able and stout 
 seaman ; he however, always proved a worthless 
 wretch." 
 
 If the sincere repentance of Adams, and the most 
 successful exertions to train up the rising generation 
 in piety and virtue, can be considered as expiating 
 in some degree his former offences, this survivor is 
 fully entitled to eveiy indulgence that frail humanity 
 so often requires, and w^hich indeed has been ex- 
 tended to him by all the officers of the navy who 
 have visited the island, and witnessed the simple 
 manners and the settled habits of morality and piety 
 which prevail in this happy and well-regulated so- 
 ciety. They have all strongly felt that the merits 
 
566 PITCAIRN S ISLAND. 
 
 ind redeeming qualities of the latter years of his life 
 uave so far atoned for his former guilt, that he ought 
 aot to be molested, but rather encouraged, in his 
 meritorious efforts, if not for his own sake, at least 
 for that of the innocent young people dependent 
 on him. 
 
 Still it ought never to be forgotten that he was 
 one of the first and most daring in the atrocious act 
 of mutin)^ and piracy, and that had he remained in 
 Otaheite, and been taken home in the Pandora, no- 
 thing could have saved him from an ignominious 
 death. His pretending to say that he was in his cot, 
 and that he Avas forced to take arms, may perhaps 
 be palliated under his peculiar circumstances, wish- 
 ing to stand as fair before his countrymen as his 
 case would admit — but it is not strictly true : for he 
 was the third upon deck armed, and stood sentry 
 over Bligh with a loaded musket and fixed bayonet. 
 The story he told to Beechey respecting the advice 
 stated to have been given by Mr. Stewart to Chris- 
 tian, " to take possession of the ship," is, as has 
 been shown, wholly false ; but here his memory 
 may have failed him. If any such advice was given, 
 it is much more likely to have proceeded from 
 Young. He also told two different stories with re- 
 gard to the conduct of Christian. To Sir Thomas 
 Staines and Captain Pipon he represented this ill- 
 fated young man as never happy after the rash and 
 criminal step he had taken, and that he was always 
 sullen and morose, and committed so many acts of 
 ■jruelty as to incur the hatred and detestation of his 
 associates in crime. Whereas he told Captain 
 Beechey that Christian was always cheerful ; that 
 his example was of the greatest service in exciting 
 his companions to labour ; that he was naturally of 
 a happy, ingenuous disposition, and won the good 
 opinion and respect of all who served under him ; 
 which cannot be better exemphfied, he says, than by 
 Ills maintaining mider circumstances of great per- 
 
pitcairn's island. 267 
 
 plexity the respect and regard of all who were asso- 
 ciated with him up to the hour of his death ; and 
 that even at the present moment Adams, in speak- 
 ing of him, never omits to say Mr. Christian. Wliy 
 indeed should he '? Christian was a gentleman by 
 birth, and an officer in his majesty's service, and was 
 of course always so addressed. But why was he 
 murdered witliin two yeai s (one account says nine 
 months) after the party reached the island \ Cap- 
 tain Beechey has answered the question — for op- 
 pression and ill treatment of the Otaheitans.* 
 
 That Christian, so far from being cheerful, was, 
 on the contrary, always uneasy in his mind about 
 his own safety, is proved by his having selected a 
 
 * As the manner of Christian's death has been differently reported to 
 each different visiter by Adams, 'he only evidence in existence, with the 
 exception of three or four Otaheitan women and a few infants, some sin- 
 gular circumstances may here be mentioned that happened at home, just 
 at the time of Folger"s visit, and which might render his death on Pit 
 cairn's Island almost a matter of doubt. 
 
 About the years 1808 and 1809 a very general opinion was prevalent in 
 the neighbourhood of the lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland, that 
 Christian was in that part of the country, and made frequent private 
 visits to an aunt who was living there. Being the near relative of Mr. 
 Christian Curwen, long member of parliament for Carlisle, and himself 
 a native, he was well known in the neighbourhood. This, however, 
 might be passed over as mere gossip, had not another circumstance hap- 
 pened just about the same time, for the truth of which the editor does 
 not hesitate to avouch. 
 
 In Fore-street, Plymouth Dock, Captain Heywood found himself one 
 day walking beiiind a man whose shape had so much the appearance of 
 Christian's that he involuntarily quickened his pace. Both were walk- 
 ing very fast, and the rapid steps behind him having roused the stran- 
 ger's attention, he suddenly turned his face, looked at Heywood, and 
 immediately ran off". But the face was as much like Christian's as the 
 back, and Heywood, exceedingly excited, ran also. Both ran as fast as 
 they were able, but the stranger had the advantage, and after making 
 several short turns disappeared. 
 
 That Christian should be in England Heywood considered as highly 
 improbable, though not out of the scojje of possibility ; for at this time 
 no account of him whatsoever had been received since they parted at 
 Otaheite ; at any rate the resemblance, the agitation, and the efforts of 
 the stranger to elude him were circumstances too strong not to make, 
 a deep impression on his mind. At the moment his first thought waa 
 (o set about making some further inquiries, but on recollection of the 
 pain and trouble such a discovery must occasion him, he considered it 
 more prudent to let the matter drop ; but the circumstance was fre 
 quently called to his memory for the remainder of his life 
 
268 pitcairn's island. 
 
 cave at the extremity of the high ridge of craggy 
 hills that runs across the island, as his intended place 
 of refuge in the event of any ship of war discover- 
 ing the retreat of the mutineers, in which cave he 
 resolved to sell his life as dearly as he could. In 
 this recess he always kept a store of provisions, and 
 near it erected a small hut, well concealed by trees, 
 which served the purpose of a watch-house'. " So 
 difficult," says Captain Beechey, " was the approach 
 to this cave, that even if a party were successful in 
 crossing the ridge, he might have bid defiance, as 
 long as his ammunition lasted, to any force." The 
 reflection alone of his having sent adrift, to perish 
 on the wide ocean, for he could entertain no other 
 idea, no less than nineteen persons, all of whom, one 
 only excepted, were innocent of any offence towards 
 him, must have constantly haunted his mind, and 
 left him little disposed to be happy and cheerful. 
 
 The truth is, as appears in Morrison's journal, that 
 during the short time they remained at Tabouai, and 
 till the separation of the mutineers at Otaheite, when 
 sixteen forsook him, and eight only of the very 
 worst accompanied him in quest of some retreat, he 
 acted the part of a tyrant to a much greater extent 
 than the man who, he says, drove him to the act of 
 mutiny. After giving an account of the manner of 
 his death. Captain Beechey says, " Thus fell a man 
 who from being the reputed ringleader of the mu- 
 tiny has obtained an unenviable celebrity, and whose 
 crime may perhaps be considered as in some degree 
 palliated by the tyranny which led to its commis- 
 sion." It is to be hoped, such an act as he was 
 guilty of will never be so considered. 
 
 If mutiny could be supposed to admit of paUiation, 
 a fatal blow would be struck, not only at the dis- 
 cipline, but at the very existence of the navy; any 
 relaxation in bringing to condign punishment per- 
 sons guilty of mutiny would weaken and ultimately 
 destroy the efficiency of this great and powerful ma- 
 
pitcairn's island, 269 
 
 chine. Nor, indeed, is it at all necessary that the 
 puni-nment for mutiny should admit of any pallia- 
 lion. Whenever an act of tyranny, or an unneces- 
 sary degree of severity, is exercised by a command- 
 ing officer, let the fact only be proved, and he is 
 certain to be visited with all the rigour that the de- 
 gree of his oppressive conduct will warrant. Had 
 Christian but waited patiently the arrival of the 
 Bounty in England, and the alleged conduct of Bligh 
 towards his officers and crew had been proved, he 
 would, unquestionably, have been dismissed from his 
 majesty's service. 
 
 With regard to Adams, though his subsequent 
 conduct was highly meritorious, and to him alone it 
 might be said is owing the present happy state of 
 the httle community on Pitcairn's Island, his crime, 
 like that of Christian's, can never be considered as 
 wiped away. Sir Thomas Staines, the first British 
 officer who called at the island, it may well be sup- 
 posed, had to struggle on this trying occasion be- 
 tween duty and feehng. It was his imperative duty 
 to have seized and brought him a prisoner to Eng- 
 land, where he must have been tried, and would no 
 doubt have been convicted of a crime for which 
 several of his less active accomplices had suffered 
 the penalty of death ; though he might, and probably 
 would, from length of time and circumstances in his 
 favour, have received the king's pardon. Perhaps, 
 however, on the whole, it was fortunate that in 
 balancing, as it is known this gallant officer did, be- 
 tween the sense of duty and the sense of feeling the 
 latter prevailed, and justice yielded to mercy. Had 
 a Bligh or an Edwards been placed in his situation, 
 it IS to be feared that, judging from their former con- 
 duct, passion in the one, and frigidity in the other 
 would most likely have consigned the criminal to 
 captivity in irons, and the innocent and helpless 
 lamily solely dependent on him to misery and de- 
 struction; and yet in so doing they would not have 
 X 
 
270 PITCAIRN S ISLAND. 
 
 deviated from their strict line of duty, — Dis aliter 
 visum. 
 
 The Blossom Avas the first ship of war that John 
 Adams had been on board of since the mutiny ; and, 
 as Captain Beechey observes, his mind would natu- 
 rally revert to scenes that could not fail to produce 
 a temporary embarrassment, but no apprehension 
 for his safety appeared to form any part of his 
 thoughts ; and as every person endeavoured to set 
 his mind at rest, he soon found himself at ease and 
 at home. It was several hours before the ship ap- 
 proached the shore, and the boats put off before she 
 came to an anchor. 
 
 On account of the rocks and formidable breakers, 
 the party who went on shore were landed by the 
 young men, two at a time, in their whale-boat. 
 "The difficulty of landing," says Captain Beechey, 
 « was more than repaid by the friendly reception we 
 met with on the beach from Hannah Young, a very 
 interesting young woman, the daughter of Adams. 
 In her eagerness to greet her father, she had outrun 
 her female companions, for whose delay she thought 
 it necessary in the first place to apologize, by say- 
 ing they had all been over the hill in company with 
 John Buffet, to look at the ship, and were not yet 
 returned. It appeared that John Buffet, who was a 
 seafaring man, had ascertained that the ship was a 
 man-of-war, and, without knowing exactly why, be- 
 came so alarmed for the safety of Adams, that he 
 either could not or would not answer any of the inter- 
 rogatories which were put to him. This mysterious 
 silence set all the party in tears, as they feared he 
 had discovered something adverse to their patriarch. 
 At length his obduracy yielded to their entreaties ; 
 but before he explained the cause of his conduct, the 
 boats were seen to put off from the ship, and Han- 
 nah immediately hurried to the beach to kiss the old 
 man's cheek, which she did with a fervency demon- 
 strative of the warmest affection. Her apology for 
 
pitcairn's island. 271 
 
 her companions was rendered nnnecessar)^ by their 
 appearance on the steep and circuitous path down 
 the mountain, who, as they arrived on the beach, 
 successively welcomed us to their island, with a sim- 
 plicity and sincerity which left no doubt of the truth 
 of their professions." . 
 
 The whole group simultaneously expressed a wish 
 that the visiters would stay with them several days; 
 and on their signifying a desire to get to the village 
 before dark, ar^d to pitch the observatorj'-, every ar- 
 ticle and instrument found a bearer, along a steep 
 path which led to the village, concealed by groups 
 of cocoanut-trees ; the females bearing their bur- 
 thens over the most difficult parts without inconve- 
 nience. The village consisted of five houses, on a 
 cleared piece of ground sloping towards the sea. 
 While the men assisted in pitching the tent, the 
 w-omen employed themselves in preparing the supper. 
 The mode of cooking was precisely that of Otaheite, 
 by heated stones .n a hole made in the ground. At 
 youno- Christian's the table was spread with plates, 
 knives, and forks. John Buffet said grace in an em- 
 phatic manner, and this is repeated every time a fresh 
 guest sits down while the meal is going on. So 
 strict are they in this respect, that it is not deemed 
 proper to touch a bit of bread without saying grace 
 before and after it. " On one occasion," says Cap- 
 tain Beechey, " I had engaged Adams m conversa- 
 tion, and he incautiously took the first mouthful with- 
 out having said grace ; but before he had swallowed 
 it he recollected himself, and feeling as if he had 
 committed a crime, immediately put away what he 
 had in his mouth, and commenced his prayer. 
 Their rooms and table are lighted up by torches made 
 of doodoe nuts {aleurites triloba), strung upon the 
 fibres of a palm-leaf, which form a good substitute 
 for candles. , , ., ^ i 
 
 It is remarkable enough, that although the female 
 Dtirt of the society is highly respected, yet in one 
 
272 FITCAIRN'S 15LAND. 
 
 instance a distinction is kept up which in civihzed 
 countries would be deemed degrading. It is tliat 
 which is rigidly observed in all the Soutli Sea 
 islands, and indeed throughout almost the whole 
 eastern world, that no woman shall eat in the 
 presence of her husband ; and though this distinc- 
 tion between man and wife is not carried quite so far 
 in Pitcairn's Island, it is observed to the extent of 
 excluding all women from table when there is a de- 
 ficiency of seats. It seems they defended the cus- 
 tom on the ground that man was made before woman, 
 and is entitled, therefore, to be first served — a con- 
 clusion, observes Beechey, " that deprived us of the 
 company of the women at table during the whole 
 of our stay at the island. Far, however, from con- 
 sidering themselves neglected, they very good-na- 
 turedly chatted with us behind our seats, and flapped 
 away the flies, and by a gentle tap, accidentally or 
 playfully delivered, reminded us occasionally of the 
 honour that was done us." The vomen, when the 
 men had finished, sat down to what remained. 
 
 The beds were next prepared. A mattress com- 
 posed of palm-leaves was covered with native cloth 
 made of the paper mulberry-tree, in the same man- 
 ner as in Otaheite ; the sheets were of the same 
 material, and it appeared from their crackling that 
 they were quite new from the loom, or rather the 
 beater. The whole arrangement is stated to have 
 been comfortable, and inviting to repose ; one inter- 
 ruption only disturbed their first sleep ; this was the 
 melody of the evening hvmn, which, after the lights 
 were put out, was chanttf 1 by the whole family in the 
 middle of the room. At early dawn they were 
 also awaked by their morning hymn and the family 
 devotion ; after which the islanders all set out to 
 their several occup^ions. Some of the women had 
 taken the linen of their visiters to wash ; others 
 were preparing for the next meal ; and others were 
 employed in the manufacture of cloth. 
 
pitcairn's island. 273 
 
 The innocence and simplicity of these interesting 
 young creatures are strongly exemplified in the fol- 
 lowing description. " By our bedside had already 
 been placed some ripe fruits ; and our hats were 
 crowned with chaplets of the fresh blossom of the nono 
 or flower-tree {Morinda citrifolia), which the women 
 had gathered in the freshness of the morning dew. 
 On looking round the apartment, though it contained 
 several beds, we found no partition, curtain, or 
 screens ; they had not yet been considered neces- 
 sary. So far indeed from concealment being thought 
 of, when we were about to get up, the women, 
 anxious to show their attention, assembled to wish 
 us good morning, and to inquire in what way they 
 could best contribute to our comforts, and to present 
 us with some little gift which the produce of the 
 island afforded. Many persons would have felt 
 awkward at rising and dressing before so many 
 pretty black-eyed damsels, assembled in the centre 
 of a spacious room ; but by a little habit we overcame 
 this embarrassment, and found the benefit of theii 
 services in fetching water as we required it, and in 
 substituting clean linen for such as we pulled off.'* 
 
 Their cottages are spacious, and strongly built of 
 wood, in an oblong form, and thatched with the 
 leaves of the palm-tree bent round the stem of a 
 branch from the same, and laced horizontally to 
 rafters so placed as to give a proper pitch to the 
 roof. An upper story is appropriated to sleeping, 
 and has four beds, one in each angle of the room, 
 and large enough for three or four persons to sleep 
 on. The lower is the eating-room, havinsr a broad 
 table with several stools placed round it. The lower 
 room communicates with the upper by a stout lad- 
 der in the centre. Immediately round the village 
 are small enclosures for fattening pigs, goats, and 
 poultry ; and beyond them are the cultivated grounds 
 producing the banana, plantam, melon, yam, taro, 
 sweet potatoes, tee-iree, cloth-plant, with other useful 
 
274 pitcairn's island. 
 
 roots, fruits, and a variety of shrubs. Every cot 
 tage has its ont-house for making cloth, its baking 
 place, its pig-sty, and its poultry-house. 
 
 During the stay of the strangers on the island, 
 they dined sometimes with one person and some- 
 times with another, their meals being always the 
 same, and consisting of baked pig, yams, and taro 
 and sometimes sweet potatoes. Goats are nume- 
 rous on the island, but neither their flesh nor their 
 milk is rehshed by tlie natives. Yams constitute 
 their principal food, either boiled, baked, or mixed 
 with cocoanut, made into cakes, and eaten with mo- 
 lasses extracted from the tee-root. Taro-root is no 
 bad substitute for bread ; and bananas, plantains, and 
 appoi are wholesome and nutritive fruits. The com- 
 mon beverage is water, but they make tea from the 
 tee-plant, flavoured with ginger, and sweetened with 
 the juice of the sugar-cane. They but seldom kill 
 a pig, living mostly on fruit and vegetables. With 
 this simple diet, early rising, and taking a great deal 
 of exercise, they are subject to few diseases ; and 
 Captain Beechey says, " they are certainly a finer 
 and more athletic race than is usually found among 
 the families of mankind." 
 
 The young children are punctual in their attend- 
 ance at school, and are instructed by John Buffet in 
 reading, writing, and arithmetic ; to which are added 
 precepts of religion and morality, drawn chiefly from 
 the Bible and Prayer Book; than which, fortunately, 
 they possess no others, that might mystify and 
 perplex their understandings on religious subjects. 
 They seldom indulge in jokes or other kinds of 
 levity ; and Beechey says they are so accustomed to 
 take what is said in its literal meaning, that irony 
 was always considered a falsehood in spite of ex- 
 planation ; and that they could not see the propriety 
 of uttering v/hat was not strictly true, for any pur- 
 pose wliatever. The Sabbath is wholly devoted to 
 
pitcairn's island. 275 
 
 meditation ; no work of any kind is done on that 
 day, not even cooking, which is prepared on the pre- 
 ceding evening. 
 
 "I attended," says Beechey, "their church on 
 this day, and found the service well conducted ; the 
 prayers were read by Adams, and the lessons by 
 Buffet, the service being preceded by hymns. The 
 greatest devotion was apparent in every individual ; 
 and in the children there was a seriousness unknown 
 in the younger part of our communities at home. 
 In the course of the Litany, they prayed for their 
 sovereign and all the royal fanhly, with much ap- 
 parent loyalty and sincerity. Some family prayers 
 whicli were thought appropriate to their own particu- 
 lar case were added to the usual service ; and Adams, 
 fearful of leaving out any essential part, read in ad- 
 dition all those prayers which are intended only as 
 substitutes for others. A sermon followed, wiiich 
 was very well delivered by Buffet ; and lest any part 
 of it should be forgotten, or escape attention, it was 
 read three times. The whole concluded with hymns, 
 which were first sung by the grown people, and 
 afterward by the children. The service thns per- 
 formed was very long ; but the neat and cleanly ap- 
 pearance of the congregation, the devotion that ani- 
 mated every countenance, and the innocence and 
 simplicity of the httle children, prevented the at- 
 tendance from becoming wearisome. In about half 
 an hour afterward we again assembled to prayers, 
 and at sunset service W' as repeated ; so that, with 
 their morning and evening prayers, they maybe said 
 to have church five times on a Sunday." 
 
 Perhaps it will be thought by some that they carry 
 their seriousness too far, and that the younger people 
 are not allowed a sufficient quantity of recreation. 
 Tlie exercise and amusement of dancing, once so 
 much resorted to in most of the islands of the Pa- 
 r-ific, is here almost excluded. With great difficulty 
 Riid much entreaty, the visiters prevailed on three 
 
276 pitcairn's island. 
 
 grown-up ladies to stand up to perform the Otaheitan 
 dance, which' they consented to with a reluctance 
 that showed it was done only to oblige them. It was 
 little more than a shuffling of the feet, sliding past 
 each other, and snapping their fingers. They did 
 not long continue this diversion, considering it as 
 too great a levity, and only the three before-men- 
 tioned ladies could be prevailed on to exhibit their 
 skill. They appeared to have little taste for music, 
 either instrumental or vocal. Adams, when on board 
 the Blossom for two or three days, made no difficult}'' 
 of joining in the dance, and was remarkably cheer- 
 ful, but on no occasion neglected his usual devotions. 
 Captain Beechey has no doubt of the sincerity of 
 his piety. He slept in the same cabin, but would 
 never get into his cot until the captain was in bed and 
 supposed to be asleep, when, in a retired corner of 
 the cabin, he fell on his knees and performed his de- 
 votions ; and he was always up first in the morning 
 for the same purpose. 
 
 This good old man told Beechey one day that it 
 would add much to his happiness if he would read 
 the marriage ceremony to him and 4iis wife, as he 
 could not bear the idea of living with her without 
 its being done Avhen a proper opportunity should 
 offer, as was now the case. Though Adams was 
 aged, and the old woman had been blind and bedrid- 
 den for several years, Beechey says he made such a 
 point of it, that it would have been cruel to refuse 
 him. They were accordingly, the following day, 
 duly united, and the event noted in a register by 
 John Buffet. The marriages that take place among 
 the young people are, however, performed by 
 Adams, who makes use of a ring for such occasions, 
 whidi has united every couple on the island since its 
 first settlement ; the regulated age under which no 
 man is allowed to marry is twenty, and that of the 
 women eighteen. The restrictions with regard to 
 relationship are the same as with us, and are strictly 
 
PITCAIKN S ISLAND. 27" 
 
 put in force when parties are about to marry 
 Adams also officiates at christenings. 
 
 Captain Beechey observes that these amiabh 
 people rigidly adhere to their word and promise 
 even in cases where the most scrupulous amonia 
 Europeans might think themselves justified in some 
 relaxation of them. Thus,' George Adams, in his 
 early days, had fallen in love with Polly Young, a 
 girl somewhat older than himself; but Polly, for 
 some reason or other, had incautiously declared she 
 never would give her hand to George Adams ; who, 
 however, still hoped she would one day relent, and 
 of course was unremitting in his endeavours to 
 please her ; nor was he mistaken ; his constancy and 
 his handsome form, which George took every oppor- 
 tunity of displaying before her, softened Polly's 
 heart, and she would willingly have given him her 
 hand. But the vow of her youth was not to be got 
 over, and the love-sick couple languished on from 
 day to day, victims to the folly of early resolutions. 
 This weighty case was referred to the British offi- 
 cers, who decided that it would be much better to 
 marry than to continue unhapp}^ in consequence of a 
 hasty resolution made before the judgment was ma- 
 tured, but Polly's scruples still remained, and those 
 who gave their decision left them unmarried. Cap- 
 tain Beechey, however, has recently received a let- 
 ter, stating that George Adams and Polly Young 
 had joined hands and were happy ; but the same let- 
 ter announced the death of John Adams, which took 
 place in March, 1829. 
 
 The demise of this old patriarch is the most 
 serious loss that could have befallen this infant col- 
 ony. The perfect harmony and contentment in 
 which they appear to live together, the innocence 
 and simplicity of their manners, their conjugal and 
 parental affection, their moral, religious, and virtuous 
 conduct, and their exemption from any serious vice, 
 are .all to be ascribed to the exemplary conduct and 
 
278 • pitcatrn's island. 
 
 instructions of old John Adams ; and it is gratifying 
 to know, that five years after the visit of the Blos- 
 som, and one 3^ear subsequent to Adams's death, the 
 little colony continued to enjoy the same uninter- 
 rupted state of harmony and contentment as before. 
 
 In consequence of a representation made by Cap- 
 tain Beechey when there of the distressed state of 
 this little society with regard to the want of certain 
 necessary articles, his majesty's government sent 
 out to Valparaiso, to be conveyed from thence for 
 their use, a proportion for sixty persons, of the fol- 
 lowing articles : sailors' blue jackets and trousers, 
 flannel waistcoats, pairs of stockings and shoes, 
 women's dresses, spades, mattocks, shovels, pick- 
 axes, trowels, rakes ; all of which were taken in his 
 majesty's ship Seringapatam, commanded by Cap- 
 tain the Honourable William Waldegrave, v/ho ar- 
 rived there in March, 1830. 
 
 The ship had scarcely anchored Avhen George 
 Young was alongside in his canoe, which he guided 
 by a paddle ; and soon after Thursday October Chris- 
 tian, in a jolly-boat, with several others, who, having 
 come on board, were invited to breakfast, and one 
 of them said grace as usual both before and after it. 
 The captain, the chaplain, and some other officers 
 accompanied these natives on shore, and having 
 reached the summit of the first level or plain, which 
 is surrounded by a grove or screen of cocoanut- 
 trees, they found the wives and mothers assembled 
 to receive them. " I have brought you a clergy- 
 man," says the captain. — " God bless you," issued 
 from every mouth ; " but is he come to stay with us V 
 — " No." — " You bad man, why not ]" — " I cannot 
 spare him, he is the chaplain of my ship ; but I have 
 brought you clothes and other articles, which King 
 George has sent you." — " But," says Kitty Quhitai, 
 " we want food for our souls." 
 
 " Our reception," says Captain Waldegrave, " was 
 most cordial, particularly that of Mr. Watson, the 
 
pitcairn's island. 279 
 
 chaplain; and the meeting of the wives and hus- 
 bands most affectinof, exchanging expressions of 
 joy that could not have been exceeded had they just 
 returned from a long absence. The men sprang up 
 to the trees, throwing down cocoanuts, the husks 
 of which were torn off by others with their teeth, 
 and offering us the milk. As soon as we had rested 
 ourselves, they took us to their cottages, where we 
 dined and slept." 
 
 Captain Waldegrave says it was highly gratify 
 ing to observe their native simplicity of manners, 
 apparently without guile ; their hospitality was un- 
 bounded, their cottages being open to all, and all 
 were welcome to such food as they possessed ; pigs 
 and fowls were immediately killed and dressed, and 
 when the guests w^ere seated, one of the islanders, 
 in the attitude of prayer, and his eyes raised towards 
 heaven, repeated a simple grace for the present food 
 they were about to partake of, beseeching, at the 
 same time, spiritual nourishment; at the end of which 
 each responded Amen. On the arrival of any one 
 during the repast, they all paused until the new 
 guest had said grace. 
 
 At night they all assembled in one of the cottages 
 to hear the afternoon church service performed by- 
 Mr. Watson, and Captain Waldegrave describes it 
 as a most striking scene. The place chosen was 
 the bedroom of one of the double cottages, or one 
 with an upper story. The ascent w^as by a broad 
 ladder from the lower room through a trap-door. 
 The clergyman took his station between tv/o beds, 
 with a lamp burning close behind him. In the bed on 
 his right were three infants sound asleep ; at the foot 
 of that on his left v.ere three men sitting. On each 
 side and in front were the men, some wearing only 
 the simple mara, displaying their gigantic figures ; 
 others in jackets and trousers, their necks and feet 
 bare ; behind stood the women, in their modest 
 home-made cloth dresses, which entirely covered 
 
28t pitcairn's island. 
 
 the form, leaving only the head and feet bare. The 
 girls wore, in addition, a sheet knotted in the man- 
 ner of a Roman senator's toga, thrown over the right 
 shoulder and under the left arm. When tl.e general 
 confession commenced, they all knelt down facing 
 ,the clergyman, with their hands raised to the breast 
 in the attitude of prayer, slowly and distinctly re- 
 [peating the confession after the clergyman. They 
 prayed for the King of England, whom'they consider 
 as their sovereign. A sermon followed, from a text 
 which Captain Waldegrave thinks was most happily 
 chosen : " Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's 
 good pleasure to give you th'e kingdom." At the 
 conclusion of the service they requested permission 
 to sing their parting hymn, when the whole congre- 
 gation, in good time, sang " Depart in peace." 
 
 Captain Waldegrave, like all former visiters, bears 
 testimony to the kind disposition and active benevo- 
 lence of these simple islanders. The children, he 
 says, are fond and obedient, the parents affectionate 
 and kind towards their children. None of the party 
 ever heard a harsh word made use of by one towards 
 another. They never slander or speak ill of one 
 another. If any question was asked as to the 
 character or conduct of a particular individual, the 
 answer would probably be something of this kind, 
 " If it could do any good, I would answer you ; but 
 as it cannot, it would be wrong to tell tales ;" or if 
 the question applied to one who had committed a 
 fault tliey would say, " It would be wrong to tell my 
 neighbour's shame." The kind and benevolent feel- 
 ing of these amiable people is extended to the sur- 
 viving widows of the Otaheite men who were slain 
 on the island, and who would be left in a helpless 
 and destitute state, were it not for the humane 
 consideration of the younger part of the society, by 
 whom they are supported and regarded with every 
 mark of attention. 
 
 The women are clothed in white cloth made from 
 
pitcairn's island. 281 
 
 the paper mulberry, the dress extending irom the 
 shoulders to the feet, in double folds, and so loose 
 as entirely to conceal the shape of the person. The 
 mothers, while nursing, carry the infant within their 
 dress; as the child advances in growth it sits across 
 tlie hip of the parent with its little hands clinging to 
 the shoulder, while the mother's arm passing round 
 it keeps it in safety. The men and boys, except on 
 Sunday, Avhen they appear in English dresses, gene- 
 rally wear only the mara, or waist-cloth, which, pass- 
 ing over the hips and between the legs, is knotted be- 
 hind ; the climate is in fact too hot for cumbersome 
 clothing. The women, when working, use only a 
 petticoat, with a jacket. 
 
 The men are stated to be from five feet eight 
 inches to six feet high, of great muscular strength 
 and excellent figures. " We did not see," says Cap- 
 tain Waldegrave, " one cripple or defective person, 
 except one boy, wliom, in the most good-humoured 
 way, and laughing heartily, they brought to me, 
 observmg, ' You ought to be brothers, you have 
 each lost the right eye.' I acknowledged the con- 
 nexion, and no doubt for the future he wilhbe called 
 the Captain." 
 
 Captain Beechey has given a more detailed ac- 
 count of the physical qualities of the Pitcairn 
 islanders. He says they are tall, robust, and healthy ; 
 their average height five feet ten inches ; the tallest 
 man measured six feet and one qudrter of an inch, 
 and the shortest of the adults five feet nine inches 
 and one-eighth ; their hmbs well proportioned, round, 
 ■and straight ; their feet turning a little inwards. 
 A boy of eight years measured four feet and one 
 inch ; another of nine years four feet three inches. 
 Their simple food and early habits of exercise give 
 them a muscular power and activity not often sur- 
 passed. It i» ijcorded on the island that George 
 Young and Edward Quintal have each carried at 
 one time a kedge anchor, two sledge hammers, and 
 
282 pitcairn's island. 
 
 an armourer's anvil, Aveighing together upwards of 
 six hundred pounds ; and that Quintal once curried 
 a boat twenty-eight feet in length. In the water 
 tliey are almost as much at home as on land, and 
 can remain almost a whole day in the sea. They 
 frequently swim round their little island, the circuit 
 of whicli is at the least seven miles ; and the women 
 are nearly as expert swimmers as the men. 
 
 The female descendants of the Otaheite women 
 are almost as muscular as the males, and taller than 
 the generality of the sex. Polly Young, who is not 
 the tallest on the island, measured five feet nine 
 inches and a half. The features of both men and 
 women are regular and well formed ; eyes bright 
 and generally hazel, though in a few instances blue ; 
 the eyebrows thin and rarely meeting ; the nose a 
 little flattened, and being rather extended at the 
 nostrils, partakes of the Otaheitan character, as do 
 the lips, which are broad and strongly sulcated ; 
 their ears moderately large, and the lobes are in- 
 variably united with the cheek ; they are generally 
 perforated when young, for the reception of flowers, 
 a very common custom among the natives of the 
 South Sea islands ; hair black, sometimes curling, 
 sometimes straight ; teeth regular and white. On 
 the whole they are a well-looking people. 
 
 Captain Beechey says, the women have all learned 
 the art of midwifery ; that parturition generally 
 takes place during the night-time ; tliat the duration 
 of labour is seldom longer than five hours, and has 
 not yet in any case proved fatal ; but there.is no in- 
 stance of tv/ins, nor of a single miscarriage, except 
 from accident. Infants are generally bathed three 
 times a day in cold water, and are sometimes not 
 weaned for three or four years ; but when that does 
 take place, they are fed upon ' popoe," made of ripe 
 plantains and boiled taro-root rubbed into a paste. 
 Mr. Collie, the surgeon of the Blossom, remarks 
 that nothing is more extraordinary in the history 
 
pitcairn's island. 283 
 
 of the island than the uniform good health of the 
 children ; the teething- is easily got over, they have 
 no bowel complaints, and are exempt from those con- 
 tagious diseases which affect children in large com- 
 munities. He oifered to vaccinate the children as 
 well as all the grown persons ; but they deemed the 
 risk of infection of small-pox to be too small to 
 render that operation necessary. 
 
 As a proof how very much simple diet and con- 
 stant exercise tend to the healthful state of the body, 
 the skin of these people, though in such robust 
 health, compared with that of the Europeans, always 
 felt cold, and their pulses always considerably lower. 
 The doctor examined several of them ; in the fore- 
 noon he foiwid George YoungV only sixty; three 
 others, in the afternoon, after cimner, were sixty- 
 eight, seventy-two, and seventy-six, while those of 
 the officers who stood the heat of the climate best 
 were above eighty. 
 
 It is impossible not to feel a deep interest in the 
 welfare of this little society, and at the same time 
 an apprehension that something may happen to dis- 
 turb that harmony and dest*-oy that simplicity of 
 manners which have hitherto characterized it. It 
 is to be feared, indeed, that the seeds of discord are 
 already sown. It appears from Captain Walde- 
 grave's statement, that no less than three English- 
 men have found their way into this happy society. 
 One of them, John Buffet, mentioned by Beechey, 
 is a harmless man, and, as it has been stated, of 
 great use to the islanders in his capacity of clergy- 
 man and schoolmaster ; he is also a clever and use- 
 ful mechanic, as a shipwright and joiner, and is 
 much beloved by the community. Tv/o others have 
 since been left on the island, one of them, by name 
 John Evans, son of a coachmaker in the employ 
 of Long of 8t. Martin's Lane, who has married a 
 daughter of John Adams, through whom he possesses 
 and cultivates a certain portion of land ; the third is 
 
'384 pitcairn's island. 
 
 Georg-e Hunn Nobbs, who calls himself registrar, 
 schoolmaster, &c., thus infringing on the privi- 
 leges of John Buffet; and being a person of supe- 
 rior talents, and of exceeding great impudence, 
 has deprived Buffet of a great number of his schol- 
 ars ; and hence a sufficient cause exists of division 
 and dissension among the members of the little so- 
 ciety, which were never known before. Buffet and 
 Evans support themselves by their industry, but this 
 Nobbs not only claims exemption from labour in 
 virtue of his ofhce, but also as being entitled to a 
 maintenance at the expense of the community. He 
 has married a daughter of Charles, and granddaughter 
 to the late Fletcher Christian, whose descendants, 
 as captain of the gang, might be induced to claim 
 superiority, and which, probably, might be allowed 
 by general consent, had they but possessed a mode- 
 rate share of talent; but it is stated that Thursday 
 October and Charles Christian, the sons of the chief 
 mutineer, are ignorant, uneducated men. The only 
 chance for the continuance of peace is the general 
 dislike in which this Nobbs is held, and the gradual 
 intellectual improvement of the rising generation. 
 
 It seems that Adams on his death-bed called all 
 the heads of families together, and urged them to 
 appoint a chief; — this, however, they have not done, 
 which makes it the more to be appiehended that 
 Nobbs, by his superior talent or cunning, will force 
 himself upon them into that situation. Captain 
 Waldegi-ave thinks, however, that Edward Quintal, 
 who possesses the best understanding of any on the 
 island, will in time arrive at that honour ; his only 
 book is the Bible, but it is quite astonishing, he ob- 
 serA es, what a fund of knowledge he has derived 
 from it. His wife, too, is stated to be a woman of 
 excellent understanding; and their eldest boy, Wil- 
 liam, has been so carefully educated, that he excels 
 jfreatly all the others. The descendants of Young 
 
pitcairn's isla>?d. 285 
 
 are also said to be persons generally of promising 
 abilities. 
 
 How the patriarch Adams contrived to instil into 
 the minds of these people the true principles of re- 
 ligion and morahty is quite surprising. He was able 
 to read, but only learned to write in his latter days : 
 and having accomphshed this point, he made a 
 scheme of Jaws by which he succeeded to govern 
 his little community in the way we have seen. The 
 celebration of marriage and baptism were strictly 
 observed according to the rites of the Church of 
 England, but he never ventured on confirmation and 
 the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. He taught the 
 children the church catechism, the ten command- 
 ments, the Lord's Prayer, and the creed, and he 
 satisfied himself that in these were comprised all t-lre 
 Christian duties. By the instrumentality of these 
 precepts, drawn from"^ the Book of Common Prayer 
 and the Bible,* he Avas enabled, after the slaughter 
 of all his associates, to rear up all the children m 
 the principles and precepts of Christianity, in purity 
 of morals, and in a simphcity of manners that have 
 surprised and delighted every stranger that has 
 visited the island. 
 
 The whole islana, it seems, was partitioned out 
 by Adams among the families of the original set- 
 tlers, so that a foreigner cannot obtain any, except by 
 
 * Well may Adams ha-ve sought for rules for his little society in a 
 book which contams the foundation of the civil and religious policy of 
 two-thirds of the human race,— in that wonderful book, into whose 
 mspired pages the afflicted never seek for consolation Tn vain. Millions 
 of examples attest this truth. '< There is no incident in Robinson 
 Crusoe, ' observes a writer in a critical journal, " told in language more 
 natural and affecting thtn Robert K.io.x's accidental discovery of a 
 Bible m the mulst of the Catidian dominions of Ceylon His previous 
 despondency from the death of his father, his only friend and companion 
 whose grave he had but just dug with his own hands, ' being now,' as 
 he says, 'left desolate, sick, and in captivity,'— his agitation, joy and 
 even terror on me.ting with a book he had for such a length of time not 
 seen, nor hoped to see— his anxiety lest he should fail to procure it— and 
 the comfort, when procured, which it afforded him in his affliction— all 
 »ro told m such a strain of true piety and genuine simplicity as cannot 
 '^il to interest and affect everv reader of sensibilitv." 
 
 Y 
 
286 
 
 purchase or marriage. Captain Waldegrave reckons, 
 that eleven-twelfths are uncultivated, and that popu- 
 lation is increasing so rapidly, that in the course of 
 a century the island will be fully peopled, and that 
 the limit may be taken at one thousand souls. 
 
 The rate at which population is likely to increase 
 may, perhaps, be determined by political economists 
 from the following data. 
 
 In 1790 the island was first settled by fifteen men 
 and twelve women, making a total of twenty-seven. 
 Of these were remaining in 1800 one man and five 
 women with nineteen children, the eldest nine years 
 of age, making in the whole twenty-five. In 1808 
 Mr. Folger makes the population amount to thirty- 
 five, being an increase of ten in eight years. In 
 1814, six years afterward, Sir Thom.as Staines states 
 the adult population at forty, which must be a mis- 
 take, as fourteen years before, nineteen of the 
 twenty-five then existing were children. In 1825 
 Captain Beechey states the whole population at 
 sixty-six ; of whom thirty-six were males and thirty 
 females. And in 1830 Captain Waldegrave makes 
 it amount to seventy-nine ; being an increase of 
 thirteen in five years, or twenty per cent., which is 
 a less rapid increase than might be expected ; but 
 there can be little doubt it will go o^i with an ac- 
 celerated ratio, provided the means of subsistence 
 should not fail them. 
 
 Captain Waldegrave's assumption that this island 
 is sufficiently large for the maintenance of one thou- 
 sand souls is grounded on incorrect . data ; it does 
 not follow, that because one-twelfth of the island 
 will maintain eighty persons, the whole must sup- 
 port nine hundred and sixty persons. The island is 
 not more than four square miles, or two thousand 
 five hundred and sixty acres ; and as a ridge of rocky 
 hills runs from north to south, having two peaks ex- 
 ceeding one thousand feet in height, it is more than 
 
PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. -siS? 
 
 probable that not one-half of it is capable of cultiva- 
 tion. It would seem, indeed, from several ancient 
 morais being discovered among these hills; some 
 stone axes or hatchets of compact basaltic lava, 
 very hard and capable of a fine polish ; four stone 
 images about six feet high placed on a platform not 
 unlike those on Easter Island, one of which has 
 been preserved, and is the rude representation of 
 the human figure to the hips, hewn out of a piece of 
 red lava : — these remains would seem to indicate a 
 former population, that had found it expedient to 
 abandon the island from its insufficiency to support 
 it. Captain Beechey observes, that " from these 
 images, and the large piles of stones on heights to 
 which they must have been dragged with great 
 labour, it may be concluded that the island was in- 
 habited for a considerable time ; and from bones be- 
 ing found, always buried under these piles, and never 
 upon the surface, we may presume that those who 
 survived quitted the island in their canoes to seek an 
 asylum elsewhere." 
 
 It appears from Beechey, that Adams had contem- 
 plated the prospect of an increasing population with 
 the limited means of supporting it, and requested 
 that he would communicate with the British govern- 
 ment upon the subject, which he says he did ; and 
 that through the interference of the Admiralty and 
 Colonial Office means have been taken for removing 
 them to any place they may choose for themselves. 
 It is to be hoped, however, that no such interference 
 will take place ; for half a century, at least, there 
 is no danger of any want of food. The attempt, 
 however, was made through the means of a gen- 
 tleman of Otaheite, who, being on a visit to this 
 country, was authorized on his return to make ar- 
 rangements for their removal to Otaheite, if they 
 wished it, and if Pomarre, the king of the island, 
 should not object to receive them ; and he carried a 
 letter to this chief from Lord Bathurst, acquainting 
 
288 pitcairn's island. 
 
 him with the intention of the British jTOvernment, 
 and expressing the hope that he would be induced 
 to receive under his protection a people wliose 
 moral and religious character had created so lively 
 an interest in their favour ; but it happened that 
 this person passed the island without stopping. A 
 Mr. Joshua Hill subsequently proposed their removal 
 to New South Wales, but his \essel was considered 
 too small for the purpose. 
 
 Two years after this, as difficulties had occurred 
 to prevent the above-mentioned intentions from being 
 carried into effect, Sir George Murray deemed i^ 
 desirable that no time should be lost in affording 
 such assistance to these islanders as might, at all 
 events, render their present abode as comfortable as 
 circumstances would allow, until arrangements could 
 be made for their future disposal either in one of the 
 Society Islands, as originally proposed, or at one of 
 our settlements on New-Holland. The assistance 
 here alluded to has been afforded, as above men- 
 tioned, by his majesty's ship Seringapatam. 
 
 It is sincerely to be hoped that such removal will 
 be no longer thought of. No complaint was made 
 no apprehension of want expressed to Captain Wal- 
 degrave, who left them contented and happy ; and 
 Captain Beechey, since his return, has received a let- 
 ter from John Buffet, who informs him of a notifica- 
 tion that the king was willing to receive them, and that 
 measures would be taken for their removal ; but, he 
 adds, the people are so much attached to, and satis- 
 fied with, their native island, as not to have a wish to 
 leave it. The breaking up of this happy, innocent, 
 and simple-minded little society by some summary 
 process, would be a subject of deep regret to all 
 who take an inl erest in their welfare ; and to them- 
 selves might be the inevitable loss of all those 
 amiable qualities which have obtained for them the 
 kind and generous sympathy of their countrymen at 
 home. We have a person who acts as consul a> 
 
PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 289 
 
 Otaheite, and it is to be hoped he will receive in 
 Structions on no account to sanction, but on the 
 contrary to interdict, any measure that may be at- 
 tempted for their removal. 
 
 The time must come when they will emigrate on 
 their own accord. When the hive is full, they will 
 send out their swarms. Captain Beechey tells us, 
 that the reading of some books of voyages and 
 travels, belonging to Bligh and left in the Bounty, 
 had created a desire in some of them to leave it ; 
 but that family ties and an ardent affection for each 
 other and for their native soil had always interposed 
 on the few occasions that offered to prevent indi- 
 viduals going away singly. George Adams, however, 
 who had failed when the Blossom was there to soften 
 the heart of Polly Young, and had no wife to detain 
 him, was very anxious to embark in that ship, that he 
 might see something of the world beyond the narrow 
 limits of his ovv^n little island ; and Beechey would 
 have taken him, had not his mother wept bitterly at 
 the idea of parting from him, and wished to impose 
 terms touching his return to the island that could 
 not be acceded to. 
 
 Pitcairn's Island hes at the south-eastern extremity 
 of a chain of islands, which, including the Society 
 and Friendly Islands, exceed a hundred in number, 
 many of them wholly uninhabited, and the rest but 
 thinly peopled, all speaking the same, or nearly the 
 same, language, which is also spoken by the natives 
 of Pitcairn's Island ; and all of the two groups are 
 richly clothed with the spontaneous products of na- 
 ture fit for the use of man. To all these they will 
 have, when necessity prompts them, easy means of 
 access. No large vessels are required for an emi- 
 gration of this kind ; the frailest barks and single 
 canoes have been driven hundreds of miles over the 
 Pacific. The Pitcairners have already proceeded 
 from the simple canoe to row-boats, and the progress 
 from this to small decked vessels is simple and 
 
290 pitcairn's island. 
 
 natural. They may thus at some future period, 
 which is not at all improbable, be the means of 
 spreading Christianity, and consequently civihzation, 
 throughout the numerous groups of islands in the 
 Southern Pacific ; Avhereas to remove them as has 
 been suggested might be to devote them at once to 
 misery and destruction. 
 
 That there is no deficiency in the number and 
 variety of plants producing food and clothing for 
 the use of man will appear from the following list, 
 which is far from being complete : — 
 
 INDIGENOUS. 
 
 Cocos nucifera Cocoanut. 
 
 Musa Paradisiaca Plantains. 
 
 Musa sapientum Bananas. 
 
 Dioscorea sativum Yams. 
 
 Convolvulus batatas Sweet potatoes. 
 
 Arum esculentum Taro root. 
 
 Arum costatum ■ Yappa. 
 
 Broussonetia papyri/era Cloth-tree. 
 
 Draccena terminalis Tee-plant. 
 
 Aleurites triloba Doodoe. 
 
 Morinda citrifolia Nono. 
 
 Toonena, a large timber tree 
 
 Ficus indica Banyan-tree. 
 
 Morus Chinencis Mulberry. 
 
 Pandanus odoratissimus ? 
 
 And a great number' of other indigenous plants, 
 some of which are useful and others ornamental. 
 
 INTRODUCED. 
 
 Ariocarpus iricisa Bread-fruit. 
 
 Cucurbit a citrullus Watermelons. 
 
 Cuciirbita pepo Punipkins. 
 
 Solanum esculentum Potatoes. 
 
 Nicotiana tabaccum Tobacco. 
 
 Citrus lemoneum Lemon. 
 
 aurantium Orange. 
 
 Besides these they have European pease, beans, 
 and onions; sugar-canes, ginger, pepper, and tur- 
 meric. In fact, situated as the island is, in a tem- 
 perate climate just without the tropic, and enjoying 
 abundance of rain, there is scarcely any vegetable, 
 
PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 291 
 
 with the exception of a few of the equinoctial plants, 
 that may not be cultivated here. The zea mays, or 
 Indian corn, would be infinitely useful both for them- 
 selves, their poultry, and their pigs. 
 
 As a g-reat part of the island is at present covered 
 with trees, which would necessarily give way to an 
 extended cultivation, and as trees attract rain. Cap- 
 tain Waldegrave seems to think that when these are 
 removed showers will be less frequent ; but there is 
 little fear of this being the case ; the central ridge, 
 with points that exceed eleven hundred feet in 
 height, will more effectually attract and condense 
 the clouds than any quantity of trees growing at a 
 less elevation; and there can be little doubt that 
 plenty of water will be found by digging at the foot 
 of the hills or close to the seacoast. 
 
 The climate appears to be unexceptionable. Dur- 
 ing the sixteen days of December (the height of 
 summer) that the Blossom remained there, the 
 range of the thermometer on the island, from nine 
 in the morning till three in the afternoon, was from 
 76^ to 80° ; on board ship from 74° to 76° ; from 
 whence Captain Beechey places the mean tempera- 
 ture during that time at 76^°. In winter he says the 
 south-westerly winds blow very cold, and even snow 
 has been known to fall. 
 
 Not one visiter to this happy island has taken 
 leave of its amiable inhabitants without a feeling of 
 regret. Captain Beechey says, "When we were 
 about to take leave, onr friends assembled to express 
 their regret at our departure. All brought some 
 little present for our acceptance, which they wished 
 us to keep in remembrance of them ; after which 
 they accompanied us to the beach, where we took 
 our leave of the female part of the inhabitants. 
 Adams and the young men pushed off in their own 
 boat to the ship, determined to accompany us to 
 sea as far as they could with safety. They con- 
 tinupd on board, unwilling- to leave us, until we were 
 
293 PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 
 
 a considerable distance from land, when they 'hook 
 each of us feelingly by the hand, and, amid expres- 
 sions of the deepest concern at our dvjparture, 
 wished us a prosperous voyage, and hoped that we 
 might one day meet again. As soon as they were 
 clear of the ship, they all stood up in their boat, and 
 gave us three hearty cheers, which were as heartily 
 returned. As the weather became foggy, the barge 
 towed them towards the shore, and we took a final 
 leave of them, unconscious, until the moment of 
 separation, of the warm interest their situation an-J 
 good conduct had created in us " 
 
( 293 1 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Many «!5»i 'til and salutary lessons of conduct may 
 be drawn from this eventful history, more especially 
 by officers of the navy, both old and young, as well 
 as by those subordinate to them. In the first place, 
 it most strongly points out the dreadful conse- 
 quences that are almost certain to ensue from a 
 state of insubordination and mutiny on board a ship 
 of war,- and the equally certain fate that, at one 
 time or other, awaits all those who have the misfor- 
 tune to be concerned in a transaction of this revolt- 
 ing nature. In the present instance, the dreadful 
 retribution which overtook them, and which was 
 evinced in a most extraordinary manner, affords an 
 awful and instructive lesson to seamen, by which 
 they may learn, that although the guilty may be 
 secured for a time in evading the punishment due to 
 the offended laws of society, yet they must not 
 hope to escape the pursuit of Divine vengeance. It 
 will be recollec-ted that the number of persons who 
 remained in the Bounty after her piratical seizure, 
 and of course charged with the crime of mutiny, 
 was twenty-five ; that these subsequently separated 
 into two parties, sixteen having landed at Otaheite, 
 and afterward taken from thence in the Pandora, as 
 prisoners, and nine having gone with the Bounty to 
 Pitcairn's Island. 
 
 Of the sixteen taken in the Pandora, — 
 
 1. Mr. Peter Heywood, midshipman, was sentenced to death, but par- 
 doned. 
 
 2. James Morrison, boatswain's mate, do. do. 
 
 3. William Musprait, commander's steward, do. do. 
 
 4. Thos. BurkiiL, seaman, 1 
 
 5. John Millward, do. V condemned and executed. 
 
 6. Thos. Ellison, do S 
 
294 CONCLUSION. 
 
 7. Joseph Coleman, armourer, j 
 
 8 Charles Norman, carpenter's mate, f ^^j^^ ^^^ acqnitted. 
 
 9. Thos. M'Intosh, carpenter s crew, ( 
 
 10. Michael Byrne, seaman, ' 
 
 11. Mr. George Stewart, midshipman, \ 
 
 12. John Sumner, seaman, ( drowned in irons when th* 
 
 13. Richard Skinner, seaman, C Pandora was wrecked. 
 
 14. Henry Hillbrant, cooper, J 
 
 15. Chas. Churchill, master-at-arms, murdered by Matthew Thompson. 
 If). Matthew Thompson, seaman, murdered by Churchill's friends in 
 
 Otaheite. 
 
 Of the nine who landed on Pitcairn's Island, — 
 
 1. Mr Fletcher Christian, acting-lieutenant, •\ 
 
 2. John Williams, seaman, / ^^^^^ murdered by the 
 
 3. Isaac Martm, do. V otaheitans. 
 
 4. John Mills, gunner's mate, \ 
 
 5. William Brown, botanist's assistant, J 
 
 6. Matthew Quintal, seaman, put to death by Young and Adams in self- 
 
 defence. 
 
 7. William M'Koy, seaman, became insane, and killed by throwing 
 
 himself from a rock. 
 
 8. Mr. Edward Young, midshipman, died of asthma. 
 
 9. Ale.x. Smith, alias John Adams, seaman, died in 1829. 
 
 Young officers of the navy, as well as the common 
 seamen, may also derive some useful lessons from 
 the events of this history. They will see the mel- 
 ancholy results of affording the least encouragement 
 for seamen to depart from their strict line of duty, 
 and to relax in that obedience to the orders of supe- 
 riors by which alone the disciphne of the service 
 can be preserved ; they will learn how dangerous it 
 is to show themselves careless and indifferent in exe- 
 cuting those orders, by thus setting a bad example 
 to the men. It ought also to enforce on their minds 
 how necessary it .is to avoid even the appearance of 
 acting in any way that can be considered as repug- 
 nant to, or subversive of, the rules and regulations of 
 the service ; and most particularly to guard against 
 any conduct that may have the appearanf;e of low- 
 ering the authority of their superiors, either by their 
 words or actions. 
 
 No doubt can remain on the minds of unpreju- 
 diced persons, or such as are capable of weighing 
 evidence, that the two vouns; midshipmen Stewart 
 
CONCLUSION. 295 
 
 and Heywood were perfectly innocent of any share 
 in the transaction in question ; and yet, because they 
 happened to be left in the ship, not only contrary to 
 their wish and intention, but kept down below by 
 force, the one lost his Ufe by being drowned in 
 chains, and the other was condemned to die, and 
 only escaped from suffering the last penalty of the 
 law by a recommendation to the royal mercy. The 
 only point in which these two officers failed was, 
 that they did not at once demand permission to ac- 
 company their commander, while they were allowed 
 to remain on deck and had the opportunity of doing 
 BO. The manly conduct of young Heywood, through- 
 out his long and unmerited' sufferings, affords an ex- 
 ample of firmness, fortitude, and resignation to the 
 Divine will that is above all praise ; in fact, nothing 
 short of conscious innocence could have supported 
 him in the severe trials he had to undergo. 
 
 The melancholy effects which tyrannical conduct, 
 harsh and opprobrious language, ungovernable pas- 
 sion, and a worrying and harassing temper on the 
 part of naval commanders seldom fail to produce on 
 the minds of those who are subject to their capri- 
 cious and arbitrary command, are strongly exem- 
 plified in the cause and consequences of the mutiny 
 in the Bounty, as described in the course of this 
 history. Conduct of this kind, by making the infe- 
 rior officers of a ship discontented and unhappy, has 
 the dangerous tendency, as in the case of Christian, 
 to incite the crew to partake in their discontent, and 
 be ready to assist in any plan to get rid of the tyrant. 
 We may see in it, also, how very httle credit a com- 
 mander is likely to gain, either with the service or 
 the public at large, when the duties of a ship are 
 carried on, as they would appear to have been in the 
 Pandora, in a cold, phlegmatic, and unfeehng manner, 
 and with an indifference to the comfort of all around 
 ■ him ; — subjecting offenders of whatever description 
 to unnecessary restraint, and a severity of punish- 
 ment which, though strictly within the letter of the 
 
296 CONCLUSION. 
 
 law, contributes in no way to the ends of discipline 
 or of justice. 
 
 The conduct of Bligh, however mistaken he may 
 have been in his mode of carrying on the duties of 
 the ship, was most exemplary throughout the long 
 and perilous voyage he performed in an open boat, 
 on the wide ocean, with the most scanty supply of 
 provisions and water, and in the w®rst weather. 
 The result of such meritorious conduct holds out 
 every encouragement to both officers and men, by 
 showing them that by firmness and perseverance, 
 and the adoption of well-digested measures, steadily 
 pursued in spite of opposition, the most hopelesd 
 undertaking, to all appearance, may be successfully 
 accomplished. 
 
 And, lastly, the fate that has attended almost 
 every one of those concerned in the mutiny and 
 piracy of his majesty's ship Bounty ought to operate 
 •as a warning to, and make a deep impression on the 
 minds of our brave seamen, not to suffer them- 
 selves to be led astray from the straight-forward 
 line of their duty, either by order or persuasion of 
 some hot-brained, thoughtless, or designing person, 
 whether their superior or equal, but to remain 
 faithful, under all circumstances, to their com- 
 manding officer; as any mutinous proceedings or 
 disobedience of his orders are sure to be visited upon 
 them in the long run, either by loss of life, or by a 
 forfeiture of that liberal provision which the British 
 government has bestowed on its seamen for long 
 and faithful services. 
 
 P.S. Just as this last sheet came from the press, 
 the editor has noticed a paragraph in the news- 
 papers, said to be extracted from an American paper, 
 stating that a vessel sent to Pitcairn's Island by the 
 Europeans of Otaheite has carried oflf the whole ot 
 the settlers to the latter island. 
 
C 297 1 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTE. 
 
 In reference to the subject of extraordinary pas- 
 sages made in open boats on the wide ocean, and the 
 note thereon at page 113, the following may be 
 added as another instance, the most painfully inter- 
 esting, and the most calamitous, perhaps, ever re- 
 corded. It was related to Mr. Eennet, a gentleman 
 deputed bv the Missionary Society of London, to- 
 gether with the Rev. Daniel Tyerman, to visit iheir 
 several stations in the South Sea islands, by Captain 
 George Pollard, the unfortunate sufferer, whom 
 these gentlemen met with at Raiatea, then a pas- 
 senger in an American vessel, having a second time 
 lost^his ship near the Sandwich Islands. The nar- 
 rative is extracted from "The Journal of Voyages 
 and Travels," just published, of the two gentlemen 
 above-mentioned, and is as follows : — . 
 
 " My first shipwreck was in open sea, on the 20th 
 of November, 1820, near the equator, about 118° W. 
 long. The vessel, a South Sea whaler, was called 
 the Essex. On that day, as we were on the look 
 out for sperm whales, and had actually struck two, 
 which the boats' crews were following to secure, I 
 perceived a very large one — it might be eighty or 
 ninety feet long — rushing with great swiftness 
 through the water, right towards the ship. We 
 hoped that she would turn aside, and dive under, 
 when she perceived such a balk in her way. But 
 no ! the animal came full foirce against our stern- 
 post ; had any quarter less firm been struck, the 
 vessel must have been burst ; as it was, every plank 
 and timber trembled throughout her whole bulk. 
 
 " The whale, as though hurt by a severe and unex- 
 pected concussion, shook its enormous head, and 
 sheered off to so considerable a distance that fot 
 
298 ADDITIONAL NOTE. 
 
 some time we had lost si^ht of her from the star- 
 '^oard quarter : of which we were very glad, hoping 
 that the worst was over. Nearly an hour afterward, 
 we saw the same fish — we had no doubt of this, 
 from her size and the direction in whicli she came — 
 making again towards us. We were at once aware 
 of our danger, but escape was impossible. She 
 dashed her head this time against the ship's side, 
 and so broke it in that the vessel filled rapidly, and 
 soon became Avaterlogged. At the second shock, ex- 
 pecting her to go down, we lowered our three boats 
 with the utmost expedition, and all hands, twenty 
 in the whole, got into them — seven, and seven, 
 and six. In a little while, as she did not sink, we 
 ventured on board again, and, by scuttling the deck, 
 were enabled to get out some buscuit, beef, water, 
 rum, tw^o sextants, a quadrant, and three compasses. 
 These, together with some rigging, a few muskets, 
 powder, &c. we brought away ; and, dividing the 
 stores among our three small crew^s, rigged the boats 
 as well as we could ; there being a compass for 
 each, and a sextant for two, and a quadrant for one, 
 but neither sextant nor quadrant for the third.* 
 Then, instead of pushing away for some port, so 
 amazed and bewildered were w^e that we continued 
 sitting in ourplaces gazing upon the ship, as though 
 she had been an object of the tenderest affection. 
 Our eyes could not leave her, till, at the end of 
 many hours, she gave a slight reel, then down she 
 sank. No words can tell our feelings. We looked 
 at each other — we looked at the place where she 
 had so latel}'' been afloat — and we did not cease ta 
 look till the terrible conviction of our abandoned 
 and perilous situation roused us to exertion, if de- 
 liverance were yet possible. 
 
 " We now consulted about the course which it mig?7^ 
 be best to take — west ward to India, eastward to South 
 America, or south-westward to the Society Islns. 
 
 * If there were /Arfe instruments and ''"^<>e ooats there must have 
 been ojie for each, for th? quadrant was jusi a^ gotid as a sextant. — Ed. 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 299 
 
 We knew that we were at no great distance from 
 Tahiti, but were so ignorant of the state and temper 
 of the' inhabitants, that we feared we should be de- 
 voured bv cannibals, if we cast ourselves on their 
 mercy. It was determined, therefore, to make for 
 South America, which we computed to be more than 
 two thousand miles distant. Accordingly we steered 
 eastward, and though for several days harassed with 
 squalls, we contrived to keep together. It was not 
 long before we found that one of the boats had 
 started a plank, Avhich was no wonder, for whale- 
 boats are all clinker-built, and very slight, being 
 made of half-inch plank only, before planing. To 
 remedy this alarming defect we all turned to, and 
 having emptied the damagred boat into the two others, 
 we raised her side as well as we could, and suc- 
 ceeded in restoring the plank at the bottom. 
 Through this accident, some of our biscuit had be- 
 come Injured by the salt-water. This was equally 
 divided among the several boats' crews. Food and 
 water, meanwhile, with our utmost economy, rapidly 
 failed. Our strensrth was exhausted, not by absti- 
 nence only, but by the labours which we were 
 obliged to employ to keep our little vessels afloat 
 amid the storms which repeatedly assailed us. 
 One night we were parted in rough weather ; but 
 though the next day we fell in with one of our com- 
 panion-boats, we never saw or heard any more of 
 the other, which probably perished at sea, being 
 without either sextant or quadrant.* 
 
 " When we were reduced to the last pinch, and 
 out of every thing, having been more than three 
 weeks abroad, we were cheered with the sight of a 
 low, uninhabited island, which we reached in hope, but 
 were bitterly disappointed. There were some bar- 
 ren bushes and many rocks on this forlor.n spot. 
 The only provisions that we could procure were a 
 few birds anc^- their eggs; this supply was soon 
 
 * The mistake is here again repented ; it would be absurd to suppose 
 lliat one boat had both quadrant and sextant 
 
300 ADDITIONAl, TTOTE. 
 
 reduced ; the sea-fowls appeared to have been fright- 
 ened away, and their nests were left empty after we 
 had once or twice plundered them. What distressed 
 us most was the utter want of fresh water ; we could 
 not find a drop anywhere, till, at the extreme verge 
 of ebb tide, a small spring was discovered in the 
 sand ; but even that was too scanty to afford us suffi- 
 cient to quench our thirst before it was covered by 
 the waves at their turn. 
 
 " There being no prospect but that of starvation 
 here, we determined to put to sea again. Three of 
 our comrades, however, chose to remain, and we 
 pledged ourselves to send a vessel to bring them off, 
 if we ourselves should ever escape to a Christian 
 port. With a very small morsel of biscuit for each, 
 and a little water, we again ventured out on the wide 
 ocean. In the course of a few days our provisions 
 were consumed. Two men died ; w^e had no other 
 alternative than to live upon their remains. These 
 we roasted to dryness by means of fires kindled on 
 the ballast-sand at the bottom of the boats.* When 
 this supply was spent, what could we do? We 
 looked at each other with horrid thoughts in our 
 minds, but we held our tongues. I am sure that we 
 loved one another as brothers all the time ; and yet 
 our looks told plainly what must be done. We cast 
 lots, and the fatal one fell on my poor cabin-boy. 1 
 started forward instantly, and cried out, ' My lad, my 
 lad, if you don't like your lot, I'll shoot the first mj\n 
 that touches you.' The poor emaciated boy hesi- 
 tated a moment or two ; then, quietly laying his head 
 down upon the gunnel of the boat, he said, ' / like it 
 as luell as any oiher.'' He was soon despatched, and 
 nothing of him left. 1 think, then, another man died 
 of himself, and him too we ate. But I can tell you 
 no more — my head is on fire at the recollection ; I 
 hardly know what I say. I forgot to say that we 
 
 * It is not explained witli what kind of fuel they performed this di»- 
 tressing operation. 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 301 
 
 had parted company with the second boat before 
 now. After some more days of horror and despair, 
 when some were lying down at the bottom of the 
 boat not able to rise, and scarcely one of us could 
 move a lira.b, a vessel hove in sight. We were taken 
 on board, and treated with extreme kindness. The 
 second lost boat was also picked up at sea, and the 
 survivors saved. A ship afterward sailed in search 
 of our companions on the desolate island, and brought 
 the-m away." 
 
 Captain Pollard closed his dreary narrative with 
 saying, in a tone of despondency never to be forgot- 
 ten by him who heard it, " After a time I found my 
 way to the United States, to which I belonged, and 
 got another ship. That too I have lost by a second 
 wreck off the Sandwich Islands, and now I am 
 utterly ruined. No owner will ever trust me with a 
 whaler again, for all will say I am an unlucky man." 
 
 The following account respecting the three men 
 that were left on the uninhabited island, is given in a 
 note of the same work, and said to be extracted from 
 a religious tract. No. 679, issued by the society in 
 Paternoster-row. 
 
 " On the 26th December the boats left the island : 
 this was indeed a trying moment to all : they sepa- 
 rated with mutual prayers and good wishes, seven- 
 teen* venturing to sea with almost certain death be- 
 fore them, while three remained on a rocky isle, des- 
 titute of water, and affording hardly any thing to 
 support life. The prospects of these three poor 
 men were gloomy : they again tried to dig a well, 
 but without success, and all hope seemed at an end, 
 when providentially they were relieved by a shower 
 of rain. They were thus delivered from the imme 
 diate apprehension of perishing by thirst. Their 
 
 * Here again is another mistake ; the number must have been eleven 
 tt most, one of the boats having parted before the others reached the 
 bland.— Ep. „ 
 
502 ADDITIONAL NOTE. 
 
 next care was to procure food, and their difficulties 
 herein were also very great ; their principal resource 
 was small birds, about the size of a blackbird, which 
 they caught while at roost. Every night they 
 climbed the trees in search of them, and obtained, 
 by severe exertions, a scanty supply, hardly enough 
 to support life. Some of the trees bore a small berry, 
 which gave them a little relief, but these they found 
 only in small quantities. Shellfish they searched 
 for in vain ; and although from the rocks they saw 
 at times a number of sharks, and also other sorts of 
 fish, they were unable to catch any, as they had no 
 fishing tackle. Once they saw several turtles, and 
 succeeded in taking five, but they were then without 
 water : at those times they had little inclination to 
 eat, and before one of them was quite finished the 
 others were become unfit for food. 
 
 " Their sufferings from want of water were the 
 most severe, their only supply being from what re- 
 mained in holes among the rocks after the showers 
 which fell at intervals ; and sometimes they were 
 five or six dr^ys without any ; on these occasions 
 they were compelled to suck the blood of the birds 
 they caught, which allayed their thirst in some de- 
 gree ; but they did so very unwillingly, as they 
 found themselves much disordered thereby. 
 
 " Among the rocks were several caves formed by 
 nature, which afforded shelter from the wind and 
 rain. In one of these caves they found eight human 
 skeletons, in all probability the remains of some 
 poor mariners who had been shipwrecked on the 
 isle, and perished for want of food and water. They 
 were side by side, as if t-hey had laid down and died 
 together! This sight deeply affected the mate and 
 his companions ; their case was similar, and they 
 had every reason to expect, ere long, the same end; 
 for many times they lay down at night, with theii 
 tongues swollen and their lips parched with thirst, 
 scarcely hoping to see the morning sun ; and it is 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 303 
 
 impossible to form an idea of their feelings when 
 the morning dawned, and they found their prayers 
 had been heard and answered by a providential sup- 
 ply of rain. 
 
 " In this state they continued till the 5th of April 
 following. On the morning of that day they were 
 in the woods as usual, searchhig for food and w^ater, 
 as well as their weakness permitted, when their at- 
 tention was aroused by a sound which they thought 
 was distant thunder ; but looking towards the sea, 
 they saw a ship in the offing, which had just fired a 
 gun. Their joy at this sight may be more easily 
 imagined than described; they immediately fell on 
 their knees, and thanked God for his goodness in 
 thus sending deliverance when least expected ; then 
 hastening to the shore, they saw a boat coming to- 
 wards them. As the boat' could not approach the 
 shore without great danger, the mate, being a good 
 swimmer, and stronger than his companions, plunged 
 into the sea, and providentially escaped a watery 
 grave at the moment when deliverance was at hand. 
 His companions crawied out farther on the rocks, 
 and by the great exertions of the crew were taken 
 into the boat, and soon found themselves on board 
 the Surrey, commanded by Captain Raine, by whom 
 they were treated in the kindest manner, and their 
 health and strength were speedily restored." 
 
 Mr. Montgomery, the editor, obsen'es, " there is 
 some incongruity in these two narratives, Avhich 
 more minute particulars might reconcile." We have 
 noticed them. Mr. Bennet received the account ver- 
 bally, and may be mistaken in some points, but there 
 is httle doubt of its being substantially correct. 
 
 This melancholy history supplies an additional 
 and complete answer to Bligh's doubts of men feed- 
 ing on each other to preserve existence. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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