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THE
EVENT FUL HISTORY
OF THE
MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY.
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THE
EVENT FUL HISTORY
OF THE
MUTINY AND PIRATICAL SEIZURE
OF H.M.S.
BOUNTY:
ITS CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCEs.
ILLUSTRATED BY six ETCHINGS FROM origiNAL DRAWINGs.
BY LIEUT. = COLONEL BATTY.
THIRD EDITION.
LONDO N :
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET;
- - AND e -
THOMAS TEGG, CHEAPSIDE.
MDCCCXXXIX.

C O N T E N T S.
CHAPTER I.
OTAHEITE. Page
Brief description of Otaheite, as it was at the time of its
first discovery by Captain Wallis, and when subse.
quently visited by Captain Cook - * sº - 1
CHAPTER II.
THE BREAD - FRUIT.
Expedition of the Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant
Bligh, to convey the Bread-Fruit Tree from Otaheite
to the West India Islands * &= * = - 40
CHAPTER III.
THE MUTINY.
Lieutenant Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny and Piratical
Seizure of the Boünty by Mr. Fletcher Christian and
part of the Crew, with Observations thereon - 61


vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
THE OPEN-BOAT NAWIGATION.
Page
Narrative of the unparalleled voyage of Four Thousand
Miles, performed by Lieutenant Bligh and seventeen
others in an open Boat ſº º q- - - 95
CHAPTER V.
THE PAN DORA.
Narrative of the Expedition of H.M.S. Pandora in search
of the Mutineers; of the treatment of those taken
on board that ship; and of her destruction by cross-
ing the barrier reef off the coast of New South Wales 148
CHAPTER WI.
THE COURT-MARTIAL.
Abstract of the proceedings of the Court-Martial held on
the Mutineers, and the sentence passed on them - 205
|
CHAPTER VII.
THE KING's wanſtant.
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 - gº - - 245
CHAPTER VIII.
THF, LAST OF THE MUTINEERS.
The LAST of the Mutineers discovered with their offspring
on Pitcairn's Island; the history and fate of those
who carried off the Bounty, and the present state and
condition of their innocent offspring - gº – 282
.-
LIST OF PLATES.
—-e—
view near Matavai Bay, Otaheite tº • fo face p. 29
View of a Creek in Matavai Bay & tº . . . 39
View of the Boat, with Bligh and his Companions . 99
The Pandora, at the moment of going down e . 187
Residence of John Adams on Pitcairn's Island . . 317
George Young and his Wife (Hannah Adams) Frontispiece.


P RE FA CE.
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 occur-
rence, and from which the naval service in
particular, in all its ranks, may still draw instruc-
tive and useful lessons.
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
X PREFACE.
Age-- •
pirates, mutineers, and murderers—a little society
which, under the precepts of that sacred volume,
is characterised by religion, morality, and inno-
cence. The discovery of this happy people, as
unexpected as it was accidental, 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 subject; 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;
for, beautiful as many passages in his ‘Island'
are, in a region where every tree, and flower, and
fountain breathe poetry, yet as a whole the poem
is feeble and deficient in dramatic effect.
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
appearance. 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
PREFACE. xi
monument to the name of William Sotheby, in
his translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
To the kindness of Mrs. Heywood, the relict
of the late Captain Peter Heywood, the Editor
is indebted for those beautiful and affectionate
letters, written by a beloved sister to her unfor-
tunate brother, while a prisoner and under
Sentence of death; as well as for some occasional
poetry, which displays an intensity of feeling, a
tenderness of expression, and a high tone of
sentiment, that do honour to the head and heart
of this amiable and accomplished lady. Those
letters also from the brother to his deeply
afflicted family will be read with peculiar interest.
/*

THE
EVENTFUL HISTORY
OF THE
MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY.
- CHAPTER I.
O T A H E IT E.
Y
‘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 unfurrow'd fields,
And bakes its unadulterated loaves
Without a furnace in unpurchased groves,
And flings off famine from its fertile breast,
A priceless market for the gathering guest;—
These,’ &c. ByRoN.
THE reign of George III. will be distinguished
in history by the great extension and improve-
ment 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
- undertaken, “not (as Dr. Hawkesworth observes)
with a view to the acquisition of treasure, or the
B


2 OTAIHEITE.
extent of dominion, but for the improvement of
commerce and the increase and diffusion of know-
ledge.’ 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, 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,
Wallis, 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 pro-
ducing 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 subsequent voyages,
there was one which had engaged the attention of
certain philosophers, from the time of the Spanish
navigator, Quiros: this able navigator had main-
tained 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.

OTAIIEITE. 3
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 Dal-
rymple (who had adopted the opinion of Quiros),
and certain others, for the main purpose, however,
of observing the transit of Venus over the sun's
disc, which was to happen in the year 1769. By
the king's command, a bark of 370 tons was taken
up by the Admiralty to perform this service, but,
as Mr. Dalrymple was a civilian, he could not be
entrusted with the command of the ship, and on
that account declined going in her.
The command was therefore conferred on
Lieutenant James Cook, an officer of undoubted
ability, 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 obser-
vation of the transit. Mr. Banks, a private
gentleman of good fortune, who afterwards be-
came 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 Mar-
Quesas de Mendoza, or those of Rotterdam or
Amsterdam, were proposed by the Royal Society
as proper places for making the observation.
While fitting out, however, Captain Wallis re-
turned from his expedition, and strongly recom-
mended, as most suitable for the purpose, Port
Royal Harbour, on an island he had discovered,
B 2
4 OTAHEITE,
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 tempta-
tions have been urged as one, if not the main, cause
of the mutiny, which was supposed, at least by the
commander of that ship, to have been excited by
* Young hearts which languish’d for some sunny isle,
Where summer years and summer women smile,
Men without country, who, too long estranged,
Had found no native home, or found it changed,
And, half uncivilised, preferr'd the cave
Gf some soft savage to the uncertain wave.”
It may be proper, therefore, as introductory to
the present narrative, to give a general 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, erro-
neously however, to have occasioned the unfortu-
nate catastrophe alluded to ;-to glance at
‘The nymphs' seducements and the magic bower,’
as they existed at the period of the first intercourse
between the Otaheitans and the crews of those
* The discovery of this island is owing to Fernandez de
Quiros in 1606, which he named La Sagittaria. Some
doubts were at first entertained of its identity with Otaheite,
but the small difference of a few miles in latitude, and about
two degrees of longitude, the description as to size, the low
isthmus, the distance from it of any other island at all similar,
and above all, the geographical position—all prove its identity
—although Quiros calls it, what it certainly is not, a low island.

OTAHEITE. 5
ships, which carried to their shores, in succession,
Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook.
The first communication which Wallis had with
these people was unfortunately of a hostile nature.
IIaving 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 sur-
rounded the ship. Great numbers, on being
invited, crowded on board the stranger ship, but
one ºf them being butted on the haunches by a
goat, and turning hastily round, perceiving it rear-
ing on its hind legs, ready to repeat the blow, was
so terrified at the appearance of this strange ani-
mal, so different from any he had ever seen, that
in the moment of terror, he jumped overboard, and
all the rest followed his example with 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 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 imme-
diately 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 buck-shot, at the man
who threw the first stone, and wounded him in the
shoulder. - -


{5 OTAIIEITE.
-sº
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 chubs and pad
dles in their hands, “Our people,’ says the com-
mander, “being much pressed, were obliged to
fire, by which one of the assailants was killed,
and another much wounded.’ This unlucky ren-
contre 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 observed that they had little on board
except a quantity of round pebble stones. Other
canoes came off along with them, having only
women on board; and while these females were
assiduously practising their allurements, by atti-
tudes that could not be misunderstood, with the
view, as it would seem, to distract 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 conches, and others
playing on flutes. One of them, with a person
sitting under a canopy, approached the 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-
tance, and, on holding up the branch of a cocoa-
nut-tree, there was a universal shout from all the

OTAIIEITE. 7
canoes, which at the same moment moved towards
the ship, and a shower 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 confu-
sion, and caused them to retreat to a short dis-
tance. In a few minutes, 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 putting 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 some-
thing 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
utmost precipitation. What was to happen on the
following day was matter of conjecture, but this
point was soon decided.
* The white man landed ;-need the rest be told P
The new world stretch'd its dusk hand to the old.’
Lieutenant Furneaux, on the next morning,
8 OTAHEITE.
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, and called it King George
the Third's Island. Just as he was embarking,
an old man, to whom the Lieutenant 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 staffin a supplicating posture, then
retired and brought two live hogs, which they laid
down at the foot of the staff, and then 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 in return, but he
would accept of none. -
Concluding that peace was now established, 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 were
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 con-
cluded 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 an end to hostilities at once.’ Accordingly
a tremendous fire was opened at once on all the



OTAHEITIE, 9
groups of canoes, which had the effect of immedi-
ately 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
distance to be perfectly safe. The captain, how-
ever, ordered four shot to be fired over them, but
two of the balls, having fallen close to a tree where
a number of them 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
pleces.
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
*


10 OTAFIEITE,
country from them; or an irresistible temptation
to endeavour, at all hazards, to possess themselves
of so valuable a prize. Be that as it may, the
dread inspired 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 continued to the day of the Dol-
phin's departure; and provisions of all kinds, hogs,
dogs, fruit, and vegetables, were supplied in the
greatest abundance, in exchange for pieces of iron,
nails, and trinkets. *
As a proof of the readiness of these simple people
to forgive injuries, a poor woman, accompanied by
a young man bearing a branch of the plantain tree,
and another man with two hogs, approached the
gunner, whom Captain Wallis had appointed to
regulate the market, and looking round on the
strangers with great attention, fixing her eyes
sometimes on one and sometimes on another, at
length burst into tears. It appeared that her
husband and three of her sons had been killed in
the attack on the ship. While this was under
explanation, 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

OTAFIEITE. 1 I
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
superior 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 restraint, either from diffidence or fear,
and conducted herself with that easy freedom which
generally distinguishes conscious superiority and
habitual command. She accepted some small
present which the captain gave her, with a good
grace and much pleasure; 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
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, followed. In our way, a vast multitude
crowded about us, but upon her waving her hand,
lº OTAHIEITE.
without speaking a word, they withdrew, and left
us a free passage. When we approached near
her house, a great number 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 with their
hands. The same operation 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 exclamation of
one of the Indians, who saw it, drew the attention
of the rest, and in a moment every eye was fixed
upon the prodigy, and every operation was sus-
pended. The whole assembly stood some time
motionless, in silent astonishment, which could
not have been more strongly expressed, if they had
discovered that our friend's limbs had been screwed

OTAHIEITE. I3
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
ordered 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 I declined the acceptance of this favour, but
being unwilling not to seem pleased with what was
intended to please me, I acquiesced. When we
went away, she ordered a very large sow, big with
young, to be taken down to the boat, and accom-
panied us thither herself. She had given direc-
tions 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 I 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 rows in the open air, round the great
house. When this was done, she sat down herself
upon a place somewhat elevated above the rest,
and two women, placing themselves one on each
14 OTAHEITIE,
side of her, fed her, 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 barter, 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 immediately 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, return 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 difficulty that she could be
pacified. The next time that she went on board,
Captain Wallis ordered a good dinner for her enter-
tainment 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 leaving the
island at the time he had fixed, and on receiving
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 ex-
pressing his sense of her kindness and bounty,
announced his intention of sailing the following

OTAIIEITE. 15
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 stayed on board, says Captain Wallis, “till
might, and it was then with the greatest difficulty
that she could be prevailed upon to go on shore.
When she was told that the boat was ready, she
threw herself down upon the arm-chest, and wept
a long time, with an excess of passion that could
not be pacified; at last, however, with the greatest
reluctance, she was prevailed upon to go into 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
after a breeze springing up, the ship made sail;
and finding it now necessary to return into her
canoe, “she embraced us all, says Captain Wallis,
‘in the most affectionate manner, and with many
tears; all her attendants also expressed great sor-
row 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 silently accepted of all,
but took little notice of anything. About ten
o'clock we had got without the reef, and a fresh
breeze springing up, our Indian friends, and
16 OTAIHEITE.
particularly the queen, once more bade us farewell,
with such tenderness 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 worthies; and if her Majesty's
language had been as well understood by Captain
Wallis, as that of Dido was to Æneas, when
pressing him to stay with her, there is no doubt it
would have been found not less pathetic—
Nec te noster amor, nec te data dextera quondam,
Nec moritura tenet crudeli funere Dido P
This lady, however, did not sink, like the ‘miser-
rima Dido, under her griefs; on the contrary, we
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 par-
tiality 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 servante; added to which, a theft,
rather of an amusing nature, contributed for a
time to create a coolness, and somewhat to disturb
the good understanding that had subsisted between
them. It happened that a party, consisting of
Cook, Banks, Solander, and three or four others,
were benighted at a distance from the anchorage.
Mr. Banks, says Lieut. Cook, thought himself
fortunate 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

OTA HEITE. 17
to the custom of the country; and taking off his
clothes, as was his constant practice, the nights
being hot, Oberea kindly insisted upon taking
them into her own custody, for otherwise, she
said, they would certainly be stolen. Mr. Banks
having, as he thought, so good a safeguard, resigned
himself to sleep with all imaginable tranquillity;
but awakening about eleven o'clock, and wanting
to get up, he searched for his clothes where 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 imme-
diately awakened Oberea, who, starting up and
hearing his complaint, ordered lights, and prepared
in great haste to recover what had been lost. Too-
tahah (the regent) slept in the next canoe, and
being soon alarmed, he came to them and set out
with Oberea in search of the thief. Mr. Banks
was not in a condition to go with them, as of his
apparel scarcely anything was left him but his
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, which was sure
to bring a crowd together, in which there was a
chance of his associates being found, he rose,
and made the best of his way towards it, and
joined his 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 stock-
ings, that had been stolen from under his head,
though he had never been asleep, and, his asso-

18 OTAHEITE.
ciates theirjackets. At day-break Oberea brought
to Mr. Banks some of her country clothes; ‘so
that when he came to us,’ says Cook, “he made a
most motley appearance, half Indian and half
English. Such an adventure must have been
highly aumsing to him who was the object of it,
when the inconvenience had been removed, as
every one will admit who knew the late vene-
rable 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 feeling existed, she absented
herself for some time, and when she again ap-
peared, she said a favourite of hers had 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, however, she was not gra-
tified.” Sir Joseph might have thought that, if he
complied with her request, his breeches might be
in danger of following the other articles of his
dress. .
The Otaheitans cannot resist pilfering. “I must
bear my testimony,’ says Cook, ‘that the people
of this country, of all ranks, men and women, are
the errantest thieves upon the face of the earth;
but, he adds, “we must not hastily conclude that
theft is a testimony of the same depravity in them
that it is in us, in the instances in which our
people were sufferers by their dishonesty; for their


OTAIIEITE. 19
temptation was such, as to surmount what would
be considered as a proof of uncommon integrity
among those who have more knowledge, better
principles, and stronger motives to resist the
temptations of illicit 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
behaviour 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 shillings, some new halfpence, and two large
nails, making signs that they should take what
they liked best. The mails were first seized with
great eagerness, 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
seamen, 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 women rendered
the men, as might readily be expected, less obe-
dient to command, and made it necessary to
punish some of them by flogging. The Otaheitans
regarded this punishment with horror. One of
- C 2 - .

2.) OTA IIIEITE.
Cook's men having insulted a chief's wife, he was
ordered to be flogged in their presence. The
Indians saw him stripped and tied up to the rig-
ging with a fixed attention, waiting in silent sus-
pense for the event; but as soon as the first stroke
was given, they interfered with great agitation,
earnestly intreating that the rest of the punish-
ment 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
observes, ‘like those of children, were always
ready to express any passion that was 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 affliction,
the tears streaming from her eyes, inquired ear-
nestly the cause ; but instead 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 followed, 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 gaiety 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 overwhelmed with grief
OTAIHEITE. 21
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 imme-
diately 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. -
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 disguise or suppress; and having no habits of
thinking, which perpetually recall the past and
anticipate the future, they are affected by all the
changes of the passing hour, and reflect the colour
of the time, however frequently 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 lasting
grief.
"An old woman having died, Mr. Banks, whose
pursuit 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 morai. The request was complied with,
but on no other condition 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

22 otAHEITE.
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 per-
formed on the rest, among whom were some
women, who were reduced to a state as near to
uakedness as himself; the boy was blacked all
over, after which the procession set forward, the
chief mourner having mumbled something like a
prayer over the body. It is the custom of the
Indians to fly from these processions with the
utmost precipitation. On the present occasion
several large bodies of the natives were put to
flight, all the houses were deserted, and not a
Otaheitan was to be seen. The body being depo-
sited on the stage, the mourners were dismissed to
wash themselves in the river, and to resume their
customary dresses and their usual gaiety.
They are, however, so jealous of any one
approaching 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 inclosures, was struck by a native who
saw it, and came suddenly behind him. The
morai 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

OTAFIISITE. 23
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
operation of tattooing performed upon the back
of a girl about thirteen years old. The instru-
ment 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 im-
ploring 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 her a
smart blow. Mr. Banks stayed in the neighbour-
ing 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 be-
stow on their large double boats is not less won-
derful than their stone morais; from the felling of
the tree and splitting it into plank, to the minutest

*******, 2/-.
carved ornaments that decorate the head and the
24. OTATHEITE.
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
sometimes 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 conversion 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
sting-ray, with coral sand as a file or polisher.
The persons of the Otaheitan men are in gene-
ral 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 high, neither are the eyes 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
expression, sometimes sparkling with fire, and


OT AHIEITIE, 25
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 deport-
ment liberal, and their behaviour to strangers and
to each other, affable 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 consequently
wholly 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 between every
morsel; and their clothes, as well as their per-
sons, 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 a description of men
who are not much disposed to represent worldly
objects in the most favourable light. 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 sun-beams, are but a shade or two
26 OTAIIEITE.
darker than a European brunette; their eyes are
black and sparkling; their teeth white and even ;
their skin soft and delicate; their limbs finely
turned; their hair jetty, perfumed, and orna-
mented 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 person who
might be esteemed comely, we saw few who, in
fact, could be called beauties; yet they possess
eminent feminine graces: their faces are never
darkened with a scowl, or covered with a cloud
of sullenness or suspicion. Their manners are
affable and engaging; their step easy, firm, and
graceful; their behaviour free and unguarded ;
always boundless 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 un-
, commonly 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 cripple is hardly ever seen among
them in early life. A rickety child is never
known; anything resembling it would reflect the
highest disgrace on the mother.
... “The Otaheitans have no partitions in their
|g-

OT AHIEITE. 27
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 satisfying our
extraordinary curiosities, and to please our brutes,
they have appeared immodest in the extreme.
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 in-
decency never before practised among themselves.
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
described, whose interesting offspring are now
peopling Pitcairn's Island, and who, while they
inherit their mothers' virtues, have hitherto kept
themselves free from their vices.
The greater part of the food of Otaheitans is
vegetable. Hogs, dogs, and poultry, are their only
animals, and all of them serve for food. “We all
agreed, says Cook, ‘that a South-sea dog was
little inferior to an English lamb, which he ascribes
to its being kept up and fed wholly on vegetables.
Broiling and baking are the only two modes of
applying fire to their cookery. Captain Wallis
observes, 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
* A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean,
ppendix, pp. 336,342. * - - - - - -
l

28 OTAHIEITE.
of the attendants of the supposed queen, having
observed the surgeon fill the tea-pot from an
urn, turned the cock himself, and received the
water 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 terror.
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 prepared 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 made in the 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 was then
cut up with the same 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 bottom, 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
- -|-|-
|-|-|----------|-_|- |-|-
|-|- |- |- _|-_|-|------
|-|- ： ~~~~ ~~
…º
º， ， ， ， ， （*
--------- - -| –|-
|-
. . . . . .
------
-
|×
ſae|×
1W）.·
|，*-
|- =-（：-（--~~（_）~♥~



OTATIEITE. 29
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, cocoa-nuts, yams,
and other vegetables of the like kind.
The food of the natives, being chiefly vege-
table, consists of the various preparations of the
bread-fruit, of cocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, and
a great variety of other fruit, the spontaneous
products of a rich soil and genial climate. 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 cocoa-nut ; the art of pro-
ducing liquors that intoxicate by fermentation
being at this time happily unknown among them;
neither did they make use of any narcotic, as the
natives of some other countries do opium, beetel-
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 mixture of grief and terror in her
countenance, made him understand that her hus-
band was dying, in consequence of something
the strangers had given him to eat. Mr. Banks

30 OTAHEITE.
found his friend leaning his head against a post,
in an attitude of the utmost languor and despon-
dency. 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 rolled it about in his mouth,
grinding it to powder with his teeth, and ulti-
mately swallowing it. During the examination of
the leaf he looked up at Mr. Banks with the most
piteous countenance, and intimated that he had but
a very short time to live. A copious draught of
cocoa-nut milk, however, set all to rights, and the
chief and his attendants were at once restored to
that flow of cheerfulness 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 Aca, but Cook's party saw nothing
of its effects, probably owing to their considering
drunkenness as a disgrace. This vice of drinking
ava is said to be peculiar almost to the chiefs,
who vie with each other in drinking the greatest
number of draughts, each draught being about a
pint. They keep this intoxicating juice with great
care from the women. ſº
As eating is one of the most important con-
ſcerns of life, here as well as elsewhere, Captain
Cook's description of a meal made by one of the
chiefs of the island cannot be considered as unin-
teresting, and is here given in his own words.
• He sits down under the shade of the next
OT AHIEITE. 31
tree, or on the shady side of his house, and a large
quantity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit or
bananas, are neatly spread before him upon the
ground as a table-cloth ; 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 cocoa-nut shells, one full of salt water
and one of fresh. His attendants, which are not
few, seat themselves round him, and when all is
ready, he begins by washing his hands and his
mouth thoroughly with the fresh water, and this he
repeats almost continually throughout the whole
meal. He then takes part of his provision out of
the basket, which generally consists of a small fish
or two, two or three bread-fruits, fourteen or fifteen
ripe bananas, or six or seven apples. He first
takes half a bread-fruit, peels off 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 water, placing the other,
and what remains of the bread-fruit, upon the
leaves that had 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-water, either out of the cocoa-nut shell, or the
palm of his hand. In the meantime one of his
attendants has prepared a young cocoa-nut, by
peeling off the outer rind with his teeth, an opera-

32 OTAHITEITE.
tion which to a European appears very surpris-
ing; but it depends so much upon sleight, that
many of us were able to do it before we left the
island, and some that could scarcely crack a
filbert. The master, when he chooses to drink,
takes the cocoa-nut thus prepared, and boring a
hole through the shell with his fingers, or break-
ing it with a stone, he sucks out the liquor.
When he has eaten his bread-fruit and fish, he
begins with his plantains, one of which makes but
a mouthful, though it be as big as a black-pud-
ding; if, instead 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 immediately 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 with 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
**--.
OTA HEITE. 33
a thick custard, and a large cocoa-nut shell full of
it being 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 wash-
ing his hands and his mouth. After which the
cocoa-nut shells are cleaned, and everything 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 two or three fishes as big as
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, which is as substantial as the thickest un-
baked custard. This is so extraordinary that I
scarcely expect to be believed; and I would not
have related it upon my own single testimony,
but Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, 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 parti-
cularly fond of their society, are wholly excluded
from their meals; nor could the latter be prevailed
on to partake of anything when dining in com-
pany on board ship; they said it was not right:
even brothers and sisters have each their separate
baskets, and their provisions are separately pre-
pared: but the English officers and men, whenvisit-
ing 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
D

34 OTAIIEITE.
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 of the thermometer is
about 689, 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 district 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. The dwelling-houses all
stand in the woody belt which surrounds the
island, between the feet of the central mountains
and the sea, each having a very small piece of
ground cleared, just enough to keep the dropping
of the trees from the thatch. An Otaheitan wood
consists chiefly of groves of bread-fruit and cocoa-
nuts, without underwood, and intersected 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 anything more beautiful than these
walks.’
With all the activity they are capable of dis-
playing, and the sprightliness of their disposition,
they are fond of indulging in ease and indolence.
The trees that produce their food are mostly of
OTA HEITE. 35
spontaneous growth—the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut,
bananas of thirteen sorts, besides plantains; a fruit
not unlike an apple, which, when ripe, is very
pleasant ; Sweet potatoes, yams, and a species of
arum ; the pandanus, the jambu, and the sugar-
came ; a variety of plants whose roots are escu-
lent—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 con-
siderable degree of ingenuity. Red and yellow
are the two colours most in use for dyeing their
cloth; the red is stated to be exceedingly brilliant
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 tendency to that hue ; one is the Cordia
Sebestina, the other a species of Ficus ; of the
former the leaves, of the latter the fruits, yield the
juices. The yellow dye is extracted from the
bark of the root of the Morinda citrifolia, by
scraping and infusing it in water.
Their matting is exceedingly beautiful, particu-
larly that which is made from the bark of the
Hibiscus tiliaceus, and of a species of Pandanus.
Others are made of rushes and grass with amazing
facility and despatch. In the same manner their
basket and wicker work are most ingeniously
D 2
36 OTAHETTE.
made ; the former in patterns of a thousand dif-
ferent kinds. Their nets and fishing-lines are
strong and neatly made, so are their fish-hooks of
pearl-shell; and their clubs are admirable speci-
mens 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 athletic 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 the 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 sup-
posed to be the chief warriors of the island. In
this 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 pleasures of either father or mother.
Another savage practice is that of. immolating
human beings at the Morais, which serve as tem-
ples as well as sepulchres, and yet, by the report
of the missionaries, they entertain a due sense and
reverential awe of the Deity. “With regard to
their worship, Captain Cook does the Otaheitans
OTAHEITE. 37
but justice in saying, “they reproach many who
bear the name of Christians. You see no in-
stances of an Otaheitan drawing near the Eatooa
with carelessness and inattention; he is all devo-
tion; he approaches the place of worship with
reverential 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.’ Thiev-
ing may also be reckoned as one of their vices;
this, however, is common to all uncivilised na-
tions, and, it may be added, civilised too. But to
judge them fairly in this respect, we should com-
pare their situation with that of a more civilised
people. A native of Otaheite 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 likely to
happen. If the former found the temptation
irresistible to supply himself with what was essen-
tially useful—the latter would be as little able to
resist that which would contribute to the indul-
gence of his avarice or the gratification of his
pleasures, or of both. - . .
Such was the state of this beautiful island and
its interesting and fascinating natives at the time
when Captain Wallis first discovered and Lieute-
nant Cook shortly afterwards visited it. What

38 OTAIIEITE.
they now are, as described by Captain Beechey, it
is lamentable to reflect. All their usual and in-
nocent amusements have been denounced by the
missionaries, and, in lieu of them, these poor
people have been driven to seek for resources in
habits of indolefice and apathy: that simplicity of
character, which atoned for many of their faults,
has been converted into cunning and hypocrisy;
and drunkenness, poverty, and disease, have thinned
the island of its former population to a frightful
degree. By a survey of the first missionaries, and
a census of the inhabitants, taken in 1797, the po-
pulation was estimated at 16,050 souls; Captain
Waldegrave, in 1830, states it, on the authority
of a census also taken by the missionaries, to
amount only to 5000—and there is but too much
reason to ascribe this diminution to praying,
psalm-singing, and dram-drinking *.
The island of Otaheite is in shape two circles
united by a low and narrow isthmus. The larger
circle is named Otaheite Mooé, and is about thirty
miles in diameter; the lesser, named Tiaraboo,
about ten miles in diameter. A belt of low land,
terminating in numerous valleys, ascending by
gentle slopes to the central mountain, which is
about seven thousand feet high, surrounds the
* Cook appears not to have exercised his usual judgment
in estimating the population of this island. After stating
the number of war-cances 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 not much, if
at all, too great.”
-
º, on º Ży Wºz
Azzºzzy ºvayaº
-

OTAHEITE. 39
larger circle, and the same is the case with the
smaller circle on a proportionate 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 were once scattered the smiling
cottages and little plantations of the natives. All
these are now destroyed, and the remnant of the
population has crept down to the flats and swampy
ground on the sea-shore, completely subservient
to the seven establishments of missionaries, who
have taken from them what little trade they used
to carry on, to possess themselves of it; who have
their warehouses, act as agents, and monopolise
all the cattle on the island—but, in return, they
have given them a new religion and a parliament
(risum teneatis 2) and reduced them to a state of
complete pauperism—and all, as they say, and
probably have so persuaded themselves, for the
honour of God, and the salvation of their souls'
How much is such a change brought about by
such conduct to be deprecated; how lamentable is
it to reflect, that an island on which Nature has
lavished so many of her bounteous gifts, with
which neither Cyprus nor Cythéra, nor the fan-
ciful island of Calypso, can compete in splendid
and luxuriant beauties, should be doomed to such
a fate, in an enlightened age, and by a people
that call themselves civilised
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 goldless age, where gold disturbs no dreams,
Inhabits or inhabited the shore,
Till Europe taught them better than before,
Bestow'd her customs, and amended theirs,
But left her vices also to their heirs.” By Ron,
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 consti-
tute an article of food, would be of very essential
benefit to the inhabitants, the king was graciously
pleased to comply with their request ; and a vessel
was accordingly 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 undertaken, and completed in a most
ingenious and effective manner, by Sir Joseph
Banks, who superintended the whole equipment of
the ship with the greatest attention and assiduity
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 41
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 establish-
ment consisted of one lieutenant, who was
commanding officer, one master, three warrant
officers, one surgeon, two master's mates, two
midshipmen, and thirty-four petty officers 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 plants 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 Captain
Cook's last voyage; the other William Brown, as
an assistant to him. -
The object of all the former voyages to the
South Seas, undertaken by command of his Ma-
jesty George III., 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 dis-
tant discoveries that had already been made ; and
no object was deemed more likely to realise the
expectation of benefit than the bread-fruit, which
afforded to the natives of Otaheite so very consi-
derable a portion of their food, and which it was
hoped it might also do for the black population of
the West India Islands. The bread-fruit plant
was no new discovery of either Wallis or Cook.
So early as the year 1688, that excellent old
42 THE BREAD-FRUIT.
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
spreading 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 shil-
lings 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 plea-
sant. 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 must 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 eat no other sort of food
of bread kind. I did never see of this fruit any-
where but here. The natives told us that there
is plenty of this fruit growing on the rest of the
Ladrone Islands; and I did never hear of it any-
where 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 com-
pany during their two months' stay, instead of
bread; and so universally preferred, that no ship's
bread was expended in that whole interval. The
THE BREAD - FRUIT. 43
*sº-----~~~~~~~<------—----------~~
. . º ºss - - - --- * .
only essential difference between Dampier's and
Cook's description is, where the latter says,
which is true, that this fruit has a core, and that
the eatable part lies between the skin and the
core. Cook says also that its taste is insipid,
with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling that
of the crumb of wheaten bread mixed with a Jeru-
salem 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, notwithstanding
the failure of the present voyage; it has not,
however, been found to answer the expectation
that had reasonably been entertained. The cli-
mate, 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 unreap'd harvest of unfurrow'd fields,
And bakes its unadulterated loaves
Without a furnace in unpurchased groves,
And flings off famine 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
benefits to the West India Islands. -
On the 23rd December, 1787, the Bounty sailed
from Spithead, and on the 26th it blew a severe
storm of wind from the eastward, which continued
to the 29th, in the course of which the ship
44 THE BREAD-FRUIT.
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. Several casks of beer that had been
lashed upon deck, were broke loose and washed
overboard; and it was not without great difficulty
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 quan-
tity of bread was damaged and rendered useless,
for the sea had stove in the stern and filled the
cabin with water.
This made it desirable to touch at Teneriffe to
put the ship to rights, where they arrived on the
5th of 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 regula-
tion when circumstances will admit of it, and I am
persuaded that unbroken rest not only contributes
much towards the health of the ship's company,
but enables them more readily to exert themselves
in cases of sudden emergency.’
Wishing to proceed to Otaheite without stop-
ping, and the late storm having diminished their
supply of provisions, it was deemed expedient to
put all hands on an allowance of two-thirds of
bread. It was also decided that water for drink-
ing should be passed through filtering 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 BREAD-FRUIT. 45
the certainty of promotion to every one whose
endeavours should merit it.' Nothing, indeed,
seemed to be neglected on the part of the com-
mander to make his officers and men comfortable
and happy. He was himself a thorough-bred
sailor, and availed himself of every possible means
of preserving the health of his crew. Continued
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
was 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 pre-
cautions to secure health, they passed the hazy
and sultry atmosphere of the low latitudes without
a single complaint.
On Sunday, the 2nd of March, Lieutenant Bligh
observes, “after seeing that every person was
clean, Divine service was performed, according to
my usual custom. On this day I gave to Mr.
Fletcher Christian, 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 of March, “the change of tempe-
rature, he observes, ‘began now to be sensibly
felt, there being a variation in the thermometer,
since yesterday, of eight degrees. That the peo-
ple might not suffer by their own negligence, I
gave orders for their light tropical clothing to be
put by, and made them dress in a manner more
suited to a cold climate. I had provided for this
before I left England, by giving directions for such
46 THE BREAD-FRUIT.
clothes to be purchased as would be found neces-
sary. On this day, on a complaint of the master,
I found it necessary to punish Matthew Quintal,
one of the seamen, with two dozen lashes, for inso-
lence and mutinous behaviour. Before this I 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 in ; but
the lateness of the season, and the 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 preserve the health of the ship's company
rendered any delay in this cold and inhospitable
region unnecessary. tº
They soon after this had to encounter tremen-
dous weather off Cape Horn, storms of wind, with
hail and sleet, which made it necessary to keep a
constant fire night and day; and one of the watch
always attended to dry the people's wet clothes.
This stormy weather continued for nine days; the
ship began to complain, and required pumping
every hour; the decks became so leaky that the
commander was obliged to allot the great cabin
to those who had wet berths, to hang their ham-
mocks in. Finding they were losing ground
every day, and that 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 accordingly
put a-weather, to the great joy of every person on
board. -
TIIIE BRIEAD-FRUIT. 47
They arrived at the Cape on the 23rd of May,
and having remained there thirty-eight days to
refit the ship, replenish provisions, and refresh the
crew, they sailed again on the 1st of July, and
anchored in Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen's
Land, on the 20th August. Here they remained
taking in wood and water 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
to 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-will towards us, and they
seemed to be much rejoiced at our arrival. The
whole day we experienced no instance of dis-
honesty; and we were so much crowded, that I
could not undertake to remove to a more proper
station, without danger of disobliging our visiters,
by desiring them to leave the ship.’ -
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
48 THE BREAT)-FRUIT.
was now plentifully supplied with provisions;
every man on board having as much as he could
COI)SUII]]|C.
As soon as the ship was secured. Lieutenant
Bligh went on shore with the chief, Poeeno, pass-
ing 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 refresh-
ments. Several strangers were now introduced
who came to offer their congratulations, and
behaved with great decorum 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, amidst 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 shad-
docks 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, were 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
THE BREAD-FIRUIT. 49
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 plants were plentiful, and no appa-
rent objection on the 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 ripe.
Presents were now given to Otoo, the Chief of
Matavi, who had changed his name to Tinah.
He was told that, on account of the kindness of
Jhis 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 i\ing
George in return ?’ ‘Yes,’ he said, I will send
him anything I have ;’ and then began to emu-
merate the different articles in his power, among
which he mentioned the bread-fruit. This was the
exact point to which Bligh was endeavouring to
lead him, and he was immediately told that the
bread-fruit trees were what King George would
like very much, on which he promised that a
great many should be put on board.
Hitherto no thefts had been committed, and
Bligh was congratulating himself on the improve-
ment of the Otaheitans in this respect, as the same
facilities and the same temptations were open to
them as before. The ship, as on former occasions,
was constantly crowded with visiters. One day,
however, the gudgeon of the rudder belonging to
the large cutter was drawn out and stolen, without
E • *
50 THE BREAD-FIRUIT.
being perceived by a man who was stationed to
take care of her; and as this and some other petty
thefts, mostly owing to the negligence of the men,
were commencing, 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 boat-keeper in their
presence, and accordingly I ordered him a dozen
lashes. All who attended the punishment inter-
ceded very earnestly to get it mitigated; the
women showed great sympathy, and that degree
of feeling which characterises 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 formality; and that “there is a
candour and sincerity 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 ceremonious kind of
refusal which expects a second invitation. “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, collected round me,
offering their assistance. For this short illness I
was made ample amends by the pleasure I received
from the attention and appearance of affection in
these kind people.’ /
| THE BREAD-FRUIT. 5 I
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 congratulate 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
turns upon the deck at a time in the whole course
of the voyage. Lieutenant Bligh had obtained
permission to bury him 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.’ Timah 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 is their own, or
whether they learnt 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 funeral took place, the chiefs and many of the
natives attended the ceremony, and showed great
attention during the service. Many of the prin-
cipal natives attended divine service on Sundays,
and behaved with great decency. Some of the
women at one time betrayed an inclination to laugh
E 2
52 TTIE BRIEAD-FRUIT.
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 sea-coast and
the foot of the hills, consists of a very delightful
country, well covered with bread-fruit and cocoa-
trees, and strewed with houses in which are swarms
of children playing about. ‘It is delightful, Bligh
observes, “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 heivah
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 children, 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 to four hundred people are
assembled together, and all happily diverted, good-
humoured, and affectionate to one another, with-
out a single quarrel having ever happened to dis-
turb the harmony that existed among these amiable
people. Both boys and girls are said to be hand-
some 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
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 53
no great occasion to use exertion in obtaining a
sufficient supply of either food or raiment. Yet
when Bligh commenced taking up the bread-fruit
plants, he derived much assistance from the na-
tives 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 immedi-
ately mustered, when it appeared that three men
were absent. . They had taken with them eight
stand of arms and ammunition; but what their
plan was, 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 ; but before 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 handsomely rewarded. The chiefs
promised to use every possible means to detect
and bring back the deserters, which, in a few
days, some of the islanders had so far accom-
plished 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 exactly fulfil,
but gave themselves up soon after on a search
being made for them. -
A few days after this, a much more serious
occurrence happened, that was calculated to give
to the commander great concern. The wind had
blown fresh in the night, and at day-light it was
. . . .º.º.º.
-12. --~~~~
54 THE BREAD. FRUIT.
discovered that the cable, by which the ship rode,
had been cut near the water's edge, in such a
manner, that only one strand remained whole.
While they were securing the ship, Tinah came
on board; and though there was no reason what-
ever to suppose otherwise than that he was
perfectly innocent of the transaction, nevertheless,
says the commander, ‘ I spoke to him in a very
peremptory manner, and insisted upon his dis-
covering 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 very much distressed; and the lady at
length gave vent to her sorrow by tears. I could
no longer keep up the appearance of mistrusting
them, but I earnestly recommended to them, as
they valued the King of England'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 possibility
of it enter into his ideas, having no suspicion
that so general an inclination, or so strong an
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 55
attachment to these islands, could prevail among
his people, as to induce them to abandon every
prospect of returning to their native country.
This after-thought of Bligh will appear in the
sequel to be wholly gratuitous, and yet he might
naturally enough have concluded that so long and
unrestrained 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 enticements to a
common sailor might naturally enough be supposed
to create a desire for a longer residence in such a
country; but this supposition 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 seventy-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 number of other plants:
the avee, 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 refresh-
ing; 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
56 THE BREAD-FRUIT.
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 I
was particularly recommended 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 present for King George, could not refrain
from shedding tears. During the remainder of
their stay, there appeared among the natives an
evident degree of sorrow that they were so soon
to leave them, which they showed by a more than
usual degree of kindness and attention. The above-
mentioned excellent chief, with his wife, brothers,
and sister, requested permission to remain on
board for the night previous to the sailing of the
Bounty. The ship was crowded the whole day
with the natives, and she was loaded with pre-
sents of cocoa-nuts, 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
Timah and his wife, and the ship made sail, bid-
ding farewell to Otaheite, where, Bligh observes,
* for twenty-three weeks we had been treated with
the utmost affection and regard, and which seemed
to increase in proportion to our stay. That we
were not insensible 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
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 57
event which effected the ruin of an expedition,
that there was every reason to hope would have
been completed in the most fortunate manner.’
The morning after their departure, they got
sight of Huaheine; and a double canoe soon
coming alongside, containing ten natives, among
them was a young man who recollected Captain
Bligh, 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 confirmed 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,
except 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 water-spout was in a short time
seen at no great distance from the ship, which
appeared to great advantage from the darkness of
the clouds behind it. The upper part is described
as 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, making a rustling
moise, but without their feeling the least effect
from its being so near. The rate at which it
travelled was judged to be about ten miles per
hour, going towards the west, in the direction of
58 THE BREAD-FRU IT.
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 out
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 everything that had been
distributed. One of them showed some signs of
dissatisfaction ; but after a little altercation, they
joined noses and were reconciled.
The Bounty anchored at Anamooka on the
23rd April ; and an old lame man, named Tepa,
whom Bligh had known here in 1777, and im-
mediately 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 Tongataboo had all bred, and
that the old ones were yet living. Being desirous
of seeing the ship, he and his companions were
taken below, and the bread-fruit and other plants
were shown to them, on seeing which they were
greatly surprised.
“I landed, says Bligh, “in order to procure
some bread-fruit 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 pine-
apple plants, but no fruit, this not being the proper
THE BREAD-FRUIT. 59
season. They told me that they had eaten many
of them, that they were very fine and large, and
that 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 like-
wise brought 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 passengers. From these the officers
and crew purchased hogs, dogs, fowls, and shad-
docks; 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 impossible to
do anything. The watering party were there-
fore ordered to go on board, and it was determined
to sail; the ship was accordingly unmoored and
got under weigh. A grapnel, however, had been
stolen, and Bligh informed the chiefs that were
still on board, that unless it was returned, they
must remain in the ship, at which they were sur-
prised and not a little alarmed. “I 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 them cried bitterly. As this distress
60 THE BREAD-FRUIT.
was more than the grapnel was worth, I could not
think-of detaining them longer, and called their
canoe alongside. I told them that they were at
liberty to go, and made each of them a present of a
hatchet, asaw, with some knives, gimlets, 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 north-
ward 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 ad-
vanced in a course of uninterrupted prosperity,
and had been attended with many circumstances
equally pleasing and satisfactory. A very differ-
ent scene was now to be experienced. A con-
spiracy 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 circumspec-
tion, that no one circumstance 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. *
CIIAPTER III.
T H E M UT IN Y.
* That, Captain Bligh; that is the thing; I am in hell !-- I
am in hell !’—FLETCHER CHRISTIAN.
— ‘Horror and doubt distract
His troubled thoughts, and from the bottom stir
The hell within him ; for within him 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.”
gººse
‘IN the morning of the 28th April, the north-
westernmost of the Friendly. Islands, called Tofoa,
bearing north-east, I 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, and, in short, everything
to flatter and insure my most sanguine expecta-
tions. 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 mid-
dle 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, gunner's mate, and Thomas Burkitt, Seaman,
62 THE MUTINY.
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, however, 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. There 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
tightness 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 muskets cocked and bayo-
nets fixed]. I demanded the reason of such vio-
lence, but received no other answer than abuse for
not holding my tongue. The master, the gunner,
Mr. Elphinstone, the master's mate, and Nelson,
were kept confined below; and the fore-hatchway
was 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 mizen-mast, 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. Hayward and Mr.
Hallet, two of the midshipmen, and Mr. Samuel,
were ordered into it. I demanded what their
intention was in giving this order, and endeavoured
* The words within brackets are in the original despatch.
THE MUTINY. 63
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 to his cabin.
“[When I exerted myself in speaking loud, to
try if 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 I did not hold
my tongue.] * . " f
“I continued my endeavours to turn the tide 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 I would not be
quiet ; the villains round me had their pieces
cocked and bayonets fixed. Particular persons
were called on to go into 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 effect 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, canvas,
lines, sails, cordage, an eight-and-twenty gallon
cask of water; and Mr. Samuel got one hundred
and fifty pounds of bread, with a small quantity
of rum and wine, also a quadrant and compass;
but he was forbidden, on pain of death, to touch
64 THE MUTINY.
either map, ephemeris, book of astronomical ob-
servations, sextant, time-keeper, 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. I then unhappily saw that nothing
could be done to effect the recovery of the ship :
there was no one to assist me, and every endea-
vour on my part was answered with threats of
death. *
‘The officers were next called upon deck, and
forced over the side into the boat, while I was
kept apart from every one, abaft the mizen-mast;
Christian, armed with a bayonet, holding me by
the bandage that secured my hands. The guard
round me had their pieces cocked, but on my daring
the ungrateful wretches to fire, they uncocked
them. -
‘Isaac Martin, one of the guard over me, I saw
had an inclination to assist me, and as he fed me
with shaddock (my lips being quite parched) we
explained our wishes to each other by our looks;
but this being observed, Martin was removed from
me. He then attempted to leave the ship, for
which purpose he got into the boat; but with
many threats they obliged him to return.
“The armourer, Joseph Coleman, and two of the
carpenters, M*Intosh and Norman, were also kept
contrary to their inclination; and they begged of
me, after I was astern in the boat, to remember
that they declared they had no hand in the trans-
action. Michael Byrne, I am told, likewise
wanted to leave the ship.

THE MUTINY. 65
‘It is of no moment for me to recount my en-
deavours 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
securing my journals and commission, with some
material ship papers. Without these I had
nothing to certify what I had done, and my
honour and character might have been suspected,
without my possessing a proper document to have
defended them. All this he did with great reso-
lution, 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 car-
penter 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 muti-
nous crew during the whole business: some
swore “I’ll be d–d if he does not find his way
home, if he gets anything 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
66 THF) MIUTINY.
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 officers and men being in the boat, they
only waited for me, of which the master-at-arms
informed Christian ; who then said—“Come,
Captain Bligh, 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 were 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 re-
member 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 unfeeling wretches, we were at length cast
adrift in the open ocean.
‘I had with me in the boat the following per-
SOIlS : —
Names. Stations.
John FRYER. e ſº . Master.
THOMAS LEDward tº e . Acting Surgeon.
DAvid NELson . id © . Botanist.
WILLIAM PEckover . e . Gunner.
WILLIAM Cole . e gº . Boatswain.
WILLIAM PURCELL & e . Carpenter.
WILLIAM ELPHINSTONE e . Master's Mate.
THE
MUTENY.
. Names.
THoMAS HAYwa Rd
John HALLET }
John Norton }
PETER LENKLETTER
IAwfºr NCE LEBogue .
John SMITH
Thomas HALL } te
GEORGE SIMPson . .
Robert TINKLER . .
Robert LAMB e tº
MR. SAMUEL . .
- In alſo
*
*
ghteen.
Stations.
Midshipmen.
Quarter-Masters.
Sailmaker.
Cooks.
Quarter-Master's Mate.
A Boy.
Butcher.
Clerk.
“There remained in the Bounty:—
Names.
FLETCHER CHRISTIAN
PETER HEYwood
Edward YoUNG
GEORGE STEwART
CHARLEs CHURCHILL .
John MILLs . .
JAMES MoRRIson . .
Thomas BURKITT
MATTHEw QUINTAL
John SUMNER
John MILLwARD
WILLIAM M“Koy
HENRY HILLBRANT
Michael BYRNF,
WILLIAM MusPRAT
ALEXANDER SMITH
John WILLIAMs
Thomas ELLIson
IsAAc MARTIN
In al
Richard SKINNER
Matthew Thompson
WILLIAM BRowN .
Joseph ColeMAN .
CHARLEs NoFMAN .
Thomas M*INTosh .
Stations.
Master's Matc.
Midshipmen.
Master-at-Arms.
Gunner's Mate.
Boatswain's Mate.
Able Seamen.
Gardener.
Armourer.
Carpenter's Mate.
Carpenter's Crew.
l twenty-five—and the most able of the Ship's company.

F 2
68 THE MUTINY.
‘Christian, the chief of the mutineers, is of a
respectable family in the North of England. This
was the third voyage he had made with me; and
as I found it necessary to keep my ship's company
at three watches, I had given him an order to take
charge of the third, his abilities being thoroughly
equal to the task; and by this means the master
and gunner were not at watch and watch.
‘Heywood is also of a respectable family in the
North of England *, and a young man of abilitics
as well as Christian. These two had been objects
of my particular regard and attention, and I had
taken great pains to instruct them, having enter-
tained hopes that, as professional men, they would
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 which 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 seaman, and had always borne a good character.
* Notwithstanding the roughness with which I
was treated, the remembrance of past kindnesses
* He was born in the Isle of Man, his father being Deemster
of Man, and Seneschal to the Duke of Athol. g
THIE MUTINY. 69
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 2 he appeared disturbed at my question,
and answered with much emotion, “That, Cap-
tain Bligh, that is the thing;-I am in hell—I
am in hell !”
“As soon as I had time to reflect, I felt an
inward satisfaction, which prevented any depres-
sion of my spirits: conscious of my integrity, and
anxious solicitude for the good of the service in
which I had been engaged, I found my mind
wonderfully supported, and I began to conceive
hopes, notwithstanding so heavy a calamity, that
I should one day be able to account to my king
and country for the misfortune. A few hours
before my situation had been peculiarly flattering.
I had a ship in the most perfect order, and well
stored with every necessary both for service and
health ; by early attention to those particulars T
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 flourishing
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,
person on board being in perfect health, to estab-
lish which was ever amongst the principal objects
of my attention.
“It will very naturally be asked, what could be
the reason for such a revolt 2. In answer to which
70 THE MUTINY.
T can only conjecture, that the mutineers had
flattered themselves with the hopes of a more
happy life among the Otaheitans than they could
possibly enjoy in England; 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 l"—was fre-
quently heard among the mutineers.
“The women of Otaheite are handsome, mild
and cheerful in their manners and conversation,
possessed of great sensibility, and have sufficient
delicacy 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
attendant circumstances, equally desirable, it is
now perhaps not so much to be wondered at,
though scarcely possible to have been foreseen,
that a set of sailors, most of them void of con-
nexions, should be led away; especially when,
in addition to such powerful inducements, they
imaginied 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
anything that can be conceived. The utmost,
however, that any commander could have sup-
posed to have happened is, that some of the
people 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’
THE MUTINY. 7 I
own ship, more than by the common rules 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 commander's
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
favourable an opportunity would never offer to
them again. - .
“The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond all 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,
Stewart, 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 villany, 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 sentinel at my cabin door
might have prevented it; for Islept with the door
always open, that the officer of the watch might
have access to me on all occasions, the possibility
of such a conspiracy being ever the farthest from
my thoughts. Had their mutiny been occasioned
by any grievances, either real or imaginary, I
must have discovered symptoms of their discon-
tent, 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
72 THE MUTINY.
the preceding night he excused himself from
supping with me, on pretence of being unwell;
for which I felt concerned, having no suspicions
of his integrity and honour.’
Such is the story published by Lieutenant Bligh
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 obtained implicit credit ; and though
Lieutenant Bligh's character never stood high
in the navy for suavity of manners or mildness
of temper, he has always been considered as an
excellent seaman, and his veracity stood unim-
peached. But in this age of refined liberality,
when the most atrocious criminals find their
apologists, it is not surprising it should now be
discovered, when all are dead that could either
prove or disprove it, that it was the tyranny of
the commander alone, and not the wickedness of
the ringleader 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, excessive 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. 2 The true answer will be, to
neither. “Not only, continues the writer, “was
the narrative which he published proved to be
false in many material bearings, by evidence
* United Service Journal for April, 1831.
THE MUTINY. 73
before a court martial, but every act of his public
life after this event, from his successive command
of the Director, the Glatton, and the Warrior,
to his disgraceful expulsion from New South
Wales, was stamped with an insolence, an inhu-
manity, and coarseness, which fully developed his
character.’
There is no intention, in narrating this eventful
history, 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 the circumstance of his having been the friend
of Captain Cook, with whom he sailed as his
master, of his ever afterwards being patronized by
Sir Joseph Banks—of the Admiralty promoting him
to the rank of commander, appointing him imme- .
diately 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 recommending all his officers for promotion
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 considered 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 with regard to discipline,
is quite true : yet he had many redeeming quali-
ties. The accusation, by the writer in question,
of Bligh having falsified his “narrative, is a very
heavy charge, and, it is to be feared, is not wholly
74 THE MUTINY.
without foundation ; though it would perhaps be
more correct to say, that 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 pre-
sently.
The same writer further says, “We know that
the officers fared in every way worse than the
men, and that even young Heywood was kept at
the mast head no less than eight hours at one
spell, in the worst weather which they encountered
off Cape Horn.' .
Perhaps Heywood may himself be brought
forward as authority, if not to disprove, at least to
render highly improbable, his experiencing any
such treatment on the part of his captain. This
young 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 attention to, and very kind treatment of
me personally, I should have been a monster of
depravity to have betrayed him. The idea alone
is sufficient to disturb a mind, where humanity
and gratitude have, I hope, ever been noticed as
its characteristic features.’ Bligh, too, has declared,
in a letter to Heywood's uncle, Holwell, after accus-
ing him of ingratitude, 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 satisfaction.’
In looking over a manuscript journal, kept by
THE MUTINY. 75
Morrison, the boatswain's mate, who was tried and
convicted as one of the mutineers, but received
the king's pardon, the conduct of Bligh appears
in a very unfavourable point of view. This Mor-
rison was a person, from talent and education, far
above the situation 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
Troubridge. In comparing this journal with other
documents, the dates and transactions appear to be
correctly stated, though the latter may occasion-
ally be somewhat too highly coloured. How he
contrived to preserve this journal, 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 papers: various
passages in it have been corrected either by this
officer or some other person, but without 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 serious 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, Lieute-
nant 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 quantity, and
76 TIIE MUTINY.
declared that it had been stolen. The cooper,
Henry Hillbrant, informed him that the cask in
question had been opened 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 Portsmouth. Lieutenant Bligh, without
making any further inquiry, immediately ordered
the allowance of that article to be stopped, both
from officers and men, until the deficiency should
be made good, and told the cooper he would give
him a d d good flogging if he said another
word on the subject. It can hardly be supposed
that a man of Bligh's shrewdness, if disposed to
play the rogue, would have placed himself so
completely in the hands of the cooper, in a trans-
action which, if revealed, must have cost him his
commission.
Again, on approaching the equator, some de-
cayed pumpkins, purchased at Teneriffe, were
ordered to be issued to the crew, at the rate of
one pound of pumpkin for two pounds of biscuit.
The reluctance of the men to accept this proposed
substitute, on such terms, being reported to Lieu-
tenant Bligh, he flew 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 anything else I may order
to be served out;’ to which he added, ‘You d-d
infernal scoundrels, I’ll make you eat grass, or
anything you can catch, before I have done with
you.’ This speech had the desired effect, every
one receiving the pumpkins, even the officers.
THE MUTINY. 77
Next comes a complaint respecting the mode
of issuing beef and pork; but when a represent-
ation was made to Lieutenant Bligh in the quiet
and orderly manner prescribed by the twenty-first
article of war, he called the crew aft, told them
that everything relative to the provisions was
transacted by his orders; that it was 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 com-
plaint 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 determination
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 number 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 Diemen'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 company; and when the master
remonstrated with him on the subject, he replied
that “he would convince him that everything
became his as soon as it was brought on board;
that he would take nine-tenths of every man's
property, and let him see who dared to say any-
thing to the contrary.’ The sailors' pigs were
78 THE MUTINY.
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 23rd we anchored off Anna-
mooka, 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 compliment, by poising their
clubs or spears with menacing looks; and, as it
was Lieutenant Bligh's orders that no person
should affront them on any occasion, they were
emboldened by meeting with no check to their
insolence. They at length became so troublesome,
that Mr. Christian, who commanded the watering
party, found it difficult to carry on his duty; but
on acquainting Lieutenant Bligh with their beha-
viour, he received a volley of abuse, was d-d as a
cowardly rascal, and asked if he were afraid of
maked savages whilst he had weapons in his hand 2
To this he replied in a respectful manner, “The
arms are of no effect, sir, while your orders pro-
hibit their use.’
This happened but three days before the mu-
tiny, 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 punishment. As to the
officers, I have no resource, nor do I ever feel
THE MUTINY. º
79
>
myself safe in the few 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, together 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 manifested on the
day of the mutiny. .
That sad catastrophe, if the writer of the
Journal be correct, was hastened, if not brought
about, by the following circumstance, of which
Bligh takes no notice. “In the afternoon of the
27th, Lieutenant Bligh came upon deck, and
missing some of the cocoa-nuts, which had been
piled up between the guns, said they had been
stolen, and could not have been taken away with-
out the knowledge of the officers, 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 them 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 with the
men to rob me: I suppose you will steal my yams
80 THE MUTINY.
next ; but I’ll sweat you for it, you rascals—I’ll
make half of you jump overboard before you get
through Endeavour Straits.” This threat was
followed by an order to the clerk “to stop the
villains' grog, and give them but half a pound of
yams to-morrow; if they steal them, I'll reduce
thém to a quarter.””
It is difficult to believe that an officer in his
Majesty's service could condescend to make use of
such language to the meanest of the crew, much
less to gentlemen; it is to be feared, however,
that there is sufficient ground for the truth of these
statements: 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. Christian's meaning, when
he said he had been in hell for a fortnight 2'
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 ?”—“The day before Mr. Bligh challenged
all the young gentlemen and people with stealing
his cocoa-nuts.’ 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 him
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 Bligh's published narra-
tive; but many of them are alluded to in his
original Journal, and others that prove distinctly
the constant reproofs to which his officers were
THE MUTINY. - 81
subject, and the bad terms on which they stood
with their commander. A few extracts from this
Journal will sufficiently establish this point.
In so early a part of the voyage as their arrival
in Adventure Bay, he found fault with his officers,
and put the carpenter into confinement. Again,
at Matavai 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, re-
questing me to get it made fit for them to grind
their hatchets on, but to my astonishment he re-
fused, 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 away my tools.” This man
having before shown his mutinous and insolent
behaviour, I was under the necessity 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 dis-
rated and turned him before the mast: such neg-
lectful and worthless petty-officers, I believe, never
were in a ship as are in this. 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 everything but corporal
punishment, and that must follow if they do not
improve.’
By Morrison's journal it would appear that
‘corporal punishment’ was not long delayed; for,
on the very day, he says, the midshipman was put
THE MUTINY.
in irons, and confined from the 5th January to the
23rd 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 boat-
Swain, or was capable of doing without them, con-
sidering them as common seamen, they should no
longer occupy their respective stations; scarcely
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
further punishment. “As this affair, he says,
‘ was 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 articles of war, to a con-
dign one.’ He then tells them, that it is only
necessity that makes him have recourse to repri-
mand, because there are no means of trying them
by court-martial; and adds a remark, not very
intelligible, but what he calls an unpleasant one,
about such offenders having no feelings 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 to be answerable for the
prisoners, and to visit and see that they were safe

THE MUTINY. 83
in his watch, but I have such a neglectful set
about me, that I believe nothing but condigm pun-
ishment can alter their conduct. Verbal orders,
in the course of a month, were so forgotten, that
they would impudently assert, no such thing or
directions were given, and I 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 fiery and
passionate a youth as his commander could well
be, and with feelings too acute to bear the foul
and opprobrious language constantly 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
passage 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 have thought on them before, and not be-
haved so much like a villain.” Lieutenant Bligh
again attempted to speak, but was ordered to be

G 2
84 THE MUTINY.
silent. The boatswain also tried to 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
was not, as Bligh in his narrative states it to
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 Christian, unable longer to bear
the abusive and insulting language, had medi-
tated his own escape from the ship the day before,
choosing to trust himself to fate, rather than sub-
mit to the constant upbraiding to which he had
been subject; but the unfortunate business of the
cocoa-nuts drove him to the commission of the
rash and felonious act, which ended, as such cri-
minal 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 rea-
son, having vented his rage about the cocoa-nuts,
became immediately 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 ac-
cepted the invitation. On the same night, to-
wards ten o’clock, when the master had the
watch, Bligh came on deck, as was his custom,
THE MUTINY. 85
before retiring to sleep. It was one of those
calm and beautiful nights, so frequent in tropical
regions, whose soothing influence can be appre-
ciated only by those who have felt it, when, after
a scorching day, the air breathes a most refresh-
ing coolness, it was an evening of this sort,
when Bligh for the last time came upon deck in
the capacity of commander; a gentle breeze
scarcely rippled 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 Bligh and the master on this
evening, after the irritation 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 Shakspeare, where, on
the evening of the murder, Duncan, on approach-
ing 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
preceding scenes, and beautifully contrasts the
scene of terror that immediately succeeds.” While,
on this lovely night, Bligh and his master were
congratulating themselves on the pleasing pros-
pect of fine weather and a full moon, to light
them through Endeavour's dangerous straits, the
unhappy and deluded Christian was, in all proba-
bility, brooding over his wrongs, and meditating
86 - THE MUTINY.
on the criminal act he was to perpetrate the fol-
lowing morning; for he has himself stated, that he
had just fallen asleep about half after three in the
morning, and was 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. Py the journal of James Morri-
son, the following is the account of the transaction,
as given by Christian himself to the two midship-
men, 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
Bligh, he had determined to quit the ship the pre-
ceding evening, and had informed the boatswain,
carpenter, and two midshipmen (Stewart and Hay-
ward), 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 hammock, where it was
discovered by that young gentleman when going
to bed at night, but the business was smothered,
and passed off 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 effect it during the first and
middle watches, as the ship had no way through
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
#
THE MUTINY. 87
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. Hay-
ward, the mate of his watch, lie down on the arm-
chest to take a map ; and finding that Mr. Hallet,
the other midshipman, did not make his appear-
ance, he suddenly formed the resolution of seizing
the ship. Disclosing his intention to Matthew
Quintal and Isaac Martin, both of whom had
been flogged by Lieutenant Bligh, they called up
Charles Churchill, who had also tasted the cat, and
Matthew Thompson, both of whom readily joined
in the plot. That Alexander Smith (alias John
Adams), John Williams, and William M*Koy,
evinced equal willingness, 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 alongside ; that
finding Mr. Hallet asleep on an arm-chest in the
main-hatchway, they roused and sent him on deck.
Charles Norman, unconscious of their proceedings,
had, in the mean time, awaked Mr. Hayward,
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. Chris-
tian said he then proceeded to secure Lieutenant
Bligh, the master, gunner, and botanist.’ -
88 . THE MUTINY.
“When Mr. Christian, observes Morrison, iu
his journal, ‘related the above circumstances, I
recollected 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 remembered
that Mr. Christian had visited the fore-cockpit
several times that evening, although he had very
seldom, if ever, frequented 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
conspiracy nor preconcerted measures had any
existence, but that it was suddenly conceived by a
hotheaded young man, in a state of great excite-
ment of mind, amounting to a temporary aberra-
tion of intellect, 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 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 com-
pletely in his power, with a momentary impulse
he darted down the fore-hatchway, got possession
of the keys of the arm-chest, and made the ha-
zardous experiment of arming 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 Island, which, if correct, would cast a
stain on the memory of the unfortunate Stewart—
.
THE MUTINY. 89
he who, if there was one innocent man in the ship,
was that man. Captain Beechey says (speaking
of Christian), “His plan, strange as it must
appear for a young officer to adopt, who was
fairly advanced in an honourable 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 useful articles were
got together, and he was on the point of launching
it, when a young officer, who afterwards perished.
in the Pandora, to whom Christian communicated
his intention, recommended him, rather than risk
his life on so hazardous an expedition, to endea-
cour 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 that island. This daring proposition is even
more extraordinary than the premeditated scheme
of his companion, 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 7–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.
Captain Beechey, desirous of being correct in
his statement, very properly sent his chapter on
Pitcairn's Island for any observations Captain
Heywood might have to make on what was said
therein regarding the mutiny; observing, in his
note which accompanied it, that this account,
-** = <!--e-º-º-º-sºº. ...<=1 . . p. v. -. --mºrº.
90 THE MUTINY.
received from Adams, differed materially from a
foot-note in ‘Marshall's Naval Biography; to which
Captain Heywood returned the following reply.
* 5th April, 1830.
‘Dear Sir, I have perused the account you
received from Adams of the mutiny of 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. IIayward and Stewart, of
his determination 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 “recommended, rather than risk his
life on so hazardous an expedition, that he should
try the expedient of taking the ship from the
captain, &c.,” is entirely at variance 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 Taheité, 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
relations, other circumstances connected with that
unfortunate disaster, which, after their deaths,
may or may not be laid before the public. And
although they can implicate none but himself,
* Hayward and Hallet, who may thus be considered as the
passive cause of the mutiny. . . . -
THIE MUTINY. - 91
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. HEY wooD.’
Captain Deechey 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
death-bed, wishing, out of regard for Stewart's
memory and his surviving friends, that it should
be publicly contradicted; and with this view the
above reply of Captain Heywood is here inserted.
The temptations, therefore, which it was sup-
posed Otaheite held out to the deluded men of
the Bounty, had no more share in the transaction
than the supposed conspiracy; it does not appear,
indeed, that the cry of “ Huzza for Otaheite l’
was ever uttered : if this island had been the
object of either Christian or the crew, they would
not have left it three hundred miles behind them,
before they perpetrated the act of piracy; but
after the deed had been committed, it would be
natural enough that they should turn their minds
to the lovely island and its fascinating inhabitants,
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 who
has said they did so.
If, however, the recollection of the ‘sunny isle
and its “smiling women' had really tempted the
men to mutiny, Bligh would himself not be free
from blame, for having allowed them to indulge
for six whole months among this voluptuous
92 * THE MUTINY.
and fascinating people: for though he was one of
the most active and anxious commanders of his
time, ‘the service, as is observed by a naval
officer, “was carried on in those days in a very
different spirit from that which regulates its
movements now, otherwise the Bounty would
never have passed six whole months at one
island “stowing away the fruit,” during which
time the officers and seamen had free access to the
shore. Under similar circumstances now-a-days,
if the fruit happened not to be ready, the ship
wóuld have been off, after ten days' relaxation, 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”. Bligh 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 cannot blame the former if he
attempt to rid himself of the numberless discom-
forts 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
* Quarterly Review, No. 89.
THIE MUTINY. 93
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,” when this
oldest curse on mankind is scarcely felt at Taheité.
Two or three bread-fruit trees, which grow almost
without any culture, and which flourish 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 there-
fore spent in a round of various enjoyments, where
Nature has lavished many a pleasing landscape;
where the temperature of the air is warm, but
continually 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 Taheitans. They rise with
the sun, and hasten to rivers and fountains to
perform an ablution equally reviving 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 hôur of
noon, or a little later, they go to dinner. After
their meals they resume their domestic amuse-
94 THE MUTINY.
ments, during which the flame of mutual affec-
tion spreads in every heart, and unites the rising
generation with new and tender ties. The lively
jest, without any ill-nature, the artless tale, the
jocund dance, and frugal supper, bring on the
evening; and another visit to the river concludes
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 them. As far, however, as the mutiny of
his people was concerned, we must wholly discard
the idea thrown out by him, that the seductions
of Otaheite had any share in producing it. It
could not have escaped a person of Christian's
sagacity, that certain interrogatories would un-
questionably be put by the natives of Otaheite, on
finding the ship return so soon without her com-
mander, without the bread-fruit plants, and with
only about half her crew ; questions, he knew, to
which no satisfactory answer could be made; and
though, at subsequent periods, he twice visited
that Island, it was some time afterwards, and not
from choice but necessity; his object was to find
a place of concealment, where he might pass the
remainder of his days, unheard of and unknown,
and where, it is to be hoped, he had time for sin-
cere repentance, the only atonement he could make
for the commission of a crime, which involved so
many human beings in misery, and brought others
to an untimely end—but of this hereafter.

CHAPTER IV.
THE OPEN-IBOAT NAVIGATION.
* The boat is lower'd with all the haste of hate,
With its slight plank between thee and thy fate ;
Her only cargo such a scant supply
As promises the death their hands deny ;
And just enough of water and of bread
To keep, some days, the dying from the dead:
Some cordage, canvas, sails and lines and twine,
But treasures all to hermits of the brine,
Were added after, to the earnest prayer
Of those who saw no hope save sea and air;
And last, that trembling vassal of the Pole,
The feeling compass, Navigation's soul.
The launch is crowded with the faithful few
That wait their Chief—a melancholy crew :
But some remain’d reluctant on the deck
Of that proud vessel, now a moral wreck—
And viewed their captain's fate with piteous eyes;
While others scoff d his augur'd miseries,
Sneer'd at the prospect of his pigmy sail,
And the slight bark, so laden and so frail.'
CHRISTIAN had intended to send away his cap-
tain and associates in the cutter, and ordered that
it should be hoisted out for that purpose, which was
done—a small wretched boat, that could hold but
eight or ten men at the most, with a very small
additional weight; and what was still worse, she
was so worm-eaten and decayed, especially in the
bottom 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,’
96 THE OPEN-BO AT NAVIGATION.
not unlike that into which Prospero and his lovely
daughter were ‘hoist,’
‘not rigg’d,
Nor tackle, sail, nor mast ; the very rats
Instinctively had quit it,'
did Christian intend to cast adrift his late com-
mander and his eighteen innocent companions,
or as many of them as she would stow, to find, as
they inevitably must have found, a watery grave.
But the remonstrances of the master, boatswain,
and carpenter, prevailed on him to let those un-
fortunate 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 miraculously 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 pro-
visions which they found to have been thrown into
the boat, by some few kind-hearted messmates,
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 possible the
above-mentioned stock entire; but after rowing

THIE OPEN-BO AT NAVIGATION. 97
along the coast, they discovered only some cocoa-
nut trees on the top of high precipices, from
which, with much danger, owing to the surf, and
great difficulty in climbing the cliffs, they suc-
ceeded in obtaining about twenty nuts. The
second day they made excursions into the island,
but without success. They met however with a
few natives, who came down with them to the
cove where the boat was lying; and others
presently followed. They made inquiries after
the ship, and Bligh unfortunately advised they
should say that the ship had overset and sunk,
and that they only were saved. The story might
be innocent, but it was certainly indiscreet to put
the people in possession of their defenceless situa-
tion; however, they brought in small quantities of
bread-fruit, plantains, and cocoa-nuts, but little or
no water could be procured. These supplies,
scanty as they were, served to keep up the spirits
of the men: ‘They no longer, says Bligh, ‘re-
garded 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 they all seemed
determined to do their best.’
The numbers of the natives having so much
increased 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, who was casting off
the stern-fast. The natives immediately rushed
H

98 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
upon this poor man, and actually stoned him to
death. A volley 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 surprise 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 the assailants that
lodged in her, a species of warfare in which they
were very inferior to the Indians. The only ex-
pedient left was to tempt the enemy to desist from
the pursuit, by throwing overboard some clothes,
which fortunately induced the canoes to stop and
pick them up ; and night coming on, they re-
turned to the shore, leaving the party in the boat
to reflect on their unhappy situation. -
The men now intreated 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 re-
sources, the commander 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 respect, “we bore away,’
says Bligh, ‘across a séa 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, however, to see
that every one seemed better satisfied with our
_
，zº，，
， ， ， Zººz
（ |- |×|-
！
…--

THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 99
situation than myself. It was about eight o'clock
at night on the 2nd 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 day-break 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 with all their might. “A situation,’ observes
the commander, ‘more distressing has, perhaps,
seldom been experienced.’
The bread, being in bags, was in the greatest
danger of being spoiled by the wet, the conse-
quence of which, if not prevented, must have been
fatal, as the whole party would inevitably be
starved to death, if they should fortunately escape
the fury of the waves. It was determined, there-
fore, that all superfluous clothes, with some rope
and spare sails, should be thrown overboard, by
which the boat was considerably lightened. The
Carpenter's tool-chest was cleared, and the tools
stowed in the bottom of the boat, and the bread
secured in the chest. All the people being: .
- - **
2 - a- es
H i.e. - * *
- sº
*
* *
100 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
** -
:
--"
thoroughly wet and cold, a tea-spoonful of rum
was served out to each person, with a quarter of a
bread-fruit, which is stated to have been scarcely
eatable, for dinner; Bligh having determined to
preserve sacredly, and at the peril of his 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 baling 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 cocoa-nuts were distributed for
dinner, and every one was satisfied ; 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 distance; and this day, for the first
time, they hooked a fish, to their great joy; ‘but,’
says the commander, “we were miserably disap-
pointed by its being lost in trying to get it into
the boat. In the evening, each person had an
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 101
ounce of the damaged bread, and a quarter of a
pint of water for supper.
Lieutenant Bligh observes, ‘it will readily be
supposed our lodgings were very miserable, and
confined 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 except the heavens. Their limbs, he says,
were dreadfully cramped, for they could not stretch
them out; and the nights were so cold, and they
were so constantly wet, that, after a few hours'
sleep, they were scarcely able to move. At dawn
of day on the 7th, being very wet and cold, he says,
“I served a spoonful 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 after-
noon gave over the chase. They were of the same
construction as those of the Friendly Islands, and
the land seen for the last two days was supposed
to be the Fejee Islands. But being constantly wet,
Bligh says, “it was with the utmost difficulty 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 idea of their extent.’
Heavy rain came on in the afternoon, when every
person in the boat did his utmost to catch 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
102 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
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 experienced cold and
shiverings scarcely to be conceived.
On the 8th, the allowance issued was an ounce
and a half of pork, a tea-spoonful of rum, half a
pint of cocoa-nut milk, and an ounce of bread.
The rum, though so small in quantity, is stated to
have been of the greatest service. In the after-
noon they were employed in cleaning out the
boat, which occupied them until sunset before they
got everything dry and in order. “Hitherto,
Bligh says, “I had issued the allowance by guess,
but I now made a pair of scales with two cocoa-
nut shells; and having accidentally 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 situa-
tions 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 sur-
vived 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 cocoa-nut milk and some of the decayed bread
were served for breakfast; and for dinner, the
kernels of four cocoa-nuts, with the remainder of
TEIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. I03
the rotten bread, which, he says, was eatable
only by such distressed people as themselves. A
storm of thunder and lightning gave them about
twenty gallons 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 dis-
tressing situation. The weather continued ex-
tremely bad, and the wind increased; 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
boat so much, that two men were kept constantly
baling; and it was necessary to keep the boat
before the waves for fear of its filling. The allow-
ance 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 morning, at noon,
and at sunset. To-day was added about half an
ounce of pork for dinner, which, though amy
moderate person would have considered only as a
mouthful, was divided into three or four.
The morning of the 11th did not improve. ‘At
day-break 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 extremely dangerous, the sea frequently rum-
ning over our stern, which kept us baling 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
T 04 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
of beings, full of wants, without anything 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 coyered
with the sea and rain. The weather continuing,
and no sun affording the least prospect of getting
our clothes dried, I 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 baling 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
heavy sea continued unabated, and on these days
they saw distant land, and passed several islands.
The sight of these islands, it may well be sup-
posed, served only to increase the misery of their
situation. They were as men very little better
than starving with plenty in their view; yet, to
attempt procuring any relief was considered to be
attended with so much danger, that the prolonga-
tion 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

TTIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 105
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 was quite uncertain.
On the morning of the 17th, at dawn of day,
“I found,’ says the commander, “every person
complaining, and some of them solicited extra
allowance, which I positively refused. Our situ-
ation 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 par-
ticularly distressing, 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 a 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 possible, to make the coast
of New Holland to the southward of Endeavour
Straits, being sensible that it was necessary to pre-
serve such a situation as would make a southerly
wind a fair one; that we might range along the
reefs till an opening should be found into smooth
water, and we the sooner be able to pick up some
refreshments.’
On the 18th the rain abated, when, at their
commander's recommendation, they all stripped,
and wrung their clothes through the sea-water,
from which, as usual, they derived much warmth
and refreshment; but every one complained of
violent pains in their bones. At night the heavy
rain recommenced, with severe lightning, which
106 TEIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
obliged them to keep baling without intermission.
The same weather continued through the 19th and
20th ; the rain constant—at times a deluge—the
men always baling; the commander, too, found it
necessary 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
appearances 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 much inclination to drink, that desire perhaps
being satisfied through the skin. The little sleep
we got was in the midst of water, and we con-
stantly 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 21st
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 com-
fort; for my own part, I almost lived without it.
On the 22nd, our situation was extremely cala-
mitous. We were 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 destruc-
tion. It continued through the day to blow hard,
and the foam of the sea kept running over our stern
and quarters.
“The misery suffered this night exceeded the
preceding. The sea flew over us with great force,
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIG ATION. 107
and kept us baling 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 two tea-spoonfuls of rum ;
after drinking which, and having wrung our clothes
and taken our breakfast of bread and water, we
became a little refreshed.
‘On the evening of the 24th, the wind mode-
rated, 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 morning
produce some cheerful countenances; and for the
first time during the last fifteen days, we expe-
rienced 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
present mode of living, there was a sufficient quan-
tity remaining for twenty-nine days' allowance, by
which time there was every reason to expect they
would be able to reach Timor. But as this was
still uncertain, and it was possible that, after all,
I 08 TEIE ODIEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
they might be obliged to go to Java, it was deter-
mined to proportion the allowance, so as to make
the stock hold out six weeks. “I was apprehen-
sive, he says, “that this would be ill received,
and that it would require my utmost resolu-
tion 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 representing 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 proposal.’ It was accord-
ingly 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 be discontinued ;
this arrangement left them forty-three days' con-
sumption. - -
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 en-
trails, into eighteen portions, and by a well-known
method at sea, of “Who shall have this * 2° it was
* One person turns his back on the object that is to be
divided ; another then points separately to the portions, at each
of them asking aloud, ‘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.
Błigh used to speak of the great amusement the poor people
had at the beak and claws falling to his share.

THIE OPEN-BO AT NAVIGATION. I 09
distributed with the allowance of bread and water
for dinner, and eaten up, bones and all, with salt
water for sauce. In the evening, several boobies
flying very 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 allow-
ance of bread, which I made a merit of granting,
we made a good supper compared with our usual
fare.
‘On the next day, 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 cocoa-nut 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 ac-
, customed to suffer. The heat of the sun was now
110 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
So powerful, that several of the people were seized
with a languor and faintness, which made life
indifferent. But the little circumstance of catch-
ing 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 accordingly divided, with their
entrails, and the contents of their maws, into
eighteen portions, and, as the prize was a very
valuable one, it was distributed as before, by call-
ing 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 the people amused themselves with con-
versing on the probability of what they would meet
with on it.
Accordingly, at one in the morning of the 28th,
the person at the helm heard the sound of breakers.
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-
lutely 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

THE open-BoAT NAVIGATION. | 1 ||
passed the barrier. At length a break in the reef
was discovered, a quarter of a mile in width, and
through this the boat rapidly passed with a strong
stream running to the westward, and came imme-
diately into smooth water, and all the past hard-
ships seemed at once to be forgotten.
They now returned thanks to God for his gene-
rous protection, and with much content took their
miserable 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 dis-
tinctly, and in the evening they landed on the
Sandy point of an island, when it was soon dis-
covered 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 tinder-box and a piece of brimstone, so that in
future they had the ready means of making a fire.
One of the men too had been so provident as to
bring away 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 re-
ceived a 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 discovered 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
1 12 THE OPEN-BO AT N A WIG ATION,
of them are stated to have been alarming; and
notwithstanding their sufferings from 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 fan-
cied they were all poisoned, and regarded each
other with the strongest marks of apprehension,
uncertain what might be the issue of their impru-
dence: fortunately the fruit proved to be whole-
some and good.
‘This day (29th May) being,’ says Lieutenant
Bligh, “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 might not have taken notice of it.’
With oysters and palm-tops stewed together
the people now made excellent meals, without
consuming 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 gallons. On examining the bread, it
was found there still remained about thirty-eight
days' allowance. -

THE OPTEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 113
Being now ready for sea, every person was
ordered to attend prayers; but just as they were
embarking, about twenty naked savages made their
appearance, running and hallooing, and beckon-
ing 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 proceeded to the northward, having
the continent on their left, and several islands
and reefs on their right.
On the 31st they landed on one of these islands,
to 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 having 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 determined either to preserve my com-
mand 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 immediately made concessions.
I did not allow this to interfere further with the
harmony of the boat's crew, and everything soon
became quiet.' •
114 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
On this island they obtained oysters, and clams,
and dog-fish; also a small bean, which Nelson,
the botanist, pronounced to be a species of doli-
chos. On the 1st of June, they stopped in the
midst of some sandy islands, such as are known
by the name of keys, where they procured a few
clams and beans. Here Nelson was taken very
ill with a violent heat in his bowels, a loss of
sight, great thirst, and an inability 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 headach and sickness of
the stomach. Others became shockingly dis-
tressed with tenesmus; in fact, there were few
without complaints.
A party was sent out by night to catch birds;
they returned with only twelve noddies, but it
is stated, that, had it not been for the folly and
obstinacy 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
mine 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 3rd of June, after passing several
keys and islands, and doubling Cape York, the
north-easternmost point of New Holland, at eight
in the evening, the little boat and her brave
crew once more launched into the open ocean.

TITE OPEN-BO AT NAVIGATION. } } }}
* Miserable, says Lieutenant Bligh, “as our situ-
ation was in every respect, I was secretly sur-
prised to see that it did not appear to affect any
one so strongly as myself; on the contrary, it
seemed as if they had embarked on a voyage 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 chiefly 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 continu-
ance of his most gracious protection, I served out
an allowance of water for supper, and directed our
course to the west-south-west.
‘We had been just six days on the coast of
New Holland, in the course of which we found ſ
oysters, a few clams, some birds, and water. But s'.
a benefit, probably not less than this, was that of
being relieved from the fatigue of sitting constantly
in the boat, and enjoying good rest at night.
These advantages certainly preserved our lives;
and small as the supply was, I am very sensible
how much it alleviated our distresses. Before
this time nature must have sunk under the ex-
tremes of hunger and fatigue. Even in our
present situation, we were most deplorable 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



I 2 .
I 16 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
us being at last driven to the necessity of destroy-
ing 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 6th the
allowance 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
allowance for breakfast ; but at dinner each person
had the luxury of an ounce of dried clams, which
consumed all that remained. The sea was run-
ning high and breaking over the boat the whole of
this day. Mr. Ledward, the surgeon, and Law-
rence Lebogue, 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 sugh
* If Bligh here meant to deny the fact of men, in
extreme cases, destroying each other for the sake of ap-
peasing hunger, he is greatly mistaken. The fact was but
too well established, and to a great extent, on the raft of
the French frigate Méduse, 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 the Bounty, worn by degrees to skeletons,
by protracted famine, who may thus have become equally
indifferent to life or death. -

THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 1 17
a melancholy occasion, which was not at all un-
expected. *
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 quantity 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 com-
fortless night, there was a visible alteration for the
worse,’ says Mr. Bligh, “in many of the people,
which gave me great apprehensions. An extreme
weakness, swelled legs, hollow and ghastly coun-
tenances, 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 Le-
bogue, in particular, 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 accom-
plish the voyage was our principal support. The
boatswain very innocently 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 had no doubt
*::

I 18 THIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
they had now passed the 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 not possible for me,’ says this experi-
enced 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 thou-
sand six hundred and eighteen nautical miles; and
that, notwithstanding our extreme distress, no one
should have perished in the voyage.’
On Sunday the 14th they came safely to an–
chor in Coupang Bay, where they were received
with every mark of kindness, hospitality, and hu-
manity. The houses of the principal people were
thrown open for their reception. The poor suf-
ferers when landed were scarcely able to walk;
their condition is described 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 themselves 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 sparkling at immediate
relief, or the horror of their preservers at the
sight of so many spectres, whose ghastly counte-
Rances, if the cause had been unknown, would
*
THE OPEN-BO AT NAVIGATION. I 19
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
condition, with the tears of joy and gratitude flow-
ing down our cheeks, the people of Timor beheld
us with a mixture of horror, surprise, and pity.
“When, continues the commander, “I reflect
how providentially our lives were saved at Tofoa,
by the Indians delaying their attack; and that,
with scarcely anything to support life, we crossed
a sea of more than twelve hundred leagues, with-
out shelter 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 countries without accident, and at
last to meet with the most friendly and best of
people to relieve our distresses—I say, when I
reflect on all these wonderful escapes, the remem-
brance 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.' g
Having recruited their strength by a residence .
of two months among the friendly inhabitants of .
Coupang, they proceeded to the westward on the
20th August in a small schooner, which was pur-
chased and armed for the purpose, and arrived on
120 THE OPEN - BOAT NAVIGATION.
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 March,
1790. The rest of the people had passages pro-
vided 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 Batavia; Robert
Lamb, seaman (the booby-eater), died on the
passage; and Mr. Ledward, the surgeon, was left
behind, and not afterwards heard of. These six,
with John Norton, who was stoned to death, left.
twelve of the nineteen, forced by the mutineers
into the launch, to survive the difficulties and
dangers of this unparalleled voyage, and to revisit
their native country. With great truth might
Bligh exclaim with the poet,_
‘'Tis mine to tell their tale of grief,
Their constant peril and their scant relief;
Their days of danger, and their nights of pain;
Their manly courage, even when deem'd in vain;
The sapping famine, rendering scarce a son
Known to his mother in the skeleton;
The ills that lessen’d still their little store,
And starved even Hunger till he wrung no more ;
The varying frowns and favours of the deep,
That now almost engulfs, then leaves to creep
With crazy oar and shatter'd strength along
The tide, that yields reluctant to the strong ;
Th’ incessant fever of that arid thirst
Which welcomes, as a well, the clouds that burst
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;
TIIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 121
The 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 says, “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
* 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, sometimes hidden for twenty-four hours;
—these unhappy men, in this destitute and hopeless condition,
had to brave the billows of the stormy Atlantic, for nearly
a thousand miles. A blanket, which was by accident in the
boat, served as a sail, and with this they scudded before the
wind, in expectation of being swallowed up by every wave ;
with great difficulty the boat was eleared of water before the
return of the next great sea, all of the people were half
drowned, and sitting, except the balers, at the bottom of the
boat. On quitting the ship the distance of Fayal was two
hundred and sixty leagues, or about nine hundred English
miles. .
Their provisions were a bag of bread, a small ham, a single
piece of pork, two quart bottles of water, 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
off, with the cork in, supplied 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 bread, and
s
1 22 TEIE OF EN-BO AT NAVIGATION.
in its extent, duration, or the want of every neces-
sary of life.' We may go further and say, it is
one bottle of water remaining of a second supply of rain ;
on this day Matthews, a quarter-master, the stoutest man in
the boat, perished of hunger and cold. This 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 with-
out a groan. Hitherto despair and gloom had been suc-
cessfully prevented, the men, when the evenings closed in,
having been encouraged by turns to sing a song, or relate
a story, instead of a supper : * but,” says the captain, ‘ this
evening I found it impossible to raise either.’ The cap-
tain had directed the clothes to be taken from the corpse
of Matthews and given to some of the men, who were perish-
ing with cold ; but the shocking skeleton-like appearance
of his remains made such an impression on the people,
that all efforts to raise their spirits were ineffectual. On
the following day, the sixteenth, their last breakfast 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 extraordinary feat of navigation is that
which is related (on good authority) in a note of the Quar-
terly Review, vol. xviii., pp. 337–339:-
“Of all the feats of navigation on record, however, that of
Diogo Botelho 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 most of the old Portuguese writers,
lias 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 vice-royalty of Don Francisco de
Almeyda, there was a young gentleman in India of the
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 of marine charts. As he grew


THE OPEN-IBO AT NAVIGATION. 123
impossible to read this extraordinary and unpa-
ralleled voyage, without bestowing the meed of
up, he felt anxious to visit Portugal, where, on his arrival,
he was well received at court, and the king 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 ante-chamber, was met by
T}on Antonio Noronha, second son of the Marquis of Villa
Real, who asked him if his suit had been granted : he
answered, “Sir, I will apply where my suit will not be neglect-
ed.” When this answer came to the ears of the king, he
immediately ordered Botelho to be confined in the castle of
Lisbon, lest he should follow the example of Megalhaens, and
go 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 condi-
tion that he should not return to Portugal, except by special
permission. Under these unpleasant circumstances this gen-
tleman proceeded to India, anxious for an opportunity of
distinguishing himself, that he might be permitted again to
visit Portugal. e -
* It happened about this time that the Sultan 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 import-
ance to the security of the Portuguese possessions in India.
Botelho was aware how acceptable this information would be
to the king, and therefore deemed this a favourable opportunity
of regaining his favour, by conveying such important intelli-
gence; and he resolved to perform the voyage in a vessel so
small, and so unlike what had ever appeared in Portugal, that
it should not fail 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
124 | THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
unqualified praise on the able and judicious con-
duct of its commander, who is in every respect, as
procured a fusta, put a deck on it from head to stern, fur-
nished it with spare sails and spars, and every other neces-
Sary, and constructed two small tanks for water. •
“As soon as the monsoon served, he embarked with some
men in his service, giving out that he was going to Melinde ;
and, to give colour to this story, he proceeded to Baticala,
where he purchased some clothes and beads for that market,
and laid in provisions ; some native merchants also embarked
with a few articles on board for the Melinde market, to
which he did not choose to object, lest it should alarm his
sailors.
‘He set sail with the eastern monsoon, in the beginning
of October, and arrived safely at Melinde, where he landed
the native merchants, took in wood, water, and refreshments,
and again put to sea, informing his 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 had foreseen and provided for ; putting some of them in
irons, and promising at the same time amply to reward the ser-
vices of the rest, and giving them to understand that he was 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 Sofala he proceeded along the coast till he had
passed the Cabo dos Correntes, and from thence along the
shore, without ever venturing to a distance from the land, and
touching at the different 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, steering 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 his crew, of whom some
had perished of cold, notwithstanding his having provided
warm clothing for them.
* Departing from St. Helena, he boldly steered his little
bark across the wide ocean, directing his career to St. Thomé,
where he took in provisions, wood, and water; and from thence
he proceeded to the bar of Lisbon, where he arrived in May,
TIIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 125
far as this extraordinary enterprise is concerned,
fully entitled to rank with Parry, Franklin, and
when the king was at Almeyrin.—He entered the river with
his oars, his little vessel being dressed with flags and pendants,
and anchored at Point Leira opposite to Salvaterra, not being
able to get farther up the river. This novelty produced such
a sensation in Lisbon that the Tagus was covered with boats to
see the fusta. Diogo Botelho Perreira landed in a boat, and
proceeded to Almeyrin, to give the king an account of his
voyage, and solicit a gratification 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 intelligence, but,
as Botelho brought no letters from the governor, he did not
give him the kind of reception which he had expected.—Ori
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, and
ordered money and clothes to be given to the sailors—nor
could he help considering Diogo Botelho as a man of extra-
ordinary enterprise and courage, on whose firmness implicit
reliance might be placed. -
“The little vessel was ordered to be drawn ashore at Sacabem,
where it remained many years, (until it fell to pieces,) and was
visited by people from all parts of Europe, who beheld it with
astonishment. The king subsequently received letters from
the governor of Nuno da Cunha, confirming the news brought
by Botelho; the bearer of these letters, a Jew, was immediately
rewarded with a pension of a hundred and forty milreas; but
Botelho was neglected for many years, and at last appointed
commander of St. Thomé, and finally made captain of Cananor
in India, that he might be at a distance from Portugal.’
The vessel named fusta is a long, shallow, Indian-built
row-boat, which uses latine sails in fine weather. These
boats are usually open, but Botelho covered his with a deck :
its dimensions, according to Lavanha, in his edition of De
Barros' unfinished Decade, are as follow :—length, twenty-two
palmos, or sixteen feet six inches. Breadth, twelve palmos,
or nine feet. Depth, six palmos, or four feet six inches.
I 26 TIIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
Richardson. Few men, indeed, were ever placed
for so long a period in a more trying, distressing,
and perilous situation than he was ; and it may
safely be pronounced, that, to his discreet ma-
nagement of the men and their scanty resources,
and to his ability as a thorough seaman, eighteen
souls were saved from imminent and otherwise
inevitable 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 situation 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 uncivilised 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 conception;
but having once experienced the full force of
it, on no future occasion was any attempt made
Bligh’s boat was twenty-three feet long—six feet nine inches
broad, and two feet nine inches deep. From the circumstance
mentioned of some of his crew having perished with cold,
it is probable that they were natives of India, whom the
Portuguese were in the habit of bringing home as part of
their crew.


THE OFPEN-IBO AT NAVIGATION. 127
to repeat the attack. Lieutenant Bligh, fully
aware of his own weakness, deemed it expedient,
therefore, 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, unarmed and wholly
defenceless as his party were.
But the circumstance of being tantalised 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 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 possibility 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 ordinary 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, that the settled allowance should never be
deviated from, as they were made clearly to
128 THE opFN-BoAT NAVIGATION.
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 clamorous
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 ex-
posure 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 difficulties and sufferings make it not less
than miraculous, that this voyage, itself a miracle,
should have been completed, 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 conti-
nual 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
rain; it was the only resource we had, and I
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
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 129
they were placed, and to prevent despondency
from taking possession of their minds; and in
order to assist in effecting this, some employment
was devised 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 boat's place. The anxiety of
the people to hear how they had proceeded,
what progress had been made, and whereabouts
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 circum-
stances, the sea breaking over the observer, and
the boat pitching and rolling so much, 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 the rate of
K
130 THIE OF EN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
four and one-fifth miles an hour, or one hundred
miles a-day. -
Lieutenant Bligh has expressed his convic-
tion, 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 procured, 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 likewise 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, have 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 insolent
to a high degree, and at last told me, with a
mutinous aspect, he was as good a man as I was.
I did not just now see where this was to end; I
therefore determined 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
THE OPEN-IBO AT NAV IGATION. 13|
kill him, and began to make concessions. I was
now only assisted by Mr. Nelson; and the master
(Fryer) very deliberately called out to the boat-
swain, to put me under an arrest, and was stirring
up a greater disturbance, when I declared, if he
interfered, when I was in the execution of my duty
to preserve order and regularity, and that in con-
sequence any tumult arose, I would certainly put
him to death the first person. This had a proper
effect on this man, and he now assured me that,
on the contrary, I might rely on him to support
my orders and directions for the future. This is
the outline of a tumult that lasted about a quarter
of an hour;' and he adds, “I was told that the
master and carpenter, at the last place, were en-
deavouring to procure 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 observes (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 was not made into a larger quantity by
the addition of water, and showed a turbulent dis-
position, until I laid my commands on him to be
silent.’ Again, on his refusing bread to the men,
because they were collecting oysters, he says,
this occasioned some murmuring with the master
and carpenter, the former of whom endeavoured
K 2
132 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
to prove the propriety of such an expenditure,
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 at 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 countenance, which led
me to believe he was one of the 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 the 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
original journal, on the day of the mutiny, but is
not alluded to in his printed narrative. ‘The mas-
ter's cabin was opposite to mine ; he saw them (the
mutineers) 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 me remain in the ship?”—“No,” “Have
gyou any objection, Captain Bligh 3’ I whispered
&º,
THE opeN-BoAT NAVIGATION. 133
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 afterwards 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 cal-
culated to stir up the irascible temper of a man,
active and zealous in the extreme, as Bligh
always was, in the execution of his duty. Some
excuse may be found for hasty expressions uttered
in a moment of irritation, when passion gets the
better of reason; but no excuse can be found for
one, who deeply and unfeelingly, without provo-
cation, and in cold blood, inflicts a wound on the
heart of a widowed mother, already torn with
anguish and tortured with suspense 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, Heywood, some papers have
been brought to light, that throw a still more
134 THE OPEN-BoAT NAVIGATION.
unfavourable stigma on the character of the two
commanders, Bligh and Edwards, than any censure
that has hitherto appeared in print, though the
conduct of neither of them has been spared, when-
ever an occasion has presented itself for bringing
their names before the public.
Bligh, it may be recollected, mentions young
Heywood 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 Bligh, and the booms were between them.
About the end of March, 1790, two months subse-
quent to the death of a most beloved and lamented
husband, Mrs. Heywood received the afflicting
information, but by report only, of a mutiny having
taken place on board the Bounty. In that ship
Mrs. Heywood's son had been serving as mid-
shipman, who, when he left his home, in August,
1787, was under fifteen years of age, a boy de-
servedly 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 this
fatal intelligence, which was at the same time
aggravated by every circumstance of guilt that
calumny or malice could invent with respect to
this unfortunate youth, who was said to be one of
the ringleaders, and to have gone armed into the
captain's cabin, his mother addressed a letter to
Captain Bligh, dictated by a mother's tenderness,
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. I 35
and strongly expressive of the misery she must
necessarily feel on such an occasion. The fol-
lowing is Bligh's reply:—
* London, April 2nd, 1790.
‘MADAM,
“I received your letter this day, and feel for
you very much, being perfectly sensible of the
extreme distress you must suffer from the conduct
of your son Peter. His basemess 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 mutineers, returned to
Otaheite. ‘I am, Madam, •
(Signed) * WM. BLIGH.’
Colonel Holwell, the uncle of young Heywood,
had previously addressed Bligh on the same
melancholy subject, to whom he returned the
following answer:- -
* 26th March, 1790.
‘SIR, gº
I have just this instant received your letter.
With much concern I inform you that your
nephew, Peter Heywood, is among the mutineers.
His ingratitude to me is of the blackest dye, for
I 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 regard
for, and it will give me much pleasure to hear
136 THE OPEN-BoAT NAVIGATION.
that his friends can bear the loss of him without
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 certain 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 unsupported evidence given by
these three was well calculated 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 dreadfully 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 confidence 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:— *.
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 137
• Isle of Man, 2nd June, 1792.
‘IN a situation of mind only rendered sup-
portable 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 the anguish we have
felt at the idea of this long and painful sepa-
ration, rendered still more distressing by the
terrible circumstances attending it! Oh! my
ever dearest boy, when I look back to that
dreadful moment which brought us the fatal intel-
ligence that you had remained in the Bounty
after Mr. Bligh had quitted her, and were looked
upon by him as a mutineer!—when I contrast
that day of horror with 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 hesi-.
tation, stake my life on your innocence. If, on
the contrary, you were concerned in such a con-
spiracy against your commander, I shall be as
firmly persuaded his conduct was the occasion of
it; but, alas! could any occasion justify so atro-
cious an attempt to destroy a number of our fellow-
creatures? No, my ever dearest brother, nothing
138 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
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 circumstance 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 preservation.
‘How strange does it seem to me that I am
now engaged in the delightful task of writing to
you. Alas! my beloved brother, two years ago
I never 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 in-
supportable than if time had inured us to your
loss. I send this to the care of Mr. Hayward, of
Hackney, father to the young gentleman you so
often mention in your letters while you were on
board the Bounty, and who went out as third lieu-
tenant of the Pandora—a circumstance which gave
us infinite satisfaction, as you would, on entering
the Pandora, meet your old friend. On discover-
ing old Mr. Hayward'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
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 139
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 write 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 affections. 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
hopes of felicity are fled for ever. -
“We are at present making all possible interest
with every friend and connexion we have, to insure
you a sufficient support and protection at your
approaching trial; for a trial you must unavoidably
undergo, in order to convince the world of that
innocence, which those who know you will not for
a moment doubt; but, alas! while circumstances
are against you, 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 expe-
rienced 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 misfortune made all
others light, and to see you once more returned,
140 TFIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
and safely restored to us, will be the summit of all
earthly happiness.
‘Farewell, my most beloved brother God
grant this may soon be put into your hands !
Perhaps at this moment you are arrived in Eng-
land, and I may soon have the dear delight of
again beholding you. My mamma, brothers, and
sisters, join with me in every sentiment of love
and tenderness. Write to us immediately, my
ever-loved Peter, and may the Almighty preserve
you until you bless with your presence your fondly
affectionate family, and particularly your unalter-
ably faithful friend and sister,
(Signed) * NESSY HEywooDºº.”
* Previous to the writing of this letter, the following copy
of verses shows how anxiously this young lady's mind was en-
gaged on the unhappy circumstances under which her brother
was placed.
* On the tedious and mournful Absence of a most beloved
BRother, who was in the Bounty with CAPTAIN BLIGH
at the Time of the FATAL MUTINY, which happened
April 28th, 1789, in the South Seas, and who, instead of
returning with the Boat when she left the Ship, stayed
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 I thought my own ;
Why seek I now in solitude for ease,
Which once was centered in a wish to please,
When ev'ry hour in joy and gladness past,
And each new day shone brighter than the last;
When in society I loved to join ;
When to enjoy, and give delight, was mine?—
Now, sad reverse ! in sorrow wakes each day,
And grief's sad tones inspire each plaintive lay :
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 141
The gleam of joy which this unhappy family
derived from the circumstance, which had been
Alas! too plain these mournful tears can tell
The pangs of woe my lab’ring bosom swell!
Thou best of brothers—friend, companion, guide,
Joy of my youth, my honour, and my pride l
Lost is all peace—all happiness to me,
And fled all comfort, since deprived 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 ! how slow thy ling’ring pace,
Which keeps me from his tender, loved embrace.
At home to see him, or to know him near,
How much I wish—and yet how much I fear !
Oh! fatal voyage which robb'd my soul of peace,
And wreck'd my happiness in stormy seas .
Why, my loved Lycidas, why did'st thou stay,
Why waste thy life from friendship far away P
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 exposed to slander's wound,
And fell suspicion whispering around.
In vain—to those who knew thy worth and truth,
Who watch'd each op'ning 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 heav'nly face,
Where sweet expression beaming ever proved , sº
The index of that soul, by all beloved;
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:

142 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
related to them, of young Heywood'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 swimming off to the Pandora, is one falsity
among the too many, in which I have often
thought of undeceiving you, and as frequently
forgot. The story was this:—On the morning
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
No, my loved brother, ne'er will I believe
Thy seeming worth was meant but to deceive ;
Still will I think (each circumstance though strange)
That thy firm principles could never change ;
That hopes of preservation urged thy stay,
Or force, which those resistless must obey.
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 of joy,
Nor let Despair each rapt’rous thought destroy;
Indulgent Heav'n, in pity to our tears,
At length will bless a parent's sinking years;
Again shall I behold thy lovely face,
By manhood form’d, and ripen'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 woe:
How would my soul with joy and rapture glow!
Kind Heav'n thou hast my happiness in store,
Restore him innocent—I ask no more
* NEssy Heywood.
* Isle of Man, Feb. 25th, 1792.’ t
THE open-BoAT NAVIGATION. 143
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 uni-
versal favourite among those Indians, and per-
fectly conversant in their language) came running
after me, and informed me there was a ship com-
ing. I immediately ascended a rising ground,
and saw, with indescribable joy, a ship lying-to
off Hapiano; it was just after day-light, and
thinking Coleman might not be awake, and there-
fore 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 canoe. There
was a fresh breeze, and the ship 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. I, along
with my messmate Stewart, was then standing
upon the beach with a double canoe, manned with
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, I do not in the least
wonder at their taking us for natives. I was tat-
tooed, 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,
~, - º:-- * ~~~~
144 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVI&ATION.
provided Igained by it their friendship and esteem,
which you may suppose is no inconsiderable 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 bearing an
unworthy badge of disgrace, and considered as a
mere outcast of society.’
Among the many anxious friends and family
connexions of the Heywoods, was Commodore
Pasley, to whom this affectionate young lady
addressed herself on the melancholy occasion;
and the following is the reply she received from
this officer:-
* 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 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 con-
fined 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 intelligence
of his swimming off on the Pandora's arrival is
not founded; a man of the name of Coleman
swam offere she anchored—your brother and Mr.
Stewart the next day; this last youth, when the
Pandora was lost, refused to allow his irons to be
taken off to save his life. -
‘I cannot conceal it from you, my dearest
TIIE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 145
Nessy, neither is it proper I shoulda—your brother
appears, by all accounts, to be the greatest culprit
of all, Christian alone excepted. Every exertion,
you may rest assured, I shall use to save his life,
but on trial I have no hope of his not being con-
demned. 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 1 I will not
distress you more by enlarging on this subject ;
as intelligence arises on their arrival, you shall be
made acquainted. Adieu ! my dearest Nessy—
present my affectionate remembrances to your
mother and sisters, and believe me always, with
the warmest affection, -
‘Your uncle,
‘THos. PASLEY."
IIow unlike is this from the letter of Bligh!
while it frankly apprises this amiable lady of the
real truth of the case, without disguise, as it was
then understood to be from Mr. Bligh's represent-
ations, it assures her of his best exertions to save
her brother's life. Every reader of sensibility
will sympathise in the feeling displayed in her
reply.
“Isle of Man, 22nd June, 1792.
“Harassed by the most torturing suspense, and
miserably wretched as I have been, my dearest
uncle, since the receipt of your last, conceive, if it
is possible, the heartfelt joy and satisfaction we
experienced yesterday morning, when, on the
arrival of the packet, the dear delightful letter from
our beloved Peter (a copy of which I send you
L
- . .
* -- ~~~~~~~~~
146 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
enclosed) was"brought to us. Surely, my excel-
lent friend, you will agree with me in thinking
there could not be a stronger proof of his inno-
cence and worth, and that it must prejudice every.
person who reads it most powerfully in his favour
Such a letter in less distressful circumstances than
those in which he writes, would, I am persuaded,
reflect honour on the pen of a person much older
than my poor brother. But when we consider his
extreme youth, (only sixteen at the time of the
mutiny, and now 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 inconceivable pride and delight, that
my beloved Peter was never 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 inno-
cence which could dictate such a letter ? In short,
let it speak for him : the perusal of his artless and
pathetic story will, I am persuaded, be a stronger
recommendation in his favour than anything I
can urge”.
I need not tire your patience, my ever loved
* This interesting letter is given in the following Chapter,
to which it appropriately belongs. -


THE OPEN - BOAT NAVIGATION. R 47 f
uncle, by dwelling longer on this subject (the
dearest 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 goodness and benevolence of your heart
will prompt you to exert in his behalf. It is per-
fectly unnecessary for me to add, after the anxiety
I feel, and cannot but express, that no benefit
conferred upon myself will be acknowledged with º
half the gratitude I must ever feel for the smallest
instance of kindness shown to my beloved Peter.
Farewell, my dearest uncle. With the firmest
reliance on your kind and generous promises, I
am, ever with the truest gratitude and sincerity,
‘Your most affectionate niece,
‘NESSY HEY wooD.’

L 2
CHAPTER V.
THE PAN DO R. A.
‘ O ! I have suffer'd
With those that I saw suffer a brave vessel,
Who had, no doubt, some noble creatures in her,
Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock
Against my very heart | Poor souls l 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
favour of Bligh, on account of his sufferings
and the successful issue of his daring enterprise,
as its indignation was launched against Chris-
tian and his associates, for the audacious and
criminal deed they had committed. Bligh was
promoted by the Admiralty to the rank of Com-
mander, and speedily sent out a second time to
transport the bread-fruit to the West Indies, which
he without the least obstruction successfully accom-
plished; and his Majesty's government were no
sooner made acquainted with the atrocious act of
piracy and mutiny, than it determined to adopt
every possible means to apprehend and bring to
condign punishment the perpetrators of so foul a
deed. For this purpose, the Pandora frigate, of
twenty-four guns and one hundred and sixty men,

THE PANDORA. 149
despatched under the command of Captain Edward
Edwards, with orders to proceed, in the first in-
stance, to Otaheite, and not finding the mutineers
there, to visit the different groups of the Society
and Friendly Islands, the others in the neighbour-
ing 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 dis-
astrous as that of the Bounty, but from a different
cause. The waste of human life was much 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 navigation of eleven hundred miles in open
boats; but the Captain succeeded in fulfilling a
part of his instructions, 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
contained 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 information of proceedings and occur-
rences connected with the main object of the
voyage. From this book, therefore, much inform-
ation is not to be looked for. In a more modern
publicătion, many abusive epithets have been
bestowed on Captain Edwards, and observations
made on the conduct of this officer highly injurious
150 THE PANDORA.
to his reputation, in regard to his inhuman treat-
ment 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 the proceedings, rendered by
himself to the Admiralty, is vague and unsatis-
factory; and had it not been for the journal of
Morrison, and a circumstantial letter of young.
Heywood to his mother, no record would have
remained of the unfeeling conduct of this officer
towards his unfortunate prisoners, who were treated
with a rigour which could not be justified on any
ground of necessity or prudence. r
The Pandora anchored in Matavai Bay on the
23rd March, 1791. Captain Edwards, in his nar-
rative, states that Joseph Colman, the armourer
of the Bounty, attempted to come on board before
the Pandora 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 re-
quired; that the next who came on board, just
after the ship had anchored, were Mr. Peter Hey-
wood and Mr. Stewart, before any boat had been
sent on shore; that they were brought down to
his cabin, when, after some conversation, Hey-
wood asked if Mr. Hayward (midshipman of the
Bounty, 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
|


THE PANDORA. 151
prisoners into safe custody, and to put them in
irons; that four other mutineers soon made their
appearance; and 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
N.W. part of the island. .
He goes on to say that, on this intelligence, he
despatched the two lieutenants, Corner and Hay-
ward, with the pinnace and launch, to endeavour
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 Paparré, on which they
were again despatched in search of her. Lieu-
tenant Corner had taken three of the mutineers,
and Hayward, on arriving at Paparré, found the
schooner there, but the mutineers had abandoned
her and fled to the mountains. He carried off
the schooner, and returned 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 they did,
when they were confined and brought as prisoners
to the ship. . .
The following were the persons received on
board the Pandora :
PETER HEywood }
GEORGE STEwART
JAMES MoRRison . . . . . . Boatswain's Mate.
Midshipmen.
152 THE PANDORA.
CHARLEs NoFMAN . . . . Carpenter's Mate.
Thomas M*INtosh . . . . Carpenter’s Crew.
Joseph ColeMAN . . . . Armourer.
RICHARD Skinner.
Thomas ELLison
HENRY HILLBRANT
THoMAs BURKITT
John MILLwARD
John SUMNER
WILLIAM Muspratt J
Seamen.
RichartD BYRN
In all fourteen. The other two, which made up
the sixteen which had been left on the island,
were murdered, 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-part of the quarter-deck, for their more
effectual security in this airy and healthy situation,
and to separate them from, and to prevent their
having communication 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 respect, the same
as the ship's company, both in meat, liquor, and
all the extra indulgences with which they were so
liberally supplied, notwithstanding the established
laws of the service, which restrict prisoners to
two-thirds allowance; but Captain Edwards very
humanely commiserated their unhappy and in-
evitable 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

THE PANDORA. I53
both legs of the two midshipmen in irons, and that
he branded them 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 never 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. ;
That Captain Edwards took every precaution
to keep his prisoners in safe custody, and place
them in confinement, as by his instructions he was
directed to do, may be well imagined”, but Mr.
Morrison will probably be thought to go some-
what beyond credibility in stating that orders were
given ‘to shoot any of the prisoners, when con-
fined in irons. Captain Edwards must have known
that such an act would have cost him his com-
mission or something more. The fact is, that
information was given to Edwards, at least he
* His orders run thus: ‘You are to keep the mutineers as
closely confined as may preclude all possibility of their escaping,
having, however, proper regard to the preservation of their lives,
that they may be brought home, to undergo the punishment
due to their demerits.”
154 THE PANDORA.
so asserts, by the brother of the King of Otaheite,
an intelligent chief, that a conspiracy was formed
among the natives 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 mid-
shipman Stewart, in particular, had married the
daughter of a man of great landed property near
Matavai Bay. This intelligence, no doubt, weighed
with the Captain 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
tender offspring, was too moving a scene for any
feeling heart. Their wives brought them ample
supplies of every delicacy that the country afforded,
while we lay there, and behaved with the greatest
fidelity and affection to them *.’
Of the fidelity and attachment of these simple-
minded creatures an instance is afforded in the
affecting story which is told, in the first Missionary
Voyage of the Duff, of the unfortunate wife of
the reputed mutineer Mr. Stewart. It would
seem also to exonerate Edwards from some part
* Voyage round the World, by Mr. George Hamilton,
p. 34.

THE PANT) OR A. 155
; the charges which have been brought against
l]]]].
‘The history of Peggy Stewart marks a tender-
ness of heart that never will be heard without
emotion: she was daughter of a chief, and taken
for his wife by Mr. Stewart, one of the unhappy
mutineers. They had lived with the old chief in
the most tender state of endearment ; a beautiful
little girl had been the fruit of their union, and
was at the breast when the Pandora arrived, seized
the criminals, 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 affecting and afflicting, that the officers on
board wereoverwhelmed with anguish, and Stewart
himself, unable to bear the heart-rending 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. Withheld 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 in
* A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific, p. 360.

156 - THE PANIDOR.A.
Otaheite. He was not, however, insensible to
the amiable and good qualities of these people. In
some laudatory verses which he wrote while on
the island, their numerous good 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
proceeded 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 arrival, by violent deaths. These
two men had accompanied a chief, who was the
tayo, or sworn friend, of Churchill, and having
died without children, this mutineer succeeded to
his property and dignity, according to the custom
of the country. Thompson, for some real or fancied
insult, took an opportunity of shooting his com-
panion. The natives assembled, and came to a
resolution to avenge the murder, and literally
stoned Thompson to death, and his skull 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
person in Otaheite is usually given by some
distinguishing 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 travelling round the island,
was just in time to avert the blow.
Captain Edwards had no clue to guide him as
THE PANIDOR.A. 157
to the route taken by the Bounty, but he learnt
from different people and from journals kept on
board that ship, which were found in the chests
of the mutineers at Otaheite, the proceedings of
Christian and his associates, after Lieutenant 13]igh
and his companions had been turned adrift in the
launch. From these it appears that the pirates
proceeded in the first instance 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 mate-
rials, 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 intention.
They accordingly sailed from Toobouai about the
latter end of the month, and arrived at Otaheite
on the 6th June. The Otoo, or reigning sovereign,
and other principal natives, were very inquisitive
and anxious to know what had become of Lieu-
tenant Bligh and the rest of the crew, and also
what had been done with the bread-fruit plants.
They were told they had most unexpectedly fallen
in with Captain Cook at an island he had just dis-
covered, called Whytootakee, where he intended
to form a settlement, and where the plants had
been landed; and that Lieutenant Bligh and the
others were stopping there to assist Captain Cook
in the business he had in hand, and that he had

158 THE PANDORA.
appointed Mr. Christian commander 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 re-
ceived on board three hundred and twelve hogs,
thirty-eight goats, eight dozen of fowls, a bull
and a cow, and a large quantity 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 Otaheite on
the 19th June, and arrived a second time at Too-
bouai on the 26th. They warped the ship up the
harbour, landed the live stock, and set about
building a fort of fifty yards square: --
While this work was carrying on, quarrels and
disagreements 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 depre-
dations committed on their property. Retaliations
were attempted by the natives without success,
numbers of whom being pursued with fire-arms
were put to death. Still the situation of the
mutineers became so disagreeable and unsafe, the
work went on so slowly and reluctantly, that the

TIHIS PAND OR A. 159
building of the fort was agreed to be discon-
tinued. Christian, in fact, had very soon per-
ceived 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 advi-
sable step to take. After much angry discussion,
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 Ma-
tavai Bay on the 20th September, 1789. Here
sixteen of the mutineers were put on shore, at
their own request, fourteen of whom were received
on board the Pandora, and two of them, as before
mentioned, were murdered on the island. The
remaining nine agreed to continue in the Bounty.
The small-arms, powder, canvas, and the small
stores belonging to the ship, were equally divided
among the whole crew. The Bounty sailed finally
from Otaheite 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 frequently been heard to say that
his object was to discover some unknown or unin-
habited island, in which there was no harbour for
shipping; that he would run the Bounty on shore,

160 THE PANDORA.
and make use of her materials to form a settle-
ment; 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
undertook the construction of this schooner, being
himself a tolerable mechanic, in which he was
assisted by the two carpenters, the cooper, and
some others. To this little band of architects, we
are told, Morrison acted both as director and chap-
lain, distinguishing 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 operations. Conscious of his inno-
cence, 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 refusal, on the part of
the natives, to give them a sufficient quantity of
matting and other necessaries for so long a voyage,
being, in fact, desirous of retaining 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
THE PANDORA. - 161
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 moment of
her arrival.
On the 8th of May, this frigate left Otaheite,
accompanied by the little schooner which the
mutineers had built, and the history of which is
somewhat 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 extreme breadth; five feet depth of
the hold. She parted from the Pandora near the
Palmerstonislands, when searchingfor the Bounty,
and was not heard of till the arrival of the Pan-
dora's crew at Samarang, in Java, where they 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 afterwards 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 Captain
Broughton, to assist him in surveying the coast
of Tartary, and became the means of preserving
the crew of his Majesty's ship Providence, amount-
ing to one hundred and twelve men, when wrecked
to the eastward of Formosa, in the year 1797.
The Pandora called at numerous islands without
... M
162 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,
being 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 *, which was hardly called for. “When
this boat, says the writer, “with a midshipman
and several men (four), had been inhumanly or-
dered from alongside, it was known that there
was nothing in her but one piece of salt-beef,
compassionately thrown in by a seaman; 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 sur-
geon, ‘what has been the fate of those 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 asserting an acknowledged fact that can
* United Service Journal.
dºº-nu- ul----------------------------—- -- . .--
THE PAND OR A. I 63
hardly admit of a dispute, and there appears nothing
in the paragraph which at all affects the character
of Captain Edwards, against whom it is levelled.
After a fruitless search of three months, the
Pandora arrived, on the 29th August, on the coast
of New Holland, and close to that extraordinary
reef of coral rocks called the ‘Barrier Reef,’ which
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 star-
board side; the sails were braced about different
ways to endeavour to get her off, but to no purpose;
they were then clewed up and afterwards 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 mi-
nutes 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 bale at the different
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
t p M 2 -
I64 THE PANIDOR. A.
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; we therefore let go
the small bower anchor, cleared away a cable, and
let go the best bower 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 topsail, 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 water, the leak increased
again, and in so great a degree, that there was
reason to apprehend she would sink before day-
light. During the night two of the pumps were
unfortunately for some time rendered useless; one
of them, however, was repaired, and we continued
baling and pumping the remainder of the night;
and every effort that was thought of was made to
keep afloat and preserve the ship. Daylight for-
tunately appeared, and gave us the opportunity of
seeing our situation and the surrounding 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 endea-
vour to provide and to find means for the preser-
vation of the people. Our four boats, which con-
sisted of one launch, one eight-oared pinnace, and
two six-oared yawls, with careful hands in them,

THE PAN ID OR A. 165
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 together and put into the water;
rafts were made, and all floating things upon deck
were umlashed.
‘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 everybody 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 canoe, that was able to support a con-
siderable number of men, broke adrift with only
one man, and was 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) about four miles from the
wreck; and I 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 two first boats to the key; and having landed
the men and cleared the boats, they were immedi-
ately despatched again to look about the wreck and
the adjoining reef for any that might be missing,
but they returned without having found a single
person. On mustering the people that were saved,
*
} 66 THE PANIDO. IRA.
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 the ship's company, and four mutineers,
were lost with the ship.’
It is remarkable enough that so little notice is
taken of the mutineers in this narrative of the
captain ; and as the following statement is sup-
posed 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 feelings of humanity.
“Three of the Bounty's people, Coleman, Nor-
man, and M*Intosh, were now let out of irons, and
sent 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 fetters. 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 away.”
When the ship was actually sinking, and every
effort making for the preservation of the crew, it
is asserted that “no notice was taken of the pri-
soners, as is falsely stated by the author of the
“Pandora's Voyage,” although Captain Edwards
was entreated by Mr. Heywood to have mercy
upon them, when he passed over their prison, to
make his own escape, the ship then lying on her
2°
THE PANDORA, 167
broadside, with the larboard bow completely under
water. Fortunately the master-at-arms, 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 before opened, and thus en-
abled them to commence their own liberation, in
which they were generously assisted, at the immi-
nent risk of his own life, by William 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
down, leaving nothing visible but the top-mast
cross-trees. The master-at-arms and all the sen-
tinels 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 Summer, Richard Skinner, and Henry Hill-
brant, the whole of whom perished with their
hands still in manacles.
‘On this melancholy occasion Mr. Heywood
was the last person but three who escaped from
the prison, into which the water had already found
its way through the bulk-head scuttles. Jumping
overboard, 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 thither in a state of nudity. It is
worthy of remark, that James Morrison endea—
voured to follow his young companion's example,
168 THE PANIDOR.A.
and, although handcuffed, managed to keep afloat
until a boat came to his assistance.’ -
This account would appear almost incredible.
It is true men are sometimes found to act the part
of inhuman monsters, but then they are generally
actuated by some motive or extraordinary excite-
ment; here, however, there was neither; but on
the contrary, the condition of the poor prisoners
appealed most forcibly to the mercy and humanity
of their jailor. The surgeon of the ship states, in
his account of her loss, that as soon as the spars,
booms, hen-coops, 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 re-
monstrating effectually against keeping these
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 Pan-
dora sunk, the surgeon says, “the crew had just
time to leap overboard, accompanying it with a
most dreadful yell. The cries of the men drown-
ing in the water were at first awful in the extreme;
but as they sunk and became faint, they died away
by degrees.” How accurately has Byron described
the whole progress of a shipwreck to the final
catastrophe He might have been a spectator
THE PANDORA. 169
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
Then some leap'd overboard with dreadful yell,
As eager to anticipate their grave;
And the sea yawn’d around her like a hell,
And down she sucked with her the whirling wave,
Like one who grapples with his enemy,
And strives to strangle him before 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 hush'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 cry
Of some strong swimmer in his agony.
On the sandy key which fortunately presented
itself, the shipwrecked seamen hauled up the
boats, to repair those that were damaged, and to
stretch canvass round the gunwales, 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 behaviour of one of the
seamen, named Connell, 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 induced him to
170 THE PANIDOR.A.
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 sixteen
days, on an allowance of two wine-glasses of water
per day to each man, and a very small quantity of
bread, the weight of which was accurately ascer-
tained by 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 na-
tives came down and made signs for their 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 happened to be in the boats, was dis-
charged, 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 2nd Sep-
tember, they passed the N. W. 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 peo-
ple 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 be-
yond threa or four days, as, after that time, the
THIE PANIDOR.A. 171
great absorption from the skin that takes place,
taints the fluids with the bitter part of salt-water,
so that the saliva becomes intolerable in the
mouth.” Their mouths, indeed, he says, became
so parched, that few attempted 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 mutineers took to praying;
but that, “the captain, suspecting the purity of
his doctrines, and unwilling that he should have
a monopoly of the business, gave prayers him-
self.”
On the 13th, they saw the island of Timor, and
the next morning landed 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. Nothing could exceed the kindness
and hospitality of the governor and other Dutch
officers of this settlement, in affording every pos-
sible assistance and relief in their distressed con-
dition. Having remained here three weeks, they
embarked, on the 6th October, on board the Rem-
bang Dutch Indiaman, and on the 30th, anchored
at Samarang, where they were agreeably surprised
to find their little 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 Wreeden-
burgh; but finding his Majesty's ship Gorgon at
the Cape, he transhipped himself and prisoners,
172 THE PANDORA.
ź.
#
º
and proceeded in her to Spithead, where he arrived
on the 19th June, 1792.
Captain Edwards, in his meagre narrative, takes
no more notice of his prisoners with regard
to the mode in which they were disposed of
at Coupang and Batavia, than he does when
the Pandora went down. In fact, he suppresses
all information respecting them, from the day
in which they were consigned to ‘Pandora's
Box. From this total indifference 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 ad-
here to what he considered the strict line of his
duty; that he was a man of a cold phlegmatic
disposition, 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;
My joys, my griefs, my passions, and my powers,
Made me a stranger; though I wore the form,
I had no sympathy with breathing flesh !
There seems to have been a general feeling at
and before the court-martial, that Captainledwards
had exercised 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 war, and the necessity of
so doing is obvious enough—to prevent, in the
TFIE PANDORA. 173
most effectual manner, communication with the
rest of the ship's confpany, who might be contami-
nated by their intercourse with such mischievous
and designing men; men whose crime is of that
dye, 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 pri-
soners 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 indulging them occasion-
ally, 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 dis-
tance 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
themselves on God and their country. The cap-
tain, however, had no “compunctious visitings 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
operated on his stern nature, and induced him to
inflict a greater severity of punishment than he
might otherwise have done, and which he certainly
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174 TIIE PANDORA.
did far beyond the letter and spirit of his instruc-
tions. He might have considered that, in all ages,
and among all nations, with the exception of some
of the Greek states”, piracy has been held in the
utmost abhorrence, and those guilty of it treated
with singular and barbarous severity; and that the
most sanguinary laws were established for the pro-
tection of person and property in maritime adven-
ture. The laws of Oleron, which were composed
under the immediate direction of our Richard I.,
and became the common usage among maritime
states, whose vessels passed through British seas,
are conceived in a spirit of the most barbarous
cruelty t. Thus, if a poor pilot, through igno-
rance, lost the vessel, he was either required to
make full satisfaction to the merchant 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
* 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. -
+ These laws are contained in an ancient authentic book,
called ‘The Black Book of the Admiralty,’ in which all things
therein comprehended are engrossed on vellum, in an ancient
character; which hath been from time to time kept in the
registry of the High Court 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 Thurlow's hands when Attorney-
General, and never returned. There is a copy of it in the
Admiralty. -
TIIE PANDORA. 175
A-
salvers, and all concerned, are declared to be ac-
cursed and excommunicated, and punished as
thieves and robbers; and the pilot condemned 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 all to be burned together; the walls thereof
demolished; 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 mercatorum for a long period, and
in which great care was taken for the security
of ships against their crews. Among other arti-
cles 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.—Whoeveris guilty
of rebellion (or mutiny) shall be thrown over-
board.
For the suppression of piracy, the Portuguese,
in their early intercourse with India, had a sum-
mary punishment, and accompanied it with a ter-
rible 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 everything that was valuable
in the ship, and left her to be buffeted about by
t
ºr .
a • J. Rºx :
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\. " " ...
176 THE PANDORA .
the winds and the waves, with the carcasses
of the criminals dangling from the yards, a hor-
rid object of terror to all who might chance
to fall in with her. Even to this day, a spice
of the laws of Oleron still remains in the mari-
time code of European nations, as far as regards
mutiny and piracy; 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 offenders in irons.
Besides, the treatment of Bligh, whose admirable
conduct under the unparalleled sufferings of him-
self and all who accompanied him in the open
boat, had roused the people of England to
the highest pitch of indignation 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, natu-
:
THE PANDOR A. 177
rally suspected me, unhappily for me, to be a
coadjutor in the mutiny; but never, to my know-
ledge, whilst under his command, behaved myself
in a manner unbecoming the station I occupied,
nor so much as even entertained a thought dero-
gatory to his honour, so as to give him the least
grounds for entertaining an opinion of me so un-
generous and undeserved; for I flatter myself he
cannot give a character of my conduct, whilst I
was under his tuition, that could merit the slightest
scrutiny. Oh ! my dearest mother, 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 as-
persion. 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 I 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 will, I hope, have the desired effect of
removing your uneasiness on my account, when I
assure you, before the face of God, of my inno-
cence of what is laid to my charge. How I came
to remain on board 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 hatch-
way, with 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 was the cause of it.
N
| 78 THIE PANIDOR.A.
He told me that Mr. Christian, assisted by some
of the ship's company, had seized the captain and
put him in confinement; 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 hap-
pened. 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 back, and Mr. Christian alongside
him with a pistol and drawn bayonet. I now
heard a very different story, and that the captain
was to be sent ashore to Tofoa in the launch, and
that those who would not join Mr. 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 inexpe-
rienced as I was, and without an adviser (every
person being as it were infatuated, and not knowing
what to do), I remained for a while a silent spec-
tator of what was going on; and after revolving
the matter in my mind, I determined to choose
what I thought the lesser of two evils and stay by
the ship ; for I had no doubt that those who went on

TFIE PANDORA. 179
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 intentions just, I never thought
of going to Mr. Bligh for advice; besides, what
confirmed me in it was, my seeing two expe-
rienced 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 assisting to clear the launch
of yams, he asked me what I 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
country’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 ever dutiful son. . -

N 2
180 THE PANDORA.
“I was not undeceived in my erroneous decision
till too late, which was after the captain was in the
launch ; for while I was talking to the master-at-
arms, one of the ringleaders in the affair, my
other messmate, whom I had left in his hammock
in the berth (Mr. Stewart), came up to me, and
asked me if I was not going in the launch ' I
replied, No—upon which he told me not to think
of such a thing as remaining behind, but take his
advice and go down below with him to get a few
necessary things, and make haste to go with him
into the launch ; adding that, by remaining in the
ship, I should incur an equal share of guilt with
the mutineers themselves. I reluctantly followed
his advice—I say reluctantly, because I knew no
better, and was foolish; and the boat swimming
very deep in the water—the land being far distant
—the thoughts of being sacrificed by the natives
—and the self-consciousness of my first intention
being just—all these considerations almost stag-
gered my resolution; however, I preferred my
companion's judgment to my own, and we both
jumped down the main-hatchway to prepare our-
selves for the boat—but, no sooner were we in 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 master-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 Taheité, called Tooboui, where

THE PANIDOR. A. 18]
they intended to make a settlement, but finding no
stock there of any kind, they agreed to go to Ta-
heité, and, after procuring hogs and fowls, to return
to Tooboui and remain. So, on the 6th June, we
arrived at Taheité, where I was in hopes I might
find an opportunity of running away, and remain-
ing on shore, but I could not effect it, as there
was always too good a look-out kept to prevent
any such steps being taken. And besides, they
had all sworn that should any one make his escape,
they would force the natives to restore him, and
would then shoot him as an example to the rest;
well knowing, that any one by remaining there
might be the means (should a ship arrivé) of dis-
covering their intended place of abode. Finding
it therefore impracticable, I saw no other alter-
native but to rest as content as possible and
return to Tooboui, and there wait till the masts
of the Bounty should be taken out, and then take
the boat, which might carry me to Taheité, and
disable those remaining from pursuit”. But
Providence so ordered it, that we had no occasion
to try our fortune at such a hazard, for, upon re-
turning there and remaining till the latter end of
August, at which time a fort was almost built, but
nothing could be effected; and as the natives
could not be brought to friendly terms, and with
whom we had many skirmishes, and narrow escapes
from being cut off by them, and, what was still
* Morrison mentions, in his Journal, a plan to this
effect, contrived by Heywood, Stewart, and himself, but
observes, ‘it was a foolish attempt, as, had we met with
bad weather, our crazy boat would certainly have made us
a coffin.” -
1S2 THE PANIDOR.A.
worse, internal broils and discontent, these things"
determined part of the people to leave the island
and go to Taheité, which was carried by a majority
of votes.
‘This being carried into execution on the 22nd
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
proprietor, our former friend; and being now set
free from a lawless crew, determined to remain as
much apart from them as possible, and wait pa-
tiently for the arrival of a ship. Fourteen more
of the Bounty's people came likewise on shore,
and Mr: Christian and eight men went away with
the ship, but God knows whither. Whilst we re-
mained here, we were treated by our kind and
friendly natives with a generosity and humanity
almost unparalleled, and such as we could hardly
have expected from the most civilised 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 learnt 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 friendship.
Appearances being so much against us, we were
THE PANIDOR.A. I83
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 troubles,
would perhaps have been insupportable, but to me,
who had now been long inured to the frowns of
fortune, and feeling myself supported by an inward
consciousness of not deserving it, it was received
with the greatest composure, and a full determi-
nation 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 re-
pining. I endeavour to qualify my affliction with
these three considerations, first, my innocence
not deserving them; secondly, that they 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 years, but old in what the world
calls adversity; and it has had such an effect, as
to make me consider it the most beneficial inci-
dent that could have occurred at my age. It has
made me acquainted with three things which are
little known, and as little believed by any but
those who have felt their effects: first the villany
and censoriousness of mankind; secondly, the
futility of all human hopes; and thirdly, the hap-
piness 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 life 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
184 THE PANDOR. A.
officer, and they most inclined to believe a prior
story, all that can be said to confute it will pro-
bably be looked upon as mere falsity and invention.
Should that be my unhappy case, and they resolved
upon my destruction as an example to futurity,
may God enable me to bear my fate with the for-
titude of a man, conscious that misfortune, not any
misconduct, is the cause, and that the Almighty can
attest my innocence. Yet why should I despond?
I have, I hope, still a friend in that Providence
which hath preserved me amidst 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 misfortunes. -
‘Twelve more of the people who were at Ota-
heite having delivered themselves up, there was a
sort of a prison built on the after-part of the
quarter-deck, into which we were all put in close
confinement 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 dis-
agreeable situation I must have been in, unable as
I was to help myself (being deprived of the use
of both my legs and hands), but by no means
adequate to the reality. -
‘On 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 Hol-
land, to endeavour to discover a passage through
them ; but it was not effected, for the Pandora,
THE PANIDOR.A. 185
ever unlucky, and as if devoted by Heaven to de-
struction, 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 cap-
tain 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 moment,
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
Providence kept up till the morning. The boats
by this time had all been prepared; and as the
captain and officers 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 implored his mercy; upon which he sent
the corporal 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 persons out of irons, the rest
except three, letting themselves out; two of these
*
186 . THE PANIDOR.A.
three went down with them on their hands, and
the third was picked up. She now began to heel
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 distress. I
took a plank (being stark-naked) and swam to-
wards 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
whom were prisoners, and among these was my
unfortunate 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 breakers 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
confinement in a hot climate, I have kept my
health in a most surprising manner, without the
least indisposition, and am still perfectly well in
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TII.E. PANIDOR.A. 187
every respect, in mind as well as body; but with-
out a friend, and only a shirt and pair of trousers
to put on, and carry me home. Yet with all this
I have a contented mind, entirely resigned to the
will of Providence, which conduct alone enables
me to soar above the reach of unhappiness.’
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 survived made on the small sandy key within
the reef, about ninety yards long and sixty broad,
in all ninety-nine souls; here we remained three
days, subsisting on a single wine-glass of wine or
water, and two ounces of bread a day, with no
shelter from the meridian and then vertical sun.
Captain Edwards 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 en-
tirely 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.
I 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 Providence 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
188 THE PANDORA.
bad provisions; and the hardships they endured
on their passage to England, in Dutch ships, were
very severe, having, as he says, slept on nothing
but hard boards on wet canvas, without any bed,
for seventeen months, always subsisting on short
allowance of execrable provisions, and without
any clothes for some time, except such as the cha-
rity of two young men in the ship supplied him
with. He had during his confinement at Batavia
learned to make straw hats, and finished several
with both his hands in fetters, which he sold for
half-a-crown a-piece; and with the produce of
these he procured a suit of coarse clothes, in
which, with a cheerful and light heart, notwith-
standing all his sufferings, he arrived at Ports-
mouth. How he preserved his health under the
dreadful sufferings he endured, and in eight
months' close confinement 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 every
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 competent 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
between this unfortunate youth and his numerous
friends, which exhibits the character of himself
TLIE PANIDOR.A. 189
and the whole family in the most amiable and
affectionate colours, and in a more particular
manner, of that adorable creature, his sister Nessy,
who, in one of her letters, accounts for the pecu-
liar warmth of her attachment and expressions by
their being nearly of the same age, and engaged
in the same pursuits, whether of study or amuse-
ment, in their juvenile years. The poor mother,
on hearing of his arrival, thus addresses her
unfortunate son:—
“Isle of Man, June 29th, 1792.
“Oh my ever dearly-beloved and long-lost
son, with what anxiety have I waited for this
period I have counted the days, hours, and
even minutes, since I first heard of the horrid
and unfortunate mutiny which has so long de-
prived me of my dearest boy; but now the happy
time is come when, though I cannot have the
unspeakable pleasure of seeing and embracing you,
yet I hope we 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 not know his
worth and truth. I have not the least doubt but
that the all-gracious God, who 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
innocence appear as clear as the light. All your
letters have come safe to me, and to my very dear
good Nessy. Ah! Peter, with what real joy did
190 THE PANIDOR.A.
we all receive them, and how happy are we that
you are now safe in England 1 I will endeavour,
my dearest lad, to make your present situation as
comfortable as possible, for so affectionate and
good a son deserves my utmost attention. Nessy
has written to our faithful and kind friend, Mr.
Heywood, of Plymouth, 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 she is with
you ! Such a sister as she is Oh ! Peter, she is
a most valuable girl, &c.
On the same day this “most valuable girl’ thus
writes” —
‘My dearest and most beloved brother—Thanks
to that Almighty Providence which has so mira-
culously preserved you, your fond, anxious, and,
till now, miserable Nessy, is at last permitted to
* The following shows how much her fond mind was fixed
on her unfortunate brother :—
On the Arrival of my dearly beloved Brother, Peter Hey-
wood, in England, written while a Prisoner, and waiting
the Event of his Trial onboard his Majesty's Ship Hector.
CoME, gentle Muse, I woo thee once again,
Nor woo thee now in melancholy strain ;
Assist my verse in cheerful mood to flow,
Nor let this tender bosom Anguish know ;
Fill all my soul with notes of Love and Joy,
No more let Grief each anxious thought employ :
With Rapture now alone this heart shall burn,
And Joy, my Lycidas, for thy return
Return'd with every charm, accomplish'd youth,
Adorn'd with Virtue, Innocence, and Truth;
Wrapp'd in thy conscious merit still remain,
Till I behold thy lovely form again.
Protect him, Heav'n, from dangers and alarms,
And oh restore him to a sister's arms;

TIIE PANDORA. 191
address the object of her tenderest affection in
England Oh! my admirable, my heroic boy,
what have we felt on your account yet how small
how infinitely trifling was the misery of our situa-
tion when compared with the horror of yours
Let me now, however, with confidence hope that
the God of all mercies has not so long protected
you in vain, but will at length crown your 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 Bata-
via make us all ! Surely, my beloved boy, you
could not for a moment imagine we ever supposed
you guilty of the crime of mutiny. No, no;
believe me, no earthly power could have per-
suaded us that it was possible for you to do
anything inconsistent with strict honour and duty.
So well did weknow your amiable, steady principles,
that we were assured your reasons for staying
behind would turn out such as you represent them ;
and I firmly trust that Providence will at length
restore you to those dear and affectionate friends,
Support his fortitude in that dread hour
When he must brave Suspicion’s cruel pow'r ;
Grant him to plead with Eloquence divine,
In ev’ry word let Truth and Honour shine ;
Through each sweet accent let Persuasion flow,
With manly Firmness let his bosom glow,
Till strong Conviction, in each face exprest,
Grants a reward by Honour's self confest.
Let thy omnipotence preserve him still,
And all his future days with pleasure fill;
And oh l kind Heav'n, though now in chains he be,
Restore him soon to Friendship, Love, and me.
- NEssy HEYwooD.
August 5th, 1792, Isle of Man.
192 THE PANDORA.
who can know no happiness until they are blest
with your loved society. Take care of your pre-
cious health, my angelic boy. I shall soon be
with you ; I have written to Mr. Heywood (your
and our excellent friend and protector) for his
permission to go to you immediately, which my
uncle Heywood, without first obtaining it, would
not allow, fearing lest any precipitate step might
injure you at present; and I only wait the arrival
of his next letter to fly 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
impassioned 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 melan-
choly affair in which their boy became entangled.
Mrs. Heywood 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 Ma-

THE PANDOR. A. 193
jesty'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 ex-
press 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 tor-
mented by the storms of fearful conjecture—but
they are now subsided, and my bosom has at
length attained that long-lost serenity and calm-
ness it once enjoyed : 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 2 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-breaking to
myself, of desiring you will relinquish 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 communi-
cation with female relations; thus even the sight
of, and conversation with, so truly affectionate a
sister, is for the present denied me ! The happi-
ness of such an interview let us defer till a time
O
194 THE PAINDORA.
(which, please God, will arrive) when it can be
enjoyed with more freedom, and unobserved by
the gazing eyes of an inquisitive world, which in
my present place of confinement would of course
not be the case. - w
‘I am very happy to hear that poor old Birke
is still alive; remember me to her, and tell her
not to heave aback, until God grants me the plea-
sure of seeing her.
“And now, my dear Nessy, cease to anticipate
the happiness of personal communication with
your poor, but resigned brother, until wished-for
freedom removes the indignant shackles I now
bear, from the feet of your fond and most affec-
tionate 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,
compared with what it has been for the fifteen
months last past.’ On the 15th July, Commo-
dore 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 made a
thorough investigation; that is, seen personally
all the principal evidences, which has ever since
occupied my whole thoughts and time. I have
also had some letters from himself; and not-
withstanding he must still continue in confine-

THE PANDORA. 195
ment, every attention and indulgence possible is
granted him by Captain Montague of the Hector,
who is my particular friend. I have no doubt of
the truth of your brother's narrative; the master,
boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, late of the
Bounty, I have seen, and have the pleasure to
assure you that they are all favourable, and cor-
roborate what he says. That fellow, Captain
Edwards, whose inhuman rigour of confinement
I shall never forget, I have likewise seen; he
cannot deny that Peter avowed himself late of
the Bounty when he came voluntarily aboard;
this is a favourable circumstance. I have been at
the Admiralty, and read over all the depositions
taken and sent home by Bligh and his officers
from Batavia, likewise the court-martial on him-
self; in none of which appears anything against
Peter. As soon as Lieutenant Hayward arrives
with the remainder 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
I will not deceive you, my dear Nessy, however
favourable 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."
O 2
196 THE PANDORA.
This excellent man did not stop here: know-
ing that sea-officers have a great aversion from
counsel, he writes to say, “A friend of mine, Mr.
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 attend you ; he has a thorough knowledge
of the service, 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 I 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 accordingly attended,
and was of the greatest service at the trial.
Nessy Heywood t having in one of her letters
* The late Aaron Graham, Esq., the highly respected police
magistrate in London.
+ Till the moment of the trial, it will readily be supposed
that every thought of this anniable young lady was absorbed in
her brother's fate. In this interval the following lines appear
to have been written :- -
On receiving information by a letter from my ever dearly
loved brother Peter Heywood, that his trial was soon to
take place.
Oh I gentle Hope! with eye serene,
And aspect ever sweetly mild ; -
Who deck'st with gayest flow'rs each scene,
In sportive, rich luxuriance wild.
Thou—soother of corroding care,
When sharp affliction's pangs we feel, .
Teachest with fortitude to bear,
And know'st deep sorrow's wounds to heal.
•e
THE PANDORA. 197
§
*: ,
'enquired of her brother how tall he was, and
having received information on this point, expressed
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 breast,
My Lycidas no terror knows;
With conscious innocence he’s blest,
And soon will triumph o'er his foes.
Watch him, sweet Pow'r, with looks benign,
Possession of his bosom 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 not,
Nor with deluding smiles betray;
Be honour's recompense his lot,
And glory crown cach future day !
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 miseries and trials o'er;
With soft delight thy heart shall beat,
And hail with joy thy native shore 1
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 blest,
No more shall grief our bliss destroy;
No pain disturb each faithful breast,
But rapture all and endless joy!
Isle of Man, August 22, 1792. NEssy HEYwood.
s:
198 THE PANIDOR.A.
some surprise that he was not taller. “And so.”
he replies, ‘you are surprised I am not taller —
Ah, Nessy let me ask you this—suppose the two
last years of your growth had been retarded by
close confinement, nearly deprived of all kinds of
necessary 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 enjoy-
ment 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 mentioning—how tall should you
have been, my dear sister ?—answer, four feet
nothing: but enough of nonsense.’ • .
Nessy Heywood had expressed a strong desire to
see her brother, but was told the rules of the ser-
vice 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 it all; if I were not allowed
to see you, yet being in the same place which
contains you, would be joy inexpressible ! I will
not, however, any longer desire it, but will learn
to imitate your fortitude and patience.’
Mr. Heywood of Maristow, 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,
supplied him with money, and what was better,
THE PANT) OR A. 199
G * & * e e
with friends, who could give him the best advice.
To this worthy lady, Miss Nessy Heywood thus
addresses herself:
“Overwhelmed with sensations of gratitude and
pleasure, which she is too much agitated to express,
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. Larkham
(who I suppose to be the gentleman you mention
having sent to see him) has been on board the
Hector, and has kindly offered him the most salu-
tary 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 friendship with which he has
ever honoured our family But my beloved Peter
does not know that Mr. Heywood has a daughter,
whose generosity is equal to his own, and whose
amiable compassion 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 would,
I am convinced, be unnecessary, as well as a very
bad compliment to you, madam, were I to presume
to point out anything particular to be done for our
poor boy, as I have not the least doubt your good-
ness and kind intention have long ago rendered

200 TEIE PANIDOR.A.
every care of that sort on our part unnecessary.
I shall only add, that my mama begs every wish
he forms may be granted, and sure I am, he will
not desire a single gratification that can be deemed
in the smallest degree improper.
“In one of my brother's letters, dated the 23rd,
he hints that he shall not be permitted to see any
of his relations till his trial is over, and that he
therefore does not expect us. I have, however,
written to Mr. Heywood (without whose appro-
bation I would by 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 prohibition,
cruel as it is, I could bear with patience, provided
I might be near him, to see the ship in which he
at present exists—to behold those objects, which,
perhaps, at the same moment, attract his notice—
to breathe the same air which he breathes.—Ah!
my dearest Madam, these are inestimable gratifi-
cations, and would convey sensations of rapture
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 impos-
sible to hear of him so often as we would wish—
and, may I not add (though Heaven in its mercy
forbid it, for alas ! the bare idea is too dreadful,
yet it is in the scale of possibility), that some
accident might happen to deprive us of my dearest
brother: how insupportably bitter would then be
our reflections for having omitted the opportu-
THE PANIDOR.A. 201
mity, when it was in our power, of administering
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 affection 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 permission, 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 him in such
terms as I am apprehensive will wound the
delicacy which ever accompanies generosity like
yours; but indeed, my dearest Madam, I cannot,
must not, suffer my beloved boy to remain in
ignorance 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., - ~s
- * NESSY HEYwooD.’
Among the numerous friends that interested
themselves in the fate of this unhappy youth, was
his uncle, Colonel 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:–
-*T* *-* -- ~~~~ : - . ~~~~~~~~~ **-*s-s-s-s-s-mar-e-ºxº~~~-º-º-º-º-º-
202 THE PAINDOR.A.
"K---
***-ºs-----...- : -.... . . . .
- . “21st August, 1792.
‘My very dear Peter,
‘I have this day received yours of the 18th,
and am happy to find by its contents, that, not-
withstanding your long and cruel confinement,
you still preserve your health, and write in good
spirits. Preserve 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 have often marked with pleasure and
surprise the many assiduous instances (far beyond
your years) you have given of filial duty and
paternal affection to the best of parents, and to
brothers and sisters who doated on you. Your
education has been the best ; and from these con-
siderations 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 you could, directly
or indirectly, join in such a d-d absurd piece of
business. Truly sorry am I that my state of health
will not permit me to go down to Portsmouth to
give this testimony publicly before that respect-
able 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 in the navy myself
and twenty-eight years a soldier, I flatter myself
my judgment will not prove erroneous. That
Power, my dear Peter, of whose grace and mercy
you seem to have so just a sense, will not now
forsake you. Your dear aunt is, as must be
THE PANDORA. 203
expected in such a trying situation, but more from
your present sufferings than any apprehension 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
Heywood went to his long and anxiously expected
trial, which took place on the 12th September,
and continued to the 18th of that month. Mrs.
Heywood had been anxious that Erskine and
Mingay should be employed as counsel, but Mr.
Graham, whom Commodore 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 assigns 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 effieacy ; I request, therefore, you will desire
my dear mother to revoke the letter she has been
so good as 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, I alone must fight my
own battle ; and I think my telling the truth un-
disguised, in a plain, short, and concise manner,
is as likely to be deserving the victory, as the
most elaborate eloquence of a Cicero upon the
same subject.’
At this anxious moment many painfully inte-
204 THE PANDORA.
resting letters passed to and from the family in
the Isle of Man: the last letter from his beloved
Nessy, previous to the awful event, thus con-
cludes:—‘May that Almighty Providence, whose
tender care has hitherto preserved you, be still
your powerful protector' may he instil into the
hearts of your judges every sentiment of justice,
generosity, and compassion may hope, innocence,
and integrity be your firm supportſ and liberty,
glory, and honour your just reward may all
good angels guard you from even the appearance
of danger! and may you at length be restored 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 faithful and truly affectionate sister,
. . & N. H.’

CHAPTER VI.
THE COURT-MARTIAL.
“If any person in or belonging to the fleet shall make, or
endeavour to make, any mutinous assembly, upon any pretence
whatsoever, every person offending herein, and being convicted
thereof, by the sentence of the Court-martial, shall suffer
DEATH.” Naval Articles of War, Art. 19.
THE Court assembled to try the prisoners on
board his Majesty's ship Duke, on the 12th Sep-
tember, 1792, and continued by adjournment from
day to day (Sunday excepted) until the 18th of
the same month *.
PRESENT,
Vice-Admiral Lord Hood, President.
Capt. Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, Bart.,
John Colpoys, -
Sir George Montagu,
Sir Roger Curtis,
John Bazeley,
Sir Andrew Snape Douglas,
John Thomas 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
• The minutes being very long, a brief abstract only, con-
taining the principal points of evidence, is here given.

206 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
of the inferior officers and men armed with mus-
kets and bayonets, had violently and forcibly taken
that ship from her commander, Lieutenant Bligh;
and that he, together with the master, boatswain,
gunner, and carpenter, and other persons, (being
nineteen 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 Scas, and to use his
best endeavours to recover the said vessel, and to
bring in confinement to England the said Fletcher
Christian and his associates, 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 Heywood, James Morrison, Charles
Norman, Joseph Coleman, Thomas Ellison,
Thomas M*Intosh, Thomas Burkitt, John Mill-
ward, 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, ac-
cording 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 gun-
ner and retired, leaving all quiet; that at dawn of
day he was greatly alarmed by an unusual noise;
and that, on attempting to jump up, John Sumner
and Matthew Quintal laid their hands upon his
breast and desired him to lie still, saying he was
their prisoner; that on expostulating with them,
he was told, ‘Hold your tongue, or you are a dead

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 207
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 behind 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, saying, “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 conduct, 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 much entreaty he
prevailed on them to ask Christian if he might be
allowed to go on deck, which, after some hesita-
tion, was granted. When I came on deck, says
Mr. Fryer, Mr. Bligh was standing 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, consider 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 the ship. ‘Hold your tongue, sir, he
said. I said, ‘Mr. Christian, you and I have
been on friendly terms during the voyage, there-

208 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
fore give me leave to speak,-let Mr. Bligh go
down to his cabin, and I make no doubt we shall
all be friends again;’—he then repeated, ‘Hold
your tongue, sir; it is too late;’ and threatening
me if I said anything 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 the man behind the
hencoops (Isaac Martin) was his friend, and de-
sired him (the master) to knock Christian 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 bayo-
met to his breast, saying, “Sir, if you advance an
inch farther, I will run you through, and ordered
two armed men to take him down to his cabin.
Shortly afterwards 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. Fryer states, that during this time
very bad language was used by the people towards
Mr. Bligh; that with great difficulty they pre-
vailed 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 continued 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 cer-
tainly do them a mischief if they stayed much

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 209
longer. Mr. Fryer then states the names of those
who were under arms; and that Joseph Coleman,
Thomas M'Intosh, Charles Norman, and Michael
Byrne (prisoners), wished to come into the boat,
declaring they had nothing to do in the business;
that he did not perceive Mr. Peter Heywood on
deck at the seizure of the ship. -
On being asked what he supposed Christian
meant when he said he had been in hell for a
fortnight? he said, from the frequent quarrels that
they had, and the abuse he had received from Mr.
Bligh, and that the day before the mutiny Mr.
Bligh had challenged all the young gentlemen and
people with stealing his cocoa-nuts.
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 they had mutinied and taken
the ship ; that Christian had the command, and
that the captain was a prisoner on the quarter-
deck; that he went up the hatchway, having seen
Mr. IIeywood and Mr. Young in the opposite
berth; that coming on deck he saw the captain
with his hands tied behind him, and four sentinels
standing over him, two of which were Ellison and
Burkitt the prisoners; that he asked Mr. Chris-
tian 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 cap-
tain 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 before he
granted it; that he saw Mr. Peter Heywood, one
P

21() THE COURT.-MARTIAL,
of the prisoners, lending a hand to get the fore-
stayfall along, and when the boat was hooked on,
spoke something to him, but what it was does not
know, as Christian was threatening him at the
time ; that Heywood then went below, and does
not remember seeing him afterwards; that after
the few thing were got into the boat, and most
of the people 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 crying at
the gangway, wishing to go into the boat ; and
Byrne in the cutter alongside was also crying ;
that 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 believe
that any other of the prisoners than those named
were detained contrary to their inclinations? An-
swer—“I believe Mr. Heywood 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 Heywood’” “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. Purcell, the carpenter, corroborated, gene-
rally, the testimony of the three who had been
examined. The Court asked, ‘Did you see Mr.
Heywood standing upon the booms?’ ‘Yes; he
was leaning the flat part of his hand on a cutlass,

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 21 I
when I exclaimed, In the name of God, Peter,
what do you with that ? when he instantly dropped
it, and assisted in hoisting the launch out, and
handing the things into the boat, and then went
down below, when I heard Churchill call to Thomp—
son to keep them below, but could not tell whom
he meant; I did not see Mr. Heywood after that.'
The Court—“In what light did you look upon Mr.
Heywood, at the time you say he dropped the
cutlass on your speaking to him ' ' Witness—
“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 confused, 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.
Heywood, by being armed with a cutlass at the
time you have mentioned, by anything that you
could collect from his gestures or speeches, had
any intention of opposing, or joining others that
might oppose, to stop the progress of the mutiny ?’
Witness—“No." The Court—“In the time that
Mr. Heywood 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." The Court—“Was he, during
that time, deliberate or frightened, and in what
manner did he behave himself?' Witness—“I
had not an opportunity of observing his every
... . ,-,-,----

P 2
212 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
action, being myself at that time engaged in get-
ting several things into the boat, so that I cannot
tell.' The Court—“Putting every circumstance
together, declare to this court, upon the oath you
have taken, how you considered his behaviour,
whether as a person joined in the mutiny, or as a
person wishing well to Captain Bligh? Witness—
“I by no means considered him as a person con-
cerned in the mutiny or conspiracy.’
Lieutenant Thomas Hayward, late third lieu-
tenant 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 a-stern of the
ship, to his unutterable surprise, he saw Fletcher
Christian, Charles Churchill, Thomas Burkitt (the
prisoner), John Sumner, Mathew Quintal, William
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 instantly ; 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 were Mr. John
Hallet, myself, Robert Lamb, Butcher, Thomas
Ellison (prisoner) at the helm, and John Mills at
the conn; that he asked Mills if he knew any
thing of the matter, who pleaded total ignorance,
and Thomas Ellison quitted the helm and armed
himself with a bayonet; that the decks now became

THE COURT-MAIRTIAL. 213
Q
thronged with armed men; that Peter IIeywood,
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
Lieutenant 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
themselves known to Captain Edwards, and ex-
pressed 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 particulars; that he was prevented by
Captain Edwards from answering further ques-
tions, 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 the island.
Having stated that when he went below to get
some things he saw Peter Heywood 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, con-
‘N
214 THE COURT.-MATRTIAL.
sider him as a person attached to his duty, or to
the party of the mutineers ?’ Witness—“I should
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 be understood
only as an opinion, as he was not in the least em-
ployed during the active part of it.’ The Court
—‘Did you observe any marks of joy or sorrow
on his countenance 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 presently after saw him brought upon deck
naked, excepting 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 boat-
swain and carpenter going aft, and telling Chris-
tian 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 atten-
tively towards Captain Bligh; 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 standing on the platform, Captain Bligh
said something to him, but what he did not hear,
upon which Heywood laughed, turned round, and
walked away. -

THE COURT-MAIRTIAL. 215
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 Otaheite; he was soon afterwards taken up by
canoes and came on board before the ship came
to an anchor; I began to make inquiries of him
after the Bounty and her people. The next who
came on board were Stewart and Peter Heywood;
they came after the ship was at anchor, but be-
fore 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 Heywood, I think, said he
supposed I had heard of the affair of the Bounty.
I don't recollect all the conversation that passed
between us; he sometimes interrupted me by
asking for Mr. Hayward, the lieutenant of the
Pandora, whether he was on board or mot—he had
heard that he was ; at last I acknowledged 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. Lieutenant
Hayward treated him with a sort of contemptuous
look, and began to enter into conversation with
him respecting the Bounty, but I called the sen-
tinel in to take them into custody, and ordered
Lieutenant 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. -
216 THE COURT-MAIRTIAL.
Lieutenant Corner, of the Pandora, merely
states his being sent to bring the rest of the muti-
neers 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
examined on the part of the prisoners.
Mr. Fryer, the master, called in and examined
by Mr. Heywood.—“If you had been permitted,
would you have stayed in the ship in preference
to going into the boat?” Witness—‘Yes.’ Prisoner
—“Had you stayed 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 would have 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 my mind to him.’
The same question being put to Mr. Cole, the
boatswain, Mr. Peckover, the gunner, and Mr.
Purcell, the carpenter, they all answered in the
affirmative. .
Mr. Heywood asked, “What was my general
conduct, temper, and disposition on board the
ship º' Witness—“Beloved by everybody, to the
best of my recollection.’ To the same question,
Mr. Cole answers, ‘Always a very good cha-
racter. 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.” • ,

THE COURT-MARTIAL, 217
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; that 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 muti-
IlêCI’S.
Mr. Purcell being examined, states,—that,
respecting 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 situation, 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 them below; that Mr. Hallett
appeared to him to be very much confused; and
that Mr. Hayward likewise 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 ?”’ 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

218 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
me, to the Lieutenant. I apprehend he put him-
self 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 afterwards
proved true?' Witness—‘He gave me some
information respecting the people 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 Coleman.’
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 Christian,
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 2° Witness— ‘Yes, but I do not
recollect the latter part of it, respecting giving
intelligence.’
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 supposing your assistance at that time
might have prevented a more advantageous
effort?' Witness—‘ Probably it might: had I
stayed in the ship, he would have been one of the
first that I should have opened my 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.

THE courT-MARTIAL. 219
Mr. 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 Hayward states, that Mor-
rison 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, “I did not see him under arms till the
boat was veered astern, and he was then looking
over the taffrail, 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

220 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
one of the first he should have called to his
assistance.
Mr. Cole gave testimony to his being a man 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 diligent and attentive; did not see
him under arms on the taffrail; never heard him
use any jeering speeches.
Respecting the prisoner Muspratt, Mr. Cole's
evidence 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 stand-
ing on the forecastle 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 ship. The Court—‘To whom do you imagine
Captain Bligh alluded ? was it, in your opinion,
to the men in the bóat with him, or to any persons
then remaining in the ship º' Witness—“To
persons remaining in the ship.’
Against the prisoners Ellison, Burkitt, and
Milward, the evidence given by all the witnesses
so clearly and distinctly proved they were under
arms the whole time, and actively employed against


THE COURT-MARTIAL. 221
Bligh, that it is unnecessary to go into any detail
as far as they 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 suffi-
ciently exercised in the painful narrative of this
trial; it is therefore my duty to trespass further
on it as little as possible.
“The crime of mutiny, for which I am now
arraigned, 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 exem-
plary vengeance.
“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 indig-
nation which the conspirators of such a mutiny as
that in Captain Bligh'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 I may be
deemed guilty for feeling a repugnance at em-
bracing death unnecessarily, I declare before this
Court and the tribunal of Almighty God, I am
innocent of the charge.
‘I chose rather to defer asking any questions
of the witnesses until I heard the whole of the
evidence; as the charge itself, although I knew it
Nº.
222 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
generally, was not in its full extent, nor in particu-
lar 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 set right a few
particulars of a narrative which 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 con-
fusion the ship was in during the mutiny, I might
have mistaken, or from the errors of an imperfect
recollection I might have mis-stated; the differ-
ence, however, will now be open to correction;
and I have great satisfaction in observing, that
the mistakes but very slightly respect my part of
the transaction, and I shall consequently escape
the imputation of endeavouring to save myself by
imposing on my judges. -
“When first this sad event took place I was
sleeping 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
sentinel over the arm-chest and my berth, and in-
formed 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 were going up the fore-
hatchway, I followed them, as is stated in their
evidence. It is not in my power to describe my
- - - - , * -—º
-- * , 2-º-º-º-º-º-º-º: 23* >x--ºver.…. … . . . . .-, - ...' ...…. . . . .

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 223
feelings upon seeing the captain as I did, who,
with his hands tied behind him, was standing on
the quarter-deck, a little abaft the mizen-mast, and
Christian by his side. My faculties were be-
numbed, and I did not recover the power of recol-
lection 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 in-
stead of the large cutter, already in the water
alongside the ship. It were in vain to say what
things I put into the boat, but many were handed
in by me; and in doing this it was that my
hand touched the cutlass (for I will not attempt to
deny what the carpenter has deposed), though, on
my conscience, I am persuaded it was of moment-
ary duration, and innocent as to intention. The
former is evident, from its being unobserved by
every witness who saw me upon deck, some of
whom must have noticed it had it continued a
single minute; and the latter is proved by the only
person who took 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, therefore, carries with it its antidote ;
and it seems needless to make any further com-
ment on the subject, for no man can be weak
enough to suppose, that if I had been armed for
the purpose of assisting in the mutiny, that I
should have resumed a weapon in the moment of
triumph, and when the ship was so completely 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.
224 THE COURT-MAIRTIAL.
“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 afterwards deemed crimi-
mal; and I bitterly deplore that my extreme
youth and inexperience concurred in torturing
me with apprehensions, 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 agonising 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. Hallett and Mr. Hayward, the
former of whom was very much agitated, and the
latter, though he had been many years at sea,
yet, when Christian ordered him into the boat,
he was evidently 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
lessened at such a circumstance as this, and I
fearfully beheld the preparations for the captain's
departure as the preliminaries of inevitable destruc-
tion, which, although 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
situation 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
-
º:
|

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 225
them on the evening of the 3rd May, had it not
been for his timely caution of throwing out some
of the stores, and all 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 2 (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, 'tis confessed,
were desirous of leaving the ship), she must either
have gone down with us, or, to prevent it, we
must have lightened her of the provisions and
other necessary articles, 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,
however 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,
appeared to be inevitable if I went in the boat;
and 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 the service
... • Q.
226 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
(having never been at sea before) as not to
know or even suppose it was possible that what
I should determine upon might afterwards 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 supersede 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 re-taking the ship.
Such is the master's assertion, and such the report
on board, and as it accorded with my own wishes
for the preservation 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 accomplish 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 would 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 preferred any charge
against me, or given evidence at this trial.
“If deliberate guilt be necessarily affixed to all
who continued on board the ship, and that in con-
sequence they must be numbered with Christian's
party—in such a strict view of matters it must

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 227
irrevocably impeach the armourer and two car-
penter's mates, as well as Martin and Byrne, who
certainly wished to quit the ship. And if Chris-
tian's first intention of sending away the captain,
with a few persons only, in the small cutter, had
not been given up, or if even the large cutter had
not been exchanged 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 misfortunes, I cannot help
being agitated at the bare thought of their nar-
row 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 been 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 incumbent upon them to have
proved themselves innocent. How can this be
done but negatively 2 If all who wished it could
not accompany the captain, they were necessarily
compelled to stay with Christian; 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 everything. But
when, on the contrary, instead of being in arms,
or obeying any orders of the mutineers, I did
everything in my power to assist the captain
and those who went with him, and by all my

Q 2
228 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
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) I
showed myself faithful to the last moment of the
captain's stay, what is there to leave a doubt in
the minds of impartial and dispassionate men of
my being perfectly innocent 2 Happy indeed
should I have been if the master had stayed on
board, which he probably would have done, if his
reasons for wishing to do so had not been over-
heard by the man who was in the bread-room.
‘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 attention to and
very kind treatment of me personally, I should
have been a monster of depravity to have betrayed
him. The idea alone is sufficient to disturb a
mind where humanity and gratitude have, I hope,
ever been noticed as its characteristic 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 impos-
sible. The charge in its nature is dreadful, but I
boldly declare, notwithstanding an internal con-
viction 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 accu-
sation, I should not have lived to defend myself
from it. And this brings to my recollection an-
other part of Captain Bligh's narrative, in which
he says, “I was kept apart from every one, and


TIIE COURT-MARTIAL. 229
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 sup-
pose 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 capable of recol-
lecting 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 I 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 circum-
stances be considered, and an adequate idea of the
confused state of the ship can be formed by this
Court, it will not appear probable that this young
gentleman should have been so perfectly unem-
barrassed as to have been able to particularise the
muscles of a man's countenance, even at a consi–
derable distance from him ; and what is still more
extraordinary is, that 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
peculiar attention; yet he who was standing
between us, and nóticing 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
230 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
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 more difficult and hazardous must it be,
in new and momentous scenes, when the mind is
hurried and distressed by conflicting passions, to
judge of another's conduct; and yet here are two
young men, who, after a lapse of near four years
(in which period one of them, like myself, has
grown from a boy to be a man), without hesita-
tation, in a matter on 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 acknow-
ledge they were overcome by the confusion which
the mutiny occasioned, and are incapable of recol-
lecting a number of their own transactions on
that day. -
‘I 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 anything injurious to the
character of Mr. Hallet; and for Mr. Hayward,
I eyer loved him, and must do him the justice
to declare, that whatever 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 with a tenderness and feeling becoming a man
of honour. . . . . . . . -
“But may they not both be mistaken 2 Let it
be remembered that their long intimacy with

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 231
Captain Bligh, in whose distresses they were
partakers, and whose sufferings were severely felt
by them, naturally begot an abhorrence towards
those whom they thought the 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?
“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 pretends to have been, he certainly must have
heard. Mr. Hayward, 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 concurring testimony 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 Millward 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.
Neither did Captain Edwards recollect when, on
his return, he wrote to the Admiralty, that Mi-
chael Byrne had surrendered himself as one of the
Bounty's people; but in that letter he reported him
as having been apprehended, which plainly shows
that the memory is fallible to a very great degree;
232 TEIE COURT-MARTIAL.
and it is a fair conclusion to draw, that, if when
the mind 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 in which every-
body was on board the Bounty, to remember their
particular 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 the boat, I can only say, I have a faint recol-
lection of a short conversation with somebody,
I thought it was Mr. Stewart—but be that as it
may, I think I may 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 stayed in the
ship, I 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 afterwards 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 re-
maining in the ship I appeared to deny my com-
mander, 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
example; and, alarmed as I was from my sleep,
there was little opportunity and less time for


THE COURT-MARTIAL. 233
º
better recollection. 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 Christian, to go into the boat ; or,
which appeared to me worse than either, of being
desired by the latter to join his party, induced me
to keep out of the sight of both, until I was a
second time confined to my berth by Thompson,
when the determination I had made was too late
to be useful. -
‘One instance of my conduct I had nearly
forgot, which, with much anxiety and great
astonishment, I have heard observed upon and
considered as a fault, though I had imagined it
blameless, if not laudable, I mean the assistance
I gave in hoisting out the launch, which, by a
mode of expression of the boatswain'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
endeavour 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 descrip-
tion; for although he says he rather considered
234 TEIE COURT-MARTIAL.
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 countenance is at all an
index to the heart, mine must have betrayed the
sorrow and distress he has so accurately described.
“It were trespassing unnecessarily upon the
patience of the Court, to be giving a tedious
history of what happened in consequence of the
mutiny, and how, through one very imprudcnt
step, I was unavoidably led into others.
“But, amidst all this pilgrimage of distress, I
had a conscience, thank Heaven, which lulled away
the pain of personal difficulties, dangers, and dis-
tress. It was this conscious principle which
determined me not to hide myself as if guilty.
No ; I welcomed the arrival of the Pandora at
Otaheite, and embraced the earliest opportunity
of freely surrendering myself to the captain of
that ship. .
‘Dy 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 member of it compassion for my suffer-
ings, yet as it is not relative to the point, and as
I cannot for a moment believe that it proceeded
**-
i
.

TIIIE COURT-MARTIAL. 235
from any improper motive on the part of Captain
Edwards, whose character in the navy stands high
in estimation 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 shall, therefore, waive
it, and say no more upon the subject.
* Believe me, again I entreat you 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), I now assert
my innocence of plotting, abetting, or assisting,
either by word or deed, the mutiny for which I
am tried; for, young as I am, I am still younger
in the school of art and such matured infamy.
* My parents, (but I have only one left, a soli-
tary and mournful mother, who is at home weep-
ing and trembling for the event of this day,)
thanks to their 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
resolutely or designedly been an apostate to
either.
“To this honourable Court, then, I now commit
myself.
‘My character and my life are at your disposal;
and as the former is as sacred to me 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 your verdict.
“If I am found worthy of life, it shall be im-
proved by past experience, and especially taught
from the serious lesson of what has lately hap-
236 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
pened; but if nothing but death itself can atone
for my pitiable indiscretion, I bow with submission
and all due respect to your impartial decision.
* Not with sullen indifference shall I then
meditate on my doom as not deserving it—no,
such behaviour would be an insult to God, and
an affront to man, and the attentive and candid
deportment of my judges in this place requires
more becoming 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
declare 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 presence of that unerring Judge,
before whom all hearts are open, and from whom
no secrets are hid. * * P. HEY wooD.’
His witnesses fully established the facts which
he assumed in his defence. He then delivered to
the president a paper, of which the following is
a copy:— -
‘My Lord, The Court having heard the
witnesses I have been enabled to call, it will be
unnecessary to add anything to their testimony
in point of fact, or to observe upon it by way of
illustration. It is, I trust, sufficient to do away
any suspicion which may have fallen upon me,
and to remove every implication of guilt which,
while unexplained, might by possibility have at-
tached to me. It is true I have, by the absence
of Captain Bligh, Simpson, and Tinkler, been



THE COURT-MIARTIAL. 237
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 unjustly accused. I might regret that in
their absence I have been arraigned, but, thank
Heaven, I have been enabled, by the very witnesses
who were called to criminate 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
continued 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 whom
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 power. I could do no more; for at the
first time we were at Otaheite it was impossible
for me, watched and suspected as I was, to sepa-
rate from the ship. My information to Captain
Edwards was open, sincere, and unqualified, and
I had many opportunities given me at different
times of repeating it. Had a track been open to
my native country, I should have followed it; had
* This Journal, it is presumed, must have been lost when
the Pandora was wrecked. -
238 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
a vessel arrived earlier, I should earlier, with the
same eagerness, have embraced the opportunity,
for I dreaded not an inquiry in which I foresaw no
discredit. But Providence ordained it otherwise.
I have been the victim of suspicion, and had nearly
fallen a sacrifice to misapprehension. I have,
however, 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. HEY wooD.’
Mr. Morrison's Defence
Sets out by stating that he was waked at daylight
by Mr. Cole the boatswain, who told him that the
ship was taken by Christian; that he assisted
in clearing out the boat at Mr. Cole's desire, and
says, “While I was 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; when John Milward,
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 him with the other,
saying, “Come, Mr. Fryer, you must go down into
your cabin;” and hauled him away. Churchill then
came, and shaking his cutlass at me, demanded
what Mr. Fryer said. I told him that he only
asked me if they were going to have the long-

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 239
|
boat, upon which Alexander Smith (Adams), who
stood on the opposite side of the boat, said, “It’s
a d-d lie, Charley, for I saw him and Milward
shake hands when the master 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;” but I could not hear what
answer 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 Coleman in the ship, and get the officers into
the boat as fast as possible ; that Mr. Fryer
begged permission 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 Islanders
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

240 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
, ,
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
saying, “There were tools enough : " but (he
adds) I was suddenly damped to find that he
went into the boat without making the attempt
he had proposed.’
He then appeals to the members 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;
and 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 with-
stand the hostile attacks of the boisterous ele-
ments? The perils those underwent who reached
the island of Timor, and whom nothing but the
apparent interference of Divine Providence could
have saved, fully justify my fears, and prove
beyond a doubt that they rested on a solid founda-
tion; for by staying in the ship, an opportunity
might offer of escaping, but by going in the boat
nothing but death appeared, either from the lin-
gering torments of hunger and thirst, or from
the murderous weapons 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


THE COURT-MARTIAL. 24I
one time made, by words, of attacking the muti-
neers, 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 cammot recall to his memory the particulars,
but owns there was something passed to that
effect. Faint, however, as his remembrance is
(which to me is the more unfortunate), ought it
not to do away all doubt with respect to the
motives by which I was then influenced ?’ And,
in conclusion, he says, “I beg leave most humbly
to remind the members of this honourable Court,
that I did freely, and of my own accord, deliver
myself up to Lieutenant Robert Corner, of H.M.S.
Pandora, on the first certain notice of her arrival.’
William Muspratt'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 Millward
came and mentioned to him Mr. Fryer's intention
to rescue the ship, when he said he would stand
by Mr. Fryer as far as he could ; and with that
intention, and for that purpose only, he took up a
musket which one of the people had laid down,
and which he quitted the moment he saw Bligh's
people get into the boat. Solemnly denies the
charge of Mr. Purcell against him, of handing
liquor to the ship's company. Mr. Hayward's
evidence, he trusts, must stand so impeached
before the Court, as not to receive the least atten-
tion, when the lives of so many men are to be
affected by it—for, he observes, he swears that
R.
242 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
Morrison was a mutineer, because he assisted in
hoisting out the boats; and that M*Intosh was
not a mutineer, notwithstanding he was precisely
employed on the same business—that he crimi-
nated Morrison from the appearance of his coun-
tenance—that he had only a faint remembrance
of that material and striking circumstance of Mor-
rison 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 jus.
tice, 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 ma-
terially affect Mr. Hayward's credit; and says,
that if he had been under arms when Hayward
swore he was, he humbly submits Mr. Hallet
must have seen him. And he concludes with
asserting (what indeed was a very general opi-
mion), ‘that the great misfortune attending this
unhappy business is, that no one ever attempted
to rescue the ship ; that it might have been done,
Thomson being the only sentinel over the arm-
chest.’
Michael Byrne's Defence
was very short. He says, “It has pleased the
Almighty, among the events of his unsearchable
providence, nearly to deprive me of sight, which
often puts it out of my power to carry the inten-
tions 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



THE COURT-MIARTIAL. 243
intention was to quit his Majesty's ship Bounty
with the officers 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 fid-
dler;” and Charles Churchill threatened to send
me to the shades if I attempted to quit the cutter,
into which I had gone for the purpose of attending
Lieutenant Bligh :’ and, without further trespass-
ing 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
defence 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. - tº
It is equally clear, that Ellison, Millward, and
Burkitt, were concerned in every stage of the
mutiny, and had little to offer in their defence in
exculpation of the crime of which they were
accused. - |
On the sixth day, namely, on the 18th of Sep-
tember, 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 anything more to offer in their defence, the
Court was cleared, and agreed,—
‘That the charges had been proved against the
said Peter Heywood, James Morrison, Thomas
Ellison, Thomas Burkitt, John Millward, and
William Muspratt; and did adjudge them, and
R 2 - -

244 THE COURT-MARTIAL.
|
|
i.
.
| -
|
|
|
|.
|
...”. . . .
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 considera–
tion of various circumstances, did humbly and
most earnestly recommend the said Peter Hey-
wood and James Morrison to his Majesty's mercy;
and the Court further agreed, that the charges
had not been proved against the said Charles
Norman, Joseph Coleman, Thomas M*Intosh, and
Michael Byrne, and did adjudge them, and each
of them, to be acquitted.
The Court was then opened and audience ad-
mitted, and sentence passed accordingly.

CHAPTER VII.
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
and Morrison, the former in particular, had been
hardly dealt with by the Court in passing upon
them a sentence of death, tempered as it was with
the recommendation to the King's mercy. It
should, however, have been recollected, that the
Court had no discretional power to pass any other
sentencebut that, or a full acquittal. But earnestly,
no doubt, as the Court was disposed towards the
latter alternative, it could not, consistently with
the rules and feelings of the 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 tantamount
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

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246 THE KING's WARRANT.
adhesion to the criminal party. The only fault of
Heywood, and a pardonable one on account of
his youth and inexperience, was his not asking
Christian to be allowed to go with his captain,_
his not trying to go in time. M'Intosh, Norman,
Byrne, and Coleman, were acquitted because they
expressed a strong desire to go, but were forced
to remain. This was not only clearly proved, but
they were in possession of written testimonies
from Bligh to that effect; and so would Hey-
wood 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 Ellison, were under arms from first to last ;
and Ellison 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 Hayward, which, however, appears
to have been duly appreciated by the Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty, and in consequence
of which the poor man escaped an ignominious
death. -
The family of young Heywood in the Isle of
Man had been buoyed up, from various quarters,
with the almost certainty of his full acquittal.
From the 12th September, when the court-mar-
tial first sat, till the 24th of that month, they
were prevented, by the strong and contrary winds
which cut off all communication with England,
• 23 sº..…

THE KINGS WARRANT. 247
W y
from receiving any tidings whatever. But while
Mrs. Heywood and her daughters were fondly
flattering themselves with everything being most
happily concluded, one evening, as they were in-
dulging 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 con-
demned, 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 replied he had seen
it in a newspaper at Liverpool, from which place
he was just arrived in a small fishing-boat, but
had forgotten to bring the paper with him. In
this state of doubtful uncertainty this wretched
family remained another whole week, harassed by
the most cruel agony of mind, which no language
can express*. The affectionate Nessy determined
* It was in this state of mind, while in momentary expec-
tation of receiving an account of the termination of the court-
martial, that Heywood's charming sister Nessy wrote the
following lines:—
ANXIETY.
Doubt[NG, dreading, fretful guest,
Quit, oh ! quit this mortal breast.
Why'wilt thou my peace invade,
And each brighter prospect shade P
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
With her sweet enliv'ning smiles,
While she softly whispers me,
* Lycidas again is free,’
248 THE KING's war RANT.
at once to proceed to Liverpool, and so on to
London. She urges her brother James at Liver-
pool to hasten to Portsmouth : “Don’t wait for
me, I can go alone; fear and even despair will
support me through the journey; 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 difficult), it
is not likely that anything serious has taken place,
or will do so, as we should then certainly 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 of hope, and I have
spirit to undertake anything.” 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 suspense 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 following morning.
While I gaze on Pleasure's gleam,
Say not thou ‘’Tis all a dream.”
Hence—nor darken Joy’s soft bloom
With thy pale and sickly gloom :
Nought have I to do with thee—
Hence—begone—Anxiety.
Isle of Man, September 10th. NEssy HEywood.

THE KING's WARRANT. 249
• Portsmouth, Tuesday, 18th September.
‘Sir,
“Although a stranger, I make no apology in
writing to you. I have attended and given my
assistance at Mr. Heywood's trial, which was
finished and the sentence passed about half-an-
hour ago. Before I tell you what that sentence
is, I must inform you that his life is safe, not-
withstanding it is at present at the mercy of the
king, to which he is in the strongest terms recom-
mended 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 your knowledge, and perhaps unaccompanied
by many others of a pleasing kind. To prevent
its being improperly communicated to Mrs. or the
Misses Heywood, whose distresses first engaged
me in the business, and could not fail to call forth
my best exertions upon the occasion, I send you
this by express. The mode of communication I
must leave to your discretion; and shall only add
that, although from a combination of circum-
stances, ill-nature, and mistaken friendship, the
sentence is in itself terrible, yet it is incumbent on
me to assure you that, 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
250 THE KINGS WARRANT.
Commodore Pasley, whose mind, from my letter
to him of yesterday, must be dreadfully agitated,
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 afterwards 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 manage-
ment after all his sufferings; and it would per-
5
haps be a necessary preparation for seeing his
mother, that one or both his sisters should be
previously prepared to support her on so trying
àIl OCC8,S1OIl.
On the following day Mr. Graham again writes
to Dr. Scott, and among other things observes,
“It will be a great satisfaction to his family to
learn, that 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 unfor-
tunate belief, on the part of the witness, of cir-
cumstances 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 20th September Mr. Heywood addresses
the first letter he wrote, after his conviction, to Dr.
Scott.
‘Honoured and dear Sir, .
‘On Wednesday the 12th instant the awful
trial commenced, and on that day, when in Court,
* This is supposed to allude to the evidence given by
Hallet.
-*
i-- i|:
THE RING's WARRANT. 251
I had the pleasure of receiving your most kind and
parental letter”, in answer to which I now com-
municate 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 fortitude, cheerfulness,
and resignation, which is the duty of every mem-
ber 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 asto-
nished and fearful soul his kingdom of eternal
and incomprehensible bliss, prepared only for the
righteous of heart. *
‘I have not been found guilty of the slightest
act connected with that detestable crime of mutiny,
but am doomed to die for not being active in my
endeavours to suppress it. Could the witnesses
who appeared on the Court-martial be them-
selves tried, they would also suffer for the very
same and only crime of which I have been found
guilty. But I am to be the victim. Alas! my
youthful inexperience, and not depravity of will,
is the sole cause to which I can attribute my mis-
fortunes. But so far from repining at my fate, I
* This refers to a very kind and encouraging letter written to
him by the Rev. Dr. Scott, of the Isle of Man, who knew him
from a boy, and had the highest opinion of his character.
252 THE KING's WARRANT.
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
unsearchable) intention of the divine attributes
may be 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 2 I
shall on the contrary endeavour to divest myself
of all wishes for the futile and sublunary enjoy-
ments 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
Majesty's mercy by all the members of the Court
may meet with his approbation, yet that is but
the balance of a straw, a mere uncertainty, upon
which no hope can be built ; the other is a cer-
tainty 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 intelligence in such a manner as (assisted
by your wholesome and paternal advice) may en-
able them to bear it with Christian fortitude. The
only worldly feelings I am now possessed of are
for their happiness and welfare; but even these,

TILE KING's WARRANT. 253
in my present situation, I must endeavour, with
God’s assistance, to eradicate from my heart, how
hard soever the task. I must strive against che-
rishing any temporal affections. 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. Encourage
them, by my example, to bear up with fortitude
and resignation to the Divine will, under their
load of misfortunes, almost too great for female
nature 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 indebted 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 mourn-
ful 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 vic-
tim to the 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


254 THE KING's waRRANT.
and sanguine hope that perhaps a few days more
will free me from the load of misfortune which
has ever been my portion in this transient period
of existence; and that I 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 I, as we all should, depend, with that pious
resignation which is the duty of every Christian ;
well convinced that, without his express permis-
sion, 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, which 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 advice from
me will be unnecessary; for I 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.


THE KING's WARRANT: 255
‘I have had all my dear Nessy's letters; the
one of the 17th this morning, but alas! what do
they now avail? Their contents only serve to
prove the instability of all human hopes and ex-
pectations; but, my dear sister, I begin to feel
the pangs which you must suffer from the perusal
of this melancholy paper, and will therefore desist,
for I know it is more than your nature can sup-
port. The contrast between last week’s corre-
spondence and this is great indeed; but why 2 we
had only hope then ; and have we not the same
now 2 certainly. Endeavour then, my love, to
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
miserable creatures. . &,
‘Bear it then with Christian patience, and instil
into the mind of my dear and now sorrowful sisters,
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 woe. 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 sympathising feelings for my sufferings hurt
your own precious health, which is dearer to me
than life itself. Adieu !— .
In a letter to his mother he assures her of the
perfect tranquillity of his mind; advises her not to
entertain too sanguine hopes, but at the same time
256 THE KING's WARRANT.
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 I 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 accomplishment of the Divine will. . . .
Mrs. Hope is a faithless and ungrateful acquaint-
ance, with whom I have now broken off all con-
nexions, and in her stead have endeavoured to
cultivate a more sure friendship with Resignation,
in full trust of finding her more constant.' He
desires her to write through her brother James,
who is with him ; and says that the reason 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 pre-
sent circumstances.’ To this she replies, in the
true spirit of a character like her own : ‘Yes! my
ever dearest brother, I 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 2 Or


THE KING's WARRANT. 257
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 convinces me I am not mis-
taken. 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
manner, 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 Hallet, his
intrepidity 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 Bligh
was upon deck, he (Hallet) saw him look at and
speak to Peter. What he said to him Hallet
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 that
Peter, on hearing what Mr. Bligh said to him,
laughed and turned contemptuously away. No
other witness saw Peter laugh but Hallet; on
the contrary, 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 sentence, though at the same time
accompanied by the strongest recommendation to
mercy. Assure yourselves (I have it from Mr.
- S
258 THE KING's WARRANT.
Graham's own mouth), that Peter's honour is and
will be as secure as his own ; that every profes-
sional 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 delighted
with his worth ; and that, in short, we shall at
length be happy.' -
From this time a daily correspondence passed
between Peter Heywood and his sister Nessy, the
latter indulging hope, even to 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 near 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 condem-
nation his brother says, “While I write this, Peter
is sitting by me making an Otaheitan Vocabulary,
and so happy 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 Vocabulary is a very extraordinary per-
formance; 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 vocabulary was of great use to the mis-
sionaries who were first sent to Otaheite in this
ship. - - &
During the delay which took place in carrying
the sentence into execution, Commodore Pasley,
2.-
y -

THE KING's waRRANT. 259
Mr. Graham, and others, were indefatigable in
their inquiries and exertions to ascertain what
progress had been made in bringing to a happy
issue the recommendation to the fountain of
mercy: not less so was Nessy Heywood; from Mr.
Graham she learnt what this excellent man con-
sidered to be the principal 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 in the Bounty, in-
stead of accompanying Bligh in the launch.
On these points of the evidence, Mr. Heywood
made the following comments, which he sent from
Portsmouth to his sister in town.
‘Peter Heywood's remarks upon material points
of the evidence which was given at his trial, on
board the Duke, in Portsmouth Harbour.
* First. That 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 Chris–
tian's first intention,) 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
$
S 2
260 THE KING's WARRANT.
evidence, that they considered me as helping the
captain on this occasion. -
* Second. That I was seen by the carpenter
vesting my hand on a cutlass.-I was seen in this
position by no other person than the carpenter—
no other person therefore could be intimidated by
my appearance. Was the carpenter intimidated
by it 2–No. So far of being afraid of me, he
did not even look upon me in the light of a person
armed, but pointed out to me the danger there
was of my being thought so, and I immediately
took away my hand from the cutlass, upon which
I had very innocently put it when I was in a state
of stupor. The Court was particularly pointed in
its inquiries into this circumstance; and the car- .
penter was pressed to declare, on the oath he had
taken, and after maturely considering 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 con-
sidered as an armed man, to which he unequivo-
cally 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 boatswain, the gunner,
Mr. Hayward, Mr. Hallet, and John Smith, (who,
with the carpenter, were all the witnesses belong-
ing 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


THE KING's WARRANT. 261
that, from what they observed in 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 trifling circumstances,
which by themselves could only be treated merely
as matters of suspicion. It was no doubt, there-
fore, 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 surely
by much too indefinite and hazardous 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 exces-
sive joy, while misery and dejection have, many
a time, disguised themselves in a smile; and con-
vulsive 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 I
laughed in consequence of being called to by the
captain, who was abaft the mizen-mast, while
262 THE KING's war RANT.
I was upon the platform near the fore hatch-
way, a distance of more than thirty 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 I
should have heard the captain at all, situated,
as I must have been, in the midst of noisy con-
fusion ? And if I did not hear him, which I
most solemnly aver to be the truth, even grant-
ing 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, I hope I shall
stand acquitted of this charge, for if the crime
derives its guilt from the knowledge I had of
the captain's speaking to me, it follows, of course,
that if I 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 calling to me? His
duty to the captain, if not his friendship for me,
should have prompted him to it; and the pecu-
liarity of our situation required this act of kindness
at his hands”. I shall only observe further upon
* Captain Bligh states in his journal that none of his
officers were suffered to come near him while held a prisoner


THE KING's waRRANT. 263
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 sorrowful countenance on the
! day of the mutiny. -
* Fourth. That I 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
afterwards I wished to accompany the captain,
and should have done it, if I had not been pre-
vented by Thomson, who confined me below by
the order of Churchill, is clearly proved by the
evidence of several of the witnesses. The boat-
swain says, that just before he left the ship I went
below, and in passing him said something about a
bag—(it was, that I would 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-
by Christian ; and Hallet was, no doubt, mistaken, but he
had 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 frequently alluded to
it, admitting that he might have been mistaken.—There can
f 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, he was convinced to be incorrect ;
that he ascribed it to the state of confusion in which his mind
was, under examination before the Court; and that he
had since satisfied himself that, owing to the general alarm
and confusion during the mutiny, he must have confounded S
Heywood with some other person. -

264 THE KING's waRRANT.
nesses say, that they heard the master-at-arms call
to Thomson “to keep them below.” The point,
therefore, will be to prove to whom this order,
“keep them below,” would apply. The boatswain
and carpenter say, they have no doubt of its mean-
ing me as one ; and that it must have been so I
shall have very little difficulty in showing, by the
following statement:- -
“There remained on board the ship after the boat
put off, twenty-five men. Messrs. Hayward and
Hallet have proved that the following were under
arms:—Christian, Hillbrandt, Millward, Burkitt,
Muspratt, Ellison, Summer, Smith, Young, Skin-
ner, Churchill, M“Koy, Quintal, Morrison, Wil-
liams, Thomson, Mills, and Brown, in all eighteen.
The master (and upon this occasion I may be
allowed to quote from the captain's printed narra-
tive) mentions Martin as one, which makes the
number of armed men nineteen, none of whom,
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 Thom-
son, the sentinel over the arm-chest, be added to
them, it exactly agrees with the number above-
named ; there remains then six, to whom Chur–
chill'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 2 No, for he was at the
gangway when the captain and officers went into
the launch, and aft upon the taffrail when the boat

TIIE KING's war RANT. 265
was veered astern. Could Norman have been one
of them 2 No, for he was speaking to the officers.
Could M*Intosh have been one of them 4 No, for
he was with Coleman and Norman, desiring the
captain and officers to take notice that they were
not concerned in the mutiny. It could then have
applied to nobody but to Mr. Stewart and myself;
and by this order of Churchill, therefore, was I
prevented from going with the captain in the
boat. .
“The foregoing appear to me the most mate-
rial points of evidence on the part of the prosecu-
tion. 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 Marshall'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 released 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, knowing it was their intention
to go away with Bligh; “in which case,” added
he, “what would become of us, if anything 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

* Vol. ii. p. 778.
266 THE KING's waRRANT.
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 preju-
diced 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 things are set down in Bligh's original manu-
script journal, that have not appeared in any pub-
lished document; and on this part of the subject
there is, in the former, the following very important
admission :-‘As for the officers, whose cabins
were in the cockpit, there was no relief for them ;
they endeavoured to come to my assistance, but
were not allowed to put their heads above the
hatchway.’ To say, therefore, that in the Sup-
pression of this passage Bligh acted with preju-
2 dice and unfairness, is to make use of mild terms;
it has more the appearance of a deliberate act of
malice, by which two innocent men might have
been condemned to suffer an ignominious death,
one of whom was actually brought into this predi-
cament;-the other only escaped it by a premature
death. It may be asked, how did Bligh know that
Stewart and Heywood endeavoured, but were not
ăllowed, to come to his assistance 2 Confined as he
was on the quarter-deck, how could he know what
was going on below 2 The answer is, he must have
known it from Christian himself; Churchill, no
doubt, acted entirely by his leader's orders, and
THE KING's WARRANT. 267
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 are
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 Bligh's misfor-
tune not to have been educated in the cock-pit
of a man-of-war, among young gentlemen, which
is to the navy what a public 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 Bligh, instead of suppressing, only suffered
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
* Some few captains were in the habit of turning over a
delinquent to be tried by their messmates, and when found
guilty, it invariably happened that the punishment inflicted
was doubly severe to what it would have been in the ordinary
way. This practice,—which, as giving a deliberative voice to
the ship's company, was highly reprehensible, it is to be
hoped has entirely ceased. • - -

268 THE KING's warraNT.
in a letter to the Earl of Chatham, then first
Lord of the Admiralty, of which the following is
a copy.
* Great Russell Street, 11th Oct. 1792.
‘My Lord,
“To a nobleman of your lordship's known
humanity 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 profound respect for a character which I
have been ever taught to revere, and alas ! nearly
interested as I must be in the subject of these
lines, may I request your lordship will generously
pardon a sorrowful and mourning sister, for pre-
suming to offer the inclosed [remarks] for your
candid perusal. It contains a few observations
made by my most unfortunate and tenderly beloved
brother, Peter Heywood, endeavouring to eluci-
date 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 any object
on earth—nay, infinitely more valuable than life
itself—that, deprived of him, the word misery
would but ill express my complicated wretchedness
—and that, on his fate, my own, and (shall I not
add 2) that of a tender, fond, and alas ! widowed
mother, depends, I am persuaded you will not
wonder, nor be offended, that I am thus bold in
conjuring your lordship will consider, with your
usual candour and benevolence, the “Observa-
THE KING's warr ANT. 269
tions.” I now offer you, as well as the painful
situation of my dear and unhappy brother.
- ‘I have the honour, &c.
‘NESSY HEY wood.’
Whether this letter and its inclosure produced
any effect on the mind of Lord Chatham does not
appear; but no immediate steps were taken, nor
was any answer given; and this amiable young
lady and her friends were suffered to remain in
the most painful state of suspense for another
fortnight. A day 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 misfor-
tunes, 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 anti-
cipate more real pleasure and satisfaction from
the simple declaration of you and yours, that “we
accept of your services, and we thank you for
them,” than it is in common minds to conceive ;
but, fearful lest a too grateful sense should be
entertained of the friendly offices I have been

270 THE KING's WARRANT.
engaged in, (which, however, I ought to confess,
I was prompted to, in the first place, by a remem-
brance of the many obligations I owed to Com-
modore Pasley,) I must beg you will recollect
that by sending to me your charming 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
been ten times, and my uneasiness ten thousand
times greater than they were, upon what I once
thought the melancholy, but now deem the fortu-
mate, 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 I had my doubts
about yesterday, I am satisfied of to-day. Happy,
happy, happy family accept of my congratula-
tions—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 mama, did you ever in all
your life read so charming a letter? Be assured
it is exactly 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

THE KING's WARRANT. 271
contents? Well may Mr. Graham call us happy!
for never felicity could equal ours! Don't expect
connected sentences from me at present, for this
joy makes me almost delirious. Adieu ! love to
all—I need not say be happy and blessed as I am
at this dear hour, my beloved mother,
‘Your most affectionate,
& N. H.’
On the 24th October, the king's warrant was
despatched from the Admiralty, granting a full
and free pardon to Heywood and Morrison, a
respite for Muspratt, which was followed by a
pardon; and for carrying the sentence of Ellison,
Burkitt, and Millward into execution, which was
done on the 29th, on board his Majesty's ship
Brunswick, in Portsmouth harbour. On this
melancholy occasion, Captain 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 Spit-
head, 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 ship's
companies present.’ &
The same warrant that carried with it affliction
to the friends of these unfortunate men, was the
harbinger of joy to the family and friends of young
272 THE KING's WARRANT.
Heywood. The happy intelligence was communi-
cated to his affectionate Nessy on the 26th, who in-
stantly 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
inclosed”. 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 2 I 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 HEY wooD.’
‘I am too mad to write sense, but 'tis a plea-
sure I would not forego to be the most reasonable
being on earth. I asked Mr. Graham, who is at
myelbow, if he would say anything to you, “Lord!”
said he, “I can't say anything;” he is almost as
mad as myself t.’
* Information that the pardon was gone down to Ports-
mouth.
f She had received, previous to this, information of what the
event would be, and thus gives vent to her feelings.
* On receiving certain Intelligence that my most amiable
and beloved Brother, Peter Heywood, would soon be
Testored to Freedom. .
* Oh, blissful hour!—oh moment of delight !
Replete with happiness, with rapture bright ! .

THE KING's WARRANT. 273
Mr. Graham writes, “I have however my senses
sufficiently about me not to suffer this to go with.
out begging leave to congratulate you upon, and
to assure you that I most sincerely sympathise and
participate in, the happiness which I am sure the
An age of pain is sure repaid by this,
'Tis joy too great—’tis ecstacy 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! kindly cease—for pity’s sake subside,
Nor thus o'erwhelm me with joy’s rapid tide :
My beating heart, oppress'd with woe 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 possess'd,
Oh, my full heart ’tis joy—’tis bliss supreme,
And though 'tis real—yet, how like a dream |
Teach me then, Heav'n, to bear it as I ought,
Inspire each rapt’rous, each transporting thought ;
Teach me to bend beneath thy bounteous hand,
With gratitude my willing heart expand :
To thy omnipotence I humbly bow,
Afflicted once—but all ! how happy now !
Restored in peace, submissive to thy will,
Oh! bless his days to come—protect him still;
Prolong his life, thy goodness to adore,
And oh! let sorrow's shafts ne'er wound him more.
* NEssy Heywood.”
London, October 15th, 1792, Midnight.
T
274 THE KING's waRRANT.
inclosed 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 con-
cludes: “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 facul-
ties, 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
pleasure which I have not terms to express, and
it is even increased by knowing what you must
experience on the event. Nor is it an immaterial
reflection, that although your brother was unfor-
tunately 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 anything that has passed,
except his sufferings; and his uniform conduct
under them only proved how little he deserved
them.’ -
Mr. Graham's impatience and generous anxiety
to 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 of October.
Miss Heywood can best speak her own feelings.

THE RING's WARRANT. 275
* Great Russell Street, Monday Morning, 29th
October, half-past ten o’clock—the brightest
moment of my eaſistence /
‘My dearest Mamma, I have seen him, clasped
him to my bosom, and my felicity is beyond
expression 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 HEYWOOD.
* PETER HEYWOOD.
‘JAMES HEY wood.
* 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 un-
bounded extravagance have we been forming our
wishes and yet how far beyond our most um-
bounded 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 attempt anything beyond
an assurance that the scene I 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 survive her brother's liberty. This impas-
* Mr. Graham's daughter.

T 2
276 THE KING's WARRANT.
sioned and most affectionate of sisters, with an
excess of sensibility, which acted too powerfully
on her bodily frame, sunk, as is often the case
with such susceptible minds, on the first attack of
consumption. She died within the year of her
brother's liberation. On this occasion the follow-
ing 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 violent 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 surviving
parent a disconsolate mother, to lament, while
ever she lives, with the most sincere and deep
affliction, the irreparable loss of her most valuable,
affectionate and darling daughter*.’
* Several elegiac stanzas were written on the death of this
accomplished young lady. The following are dated from her
native place, the Isle of Man, where her virtues and accom-
plishments could best be appreciated. -
‘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, genius, nor the muse's care,
Nor aught could move the tyrant Death to spare :
Ah could their power revoke the stern decree,
The fatal shaft had pass'd, unfelt by thee!

THE KING's warr ANT. 277
But to return to Mr. Heywood. When the
king's full and free pardon had been read to this
young officer by Captain Montagu, with a suit-
able admonition and congratulation, he addressed
that officer in the following terms, so suitably
characteristic of his noble and manly conduct
throughout the whole of 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 lasting impression on my mind. I receive with
gratitude my sovereign's mercy, for which my fu-
ture life shall be faithfully devoted to his service.*.’
But vain thy wit, thy sentiment refined,
Thy charms external, and accomplish'd mind;
Thy artless smiles, that seized the willing heart,
Thy converse, that could pure delight impart;
The melting music of thy skilful tongue,
While judgment listen’d, ravish’d with thy song:
Not all the gifts that art and nature gave,
Could save thee, lovely Nessy' from the grave.
Too early lost from friendship's bosom torn,
O might I tune thy lyre, and sweetly mourn
In strains like thine, when beauteous Margaret's (a) fate
Oppress'd thy friendly heart with sorrow's weight !
Then should my numbers flow, and laurels bloom
In endless spring around fair Nessy’s tomb.
(a) Alluding 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 the day that the sentence of condemnation was
passed on him.
* — Silence then
The whispers of complaint,-low in the dust,
|
278 THE KING's war RANT.
And well did his future conduct fulfil that pro-
mise. Notwithstanding the inauspicious manner
in which the first five years of his servitude in the
navy had been passed, two of which were spent
Dissatisfaction's demons growl unheard.
All—all is good, all excellent below;
Pain is a blessing—sorrow leads to joy—
Joy, permanent and solid ev’ry ill,
Grim death itself, in all its horrors clad,
Is man’s supremest privilege it frees
The soul from prison, from foul sin, from woe,
And gives it back to glory, rest and God!
Cheerly, my friends,-oh, cheerly 1 look not thus
With Pity's melting softness!—that alone
Can shake my fortitude—all is not lost.
Lo! 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 birth-day to eternity, I’ve gained
Dismission from a world, where for awhile,
Like you, like all, a pilgrim, passing poor,
A traveller, a stranger, I have met
Still stranger treatment, rude and harsh so much
The dearer, more desired, the home I seek,
Eternal of my Father, and my God!
Then pious Resignation, meek-eyed power,
Sustain me still! Composure still be mine.
Where rests it? Oh, mysterious Providenceſ
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
the king's pardon being received.
Oh deem it not
Presumptuous, that my soul grateful thus rates
The present high deliv'rance it hath found;—
Sole effort of thy wisdom, sov’reign Power,
Without whose knowledge, not a sparrow falls |
Oh! may I cease to live, ere cease to bless

THE RING's war RANT. 279
among mutineers and savages, and eighteen months
as a close prisoner in irons, in which condition he
was shipwrecked, and within an ace of perishing,
notwithstanding 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 recom-
mended him to embark again as a midshipman
without delay, offering to take him into the
Victory, under his own immediate patronage.
In the course of his service, to qualify for the
commission of lieutenant, he was under the re-
spective commands of three or four distinguished
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 pro-
motion, that nobleman, with that due regard
he was always known to pay to the honour and
interests of the navy, while individual claims
were 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
your letter of the 6th instant, if I had not been
desirous, before I answered it, to look over, with
as much attention as was in my power, the pro-
That interposing hand, which turned aside—
Nay, to my life and preservation turned,—
The fatal blow precipitate, ordain'd
To level all my little hopes in dust,
And give me—to the grave.

280 THE KING's waRRANT.
ceedings on the Court-martial held in the year
1792, by which Court Mr. Peter Heywood was
condemned for being concerned in the mutiny on
board the Bounty. 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 pre-
dicament should be afterwards advanced to the
higher and more conspicuous situations of the
navy; but having, with 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 was such a one as, under all its
circumstances, (though I do not mean to say that
the Court were not justified in their sentence,)
ought not to be considered as a bar to his further
progress in his profession; more especially when
the gallantry and propriety of his conduct, in his
subsequent service, are taken into consideration.
I 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 promo-
tion, 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.’
It is not here intended to follow Mr. Heywood
through his honourable career of service, during the
long and arduous contest with France, and in the
several commands with which he was intrusted.
In a note of his own writing it is stated, that on
THE KING's WARRANT. 2S]
paying off the Montague, in July, 1816, he came
on 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-
mine years, seven months, and one day. Having
reached nearly the top of the list of captains, he
died, leaving behind him a high and unblemished
character in that service of which he was a most
honourable, intelligent, and distinguished member.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS.
*ēmē-ºm-º-º-º-º:
Who by repentance is not satisfied,
Is nor of heaven nor earth ; for these are pleased:
By penitence th’ Eternal's wrath’s appeased.
TweNTY 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 contemplation of “enterprises of great pith
and moment,’—of the revolutions of empires—
the bustle and business of warlike preparations
—the movements of hostile armies—battles by
sea and land, and of all ‘the pomp and cir-
cumstance of glorious war.” If the subject of
the Bounty was accidentally mentioned, it was
merely to express an opinion that this vessel,
and those within her, had gone down to the
bottom, or that some savage islanders had inflicted
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
unexampled duration, that an accidental discovery,
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 283
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, against
whose steep and iron-bound shores the surf almost
everlastingly rolls with such tremendous violence,
as to bid defiance to any attempt of boats to
land, except at particular times and in very few
places.
The first intimation of this extraordinary disco-
very 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, in lat. 250 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 Cap-
tain Bligh in the boat, Christian, the leader of the
mutiny, took command 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 Otaheitan men-servants,
and shortly after arrived at the said island (Pit-
cairn), where they ran the ship on shore, and
º her up ; this event took place in the year
790. . - *
* About four years after their arrival (a great
jealousy existing), the Otaheitans secretly re-
volted, and killed every Englishman except him-
284 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
self, whom they severely wounded in the neck
with a pistol ball. The same night, the widows of
the deceased Englishmen arose and put to death
the whole of the Otaheitans, leaving Smith the
only man alive upon the island, with eight or
nine women and several small children. On his
recovery, he applied himself to tilling the ground,
so that it now produces plenty of yams, cocoa-
nuts, bananas and plantains; hogs and poultry in
abundance. There are now some grown up men
and women, 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 him-
self 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 Juan Fernandez.
“Extracted from the log-book of the Topaz,
29th Sept. 1808. -
- (Signed) “WM. FITZMAURICE, Lieut.
* Valparaíso, Oct. 10th, 1808.” -
This narrative stated two facts that established
its general authenticity—the name of Alexander
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 285
Smith, who was one of the mutineers, and the
name of the maker 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 time probably too much engaged in
the events of the war; nor was anything further
heard of this interesting little society, until the
latter part of 1814, when a letter was transmitted
by Rear Admiral Hotham, then cruising off the
coast of America, from Mr. Folger himself, to the
same effect as the preceding extract from his log,
but dated March, 1813.
In the first-mentioned year (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
former of these officers was received at the Admi-
ralty early in the year 1815.
‘Briton, Valparaíso, 18th 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
chronometers of the Briton and Tagus. I there-
fore hove to, until day-light, 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
286 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
Bounty, who, from Otaheite, proceeded to the
above-mentioned island, where the ship was burnt.
‘Christian appeared to have been the leader
and sole cause of the mutiny in that ship. A
vemerable 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 the pre-eminence
over the whole of them, to whom they look up as
the father of one and the 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 former were all swept away by desperate con-
tentions 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
1300 25' W, longitude, by the chronometers of
the Briton and Tagus.
“It produces in abundance, yams, plantains,
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 237
\
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 religious 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 communi-
cated with them, which took place about six years
since, and this was the American ship Topaz, of
Boston, Mayhew 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 may be
safely approached within a short distance by a ship.
(Signed) * T. STAINES.”
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
desirable, Captain Pipon, on being applied to,
had the kindness to draw up the following narra-
tive, which has all the freshness and attraction of
a first communication 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
* With which the Editor, at his request, was favoured at
the time. -
288 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
249 40' S. and longtitude 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 puzzled to make out what island
it could possibly be ; for Pitcairn's Island, being
the only one known in the neighbourhood, was
represented to be in longitude 133° 24′ W.” If
this new discovery, as they supposed it to be,
awakened their curiosity, it was still more excited
when they ran in for the land the next morning,
on perceiving a few huts, neatly built, amidst
plantations laid out apparently with something
like order and regularity; and these appearances
confirmed them more than ever that it could not
be Pitcairn's Island, because that was described
by navigators to be uninhabited. Presently they
observed a few natives coming down a steep
* The only authority that then existed for laying down
this island was that of Captain Carteret, who first saw it in
1767. ‘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 Major Pitcairn of the marines,
who was unfortunately lost in the Aurora, we called it Pit-
cairn's Island.” He makes it in lat. 259 2/ S. and long.
133° 30'. W., no less than three degrees out of its true longi-
tude 1 Three minutes would now be thought a considerable
error:—such are the superior advantages conferred by lunar
observations and improvements in chronometers.
Pitcairn's Island has been supposed to be the “Encarnacion'
of Quiros, by whom it is stated to be in lat. 249 30', and one
thousand leagues from 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 ‘Encarnaçion' somewhere
else; and Ducie's Island, nearly in that latitude, very low,
and within 59 of longitude from Pitcairn's Island, answers
precisely to it.

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 289
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 English language with ‘Won't you
heave us a rope now Ż'
The first young man that sprung, with extra-
ordinary alacrity, up the side, and stood before
them on the deck, said, in reply to the question,
‘Who are you ?'—that his name was Thursday
October Christian, son of the late Fletcher Chris-
tian, by an Otaheitan mother; that he was the first
born on the island, and that he was so called
because he was brought into the world on a Thurs-
day in October. Singularly strange as all this
was to Sir Thomas Staines and Captain Pipon,
this youth soon satisfied them that he was no other
than the person he represented himself to be, and
that he was fully acquainted with the whole his-
tory of the Bounty; and, in short, that the island
before them was the retreat of the mutineers of
that ship. Young Christian, 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 extremely interest-
ing. 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 muscularlimbs were displayed to great
advantage, and attracted general admiration. His
body was much tanned by exposure to the wea-
ther, and his countenance had a brownish cast
- U -
290 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
unmixed however with that tinge of red so common
among the natives of the Pacific islands.
“Added to a great share of good humour, we
were glad to trace,’ says Captain Pipon, “in his
benevolent countenance, all the features of an
honest English face.’ He told them he was mar-
ried to a woman much older than himself, one of
those that accompanied his father from Otaheite.
The ingenuous manner in which he answered all
questions put to him, and his whole deportment,
created a lively interest among the officers of the
ship, who, while they admired, could not but re-
gard him with feelings of tenderness and compas-
sion; his manner, too, of speaking English was
exceedingly pleasing, and correct both in gram-
mar 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
extraordinary discovery of a people who had been
so long forgotten, and in hearing the offspring of
these offenders speaking their language correctly,
their surprise and interest were still more highly
excited when, on Sir Thomas Staines taking the
two youths below, and setting before them some-
thing to eat, they both rose up, and one of them,

placing his hands together in a posture of devo-
tion, pronounced, distinctly and with emphasis, in
a pleasing tone of voice, the words, ‘For what we
are going to receive the Lord make us truly
thankful.’ -
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 29 |
}.|
The youths were themselves greatly surprised
at the sight of so many novel objects—the size of
the ship—of the guns, and everything around
them. Observing a cow, they were at first some-
what 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 little 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 singular events that had taken place among
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
difficult, 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
U 2 -
292 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
were both at first considerably 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, they 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 consider him
in the light of a criminal of the deepest dye, 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
share in the mutiny: said that he was sick in bed
when it broke out, and was afterwards compelled
to take a musket in his hand; and expressed his
readiness 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 considerable distress was witnessed ; his
daughter, a fine young woman, threw her arms
about his neck, entreating 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 absorbed in grief; but on
their being assured that he should, on no account,
be molested, “it is impossible,’ says Captain Pipon,
‘to describe the universal joy that these poor

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 293
people manifested, and the gratitude they ex-
pressed for the kindness and consideration shown
to them.’
They now learned from Adams that Fletcher
Christian, on finding no good anchorage close to
the island, and the Bounty being too weakly
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 neces-
sary for forming an establishment on the island,
and to land the hogs, goats, and poultry, which
they 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 remove an
object that, if seen, might excite the curiosity of
some passing vessel, and thus be the means of
discovering his retreat. His plan succeeded, and
by Adams's account, everything went on smoothly
for a short time; but it was clear enough that
this misguided and ill-fated young 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 oppres–
sion, as very soon incurred the hatred and detesta-
tion of 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 accomplished; he had discovered an unin-
habited island out of the common track of ships,
and established himself and his associates; so far.
§
294 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
there was a chance that he had escaped all pur-
suit; but there was no escaping from
- “Those rods 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 the island, and his death
was only the commencement of feuds and assassi-
nations, 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 Christian's murder was his
having forcibly seized on the wife of one of the
Otaheite men, which so exasperated 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 pleasing, indicating much benevolence and

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. . 295
º,
!
goodness of heart, but the young women particu-
larly were objects of attraction, being tall, robust,
and beautifully formed, their faces beaming with
smiles, and indicating unruffled good humour;
while their manners and demeanour exhibited a
degree of modesty 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 features, though not exactly the clear
red and white that distinguish English skins, theirs
being the colour of what we call brunette. Captain
Pipon thinks that from such a race of people, con-
sisting of fine young men and handsomewell-formed
women, there may be expected to rise 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 regu-
larity of feature.
But their personal qualifications, attractive as
they were, excited less admiration than the account
which Adams gave of their virtuous conduct.
He assured his visiters that not one instance of
debauchery or immoral conduct had occurred
among these yöung 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 indecent liberties to be
taken with her. Their native modesty, assisted
by the precepts of religion and morality, instilled
into their young minds by John Adams, had
hitherto preserved these interesting people from
296 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 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 the males that had landed from the Bounty,
European and Otaheitan, the greatest harmony
had prevailed in their little society; they all de-
clared 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 dealings, lending or
exchanging their various articles of live-stock
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
harmonious.
The little village of Pitcairn is described as
forming a pretty square; the house of John
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 297
Adams, with its out-houses, occupying the upper
corner, near a large banian 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
round 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 establish-
ment, 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 bedsteads, with coverings. They have 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 hand, 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 mar-
riages, for, as he very properly observed, when
once they become mothers, they are less capable
of hard labour, being obliged to attend to their
children; and, judging from appearance, ‘one
may conclude,’ says the captain, “they would be
prolific;’ that he did not see how it could be
otherwise, considering the regularity of their lives,
298 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 gene-
rally a piece of cloth of their own manufacture,
reaching from the waist to the knees, and a
mantle, or something of that mature, thrown
loosely over the shoulders, and hanging some-
times 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 immodesty to the upper
part of the person being uncovered; and it is not
possible, he says, to behold finer forms than are
exhibited by this partial exposure. Captain Pipon
observes, ‘it was pleasing to see the good taste and
quickness with which they form little 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 presence, with such
neatness and alacrity, as to satisfy me that a
fashionable dress-maker of London would be de-
lighted with the simplicity 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
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 299
on her shoulders, 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.’ s
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 dimen-
sions here given, however, are much greater than
they have subsequently been found to be.
The visiters having supplied these poor people
with some tools, kettles, and other articles, such as
the high surf would allow them, with the assistance
of the natives, to land, but to no great extent; the
two officers again passed through the surf, with the
Same assistance, and took leave of these interest-
ing people—satisfied that the island is so well for-
tified by nature, as to oppose an invincible barrier
to an invading enemy; that there was no spot
apparently where a boat could land with safety,
and perhaps not more than one where 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.
300 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 intermediate 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 interesting little colony, when or for what
reason he assumed the latter name. It could not
be with any view to concealment, for he freely
communicated his history to Folger, and equally
so to every subsequent 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 willing 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
children, has taken upon himself the duty of clergy-
man, and is the oracle of the community.’
On the approach of the Blossom towards the
island, a boat was observed, under all sail, hasten-
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 301
ing towards the ship, which they considered to be
the boat of some whaler, but were soon agreeably
undeceived 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 permission being granted, they sprung 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, who was in his
sixty-fifth year, and somewhat corpulent. He
was dressed in a sailor's shirt and trowsers, and a
low-crowned hat, which he held in his hand until
desired to put it on. He still retained his sailor's
manners, doffing 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
possibility of giving offence. Their dresses were
whimsical enough ; some had long coats without
trowsers, and others, trowsers without coats, and
others again waiscoats 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
\
302 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
º
history of the broils and disputes which led to the
violent 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 car-
ried away from Otaheite by nine of the mutineers.
Their names were
. FLETCHER CHRISTIAN, Acting Lieutenant.
. Edward YoUNG, Midshipman.
ALEXANDER SMITH, (alias John ADAMs) Seaman.
. WILLIAM M*Koy,
. MATTHEw QUINTAL,
Seamen.
John WiLLIAMs,
. Is AAC MARTIN,
. John MILLs, Gunner's Mate.
. WILLIAM BRow N, Botanist's Assistant.
They brought with them six men and twelve
women, natives of Tobouai 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 accom-
pany 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 Williams, who had lost his wife about a
month after their arrival, by a fall from a rock
while collecting bird’s-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

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 303
unwilling to part with him, and he, still persisting
in his unreasonable demand, had the injustice to
compel one of the Otaheitans to give up his wife
to him.
By this act of flagrant oppression his country-
men made common cause with their injured com-
panion, and laid a plan for the extermination of
the Europeans; 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 husband 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 fully succeeded. A day was fixed
for attacking and putting to death all the English-
men 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 murdered by him and another.
Martin and Brown were separately attacked and
slain, one with a maul, the other with a musket.
304 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
Adams was wounded in the shoulder, but suc-
ceeded in making terms with the Otaheitans; and
was conducted by them to Christian's house, where
he was kindly treated. Young, who was a great
favourite of the women, was secreted by them
during the attack, and afterwards carried to Chris-
tian's house. M*Koy and Quintal, the worst of
the gang, escaped to the mountains. ‘Here,
says Captain Beechey, “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 humi-
liation and retribution to the whites.’
The men of colour now began to quarrel about
choosing the women whose European husbands
had been murdered; the result of which was the
destruction of the whole of the former, some fall-
ing by the hands of the women, and one of them by
Young, who it would seem coolly and deliberately
shot him. Adams now proceeded into the moun-
tains to communicate the fatal intelligence to the
two Europeans, M*Koy and Quintal, and to
solicit their return to the village. All these
events are stated to have happened so early as
October, 1793.
From this time to 1798, the remnant of the
colonists would appear to have gone on quietly,
with the exception of some quarrels these four
men had with the women, and the latter among
themselves; ten of them were still remaining, who
lived promiscuously 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

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. - 305
interest, containing scarcely anything more than
the ordinary occupations of the settlers, the loan
or exchange of provisions, the dates when the
Sows farrowed, the number of fish 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
in a Scotch distillery, and being much addicted to
ardent spirits, set about making experiments on the
tee-root (dracaena terminalis), and at length un-
fortunately succeeded in 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 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 believe, 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, while 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
IX
306 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
them felt inclined 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 fear-
ing he might be more successful in the next at-
tempt, came to the resolution that, as their own
lives were not safe while he was in existence, 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 mur-
der, from which the present simple and innocent
race of islanders has proceeded; and what is most
of all extraordinary, the very man, from whom
they have received their moral and religious in-
struction, is one who was among the first and
foremost in the mutiny, and deeply implicated in
all the deplorable consequences 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. Young, as has been
stated, was a man of some education, and of a
serious turn of mind, and, as Beechey says, it would
have been wonderful, after the many dreadful scenes
at which they had assisted, if the solitude and tran.
quillity that ensued had not disposed them to re-
pentance. They had a Bible and a Prayer Book,
which were found in the Bounty, and they read


PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 307
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
misguided mutineers of the Bounty. It is remark-
able that the name of Young should never once
occur in any shape as connected with the mutiny,
except in the evidence of Lieutenant Hayward,
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 every indulgence
that frail humanity so often requires, and which
indeed has been extended 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 prevailin this
happy and well-regulated society. They have all
strongly felt that the merits and redeeming quali-
ties of the latter years of his life have so far
x 2
308 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
atomed for his former guilt, that he ought not to
be molested, but rather encouraged in his meri-
torious 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 mutiny and piracy, and that, had he re-
mained in Otaheite, and been taken home in the
Pandora, nothing could have saved him from an
ignominious death. His pretending to say that
he was in his cot, and that he was forced to take
arms, may perhaps be palliated under his peculiar
circumstances, wishing 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 Christian, “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 regard 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 mo–
rose, and committed so many acts of cruelty, as
to incur the hatred and detestation of his asso-
ciates in crime. Whereas he told Captain
Beechey, that Christian was always cheerful; that
his example was of the greatest service in exciting
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 309
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 exemplified, he says,
than by his maintaining, under circumstances of
great perplexity, the respect and regard of all who
were associated with him, up to the hour of his
death ; and that, even at the present moment,
Adams, in speaking of him, never omits to say
Mr. Christian. Why indeed should he 7 Chris-
tian 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 within
two years (one account says nine months) after
the party reached the island? Captain Beechey has
answered the question—for oppression and ill-
treatment of the Otaheitans”.
* As the manner of Christian's death has been differently
reported to each different visiter, by Adams, the only evidence
in existence, with the exception of three or four Otaheitan
women, and a few infants, some singular circumstances may
here be mentioned that happened at home, just at the time of
Folger's visit, and which might render his death on Pitcairn'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 Cum-
berland 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 neighbour-
hood. This, however, might be passed over as mere gossip,
had not another circumstance happened 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 behind a man, whose shape had so
310 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 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 discovering 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 diffi-
cult, 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.”
much the appearance of Christian's, that he involuntarily
quickened his pace. Both were walking very fast, and the
rapid steps behind him having roused the stranger's atten-
tion, he suddenly turned his face, looked at Heywood, and
immediately ran off. But the face was as much like Chris-
tian'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 scope 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
was to set about making some further inquiries, but on recol-
lection 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 frequently called to his memory for
the remainder of his life.
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 311
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. ſº
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 mutiny, has obtained
an unenviable celebrity, and whose crime may per-
haps be considered as, in some degree, palliated by
the tyranny which led to its commission.’ It is to
be hoped, such an act as he was guilty of will never
be so considered.
If mutiny could be Šupposed to admit of pal-
liation, a fatal blow would be struck not only at
the discipline, but at the very existence, of the
navy; any relaxation in bringing to condign
punishment persons guilty of mutiny, would
weaken and ultimately destroy the efficiency of
this great and powerful machine. Nor, indeed,
is it at all necessary that the punishment for
mutiny should admit of any palliation. Whenever .
an act of tyranny, or an unnecessary degree of
severity, is exercised by a commanding officer,
312 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
let the fact only be proved, and he is certain to be
visited with all the rigour that the degree 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 Ma-
jesty'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 little community on Pitcairn's Island, his
crime, like that of Christian, can never be con-
sidered as wiped away. Sir Thomas Staines,
the first British officer who called at the island,
it may well be supposed, had to struggle, on
this trying occasion, between duty and feeling.
It was his imperative duty to have seized and
brought him a prisoner to England, 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. Per-
haps, however, on the whole, it was fortunate,
that in balancing, as it is known this gallant
officer did, between the sense of duty and the
sense of feeling, the latter prevailed, and justice
yielded to mercy. Had a Bligh or an Ed-
wards been placed in his situation, it is to be
feared that, judging from their former conduct,
passion in the one, and frigidity in the other,
would most likely have consigned the criminal to
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 313
captivity in irons, and the innocent and helpless
family, solely dependent on him, to misery and
destruction—and yet in so doing, they would not
have deviated from their strict line of duty, - Dis
aliter visum.
The Blossom was the first ship of war that John
Adams had been on board of since the mutiny;
and, as Captain Beechey observes, his mind would
naturally revert to scenes that could not fail to
produce a temporary embarrassment, but no ap-
prehension for his safety appeared to form any
part of his thoughts; and as every person endea-
voured to set his mind at rest, he soon found
himself at ease and at home. It was several hours
before the ship approached 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 apologise, by saying 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 ascer-
tained that the ship was a man-of-war, and,
without knowing exactly why, became so alarmed
for the safety of Adams, that he either could not
or would not answer any of the interrogatories
314 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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
Hannah immediately hurried to the beach to
"kiss the old man's cheek, which she did with
a fervency demonstrative of the warmest affection.
Her apology for her companions was rendered
unnecessary by their appearance on the steep
and circuitous path down the mountain, who,
as they arrived on the beach, successively wel-
comed us to their island, with a simplicity 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 and to pitch the observatory,
every article and instrument found a bearer,
along a steep path which led to the village, con-
cealed by groups of cocoa-nut trees; the females
bearing their burthens over the most difficult
parts without inconvenience. The village con-
sisted of five houses, on a cleared piece of ground
sloping toward the sea. While the men assisted
in pitching the tent, the women employed them-
selves in preparing the supper. The mode of
cooking was precisely that of Otaheite, by heated
stones in a hole made in the ground. At young
Christian's, the table was spread with plates,
knives, and forks. John Buffet said grace in
an emphatic manner, and this is repeated every


PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 315
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
me occasion,’ says Captain Beechey, “I had en-
gaged Adams in conversation, and he incautiously
took the first mouthful without 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 fooms
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.
It is remarkable enough, that although the
female part of the society is highly respected, yet,
in one instance, a distinction is kept up, which in
civilised countries would be deemed degrading.
It is that which is rigidly observed in all the
South Sea Islands, and indeed throughout almost
the whole Eastern world, that no woman shall eat
in the presence of her husband; and though this
distinction 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 deficiency of seats. It seems
they defended the custom on the ground that
man was made before woman, and is entitled,
therefore, to be first served—a conclusion, 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 considering
themselves neglected, they very good-naturedly
316. PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
chatted with us behind our seats, and flapped
away the flies, and by a gentle tap, accidentally or
playfully delivered, remindédus occasionally of the
honour that was done us.” The women, when the
men had finished, sat down to what remained.
The beds were next prepared. A mattress
composed of palm-leaves was covered with native
cloth, made of the paper mulberry-tree, in the
same manner 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 interruption only disturbed their first
sleep, — this was the melody of the evening hymn,
which, after the lights were put out, was chanted
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
occupations. Some of the women had taken the
linen of their visiters to wash ; others were pre-
paring for the next meal; and others were employed
in the manufacture of cloth. -
The innocence and simplicity of these interest-
ing young creatures are strongly exemplified in
the following description. “By our bedside had
already been placed some ripe fruits; and our hats
were crowned with chaplets of the fresh blossom
of the mono 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
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PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 31 7
•º
not yet been considered necessary. So far, in-
deed, 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 over-
came this embarrassment, and from the benefit
of their 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, having
a broad table with several stools placed round it.
The lower room communicates with the upper, by
a stout ladder 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, plantain,
melon, yam, taro, Sweet potatoes, tee-tree, cloth-
plant, with other useful roots, fruits, and a variety
of shrubs. Every cottage has its out-house for
making cloth, its baking-place, its pig-sty, and its
poultry-house.
3.18 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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
numerous on the island, but neither their flesh nor
their milk is relished by the natives. Yams con-
stitute their principal food, either boiled, baked, or
mixed with cocoa-nut, made into cakes, and eaten
with molasses extracted from the tee-root. Taro-
root is no bad substitute for bread ; and bananas,
plantains, and appoi, are wholesome and nutritive
fruits. The common 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 sub-
ject 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
attendance at school, and are instructed by John
Buffet in reading, writing, and arithmetic ; to
which are added, precepts of religion and mora-
lity, drawn chiefly from the Bible and Prayer
Book; than which, fortunately, they possess no
others that might mystify and perplex their un-
derstandings 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
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. - 3.19
explanation; and that they could not see the
propriety of uttering what was not strictly true,
for any purpose whatever. The Sabbath is wholly
devoted to the church service, to prayer, reading,
and serious meditation; no work of any kind is
done on that day, not even cooking, which is pre-
pared on the preceding evening.
‘ I attended, says Beechey, “the 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 indi-
vidual; 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 family with
much apparent loyalty and sincerity. Some
family prayers, which were thought appropriate to
their own particular case, were added to the usual
service; and Adams, fearful of leaving out any
essential part, read in addition all those prayers
which are intended only as substitutes for others.
A sermon followed, which was very well delivered
by Buffet ; and lest any part of it should be for-
gotten or escape attention, it was read three times.
The whole concluded with hymns, which were first
sung by the grown people, and afterwards by the
children. The service thus performed was very
long; but the neat and cleanly appearance of the
congregation, the devotion that animated every
countenance, and the innocence and simplicity of
the little children, prevented the attendance from
becoming wearisome. In about half an hour
afterwards we again assembled to prayers, and at
320 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
•ºry. .
sunset service was repeated; so that, with their
morning and evening prayers, they may be 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 quan-
tity of recreation. The exercise and amusement
of dancing, once so much resorted to in most
of the islands of the Pacific, is here almost ex-
cluded. With great difficulty and much entreaty,
the visiters prevailed on three 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 difficulty of joining in the dance, and was re-
markably cheerful, 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 devotions;
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
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 321
would read the marriage ceremony to him and
his wife, as he could not bear the idea of living
with her without its being done, when a proper
opportunity should offer, as was now the case.
Though Adams was aged, and the old woman
had been blind and bedridden 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, which 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
woman eighteen. The restrictions with regard to
relationship are the same as with us, and are
strictly put in force when parties are about to
marry. Adams also officiates at christenings.
Captain Beechey observes, that these amiable
people rigidly adhere to their word and promise,
even in cases where the most scrupulous among
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 opportunity of displaying
Y
322 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 officers, who
decided that it would be much better to marry
than to continue unhappy in consequence of a
hasty resolution made before the judgment was
matured; but Polly's scruples still remained, and
those who gave their decision left them unmarried.
Captain Beechey, however, has recently received
a letter, stating that George Adams and Polly
Young had joined hands and were happy; but the
same letter 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
colony. The perfect harmony and contentment
in which they appear to live together, the inno-
cence and simplicity of their manners, their con
jugal 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 instructions of old John
Adams; and it is gratifying to know, that five
years after the visit of the Blossom, and one year
subsequent to Adams's death, the little colony
continued to enjoy the same uninterrupted state
of harmony and contentment as before.
In consequence of a representation, made by
Captain Beechey when there, of the distressed
state of this little society, with regard to the want
of certain necessary articles, his Majesty's Govern-
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 323
ment sent out to Valparaiso, to be conveyed from
thence for their use, a proportion for sixty persons
of the following articles: sailors' blue jackets and
trowsers, flannel waistcoats, pairs of stockings and
shoes, women's dresses, spades, mattocks, shovels,
pickaxes, trowels, rakes; all of which were taken
in his Majesty's ship Seringapatam, commanded
by Captain the Hon. William Waldegrave, who
arrived there in March, 1830.
The ship had scarcely anchored when George
Young was alongside in his canoe, which he
guided by a paddle ; and soon after Thursday
October Christian, 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 chap-
lain, 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 cocoa-nut trees, they found
the wives and mothers assembled to receive them.
‘I have brought you a clergyman,’ says the cap-
tain. “God bless you, issued from every mouth ;
“but is he come to stay with us?'—“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 Quintal, “we want
food for our souls.” *
‘Our reception, says Captain. Waldegrave,
‘ was most cordial, particularly that of Mr. Wat-
son, the chaplain; and the meeting of the wives
and husbands most affecting, exchanging expres–
sions of joy that could not have been exceeded
Y 2
324 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
had they just returned from a long absence. The
men sprang up to the trees, throwing down cocoa-
nuts, 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 grati-
fying to observe their native simplicity of manners,
apparently without guile: their hospitality was
unbounded, 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 were 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 par-
take 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 cot-
tages to hear the afternoon church service per-
formed by Mr. Watson, and Captain Waldegrave
describes it as a most striking scene. The place
chosen was the bed-room of one of the double
cottages, or one with an upper story. The ascent
was by a broad ladder from the lower room
through a trap-door. The clergyman took his
station between two 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 were three men sitting. On each side
and in front were the men, some wearing only the

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 3.25
simple mara, displaying their gigantic figures;
others in jackets and trowsers, their necks and
feet bare ; behind stood the women, in their
modest home-made cloth dresses, which entirely
covered the form, leaving only the head and feet
bare. The girls wore, in addition, a sheet, knotted
in the manner of a Roman senator's toga, thrown
over the right shoulder and under the left arm.
When the 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 repeating the con-
fession 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 the kingdom.’
At the conclusion of the service they requested
permission to sing their parting hymn, when the
whole congregation, in good time, sang ‘Depart
In peace.
Captain Waldegrave, like all former visiters,
bears testimony to the kind disposition and active
benevolence of these simple islanders. The chil-
dren, 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 indi-
vidual, 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
326 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
tell tales; or if the question applied to one who
had committed a fault, they would say, ‘It would
be wrong to tell my neighbour's shame.’ The
kind and benevolent feeling of these amiable
people is extended to the surviving 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 the paper mulberry, the dress extending from
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 the 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, when they
appear in English dresses, generally wear only
the mara, or waist-cloth, which, passing over the
hips, and between the legs, is knotted behind;
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
Captain Waldegrave, ‘one cripple or defective
person, except one boy, whom, in the most good-
humouredway, and laughing heartily, they brought
to me, observing, “You ought to be brothers, you
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 327
have each lost the right eye.” I acknowledged
the connexion, and no doubt for the future he will
be called the Captain.”
Captain Beechey has given a more detailed
account 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 quarter
of an inch, and the shortest of the adults five feet
nine inches and one-eighth ; their limbs well pro-
portioned, 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 surpassed. It is recorded
on the island, that George Young and Edward
Quintal have each carried, at one time, a kedge
anchor, two sledge hammers, and an armourer's
anvil, weighing together upwards of six hundred
pounds; and that Quintal once carried, a boat
twenty-eight feet in length. In the water they
are almost as much at home as on land, and can
remain almost a whole day in the sea. They fre-
quently swim round their little island, the circuit
of which 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 inqhes and a half. The features of both men
and women are regular and well-formed ; eyes
bright and generally hazel, though in a few in-
328 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
stances blue; the eyebrows thin, and rarely meet-
ing; 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 invariably 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; that
the duration of labour is seldom longer than five
hours, and has not yet in any case proved fatal ;
but there is no instance of twins, 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 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 contagious
diseases which affect children in large communi-
ties. He offered 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.
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 329
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 consider-
ably lower. . The doctor examined several of
them ; in the forenoon he found George Young's
only sixty; three others, in the afternoon, after "
dinner, 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
disturb that harmony and destroy that simplicity
of manners which have hitherto characterised it.
It is to be feared, indeed, that the seeds of dis-
cord are already sown. It appears from Captain
Waldegrave's statement, that no less than three
Englishmen 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, is of great use to the islanders in his
capacity of clergyman and schoolmaster; he is
also a clever and useful mechanic, as a shipwright
and joiner, and is much beloved by the community.
Two others have since been left on the island,
one of them, by name John Evans, son of a coach-
maker in the employ of Long of St. 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 George Hunn Nobbs,
who calls himself pastor, registrar, and school-
master, thus infringing on the privileges of John
330 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
Buffet; and being a person of superior talents,
and of exceeding great impudence, has deprived
Buffet of a great number of his scholars: and
hence a sufficient cause exists of division and
dissension among the members of the little society,
which were never known before. . Duffet and
Evans support themselves by their industry, but
this Nobbs not only claims exemption from labour
as being their pastor, but also as being entitled to
a maintenance at the expense of the community.
He has married a daughter of Charles, and grand-
daughter 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 moderate share of talent: but it is
stated that Thursday October and Charles Chris-
tian, the sons of the chief mutineer, are ignorant,
uneducated men. The only chance for the con-
tinuance 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
* This Nobbs is probably one of those half-witted persons
who fancy they have received a call to preach nonsense—some
cobbler escaped from his stall, or tailor from his shopboard.
Kitty Quintal's cant phrase—‘we want food for our souls,”
and praying at meals for ‘spiritual nourishment,” smack not a
little of the jargon of the inferior caste of evangelicals. Who-
ever this pastoral drone may be, it is but too evident that the
preservation of the innocence, simplicity, and happiness of these
amiable people, is intimately connected with his speedy remova
from the island, . - -
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 331
done, which makes it the more to be apprehended
that Nobbs, by his superior talent or cunning, will
force himself upon them into that situation. Cap-
tain Waldegrave 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 observes, 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, William, has been so carefully edu-
cated, that he excels greatly all the others. The
descendants of Young 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 religion and morality is quite surprising. He
was able to read, but only learnt to write in his
latter days; and having accomplished this point,
he made a scheme of laws 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 commandments, the
Lord's Prayer, and the Creed, and he satisfied
himself, that in these were comprised all the Chris-
tian duties. Dy the instrumentality of these pre-
cepts, drawn from the book of Common Prayer
and the Bible”, he was enabled, after the slaughter
* Well may Adams have sought for rules for his little
society in a book, which contains the foundation of the civil
332 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
of all his associates, to rear up all the children in
the principles and precepts of Christianity, in
purity of morals, and in a simplicity of manners,
that have surprised and delighted every stranger
that has visited the island.
Captain Waldegrave says they are so strongly
attached to those beautiful prayers that are found
in the liturgy of the Church of England, that
there is no danger of a dissenting minister being
received among them. It is to be hoped this may
be the case; but it may be asked, will they escape
from the snares of George Hunn Nobbs? It would
seem, indeed, that this man has already thrust
upon them what he calls a code of laws, in which
he enumerates crimes, such as murder and adul-
tery, unknown and unheard of among these simple
people since the time that Adams was sole legis-
lator and patriarch. The punishment of adultery,
to give a specimen of Nobbs's legislation, is whip-
ping for the first offence to both parties, and
and religious policy of two-thirds of the human race,—in that
wonderful book, into: whose inspired pages the afflicted never
seek for consolation into 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, than Robert Knox's accidental discovery of a Bible,
in the midst of the Candian dominions of Ceylon. His pre-
vious 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 meeting 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 com-
fort, when procured, which it afforded him in his affliction—all
are told in such a strain of true piety and genuine simplicity, as
cannot fail to interest and affect every reader of sensibility.’
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 333
marriage within three months; for the second, if
the parties refuse to marry, the penalties are, for-
feiture of lands, property, and banishment from
the island. Offenders are to be tried before three
elders, who pronounce sentence. It is quite clear
this silly person does not understand what is
meant by adultery. As to the tenure of land, it
was fortunately provided for previous to his arrival
on the island. The whole island, it seems, was
partitioned out by Adams among the families of
the original settlers, so that a foreigner cannot
obtain any, except by purchase or marriage.
Captain Waldegrave reckons, that eleven-twelfths
are uncultivated, and that population 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 after-
wards, Sir Thomas Staines states the adult popu-
lation at forty, which must be a mistake, as four-
teen 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 mades, and thirty females,
334 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
And in 1830, CaptainWaldegrave 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 on with an accelerated
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 thousand souls, is grounded on incorrect data ;
it does not follow, that because one-twelfth of the
island will maintain eighty persons, the whole
must support 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 exceeding one thousand feet in
height, it is more than probable that not one
half of it is capable of cultivation. 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 sup-
port 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
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 335
k
island was inhabited for a considerable time; and
from bones being 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 con-
templated the prospect of an increasing popula-
tion with the limited means of supporting it, and
requested that he would communicate with the
British Government 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 Mr. Nott, a mis-
sionary of Otaheite, who, being on a visit to this
country, was authorised, on his return, to make
arrangements for their removal to Otaheite, if
they wished it, and if Pomarré, the king of the
island, should not object to receive them ; and he
carried a letter to this chief from Lord Bathurst,
acquainting him with the intention of the British
Government, and expressing the hope that he
would be induced to receive under his protection
a people whose moral and religious character had
created so lively an interest in their favour; but it
fortunately happened that this missionary passed
the island without stopping. A Mr. Joshua Hill
subsequently proposed their removal to New South
Wales, but his vessel was considered too small for
the purpose. -
336 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
Two years after this, as difficulties had occurred
to prevent the above-mentioned intentions from
being carried into effect, Sir George Murray
deemed it 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 dis-
posal, 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 mentioned, 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 Cap-
tain Waldegrave, who left them contented and
happy; and Captain Beechey, since his return,
has received a letter from John Buffet, who in-
forms him of a notification made by Nott, the
missionary at Otaheite, 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 satisfied 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,
and consigning them to those sinks of infamy on
New Holland or Van Diemen's Land, or to mix
them up with the dram-drinkers, the psalm-singers,
and the languid and lazy Otaheitans, would, in
either case, be a subject of deep regret to all who
take an interest in their welfare; and to them-
Selves would be the inevitable loss of all those
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 337
t
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
at Otaheite, and it is to be hoped he will receive
instructions, on no account to sanction, but on the
contrary to interdict, any measure that may be
attempted on the part of the missionaries for their
removal;-perhaps, however, as money would be
required for such a purpose, they may be consi-
dered safe from that quarter.
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 individuals 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 own 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 lies at the south-eastern extre-
mity of a chain of islands, which, including the
Society and Friendly Islands, exceed a hundred
in number, many of them wholly uninhabited, and
Z
338 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 sponta-
neous products of nature 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 emigration 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 natural.
They may thus at some future period, which is not
at all improbable, be the means of spreading
Christianity and consequently civilisation through-
out the numerous groups of islands in the South-
ern Pacific ; whereas to remove them, as has been
imprudently suggested, would 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:
INDIGENOU.S.
Cocos nucifera . . . . . Cocoa nut.
Musa Paradisaica. . . . . Plantains.
Musa sapientum . . . . . Bananas.
Dioscorea sativum . . . . Yams.
Convolvulus batatas . . . . Sweet potatoes.
Arum esculentum . . . . Taro root.
Arum costatum . . . . . Yappa.
Broussonetia papyrifera . . Cloth-tree.
Dracaena terminalis . . . . Tee-plant.
Alewrites triloba . . . . . . Doodoe.

PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 339
Morinda citrifolia . . . . Nono.
sºme — . . . . Toonema, a large tim-
ber tree.
Ficus indica . . . . . . Banyan tree.
Morus Chinensis . . . . Mulberry.
Pandanus odoratissimus 2
And a great number of other indigenous plants,
some of which are useful and others ornamental.
INTRODUCEI). -
Artocarpus incisa . . . . Bread-fruit.
Cucurbita citrullus . . . . Water-melons. ,
Cucurbita pepo . . . . . Pumpkins.
Solamum esculentum . . . Potatoes.
Nicotiana tabacum . . . Tobacco.
Citrus limoneum . . . . Lemon.
aurantium . . Orange.
Besides these they have European peas, beans,
and onions; sugar-canes, ginger, pepper, and
turmeric. In fact, situated as the island is, in a
temperate climate just without the tropic, and
enjoying abundance of rain, there is scarcely any
vegetable, with the exception of a few of the equi-
noctial plants, that may not be cultivated here.
The zea mays, or Indian corn, would be infinitely
useful both for themselves, their poultry, and
their pigs. -
As a great part of the island is at present
covered with trees, which would necessarily give
way to an extended cultivation, and as trees at-
tract rain, Captain 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 effec-
tually attract and condense the clouds than any

Z 2
340 PITCAIRN's ISLAND.
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 sea-coast.
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 749 to 760;
from whence Captain Beechey places the mean
temperature 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, our 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, deter-
mined to accompany us to sea, as far as they
could with 'safety. They continued on board,
unwilling to leave us, until we were a considerable
distance from land, when they shook each of us
feelingly by the hand, and, amidst expressions of
the deepest concern at our departure, 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
PITCAIRN's ISLAND. 341
us three hearty cheers, which were as heartily re-
turned. 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
and good conduct had created in us.”
Happy, thrice happy people ! May no improper
intruders thrust themselves into your peaceful and
contented society 1 May that Providence which
has hitherto protected you, still continue to pour
down those blessings upon you, of which you ap-
pear to be so truly sensible, and for which you are
justly thankfull May it throw round the shores
of your enviable little Eden, “cherubim and a
flaming sword, to guard its approaches from those
who would endanger your peace; and above all,
shield you from those who would perplex and
confuse your unsophisticated minds, by mysterious
doctrines which they do not themselves compre-
hend | Remain steadfast to the faith, which your
late father and benefactor has instilled into your
minds, culled from the precepts of your Bible, and
be content for the present to observe those simple
rules for your religious and moral conduct, which
he has taught you, and which he drew pure and
undefiled from that sacred source; and be assured
that, so long as you shall adhere to the line of
conduct you have hitherto pursued, and be con-
tented with your present lot, your happiness is
secure; but once admit ignorant or false teachers
among you, and from that period you may date the
commencement of misfortunes and misery !
C O N (; L U S I O N.
MANYuseful and salutary lessons of conduct may
be drawn from this eventful history, more espe-
cially 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 dread-
ful consequences 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 misfortune to be concerned in a transac-
tion of this revolting nature. In the present in-
stance, the dreadful retribution which overtook
them, and which was evinced in a most extraordi-
nary 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 recollected
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 afterwards
taken from thence in the Pandora, as prisoners,
and nine having gone with the Bounty to Pitcairn's
Island.
CONCLUSION. 343
.
Of the sixteen taken in the Pandora :-
1. Mr. PETER HEywood, midshipman, was sentenced to death,
but pardoned.
2. JAMES MoRRison, boatswain's mate, do. do.
3. WILLIAM MUSPRATT, commander’s steward, do. do.
4. Thos. BURKITT, seaman,
5. John MILLwARD, do. condemned and executed.
6. THos. ELLison, do. }
7. Joseph Col.FMAN, armourer,
8. CHARLEs NoH MAN, carpenter's mate, tried and itted
9. Thos. M'Intosh, carpenter's crew, f****
| 6
;7:
. MICHAEL BYRNE, seaman,
. Mr. GEORGE STEwART, midshipman,
. John SUMNER, seaman,
. RICHARD SKINNER, seaman,
. HENRY HILBRANT, cooper,
. CHAs. CHURCHILL, master-at-arms, murdered by Matthew
drowned in irons
when the Pan-
dora was wrecked.
Thomson.
. MATTHEw Thomson, seaman, murdered by Churchill's
friends in Otaheite.
Of the nine who landed on Pitcairn's Island.—
Mr. FLETCHER CHRISTIAN, acting lieut.
John WILLIAMs, seaman,
TsAAc MARTIN, do.
John MILLs, gunner's mate,
WILLM. Brown, botanist's assistant.
MATTHEw QUINTAL, seaman, put to death by Young and
Adams in self-defence.
WILLIAM M Koy, seaman, became insane, and killed by
throwing himself from a rock.
were murdered by
the Otaheitans.
. Mr. Edward YoUNG, midshipman, died of asthma.
. ALEX. SMITH, alias John Adams, seaman, died in
1829.
Young officers of the navy, as well as the com-
mon seamen, may also derive some useful lessons.
from the events of this history. They will see the
melancholy results of affording the least encou-
ragement for seamen to depart from their strict
344 CONCLUSION.
line of duty, and to relax in that obedience to the
orders of superiors, by which alone the discipline
of the service can be preserved ; they will learn
how dangerous it is to show themselves careless
and indifferent in executing 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 repugnant to, or
subversive of, the rules and regulations of the
service; and most particularly to guard against
any conduct that may have the appearance of
lowering 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 young midshipmen, Stewart
and Heywood, were perfectly innocent of any
share in the transaction in question; and yet, be-
cause 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 life, 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 de-
mand permission to accompany their commander,
while they were allowed to remain on deck and
had the opportunity of doing so. The manly
conduct of young Heywood, throughout his long
and unmerited sufferings, affords an example of
firmness, fortitude, and resignation to the divine
will, that is above all praise; in fact, nothing
CONCLUSION. 345
º
short of conscious innocence could have supported
him in the severe trials he had to undergo.
The melancholy effects which tyrannical con-
duct, harsh and opprobrious language, ungovern-
able passion, 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 capricious and arbitrary command, are
strongly exemplified 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 inferior 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 little credit a commander 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 unfeeling 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 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
worst weather. The result of such meritorious
346 CONCLUSION.
conduct holds out every encouragement to both
officers and men, by showing them that, by firm-
ness and perseverance, and the adoption of well-
digested measures, steadily pursued in spite of
opposition, the most hopeless 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 impres-
sion on the minds of, our brave seamen, not to
suffer themselves 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 commanding officer, as any mutinous proceed-
ings 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, with a feeling of
deep and sincere regret, 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 missionaries of Otaheite has car-
ried off the whole of the settlers to the latter
island. If this be true—and the mention of the
CONCLUSION. 347
name of Nott gives a colour to the transaction
—the ‘cherubim' must have slept, the ‘flaming
sword' have been sheathed, and another Eden
has been lost; and, what is worse than all, that
native simplicity of manners, that purity of mo-
rals, and that singleness of heart, which so pecu-
liarly distinguished this little interesting society,
are all lost. They will now be dispersed among
the missionary stations as humble dependants,
where Kitty Quintal and the rest of them may
get ‘food for their souls, such as it is, in ex-
change for the substantial blessings they enjoyed
on Pitcairn's Island. -
*

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 121, the following may
be added as another instance, the most painfully
interesting, and the most calamitous, perhaps,
ever recorded. It was related to Mr. Bennet, a
gentleman deputed by the Missionary Society of
London, together with the Rev. Daniel Tyerman,
to visit their several stations in the South Sea
Islands, by Captain George Pollard, the unfortu-
nate sufferer, whom these gentlemen met with at
Raiatea, then a passenger in an American vessel,
having a second time lost his ship near the Sand-
wich Islands. The narrative is extracted from
“The Journal of Voyages and Travels, just pub-
lished, 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 baulk in her
way. But no the animal came full force against
AIDDITIONAL NOTE. 349
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
unexpected concussion, shook its enormous head,
and sheered off to so considerable a distance that
for some time we had lost sight of her from the
starboard quarter, of which we were very glad,
hoping that the worst was over. Nearly an hour
afterwards we saw the same fish; we had no doubt
of this, from her size, and the direction in which
she came, making again towards us. We were at
once aware of our danger, but escape was impos-
sible. She dashed her head this time against the
ship's side, and so broke it in that the vessel filled
rapidly, and soon became water-logged. At the
second shock, expecting her to go down, we
lowered our three boats with the utmost expedi-
tion, 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 biscuit, beef, water, rum, two
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 crews, 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
* If there were three instruments and three boats, there
must have been one for each, for the quadrant was just as good
as a sextant.—ED. - • * _*
350 ADDITIONAL NOTE.
port, so amazed and bewildered were we that we
continued sitting in our places 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 lately been afloat
—and we did not cease to look, till the terrible
conviction of our abandoned and perilous situa-
tion roused us to exertion, if deliverance were yet
possible.
* We now consulted about the course which it
might be best to take, westward to India, east-
ward to South America, or south-westward to the
Society Isles. 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 devoured by 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, which 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 damaged boat into the two
others, we raised her side as well as we could,
and succeeded in restoring the plank at the
bottom. Through this accident, some of our
biscuit had become injured by the salt-water.
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 351
This was equally divided among the several boats'
crews. Food and water, meanwhile, with our
utmost economy, rapidly failed. Our strength
was exhausted, not by abstinence only, but by the
labours which we were obliged to employ to keep
our little vessels afloat amidst 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 companion-boats, we never
saw or heard any more of the other, which pro-
bably perished at sea, being without either sextant
or quadrant *.
“When we were reduced to the last pinch, and
out of everything, 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 barren bushes and many rocks on this
forlorn spot. The only provisions that we could
procure were a few birds and their eggs: this sup-
ply was soon reduced ; the sea-fowls appeared to
have been frightened 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 sufficient 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
* The mistake is here again repeated; it would be absurd
to suppose that one boat had both quadrant and sextant.
352 AIDDITIONAL NOTE.
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 bis-
cuit 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; we 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 cabim-boy.
I started forward instantly and cried out, “My
lad, my lad, If you don't like your lot, I’ll shoot
the first man that touches you.” The poor ema-
ciated boy hesitated a moment or two ; then,
quietly laying his head down upon the gunnel of
the boat, he said, “I like it as well as any
other.” He was soon despatched, and nothing
of him left. I 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 recol-
lection; I hardly know what I say. I forgot
to say that we 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
* It is not explained with what kind of fuel they performed
this distressing operation.
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 353
scarcely one of us could move a limb, 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 afterwards sailed in search of our
companions on the desolate island, and brought
them away.”
Captain Pollard closed his dreary narrative with
saying, in a tone of despondency never to be
forgotten 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 ex-
tracted from a religious tract, No. 579, issued by
the Society in Paternoster-row.
‘On the 26th of December, the boats left the
island: this was, indeed, a trying moment to all;
they separated with mutual prayers and good
wishes, seventeen” venturing to sea with almost
certain death before them, while three remained
on a rocky isle, destitute of water, and affording
hardly anything to support life. The prospects
of these three poor men were gloomy: they
again tried to dig a well, but without success,
* Here, again, is another mistake; the number must have
been eleven at most, one of the boats having parted before the
others reached the island.—ED.
- A. A
354 ADDITIONAL NOTE.
and all hope seemed at an end, when provi-
dentially they were relieved by a shower of rain.
They were thus delivered from the immediate
apprehension of perishing by thirst. Their next
care was to procure food, and their difficulties
herein were also very great ; their principal re-
source was small birds, about the size of a black-
bird, 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.
Shell-fish 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
remained in holes among the rocks after the
showers which fell at intervals; and sometimes
they were five or six days without any ; on these
occasions they were compelled to suck the blood
of the birds they caught, which allayed their
thirst in some degree; but they did so very
unwillingly, as they found themselves much dis-
ordered thereby.
“Among the rocks were several caves formed
by nature, which afforded shelter from the wind
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 355
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 they 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 their tongues swollen and
their lips parched with thirst, scarcely hoping to
see the morning sun; and it is 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 supply 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, searching for
food and water, as well as their weakness per-
mitted, when their attention 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 towards
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 crawled out further on

356 ADDITIONAL NOTE.
the rocks, and, by the great exertions of the crew,
were taken into the boat, and soon found them-
selves on board the Surrey, commanded by Cap-
tain Raine, by whom they were treated in the
kindest manner, and their health and strength
were speedily restored.’
Mr. Montgomery, the editor, observes, “there
is some incongruity in these two narratives, which
more minute particulars might reconcile. We
have noticed them. Mr. Bennet received the
account verbally, and may be mistaken in some
points, but there is little doubt of its being sub- .
stantially correct.
This melancholy history supplies an additional
and complete answer to Bligh's doubts of men
feeding on each other to preserve existence.
THE END.
sº LONDON :
EaADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITFFRIARS.
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