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A i;ESCRIPTION
07
PI T CAIRN'S ISLAND
AND
ITS INHABITANTS.
■WTTH AN XXTTHENTIO ACCOUNT OP THE
MUTINY OF THE SHIP E V N T Y '"^
AND OF THH
SUBSEqUENT FORTUNES OP THE MUTINEERS.
*
NEW YORK:
HARPEK fc BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
3 99 ♦ 531 P E ARL S T REE T,
fBANHXIN 8QUA&S.
1S54.
WH
#
if h' f' > ' P
v3
,^ ' PREFACE.
^ The Editor of this little volume (for he pre-
^ Bunies not to write Author) has been induced to
bring into one connected view what has hitherto
appeared only in detached fragments (and some of
these not generally accessible) — the historical
narrative of an event which deeply interested the
public at the time of its occurrence, and from
which the naval service in particular, in all its
ranks, may still draw instructive and useful les-
sons.
The story in itself is replete with interest. We
are taught by The Book of sacred history, that the
disobedience of our first parents entailed on our
globe of earth a sinful and a suffering race : in our
time there has sprung up from the most abandoned
of this sinful family — from pirates, mutineers, and
murderers — a little society which, under the pre-
cepts of that sacred volume, is characterized by
religion, morality, and innocence. The discovery
of this happy people, as unexpected as it was ac-
cidental, and all that regards their condition and
history, partake so much of the romantic, as to
render the story not ill adapted for an epic poem.
Lord Byron, indeed, has partially treated the sub-
ject ; but by blending two incongruous stories, and
leaving both of them imperfect, and by mixing up
fact with fiction, has been less felicitous than usual ;
PREFACE.
for, beautiful as many passages in his ' Island' are,
in a region where every tree, and flower, and foun-
tain breathe poetry, yet as a whole the poem is
feeble and deficient in dramatic 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 appear-
ance. But a higher object at present is engaging
his attention, which, when completed, judging from
that portion already before the public, will have
raised a splendid and lasting monument to the
name of \J''illiam Sotheby, in his translation of the
Iliad and the Odyssey.
To the kindness of Mrs. Hey wood, the relict of
the late Captain Peter Hey wood, the Editor is in-
llebied for those beautiful and aflectionate letters,
♦vritten by a beloved sister to her unfortunate bro-
ther, while a prisoner and under sentence of death ;
as well as for some occasional poetry, which dis-
plays an intensity of feeling, a tenderness of ex-
pression, and a high tone of sentiment, that do
'lonour to the head and heart of this amiable and
ccomplished lady. Those letters also from the
.other to his deeply afllicted family will be read
/ith peculiar interest.
The publishers of the present edition of this
tvork, in order to render it more acceptable to the
American public, have taken the liberty of omit-
ting a few of the author's observations which were
not deemed necessary to the history, and also of
slightly modifying its title.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
OTAHEITE.
Brief description of Otalieit6, as if was : c the Time of its first Discov
ery by Captain Wallis, and when fui^iequently visited by (Japtain
Cook rage 13
CHAPTER II.
THE BREAD-FRUIT.
Expedition of the Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant Bligh, to convey
the Bread-Fruit Tree from Otaheit^ to the West India Islands. .. . 45
CHAPTER III.
THE MUTINY.
Lieutenant Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of the
Bounty by Mr. Fletcher Christian and Part of the Crew, with Obser-
vations tiiereon 63
CHAPTER IV
THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION.
Narrative of the unparalleled Voyage of Four Thousand Miles, per-
formed by Lieutenant Bligh and seventeen others in an open Boat 92
CHAPTER V.
THE PANDORA.
Narrative of the Expedition of the Ship Pandora in Search of the Muti
ncers — Of the Treatment of those taken on board that Ship ; and ol
her Destruction by c.-ossing the Barrier Reef off the Coast of New
South Wales 13<
XU CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
THE COURT-MARTIAL.
Abstract of the Proceedings of the Court-Martial held on the Mutineers,
and the Sentence passed on them page 181
CHAPTER VII.
THE king's warrant.
The King's Warrant for the Pardon of those recommended by the Court
to his Majesty's Mercy, and for the Execution of those condemned 214
CHAPTER VIII.
THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS.
The Last of the Mutineers discovered with their Offspring; on Pitcaim's
Island — The History and Fate of those who carried off the Bounty,
and the present State and Condition of their innocent Offspring. . 244
PLATES.
View of a Creek in Matavai Bay, Otaheit^ Page 44
Residence of John Adams on Pitcaim's Island 371
THE
EVENTFUL HISTORY
OF THE
MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY.
• CHAPTER I.
OTAHEITE.
•'The gentle Island, and the genial soil,
The friendly hearts, the feasts without a toil.
The courteous manners, but from nature caught,
The wealth unhoarded, and the love unbought,
The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare, yields
The unreap'd harvest of unfurrow'd fields,
And bakes its unadulterated loaves
Without a furnace in unpurchas'd groves,
And flings off famine from its fertile breast,
A priceless market for the gathrring guest ; —
These," &c. Byrom.*
The rei^n of Georg-e IH. will be distinguished in
history by the great extension and improvement
which geographical knowledge received under the
immediate auspices of this sovereign. At a very
early period after his accession to the throne of
these realms, expeditions of discovery were under-
taken, " not," as Dr. Hawkesworth observes, "with a
view to the acquisition of treasure, or the extent of
dominion, but for the improvement of commerce
and the increase and diffusion of knowledge." This
excellent monarch was himself no mean proficient
in the science of geography ; and it may be doubted
if any one of his subjects, at the period alluded to.
B
14 OTAHEITE.
was in possession of so extensive or so well-arraiig-ed
a cabinet of maps and charts as his was, or who
understood their merits or their defects so well as
he did.
The first expeditions that were sent forth, after
the conclusion of the war, were those of Byron,
Walhs, and Carteret. In the instructions to the
first of these commanders it is said, " there is reason
to believe that lands and islands of great extent,
hitherto unvisited by any European power, may be
found in the Atlantic Ocean, between the Cape of
Good Hope and the Magellanic Strait, within the
latitudes convenient for navigation, and in climates
adapted to the produce of commodities useful in
commerce." It could not require much knowledge
or consideration to be assured that between the
Cape and the Strait climates producing commodities
useful in commerce, with the exception of whales
and seals, were likely to be found. The fact was,
that among the real objects of this and other subse-
quent voyages, there was one which had engaged
the attention of certain philosophers, from the time
of the Spanish navigator Quiros : this able navigator
had maintained that a Terra Australis incognita must
necessarily exist, somewhere in the high latitudes
of the southern hemisphere, to counterbalance the
great masses of land in those of the northern one,
and thus maintain a just equipoise of the globe.
While these expeditions were in progress, the
Royal Society, in 1768, addressed an application to
the king, praying him to appoint a ship of war to
convey to the South Seas Mr. Alexander Dalrymple
(who had adopted the opinion of Quiros), and cer-
tain others, for the main purpose, however, of ob-
serving the transit of Venus over the sun's disk,
which was to happen in the year 1769. By the
king's command, a bark of three hundred and seventy
tons was taken up by the Admiralty to perform this
service, but as Mr. Dalrymple was a civilian, he
OTAHEITE. 15
could not be intrHsted with the command of the
ship, and on that account declined going in her.
The command was therefore conferred on Lieu-
tenant 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 observation of the transit. Mr. Banks,
a private gentleman of good fortune, who afterAvard
became the valuable and distinguished President of
the Royal Society, and Dr. Solander, a Swedish
gentleman of great acquirements, particularly in
natural history, accompanied Lieutenant Cook on
this interesting voyage. The islands of Marquesas
de Mendoza, or those of Rotterdam or Amsterdam,
were proposed by the Royal Society as proper
places for making the obserA'ation. While fitting
out, however. Captain Wallis returned from his ex-
pedition, and strongly recommended, as most suit-
able for the purpose, Port Royal Harbour, on an
island he had discovered, to which he had given the
name of" King George's Island," and which has since
been known by its native name, Otaheite or Tahite.*
This lovely island is most intimately connected
with the mutiny which took place on board the
Bounty, and with the fate of the mutineers and their
innocent offspring. Its many seducing temptations
have been urged as one, if n( it the main, cause of the
mutiny, which was supposed, at least by the com-
mander o-f that ship, to have been excited by
" Young hearts which languished for some sunny isle,
Where summer years, and summer women smile,
* The discovery of this island is owing to Fernandez de Quiroa in
1606, which he named La Sa^ittana. Some doubts were at first enter-
tained of its identity with Oiaheite, but the small difference of a few
miles in latitude, and about two il.^'^rees of longitude, the description as
to size, the low isthmus, the i::iit?ini-t from it of any other island at all
similar, and above all, the gtH»,'rt"hit'"Hl jKisition — all prove its identity—
although Quiros calls u> \\"hat it Cfriainiy is not, a low island.
16 OTAHEITE.
Men without country, who, too long estrange
Had found no native home, or fojind it changeu,
And, half uncivilized, preferred the cave
Of some soft savage to the uncenain wave."
It may be proper, therefore, as introductory to
the present narrative, to ^,\ye a g-eneral description
of the rich and spontaneous gifts vvhich Nature has
lavished on this once " happy island ;" — of the simple
and ingenuous manners of its natives,— and of those
allurements which were supposed, erroneously how-
ever, to have occasioned the unfortunate catastrophe
alluded to ; — to glance at
" The nymphs' sedacements and the magic bower,"
as they existed at the period of the first intercourse
between the Otaheitans and the crews of those
ships which carried to their shores, in succession,
Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook.
The first communication which Wallis had with
these people was unfortunately of a hostile nature.
Having approached with his ship close to the shore,
the usual symbol of peace and friendship, a branch
of the plantain-tree, was held up by a native in one
of the numerous canoes that surrounded the ship.
Great numbers, on being invited, crowded on board
the stranger ship, but one of them, being butted on
the haunches by a goat, and turning hastily round,
perceived it rearing on its hind legs, ready to repeat
the blow, was so terrified at the appearance of this
strange animal, so different from any he had ever
seen, that, in the moment of terror, he jumped over-
board, and all the r^st followed his example Avith
the utmost precipitation.
This little incident, however, produced no mis-
chief; but as the boats were sounding in the bay,
and several canoes crowding round them, Wallis
suspected the islanders had a design to attack them,
and, on this mere suspicion, ordered the boats by
signal to come on board, " and at the same time," he
OTAHEITE. 17
says, "to intimidate the Indians, I fired a nine-
pounder over their heads." This, as might have
been imagined, startled the islanders, but did not
prevent them from attempting immediately to cut
off the cutter, as she was standing towards the ship.
Several stones were thrown into this boat, on which
the commanding officer fired a musket, loaded with
buckshot, at the man who threw the first stone,
and wounded him in the shoulder.
Finding no good anchorage at this place, the ship
proceeded to another part of the island, where, on
one of the boats being assailed by the Indians in two
or three canoes, with their clubs and paddles in their
hands, " Our people," says the commander, " being
much pressed, were obliged to fire, by which one of
the assailants was killed, and another much wounded."
This unlucky rencounter did not, however, prevent,
as soon as the ship was moored, a great number of
canoes from coming off the next morning, with hogs,
fowls, and fruit. A brisk traffic soon commenced,
our people" exchanging knives, nails, and trinkets
for more substantial articles of food, of which they
were in want. Among the canoes that came out
last were some double ones of very large size, with
twelve or fifteen stout men in each, and it was ob-
served that they had little on board except a quan-
tity of round pebble stones. Other canoes came off
along with them, having only women on board ;
and while these females v/ere assiduously practising
their allurements, by attitudes that could not be mis-
understood, with the view, as it would seem, to dis-
tract the attention of the crew, the large double
canoes closed round the ship ; and as these advanced,
some of the men began singing, some blowing
conchs, and others playing on flutes. One of them,
with a person sitting under a canopy, approached
die ship so close, as to allow this person to hand up
a bunch of red and j^ellow feathers, making signs it
w^as for the captain. He then put off to a little dis-
18 OTAHEITE.
tance, and, on holding- up the branch of a cocoanut-
tree, there was a universal shout from all the
canoes, which at the same moment moved towards
the ship, and a sliower of stones was poured into
her on every side. The guard was now ordered to
fire, and two of the quarter-deck guns, loaded with
small shot, were fired among them at the same time,
which created great terror and confusion, and caused
them to retreat to a short distance. In a few min-
utes, however, they renewed the attack. The great
guns were now ordered to be discharged among
them, and also into a mass of canoes that were put-
ting off" from the shore. It is stated, that at this
time there could not be less than three hundred
canoes about the ship, having on board at least two
thousand men. Again they dispersed, but having
soon collected into something like order, they hoisted
white streamers, and pulled towards the ship's stern,
when they again began to throw stones with great
force and dexterity, by the help of slings, each of
the stones weighing about two pounds, and many
of them wounded the people on board. At length
a shot hit the canoe that apparently had the chief
on board, and cut it asunder. This was no sooner
observed by the rest than they all dispersed, in such
haste that in half an hour there was not a single
canoe to be seen; and all the people who had
crowded the shore fled over the hills with the ut-
most precipitation. What was to happen on the
following day was matter of conjecture, but this
point was soon decided.
"The white man landed ; — need the rest be told?
The new world stretch'cMlsdusk hand to the old."
Lieutenant Fumeaux, on the next morning, landed
without opposition close to a fine river that fell into
the bay, — stuck up a staff on which was hoisted a
pendant, — turned a turf, — and by this process took
possession of the island in the name of his majesty.
OTAHEITE. 19
and called it King George the Third's Island. Just
as he was embarking, an old man, to whom, the lieu-
tenant had given a few trifles, brought some green
boughs, which he threw down at the foot of the
staff, then retiring, brought about a dozen of his
countrymen, who approached the staff in a suppli-
cating posture, then retired and brought two live
hogs, which they laid down at the foot of the staff,
and 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 i^i 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 concluded
their intention was to try their fortune in a second
grand attack. " As to shorten the contest would
certainly lessen the mischief, I determined," says
Captain Wallis, " to make this action decisive, and
put an end to hostilities at once." Accordingly a
tremendous fire was opened at once on all the
groups of canoes, which had the effect of imme-
diately dispersing them. The fire was then directed
into the wood, to drive out the islanders, who had
assembled in large numbers, on which they all fled
to the hill, where the women and children had seated
themselves. Here thev collected to the amount of
several thousands, imagining themselves at that dis-
tance to be perfectly safe. The captain, however,
ordered four shot to be fired over them ; but two of
he balls liaving fallen close to a tree where a numbei
20 OTAHEITE.
of theiii were sitting, they were so struck with terror
and consternation, that in less than two minutes
not a creature was to be seen. The coast being
cleared, the boats were manned and armed, and all
the carpenters with their axes were sent on shore,
with directions to destroy every canoe they could
find ; and we are told this service was effectually
performed, and that more than fifty canoes, many of
which were sixty feet long- and three broad, and
lashed together, were cut to pieces.
This act of severity must have been cruelly felt
by these poor people, who, without iron or any kind
of tools, but such as stones, shells, teeth, and bones
supplied them with, must have spent months and
probably years in the construction of one of these
extraordinary double boats.
Such was the inauspicious commencement of our
acquaintance with the natives of Otaheite. Their
determined hostility and perseverance in an unequal
combat could only have arisen from one of two
motives — either from an opinion that a ship of such
magnitude as they had never before beheld could
only be come to their coast to take their country
from them ; or an irresistible temptation to endea-
vour, at all hazards, to possess themselves of so
valuable a prize. Be that as it may, the dread in-
spired by the effects of the cannon, and perhaps a
conviction of the truth of what had been explained
to them, that the " strangers wanted only provisions
and water," had the effect of allaying all jealousy;
for from the day of the last action, the most friendly
and uninterrupted intercourse was established, and
continued to the day of the Dolphin's departure ;
and provisions of all kinds, hogs, dogs, fruit, and
vegetables, weie supplied in the greatest abundance,
in exchange for pieces of iron, nails, and frinkets.
As a proof of the readiness of these simple
people to forgive injuries, a poor woman, accompa-
nie'j by a young man bearing a branch of the plan-
OTAHEITE.
21
tain-tree, and another man with two hogs, ap-
proached the gunner, whom Captain WalUs had
appointed to regulate the market, and looking round
on the strangers with great attention, fixmg her eyes
sometimes on one and sometimes on another, at
length burst into tears. It appeared that her hus-
band and three of her sons had been killed in the
attack on the ship. While this was under explana-
tion, the poor creature was so affected as to require
the support of the two young men, who from their
weeping were probably two more of her sons.
When somewhat composed, she ordered the two
hogs to be delivered to the gunner, and gave him her
hand in token of friendship, but would accept nothing
in return.
Captain Wallis was now so well satisfied that
there was nothing further to apprehend from the
hostility of the natives, that he sent a party up the
country to cut wood, who were treated with great
kindness and hospitality by all they met, and the
ship was visited by persons of both sexes, who by
their dress and behaviour appeared to be of a supe-
rior rank. Among others was a tall lady about five-
and-forty years of age, of a pleasing countenance
and majestic deportment. She was under no re-
straint, either from diffidence or fear, and conducted
herself with that easy freedom which generally dis-
tinguishes conscious superiority and habitual com-
mand. She accepted some small present which the
captain gave her, with a good grace and much plea-
sure ; and having observed that he was weak and
suffering from ill health, she pointed to the shore,
which he understood to be an invitation, and made
signs that he would go thither the next morning.
His visit to this lady displays so much character and
good feeling, that it will best be described in the
captain's own words.
" The next morning I went on shore for the first
time, and my princess, or rather queen, for such by
22
OTAHEITE.
her authority she appeared to be, soon after came
to me, followed by many of her attendants. As she
perceived that my disorder had left me very weak,
she ordered her people to take me in their arms, and
carry me, not only over the river, but all the way to
her house ; and observing- that some of the people
who were with me, particularly the first lieutenant
and purser, had also been sick, she caused them also
to be carried in the same manner, and a guard,
which I had ordered out upon the occasion, fol-
lowed. In our way, avast multitude crowded about
us, but upon her waving her hand, without speaking
a word, they withdrew, and left us a free passage.
When we approached near her house, a great num-
ber of both sexes- came out to meet her; these she
presented to me, after having intimated by signs
that they were her relations, and taking hold of my ■
hand she made them kiss it.
" We then entered the house, which covered a
piece of ground three hundred and twenty-seven
feet long, and forty-two feet broad. It consisted of
a roof thatched with palm leaves, and raised upon
thirty-nine pillars on each side, and fourteen in the
middle. The ridge of the thatch, on the inside, was
thirty feet high, and the sides of the house, to the
edge of the roof, were twelve feet high ; all below
the roof being open. As soon as we entered the
house she made us sit down, and then calling four
young girls, she assisted them to take off my shoes,
draw down my stockings, and pull off my coat, and
then directed them to smooth down the skin, and
gently chafe it with their hands. The same opera-
tion was also performed on the first lieutenant and
the purser, but upon none of those who appeared to
be in health. While this was doing, our surgeon,
who had walked till he was very warm, took off his