 Preface of the eventful history of the mutiny and piratical seizure of HMS bounty, its cause and consequences. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Linda Dodge, the eventful history of the mutiny and piratical seizure of HMS bounty by Sir John Barrow, Preface. The editor of this little volume, for who presumes not to write author, has been induced to bring into one connected view, which has hitherto appeared only as 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 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 the sinful family, from pirates, mutineers, and murderers, a little society which, under the precepts of that sacred volume, is characterized by religion, morality, and innocence. The discovery of this happy people, as unexpected as it was accidental, and all that regards their condition and history, partakes so much of the romantic as to render the story not ill adapted for an epic poem. Dr. 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 upon 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 monument to the name of William Sotheby in his translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey. To the kindness of Mrs. Haywood, the relict of late Captain Peter Haywood, the editor is indebted for those beautiful and affectionate letters, written by a beloved sister to her unfortunate 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 honor 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. End of Preface. Chapter 1 Part 1 of The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of HMS Bounty by Sir John Barrow. The Gentle Island and the Genial Soil, The Friendly Hearts, The Feasts Without a Toil, The Courteous Menors But From Nature Court, The Wealth Unhorted and The Love Unbought. The Breadtree, which, without the plowshare yields, the unreaped harvest of unfurrowed 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, etc. Byron The reign of George III 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, expedition of discovery were undertaken, not, as Dr. Hawksworth observes, with a view to the acquisition of treasure or the extent of dominion, but for the improvement of commas 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, 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, Wallace 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 latitude 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 subsequent voyages, there was one which had engaged the attention of certain philosophers from the time of the Spanish navigator Keros. 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 Del Wimple, who had adopted the opinion of Keros, and certain others, for the main purpose however of observing 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 370 tons was taken up by the Admiralty to perform this service, but as Mr. Del Wimple 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 undoubtedly 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 Astronomal Royal, to aid him in the observation of the transit. Mr. Banks, a private gentleman of good fortune, who afterwards 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 observation. While fitting out however, Captain Wallace returned from his expedition and strongly recommended as most suitable 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, Otahiti, or Tahiti. Endnote 1. 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 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 languished for some sunny isle, where some are years and some are women's smile, men without country who too long estranged, had found no native home or found it changed, and half uncivilised preferred the cave of 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, erroneously, however, to have occasioned the unfortunate catastrophe alluded to, to glance at the nymph's seducements and the magic bower, as they existed at the period of the first intercourse between the Otahitans and the crews of those ships, which carried to their shores in succession Wallace, Bougainville and Cook. The first communication which Wallace 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 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 buttered on the haunches by a goat and turning hastily round, perceived at rearing on its hind legs ready to repeat the blow, and was so terrified at the appearance of this strange animal, so different from any he'd 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 mischief, but as the boats were sounding in the bay and several canoes crowding round them, Wallace 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 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 in another much wounded. This unlucky rencontre 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 12 or 15 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 practicing their allurements by attitudes 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 distance and on holding up the branch of a coconut tree, there was a universal shout from all the canoes, which at the same moment moved towards the ship and the 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 confusion and caused them to retreat to a short distance. In a few minutes, however, they renewed the attack. The great guns were now ordered to be discharged among them and also into a massive canoes that were putting off from the shore. It is stated that at this time there could not be less than 300 canoes about the ship, having on board at least 2000 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 the 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 the point was soon decided. The white man landed, need the rest be told? The new world stretched his dusk hand to the old. Lieutenant Furunau 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 and called it King George III'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 staff in 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 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 Wallace, to make this action decisive and put an end to hostilities at once. Accordingly a tremendous fire was opened at once on all groups of the canoes which had the effect of immediately dispersing them. The fire was then directed into the wood to drive out the islanders who dissembled 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 however 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 onshore with directions to destroy every canoe they could find. And we are told this service was effectively performed and that more than 50 canoes, many of which were 60 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 Otahiti. 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 become to their coast to take their country from them, or an irresistible temptation to endeavor 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 dolphin's departure and provisions of all kinds, hogs, dogs, fruit and vegetables were supplied 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 Wallace 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. End of chapter one part one. Chapter one part two of the eventful history of the mutiny and peretical seizure of HMS bounty, its cause and consequences. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Graham Dunlop. The eventful history of mutiny and peretical seizure of HMS bounty by Sir John Barrow. Chapter one part two. Captain Wallace 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 behavior 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 further the next morning. His visit to this land he 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 periser 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 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 327 feet long and 42 feet broad. It consisted of a roof thatched with palm leaves and raised about 39 pillars upon each side and 14 in the middle. The ridge of the thatch on the inside was 30 feet high and the sides of the house to the edge of the roof were 12 feet high all below the roof being open. As soon as we entered the house she made a 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 suspended. The whole assembly stood sometime motionless in silent astonishment which could not have been more strongly expressed if they had discovered that our friend's limbs had been screwed onto 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 case 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 accompanied us thither herself. She'd given directions to her people to carry me as they had done when I came but as I chose rather to walk she took me by the arm and whenever we came to a plash of water or dirt she lifted me over with as little trouble as it would have cost me to have lifted over a child if I had been well. The following morning Captain Wallace 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 coconuts 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 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 captain 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 20 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 Wallace ordered a good dinner for her entertainment and those chiefs who were of her party but the Queen would neither eat nor drink. As she was going over the ship's side she asked by signs whether he still persisted in 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 expressing his sense of her kindness and bounty announced his intention of sailing the following morning. This as usual threw her into tears and after recovering herself she made anxious inquiry when he should return. He said in fifty days with which she seemed to be satisfied. She stayed on board says Captain Wallace till night 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 excessive 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 rode 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 Wallace in the most affectionate manner and with many tears all her attendants also expressed great sorrow at our departure. In a few minutes she came into the bow of her canoe where she sat weeping with inconsolable sorrow. I gave her many things which I thought would be of great use to her and some for ornament she silently accepted of all but took little notice of anything. About ten o'clock we'd got without the reef and a fresh breeze springing up our Indian friends and particularly the queen once more bait is farewell with such tenderness of affection and grief has 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 Wallace as that of Dito was to Arneus when pressing him to stay with her there is no doubt it would have been found not less pathetic. Nek t'noster amour Nek t'data dextere condom Nek moritura tenet crudely funer dito. This lady however did not sink like the misserima dito under her griefs. On the contrary we find her in full activity and animation and equally generous to Lieutenant Cook and his party under the name of Oboria who it now appeared was no queen but whose husband they discovered was uncle to the young king then a miner but from whom she was separated. She soon evinced a partiality for Mr Banks though not quite so strong as that for Wallace but it appears to have been mutual until an unlucky discovery took place that she had at her command a stout strong-boned cavalier servente 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 Lieutenant Cook thought himself fortunate in being offered a place by Oboria in her own canoe and wishing his friends a good night took his leave. He went to rest early according to the custom of the country and taking off his clothes as was his constant practice the nights being hot Oboria 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 tranquility but awakening about eleven o'clock and wanting to get up he searched for his clothes where he had seen them carefully deposited by Oboria when he lay down to sleep and perceived to his sorrow and surprise that they were missing. He immediately awakened Oboria who starting up and hearing his complaint ordered lights and prepared in great haste to recover what had been lost. To Taha the regent slept in the next canoe and being soon alarmed he came to them and set out with Oboria 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 breaches. 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 among them 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 stockings that had been stolen from under his head though he had never been asleep and his associates their jackets. At daybreak Oboria 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 amusing to him who was the object of it when the inconvenience had been removed as everyone will admit who knew the late venerable president of the royal society. He never doubted however that Oboria 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 appeared again she said a favorite 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' tent. In this however she was not gratified so Joseph might have thought that if he complied with her request his breaches might be in danger of following the other articles of his dress. The Otahetans cannot resist pilfering. I must bear my testimony says Cook that the people of this country of all ranks men and women are the arantist 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 temptation was such as to surmount what would be considered as 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 Wallace has illustrated the truth of this position by an experiment he made on some persons whose dress and behavior indicated they were of a superior caste to discover what present he says would most gratified them I laid down before them a Johannes a Guinea a crown piece a Spanish dollar a few shillings some new half pence and two large nails making signs that they should take what they liked best the nails were first seized with great eagerness and then a few of the half pence but the silver and gold laying neglected here then it might with truth be said was discovered the goldless age where gold disturbs no dreams but their first after iron was irresistible Wallace's ship was stripped of all the nails in her by the semen 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 obedient to command and made it necessary to punish some of them by flogging the Otahetans regarded this punishment with horror one of Cook's men having in Salwood a chief's wife he was ordered to be flogged in their presence the Indians saw him stripped and tied up to the rigging with a fixed attention waiting in silent suspense for the event but as soon as the first stroke was given they interfered with great agitation earnestly in treating that the rest of the punishment might be remitted and when they found they were unable to prevail they gave vent to their pity by tears but their tears as Cook 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 earnestly 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 staunch 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 offense to Mr Banks when he and all his followers were overwhelmed with grief and dejection but one of his women having struck a shark's tooth into her head several times till it was covered with blood the scene was immediately changed and laughing and good humor took place Wallace 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've 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 color 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 those great morays 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 moray the request was complied with but on no other condition than his taking apart 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 14 years old one of the chiefs of the district was the principal mourner wearing a fantastical dress Mr Banks was stripped entirely of his european clothes and a small piece of cloth was tied around his middle his face and body were then smeared with charcoal and water as low as the shoulders till they were as black as those of a negro the same operation was performed on the rest among whom were some women who were reduced to a state as near to nakedness as himself the boy was blacked all over after which the 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 an ota heaton was to be seen the body being deposited on the stage the mourners were dismissed to wash themselves in the river and to resume their customary dresses and their usual gaiety they are however so jealous of anyone approaching these adobes of the dead that one of cooks party happening one day to pull a flower from a tree which grew in one of these sepulchral enclosures was struck by a native who sought and came suddenly behind him the marae of oberea was a pile of stonework raised pyramidically 267 feet long 87 feet wide and 44 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 in the half by two feet and a half such a structure observed 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 labor on the same principle of making himself acquainted 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 13 years old the instrument used upon this occasion had 30 teeth and every stroke of which at least 100 were made in a minute drew an icor or serum a little tinged with blood the girl bought with most stoical resolution for about a quarter of an hour but the pain of so many hundred punctures as she had received in that time then became intolerable she first complained in murmurs then wept and at last burst into loud lamentations earnestly imploring the operator to desist he was however inexorable and when she began to struggle she was held down by two women who sometimes soothed and sometimes chid her and now and then when she was most unruly gave her a smart blow mr bank stayed in the neighboring house an hour and the operation was not over when he went away the sufferings of this young lady did not however deter the late president of the royal society from undergoing the operation on his own person the skill and labor which the otar heathens bestow on their large double boats is not less wonderful than their stone morays from the felling of the tree and splitting it into plank to the minutest carved ornaments that decorate the head and the stern the whole operation is performed without the use of any metallic instrument to fabricate one of their principal vessels with their tools is says cook as great a work as to build a british man of war with ours the fighting boats are sometimes more than 70 feet long but not above three broad but they're 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 17 or 18 feet to build these boats and the smaller kind 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 ads of stone a chisel or gouge of bone generally that of a man's arm between the wrist and elbow a rasp of coral and the skin of a stingray with coral sand as a file or polisher the persons of the otar men are in general tall strong well-limbed and finally 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 cumbly the cheekbones 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 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 vigor as well as ease their walk is graceful their deportment liberal and their behavior 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 otahiti says cook both men and women constantly wash their whole bodies and 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 persons are kept without spot or stain if anyone 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 favorable light in the first missionary voyage in the year 1797 the natives of otahiti are thus described natural color olive inclined to copper the women who carefully clothed themselves and avoid the sunbeams are but a shade or two darker than and european brunette their eyes are black and sparkling their teeth white and even their skin soft and delicate their limbs finally turned their hair jetty perfumed and ornamented with flowers they are in general large and wide over the shoulders we were therefore disappointed in the judgment we had formed from a report of preceding visitors 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 skull or covered with a cloud of sullenness or suspicion their manners are affable and engaging their step easy firm and graceful their behavior free and unguarded always boundless and 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 uncommonly 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 otar heathens have no petitions in their houses but it may be affirmed they have in many instances more refined ideas of decency than ourselves and one longer resident scruples not to declare that he never saw any appetite hunger and thirst accepted gratified in public it is too true that for the sake of gaining our extraordinary curiosities and to please our brutes they have appeared immodest in the 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 indecency never before practiced among themselves iron here more precious than gold bears down every barrier of restraint honesty and modesty yield to the force of temptation end note two such are the females and the mothers here described whose interesting offspring are now people in pit cairns island and who while they inherit their mother's virtues have hit a two kept themselves free from their vices end of chapter one part two chapter one part three of the eventful history of the mutiny and paradical seizure of hms bounty its cause and consequences this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Graham Dunlop the eventful history of the mutiny and paradical seizure of hms bounty by Sir John Barrow chapter one part three the greater part of the food of otahetians is vegetable hogs dogs and poultry are their only animals and all of them serve for food we all agreed says cook that the south seed 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 Wallace 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 it could be made solid and he mentions that one of the attendants of the supposed queen having observed the surgeon fill the teapot from an urn turned the cock himself and received the water in his hand and that as soon as he felt himself scolded he wrought out and began to dance about the cabin with the most extravagant and ridiculous expressions of pain and astonishment his companions unable to concede what was the matter staring at him in a maze and not without some mixture of terror one of obiri'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 to pay 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 scolded in hot water then he was 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 hole was covered with the rest of the hot stones and the mouth of the hole close stopped with mold and somewhat less than four hours it was again opened and the dog taken out excellently baked and the party all agreed that he made a very good dish these dogs it seems are bred to be eaten and live wholly on breadfruit coconuts yams and other vegetables of the like kind the food of the natives being chiefly vegetable consists of the various preparations of the breadfruit of coconuts bananas plantains and a great variety of other fruit the spontaneous products of a rich soil and genial climate the breadfruit 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 saccharin and the acetus in the latter of which it is molded into balls and called mahi the natives seldom make a meal without this sour paste saltwater is the universal source without which no meal is eaten their drink in general consists of water or the juice of the coconut the art of producing 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 beetle 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 husband was dying and consequence of something the strangers had given him to eat mr banks found his friend leaning his head against a post in an attitude of the utmost languor and despondency his attendants brought out a leaf folded up with great care containing part of the poison of the effects of which their master was now dying on opening the leaf mr banks found in it a chew of tobacco which the chief had asked from some of the seamen and imitating them as he thought he had rolled it about in his mouth grinding it to powder with his teeth and ultimately 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 draft of coconut milk however set all to rights and the chief and his attendants were at once restored to that flow of cheerfulness and good humor which is the characteristic of these single-minded people there is however one plant from the root of which they extract a juice of an intoxicating quality called ava but cooks 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 drafts each draft being about a pint they keep this intoxicating juice with great care from the women as eating is one of the most important concerns of life here as well as elsewhere captain cooks description of a meal made by one of the chiefs of the island cannot be considered as uninteresting and is here given in his own words he sits down under the shade of the next tree or on the shady side of his house and a large quantity of leaves either of the breadfruit or bananas are neatly spread before him upon the ground as a tablecloth a basket is then set by him that contains his provision which if fish or flesh is ready dressed and wrapped up in leaves and two coconut shells one full of salt water and one of fresh his attendants which are not few seat themselves around 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 breadfruits 14 or 15 ripe bananas or six or seven apples he first takes half a breadfruit 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 choose 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 breadfruit upon the leaves that have been spread before him when this is done he takes up a small piece of the fish that has been broken into the salt water with all the fingers of one hand and sucks it into his mouth so as to get with it as much of the salt water as possible in the same manner he takes the rest by different morsels and between each at least very frequently takes a small sup of the salt water either out of the coconut shell or the palm of his hand in the meantime one of his attendants has prepared a young coconut by peeling off the outer rind with his teeth an operation which to an european appears very surprising but it depends so much upon slight 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 coconut thus prepared and boring a hole through the shell with his fingers or breaking it with a stone he sucks out the liquor when he is eaten his breadfruit and fish he begins with his plantains one of which makes but a mouthful though it be as big as a black pudding if instead of plantains he has apples he never tastes them till they have been paired 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 succidanium 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 breadfruit 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 consistency of a soft paste and it's then put into a vessel somewhat like a butcher's tray and either made up alone or mixed with banana or mahi 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 consistency of a thick custard and a large coconut 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 washing the hands and his mouth after which the coconut 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 fishers as big as a perch three bread fruits each bigger than two fists 14 or 15 plantains or bananas each of them six or seven inches long and four or five round and near a quart of the pounded breadfruit which is as substantial as the thickest unbaked 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 solando and most of the other gentlemen have had ocular demonstration of its truth and know that i mentioned them on the occasion the women who on other occasions always mix in the amusements of the men who are particularly fond of their society are wholly excluded from their meals nor could the latter be prevailed upon to partake of anything when dining in company on board ship they said it was not right even brothers and sisters have each their separate baskets and their provisions are separately prepared but the english officers and men when visiting the young ones at their own houses frequently ate out of the same basket and drank out of the same cup to the horror and dismay of the older ladies who were always offended at this liberty and if by chance any of the victuals were touched or even the basket that contained them they would throw them away and this fine climate houses are almost unnecessary the minimum range of the thermometer is about 63 degrees the maximum 85 degrees giving an average of 74 degrees 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 hole 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 200 feet in length 30 broad and 20 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 otaheten wood consists chiefly of groves of breadfruit and coco 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 warmer climate nor anything more beautiful than these walks with all the activity they're capable of displaying and the sprightliness of their disposition they are fond of indulging in ease and indolence the trees that produce their food are mostly of spontaneous growth the breadfruit coco nut bananas of 13 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 sugarcane a variety of plants whose roots are esculent these with many others are produced with so little culture that as cook observes they seem to be exempted from the first general curse that man should eat his bread in the sweat of his brow then for clothing they have the bark of three different trees the paper mulberry the breadfruit tree and a tree which resembles the wild fig of the west indies of these the mulberry only requires to be cultivated in preparing the cloth they display a very considerable degree of ingenuity red and yellow are the two colors 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 sebastina 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 particularly that which is made from the bark of the hibiscus tiliaceus of a species of pandamus others are made of rushes and grass with amazing facility and dispatch in the same manner their basket and wicker work are most ingeniously made the former in patents of a thousand different kinds their nets and fishing lines are strong and neatly made so are their fish hooks of pearl shell and their clubs are admirable specimens of wood carving a people so lively spritely and good humid as the otahetans are must necessarily have their amusements their 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 arioi composed it would seem of a particular class who are supposed 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 it's 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 moray's which serve as temples 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 otahetans but justice in saying they reproach many who bear the name of christians you see no instances of an otaheten drawing near the eatua with carelessness and inattention he is all devotion he approaches the place of worship with reverential awe uncovers when he treads on sacred ground and prays with a fervor that would do honor to a better profession he firmly credits the traditions of his ancestors none dares dispute the existence of the deity thieving may also be reckoned as one of their vices this however is common to all uncivilized nations and it may be added civilized too but to judge them fairly in this respect we should compare their situation with that of a more civilized people a native of otaheki goes on board a ship and finds himself in a 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 eldorado to arrive in the tems 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 needs scarcely say what would be likely to happen if the former found the temptation irresistible to supply himself with what was essentially useful the latter would be as little able to resist that which would contribute to the indulgence of his 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 wallace first discovered and lieutenant cook shortly afterwards visited it what they now are as described by captain beachy it is lamentable to reflect all their usual and innocent 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 indolence 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 survey of the first missionaries and a census of the inhabitants taken in 1797 the population was estimated at 16,050 souls captain wall degree in 1830 states it on the authority of a census also taken by the missionaries to amount only to 5,000 and there is but too much reason to ascribe this diminuation to praying psalm singing and dram drinking end note three the island of otahiti is in shape two circles united by a low and narrow isthmus the larger circle is named otahiti mui and is about 30 miles in diameter the lesser named tiara bu about 10 miles in diameter a belt of low land terminating in numerous valleys ascending by gentle slopes to the central mountain which is about 7,000 feet high surround the larger circle and the same as 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 seashore completely subservient to the seven establishments of missionaries who have taken from them what little trade they use to carry on to possess themselves of it who have their warehouses act as agents and monopolize all the cattle on the island but in return they have given them a new religion and a parliament rison teniatis and reduced them to a state of complete pauperism and all as they say and probably have so persuaded themselves for the honor 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 Scythera nor the fanciful island of Calypso can compete in splendid and luxuriant beauties should be doomed to such a fate in an enlightened age and by people that call themselves civilized end of chapter one part three chapter two of the eventful history of the mutiny and piratical seizure of HMS bounty its cause and consequences this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Barry Eads the eventful history of the mutiny and piratical seizure of HMS bounty by Sir John Barrow chapter two the breadfruit the happy shores without a law where all partake the earth without dispute and bread itself is gathered as fruit where none contests 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 bestowed her customs and amended theirs but left her vices also to their heirs Byron in the year 1787 being 17 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 breadfruit tree into the islands of those seas to constitute an article of food would be a 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 super intended the whole equipment of the ship with the greatest attention and assiduity till she was in all respects ready for sea he named the ship Bounty and recommended Lieutenant Bly who had been with Captain Cook to command her her burden was about 215 tons and her establishment consisted of one lieutenant who was commanding officer one master three warrant officers one surgeon two masters mates two midshipmen and 34 petty officers and seamen making an all 44 to which were added two skillful 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 Q 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 majesty 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 distant discoveries that had already been made and no object was deemed more likely to realize the expectation of benefit than the breadfruit which afforded to the natives of Otehidi so very considerable a portion of their food and which it was hoped it might also do for the black population of the West India Islands. The breadfruit plant was no new discovery of either Wallace or Cook so early as the year 1688 that excellent old navigator Dampierre thus describes it the breadfruit 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 bowels like apples it is as big as a pennyloaf when wheat is at five shillings the bushel it is of a round shape and hath a thick tough rind when the fruit is ripe it is yellow and soft and the taste is sweet and pleasant the natives of Guam use it for bread they gather it when full grown while it is green and hard then they bake it in an oven which scorches 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 pennyloaf 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 24 hours it grows harsh and choky but it is very pleasant before it is too stale this fruit last in season eight months in the year during which the natives eat no other sort of food of breadkind i did never see of this fruit anywhere 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 anywhere else lord anson corroborates this account of the breadfruit and says that while at tinien it was constantly eaten by his officers and ship's company during their two months stay instead of bread and so universally preferred that no ship's bread was expended in that whole interval the only essential difference between damp years 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 wheat and bread mixed with a jerusalem artichoke from such a description it is not surprising that the west india planters should have felt desirous of introducing it into those islands and accordingly the introduction of it was subsequently accomplished notwithstanding the failure of the present voyage it has not however been found to answer the expectation that had reasonably been entertained the climate as to latitude ought to be the same or nearly so as that of otahiti 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 otahiti and on several of the pacific islands the breadtree which without the plowshare yields the unripened harvest of unfurled 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 valuable 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 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 quantity 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 tenoriff to put the ship to rights where they arrived on the 5th january 1788 and having refitted and refreshed they sailed again on the 10th i now says bly divided the people into three watches and gave the charge of the third watch to mr. Fletcher christian one of the mates i have always considered this a desirable regulation 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 otehiti without stopping and the late storm having diminished their supply or provisions it was deemed expedient to put all hands on an allowance of two-thirds of bread it was also decided that water for drinking should be passed through filtering stones that had been procured at tenoriff i now says bly made the ship's company acquainted with the object of the voyage and gave assurances of the certainty of promotion to everyone whose endeavors should merit it nothing indeed seemed to be neglected on the part of the commander to make his officers and men comfortable and happy he was himself a thoroughbred sailor and availed himself of every possible means of preserving the health of his crew continued rain and a close atmosphere had covered everything 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 precautions to secure health they passed the hazy and sultry atmosphere of the low latitudes without a single complaint on sunday the second of march lieutenant bly observes after seeing that every person was clean divine service was performed according to my usual custom on this day i gave to mr futcher 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 degrees south on the ninth march the change of temperature he observes began now to be sensibly felt there being a variation in the thermometer since yesterday of eight degrees that the people might not 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 clothes to be purchased as would be found necessary on this day on a complaint of the master i found it necessary to punish matthew quintel one of the seamen with two dozen lashes for insolence and mutinous behavior before this i had not had occasion to punish any person on board the site of new year's harbor in statenland 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 oak tahini 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 they soon after this had to encounter tremendous 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 hammocks 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 30 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 they arrived at the cape on the 23rd of may and having remained there 38 days to refit the ship replenish provisions and refresh the crew they sailed again on the 1st july and anchored in Adventure Bay in Van Damans 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 Ota Hedi and the next day came to anchor at Mateva Bay after a distance which the ship had run over by the log since leaving england of 27,086 miles being on an average 108 miles each 24 hours of their proceedings in Ota Hedi a short abstract from Bly'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 Bly was after our friend Omae and it was a sensible mortification and disappointment to me to hear that not only Omae 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 dishonesty and we were so much crowded that I could not undertake to remove to a more proper station without danger of disobliging our visitors by desiring them to leave the ship oh to the chief of the district on hearing of the arrival of the bounty sent a small pig and a young plantain tree as a token of friendship the ship was now plentifully supplied with provisions every man on board having as much as he could consume as soon as the ship was secured lieutenant by went on shore with the chief poeno passing through a walk delightfully shaded with breadfruit trees to his own house where his wife and her sister were busily employed staining a piece of cloth red they desired him to sit down on a mat and with great kindness offered him refreshments several strangers were now introduced who came to offer their congratulations and behaved with great 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 other finest cloth and a mat clothed me in the Otehishin 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 Bly had the satisfaction to see that the island had received some benefit from the former visits of Captain Cook two Shadaks 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 as 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 tail or friend Nelson the gardener and his assistant being sent out to look for young plants it was no small degree of pleasure to find them report on their return that according to appearances the object of the voyage would probably be accomplished with ease the plants were plentiful and no apparent objection on the part of the natives to collect as many as might be wanted Nelson had the gratification to meet with two fine Shaddak trees which he had planted in 1777 and which were now full of fruit but not right presents were now given to O2 the chief of Matavei who had changed his name to Tanah he was told that on account of the kindness of his people to Captain Cook and from a desire to serve him and his country King George had sent out these valuable presents to him and will you not Tanah said Bly send something to King George in return yes he said I will send him anything I have and then began to enumerate the different articles in his power among which he mentioned the breadfruit this was the exact point to which Bly was endeavoring to lead him and he was immediately told that the breadfruit 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 Bly was congratulating himself on the improvement of the O'tihishans 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 visitors one day however the gudgeon of the rudder belonging to the large cutter was drawn out and stolen without being perceived by the 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 Bly 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 interceded very earnestly to get it mitigated the women shoot great sympathy and that degree of feeling which characterizes 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 incommodated either on board or when on shore by the natives following them as at first into every house they wish to enter they always experienced a kind reception the O'tihishans we are told have the most perfect easiness of manner equally free from forwardness and formality and that there is a candor 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 Bly 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 on one occasion the bounty had nearly gone ashore in a tremendous gale of wind and on another did actually get a ground 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 ninth December the surgeon of the bounty died from the effects of intemperance and indolence this unfortunate man is represented to have been in a constant state of intoxication and was so averse from any kind of exercise that he never could be prevailed on to take half a dozen hours upon deck at a time in the whole course of the voyage Lieutenant Bly had obtained permission to bury him on shore and ongoing with the chief to not to the spot intended for his burial place I found says he the natives had already begun to dig his grave to not 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 learned it from the Spaniards who buried the captain of their ship on the island in 1774 there were no means of ascertaining but it was certain they had no intimation of that kind from anybody belonging to the bounty when the funeral took place the chiefs and many of the natives attended the ceremony and showed great attention during the service many of the principal natives attended divine service on Sundays and behaved with great decency some of the women at one time betrayed an inclination to laugh at the general responses but the captain says on looking at them they appeared much ashamed the border of the lowland which is 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 breadfruit and cocoa trees and strewed with houses in which are swarms of children playing about it is delightful by 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 playing all manner of antique tricks such as are common to boys in England the little girls have also their amusements consisting generally of havas 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 everyone 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-humored and affectionate to one another without a single quarrel having ever happened to disturb the harmony that existed among these amiable people both boys and girls are said to be handsome and very sprightly it did not appear that much pains were taken in their plantations except those of the Ava and the cloth plant many of the letter are fenced with stone and surrounded with a ditch in fact nature has done so much for them that they have no great occasion to use exertion in obtaining a sufficient supply of either food or raiment yet when Bly commence taking up the breadfruit plants he derived much assistance from the natives in collecting and pruning them which they understood perfectly well the behavior of these people on all occasions was highly deserving of praise one morning at the relief of the watch the small cutter was missing the ship's company were immediately mustard when it appeared that three men were absent they had taken with them eight stands 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 dispatched to search for the cutter and one of the chiefs went with him but before they had got halfway 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 accomplished as to seize and bind them but let them loose again on a promise that they would return to their ship which they did not exactly fulfill 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 daylight it was 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 Tana came on board and though there was no reason whatever 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 discovering and bringing to me the offender he promised to use his utmost endeavors to discover the guilty person the next morning he and his wife came to me and assured me that they had made the strictest inquiries without success this was not at all satisfactory and I behaved towards them with great coolness at which they were much 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 endeavors to find out the offenders which they faithfully promised to do here Bly 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 Otehidi 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 indication or so strong an attachment to these islands could prevail among his people as to induce them to abandon every prospect of returning to their native country this afterthought of Bly will appear in the sequel to be holy gratuitous and yet he might naturally enough have concluded that so long and unrestrained and intercourse with a people among whom every man had his tail 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 labor such enticements to a common sailor might naturally enough be supposed to create a desire for a long 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 26 October 1788 and remained till the 4th April 1789 on the 31st March the commander says today all the plants were on board being in 774 pots 39 tubs and 24 boxes the number of breadfruit plants were 1015 besides which we had collected a number of other plants the avi which is one of the finest flavored fruits in the world the aya which is a fruit not so rich but of a fine flavor and very refreshing the rata not much unlike a chestnut which grows on a large tree in great quantities they are singly enlarged pods from one to four inches broad and may be eaten raw or boiled in the same manner as windsor beans and so dressed are equally good the ore 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 tena 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 presents of coconuts plantains breadfruits 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 to not and his wife and the ship made sail bidding farewell to otehidi where bly observes for 23 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 behavior of these people maybe ascribe the motives for that event which affected 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 hauhini and a double canoe soon came alongside containing 10 natives among them was young man who recollected captain bly 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 mayor 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 spot 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 10 yards of the stern making a rustling noise but without their feeling the least effect from its being so near the rate at which it traveled was judged to be about 10 miles per hour going towards the west in the direction of the wind and in a quarter of an hour after passing 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 otahiti presence 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 anamuka on the 23rd april and an old lame man named to pay whom bligh had known here in 1777 and immediately recollected came on board along with others from different islands in the vicinity this man having formally 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 tanga tombu 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 breadfruit and other plants were shown to them on seeing which they were greatly surprised i landed says bligh in order to procure some breadfruit 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 20 fine pineapple plants but no fruit this not being the proper season they told me that they had eaten many of them that they were very fine and large and that at tanga tabu 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 a 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 breadfruit were likewise 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 90 passengers from these the officers and crew purchased hogs dogs vows and shaddox yams very fine and large one of them actually weighed above 45 pounds the crowd of natives had become so great the next day sunday 26 that it became impossible to do anything the watering party were therefore ordered to go on board and it was determined to sail the ship was accordingly unmoored and got underway a gratinal however had been stolen and bly informed the chiefs that were still on board that unless it was returned they must remain in the ship at which they were surprised 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 was more than the gratinal was worth I could not think of detaining them longer and call their canoes alongside I told them they were at liberty to go and made each of them a present of a hatchet a saw with some knives 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 that we parted better friends than if the affair had never happened from this island the ship stood to the northward all night with light winds on the next day the 27th at noon they were between the islands of Defoe and Coutu thus far says Bly the voyage had advanced in a course of uninterrupted prosperity and had been attended with many circumstances equally pleasing and satisfactory a very different scene was now to be experienced a conspiracy had been formed which was to render all our past labor productive only of extreme misery and distress the means had been concerted and prepared with so much secrecy and circumspection 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 Bly was justified in ascribing the calamity to a conspiracy will be seen hereafter the following chapter will detail the facts of the muteness proceedings as stated by the lieutenant in his own words end of chapter two