THE BREAD-FRUIT
The happy shores without
a law,
Where all partake the earth without
dispute,
And bread itself is gather’d as a fruit;
Where none contest the fields, the woods, the streams:
The goldless age, where gold disturbs no dreams,
Inhabits or inhabited the shore,
Till Europe taught them better than before,
Bestow’d her customs, and amended theirs,
But left her vices also to their heirs.
BYRON.
In the year 1787, being seventeen
years after Cook’s return from his first voyage,
the merchants and planters resident in London, and
interested in the West India possessions, having represented
to his Majesty, that the introduction of the bread-fruit
tree into the islands of those seas, to constitute
an article of food, would be of very essential benefit
to the inhabitants, the king was graciously pleased
to comply with their request; and a vessel was accordingly
purchased, and fitted at Deptford with the necessary
fixtures and preparations, for carrying into effect
the benevolent object of the voyage. The arrangements
for disposing the plants were undertaken, and completed
in a most ingenious and effective manner, by Sir Joseph
Banks, who superintended the whole equipment of the
ship with the greatest attention and assiduity till
she was in all respects ready for sea. He named
the ship the Bounty, and recommended Lieutenant
Bligh, who had been with Captain Cook, to command
her. Her burden was about two hundred and fifteen
tons; and her establishment consisted of one lieutenant,
who was commanding officer, one master, three warrant
officers, one surgeon, two master’s mates, two
midshipmen, and thirty-four petty officers and seamen,
making in all forty-four; to which were added two skilful
and careful men, recommended by Sir Joseph Banks,
to have the management of the plants intended to be
carried to the West Indies, and others to be brought
home for his Majesty’s garden at Kew: one
was David Nelson, who had served in a similar situation
in Captain Cook’s last voyage; the other William
Brown, as an assistant to him.
The object of all the former voyages
to the South Seas, undertaken by command of his 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 realise
the expectation of benefit than the bread-fruit, which
afforded to the natives of Otaheite 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 bread-fruit plant was no new
discovery of either Wallis or Cook. So early
as the year 1688, that excellent old navigator, Dampier,
thus describes it: ’The bread-fruit,
as we call it, grows on a large tree, as big and high
as our largest apple-trees; it hath a spreading head,
full of branches and dark leaves. The fruit grows
on the boughs like apples; it is as big as a penny-loaf,
when wheat is at five shillings the bushel; it is
of a round shape, and hath a thick tough rind; when
the fruit is ripe it is yellow and soft, and the taste
is sweet and pleasant. The natives of Guam use
it for bread. They gather it, when full grown,
while it is green and hard; then they bake it in an
oven, which scorcheth the rind and makes it black,
but they scrape off the outside black crust, and there
remains a tender thin crust; and the inside is soft,
tender, and white, like the crumb of a penny-loaf.
There is neither seed nor stone in the inside, but
all is of a pure substance like bread. It must
be eaten new; for if it is kept above twenty-four
hours, it grows harsh and choaky; but it is very pleasant
before it is too stale. This fruit lasts in season
eight months in the year, during which the natives
eat no other sort of food of bread kind. I did
never see of this fruit 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 bread-fruit, and says that, while at Tinian,
it was constantly eaten by his officers and ship’s
company during their two months’ stay, instead
of bread; and so universally preferred, that no ship’s
bread was expended in that whole interval. The
only essential difference between Dampier’s and
Cook’s description is, where the latter says,
which is true, that this fruit has a core,
and that the eatable part lies between the skin and
the core. Cook says also that its taste is insipid,
with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling that
of the crumb of wheaten bread mixed with a 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 Otaheite, but there would
appear to be some difference in the situation or nature
of the soil, that prevents it from thriving in the
West India Islands. At Otaheite and on several
of the Pacific Islands,
The bread-tree, which,
without the ploughshare yields,
The unreap’d harvest
of unfurrow’d fields,
And bakes its unadulterated
loaves
Without a furnace in
unpurchased groves,
And flings off famine
from its fertile breast,
A priceless market for the gathering guest
is to the natives of those islands
a most invaluable gift, but it has not been found
to yield similar benefits to the West India Islands.
On the 23rd December, 1787, the Bounty
sailed from Spithead, and on the 26th it blew a severe
storm of wind from the eastward, which continued to
the 29th, in the course of which the ship 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 at
Teneriffe to put the ship to rights, where they arrived
on the 5th January, 1788, and having refitted and
refreshed, they sailed again on the 10th.
‘I now,’ says Bligh, ’divided
the people into three watches, and gave the charge
of the third watch to Mr. Fletcher Christian, one of
the mates. I have always considered this a desirable
regulation when circumstances will admit of it, and
I am persuaded that unbroken rest not only contributes
much towards the health of the ship’s company,
but enables them more readily to exert themselves
in cases of sudden emergency.’
Wishing to proceed to Otaheite without
stopping, and the late storm having diminished their
supply of provisions, it was deemed expedient to put
all hands on an allowance of two-thirds of bread.
It was also decided that water for drinking should
be passed through filtering stones that had been procured
at Teneriffe. ‘I now,’ says Bligh,
’made the ship’s company acquainted with
the object of the voyage, and gave assurances of the
certainty of promotion to every one whose endeavours
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 thorough-bred sailor, and availed himself
of every possible means of preserving the health of
his crew. Continued rain and a close atmosphere
had covered 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 2nd of March, Lieutenant
Bligh observes, ’after seeing that every person
was clean, Divine service was performed, according
to my usual custom. On this day I gave to Mr.
Fletcher Christian, whom I had before desired to take
charge of the third watch, a written order to act
as lieutenant.’
Having reached as far as the latitude
of 36 degrees south, on the 9th March, ‘the
change of temperature,’ he observes, ’began
now to be sensibly felt, there being a variation in
the thermometer, since yesterday, of eight degrees.
That the people might not 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 Quintal, one of the seamen,
with two dozen lashes, for insolence and mutinous
behaviour. Before this I had not had occasion
to punish any person on board.’
The sight of New Year’s Harbour,
in Staaten Land, almost tempted him, he says, to put
in; but the lateness of the season, and the people
being in good health, determined him to lay aside
all thoughts of refreshment until they should reach
Otaheite. Indeed the extraordinary care he had
taken to preserve the health of the ship’s company
rendered any delay in this cold and inhospitable region
unnecessary.
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 thirty days in this tempestuous
ocean, it was determined to bear away for the Cape
of Good Hope. The helm was accordingly put a-weather,
to the great joy of every person on board.
They arrived at the Cape on the 23rd
of May, and having remained there thirty-eight days
to refit the ship, replenish provisions, and refresh
the crew, they sailed again on the 1st July, and anchored
in Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen’s Land, on the
20th August. Here they remained taking in wood
and water till the 4th September, and on the evening
of the 25th October they saw Otaheite; and the next
day came to anchor in Matavai Bay, after a distance
which the ship had run over, by the log, since leaving
England, of twenty-seven thousand and eighty-six miles,
being on an average one hundred and eight miles each
twenty-four hours. Of their proceedings in Otaheite
a short abstract from Bligh’s Journal will suffice.
Many inquiries were made by the natives
after Captain Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, and others of
their former friends. ‘One of my first questions,’
says Bligh, ’was after our friend Omai; and it
was a sensible mortification and disappointment to
me to hear, that not only Omai, but both the New Zealand
boys who had been left with him, were dead. There
appeared among the natives in general great good-will
towards us, and they seemed to be much rejoiced at
our arrival. The whole day we experienced no
instance of 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.’
Otoo, the chief of the district, on
hearing of the arrival of the Bounty, sent
a small pig and a young plantain tree, as a token of
friendship. The ship was now plentifully supplied
with provisions; every man on board having as much
as he could consume.
As soon as the ship was secured, Lieutenant
Bligh went on shore with the chief, Poeeno, passing
through a walk delightfully shaded with bread-fruit
trees, to his own house, where his wife and her sister
were busily employed staining a piece of cloth red.
They desired him to sit down on a mat, and with great
kindness offered him refreshments. Several strangers
were now introduced, who came to offer their congratulations,
and behaved with great decorum and attention.
On taking leave, he says, ’the ladies, for they
deserve to be called such from their natural and unaffected
manners, and elegance of deportment, got up, and taking
some of their finest cloth and a mat, clothed me in
the Otaheitan fashion, and then said, “We will
go with you to your boat;” and each taking me
by the hand, amidst a great crowd, led me to the water
side, and then took their leave.’ In this
day’s walk, Bligh had the satisfaction to see
that the island had received some benefit from the
former visits of Captain Cook. Two shaddocks
were brought to him, a fruit which they had not till
Cook introduced it; and among the articles which they
brought off to the ship, and offered for sale, were
capsicums, pumpkins, and two young goats. In
the course of two or three days,’ says he, ’an
intimacy between the natives and the ship’s
company was become so general, that there was scarcely
a man in the ship who had not already his tayo
or friend.’
Nelson, the gardener, and his assistant,
being 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 shaddock trees which he had planted
in 1777, and which were now full of fruit, but not
ripe.
Presents were now given to Otoo, the
Chief of Matavai, who had changed his name to Tinah.
He was told that, on account of the kindness of his
people to Captain Cook, and from a desire to serve
him and his country; King George had sent out those
valuable presents to him; and ’will you not,
Tinah,’ said Bligh, ‘send something to
King George in 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 bread-fruit.
This was the exact point to which Bligh was endeavouring
to lead him, and he was immediately told that the
bread-fruit trees were what King George would like
very much, on which he promised that a great many
should be put on board.
Hitherto no thefts had been committed,
and Bligh was congratulating himself on the improvement
of the Otaheitans in this respect, as the same facilities
and the same temptations were open to them as before.
The ship, as on former occasions, was constantly crowded
with 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 Bligh, ’it
would have a good effect to punish the boat-keeper
in their presence, and accordingly I ordered him a
dozen lashes. All who attended the punishment
interceded very earnestly to get it mitigated:
the women shewed 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 incommoded
either on board or when on shore, by the natives following
them as at first. Into every house they wished
to enter, they always experienced a kind reception.
The Otaheitans, we are told, have the most perfect
easiness of manner, equally free from forwardness and
formality; and that ’there is a candour and
sincerity about them that is quite delightful.’
When they offer refreshments, for instance, if they
are not accepted, they do not think of offering them
a second time; for they have not the least idea of
that ceremonious kind of refusal which expects a second
invitation. ‘Having one day,’ says
Bligh, ’exposed myself too much in the sun,
I was taken ill, on which all the powerful people,
both men and women, collected round me, offering their
assistance. For this short illness I was made
ample amends by the pleasure I received from the attention
and appearance of affection in these kind people.’
On one occasion the Bounty
had nearly gone ashore in a tremendous gale of wind,
and on another did actually get aground; on both which
accidents, these kind-hearted people came in crowds
to congratulate the captain on her escape; and many
of them are stated to have been affected in the most
lively manner, shedding tears while the danger in which
the ship was placed continued.
On the 9th December, the surgeon of
the Bounty died from the effects of intemperance
and indolence. This unfortunate man is represented
to have been in a constant state of intoxication,
and was so averse from any kind of exercise, that
he never could be prevailed on to take half a dozen
hours upon deck at a time in the whole course of the
voyage. Lieutenant Bligh had obtained permission
to bury him on shore; and on going with the chief
Tinah to the spot intended for his burial place, ’I
found,’ says he, ‘the natives had already
begun to dig his grave.’ Tinah asked if
they were doing it right? ‘There,’
says he, ’the sun rises, and there it sets.’
Whether the idea of making the grave east and west
is their own, or whether they learnt it from the Spaniards,
who buried the captain of their ship on the island
in 1774, there were no means of ascertaining; but
it was certain they had no intimation of that kind
from anybody belonging to the Bounty. When the
funeral took place, the chiefs and many of the natives
attended the ceremony, and shewed great attention
during the service. Many of the principal natives
attended divine service on Sundays, and behaved with
great decency. Some of the women at one time
betrayed an inclination to laugh at the general responses;
but, the captain says, on looking at them they appeared
much ashamed.
The border of low land, which is of
the breadth of about three miles, between the sea-coast
and the foot of the hills, consists of a very delightful
country, well covered with bread-fruit and cocoa-trees,
and strewed with houses in which are swarms of children
playing about. ’It is delightful,’
Bligh observes, ’to see the swarms of little
children that are every where 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 antic tricks such as are common
to boys in England. The little girls have also
their amusements, consisting generally of heivahs or
dances. On an evening, just before sunset the
whole beach abreast the ship is described as being
like a parade, crowded with men, women, and children,
who go on with their sports and amusements till nearly
dark, when every one peaceably returns to his home.
At such times, we are told, from three to four hundred
people are assembled together, and all happily diverted,
good humoured, and affectionate to one another, without
a single quarrel having ever happened to disturb the
harmony that existed among these amiable people.
Both boys and girls are said to be handsome and very
sprightly.
It did not appear that much pains
were taken in their plantations, except those of the
ava and the cloth-plant; many of the latter are
fenced with stone, and surrounded with a ditch.
In fact, Nature has done so much for them, that they
have no great occasion to use exertion in obtaining
a sufficient supply of either food or raiment.
Yet when Bligh commenced taking up the bread-fruit
plants, he derived much assistance from the natives
in collecting and pruning them, which they understood
perfectly well.
The behaviour of these people on all
occasions was highly deserving of praise. One
morning, at the relief of the watch, the small cutter
was missing. The ship’s company were immediately
mustered, when it appeared that three men were absent.
They had taken with them eight stand of arms and ammunition;
but what their plan was, or which way they had gone,
no one on board seemed to have the least knowledge.
Information being given of the route they had taken,
the master was dispatched to search for the cutter,
and one of the chiefs went with him; but before they
had got half way, they met the boat with five of the
natives, who were bringing her back to the ship.
For this service they were handsomely rewarded.
The chiefs promised to use every possible means to
detect and bring back the deserters, which, in a few
days, some of the islanders had so far 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 fulfil, but gave themselves
up soon after on a search being made for them.
A few days after this, a much more
serious occurrence happened, that was calculated to
give to the commander great concern. The wind
had blown fresh in the night, and at 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, Tinah 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 endeavours to discover
the guilty person. The next morning he and his
wife came to me, and assured me that they had made
the strictest inquiries without success. This
was not at all satisfactory, and I behaved towards
them with great coolness, at which they were much
distressed; and the lady at length gave vent to her
sorrow by tears. I could no longer keep up the
appearance of mistrusting them, but I earnestly recommended
to them, as they valued the King of England’s
friendship, that they would exert their utmost endeavours
to find out the offenders, which they faithfully promised
to do.’
Here Bligh observes, it had since
occurred to him, that this attempt to cut the ship
adrift was most probably the act of some of his own
people; whose purpose of remaining at Otaheite might
have been effectually answered without danger, if
the ship had been driven on shore. At the time
it occurred, he says, he entertained not the least
thought of this kind, nor did the possibility of it
enter into his ideas, having no suspicion that so
general an 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 after-thought of Bligh will appear
in the sequel to be wholly gratuitous, and yet he
might naturally enough have concluded that so long
and unrestrained an intercourse with a people among
whom every man had his tayo or friend; among
whom every man was free to indulge every wish of his
heart; where, from the moment he set his foot on shore,
he found himself surrounded by female allurements
in the midst of ease and indolence, and living in
a state of luxury without submitting to any kind of
labour such enticements to a common sailor
might naturally enough be supposed to create a desire
for a longer residence in such a country; but this
supposition is not borne out by subsequent events.
The damage done to the cable was, in all probability,
owing to its chafing over the rocky bottom.
The Bounty arrived on the 26th
October, 1788, and remained till the 4th April, 1789.
On the 31st March, the Commander says, ’To-day,
all the plants were on board, being in seven hundred
and seventy-four pots, thirty-nine tubs, and twenty-four
boxes. The number of bread-fruit plants were
one thousand and fifteen; besides which, we had collected
a number of other plants: the avee, which
is one of the finest flavoured fruits in the world;
the ayyah, which is a fruit not so rich, but
of a fine flavour and very refreshing; the rattah,
not much unlike a chestnut, which grows on a large
tree in great quantities; they are singly in large
pods, from one to two inches broad, and may be eaten
raw, or boiled in the same manner as Windsor beans,
and so dressed are equally good; the orai-ab,
which is a very superior kind of plantain. All
these I was particularly recommended to collect, by
my worthy friend Sir Joseph Banks.’
While these active preparations for
departure were going on, the good chief Tinah, on
bringing a present for King George, could not refrain
from shedding tears. During the remainder of their
stay, there appeared among the natives an evident
degree of sorrow that they were so soon to leave them,
which they showed by a more than usual degree of kindness
and attention. The above-mentioned excellent chief,
with his wife, brothers, and sister, requested permission
to remain on board for the night previous to the sailing
of the Bounty. The ship was crowded the
whole day with the natives, and she was loaded with
presents of cocoa-nuts, plantains, bread-fruits,
hogs, and goats. Contrary to what had been the
usual practice, there was this evening no dancing or
mirth on the beach, such as they had long been accustomed
to, but all was silent.
At sunset, the boat returned from
landing Tinah and his wife, and the ship made sail,
bidding farewell to Otaheite, where, Bligh observes,
’for twenty-three weeks we had been treated with
the utmost affection and regard, and which seemed
to increase in proportion to our stay. That we
were not insensible to their kindness, the events which
followed more than sufficiently prove; for to the
friendly and endearing behaviour of these people,
may be ascribed the motives for that event which effected
the ruin of an expedition, that there was every reason
to hope would have been completed in the most fortunate
manner.’
The morning after their departure,
they got sight of Huaheine; and a double canoe soon
coming alongside, containing ten natives, among them
was a young man who recollected Captain Bligh, and
called him by name; having known him when here in
the year 1780, with Captain Cook in the Resolution.
Several other canoes arrived with hogs, yams, and other
provisions, which they purchased. This person
confirmed, the account that had already been received
of Omai, and said that, of all the animals which had
been left with Omai, the mare only remained alive;
that the seeds and plants had been all destroyed, except
one tree: but of what kind that was, he could
not satisfactorily explain. A few days after
sailing from this island, the weather became squally,
and a thick body of black clouds collected in the
east. A water-spout was in a short time seen
at no great distance from the ship, which appeared
to great advantage from the darkness of the clouds
behind it. The upper part is described as being
about two feet in diameter; and the lower about eight
inches. It advanced rapidly towards the ship,
when it was deemed expedient to alter the course,
and to take in all the sails, except the foresail;
soon after which it passed within ten yards of the
stern, making a rustling noise, but without their
feeling the least effect from its being so near.
The rate at which it travelled was judged to be about
ten 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 Otaheite. Presents
of iron, beads, and a looking-glass were given to
them; but it was observed that the chief, on leaving
the ship, took possession of everything that had been
distributed. One of them showed some signs of
dissatisfaction; but after a little altercation they
joined noses and were reconciled.
The Bounty anchored at Anamooka
on the 23rd April; and an old lame man, named Tepa,
whom Bligh had known here in 1777, and immediately
recollected, came on board along with others from different
islands in the vicinity. This man having formerly
been accustomed to the English manner of speaking
their language, the Commander found he could converse
with him tolerably well. He told him that the
cattle which had been left at Tongataboo had all bred,
and that the old ones were yet living. Being
desirous of seeing the ship, he and his companions
were taken below, and the bread-fruit and other plants
were shown to them, on seeing which they were greatly
surprised.
‘I landed,’ says Bligh,
’in order to procure some bread-fruit plants
to supply the place of one that was dead, and two
or three others that were a little sickly. I
walked to the west part of the bay, where some plants
and seeds had been sown by Captain Cook; and had the
satisfaction to see, in a plantation close by, about
twenty fine 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 Tongataboo there were great numbers.’
Numerous were the marks of mourning
with which these people disfigure themselves, such
as bloody temples, their heads deprived of most of
the hair, and, which was worse, almost all of them
with the loss of some of their fingers. Several
fine boys, not above six years of age, had lost both
their little fingers; and some of the men had parted
with the middle finger of the right hand.
A brisk trade soon began to be carried
on for yams; some plantains and bread-fruit were
likewise brought on board, but no hogs. Some of
the sailing canoes, which arrived in the course of
the day, were large enough to contain not less than
ninety passengers. From these the officers and
crew purchased hogs, dogs, fowls, and shaddocks; yams,
very fine and large; one of them actually weighed
above forty-five pounds. The crowd of natives
had become so great the next day, Sunday 26th, that
it became 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 under weigh. A grapnel, however, had been
stolen, and Bligh informed the chiefs that were still
on board, that unless it was returned, they must remain
in the ship, at which they were 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 grapnel was worth, I could not think
of detaining them longer, and called their canoes
alongside. I told them they were at liberty to
go, and made each of them a present of a hatchet,
a saw, with some knives, 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 acknowledgements; and I have little
doubt but that we parted better friends than if the
affair had never happened.’
From this island the ship stood to
the northward all night, with light winds; and on
the next day, the 27th, at noon, they were between
the islands Tofoa and Kotoo.
‘Thus far,’ says Bligh,
’the voyage had advanced in a course of uninterrupted
prosperity, and had been attended with many circumstances
equally pleasing and satisfactory. A very different
scene was now to be experienced. A conspiracy
had been formed, which was to render all our past
labour productive only of extreme misery and distress.
The means had been concerted and prepared with so
much secrecy and circumspection, that no one circumstance
appeared to occasion the smallest suspicion of the
impending calamity, the result of an act of piracy
the most consummate and atrocious that was probably
ever committed.’
How far Bligh was justified in ascribing
the calamity to a conspiracy will be seen hereafter.
The following chapter will detail the facts of the
mutinous proceedings as stated by the Lieutenant, in
his own words.