Now, it must not be supposed that the wives and widows of these
mutineers gave themselves up to moping or sadness after the failure of
their wild attempt to make their condition worse by slaying all the men.
By no means. By degrees they recovered the natural tone of their mild
yet hearty dispositions, and at last, we presume, came to wonder that
they had ever been so mad or so bad.
Neither must it be imagined that these women were condemned to be the
laborious drudges who are fitly described as "hewers of wood and drawers
of water." They did indeed draw a good deal of water in the course of
each day, but they spent much time also in making the tapa cloth with
which they repaired the worn-out clothes of their husbands, or
fabricated petticoats for themselves and such of the children as had
grown old enough to require such garments. But besides these
occupations, they spent a portion of their time in prattling gossip,
which, whatever the subject might be, was always accompanied with a
great deal of merriment and hearty laughter. They also spent no small
portion of their time in the sea, for bathing was one of the favourite
amusements of the Pitcairners, young and old.
Coming up one day to Susannah, the wife of Edward Young, Thursday
October Christian begged that she would go with him and bathe.
Susannah was engaged in making the native cloth at the time, and laid
down her mallet with a look of indecision. It may be remarked here that
a mallet is used in the making of this cloth, which is not woven, but
beaten out from a state of pulp; it is, in fact, rather a species of
tough paper than cloth, and is produced from the bark of the paper
mulberry.
"I's got to finish dis bit of cloth to-day, Toc," said Susannah, in
broken English, for she knew that Master Thursday October preferred that
tongue to Otaheitan, though he could speak both, "an' it's gettin'
late."
"Oh, _what_ a pity!" said TOC, with a look of mild disappointment.
Now Susannah was by far the youngest and most girlish among the
Otaheitan women, and could not resist an appeal to her feelings even
when uttered only by the eyes. Besides, little Toc was a great
favourite with her. She therefore burst into a merry laugh, gently
pulled Thursday's nose, and said, "Well, come along; but we'll git some
o' the others for go too, an' have some fun. You go klect de jumpers.
Me git de womans." Susannah referred to the older children by the term
"Jumpers."
Highly pleased, the urchin started off at once. He found one of the
jumpers, namely, Otaheitan Sally, nursing Polly Young, while she
delivered an oracular discourse to Charlie Christian, who sat at her
feet, meekly receiving and believing the most outrageous nonsense that
ever was heard. It is but just to Sally, however, to say that she gave
her information in all good faith, having been previously instructed by
John Adams, whose desire for the good of the young people was at that
period stronger than his love of truth. Wishing to keep their minds as
long as possible ignorant of the outer world, he had told them that
ships came out of a hole in the clouds on the horizon.
"Yes, Charlie, it's quite true; father Adams says so. They comes out of
a hole on the horizon."
Charlie's huge eyes gazed in perplexity from his instructor's face to
the horizon, as if he expected to behold a ship emerging from a hole
then and there. Then, turning to Sally again with a simple look, he
asked--
"But why does sips come out of holes on de 'rizon?"
Sally was silenced. She was not the first knowing one who had been
silenced by a child.
Little Daniel McCoy came up at the moment. Having passed the
"staggering" period of life, he no longer walked the earth in a state of
nudity, but was decorated with a pair of very short tapa trousers, cut
in imitation of seafaring ducks, but reaching only to the knees. He
also wore a little shirt.
"Me kin tell why ships come out ob de hole in de horizon," he said, with
a twinkle in his eyes; "just for notin' else dan to turn about an' go
back into de hole again."
"Nonsense, Dan'l!" cried Sally, with a laugh.
"Nonsense!" repeated Dan, with an injured look. "Didn't you saw'd it
happen jus' t'other day?"
"Well, I did saw the ship go farer an' farer away, an' vanish," admitted
Sall; "but he didn't go into a hole that time."
"Pooh!" ejaculated little Dan, "dat's 'cause de hole was too far away to
be seen."
Further discussion of the subject was prevented by the arrival of
Thursday.
"Well, Toc, you's in a hurry to-day," said little Dan, with a look of
innocent insolence.
"We're all to go an' bathe, child'n," cried Thursday, with a look of
delight; "Susannah's goin', an' all the 'oomans, an' she send me for
you."
"Hurrah!" shouted Dan and Sally.
"Goin' to bave," cried Charlie Christian to Lizzie Mills, who was
attracted by the cheering, which also brought up Matt Quintal, who led
his little sister Sarah by the hand. Sarah was yet a staggerer, and so
was Dinah Adams, also Mary Christian; Polly Young and John Mills had not
yet attained even to the staggering period--they were only what little
Dan McCoy called sprawlers.
Before many minutes had elapsed, the whole colony of women, jumpers,
staggerers, and sprawlers, were assembled on the beach at Bounty Bay.
It could scarcely be said that the women undressed--they merely threw
off the light scarf or bodice that covered their shoulders, but kept on
the short skirts, which were no impediment to their graceful movements
in the water. The jumpers, of course, were only too glad of the excuse
to get out of their very meagre allowance of clothing, and the rest
were, so to speak, naturally ready for the plunge.
It was a splendid forenoon. There was not a zephyr to ruffle the calm
breast of the Pacific, nevertheless the gentle undulation of that mighty
bosom sent wave after wave like green liquid walls into the bay in
ceaseless regularity. These, toppling over, and breaking, and coming in
with a succession of magnificent roars, finally hissed in harmless foam
on the shingly beach.
"Now, T'ursday," said Mrs Adams, "you stop here an' take care o' de
sprawlers."
Adams's helpmate was the oldest of the women, and defective in vision.
Her commands were law. Thursday October would as soon have thought of
disobeying Adams himself as his wife. It was not in his nature, despite
its goodness, to help feeling disappointed at being left in charge of
the little ones. However, he made up his mind at once to the sacrifice.
"Never mind, Toc," said Young's wife, with a bright smile, "I'll stay
an' keep you company."
This was ample compensation to Thursday. He immediately flung himself
into the shallow surf, and turning his face to the land, held out his
arms and dared the little ones to come to him. Two of them instantly
accepted the challenge, crept down to the water, and were beaten back by
the next rush of foam. But they were caught up and held aloft with a
shout of glee by Susannah.
Meanwhile, the women advanced into the deep surf with the small children
on their shoulders, while the others, being able to look after
themselves, followed, panting with excitement for although able to swim
like corks they found it extremely difficult to do battle with the
rushing water.
Deeper and deeper the foremost women went, until they neared the
unbroken glassy billows.
"I'll go at de nixt," muttered Mrs Adams to Mary Christian, who was on
her back, clutching tight round her neck.
The "nixt" was a liquid wall that came rolling grandly in with
ever-increasing force and volume, until it hovered to its fall almost
over the heads of the daring women. Mrs Adams, Mainmast, and Mills's
widow, who were the foremost of the group, bent their heads forward, and
with a graceful but vigorous plunge, sprang straight into the wall of
water and went right through it. The others, though a moment later,
were quite in time. The children also, uttering wild screams in varied
keys, faced the billow gallantly, and pierced it like needles. Another
moment, and they were all safe in deep water on the seaward side, while
the wave went thundering to the shore in a tumultuous wilderness of
foam, and spent its weakened force among the babies.
The moment the women were safe beyond the rolling influence of these
great waves, in the calm sea beyond, they threw the staggerers from
their shoulders and let them try their own unaided powers, while the
jumpers swam and floated around to watch the result.
These wonderful infants disported themselves variously in the sea. Mary
Christian wobbled about easily, as if too fat to sink, and Bessy Mills
supported herself bravely, being much encouraged by the presence and the
cheering remarks of that humorous imp Dan McCoy. But Charlie Christian
showed symptoms of alarm, and losing heart after a few moments, threw up
his fat little arms and sank. Like the swooping eagle, his mother
plunged forward, placed a hand under him, and lifted him on her
shoulders, where he recovered equanimity in a few minutes, and soon
wanted to be again sent afloat. When this had gone on for a little
time, the women reshouldered their babies and swam boldly out to sea,
followed at various distances by the youngsters. Of these latter, Sall
of Otaheite was by far the best. She easily outstripped the other
children, and could almost keep pace with the women.
Meanwhile Thursday October Christian and Susannah Young performed
amazing feats with the infants in the shallow water on the beach. Sarah
Quintal and Johnny Mills gave them some trouble, having a strong
disposition to explore places beyond their depth; but Dinah Adams and
Polly Young were as good as gold, spluttering towards their guardians
when called, and showing no tendency to do anything of their own
immediate free will, except sit on the sand and let the foam rush round
and over them like soap-suds.
Now, it is well-known that every now and then there are waves of the sea
which seem to have been born on a gigantic scale, and which, emerging
somewhere from the great deep, come to shore with a grander roar and a
higher rush than ordinary waves.
One such roller came in while no one was on the look-out for it. Its
deep-toned roar first apprised Susannah of its approach, but before she
could run to the rescue its white crest was careering up the beach in
magnificent style. It caught the infants, each sitting with a look of
innocent surprise on the sand. It turned them head over heels, and
swept them up the shingly shore. It tumbled Susannah herself over in
its might, and swept Thursday October fairly off his legs. Having
terminated its career thus playfully, the big wave retired, carrying
four babies in its embrace. But Susannah and Thursday had regained
their footing and their presence of mind. With a brave and, for him, a
rapid spring, Thursday caught little Sarah and Dinah as they were
rolling helpless down the strand, the one by an arm, the other by a leg,
and held on. At the same instant Susannah sprang forward and grasped
Jack Mills by the hair of the head, but poor Polly Young was beyond her
reach. Little Polly was the smallest, the neatest, and the dearest of
the sprawling band. She was rolling to her doom. The case was
desperate. In this emergency Susannah suddenly hurled Jack Mills at
Thursday. The poor boy had to drop the other two in order to catch the
flying Jack, but the other two, sliding down his body, held each to a
Thursday October leg like limpets. The result was that the four
remained firm and safe, while Susannah leaped into the surf and rescued
little Poll.
It all happened so quickly that the actors had scarcely time to think.
Having reached the dry land, they looked seaward, and there saw their
more practised companions about to come in on the top of a wave. For a
few seconds their heads were seen bobbing now on the top, now between
the hollows of the waves. Then they were seen on a towering snowy crest
which was just about to fall. On the summit of the roaring wave, as if
on a snowy mountain, they came rushing on with railway speed. To an
unpractised eye destruction among the rocks was their doom. But they
had taken good aim, and came careering to the sandy patch where the
little ones sprawled. In another moment they stood safe and sound upon
the land.
This was but an everyday feat of the Pitcairners, who went up to their
village chatting merrily, and thinking nothing more about the adventure
than that it was capital fun.