The intelligence of the mutiny, and the sufferings of Bligh and his
companions, naturally excited a great sensation in England. Bligh was
immediately promoted to the rank of commander, and Captain Edwards was
despatched to Otaheite, in the Pandora frigate, with instructions to
search for the Bounty and her mutinous crew, and bring them to
England. The Pandora reached Matavai Bay on the 23d of March, 1791;
and even before she had come to anchor, Joseph Coleman, formerly
armorer of the Bounty, pushed off from shore in a canoe, and came on
board. In the course of two days afterwards, the whole of the
remainder of the Bounty’s crew (in number sixteen) then on the island
surrendered themselves, with the exception of two, who fled to the
mountains, where, as it afterwards appeared, they were murdered by the
natives.
Nearly twenty years elapsed after the period of the above occurrences,
and all recollection of the Bounty and her wrecked crew had passed
away, when an accidental discovery, as interesting as unexpected, once
more recalled public attention to that event. The captain of an
American schooner having, in 1808, accidentally touched at an island
up to that time supposed to be uninhabited, called Pitcairn’s Island,
found a community speaking English, who represented themselves as the
descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty, of whom there was still
one man, of the name of Alexander Smith, alive amongst them.
Intelligence of this singular circumstance was sent by the American
captain (Folger) to Sir Sydney Smith at Valparaiso, and by him
transmitted to the Lords of the Admiralty. But the government was at
that time perhaps too much engaged in the events of the continental
war to attend to the information, nor was anything further heard of
this interesting little society until 1814. In that year two British
men-of-war, cruising in the Pacific, made Pitcairn’s Island, and on
nearing the shore, saw plantations regularly and orderly laid out.
Soon afterwards they observed a few natives coming down a steep
descent, with their canoes on their shoulders, and in a few minutes
perceived one of these little vessels darting through a heavy surf and
paddling off towards the ships. But their astonishment may be imagined
when, on coming alongside, they were hailed in good English with,
“Wont you heave us a rope now?” This being done, a young man sprang up
the side with extraordinary activity, and stood on the deck before
them. In answer to the question “Who are you?” he replied that his
name was Thursday October Christian, son of the late Fletcher
Christian, by an Otaheitan mother; that he was the first born on the
island, and was so named because he was born on a Thursday in October.
All this sounded singular and incredible in the ears of the British
captains, Sir Thomas Staines and Mr. Pipon; but they were soon
satisfied of its truth. Young Christian was at this time about
twenty-four years old, a tall handsome youth, fully six feet high,
with black hair, and an open interesting English countenance. As he
wore no clothes, except a piece of cloth round his loins, and a
straw-hat ornamented with black cock’s feathers, his fine figure and
well-shaped muscular limbs were displayed to great advantage, and
attracted general admiration. His body was much tanned by exposure to
the weather; but although his complexion was somewhat brown, it wanted
that tinge of red peculiar to the natives of the Pacific. He spoke
English correctly both in grammar and pronunciation; and his frank and
ingenuous deportment excited in every one the liveliest feelings of
compassion and interest. His companion was a fine handsome youth, of
seventeen or eighteen years of age, named George Young, son of one of
the Bounty’s midshipmen.
The youths expressed great surprise at everything they saw, especially
a cow, which they supposed to be either a huge goat or a horned sow,
having never seen any other quadrupeds. When questioned concerning the
Bounty, they referred the captains to an old man on shore, the only
surviving Englishman, whose name, they said, was John Adams, but who
proved to be the identical Alexander Smith before-mentioned, having
changed his name from some caprice or other. The officers went ashore
with the youths, and were received by old Adams (as we shall now call
him), who conducted them to his house, and treated them to an elegant
repast of eggs, fowl, yams, plantains, breadfruit, etc. They now
learned from him an account of the fate of his companions, who, with
himself, preferred accompanying Christian in the Bounty to remaining
at Otaheite—which account agreed with that he afterwards gave at
greater length to Captain Beechey in 1828. Our limits will not permit
us to detail all the interesting particulars at length, as we could
have wished, but they are in substance as follows:—
It was Christian’s object, in order to avoid the vengeance of the
British law, to proceed to some unknown and uninhabited island, and
the Marquesas Islands were first fixed upon. But Christian, on reading
Captain Cartaret’s account of Pitcairn’s Island, thought it better
adapted for the purpose, and shaped his course thither. Having landed
and traversed it, they found it every way suitable to their wishes,
possessing water, wood, a good soil, and some fruits. Having
ascertained all this, they returned on board, and having landed their
hogs, goats, and poultry, and gutted the ship of everything that could
be useful to them, they set fire to her, and destroyed every vestige
that might lead to the discovery of their retreat. This was on the 23d
of January 1790. The island was then divided into nine equal portions
amongst them, a suitable spot of neutral ground being reserved for a
village. The poor Otaheitans now found themselves reduced to the
condition of mere slaves; but they patiently submitted, and everything
went on peaceably for two years. About that time Williams, one of the
seamen, having the misfortune to lose his wife, forcibly took the wife
of one of the Otaheitans, which, together with their continued
ill-usage, so exasperated the latter, that they formed a plan for
murdering the whole of their oppressors. The plot, however, was
discovered, and revealed by the Englishmen’s wives, and two of the
Otaheitans were put to death. But the surviving natives soon
afterwards matured a more successful conspiracy, and in one day
murdered five of the Englishmen, including Christian. Adams and Young
were spared at the intercession of their wives, and the remaining two,
M’Koy and Quintal (two desperate ruffians), escaped to the mountains,
whence, however, they soon rejoined their companions. But the further
career of these two villains was short. M’Koy, having been bred up in
a Scottish distillery, succeeded in extracting a bottle of ardent
spirits from the _tee root_; from which time he and Quintal were never
sober, until the former became delirious, and committed suicide by
jumping over a cliff. Quintal being likewise almost insane with
drinking, made repeated attempts to murder Adams and Young, until they
were absolutely compelled, for their own safety, to put him to death,
which they did by felling him with a hatchet.
Adams and Young were at length the only surviving males who had landed
on the island, and being both of a serious turn of mind, and having
time for reflection and repentance, they became extremely devout.
Having saved a Bible and prayer-book from the Bounty, they now
performed family worship morning and evening, and addressed themselves
to training up their own children and those of their unfortunate
companions in piety and virtue. Young, however, was soon carried off
by an asthmatic complaint, and Adams was thus left to continue his
pious labors alone. At the time Captains Staines and Pipon visited the
island, this interesting little colony consisted of about forty-six
persons, mostly grown-up young people, all living in harmony and
happiness together; and not only professing, but fully understanding
and practising, the precepts and principles of the Christian religion.
Adams had instituted the ceremony of marriage, and he assured his
visitors that not one instance of debauchery and immoral conduct had
occurred amongst them.
The visitors having supplied these interesting people with some tools,
kettles, and other articles, took their leave. The account which they
transmitted home of this newly-discovered colony was, strange to say,
as little attended to by government as that of Captain Folger, and
nothing more was heard of Adams and his family for nearly twelve
years, when, in 1825, Captain Beechey, in the Blossom, bound on a
voyage of discovery to Behring Strait, touched at Pitcairn’s Island.
On the approach of the Blossom, a boat came off under all sail towards
the ship, containing old Adams and ten of the young men of the island.
After requesting and obtaining leave to come on board, the young men
sprung up the side, and shook every officer cordially by the hand.
Adams, who was grown very corpulent, followed more leisurely. He was
dressed in a sailor’s shirt and trousers, with a low-crowned hat,
which he held in his hand in sailor fashion, while he smoothed down
his bald forehead when addressed by the officers of the Blossom. The
little colony had now increased to about sixty-six, including an
English sailor of the name of John Buffett, who, at his own earnest
desire, had been left by a whaler. In this man the society luckily
found an able and willing schoolmaster. He instructed the children in
reading, writing, and arithmetic, and devoutly co-operated with old
Adams in affording religious instruction to the community. The
officers of the Blossom went ashore, and were entertained with a
sumptuous repast at young Christian’s, the table being spread with
plates, knives, and forks. Buffett said grace in an emphatic manner;
and so strict were they in this respect, that it was not deemed proper
to touch a morsel of bread without saying grace both before and after
it. The officers slept in the house all night, their bedclothing and
sheets consisting of the native cloth made of the native
mulberry-tree. The only interruption to their repose was the melody of
the evening hymn, which was chanted together by the whole family after
the lights were put out; and they were awakened at early dawn by the
same devotional ceremony. On Sabbath the utmost decorum was attended
to, and the day was passed in regular religious observances.
In consequence of a representation made by Captain Beechey, the
British government sent out Captain Waldegrave in 1830, in the
Seringapatam, with a supply of sailors’ blue jackets and trousers,
flannels, stockings and shoes, women’s dresses, spades, mattocks,
shovels, pickaxes, trowels, rakes, etc. He found their community
increased to about seventy-nine, all exhibiting the same
unsophisticated and amiable characteristics as we have before
described. Other two Englishmen had settled amongst them; one of them,
called Nobbs, a low-bred, illiterate man, a self-constituted
missionary, who was endeavoring to supersede Buffett in his office of
religious instructor. The patriarch Adams, it was found, had died in
March, 1829, aged sixty-five. While on his deathbed, he had called the
heads of families together, and urged upon them to elect a chief;
which, however, they had not yet done; but the greatest harmony still
prevailed amongst them, notwithstanding Nobbs’s exertions to form a
party of his own. Captain Waldegrave thought that the island, which is
about four miles square, might be able to support a thousand persons,
upon reaching which number they would naturally emigrate to other
islands.
Such is the account of this most singular colony, originating in crime
and bloodshed. Of all the repentant criminals on record, the most
interesting, perhaps, is John Adams; nor do we know where to find a
more beautiful example of the value of early instruction than in the
history of this man, who, having run the full career of nearly all
kinds of vice, was checked by an interval of leisurely reflection, and
the sense of new duties awakened by the power of natural affections.