GEORGE HUN NOBBS.
Death of John Adams
THE EVEN, uneventful round of life in the little community passed
steadily along, with “scarcely a ripple to stir its monotonous
surface.” Cultivating the ground and keeping it in order, building
houses for the more newly married couples, canoe building and fishing,
and occasionally going out with their guns to shoot goats, wild fowl,
and birds, supplied constant occupation for the men. A favorite mode of
taking fish was with the spear, usually made by fastening five pieces
of iron, bent to the required shape, and having barbed points, onto a
pole about twenty feet long, and in the use of which the men were very
expert. The women were always to be seen assisting their husbands,
fathers, and brothers in their outdoor occupations, and sometimes
accompanied them when they went out in their canoes to fish. Cooking
and other housework, and taking care of the children, gave them daily
employment. But their principal work, during the colder months of the
year, was the making of native cloth.
This native cloth, or _tappa_, is made from the bark of the _aute_
plant (pronounced outy), _i. e._, the paper mulberry, and has very much
the nature and consistency of paper. The work is exceedingly laborious
and wearisome, and when the yield of the plants is large, it sometimes
occupies months in doing. Yet it was necessary to be done, as that
material supplied nearly all the bedding used then.
When anyone not accustomed to sleeping beneath such noise-creating
bedclothes tries it for the first time, the constant loud rustle that
it makes generally succeeds in driving all sleep away. Captain Beechy
spoke of sleeping in cloth that “seemed fresh from the loom,” as
that was all that his entertainers could give him. Frequent washing
and exposure to the sun will eventually deprive the material of
its stiffness and noisiness, and in cold weather it affords a warm
covering, as it excludes all air. It is colored a bright reddish
brown, and rendered tougher by being dyed in the sap obtained from the
_doodooee_ (candlenut tree). This dye is made by steeping the bark of
the _doodooee_ in water.
In the early days this stiff, uncomfortable cloth was worn by all,
with, perhaps, the exception of John Adams himself. By the women,
pieces about a yard in width and two yards in length were fastened
around the waist by simply crossing the two upper ends and turning
them in to secure them. Another yard of the same material was thrown
across the shoulders, as a covering to the body, and this constituted
almost wholly their everyday garment. For Sunday wear each woman and
girl owned a frock of most primitive make, being gathered in around
the neck, and falling loosely from the shoulders, reaching a little
below the knee. Underneath was a petticoat worn as described above,
which completed the whole attire. The men and boys wore the waistcloth,
almost exclusively, on week days. Sundays they donned their breeches,
which did not reach to the knee, thus displaying the muscular growth of
their limbs.
The frequent outdoor employments of both men and women resulted in a
great muscular development of their physical frame, and rendered them
strong and capable of enduring a vast amount of manual labor. Yet this
did not deprive the female portion of the community of their feminine
instincts, and all their womanly ways remained. Their children were
brought up early to help in all the little homely duties that pertained
to the house, as well as to aid their parents in field work; nor were
they allowed to absent themselves from the school, where they were
taught reading, writing, and arithmetic by John Buffett.
In 1828 George Hun Nobbs, accompanied by an American named Bunker,
arrived at Pitcairn Island from Valparaiso. He had reached the
last-mentioned place after having passed through several adventures,
and while there heard for the first time the story of the _Bounty_, and
how Pitcairn Island was settled by the descendants of the mutineers.
The story so fascinated him that he determined, if it could be done,
to reach the island and take up his residence with the inhabitants.
Accordingly, obtaining possession of a launch, he, with Bunker, left
Valparaiso, and in due time they reached their destination safely. Both
these additions to their number received a cordial welcome from the
inhabitants.
Nobbs did not long delay seeking to woo and win a wife; and, with
some difficulty, at length succeeded in obtaining the hand of Sarah
Christian, a granddaughter of Fletcher Christian. Bunker was not so
fortunate, for Peggy Christian would not listen to his suit, and
whether through unrequited love or a fit of temporary insanity is not
known, but he attempted self-destruction by throwing himself headlong
off a cliff. By some means the fall was broken, and his suicidal
intentions were frustrated. He died, however, shortly after.
[Illustration:
ROSA YOUNG. ARTHUR YOUNG.
JOHN YOUNG. SARAH YOUNG.]
The launch on which the voyage of the two men was made was run ashore,
broken up, and used in building Nobbs’ house. In giving an account of
himself, Nobbs said that he was the “unacknowledged son of a marquis.”
Being, by a superior education, better fitted than was John Buffett
to fill the place of teacher among the youth of the island, Nobbs had
not been long among them before he took charge of the school, taking
the work almost entirely out of Buffett’s hands. Buffett was inclined
to resent this act of Nobbs as a gross injustice, but the people in
general favored the change, chiefly because of a grave fault which
Buffett had committed. Yet some of the parents remained faithful in
their allegiance to the teacher that had first come among them, and
did not withdraw their children from his care, for, in spite of his
fault, he endeavored to the best of his ability to perform his duty
faithfully to them, while he sought to atone for the wrong he had done
by a lifelong repentance.
The duty of officiating as pastor was also assumed by Nobbs. John Adams
had by this time left the management of everything that concerned the
progress and improvement of the people, in the hands of the two younger
men. On the twenty-ninth day of March, 1829, the year following the
arrival of Nobbs, the last of the Englishmen that came in the _Bounty_
passed quietly and peacefully away, at the age of sixty-five years,
deeply and sincerely mourned by the family over whom he had been so
strangely placed. He survived the last of his companions twenty-nine
years. A plain white stone marks his resting place, the inscription
“In Hope” being placed beneath the simple record of his name, age, and
death. The headstone was made in Devonport, England.
A year subsequent to the death of John Adams the _Seringapatam_,
man-of-war, Captain Waldegrave, visited the island, bringing gifts of
clothing and other useful presents to the islanders. Previous to that
time the people, on account of their rapidly increasing numbers, had
been considering whether the island, with its limited resources, would
be adequate to their support and maintenance, not the least cause
of anxiety being the scarcity of water. This condition of affairs
was reported to the proper authorities, and an arrangement having
been effected between the British Government and the authorities at
Tahiti for a grant of land for the use of the Pitcairners in Tahiti,
the _Comet_, sloop, Captain Sandilands, arrived at Pitcairn Island on
the twenty-eighth day of February, 1831, as convoy to the _Lucy Ann_,
which, on the seventh day of March, sailed for Tahiti, with the whole
Pitcairn Island colony, and their small stock of movable goods, on
board.
At the end of fourteen days the emigrants landed, having received a
cordial welcome. But the experiment did not succeed. They had not
been long in Tahiti when a malignant fever broke out amongst them and
rapidly reduced their numbers. Fourteen of the people died in quick
succession, and, notwithstanding the liberal provision made for their
support by the kind-hearted people of Tahiti, the Pitcairners were
anxiously desirous to return to their home. Then, too, the manners of
the people among whom they now lived were so different from the pure,
simple lives they led amongst themselves, and the open and undisguised
immorality of some of the people around them rendered them very
unhappy. In less than three weeks after their arrival at Tahiti an
opportunity of returning presented itself, and Buffett and his family
availed themselves of it. Four more of the young men accompanied them.
The vessel that carried them called at Hood’s Island on the way, and
there one of the four young men died. After the safe arrival home of
the others, and before the rest of the community came, another of their
number passed away.
Meanwhile, preparations were making at Tahiti for the return of the
rest of the people. The schooner _Charles Doggett_ was chartered to
convey them to their home. A quantity of the _Bounty’s_ copper had been
carried to Tahiti, and this was given by the people to purchase the
schooner, as it was all they were able to do; but liberal aid was given
by generous friends in Tahiti, who raised a subscription to supply the
deficiency. The return voyage occupied twenty-two days, the whole stay
at Tahiti not extending over five months.
A pleasing incident is here recorded, illustrating the old Bible truth,
“Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many
days.” During the sojourn of the Pitcairners at Tahiti, in the time
of their deep sorrow and grief, when one and another of their number
sickened and died, the second mate of an American whaleship, whose name
was Coffin, learned of the dire distress that they suffered. Pitying
their forlorn condition as strangers in a strange land, and obeying the
impulse of a kind heart, he generously spent five dollars in procuring
such food for those who were sick as he thought they would relish.
Nor were the needs of the others forgotten. This act of disinterested
Christian kindness was warmly remembered by all the people, and when,
after nineteen years, the kind-hearted man came to Pitcairn as master
of a ship, the people made him a present of ten barrels of yams,
the cost of which was twenty dollars. This substantial proof of the
recollection of his goodness toward them affected the captain to tears,
and it was with difficulty that he could be prevailed upon to accept
the gift, pleading that his former kindness might be allowed to pass
unrewarded. But the people earnestly insisted upon his accepting what
they considered but a small return for the unforgotten deed of kindness
shown them in their extremity.
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