The Eventful History Of The Mutiny And Piratical Seizure by Sir John Barrow

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Of the fidelity and attachment of these simple-minded creatures an
instance is afforded in the affecting story which is told, in the first
_Missionary Voyage of the Duff_, of the unfortunate wife of the reputed
mutineer Mr. Stewart. It would seem also to exonerate Edwards from some
part of the charges which have been brought against him.

'The history of Peggy Stewart marks a tenderness of heart that never
will be heard without emotion: she was the daughter of a chief, and
taken for his wife by Mr. Stewart, one of the unhappy mutineers. They
had lived with the old chief in the most tender state of endearment; a
beautiful little girl had been the fruit of their union, and was at the
breast when the _Pandora_ arrived, seized the criminals, and secured
them in irons on board the ship. Frantic with grief, the unhappy Peggy
(for so he had named her) flew with her infant in a canoe to the arms of
her husband. The interview was so affecting and afflicting, that the
officers on board were overwhelmed with anguish, and Stewart himself,
unable to bear the heartrending scene, begged she might not be admitted
again on board. She was separated from him by violence, and conveyed on
shore in a state of despair and grief too big for utterance. Withheld
from him, and forbidden to come any more on board, she sunk into the
deepest dejection; it preyed on her vitals; she lost all relish for food
and life, rejoiced no more, pined under a rapid decay of two months, and
fell a victim to her feelings, dying literally of a broken heart. Her
child is yet alive, and the tender object of our care, having been
brought up by a sister, who nursed it as her own, and has discharged all
the duties of an affectionate mother to the orphan infant.'[16]

It does not appear that young Heywood formed any matrimonial engagement
during his abode in Otaheite. He was not, however, insensible to the
amiable and good qualities of these people. In some laudatory verses
which he wrote while on the island, their numerous good qualities are
spoken of in terms of the highest commendation.

All the mutineers that were left on the island being received on board
the _Pandora_, that ship proceeded in search of those who had gone away
in the _Bounty_. It may be mentioned, however, that two of the most
active in the mutiny, Churchill and Thompson, had perished on the island
before her arrival, by violent deaths. These two men had accompanied a
chief, who was the _tayo_, or sworn friend, of Churchill, and having
died without children, this mutineer succeeded to his property and
dignity, according to the custom of the country. Thompson, for some real
or fancied insult, took an opportunity of shooting his companion. The
natives assembled, and came to a resolution to avenge the murder, and
literally stoned Thompson to death, and his skull was brought on board
the _Pandora_. This horrible wretch had some time before slain a man and
a child through mere wantonness, but escaped punishment by a mistake
that had nearly proved fatal to young Heywood. It seems that the
description of a person in Otaheite is usually given by some
distinguishing figure of the _tattoo_, and Heywood, having the same
marks as Thompson, was taken for him; and just as the club was raised to
dash out his brains, the interposition of an old chief, with whom he was
travelling round the island, was just in time to avert the blow.

Captain Edwards had no clue to guide him as to the route taken by the
_Bounty_, but he learnt from different people and from journals kept on
board that ship, which were found in the chests of the mutineers at
Otaheite, the proceedings of Christian and his associates after
Lieutenant Bligh and his companions had been turned adrift in the
launch. From these it appears that the pirates proceeded in the first
instance to the island of Toobouai, in lat. 20 deg. 13' S., long. 149 deg. 35'
W., where they anchored on the 25th May, 1789. They had thrown overboard
the greater part of the bread-fruit plants, and divided among themselves
the property of the officers and men who had been so inhumanly turned
adrift. At this island they intended to form a settlement, but the
opposition of the natives, the want of many necessary materials, and
quarrels among themselves, determined them to go to Otaheite to procure
what might be required to effect their purpose, provided they should
agree to prosecute their original intention. They accordingly sailed
from Toobouai about the latter end of the month, and arrived at Otaheite
on the 6th June. The Otoo, or reigning sovereign, and other principal
natives, were very inquisitive and anxious to know what had become of
Lieutenant Bligh and the rest of the crew, and also what had been done
with the bread-fruit plants? They were told they had most unexpectedly
fallen in with Captain Cook at an island he had just discovered, called
Whytootakee, where he intended to form a settlement, and where the
plants had been landed; and that Lieutenant Bligh and the others were
stopping there to assist Captain Cook in the business he had in hand,
and that he had appointed Mr. Christian commander of the _Bounty_; and
that he was now come by his orders for an additional supply of hogs,
goats, fowls, bread-fruit, and various other articles which Otaheite
could supply.

This artful story was quite sufficient to impose on the credulity of
these humane and simple-minded islanders; and so overcome with joy were
they to hear that their old friend Captain Cook was alive, and about to
settle so near them, that every possible means were forthwith made use
of to procure the things that were wanted; so that in the course of a
very few days the _Bounty_ received on board three hundred and twelve
hogs, thirty-eight goats, eight dozen of fowls, a bull and a cow, and a
large quantity of bread-fruit, plantains, bananas, and other fruits.
They also took with them eight men, nine women, and seven boys. With
these supplies they left Otaheite on the 19th June, and arrived a second
time at Toobouai on the 26th. They warped the ship up the harbour,
landed the live stock, and set about building a fort of fifty yards
square.

While this work was carrying on, quarrels and disagreements were daily
happening among them, and continual disputes and skirmishes were taking
place with the natives, generally brought on by the violent conduct of
the invaders, and by depredations committed on their property.
Retaliations were attempted by the natives without success, numbers of
whom being pursued with fire-arms were put to death. Still the situation
of the mutineers became so disagreeable and unsafe, the work went on so
slowly and reluctantly, that the building of the fort was agreed to be
discontinued. Christian, in fact, had very soon perceived that his
authority was on the wane, and that no peaceful establishment was likely
to be accomplished at Toobouai; he therefore held a consultation as to
what would be the most advisable step to take. After much angry
discussion, it was at length determined that Toobouai should be
abandoned; that the ship should once more be taken to Otaheite; and that
those who might choose to go on shore there might do so, and those who
preferred to remain in the ship might proceed in her to whatever place
they should agree upon among themselves.

In consequence of this determination they sailed from Toobouai on the
15th, and arrived at Matavai Bay on the 20th September, 1789. Here
sixteen of the mutineers were put on shore, at their own request,
fourteen of whom were received on board the _Pandora_, and two of them,
as before mentioned, were murdered on the island. The remaining nine
agreed to continue in the _Bounty_. The small arms, powder, canvas, and
the small stores belonging to the ship, were equally divided among the
whole crew. The _Bounty_ sailed finally from Otaheite on the night of
the 21st September, and was last seen the following morning to the
north-west of Point Venus. They took with them seven Otaheitan men and
twelve women. It was not even conjectured whither they meant to go; but
Christian had frequently been heard to say, that his object was to
discover some unknown or uninhabited island, in which there was no
harbour for shipping; that he would run the _Bounty_ on shore, and make
use of her materials to form a settlement; but this was the only
account, vague as it was, that could be procured to direct Captain
Edwards in his intended search.

It appears that when the schooner, of which we have spoken, had been
finished, six of the fourteen mutineers that were left on Otaheite
embarked in her, with the intention of proceeding to the East Indies,
and actually put to sea; but meeting with bad weather, and suspecting
the nautical abilities of Morrison, whom they had elected as commanding
officer, to conduct her in safety, they resolved on returning to
Otaheite. Morrison, it seems, first undertook the construction of this
schooner, being himself a tolerable mechanic, in which he was assisted
by the two carpenters, the cooper, and some others. To this little band
of architects, we are told, Morrison acted both as director and
chaplain, distinguishing the Sabbath day by reading to them the Church
Liturgy, and hoisting the British colours on a flagstaff erected near
the scene of their operations. Conscious of his innocence, his object is
stated to have been that of reaching Batavia in time to secure a passage
home in the next fleet bound to Holland; but that their return was
occasioned, not by any distrust of Morrison's talents, but by a refusal,
on the part of the natives, to give them a sufficient quantity of
matting and other necessaries for so long a voyage, being, in fact,
desirous of retaining them on the island. Stewart and young Heywood took
no part in this transaction, having made up their minds to remain at
Otaheite, and there to await the arrival of a king's ship, it being
morally certain that ere long one would be sent out thither to search
for them, whatever might have been the fate of Bligh and his companions;
and that this was really their intention is evident by the alacrity they
displayed in getting on board the _Pandora_, the moment of her arrival.

On the 8th of May, this frigate left Otaheite, accompanied by the little
schooner which the mutineers had built, and the history of which is
somewhat remarkable. In point of size she was not a great deal larger
than Lieutenant Bligh's launch, her dimensions being thirty feet length
of keel; thirty-five feet length on deck; nine feet and a half extreme
breadth; five feet depth of the hold. She parted from the _Pandora_ near
the Palmerston Islands, when searching for the _Bounty_, and was not
heard of till the arrival of the _Pandora's_ crew at Samarang, in Java,
where they found her lying at anchor, the crew having suffered so
dreadfully from famine and the want of water, that one of the young
gentlemen belonging to her became delirious. She was a remarkably swift
sailer, and, being afterwards employed in the sea-otter trade, is stated
to have made one of the quickest passages ever known from China to the
Sandwich Islands. This memorable little vessel was purchased at Canton
by the late Captain Broughton, to assist him in surveying the coast of
Tartary, and became the means of preserving the crew of his Majesty's
ship _Providence_, amounting to one hundred and twelve men, when wrecked
to the eastward of Formosa, in the year 1797.

The _Pandora_ called at numerous islands without success, but on
Lieutenant Corner having landed on one of the Palmerston's group, he
found a yard and some spars with the broad arrow upon them, and marked
_Bounty_. This induced the captain to cause a very minute search to be
made in all these islands, in the course of which the _Pandora_, being
driven out to sea by blowing weather, and very thick and hazy, lost
sight of the little tender and a jolly boat, the latter of which was
never more heard of. This gives occasion to a little splenetic effusion
from a writer in a periodical journal,[17] which was hardly called for,
'When this boat,' says the writer, 'with a midshipman and several men
(four), had been inhumanly ordered from alongside, it was known that
there was nothing in her but one piece of salt-beef, compassionately
thrown in by a seaman; and horrid as must have been their fate, the
flippant surgeon, after detailing the disgraceful fact, adds--"that this
is the way the world was peopled"--or words to that effect, for we quote
only from memory.' The following is quoted from the book:--

'It may be difficult to surmise,' says the surgeon, 'what has been the
fate of those unfortunate men. They had a piece of salt-beef thrown into
the boat to them on leaving the ship; and it rained a good deal that
night and the following day, which might satiate their thirst. It is by
these accidents the Divine Ruler of the universe has peopled the
southern hemisphere.' This is no more than asserting an acknowledged
fact that can hardly admit of a dispute, and there appears nothing in
the paragraph which at all affects the character of Captain Edwards,
against whom it is levelled.

After a fruitless search of three months, the _Pandora_ arrived, on the
29th August, on the coast of New Holland, and close to that
extraordinary reef of coral rocks called the 'Barrier Reef,' which runs
along the greater part of the eastern coast, but at a considerable
distance from it. The boat had been sent out to look for an opening,
which was soon discovered, but in the course of the night the ship had
drifted past it. 'On getting soundings,' says Captain Edwards, in his
narrative laid before the court-martial, 'the topsails were filled; but
before the tacks were hauled on board and other sail made and trimmed,
the ship struck upon a reef; we had a quarter less two fathoms on the
larboard side, and three fathoms on the starboard side; the sails were
braced about different ways to endeavour to get her off, but to no
purpose; they were then clewed up and afterwards furled, the top-gallant
yards got down and the top-gallant masts struck. Boats were hoisted out
with a view to carry out an anchor, but before that could be effected
the ship struck so violently on the reef, that the carpenter reported
she made eighteen inches of water in five minutes; and in five minutes
after this, that there were four feet of water in the hold. Finding the
leak increasing so fast, it was thought necessary to turn the hands to
the pumps, and to bail at the different hatchways; but she still
continued to gain upon us so fast, that in little more than an hour and
a half after she struck, there were eight feet and a half of water in
the hold. About ten we perceived that the ship had beaten over the reef,
and was in ten fathoms water; we therefore let go the small bower
anchor, cleared away a cable, and let go the best bower anchor in
fifteen and a half fathoms water under foot, to steady the ship. Some
of her guns were thrown overboard, and the water gained upon us only in
a small degree, and we flattered ourselves that by the assistance of a
thrummed topsail, which we were preparing to haul under the ship's
bottom, we might be able to lessen the leak, and to free her of water:
but these flattering hopes did not continue long; for, as she settled in
the water, the leak increased again, and in so great a degree, that
there was reason to apprehend she would sink before daylight. During the
night two of the pumps were unfortunately for some time rendered
useless; one of them, however, was repaired, and we continued baling and
pumping the remainder of the night; and every effort that was thought of
was made to keep afloat and preserve the ship. Daylight fortunately
appeared, and gave us the opportunity of seeing our situation and the
surrounding danger, and it was evident the ship had been carried to the
northward by a tide or current.

'The officers, whom I had consulted on the subject of our situation,
gave it as their opinion that nothing more could be done for the
preservation of the ship; it then became necessary to endeavour to
provide and to find means for the preservation of the people. Our four
boats, which consisted of one launch, one eight-oared pinnace, and two
six-oared yawls, with careful hands in them, were kept astern of the
ship; a small quantity of bread, water, and other necessary articles,
were put into them; two canoes, which we had on board, were lashed
together and put into the water; rafts were made, and all floating
things upon deck were unlashed.

'About half-past six in the morning of the 29th the hold was full, and
the water was between decks, and it also washed in at the upper deck
ports, and there were strong indications that the ship was on the very
point of sinking, and we began to leap overboard and take to the boats,
and before everybody could get out of her she actually sunk. The boats
continued astern of the ship in the direction of the drift of the tide
from her, and took up the people that had hold of rafts and other
floating things that had been cast loose, for the purpose of supporting
them on the water. The double canoe, that was able to support a
considerable number of men, broke adrift with only one man, and was
bulged upon a reef, and afforded us no assistance when she was so much
wanted on this trying and melancholy occasion. Two of the boats were
laden with men and sent to a small sandy island (or key) about four
miles from the wreck; and I remained near the ship for some time with
the other two boats, and picked up all the people that could be seen,
and then followed the two first boats to the key; and having landed the
men and cleared the boats, they were immediately despatched again to
look about the wreck and the adjoining reef for any that might be
missing, but they returned without having found a single person. On
mustering the people that were saved, it appeared that eighty-nine of
the ship's company, and ten of the mutineers that had been prisoners on
board, answered to their names; but thirty-one of the ship's company,
and four mutineers, were lost with the ship.'

It is remarkable enough that so little notice is taken of the mutineers
in this narrative of the captain; and as the following statement is
supposed to come from the late Lieutenant Corner, who was second
lieutenant of the _Pandora_, it is entitled to be considered as
authentic, and if so, Captain Edwards must have deserved the character,
ascribed to him, of being altogether destitute of the common feelings of
humanity.

'Three of the _Bounty's_ people, Coleman, Norman, and M'Intosh, were now
let out of irons, and sent to work at the pumps. The others offered
their assistance, and begged to be allowed a chance of saving their
lives; instead of which, two additional sentinels were placed over them,
with orders to shoot any who should attempt to get rid of their fetters.
Seeing no prospect of escape, they betook themselves to prayer, and
prepared to meet their fate, every one expecting that the ship would
soon go to pieces, her rudder and part of the stern-post being already
beat away.'

When the ship was actually sinking, and every effort making for the
preservation of the crew, it is asserted that 'no notice was taken of
the prisoners, as is falsely stated by the author of the _Pandora's
Voyage_, although Captain Edwards was entreated by Mr. Heywood to have
mercy upon them, when he passed over their prison, to make his own
escape, the ship then lying on her broadside, with the larboard bow
completely under water. Fortunately the master-at-arms, either by
accident or design, when slipping from the roof of "_Pandora's_ Box"
into the sea, let the keys of the irons fall through the scuttle or
entrance, which he had just before opened, and thus enabled them to
commence their own liberation, in which they were generously assisted,
at the imminent risk of his own life, by William Moulter, a boatswain's
mate, who clung to the coamings, and pulled the long bars through the
shackles, saying he would set them free, or go to the bottom with them.

'Scarcely was this effected when the ship went down, leaving nothing
visible but the top-mast cross-trees. The master-at-arms and all the
sentinels sunk to rise no more. The cries of them and the other drowning
men were awful in the extreme; and more than half an hour had elapsed
before the survivors could be taken up by the boats. Among the former
were Mr. Stewart, John Sumner, Richard Skinner, and Henry Hillbrant, the
whole of whom perished with their hands still in manacles.

'On this melancholy occasion Mr. Heywood was the last person but three
who escaped from the prison, into which the water had already found its
way through the bulk-head scuttles. Jumping overboard, he seized a
plank, and was swimming towards a small sandy quay (key) about three
miles distant, when a boat picked him up, and conveyed him thither in a
state of nudity. It is worthy of remark, that James Morrison
endeavoured to follow his young companion's example, and, although
handcuffed, managed to keep afloat until a boat came to his assistance.'

This account would appear almost incredible. It is true men are
sometimes found to act the part of inhuman monsters, but then they are
generally actuated by some motive or extraordinary excitement; here,
however, there was neither; but on the contrary, the condition of the
poor prisoners appealed most forcibly to the mercy and humanity of their
jailor. The surgeon of the ship states, in his account of her loss, that
as soon as the spars, booms, hen-coops, and other buoyant articles were
cut loose, 'the prisoners were ordered to be let out of irons.' One
would imagine, indeed, that the officers on this dreadful emergency
would not be witness to such inhumanity, without remonstrating
effectually against keeping these unfortunate men confined a moment
beyond the period when it became evident that the ship must sink. It
will be seen, however, presently, from Mr. Heywood's own statement, that
they were so kept, and that the brutal and unfeeling conduct which has
been imputed to Captain Edwards is but too true.

It is an awful moment when a ship takes her last heel, just before going
down. When the _Pandora_ sunk, the surgeon says, 'the crew had just time
to leap overboard, accompanying it with a most dreadful yell. The cries
of the men drowning in the water was at first awful in the extreme; but
as they sunk and became faint, they died away by degrees.' How
accurately has Byron described the whole progress of a shipwreck to the
final catastrophe! He might have been a spectator of the _Pandora_, at
the moment of her foundering, when

She gave a heel, and then a lurch to port,
And, going down head foremost--sunk....

Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell--
Then shriek'd the timid and stood still the brave--
Then some leap'd overboard with dreadful yell,
As eager to anticipate their grave;
And the sea yawn'd around her like a hell,
And down she suck'd with her the whirling wave,
Like one who grapples with his enemy,
And strives to strangle him before he die.

And first one universal shriek there rush'd,
Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash
Of echoing thunder; and then all was hush'd,
Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash
Of billows; but at intervals there gush'd,
Accompanied with a convulsive splash,
A solitary shriek, the bubbling cry
Of some strong swimmer in his agony.

On the sandy key which fortunately presented itself, the shipwrecked
seamen hauled up the boats, to repair those that were damaged, and to
stretch canvas round the gunwales, the better to keep out the sea from
breaking into them. The heat of the sun and the reflection from the sand
are described as excruciating, and the thirst of the men was rendered
intolerable, from their stomachs being filled with salt water in the
length of time they had to swim before being picked up. Mr. Hamilton
says they were greatly disturbed in the night, by the irregular
behaviour of one of the seamen, named Connell, which made them suspect
he had got drunk with some wine that had been saved; but it turned out
that the excruciating torture he suffered from thirst had induced him to
drink salt water; 'by which means he went mad, and died in the sequel of
the voyage.' It seems, a small keg of water, and some biscuits, had been
thrown into one of the boats, which they found, by calculation, would be
sufficient to last sixteen days, on an allowance of two wine-glasses of
water per day to each man, and a very small quantity of bread, the
weight of which was accurately ascertained by a musket-ball, and a pair
of wooden scales made for each boat.

The crew and the prisoners were now distributed among the four boats. At
Bligh's 'Mountainous Island,' they entered a bay where swarms of natives
came down and made signs for their landing; but this they declined to
do; on which an arrow was discharged and struck one of the boats; and as
the savages were seen to be collecting their bows and arrows, a volley
of muskets, a few of which happened to be in the boats, was discharged,
which put them to flight. While sailing among the islands and near the
shore, they now and then stopped to pick up a few oysters, and procure a
little fresh water. On the 2nd September, they passed the north-west
point of New Holland, and launched into the great Indian Ocean, having a
voyage of about a thousand miles still to perform.

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