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

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Captain Cook adds, 'the quantity of food which these people eat at a
meal is prodigious. I have seen one man devour two or three fishes as
big as a perch; three bread-fruits, each bigger than two fists; fourteen
or fifteen plantains or bananas, each of them six or seven inches long,
and four or five round; and near a quart of the pounded bread-fruit,
which is as substantial as the thickest unbaked custard. This is so
extraordinary that I scarcely expect to be believed; and I would not
have related it upon my own single testimony, but Mr. Banks, Dr.
Solander, and most of the other gentlemen have had ocular demonstration
of its truth, and know that I mention them on the occasion.'

The women, who, on other occasions, always mix in the amusements of the
men, who are particularly fond of their society, are wholly excluded
from their meals; nor could the latter be prevailed on to partake of
anything when dining in company on board ship; they said it was not
right: even brothers and sisters have each their separate baskets, and
their provisions are separately prepared; but the English officers and
men, when visiting the young ones at their own houses, frequently ate
out of the same basket and drank out of the same cup, to the horror and
dismay of the older ladies, who were always offended at this liberty;
and if by chance any of the victuals were touched, or even the basket
that contained them, they would throw them away.

In this fine climate houses are almost unnecessary. The minimum range of
the thermometer is about 63 deg., the maximum 85 deg., giving an average of 74 deg..
Their sheds or houses consist generally of a thatched roof raised on
posts, the eaves reaching to within three or four feet of the ground;
the floor is covered with soft hay, over which are laid mats, so that
the whole is one cushion, on which they sit by day and sleep by night.
They eat in the open air, under the shade of the nearest tree. In each
district there is a house erected for general use, much larger than
common, some of them exceeding two hundred feet in length, thirty broad,
and twenty high. The dwelling-houses all stand in the woody belt which
surrounds the island, between the feet of the central mountains and the
sea, each having a very small piece of ground cleared, just enough to
keep the dropping of the trees from the thatch. An Otaheitan wood
consists chiefly of groves of bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts, without
underwood, and intersected in all directions by the paths that lead from
one house to another. 'Nothing,' says Cook, 'can be more grateful than
this shade, in so warm a climate, nor anything more beautiful than these
walks,'

With all the activity they are capable of displaying, and the
sprightliness of their disposition, they are fond of indulging in ease
and indolence. The trees that produce their food are mostly of
spontaneous growth--the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, bananas of thirteen
sorts, besides plantains; a fruit not unlike an apple, which, when ripe,
is very pleasant; sweet potatoes, yams, and a species of _arum_; the
pandanus, the jambu and the sugar-cane; a variety of plants whose roots
are esculent--these, with many others, are produced with so little
culture, that, as Cook observes, they seem to be exempted from the first
general curse that 'man should eat his bread in the sweat of his brow.'
Then for clothing they have the bark of three different trees, the paper
mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, and a tree which resembles the wild
fig-tree of the West Indies; of these the mulberry only requires to be
cultivated.

In preparing the cloth they display a very considerable degree of
ingenuity. Red and yellow are the two colours most in use for dyeing
their cloth; the red is stated to be exceedingly brilliant and
beautiful, approaching nearest to our full scarlet; it is produced by
the mixture of the juices of two vegetables, neither of which separately
has the least tendency to that hue: one is the _Cordia Sebestina_, the
other a species of _Ficus_; of the former the leaves, of the latter the
fruits yield the juices. The yellow dye is extracted from the bark of
the root of the _Morinda citrifolia_, by scraping and infusing it in
water.

Their matting is exceedingly beautiful, particularly that which is made
from the bark of the _Hibiscus tiliaceus_, and of a species of
_Pandanus_. Others are made of rushes and grass with amazing facility
and dispatch. In the same manner their basket and wicker work are most
ingeniously made; the former in patterns of a thousand different kinds.
Their nets and fishing-lines are strong and neatly made, so are their
fish-hooks of pearl-shell; and their clubs are admirable specimens of
wood-carving.

A people so lively, sprightly, and good-humoured as the Otaheitans are,
must necessarily have their amusements. They are fond of music, such as
is derived from a rude flute and a drum; of dancing, wrestling, shooting
with the bow, and throwing the lance. They exhibit frequent trials of
skill and strength in wrestling; and Cook says it is scarcely possible
for those who are acquainted with the athletic sports of very remote
antiquity, not to remark a rude resemblance of them in a wrestling-match
(which he describes) among the natives of a little island in the midst
of the Pacific Ocean.

But these simple-minded people have their vices, and great ones too.
Chastity is almost unknown among a certain description of women: there
is a detestable society called _Arreoy_, composed, it would seem, of a
particular class, who are supposed to be the chief warriors of the
island. In this society the men and women live in common; and on the
birth of a child it is immediately smothered, that its bringing up may
not interfere with the brutal pleasures of either father or mother.
Another savage practice is that of immolating human beings at the
_Morais_, which serve as temples as well as sepulchres, and yet, by the
report of the missionaries, they entertain a due sense and reverential
awe of the Deity. 'With regard to their worship,' Captain Cook does the
Otaheitans but justice in saying, 'they reproach many who bear the name
of Christians. You see no instances of an Otaheitan drawing near the
Eatooa with carelessness and inattention; he is all devotion; he
approaches the place of worship with reverential awe; uncovers when he
treads on sacred ground; and prays with a fervour that would do honour
to a better profession. He firmly credits the traditions of his
ancestors. None dares dispute the existence of the Deity.' Thieving may
also be reckoned as one of their vices; this, however, is common to all
uncivilized nations, and, it may be added, civilized too. But to judge
them fairly in this respect, we should compare their situation with that
of a more civilized people. A native of Otaheite goes on board a ship
and finds himself in the midst of iron bolts, nails, knives, scattered
about, and is tempted to carry off a few of them. If we could suppose a
ship from El Dorado to arrive in the Thames, and that the custom-house
officers, on boarding her, found themselves in the midst of bolts,
hatchets, chisels, all of solid gold, scattered about the deck, one need
scarcely say what would be likely to happen. If the former found the
temptation irresistible to supply himself with what was essentially
useful--the latter would be as little able to resist that which would
contribute to the indulgence of his avarice or the gratification of his
pleasures, or of both.

Such was the state of this beautiful island and its interesting and
fascinating natives at the time when Captain Wallis first discovered and
Lieutenant Cook shortly afterwards visited it. What they now are, as
described by Captain Beechey, it is lamentable to reflect. All their
usual and innocent amusements have been denounced by the missionaries,
and, in lieu of them, these poor people have been driven to seek for
resources in habits of indolence and apathy: that simplicity of
character, which atoned for many of their faults, has been converted
into cunning and hypocrisy; and drunkenness, poverty, and disease have
thinned the island of its former population to a frightful degree. By a
survey of the first missionaries, and a census of the inhabitants, taken
in 1797, the population was estimated at 16,050 souls; Captain
Waldegrave, in 1830, states it, on the authority of a census also taken
by the missionaries, to amount only to 5000--and there is but too much
reason to ascribe this diminution to praying, psalm-singing, and
dram-drinking.[3]

The island of Otaheite is in shape two circles united by a low and
narrow isthmus. The larger circle is named Otaheite Mooe, and is about
thirty miles in diameter; the lesser, named Tiaraboo, about ten miles in
diameter. A belt of low land, terminating in numerous valleys, ascending
by gentle slopes to the central mountain, which is about seven thousand
feet high, surrounds the larger circle, and the same is the case with
the smaller circle on a proportionate scale. Down these valleys flow
streams and rivulets of clear water, and the most luxuriant and verdant
foliage fills their sides and the hilly ridges that separate them, among
which were once scattered the smiling cottages and little plantations of
the natives. All these are now destroyed, and the remnant of the
population has crept down to the flats and swampy ground on the sea
shore, completely subservient to the seven establishments of
missionaries, who have taken from them what little trade they used to
carry on, to possess themselves of it; who have their warehouses, act as
agents, and monopolize all the cattle on the island--but, in return,
they have given them a new religion and a _parliament (risum teneatis?)_
and reduced them to a state of complete pauperism--and all, as they say,
and probably have so persuaded themselves, for the honour of God, and
the salvation of their souls! How much is such a change brought about by
such conduct to be deprecated! how lamentable is it to reflect, that an
island on which Nature has lavished so many of her bounteous gifts, with
which neither Cyprus nor Cythera, nor the fanciful island of Calypso,
can compete in splendid and luxuriant beauties, should be doomed to such
a fate,--in an enlightened age, and by a people that call themselves
civilized!

CHAPTER II

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.

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