Search for Paradise - By Vance Ferrell

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forforforforforPPPPParadisearadisearadisearadisearadiseThe StoryThe StoryThe StoryThe StoryThe Story

of the Mutiny on the Bountyof the Mutiny on the Bountyof the Mutiny on the Bountyof the Mutiny on the Bountyof the Mutiny on the Bounty

Harvestime BooksHarvestime BooksHarvestime BooksHarvestime BooksHarvestime Books

BY VANCE FERRELL


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HB311

Search for Paradise

by Vance Ferrell

Published by Harvestime Books

Beersheba Springs, TN 37305 USA

Printed in the United States of America

Cover and Text Copyright 2005

by Harvestime Books

For thousands of years, mankindhas searched for paradise.

For most of us, it seems so faraway. Some willingly journey to dis-tant lands in quest of it.

But, after arriving there, it isnot always what they had expected.


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Go outside and find two rocks. Lay down oneand walk 30 paces. That is 91 feet. Lay down a sec-ond one. That was the total length of the ship.

Then pick up two more, walk 8 paces in theother direction and lay something down at each end.That is 24 feet, the total width of the ship.

Then imagine 45 men living there for about ayear, most of the time below deck in absolute dark-ness.

Consider the fact that only part of the area be-low decks was available. A full third of it (30 feet)was left empty, except for benches and empty potsfor plants! So 45 men had to live, eat, and sleep inan area 24 feet by 91 feet, with a few cubby holesbelow in the stowage.

Next, leave them there for ten months. Then

turn them free on a tropical paradise for almost halfa year, with all the food and women they could askfor. Then put them back on that ship for a returntrip halfway around the world.

And you have a recipe for disaster.

This is the story of the most famous mutinyin British naval history: the story of the mutiny

on theBounty.

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

FFFFFind Tind Tind Tind Tind Two Rockswo Rockswo Rockswo Rockswo Rocks

Introduction 3


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Nautical terms:Abaft - To the rear of (abaft

the mainmast).Aft - At or near the stern,

or back end of the ship(he went astern).

Aft hatchway - The rearhatch; the one closestto the stern (the afthatchway was the thirdone).

Amidships - The middle

part of the ship (he wasamidships).

Ballast - The seawater orother substance carried

in the deepest holds ofa ship to keep it stable(the hold had ballast).

Beam - The width of a shipat its widest point (thebeam was 24 feet).

Below - Under the maindeck (he went below).

Below decks - Under the

main deck (it wasbelow decks).Biscuit - The dried, hard

bread eaten by the crewwhen at sea (the seabiscuit had becomemoldy).

Bilge - The water fromleaks which collects at

TTTTTerms and Measurementserms and Measurementserms and Measurementserms and Measurementserms and Measurements

Terms and definitions givenhere apply to the contents of thisbook; so terms not needed (suchas bridge, forecastle, engine

room) are not included. In someinstances, only the British defi-nition of a word is given (such asmidshipmen) or a more ancientdefinition (cutter). Most samplesentences are from the story.

If you are a landlubber, you may need to read

these nautical terms. But, if you think you areready for action, turn to page 9 and climb on board.

The Bounty will weigh anchor on the 23rdand head out to sea. It may be a difficult voyage,so come prepared. Destination: Tahiti.

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the bottom of the ship(they pumped the bilge).

Bow - The front part of theship (he stood at thebow).

Cape - The southern tip ofSouth America andAfrica (they sailed forthe Cape).

Companionway - The stepsleading from one deckto another (up thecompanionway he went).

Cooper - The man in chargeof the barrels (thecooper stowed thecasks).

Crew - The men on theship, other than the

officers; the workingmen or able-bodiedseamen (he ordered allthe crew up on deck).

Cutter - Small boat, some-times with a sail,carried on a ship (thecutter was still ondeck).

Downwind - The direction

away from where thewind is blowing (off itwent downwind).

Draft - Depth of a ship inthe water; the distancefrom the waterline tothe bottom of the keel(it had a high draft).

Fathom - Measurement ofdepth, equal to 6 feet (itwas 60 fathoms deep).

Fix - Obtain a locationreading with the sextant(he obtained a fix atsunrise).

Forward - The front of theship (the mainmast wasforward).

Forward hatch - The hatchclosest to the bow (theforward hatch wasclosed just in time).

Freeboard - The distancebetween the waterlineand the main deck (ithad a high freeboard).

Galley - The kitchen area

(the sea washed into thegalley).

Guns - Small cannonmounted on the side ofthe ship (these gunswere placed on thedeck).

Hatch - An opening in thedeck through whichcargo and men go below

deck (it was loweredthrough the hatch).

Helm - The ships steeringwheel (he stood at thehelm).

High seas - High waveshitting the ship (highseas tore at the ship).

Terms and Measurements 5


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Hold - Area below deckwhere cargo is stored(he went down into thehold).

Hove to - Sail into asheltered area and letdown the anchor (theyhove to the bay).

Jolly boat - Small, generalpurpose boat carriedon a ship (last to shoveoff was the jolly boat).

Keel - The backbone of theship; the ridge runningalong the lowest part ofthe hull from stem tostern (it hit the keel).

Ladderways - The laddersleading from thehatches to below decks(they scrambled downthe ladderways as fastas they could).

Larboard - The left side ofa ship when facing thebow (off to larboardwas the Point).

Lee side, leeward - Theside of the ship away

from the wind, down-wind (it went lee of theship).

Launch - The largest boatcarried by a warship(the launch had beenstolen).

Log - The ships log con-tained a day-by-day

record of everythingthat happened (the loghad been doctored).

Mainmast - The largest ofthe masts (the mainmastfell).

Man ropes - Ropes placedalong and across thedeck at the beginning ofa storm, so men,holding onto them,would not be washedoverboard (only theman ropes kept himfrom being carriedaway).

Marines - Men hired to helpthe officers keep thepeace and prevent amutiny (the ship had nomarines).

Mast - The rounded,vertical posts whichhold up the sails (tenmonths before themast).

Master - The officer incharge of steering theship (the ships master

gave the order).Midshipman -A second-year student in trainingon board ship forcommission later as anofficer; on theBountyhe did not do the workof a seaman (there wereseveral midshipmen).



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Moor - To keep a ship inplace with ropes tied toa pier, buoy attached toan anchor, or toanother ship (wemoored the ship).

Navigation - The ability tolocate the position of aship and know whichdirection it should go(he was an excellentnavigator).

Patronage - The custom ofhiring friends andrelatives, so they couldreceive a salary andadditional training andexperience (patronagewas the reason for it).

Platform decks- Shortdecks to the side, also

called tween decks(men also slept on theplatform decks).

Poop - The short raiseddeck at the rear of aship (no seaman waspermitted on the poopdeck).

Port - The left side of aship, when facing thebow (it was off to port).

Quarter - A section on eachside of a ship near thestern (on the frontquarter deck).

Quarters - Rooms wherepeople retire at night,

also called cabins (itwas the officersquarters).

Reef - To roll up the sail, sothat it is not blown by astrong wind (he closereefed the sails).

Rudder - The verticalboard, at the bottom ofthe stern, which guidesthe direction of theship(the rudder nearly hitthe reef).

Seamen -Able-bodiedseamen (abbreviatedABs by the BritishAdmiralty back then),not including officersand midshipmen(officers and seamen).

Sextant - The navigationalinstrument used tomeasure the altitude ofthe sun or a star as anaid in determininglocation (the sextantfixed their location).

Sheathing - Metal plates onthe hull of a ship (it had

copper sheathing).Starboard - The right sideof a ship when facingthe bow (a whale couldbe seen to starboard).

Steerage - The helm,related equipment, andarea around it (theytook turns at the helm).

Terms and Measurements 7


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Stem - The frontmost partof a ship (from stem tostern).

Stern - The rear of the ship(he stood at the stern).

Superstructure - All thecabins and otherstructures on a shipwhich rise above themain deck (it had nosuperstructure).

Tail wind - A wind blowingfrom the stern of theship (we were blown bya tail wind).

Top sail - The highest sailson the ship (they reefedthe top sail).

Trade winds - Winds, incertain latitudes, whichblow constantly.

Watch - A four- or eight-hour shift to keepwatch (it was hiswatch).

Waterline - Point on thehull that the surface ofthe water touches (thewaterline edged

higher).Westerlies - Prevailingwinds blowing from thewest (it was a gustywesterly).

Windward - The directiontoward which the windis blowing, upwind.

Windward side - The side

Nauticalmeasurements:

Knot - One nautical mile perhour. A ships speed ismeasured in knots. Anautical mile is 6,076feet, and a land mile is5,280 feet. So a shiptraveling ten knots ismoving a little fasterthan 10 miles per hour

(the Pitcairn averaged 8knots). In this book,mile means a U.S.mile.

League - A measurementover sea, which is equalto three nautical miles(They were 100 leaguesfrom Brazil).

of the ship from whichthe wind is blowing (thegull came from wind-ward).

Yardarm - A horizontal poleon a mast, from which asail is suspended (hethreatened to hang himfrom the yardarm).



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Chapter OneChapter OneChapter OneChapter OneChapter One

WWWWWilliam Blighilliam Blighilliam Blighilliam Blighilliam Bligh

William Bligh was a rough one. A short, small-featured man, he came from Cornwall and was toughas nails. After the Bounty incident, he was court-martialed and convicted of using abusive languageto a junior officer. Later in life, he was also involvedin the fleet-wideNore mutiny; and, still later, he wasignominiously removed from his governorship of New

South Wales, after an uprising occurred because ofhis conduct. Bligh was a little Napoleon, variouslydescribed as irritable, truculent, overbearing, and adriver rather than a leader of men.

Yet he was also excellent at working out details,writing them down, and sending lengthy, whiny re-ports to his superiors about both the dolts he hadto work with and his own rare abilities.

Britishers who wanted to attain officer status inthe Navy started young. By the time Bligh was 21,he had been assigned to theRanger as a midship-man. For eighteen months that assignment kept himworking on or about the Isle of Man, a large islandbetween Britain and northern Ireland. While there,he met a young man who lived on that island,Fletcher Christian by name. Young Christian wanted

William Bigh 9


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A pencil sketch of William Bligh drawn from

life by George Dance in 1794, five years after

the mutiny.

to be a naval officer and had already been ship-board. The two became friends.

Then Bligh sailed away. He had been assignedto the position of ships master of the Resolution,the flagship of James Cook. This was CaptainCooks third and last great voyage to distant lands.

As master of that ship, Bligh was in charge of



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William Bligh

A second portrait of Bligh. The date is unknown; but

it was probably completed within six years after the

mutiny, since Blighs actions tended to bring him

into disfavor after that. This a copper engraving by

R. Adlard, based on a painting by J. Russell.

Below is Blighs signature.

11


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actually sailing the ship. He also oversaw the cor-rect stowage of the hold. The job required a manwho was a good seaman and outstanding in navi-gation. And Bligh had shown himself very capablein such matters. His problem was working withthose beneath him; yet it was not until he later be-came commander of his own ship, that his evil tem-per would reveal itself to the full. Cook had seen

some charts Bligh had prepared from earlier voy-ages, liked the quality of his workmanship, andhighly recommended him to the Admiralty.

James Cook was the most famous British navi-gator of his time. He made three voyages to the SouthPacific and mapped the area with remarkable accu-racy. On his first voyage (1768-1771), he mappedNew Zealand, explored the east coast of Australia,and claimed a large part for Great Britain. He namedit New South Wales.

On his second voyage, he was the first to sailacross the Antarctic Circle and said that a conti-nent must lie somewhere beyond it.

But Cooks third voyage (1776-1779), the oneBligh took with him, ended tragically. Cook discov-ered the Hawaiian Islands (which he named Sand-wich Islands, after the Earl of Sandwich) and then

landed on the western coast of North America. Sail-ing up the coast, he made charts and explored theBering Strait. Then he turned southward again tothe Hawaiian Islands.

Unfortunately, while there, he became involvedin a quarrel with the natives. A fight broke out and,during the fighting, James Cook was killed.

Bligh was disgusted over what had happened



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and said so when he returned to London. He idol-ized Cook and always maintained that Cook wouldnot have died if the other officers on shore with himhad done their duty.

But this caused Bligh to be snubbed for a pro-motion because of his accusations against fellow of-ficers. Eventually Bligh made his way back to theIsle of Man,where he met and married Elizabeth

Betham, a relative of Fletcher Christian.Young Fletcher deeply respected this man whohad sailed to faraway places with the great CaptainCook. As for Bligh, he always liked people who ad-mired him, so he took time to teach the young mansome navigational skills.

On Thursday, November 30, 1786 when Blighsailed as captain of the Britannia, a commercialship, he took young Fletcher with him. Sailing be-

tween Africa, the Caribbean, and England, it wasBlighs job to find cargoes to be carried home anddo it at better prices than competitive ships. Thisincluded food, minerals, and slaves.

Bligh was only ten years older than Fletcher, anda warm friendship existed between the two men.Better than most men around him, young Christianknew how to humor Bligh when he was out-of-sorts.

That was until the two later became enemies.

Arriving back in England, Fletcher told his fam-ily how Bligh had shown him the use of charts andinstruments, furthering his knowledge of navigation.

Lawrence Lebogue, an illiterate sailmaker fromAmerica, had been on that voyage on theBritannia.Later he also signed on board the Bounty. So healone saw Bligh and Christian work together on both

William Bligh 13


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voyages.Lebogue later testified at the mutiny hearing (the

Great Inquiry) that Captain Bligh was the bestfriend Christian ever had. But he also said thatBligh had treated his friend quite differently on the

Britannia than he later did on theBounty.And, over a period of months, that led to a se-

ries of events which would startle the world.



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Chapter TChapter TChapter TChapter TChapter Twowowowowo

BreadfrBreadfrBreadfrBreadfrBreadfruituituituituit

for the Wfor the Wfor the Wfor the Wfor the West Indiesest Indiesest Indiesest Indiesest Indies

Have you ever eaten breadfruit? You will findit in the tropics, and it is unusual. Although largerthan a coconut, when cooked, it is like bread. Witha high-starch content, it can be stored several weeks

when properly prepared. When mixed with coconutmilk, it makes an excellent pudding.Early explorers of the Pacific, such as William

Dampier, George Anson, and Captain Cook hadbrought back to Europe fascinating stories of thismarvelous fruit and its fine qualities. They said itwas the staple diet of the Pacific islanders and thatthey were able to obtain it for eight months out ofthe year.

Some of the wealthiest Britishers at that timewere planters and merchants in the West Indies (to-day called the Caribbean islands). They owned vastsugar plantations and hardly knew what to do withall their money. Yet they had a problem: They didnot want to spend so much of it feeding their slaves.

The natives on the islands had long since beenslain, and slaves had been imported, primarily from

Breadfruit for the West Indies 15


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the general region in and around Nigeria, to workthe lands. But most of the food had to be shipped infrom faraway places. Bananas were not reliable,because, since they were not trees, the plants blewdown in storms.

When those wealthy landowners heard aboutbreadfruit, they were delighted. Breadfruit grew wildin Tahiti and other South Pacific islands. Looking

much like grapefruit, their high starch content nicelysatisfied the Tahitians. Could not some way be foundto bring it to the Caribbean Islands?

Casting about for a way to get this done, thewealthy landowners offered to pay the costs of anexpedition to bring breadfruit plants from the Pa-cific to their islands bordering the Gulf of Mexico.

Through wealthy connections in London, it wasarranged that the Royal Society of Arts would offer a

gold medal to whoever should succeed in transplant-ing the breadfruit to the West Indies in order to feedpoor people there.

But there were no takers. The American Colo-nists were up in arms and a war was about to start.Soon the Boston Tea Party (1773), Paul Reveres rideand Bunker Hill (1775), and then the Declarationof Independence (1776) caught the headlines. TheRevolutionary War had begun!

However, after the Battle of Yorktown (1781), KingGeorge III was embarrassed. He had lost the Ameri-can Colonies. Now what could he do to regain worldattention as a leading nation?

Once again the planters sent that petition forbreadfruit to him, but this time they worded it dif-ferently: Would the British Government consider



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paying to outfit a ship to bring breadfruit to the EastIndies? If the crown would go along with the idea,the planters would get the breadfruit free!

Well, this was an idea King George liked. It couldtake everyones mind off their recent defeat, a littleover six years earlier, at the hands of the Americans.He would ignore the fact that the planters hadenough money to easily pay for the expedition them-

selves; George magnanimously offered to let the Brit-ish Government foot the bill. Anything to divert publicattention to something else.

On Wednesday, May 16, 1787, the Bethia waspurchased. It was a snub-nosed coastal trading ves-sel, built only two-and-a-half years earlier. RenamedtheBounty, plans were laid to reoutfit it for the trip.The eyes of the nation were turned to the laudableeffort to help the impoverished landowners in theCaribbean feed their workers.

Within days, the ship was at Deptford Naval Yard,and outfitting for the journey began. Ships orderedto the South Seas always carried less sail than whenon other duties, so the masts were shortened, giv-ing her a lower center of gravity. This meant that,although it would not travel as quickly, it would bemore likely to stay afloat in ocean storms. The Ad-

miralty also ordered that the ship be outfitted withguns, so fourteen guns were mounted on her deck.By this time, the relatively small deck was becom-ing crowded.

Crowded? You have not heard the half of it. Asmentioned earlier, theBounty was only 91 feet longand 24 feet wide. Yet 45 men were to live on it for



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months on end. The ship had no superstructure.All the quarters were belowin near total darkness,except for a few lanterns! Everything but steeringand sail handling went on below the flush maindeck: cooking, eating, sleeping, and storage of sup-plies. Most everyone and everything was packed inthere.

There were no portholes. All fresh air and light

had to come through the three-foot hatches, withlow bulwarks around them, which led to theladderwayswhen weather permitted them to beopen.

Officers and gentlemen abaft the mast had head-room of 7 feet, and a few of them had the dubiousadvantage of having their own tiny, airless cabins,ventilated by slits in the doors. The seamen beforethe mast shared one open space, 6 foot three inches

high, which directly abutted the galley and the pens

This sketch shows the appearance of the

Bounty. It was a square rigger.



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in which goats, pigs, and sheep were kept. In thisroom, next to the sewage and stench from the live-stock, they ate and slept.

The Admiralty had ruled that a great cabinmust be constructed below deck, to house thebreadfruit plants on the return trip from the SouthPacific.

This immense room was the full width of the

ship and 30 feet long. It reached from the stern ofthe ship down as far as the rear of the aft hatchway.Everyone and everything else was crowded off intothe forward part of the ship. Only the great cabinand Blighs cabin had windows.

Thirty-nine of the 45 men had to live, for monthson end, within an average space of 30 square feet.The other six were down companionways in evensmaller cells down in the hold, on platform decks

where headroom was only 5 feet. Most of those plat-form decks were used for storage.

Within the great cabin, platforms had beenerected with clay pots to hold 629 breadfruit plants.There were gratings on the deck and scoops on thesides to provide the plants with fresh air. The plantswould do better than the men. By order of the Ad-miralty, no one was permitted to live, eat, or sleep inthe well-ventilated great cabin, not even the cap-tain.

On Thursday, August 16, 1787, William Blighwas appointed captain of the good ship, Bounty,His time as master of CooksResolution had shownhim to be an excellent navigator, good at keepingrecords, and making excellent charts. He was skilledin sounding, calculating, and negotiating. His expe-



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rience on earlier commercial ships had also revealedhim to be good at negotiating business trades. Thatexperience would help him dicker a good price inTahiti for breadfruit plants.

When he arrived four days later, Bligh found theship only partly outfitted. Looking at the three smallboats on the deck, strange to say, Bligh protested.He wanted three larger ones. For some uncanny rea-

son he demanded and got a large 23-foot launch, a20-foot cutter, and a 16-foot jolly boat. Later thatlaunch would save his life.

Yet when the large boats were installed onBountys deck, there was hardly any room for menwith steerage, hatches, chicken coops, and ladder-ways all taking up space!

The only answer was to keep the men below inthe gloom and cramp of the quarters below deck!

Only a few would be able to come out, during theirwatch, to see the sun or stars and breathe the freshair.



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Chapter ThreeChapter ThreeChapter ThreeChapter ThreeChapter Three

Fletcher ChristianFletcher ChristianFletcher ChristianFletcher ChristianFletcher Christian

But now it was time for Bligh to select his

crew. The problem here was patronage. Bligh wasobligated to bring on board a number of relatives ofin-laws and former benefactors. As a result, his crewincluded 20 officers and 25 able seamen, 45 in all.

But among the 25 seamen, five were midship-men who were not able: They were gentlemen,relatives of relatives. No one expected them to haulropes or climb masts. For example, Robert Tinklerwas recommended by the ships master, John Fryer.Tinkler was Fryers brother-in-law.

Then, to top it off, Bligh hired on, as an able-bodied seaman, a half-blind fiddler, to provide mu-sic for the men each evening!

This meant there were no marines on board to

enforce discipline. In addition, Bligh signed on acommanders cook, to prepare meals mainly forhimself, also a steward, and at the last moment anassistant surgeon. Along with the two gardeners,these were all listed as able-bodied seaman.

This left Bligh top-heavy in extras, shorthandedin working crew, and lacking the disciplinary ma-rines.

Fletcher Christian 21


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Interestingly enough, as often happened at thattime, a number of the men assigned to theBounty(either pressed or transferred)jumped ship as soonas they could and fled.

In their places, several volunteers signed on whowanted to see the world. Later events would revealthat it was those very volunteers who would join inthe mutiny and finally sail away to oblivion with

Fletcher Christian.They would get their chance to see the world.TheBounty is thought to have been the first ship

of the Navy ever to have sailed with no experiencedmarines aboard; perhaps her crew of so many vol-unteers was why the ship could later be so easilycaptured by mutineers.

When Bounty finally came out of dry dock atDeptford on Monday, September 3, the carpentersand joiners remained on board, well behind sched-ule, and, day after day, delayed the start of the voy-age. Bligh was continually frustrated and vented hisanger on those about him.

Among the young men whom Bligh brought onboard as relatives of relatives were Peter Heywoodand Fletcher Christian, both from the Isle of Man.Heywood liked to write; and his later written reports,

during the voyage and after the mutiny, are vivid.His mothers pleadings for him at the Great Inquiryfinally saved his life. Heywood thought highly ofChristian.

Fletcher was 22 years old at the time he wasmustered in. A few weeks later, on September 25,he turned 23. In striking contrast to Blighs white



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pallor, Fletcher was brown skinned. Dark hairedand remarkably muscular, he was 5 foot, 10 inches.

With the exception of the ships master (Fryer at34) and the other mate (Elphinstone at 38), 33-year-old Bligh was the oldest. All the rest were in their20s.

By this time, Bligh was thoroughly frustrated.Weeks had gone by and sailing orders had not ar-

rived from the Admiralty. The weather was perfect;yet it was a naval ship, and he dared not set sailuntil the orders arrived.

He occupied himself with writing letters to keyofficials, alternately praising his ship, his dedica-tion, the expeditions purpose, flaws among the menand materials, and asking for a promotion to cap-tain.

Three weeks passed; all of it with ideal weather.During the delay, Fletchers brother, Charles, arrivedfrom Madras, India. He came in on a commercialship, the East IndiesMiddlesex. Young Christian didnot want to lose this opportunity to see his brother;so he hired a small boat, which took him from the

Bounty to theMiddlesex, and boarded it as she wasstill sailing into the bay.

He had much to tell. Their only surviving sister

had died that year, and there was other news fromhome. The two brothers went ashore and spent theevening and night there.

Years later, when Charles was 50, he wrote anautobiography which, although never published, stillexists in manuscript format. He remembered in vividdetail that visit by Fletcher. It was the last time he



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ever saw him.He was then full of professional ambition and

of hope. He bared his arm, and I was amazed at itsbrawniness. This, says he, has been acquired byhard labor. He said, I delight to set the men [thesailors on board theBounty] an example. I not onlycan do every part of a common Sailors Duty, butam upon a par with a principal part of the officers.

Charles goes on to say that he spoke with an-other officer, who had sailed on an earlier ship withFletcher, who told him that the young man had in-deed done very well. He was indeed a hard worker,had won the respect of the sailors, and treated themkindly.

It is of interest that a mutiny had broken out ontheMiddlesex and been put down during its returntrip home. This means Charles himself had seen

one firsthand only a short time before. It is very likelythat, as the brothers spoke together that night, thatattempted mutiny was discussed in detailalongwith the kind of punishment a seaman or officercould expect to receive if caught. No wonder Fletcherremained ashore all night. He learned a lot. Ideasthat might return to mind later.

Two more weeks went by, and still no sailing or-

ders. But finally they arrived on Wednesday, Novem-ber 28. Bligh and the men were overjoyed. But, im-mediately, the wind, which for weeks had been fa-vorable, changed and began blowing the other way.

Impatient to get started at last, Bligh raised an-chor and set sail. During a brief change of wind, hetried to make a run for the open sea, but the windchanged again and theBounty was forced to stop



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at St. Helens, a small port on the Isle of Wight closeto Spithead. It was mid-winter: Monday, December3, 1787.

Three days later, after another wheedling letterrequesting promotion was sent, he again attemptedto clear the Channel. Out theBounty sailed into theAtlanticand was blown almost to the French coast!Quickly, it scuttled back to St. Helens for shelter,

with many of its crew members suffering heavy colds.Bligh would have to wait longer. But by now mat-

ters were becoming serious. Well-aware of the hard-ships that lurked at the tip of South America, Blighwrote the Admiralty once again.

The plan had been to sail down along the SouthAmerican coast, go around its southern end (CapeHorn, usually referred to simply as the Horn), andthen sail into the Pacific and head toward Tahiti.That would be the shortest route to that breadfruitparadise.

But experienced seamen well-knew that theweather there would soon become terribleevendevastatingto ships trying to ply those waters. SoBligh wrote the Admiralty and requested permis-sion to go around Africa if he found that storms atthe Horn made a direct voyage into the Pacific im-

possible. Without such a paper, if he later changedcourse, he could be found guilty of not following or-ders when he returned home.

This time he received a quick response. He hadhis alternative written orders within two days. If con-ditions were too severe at the Horn, he had beengranted permission to turn around and sail east-ward to Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope.



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Chapter FChapter FChapter FChapter FChapter Fourourourourour

Into the AInto the AInto the AInto the AInto the Atlantictlantictlantictlantictlantic

On Sunday, December 23, 1787, the winds

finally moved to the east, and the Bounty suc-cessfully set sail into the Atlantic.

Everyone quickly got into the routine of chang-ing watches, setting and resetting the sails, and car-rying on their other duties. That very first afternoona seaman fell from a yardarm while unfurling themain top gallant sail. But he saved himself by aHerculean lunge at a stay.

The second day after leaving England was Christ-mas. Everyone had expected to celebrate it in tropi-cal waters. But, instead, it was chilly and cold. Ex-tra rum was issued to all hands, accompanied bybeef and plum pudding.

Then, for three days and nights, cruel steel gray

Atlantic rollers smashed over the struggling ship.On the 27th, her stern windows (by Blighs cabin)collapsed under the weight of gale-driven salt wa-ter. Icy flood waters raced through the ship and brokean azimuthal compass, used to plot the ships loca-tion and bearings. It was only with great difficultythat Bligh managed to save the precious timekeeperand his navigational instruments.



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Everyone was miserable, chilled, wet. Several ofthe superstitious sailors were frightened. If this hap-pened at the beginning of the voyage, what layahead? In addition, they had not even the comfortof hot food, for the stove could not be lit. Instead,rations of grog were added to their beer and theyhad to fill up with biscuits. There was nothing else.

Finally the storm abated, and they anxiously

searched to see how much damage had occurred.Extra spars had been washed away, and seven fullhogsheads of beer lashed together on the deck haddisappeared. The only two casks of rum had split,dribbling their contents into the smelly bilge at thebottom of the ship. Even worse, the stern had beencrumpled, and the supply of ships biscuits had beencontaminated. It was stored directly below the greatcabin, and would laboriously have to be checkedand repacked in the continual darkness of the hold,by the light of flickering lanterns.

The ships three vital boats had been damaged.All knew that they had to be repaired immediately.If another storm arose, they might need those boats.

Bligh set to work drying the mens gear, theirbedding, and the ships interior. When the stove wasfinally lit, two men from each watch were detailed to

wash and dry clothes. The hatches were opened toair the ship, and the lower decks were rinsed withvinegar water to keep down the growth of mold andmildew.

By now it was Monday, December 31, and themen were still sorting and repacking the spoiled bis-cuits, and hoisting planks from the hold to repairthe boats.

Into the Atlantic 27


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New Years Day, 1788, dawned bright and early.The ship was making good time, however an entirecask of cheese was found to be rotten. Yet the menwere on their way at last, and everyone took heart.Surely, things would get better later on.

On Sunday, January 6, men on the Bountysighted Tenerife, the largest island in the CanaryIsles. It was an awesome moment. Snowcapped

Straight line = Bountyscourse before the mu-

tiny / Dashed line = Bountys course after the

mutiny / Dotted line = Course of the launch con-

taining Bligh and his crewmen.



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Mount Tiede, a volcano that still smoked ominously,was high above the small port. The ship had leftEngland only twelve days earlier, yet already itseemed an eternity.

This would be an opportunity for much neededrepairs and securing additional supplies. Bountyanchored in the bay by Santa Cruz, the islands capi-tal; and Bligh immediately sent Fletcher Christian

to pay the captains respects to the islands gover-nor, a Spanish grandee named Marques de Branch-forte.

Blighs choice revealed his liking and respect foryoung Christian. He could have sent Elphinstone,the first mate, or gone himself. The meeting wasimportant; for, if not satisfactory, the French gover-nor could have refused to sell supplies to the shipor even permit it to remain in port.

Unfortunately, it was the worst time of the yearto obtain provisions at Tenerife. Indian corn, pota-toes, pumpkins, and onions were in short supplyand twice the summers price. Beef was scarce andinferior. The ships biscuit cost 25s ( 25 shilling) perhundred pounds, and chickens were an outrageous3s each. Even the subtropical fruits, normally soabundant, were in pitiful supply: only a few driedfigs and some half-rotten oranges. Water cost 5s aton, delivered.

But the wine was good and plentiful. So Blighbought 863 gallons of the cheapest type. He alsotook aboard two hogsheads of the finest Canarywine. According to his log, Blighs plan was to laterpresent it as gifts to high-placed British officialsupon his return to England.



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Nelson and Brown, the ships gardeners, weresent off to search for botanical curiosities. All thatthey brought back was duly recorded by Bligh, forhe loved to keep meticulous records to impress offi-cials that he was a good skipper.

The log and Blighs published narrative of thejourney reveal observations on anchorage and thesea bottom, local precautions against smallpox by

inoculation and quarantine, the ill-paved but lightand airy streets, and general conditions in the capi-tal city of Tenerife. No one could fault Bligh for notkeeping records.

After five days at Tenerife, on Thursday, Janu-ary 10, theBounty weighed anchor and set sail forthe coast of South America.

Once they were away from the Canary Isles, Blighhad some announcements to make.

First, he had to tell the men where they wereheaded. Surprisingly, this official information hadnever been given to them earlier! They had signedon board the ship, without ever having been toldwhere they were going!

Yet it is likely that many already knew. This, nodoubt, was the reason so many volunteers had of-fered to go on the trip. They had heard great things

about the beautiful South Pacific.Second, Bligh gave that which to them would

seem terrible news. He said he had no way of know-ing the length of the voyage, not even to the nearestsix months, so he was cutting the bread allowanceby one third.

In spite of the fact that the men were assuredthat any such shortage would be made up to them



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in cash at the journeys end, many were angry. Theseamens lives were so miserable anyway, that theyregarded food as one of the few rewards for havinggone through another day.

There was yet another fact which cankered inthe minds of the seamen: Bligh was both com-mander in charge of the ship and purserin chargeof the ships accounts and thus of the food stores.

Stories were rife in the British navy of captains whoheld both jobs, doling out too little foodso theycould keep the extra money saved when the trip wasover.

The men felt the food was their right, and Blighwas profiteering by not giving it to them.

The third announcement Bligh made that daywas somewhat more cheering. The watches wouldbe divided into three instead of two. This would

mean that a man on watch duty would be on watchfour hours and then off watch for eight. This wouldgive more leisure time; and, in case of emergency, itwould make more hands available for action.

The fourth announcement concerned Blighs planfor Byrne, the half-blind fiddler. Each evening, from4 p.m. onward, those who were off duty would danceto the fiddler. Bligh said he wanted activity for rec-reation, not indolence. Dancing by the sailors was acommon practice back then, as a means of exer-cise.

Each watch needs an officer to command it, andBligh gave charge of the new third watch to FletcherChristian, which was a great compliment.



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Chapter FChapter FChapter FChapter FChapter Fiveiveiveiveive

TTTTTrouble on the High Seasrouble on the High Seasrouble on the High Seasrouble on the High Seasrouble on the High Seas

On Thursday, February 7, theBounty crossedthe equator. The southeast trade wind was nowfresh and steady and the weather dry. More of thebiscuit was put into casks to protect it from ratsand insects.

On Sunday, February 17, they encountered awhaling ship which was bound for South Africa. A

few days later, theBounty left the northeast tradewinds, entered the variables, and now and then metwith a rough gale.

Bligh kept busy writing of how he thought shipsshould be maintained in tropical waters. It washoped that this would earn him points with theAdmiralty, when he returned to England.

In a later letter to his folks back home, Heywoodwrote about this time:

The number of large whales which we daily saw, inrunning down the South American Coast is wonder-ful; and two or three of them at a time frequently camealongside to windward of the ship and blew the waterall over us; and were thereby so troublesome, that, tomake them set off, we were obliged to fire at them withmuskets charged with ball. They frequently bore threeshots before they offered to stir.



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About the end of February, a westerly wind car-ried a number of the jungles jewel-like butterflies tothe decks of theBounty. According to Blighs records,they were only 100 leagues from Brazil. Several in-sects as large as horseflies also landed on deck.

By the end of the first week in March, they hadreached the latitudes of the 30s and the weatherbegan turning cooler. The men had to bring out the

winter clothing stowed away below decks. On oneday there was an 8o F. drop in temperature.

Only a month after Fletcher had been honoredwith the third watch at a special meeting called byBligh on Sunday, March 2, Bligh announced that hehad given Fletcher Christian a written order to actas a lieutenant. This placed him as second in com-mand among the crew. (It should be kept in mindthat Fryer, the master of the ship, remained in chargeof the actual sailing.)

George Stewart was promoted to Christians oldpost as masters mate.

Bligh obviously felt he needed support in hismanagement, and entrusted the job to Christian.Apparently, he trusted him more than anyone else.

Fryer, the ships master, would not have beenmiffed at not being assigned to second in command

of the crew, for he had his hands full keeping theship on coarse. A ships master was never promotedto lieutenant.

But later reports indicated that Fryer was dis-gusted with Bligh. If Bligh treated his associates assarcastically as he was writing about them all thistime in his log and journals, then Fryer had good

Trouble on the High Seas 33


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reason to be fed up. Apparently, only Fletcher hadlearned to humor Bligh. No one else could standhim.

A week after Christian was made acting lieuten-ant, Bligh ordered Matthew Quintal flogged for in-solence and contempt of Fryer. He was sentenced totwo dozen lashes with the cat-o-nine-tails. JamesMorrison, one of the midshipmen, was ordered to

give them.Back home in London later, he told the Board ofInquiry that all Quintal had done was complainabout the unnecessary cutting down of the regularfood supply.

The three most prominent midshipmen on boardwere Peter Heywood, Edward Young, and GeorgeStewart. Of the three, Heywood wrote the most.When theBounty arrived at the Cape of Good Hope,

at the southern tip of Africa, Heywood sent a letterback home describing the trip up to that point. Ourknowledge of the voyage to Tahiti comes from Blighslogs, Heywoods letters, and the testimony given laterat the Great Inquiry.

On Saturday, March 23, at 2 oclock, a crew-man sighted land. It was Tierra del Fuego, bearingsoutheast. By this bearing they soon found them-selves in sight of land above Cape St. Diego. Theywere too far to the windward of Staten Land to at-tempt going through Straits le Maire, as the windwas southwest, so they immediately halted off east.Then they proceeded more slowly. Peter Heywooddescribes it:

At noon the next day, the east part of Staten Landmade its appearance. This land is exceedingly high;



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the summits of the mountains are chiefly rocks, mostof them entirely covered with snow and have altogethera very wild and desolate appearance. The only nativesbelonging to it, and which we saw in vast numbers,are seals, porpoises, and whales; and the birds arewild ducks, albatrosses, petrels, and many other sea-birds.

Departing, the ship headed south. All handsknew what was ahead:an attempt to go around

the horn of South America at the worst time of year.

Trouble on the High Seas 35


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Chapter SixChapter SixChapter SixChapter SixChapter Six

Gale FGale FGale FGale FGale Force Worce Worce Worce Worce Windsindsindsindsinds

After leaving land there was pretty goodweather for only a day or two; but as soon as theywere clear of it, they began to feel the Cape Hornclimate! From the 25th of March till the 18th of April,everything was one continual gale. Bligh later saidthere was less than four hours of quiet through thewhole time.

On April 1, 1788, Bligh penned in his log:It blew a storm of wind, and the snow fell so heavy

that it was scarce possible to haul the sails up andfurl them from the weight and stiffness.

The next day he wrote:At 6 in the morning, the storm exceeded anything I

had met with and a sea higher than I had ever seenbefore . . from the frequent shifting of the wind brokevery high and by running in contrary directions be-

came highly dangerous.Two weeks later, amid another storm, he wrote:I cannot expect my men and officers to bear it much

longer . . from the violent motion of the ship the cookfell and . . broke one of his ribs, and one man dislo-cated his shoulder.

That same day, Bligh wrote in his log: The stormexceeded what I had ever met before. There were



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yet three weeks to go. The next day he reported thatsnow was falling in large flakes. At other times therewas hail which was sharp and severe. The entireship was battened down. The only access to thelower deck was through the aft hatchway and Blighsown mess place. Below decks was more of a closedcave than ever before.

Throughout the ordeal, they had more canvas

spread than close reefed top sails, but usually onlyreefed courses. Somehow, in the midst of all this,they managed to catch some porpoises and an al-batross, which they ate.

In his later report at the Great Inquiry, Blighquoted this from his ships log:

Repeated gales seem now to become more violent,the squalls so excessively severe that I dare scarce showany canvas to it. The motion of the ship is so very

quick and falls so steep between the seas that it isimpossible to stand without man ropes across thedecks.

After beating about for approximately threeweeks, against the fiercest headwinds, the ship be-gan leaking and everyone was totally exhausted.Bligh gave the order to turn around. By this timethey were pumping every hour, and many were sick.Nearly every night all hands had been called three

or four times.How much more could the 91-foot ship of wood

endure?And so it was that Bligh was finally forced to

turn back and head eastand sail more than threequarters of the way around the world in the otherdirection, by way of Africa, through the Indian Oceanand past Australia.

Gale Force Winds 37


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According to Heywood, the turnaround wasmade in the forenoon of April 18. On the 22nd, ac-cording to Bligh.

Everyone rejoiced. Bligh wrote: I ordered thehelm to be put [to] a weather to the universal joy ofall.

Ordering the ship to bear toward the Cape ofGood Hope and the southern tip of Africa, Bligh or-

dered fresh hog meat to be served. By this time, mostof the poultry, sheep, and hogs had died from theseverity of the storm.

Now they had a different problem: The strongtail wind blew the smoke from the stove into all quar-ters. It was only with great difficulty that a fire couldbe lighted or to get anyone to even bear the smokebelow deck. Four men took turns cooking a meal,but suffering terribly through the ordeal. Soon 12men were out of service, as a result of severe head-aches and vomiting.

With such a powerful tail wind, the ship trav-eled from one cape to the other in only 33 days.Peter Heywood describes the journey in a letter hesent from Simons Bay to England:

I suppose there never were seas, in any part of theknown world, to compare with those we met off Cape

Horn, for height, and length of swell. The oldest sea-men on board never saw anything equal to it, yet Mr.Peckover (our gunner) was on all the three voyages withCaptain Cook.

From that day, till we made this land, we had thewind constantly from the westward so that we hadonly been a month and three days making the run be-tween the two Capes, which was I dare say, as great a



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run in the time, as ever was performed; and I have thehappiness of telling you that the Bounty is as fine asea boat as ever swam. She does not sail very fast; hergreatest rate is 8 or 9 knots; but once she went ten,quartering, which is quite sufficient. We made the TableLand on the 23rd of May and anchored in this bay onSaturday night following. We shall leave this place inabout a fortnight [two weeks] and proceed for VanDiemans Land, to wood and water; afterwards to New

Zealand; and then to Otaheite.Otaheite was the name back then for Tahiti.

On his way to the Cape of Good Hope, Bligh triedto find Tristan da Cunha, but was unable to locateit. On Tuesday, May 23, they hove to at the TableLand. Arriving at the Cape, he saluted with his gunsand, as a return salute, heard an equal number ofguns. Four days later, on Saturday the 27th, the ship

anchored in Simons Bay in False Bay, Cape of GoodHope.Although at a distance from Cape Town, they

were better able to focus their energies on makingthe needed repairs. The entire ship had to berecaulked and every piece of the stores and provi-sions checked.

Fresh meat and vegetables with soft bread wereserved to the men every day. By the time the ship

was ready to sail, everyone was feeling good again.It took 38 days before theBounty was refitted

and provisioned. At four oclock on the afternoon ofTuesday, July 1, 1788, the ship set sail. She salutedwith 13 guns, which were again returned. It was thelast time Fletcher Christian would ever see a Euro-pean settlement.

Years later, the last survivor of the mutineers,

Gale Force Winds 39


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John Adams, was asked several times to relate hisunderstanding of why the mutiny occurred. In thelast of these accounts, he mentioned somethingabout the Cape of Good Hope. Adams told CaptainBeechey in 1823 that Christian was under someobligation to Bligh and that their original quarreltook place at the Cape and was kept up until themutiny occurred later on.

Therefore, something happened during those 38days in Simons Bay which set the two men againstone another. It is known that Christian had bor-rowed money from Bligh at that time. Nineteenth-century historians believed that may have been thecause of the argument.

It is of interest that Bligh, in his later testimonybefore the Great Inquiry, declared that Christian andhe had never disagreed until the day of the mutiny.

That, of course, was Blighs effort to avoid any blamefor what had happened. There is evidence that Chris-tian was quite upset with Bligh before the mutinystarted.

Sitting in a comfortable chair, reading about thistoday, it is difficult to imagine what the conditionsback then were actually like. When those 45 mensailed from southern Africa that day, they would not

see another human for weeks. They had no com-munication with the outside world. The IndianOcean was vast and offered no hope of a friendlyport of call in case of emergency or disaster. Aheadlay the even bigger Pacific Ocean.

Bligh was the absolute master of everything thattouched their lives. Because he considered every-one on board incompetent, and let them know it,



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pressure could not help but increase.Fortunately, the crew had Fletcher; he was

friendly and kind to them. He would talk, work, andplay with them. In a later letter, Peter Heywood men-tioned that Christian was powerfully built and, dur-ing recreational activities, could jump from insideone barrel to the inside of another. He could alsohold a heavy musket at arms length and ask that it

be measured as absolutely level. Occasionally, dur-ing free time, he also taught math and classical lan-guages to young Heywood.

As the ship crossed the Indian Ocean, it enjoyedwesterly winds during its passage. Yet they were bois-terous and sometimes brought hail, snow, and highseas. One time the helmsman was thrown over thewheel and badly bruised. Fortunately, no greatstorms were encountered.

But there was another storm, an ongoing oneon the ship itself. Tensions continued to mount, asBligh ridiculed crewmen and officers and swore atthem.

On one occasion, Bligh ordered a supply ofcheese to be brought up on deck and aired. Whenthe cooper opened one of the casks, Bligh declaredthat two of the cheeses were missing. They must

have been stolen, he thundered.Quietly the cooper reminded him that the barrel

had been opened while the ship was still lying inthe Thames River, back in England; and that by or-der of Mr. Samuel, the clerk, the cheeses had beensent to Captain Blighs home. At this point, Fletcherstepped forward and politely gave supporting evi-dence to the fact.

Gale Force Winds 41


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Chagrined, Bligh cut short all further conversa-tion and ordered the cheese ration stopped fromboth officers and men until the man who had takenthe cheeses returned them. Turning to the cooper,Bligh swore at him and said he would flog him ifanything further was said about the incident.

Bligh had been caught in the act of stealing thosecheeses himself, and now the entire ship knew

about. Something Bligh did not want the Admiraltyback home to learn about.



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Chapter SevenChapter SevenChapter SevenChapter SevenChapter Seven

Out from AOut from AOut from AOut from AOut from Adventure Baydventure Baydventure Baydventure Baydventure Bay

In August, they arrived at Adventure Bay inTasmania. Bligh had planned to hove to in NewZealand, but he decided this port would do as well.For several weeks they remained there during out-fitting, as additional supplies were brought onboard. They saw Tasmanian aboriginals, eagles, blueherons, and parrots; and they caught fresh fish.While exploring, Mr. Nelson, the ships botanist,

found a tree which was 33 feet in diameter.Ordering some men to gather ti-trees, which were

in abundance he set to work, drying the leaves tomake tea and storing up some of the thin branchesfor later use in making brooms. Christian and Will-iam Peckover, the gunner, were in charge of gettingthe wood and water for the ship. William Purcell,

the ships carpenter, was on the wooding crew and,among others, received sarcastic comments fromBligh for supposedly slow performance.

But Bligh omitted an incident from his laterNar-rative of the Mutiny, which was fully recorded inhis ships log. On August 26, probably because ofabusive comments by Bligh, Purcell directly refused

Out from Adventure Bay 43


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to obey an order to hoist water into the hold. In ad-dition, he answered Bligh back in a most insolentand reprehensible manner. Normally, the captainof a British naval ship would have had the man con-fined until he could be tried back in England. ButBligh needed every crewman and, with the crowdedconditions, he dared not try confining men any morethan they already were. So Purcell was sentenced to

laborers duties.But Purcell did not labor, somehow convincingFryer that he did not need to since he was a warrantofficer or that he had carpentering to do. Keep inmind that Fryer was also disgusted with Bligh.

It was a meaningful event, and one which Blighfailed to handle well. Thus, the example was giventhat men could get away with minor rebellion.

James Morrison, the boatswains mate, left two

accounts of the voyage. Writing about Adventure Bay,he said that seeds of eternal discord between Blighand some of his officers were sown there. He said:

Bligh found fault with the inattention of the rest totheir duty, which produced continual disputes, every-one endeavoring to thwart the others in their duty andin this way they found their account and rejoiced inprivate at their good success.

In other words, under Blighs withering sarcasm

the men tried to avoid criticism of themselves, bycreating problems among the others. In this way,when things did not get done properly, they couldhave the additional satisfaction of seeing Bligh blowup over nothing.

Back at sea once again, the troubles continued.In an argument with Bligh, Fryer, the ships master,



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refused to co-sign the expense books with him, de-manding that Bligh sign a statement that Fryersbehavior on the voyage had been good. Later he ca-pitulated and signed the books. But the incidentrevealed what men were beginning to recognize: Anyof them might be given a damaging report by Blighwhen the ship arrived back home.

Three days before the Fryer incident, John Hug-

gan, the ships surgeon, got in trouble. He had beencaring for James Valentine, a seaman, who had aninfection in the arm. Because of Blighs witheringattitude, no one had notified him of the problem.Valentine died on the day Fryer refused to sign thebooks. Bligh should have been notified earlier of theseamans condition, but everyone was trying to avoidhim.

A few days later, Huggan said that three men had

scurvy. Bligh said it was not possible. (One of thepoints Bligh repeatedly complemented himself on,in his logs, was the health of his men.) SensingBlighs feelings about the subject, thereafter the menwould complain of pains in their legs. With satisfac-tion, they would see Bligh fly into a rage, declaringthey did not have scurvy, and Huggan saying theydid.

At the same time, because of the increasing prob-lems, Huggan the surgeon turned more and more todrinking. According to Blighs log, some days he laydrunken in bed all day. Yet, aside from complaining,Bligh did nothing to stop it.

Two weeks after Valentine was buried at sea, acrewman sighted one of the islands in the Tahitiangroup in the distance. Bligh made final measure-

Out from Adventure Bay 45


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ments with his sextant and took his ship east of theislands position. Then turning, he sailed westwardwith the wind behind him, just as the Polynesiansregularly did. Approaching from windward, he couldhandle the ship better. This brought him to Mehitia,60 miles to the east of the main island of Tahiti.Finally, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, 1788,they saw the tips of the main island illuminated in

the final moments of the setting sun. Eleven monthshad passed since they left England on December23, 1787.

Located about 2,800 miles southeast of CooksSandwich Islands (modern Hawaii), Tahiti had 402square miles and a coral reef completely surround-ing the main island. Waterfalls and rapid streamscut through steep mountains in the rugged interior.Between the mountains and the shore was a belt offertile soil, where most of the natives have alwayslived.



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Chapter EightChapter EightChapter EightChapter EightChapter Eight

Arrival at TArrival at TArrival at TArrival at TArrival at Tahitiahitiahitiahitiahiti

At 4 a.m. on Sunday morning,Bounty hoveto, waiting to get a final fix at sunrise. PointVenus and Matavai Bay were only four leagues away;yet slow, variable winds hindered them from enter-ing it.

As the sun arose on the larboard side, the deepgreen shadow gradually faded awayand before theeyes of the weary, lonely men was an island para-dise.

There were massive black precipices of lava rock,rising from valleys of deep, twisted emerald green.Thin, high waterfalls appeared to merge with wispsof smoke from early morning fires.

Slowly, under Fryers guidance, the ship driftedthrough the inlet between the reefs. It was 9 a.m.

and the ship had not yet lowered anchor.And now, from everywhere they came!

Canoes and outriggers were in the water all overthe bay. From all sides they were headed toward theship!

As soon as they reached theBounty, men andwomen swarmed up on the deck. Bligh soon found

Arrival at Tahiti 47


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he could not see his own crew, so many natives wereon board. What a welcome!

It would be a welcome which would continuefor months to come.

What was so special about Tahiti? The blackbeach that edged the lagoon of Matavai Bay was oflittle consequence. Beyond its mile-long shallowcurve was a green jungle which was not really im-

portant either. It was the people and their way of lifewhich made the difference.

Off to starboard, One Tree Hill could be seenabove the jungle. Off to larboard was the low flatpeninsula called Point Venus. That had been Cap-tain Cooks outpost during his stay at Tahiti, andBligh decided to make it his land base also. Straight

Tahit i is today a French dependency in

French Polynesia, with many islands. The prin-

cipal places named in our story are Tahiti (the

largest island); Matavai Bay, with Venus Point

nearby; Toaroah Bay; and the nearby island of

Moorea.



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ahead, the land lay flat for some distance, with ariver spilling fresh water down its center into theblue Pacific.

But, immediately, Bligh and his men had to con-tend with the mob which had crowded on board,bringing gifts of fruit and nuts and offering all thefriendship the men could ask for.

Chiefs of lesser rank approached Bligh and

wanted to know what had happened to CaptainCook. They had heard from a passing ship that hehad been killed on another island, and they wishedto confirm the fact. As for Bligh, he was becomingincreasingly impatient. The sun was lowering in thesky, and he needed to move the Bounty to a saferand more permanent anchorage. Yet he dared nottry to do this while visitors overran the decks. So,biding his time, he tried to appear friendly.

William Peckover, the gunner, had been in Tahition all three of Captain Cooks expeditions and spokefairly good Tahitian. He proved invaluable while thecrew was there, learning the language.

Finally, the last canoe shoved off, the last nativeman had disappeared in the darkness, and the shipsettled down for the night.

Early the next morning, Bligh had the ship movedinto seven fathoms of water, a quarter mile from theshore of Point Venus.

That early dawn start may not have been widelyappreciated on board. The reason was that Blighlet it be known that any women, that wished to, couldremain on the ship that night. Many did.

Tahitian living had begun. If a man was attrac-tive or insistent enough to persuade two to stay with



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him on a given night, no one objected. Little did Blighrealize events he was setting in motion. He wouldlater reap a whirlwind of discontent when they leftthis strange island. He would almost die as a result.

Within a few days, the most important chiefs hadcome to see Bligh. The local leaders uniformly toldhim that, in exchange for the variety of gifts he washanding out, he was welcome to all the breadfruit

plants he wanted. On Sunday, November 2, Blighmet the child Tu. This boy-god was carried about;and no ordinary Tahitian could approach him, with-out being slain by guards.

Because of Blighs arrival, Tus parents wouldeventually gain great prominence in the island group.More about that later.

From that Sunday onward, Bligh knew he wasaccepted; and he went forward with plans for col-lecting, potting, and storing the breadfruit plants(which the Tahitians called the uru). The only anxi-ety of the various chiefs was that Bligh might recon-sider and take back his offer. They wanted the metaltools he offered to give them when the great cabinwas eventually filled with breadfruit plants.

Early that same Sunday, Fletcher was sentashore with a party of eight men to erect a tent on

Point Venus. This was to be the nursery for theplants. It was agreed that no Tahitian men or womenwould enter that general area without permission.Here the plants could receive special care until theship was ready to sail.

This shore party included Peter Heywood andWilliam Peckover. Because Peckover spoke Tahitianand understood their ways, he was placed in charge



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of all the trading for provisions. David Nelson, theships botanist, and William Brown, the assistantbotanist, were among the permanent shore party.All the others on the shore party rotated from timeto time.

With the breadfruit project and reprovisioningwell in hand, Bligh next turned his attention to re-pairing the ship. A lot of work had to be done; and,

for the first time, Bligh seemed to be in no rush todo it. Apparently, the Tahitian way of life was over-coming him too.

And so a new routine quickly developed: Alongwith the freedom to have women aboard each night,Bligh allowed two men shore leave each day.

As for Bligh, he kept himself quite occupied!CalledParai by the natives, Bligh spent part of eachday entertaining chiefs and their wives to huge meals.As part of the local custom, which he quicklyadopted, he would often put the food and wine intotheir mouths. Most feasts were accompanied by giftgiving.

On shore, he was entertained as royalty withceremonies, presentations, and still more feasts. Asthough he were a great king from a distant land, hewas carried across rivers, placed in canoes and

dragged up streams, and danced and sung to.At many of the ceremonies, Bligh was draped in

bark cloth in honor of his greatness.The Tahitian language has no letter B, so Will-

iam Bligh was calledPry. In fact, their language hasvery few consonants. There are only 17 letters inthe Tahitian alphabet.



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Chapter NineChapter NineChapter NineChapter NineChapter Nine

One Month into AnotherOne Month into AnotherOne Month into AnotherOne Month into AnotherOne Month into Another

Time passed. Week followed week. And stillBligh stayed at Tahiti.

You can be sure that it did not take long forNelson and Brown to slip and pot the 1,015 bread-fruit plants and place them under the tent at PointVenus, preparatory to later being taken on boardthe ship and stored in the hold in the great cabin.

Within two weeks the task was easily completed.Bligh could have sailed for home almost imme-

diately. But he chose not to do this. And so the weekspassed and, for the most part, there was little to do.

Half ofBountys men would never see Englandagain. Some would die horribly, their blood seepinginto the already red soil of the Tahitian islands.

But, for the moment, they were in paradise. They

had sailed 27,086 miles to get here, and they fullyintended to enjoy life while they were here.Daily, Blighs officers and men were living more

and more like Tahitians.

Tahiti was a garden, with tropical creeper andvine, breadfruit, coconut, orange vee-apple, pine-apple, and mango. In this paradise, called an is-land, was hibiscus, gardenia, plantain, banana, and



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sweet potato. An abundance of fresh fish was al-ways available. Crystal clear water, from high up inthe interior mountains, flowed in the brooks andstreams.

Then as now, no one lived in the shade of thecoconut trees; it was too dangerous. At any time, askull-cracking nut might fall.

The Tahitians taught their children the best

baits, when and where to catch each type of fish,what could be eaten from the sea and what to avoid.The young learned how to rear dogs, swine, andfowls. Girls were taught how to beat the bark of themulberry tree into the white cloth (tapa cloth) whichthey wore, and which was used to furnish theirhouses and beds. Preparing the cloth was doneduring several weeks each year and was hard work.Boys learned each plant and tree and the use of its

leaves or timber for making huts, boats, paddles,and sails.

When, on June 19, 1767, Captain Samuel Wallisfirst discovered the island, he asked what it wascalled. The islanders replied, O Tahiti, whichmeant, It is Tahiti. For the next hundred years,the British called itOtaheite.

The main island of Tahiti is 37 miles long. Itwas born when two volcanoes emerged from the Pa-cific, touched together, and then cooled in a figure 8pattern, with one large and one small lobe. MostTahitians have always lived on the narrow strip offlat land running around most of the entire island.The highest peak, Orehena, is 7,352 feet high.

The Tahitians were usually over six feet tall, andtowered over the pale-faced Englishmen. Among

One Month into Another 53


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them now was Fletcher Christian, also tall andequally muscular. He did more than observe theirlife; he fully took part in it.

Christian was a favorite among them all. Duringthese long months, Fletcher Christian and his youngfriend, Peter Heywood, spent their time living likethe Polynesians around them. Before long, Heywoodbegan compiling a dictionary of the Tahitian words

he was rapidly learning. Fletchers new name wasTitreano. As Heywood later recounted the events,wherever Fletcher went, his new name was called;and he was invited to meals and other entertain-ments. Those entertainments included wrestling,javelin throwing, stilt walking, and kite flying. WithHeywood and his Tahitian friends, he would drinkcoconut milk or the narcoticyava. With his friends,he would fish under blue skies or by torchlight from

canoes, wear garlands of perfumed flowers, or haveperfumed oils massaged into his body. They wouldrub noses in greeting, and sit cross-legged on pilesof softtapa at great feasts.

All the men from the Bounty appreciated thelush amounts of food, so high in starch and flesh,which was readily available. For months they hadbeen half starved. There was always lots of fish, fruit,and vegetables cooked in the same pit. Some of itwas made into a pudding wrapped in banana leaves.Bligh wrote down one recipe; it was grated taro andcoconut milk.

And then there was the breadfruit.The breadfruit tree was tall and stately. The fruit

hung down and, baked in pit ovens, tasted likefreshly baked bread or sweet potatoes. It could be



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eaten at any stage of ripeness.The light, easily worked wood of the breadfruit

tree was used for surf boards, drums, bows, andsterns of canoes. It was also used to make furni-ture. The solidified sap was used as chewing gum.The liquid sap was spread on tapa cloth to make itshine, used to glue together gourds for drums, or ascaulking material for canoes.

So you have had a view of an earthly paradise.But there were some other unusual things aboutthis paradise; some of it more sinister. The seamenknew all of this when they later decided to return toit.

Tahiti in the 1780s had no single king; instead,they had small clandoms, each with one ruling fam-ily, called the Ariis.All theAriis were related, yet

there was no overall sovereign.Because all that a chiefs feet touched belonged

to him, it was customary to carry him everywhere.The people did not want to lose their property! Assoon as a commoner saw him, he must bare him-self to the waist. Even the seamen were required todo this. (Bligh got around that problem by declar-ing that, back in England, he saluted his king bytaking off his hat. Because he was the gift giver, that

excuse was accepted.)Only the lightest skinned and fattest of eachAriis

familys children was declared to be the next ruler,to be carried around. As soon as that decision wasmade, his parents need no longer be carried. In or-der to perpetuate their lightness and overweight size,theAriis would interbreed among themselves, of-



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ten with brothers and sisters.The chiefs had the power to take what they

wanted. The priests had the power to kill whom-ever they selected. More about that soon.

A majority of the children born to Tahitians wereslain by their parents. Abortion and infanticide wereas common as eating or fishing. Each extended fam-ily lived all together, and there was no privacy in any

way. Mothers and sisters together took care of allthe younger ones. Each child might possibly knowwho his mother and father was, but all the womenraised him. Anyone could beat him. Children werepublic property.

When it existed at all, marriage was loose. Daugh-ters were taught by their group mothers to have asmany men as possible. Men chose as many womenas they wanted and fought over them.

Tattooing was invented in Tahiti. They called ittatau. The English name for them was tattows.Fletcher Christian and his fellows were among thefirst Englishmen ever tattooed. It was only by beingtattooed that they could be accepted. It was a pain-ful process; and, when it was done by natives, dan-gerous infection leading to death could result.

Yet custom required that everyone be tattooed.

Boys and girls were held down by relatives duringthe excruciating pain of the process, as large por-tions of their bodies were disfigured. Sharp blowswith a hammer against a knife, with black ink on it,sliced down deep into the flesh. When the one beingtattooed could take no more, he was beaten andthe process continued. On and on it went for hours.For days the pain remained. A week or so later, the



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youth was dragged back for more tattooing.

In time of danger or war, the people were ralliedby a crier sent abroad to blow blasts on thepu, thetriton shell trumpet. From time to time, wars werefought between the clans. No one was safe at suchtimes.

But, frankly, no one was safe the rest of the timeeither. This was because of the priests, who could

kill anyone they chose, anywhere, any time. Eachdead corpse was just another victim for the marae.

Was this really a paradise? There were no realfamily relationships. The land stalked with death.A curse was upon the island. For gifts, the womenoffered themselves to anyone who passed by. Every-one who stayed there for a time had his moralsdragged down.

In addition, it was only because of their con-tinual presence that the Europeans were tolerated.Time would tell what would happen to Englishmenliving there who were not constantly offering gifts.

We will also learn that the Europeans newfoundfriends were quite willing to betray anyonefor aprice.

It has been said that the Bounty remained solong in Tahiti because the breadfruit plant was out

of season. But this was not correct. There were sev-eral varieties of breadfruit, and some were in sea-son at different times of the year. One variety borefruit all year long! Add to this the fact that bread-fruit do not reproduce by seeds, but by shoots orsuckers springing from the roots of trees, as ba-nanas do. So any of the breadfruit varieties could



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be propagated all year long.Within a couple weeks after arrival, Nelson an-

nounced that the collection of plants could begin.Work began on November 7, when 110 shoots werecollected. By the 15th, they had 774. So, in twoweeks timeall the breadfruit plants had been col-lected by Nelson and Brown!

After waiting another month to complete repairs

and make sure the shoots had taken successfully,they could have been brought on board and theBounty could have sailed home.

Instead the ship remained for another 20 weeks,and the breadfruit shoots were kept during that timein the large tent on shore.

It is true that very strong westerlies blow duringthe winter months, and Bligh might have had a dif-ficult time returning via the Endeavour Straits be-

tween Australia and New Guinea then. In addition,from November to April was the rainy seasonandalso the time of typhoons.

So Bligh decided to remain in Tahiti for awhile.Yet, while there, he should have taken explor-

atory expeditions to other islands. Instead, he en-joyed himself on the main island, and let the offic-ers and crew do likewise.

Actually, it was the island and not the weatherwhich caused Bligh to remain so long. But, neverbefore had a British ship been in the South Seas atthis time of the year, and climatic conditions werenot fully known. Trouble was nearing.



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Chapter TChapter TChapter TChapter TChapter Tenenenenen

Move to TMove to TMove to TMove to TMove to Toaroah Bayoaroah Bayoaroah Bayoaroah Bayoaroah Bay

Early in December, to the surprise of the En-

glishmen, a terrific storm arose. The windchanged and Matavai Bay, located on the northerncoast of Tahiti, became as rough as the open sea.

Bountys hatches had to be lashed and the ship rolledand pitched intensely.

On shore, a wet-weather river suddenly appearedwhich threatened to wash breadfruit shoots out ofthe tent and into the sea. Fletcher managed to di-vert the stream and save the plants. But somethinghad to be done.

By December 6th, as the ongoing storm abatedfor a time, a leading island chief, Teina, came onboard. He told them he wanted to say good-byesince, he said, soon the ship would wash ashore

and they would all perish!On the 9th, the drunken surgeon Huggan wasfound in the great cabin. Brought out on deck, hedied. It was said that the fresh air was too much forhim. He was taken ashore and buried in a gravelying east to west, as some earlier Catholic Spanishvisitors had taught the islanders. Ledward was ap-pointed surgeon, a position he had held de facto

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for weeks.Never before had a British ship been in these

waters during the winter, and Bligh was discoveringwhat winter weather could be like in the South Pa-cific. The Tahitians knew all about the comingstorms, but they did not wish to disturb Bligh, sincehe kept giving them gifts. Besides, if the storms latersmashed the ship, the chiefs would be able to sal-

vage everything on board!So it was not only the storms arrived that Blighwas told that Matavai Bay was positively dangerousduring the rainy season between November andApril.

But when Bligh decided to move the ship to asheltered bay on the nearby island of Moorea, thechiefs of Tahiti quickly objected. They wanted thepresents to keep coming to them, not to their rivals

on other islands!Teina was especially concerned. He had been

half promised some muskets and Moorea was thehome of his arch enemies. Wailing and cajoling,Teina pled with Bligh to go around to the other sideof Tahitito the district of Pare. Bligh was doubt-ful; but, after being led to the top of One Tree Hill,he could see the sheltered bay on the other side.The natives called the harborToaroah (it is todaycalled Taravao). Located on the west side of the larg-est half of the double island of Tahiti, Toaroah wassheltered from the northerly and westerly winds.

Quickly, Bligh ordered Christian to transfer thetent and breadfruit shoots to the ship. Then the shipwent from the windward to the leeward side of Ta-hiti.



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But, in the process, the men, lazy and out ofpractice, and gorged on food, made several mis-takesand the ship grounded on a coral reef inToaroah Bay. Fortunately, thanks to the coppersheathing, no hole had been torn in the hull. Moreerrors were made trying to get the ship off the reef,but finally the task was completed. The earlier team-work at sea had vanished during weeks of idleness

and feasting.As soon as Bounty was anchored and buoyedin Toaroah harbor, there was rejoicing and feastingeverywhere! The gifts would keep flowing at Tahitiafter all. Teina and his wife, Itia, were especiallypleased because Pare was their district. (The childTu, mentioned earlier, was their child.)

On December 28, Bligh ordered Christmas cel-ebrations and fired a cannon for Teina, who was

awed and terrified by it. Soon, in his requests, hestarted asking for a cannon.

Fletchers new campsite for the breadfruit tentwas on the edge of amaraea place where humansacrifices were made. It was littered with the bonesof Tahitians who had been sacrificed to the gods onspecial occasions. From time to time, chilling chantswere heard from the trees as new sacrificial ceremo-

nies occurred. The Englishmen were camping onthe edge of the killing ground used by Teinas priests!

No one on thisor any neighboringislandcould know when their priests would send out mento strike down another victim. Their agents wouldgo furtively through the jungle, suddenly leap outand hit a man on the head with a stone hatchet,then drag the body off to the marae where it would



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be cut up.This way of life resulted in continual fear. Women

watched to see where their men and sons were. Noone ever knew when one would be slain as a sacri-fice. Although the women were never able to stopthe killing, as soon as the man was struck downifa woman could but touch the body, it would be de-filed, and their family would be permitted to bury

it. But, having lost that corpse, the agents would gooff through the jungles and kill someone else.This was paradise?The priests of the marae wore helmets ofsennit,

with feathers ten feet high. They also wore cloaksand long draperies, and made a striking appear-ance as they marched along with their retinue ofpriestly helpers (the gang members who would goout and slay the inhabitants), each carrying a verti-

cal staff with strips of white tara cloth dangling fromit. At other times, the priests, in full regalia, wererowed across the bay in special processions as thefearful natives watched from shore.

While Bounty remained in the sheltered bay,Fletcher Christian made sure he remained ashore;Bligh and the other officers did likewise. Everyone,able to do so, stayed off the ship. Those forced to

stay on it for any length of time generally slept, untiltheir time came to go on as watch or go on shoreleave. Bligh had almost no duties assigned to themen, and time bred contempt.

At 4 p.m. on January 5, 1789, Bligh was toldthat some men had deserted. Quickly rowing to theship, he found that the man on watch was sleeping;



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it was Thomas Hayward (a different person thanyoung Peter Heywood). Normally, this would begrounds for death, but Bligh had something else onhis mind. The launch had been taken!

This was the largest of the three lifeboats. Rous-ing the ship for an immediate roll callBligh foundthree men missing: Charles Churchill, the master-at-arms; John Millward, a seaman; and William

Muspratt, Blighs personal cook.Hayward was immediately put in irons; and, inhis log and to the men, Bligh later blamed all theofficers for the crisis, declaring them to be negligentand worthless. The missing men had escaped witheight muskets, probably to barter for goods and as-surance of silence in their hideouts.

Bligh was anxious to chase after them; but na-tives, even more anxious for rewards, quickly brought

the news that the deserters had abandoned thelaunch in Matavai Bay, transferred their possessionsto a local outrigger sail-canoe, and had headed forthe atoll of Tetiaroa, some 30 miles northward.

Intent on obtaining his own nice reward, Teinasbrother, Ariipaea, offered to lead a search party. Butbad weather prevented him for a week from launch-ing his outriggers.

While awaiting word of what the search partymight have found, Bligh discovered something evenworse: The unused sails stowed below were rotten!This was a terrible neglect! Ultimately it was Blighsresponsibility. He had been paying too much atten-tion to the chiefs and not enough to the ship.

When the weather cleared, Bligh sailed toTetiaroa and, letting down the launch, went to shore



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with some men and captured the runaways. ButBligh treated them leniently.

While at Tahiti, several men were flogged byMorrison at Blighs orders. On one occasion, one ofthe ships lines was cut. A question arose whether ithad been done intentionally to hole the ship on thereef so it could not leave Tahiti, but th

Documents

Search for Paradise - By Vance Ferrell