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The Story of Pitcairn Island

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The Story of Pitcairn Island FROM HISTORY’S PAGES: B S 1 TheThe StoryStory ofof PitcairnPitcairn IslandIsland 4 Out in the Pacific there is an island was uninhabited, and it had Naval historians tell us he was not a island that time forgot. water and soil. If he had not mentioned man to inspire love. He is variously de- A little over two hundred years this, the little island probably would scribed as irritable, truculent, into the past will bring us to it. For never have entered history in the sur- overbearing, and a driver rather than there we shall find one of the most prising way that it did. a leader of men. But, in those days, fascinating adventures of all time. But now, let us go on with the story. such qualities would not rule him out, Far out in the Pacific Ocean, on It is the year 1777, and the British for he knew how to command the men the outer edge of the Tuamotu Ar- government is planning to send an ex- that manned the ships. chipelago, at Latitude 2505' S. and pedition to the South Pacific. Early Forty-five men, between the ages of Longitude 1305' W., is a green para- explorers of the Pacific, such as Will- seventeen and forty, were signed on as dise known as Pitcairn Island. iam Dampier and George Anson, had crewmen. Instead of exploring new About two miles long and one mile brought back to Europe fascinating lands or engaging in conquest, this wide, it is ringed with a rugged tales of the South Pacific islands and expedition was designed to promote coast of cliffs; and, within their pro- its peoples. One food that they particu- good will and to exchange colonial ben- tecting care, is nestled rich, fertile larly mentioned was the breadfruit. efits and, therefore, the crew was care- soil, the mild climate and lush Later, Captain Cook, following his fully selected. tropical fruit that makes the South trans-world voyage, also commented As the officer, second in command, Pacific Isles so famous. on the breadfruit plant. He told of its twenty-two year old Fletcher Christian very fine qualities, declared that it was was chosen. Christian was a man But there is more to this little is- the staple diet of the Pacific islanders, highly regarded in the admiralty, and land than its location or its climate. and that they were able to obtain it for was generally conceded to be one who For here is to be found the rendezvous eight months out of the year. would rise high in naval rank. He had of one of the most amazing stories in In 1777, the Royal Sociey of Arts, earlier been a particular friend of Cap- all sailing history. in London, England, offered a gold tain Bligh; and, so, by special request, Our story actually begins on July medal to whoever should succeed in he was asked to join the ship’s com- 2, 1767, when a midshipman climbed transplanting the breadfruit to the pany as its chief officer. He had accom- the ship’s masthead, of the Swallow, West Indies, in order to help feed the panied Bligh on two earlier voyages, and called out, “Land ahoy!” He had workers on the sugar plantations and was highly regarded by him. sighted a previously unknown island. there. King George III, recently defeated But something went wrong this Philip Carteret, captain of this British in a war to retain possession of the time. Something had happened to sailing ship, in the midst of a voyage American Colonies, now had the op- Bligh. around the world, carefully checked portunity to give his thoughts to some The three midshipmen were Peter through his charts and, not finding the other part of the world. And so the Heywood, Edward Young, and George island listed, recorded its longitude British Admiralty was given permis- Stewart. They also were looking for- and latitude and named it in honor of sion to fit out a ship that would win ward to higher positions in the Brit- the midshipman that first spotted it. the gold medal. Its destination was ish Navy. But little did any of them He wrote down the name, “Pitcairn”; Tahiti. There it was, to collect a sup- know that only one would ever return and, in his ship’s log, he said that it ply of young plants of the breadfruit to England again. This was Peter was about three thousand miles west and carry them to the West Indies, in Heywood; and his story of pardon from of Chile. “It was like a great rock ris- the Gulf of Mexico. execution, as a result of his sister’s ing from the sea,” he wrote, “about five It was recognized that this would devotion and prayers, is something of miles round, apparently uninhabited, be a unique voyage, and the attention an epoch in British naval history. Of with trees on it, and a stream of water of all Europe was upon it. One of the the rest of the crew, little is known un- running down one side. The surf, best merchant ships obtainable was til we learn of them later in the unfold- breaking upon the rocks, rendered purchased by the Naval Board for this ing of the story of the Bounty. landing difficult. After examining it purpose—the Bethia. It was renamed Later in the afternoon of the from the ship, I called it ‘Pitcairn Is- the Bounty, and Lieutenant William twenty-third of December, 1787, the land,’ in honor of my midshipman, and Bligh was given command of the ves- Bounty weighed anchor and slowly sailed on.” sel. headed down the River Thames. One What Captain Philip Carteret Bligh was a short man, small-fea- of the best-known voyages, in the his- wrote in his log actually told a lot. The tured, about thirty-three years old. tory of England, had begun. 2 Crossing the Atlantic and travel- allowances. bade farewell to their happy life of many ing down the coast of South America, On another occasion, Bligh or- months. None aboard had any idea the Bounty headed toward tha Horn,— dered a supply of cheese to be brought that, within twenty-three days, a mu- the southern tip of the continent—plan- up on deck and aired. When the coo- tiny would take place—a mutiny that ning to round it and sail into the Pa- per (the one in charge of the barrels) would affect every man on board for cific. But, at the Horn, it encountered opened one of the casks, Bligh declared the remainder of his life. such fierce storms that Bligh feared that two of the cheeses were missing. Slowly the ship was towed out into that the ship might be lost. In his later “They must have been stolen,” he thun- the sea by large native canoes, and report, this part of the voyage is dered. then, setting sail, the ship slowly quoted from his log: “Repeated gales Quietly the cooper reminded him headed west toward the Indian Ocean. seem now to become more violent, the that the cask had been opened while All prepared for another long, weari- squalls so excessively severe that I the ship was still lying in the Thames some journey. And it was quick to be- dare scarce show any canvas to it. The River, and that by order of Mr. Samuel, gin. Two or three days after embark- motion of the ship is so very quick and the clerk, the cheeses had been sent to ing, Captain Bligh confiscated all the falls so steep between the seas that it Captain Bligh’s home. At this, Fletcher food that had been given as presents, is impossible to stand without man Christian stepped forward and politely to the crewmen, by their many friends ropes across the decks.” gave supporting evidence to this fact. back in Tahiti. To this Christian ob- So fierce did the weather become Cutting short all further discus- jected. Bligh immediately retorted with that Bligh was forced to turn back,— sion, Bligh ordered the cheese ration an outpouring of foul and sarcastic lan- and head east—and sailing more than stopped from both officers and men guage. To this, Christian replied, “Sir, three quarters of the way around the until the man who had taken the your abuse is so bad that I cannot do world in the other direction, by way of cheeses returned them. Speaking vio- my duty with any pleasure.” Africa, through the Indian Ocean and lently to the cooper, he swore at him Christian had been warned by Bligh past Australia. He was not to drop and declared he would be flogged if not to use arms against the natives, anchor in Tahiti until October 26, anything further was said about the and so, two weeks later, when the 1788. In ten months he had sailed over incident. Bounty stopped at the Island of twenty-seven thousand miles. After ten months of this—the ship Anamooka for water and were repulsed And what those months and miles finally laid anchor in Matava Lagoon. by unfriendly natives, Christian re- had brought to all concerned was some- A nightmare was behind them and turned to the ship without firing on thing of a nightmare. what appeared, to their weary, eyes to them. At this, Bligh swore at him and Lack of food, close quarters, poor be paradise lay before them. They had called him a coward for not attacking water, difficult conditions, bad arrived at the warm and friendly land them.
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