Taken from account of Sir Thomas Staines pp 96-102

Returning from the Marquesas to Valparaiso, and steering a course which ought, according to his chronometers, and the Admiralty and other charts, to have carried him nearly three degrees to the eastward of Pitcairn's island, Sir Thomas Staines was greatly surprised by its sudden appearance on the 17th Sept. ; and as this incident enabled him correctly to ascertain the manner in which H. M . late ship Bounty was disposed of, we shall first avail ourselves of the information he obtained on that head from the only surviving mutineer, and then add some interesting particulars respecting the descendants of Mr. Christian and his deluded followers

Disappointed in his expectations at Toobouai, and dreading a discovery if he remained in the neighbourhood of Otaheite, Mr. Christian committed himself to the mere chance of being cast upon some desert island ; and accident threw him upon that of Pitcairn, situated in the midst of the vast Southern Ocean, distant upwards of 1 100 leagues from the continent of America, and far from any other island. Finding no anchorage near it, he ran the ship upon the rocky shore, caused her to be cleared of the live-stock and every thing useful, and then set her on fire, by which means he deprived himself and his wretched adherents of every hope of escape.

After this rash act, Mr. Christian became very sullen and peevish ; his moroseness and irritability daily increased, and he soon disgusted every one by his very oppressive conduct. His treatment of the Otaheitean men and the Toobouaites appears to have been particularly severe and cruel ; those who had hitherto lived harmoniously together were thereby divided into parties, disputes frequently took place, and often ended in affrays of a serious nature.

In this state of affairs, and within a twelvemonth after their landing, Mr. Christian's Otaheitan wife bore him a son, the first child born on the island, who was soon afterwards deprived of both his parents, the mother dying a natural death, and the father being shot by a Toobouaite, whilst he was digging in his own yam plantation. The cause assigned for this act of violence was his tyrannical conduct on all occasions, but particularly in .taking the wife of an islander to himself, shortly after the dissolution of his own female partner. The opportunity of revenge had been anxiously sought for, and the assassin committed the act unobserved, firing from a thicket which skirted the plantation. Thus terminated the miserable existence of this ill-fated young man, who was neither deficient in talent, energy, nor connexions, and who might therefore have risen in the service, and become an ornament to his profession.

Desperate contentions now ensued between the Englishmen and the islanders, nor did they cease until four of the former were killed, and the whole of the latter annihilated.

Previous to Mr. Christian's death, one Englishman had been killed in a drunken quarrel, and consequently there were only three of the Bounty's people remaining alive at this latter period ; of these, one died of asthma, and another destroyed himself in a fit of insanity, leaving a widow who was afterwards taken by the only survivor, to supply the place of his deceased help-mate. This man, Alexander Smith, appears to have had a narrow escape during the sanguinary strife, a musket-ball having entered his right shoulder, behind, and gone out through the right breast.

The first ship descried off the island was seen on the 27th Dec. 1795 ; but as she did not approach the land, they could not make out to what nation she belonged. A second appeared some time in 1801, but did not attempt to communicate with them. A third came sufficiently near to see their habitations, but did not venture to send a boat on shore ; which is the less surprising, considering the uniform ruggedness of the coast, the total want of shelter, and the almost constant and violent breaking of the sea against the stupendous rocks around it *.[Although Pitcairn's island is at all times difficult of access, it may be approached with safety, as there is no bottom to be got with 120 fathoms of line, within a mile of the shore].

The only vessel that ever communicated with the descendants of the Bounty's mutineers, (previous to the Briton and Tagus) was the Topaze, an American trader, commanded by Mr. Mayhew Folger, who touched at the island in Feb. 1808, and whose report of its situation very nearly corresponds with that made by Sir Thomas Staines, viz. lat. 25 4' S. (by meri- dian observation) ; and long. 130 25' W. (by the chrono- meters of the two frigates) . We shall now proceed to give an account of the interesting little colony which Sir Thomas so unexpectedly fell in with.

On the 17th Sept. 1814, at 2 A. M., Lieutenant Charles Belfield Louis having reported land on the lee-bow, he went immediately on deck and distinctly made it out to be a small island ; the Tagus was then hailed, and both ships hove too until day-light, when they filled and stood towards it. On approaching the island, Sir Thomas Staines first observed the upper part to be cultivated ; then discovered a hut near the summit : afterwards several others forming a square, about half-way from the sea upwards ; and at length saw several men descending with canoes on their shoulders.

At 8 A. M., the frigates being then within a mile of the shore, four canoes, containing six persons, paddled alongside the Briton ; and to the great astonishment of Sir Thomas Staines, who was about to ask them some questions in the language of the Marquesans, he found that they all spoke very good English.

The two men that first got on board the Briton soon explained the mystery, for one of them enquired whether any person knew a William Bligh, in England ; and the other was introduced by him as Thursday-October-Christian, son of the unfortunate gentleman whose fate we have just recorded. This interesting stranger was then about 24 years of age, and is described as being a fine fellow, about six feet high, his hair deep black, his countenance open and engaging, complexion of a brownish cast, but free from that mixture of a reddish tint, which prevails among the islanders in the Pacific Ocean ; his only dress was a piece of cloth round his loins, and a straw hat, ornamented with the black feathers of the domestic fowl. " With a great share of good humour," says Captain Pipon, who was then on board the Briton, " we were glad to trace in his benevolent countenance all the features of an honest English face ; and I must confess, I could not survey him without feelings of tenderness and compassion." One of his companions was named George Young, a fine youth, about 18 years old, son of the only midshipman who continued with Mr. Christian.

Young and another lad, named Quintal, came alongside in the same canoe ; and so eager were they to see the ship, that they both jumped on board together, when their little bark went adrift and capsized, but she was soon picked up and towed back by another. " I then, " says Sir Thomas Staines, " for the safety of their boats, found it necessary to direct that one person should remain in each, and desired Quintal to go into his, leaving Young on board to inspect the ship. Quintal, however, whose curiosity was equally unsatisfied, immediately said, with a smile on his countenance c I should like to see the ship too ; suppose you let us draw for it, I think that will be the fairest way.' This was spoken with the greatest good nature, and I must own that I was greatly surprised to hear them speak the language of their fathers so correctly."

If the astonishment of Sir Thomas Staines was great on hearing their first salutation in English, his surprise was unbounded when, on taking the young men below, and setting before them something to eat, they rose up, and placing their hands together in a posture of devotion, distinctly repeated, and in a pleasing tone and manner " For what we are going to receive, the Lord make us truly thankful." They expressed great surprise on seeing a cow, and said they could not conceive what that great red thing with horns was; but, although they had never seen a dog before, the moment Young saw a little terrier belonging to Sir Thomas Staines, he exclaimed, "Oh ! what a pretty little thing, I know what it is it is a dog."

After breakfast, the two Captains accomplished a landing through the surf, and were introduced to the head of this little colony, whom they found to be a venerable looking person,, upwards of 60 years of age, but of robust stature, and in perfect good health. His wife appeared still older, and was then totally blind.

The little village of Pitcairn forms a pretty square, the houses at the upper end of which were occupied by this an- cient couple and their offspring by both marriages : their youngest child is described by Sir Thomas Staines as the finest boy he ever saw. On the opposite side was the dwelling of Thursday-October-Christian, who had married a woman much older than himself, she being the widow of one of the Bounty's people, and consequently a native of Otaheite, in the centre was a smooth verdant lawn, on which the poultry were let loose, but fenced in so as to prevent the intrusion of the domestic quadrupeds.

The inhabitants of Pitcairn's island at this time consisted of 41 persons, old and young, the whole in such perfect health that they had not so much as a head ache among them, it is almost needless to say, that they all looked up to the old Englishman, Alexander Smith, alias John Adams, as their head and adviser, both in temporal and spiritual matters ; and, says Sir Thomas Staines, " his exemplary conduct and fatherly care of the whole little colony, could not but command admiration."

The young men were very athletic, and of the finest forms ; their countenances open and pleasing, indicating much benevolence and goodness of heart ; whilst in every action they appeared studious to oblige each other ; "but the Pitcairn fe- males were objects of particular regard ; tall, robust, and beautifully formed, their faces beaming with smiles and un- ruffled good humour; their teeth, like ivory, were regular and beautiful, without a single exception; all of them had fine eyes, and the most marked English features ; their dress, which the heat of the climate requires to be scanty, was still such as the strictest modesty would require ; and their behaviour is entitled to the warmest praise ; for instead of the wanton 'and licentious carriage which characterizes the females of all the other South Sea islands, the greatest propriety prevailed in all their actions.

Smith, whom we shall hereafter call John Adams, assured Sir Thomas Staines, that, since Mr. Fletcher Christian's death, there had not been a single instance of infidelity in the married women, nor of doubtful chastity in the others, and that he was equally ignorant of any attempt at seduction on the part of the males. They were all made to labour while young in the cultivation of the ground ; and when possessed of a sufficient quantity of cleared land, and of stock sufficient to maintain a family, they were allowed to marry, but always with the consent of Adams, who united them by a formal ceremony; and " they bade fair" says Sir Thomas Staines, " to raise a progeny, beautifully formed as any in Europe."

The greatest harmony prevailed in this little society; their only quarrels, and these rarely happened, being, according to their own expression, " quarrels of the mouth." They were honest in their dealings, which consisted of bartering different articles for mutual accommodation. Their habitations were extremely neat : all that was done was obviously undertaken on a settled plan, unlike any thing to be met with in the other islands. In their houses they had a good deal of decent furniture, consisting of beds laid upon bedsteads, with neat co- vering ; they had also tables and large chests to contain their valuables and clothing', the latter of which was made from the bark of trees growing on the island, prepared chiefly by the Otaheitean women, five of whom were still surviving, exclusive of the wives of Adams, and young Christian. The ground produced abundance of cocoa-nuts, bananas, bread-fruit, yams, and plantains; they had also plenty of fowls, goats, and pigs ; the woods abounded with a species of wild hog, and the coasts of the island with several kinds of good fish ; these constituted the whole of their resources, except a little sugar-cane, which Adams told Sir Thomas Staines, with a smile on his countenance, enabled him to make a small quantity of bad rum.

Their agricultural implements were made by themselves, from the iron supplied by the Bounty, which, with great labour, they beat out into spades, hatchets, &c. Adams kept a regular journal, in which was entered the nature and quantity of work performed by each family, what each had received, and what was due on account; there was, it seems, besides private property, a sort of general stock, out of which articles were issued on account of the several members of the community ; and, for mutual accommodation, exchanges of one kind of provision for another were very frequent, as salt for fresh meat, vegetables and fruit for poultry, fish, &c. ; also when the stores of one family were low, or wholly expended, a fresh supply was raised from another, or out of the general stock, to be repaid when circumstances were more favorable ; all of which transactions were carefully noted down in the patriarch's journal.

But what was most gratifying of all to the visitors, was the simple and unaffected manner in which the members of this little community returned thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings they enjoyed. They never failed to say grace before and after meals, to pray every morning at sunrise, and again on retiring to rest. The day on which Sir Thomas Staines and Captain Pipon landed, was Saturday the 17th Sept., but by John Adams's account it was Sunday the 18th; and they had already commenced their Sabbath devotions when the frigates were first discovered by them. This difference in the time was occasioned by the Bounty having proceeded thither by the eastern route, and the Briton and Tagus having gone to the westward ; the master of the Topaze found Adams right, according to his own reckoning, he having also approached Pitcairn's island from the eastward.

John Adams declared, as it was natural enough he should do, that he was not concerned in the mutiny on board the Bounty, being in his hammock at the time it took place ; but this, we know, is not exactly true, for it was him who told Churchill, the master at arms, " to look sharp after James Morrison," the boatswain's-mate, as he had seen him shake hands with John Milward, when Mr. Fryer, the Master, spoke to them about rescuing their commander, and recovering possession of the ship. It is, however, only an act of justice to state, that Adams was not particularly active on that lamentable occasion, neither did he offer any insult to Lieutenant Bligh, of whose harsh and severe treatment he spoke to Sir Thomas Staines in terms of strong feeling; he also expressed his utmost willingness to surrender himself, and be taken to England ; indeed, he rather seemed to have an inclination to revisit his native country ; but the young men and women flocked around him, and with tears and entreaties begged that " their father and protector" might not be taken from them, "for without him they must all perish." It would therefore have been an act of the greatest inhumanity to remove him from the island ; and it is hardly necessary to add, that Sir Thomas Staines lent a willing ear to their entreaties, thinking no doubt, that, if he were even among the most guilty, his care and success in instilling religious and moral principles into the minds of this young and interesting society, had, in a great degree, redeemed his former misconduct.

To the foregoing outline we have the pleasure of adding, that old Adams was still living, when H. M. S. Blossom touched at Pitcairn's island, in 1826; that himself and his flock have received that support from this country, the peculiarity of their situation so justly entitle them to ; and that they are now amply supplied with every thing which can contribute to their comfort, or tend to increase their happiness.

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Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2008