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Mutiny on the Bounty
Captain Waldegrave, like all former visitors, bears testimony to the
kind disposition and active benevolence of these simple islanders. The
children, he says, are fond and obedient, the parents affectionate and
kind towards their children. None of the party ever heard a harsh word
made use of by one towards another. They never slander or speak ill of
one another. If any question was asked as to the character or conduct
of a particular individual, the answer would probably be something of
this kind, 'If it could do any good, I would answer you; but as it
cannot, it would be wrong to tell tales'; or if the question applied
to one who had committed a fault, they would say, 'It would be wrong
to tell my neighbour's shame.' The kind and benevolent feeling of
these amiable people is extended to the surviving widows of the
Otaheite men who were slain on the island, and who would be left in a
helpless and destitute state, were it not for the humane consideration
of the younger part of the society, by whom they are supported and
regarded with every mark of attention.
The women are clothed in white cloth made from the paper mulberry, the
dress extending from the shoulders to the feet, in double folds, and
so loose as entirely to conceal the shape of the person. The mothers,
while nursing, carry the infant within their dress; as the child
advances in growth it sits across the hip of the parent with its
little hands clinging to the shoulder, while the mother's arm passing
round it keeps it in safety. The men and boys, except on Sunday, when
they appear in English dresses, generally wear only the _mara_, or
waist-cloth, which, passing over the hips, and between the legs, is
knotted behind; the climate is in fact too hot for cumbersome
clothing. The women, when working, use only a petticoat, with a
jacket.
The men are stated to be from five feet eight inches to six feet high,
of great muscular strength and excellent figures. 'We did not see,'
says Captain Waldegrave, 'one cripple or defective person, except one
boy, whom, in the most good-humoured way, and laughing heartily, they
brought to me, observing, "You ought to be brothers, you have each
lost the right eye." I acknowledged the connexion, and no doubt for
the future he will be called the Captain.'
Captain Beechey has given a more detailed account of the physical
qualities of the Pitcairn Islanders. He says they are tall, robust,
and healthy; their average height five feet ten inches; the tallest
man measured six feet and one quarter of an inch, and the shortest of
the adults five feet nine inches and one-eighth; their limbs well
proportioned, round and straight; their feet turning a little inwards.
A boy of eight years measured four feet and one inch; another of nine
years, four feet three inches. Their simple food and early habits of
exercise give them a muscular power and activity not often surpassed.
It is recorded on the island that George Young and Edward Quintal have
each carried, at one time, a kedge anchor, two sledge hammers, and an
armourer's anvil, weighing together upwards of six hundred pounds; and
that Quintal once carried a boat twenty-eight feet in length. In the
water they are almost as much at home as on land, and can remain
almost a whole day in the sea. They frequently swim round their little
island, the circuit of which is at the least seven miles; and the
women are nearly as expert swimmers as the men.
The female descendants of the Otaheite women are almost as muscular as
the males, and taller than the generality of the sex. Polly Young, who
is not the tallest on the island, measured five feet nine inches and a
half. The features of both men and women are regular and well-formed;
eyes bright and generally hazel, though in a few instances blue; the
eyebrows thin and rarely meeting; the nose a little flattened, and
being rather extended at the nostrils, partakes of the Otaheitan
character, as do the lips, which are broad and strongly sulcated;
their ears moderately large, and the lobes are invariably united with
the cheek; they are generally perforated, when young, for the
reception of flowers, a very common custom among the natives of the
South Sea Islands; hair black, sometimes curling, sometimes straight;
teeth regular and white. On the whole they are a well-looking people.
Captain Beechey says, the women have all learned the art of midwifery;
that parturition generally takes place during the night-time; that the
duration of labour is seldom longer than five hours, and has not yet
in any case proved fatal; but there is no instance of twins, nor of a
single miscarriage, except from accident. Infants are generally bathed
three times a day in cold water, and are sometimes not weaned for
three or four years; but when that does take place, they are fed upon
'popoe,' made of ripe plantains and boiled taro-root rubbed into a
paste. Mr. Collie, the surgeon of the _Blossom_, remarks that nothing
is more extraordinary, in the history of the island, than the uniform
good health of the children; the teething is easily got over, they
have no bowel complaints, and are exempt from those contagious
diseases which affect children in large communities. He offered to
vaccinate the children as well as all the grown persons; but they
deemed the risk of infection of small-pox to be too small to render
that operation necessary.
As a proof how very much simple diet and constant exercise tend to the
healthful state of the body, the skin of these people, though in such
robust health, compared with that of the Europeans, always felt cold,
and their pulses always considerably lower. The doctor examined
several of them: in the forenoon he found George Young's only sixty;
three others, in the afternoon, after dinner, were sixty-eight,
seventy-two, and seventy-six, while those of the officers who stood
the heat of the climate best were above eighty.
It is impossible not to feel a deep interest in the welfare of this
little society, and at the same time an apprehension that something
may happen to disturb that harmony and destroy that simplicity of
manners which have hitherto characterized it. It is to be feared,
indeed, that the seeds of discord are already sown. It appears from
Captain Waldegrave's statement, that no less than three Englishmen
have found their way into this happy society. One of them, John
Buffet, mentioned by Beechey, is a harmless man, and, as it has been
stated, of great use to the islanders in his capacity of clergyman and
schoolmaster; he is also a clever and useful mechanic, as a
ship-wright and joiner, and is much beloved by the community. Two
others have since been left on the island, one of them, by name John
Evans, son of a coachmaker in the employ of Long of St. Martin's Lane,
who has married a daughter of John Adams, through whom he possesses
and cultivates a certain portion of land; the third is George Hunn
Nobbs, who calls himself pastor, registrar, and schoolmaster, thus
infringing on the privileges of John Buffet; and being a person of
superior talents, and of exceeding great impudence, has deprived
Buffet of a great number of his scholars; and hence a sufficient cause
exists of division and dissension among the members of the little
society, which were never known before. Buffet and Evans support
themselves by their industry, but this Nobbs not only claims exemption
from labour as being their pastor, but also as being entitled to a
maintenance at the expense of the community. He has married a daughter
of Charles, and grand-daughter to the late Fletcher Christian, whose
descendants, as captain of the gang, might be induced to claim
superiority, and which, probably, might be allowed by general consent,
had they but possessed a moderate share of talent; but it is stated
that Thursday October and Charles Christian, the sons of the chief
mutineer, are ignorant, uneducated men. The only chance for the
continuance of peace is the general dislike in which this Nobbs is
held, and the gradual intellectual improvement of the rising
generation.[40]
It seems that Adams on his death-bed called all the heads of families
together, and urged them to appoint a chief;--this, however, they have
not done, which makes it the more to be apprehended that Nobbs, by his
superior talent or cunning, will force himself upon them into that
situation. Captain Waldegrave thinks, however, that Edward Quintal,
who possesses the best understanding of any on the island, will in
time arrive at that honour; his only book is the Bible, but it is
quite astonishing, he observes, what a fund of knowledge he has
derived from it. His wife, too, is stated to be a woman of excellent
understanding; and their eldest boy, William, has been so carefully
educated, that he excels greatly all the others. The descendants of
Young are also said to be persons generally of promising abilities.
How the patriarch Adams contrived to instil into the minds of these
people the true principles of religion and morality is quite
surprising. He was able to read, but only learnt to write in his
latter days; and having accomplished this point, he made a scheme of
laws by which he succeeded to govern his little community in the way
we have seen. The celebration of marriage and baptism were strictly
observed, according to the rites of the Church of England, but he
never ventured on confirmation and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
He taught the children the Church catechism, the ten commandments, the
Lord's prayer, and the Creed, and he satisfied himself, that in these
were comprised all the Christian duties. By the instrumentality of
these precepts, drawn from the Book of Common Prayer and the
Bible,[41] he was enabled, after the slaughter of all his associates,
to rear up all the children in the principles and precepts of
Christianity, in purity of morals, and in a simplicity of manners,
that have surprised and delighted every stranger that has visited the
island.
Captain Waldegrave says they are so strongly attached to those
beautiful prayers that are found in the liturgy of the Church of
England, that there is no danger of a dissenting minister being
received among them. It is to be hoped this may be the case; but it
may be asked, will they escape from the snares of George Hunn Nobbs?
It would seem, indeed, that this man has already thrust upon them what
he calls a code of laws, in which he enumerates crimes, such as murder
and adultery, unknown and unheard of among these simple people since
the time that Adams was sole legislator and patriarch. The punishment
of adultery, to give a specimen of Nobbs's legislation, is whipping
for the first offence to both parties, and marriage within three
months; for the second, if the parties refuse to marry, the penalties
are, forfeiture of lands, property, and banishment from the island.
Offenders are to be tried before three elders, who pronounce sentence.
It is quite clear this silly person does not understand what is meant
by adultery. As to the tenure of land, it is fortunately provided for
previous to his arrival on the island. The whole island, it seems, was
partitioned out by Adams among the families of the original settlers,
so that a foreigner cannot obtain any, except by purchase or marriage.
Captain Waldegrave reckons, that eleven-twelfths are uncultivated, and
that population is increasing so rapidly, that in the course of a
century the island will be fully peopled, and that the limit may be
taken at one thousand souls.
The rate at which population is likely to increase may, perhaps, be
determined by political economists from the following data.
In 1790 the island was first settled by fifteen men and twelve women,
making a total of twenty-seven. Of these were remaining in 1800, one
man and five women, with nineteen children, the eldest nine years of
age, making in the whole twenty-five. In 1808, Mr. Folger makes the
population amount to thirty-five, being an increase of ten in eight
years. In 1814, six years afterwards, Sir Thomas Staines states the
_adult_ population at forty, which must be a mistake, as fourteen
years before, nineteen of the twenty-five then existing were children.
In 1825, Captain Beechey states the whole population at sixty-six, of
whom thirty-six were males, and thirty females. And in 1830, Captain
Waldegrave makes it amount to seventy-nine; being an increase of
thirteen in five years, or twenty per cent, which is a less rapid
increase than might be expected; but there can be little doubt it will
go on with an accelerated ratio, provided the means of subsistence
should not fail them.
Captain Waldegrave's assumption, that this island is sufficiently
large for the maintenance of one thousand souls, is grounded on
incorrect data; it does not follow, that because one-twelfth of the
island will maintain eighty persons, the whole must support nine
hundred and sixty persons. The island is not more than four square
miles, or two thousand five hundred and sixty acres; and as a ridge of
rocky hills runs from north to south, having two peaks exceeding one
thousand feet in height, it is more than probable that not one half of
it is capable of cultivation. It would seem, indeed, from several
ancient morais being discovered among these hills; some stone axes or
hatchets of compact basaltic lava, very hard and capable of a fine
polish; four stone images, about six feet high, placed on a platform,
not unlike those on Easter Island, one of which has been preserved,
and is the rude representation of the human figure to the hips, hewn
out of a piece of red lava:--these remains would seem to indicate a
former population, that had found it expedient to abandon the island
from its insufficiency to support it. Captain Beechey observes, that
'from these images and the large piles of stones, on heights to which
they must have been dragged with great labour, it may be concluded
that the island was inhabited for a considerable time; and from bones
being found, always buried under these piles, and never upon the
surface, we may presume that those who survived, quitted the island in
their canoes to seek an asylum elsewhere.'
It appears from Beechey, that Adams had contemplated the prospect of
an increasing population with the limited means of supporting it, and
requested that he would communicate with the British Government upon
the subject, which he says he did, and that, through the interference
of the Admiralty and Colonial Office, means have been taken for
removing them to any place they may choose for themselves. It is to be
hoped, however, that no such interference will take place; for half a
century, at least, there is no danger of any want of food. The
attempt, however, was made through the means of a Mr. Nott, a
missionary of Otaheite, who, being on a visit to this country, was
authorized, on his return, to make arrangements for their removal to
Otaheite, if they wished it, and if Pomarre, the king of the island,
should not object to receive them; and he carried a letter to this
chief from Lord Bathurst, acquainting him with the intention of the
British Government, and expressing the hope that he would be induced
to receive under his protection a people whose moral and religious
character had created so lively an interest in their favour; but it
fortunately happened that this missionary passed the island without
stopping. A Mr. Joshua Hill subsequently proposed their removal to New
South Wales, but his vessel was considered too small for the purpose.
Two years after this, as difficulties had occurred to prevent the
above-mentioned intentions from being carried into effect, Sir George
Murray deemed it desirable that no time should be lost in affording
such assistance to these islanders as might, at all events, render
their present abode as comfortable as circumstances would allow,
_until_ arrangements could be made for their future disposal, either
in one of the Society Islands, as originally proposed, or at one of
our settlements on New Holland. The assistance here alluded to has
been afforded, as above mentioned, by his Majesty's ship
_Seringapatam_.
It is sincerely to be hoped that such removal will be no longer
thought of. No complaint was made, no apprehension of want expressed
to Captain Waldegrave, who left them contented and happy; and Captain
Beechey, since his return, has received a letter from John Buffet, who
informs him of a notification made by Nott the missionary at Otaheite,
that the king was willing to receive them, and that measures would be
taken for their removal; but, he adds, the people are so much attached
to, and satisfied with, their native island, as not to have a wish to
leave it. The breaking up of this happy, innocent, and simple-minded
little society, by some summary process, and consigning them to those
sinks of infamy on New Holland or Van Diemen's Land, or to mix them up
with the dram-drinkers, the psalmsingers, and the languid and lazy
Otaheitans, would, in either case, be a subject of deep regret to all
who take an interest in their welfare; and to themselves would be the
inevitable loss of all those amiable qualities which have obtained for
them the kind and generous sympathy of their countrymen at home. We
have a person who acts as consul at Otaheite, and it is to be hoped he
will receive instructions, on no account to sanction, but on the
contrary to interdict, any measure that maybe attempted on the part of
the missionaries for their removal;--perhaps, however, as money would
be required for such a purpose, they may be considered safe from that
quarter.
The time must come when they will emigrate on their own accord. When
the hive is full, they will send out their swarms. Captain Beechey
tells us that the reading of some books of voyages and travels,
belonging to Bligh and left in the _Bounty_, had created a desire in
some of them to leave it; but that family ties and an ardent affection
for each other, and for their native soil, had always interposed, on
the few occasions that offered, to prevent individuals going away
singly. George Adams, however, who had failed when the _Blossom_ was
there to soften the heart of Polly Young, and had no wife to detain
him, was very anxious to embark in that ship, that he might see
something of the world beyond the narrow limits of his own little
island; and Beechey would have taken him, had not his mother wept
bitterly at the idea of parting from him, and wished to impose terms
touching his return to the island, that could not be acceded to.
Pitcairn Island lies at the south-eastern extremity of a chain of
islands, which, including the Society and Friendly Islands, exceed a
hundred in number, many of them wholly uninhabited, and the rest but
thinly peopled, all speaking the same or nearly the same language,
which is also spoken by the natives of Pitcairn Island; and all of the
two groups are richly clothed with the spontaneous products of nature
fit for the use of man. To all these they will have, when necessity
prompts them, easy means of access. No large vessels are required for
an emigration of this kind; the frailest barks and single canoes have
been driven hundreds of miles over the Pacific. The Pitcairners have
already proceeded from the simple canoe to row-boats, and the progress
from this to small decked vessels is simple and natural. They may thus
at some future period, which is not at all improbable, be the means of
spreading Christianity and consequently civilization throughout the
numerous groups of islands in the Southern Pacific; whereas to remove
them, as has been imprudently suggested, would be to devote them at
once to misery and destruction.
That there is no deficiency in the number and variety of plants,
producing food and clothing for the use of man, will appear from the
following list, which is far from being complete:
INDIGENOUS
_Cocos nucifera_ Cocoa-nut. _Musa Paradisiaca_
Plantains. _Musa sapientum_ Bananas. _Dioscorea sativum_
Yams. _Convolvulus batatas_ Sweet potatoes. _Arum, esculentum_
Taro Root. _Arum costatum_ Yappa. _Broussonetia papyrifera_
Cloth-tree. _Dracaena terminalis_ _Tee_-plant. _Aleurites
triloba_ Doodoe. _Morinda citrifolia_ Nono. ----
Toonena, a large timber tree. _Ficus indica_ Banyan-tree.
_Morus chinensis_ Mulberry. _Pandanus odoratissimus_ (?)
And a great number of other indigenous plants, some of which are
useful and others ornamental.
INTRODUCED
_Artocarpus incisa_ Bread-fruit. _Cucurbita citrullus_
Water-melons _Cucurbita pepo_ Pumpkins. _Solanum esculenlum_
Potatoes. _Nicotiana tabaccum_ Tobacco. _Citrus lemoneum_
Lemon. ---- _aurantium_ Orange.
Besides these they have European peas, beans, and onions; sugar-canes,
ginger, pepper, and turmeric. In fact, situated as the island is, in a
temperate climate just without the tropic, and enjoying abundance of
rain, there is scarcely any vegetable, with the exception of a few of
the equinoxial plants, that may not be cultivated here. The zea maize,
or Indian corn, would be infinitely useful both for themselves, their
poultry, and their pigs.
As a great part of the island is at present covered with trees, which
would necessarily give way to an extended cultivation, and as trees
attract rain, Captain Waldegrave seems to think that when these are
removed showers will be less frequent; but there is little fear of
this being the case; the central ridge, with points that exceed eleven
hundred feet in height, will more effectually attract and condense the
clouds than any quantity of trees growing at a less elevation; and
there can be little doubt that plenty of water will be found by
digging at the foot of the hills or close to the sea-coast.
The climate appears to be unexceptionable. During the sixteen days of
December (the height of summer) that the _Blossom_ remained there, the
range of the thermometer on the island, from nine in the morning till
three in the afternoon, was from 76 deg. to 80 deg.; on board ship
from 74 deg. to 76 deg.; from whence Captain Beechey places the mean
temperature during that time at 76-1/2 deg.. In winter he says the
southwesterly winds blow very cold, and even snow has been known to
fall.