A voyage to the South Sea : $b Undertaken by command of His Majesty for the purpose of conveying the bread-fruit tree to the West Indies in His Majesty's ship the Bounty commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh; including an account of the mutiny on board the said ship and the subsequent voyage of part of the crew in the ship's boat from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch settlement in the East IndiesBligh, William
History
A voyage to the South Sea : $b Undertaken by command of His Majesty for the purpose of conveying the bread-fruit tree to the West Indies in His Majesty's ship the Bounty commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh; including an account of the mutiny on board the said ship and the subsequent voyage of part of the crew in the ship's boat from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch settlement in the East Indies
Bligh, William
Bounty (Ship); Bounty Mutiny, 1789; Oceania -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Voyages and travels
The boatswain and seamen who were to go in the boat were allowed to
collect twine, canvas, lines, sails, cordage, an eight and twenty-gallon
cask of water, and Mr. Samuel got 150 pounds of bread, with a small
quantity of rum and wine, also a quadrant and compass; but he was
forbidden on pain of death to touch either map, ephemeris, book of
astronomical observations, sextant, timekeeper, or any of my surveys or
drawings.
The mutineers having forced those of the seamen whom they meant to get
rid of into the boat, Christian directed a dram to be served to each of
his own crew. I then unhappily saw that nothing could be done to effect
the recovery of the ship: there was no one to assist me, and every
endeavour on my part was answered with threats of death.
The officers were next called upon deck and forced over the side into the
boat, while I was kept apart from everyone, abaft the mizenmast;
Christian, armed with a bayonet, holding me by the bandage that secured
my hands. The guard round me had their pieces cocked, but on my daring
the ungrateful wretches to fire they uncocked them.
Isaac Martin, one of the guard over me, I saw had an inclination to
assist me, and as he fed me with shaddock (my lips being quite parched)
we explained our wishes to each other by our looks; but this being
observed Martin was removed from me. He then attempted to leave the ship,
for which purpose he got into the boat; but with many threats they
obliged him to return.
The armourer, Joseph Coleman, and two of the carpenters, McIntosh and
Norman, were also kept contrary to their inclination; and they begged of
me, after I was astern in the boat, to remember that they declared they
had no hand in the transaction. Michael Byrne, I am told, likewise wanted
to leave the ship.
It is of no moment for me to recount my endeavours to bring back the
offenders to a sense of their duty: all I could do was by speaking to
them in general; but it was to no purpose, for I was kept securely bound
and no one except the guard suffered to come near me.
To Mr. Samuel I am indebted for securing my journals and commission with
some material ship papers. Without these I had nothing to certify what I
had done, and my honour and character might have been suspected without
my possessing a proper document to have defended them. All this he did
with great resolution, though guarded and strictly watched. He attempted
to save the timekeeper, and a box with my surveys, drawings, and remarks
for fifteen years past, which were numerous, when he was hurried away,
with "Damn your eyes you are well off to get what you have."
It appeared to me that Christian was some time in doubt whether he should
keep the carpenter or his mates; at length he determined on the latter
and the carpenter was ordered into the boat. He was permitted but not
without some opposition to take his tool chest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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