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
After dinner we began by little and little to get our things into the
boat, which was a troublesome business on account of the surf. I
carefully watched the motions of the natives, who continued to increase
in number, and found that, instead of their intention being to leave us,
fires were made, and places fixed on for their stay during the night.
Consultations were also held among them and everything assured me we
should be attacked. I sent orders to the master that when he saw us
coming down he should keep the boat close to the shore that we might the
more readily embark.
I had my journal on shore with me, writing the occurrences in the cave
and in sending it down to the boat, it was nearly snatched away but for
the timely assistance of the gunner.
The sun was near setting when I gave the word, on which every person who
was on shore with me boldly took up his proportion of things and carried
them to the boat. The chiefs asked me if I would not stay with them all
night. I said: "No, I never sleep out of my boat; but in the morning we
will again trade with you, and I shall remain till the weather is
moderate that we may go, as we have agreed, to see Poulaho at
Tongataboo." Maccaackavow then got up and said: "You will not sleep on
shore? then Mattie" (which directly signifies we will kill you) and he
left me. The onset was now preparing; everyone as I have described before
kept knocking stones together, and Eefow quitted me. All but two or three
things were in the boat, when I took Nageete by the hand, and we walked
down the beach, everyone in a silent kind of horror.
While I was seeing the people embark Nageete wanted me to stay to speak
to Eefow, but I found he was encouraging them to the attack, and it was
my determination if they had then begun to have killed him for his
treacherous behaviour. I ordered the carpenter not to quit me till the
other people were in the boat. Nageete, finding I would not stay, loosed
himself from my hold and went off, and we all got into the boat except
one man who, while I was getting on board, quitted it and ran up the
beach to cast the stern fast off, notwithstanding the master and others
called to him to return while they were hauling me out of the water.
I was no sooner in the boat than the attack began by about 200 men; the
unfortunate poor man who had run up the beach was knocked down, and the
stones flew like a shower of shot. Many Indians got hold of the stern
rope and were near hauling the boat on shore, which they would certainly
have effected if I had not had a knife in my pocket with which I cut the
rope. We then hauled off to the grapnel, everyone being more or less
hurt. At this time I saw five of the natives about the poor man they had
killed, and two of them were beating him about the head with stones in
their hands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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