The cause of this mutiny undoubtedly was Bligh's own behaviour to officers and men, but above all to his officers, since leaving England. He was obviously a man of the most violent temper and of very coarse habits and mean disposition. Being purser as well as commander, he evidently tried to make money out of the rations issued to officers and men. He was perpetually charging his officers with stealing coconuts or yams. He would subject the midshipmen to the most cruel punishments, almost enough, one would think, to have killed them; and it is obvious that mutiny was in the hearts of many on board long before it actually broke out. Bligh gave as his explanation that during the long stay at Tahiti most of the men on board had contracted attachments towards the native women and wished to return and settle down there permanently. But it has been remarked that if this was the case they might have all deserted in a body whilst on the island, or have mutinied before the ship left these waters instead of doing so after leaving the Tonga archipelago at a distance of three weeks' sailing from Tahiti. The mutiny was undoubtedly precipitated by Bligh's complete loss of temper whilst the ship was in the Tonga archipelago, and his threats to make the life of all on board "a perfect hell" for the rest of the voyage, which, by way of the Dutch Indies and the Cape of Good Hope to Jamaica, would have been a tremendously long one. Bligh, together with the sailing-master, the acting surgeon, the botanist, and several other officers and petty officers, in all nineteen persons, were thrust into a launch which, when loaded with passengers and goods, was brought so near to the surface of the water as to endanger her sinking with only a moderate swell of the sea. Yet in this crazy boat Bligh and his companions sailed for a distance of 4000 miles till they landed at Timor--one of the most noteworthy sea adventures on record. Before they left the _Bounty_ they were given 150 pounds of bread, 32 pounds of pork, 6 quarts of rum, 6 bottles of wine, 28 gallons of water, and four empty barrels. Thus provisioned they sailed for the island of Tofoa, intending to obtain bread-fruit and coconuts. When the natives met them, Bligh, wisely or unwisely, accounted for his plight by telling them that the _Bounty_ had capsized and that they alone were saved. They were therefore regarded rather contemptuously as shipwrecked sailors, and only received small quantities of bread-fruit, bananas, and coconuts. Moreover, an attempt was made to seize the boat, in which one of the seamen was killed. In terrible distress they implored Bligh, who with all his faults had great force of character, to get them back to England _somehow_. He told them that their nearest hope of salvation was the Island of Timor, 4000 miles distant, more or less, and that if they were to reach that they must obey his orders implicitly and maintain the most absolute discipline. They agreed.