On an elevated platform stood the little village of Pitcairn. The houses surrounded a grassy square, protected by palisades to preserve it from the depredations of goats, hogs, and poultry which roamed about the island. The houses were built of boards, the sides and ends planed and made to ship and unship on account of the warm weather. The interior of the houses bespoke comfort and cleanliness, and the beds and bedding were very neat. Each dwelling had a pen for hogs, another for fowl and a building for manufacturing cloth. The linen was made of the bark of the paper mulberry tree, steeped in water, and then beaten out to the proper thickness by pieces of wood. Varieties of cloth were also made from the breadfruit tree and a kind of fig. The visitors were assured that each person considered his possession as held for the general good, so disputes were easily settled; and, if hasty words were uttered, the offender was ever willing to make amends. Adams deeply impressed the captains of the frigates. They made a favorable report to the Admiralty, but little interest was taken, and Pitcairn was neglected. At length, John Buffett, one of the crew of a whale ship which touched there, was so pleased with the place that he manifested a desire to remain, and he was released from the ship. Not long after another sailor, John Evans, joined the community. Both men married Pitcairn girls. In 1825 the _Blossom_, Captain Beechy, a British man-of-war, appeared off the island. During his stay of three weeks, Captain Beechy gave close attention to conditions, customs and proceedings. Sunday was strictly observed, and there were five services in the day. Meals were prepared the day before, so that there might be little work on the Sabbath. The fare consisted of pork or fowl, which, according to the Tahitian method, was baked between stones. There were vegetables, bread or pudding made of the taroroot, and breadfruit. At this time there was enough water for all wants, the supply coming from tanks cut in the rocks. There was only a small natural stream. Captain Beechy touched upon the mutiny. Adams talked freely, but affirmed that he had taken no part in it. In 1828 a third seafaring man came to the island and became, like Evans and Buffett, a permanent settler. His name was George Hunn Nobbs. On March 29, 1829, John Adams, the beloved pastor and teacher, passed away, and Nobbs succeeded him. On his return, Captain Beechy memorialized the Admiralty, stating that as the population increased there would be a scarcity of both water and food.