He said, that, 'finding himself much hurt by the treatment he had
received from Lieutenant Bligh, he had determined to quit the ship the
preceding evening, and had informed the boatswain, carpenter, and two
midshipmen (Stewart and Hayward), of his intention to do so; that by
them he was supplied with part of a roasted pig, some nails, beads, and
other articles of trade, which he put into a bag that was given him by
the last-named gentleman; that he put this bag into the clue of Robert
Tinkler's hammock, where it was discovered by that young gentleman when
going to bed at night, but the business was smothered, and passed off
without any further notice. He said he had fastened some staves to a
stout plank, with which he intended to make his escape; but finding he
could not effect it during the first and middle watches, as the ship had
no way through the water, and the people were all moving about, he laid
down to rest about half-past three in the morning; that when Mr. Stewart
called him to relieve the deck at four o'clock, he had but just fallen
asleep, and was much out of order; upon observing which, Mr. Stewart
strenuously advised him to abandon his intention; that as soon as he had
taken charge of the deck, he saw Mr. Hayward, the mate of his watch, lie
down on the arm-chest to take a nap; and finding that Mr. Hallet, the
other midshipman, did not make his appearance, he suddenly formed the
resolution of seizing the ship. Disclosing his intention to Matthew
Quintal and Isaac Martin, both of whom had been flogged by Lieutenant
Bligh, they called up Charles Churchill, who had also tasted the cat,
and Matthew Thompson, both of whom readily joined in the plot. That
Alexander Smith (_alias_ John Adams), John Williams, and William M'Koy,
evinced equal willingness, and went with Churchill to the armourer, of
whom they obtained the keys of the arm-chest, under pretence of wanting
a musket to fire at a shark, then alongside; that finding Mr. Hallet
asleep on an arm-chest in the main-hatchway, they roused and sent him on
deck. Charles Norman, unconscious of their proceedings, had in the
meantime awaked Mr. Hayward, and directed his attention to the shark,
whose movements he was watching at the moment that Mr. Christian and his
confederates came up the fore-hatchway, after having placed arms in the
hands of several men who were not aware of their design. One man,
Matthew Thompson, was left in charge of the chest, and he served out
arms to Thomas Burkitt and Robert Lamb. Mr. Christian said he then
proceeded to secure Lieutenant Bligh, the master, gunner, and botanist.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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