Journal - Breadfruit Mission Home James Morrison Journal - The Mutineers
Revised 2015-09-16
April, 1789. We were followed out by a Number of our frends and Matte & Eddea, with several others, remaind on board the ship, till three in the afternoon when the small cutter was sent to put them on shore, their parting with the Lieut. and officers was truely a tender scene; the rest being gone in their Canoes, Mr. Bligh gave Matte a Musquet two pistols some powder & Ball flints &c. and a Chest to keep his trade & Amunition in, the Chest being also filld with the Presents Mr. Bligh had made him; the Carpenter also Gave him an American Musquet with all which he seemd highly Pleased, but was quite at a loss how to express himself on the occasion and when they landed loaded the Boat with Cocoa Nuts when she returned & was hoisted in.
As the labour of the day had been very great Double Allowance of Grog was Given to all hands and evry thing being secured at 5 in the Evening We bore away and made sail to the W N W, Passing Morea or Eymayo in the Night—evry body seemd In high spirits and began already to talk of Home, affixing the length of the Passage and Count up their Wages and One would readily have Imagined that we had Just left Jamaica instead of Taheite so far onward did their flattering fancies waft them.
At 10 am we made Hooaheine and the Hands being Mustered, as Usual most of their Grog was stopd for not being Clean. At Noon we hove to off Farree Harbour to enquire for Omai; but could get no other information but that he was dead some time. The Natives brought off a few Yams & a Hog or two which were purchased for Mr. Bligh, and in the Evening we made sail, leaving Ryatea on the Starboard hand.
Standing to the S.W. till Midnight when we altered our Course to the Westward having passd the Islands of Ryatea & Taha &c. and now took a farwel of the Society Isles. Map
Plantains were now served in lieu of Bread at 6 pr. man pr. day with one pound of Fresh pork—and when they were expended, the Yams & tarro were Issued at one pound pr. day till we Arrived at Annamooka.
Sunday the 12th we exercised at Backing & filling Making & shortning sail &ca. but the Wind coming to the Westward & blowing hard gave us an oppotunity of exerting our abilitys in earnest & on the 13th we Discovered an Island which we saild nearly round; it appeard to be surrounded by a reef inside of which was deep water & 5 or 6 small keys, three of the Natives came off in a Canoe. On the 15th the Weather being now Calm & fine they seemd much surprized at evry thing they saw, and as soon as they Came on board they fell down & kissd Mr. Blighs feet giving him the Pearl Shells which they wore on their Breasts, suspended by Collars of Braided hair, in return He gave them each a Knife & some beads of which they seemd very fond tho they knew not the use, he also gave them a Young Boar & Sow as we found by them they had no such animals—their language seemd to differ from that of the Society Isles, tho they knew the Bread fruit Plants by the same name—they were loth to leave the ship and one of them would have staid while the others went on shore for some Cocoa Nuts, but it growing late we could not stay, they Calld the Island Wytootache, and when they left us they seemd reluctant still looking at the ship as they paddled away, the Canoe differed from those of the Society Isles, being alike at each end and but indifferently built. In the evening a Whirlwind passd us between 7 & 8 o Clock which almost hove the ship about, after which a breeze sprang up and we made sail and on the 16th at 10 at Night passd Savage Island.
On the 19th we made the Islands of Caow and Toofoa, two of the Friendly Islands, but Calms & Currents prevented us from reaching Annamooka till the 23rd. Map This is a low Island one of the Eastern range of the Freindly Isles, (of which there are many) it lies about 16 or 17 Leagues to the E S E of Toofoa, which is a high lump with a large Volcano on the top, Caow is a high Peak like a Sugar loaf, and may be seen 10 or 20 leagues off in Clear Weather; these two are not more then 3 leagues distant from each other —on the 24th a party was sent to wood & Water.
Annamooka Map or Rotterdam was first discovered by Tasman the Dutch Navigator who reduced the Natives to good behaviour but their present behaviour seems to be such as the dread of fire arms produces for they were very rude & attempted to take the Casks from the Waterers and the axes from the Wooding party; and if a Musquet was pointed at any of them it produced no other effect then a return of the Compliment, by poising their Club or Spear with a menacing look; and as it was Lieut. Bligh's orders, that no person should affront them on any occasion, they were emboldend by Meeting no return to their Insolence, and became so troublesom that Mr. Christian, who had the Command of the Watering party, found it difficult to carry on his duty, of this He informd Lieut. Bligh, who dam'd him for a Cowardly rascal, asking him if he was afraid of a set of Naked Savages while He had arms; to which Mr. Christian answerd 'the Arms are no use while your orders prevent them from being used'.
However in the Morning of the 25th Mr. Fryer was sent with the Cutter Armd, to attend the launch; but had not long been at a Grapnel before the Natives found means of unbending it from the rope, by stirring up the Mud and thickning the Water, and then diving down as they flockd about the boat, one Man was orderd to hold the rope in his hand, Notwithstanding which they Carried it clear off before the boat drove, or the Man in the Bow perceivd the rope slack. Mr. Fryer applied to the Chiefs to have it returned, but to no purpose, being obliged at present to put up with the loss and when the Boats returned He informd Lieut. Bligh of what happen'd on which he applyd to some of the Chiefs who were then on board, but to no purpose, tho' they made fair promises. During our stay Here the Natives flockd to the Ship in Great Numbers to trafick for Hogs fowles Yams Cocoa Nuts &c. all of which they seemd to know the Value of, & would not part with a single plantain without something in return. Several Chiefs & Principal Men were Constantly on board and frequently not less then an hundred Canoes of different sizes about the ship.
Their Canoes will Carry from 2 to 40 Men; they have both double and single Canoes equipt for sailing with well made rope, & large sails which they work in diffrent Methods, some being hoisted up by hawlyards, and others the Yard are fixd to Swivel about on the Masthead Having the Weather Yard Arm Confined by a strong tack of 5 or 6 inch Rope, the rope is made of Cocoa Nut Husk platted into sinnet, & then neatly laid & Well twisted in three Strands, the Sails are of a Triangular form with a Yard & boom—they are made of matting doubled & quilted—some of those Booms were longer & Bigger then our Main Yard, those which hoist & lower their sail Work to Windward in the Same Manner as the Flying Proa of the Ladrones, being both ends alike; but the others are diffrent, and always sail one end first; they are neatly built & well finishd, and sail at an amazing rate in smooth Water but in a rough sea they can never answer.
Their Fish hooks are made of Pearl, Bone and Tortoise Shell of which they have plenty, their Weopons are Clubs of about 3 feet long, of hard wood neatly Carved, & Inlaid with Bone & Pearl—long Spears with barbs of three Inches, fixd at equal distances for three feet in length, Bows of about 6 or 7 feet long of a very elastic wood & Arrows pointed with the Stings of the Sting Ray, and Slings made of the Husk of the Cocoa Nuts—their Cloathing is in Both sexes alike, and is mostly one piece of Cloth or Matting tyed round the Waist and depending below the Knees, the Matting is chiefly worn at sea, or in Wet Weather and is of several sorts neatly made, their Cloth is made of the Bark of the Cloth tree and they have a Method of Glaizing it to make it keep out Wet, and stain it with Brown & Black which gives it a very handsome appearance.
Both Sexes Dress their Hair with lime or Burnt Shells which tho Originally Black, soons turn to Red, Purple, & White. Tho the Countenances of the Men are Open yet they have something in it that gives an unfavourable Idea to strangers; perhaps this might have been heighten'd in our eyes by their Actions which did not correspond with their Name. We saw here several earthen Vessels well made & many Curious pieces of Workmanship & Ingenuity, and their Canoes appear to be the best made and the neatest Work of any We had Seen tho not so large as Some, but they are well calculated for their Seas which are mostly Smooth owing to the Number of Islands with reefs round their Eastern side & the shoal water about them. Both Men and Weomen run of the Common Size; they are of a Copper Collour and are well made, the Weomen are Handsome but know how to set a price on their favours, the Men are Tattow'd from the Knee to the Waist which something resembles a pair of Breeches; the Weomen are not tattow'd, but have on their Shoulders several Circles indented with burning hot bamboos of different sizes, and many of Both sexes want a part if not the whole of their little fingers, which we understood was cut off as a tribute to the memory of their deceased friends.
Having filld all the Water & Got on board some wood & large Quantitys of Yams some Cocoa Nuts Plantains &c. on the 26th we hoisted in the Boats and having but a light air, & the 3 Chiefs who were on board having promised that the Grapnel should be restored if Mr. Bligh would wait till the Canoe returned which they said was gone to another Island after it, we got all ready for weighing and two Hours liberty was given to the people to expend their trade. As this was likely to be the last Island where Iron Currency was the Most valuable, evry one got rid of their trade as fast as they could purchacing Matts, Spears & many Curiositys and a quantity of Yams for Private Store with Cocoa Nuts &c. and evry thing the Natives had or would dispose of, and what with Yams and Clubs in all Quarters the ship was fairly lumberd that there was scarcely room to stir in any part—about noon we weighd & stowd the Anchor and the Fore topsail being loose we stood to the Westward with a light air. The Ships Company were Armd and Drawn up and the Chiefs made prisoners, the Canoes were ordered to Cast off and keep astern. At this the Chiefs seemd much displeased, on which they were ordered down to the Mess room where Mr. Bligh followed them and set them to peel Cocoa Nuts for His Dinner. He then came up and dismissd all the Men but two, that were under arms, but not till he had passd the Compliment on officers & Men to tell them that they were a parcel of lubberly rascals and that he would be one of five who would with good sticks would disarm the whole of them, and presenting a Pistol at Wm. McCoy threatend to shoot him for not paying attention.
About 4 in the Afternoon we Hove to the Canoes being all Gone, but one double one, on board of which were some weomen who wept bitterly & Cut their faces & shoulders in a terrible Manner, as did the Oldest of the Chiefs who struck himself several violent blows on the face & cut him self on the Cheek bones with his fists. Mr. Bligh now Ordered the Canoe alongside seeing no appearance of the Grapnell, and dismissd them with presents which they received and the youngest would have stripd & left his Mat on board if He had been permitted but the others seemd as if they only smotherd their resentment, seeing that they could not revenge the insult, however they went away and stood in for the Island, and it was the oppinion of most on board that if a Weak mand Ship Came in their Way they would remember this days transaction and make them suffer for it.
The Produce of those Islands is much the same in evry respect as the Society Isles but they cultivate the earth here with much pains and the Yams here are the largest in the World and equally as good as those of the East or West Indies but they are Indifferently waterd the only water at Annamooka being a Stagnate Pool which in a very dry season it is possible may intirely dry up, but this is not much felt by the Natives who use very little water in dressing their food & the Cocoa Nuts supplys them with drink in the Dryest season —their animals are the same as those of the Society Isles but their Hogs are in general small, and the reefs abound with Variety of fine fish. The Cocoa Nuts Here are very large, but the shells are of a Coarse open Grain, some of them will Hold 5 Pints, and serves the Natives to Carry Water in in their Canoes.
Our Stay here being short it was not possible to examine into the Manners & Customs of these People but as Captain Cook has been very minute in his description of them I must refer the Reader to His Voyage, and return to a more Interesting part of the Business. When the Chiefs were Gone, we made Sail, but the Wind being light & frequently flatning to a Calm we made very little Way, during the Night. As we near'd Toofoa we observed Vast Collums of smoke & flame Issuing from the Volcano which appear'd to be a very large one. Apr 27, 1789 The Weather continuing the same all day, we alter'd our position very little, being within 7 or 8 leagues of the Island all the day and no appearance of a Breeze —In the Afternoon of the 27th Mr. Bligh Came up, and taking a turn about the Quarter Deck when he missed some of the Cocoa Nuts which were piled up between the Guns upon which he said that they were stolen and Could not go without the knowledge of the Officers, who were all Calld and declared that they had not seen a Man toutch them, to which Mr. Bligh replied 'then you must have taken them yourselves', and orderd Mr. Elphinstone to go and fetch evry Cocoa nut in the Ship aft, which He obeyd.
He then questioned evry Officer in turn concerning the Number they had bought, & Coming to Mr. Christian askd Him, Mr. Christian answerd 'I do not know Sir, but I hope you dont think me so mean as to be Guilty of Stealing yours'. Mr. Bligh replied 'Yes you dam'd Hound I do— You must have stolen them from me or you could give a better account of them—God dam you, you Scoundrels, you are all thieves alike, and combine with the men to rob me—I suppose you'll Steal my Yams next, but I'll sweat you for it, you rascals, I'll make half of you Jump overboard before you get through Endeavour Streights' —He then Calld Mr. Samuel and said 'Stop these Villains Grog, and Give them but Half a Pound of Yams tomorrow, and if they steal then, I'll reduce them to a quarter'. The Cocoa Nuts were Carried aft, & He Went below, the officers then got together and were heard to murmur much at such treatment, and it was talked among the Men that the Yams would be next seized, as Lieut. Bligh knew that they had purchased large quantitys of them and set about secreting as many as they Could.
The night being Calm we made no way, & in the Morning of the 28th the Boatswain Came to my hammock and waked me telling me to my great surprize that the ship was taken by Mr. Christian. I hurried on deck and found it true —seeing Mr. Bligh in his shirt with his hands tied behind him and Mr. Christian standing by him with a drawn Bayonet in his hand and his Eyes flaming with revenge. Several of the men were under arms, and the Small Cutter hoisted out, and the large one getting ready.
I applied to the Boatswain [Cole] to know how I should proceed, but he was as much at a loss as I, and in a Confused Manner told me to lend a hand in Clearing the Boat and Getting her out, which I did, when she was out the Small one was got in— Mr. Christian Calld to Mr. Hayward and Mr. Hallet to get into the Boat and ordered Churchill to See the Master [Fryer] & Clerk [Samuel] into Her. The Lieutenant then began to reason but Mr. Christian replied 'Mamoo, Sir, not a word, or deaths your portion'. Mr. Hayward & Mr. Hallet begd with tears in their eyes to be sufferd to remain in the ship but Mr. Christian ordered them to be silent. The Boatswain and Carpenter [Purcell] Came aft (the Master & Gunner [Peckover] being Confined below) and beggd for the Launch, which with much hesitation was Granted, and she was ordered out. While I was Clearing her the Master Came up & spoke to Mr. Bligh and afterwards Came to Me, asking me if I had any hand in the Mutiny—I told him I had not, and he then desired me to try what I Could do to raise a party and rescue the Ship, which I promised to do. In consequence of which Jno. Millward who was by me at the time Swore he would stand by me, and went to Musprat, Burket and the Boatswain on that score, but Churchill seeing the Master speaking to me (tho he was Instantly hurried away by Quintrell ordering him down to his Cabbin) Came and demanded what he had said. I told him that He was asking about the Launch but Alexr. Smith who stood on the other side of the Boat told Churchill to look sharp after me saying 'tis a dam'd lye, Chas, for I saw him and Millward shake hands, when the Master spoke to them, and Calld to the others to stand to their Arms, which put them on their Guard'.
As I saw none near me that seemd inclined to make a push, and the Officers busy getting the boat in order, I was fain to do so too, and the Boat was got out, when evry one ran to get what He could into her and get in themselves as fast as possible. The officers were hurryd in as fast as possible, and when Mr. Bligh found that He must go, He beggd of Mr. Christian to desist, saying 'I'll Pawn my Honor, I'll Give My Bond, Mr. Christian, never to think of this if youll desist'; and urged his wife and family, to which Mr. Christian replyd 'No, Captain Bligh, if you had any Honor, things had not come to this; and if you Had any regard for your Wife & family, you should Have thought on them before, and not behaved so much like a villain'.
Lieutenant Bligh attempted again to speak, but was ordered to be silent; the Boatswain also tryd to pacify Him to which He replied "Tis too late, I have been in Hell for this Fortnight passd and am determined to bear it no longer, and you know Mr. Cole that I have been used like a Dog all the Voyage." The Master begd to be permitted to stay, but was ordered into the Boat, and Mr. Christian gave Churchill orders to see that no arms went in the Boat.
In Getting the things into the Boat a dispute happend between Churchill and the Carpenter about the latters tool Chest which Churchill wanted to keep in the Ship but by Mr. Christians orders it was sufferd to go in the Boat but he told Churchill to keep the Carpenters Mates on board and the Armourer—the Masts & Sails were got in and all the New light Canvas with Nails, Saws (hand Whip & Cross Cut), trade, and the Lieutenants & Masters Cloaths, two Gang Casks of Water, four empty breeves, 3 bags of Bread with Mr. Blighs Case, Some Bottles of Wine and several other things, insomuch that she almost sunk a long side. The Lieut. then Beggd that some of the people would stay, and askd Mr. Christian to let the Master stay with them but he answerd, 'the men may stay but the Master must go with you'. Mr. Bligh then said 'Never fear my lads you cant all go with me my lads I'll do you Justice if ever I reach England'. He was then brought to the Gangway and cast of his hands and he went into the Boat. While the Boatswain was getting his things into the Boat I told him my intention was to stay and take my chance in the ship, telling him of the Captains Promise and as he saw the situation of the Boat which was scarcely 7 inches free I had no occasion to point out the Danger to Him, he repeated the Lieutenants promise saying 'God Bless you my boy; were it not for my Wife & family I would stay myself'— after Mr. Bligh was In the Boat he beggd for His Commission and Sextant; the Commission was Instantly Given him with his Pocket Book and private Journal by Mr. Christians order, and He took His own Sextant which Commonly Stood on the Dripstone Case and Handed it into the Boat with a Daily Assistant, saying 'there Captain Bligh this is sufficient for evry purpose and you know the Sextant to be a good one'.
The Boat was now veerd astern and several things thrown overboard to make room, having on board 19 hands. When the boat was put to rights Mr. Bligh begd for a Musquett But this was refused, and Mr. Christian ordered four Cutlasses to be handed in, and I handed in 25 or 26 four pound pieces of Pork, & two Gourds of water. Several other things were handed in over the stern, and as the ship made little way they got ready for rowing and were Cast off, when they Stood in for the land about 8 or 9 Leagues distant. It was now about 8 oClock in the Morning, the large Cutter was hoisted in and Stowd, and the Arms Collected and put into the Chest when the whole that appeard were 10 Musquets, 2 Pistols and 2 Cutlasses, the Pistols had been taken from the Masters Cabbin and were loaded with powder for the Purpose of firing the Guns. Map
Journal - Breadfruit Mission Home James Morrison Journal - The Mutineers