The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-12-27


therefore very convenient fer study. st
shows. for instance, the tendency OF women
TO ontstrip men in Members, for though ~
began three generations ago with an eQuai
division OF the sexes, there are now AZ 1e-
maSas to Al males. Tine census is very
-sipsp,e matter; there are.lS men ana l9
women, Is boys and 80 girls. But the
main interest i'm this microcosm OF hkman
society IL to be found nm its moral, religious,
add socjaI condition. I'm the first place, let
IVA nate. the people are healthy. There
nave been but IL deaths in 10 years, and
the undertaking Business is extremely duit.
This may not be uucennected with tae fur-
ther fact that there is no doctor on the
island. The few simple remedies tkat may
ne required for, the unavoidable ailments
that flesh is heir to, even in the South IA
,eitc ocean, are administered with Jadlcious
care by the .sGoyerner" Contagious dis
eases are utterly unknown, and the few AMI,
mais-sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, dogs, ana
cats-that share the Joys Of the island with
its human population, are entirely free
from the maladies That sometimes afhlct
their kind. .a:, i .
We have spoken OF the &. Governor for
the island being English. and the people OF
Anglo-Saxon blood, at least in part, there
is OF course Government. 1t is the SIM
piest Of all forms, and seems towork adml-
rably. The Governor, who, by the way, IS
chosen on the Is. of January each year by the
people, all persons, naIe and female, above
the age Of seventeen having vote, not only
executes the laws, bat makes them. Inc
task does not appear to be = difficult one,
as the only crimes contemplated as possible
are theft, fornication, and profanity, and no
instance of any one OF them has been known
since the present laws were enacted. Inc
executive, legislative, and judicial powers
OF the Government are vested IN one man
without forming much OF burden, anu the
present depository OF this onetman power
Mr.. james Russell Mckay, unites with his
other functions that OF steersnlan OF the only
boat that his little dominion possesses. He
guides this whale boat and the Ship Of State
with equal skill andes He has associated
yith him. in the Government two council
lors, for advisory purposes only, and the
~ heads OF families " are called. together
for consultation whenever any affair OF SUI
feient moment to justify it is to be con-
sidered. There has never been case
of official corruption or dcrel!ction, aud in
vestigations are unknown, all OF which L0ay
be due, to the fact that there are no political
parties. there and but one. Office toibe biled.
Perhaps another explanation may be found
in theifact chat the people have 40 money or
currency Of any kind. Their traffic among
themselves is purely one OF barter to meet
their simple convenience. Nobody Is rich,
nobodw poor, nobody in debt. The lproduc-
lions OF the island are sufficient for the
wants Of ITS people, and they have no Trade
except such as is involved in the exchange
OF some OF their fruits and vegetables with
casual ships crew for articles OF clothing
and few tools.
But the chief glory Of the PiteairTs
Islanders is yet to be mentioned. AS we
have said, the three crimes Of their simple,
code are. practically unknown, and, more
than that, they are free from all vices and
devoutly religious. Alcohol is never used,
unless on rare occasions as medicine.
There is church; which is also school
house and library. Service is conducted
according to the liturgy OF the Church OF
England every Sunday morning and after
noon; there isa Blble-elass every Wednes-
day, and general prayer.meeting on the
6rst Friday of every month. Besides, fami-
ag prayers are said in every household the
first thing each morning and the last thing
every night, and no food is ever taken with
out an Invocation Of Gods blessing before
and after. Mr.. Simon Young is the PASTOR
and also the schoolmaster OF the people, and
bis daughter, Roselind Amelia, assists him
in the latter function. Every child OF pro-
per age, and every unmarried woman, OF
whom there must needs be at least three,
are required to attend school from 8 A. M.
to IL, and from to P. NJ, and are taught
branches, together with Scrip
tuIy history as a "higher branch" Ihere
are few simple industries, such as filling
the soil, fishing. and house-building, for the
men, and cooking, sewing, hat and basket
making for the women. We are not SUR
prsed 10 learn that the people live together
in harmony and contentment, and are cheer
full and hospitable, as we'll as virtuot's and
religious.
: Now, what is the origin OF this little COM
munity, with its ideal PROJECTIONS, this
Utopia, this new Atlantis, this home OF
Paradisiac purity? These people are the
descendants of the eight mutineers OF the
Bounty, who set Captain BIigh adrift in the
Pacific ninety years ago, and OF the dusky
wives from Otaheti whom they took unto
themselves. The oldest inhabitant, Eliza
beth Young, aged Lightweight, was the
daughter Of John Mills, gunner's mate
Of the Bounty, and his Otahetian wife,
the name OF Thursday October Chris
uuu 10 SCai VI 1Ses 10
the grandson of that Fletcher Chris
tian, who beaded the mutlny in 1889. 1t
has long been regarded as strange and
fascinating story, that Of the Bounty mutt
neers but not the least interesting fea-
ture Of it is the present condition of the
little colony founded by the descendants
OF those fierce outlaws OF the sea, which for
twenty years was utterly unknown to the
world and has been rarely visited since its
discovery. 1t has certainly belied the theory
that men with Christian traditions and
inherited virtues necessarily degenerate
to sayagery If left to themselves in small
and Isolated community. 1t would be
pity il the serenity OF Pitcairn's Island
should be disturbed by any intrusion from
the wicked world beyond its surrounding
waters: but Admiral De Horsey mentions
one ominous fact, that single 8 stranger.
an American, has settled on the island,"
and sagaciously adds, ga doubtful acquisi-
tion."
The MIGHT OF WIFE AND CHILD.-[E Ellis
worth (Mesl letter in Boston Transcript
One man described to me his night OF peril
twelve hours in the water csanglng to the
masts, after dgy of great labor, beat about
by winds and waves. One Of their number
was washed away. e We threw him rope,
and would have lasked him to the mast, but
he was too weak to hold on" elbow did
you 2eei when you saw him goiag down p"
some one asked. q O, did not mind much,
for I thought we mug all go soon. I did