The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-09-05
miscellaneous,
MISSING MUTINEERs.

OF 0 RebeIllOus SallOr-The First Postmaster
and Collector at MasslllOn.
Especial Correspondence to the Cleveland Herald)
MassilIon, Aug. %, 1S7S.-A very an
Cient looking book, resembling the led
ger of some old.time extensive business
house, lay upon the parlor table OF the
Hon. Robert H. Folger, and your corre'
spondent begged leave to examine IT.
On turning the cover there were visible,
not mercantile figures, but marks OF a
ships reckoning, and further on an in
teresting record of voyages. In fact, the
volume was not that of business firm,
but the log of veteran sea captain OF
sixty years ago-Mayhew Folger, father
of Robert H. Folger, and the grandfather
of Lieut.. Commander VIM. NJ. Folger,
now of the United States Navy. Inter-
esting? Yes, sir very, And the dingy
og.book is of rare value to its possessor'
Captain Mayhem Folger had a history
too eventful to be crowded into a news
paper letter, but can give your readers
few fragments of it.
The birthplace of the subject of my
sketch was the island Of Nantucket, l774'
In early life he developed fondness for
the sea-not from reading story books
and as soon as he became old enough he
shipped as cabin boy. There were un-
dergone the usual hardships and pleas
ures of "life on the ocean wave" in
those days, but the former did not dis
courage young Folger, nor did the latter
prevent him from applying his utmost
energies to the study of navigation, and
other matters calculated to advance him
in his chosen pursuit. His perseverance
met with its reward; soon we see Folger
rising rapidly, and it is not long before
he can be rated as the owner apd master
of a staunCh vessel sailing from New
England ports. Three times Capt Fol
ger circumnavigated the globe, and met
with experiences that the old log proves
to have been often adventurous. 1t was
during the last trip, in which he girdled
the mundane sphere, that the mariner
made the discovery of one of gang OF
long missing mutineers. Now, in order
to let the gentle reader know who these
violators of the laws of the seas were, l
must, as the novelist would say, give a
sort of reCapitulatory explanation.
On Dec. 90, 1884, Lieut.. William Bligh
sailed from Spithead in the ship Bounty,
with twenty-one officers, tWenty-three
seamen, and two gardeners, for the pur-
pose of obtaining the bread fruit tree at
Otaheite, and transferring it for the Eng
lish Government to the West Indies
The voyage to Otaheite was satisfactory
to Lieut.. Bligh, and Feb. 6, 1889, over
1000 bread-fruit plants were taken on
board the ship in healthy state, the
vessel leaving soon after. The latter
part of April there occurred a mutiny,
caused, it was claimed, by Bligh's cruelty
to his men, and the Lieutenant, with a
number of his associates, mainly officers
whom Fletcher Christian, the leader Of
the mutineers, thought he could not
trust, were cast adrift in small boat
After terrible suffering and great peril,
Bligh, on June 14th, landed at Timor
with those of his companions who were
alive. Their bodies were but skin and
bones, full of sores, and clothed in rags.
The ship Pandora was sent from England
to search for the Bounty and the twenty
five mutineers who had remained on
board. Her captain found several of the
party at 0taheite on arriving there; he
later captured some who were living q
piratical life, but he could obtain little
infalliOanna Of uJhot fba rnpooindor bo n
done with the Bounty. The Pandora
was wrecked before reaching home
Christian, the leader of the mutineers
preferred the Bounty to Otaheite, and
nothing was heard further from him OF
his companions until the events which
have just learned fully from Capt. Fol-
gers log transpired. February 9th, 1905
while Folger was crossing the Pacific
ocean in the ship Topaz, of Boston, he
touched at Pitcairn's island, and ex'
tract from his log the following, which
has never been printed
At 2 a. M, the isle bore south two
leagues distant Lay on and off till day.
light. At a. m., put off with two boats
to explore the land and look out for
seals. On approaching the shore saw a
smoke on the land, at which | was very
much surprised, it being represented by
Capt. Carteret as uninhabited. On ap'
preaching still nearer the land, l discov-
cred a boat padding toward me with
three men in her. On approaching near
they hailed in the English language, and
asked who was captain of the ship, and
offered me number of coCoanuts which
they had brought off as a present, ask
ing meto land, there being, as they said
white man on shore. l went ashore
and found there an Englishman named
Alexander Smith, the only person re-
naming out Of nine that escaped on
board the ship Bounty, Capt, Bligh, un'
der command of that arCh-mutineer
Christian. Smith informed me that af.
ter they put Capt. Bligh in the long-boat
sending her adrift, their commander
proceeded to 0taheite. There all the
men chose to stop except Christian, he
and seven others. They all took wives
at Otaheite, and six men as servants, and
proceeded to PitCairn's island, where
they landed all their goods and chattels
They then ran the ship Bounty on shore
and broke her up. This occurred, a;
uodT do u6 COulu ISCOll6Clj III 1IOO' DOOL
after, one of their party went mad and
drowned himself, another died of fever
and after they had remained about foul
years on the island, their men servants
rose upon and killed six of them, leaving
only Smith alive, and he desperately
wounded with pistol ball in his neck
However, he and the widows Of the de-
ceased arose and put all the servants tt
death, which left him the only surviving
man on the island, with eight or nine
women and several small children. HI
Immediately went to work tilling thC
ground, so that it now produces plenty
for them all, and they all live very com
fortably he as a commander in chief o
Pitcairn's island, All the children o.
the deceased mutineers speak tolerablt
Io..o - AAooo 900 o,,a.,,,, As