Evening star., 1901-09-28


Indies Nothing special happened on the
voyage out, and when the ship anchored
at Tahiti all hands started in on a lazy.
luxurious existence that was much to their
taste. There was little or no work To be
done. the weather was balmy. fruit and
other good things were plentiful and the
men Of the Bounty were In high feather.
When the time came to leave the men
were disposed to grumble at the prospect
of sea fare and sea work again, and there
was pretty general feeling Of sullenneSs
in the forecastle. To make matters worse.
the commander, Captain Blgh, was man
with a short temper and a sharp tongue,
and soon there were stormy scenes on
board. II ended in uutiny.
Captain Bligh had a rude awakening one
morning and found his bunk surrounded
by his armed crew. Already one of the
ships boats had been dropped astern and
In 1t sat eighteen men, who had refused to
join the mutineers. Captain Bligh was
forced over the side and into the boat and
a small supply OF provisions ard water
lowered after him. Then the men cut the
painter and the ship was got under way.
Bligh was a blunt man, but he was a
brave and a determined one, and he made
a plucky fight for life. He won It, too, for
after a terrible cruise In the open boat he
and those of his men who had not died OF
privation or leaped overheard while crazed
with hunger arrived safely at the Island
Of Tunor and soon after took ship for Eng
land. There he told the story of the mutiny
and almost Immediately a ship set sail for
Tahiti, to the fieshpots of which Captain
Bligh had fancied his crew meant TO re-
turn.
on for Pitcairn.
The captain had guessed right, and when
the punitive expedition arrived at Tahiti
IT found that most of the mutineers were
there. Three OF them went aboard and gave
themselves up. eleven others were cap
tured, two were known to be dead Thus
all but nine of the men were accounted for
Most of the crew had been satisfied to set
tie down again where they were and run
the risk of the captains having escaped 10
report them as mutineers. But the other
nine had been wiser Taking nine Tahitian
women as wives and six Tahtian men as
servants they went on board the Bounty
again and set sail. Where they had planned
to go or what had become OF them no
body knew. They We're searched for with
out success. and then the Pandora on
which the punitive" expedition had sailed,
with her prisoners on board, started back
for England. When the mutineers got
there several OF the ringleaders were
hanged, the rest imprisoned.
All the world supposed that the Bounty
had gone down, and 1t was twenty years
before all the world was undeceived. IL
was an American ship that discovered the
retreat of the mutineers. She had stopptu
off the island that is now known as Flt-
cairu for water and her crew were thun-
derstruck at being hailed from the shore IN
good English, and even more astonlsheo 10
find on landing that the hailer was the
of the famous Bounty
The Conversion of John Adams.
The change that took place in John
Adams after the death of his last COM
rade is one of the strangest things in the
whole strange tale of the Bountys crew.
Finding himself the only man on the Is
land with several women and some grow
ing children, both boys and girls, to look
out for, seems to have aroused everything
good in him. Strangely enough, there was
a Bible on the island, and Adams took 10
reading it, and, not satisfied with TINS, an
sisted on reading it to the rest. From thal
time on he set himself the task of making
good women of the mothers on the island,
and bringing up the children In the way
they should go. 1t was while he was en-
gagged In doing so that the American snip
Topaz anchored off the island, which had
been sighted by of the officers, young
American named Pitcairn. whose father
had fought and been killed at the battle of
Bunker Hill. Hence the islands name.
This was in 1S0S, and since ther little
community on Pitcairn Island has -four
ished increasing and multiplying. Ever
since then ships have called there from
time to time. and British cruisers and the
sect have supplied them with implements
and supplies and missionaries and teach
ers have been sent there.
Homesick for Their Island.
Twice the folk on the little isolated dot Of
land have become dlSSatlSfeO, IeeHIB lnal
they needed more elbow room, and have
transplanted themselves, but both times
they elected to return The first exodus
took place in 1881, when the Pitcairn people
wanted to go to Tahiti. They were sent
there but the uncouth ways of their moth
ers' countrymen and their carelessness
about clothing and morals shocked the dis
ciples of John Adams, and they got back
as fast possible and lived contentedly
at Pitcairn until 1856. Then about 200 of
them took ship for Norfolk Island and
lived there for awhile, but soon grew home
sick and took the first opportunity Of re-
turning to Pitcairn.
me people of Pitcairn are generally Of
good stature and good looks. Their hair is
a deep black, their skins have a brownish
tint and their faces are usually open and
intelligent. Some of the women are really
beautiful, and all. men and women alike,
have distinctly English cast of counte-
nance.
Their island is thickly wooded and SO
mountainous that II can be sighted from a
ship when il Is still forty miles away 1t is
about four and half miles in circumfer-
ence. The climate is, of course, mild and
the chief natural products OF the island are
such natural vegetables as sweet potatoes,
vans. bread fruit maize and beans, and
such fruits as bananas, pineapples. oranges,
melons and cocoanuts.