The Washington times., 1936-10-17

Scendants of the
mutin eers Of Edwin c. Hill
His MajeSty's armed transport,
Bounty.
In addition to the prize motion
picture and the superlative acting
therein Of Charles Laughton, two
books have appeared within the
last year concerning the happen
ings which took place in April,
1889, in the South Pacific, near the
Friendly Islands.
Irwin Anthony in THE Saga of
the Bounty" and Prof. George
MackanesS in "The Life of Vice
Admiral Bligh," pretty well es-
tablish, what documentary evil
dence should have established
long before, that it wasn't cruelty
on Lieutenant BlighS part that
prompted the mutiny.
It was the lure of the tropics,
the easy life of a South Seas para
disc and the charm Of the Ewes
who dwelt therein.
IHE OIHER SIDE
One is compelled, at least, to
accept Fletcher Christians testi-
mony on this point rather than
that of the adapters on the MGM
lot. Christian, fomenter Of the re-
bellion, had this to say:
"It was at this place (Ota-
heite, now called Tahiti that
we concerted the plan of our
subsequent mutiny For these
reasons it was determined upon
to seize the first opportunity of
making ourselves masters of the
ship after she would have sailed
to a convenient distance from
Otaheite."
In studying history impartially,
the first thing to do, and the first
thing which most of us neglect
to do, is to get ourselves into SYM
pathy with the times-that is, in
this case, to look at 1889 through
the eyes of 1889 and not through
the eyes Of 1896.
A ships crew in the Eighteenth
century may not have been the
collection of cut-throats which
Long John Silver gathered to man
the HiSpanola.
On the other hand, neither was
it a collection of sturdy young
farmboys who wished to join the
navy and see the world.
The sea was a refuge for Grim
inalS and convicts, and shanghai
ing was the rule rather than the
exception.
It should be remembered that
80 years after the Bounty mutiny,
we went to war with England, and
one of the reasons for this war
was the seizure of American sea-
men for service on British ships.
After a close study of the docu-
mentary evidence set forth in the
two histories, I am inclined to be-
lieve that Bligh was not tough
enough for his job; that this was
the reason he had troubles
throughout his career.
He was a first-rate navigator
and a student of nature and geog-
raphy. He introduced the bread
fruit to the West Indies and he
left graphic descriptions Of the
South Seas and their natives.
Thus, it is evident that he could
not have devoted all his time to the
lash.
The same lash was to Bligh, and
every other sea captain Of his
time, as customary as breakfast.
It was the accepted mode Of pun
iShment.
THE REAL EPIC
Mr.. Anthony writes that Bligh's
temper was vile and that he lacked
many qualities that we expect
to find in an officer and a gentle
man."
To which I would repeat, we
must not look for the qualities
that we would expect, but we must
look for the qualities which
were common to officers in His
Majesty's Navy in 1870.
Bligh's career did not end with
the Bounty. He was young man
at the time of the mutiny, So years
old, and he lived for another %
years, to attain the rank of vice
admiral. For his services at
Copenhagen, he received the per-
Sonal thanks of Lord Nelson.
The real epic of the Bounty is
not the mutiny; it is the $500
mile journey of Bligh and the 18
men in the open boat.
Here was a test of the qualities
and the seamanship which go to
make a real commander. And
Bligh met that test. His diary
of that trip is a classic, with de-
Scriptions such as this:
"In the evening we caught a
BOBBY, which is as large as a
duck. Il directed that this bird
be killed for supper and the
blood to be given to three of the
people who were most distressed
for food"
That excerpt alone proves that
there are two sides to the story
of William Bligh, as there is to
the story of any one Of us.
(Copvrisht 1asa nv King Features