The day is fine, and the breeze so light that it scarce ruffles the face of the great ocean, though it manages to fill the topsails of the Bounty, causing her to glide quietly on. Some of the mutineers are seated on the deck or bulwarks, patching a canvas jacket or plaiting a grass hat. Others are smoking contemplatively. John Adams is winding up the log-line with McCoy. Edward Young stands gazing through a telescope at something which he fancies is visible on the horizon, and Fletcher Christian is down in the cabin poring over Carterets account of his voyage in the Pacific.
There were goats on board. One of these, having become a pet with the crew, was allowed to walk at liberty, and became a grand playmate for Sally. Besides the goats, Christian had taken care to procure a number of hogs and poultry from Otaheite; also a supply of young breadfruit-trees and other vegetable products of the island, wherewith to enrich his new home when he should find it. All the animals were confined in cribs and pens with the exception of Sallys playmate.
Take care! exclaimed John Adams as he left the quarter-deck with his hands in his pockets; your matell butt you overboard, Sal, if you dont look-out.
There was, indeed, some fear of such a catastrophe, for the precocious infant had a tendency to scramble on any object which enabled her to look over the low bulwarks, and the goat had a propensity to advance on its hind legs with a playful toss of its head and take its playmate by surprise, in truth, what between the fore-hatch, the companion-hatch, and the low bulwarks, it may be said that Sally led a life of constant and imminent danger. She was frequently plucked by the men out of the very jaws of death, and seemed to enjoy the fun.
While attempting to avoid one of the goats playful assaults, Sally stumbled up against Matthew Quintal, deranged the work on which he was engaged, and caused him to prick his hand with a sail-needle, at which William McCoy, who was beside him, laughed.
Get out o that, you little nigger! exclaimed Quintal, angrily, giving the child a push with his foot which sent her rolling to the side of the ship, where her head came in contact with an iron bolt. Sally opened her mouth, shut her eyes, and howled.
Quintal had probably not intended to hurt the child, but he expressed no regret. On the contrary, seeing that she was not much injured, he laughed in concert with McCoy.
These two, Quintal and McCoy, were emphatically the bad men of the party. They did not sympathise much, if at all, with human sufferingcertainly not with those whom they styled niggers; but there was one witness of the act whose heart was as tender towards the natives as Quintals was hard.
If you ever dare to touch her so again, said Young, striding up to Quintal, Ill kick you into the pig-sty.
The midshipman seemed to be the last man on board whose natural disposition would lead him to utter such a threat, and Quintal was quite taken aback; but as Young was a powerful fellow, perfectly capable of carrying his threat into execution, and seemed, moreover, thoroughly roused, the former thought it best to hold his tongue, even though lugubrious Isaac Martin chuckled audibly, and Ohoo, one of the natives, who stood near, displayed his fine teeth from ear to ear.
Lifting up Sally with much tenderness, Young carried her to her mother, who, after a not very careful examination of the bruised head, set her down on the deck, where she immediately began to wallow as before. Rising on her brown little feet, she staggered forward a few paces, and then seated herself without bending her knees. From this position she rolled towards the starboard side of the ship and squeezed herself between a gun-carriage and the bulwarks, until she got into the porthole. Thrusting her head over the edge of this, she gazed at the ripples that rolled pleasantly from the side. This was paradise! The sun glittered on these ripples, and Sallys eyes glittered in sympathy. A very gentle lurch of the ship soon after sent Sally head foremost into the midst of the ripples.
This event was nothing new to Sally. In her Otaheitan home her mother had been wont to take her out for a swim as British mothers take their offspring for a walk. Frequently had that mother pitched Sally off her shoulders and left her to wabble in the water, as eagles are said to toss their eaglets into the air, and leave them to flutter until failing strength renders aid advisable.
No doubt when Sally, falling from such a height, and turning so as to come flat on her back, experienced a tingling slap upon her skin, she felt disposed to shed a salt tear or two into the mighty ocean; but when the smart passed away, she took to wallowing in the water, by way of making the most of her opportunities. Both Christian and Young heard the plunge. The former leaped up the companion ladder, the latter ran to the stern of the ship, but before either could gain the side one of the Otaheitan men, who had witnessed the accident, plunged into the sea and was soon close to Sally. The playful creature, after giving him a kick in the face, consented to be placed on his shoulders.
The ship of course was brought up to the wind and her topsails backed as quickly as possible, but the swimmers were left a considerable distance astern before this was accomplished.
No need to lower a boat, remarked Christian, as he drew out the tubes of his telescope; that fellow swims like a fish.
So do all his countrymen, said Young.
And the women and children too, added John Adams, who was at the helm.
Shes tugging at the mans woolly head as if it were a door mat, said Christian, laughing; and I do believeyesthe little thing is now reaching roundand pulling his nose. Look at them, Young.
Handing the glass to the midshipman, he turned to inquire for the childs mother, and to his astonishment found that brown lady sitting on the deck busy with her mat-making, as unconcerned as if nothing unusual were going on.
The fact was, that Sallys mother thought no more of Sally falling into the sea than a white mother might of her child falling on its nosenot so much, perhaps. She knew that the ship would wait to pick her up. She also knew that Sally was an expert swimmer for her age, and that the man who had gone to her rescue was thoroughly able for the duty, having, like all the South Sea Islanders, been accustomed from infancy to spend hours at a time in the water.
In a few minutes he came alongside, with Sally sitting astride his neck, holding on to both sides of his head, and lifting her large eyes with a gaze of ecstasy to those who looked over the vessels side. She evidently regarded the adventure as one of the most charming that had up to that time gladdened her brief career. Not only so, but, no sooner had she been hauled on board with her deliverer, than she made straight for the porthole from which she had fallen, and attempted to repeat the manoeuvre, amid shouts of laughter from all who saw her. After that the various portholes had to be closed up, and the precocious baby to be more carefully watched.
I have come to the conclusion, said Christian to Young, as they paced the deck by moonlight that same night, that it is better to settle on Pitcairns Island than on any of the Marquesas group. It is farther out of the track of ships than any known island of the Pacific, and if Carterets account of it be correct, its precipitous sides will induce passers-by to continue their voyage without stopping.
If we find it, and it should turn out to be suitable, what then! asked Young.
We shall land, form a settlement, and live and die there, answered Christian.
If we find it, and it should turn out to be suitable, what then! asked Young.
We shall land, form a settlement, and live and die there, answered Christian.
A sad end to all our bright hopes and ambitions, said Young, as if speaking to himself, while he gazed far away on the rippling pathway made by the sun upon the sea.
Christian made no rejoinder. The subject was not a pleasant one to contemplate. He thought it best to confront the inevitable in silence.
Captain Carteret, the navigator who discovered the island and named it Pitcairn, after the young officer of his ship who was the first to see and report it, had placed it on his chart no less than three degrees out of its true longitude. Hence Christian cruised about unsuccessfully in search of it for several weeks. At last, when he was on the point of giving up the search in despair, a solitary rock was descried in the far distance rising out of the ocean.
There it is at last! said Christian, with a sigh that seemed to indicate the removal of a great weight from his spirit.
Immediately every man in the ship hurried to the bow of the vessel, and gazed with strangely mingled feelings on what was to be his future home. Even the natives, men and women, were roused to a feeling of interest by the evident excitement of the Europeans, and hastened to parts of the ship whence they could obtain a clear view. By degrees tongues began to loosen.
Its like a fortress, with its high perpendicular cliffs, remarked John Adams.
All the better for us, said Quintal; well need some place thats difficult to get at and easy to defend, if one o the Kings ships should find us out.
So we will, laughed McCoy in gruff tones, and its my notion that theres a natural barrier round that island which will go further to defend us agin the Kings ships than anything that we could do. Isnt that white line at the foot o the cliffs like a heavy surf, boys?
It looks like it, answered John Mills, the gunners mate; an wherever you find cliffs rising like high walls out o the sea, you may be pretty sure the waters too deep for good anchorage.
Thats in our favour too, returned Quintal; nothin like a heavy surf and bad anchorage to indooce ships to give us a wide berth.
I hope, said William Brown the botanist, that theres some vegetation on it. I dont see much as yet.
Aint it a strange thing, remarked long-legged Isaac Martin, in a more than usually sepulchral tone, that land-lubbers invariably shows a fund of ignorance when at sea, even in regard to things they might be supposed to know somethin about?
How have I shown ignorance just now? asked Brown, with a smile, for he was a good-humoured man, and could stand a great deal of chaffing.
Why, how can you, bein a gardener, returned Martin, expect to see wegitation on the face of a perpindikler cliff?
Youre right, Martin; but then, you know, there is generally an interior as well as a face to a cliffy island, and one might expect to find vegetation there, dont you see.
Thats trueto find it, retorted Martin, but not to see it through tons of solid rock, and from five or six miles out at sea.
But what if theres niggers on it? suggested Adams, who joined the party at this point.
Fight em, of coorse, said John Williams.
An drive em into the sea, added Quintal.
Ay, the place aint big enough for more than one lot, said McCoy. It dont seem more than four miles long, or thereabouts.
An order to shorten sail stopped the conversation at this point.
It is too late to attempt a landing to-night, said Christian to Young. Well dodge off and on till morning.
The Bounty was accordingly put about, and her crew spent the remainder of the night in chatting or dreaming about their future home.
Chapter Four
The Island Explored
A bright and pleasant morning forms a powerful antidote to the evils of a cheerless night. Few of the mutineers slept soundly on the night of their arrival off Pitcairn, and their dreams of that island were more or less unpleasantly mingled with manacles and barred windows, and men dangling from yard-arms. The blessed sunshine dissipated all this, rousing, in the hearts of some, feelings of hope and forgiveness, in the breasts of others, only those sensations of animal enjoyment which man shares in common with the brutes.
Lower away the boat there, said Fletcher Christian, coming on deck with a more cheerful air than he had worn since the day of the mutiny; we shall row round the island and search for a landing-place. You will take charge, Mr Young, during my absence. Put muskets and ammunition into the boat, John Adams; the place may be inhabitedtheres no sayingand South Sea savages are not a hospitable race as a rule. Now then, look sharp, lads.
In a few minutes, Adams, Martin, McCoy, Brown, and Quintal were in the boat, with two of the Otaheitan men.
Wont you take cutlasses? asked Young, looking over the side.
Well, yes, hand down half-a-dozen; and dont go far from this end of the island, Mr Young. Just keep dodging off and on.
Ay, ay, sir, said the middy, touching his cap from the mere force of habit.
Shove off, said Christian, seating himself at the helm.
In a few minutes the boat was skimming over the calm water towards the shore, while the Bounty, wearing round, went slowly out to sea.
As the boat neared the shore it soon became evident that it would be extremely difficult to effect a landing. Nothing could be seen but high precipitous cliffs without any sign of a harbour or creek sufficiently large or safe to afford anchorage for the ship. Worst of all, the only spot that seemed to offer any prospect of a landing-place, even for a boat, was guarded by tremendous breakers that seemed to bid defiance to mans feeble powers. These great waves, or rollers, were not the result of storm or wind, but of the mere ocean-swell of the great Pacific, which undulates over her broad breast even when becalmed. No signs of the coming waves were visible more than a few hundred yards from the shore. There, each roller gradually and silently arose when the undulating motion of the sea caught the bottom. A little farther in it assumed the form of a magnificent green wall of liquid glass, which became more and more vast and perpendicular as it rolled on, until it curled over and rushed with a mighty roar and a snowy crest towards the beach. There it dashed itself in tumultuous foam among the rocks.
Give way, lads, said Christian, sitting down after a prolonged gaze at this scene; we may find a better spot farther on.
As they proceeded they were received with wild and plaintive cries by innumerable sea-birds, whose homes were on the cliffs, and who evidently resented this intrusion of strangers.
Shall we give em a shot, sir? asked McCoy, laying his hand on a musket.
No, time enough for that, replied Christian, shortly.
They pulled right round the island without seeing a single spot more available for a landing than the place they had first approached.
It was a very little bay, with a small clump of six cocoa-nut trees near the waters edge on the right, and a single cocoa-nut tree on the left, about two hundred yards from the others. Above these, on a hill a little to the westward, there was a grove of the same species.
Well have to try it, sir, said John Adams, looking at his leader inquiringly.