The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: Its Cause And Consequences Part 8

After a fruitless search of three months, the _Pandora_ arrived, on the 29th August, on the coast of New Holland, and close to that extraordinary reef of coral rocks called the 'Barrier Reef,' which runs along the greater part of the eastern coast, but at a considerable distance from it. The boat had been sent out to look for an opening, which was soon discovered, but in the course of the night the s.h.i.+p had drifted past it. 'On getting soundings,' says Captain Edwards, in his narrative laid before the court-martial, 'the topsails were filled; but before the tacks were hauled on board and other sail made and trimmed, the s.h.i.+p struck upon a reef; we had a quarter less two fathoms on the larboard side, and three fathoms on the starboard side; the sails were braced about different ways to endeavour to get her off, but to no purpose; they were then clewed up and afterwards furled, the top-gallant yards got down and the top-gallant masts struck. Boats were hoisted out with a view to carry out an anchor, but before that could be effected the s.h.i.+p struck so violently on the reef, that the carpenter reported she made eighteen inches of water in five minutes; and in five minutes after this, that there were four feet of water in the hold. Finding the leak increasing so fast, it was thought necessary to turn the hands to the pumps, and to bail at the different hatchways; but she still continued to gain upon us so fast, that in little more than an hour and a half after she struck, there were eight feet and a half of water in the hold. About ten we perceived that the s.h.i.+p had beaten over the reef, and was in ten fathoms water; we therefore let go the small bower anchor, cleared away a cable, and let go the best bower anchor in fifteen and a half fathoms water under foot, to steady the s.h.i.+p. Some of her guns were thrown overboard, and the water gained upon us only in a small degree, and we flattered ourselves that by the a.s.sistance of a thrummed topsail, which we were preparing to haul under the s.h.i.+p's bottom, we might be able to lessen the leak, and to free her of water: but these flattering hopes did not continue long; for, as she settled in the water, the leak increased again, and in so great a degree, that there was reason to apprehend she would sink before daylight. During the night two of the pumps were unfortunately for some time rendered useless; one of them, however, was repaired, and we continued baling and pumping the remainder of the night; and every effort that was thought of was made to keep afloat and preserve the s.h.i.+p. Daylight fortunately appeared, and gave us the opportunity of seeing our situation and the surrounding danger, and it was evident the s.h.i.+p had been carried to the northward by a tide or current.

'The officers, whom I had consulted on the subject of our situation, gave it as their opinion that nothing more could be done for the preservation of the s.h.i.+p; it then became necessary to endeavour to provide and to find means for the preservation of the people. Our four boats, which consisted of one launch, one eight-oared pinnace, and two six-oared yawls, with careful hands in them, were kept astern of the s.h.i.+p; a small quant.i.ty of bread, water, and other necessary articles, were put into them; two canoes, which we had on board, were lashed together and put into the water; rafts were made, and all floating things upon deck were unlashed.

'About half-past six in the morning of the 29th the hold was full, and the water was between decks, and it also washed in at the upper deck ports, and there were strong indications that the s.h.i.+p was on the very point of sinking, and we began to leap overboard and take to the boats, and before everybody could get out of her she actually sunk. The boats continued astern of the s.h.i.+p in the direction of the drift of the tide from her, and took up the people that had hold of rafts and other floating things that had been cast loose, for the purpose of supporting them on the water. The double canoe, that was able to support a considerable number of men, broke adrift with only one man, and was bulged upon a reef, and afforded us no a.s.sistance when she was so much wanted on this trying and melancholy occasion. Two of the boats were laden with men and sent to a small sandy island (or key) about four miles from the wreck; and I remained near the s.h.i.+p for some time with the other two boats, and picked up all the people that could be seen, and then followed the two first boats to the key; and having landed the men and cleared the boats, they were immediately despatched again to look about the wreck and the adjoining reef for any that might be missing, but they returned without having found a single person. On mustering the people that were saved, it appeared that eighty-nine of the s.h.i.+p's company, and ten of the mutineers that had been prisoners on board, answered to their names; but thirty-one of the s.h.i.+p's company, and four mutineers, were lost with the s.h.i.+p.'

It is remarkable enough that so little notice is taken of the mutineers in this narrative of the captain; and as the following statement is supposed to come from the late Lieutenant Corner, who was second lieutenant of the _Pandora_, it is ent.i.tled to be considered as authentic, and if so, Captain Edwards must have deserved the character, ascribed to him, of being altogether dest.i.tute of the common feelings of humanity.

'Three of the _Bounty's_ people, Coleman, Norman, and M'Intosh, were now let out of irons, and sent to work at the pumps. The others offered their a.s.sistance, and begged to be allowed a chance of saving their lives; instead of which, two additional sentinels were placed over them, with orders to shoot any who should attempt to get rid of their fetters.

Seeing no prospect of escape, they betook themselves to prayer, and prepared to meet their fate, every one expecting that the s.h.i.+p would soon go to pieces, her rudder and part of the stern-post being already beat away.'

When the s.h.i.+p was actually sinking, and every effort making for the preservation of the crew, it is a.s.serted that 'no notice was taken of the prisoners, as is falsely stated by the author of the _Pandora's Voyage_, although Captain Edwards was entreated by Mr. Heywood to have mercy upon them, when he pa.s.sed over their prison, to make his own escape, the s.h.i.+p then lying on her broadside, with the larboard bow completely under water. Fortunately the master-at-arms, either by accident or design, when slipping from the roof of "_Pandora's_ Box"

into the sea, let the keys of the irons fall through the scuttle or entrance, which he had just before opened, and thus enabled them to commence their own liberation, in which they were generously a.s.sisted, at the imminent risk of his own life, by William Moulter, a boatswain's mate, who clung to the coamings, and pulled the long bars through the shackles, saying he would set them free, or go to the bottom with them.

'Scarcely was this effected when the s.h.i.+p went down, leaving nothing visible but the top-mast cross-trees. The master-at-arms and all the sentinels sunk to rise no more. The cries of them and the other drowning men were awful in the extreme; and more than half an hour had elapsed before the survivors could be taken up by the boats. Among the former were Mr. Stewart, John Sumner, Richard Skinner, and Henry Hillbrant, the whole of whom perished with their hands still in manacles.

'On this melancholy occasion Mr. Heywood was the last person but three who escaped from the prison, into which the water had already found its way through the bulk-head scuttles. Jumping overboard, he seized a plank, and was swimming towards a small sandy quay (key) about three miles distant, when a boat picked him up, and conveyed him thither in a state of nudity. It is worthy of remark, that James Morrison endeavoured to follow his young companion's example, and, although handcuffed, managed to keep afloat until a boat came to his a.s.sistance.'

This account would appear almost incredible. It is true men are sometimes found to act the part of inhuman monsters, but then they are generally actuated by some motive or extraordinary excitement; here, however, there was neither; but on the contrary, the condition of the poor prisoners appealed most forcibly to the mercy and humanity of their jailor. The surgeon of the s.h.i.+p states, in his account of her loss, that as soon as the spars, booms, hen-coops, and other buoyant articles were cut loose, 'the prisoners were ordered to be let out of irons.' One would imagine, indeed, that the officers on this dreadful emergency would not be witness to such inhumanity, without remonstrating effectually against keeping these unfortunate men confined a moment beyond the period when it became evident that the s.h.i.+p must sink. It will be seen, however, presently, from Mr. Heywood's own statement, that they were so kept, and that the brutal and unfeeling conduct which has been imputed to Captain Edwards is but too true.

It is an awful moment when a s.h.i.+p takes her last heel, just before going down. When the _Pandora_ sunk, the surgeon says, 'the crew had just time to leap overboard, accompanying it with a most dreadful yell. The cries of the men drowning in the water was at first awful in the extreme; but as they sunk and became faint, they died away by degrees.' How accurately has Byron described the whole progress of a s.h.i.+pwreck to the final catastrophe! He might have been a spectator of the _Pandora_, at the moment of her foundering, when

She gave a heel, and then a lurch to port, And, going down head foremost--sunk....

Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell-- Then shriek'd the timid and stood still the brave-- Then some leap'd overboard with dreadful yell, As eager to antic.i.p.ate their grave; And the sea yawn'd around her like a h.e.l.l, And down she suck'd with her the whirling wave, Like one who grapples with his enemy, And strives to strangle him before he die.

And first one universal shriek there rush'd, Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash Of echoing thunder; and then all was hush'd, Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash Of billows; but at intervals there gush'd, Accompanied with a convulsive splash, A solitary shriek, the bubbling cry Of some strong swimmer in his agony.

On the sandy key which fortunately presented itself, the s.h.i.+pwrecked seamen hauled up the boats, to repair those that were damaged, and to stretch canvas round the gunwales, the better to keep out the sea from breaking into them. The heat of the sun and the reflection from the sand are described as excruciating, and the thirst of the men was rendered intolerable, from their stomachs being filled with salt water in the length of time they had to swim before being picked up. Mr. Hamilton says they were greatly disturbed in the night, by the irregular behaviour of one of the seamen, named Connell, which made them suspect he had got drunk with some wine that had been saved; but it turned out that the excruciating torture he suffered from thirst had induced him to drink salt water; 'by which means he went mad, and died in the sequel of the voyage.' It seems, a small keg of water, and some biscuits, had been thrown into one of the boats, which they found, by calculation, would be sufficient to last sixteen days, on an allowance of two wine-gla.s.ses of water per day to each man, and a very small quant.i.ty of bread, the weight of which was accurately ascertained by a musket-ball, and a pair of wooden scales made for each boat.

The crew and the prisoners were now distributed among the four boats. At Bligh's 'Mountainous Island,' they entered a bay where swarms of natives came down and made signs for their landing; but this they declined to do; on which an arrow was discharged and struck one of the boats; and as the savages were seen to be collecting their bows and arrows, a volley of muskets, a few of which happened to be in the boats, was discharged, which put them to flight. While sailing among the islands and near the sh.o.r.e, they now and then stopped to pick up a few oysters, and procure a little fresh water. On the 2nd September, they pa.s.sed the north-west point of New Holland, and launched into the great Indian Ocean, having a voyage of about a thousand miles still to perform.

It will be recollected that Captain Bligh's people received warmth and comfort by wringing out their clothes in salt-water. The same practice was adopted by the crews of the _Pandora's_ boats; but the doctor observes, that 'this wetting their bodies with salt water is not advisable, if protracted beyond three or four days, as, after that time, the great absorption from the skin that takes place, taints the fluids with the bitter part of salt water, so that the saliva becomes intolerable in the mouth.' Their mouths, indeed, he says, became so parched, that few attempted to eat the slender allowance of bread. He also remarks, that as the sufferings of the people continued, their temper became cross and savage. In the captain's boat, it is stated, one of the mutineers took to praying; but that 'the captain, suspecting the purity of his doctrines, and unwilling that he should have a monopoly of the business, gave prayers himself.'

On the 13th, they saw the island of Timor, and the next morning landed and got some water, and a few small fish from the natives; and on the night of the 15th, anch.o.r.ed opposite the fort of Coupang. Nothing could exceed the kindness and hospitality of the governor and other Dutch officers of this settlement, in affording every possible a.s.sistance and relief in their distressed condition. Having remained here three weeks, they embarked on the 6th October, on board the _Rembang_ Dutch Indiaman, and on the 30th, anch.o.r.ed at Samarang, where they were agreeably surprised to find their little Tender, which they had so long given up for lost. On the 7th November they arrived at Batavia, where Captain Edwards agreed with the Dutch East India Company, to divide the whole of the s.h.i.+p's company and prisoners among four of their s.h.i.+ps proceeding to Europe. The latter the captain took with him in the _Vreedenburgh_; but finding his Majesty's s.h.i.+p _Gorgon_ at the Cape, he trans.h.i.+pped himself and prisoners, and proceeded in her to Spithead, where he arrived on the 19th June, 1792.

Captain Edwards, in his meagre narrative, takes no more notice of his prisoners with regard to the mode in which they were disposed of at Coupang and Batavia, than he does when the _Pandora_ went down. In fact, he suppresses all information respecting them, from the day in which they were consigned to '_Pandora's_ Box.' From this total indifference towards these unfortunate men, and their almost unparalleled sufferings, Captain Edwards must be set down as a man, whose only feeling was to stick to the letter of his instructions, and rigidly to adhere to what he considered the strict line of his duty; that he was a man of a cold phlegmatic disposition, whom no distress could move, and whose feelings were not easily disturbed by the sufferings of his fellow-creatures. He appears to have been one of those mortals, who might say, with Manfred--

My spirit walk'd not with the souls of men;

My joys, my griefs, my pa.s.sions, and my powers, Made me a stranger; though I wore the form, I had no sympathy with breathing fles.h.!.+

There seems to have been a general feeling at and before the court-martial, that Captain Edwards had exercised a harsh, unnecessary, and undue degree of severity on his prisoners. It is the custom, sanctioned no doubt by long usage, to place in irons all such as may have been guilty of mutiny in a s.h.i.+p of war, and the necessity of so doing is obvious enough--to prevent, in the most effectual manner, communication with the rest of the s.h.i.+p's company, who might be contaminated by their intercourse with such mischievous and designing men; men whose crime is of that dye, that, if found guilty, they have little hope to escape the punishment of death, to which a mutineer must, by the naval articles of war, be sentenced; no alternative being left to a court-martial, in such a case, but to p.r.o.nounce a sentence of acquittal or of death.

In the present case, however, most of the prisoners had surrendered themselves; many of them had taken no active part in the mutiny; and others had been forcibly compelled to remain in the s.h.i.+p. It was not likely, therefore, that any danger could arise from indulging them occasionally, and in turns, with a few hours of fresh air on deck. As little danger was there of their escaping; where indeed could they escape to--especially when the s.h.i.+p was going down, at a great distance from any sh.o.r.e, and the nearest one known to be inhabited by savages?

All or most of them were desirous of getting home, and throwing themselves on G.o.d and their country. The captain, however, had no 'compunctious visitings of nature' to shake his purpose, which seems to have been, to keep them strictly in irons during the whole pa.s.sage, and to deliver them over in that state on his arrival in England.

Perhaps the circ.u.mstance of the crime of piracy, being superadded to that of mutiny, may have operated on his stern nature, and induced him to inflict a greater severity of punishment than he might otherwise have done, and which he certainly did far beyond the letter and spirit of his instructions. He might have considered that, in all ages and among all nations, with the exception of some of the Greek states,[18] piracy has been held in the utmost abhorrence, and those guilty of it treated with singular and barbarous severity; and that the most sanguinary laws were established for the protection of person and property in maritime adventure. The laws of Oleron, which were composed under the immediate direction of our Richard I., and became the common usage among maritime states, whose vessels pa.s.sed through British seas, are conceived in a spirit of the most barbarous cruelty.[19] Thus, if a poor pilot, through ignorance, lost the vessel, he was either required to make full satisfaction to the merchant for damages sustained, or to lose his head.

In the case of wrecks, where the lord of the coast (something like our present vice-admiral) should be found to be in league with the pilots, and run the s.h.i.+ps on rocks, in order to get salvage, the said lord, the salvers, and all concerned, are declared to be accursed and excommunicated, and punished as thieves and robbers; and the pilot condemned to be hanged upon a high gibbet, which is to abide and remain to succeeding ages, on the place where erected, as a visible caution to other s.h.i.+ps sailing thereby. Nor was the fate of the lord of the coast less severe,--his property was to be confiscated, and himself fastened to a post in the midst of his own mansion, which being fired at the four corners, were all to be burned together; the walls thereof demolished; and the spot on which it stood be converted into a market-place, for the sale only of hogs and swine, to all posterity.

These and many other barbarous usages were transferred into the inst.i.tutions of Wisbuy, which formed the _jus mercatorum_ for a long period, and in which great care was taken for the security of s.h.i.+ps against their crews. Among other articles are the following.--Whoever draws a sword upon the master of a vessel, or wilfully falsifies the compa.s.s, shall have his right hand nailed to the mast.--Whoever behaves riotously shall be punished by being keel-hauled.--Whoever is guilty of rebellion (or mutiny) shall be thrown overboard.

For the suppression of piracy, the Portuguese, in their early intercourse with India, had a summary punishment, and accompanied it with a terrible example to deter others from the commission of the crime. Whenever they took a pirate s.h.i.+p, they instantly hanged every man, carried away the sails, rudder, and everything that was valuable in the s.h.i.+p, and left her to be buffeted about by the winds and the waves, with the carca.s.ses of the criminals dangling from the yards, a horrid object of terror to all who might chance to fall in with her. Even to this day, a spice of the laws of Oleron still remains in the maritime code of European nations, as far as regards mutiny and piracy; and a feeling of this kind may have operated on the mind of Captain Edwards, especially as a tendency even to mutiny, or mutinous expressions, are considered, by the usage of the service, as justifying the commander of a s.h.i.+p of war to put the offenders in irons. Besides, the treatment of Bligh, whose admirable conduct under the unparalleled sufferings of himself and all who accompanied him in the open boat, had roused the people of England to the highest pitch of indignation against Christian and his a.s.sociates, in which Edwards no doubt partic.i.p.ated.

The following letter of Mr. Peter Heywood to his mother removes all doubt as to the character and conduct of this officer. It is an artless and pathetic tale, and, as his amiable sister says, 'breathes not a syllable inconsistent with truth and honour.'

'_Batavia, November 20th_, 1791.

'MY EVER-HONOURED AND DEAREST MOTHER,--At length the time has arrived when you are once more to hear from your ill-fated son, whose conduct at the capture of that s.h.i.+p, in which it was my fortune to embark, has, I fear, from what has since happened to me, been grossly misrepresented to you by Lieutenant Bligh, who, by not knowing the real cause of my remaining on board, naturally suspected me, unhappily for me, to be a coadjutor in the mutiny; but I never, to my knowledge, whilst under his command, behaved myself in a manner unbecoming the station I occupied, nor so much as even entertained a thought derogatory to his honour, so as to give him the least grounds for entertaining an opinion of me so ungenerous and undeserved; for I flatter myself he cannot give a character of my conduct, whilst I was under his tuition, that could merit the slightest scrutiny. Oh! my dearest mother, I hope you have not so easily credited such an account of me; do but let me vindicate my conduct, and declare to you the true cause of my remaining in the s.h.i.+p, and you will then see how little I deserve censure, and how I have been injured by so gross an aspersion. I shall then give you a short and cursory account of what has happened to me since; but I am afraid to say a hundredth part of what I have got in store, for I am not allowed the use of writing materials, if known, so that this is done by stealth; but if it should ever come to your hands, it will, I hope, have the desired effect of removing your uneasiness on my account, when I a.s.sure you, before the face of G.o.d, of my innocence of what is laid to my charge. How I came to remain on board was thus:--

'The morning the s.h.i.+p was taken, it being my watch below, happening to awake just after daylight, and looking out of my hammock, I saw a man sitting upon the arm-chest in the main hatchway, with a drawn cutla.s.s in his hand, the reason of which I could not divine; so I got out of bed and inquired of him what was the cause of it. He told me that Mr. Christian, a.s.sisted by some of the s.h.i.+p's company had seized the captain and put him in confinement; had taken the command of the s.h.i.+p and meant to carry Bligh home a prisoner, in order to try him by court-martial, for his long tyrannical and oppressive conduct to his people. I was quite thunderstruck; and hurrying into my berth again, told one of my messmates, whom I awakened out of his sleep, what had happened. Then dressing myself, I went up the fore-hatchway, and saw what he had told me was but too true; and again, I asked some of the people, who were under arms, what was going to be done with the captain, who was then on the larboard side of the quarter-deck, with his hands tied behind his back, and Mr. Christian alongside him with a pistol and drawn bayonet. I now heard a very different story, and that the captain was to be sent ash.o.r.e to Tofoa in the launch, and that those who would not join Mr. Christian might either accompany the captain, or would be taken in irons to Otaheite and left there. The relation of two stories so different, left me unable to judge which could be the true one; but seeing them hoisting the boats out, it seemed to prove the latter.

'In this trying situation, young and inexperienced as I was, and without an adviser (every person being as it were infatuated, and not knowing what to do), I remained for awhile a silent spectator of what was going on; and after revolving the matter in my mind, I determined to choose what I thought the lesser of two evils and stay by the s.h.i.+p; for I had no doubt that those who went on sh.o.r.e, in the launch, would be put to death by the savage natives, whereas the Otaheitans being a humane and generous race, one might have a hope of being kindly received, and remain there until the arrival of some s.h.i.+p, which seemed, to silly me, the most consistent with reason and rect.i.tude.

'While this resolution possessed my mind, at the same time lending my a.s.sistance to hoist out the boats, the hurry and confusion affairs were in, and thinking my intention just, I never thought of going to Mr. Bligh for advice; besides, what confirmed me in it was, my seeing two experienced officers, when ordered into the boat by Mr. Christian, desire his permission to remain in the s.h.i.+p (one of whom, my own messmate, Mr. Hayward), and I being a.s.sisting to clear the launch of yams, he asked me what I intended to do? I told him, to remain in the s.h.i.+p. Now this answer, I imagine, he has told Mr, Bligh I made to him; from which, together with my not speaking to him that morning, his suspicions of me have arisen, construing my conduct into what is foreign to my nature.

'Thus, my dearest mother, it was all owing to my youth and unadvised inexperience, but has been interpreted into villany and disregard of my country's laws, the ill effects of which I at present, and still am to, labour under for some months longer. And now, after what I have a.s.serted, I may still once more retrieve my injured reputation, be again reinstated in the affection and favour of the most tender of mothers, and be still considered as her ever dutiful son.

'I was not undeceived in my erroneous decision till too late, which was after the captain was in the launch; for while I was talking to the master-at-arms, one of the ringleaders in the affair, my other messmate whom I had left in his hammock in the berth (Mr. Stewart), came up to me, and asked me, if I was not going in the launch? I replied, No--upon which he told me not to think of such a thing as remaining behind, but take his advice and go down below with him to get a few necessary things, and make haste to go with him into the launch; adding that, by remaining in the s.h.i.+p, I should incur an equal share of guilt with the mutineers themselves. I reluctantly followed his advice--I say _reluctantly_, because I knew no better, and was foolish; and the boat swimming very deep in the water--the land being far distant--the thoughts of being sacrificed by the natives--and the self-consciousness of my first intention being just--all these considerations almost staggered my resolution; however, I preferred my companion's judgement to my own, and we both jumped down the main-hatchway to prepare ourselves for the boat--but, no sooner were we in the berth, than the master-at-arms ordered the sentry to keep us both in the berth till he should receive orders to release us. We desired the master-at-arms to acquaint Mr. Bligh of our intention, which we had reason to think he never did, nor were we permitted to come on deck until the launch was a long way astern. I now, when too late, saw my error.

'At the latter end of May, we got to an island to the southward of Taheite, called Tooboui, where they intended to make a settlement, but finding no stock there of any kind, they agreed to go to Taheite, and, after procuring hogs and fowls, to return to Tooboui and remain. So, on the 6th June, we arrived at Taheite, where I was in hopes I might find an opportunity of running away, and remaining on sh.o.r.e, but I could not effect it, as there was always too good a look-out kept to prevent any such steps being taken. And besides, they had all sworn that should any one make his escape, they would force the natives to restore him, and would then shoot him as an example to the rest; well knowing, that any one by remaining there might be the means (should a s.h.i.+p arrive) of discovering their intended place of abode. Finding it therefore impracticable, I saw no other alternative but to rest as content as possible and return to Tooboui, and there wait till the masts of the _Bounty_ should be taken out, and then take the boat which might carry me to Taheite, and disable those remaining from pursuit.[20] But Providence so ordered it, that we had no occasion to try our fortune at such a hazard, for, upon returning there and remaining till the latter end of August, in which time a fort was almost built, but nothing could be effected; and as the natives could not be brought to friendly terms, and with whom we had many skirmishes, and narrow escapes from being cut off by them, and, what was still worse, internal broils and discontent,--these things determined part of the people to leave the island and go to Taheite, which was carried by a majority of votes.

'This being carried into execution on the 22nd September, and having anch.o.r.ed in Matavai bay, the next morning my messmate (Mr. Stewart) and I went on sh.o.r.e, to the house of an old landed proprietor, our former friend; and being now set free from a lawless crew, determined to remain as much apart from them as possible, and wait patiently for the arrival of a s.h.i.+p. Fourteen more of the _Bounty's_ people came likewise on sh.o.r.e, and Mr. Christian and eight men went away with the s.h.i.+p, but G.o.d knows whither. Whilst we remained here, we were treated by our kind and friendly natives with a generosity and humanity almost unparalleled, and such as we could hardly have expected from the most civilized people.

'To be brief--having remained here till the latter end of March, 1791, on the 26th of that month, his Majesty's s.h.i.+p _Pandora_ arrived, and had scarcely anch.o.r.ed, when my messmate and I went on board and made ourselves known; and having learnt from one of the natives who had been off in a canoe, that our former messmate Mr. Hayward, now promoted to the rank of lieutenant, was on board, we asked for him, supposing he might prove the a.s.sertions of our innocence. But he (like all worldlings when raised a little in life) received us very coolly, and pretended ignorance of our affairs; yet formerly, he and I were bound in brotherly love and friends.h.i.+p.

Appearances being so much against us, we were ordered to be put in irons, and looked upon--oh, infernal words!--as _piratical villains_. A rebuff so severe as this was, to a person unused to troubles, would perhaps have been insupportable, but to me, who had now been long inured to the frowns of fortune, and feeling myself supported by an inward consciousness of not deserving it, it was received with the greatest composure, and a full determination to bear it with patience.

'My sufferings, however, I have not power to describe; but though they are great, yet I thank G.o.d for enabling me to bear them without repining. I endeavour to qualify my affliction with these three considerations, first, my innocence not deserving them; secondly, that they cannot last long; and thirdly, that the change may be for the better. The first improves my hopes; the second, my patience; and the third, my courage. I am young in years, but old in what the world calls adversity; and it has had such an effect, as to make me consider it the most beneficial incident that could have occurred at my age. It has made me acquainted with three things which are little known, and as little believed by any but those who have felt their effects: first, the villany and censoriousness of mankind; secondly, the futility of all human hopes; and thirdly, the happiness of being content in whatever station it may please Providence to place me. In short, it has made me more of a philosopher, than many years of a life spent in ease and pleasure would have done.

'As they will no doubt proceed to the greatest lengths against me, I being the only surviving officer, and they most inclined to believe a prior story, all that can be said to confute it will probably be looked upon as mere falsity and invention.

Should that be my unhappy case, and they resolved upon my destruction as an example to futurity, may G.o.d enable me to bear my fate with the fort.i.tude of a man, conscious that misfortune, not any misconduct, is the cause, and that the Almighty can attest my innocence. Yet why should I despond? I have, I hope, still a friend in that Providence which hath preserved me amidst many greater dangers, and upon whom alone I now depend for safety. G.o.d will always protect those who deserve it. These are the sole considerations which have enabled me to make myself easy and content under my past misfortunes.

'Twelve more of the people who were at Otaheite having delivered themselves up, there was a sort of prison built on the after-part of the quarter-deck, into which we were all put in close confinement with both legs and both hands in irons, and were treated with great rigour, not being allowed ever to get out of this den; and, being obliged to eat, drink, sleep, and obey the calls of nature here, you may form some idea of the disagreeable situation I must have been in, unable as I was to help myself (being deprived of the use of both my legs and hands), but by no means adequate to the reality.

'On the 9th May we left Otaheite, and proceeded to the Friendly Islands, and about the beginning of August, got in among the reefs of New Holland, to endeavour to discover a pa.s.sage through them; but it was not effected, for the _Pandora_, ever unlucky, and as if devoted by heaven to destruction, was driven by a current upon the patch of a reef, and on which, there being a heavy surf, she was soon almost bulged to pieces; but having thrown all the guns on one side overboard, and the tide flowing at the same time, she beat over the reef into a basin and brought up in fourteen or fifteen fathoms; but she was so much damaged while on the reef, that imagining she would go to pieces every moment, we had contrived to wrench ourselves out of our irons, and applied to the captain to have mercy on us, and suffer us to take our chance for the preservation of our lives; but it was all in vain--he was even so inhuman as to order us all to be put in irons again, though the s.h.i.+p was expected to go down every moment, being scarcely able to keep her under with all the pumps at work.

'In this miserable situation, with an expected death before our eyes, without the least hope of relief, and in the most trying state of suspense, we spent the night, the s.h.i.+p being by the hand of Providence kept up till the morning. The boats by this time had all been prepared; and as the captain and officers were coming upon the p.o.o.p or roof of our prison, to abandon the s.h.i.+p, the water being then up to the coamings of the hatchways, we again implored his mercy; upon which he sent the corporal and an armourer down to let some of us out of irons, but three only were suffered to go up, and the scuttle being then clapped on, and the master-at-arms upon it, the armourer had only time to let two persons out of irons, the rest, except three, letting themselves out; two of these three went down with them on their hands, and the third was picked up. She now began to heel over to port so very much, that the master-at-arms, sliding overboard, and leaving the scuttle vacant, we all tried to get up, and I was the last out but three. The water was then pouring in at the bulk-head scuttles, yet I succeeded in getting out, and was scarcely in the sea when I could see nothing above it but the cross-trees, and nothing around me but a scene of the greatest distress. I took a plank (being stark-naked) and swam towards an island about three miles off, but was picked up on my pa.s.sage by one of the boats. When we got ash.o.r.e to the small sandy key, we found there were thirty-four men drowned, four of whom were prisoners, and among these was my unfortunate messmate (Mr.

Stewart); ten of us, and eighty-nine of the _Pandora's_ crew, were saved.

'When a survey was made of what provisions had been saved, they were found to consist of two or three bags of bread, two or three breakers of water, and a little wine; so we subsisted three days upon two wine-gla.s.ses of water, and two ounces of bread per day. On the 1st September we left the island, and on the 16th, arrived at Coupang in the island of Timor, having been on short allowance eighteen days. We were put in confinement in the castle, where we remained till October, and on the 5th of that month were sent on board a Dutch s.h.i.+p bound for Batavia.

'Though I have been eight months in close confinement in a hot climate, I have kept my health in a most surprising manner, without the least indisposition, and am still perfectly well in every respect, in mind as well as body; but without a friend, and only a s.h.i.+rt and pair of trousers to put on, and carry me home. Yet with all this I have a contented mind, entirely resigned to the will of Providence, which conduct alone enables me to soar above the reach of unhappiness.'

In a subsequent letter to his sister he says, 'I send you two little sketches of the manner in which his Majesty's s.h.i.+p _Pandora_ went down on the 29th August, and of the appearance which we who survived made on the small sandy key within the reef, about ninety yards long and sixty broad, in all ninety-nine souls; here we remained three days, subsisting on a single wine-gla.s.s of wine or water, and two ounces of bread a day, with no shelter from the meridian and then vertical sun. Captain Edwards had tents erected for himself and his people, and we prisoners pet.i.tioned him for an old sail which was lying useless, part of the wreck, but he refused it; and the only shelter we had was to bury ourselves up to the neck in the burning sand, which scorched the skin entirely off our bodies, for we were quite naked, and we appeared as if dipped in large tubs of boiling water. We were nineteen days in the same miserable situation before we landed at Coupang. I was in the s.h.i.+p, in irons, hands and feet, much longer than till the position you now see her in, the p.o.o.p alone being above water (and that knee deep), when a kind Providence a.s.sisted me to get out of irons and escape from her.'

The treatment of these unhappy men was almost as bad at Batavia as in the _Pandora_, being closely confined in irons in the castle, and fed on very bad provisions; and the hards.h.i.+ps they endured on their pa.s.sage to England, in Dutch s.h.i.+ps, were very severe, having, as he says, slept on nothing but hard boards on wet canvas, without any bed, for seventeen months, always subsisting on short allowance of execrable provisions, and without any clothes for some time, except such as the charity of two young men in the s.h.i.+p supplied him with. He had during his confinement at Batavia learned to make straw hats, and finished several with both his hands in fetters, which he sold for half-a-crown a-piece; and with the produce of these he procured a suit of coa.r.s.e clothes, in which, with a cheerful and light heart, notwithstanding all his sufferings, he arrived at Portsmouth. How he preserved his health under the dreadful sufferings he endured, and in eight months' close confinement in a hot climate, is quite wonderful.

On the second day after the arrival of the _Gorgon_ at Spithead the prisoners were transferred to the _Hector_, commanded by Captain (the late Admiral Sir George) Montague, where they were treated with the greatest humanity, and every indulgence allowed that could with propriety be extended to men in their unhappy situation, until the period when they were to be arraigned before the competent authority, and put on their trials for mutiny and piracy, which did not take place until the month of September.