tions[1]. I have taken upon myself to promise them they shall be so adopted; that our chief shall be their chief; and they have given me assurances that such of their brethren as may hereafter visit them from the United States, shall enjoy a welcome and hospitable reception among them, and be furnished with whatsoever refreshments and supplies the island may afford; that they will protect them against their enemies, and, as far as lays in their power, will prevent the subjects of Great Britain (knowing them to be such) from coming among them until peace shall take place between the two nations.”
Returning from the Marquesas to Valparaiso, and steering a course which ought, according to his chronometers, and the Admiralty and other charts, to have carried him nearly three degrees to the eastward of Pitcairn’s island, Sir Thomas Staines was greatly surprised by its sudden appearance on the 17th Sept.; and as this incident enabled him correctly to ascertain the manner in which H.M. late ship Bounty was disposed of, we shall first avail ourselves of the information he obtained on that head from the only surviving mutineer, and then add some interesting particulars respecting the descendants of Mr. Christian and his deluded followers[2].
Disappointed in his expectations at Toobouai, and dreading a discovery if he remained in the neighbourhood of Otaheite, Mr. Christian committed himself to the mere chance of being cast upon some desert island; and accident threw him upon that of Pitcairn, situated in the midst of the vast Southern Ocean, distant upwards of 1100 leagues from the continent of America, and far from any other island. Finding no anchorage near it, he ran the ship upon the rocky shore, caused her to be cleared of the live-stock and every thing useful, and then set her on fire, by which means he deprived himself and his wretched adherents of every hope of escape.
After this rash act, Mr. Christian became very sullen and
- ↑ Principally, we presume, on account of its excellent harbour, Port Anna Maria; and the facility with which a plentiful supply of good water can be obtained at all seasons.
- ↑ The only authentic account of the mutiny on board the Bounty, that has ever been printed, is incorporated with our memoir of Captain Peter Heywood. See Vol. II. Part II, pp. 747–786. N.B. Errata at p. 764, first line of note *, for William Muspratt, read Thomas Burkitt.
