oning, he having also approached Pitcairn’s island from the eastward.
John Adams declared, as it was natural enough he should do, that he was not concerned in the mutiny on board the Bounty, being in his hammock at the time it took place; but this, we know, is not exactly true, for it was him who told Churchill, the master at arms, “to look sharp after James Morrison,” the boatswain’s-mate, as he had seen him shake hands with John Milward, when Mr. Fryer, the Master, spoke to them about rescuing their commander, and recovering possession of the ship.[1] It is, however, only an act of justice to state, that Adams was not particularly active on that lamentable occasion, neither did he offer any insult to Lieutenant Bligh, of whose harsh and severe treatment he spoke to Sir Thomas Staines in terms of strong feeling; he also expressed his utmost willingness to surrender himself, and be taken to England; indeed, he rather seemed to have an inclination to revisit his native country; but the young men and women flocked around him, and with tears and entreaties begged that “their father and protector” might not be taken from them, “for without him they must all perish.” It would therefore have been an act of the greatest inhumanity to remove him from the island; and it is hardly necessary to add, that Sir Thomas Staines lent a willing ear to their entreaties, thinking no doubt, that, if he were even among the most guilty, his care and success in instilling religious and moral principles into the minds of this young and interesting society, had, in a great degree, redeemed his former misconduct.
To the foregoing outline we have the pleasure of adding, that old Adams was still living, when H.M.S. Blossom touched at Pitcairn’s island, in 1826; that himself and his flock have received that support from this country, the peculiarity of their situation so justly entitle them to; and that they are now amply supplied with every thing which can contribute to their comfort, or tend to increase their happiness. After his departure from Pitcairn’s island. Sir Thomas
