It appears from their narrative that the island possessed no spring ;
and tliat the two men procured a supply of water at a small pool which
collected the drainings from the upper part of the island, and was
just sufficient for their daily consumption.
In the evening we bore away to the westward, and at one o'clock
in the afternoon of the 4th of December we saw Pitcairn Island bearing
S. YY". by YY". ^ YY". at a considerable distance.
th ird bloYv stove in the boYVS of th e ship, an d she w e n t down in a very short time, even
before some of the boats th a t were away had time to g e t on board. Such of tlie crew as were
iu th e ship contrived to save themselves in th e boats th a t we re nea r, an d were soon jo in ed by
th e ir astonished shipmates, who could not account for th e sudden disappearance o f their
vessel ; b u t found themselves unprovided with eve ry th in g necessary for a sea-voyage, and
several thousand miles from an y place whence th e y could hope for relief. T h e boats after
th e catastrophe dete rmined to proceed to Chili, touching a t Du c ie’s Island in th eir way.
T h e y steered to th e southward, and afte r considerable sufferings landed upon an island which
th ey supposed to be th a t above mentioned, b u t which was, in fact, Elizabe th Island. N o t b ein g
able to procure an y wa te r here, th e y continued their Y"oyage to th e coast of Chili, where two
boats out o f th e th re e arrived, but with only th ree or four persons in them. T h e third was
n ev e r hea rd of, b u t it is n o t improbable th a t the wreck o f a boat and four skeletons which
we re seen on D u c ie ’s Island by a merchant vessel were her remains and th a t of h e r crew.
H a d these unfortuna te persons been aware o f th e situation of P itc a irn Island, which is
only n in e ty miles from Elizabe th Island, and to leeward of it, all th e ir lives would have been
saved.
CHAPTER III.
P itc airn Island— Adams and Natives come off to th e S hip—Adams’ Account of the M u tin y
o f th e B o u n ty—L ie u te n a n t Blig h s e n t adrift in th e L aunch— M u tin e e rs proceed to
Tobouai—Hostile Reception th e re— P ro c e ed to O tah e ite— R e tu rn to To b o u ai—Aga in
q u it it, an d re tu rn to Otahe ite— Christian determines to proceed to P itc a irn Island—
Lan d s th ere— F a te o f the S hip— In su rre c tio n among th e Blacks— M u rd e r o f Christian
and four of the Mu tin e ers—Adams dangerously wounded— F a te o f th e remaining
Number.
The interest which was excited by the announcement of Pitcairn cjjap.
Island from the mast-head brought every person upon deck, and pro- in duced
a train of reflections that momentarily increased our anxiety to dj,.
communicate with its inhabitants; to see and partake of the pleasures
of their little domestic circle; and to learn from them the particulars of
every transaction connected with the fate of the Bounty ; but in consequence
of the approach of night this gratification was deferred until
the next morning, when, as we were steering for the side of the island
on which Captain Carteret has marked soundings, in the hope of
being able to anchor the ship, we had the pleasure to see a boat under
sail hastening toward us. At first the complete epuipment of this boat
raised a doubt as to its being the property of the islanders, for we
expected to see only a well-provided canoe in their possession, and we
therefore concluded that the boat must belong to some whale-ship on the
opposite side; but we were soon agreeably undeceived by the singular
appearance of her crew, which consisted of old Adams and aU the young
men of the island.
Before they ventured to take hold of the ship, they inquired if
they might come on board, and upon permission being granted, they
sprang up the side and shook every officer by the hand with undisguised
feelings of gratification.
The activity of the young men outstripped that of old Adams, who
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