Jules Verne

“ Bligh then proposed to divide his crew into three parties; one to stay and put everything in order in the boat, the two others to go and search for food. But several men complained bitterly, declaring that they would rather go without their dinner than venture into the country.
One of them, more violent or more bold than his companions, went so far as to say to the captain -
"One man is as good as another, and I don't see why you should always take your ease! If you are hungry go and get something to eat! ”

“ Are we dogs, that we should be abused on every occasion? Scoundrels, ruffians, liars, thieves, you had no expression strong enough, no abuse coarse enough for us! Indeed, had we patiently borne such a life, we should have been unworthy to be called men! ”

“ The first care of Christian and his companions on reaching Pitcairn had been to destroy the Bounty, so as not to be discovered. This, of course, prevented their leaving the island again, but it was necessary for their safety.
The establishment of the little colony was not made without difficulty among persons whose only bond of union was their common crime. Bloody quarrels soon broke out between the Tahitians and the English. In 1794 only four of the mutineers survived. Christian had fallen by the knife of one of the natives he had brought to the island. All the Tahitians had been massacred. ”

“ At first, mutineers, murderers, madmen, and now, under the influence of Christian morals, and instruction given by a poor converted sailor, Pitcairn Island has become the fatherland of a gentle, hospitable, and happy population, among whom are found the primitive manners of the patriarchal ages. ”

“ However, a lively dispute had arisen among the mutineers, some of whom wished to abandon Captain Bligh and his friends without giving them a weapon, or leaving them an ounce of bread.
Some - and it was also Churchill's advice - thought that the number of those who ought to leave the ship was not large enough. They must get rid, he said, of all the men who, not being directly implicated in the plot, were not safe. They could not depend on those who contented themselves with merely accepting accomplished facts. ”

“ Who dares --?" exclaimed the captain, jumping out of his cot.
"Silence, Captain Bligh!" answered Churchill. "Silence, and do not attempt to resist, or I will gag you!"
"You needn't trouble yourself to dress," added Bob; "you will cut quite a good enough figure as you are when you are dangling at the yard-arm!"
"Lash his hands behind his back, Churchill," said Christian, "and hoist him up on deck!"
"The most tyrannical captains need be feared no longer, when one knows how to set about dealing with them," remarked John Smith, the philosopher of the crew. ”

“ What! We have only crossed half the distance we had to run when cast adrift to reach Australia, and you are already discouraged! Do you think, besides, that you will find it easy to obtain provisions on the coast of New Holland? You know neither the country nor the inhabitants!"
And Bligh described in a graphic way the nature of the soil, the manners and customs of the natives, the small dependence they must place on a friendly reception, everything, indeed, that his voyage with Captain Cook had taught him. ”

“ If a few of us are killed, what matter! We can but try! What do you think?"
The officers were already preparing to throw themselves on the mutineers, who were now busily engaged in making ready the long boat, when Churchill, whose notice these words, brief as they were, had not escaped, summoning several well-armed men, forced them into the boat.
"Millward, Muspratt, Birket, and you others," said Christian, addressing some of the seamen who had not taken part in the mutiny, "go below and choose whatever you value most! You are to accompany Captain Bligh. ”

“ Such was the narrative given to Captain Staines by the two natives, English on their father's side, one the son of Christian, the other the son of Young; but when Captain Staines asked to see John Adams, the latter refused to come on board, until he knew how he was likely to be treated.
The captain, having assured the two young men that John Adams was safe, as twenty-five years had passed since the mutiny of the Bounty, went on shore, where he was received by a population composed of forty-six adults, and a large number of children. ”

“ This first attempt at landing was too unlucky to be renewed; such at least was the opinion of Captain Bligh.
"We must now come to a resolution," he said. "The scene which has just passed at Tofoa will occur again, I am certain, at Tonga Tabou, and wherever else we may touch. So small a number as we are, without firearms, would be absolutely at the mercy of the savages. Having no articles for barter, we could not buy provisions, and it is impossible for us to procure them by force. We are reduced to our own resources ”

“ They would there obtain a sufficient quantity of provisions to last them till they could reach the Dutch settlements in Timor, if, through fear of savages, they did not wish to touch at any of the numerous archipelagos scattered here and there on their way.
The first day passed without incident, and night was falling when they sighted the coast of Tofoa. Unfortunately, the shore was so rocky, and the cliffs so steep, that it was impossible to disembark that night. They must wait for day.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Bligh did not mean to touch their provisions. ”

“ However, all got safely into the boat, when one of the sailors, named Bancroft, imprudently returned to fetch some article he had forgotten. In a second, the foolish man was surrounded and felled with stones, his companions, having no firearms, being unable to help him. At the same time they themselves were attacked, and stones rained upon them.
"Come, lads," shouted Bligh, "bend to your oars and pull hard!"
The natives followed them into the sea, and showers of pebbles fell upon them. Many men were wounded ”

“ The son of Fletcher Christian, for such the young man was, then gave Captain Staines the following narrative -
On leaving Tahiti, where he abandoned twenty-one of his comrades, Christian, who had on board an account of Cartaret's voyage, steered towards Pitcairn Island, the position of which appeared to him suitable for the plan he proposed. Twenty-eight men now composed the crew of the Bounty. They were Fletcher Christian, the midshipman Young, and seven seamen, six Tahitians, three with wives, a child of ten months old, and three men and six women, natives of Roubouai. ”

“ With eight of their companions, having only a few ordinary carpenters' tools, they contrived, not without difficulty, to construct a small vessel, which they called the Resolution, mooring her in a bay behind Venus Point; but the impossibility of procuring sails prevented them from putting to sea. ”