Rosalind Amelia Young

“ In these days of hurry and bustle it is refreshing to catch a glimpse of an Arcadian community like this, whose little world is far removed from all our modern tendencies in civilization. There are no telephones or telegraphs on Pitcairn Island; no oceanic cable brings from the distant mainland the tidings of war or catastrophe on the other side of the globe. Scarcely any of the inhabitants ever saw a railway train or an electric light, and probably not even one of them has ever been inside of a theater. ”

“ Everything about the island, and the manner of cooking and living in general, interested the young people greatly. Never before had they heard such a chorus of cock crowing in the early morning, or the endless chirpings of numberless chickens, as they followed their busy, clucking mothers. The boys and girls, to whom such a free, wild life was a desirable change from the confinement of a long voyage, entered heartily into the fun of going out in search of hens’ eggs, an abundance of which was found all over the island. ”

“ THE schooner St. Kilda, which conveyed the second return party to Pitcairn Island, leaving Norfolk Island on the 18th of December, 1863, reached its destination on the 2d of February, 1864, the voyage being on the whole a pleasant one. It was night when the little ship reached the end of her voyage, a beautiful night, calm and clear, and the unsuspecting folks on shore did not dream of seeing on the morrow the long absent faces of relatives and friends, and were preparing to retire to rest when a musket’s sharp report from over the water broke the stillness. ”

“ A pleasant break in the busy weeks was the visit of Admiral Sir John Kingcome in his flagship, the Sutlej, on the 29th of March, 1864. The day was perfect, with scarce a ripple on the sea, and the sky was wearing its loveliest blue. The sight of the large boats [173] crowded with men going and returning between the shore and the ship, was greatly enjoyed by the islanders. A large crowd both of officers and men landed, and all seemed to enjoy their visit much, and they gladly availed themselves of the privilege of taking free whatever the island produced. ”

“ NORFOLK ISLAND, henceforth to become the home of the Pitcairn islanders, possesses remarkable beauty. Having all their lives been accustomed to wooden houses of the plainest description, roofed with thatch, and standing here and there embosomed amid trees, the sight of regularly laid out streets and stone-built houses was an entirely new experience to the new settlers. ”

“ There was scarcely any need for work, as the island produced in lavish abundance more than sufficient, both of animal and vegetable food, for their every want—goats, sheep, fowls, and plenty of fish, which had become tame through having been left so long in their undisturbed freedom. One obstacle in the way of the young people’s pleasures was the presence of the few cattle on the island, the mere sight of which was enough to make them run for refuge to the nearest tree, if not within [148] easy distance of their homes. ”

“ The kindness and attention shown by every one of them to the newcomers could not be surpassed.
Each one exerted himself in pointing out to the new arrivals the different buildings and their various uses, among them the old and new barracks, the government house, the jail and prison, all strongly built of stone, some of which were beautiful as well as strong. Many dreadful tales were also told concerning the island and those who were sent there to be punished, but scarcely a trace remained to testify to the truth of the dark stories of blood and crime. ”

“ No work was allowed to supersede that which was the dearest aim and object of his whole life, namely, seeking to instill knowledge into the minds of the young, and helping to train them to love what is good and pure and true, and to inspire them to search for themselves the treasures of knowledge that may be obtained in the works of other men, some few volumes of which he possessed. He also organized a Sunday school, at first taking all the labor upon himself, and, as the necessity arose, appointing others to assist him. ”

“ On the southeast side of the island is the place known as “the Rope,” so called because in former years the steep descent could only be accomplished by means of a rope. A zigzag path, only wide enough to afford a foothold, now leads down from the high precipice to the water’s edge. The steep cliffs, rising almost perpendicularly from the shore, are grandly beautiful. The variegated colors of the soil, the rocks, and the foliage of trees, all blended together, or contrasted in shades of black and gray, yellow and brown, red and green, make the scenery altogether pleasing ”

“ Streams of water traverse the island in several directions, while not infrequently the water is hid from view by the thick growth of flags and reeds that cover their marshy banks, and the streams themselves teem with eel life. The abundant supply of water was by no means the least of the blessings that had been bestowed upon the people, for in their old home they had known what it was to suffer for want of water. ”

“ The bright blossoms that here and there meet the eye have been introduced from time to time, mostly by the captains of passing ships, who have kindly given from their own limited stock. Also many seeds have been sent by friends in England, America, and the Sandwich Islands; but only those from the last-named place have succeeded well, most of the others, owing greatly, no doubt, to the want of proper culture, having proved a failure. However, through the thoughtful kindness of friends, the little island is not entirely destitute of nature’s loveliest productions. ”

“ No time was lost in acquainting the English Government with the disastrous failure of the Bounty’s mission, and, although there were some among the crew who, at the time of the mutiny, pleaded that no blame should be attached to them, the result showed that Bligh did not spare those whose hearts and hands were alike innocent of any wrong against him. Very soon the Pandora, commanded by Captain Edwards, a man devoid of the humane feelings of kindness and pity, was sent in search of the men who had so willfully forgotten their duty. ”

“ The friends of the young men noticed with surprise that, with but one exception, they were all slaves to the tobacco habit, both chewing and smoking, for not one among the youth of the island practiced the unclean vice. The captain of the whale ship with whom they had come was himself a total abstainer as regarded both tobacco and spirits, but all his endeavors to reform the young men under his command, example and precept notwithstanding, failed to have the desired effect. ”

“ Towering over all, and lovely in their delicate, light-green foliage, were the wide-spreading branches of the mighty banyan tree, whose roots, as they hang from the boughs overhead, prove such a strong temptation to the boys and girls to go swinging on them. Sometimes an accident happens when swinging on the roots of the banyan trees, but in no instance has it ended fatally, and in one case only were there any bones broken. ”

“ The result of all is that now the community that had for so long neglected the plainest principles of the laws of health, are beginning to realize that they cannot always ignore those laws with impunity, nor disregard them without great injury to themselves—a lesson that the saddest experience through which they have passed served but to deepen and impress upon their minds, minds that had hitherto been too indifferent and careless in regard to these things, and too slow to comprehend the importance of them. ”

“ We are glad at the thought of our little “mite” contributed towards the missionary ship Pitcairn, the first one to be built and used in the interests of the Seventh-day Adventists, and that our Sabbath school is self-supporting.
Our amusements consist, I may say, in a change of occupations. A peculiar way in which to amuse one’s self, you will think, but really our time is too fully occupied in so many different ways to have time or inclination even for amusements that are amusements merely. ”

“ WHEN, in 1853, Admiral Moresby visited Pitcairn Island, he saw that the rapidly increasing numbers of the inhabitants would soon necessitate a removal of a part, or the whole, of the community to a larger place, although he judged that Pitcairn Island, if brought under proper cultivation, was capable of maintaining a thousand inhabitants. The admiral argued that as a removal must be made at some future time, it would be the wisest course to have it done as early as possible, only he stipulated that all the people should go together. ”

“ During those years the productiveness of the island was remarkable. The breadfruit, yams, potatoes, taro, as well as the delicious fruits that grew on the island, seemed untouched by the curse. It did not seem possible that in a few years a change so complete could take place as to affect almost the entire productions of the island. But so it was. Being abundantly provided with food supplies, with scarcely an effort of their own, the two families had not much to do. ”

“ There are very few living who can enter into the spirit of Pitcairn’s history, and, what is to me most singular and unaccountable, a large number of would-be historians are engaged in uttering most senseless pretensions to correct the history of the island, from the arrival of the Bounty until the arrival of the Topaz—a period of twenty years when nothing was known, nor could be known, of the island, nor was known until the arrival of the Topaz in February, 1808. ”

“ But, with the blessing of God upon his humble [34] efforts, John Adams had the satisfaction of seeing the children of such disreputable parentage growing up around him, quiet, peaceable, industrious, and happy, and with an increasing love of virtue and strict morality. A beautiful feature of the whole was the love that united them as one family under the fatherly control of John Adams. Such was the condition of life on Pitcairn Island when, in 1808, Captain Mayhew Folger, of the American ship Topaz, accidentally discovered that the island was inhabited. ”

“ Family prayers are said in every house the first thing in the morning and the last thing in the evening, and no food is partaken of without asking God’s blessing before and afterwards. Captain Beechy, writing fifty-three years ago, says: ‘These excellent people appear to live together in perfect harmony and contentment, to be virtuous, religious, cheerful, and hospitable, to be patterns of conjugal and paternal affection, and to have very few vices.’ I have ventured to quote those words, as they hold true to this day, the children having followed in the footsteps of their parents. ”

“ The captain’s entreaties for them to go on board, and his oft-repeated expressions of kindness toward them, served to arouse their suspicions, and they firmly declined; however, the two men who had been to meet the boat went on board the ship. There they saw a sight which they could not easily forget. Numbers of poor natives of different ages, from quite young children to men and women in and beyond middle life, many of whom were entirely naked, were crowded into the close and stifling hold of the ship. ”

“ The ship’s lifeboat, uninjured, was among the things that were scattered from the ship on breaking up, and in the hope of rescuing it a crew of the islanders started to launch the captain’s gig. With brave hearts and strong arms they waited for a moment’s lull in the angry waves to give them an opportunity of getting safely over the dreadful surf that rolled ceaselessly in to shore. At last the moment came, and at the command, “Pull ahead,” with a strength that seemed more than human, the boat was got beyond the danger of the breakers, [192] that threatened to engulf her. ”

“ In the month of October, 1823, an English whaleship, the Cyrus, Captain Hall, visited Pitcairn Island. John Adams, being now somewhat advanced in years, and beginning already to feel the infirmities of age, expressed to Captain Hall the wish that he could find among the ship’s crew someone to assist him in the arduous task of trying to impart instruction to his [55] young people. The captain listened kindly, and promised to do what he could. Calling his men around him, he made known to them the wishes of the old man, and asked if any of them would be willing to accede to his request. ”

“ But for the ship, and for some of the crew, it was never to be, and could the results of that voyage have been foreseen, it is a question how many of those who then left their native land would have dared to embark on a journey that was to be fraught with events so startling in their nature, and that was to end so strangely, that even at this distant day the story is repeated and listened to with sustained interest, not only by strangers, but by the immediate descendants of the misguided men, who themselves fell victims at last to their own wrongdoing. ”

“ The poor, distracted mother witnessed the fearful scene, and in her agonizing grief made her way to the place where her boy was taken off, and would have thrown herself into the sea, as if such a sacrifice could avail to save her boy, but the arms of strong men who had followed held her back, and she was carried with great difficulty and in an unconscious state up the rocky steep to her home, where pitying friends received her and attended her through the long, dreary months of illness that followed. ”

“ Although the time had gone by forever when such scenes could be witnessed, a feeling akin to horror could not be suppressed when passing beneath the spot where so many had taken their last farewell of life, and the silent, narrow cells around seemed almost in the echo of one’s footfall to give forth the sad sighs and groans of despair, as the condemned criminal awaited the moment when he should be called forth to meet his doom. ”

“ The mate wished to make a return trip to the vessel in spite of the wind, that was now increasing into a gale, and at the cry, “Who will volunteer?” a ready response was given, but the darkness coming on, and the threatening weather, made it advisable to delay the effort until the next morning. The boat was once more drawn up to a place of safety, and in the gloomy darkness, with feelings still more gloomy, the captain and crew of the Cornwallis, accompanied by the islanders, men, women, and children, formed a silent procession up the steep hill path that led to the village. ”

“ The pandanus palm tree, with its clustering branches of drooping leaves, fringes the shores of the bay nearly its whole extent. The innumerable huge stones and rocks that cover the bottom of the bay make it impossible for a boat to land. ”