William Bligh

“ Tinah, Oreepyah, Poeeno, and Moannah, were my regular guests and I was seldom without some chiefs from other districts. Almost every individual of any consequence has several names which makes it frequently perplexing when the same person is spoken of to know who is meant. Every chief has perhaps a dozen or more names in the course of thirty years; so that the person who has been spoken of by one visitor will not perhaps be known to another unless other circumstances lead to a discovery. The father of Tinah, at this time called Otow, was known in 1769 by the name of Whappai. ”

“ The weather was now serene, which nevertheless was not without its inconveniences, for we began to feel distress of a different kind from that which we had lately been accustomed to suffer. The heat of the sun was so powerful that several of the people were seized with a languor and faintness which made life indifferent. We were so fortunate as to catch two boobies in the evening: their stomachs contained several flying-fish and small cuttlefish, all of which I saved to be divided for dinner the next day. ”

“ The crowd of natives was not so great as hitherto it had been: the curiosity of strangers was satisfied and, as the weather began to be unsettled and rainy, they had almost all returned to their homes so that only the people of Matavai and Oparre remained with us, except a few chiefs from other islands: our supplies however were abundant and what I considered as no small addition to our comforts, we ceased to be incommoded when on shore by the natives following us, and could take our walks almost unnoticed. ”

“ The day brought no relief but its light. The sea broke over us so much that two men were constantly baling; and we had no choice how to steer, being obliged to keep before the waves for fear of the boat filling.
The allowance now regularly served to each person was one 25th of a pound of bread and a quarter of a pint of water, at eight in the morning, at noon, and at sunset. ”

“ Huaheine signifies woman and myty good. Many of them thought it was living and asked if it was my wife. One old woman ran with presents of cloth and breadfruit and laid them at her feet; at last they found out the cheat; but continued all delighted with it, except the old lady who felt herself mortified and took back her presents for which she was laughed at exceedingly. Tinah and all the chiefs enjoyed the joke and, after making many enquiries about the British women, they strictly enjoined me when I came again to bring a ship full of them. ”

“ We had been just six days on the coast of New Holland in the course of which we found oysters, a few clams, some birds, and water. But perhaps a benefit nearly equal to this we received by having been relieved from the fatigue of being constantly in the boat and enjoying good rest at night. These advantages certainly preserved our lives and, small as the supply was, I am very sensible how much it alleviated our distresses. By this time nature must have sunk under the extremes of hunger and fatigue. Some would have ceased to struggle for a life that only promised wretchedness and misery ”

“ For my own part I consider the general run of cloudy and wet weather to be a blessing of Providence. Hot weather would have caused us to have died with thirst; and probably being so constantly covered with rain or sea protected us from that dreadful calamity. ”

“ To my surprise no more of the mainland could be seen here than from below, the northernmost part in sight, which was full of sandhills bearing west by north about three leagues. Except the isles to the east-south-east and south that we had passed I could only discover a small key north-west by north. As this was considerably farther from the main than the spot on which we were at present I judged it would be a more secure resting-place for the night, for here we were liable to an attack, if the Indians had canoes, as they undoubtedly must have observed our landing. ”

“ On arriving at the landing-place I saw a large quantity of breadfruit with some hogs ready dressed and a quantity of cloth. At about forty yards distant sat a man who, I was informed, was a principal Arreoy. A lane being made by the crowd he was addressed by one of Tinah's people, standing on the canoe, in a speech composed of short sentences which lasted about a quarter of an hour. During this a piece of cloth was produced, one end of which I was desired to hold, and five men, one with a sucking pig and the others having each a basket of breadfruit, prepared to follow me. ”

“ While we see among these islands so great a waste of the human species that numbers are born only to die, and at the same time a large continent so near to them as New Holland, in which there is so great a waste of land uncultivated and almost destitute of inhabitants, it naturally occurs how greatly the two countries might be made to benefit each other, and gives occasion to regret that the islanders are not instructed in the means of emigrating to New Holland, which seems as if designed by nature to serve as an asylum for the superflux of inhabitants in the islands. ”

“ We steered pretty close in to the northward of the east end, where we saw but few habitations: a very neat house on a small eminence, delightfully situated in a grove of coconut-trees, particularly attracted our notice. About twenty of the natives followed us along shore, waving and showing large pieces of cloth; but the surf on the shore was too high to think of having any communication with them. I observed a great number of coconut-trees but did not see one plantain-tree. ”

“ The trees are lofty and large, and the underwood grows so close together that in many places it is impassable. The east side of the bay is a rich loamy soil; but near the tops of the hills is very much encumbered with stones and rocks: the underwood thinly placed and small. The trees on the south, south-east, and south-west sides of the hills grow to a larger size than those that are exposed to the opposite points; for the sides of the trees open or exposed to the north winds are naked with few branches; while the other sides are in a flourishing state. ”

“ Their ideas of geography are very simple: they believe the world to be a fixed plane of great extent; and that the sun, moon, and stars are all in motion round it. I have been frequently asked by them if I have not been as far as the sun and moon; for they think we are such great travellers that scarce any undertaking is beyond our ability.
Another island called Tappuhoi, situated likewise to the eastward, was described to me by Tinah, the inhabitants of which were said to be all warriors, and that the people of Otaheite did not dare to go there. ”

“ If Tinah had spirit in proportion to his size and strength he would probably be the greatest warrior in Otaheite: but courage is not the most conspicuous of his virtues. When I promised to leave with him a pair of pistols, which they prefer to muskets, he told me that Iddeah would fight with one and Oedidee with the other. Iddeah has learnt to load and fire a musket with great dexterity and Oedidee is an excellent marksman. It is not common for women in this country to go to war, but Iddeah is a very resolute woman, of a large make, and has great bodily strength. ”

“ The soundings that are met with off the coast of America, from the latitude of 36 degrees south to the southward, are very convenient to enable ships to judge of their distance from the land, as thick fogs are very frequent near that coast. If the winds are favourable, to go through Straits le Maire must considerably shorten the passage round Cape Horn, as all the distance saved is so much gained to the westward. I am informed that several harbours have been lately discovered by the South Sea whalers on the north side of Staten Island that afford safe anchorage with supplies of wood and water. ”

“ The ship was named the Bounty: I was appointed to command her on the 16th of August 1787. ”

“ I met at Timor with most of the fruits that are described in Captain Cook's first voyage as natives of Batavia, except the mangosteen. The breadfruit tree, called by the Malays soccoom, likewise grows here with great luxuriance and appears to be as much a native of this island as it is of Otaheite. The fruit is exactly of the same kind but not so good. A breadfruit of Timor weighs half as much more as one of equal size at Otaheite. ”

“ The breadfruit (as we call it) grows on a large tree, as big and high as our largest apple-trees: It hath a spreading head, full of branches and dark leaves. The fruit grows on the boughs like apples; it is as big as a penny-loaf when wheat is at five shillings the bushel; it is of a round shape, and hath a thick tough rind. When the fruit is ripe it is yellow and soft, and the taste is sweet and pleasant. The natives of Guam use it for bread. They gather it, when full-grown, while it is green and hard ”

“ You have a God then who never had a father or mother and has a child without a wife! Many other questions were asked which my little knowledge of the language did not enable me to answer.
The weather was now fine again and a great number of people were come from other parts of the island. Tinah informed me that there was to be a heiva and a wrestling-match on shore, and that the performers waited for our attendance; we therefore set off with several of our friends and, about a quarter of a mile from the tents, we found a great concourse of people formed into a ring. ”

“ At this isle we arrived about eight o'clock in the morning. The shore was rocky but the water was smooth and we landed without difficulty. I sent two parties out, one to the northward and the other to the southward, to seek for supplies, and others I ordered to stay by the boat. On this occasion fatigue and weakness so far got the better of their sense of duty that some of the people expressed their discontent at having worked harder than their companions, and declared that they would rather be without their dinner than go in search of it. ”

“ At two o'clock in the afternoon the easternmost of New Year's Isles, where Captain Cook observed the latitude to be 55 degrees 40 minutes south, bore from us south four leagues. We saw the entrance isles of New Year's harbour at the back of which the land is very craggy and mountainous. This must be a very convenient port to touch at as the access to it is safe and easy. The harbour lies south-south-east by compass from the north-east part of the easternmost of the New Year's Islands. ”

“ Adventure Bay is a convenient and safe place for any number of ships to take in wood and water during the summer months: but in the winter, when the southerly winds are strong, the surf, on all parts of the shore, makes the landing exceedingly troublesome. ”

“ To make the bread a little savoury most of the people frequently dipped it in salt water; but I generally broke mine into small pieces and ate it in my allowance of water, out of a coconut shell with a spoon, economically avoiding to take too large a piece at a time, so that I was as long at dinner as if it had been a much more plentiful meal. ”

“ Extreme hunger was now too evident, but no one suffered from thirst, nor had we much inclination to drink, that desire perhaps being satisfied through the skin. The little sleep we got was in the midst of water, and we constantly awoke with severe cramps and pains in our bones. This morning I served about two teaspoonfuls of rum to each person and the allowance of bread and water as usual. At noon the sun broke out and revived everyone. I found we were in latitude 14 degrees 49 minutes south; longitude made 25 degrees 46 minutes west; course south 88 degrees west distance 75 miles. ”

“ I have already mentioned my reason for making New Holland so far to the southward: for I never doubted of numerous openings in the reef through which I could have access to the shore and, knowing the inclination of the coast to be to the north-west and the wind mostly to the southward of east, I could with ease range such a barrier of reefs till I should find a passage, which now became absolutely necessary, without a moment's loss of time. ”

“ I went in a boat to examine the harbours about Oparre and found two formed by the reefs. The westernmost is the most convenient for sailing in or out but is not well sheltered from a north-west wind or sea. This harbour is called by the natives Taowne: it is about a league and a half distant from Point Venus and may be known by a remarkable mountain, called by the natives Wawry, which bears south-south-east from the entrance.
The easternmost harbour is called Toahroah. It is small but as secure as a reef harbour can well be. It is about three miles distant from Point Venus. ”

“ I found landing impracticable and therefore came to a grapnel, in hopes of their coming to us, for we had passed several fires. After waiting near an hour I was surprised to see Nelson's assistant come out of the wood: he had wandered thus far in search of plants and told me that he had met with some of the natives. Soon after we heard their voices like the cackling of geese, and twenty persons came out of the wood, twelve of whom went round to some rocks where the boat could get nearer to the shore than we then were. Those who remained behind were women. ”

“ In the morning the wind increasing and, there being no possibility of putting to sea, we struck yards and topmasts and trusted to our anchors. The river swelled so much with the rain that the point of land on which the tents stood became an island; and to preserve the breadfruit plants from being endangered the people were obliged to cut a passage for the river through a part of the beach at a distance from the tents. The sea broke very high on the beach ”

“ At two in the morning we wore and stood in shore till daylight when I found we had drifted during the night about three leagues to the west-south-west, the southernmost land in sight bearing west. On examining the coast and not seeing any sign of a settlement we bore away to the westward having a strong gale against a weather current which occasioned much sea. The shore was high and covered with wood, but we did not run far before low land again formed the coast, the points of which opening at west I once more fancied we were on the south part of the island ”