The Mutiny of the Bounty | Page 3

surrounded the ship. Great numbers, on being invited,
crowded on board the stranger ship, but one of them, being butted on
the haunches by a goat, and turning hastily round, perceived it rearing
on its hind legs, ready to repeat the blow, was so terrified at the
appearance of this strange animal, so different from any he had ever
seen, that, in the moment of terror, he jumped overboard, and all the
rest followed his example with the utmost precipitation.
This little incident, however, produced no mischief; but as the boats
were sounding in the bay, and several canoes crowding round them,
Wallis suspected the islanders had a design to attack them, and, on this
mere suspicion, ordered the boats by signal to come on board, 'and at
the same time,' he says, 'to intimidate the Indians, I fired a
nine-pounder over their heads.' This, as might have been imagined,
startled the islanders, but did not prevent them from attempting
immediately to cut off the cutter, as she was standing towards the ship.
Several stones were thrown into this boat, on which the commanding
officer fired a musket, loaded with buck-shot, at the man who threw the
first stone, and wounded him in the shoulder.
Finding no good anchorage at this place, the ship proceeded to another
part of the island, where, on one of the boats being assailed by the
Indians in two or three canoes, with their clubs and paddles in their
hands, 'Our people,' says the commander, 'being much pressed, were
obliged to fire, by which one of the assailants was killed, and another
much wounded.' This unlucky rencontre did not, however, prevent, as
soon as the ship was moored, a great number of canoes from coming
off the next morning, with hogs, fowls, and fruit. A brisk traffic soon
commenced, our people exchanging knives, nails, and trinkets, for
more substantial articles of food, of which they were in want. Among
the canoes that came out last were some double ones of very large size,
with twelve or fifteen stout men in each, and it was observed that they
had little on board except a quantity of round pebble stones. Other
canoes came off along with them, having only women on board; and
while these females were assiduously practising their allurements, by

attitudes that could not be misunderstood, with the view, as it would
seem, to distract the attention of the crew, the large double canoes
closed round the ship; and as these advanced, some of the men began
singing, some blowing conchs, and others playing on flutes. One of
them, with a person sitting under a canopy, approached the ship so
close, as to allow this person to hand up a bunch of red and yellow
feathers, making signs it was for the captain. He then put off to a little
distance, and, on holding up the branch of a cocoa-nut tree, there was
an universal shout from all the canoes, which at the same moment
moved towards the ship, and a shower of stones was poured into her on
every side. The guard was now ordered to fire, and two of the
quarter-deck guns, loaded with small shot, were fired among them at
the same time, which created great terror and confusion, and caused
them to retreat to a short distance. In a few minutes, however, they
renewed the attack. The great guns were now ordered to be discharged
among them, and also into a mass of canoes that were putting off from
the shore. It is stated that, at this time, there could not be less than three
hundred canoes about the ship, having on board at least two thousand
men. Again they dispersed, but having soon collected into something
like order, they hoisted white streamers, and pulled towards the ship's
stern, when they again began to throw stones with great force and
dexterity, by the help of slings, each of the stones weighing about two
pounds, and many of them wounded the people on board. At length a
shot hit the canoe that apparently had the chief on board, and cut it
asunder. This was no sooner observed by the rest, than they all
dispersed in such haste, that in half an hour there was not a single canoe
to be seen; and all the people who had crowded the shore fled over the
hills with the utmost precipitation. What was to happen on the
following day was matter of conjecture, but this point was soon
decided.
The white man landed;--need the rest be told? The new world stretch'd
its dusk hand to the old.
Lieutenant Furneaux, on the next morning, landed, without opposition,
close to a fine river that fell into the bay--stuck up a staff on which was
hoisted a pendant,--turned a