542 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959 
+ ‘“SOUNTY'’ 
eae ad Anchorage 
——“~ _-_~— 
Ficure 2.—Seale’s diagram of Fort George. 
Tinarou asking for the return of articles stolen and offering friend- 
ship; and it was only when these had come back rebuffed that the 
chief’s “Household Gods” were removed and his house burnt down. 
On September 2 Tinarou and his followers arrived loaded with 
presents and suing for peace and the return of his gods. But it was 
all treachery; and might well have succeeded if one of the Tahitian 
boys had not warned Christian in time. 
Failure of an experiment.—Throughout all this excitement Tahu- 
huatama and his family continued to be friendly, watching the 
Tahitian hetva and showing their own dances in return. Even the 
friendly natives, however, would not allow their women to join the 
Kuropeans “tho they had no objection to their Sleeping with them at 
their own houses.” 
To the mutineers this was the final straw. The dénouement is well 
summed up by Morrison: 
[They] began to Murmer, and Insisted that Mr. Christian would head them, 
and bring the Weomen in to live with them by force and refused to do any more 
work till evry man had a Wife, and as Mr. Christians desire was to perswade 
rather then force them, He positively refused to have any thing to do with 
such an absurd demand. Three Days were Spent in debate, and having nothing 
to employ themselves in, they demanded more Grog this he also refused, when 
they broke the lock of the Spirit room and took it by force (Morrison, 1935, 
p. 60). 
Christian could do nothing in the face of this general strike, and on 
September 10 he was forced to call a meeting to consider future plans. 
After much argument, and against his strong advice, it was at length 
decided by 16 votes to 9 that they should “go to Tahiti and there 
Seperate, where they might get Weomen without force.” It was 
agreed that those who elected to remain on Tahiti should be given 
arms, ammunition, and a fair share of everything on the Bounty, 
while Christian’s party should have the ship “in a proper Condition 
to go to Sea, with Her Sails Tackle and furniture.” Of the 16 who 
voted for Tahiti not all were actuated by the same reasons: the major- 
