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XIX. Recent Accounts respecting Pitcairn's Island. 



X HE first of the subjoined accounts is a copy of a letter from 

 Captain Henderson, of the ship Herrules, addressed to the editor 

 of tlie Calcutta Journal, dated 15th July 1819. — The second is 

 the narrative of a Taheitan woman, transmitted to a gentleman 

 of Sydney (New South Wales) I)v a correspondent writing from 

 theSociety Islands, published in the Sydney Gazette of I7th July 

 IS19. It will be seen that she names some of the Euiopeans 

 who left the other mutineers of the Bounty, at Otaheite, and 

 proceeded with that vessel to Pitcairn's Island, differently from 

 other accounts. By John Mai?}, she seems to mean John Mills; 

 by Isaac Madden, Martin; and by Adain Smith, old John 

 Adams himself. 



Captain Henderson's Narrative. 



" In looking over Capt. Bligh's narrative of his voyage in the 

 boat, I observe he says: ' The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond 

 all conception. Thirteen of the party who were with me had 

 ahvays lived among the people; yet neither they, nor the mess- 

 mates of Christinn, Steward, Haywood, and Young, had ever 

 observed any circumstance to give them suspicion of what was 

 going on.' 



" The conversation that I had with old Adams, while on shore 

 .'it Pitcairn's Island, will set tiiis at vest: but 1 shall give you the 

 history of my intercourse with these islanders as it occurred. 



"We made Pitcairn's Island on the morning of the iSth of 

 January 1819, and I make it to lie in lat. 25" 58' south, long, 

 130^ 2o' west, nearly the same as Sir Thomas Staines Cn get- 

 ting within two or three miles of the shore, we observed a boat 

 coming off, which was very small, being one given to them by 

 an American thr.*. had touched at the island about eighteen months 

 before. On apjiroacbing us, the first thing tliey asked was, 

 whether we were a man of war or a merchaniman, American or 

 English ? On Ijeing answered that we vvere a trading ship under 

 Briti'>h colours from India, they came on board, nine in number, 

 aiid all young men. 



" After breakfast I went on shore, at 7 a.m., and was received 

 on the rocks by ok' Mr. Adams, and all the other inhabitants of 

 the island; but not before the islanders that were in the boat 

 with me had given a shout or cry peculiar to themselves, to sig- 

 nify my being a friend. I delivered to Adams the box of books 

 from the Missionary Society in London, and a letter from Adams's 

 brother, who is still living at V/apping in London. 1 read this 

 letter to him, giving him a description of his family, mentioning 

 the death of one oistcr, and procperity of a:iother. This affected 



him 



