THE LAST OF THE SURVIVORS. 247 



probably design, when slipping- from the roof of " Pandora's Box" into the sea, let the 

 keys unlocking 1 the hand-cuffs and irons fall through the scuttle, and thus enabled them 

 to commence their own liberation, in which they were assisted by one brave seaman, 

 William Moulter, who said he would set them free or go to the bottom with them. He 

 wrenched away, with great difficulty, the bars of the prison. Immediately after the ship 

 went down, leaving nothing visible but the top-mast cross-trees. 



More than half an hour elapsed before the survivors were all picked up by the 

 boats. Amongst the drowned were Mr. Stewart, the midshipman, and three others of the 

 Bounty's people, the whole of whom perished with the manacles on their hands. Thirty- 

 one of the ship's company were lost. The four boat-loads which escaped had scarcely 

 any provis'ons on board, the allowance being two wine-glasses of water to each man, 

 and a very small quantity of bread, calculated for sixteen days. Their voyage of 1,000 

 miles on the open ocean, and the sufferings endured, were similar to those experienced 

 by Bligh's party, but not so severe. After staying at Coupang for about three weeks, 

 they left on a Dutch East Indiaman, which conveyed them to Samarang, and subsequently 

 Batavia, whence they proceeded to Europe. 



After an exhaustive court-martial had been held on the ten prisoners brought home by 

 Captain Edwards, three of the seamen were condemned and executed; Mr. Hey wood, 

 the midshipman, the boatswain's-mate, and the steward were sentenced to death, but 

 afterwards pardoned; four others were tried and acquitted. It will be remembered that 

 four others were drowned at the wreck. 



Twenty years had rolled away, and the mutiny of the Bounty was almost forgotten, 

 when Captain Folger, of the American ship Topaz, reported to Sir Sydney Smith, at 

 Valparaiso, that he had discovered the last of the survivors on Pitcairn Island. This fact 

 was transmitted to the Admiralty, and received on May 14th, 1809, but the troublous 

 times prevented any immediate investigation. In 1814, H.M.S. Briton, commanded by 

 Sir Thomas Staines, and the Tiigus, Captain Pipon, were cruising in the Pacific, when 

 they fell in with the little known island of Pitcairn. He discovered not merely that it 

 was inhabited, but afterwards, to his great astonishment, that every individual on the 

 island spoke very good English. The little village was composed of neat huts, embowered 

 in luxuriant plantations. " Presently they observed a few natives coming down a steep 

 descent with their canoes on their shoulders, and in a few minutes perceived one of these 

 little vessels dashing through a heavy surf, and paddling off towards the ships; but their 

 astonishment was extreme when, on coming alongside, they were hailed in the English 

 language with ' Won't you heave us a rope now ? ' 



"The first young man that sprang with extraordinary alacrity up the side and stood 

 before them on the deck, said, in reply to the question, 'Who are you?' that his name 

 was Thursday October Christian, son of the late Fletcher Christian, by an Otaheitan 

 mother; that he was the first born on the island, and that he was so called because he was 

 brought into the world on a Thursday in October. Singularly strange as all this was to 

 Sir Thomas Staines and Captain Pipon, this youth soon satisfied them that he was none 

 other than the person he represented himself to be, and that he was fully acquainted with 

 the whole history of the Bounty; and, in short, the island before them was the retreat 



