THE MUTINY OF THE BOUNTr 169 



lings were carefully planted in tubs, and in the following April 

 Hligh left the island with his floating garden, perhaps the most 

 remarkable which the world had ever seen. 



Impelled by the mild trade-wind, the "Bounty" sped her 

 way through the tropical ocean, but the peace which reigned 

 over the face of nature dwelt not in the hearts of her ill-fated 

 crew. On April 18 a mutinous band, headed by Christian, one 

 of the mates, burst into the captain's cabin, seized him, bound 

 ]iis hands with a cord behind his back, and forced him, along 

 with eighteen faithful adherents, into a boat prepared for their 

 reception. Thirty-two pounds of bacon, 150 pounds of bread, 

 ;in eight and twenty gallon cask of water, four cutlasses, a small 

 (|uantity of rum and wine, a quadrant, a compass, and some 

 canvas and cordage, were handed down to them, and thus they 

 w ere cast adrift, exposed without a cover to the scorching rays 

 ( "f the sun and all the changes of a stormy ocean. 



This strange scene took place about thirty miles from Tofoa, 

 one of the islands which Cook had named the *' Friendly," but 

 which now did but little honour to their name ; for on Bligh's 

 attempting to land for the purpose of obtaining a supply of 

 hread-fruit and water, one of his men was killed by the 

 treacherous savages, and the rest, having no firearms for their 

 defence, with difficulty escaped. 



The last hope of the unfortunate outcasts now consisted in 

 leaching the Dutch colony of Timor, which, although at a 

 distance of 3600 miles, was still the nearest European settlement 

 — a terrible journey in a small heavily-laden boat, whose gun- 

 wale rose scarcely six inches above the" surface of the sea. 

 Fortunately obedience and discipline reigned in that little crew, 

 and after each man had solemnly promised the captain to be 

 satisfied with an ounce of bread and a quarter of a pint of 

 water daily — for their scanty provisions were to last them at 

 least six weeks — they began to steer towards the west. 



The boat was so crowded, that while one half of the crew was 

 sitting and performing its duty, the other half was obliged to lie 

 down on the bottom, where, unable to stretch their limbs, now 

 scorched by the sun, and now exposed in wet clothes to the cold 

 night wind, they were soon tormented with pinching cramps 

 and rheumatic pains. 



On the fifth day of their journey they saw two large canoes 



