THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 281 



are skilful navigators, and I have often observed 

 with pleasure how on their ships they set to work 

 with skill and agility." 



Kohler describes the process of committing the 

 body of a dead seaman to the deep, explaining that 

 the corpse is not tied to a board, but sunk by means 

 of a stone or other heavy substance. " Der 

 Seeman halt es,fur Schande und Schimpf wenn sein 

 Korper auf der See herum schwimmen sollte." 

 The cook-house (galley) next occupies his attention. 

 " There is no fear of my making my readers' mouths 

 water. At four o'clock in the morning we get 

 coarse groats with some butter, and so one morning 

 like another. Dinner shows very little variation. 

 On Sunday grey peas with pickled meat, Monday 

 yellow peas and Stockfish, Tuesday grey peas and 

 meat, Wednesday yellow peas and Stockfish, 

 Thursday the same, Friday grey and meat, Satur- 

 day yellow and Stockfish ; and so the loathsome 

 grey and yellow change about one week with the 

 other." Only twice did they get white beans and 

 twice sauerkraut; they rejoiced for several days 

 when it was anything but peas. On the 28th May, 

 the captain's birthday, they had a feast with twenty- 

 two bottles of wine, with which they drank the King 

 of Denmark's health. The captain also supplied 

 a few potatoes for some of the crew, and Kohler 

 was in luck's way for once, for he got a whole 

 potato and a piece. " Das war ein kostlicher 

 Leckerbissen." 



The ship's bread was bad, and often so old as to 



