MEN IN THE BOUNTY. 31 
plans, they got at the arms, under pretence of 
requiring a gun to shoot a shark, which was 
astern of the ship. 
At the dawn of day, they roughly awoke 
Bligh, who, starting up in amazement, on seeing 
men about him armed with cutlasses and pistols, 
called out loudly for assistance. On his demand- 
ing what they meant, " Hold your tongue, sir, 
or you are dead this instant!" was the answer 
which he received. Some of the mutineers, 
among whom Christian, Churchill, Mills, and 
Burkitt, were the most active, using oaths and 
violence, tied his hands with cords behind his 
back, not giving him time to dress ; and forcing 
him on the deck in his shirt, kept him under 
a guard behind the main-mast. They had 
secured the officers who were not of their party, 
by placing sentinels at their doors. "I con- 
tinued my endeavours," said Bligh, "to turn 
the tide of affairs, when Christian changed 
the cutlass he had in his hand for a bayonet 
which was brought to him ; and, holding me 
with a strong gripe by the cord that tied my 
hands, he, with many oaths, threatened to kill 
me if I would not be quiet." 
The boatswain and others, having been com- 
pelled to hoist out the launch, Bligh and eighteen 
men were forced to go into her, and were 
nuickly veered astern of the ship by a rope. 
The men who remained on board the Bounty, 
were, as Bligh said, " twenty-five of the most 
able men in the ship.' A description of their 
several persons was aiterwards drawn up by 
Bligh and others in the Bounty launch, and 
C 
