Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

mencement of which had been marked by terrible and unusual events, but one that ended most peacefully. He passed away in the presence of his family and of his af fectionate flock, all of whom loved and revered him as a parent.

The son of a lighterman and brother of a waterman of London, John Adams had picked up his little stock of knowledge from printed papers collected in London streets and elsewhere, by the help of which he had taught himself reading and writing. Such was his slender amount of acquirements, when at the age of twenty-two he joined the Bounty as an able-bodied seaman, and at twenty-four found himself on Pitcairn Island, the only protector of so many helpless human beings. Well did he acquit himself of his mission! By the mercy of God, and by the aid of his Bible and Prayer-book, which he had so earnestly studied, John Adams succeeded in establishing such a community as has been the dream of poets and the aspiration of philosophers; and the result of his humble endeavors was shown by the exercise "of all that is lovely and of good report" in the isolated Pitcairn colony, far away in the vast Pacific Ocean.

8*

N.B. Portrait of John Aclams in Beechey, Voyage to the Pacific

V.1,/2.69.

CHAPTER III.

George Hunn Nobbs succeeds John Adams as Pastor of Pitcairn Island. -Emigration to Tahiti.-Return.—Arrival of Joshua Hill.-Arbitrary Proceedings. -Joshua Hill removed from Pitcairn.

THE death of John Adams was a serious blow to the islanders; but he had appointed George Hunn Nobbs, who had a vocation for the ministry, to succeed him in the pastoral office. In addition to a fair amount of education, Mr. Nobbs possessed some knowledge of medicine and surgery, and exercised his skill with much benefit to the community. He was often sorely tried by the want of necessary remedies, the arrival of supplies being very precarious; but his unwearying watchfulness and care greatly tended to alleviate the sufferings of his patients.*

In 1830, the colony consisted of eighty-seven persons, when a long drought, together with a bad season for their plantations, gave rise to fears that they might be overtaken by famine. It had long been a matter of grave consideration that, as their numbers increased, the want of water would be severely felt; and in consequence, a proposal was made to the islanders by the Government to remove them to Tahiti. This proposal in due course was submitted to Queen Pomaré, who seconded it with great

*Mr. Nobbs's remuneration (for in course of time this new arrangement was established) consisted, as pastor, in his house being kept in repair, while, as surgeon, he received three acres of land for cultivation, and, as school-master, the value of a shilling a month each from twenty-five to thirty scholars. But to the children of large families, whose parents could not afford to pay, he gave instruction gratis.

[graphic][merged small]

zeal, and agreed to receive them into her dominions. There was, however, great difference of opinion among the Pitcairners as to the desirability of the change. Some were willing to leave the island; others (and among them Mr. Nobbs) were much opposed to the measure. But the strong ties of relationship and affection which bound together all the members of the little colony finally prevailed; and they determined not to separate. Early in March, 1831, they all embarked in a Government vessel, the Sarah Anne, and arrived at Tahiti on the 21st of the same month. A tract of rich land was assigned to them by the queen, and the Tahitians assisted in collecting wood, and also in constructing houses for their new friends, whom they looked upon as relations. One old woman came from a distance to recognize a long-lost sister in one of the surviving women who had left Tahiti in the Bounty. To the Pitcairners, however, the climate was peculiarly unfavorable, for sickness soon broke out among them; and Thursday October Christian, the first born on Pitcairn Island, fell a victim to this prevailing malady.

Their simple austere mode of life, and their rectitude of conduct, rendered the licentious and lax morality of the Tahitians most repugnant to the Pitcairn people; and, notwithstanding the kind hospitality shown them-especially by the queen-they determined, if even at their own expense, to return to their beloved island home. Some months before the general removal, the Buffett family, and some other, returned to Pitcairn; but they found it a wilderness, and the plantations destroyed by the live-stock which had run wild during their absence. In September, 1831, an American brig brought away all the remaining families from Tahiti, and the queen, who had adopted Reuben Nobbs, and wished to bring him up with her own children, allowed him to accompany his parents, notwith

« ForrigeFortsæt »