of malt was given to those who appeared worst, salt provisions were stopped, and flour substituted.

"During the passage Mr. Bligh and his messmates, the master and the surgeon, fell out and separated, each taking his part of the stock and retiring to live in his own cabin. Afterwards they had several disputes, and seldom spoke to each other except on duty, and even then with much apparent reserve. Previous to making Tahiti, a dispute happened between Mr. Bligh and Mr. Fryer, the master, relative to signing some books, which the master had refused to sign for reasons best known to himself. Upon this, all hands were called on deck, the Articles of War read and some part of the printed instructions, after which the books and papers were produced, with a pen and ink, and Mr. Bligh said, 'Now, sir, sign these books.' The master took the pen saying, 'I sign in obedience to your orders, but this may be cancelled hereafter.' The books were signed, and the people dismissed to their duties.

"On the 21st October we made the Island of Maytea (or Osnaburgh Island), and stood close in with it, when several of the natives came down on the rocks waving large pieces of white cloth, but none attempted to come off. In the afternoon we bore away for Tahiti; made it about 5 P.M.; bearing N.W., at 8 o'clock hove-to; and at 4 in the morning of the 25th October, 1788, made sail and anchored at 10 A.M. in Port Royal (or Maatavaye) Bay.

"As soon as the ship was anchored, a tent pitched on shore, and the necessary arrangements made for supplies of provisions, the natives brought off plenty

of cocoa-nuts, the milk of which contributed to the recovery of the sick. Ample supplies of fresh provisions and vegetables strengthened the whole of the ship's company, who had suffered much from the hardships of the voyage. At the beginning of November the botanist and his assistant went on shore to reside, and to commence collecting and potting young breadfruit trees. During this period the crew were busily employed curing and salting provisions for the voyage to the West Indies.

"For a time provisions were plentiful, but, as the supplies fell off, Lieutenant Bligh seized everything that came on board, taking all for his own property, and serving them to the men as the ship's allowance at the rate of one pound per man per day. He also seized the pigs belonging to the master, although he had more than forty of his own on board. When the master spoke to him, telling him the pigs were his property, Lieutenant Bligh answered that everything was his as soon as it came on board; that he would take nine-tenths of any man's property, and let them beware of saying anything to the contrary. The natives, observing that the Commander seized everything as it came on board, began to fear that he might take the provisions from the crew without payment. They took every opportunity, therefore, when he was on shore, of bringing off supplies to their friends on board. Lieutenant Bligh observing these proceedings, ordered a book to be kept in the binacle, in which the mate of the watch was to insert the number of all articles of provision that came on board; also the

weight.

His vigilance, however, was evaded by the natives, who resorted to all sorts of artifices so successfully that the sailors had ample supplies.

"The cabin was now fitted to receive the young plants, which were being rapidly collected and all in a very healthy state, when an incident occurred which might have cost Lieutenant Bligh his life. Three of the sailors went on shore in the cutter without leave, and unobserved by Mr. Thomas Hayward, the mate of the morning watch, who was supposed to be asleep. Three weeks elapsed before the men were discovered and brought back to the ship, and certainly they merited punishment. They were put in irons for a month, and then were punished; Churchill receiving two dozen lashes, the others four dozen each. Mr. Thomas Hayward, who had also been in irons for a month, was not flogged as Bligh had intended, but, deservedly, severely reprimanded, and then returned to duty.

"A short time after, two strands of the small bower cable were observed to have been cut at the water's edge; which, as the cable hung under the bottom, was not observed till a squall from the westward brought it to bear ahead, when we hove it in and spliced it before the wind became sufficiently strong to part it. As the buoy had also been cut away and sunk, it was supposed the natives were the authors of the mischief, in order that they might be paid for diving after it. For the time being the secret was kept strictly, but afterwards one of the chiefs, the friend of Mr. Thomas Hayward, said that the bower cable had been cut and the buoy

sunk by his order, that the ship might go on shore and Mr. Bligh fall into his hands; and had Hayward received a single lash he would at once have shot Bligh, having secreted a pistol and standing close to him on deck when the prisoners were brought up for punishment.

“Another man, a native, had committed a robbery on board, and among other things carried off a compass. The man was caught, ordered 100 lashes, and put into irons; but with wonderful ingenuity he contrived to make his escape, when Lieutenant Bligh went on shore and accused Christian-who was on guard with the party at the tent-of not keeping a good look-out, but he said that the weather had been so stormy and the night so dark that it was impossible to see any one who might land. The sentry on deck had heard a plunge overboard, but could see nothing, owing to the tempestuous state of the weather.

"Towards the end of March, 1789, the botanist and his assistants had collected upwards of 1000 breadfruit plants, besides other trees which he considered valuable.

"On the 1st of August they were all safely stowed away on board, together with numbers of pigs, vegetables, fowls, &c., besides a quantity of fresh plantains for sea stock. All, however, were ordered aft-the cocoa-nuts and what live-stock the Lieutenant chose to select; and on the 4th April we bade farewell to the Society Islands. The plantains were ordered to be served out, one pound weight to each man in lieu of bread; and when they were expended, a similar quan

tity of yams or taro-root until we reached Annamooka, one of the eastern range of the Friendly Islands, where we arrived on the 23rd April. Here we remained some days to lay in wood and water. The natives were very troublesome, attempting to steal the casks or any article they could appropriate. In vain muskets were fired at them with the view of intimidation; they only pointed their spears in turn, and raised their clubs in a formidable manner; but, according to Lieutenant Bligh's order, they were not to be interfered with or offended. Mr. Christian, finding it impossible to carry on the duty, informed Mr. Bligh of the circumstances, who, making use of some very strong language, called him 'a cowardly rascal,' and added, 'Are you afraid of a set of savages while you have arms?' To this speech Mr. Christian quietly replied, 'The arms are of no avail, sir, while you prohibit their use.' With some difficulty, and after making presents to the chiefs, who would give nothing without an equivalent, the necessary amount of wood and water was collected; also a number of yams and cocoa-nuts, both of which, in that island, are the largest in the world.

"On the 26th," continues the journal, "we set sail, the wind being light. We made but little way during the night, and next morning, the 27th, the wind continuing in the same quarter, we altered our position very little, being within seven or eight leagues of the island of Tofoa all day. In the afternoon Mr. Bligh came up on the quarter-deck, and missing some of the cocoa-nuts which were piled up between the guns, said they had been stolen, and that it must have been with