Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara Volume Iii Part 13

Another impediment to our attempt to get nearer to the zero point of minimum declination presented itself in the far from healthy state of the s.h.i.+p's crew. A peculiar endemic colic,[99] called by the French at Tahiti _colique seche_, or _colique vegetale_ (dry or vegetable colic), was rapidly extending among the men, and had already carried off one victim, a sailor, who died after a short illness on the morning of the 9th March, and was committed to the deep the same day with the customary solemnities.

By 17th March, in 15 52' S., and 137 23' W., the declination of the magnetic needle had diminished to 5-1/2 E., and thus far agreed pretty accurately with that indicated by the charts; it is not, however, likely that it actually falls to a zero point, but rather diminishes gradually as the central point is approached, which would hardly be the case if the declination actually fell to zero.

By 25th March we found ourselves about the lat.i.tude of Pitcairn Island, from which we were barely one hundred miles distant. This island, so singular alike by its physical features and its remarkable history as the retreat of the surviving mutineers of the _Bounty_ with their families, has latterly had its interesting population removed to Norfolk Island, where there was room for the simple G.o.d-fearing community to increase its numbers without the risk of an excess of population over the resources of the soil, as there appeared reason to apprehend had they been left on Pitcairn Island.

The story of the mutiny itself, the escape and subsequent career of Captain and Admiral Bligh, the extraordinary change that came over Adams when, ere ten years had pa.s.sed, he found himself the sole survivor of the mutineers, all but one of whom died a violent death, and the hardly less marvellous manner in which this primitive community was discovered, after the lapse of nearly thirty years, are themes that need no recapitulation here. Much less known however is their subsequent, hardly less singular, destiny, and it will not, therefore, be out of place if, in the interests of the general reader, we vouchsafe a pa.s.sing notice of their strange career.

In 1814, twenty-five years after the mutiny, Sir Thomas Staines in H.M.S.

_Briton_ visited the island, at which time the little colony consisted of 46 individuals, 38 of whom had been born thus far from all civilization.

Nevertheless the little community were living contented and happy in all the simplicity of a patriarchal family, and in the cultivation of the cardinal virtues of Christian morality, inculcated by the now venerable Will. Adams, such as thankfulness to the Creator of all things, patience, gentleness, and neighbourly love.

The very singular origin of this exemplary race repeatedly attracted pa.s.sing s.h.i.+ps to this little-known island, and this intercourse did not fail to exercise a pernicious effect upon the spiritual-mindedness of the islanders, the more so that there were among these numbers of desperate adventurers, who did all in their power to mislead this simple-minded race.

When Captain Beechy, in 1825, approached the island in his s.h.i.+p _Blossom_, he perceived a small boat standing off towards him under full sail. On board were Adams himself and several of his pupils. They requested permission to come on board, and hardly waiting for an answer, the little active lads had clambered up and stood on the quarter-deck. Adams had lost his youthful agility, and for a moment seemed to hesitate. The sight of a man-of-war, it may well be conceived, made a deep impression upon him. It called up too many mournful recollections, and when he beheld the cannon and all the "circ.u.mstance of war," with which in his youth he had been familiar, he could no longer restrain himself, and tears of emotion flowed down his wrinkled cheeks and silvery beard. At this period the island boasted 66 inhabitants, and the old man felt deep anxiety lest the little spot of earth to which he was banished apparently without hope of reprieve, should ere long prove insufficient to provide adequate support or even s.p.a.ce for its rapidly-increasing population.[100] He spoke to the excellent Beechy upon the subject, and implored the English Government to provide his little flock with a more comfortable abiding-place under the English sceptre, and better adapted to the wants of his rapidly-increasing posterity.

On 5th March, 1829, Adams expired at the age sixty-five, surrounded by his children and descendants. In the latter days of his illness, during the short intervals of ease which his intermittent agony left him, he expressed a wish that the community would during his life select some one to be their head; however, out of respect for the venerable sufferer, this was not carried out officially, but after the death of Adams, Edward Johnny, son of one of the seamen of the _Bounty_, a.s.sumed the Presidency of the little colony, while renouncing the honorary t.i.tle.

Under him the Anglo-Tahitian settlers enjoyed visible prosperity, when an unexpected event destroyed for ever the placid tenure of their existence, and compelled them to leave their beloved island. On his return to Europe, the gallant Beechy, intending to confer a real benefit on the gentle people in whom he felt so lively an interest, had laid before the British Government Adams' dying request, in consequence of which an English man-of-war and a transport made their appearance from Port Jackson, Australia, in March, 1831, to transport the whole of the inhabitants to Tahiti, which European nations regarded as the most suitable spot for them to be settled in. The Pitcairn Islanders were in despair, for, when made aware of the steps taken by "Father Adams" through Captain Beechy to get them placed under the British Crown, the good folks had long before written to England and urgently entreated that they would not remove them from their own hearth; but their entreaties seem not to have reached the proper quarter, or else to have received no attention, and now that the two s.h.i.+ps lay off the island, evincing the interest taken by the English Government in their future destiny, they could not venture on refusing to embark. They had to content themselves with the a.s.surance that they should be restored to Pitcairn Island, in the event of their not finding themselves comfortable in their new asylum.

By the end of March, 1831, they reached Tahiti. Although Queen Pomare had set apart a certain tract of land for them to settle in, and manifested the warmest interest, and though the usually frivolous but hospitable and kindly Tahitians received the new arrivals in the most cordial manner, the pure minds of the latter were so disgusted and revolted with what they saw at Papeete, that the very day after they disembarked, they loudly declared that under no circ.u.mstances would they remain there, and therefore claimed to be taken back to Pitcairn's Island. When it was found that all representations failed to induce them to make any stay at Tahiti, a few Protestant missionaries got up, in conjunction with some English residents, a fund of some 400, with which they chartered a schooner, for the purpose of restoring the Pitcairn Islanders to their rocky paradise in the solitudes of the Pacific, for which they felt such an irresistible homesickness. In August of the same year the return voyage took place.

During their short stay at Tahiti, fourteen had died of sheer grief and anguish of mind, like plants that had been transplanted into a foreign soil. Although only six months absent in all from Pitcairn Island, there was not one single family but had to regret the loss of some beloved member!

Despite their bitter experience hitherto, the old terror of over-population again arose in the bosoms of the Pitcairners, after a series of prosperous and peaceful years, and a wish began to be frequently expressed that at least a portion of the inhabitants could be drafted off to some other island. In order to comprehend and do justice to this feeling, one must place oneself in the position of a resident on an extremely small solitary island in the ocean, which is often for years cut off from any communication with the outer world, and every corner of which has already been cultivated to the utmost: would it not be a pardonable anxiety, which in view of such circ.u.mstances should fill with gloomy forebodings the heart of every prudent head of a family, and make him hesitate between love for his native soil, and the desire to preserve independence and comfort to his family?

A second attempt at acquiring a settlement beyond their own confined limits was not more fortunate than the first. The Government of England, with the meritorious care for the interest of even the poorest of her subjects in the most remote regions of the globe, which is one of her n.o.blest characteristics, once more dispatched a s.h.i.+p of war to Pitcairn, with orders to transport the inhabitants to Norfolk Island between New Zealand and New California, of the marvellous climate, vegetation, and fertility of which the most glowing accounts were in circulation. A few plants which had been conveyed thence by English navigators to Europe had excited universal astonishment--such exquisite forms of vegetation, it was thought, could only form part of some landscape of marvellous beauty and richness. And one must, in fact, have seen the _Araucaria excelsa_, the well-known Norfolk Island pine, in order rightly to understand these raptures. Such an island, it was thought, with an equable climate, fertile, and of adequate extent, must be the very thing for the idyllic life of such a people as the Pitcairn Islanders. Adams' descendants and their kinsmen accordingly suffered themselves to be persuaded into trying this change, the more so that their own island was beginning, as had long been foreseen, to prove too small for them, and the possibility of a deficiency of food began to a.s.sume an appalling air of probability.

In May, 1856, the British Government expended 5000 in sending another s.h.i.+p from Sydney to Pitcairn, to carry out the wishes of the inhabitants and their advocates in England, by transporting the entire community to Norfolk Island. There were in all 193 souls, viz. 40 men, 47 women, 54 boys and 52 girls, who now said farewell to the land of their birth. But on this occasion also the elder seemed to feel an antic.i.p.ation of their speedy return, and before they embarked they took every possible precaution to ensure their finding their dwellings in the same order in which they were leaving them. They placed written bills on the doors of their houses, in which they requested all visitors to abstain from injuring their property, as they were only leaving the island for an indefinite visit, and would very speedily return to their old quarters.

They killed all the pigs and dogs upon the island, lest the first should violate the sanct.i.ty of the grave, and the latter injure their flocks and herds.

By the ensuing harvest-time they were installed in their new home.

Provided for the first time by the English Government with the requisite means of subsistence, as well as agricultural implements, &c., they seemed to feel themselves quite at home, and their friends and well-wishers in England began to indulge hopes that they had at last found at Norfolk Island the long-wished-for asylum, and as energetic and industrious landowners would at once benefit themselves and develope the resources of the island. These pleasing antic.i.p.ations were the more natural, as for a number of years nothing more was heard of the "Pitcairn Islanders," except that everything was going on prosperously and quietly in the new colony.

While the _Novara_ was lying at Sydney, in November and December, 1858, intelligence was received respecting these colonists, in whom, on account of their singular history, the deepest interest was felt there as elsewhere. In the (then) Governor-general's (Sir W. Denison's) residence we saw a photographic group of the islanders, male and female, whose pleasing expression involuntarily excited profound sympathy for the persons thus represented. Since their arrival in Norfolk Island there had been no more definite news concerning them.

At New Zealand, in like manner, nothing was known of what they were doing.

At St. John's College, Auckland, we quite accidentally fell in with two young well-grown men, who we were told were Pitcairn Islanders in the course of education for missionaries. There was in their faces a mild, half-melancholy expression; they spoke perfectly good English, but in the most ordinary conversation used Scriptural phraseology. It was known that when he began to instruct the younger members of the community Adams possessed only a Bible and some religious books. Thus they not only were instructed in the Book of books, but even in ordinary life the biblical phraseology and peculiarity of expression still clung, even to the fourth generation.

During our visit to Tahiti we heard one day that the schooner _Louisa_, Captain Stewart, had just arrived from Pitcairn Island, whither he had transported a number of its former inhabitants from Norfolk Island. We resolved to get speech with this gentleman, in order that we might gather from his own lips the details of his voyage. It so chanced that he stayed in the house of an English settler, who had let to us a small palm-hut during our stay at Papeete. We very soon struck up an acquaintance.

Captain Stewart, a genuine Englishman in appearance, character, and expression, explained to us in brief terms that he had at their own cost transported a number of the Pitcairners from Norfolk Isle to their old home, and, during the voyage, which lasted some weeks, had kept a pretty full journal. "But," continued the truth-loving captain, "I am not at present in a position to give you any circ.u.mstantial details respecting them. Business compels me to go over to the island of Eimeo, and by the time I return hither the _Novara_ will be well on her way to Valparaiso. I am likewise bound, however, for the west coast of South America, in fact to Valparaiso, and shall probably arrive there a few weeks after you. I promise you, during my voyage thither, to jot down the most important data I can recall respecting these islanders, and they shall be placed at your disposal immediately on my arrival in Valparaiso." We thanked Captain Stewart for his kindness, and we parted with a vigorous "shake hands" of genuine English cordiality.

The reader will see in the subsequent chapter how honourably the worthy skipper kept his word. Two months later, after we had sailed over 5220 nautical miles, we were handed the promised information; but to preserve uniformity we shall present the reader at once with this comprehensive sketch of the present state of Pitcairn and its amiable inhabitants, as furnis.h.i.+ng the latest particulars of the islanders, which are now for the first time published in Europe.

"Captain Stewart had been in communication with the inhabitants of Pitcairn in November, 1858. Landing at Norfolk Island, in the course of a voyage in the South Sea, the community chartered his schooner to convey certain of their number back to Pitcairn Island. They declared they had only quitted Pitcairn in consequence of the glowing description given them of Norfolk Island. Instead of the promised superabundance, they could only by dint of severe labour provide themselves with the ordinary necessaries of life. Their staple of food was sweet potatoes and a small quant.i.ty of meat, in fact, a single bullock, which by permission of Government they slaughtered once a week, and the flesh of which served the entire community.

"Besides all this, the rudeness of the climate did not seem to suit them, and diseases seemed to become more and more frequent among them. In fact, it turned out that the natural advantages of Norfolk Island had been persistently overrated by early visitors, the consequence being that the poor Pitcairners found themselves woefully disappointed in the expectations they had formed of their sojourn in this terrestrial paradise.

"The scenery of the island is everywhere lovely, and the peculiarity of its vegetation, especially when seen from seaward, exercises a kind of fascination over the beholder; but the ground, which is the most important consideration for the settler, who is bound to the soil, not by the sublime and beautiful, but by the useful, is very far from being fertile, and the sole descriptions of produce extensively raised are maize and sweet potato. Wheat and barley are so exposed to frost and mildew that only one crop out of several proves remunerative, and the potato makes so small a return, in consequence of the amount of seed and labour required, that it is only cultivated as a rarity. Even the commonest vegetables are scanty and of poor quality, and under these circ.u.mstances it is at least probable that the cultivation formerly carried on by the English convicts and criminals, in which the results would naturally exceed expectation, had led to the mistaken idea that Norfolk Island was fertile. It is about 9000 English acres (14 English square miles) of superficial area, of which about 1500 acres only are cleared, and but one half of that, or one-twelfth of the whole, suitable for cultivation.

"It is just possible to land on either the south or north sides, if _the water be smooth_; the little village is situated near the former, and consists of about 100 'block-houses' of various dimensions. There are also a number of stone-buildings upon the island, which speak of the times when the island was a penal settlement, and comprises a large prison for about 2000 convicts, besides the necessary barracks for the military guard; a church, a hospital, magazines, and dwelling-houses for the Governor, the chaplain, the inspector, the officers, &c., buildings which, taken in conjunction with the grave-mounds and frail tombstones of the adjoining churchyard, tell a mournful tale to the visitor of the earlier inhabitants, and of the tragic fate of many thousands who must have toiled and sunk under their hopeless doom in Norfolk Island.

"The Pitcairn Islanders occupied the houses constructed for the Government officials, and had not shown the slightest attempt to settle upon spots suitable for agriculture. When the British Government made the island over to them to be cleared and reclaimed there were about 2000 head of sheep, several hundred cattle, 20 draught horses, and a large number of swine and poultry. In addition to this handsome present, Government gave them provisions for six months, besides agricultural implements, seeds of various useful plants, and vegetables of every description. There were also two sloops, of about 15 tons each, left at the island, besides a complete stock of household necessaries. All the above were made a free gift of to the islanders by the British Government, which merely reserved to itself a part of what used to be the prison-buildings, in case it should wish to devote them to its former purposes at some future period.

"When Captain Stewart visited Norfolk Island, in 1858, the population consisted of 219 Pitcairn Islanders, and two English soldiers with their families, employed as surveyors by Government.

"On the day of his arrival a public meeting was held, at which the chief magistrate of the community presided, and the females played a not unimportant part. It was arranged that for a certain sum Captain Stewart should convey 60 of the Pitcairn Islanders to their old abode. A special motion for the purpose was put to the meeting with all due form, seconded, and reduced to writing on either side. At the same time it was imperatively ordered that all should be ready to embark on the fourth day thereafter, and as there is but one, and that not a very safe, anchorage off the whole coast of the island, the Captain stood off and on in its neighbourhood.

"The eve of the fated fourth day found the delicate question still unsettled of who were to be the happy 60, so many had set their hearts on forming part of the expedition. A second meeting was convened, this time under the presidency of their chaplain, but the only result was to defer for one day the embarkation. During this entire period the poor people were in the utmost excitement. The place of embarkation was covered with the baggage of all who were desirous of returning to Pitcairn's Island; but, as in consequence of their original descent there have been such frequent intermarriages, and hence such close relations.h.i.+p, reminding one of the clans of Scotland, it was impossible to decide who was to go and who to remain. At length, on the expiry of the last day left them to decide, it was arranged that in the event of Captain Stewart proving unable to take off two entire families or clans (about 100 persons), only one should be taken to Pitcairn. The Captain hesitated at venturing on so long a voyage with such a number of souls in so small a vessel. He therefore took on board only 17 of the islanders, men, women, and children, whom he landed at Pitcairn Island, after a voyage of 42 days, amid tears of rapture at finding themselves on the well-remembered spot.

The notifications they had attached to their doors on leaving had not entirely answered their expectations. During their absence several of the huts had been gutted, and a large number of the oxen had been carried off.

However, it was not altogether malice or wanton destruction which had diverted to other purposes their cherished household G.o.ds. Shortly before their arrival, in a wild night of storms, the American clipper _Wild Wave_ had been wrecked on a coral reef, not far from Pitcairn, and a part of the crew, having succeeded in reaching the island, were compelled to avail themselves of the building material, thus collected to hand for them, with which to construct a boat, in which, with true sailor-like hardihood, to face the winds and waves once more. For this purpose the church and some twenty huts came handy, while a plentiful stock of goats, sheep, and poultry were roaming at large about the island. A considerable quant.i.ty of valuable tropical fruit was hanging ripe upon the trees, and seemed only awaiting the return of the former owners to be plucked for use.

"The baggage was speedily landed, and an unusual activity prevailed, with the view of getting housed as speedily as possible. It was plain these poor people had never expected again to get possession of a domain which they had abandoned through ignorance and misrepresentation. The reverent air with which they entered their huts and gazed around with keen scrutinizing glance to see if all had been left in its former state, showed with what love and veneration they clung to this gloomy possession of their progenitors, with all its melancholy traditions, which seemed to exercise over them a deeper attraction than the majestic ruins of a princely ancestral castle, with all its world-famous memories, sometimes does upon the youthful representative of its pristine glories.

"The important part played by the women during the consultations held at Norfolk Island seemed anew to be claimed by the fair s.e.x at Pitcairn, and Captain Stewart could not sufficiently wonder at the high social position they occupied in the little community. The ladies for their part made the most of this privilege, and their utmost efforts were directed towards justifying it by their activity in household matters."

Such is the latest that is known as to the Pitcairn Islanders and their singular destiny. It is not at all improbable that the majority of their kindred will gradually find their way back to the original seat of their race, there to end their days.

Making all allowance for their apt.i.tude and their natural preferences, their innate timidity and lack of decision must leave a painful impression upon every impartial mind; but this prominent trait of character seems to have a deep-seated physiological basis. The "Mutiny of the _Bounty_" was followed by a natural reaction. The ever-present dread of discovery, which constantly haunted Christian and his criminal a.s.sociates, and to their dying day deprived them of all tranquillity of mind, was transmitted, but in a milder form, to their descendants, and struck root in their bosoms in a feeling of dependence and excessive timidity, which prevented even their grand-children from attaining tranquillity, and from becoming not to say intellectual, but even useful, members of society. Will, courage, independence, seem for ever to have fled from the breast of the Pitcairn Islanders, who, on the other hand, have many virtues well calculated to excite our sympathies, and of whom especially the founder of this simple-minded community, the energetic, clear-sighted Adams, has, by his actions, proved anew the truthfulness of the saying, "Whoever has the power to WILL (a thing) can perform miracles!"

Our voyage to the west coast of America was speedy, though rather stormy.

Seldom were the heavens clear, and alternately with violent rains, we felt that discomfort arising from constant motion, the result of heavy seas and tremendous rolling, to which the voyager is so frequently exposed.

On 4th April, at night, while shortening sail, owing to the violence of the wind and the threatening aspect of the weather, one of the crew was precipitated from the main-top-gallant-yard, a height of 125 feet above the deck. Being caught as he fell among the shrouds and rigging, he succeeded in catching hold of one, and so with diminished force fell into the main-top, a fall of 69 feet, upon which some of his comrades, going to his a.s.sistance, rescued him from further danger, when he was found to have suffered so little, that he returned to duty the following day!

On the 11th, without any particularly heavy weather, the main-yard suddenly snapped in two. On a more minute investigation it was found that it had become greatly weakened by dry rot, so much so that it could no longer be used. It was fortunate this took place during ordinary weather, so that the two fragments could be lowered without much difficulty. In a high sea and heavy weather, such an accident is often attended by most lamentable results, for two pieces of timber, each above 40 feet in length, measuring 21 inches at the thickest, by 8 inches at the smallest diameter, and several thousand pounds in weight, can hardly come rattling down upon the hull of the s.h.i.+p without inflicting serious injury, and endangering the lives of numbers of men.

As we had no spare main-yard, we had to sling a smaller one till our arrival at the nearest port, giving rather a singular appearance to the vessel, but without perceptibly affecting her speed.

In 34 S. and 76 W., the temperature of the ocean was observed suddenly to fall 3.1 Fahr., and we now, for a distance of about 200 nautical miles, were in what is known as Humboldt's current, which carried us towards N. by W. at a velocity of from half to three-quarters of a mile per hour. Our experience of this renowned current, so far at least as regards the season of the year, and the lat.i.tude and longitude in which it is fallen in with, are widely different from those statistics which represent it as sensibly felt at a distance of from 800 to 1000 miles off the W. coast of South America.

On the 16th, the faint outline was visible of Aconcagua, the highest of the Chilean Andes, and a few hours later we made the lighthouse of Valparaiso. A light breeze with a heavy sea made it seem advisable not to run in during the night, the result of which was that on the following morning it was only by the efforts of some tow-boats dispatched to our a.s.sistance by the commander of H.B.M. s.h.i.+p of the line "_Ganges_," and the French corvette "_Eurydice_" that we were enabled, by 3.30 P.M., to reach Valparaiso in the midst of a profound calm, when our anchor was let go in 25 fathoms, good holding ground, in an excellent roomy berth, away from the bustle of the merchantmen.

The voyage from Tahiti, 5000 nautical miles, was accomplished in 48 days, and although a considerable portion must be marked as "lost," owing to our having steered for the zero point of magnetic declination, we yet arrived at our destination sooner than merchantmen which left Papeete before us, or in company, but had steered south of the Paomotu group.

Mr. Flemmich, the Austrian Consul-general at Valparaiso, immediately sent our letters on board, but the regular packet, which we had expected to find here before us, had not come in, and the delay served to double the anxiety of all on board, in view of the political clouds that were hovering over our native land.

FOOTNOTES:

[60] The original spelling of the name of this island arose from ignorance of the language. To the question, "_Eaha tera fenua?_" (What is the name of this island?) the natives replied, "_O Tati Oia._" The article was thus taken for the first syllable and the island was called _O Taheite_.

Since then the thorough knowledge we have acquired of the language has rectified the mistake. In Tahitian the two verbs "to be" and "to have" are altogether wanting. _O_ is simply the nominative of an article which very frequently is placed before a proper name to give it emphasis, or even for the sake of euphony. _O_ accordingly is used in the above sentence merely to imply "it is." A literal translation from Tahitian into any European language is in most cases impossible. Occasionally one finds Tahiti mentioned by the names of _La Sagittaria_, _King George the Third's Island_, _Nouvelle Cythere_, and _Amat_.

[61] The derivation of the name Pomare, which has since become that of the Tahitian dynasty, is purely accidental. The father of Otu was once travelling among the mountains, and had to camp out in the open air. The bad weather gave him a violent cold with hoa.r.s.eness, which induced one of his companions to name the night spent in such discomfort _Po-mare_, i. e.

a night (po) of cough (mare). The chieftain so acutely felt the pertinency of this name that he adopted it as his _own_ name.--(Vide _Ellis, Polynesian Researches_, vol. ii. p. 70.)

[62] These four missionaries were named Chrysostome Liansu, Francois d'a.s.sis Caret, Honore Laval, and Columban Murphy, an Irish catechist.

[63] Vide Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, No. xli. p. 31.