Science Friction_ Where the Known Meets the Unknown - Michael Shermer [71]
The Bounty departed Portsmouth on December 23, 1787. Bligh wanted to sail to Tahiti by way of Cape Horn at the tip of South America, in order to complete a circumnavigation of the globe, a feat he hoped would enhance his climb up the naval chain of command. But because of over a month in delays in getting under way, the Bounty arrived at the Cape during the high storm season. After a month of being pounded by high seas and thunderous rains, Bligh relented and turned the ship eastward toward Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, where they would find their way to Tahiti in a different (but less glorious) direction.
The Bounty finally arrived in Matavai Bay, Tahiti, October 26, 1788, for a total sailing time of ten months, three days, and a remarkable 27,086 miles. Five months later, the ship departed Tahiti, on March 28, 1789, a longer stay than planned due to the failure of a sufficient number of breadfruit seedlings to sprout. During this delay, many of the men participated fully in village life, including taking on native lovers. Fletcher Christian, who was put in charge of collecting the breadfruit plants, was reportedly among those most eager to embrace local customs, including procuring for himself a number of Polynesian tattoos (including those traditionally required for marriage eligibility) and taking on a permanent lover with whom he cohabitated.
On the return voyage tensions mounted. Bligh and Christian led a shore party to the small island of Anamooka to procure fresh water, but Christian’s group had been thwarted by the natives and Bligh damned him “for a Cowardly rascal, asking him if he was afraid of a set of Naked Savages while He had arms,” crewman James Morrison later recalled, “to which Mr. Christian answered ‘the Arms are no use while your orders prevent them from being used.’” (Bligh had instructed the men not to bear arms directly because it might incite the natives, but instead keep them nearby just in case. The result was that the natives surrounded the men, stole some tools, and chased them away from the watering hole.) Christian grew ever more restless, confiding to midshipman Edward Young that he wanted to build a raft and paddle to a small island the ship was passing, then make his way back to Tahiti. Young pointed out that the sharks would probably nab him before Bligh could, and Bligh later penned his opinion of the plan: “That Christian . . . intended to go onshore 10 leagues from the land on a fair Plank with two staves for Paddles with a roasted Pig is too ridiculous.” Christian hatched an alternative plan and bided his time.
On the calm clear evening of April 27, by the glow of a volcanic eruption from the island of Tofua in the distance, Bligh came on deck and noticed that some coconuts had gone missing. He immediately called for the master of the ship, John Fryer, who recalled that Bligh admonished, “Mr. Fryer, don’t you think that those Cocoanuts are shrunk since last Night?” Fryer thought not, but Bligh insisted “that they had been taken away and that he would find out who had taken them.” In a scene reminiscent of that from the film The Caine Mutiny, in which Humphrey Bogart’s Captain Queeg has a paroxysm over missing strawberries and turns the ship upside down looking for them, Bligh called all officers on deck and grilled them one by one. According to James Morrison, Bligh “questioned every Officer in turn concerning the Number they had bought, & coming to Mr. Christian askd Him, Mr. Christian answerd ‘I do not know Sir, but I hope you don’t think me so mean as to be Guilty of Stealing Yours.’ Mr. Bligh replied ‘Yes you dam’d Hound I do—You must have stolen them from me or you could give a better account of them—God dam you you Scounderels you are all thieves alike, and combine with the men to rob me—I suppose you’ll Steal my Yams next, but I’ll sweat you for it you rascals I’ll make half of you jump overboard before you get through Endeavour Streights.’” Oddly, in an apparent gesture of reconciliation, Bligh granted the men a pound