Mutiny on the Bounty

by Nordhoff

  The following morning, Friday, September 14, Thomas Hayward gave his evidence. We had awaited this most eagerly. Hayward was the mate of Christian's watch and on deck at the time the mutiny started. I, in particular, was curious to know whether his story would corroborate the account given me by Christian on the day he had called me into his cabin. Hayward made no mention whatever of having been asleep on watch at the time the ship was seized. He said that he was standing aft at that moment, looking over the side at a shark, and that Christian had told him to oversee the vessel while he went below to lash his hammock.

  "A moment later," he went on, "to my unutterable surprise, I saw Christian, Charles Churchill, Thomas Burkitt, one of the prisoners, John Sumner, Matthew Quintal, William McCoy, Isaac Martin, Henry Hillbrandt, and Alexander Smith coming aft, armed with muskets and bayonets. On my going forward to prevent their proceedings, I asked Christian the cause for such an act, and he told me to hold my tongue, instantly. Martin was left as a sentinel on deck, and the rest of the party proceeded to Mr. Bligh's cabin.

  "I heard the cry of 'Murder!' from Mr. Bligh, and heard Christian call for a rope. John Mills, contrary to all orders, cut the deep-sea line and carried a piece of it to them. Thomas Ellison, who was at the helm, quitted it and armed himself with a bayonet. The ship's decks now began to be thronged with men. I saw George Stewart, James Morrison, one of the prisoners, and Roger Byam, another of the prisoners, standing by the booms.

  "As soon as the launch was out, John Samuel, the captain's clerk, John Hallet, midshipman, and myself were ordered into her. We requested time sufficient to collect a few clothes, which was granted. About this time I spoke to either Stewart or Byam, I cannot be positive which, but I think it was Byam. I told him to go into the boat, but in my hurry I cannot remember to have received an answer. When I came upon deck again I saw Ellison standing as one of the sentries over Captain Bligh. We were then forced into the boat. I remember hearing Robert Tinkler, who was not yet in the launch, call out, 'Byam, for God's sake, hasten!' A moment later Tinkler himself came into the launch. He was among the last to enter. When we were towing astern of the ship, I saw the prisoners, Byam and Morrison, standing at the taffrail among the other mutineers. They seemed well content to be there. I remember hearing Burkitt use very abusive language, and I distinctly heard Millward jeering at Captain Bligh. This is all that I know of the mutiny in His Majesty's ship Bounty ."

  The Court asked: "You say that Burkitt used very abusive language while the launch lay astern. To whom did it seem to be addressed?"

  Hayward: To the boat's people generally, I should say.

  The Court: Can you recall what Millward said when he jeered at Captain Bligh?

  Hayward: Yes, precisely. He said, "You bloody villain! See if you can live on half a pound of yams a day."

  The Court: What number of armed men did you perceive on the Bounty on the morning of the mutiny?

  Hayward: Eighteen.

  The Court: Did you hear any of the conversation that passed between Christian and Byam with respect to having the launch in the place of the cutter?

  Hayward: No.

  The Court: Were you on deck during the middle watch on the night before the mutiny?

  Hayward: No.

  The Court: Do you know at what time the prisoner, Byam, came down to the berth on that night?

  Hayward: Yes. I chanced to be awake at that time and I heard the ship's bell strike half-past one.

  The Court: How do you know that it was Byam who came in?

  Hayward: His hammock was next to mine on the larboard side of the berth.

  The Court: Relate everything you remember with respect to Morrison.

  Hayward: I remember seeing Morrison assisting to clear the yams and other supplies out of the launch before she was hoisted out, but I am doubtful whether he was at first under arms or not.

  The Court: Do you mean by this that he was later under arms?

  Hayward: I believe that he was, but I cannot say positively.

  The Court: Did he appear to you, by his conduct, to be assisting the mutineers, or was he merely obeying the orders that were given to get the boat out?

  Hayward: If I were to give it as my opinion, I should say that he was assisting the mutineers. He perhaps might wish to get the boat out to get quit of us as soon as possible.

  The Court: Relate all you know of Ellison.

  Hayward: Ellison was at the helm at the outbreak of the mutiny. Soon after the people had gone below to secure Captain Bligh, quitted the helm and armed himself with a bayonet. Before going into the boat I saw him as a sentinel over Captain Bligh, and I remember him saying, "Damn him, I will be sentinel over him!"

  The Court: Relate all you remember of Muspratt.

  Hayward: I remember seeing Muspratt on the larboard side of the waist with a musket in his hand.

  The Court: Relate all you remember of Burkitt.

  Hayward: I saw Thomas Burkitt come aft, following Christian and Churchill when they went to Captain Bligh's cabin, and I saw him descend the after ladder with them. He was armed with a musket and a bayonet. After the launch was astern I saw him at the taffrail, and heard him using very abusive language to us in the boat.

  The Court: Relate what you remember of Millward.

  Hayward: I saw him armed as one of the sentinels, and after the boat was veered astern, I saw him at the taffrail, where he jeered at Captain Bligh, as I have said.

  The Court: Have you any reason to believe that the prisoner, Byam, would have been prevented from going in the boat at the time you did, had he desired to do so?

  Hayward: No.

  The Court: Where was he at the time the launch was veered aft?

  Hayward: I cannot say, but a moment later I saw him at the taffrail, looking down at us with the other mutineers.

  The Court: Did you hear him make any remarks at that time?

  Hayward: I am doubtful whether I did or not.

  The Court: You have given it as your opinion that Morrison was assisting the mutineers so as to get Captain Bligh and his party out of the ship as soon as possible. In the former part of your evidence you have said that the prisoner, McIntosh, was also assisting to hoist the launch out, and that you did not look upon him as a mutineer. What is the reason for your thinking differently of them?

  Hayward: The difference was in the countenances of the two. The countenance of Morrison seemed to be rejoiced and that of McIntosh depressed.

  Morrison then asked: "You say that you observed joy in my countenance, and you have given it as your opinion that I was one of the mutineers. Can you declare, before God and this Court, that such evidence is not the result of a private pique?"

  Hayward: No, it is not the result of a private pique. It is an opinion I formed after quitting the ship, from the prisoners not coming with us when they had as good an opportunity as the rest, there being more boats than one.

  Morrison: One of the boats, as you know, was badly eaten with worms. Are you certain that we might have had the other?

  Hayward: Not having been present at any conference among you, I cannot say.

  Morrison: Can you deny that you were present when Captain Bligh begged that the boat might not be overloaded; and can you deny that he said, "I'll do you justice, lads"?

  Hayward: I was present at the time Mr. Bligh made such a declaration, but understood it as respecting the clothes and other heavy articles with which the boat was already too full.

  Ellison now put a question which brought into this grimly serious trial the only touch of humour that attended it.

  Ellison: You know that Captain Bligh used these words: "Don't let the boat be overloaded, lads. I'll do you justice." And you say you think this alluded to the clothes and other heavy articles in the launch. Do you honestly think that the words, "I'll do you justice," alluded to the clothes? Or did they allude to Coleman, McIntosh, Norman, Byrne, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Byam, and Mr. Morrison, who would have gone in the launch if there had been room? />
  Ellison scored a point here, for us, not for himself. Even the members of the Court maintained with difficulty their expressions of dignified severity.

  Hayward: If Captain Bligh made use of the words, "My lads," it was to the people already in the boat and not to those in the ship.

  The Court: Your opinion, then, is that Captain Bligh was not alluding to any of the people remaining in the ship?

  Hayward, realizing that the Court itself considered his opinion preposterous, then acknowledged that Bligh might have been referring to those in the ship.

  The malicious manner in which he had testified astonished me. This was particularly true in his evidence concerning Morrison and me. He must have known, in his heart, that we were as innocent as himself; yet he lost no opportunity to throw what doubt he could upon the purity of our intentions. Morrison he had never liked, and this ill-will was heartily returned; but my relations with Hayward on the Bounty , although never cordial, had not been unfriendly. I had the clearest recollection of the events of the mutiny. Hayward had never once spoken to me on that morning, and Stewart had told me that he had only seen Hayward at a distance. And yet Hayward had testified that he had told one or the other of us to go into the boat. The true facts were that he was so terrified throughout the whole of this time as to be ignorant of what he did, or said. It was my opinion at the time of the court-martial, and it is so still, that he arranged his recollections of what had taken place so as to put his own actions in the most favourable possible light. He was a man easily dominated by others of stronger character, and I believe that his long association with Captain Edwards, of the Pandora , who considered all of us piratical scoundrels, had completely coloured Hayward's own opinions.

  John Hallet was called next. He was now in his twentieth year, and I scarcely recognized the thin, frightened-looking boy I had known on the Bounty in the grown man who stood before us. He was dressed in a handsome lieutenant's uniform—a long-tailed coat of bright blue, with white cuffs and lapels and gold anchor buttons. He wore white silk breeches and stockings, and his black pumps shone like mirrors. As he entered the great cabin he removed his cocked hat and placed it under his arm, halting to make a sweeping bow to the President as he did so. Upon taking the stand he glanced at us with an air that said only too plainly: "You see how I have risen in the world? And what are you? Pirates and mutineers!"

  His story was the briefest of any of those yet given, but it was of grave importance to Morrison and myself. He stated with conviction that when the launch was about to leave the Bounty , he had seen Morrison at the taffrail, armed with a musket. He also named Burkitt, Ellison, and Millward as having been armed. His evidence with respect to myself came when he was being questioned by various members of the Court.

  The Court: Did you see Roger Byam on the morning of the mutiny?

  Hallet: I remember to have seen him once.

  The Court: What was he doing at that time?

  Hallet: He was on the platform on the larboard side, upon deck, standing still and looking attentively toward Captain Bligh.

  The Court: Was he armed?

  Hallet: I cannot say that he was.

  The Court: Had you any conversation with him?

  Hallet: No.

  The Court: Do you know whether he was or was not prevented from coming into the boat?

  Hallet: I do not know that he ever offered to go into the boat.

  The Court: Did you hear any person propose to him to go into the boat?

  Hallet: No.

  The Court: Do you know any other particulars respecting him on that day?

  Hallet: While he was standing as I have before related, Captain Bligh said something to him, but what, I did not hear; upon which Byam laughed, and turned and walked away.

  The Court: Relate all you know of the conduct of James Morrison on that day.

  Hallet: When I first saw him he was unarmed; but he shortly afterward 'appeared under arms.

  The Court: How was he armed?

  Hallet: With a musket.

  The Court: At what part of the ship was he when you saw him so armed?

  Hallet: It was when the boat was veered astern. He was leaning over the taffrail, calling out in a jeering manner, "If my friends inquire for me, tell them I am somewhere in the South Sea."

  The Court: Relate all you know respecting Thomas Ellison.

  Hallet: He appeared early under arras, and came up to me and insolently said, "Mr. Hallet, you need not mind this. We are only going to put the Captain on shore, and then you and the others may return."

  The Court: Describe to the Court the situation of Captain Bligh when the prisoner, Byam, laughed and walked away, as you have described.

  Hallet: He was standing with his arms bound, Christian holding the cord in one hand, and a bayonet to his breast with the other.

  Upon the advice of Mr. Graham, I refrained from questioning Hallet at this time.

  "This is the gravest accusation that has been made against you," he whispered, "excepting only Bligh's. Do not examine Hallet upon it now. It will be best to wait until the Court hears your defense. At that time you will have the opportunity to recall any of the witnesses you choose."

  Morrison asked: "You say that you saw me armed at the taffrail. Can you declare, positively, before God and this Court, that it was I and no other person whom you saw under arms?"

  Hallet: I have declared it.

  Morrison: You have sworn that I did jeeringly say, "Tell my friends, if they inquire for me, that I am somewhere in the South Sea." To whom did I address this sneering message?

  Hallet: I did not remark that it was addressed to anyone in particular.

  Morrison: Do you remember that I did, personally, assist you to haul one of your chests up the main hatchway, and whether or not I was armed then?

  Hallet: The circumstances concerning the chest I do not remember. I have before said that I did not see you under arms till after the launch had been veered astern.

  The witness withdrew, and John Smith, who had been Captain Bligh's servant, was called. He was the last witness, and the only one of the Bounty's seamen who gave evidence. In fact, there were only three of the able seamen of the Bounty's company, John Smith, Thomas Hall, and Robert Lamb, who had not been of Christian's party; and of these both Lamb and Hall were dead. Smith's evidence was not of importance to any of us who were before the Court. He testified that, at Christian's orders, he had served out rum to all those under arms; also that he had gone to Captain Bligh's cabin to fetch up his clothes and other articles which were put into the launch.

  This concluded the evidence given by members of the Bounty's company who went into the launch. Captain Edwards and the lieutenants of the Pandora were then called in turn, to testify as to the Pandora's sojourn at Tahiti when the fourteen prisoners were taken. At the sight of Edwards and Parkin, I was conscious of the same feeling of hot anger experienced how many times during the dreary months when we were in their power. Nevertheless, I must do them the justice to say that their evidence as to the proceedings at Tahiti was scrupulously exact. Edwards told how I had come off to the ship when she was still several miles out at sea, explaining who I was and giving him exact information with respect to the other Bounty men then on the island. He also acknowledged that the other men had given themselves up voluntarily. We should have liked to question him with respect to the inhuman treatment we had received at his hands, but this did not concern the mutiny, so we said nothing.

  These were the last of the Crown witnesses, and the Court adjourned until the following day, when we were to be heard in our own defense.

  CHAPTER XXIII.—THE DEFENSE

  Being the only midshipman among the prisoners, I should, as a matter of course, have been the first to be called for my defense; but when the Court met on the Saturday morning, I requested, and was granted, permission to defer presenting my case until Monday morning. Coleman, whose acquittal was a foregone conclusion, was ready to be heard, and was theref
ore called. His statement was brief, and, having given it, he questioned Fryer, Cole, Peckover, Purcell, and others, all of whom testified as to Coleman's innocence, and that he had been detained in the Bounty against his will. The Court then adjourned.

  Nearly the whole of Sunday I spent with my advisor, Mr. Graham. Captain Manly and Captain Bentham, advisors to the other prisoners, came with him, and the three groups separated to various parts of the gun room so as not to disturb one another.

  I had already prepared, in writing, a rough copy of my defense. Mr. Graham went over this with great care, pointing out various omissions and making suggestions as to the arrangement of the matter. He instructed me as to the witnesses I should call and examine, after my defense had been read, and the questions I should ask each one. Hayward had testified that he had been awake on the night before the mutiny and had heard me come down to the berth at half-past one.

  "This evidence is of importance to you, Mr. Byam," Mr. Graham said. "You have told me that Tinkler went down with you at that time and that you bade each other good-night?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Then Hayward must have heard you speak. We must see to it that he acknowledges this. If we can prove that Tinkler was with you it will bear out your account of the conversation with Christian, which Tinkler overheard. Hallet struck you a heavy blow in saying that you turned away laughing after Captain Bligh had spoken to you."

  "There was not a word of truth in the statement, sir," I said, hotly.

  "I am sure there was not. In my opinion neither Hayward nor Hallet made a favourable impression upon the Court. But their evidence cannot be disregarded. Together, it is enough to condemn Morrison; his situation now is much more grave than it was. Did you have an opportunity to observe the actions of Hayward and Hallet on the morning of the mutiny?"

  "Yes, I saw them a number of times."

  "What can you say of them? Were they cool and self-possessed?"

  "On the contrary, they were both frightened out of their wits the whole time, and both were crying and begging for mercy when they were ordered into the launch."

  "It is extremely important that you should bring this out. When you question the other Bounty witnesses, you must examine each of them upon this point. If they agree with you, that Hallet and Hayward were much alarmed, it will throw doubt upon the reliability of their testimony."