PITCAIRN ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 15 May 1890, Page 36

PITCAIRN ISLAND.

In making the passage to South America we had occasion to call at Pitcairn Island, and were consequently able to become acquainted with its little community, wnich will always possess a pecular interest to the English, as consisting of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.

The history of those mutineers is pretty generally known, but may here be briefly repeated. The Bounty, an English sloop-of-war, commanded by Lieutenant Robert Bligh, was sent out to Tahiti in December 1787 for the purpose of obtaining breadfruit trees, to be introduced into certain of the West Indian Islands. She arrived at Tahiti in October JI7BB, and lay there some months. The fascinations of the beautiful island, and perhaps especially of its graceful women, proved strong to the man^of- war's men, so strong, indeed, that a few days after leaving Tahiti on the return voyage a number of the men, headed by a few officers, set the captain, with 19 others who remained loyal to him, adrift in an open boat with a few necessaries, and then took the ship back to Tahiti. Bligh, after great hardships and sufferings, reached the island of Timor, to the southward of Java, in his open boat, a distance of nearly 4000 miles, with the loss of only one life.

Of the mutineers, some who remained in Tahiti were afterwards captured and hung. Nine others took the Bounty, accompanied by their Tahitian wives and a few natives, to Pitcairn Islandj where they burnt her and established a settlement. At first their existence there was a stormy one ; quarrels with the natives they had brought with them led to bloodshed, and in a few years all the mutineers had met with violent deaths except two — Young and Adarcs. These two lived to a ripe old age; in their latter years repentant and pious, bringing up the young people of the colony* in the way of religion and quietness. After Young's death old; Adams continued alone as the teacher and' he'"ad of the community. They increased in numbers to the third generation, and still revered and obeyed this patriarch, living in accordance with his simple and pious precepts. When he died, in 1829, the elder ones remaining carried out the same principles, and to this day the {Pitcairn Islanders remain a model moral community.

In 1856 their numbers had increased beyond the supporting powers of the little .island, and the whole body emigrated to Norfolk Island, some distance to the westward. But in two or throe years a longing for their old home led a number of them back to Pitcairn, where they still remain.. The Queen has always taken an interest in their welfare, and some years ago sent them a fine harmonium for their minature church. The island is also visited at intervals by English men-of-war, who report the progress and the wants of the' islanders. Merchant ships in passing also frequently call.

We anchored off the only available landing place, on the north side of the island. Looking ashore, the appearance of the place is striking, The island is barely three miles long by one broad, yet it is over 1000 ft high, suggestive of some huge submarine mountain protruding its highest peak in mid-ocean. Its steep sides are wooded and green, and descend, broken by an occasional plateau assiduously cultivated, precipitously to the water's edge. The village lies on a slope less steep than the average, and is so hidden among the trees that only a few thatched roofs here and there are visible from the sea. Below the village the slope ends in a red perpendicular cliff 200 ft or so high, at the base of which the surf of the sea beats upon large black detached rocks. On each side of the village stands a tremendous precipice facing the sea, the two about a mile and a-half apart, rising sheer and naked almost the whole height of the island. They look like two stern and mighty giants uprearing boldly to protect the village nestling in pastoral peace on the preen slope between them. This fancy is strengthened in the case of the greater of thejjtwo precipices by a curious resemblance in its upper part to the profile of a man's head, even the eye and mouth being represented by marked ii dentations.^ Near the base of this one the easternmost of the two, is the landingplace, a small sandy coye partly protected by outlying rocks from the swell setting in on the coast.

From this cove a boat put out as we anchored, and as she came alongside and her occupants came over our gangway we scanned them with no little interest. They were, on the whole, an English-looking set of men, dark in complexion in some cases, but in others as fair as" though there had been no admixture of Tahitian blood. They were dressed in European stvls, and had a seafaring appearance, due to their suminautical attire, the result of contact with ships and sailors, and to their occupation of fishing, which forms a part of their daily work. They were headed by Mr Robert M'Coy, a name familiar lo those acquainted with the history of the Bounty mutiny, like the names of ChrisLian and Young, which were largely represented amonp our visitois. Mr M'Coy was the " magistrate " for the time being, an office filled annually by election among the islanders. Owing to the intermarriage of so few in the first place there were a great many of the game name—

cousins, uncles, and nephews. The oldest of the men, Thursday October Christian and Moses Young, were grandsons of the original Bounty mutineers so named.

As we were to remain at the island until the next day I accepted the hospitable offer of Moses Young to spend the night ashore, and shortly afterwards landed under his guidance to view the colony. Disembarking on the little beach, near which was a boathouse and a number of island-built canoes used for fishing purposes, we ascend a steep path of red clay rising sidewise up the face of the bush-grown cliffs, above which it became level, and led up towards the village. It was an exceedingly pretty walk, the path first passing through a wood of tropical beauty, the banks on either side rich with ferns, and then, as the settlement was approached, through patches cultivated with sweet potatoes, yams, arrowroot, pineapples, and bananas.

We found the village to be a collection of well -built wooden.huts, roofed with pandanus leaf, and scattered on the hillside in no sort of order, but connected by neat paths, winding through the groves of orange, hybiscus, lime, and cocoanut trees that sheltered and shaded the settlement. The aspect of the village, thus lying among the trees, as in a wooded garden, was peaceful and pretty. Roses, lilies, and geraniums grew untended near some of the houses, and a few wild flowers added their beauties to the slopes beneath the trees.

In the village we met a number of the J gentler sex, who form a considerable majority of the population. These were for the must part quite fair in complexion, resembling English rustic women, but without the ruddiness of the latter. A few, however, were of the "nut-brown " type, betraying their semi-Tahitian descent. They were all dressed with extreme simplicity, in plain cotton print dresses, generally with a loose bodice or jacket, showing an absence of the confining corset of civilisation. With them was the venerable Mr. Young, a cousin of my host, who acts as pastor to the community. In his company, and that of his wife, kind-hearted and active Mrs Young, I visited the little church, a long, low whitewashed building, not unlike an English cottage. Its interior was neatly furnished with rows of polished benches, and at the east end a little sanctuary was railed off, in which stood a communion table and a handsome American organ presented by Queen Victoria, which was in sad need of repair. The Pitcairn islanders have hitherto steadily maintained in its simplest form the worship of the Church of England, and the earnest steadfastness of their religious belief has always been worthy of high admiration. It will be a matter of regret, therefore, to many who are interested in the little community to hear that within the last year or two their principles have undergone a revolution, and that they have enrolled themselves among the Seventh-day Adventists— a sect originating in the United States. It was with natural surprise that I heard of this change, and in the course of conversation found that its cause was the visit to the island of an Adventist missionary who remained some months inculcating the doctrines of his sect among the islanders. He could have found no better soil in which to sow his doubtful seed. Very earnest and anxious to. learn, implicit believers and reverencers of the 4 Bible, the simple islanders, ignorant of sophistry and the subtleties of Scriptural deductions, listened attentively to the arguments of their fanatical visitor, who, taking ! the Bible as his standpoint, soon convinced them of the soundness of his views. These views (by no means new, of course) are founded chiefly on passages in Daniel and the Revelations, and are sufficiently indicated in the title of the sect. The island was flooded with Seventh-day Adventist literature, emanating from the headquarters of the sect in Michigan, and the islanders were full of the enthusiasm of converts iv the pursuit of their new creed. From the some source as that of their religious teachings the poor Pitcairnites have received pamphlets fulminating against tbe use of tea and coffee, and urging entire abstinence therefrom. These have had their desired effect already on some of the Pifccairn enthusiasts, who, already teetotallers, are denying themselves those domestic comforts. The use of tobacco has also, with perhaps more reason, been given up altogether.

After seeing the church, we visited the large schoolroom adjoining it, where all the children and young women attend daily for instruction. Miss Rosalind Young, the pastor's daughter — a young lady who has made her appearance as an author in an American magazine — is the teacher, her father undertaking the musical department, which is a special feature iv the education of the islanders. We then walked through the village, or rather from house to house, by the paths widening through the wood which shelters the settlement. Orange trees, loaded with green but ripe fruit, abounded by the path-sides, and pineapples, overripe from want of plucking, formed boundaries in places. Bananas, lim.es, papaw, and cocoanuts were plentiful all around. We entered several of the houses, which are all more or less on the same plan, simply but strongly built of wood, and thatched admirably with pandanus leaves. Generally each house consisted of one large centre room, into which one stepped on entering, and of a number of small cabin-like sleeping rooms leading from it, divided into partitions not reaching to the lofty thatched roof. The furniture was simple and well-made, in style much like that of many an English cottage. The domestic life of the Pitcairn islanders, in fact, resembles more that of the English rustic than of the Tahitian native, although characteristics of bcth quaintly blend in some matters. For instance, the Pitcairn women industriou&ly make pretty little baskets woven of leaves by Tahitian art, but adorned with designs of flowers and figures in coloured worsted, with simple English mottoes, much like the ornamental handiwork of some of our rustic maidens. The houses themselves, too, are constructed on Tahitian lines, but English domesticity reigns within. After seeing the village, Mrs Young took me up the hill to see the various plantations. The walk was ot great beauty, for Nature is lavish of her gifts to ihe small island, and its inhabitants have turned them to good, account, each family cultivating patches of vegetable, grain, and i'ruit in all available places, The spath waa steep', but 'my kind

guide, although the oldest woman in the island, displayed an activity that spoke well for the healthiness of the climate. From the summit of the island, swept by the fresh sea breeze, we enjoyed beautiful views of the bold steeps and green ledges below us. Returning to the village at dusk, my host met us, and led me to his house, where a substantial supper awaited us. This disposed of, we adjourned to another house in which a number of the islanders, chiefly women and girls, had assembled for music. This consisted chiefly of part songs and hymns, sung very creditably, showing the good training all had undergone at the hands of Mr Young. The quality of voice in the women possessed something of the peculiarities noticeable in the native singing we had already heard in other islands, and the same tendency to long drawn pauses was sometimes displayed, but all the parts, strictly learnt from note, were true. At half -past 10 (a late hour for islanders) the party dispersed, and I returned with my host to his house, where he left me for the night in as comfortable a little room as one could desire, in which I passed my " night in Pitcairn Island " — a rather unusual experience.

I was awakened at about five in the morning by the sound of singing which proceeded from an adjacent house. Sung fully in parts to a beautiful tune, this morning hymn (for such it was) formed a curious and pleasing reveille, and it was followed in a few minutes by another hymn, similarly sung by the inmates of the house in which I was lying. I could then hear the reading of a chapter of the Bible, each member taking a verse. I afterwards found that this formed the daily practice in every house in the island. When I made my appearance a little later all were astir and at their various domestic occupations indoors and out. Accompanied by some of the islanders, who were s;oing on board the ship, I walked down to the landing place in the fresh coolness of morning, having said "good-bye" to my kind entertainers, who sent baskets of vegetables and fruits down with me as farewell gifts. In a few hours our sails were again spread to the south-east trade wind, and Pitcairn Island, with its curious little community, descended from our countrymen, was numbered among our many memories of the Pacific. — "A Cruise among the South Sea Islands," in the Leisure Hour.