BROTHER LEO SAILS IN THE STEPS OF MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY CREW; TRAVELS TO HISTORIC PITCAIRN ISLAND

Who has not heard of the famous Mutiny on the Bounty? To have heard the story of the Mutiny is to have heard about Pitcairn Island. Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, another native Iowan from Colfax, both of whom lived in Tahiti, wrote what has become the “Bounty Trilogy.” The mutiny on the Bounty was a historical fact. Acting Lt. Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against William Bley, Captain of the HMS Bounty, on April 28, 1789. The mutiny and the subsequent escape of the Bounty, the survival of Captain Bley and the ultimate hideaway of the mutineers formed the basis for the three novels of the trilogy.
The most famous of the trilogy is the “Mutiny on the Bounty.” Six times it has been made into a film, first as a silent film with Wilton Power as Fletcher Christian (1916) and four times as a "talkie" with Christian portrayed by Errol Flynn (1932), Clark Gable (1935), Marlon Brando (1962) and Mel Gibson (1984).
The second book in the trilogy is about the extraordinary sea voyage of Capt. Bley across the South Pacific, to Australia, up the Barrier Reef, through the Torres Straits to East Timor and back to England. That story is “Man Against the Sea.” The third volume is “Pitcairn Island,” the story of the remote Pacific island which Fletcher Christian discovered, adopted, and thereby successfully eluded the British warship which had been sent to pursue them.
That was 1790. The Bounty was beached, burned and sunk. For the next 20 years no one had any idea where they had disappeared to or whether they might have been lost at sea. Discovery of Pitcairn and life on the island is the theme of the third novel. Most people have read or seen the movie of Mutiny; fewer have read the other two.
Last Fall on my way to Waukon, Larry Wolfe and I stopped at an antique store in McGregor and among the used books I found a copy of “Pitcairn Island” for all of one dollar. It was perfect reading in preparation for our ship call at Pitcairn. The ship showed Bounty movies, especially Gable and Brando, several times before reaching Pitcairn. And we had the time. We sailed from Easter Island to Pitcairn. Easter was 2,350 miles from Chile; to the west Tahiti was another 2,300 miles. Somewhere between Easter and Tahiti - in fact, some 1,500 miles away, was another fly speck in the Pacific called Pitcairn. The reason Fletcher Christian could evade discovery for twenty years was due to a mistake in charting the island. It was recorded some 250 miles of its actual location. Ships sailing the Pacific in those days simply did not find the island. Our Captain had better navigational equipment and so we were on target for Pitcairn.
What actually happened was that a U.S. ship, The Topaz, saw smoke from this presumably uninhabited island. The Captain was curious. Then alongside the ship came several youth in a long boat speaking English. The secret was discovered. Visiting the island, it was discovered that Fletcher and the other mutineers were all deceased whether by murder, suicide or natural causes and only one was still alive. In fact, Smith, who had assumed the name John Adams, was the only male on the island. He had become "father" to all, teacher of the children, and through a religious conversion using the Bible and Book of Common Prayers, had taught them religion. Impressed by his community leadership, his teaching and religious influence, the British authorities decided to leave him alone. John Adams died a natural death in 1829. The only city on Pitcairn is Adamstown.
Pitcairn is quite inaccessible and rarely visited except by periodic supply ships enroute from Panama to New Zealand. Pitcairn is the last British possession in the Pacific. Pitcairn, with its population of 44, is the smallest country in the British Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth is Head of State; the High Commissioner in New Zealand is Governor; and the Island Administrator lives in Auckland, New Zealand. A local council governs the island. The island is named after a Major Pitcairn who first sighted the island in 1767 while sailing on a British vessel. Almost everyone who lives on the island is a descendent of Fletcher Christian. We were to meet several of them.
Excitement was high on OE 1 about our rare passenger ship visit to Pitcairn. The question for 1500 miles was whether or not we would be able to land. Pitcairn is a tiny volcanic speck of land one mile by two miles. It made Easter Island seem to be a major Pacific island by contrast. Actually there are four little islands: Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno in this Tuomotu Archipelago, but only Pitcairn is occupied.
Whether we could land on shore was a question. There is no beach; the bay is too small for an ocean ship. The shore is one of rocks and boulders, and one possibility involves a narrow site yet faces a 1000 foot sheer cliff. Our landings would be by zodiac, but the Captain would only allow landings if they could be executed safely. The possibility was remote, but hope springs eternal.
Then it was Tuesday, Jan. 18. We were scheduled to arrive at Pitcairn at 1000, but by 0830 Pitcairn was directly ahead of OE 1. The bow of the ship was rows deep of passengers photographing the island (myself included). Yesterday is looked like zodiac landings would be possible. Today a morning Pacific rain cloud drenched the deck observers. Soon we experienced ocean swells, heightened waves and we could see spray and foam washing the rocky shore.
Then the long awaited announcement. We were unable even to anchor at our assigned location. The Captain decided to relocate the ship on the other side of the island where at least the islanders could reach us. The rain ceased; the ship shifted; and passengers knew we would be able to experience more than just a ship-to-shore view of Pitcairn.
Then came the really exciting announcement. The islanders would come aboard the ship from 1100 through 1500. The islanders have long boats, including an aluminum long boat, able to handle turbulent waters. Those arriving included the mayor, the customs/immigration officer (also the local police officer and also a trader), the postmaster and eight or ten entrepreneurs. Tables were arranged throughout the ship to set up shop for our visitors. Passengers "helped" while islanders unloaded baskets, wooden carvings, t-shirts (made in China), guide books, maps, post cards, cancelled commemorative covers, some of them First Day.
As a former stamp collector I was anxious to secure stamps and covers postmarked from Pitcairn. As a member of the Commonwealth, they regularly issue attractive stamps of their own topics and in concert with Commonwealth themes, i.e the Queen Mom's 80, 90 and now 100 birthday, or Prince Edwards’ wedding. The most attractive covers happened to be sold by the mother of the postmaster. I met him. I interviewed him for a forthcoming article in a stamp weekly. It was a fascinating day!
Before the Pitcairners could unload their goods, the passengers exploded in a frenzy of pushing, shoving and grabbing everything in sight. It was worse than a bargain basement clearance sale! There turned out to be enough goods for everyone. Our passports were stamped; our letters were accepted for mailing; and eventually people had time to visit with our guests. Or were we their guests? They proved to be gracious people; the Mayor spoke to the passengers for about 30 minutes concerning life today on Pitcairn and answered questions. They are now less isolated from the world because they have a ham radio operator and more supply and passenger ships arrange to call.
Many of the former residents of the island now live and work on Norfolk Island or New Zealand, as do high school and college students. There is lively traffic between Pitcairn and New Zealand, even if it is by slow boat.
Our day ended with their "Good Bye Song":
Now this one last song we'll sing,
Good bye! Goodly!
Time moves on rapid wings
Goodly! Goodly!
And this short year will soon be past
Will soon be remembered as the last
But as we part to all we'll say
Goodly! Goodly!

(To be continued)