Читать книгу The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism (Vol. 1-4). The History of Sea Voyages, Discovery, Piracy and Maritime Warfare онлайн

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Lieutenant Bligh, although a good seaman, was a tyrannical man, and had made himself especially odious on board by reason of his severity, and especially in regard to the issuing of provisions. He had had many disputes with Christian in particular, when his language was of the coarsest order. Still, the desire to remain among the Otaheitans, or, at all events, among these enticing islands, seems to have been the main cause of the mutiny.

It was shown afterwards that Christian had only the night before determined to make his escape on a kind of small raft; that he had informed four of his companions, and that they had supplied him with part of a roast pig, some nails, beads, and other trading articles, and that he abandoned the idea because, when he came on deck to his watch at four a.m., he found an opportunity which he had not expected. He saw Mr. Hayward, the mate of his watch, fall asleep, and the other midshipmen did not put in an appearance at all. He suddenly conceived the idea of the plot, which he disclosed to seven of the men, three of whom had “tasted the cat,” and were unfavourable to Bligh. They went to the armourer, and secured the keys of his chest, under the pretence of wanting a musket to fire at a shark, then alongside. Christian then proceeded to secure Lieutenant Bligh, the master, gunner, and botanist. He stated that he had been much annoyed at the frequent abusive and insulting language of his commanding officer. Waking out of a short half-hour’s disturbed sleep, to take the command of the deck—finding the mates of the watch asleep—the opportunity tempting, and the ship completely in his power, with a momentary impulse he darted down the fore-hatchway, got possession of the arm-chest, and made the hazardous experiment of arming such of the men as he deemed he could trust. It is said that he intended to send away his captain in a small, wretched boat, worm-eaten and decayed, but the remonstrances of a few of the better-hearted induced him to substitute the cutter.