Chapter 14, Part 1, of The Sea, its stirring story of adventure, peril and heroism, Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This sea, its stirring story of adventure, peril, heroism. Volume 1 by Fredrik Wimper. Chapter 14, The Reverse of the Picture, Mutiny, Part 1 The Royal Navy has ever been the glory of our country, but there are spots even on the bright sun. The service has been presented hither to almost entirely under its best aspects. Example after example of heroic bravery, unmermoring endurance and splendid discipline have been cited. Nor can we err in painting it color de rose, for its gallant exploits have won it, undying fame. But in the service at one time, thank God those times are hardly possible now, mutiny and desertion on a large scale were eventualities to be considered and readied. There were at least remote possibilities. In a few instances they became terrible facts. In the merchant service we still hear of painful examples. Every reader will remember the case of the Lenny mutineers, who murdered the captain and mates in the Bay of Biscay, was the object of selling the ship in Greece, and were defeated by the brave steward, who steered for the coast of France, and was eventually successful in communicating with the French authorities. The example about to be related is a matter of historical fact, from which the naval service in particular may still draw most important lessons. In the year 1787, being 17 years after Captain Cook's memorable first voyage, a number of merchants and planters, resident in London, memorialised his Majesty George III, that the introduction of the breadfruit tree from the southern Pacific islands would be of great benefit to the West Indies, and the king complied with their request. A small vessel, the bounty, was prepared, the arrangements for disposing the plans being made by Sir Joseph Banks, long the distinguished president of the Royal Society, and one of the most eminent men of science by of the day. Banks had been with Cook amongst these very islands. Indeed it is stated that in his zeal for acquiring knowledge, he had undergone the process of tattooing himself. The ship was put under the command of Lloydman Bly, with officers and crew numbering in all 44 souls, to whom were added a practical botanist and assistant. The bounty sailed from Spithead on December 23, 1787, and soon encountered very severe weather, which obliged them to refit at Tenerife. Terrible gales were experienced near Cape Horn. Storms of wind was hail and sleet, which made it necessary to keep a constant fire night and day, and one of the watch always attended to dry the people's wet clothes. This stormy weather continued for nine days. The ship required pumping every hour. The decks became so leaky that the commander was obliged to allot the Great Cabin to those who had wet birth to hang their hammocks in. It was at last determined, after vainly struggling for thirty days to make headway, to bear away for the Cape of Good Hope. The helm was accordingly put afether to the great joy and satisfaction of all on board. They arrived at the Cape late in May and stopped there for thirty-eight days, refitting, replenishing provisions and refreshing the worn-out crew. On October 26, they anchored in Matavia Bay, Otahaiti, and the natives immediately came out to the ship in great numbers. Tinach, the chief of the district, on hearing of the arrival of the bounty, sent a small pig and young plantain tree as a token of friendship, and the ship was liberally supplied with provisions. Handsome presents were made to Tinach, and he was told that they had been sent to him on account of the kindness of the people to Captain Cook during his visit. Will you not, Tinach, said Bly, send something to King George in return? Yes, he replied, I will send him anything I have, and then enumerated the different articles in his power, among which he mentioned the breadfruit. This was exactly what Bly wished, and he was told that the breadfruit trees were what King George would greatly like, and the chief promised that a large number should be placed on board. The importance of the breadfruit to these people cannot be overstated. That old navigator Dampier had well described it a hundred years before. The breadfruit, as we call it, grows on a large tree as big and high as our largest apple trees.  The fruit grows on the boughs like apples. It is as big as a penny loaf when wheat is at five shillings a bushel. It is of a round shape and has a thick, tough rind. When the fruit is ripe, it is yellow unsolved, and the taste is sweet and pleasant. The natives of Guam use it for bread. They gather it when full grown. While it is green and hard, then they bake it in an oven, which scorches the rind and makes it black. But they scrape off the outside black crust, and there remains a tender, thin crust, and the inside is soft, tender and white. The fruit lasts in season eight months. During Lord Anson's two months stay at Tinian, no ship's bread was consumed. The officers and men are all preferring the breadfruit. Byron speaks of these South Sea islands where labor is the merest playwork, the earth affording nearly spontaneously all that the natives need, as the heavy shores without a lull, where all partake the earth without dispute, and bread itself is gathered as a fruit, where none contests the fields, the woods, the streams, the goldless age, or gold disturbs no dreams. The autohatens of those days were a most harmless, amiable and unsophisticated people. One day the guttion of the cutter's rudder was missing, and was believed to have been stolen. I thought, says Bly, it would have a good effect to punish the boatkeeper in their presence, and accordingly I ordered him a dozen lashes. All who attended the punishment interceded very earnestly to get it mitigated. The woman showed great sympathy. The intercourse between the crew and natives was very pleasant. The autohatens showed the most perfect ease of manner, with a candor and sincerity about them that is quite refreshing. When they offered refreshments for instance, if they were not accepted, they did not press them. They had not the least idea of that ceremonious kind of refusal, which expects a second invitation. Having one day, says Bly, exposed myself too much in the sun, I was taken ill, on which all the powerful people, both men and women, collected round me, offering their assistance. On an occasion when the bounty had nearly gone ashore in a tremendous gale of wind, and on another, when she did go aground, after all was right again, these kind-hearted people came in crowds to congratulate the captain on her escape. Many of them shed tears, while the danger seemed imminent. In the evenings, the whole beach was like a parade, crowded with several hundred men, women and children, all good-humored and affectionate to one another. Their sports and games were continued till near dark, when they peaceably returned to their homes. They were particularly cleanly bathing every morning and often twice a day. It is sad to turn from this pleasant picture to find the spirit of desertion and mutiny appearing amongst the crew. There can be no doubt that the allurements of the island, its charming climate and abundant productions, the friendliness of the natives and ease of living, were the main causes. Bly made one fatal mistake in his long stay of over five months, during which the crew had all opportunities of leave ashore. Every man of them had his taio or friend. From the moment he set his foot ashore, he found himself in the midst of ease and indolence, all living in a state of luxury, without submitting to anything approaching real labour. Such enticements were too much for a common sailor, for must he not contrast the islander's happy lot with his own hardships on board? One morning the small cutter was missing, with three of the crew. They had taken with them eight stands of arms and ammunition. The master was dispatched with one of the chiefs in their pursuit, but before they had got any great distance, they met the boat with five of the natives, who were bringing her back to the ship. For this service they were handsomely rewarded. The chiefs promised to use every possible means to detect and bring back the deserters, which in a few days some of the islanders had so far accomplished as to seize and bind them, but let them loose again on a promise that they would return to their ship, which they did not exactly fulfil, but gave themselves up soon after on a search being made for them. A few days after this it was found that the cable by which the ship rode had been cut close to the water's edge, so that it held by only a strand. Bly considered this the act of one of his own people, who wished the ship to go ashore, so that they might remain at Otahaiti. It may, however, have chafed in the natural course of affairs. And now the bounty having taken on board over a thousand of the breadfruit plants, besides other shrubs and fruits, set sail, falling in soon after with many canoes, whose owners and passengers sold them hogs, fowls and yams in quantities. Some of the sailing canoes would carry ninety persons. Bly was congratulating himself on his ship being in good condition. His plans in perfect order, and all his men and officers in good health. On leaving deck on the evening of April 27th, he had given directions as to the course and watches. Just before sunrise on the 28th, while he was yet asleep, Mr. Christian, officer of the watch, with three of the men, came into his cabin and seizing him, tied his hands behind his back, threatening him with instant death if he spoke or made the least noise. I called, however, says Bly, as loud as I could in hopes of assistance, but they had already secured the officers who were not of their party, by placing sentinels at their doors. There were three men at my cabin door besides the four within. Christian had only a cutlass in his hand, the others had muskets and bayonets. I was hauled out of bed and forced on deck in my shirt, suffering great pain from the tightness with which they had tied my hands. The master and master's mate, the gunner and the gardener, were confined below, and the four-castle hatch was guarded by sentinels. The boatsmen, who ordered to hoist the lounge out, was a threat that he had better do its instantly, and two of the midshipmen and others were ordered into it. Bly was simply told, hold your tongue, sir, or you are dead this instant when he remonstrated. I continued, says he, my endeavours to turn the tide of affairs. When Christian changed the cutlass which he had in his hand for a bayonet that was brought to him, and holding me with a strong grip by the cord that tied my hands, he threatened, with many oaths, to kill me immediately if I would not be quiet. The villains round me had their pieces cocked and bayonets fixed. The boatsmen and seamen who were to be turned adrift with Bly were allowed to collect twine, canvas, lines, sails, cordage, and an 1820 gallon cask of water. The clerk secured 150 pounds of bread with a small quantity of rum and wine. Also a quadrant and compass, but he was forbidden to touch the maps, observations, or any of the surveys or drawings. He did however secure the journals and captain's commission. The mutineers having forced those of the seamen whom they meant to get rid of into the boat, Christian directed a dram to be served to each of his own crew. Issaac Martin, one of the guard over Bly, had an inclination to serve him and fed him with some fruit, his lips being quite parched. This kindness was observed and Martin was ordered away. The same man with three others desired to go with the captain, but this was refused. They begged him to remember that they had no hand in the transaction. I asked for arms, says Bly, but they loved it me and said I was well acquainted with the people among whom I was going and therefore did not want them. Four cuplesses, however, were thrown into the boat after we were veered astern. The officers and men being in the boat, they only waited for me, of which the mastered arms informed Christian, who then said, Come, Captain Bly, your officers and men are now in the boat and you must go with them. If you attempt to make the least resistance, you will instantly be put to death. And without further ceremony was a tribe of armed ruffians about me. I was forced over the side when they untied my hands. A few pieces of pork were thrown to them and after undergoing a great deal of ridicule and having been kept for some time to make sport for these unfeeling wretches, they were at length cast adrift in the open sea. Bly heard shouts of Huzah for auto-heity among the mutineers for some considerable time after they had parted from the vessel. In the boat well weighed down to the water's edge were 19 persons, including the commander, master, acting surgeon, botanist, gunner, boatsman, carpenter and two midshipmen. On the ship were 25 persons, mostly able seamen, but three midshipmen were among the number two of whom had no choice in the matter being detained against their will. Leutnant Bly, although a good seamen, 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 auto-heityans 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 4 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 unfavorable to Bly. They went to the armorer and secured the keys of his chest under the pretense of wanting a musket to fire at the shark, then alongside. Christian then proceeded to secure Lloyd and Bly, 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 four 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, warm eaten and decayed but the remonstrances of a few of the better hearted induced him to substitute the cutter. And now to follow the fortunes of Lloyd and Bly and his companions. Their first consideration was to examine their resources. There were sixteen pieces of pork, weighing two pounds each, the bread and water as before mentioned, six quarts of rum and six bottles of wine. Being near the island of Tofua, they resolved to seek a supply of breadfruit and water so as to preserve their other stock and they did obtain a small quantity of the former but little water. The natives seeing their defenceless condition meditated their destruction and speedily crowded the beach knocking stones together the preparatory signal for an attack. With some difficulty the seamen succeeded in getting their things together and got all the men except John Norton one of the quarter monsters into the boat the surf running high. The poor man was literally stone to death within their sight. They pushed out to sea in all haste and were followed by volleys of big stones some of the canoes pursuing him. Their only expedient left to gain time was to throw overboard some of their clothing which fortunately induced the natives to stop and pick them up. Night coming on the canoes returned to the shore their nearest place where they could expect relief was Timor a distance of full 1200 leagues and the men agreed to be put on an allowance which on calculation was found not to exceed one ounce of bread per diem and a gill of water recommending them therefore in the most solemn manner not to depart from their promises we bore away says Bly across the sea where the navigation is but little known in a small boat 23 feet long from stem to stern deeply laden with 18 men it was about eight at night on the second of May when we bore away under a reefed lug foresail and having divided the people into watches and got the boat into a little order we returned thanks to God for our miraculous preservation and in full confidence of his gracious support I found my mind more at ease than it had been for some time past next morning the sun rose fury and red a sure indication of a gale and by eight o'clock it blew a violent storm the waves running so high that their sail was becombed when between the seas they lightened the boat by throwing overboard all superfluous articles and removing the tools put the bread on which their very existence depended in the chest miserably wet and cold as were all Bly administered a teaspoonful of rum to each at dinnertime the sea still rose and the fatigue of bailing became very great next morning at daylight the men's limbs were benumbed and another spoonful of spirit was administered whatever might be said of Bly's previous conduct there is no doubt that at this juncture he exerted himself wonderfully and very judiciously to save the lives of all their dinner this day consisted of five small coconuts on the night of the fourth the gala baited and they examined the bread much of which was found to be damaged and rotten but it was still preserved for use on the sixth they hooked a fish but says the commander we were miserably disappointed by its being lost in trying to get it into the boat they were terribly crammed for want of room on board although Bly did for the best by putting them watch and watch so that half of them at a time could lie at the bottom of the boat on the seventh they passed close to some rocky isles from which two large sailing canoes came out and pursued hopefully but gave over the chase in the afternoon this day heavy rain fell when everybody set to work to catch some with such success that they not merely quench their thirst but increase their stock to 35 gallons as a corresponding disadvantage they got wet through on the eighth the allowance issued was an ounce and a half of pork a teaspoon full of rum half a pint of coconut milk and an ounce of bread Bly constructed a pair of scales of two coconut shells using pistol balls for weights the next nine days brought bad weather and much rain the sea breaking over the boat so much that two men were kept constantly bailing and it was necessary to keep the boat before the waves to prevent her filling when they broke it showed a miserable set of beings full of wands, aches and pains and nothing to relieve them they found some comfort by wringing their clothes in seawater by which means they found a certain limited amount of warmth but though all were shivering with cold and wet the commander was obliged to tell them that the rum ration, one teaspoon full must for the present be discontinued as it was running low during the whole of the afternoon of the 21st, says Bly we were so covered with rain and salt water that we could scarcely see we suffered extreme cold and everyone dreaded the approach of night sleep, though we longed for it afforded no comfort on the lone part I almost lived without it the misery we suffered this night exceeded the proceeding the sea flew over us with great force and kept us bailing with horror and anxiety at down of day I found everyone in a most distressed condition and I began to fear that another such night would put an end to the lives of several who seemed no longer able to support their sufferings I served in a lowance of two teaspoon fulls of rum after drinking which and having brung our clothes and taken our breakfast of bread and water we became a little refreshed on the 24th for the first time in 15 days they experienced the warmth of the sun and dried their nouns red bear garments on the 25th at midday some noddies flew so near the boat one was caught by hand this bird, about the size of a small pigeon was divided into 18 portions and allotted by the method known as who shall have this in which one person who turns his back to the caterer is asked the question as each piece is indicated the system gives everyone the chance of securing the best share Bly used to speak of the amusement it gave the poor half-starved people when the beak and claws fell to his lot that and the following day two boobies which are about as large as ducks were also caught the sun came out so powerfully that several of the people were seized with faintness but the capture of two more boobies revived their spirits and as from the birds and other signs Mr. Bly had no doubt they were near land the feelings of all became more animated on the morning of the 28th the barrier reef of what was then known as the eastern coast of New Holland now Australia appeared with the surf and breakers outside and smooth water within the difficulty was to find a passage but at last a fine opening was discovered and through this the boat passed rapidly with a strong stream and came immediately into smooth water their past hardships seemed all at once forgotten the coast appeared and in the evening they landed on the sandy point of an island where they soon found that the rocks were covered with oysters and that plenty of fresh water was attainable by help of a small sunglass a fire was made and soon a stew of oysters pork and bread was concocted which led on their hearts each receiving a full pint the 29th of May being the anniversary of the restoration of Charles II the spot was not inappropriately named Restoration Island Bly soon noted that alteration for the better in the looks of his men which proved the value of oysters stewed as they sometimes wear was fresh green palm tops strange to say that the mutinous spirit which had been satisfactorily absent before broke out in one or two of the men and Bly had, in one instance to seize a catalyst and order the man to defend himself the threatened outbreak ended quietly but although the worst of their voyage was over their troubles in other ways were serious while among the islands off the coast of Australia several of them were seriously affected with weakness, dizziness and violent pains in their bowels infinitesimal quantities of wine were administered to their great benefit a party was sent out on one of the islands to catch birds and they returned with a dozen noddies these and a few clams were all they obtained on the 3rd of June they left Cape York and once more launched their little boat on the open ocean on the 5th a booby was caught by the hand the blood of which was divided among three of the men who were weakest and the bird kept for next day's dinner the following days the sea ran high and kept breaking over the boat Mr. Ledward, the surgeon and LeBogue, an old hearty sailor appeared to be breaking up fast and no other assistance could be given them than a teaspoonful or two of wine on the morning of the 10th there was a visible alteration for the worse in many of the people their countenances were ghastly and hollow their limbs swollen and all extremely debilitated some seeming to have lost their reason but next day Bly was able to announce that they had passed the meridian of Timor and the following morning land was sited with expressions of universal joy and satisfaction 41 days had they been on the ocean in their miserable boat and by the log they had run 3,618 nautical miles on the 14th they arrived at Kupa and Bay where they were received with all kinds of hospitality the party on landing presented their appearance of specters their bodies, skin and bones and covered with sores their clothing in rags but the strain had been too much for several of them the botanist died at Kupang three of the men at Batavia and one on the passage home the doctor was left behind and not afterwards heard of Bly arrived in England on March the 14th and received much sympathy he was immediately promoted and afterwards successfully carried the bread food tree to the West Indies meantime the government naturally proposed to bring the mutineers to trial whatever it might cost end of chapter 14 part 1 chapter 14 part 2 of C its stirring story of adventure peril and heroism volume 1 this is the LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the C its stirring story of adventure peril and heroism volume 1 by Frederick Wimper chapter 14 part 2 the Pandora a frigate of 24 guns and 160 men was selected for the service and was placed under the command of Captain Edward Edwards with orders to proceed to Ota height and if necessary the other islands the voyage was destined to end in a shipwreck and disaster but the captain succeeded in securing a part of the mutineers of whom 10 were brought to England and 4 drowned on the wreck the Pandora reached Matavia Bay on the 23rd of March 1791 the armorer and 2 of the midshipmen Mr. Haywood and Mr. Steward came off immediately and showed their willingness to afford information 4 others soon after appeared and from them the captain learned that the rest of the Bounties people had built a schooner and sailed the day before for another part of the island they were pursued and the schooner secured but the mutineers had fled to the mountains a day or two elapsed when they ventured down and when within hearing were ordered to lay down their arms which they did and were put in irons Captain Edwards put them into a roundhouse built on the after part of the quarter deck in order to isolate them from the crew according to the statement of one of the prisoners the midshipmen were kept ironed by the legs separate from the men in a kind of roundhouse aptly termed Pandora's Box which was entered by a scuttle in the roof about 18 inches square the prisoners wise visited the ship daily and brought their children who were permitted to be carried to their unhappy fathers to see the poor captives in irons the only narrative published of the Pandora's visit weeping over their tender offspring was too moving a scene for any feeling heart their wives brought them ample quantities of every delicacy that the country afforded while we lay there and behaved with the greatest fidelity and affection to them Stewart the midshipman had espoused the daughter of an old chief and they had lived together in the greatest harmony a beautiful little girl had been the fruit of the union when Stewart was confined in irons Peggy for so her husband had named her flew with her infant in a canoe to the arms of her husband the interview was so painful that Stewart begged she might not be admitted on board again forbidden to see him she sank into the greatest ejection and seemed to have lost all relish for food and existence she pined away and died two months afterwards all the mutineers that were left on the island having been secured the ship proceeded to other islands in search of those who had gone away in the bounty it must be mentioned however that two of the men had perished by violent deaths they had made friends with the chief and one of them Churchill was his tail or sworn friend the chief died suddenly without issue and Churchill according to the custom of the country succeeded to his property and dignity the other Thompson murdered Churchill probably to acquire his possessions and was in his turn stone to death by the natives captain Edwards learned that after Bly had been set adrift Christian had thrown overboard the greater part of the breadfruit plants and divided the property of those they had abandoned they at first went to an island named Dubai where they intended to form a settlement but the opposition of the natives in their own quarrels determined them to revisit Otaite there the leading natives were very curious to know what had become of Bly and the rest and the mutineers invented a story to the effect that they had unexpectedly fallen in with captain Cook at an island he had just discovered and that Lieutenant Bly was stopping with him and had appointed Mr. Christian commander of the bounty and further he was now come for additional supplies for them this story imposed upon simple minded natives and in the course of a very few days the bounty received on board 38 goats 312 hogs 8 dozen foals a bull and a cow and large quantities of fruit they also took with them a number of natives male and female intending to form a settlement at Dubai skirmishes with the natives generally brought on by their own violent conduct or robberies and eternal bickering among themselves delayed the progress of their fort and it was subsequently abandoned 16 of the men electing to stop at Otahite and the remaining 9 leaving finally in the bounty Christian having been heard frequently to say that his object was to find some uninhabited island in which there was no harbor that he would run the ship ashore and make use of her materials to form a settlement this was all that captain Edwards could learn and after a fruitless search of 3 months he abandoned further inquiry and proceeded on his homeward voyage off the east coast of New Holland the Pandora ran on her reef and was speedily a wreck in an hour and a half after she struck there were 8 and a half feet of water in her hold and in spite of continuous pumping and bailing it became evident that she was a doomed vessel with all the efforts made to save the crew 31 of the ship's company and 4 mutineers were lost with a vessel very little notice indeed seems to have been taken at the latter by the captain who was afterwards accused of considerable inhumanity before the final catastrophe says the surgeon of the vessel 3 of the bounty's people Coleman, Norman and McIntosh were now let out of irons and set to work at the pups the others offered their assistance and begged to be allowed a chance of saving their lives instead of which 2 additional sentinels were placed over them with orders to shoot any who should attempt to get rid of their fetters seeing no prospect of escape they betook themselves to prayer and prepared to meet their fate everyone expecting that the ship would soon go to pieces her rudder and part of her stern post being already beaten away when the ship was actually sinking it is stated that no notice was taken of the prisoners although captain Edwards was entreated by young Haywood the midshipman to have mercy on them when he passed over their prison to make his own escape and lying on her broadside with a larbored bow completely underwater fortunately the master at arms either by accident or probably designed when slipping from the rough of the Pandora's box into the sea let the keys unlocking the handcuffs and irons fall through the scuttle and thus enable them to commence their own liberation in which they were assisted by one brave seaman William Malter who said he would set them free or go to the bottom with them he wrenched away with difficulty the bars of the prison immediately after the ship went down leaving nothing visible but the top mast cross trees more than half an hour elapsed before the survivors were all picked up by the boats amongst the drowned were Mr. Stewart the midshipman and three others of the bounty's people the whole of whom perished with a manacles on their hands 31 of the ship's company were lost the four boat loads which escaped had scarcely any provisions on board the allowance being two wine glasses of water to each man and a very small quantity of bread calculated for 16 days their voyage of 1000 miles on the open ocean and the sufferings endured were similar to those experienced by Bly's party but not so severe after staying at Coupang for about three weeks they left on a Dutch East Indianman which conveyed them to Samarang and subsequently Batavia once they proceeded to Europe after an exhaustive court-martial had been held on the 10 prisoners brought home by Captain Edwards three of the seamen were condemned and executed Mr. Haywood the midshipman the Bosons mate and the Stewart were sentenced to death but afterwards pardoned four others were tried and acquitted it will be remembered that four others were drowned at the wreck 20 years had rolled away and the beauty of the bounty was almost forgotten when Captain Folger of the American ship Topaz reported to Sir Sydney Smith at Valparaiso that he had discovered the last of the survivors on Pitcairn Island this fact was transmitted to the Admiralty and received on May 14th, 1809 but the troublest times prevented any immediate investigation in 1814 HMS Britain commanded by Sir Thomas Staines and the Tagus, Captain Pippin were cruising in the Pacific when they fell in with the little known island of Pitcairn he discovered not merely that it was inhabited but afterwards to his great astonishment that every individual on the island spoke very good English the little village was composed of neat huts and barred in luxuriant plantations presently they observed a few natives coming down in steep descent with their canoes on their shoulders and in a few minutes perceived one of these little vessels dashing through a heavy surf and paddling off towards the ships but their astonishment was extreme when on coming alongside they were hailed in the English language with won't you give us a rope now the first young man that sprang with extraordinary alacrity up the side and stood before them on the deck said and replied to the question who are you on a Thursday October Christian son of the late Fletcher Christian by an Otheiton mother that he was the first born on the island and that he was so called because he was brought into the world on a Thursday in October singularly strange as all this was to serve Thomas Steins and Captain Pippin this youth soon satisfied them that he was none other than the person he represented himself to be and that he was fully acquainted with the whole history of the bounty and the mission before them was the retreat of the mutineers of that ship the young Christian was at this time about 24 years of age a fine tall youth full 6 feet high with dark almost black hair and a countenance open and extremely interesting as he wore no clothes except a piece of cloth around his loins and a straw hat ornamented with black cocks feathers his fine figure and well shaped muscular limbs were displayed to great advantage and attracted general admiration he told them that he was married to a woman much older than himself one of those that had accompanied his father from Otheiton his companion was a fine handsome youth of 17 or 18 years of age of the name of George Young the son of young the mid shipment and the cabin when invited to refreshments one of them astonished the captains by asking the blessing with much appearance of devotion for what we are going to receive the Lord make us truly thankful the only surviving Englishman of the crew was John Adams and when the captains landed through the surf with no worse result than a good wedding the old man came down to meet them both he and his aged wife were at first considerably alarmed at seeing the king's uniform but was reassured when he was told that they had no intention of disturbing him Adam said that he had no great share in the mutiny that he was sick at the time and was afterwards compelled to take a musket he even expressed his willingness to go to England but this was strongly opposed by his daughter all the women burst into tears and the young men stood motionless and absorbed in grief but on their being assured that he should on no account be molested it is impossible, says Pippin to describe the universal joy that these poor people manifested when Christian had arrived at the island he found no good anchorage so he ran the bounty into a small creek in order to get out of her such articles as might be of use having stripped her, he set fire to the hull so that afterwards she should not be seen by passing vessels and his retreat discovered it is pretty clear that the misguided young man was never happy after the rash and mutiny step he had taken and he became solemn morose and tyrannical to his companions he was at length shot by an otahitian and in a short time only two of the mutineers were left alive the colony at this time comprised 46 persons mostly grown up young people all of prepossessing appearance John Adams had made up for any share he may have had in the revolt by instructing them in religious and moral principles the girls were modest and bashful with bright eyes, beautifully white teeth and every indication of health they carried baskets of fruit over such roads and down such precipices as were scarcely passable by any creatures except goats and over which we could scarcely scramble with the help of our hands when Captain Beachy in his well-known voyage of discovery on the blossom called there in 1825 he found Adams then in his 65th year dressed in a sailor's shirt and trousers with all the sailor's manners doffing his hat and smoothing down his bald forehead whenever he was addressed by the officers many circumstances connected with the subsequent history of the happy little colony cannot be detailed here suffice it to say that it still thrives and is one of the most modeled settlements of the whole world although dissented from the stock so bad of the nine who landed on Pitcairn's island only two died a natural death of the original officers and crew of the bounty more than half perished in various untimely ways the whole burden of guilt resting on Christian and his fellow conspirators the mutiny just described sinks into insignificance before that which is about to be recounted the greatest mutiny of English history that of the knower at that one point no less than 40,000 men were concerned while the disaffection spread to many other stations some of them far abroad there can be little doubt in 1897 the year of the event our sailors had labored under many grievances while the navy was full of pressed men a portion of whom were sure to retain a thorough dislike to the service although so many fought and died bravely for their country some of the grievances which the navy suffered were probably the result of careless and negligent legislation rather than a deliberate injustice but they were none the less on that account the pay of the sailor had remained unchanged from the reign of Charles II although the prices of the necessaries and common luxuries of life had greatly risen his pension had also remained at a stationary rate that of the soldier had been augmented on the score of provisions he was worse off than an ordinary pauper who was in the hands of the Persher whose usual title at that time indicates his unpopularity was turned nip cheese the provisions served were of the worst quality 14 instead of 16 ounces went to the navy pound the Persher of those days was taken from an inferior class of men and often obtained his position by influence rather than merit he generally retired on a competency after a life of deliberate dishonesty toward the defenders of his country who had they received everything to which they were entitled would not have been too well treated and as it was were cheated and robbed without scruple, without limit the reader will recall the many naval novels in which poor Jack's daily allowance of grog was curtailed by the purveyor's thumb being put in the paniken this was the least of the evils he suffered in those war times the discipline of the service was especially rigid and severe it was doubtless necessary men were not readily obtained in sufficient numbers consequently, when in harbor Lee Vashora was very constantly refused for fear of desertions these and a variety of other grievances real or fancied nearly upset the equilibrium of our entire navy it is not too much to say that not merely England's naval supremacy was for a time in the greatest jeopardy through the disaffection of the men the national existence almost and most certainly our existence as a first class power was alarmingly threatened the cause being nothing more nor less than a very general spirit of mutiny to do the sailors justice they sought at first to obtain fair play by all legitimate means in their power it must be noted also that a large number of our best officers knew that there was a very general discontent furthermore it is well known onshore that numerous secret societies opposed to monarchy and incited by the example of the French Revolution had been established here again the government had made a fatal mistake members of these societies had been convicted in numbers and sent to sea as a punishment these men almost naturally became bring leaders and partakers in the mutiny which would however have occurred sooner or later under any circumstances in the case of the mutiny at spithead about to be recondited the sailors exhibited an organization and amount of information which might have been expected from sea lawyers rather than ordinary jack-tars while in the more serious rebellion of the Noir the cooperation of other agents was established beyond doubt the first step taken by the men was perfectly legitimate and had it been met in a proper spirit by the authorities this history did never have been pinned at the end of February 1797 the crews of four line of battleships at spithead addressed separate traditions to Lord Howe commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet asking his kind interposition with the Admiralty to obtain from them a relief of their grievances so that they might at length be put on a similar footing to the army and militia in respect both of their pay and of the provision they might be enabled to make for their wives and families Lord Howe being then in bad health communicated the subject of their petitions to Lord Bridport and Sir Peter Parker the Port Admiral who with a want of foresight and disregard of their country's interest which cannot be excused returned to answer that the petitions were the work of some evil disposed of person or persons and took no trouble to investigate the allegations contained in them how therefore did nothing and the seamen finding their applications for a redress not only disregarded but treated with contempt determined to compel the authorities to give them that relief which they had before submissively asked End of chapter 14 part 2 Chapter 14 part 3 of The Sea its stirring story of adventure, peril and heroism Volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org to see its stirring story of adventure, peril and heroism Volume 1 by Frederick Wimper Chapter 14 part 3 in about 6 weeks they organized their plans for such secrecy that it was not till everything was arranged on a working basis that the first admiral, Lord Bridport gained any knowledge of the conspiracy going on around him he communicated his suspicions to the lords of the admiralty and they, thinking a little act of service would prove the best cure for what they simply regarded as a momentary agitation sent down orders for the channel fleet to put to sea the orders arrived at Portsmouth on April 15th and in obedience to them Lord Bridport signaled to the fleet to make the necessary preparations as might almost have been expected it was the signal, likewise for the outbreak of the mutiny not a sailor bestowed himself not a rope was bent but as if by common consent the crews of every vessel in the squadron banned the yards and rigging and gave three cheers they then proceeded to take the command of each ship from the officers and appointed delegates from each vessel to conduct negotiations with the authorities of the admiralty no violence nor force was used the first lieutenant of the London ordered by Admiral Colpoise was one of the best hated officers of the service shot one of the mutineers but his death was not avenged they again forwarded their petition to the admiralty and its closing sentences showed their temperance and argued strongly in favor of their cause they desired to convince the nation at large that they knew where to cease to ask as well as where to begin and they asked nothing but what was moderate and might be granted without detriment to the nation or injury to the service the admiralty authorities seeing that with the great power in their hands they had acted peaceably only abstaining from work all the concessions asked and a full pardon was granted in the king's name to the fleet in general and to the ring leaders in particular in a word the mutiny ended for the time being it was resumed on May 7th as parliament had delayed in passing the appropriations for the increase of pay and pensions the crews rose en masse and disarmed all their officers although still abstaining from actual violence Lord Howe always a popular officer with the men and their special idol after his great victory of June 1st 1794 was sent down by the cabinet with full power to ratify all the concessions which had been made and to do his best to convince the men that the government had no desire of evading them he completely mollified the men and even succeeded in exacting an expression of regret and contrition for their outbreak he assured them that their every grievance should be considered and a free pardon as before given to all concerned the men again returned to duty the fleet at Plymouth which had followed that of Portsmouth into the mutiny did the same and thus in a month from the first outbreak as far as these two great fleets were concerned all disaffection, dissatisfaction and discontent had passed away through the tact and judicious behavior of Lord Howe there can be no doubt that the tyranny of many of the officers had a vast deal to do with the outbreak in the list of officers whom the men considered obnoxious and that Lord Howe agreed should be removed there were over 100 in one fleet of 16 ships strange to say the very same week in which the men of Portsmouth returned to their duty acknowledging all their grievances to be removed the fleet at the Noir arose in a violent state of mutiny displaying very different attributes to those shown by the former 40,000 men who had fought many a battle for king and country and in steadfast reliance upon whose bravery the people rusted every night in tranquility confident in their patriotism and loyalty became irritated by ungrateful neglect of one part and by seditious advisors on the other and turned to guns which they had so often fired in defense of the English flag against their own countrymen and their own homes Richard Parker the chief ringleader at the Noir was a thoroughly bad man in every respect and won utterly unworthy the title of a British Shaler of which indeed he had been more than once formally deprived he was the son of an extra tradesman in a fair way of business had received a good education and was possessed of decided abilities he was a remarkably bold and resolute man or he would never have acquired the hold he had for a time over so many brave sailors he was unmistakably the leader of the band he had undone who born for better things had badly set his life upon a cast and until overtaken by justice he ruled with absolute sway Parker had 11 years previously entered the Navy as a midshipment on board the Culloden from which vessel he had been discharged for gross misconduct a little later he obtained however a similar appointment on the Leander frigate and was again dismissed we next find him passing through several ships in rotation from which he was invariably dismissed no captain allowing him to remain when his true character disclosed itself it did not usually take long at link he became bait of the resistance on which vessel shortly after joining he was brought to a court-martial and broke i.e. his commission taken away and declared incapable of serving again as an officer after serving a short time as a commonsailer on board the heath he was either invalidated or discharged we find him residing in Scotland and as he could no more keep out of trouble ashore than he could afloat he was soon in ennenberg jail for debt men were wanted for the Navy and he was eventually sent up to the fleet as one of the quota of men required from Perth district he received the parochial bounty of 30 pounds allowed to each man he joined the sandwich the flagship of Admiral Buckner commander-in-chief at the Nohr the best authorities believed him to have been employed as an emissary of the revolutionists as although he had only just been discharged from jail he had abundance of money his good address and general abilities combined with the liberality and conviviality he displayed speedily attained him an influence among his messmates which he used to the worst purpose he had scarcely joined the fleet when aided by disaffected parties ashore he began his machinations and speedily seduced the majority of the seamen from their duty in some respects the men followed the example of those at Portsmouth selecting delegates and forwarding petitions but in other respects their conduct was disgracefully different when mastery of the officers had been affected Parker became in effect a high admiral and committed any number of excesses even firing on those ships which had not followed the movement officers were flogged and on board the flagship the vessel on which Parker remained many were half drowned as the following account derived from an unimpeachable source will show their hammocks were fastened to their backs with an 18 pounder bar shot as a weight their hands were tied together likewise their feet they were then made fast to a tackle suspended from a yard arm and hauled up almost to the block at the word of command they were dropped suddenly in the sea where they were allowed to remain a minute they were again hoisted up and the process repeated until about every sign of life had fled the unfortunate victims were then hoisted up by the heels this was considerably done to get rid of the water from their stomachs they were then put to bed in their wet hammocks on June 6 the mutinous fleet was joined by the Agamemnon Leopard, Ardent and Iris men of war and the Ranger Sloup which vessels basically deserted from a squadron under Admiral Duncan sent to blockade the Texel shortly after a number of vessels of the line arrived at the mouth of the Thames and still further augmented the ranks of the mutineers by this means eleven vessels were added to the list Duncan gallant old salt as he was when he found himself deserted by the greater part of his fleet called his own ship's crew the venerable 74 together and addressed to them in the following speech my lads, I once more call you together with a sorrowful heart from what I have lately seen of the dissatisfaction of the fleets and call it dissatisfaction for the crews have no grievances to be deserted by my fleet in the face of an enemy is a disgrace which I believe never before happened to a British Admiral nor could I have supposed it possible my greatest comfort under God is that I have been supported by the officers, seamen and Marines of this ship for which with a heart overflowing with gratitude I request you to accept my sincere thanks I flatter myself much good may result from your example by bringing those deluded people to a sense of their duty which they owe not only to their king and country but to themselves the British Navy has ever been the support of that liberty which has been handed down to us by our ancestors in which I think we shall maintain to the latest posterity and that can only be done by unanimity and obedience this ship's company and others who have distinguished themselves by their loyalty and good order deserve to be and doubtless will be the favorites of a grateful country they will also have from their inward feelings a comfort which will be lasting and not like the bloating and false confidence of those who have swerved from their duty it has often been my pride with you to look into the textile which dreaded coming out to meet us my pride is now humbled indeed my feelings are not easily expressed our cup has overflowed and made us wanton the all wise providence has given us this check as a warning and I hope we shall improve by it on him then let us trust where our only security may be found I find there are many good men amongst us in my own part I have had full confidence of all in this ship and once more beg to express my affirmation of your conduct a God who has thus far conducted you continue so to do and may the British Navy the glory and support of our country be restored to its wanted splendor and be not only the bulwark of Britain but the terror of the world but this can only be affected by a strict adherence to our duty and obedience and let us pray that the almighty God may keep us in the right way of thinking God bless you all at an address so unassuming and patriotic the whole ship's crew were dissolved in tears and one at all declared with every expression of warmth they could use their determination to stay by the Admiral in life or death their example was followed by all the other ships left in the squadron and the brave and excellent old Admiral notwithstanding the defection of so many of his ships repaired to his station off the coast of Holland to watch the movements of the Dutch fleet here he employed a device to hide the sparseness of his fleet by employing one of his frigates comparatively close in shore to make signals constantly to himself and to the other vessels in the offing many of them imaginary and give the enemy the impression that a large squadron was outside he had resolved however not to refuse battle if the Dutch fleet should have the courage to come out and offer it but to return to the mutineers the accession of the new vessel so elated Parker that he gave way to the wildest bits of extravagance he talked of taking the whole fleet to sea and selling it to our enemies without the navigation of the Thames declaring that he would force his way up to London and bombard the city if the government did not exceed to his terms the alarm at these proceedings became general in the metropolis and the funds fell lower than ever known before or since in the financial history of our country an order was given to take up the boys marking the channel of the Thames while the forts were heavily armed and garrisoned so that should our attempt to vain glorious threat the fleet might be destroyed the government now acted with more promptness and decision than they had previously displayed Lord Spencer Lord Arden and Admiral Young hastened to sheerness and held aboard at which Parker and the other delegates attended but the conduct of the mutineers was so audacious that these lords of the Admiralty returned to town without the slightest success the principal article of conflict on the part of the seamen's delegates was the unequal distribution of prize money for the omission of which matter in the recent demands it greatly operated their fellow seamen at Portsman bills were immediately passed in parliament inflicting the heaviest penalties on those who aided or encouraged the mutineers in any way or even held intercourse with them which speedily had the effect of damping their ardor and by the end of the first week in June the fire which Parker had fanned into serious conflagration began to die out the fleets at Portsmouth and Plymouth disowned all fellowship with them and the example of one or two ships such as the Clyde which from the first had resisted Parker's influence commenced to be of effect the ringleader himself seeing that his influence was waning and knowing the perilous position in which he had placed himself tried to reopen negotiations with the admiralty but his demands were too ridiculous to be considered whereupon he hung Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas in effigy at the yard arm of the sandwich it is a curious fact showing that the crews were simply egged on by the ringleaders and that there was plenty of loyalty at bottom that on June 4 at the king's birthday he insisted on firing a royal salute displaying the colors as usual and hauling down the red flag during the ceremony Mr. Parker however insisted that it should fly on the flagship on June 10 two of the ships the leopard and repulse hauled down the flag of Butany and sailed into the Thames their example was soon followed by others Parker and his cause were lost on June 14 this miserable affair was at an end the crew of the sandwich Parker's own ship brought that vessel under the guns of the fort at Sheerness and handed him as a prisoner to the authorities 16 days afterwards he was hanged his wife presented a petition to the queen in favor of her wretched husband and is stated to have offered a thousand guineas if his life could be spared but he of all men who were ever hanged deserved his fate for he had placed the very kingdom itself in peril other executions took place but very few considering the heinousness of the crime committed still the government knew that the men had been in the larger proportion of cases more sinned against than sinning and when later Duncan's victory over the Dutch fleet provided an occasion an amnesty was published and many who had been confined in prison some of them under sentence of death were released on Passan it may be remarked that three marines were shot at Plymouth on July 6th of the same year for endeavoring to excite a mutiny in the core while another was sentenced to receive a thousand lashes the mutinous spirit events at Portsmouth Plymouth and the North spread even to foreign stations had it not been for Duncan's manly and sensible appeal to his crew where there were some disaffected spirits our naval supremacy might have been seriously compromised as regards the Dutch on board the Mediterranean fleet then lying off the coast of Portugal the mutinous had for a time their own way the Admiral commanding Lord St. Vincent was however hardly demand to be daunted by any number of evil disposed fellows he had only just before he was sent to his loils by another victory over the enemies of his country the ringleaders on board the flagship St. George were immediately seized brought to trial and hanged the next day although it was Sunday a most unusual time for an execution still further to increase the force of the example he departed from the usual custom of drawing men from different ships to assist at the execution and ordered that none but the crew St. George itself should touch a rope the brave old Admiral by his energy and promptitude soon quieted every symptom of disaffection the last of the mutinies broke out at the Cape of Good Hope on October 9 of the same year when a band of mutiners seized the flagship of Admiral Pringle and appointed delegates in the same way as their shipmates at home showing plainly how extended was the discontent in the service how complete was the organization of the insurgents Lord McCartney commanded at the Cape was however master of the occasion of the Admiral the less said the better as he showed the white feather and was completely non-plussed McCartney manned the batteries with all the troops available and ordered red hot shop to be prepared he then informed the fleet that if the red flag was not at once withdrawn and a white one hoisted he would open fire and blow up every ship the crew of which held out the Admiral at the same time informed the delegates that all the concessions they required had already been granted to the fleets at home and of course to them in a quarter of an hour the red flag was hauled down and a free pardon extended to the bulk of the offenders the ring leaders were however hanged and a few others flogged the mutinous spirit never reasserted itself since that time thank God no British fleet has mutinied and as at the present day the sailors of the Royal Navy are better fed, paid and cared for than they ever were before there is no fear of any recurrence of disaffection one need only look at the Jaktar of the service and compare him with the appearance of almost any sailor of any merchant marine to be convinced that his grievances today are of the lightest order the wrongs experienced by sailors in a part of the merchant service have been recently remedied in part but it is satisfactory to be able to add that there is every probability of their condition being greatly improved in the future on this point however we shall have more to say in a later chapter end of chapter 14 part 3 chapter 15 part 1 of the sea its stirring story of adventure peril and heroism volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording while LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the sea its stirring story of adventure peril and heroism volume 1 by Frederick Wimper chapter 15 the history of ships and shipping interests part 1 the first attempts to float hollowed logs and rafts the ark and its dimensions skin floats and basket boats maritime commerce of antiquity Phoenician enterprise did they round the cape the ships of Tyree Carthage Hano's voyage to the west coast of Africa Egyptian galleys the great ships of the Ptolemy's heroes floating palace the Romans their repugnance to seafaring pursuits sea battles with the Carthaginians Cicero's opinions on commerce Constantinople and its commerce Venice Britain the first invasion under Julius Caesar the first invasion under Julius Caesar benefits accruing the Danish pirates the London of the period the father of the British navy Alfred and his victories Knut's fleet the Norman invasion the Crusades Richard Corde Alliance fleet the sink ports and their privileges foundation of a maritime code letters of mark opening of the Cold War opening of the Cold Trade Tross's description of the sailors of his time a glorious period the victories at Harfleur Henry V's fleet of 1500 vessels the Channel Marauders the Kingmaker pirate Sir Andrew Wood's victory action with scotch pirates the great Michael and the great Harry Queen Elizabeth's Queen Elizabeth's astuteness the nation never so well provided the most fortunate and invincible Armada its size and strength Elizabeth's appeal to the country a noble response Effingham's appointment the Armada's first disaster refitted and resales from Corona chased in the rear a series of contratempts English volunteer ships and numbers the fire ships at Calais the final action flight of the Armada fate of shipped wrecked Spanish and Ireland total loss to Spain rejoicings and thanksgivings in England it will not now be out of place to take a rapid survey of the progress of naval architecture from log and coracle to wooden walls and iron clads noting rapidly the progressive steps which led to the present epic it is only from the scriptures and from fragmentary illusions and the writings of profane historians and poets that we can derive any knowledge of the vessels employed by the ancients doubtless our first parents noticed fragments of trees or fragments of wood floating upon the surface of that river which went out of Eden to water the garden and from this to the use of logs singly or combined in rafts or hollowed into canoes would be an easy transition the first boat was probably a mere toy model and likely enough great was the surprise when it was discovered that its sides though thin would support a considerable weight in the water the first specimen of naval architecture of which we have any description is unquestionably the arc built by Noah if the qubit be taken as 18 inches she was 450 feet long 75 in breadth and 45 in depth whilst her tonnage according to the present system of that measurement would be about 15,000 tons it is more than probable that this huge vessel was after all little more than a raft or barge with a stupendous house reared over it for it was constructed merely for the purpose of floating and needed no means of propulsion she may have been comparatively speaking slightly built in her lofty upper works her carrying capacity being thereby largely increased soon after the flood if not indeed before it other means of flotation must have suggested themselves such as the inflated skins of animals these may be seen on the ancient monuments of Assyria discovered by Liard where there are many representations of people crossing rivers by this means next came wicker work of baskets of rushes or reeds smeared with mud or pitch similar to the ark in which Moses was found Mr. Liard found such boats in use on the Tigris they were constructed of twisted reeds made watertight by bitumen and were often large enough for four or five persons Pliny says in his time even now in British waters vessels of vine twigs leather are used the words in italics might be used were Pliny writing today basketwork coracles covered with leather were prepared flannel are still found in a few parts of Wales where they are used for fording streams or for fishing wooden canoes or boats whether hollowed from one log or constructed of many parts came next the paintings sculptures of upper and lower Egypt show regularly formed boats made of sawn planks of timber carrying a number of rowers and having sails the Egyptians were averse to seafaring pursuits having extensive overland commerce with their neighbors the Phoenicians were past all-caval the most distinguished navigators of the ancient world being for centuries the center of commerce the mart of nations strange to say this country whose inhabitants were the rulers of the sea in those times was a mere strip of land whose average breadth never exceeded 12 miles while its length was only 225 miles from Aridus in the north to Yopa in the south forced by the unproductiveness of this territory and blessed with one or two excellent harbors and an abundant supply of wood from the mountains of Lebanon the Phoenicians soon possessed a numerous fleet which not only monopolized the trade of the Mediterranean but navigated Solomon's fleets to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean establishing colonies wherever they went Herodotus states that a Phoenician fleet which was fitted out was also king of Egypt even circumnavigated Africa and gives details which seems to place it within the category of the very greatest voyages starting from the Red Sea they are stated to have passed Ophir generally supposed to mean part of the east coast of Africa to have rounded the continent and entering the Mediterranean by the pillows of Hercules our old friends the rocks of Gibraltar and Kuwaita who have reached Egypt in the third year of their voyage Solomon too dispatched a fleet of ships from the Red Sea to fetch gold from Ophir Theodorus gives at great length an account of the fleet said to be built by this people for the great queen Semi-Ramis with which she invaded India Semi-Ramis was long believed by many to be a mythical personage but Sir Henry Rolence's interpretations of the Assyrian inscriptions have placed the existence of this queen beyond all doubt and the Assyrian Hall of the British Museum are two statues of the god Mibu each of which bears a cuneiform inscription saying that they were made for Queen Semi-Ramis by a sculptor of Nineveh The commerce of Phoenicia must have been at its height when Nabuchad-Netzar made his attack on Tyree Zechiel gives a description of her power about the year BC 588 when ruin was hovering around her Tyree says the prophet was a merchant of the people for many isles he states that her shipboards were made of fir trees of Sennir her masts of cedars from Lebanon her ores of the oaks of Bashan and the benches of her galleys of Ivory brought out of the isles of Sheetim to the Tyrians also was due the colonization of other countries which following the example of the mother country soon rivaled her in wealth and enterprise the principle of these was Carthage which in its turn founded colonies of her own one of the first of which was Cadiz from that port Hanno made his celebrated voyage to the west coast of Africa starting with 60 ships or galleys of 50 ores each he is said to have founded six trading posts or colonies about the same time Hamilco went on a voyage of discovery to the northwestern shores of Europe where according to a poem of Festus Avienis he formed settlements in Britain and Ireland and found tin and lead boats of skin and leather Aristotle tells us that the Carthaginians were the first to increase the size of their galleys from three to four banks of ores under the dynasty of the Ptolemies the maritime commerce of Egypt rapidly improved the first of these kings caused the erection of the celebrated pharaohs or lighthouse at Alexandria in the upper story of which were windows looking seward and inside which fires were lighted by night to guide mariners to the harbor upon its front was inscribed King Ptolemy to God the savior for the benefits of sailors his successor Ptolemy Philadelphus attempted to cut a canal 100 cubits in width between Arsinoe on the Red Sea not far from Suez the arch of the Nile enormous vessels were constructed at this time and during the succeeding reigns Ptolemy the son of Lagos is said to have owned 500 galleys and 2,000 smaller vessels Lucian speaks of a vessel that he saw in Egypt that was 120 cubits long another constructed by Ptolemy Philopatter is described by Calazines an Alexandrian historian is 280 cubits say 420 feet in length she is said to have 4 rudders 2 heads and 2 sterns and to have been manned by 4,000 sailors meaning principally oarsmen and 3,000 fighting men Calazines also describes another built during the dynasty of the Ptolemy's called the Thalamigus the barrier of the bed chamber this leviathan was 300 feet in length and fitted up with every conceivable kind of luxury and magnificence with colonnades, marble staircases and gardens from all which it is easy to infer that she was not intended for seagoing purposes but was probably an immense barge forming a kind of summer palace moored on the Nile Plutarch speaking of her says that she was a mere matter of curiosity for she differed very little from an immovable building and was calculated mainly for show as she could not be put in motion without great difficulty in danger but the most prodigious vessel on the records of the ancients was built by order of hero the second tyrant of Syracuse under the superintendence of Archimedes about 230 years before Christ the description of which would fill a small volume Athenius has left the description of this vast floating fabric there was he states as much timber employed on her as would have served for the construction of 50 galleys it had all the varieties of apartments and the conveniences necessary to a palace such as banqueting rooms baths a library a temple of Venus gardens fishponds, mills and a spacious gymnasium the inlaying of the floors of the middle apartment represented in various colors the stories of Homer's Iliad there were everywhere the most beautiful paintings and every embellishment and ornament that art could furnish were bestowed and every part the inside of the temple was inlaid with Cyprus wood the statues were of ivory and the floor was studded with precious stones this vessel had 20 benches of ores and was encompassed by an iron rampart or battery it had also eight towers with walls and bulwarks which were furnished with machines of war with a stone of 300 pounds weight or a dart of 12 cubits long to the distance of half a mile to launch her Archmedes invented a screw of great power she had four wooden and eight iron anchors her main mast, composed of a single tree was procured after much trouble from distant inland mountains here finding that he had no harbors of Sicily capable of containing her and learning that there was famine in Egypt sent her loaded with corn to Alexandria she bore an inscription of which the following is part hero, the son of Heracles the Dorian who wields the scepter of Sicily sends this vessel bearing in her the fruits of the earth do thou, O Neptune preserve in safety this ship over the blue waves among the Grecian states Corinth stood high in naval matters her people were expert shipbuilders and claimed the invention of the trireme or galley with three tiers of ores Athens with its three ports also carried on for a long period a large trade with Egypt, Palestine and the countries bordering the Black Sea the Romans had little inclination at first for seamanship but were forced into it by their rivals of Carthage it was as late as BC 261 before they determined to build a war fleet and had not a Carthaginian galley grounded on the coast of Italy been seized by them they would not have understood the proper construction of one previously they had nothing to do with the French boats rudely built of planks the noble Romans affected to despise commerce at this period and trusted to the Greek and other traders to supply their wants Quintus Claudius introduced the law which passed that no senator or father of one should own a vessel of a greater capacity than just sufficient to carry the produce of their own lands here the enlightened Cicero on the subject of commerce he observes that trade is mean if it has only a small profit for its object but it is otherwise if it has large dealings bringing many sorts of merchandise from foreign parts and distributing them to the public without deceit and after a reasonable profit such merchants are contented with the riches they have acquired and purchasing land with them retire into the country and apply themselves to agriculture I cannot perceive wherein is the dishonour of that function mariners were not esteemed by the Romans until after the great battle of Actium which through the monopoly of the lucrative Indian trade into their hands Claudius, AD 41 deepened the the Tiber and built the port of Ostia and about 50 years later Trajan constructed the port of Civita, Vecchia and Uncana where commerce flourished the Roman fleets were often a source of trouble to them Carausius who was really a Dutch soldier of fortune about the year 280 seized upon the fleet he commanded and crossed from Gessoriacum to Britain he was the king himself emperor he held the reigns of government for 7 years and was at length murdered by his lieutenant he was really the first to create a British manned fleet in the reign of Diocletian on the coast of Gaul threw off the Roman yoke and claimed tribute from all who appeared in the seas the same emperor founded Constantinople erected later under Constantine into the seat of government this city seemed to be destined by nature as a great commercial center caravans placed it in direct communication with the east and it was really the intrapos of the world till its capture by the Venetians in 1204 that independent republic had been then in a flourishing condition for over 200 years and for more than as many after its people were the greatest traders of the world it was at Venice in 1202 that some of the leading pilgrims assembled to negotiate for a fleet to be used in the fourth crusade the crusaders agreed to pay the Venetians before sailing 84,000 marks of silver and to share with them all the booty taken by land or sea the republic undertook to supply flat bottomed vessels enough to convey 4,500 knights 8,000 soldiers provisions for nine months and a fleet of galleys surrounded by the silver streak our hardy forefathers often crossed to Ireland and France prior to the first invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar BC 55 when he sailed from Bologna with 80 vessels and 8,000 men and with 18 transports to carry 800 horses for the cavalry in the second invasion he employed a fleet of 600 boats and 25 war galleys having with him 5 legions of infantry and 2,000 cavalry a formidable army for the poor islanders to contend against but their intercourse with the Romans speedily brought about commercial relations of importance the pearl fisheries were then most profitable while the native fishery was greatly esteemed by the Roman epicures of whom Juvenal speaks in his fourth satire he says they could at one bite the oysters taste to side and say if at Circassian rocks or in the Lucrian lake or on the coast of Richborough in Britain they were bred British oysters were exported to Rome as American oysters are now a part of Scotland Marshall also mentions another trade in one of his epigrams that of basket making works of barbaric art a basket eye from painted Britain came but the Roman city now calls the painted Britain's art their own the smaller description of boats other than galleys employed by the Romans for transporting their troops and supplies to the Saxons Keele or Kile which name has come down to us in the form of Keele and is still applied to a description of barge used in the north of England thus, wheel may the Keele row says the song and on the Coley Tine a small barge carrying 21 tons 400 weight is said to carry a Keele of coals the Romans must also have possessed large transport vehicles for within 70 or 80 years after they had gained a secure footing in this country they received a reinforcement of 5000 men in 17 ships or about 300 men besides stores to each vessel Bede places the final departure of the Romans from Britain in AD 409 or just before the siege of Rome by Attila our ancestors were now rather worse off than before for they were left prey to the Vikings those bold, hearty, unscrupulous Scandinavian semen of the north who began to make piratical visits for the sake of plunder to the coasts of Scotland and England they found their way to the Mediterranean and were known and feared in every port from Iceland to Constantinople they were propelled mainly by means of oars but they had also small square sails to get help from a stern wind and as they often sailed straight across the stormy northern seas it is probable that they had made considerable progress in the rigging and handling of their ships a plank built boat was discovered a few years since in Denmark which the antiquaries assigned to this century it is a row boat measuring 77 feet from the stem to the stern and proportionately broad in the middle the construction shows that there was an abundance of material and skilled labour it is alike at Bowen stern and the 30 row locks are reversible so was to permit the boat to be navigated with either end forward the vessel is built of heavy planks overlapping each other from the gunwale to the keel and cut thick at the point of juncture so that they may be mortised into the cross beams and gunwale instead of being merely nailed very similar boats light, swift and strong are still used in the Shetlands and Norway little is known of the state of England from the departure of the Romans to the 8th century the doubtful and traditional landing of Hengis and Horsa with 1500 men in three long ships is hardly worth discussing here the venerable Bede who wrote about AD 750 speaks of London as the mark of many nations resorting to it by sea and land and he continues that King Ethelbert built the church of St. Paul in the city of London where he and his successors should have their episcopal sea but the history of this period generally is in a hopeless fog still we know that London was now a thriving port Caesar in his commentaries distinctly states that his reason for attempting the conquest of England was on account of the vast supplies which his gallish enemies received from us the exports were principally cattle hides corn dogs and slaves the latter an important item Strabo observes that our internal parts at that time were on a level with the African slave coasts Britons never shall be slaves could not therefore have been said in those days London long prior to the invasion of England by the Romans was an existing city and vessels paid dues at Billingsgate long before the establishment of any custom house Pennant tells us in his famous work on London as early as 979 all the reign of Ethelred a small vessel was to pay add Billingesgate one half penny as a toll a greater bearing sales one penny a keel or hulk keel vel hulkus four pence a ship laden with wood one piece per toll and a boat with fish one half penny or a lodger one penny we had even now trade with France for its wines for mention is made of ships from who came here and landed them and freed them from toll that is paid their duties what they amounted to I cannot learn end of chapter 15 part 1


Russia builds 120km defence line in Zaporizia, preparing for Ukrainian attack on Melitopol. British Defence Intelligence has reported that Russian forces have built three defence lines along a 120km stretch in Zaporizia oblast, but they will be of little use without sufficient troops and artillery support. For recent weeks, Russia has continued to develop extensive linear defences in Zaporizia oblast in Ukraine's south. The area is highly likely the responsibility of Russia's southern grouping of forces. The UK Ministry of Defence states Russia has now completed three layers of defensive zones across approximately 120km of this sector. These consist of a front line of forward combat positions and then two zones of nearly continuous more elaborate defences. Each zone is approximately 10-20km behind the one in front. Russia has probably put significant effort into these defensive works because it is convinced Ukraine is considering an assault towards the city of Melitopol. The defences have the potential to be formidable obstacles, but their utility almost entirely depends on them being supported by sufficient artillery and personnel. It remains unclear if the southern grouping of forces can currently muster these resources. UK Defence Intelligence noted in a previous report, the UK Ministry of Defence predicted that Russian air assault forces would be more involved in offensive operations in Ukraine.


Let's start right at the beginning. Tell me a little bit about your work in the gay community, BDSM community. It started, I suppose, in the late 70s when I was aware that I had an interest in BDSM. I was just getting involved in doing it.  It was a sort of socialist journal, so I was involved in lots of political discussions, met a lot of people, went to meetings and I realised that Leder and BDSM are very different and I'm not particularly a person into leather. My fetishism in my head is that it's not on my body for the most part and so I thought there needed to be a place where guys, gay men who were into BDSM, who wanted to meet each other, to learn, to pick up techniques could do that. So in 1981 I, with a few friends started SMGays, which is a social and educational group and now in 2019 it's still running. Take us to some of the complications of Operation Spanner here in London in the late 80s. How did you see that entire situation unfold? It came as something of a shock because up until the Spanner case, I don't think any of us had thought that what we were doing was illegal. The whole point was that we were doing it safely, we weren't damaging people, so why was the law interested? So it came as a great shock when these 60 men were prosecuted and convicted of quite minor things. The injuries were not very slight, a few red marks, maybe a bit of temporary piercing or play piercing, I'm not sure that went on in the Spanner case, but that level of sort of minor injury that you wouldn't see the next day probably and that was considered to be illegal. And we said, what do we do? Do we shut down? Do we say it's not safe to hold these meetings? Or do we actually double our efforts? And we said, we're going to stand up for this. We're going to be out and proud about our SM interests and our activities. Now, we will give people lots of advice legally about what the law says and we'll give people advice about how not to get arrested, but we're not going to say you shouldn't do it, not the way of advocating that people break the law, but we're recognizing that people need to be aware of the law and make their own judgment. And I think that was the first year that SMGAs actually had its own banners on the Pride March in London. And that was part of our, we're going to go out there out and proud, show our presence and in a sense become a focal point that other people could see that we were being not cowed by it, but standing up to give themselves more courage. We're being like a beacon in that sense. Tell me more about the campaign that you mentioned just a moment ago, filming in a little more on Count Denon Spanner. It was a lot of education, a lot of making people aware that the law was intruding in their private lives and they couldn't just sit back, they had to be aware of it. Over this period, the convictions were being appealed through the court system in the UK and onto Europe and Count Denon Spanner did a lot to raise money to finance those appeals, to do lobbying with MPs and all sorts of bodies to get public opinion on the side of common sense, which is that why these men going to prison, these men having criminal convictions for activities that are not serious, whereas you can go into a boxing ring and cause permanent brain damage and you get a gold belt and medals. So one of the contradictions that we stress a lot was the difference between sporting activities, dangerous activities, you can go skiing and break a leg, you can do all sorts of things and cause yourself disabling injury.  I think if it had been heterosexuals, the sentences might have been less or there might have been no convictions. Now did the monies that you raised and the political action that you attained, do you feel that that was beneficial to the case that it had an impact? Realistically no because the men did, their convictions were upheld, they did go to prison, we took it to the European Court of Human Rights and in fact one of the things we did was three of the original spanner defendants plus five other people put this case to Europe. I was actually one of those farm leave because they wanted people who came from different walks of life, so there were heterosexuals and lesbians, gays, there were men and women, so the idea was to show that it affected a lot of people. And bizarrely the European Court said that they didn't think that we were at risk of prosecution, which didn't make a lot of sense as some people had been prosecuted and convicted but unfortunately that put an end to all the sort of legal process and anytime there's been any suggestion that the law might be changed, that the people who are opposed to it just say well Europe rejected it, there we are. One thing that has been coming up among everyone with whom I have been speaking about Spanner is that many of the people think that this was indicative of its time, that the society at the time created this sort of paranoia about BDSM activities. Do you feel that? I'm not sure that I can put my finger on things and say that. I think that the homophobic aspect was much stronger then in the judiciary and in the press. It's interesting that then compared to now I was just reading a newspaper on the way in where on the Metro the local London newspaper was about this homophobic attack on this guy, full front page, second page, police looking all very positive in a sense about the fact that this shouldn't be happening. Long time ago it would barely have made the newspapers so that side of it has changed. I think that fed into it that these were all, if they'd been respectable married couples maybe not and there were some cases actually that occurred since the original ones that involved heterosexuals where they did things that were far more serious and didn't get convicted. I don't know if you know much about that. There was a case where a man was fisting his wife and he had a signet ring on and she basically bled to death and the judge said it wasn't a foreseeable risk. Do you feel that Spanner has impacted that view today? I think that the I'm not sure about the judiciary, certainly the lawyers are much better informed and on both sides there was a case earlier this year. I was a guy who did a lot heavy heavy sex with his girlfriend and involved a certain amount of punching and things and also sticking things up a vagina and she basically bled to death because they were off their heads on drugs and he just left her there on the point of ambulance he didn't call an ambulance the next morning and he was he was prosecuted and so there's now all this sort of case law about BDSM injuries that lawyers can call on. Interestingly a man used a wire coat hanger heated to brandy's initials on his wife's buttocks no no conviction there one of the Spanner men did something similar with and he got a conviction for it exactly the same activity. Let's take a step back because the Spanner trust has now been referenced a couple of times for the audience who may not know what that is would you please explain the Spanner trust? The Spanner trust is there to campaign and to do what it can to change the current law which says that you cannot consent to an injury that is more than transient or trifling. Now those are vague words open to you know interpretation and what the Spanner trust has done is firstly worked with other people and lawyers to take the case through the appeals court the House of Lords the European Court but also further activities so when in the mid 90s there was a big review of the law on sexual offences we did a lot putting a proposal to be included in this which would have gone against the Spanner ruling by saying that consent during sexual activity is a defense to injuries up to serious harm or something changing that unfortunately and that's quite a lot of work to draft those things are going to be lawyers to help you put those things in. The reply was that it's actually the law of assault that was involved in Spanner because it's the level of injury and in theory the sex is relevant now we know that's not true because because if these men have been engaging as we said in sport or something with more serious injuries you know if I gave you a black eye in a boxing ring that's fine I gave you a black eye as part of sex it's not right it's fairly typically sort of English that when sex comes in the door common sense goes out the window wherever there's an opportunity to have an influence or even just to educate people who are legislating just because they don't come across people who do that very often they're there in a little vacuum and so if there's an opportunity to just make it real for them with some real people some real implements if you want some real experiences that is bound to help in the long run even if it just trickles through slowly. Do you feel that truly if Spanner were to come up today as opposed to 30 years ago do you think it would be fundamentally different? I think that they wouldn't be prosecuted I don't think it would get to court one of the things is that it's there's no benefit in a sense there's no benefit to society by doing that compared to police resources stopping drug or knife crime which are the major issues and one of the things that SM Gays did at its dungeon in the sky 92 or 93 was had a panel with police officers where the police and people were wondering around this event thing there's uniform police officers here and we said it's all right they're out there for a panel they're friends don't worry we did make sure they didn't go to some of the workshops but they were a panel and they basically said this wouldn't you know this would not happen again because our priorities are drugs in clubs knife crime which was less so but you know there's not a priority for us it's a waste of resources and police resources are now much less than they were 30 years ago and they've got much as I said much bigger workload what was the mood of the BDSM community when the Spanner decision was final when the case was lost in Europe the final one it was it was real disappointment it was like we haven't got anywhere to go let's hope that we can get a case that you know that some prosecutions will happen it was it was it was a great disappointment because that that was it's the end of the line I think that had it been the case that there'd been a lot of successful prosecutions during that period then we would have felt like we were being persecuted we were at risk and we had no redress as in my view the number of cases was minimal if any while the law's there it's still open for someone to use it some police officer some who wants to make a name for themselves someone who wants to do something while it's there it's always a threat do you ever think that law is going to be over returned do you think there's any hope I think that the the the bizarre thing this being an old country no law is that the laws of assault date date back to 1861 and it's the 1861 laws that were referenced in Spanner against those and there's been no major overhaul of the laws of assault in this country but that would be the opportunity if they were going to do it then you would actually look at it and say let's change the threshold in that law for what injuries you can consent to let's try and get some sense between what you consent to in sport I want you to consent to in sex because that is a very fundamental difference and one of the things winding back to earlier discussions a fundamental difference is that you consent to someone injuring you seriously for sport but not for sex even though the sex injuries are probably far minor than the sporting and so that sort of thing and the reason why that argument which was used in court in the Spanner appeals was that sex isn't a good reason for injury was it is was sport is because sport is sort of you know manly and worthy and public school and but quite few the judiciary come from or came from then so the point is it it's about prejudice it's about saying sex you know sex if it's not a man and a woman doing it in the missionary position that can't be the excuse for anything I've had the the chance to look at the book sado masochism by Bill Thompson and I've brought this up in some of the other interviews that I've been doing there are two quotes in here that I'd like to present to you for your opinion one of them we'll start with this one they're talking about moral crusaders in order to gain more legislation giving the police more power this cycle of deceit has turned Britain into one of the most sexually policed countries in Europe what are your thoughts on that it is to some extent I'm not sure how old that that quote is I can't remember when he wrote the book I believe it's late 90s yes um it is but I think it is is it's not so much legally because I think we're on a pile in terms of age consent and things I think it's a moralism it's a prudery it's the fact that I can go to the USA and go to these amazing um sm summer camps that take place you find nothing like that in the UK because the tabloid press would actually expose it instantly the camp grounds where it is with the that that has never really gone away and I think Britain is is different from other parts of Europe in this Britain has never got away from the Victorian prudery about sex and BDSM is just you know it's more in your face and it gives them another reason to sort of touch and disapprove so in that sense it's it's policed but I think it's it's policed by morality not by the law to some extent that it's taken a long time for the newspapers to start having pinups and that sort of very misogynistic view that sort of thing another bit here in the book that I would like to bring up with you is this phrase it is impossible to come to any other conclusion than that Lord Templeman found the spanner defendants guilty either because he was completely ignorant of the nature of sm sex which would make him unfit to judge such a case or because he was deliberately manipulating the evidence to justify a personal preference which would also make him unfit to judge in any case what have you to say to that I think in the case in in the in the cases it's very difficult to know as it went up through the courts more evidence was done the problem was that in the original case the men were basically sort of forced to plead guilty in the original lower court and then they feel because other factors they were said well it's against the law you did this because they were in a sense taken off their guard in as the way up the fact that the injuries were very trifling that compared to sport injuries or the facts of the injuries were presented very clearly now if you ignore those facts then clearly the only thing driving you is either prejudice or a very narrow interpretation of the law because English law doesn't say you can cut someone to one inch we're not two it doesn't say you can use a cane but not a flogger it says transient and trifling and things like that they're such vague things that they're open to interpretation and so it would have been open for the judges in the higher courts to say this these injuries are not significant and therefore there's no case to answer the fact they didn't is because their prejudice meant they they were very literal right in their or very narrow in their interpretation of of the law of assault what do you feel will be the legacy of Operation Spanner I think that it will have been it will have enabled a broad range of people to feel confident about their BDSM sexuality to explore it it puts it in the in the public domain at the bizarrely during the early 90s when the appeals were going on you had big billboard adverts of women in in Slutter Hills and men in sort of rubber fetish gear on dog leads crawling behind them advertising lipstick or perfume so BDSM imagery was around but so in that sense the image was allowed but there was no connection with the sexual side of it but you know a bit of titillation but that was it I think the legacy will be that it that it brought BDSM out of out of the closet and that as with any fight some people get hurt very seriously you know emotionally psychologically sometimes physically on the way but battles are like that and that the main aim is to make sure that people don't get hurt in the future because of their sexuality but not unintentionally anyway if you could say anything to the Spanner litigants what would you tell them I would say thank you mr. Derek Cohen thank you very much for participating in Inside Leather History if I could say chat I'm grateful to you you're very welcome