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From: Peter Fogg (no email)
Date: Thu Sep 16 2004 - 15:46:23 EDT
-----Original Message-----
From Zorbec Legras
William Bligh is the only captain that could captain a rotten, smaller
vessel that barely fits all eighteen of his men, fight off hostile natives
(fidjians) and sailed 3618 N. miles back to civilization.
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They had the great misfortune to arrive at their first island, still in
shock from the mutiny, on a Friday night. The natives were restless. That's
just my little joke, and perhaps it's a poor one, as Bligh lost there the
only member of his crew to die between the Bounty and Batavia.
Unfortunately, they died like flies once in Batavia, as did most Europeans.
Bligh took ship as soon as he could, with just a couple of favourites, and
abandoned the others.
The other tragedy, for Bligh this time, is that when earlier they were
threading their way through the Great Barrier Reef, and resting on its
islands, they ran away each time Australian aborigines showed an interest in
them. They were weak and felt vulnerable, and mindful of the earlier
incident, but possibly had little to fear. At the same time the koories were
sheltering escaped convicts and shipwreck victims all along the coast.
Nobody, as far as I know, has ever accused them of being cannibals. Poor
eating Bligh's lot would have made anyway. Because this part of the world
(the Pacific in general) was so little known, and of so much interest in
Europe at the time, Bligh could have made his reputation, and produced
something of far more value than the silly breadfruit that were never of
much use to anyone, if he had just tarried for a while with the locals. And
fattened and rested himself and his crew, which was what they needed most.
Back in England he would have been the expert on them and their area. When
they arrived in Timor the Dutch governor, himself dying of fever, was all
agog at Bligh's news of the Pacific - it was still so very little known.
But I agree with you that it was an amazing feat in a tiny overcrowded boat,
with little navigational resources. I've seen a replica. Incidentally, the
boats traditionally used on Pitcairn are similar.
From Zorbec Legras
He also managed to keep his mens spirits up when the times were really
tough. He even gave away part of his rations to keep his men healthy.
Captain William Blight brought in this breadfruit tree in 1793 to Barbados
(without mutiny).
A fine navigator and a good Commander who sails once with bandits.
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They were lucky enough to have rotten weather a lot of the time, in that
little boat. Starved, cold, wet, frightened, but alive. Bligh kept them all
to minimal rations, although the men cried piteously for more. If the
weather had been better they would surely have been dead well before Timor,
as they had little water. Bligh remained very much the captain. He gave the
orders, others made sail and tended the tiller, although only Bligh
dispensed the portions of food.
Later on Bligh was appointed Governor of the colony of New South Wales, then
the whole of eastern Australia. He managed to so alienate and exasperate his
subordinates, once again, that he enjoyed another mutiny. His troops marched
on Government House and found him under the bed. This one ended his career.
He really was an authoritarian nitwit.
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