which we have spoken, had been
finished, six of the fourteen mutineers that were left on Otaheite
embarked in her, with the intention of proceeding to the East Indies,
and actually put to sea; but meeting with bad weather, and suspecting
the nautical abilities of Morrison, whom they had elected as commanding
officer, to conduct her in safety, they resolved on returning to
Otaheite. Morrison, it seems, first undertook the construction of this
schooner, being himself a tolerable mechanic, in which he was assisted
by the two carpenters, the cooper, and some others. To this little band
of architects, we are told, Morrison acted both as director and
chaplain, distinguishing the Sabbath day by reading to them the Church
Liturgy, and hoisting the British colours on a flagstaff erected near
the scene of their operations. Conscious of his innocence, his object is
stated to have been that of reaching Batavia in time to secure a passage
home in the next fleet bound to Holland; but that their return was
occasioned, not by any distrust of Morrison's talents, but by a refusal,
on the part of the natives, to give them a sufficient quantity of
matting and other necessaries for so long a voyage, being, in fact,
desirous of retaining them on the island. Stewart and young Heywood took
no part in this transaction, having made up their minds to remain at
Otaheite, and there to await the arrival of a king's ship, it being
morally certain that ere long one would be sent out thither to search
for them, whatever might have been the fate of Bligh and his companions;
and that this was really their intention is evident by the alacrity they
displayed in getting on board the _Pandora_, the moment of her arrival.

On the 8th of May, this frigate left Otaheite, accompanied by the little
schooner which the mutineers had built, and the history of which is
somewhat remarkable. In point of size she was not a great deal larger
than Lieutenant Bligh's launch, her dimensions being thirty feet length
of keel; thirty-five feet length on deck; nine feet and a half extreme
breadth; five feet depth of the hold. She parted from the _Pandora_ near
the Palmerston Islands, when searching for the _Bounty_, and was not
heard of till the arrival of the _Pandora's_ crew at Samarang, in Java,
where they found her lying at anchor, the crew having suffered so
dreadfully from famine and the want of water, that one of the young
gentlemen belonging to her became delirious. She