neck with a pistol ball. The same night, the widows of the
deceased Englishmen arose and put to death the whole of the
Otaheitans, leaving Smith, the only man alive upon the island,
with eight or nine women and several small children. On his
recovery, he applied himself to tilling the ground, so that it
now produces plenty of yams, cocoa-nuts, bananas, and
plantains; hogs and poultry in abundance. There are now some
grown-up men and women, children of the mutineers, on the
island, the whole population amounting to about thirty-five,
who acknowledge Smith as father and commander of them all;
they all speak English, and have been educated by him (as
Captain Folger represents) in a religious and moral way.

'The second mate of the _Topaz_ asserts that Christian, the
ringleader, became insane shortly after their arrival on the
island, and threw himself off the rocks into the sea; another
died of a fever before the massacre of the remaining six took
place. The island is badly supplied with water, sufficient
only for the present inhabitants, and no anchorage.

'Smith gave to Captain Folger a chronometer made by Kendall,
which was taken from him by the Governor of Juan Fernandez.

'Extracted from the log-book of the _Topaz_, 29th Sept. 1808.

(Signed) 'WM. FITZMAURICE, Lieut. '_Valparaiso, Oct. 10th,
1808._'

This narrative stated two facts that established its general
authenticity--the name of Alexander Smith, who was one of the mutineers,
and the name of the maker of the chronometer, with which the _Bounty_
was actually supplied. Interesting as this discovery was considered to
be, it does not appear that any steps were taken in consequence of this
authenticated information, the government being at that time probably
too much engaged in the events of the war; nor was anything further
heard of this interesting little society, until the latter part of 1814,
when a letter was transmitted by Rear Admiral Hotham, then cruising off
the coast of America, from Mr. Folger himself, to the same effect as the
preceding extract from his log, but dated March, 1813.

In the first-mentioned year (1814) we had two frigates cruising in the
Pacific,--the _Briton_, commanded by Sir Thomas Staines, and the
_Tagus_, by Captain Pipon. The following letter from the former of these
officers was received at the Admiralty early in the ye