the crumb of a penny
loaf.'

The Otaheitans use no other bread but the fruit kind. It is, therefore,
little wonder that the West Indian planters were anxious to grow this
valuable fruit in their own islands, as, if it flourished there, food
would be provided with little trouble for their servants and slaves.

In the passage to Otaheite, Captain Bligh had several disturbances with
his men. He had an extremely irritable temper, and would often fly into
a passion and make most terrible accusations, and use most terrible
language to his officers and sailors.

On one occasion he ordered the crew to eat some decayed pumpkins,
instead of their allowance of cheese, which he said they had stolen from
the ship's stores.

The pumpkin was to be given to the men at the rate of one pound of
pumpkin to two pounds of biscuits.

The men did not like accepting the substitute on these terms. When the
captain heard this, he was infuriated, and ordered the first man of
each mess to be called by name, at the same time saying to them, 'I'll
see who will dare refuse the pumpkin or anything else I may order to be
served out.' Then, after swearing at them in a shocking way, he ended by
saying, 'I'll make you eat grass, or anything else you can catch before
I have done with you,' and threatened to flog the first man who dared to
complain again.

While they were at Otaheite several of the sailors were flogged for
small offences, or without reason, and on the other hand, during the
seven months they stayed at the island, both officers and men were
allowed to spend a great deal of time on shore, and were given the
greatest possible liberty.

Therefore, when the breadfruit plants were collected, and they weighed
anchor on April 4 in 1787, it is not unlikely they were loth to return
to the strict discipline of the ship, and to leave an island so lovely,
and where it was possible to live in the greatest luxury without any
kind of labour.

From the time they sailed until April 27, Christian, the third officer,
had been in constant hot water with Captain Bligh. On the afternoon of
that day, when the captain came on deck, he missed some cocoanuts that
had been heaped up between the guns. He said at once that they had been
stolen, and that it could not have happened without the officers knowing
of it. When they told him they had not seen any of the crew touch them,
he cried, 'Then you must have taken them yourselves!' After this he
questioned t