Ducie Island named it in honour of Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, under whom he had served earlier in his career. HMS "Pandora" turned northwards from Ducie and, because of this change of course, Edwards did not sight the other islands of the group. If HMS "Pandora" had maintained its course, it would eventually have reached Pitcairn Island and found the "Bounty" mutineers. The crew of the whaleship "Essex", which a whale had attacked and sunk in November 1820, mistakenly believed that they had reached Ducie after a month at sea in two whaleboats. In fact they had reached Henderson Island. Captain
Mutiny on the Bounty most of its masts and spars, for use on the island. It was set ablaze and destroyed on 23 January, either as an agreed upon precaution against discovery or as an unauthorised act by Quintal—in either case, there was now no means of escape. The island proved an ideal haven for the mutineers—uninhabited and virtually inaccessible, with plenty of food, water, and fertile land. For a while, the mutineers and Tahitians existed peaceably. Christian settled down with Isabella; a son, Thursday October Christian, was born, as were other children. Christian's authority as leader gradually diminished, and he became prone to