Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse In November 1790, Captain Edward Edwards—in command of HMS "Pandora"—had sailed from England with orders to comb the Pacific for the mutineers of HMS "Bounty". In March of the following year, "Pandora" arrived at Tahiti and picked up 14 "Bounty" men who had stayed on that island. Although some of the 14 had not joined the mutiny, all were imprisoned and shackled in a cramped "cage" built on the deck, which the men grimly nicknamed "Pandora's Box". "Pandora" then left Tahiti in search of "Bounty" and the leader of the mutiny, Fletcher Christian. Captain Edwards' search for the remaining mutineers
Mutiny on the Bounty island which Bligh knew from earlier navigators contained fresh water and a hot spring, but he did not attempt a landing. The weather was cold and wintry, conditions akin to the vicinity of Cape Horn, and it was difficult to take navigational observations, but Bligh's skill was such that on 19 August he sighted Mewstone Rock, on the south-west corner of Tasmania and, two days later, made anchorage in Adventure Bay. The "Bounty" party spent their time at Adventure Bay in recuperation, fishing, replenishment of water casks, and felling timber. There were peaceful encounters with the native population. The first