Mutiny on the Bounty Coleman, McIntosh and others—generally vanished from the public eye after the closing of the procedures. After leaving Tahiti on 22 September 1789, Christian sailed "Bounty" west in search of a safe haven. He then formed the idea of settling on Pitcairn Island, far to the east of Tahiti; the island had been reported in 1767, but its exact location was never verified. After months of searching, Christian rediscovered the island on 15 January 1790, east of its recorded position. This longitudinal error contributed to the mutineers' decision to settle on Pitcairn. On arrival the ship was unloaded and stripped of
Mutiny on the Bounty on 8 May, to search for Christian and "Bounty" among the thousands of southern Pacific islands. Apart from a few spars discovered at Palmerston Island, no traces of the fugitive vessel were found. Edwards continued the search until August, when he turned west and headed for the Dutch East Indies. On 29 August 1791, "Pandora" ran aground on the outer Great Barrier Reef. The men in "Pandora's Box" were ignored as the regular crew attempted to prevent the ship from foundering. When Edwards gave the order to abandon ship, "Pandora"s armourer began to remove the prisoners' shackles, but the ship