Mutiny on the Bounty first port of call. Christian therefore headed "Bounty" towards the small island of Tubuai, some south of Tahiti. Tubuai had been discovered and roughly charted by Cook; except for a single small channel, it was entirely surrounded by a coral reef and could, Christian surmised, be easily defended against any attack from the sea. "Bounty" arrived at Tubuai on 28 May 1789. The reception from the native population was hostile; when a flotilla of war canoes headed for the ship, Christian used a four-pounder gun to repel the attackers. At least a dozen warriors were killed, and the rest scattered.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film) been abandoned long before Bligh's time. Indeed, the meticulous record of "Bounty"s log reveals that the flogging rate was lower than the average for that time. Prior to the mutiny, "Bounty" had only two deaths—one seaman died of scurvy (not keelhauling), and the ship's surgeon died apparently of drink and indolence and not as a result of abuse by Bligh. Likewise, the film shows the mutineers taking over the ship only after killing several loyal crewmen, when in fact none died (although one crewman came very close to shooting Bligh until stopped by Christian). Lastly, Christian is shown being inspired