Carvings from Pitcairn Island the most remote place on planet Earth
One night I watched a documentary about the Mutiny on the Bounty which detailed the rebellion of Fletcher Christian against the British Captain Bligh. After the mutiny, Captain Bligh and others loyal to the captain were put to sea in a small boat which they successfully sailed to safety. Meanwhile, Christian and the other mutineers sailed back to Tahiti where they had recently spent several months recuperating from the long and arduous journey from England. After reaching Tahiti, the mutineers began to worry about being captured by the British navy. Also, the Tahitians began to grow weary of their visitors. The mutineers and several Tahitian men and women boarded the Bounty again and they set sail in search of a new home. Eventually, they settled on Pitcairn Island, which previously had been charted by the British but never explored. Since Pitcairn Island does not have a natural harbor and the sea is often quite rough, the mutineers had a great deal of difficulty transferring the ship's goods to the island. After they finally finished, they burned the ship to prevent it from being seen and thus giving away their hideout.
	After watching the documentary, I searched the Web for information about Pitcairn Island. I found a very interesting site at The Pitcairn Island Web Site. This site lists several handmade items that can be ordered from Pitcairn, made by the descendants of the original mutineers. On a whim, I ordered a vase from Meralda Warren because it was
		explained that her products are shipped faster because you can send the check to her friend in California who then transmits the order to her via Ham radio. At that time, there were no pictures to show what I was ordering, but the price was only $20. I sent the check and it cleared the bank shortly thereafter. More than six months passed, and the vase still had not arrived. I had pretty much given up on it, figuring it had been lost in transit. After all, the only way mail gets out of Pitcairn is by being picked up by a cargo ship which happens to pass nearby. (New Zealand requires ships traveling near
the island to carry mail for them. Sometimes the New Zealand air force will drop mail from fighter planes on practice bomb runs.) To my surprise, one day I found a beat up package on my doorstep with a return address on Pitcairn Island. I opened it up and found a wonderful vase wrapped in old New Zealand newspapers. Inscribed on the vase I found the phrase "Jacob Warren Pitcairn Island 1998".
The next day I was throwing out the packing and I noticed that one of the wads of newspaper was wrapped funny. I nearly threw it out, but unfolded it at the last second. Inside was a really neat carved turtle and a thank you note from Meralda Warren. The turtle is engraved with the same phrase as the vase. So the next time you are buying some cheezy piece of junk at Wal-Mart, perhaps you might remember that you can buy some really cool stuff from a remote island populated by the descendants of mutineering cast-aways. Then again, you could be the same old loser and buy that pink plastic vase with "Made in Chernobyl" stamped on the bottom. After all, it's your life. Wut-a-way you! ("Pitkernese" for "Good day") Return to the Folsom Project
For an interesting account of a trip to Pitcairn, click here http://www.thesalmons.org/lynn/pitcairn1.html Visit Meralda Warren's website - http://www.maimiti.pn Page hits = 1536 since 1/08/03