The captain, officers, and crew of the Khandeish, on their arrival in San Francisco, represented the condition of the Pitcairn islanders as a very needy one indeed, although the islanders themselves, accustomed all their lives to the simplest manner of living, did not realize so fully as their late guests did their “forlorn condition,” as some of the papers expressed it. Of the treatment they received while on the island they spoke in terms of warmest gratitude, and did what they could in return for the hospitality that had been shown them. In this they succeeded beyond their utmost expectations, for the generous citizens of San Francisco responded with such heartiness that contributions kept pouring in, and every useful and necessary article that was thought of,—cooking utensils, tinware of almost every description, cups, plates, spoons, etc., etc., wooden pails and tin pails,—testified to their large-hearted liberality. Clothing made and unmade, buttons, pins, needles, etc., almost enough to stock a respectable haberdasher’s shop, were contributed to the immense stock of goods collected in response to the call of charity and benevolence. A good supply of flour, a luxury to the islanders, was sent by Captain Skelly, of the Khandeish, as his contribution to the general stock. As a crowning gift to the whole, a beautifully-toned organ, of the Mason & Hamlin Organ Company, was sent.
The gifts came on different ships, the first part being brought by Captain D. A. Scribner, of the American ship St. John, which arrived at the island in March, 1876. The captain was a very dear friend of the islanders, having made repeated calls to the island before. He was intrusted with a large mail from the ship’s company that had lately left the island, and whose letters were frequent in their expressions of gratitude for the kindness that had been shown them during their temporary sojourn, and were also full of praise at the munificence and generosity displayed by the good people of San Francisco, who had so willingly responded to the call for charity.
To say that the islanders were grateful for the goodness so lavishly showered upon them, would but faintly express what they really felt. Grateful indeed they were, yet none the less did they feel their unworthiness that they should be the favored recipients of so much bounty in return for the small acts of human kindness rendered their fellow-men in distress, and which they rightly considered were only their duty to do.
The organ was brought by Captain Scribner. Directly on its being landed it was lifted on the shoulders of a few strong men and borne by them up the steep path, nor was the heavy but precious burden set down until they reached the little thatch-roofed church, where it was placed beside the reading table. All the inhabitants, old and young, gathered around while Captain Scribner played, “Shall We Gather at the River?” Every voice joined in the song, and when it ended, repeated expressions of thanks were given to the kind friend who brought it, and through him to the generous friends who sent the handsome gift. Tears were in many eyes as the people stood around and witnessed the substantial proofs of the kindness they were receiving. It was a new and very delightful experience to them to listen for the first time to the tones of a perfect-keyed instrument. The only other one of the kind that the island boasted was an old harmonium, that, weak-lunged and out of tune, had been given to a young woman by the doctor of H. M. S. Petrel, which was on a day’s visit to the island two months before. The old feeble instrument had been taken to pieces and cleared from the rubbish and dust that had accumulated within it, and otherwise repaired, so that now, with its really sweet tones, it served for the young people to practice their first lessons in instrumental music, which they were not slow to do, notwithstanding the fact that they had no book or teacher to aid or direct them. And now, when the new organ was opened, all who wished had the gratification of trying a few chords on it, and enjoying the power of the instrument, an experience delightful as it was new. The donors themselves would have felt rewarded had they seen how much pure enjoyment their beautiful gift conferred, a gift that was valued with keen appreciation by everyone.
Among the many and various presents sent from San Francisco, the wants of the school were not forgotten, and a large supply of schoolbooks came—books new and old, and ranging from the first to fifth and sixth readers. This want, so generously supplied, was one of the greatest that had been experienced, and the children as well as the teacher hailed with delight the prospect of having a book all to one’s self, and no longer being obliged to read from the same book turn by turn. The change was truly gratifying, for before this the school had for its best reader, speller, and grammar an old copy of Lindley Murray excepted, a few antiquated copies of good old Mavor’s spelling book, dog-eared, and so literally worn out that in places here and there the words were entirely obliterated and many of the leaves had become loose and dropped out through age and usage. The one venerable copy of an old book of geography was succeeded by a goodly number of others, which opened to the children’s view a world hitherto undreamed of.
It would occupy too much space to give a detailed account of everything sent to the people, every article of which was gratefully received and thoroughly appreciated. In recounting the deeds of generous kindness lavishly bestowed upon the islanders from time to time, it should never be forgotten how large a debt of gratitude they owe to their friends both in Valparaiso and Honolulu, as well as in England. But while they were thankful for favors shown, the thought was none the less humiliating that, in their peculiar circumstances, they were obliged to be dependent upon the charity of others for some of the very necessaries of life. Whaling ships and trading vessels, the former sources of such supplies, now ceased almost entirely to come to the island. Had there been a way by which they could, through their own efforts, procure all that was needed for their necessities, the necessary labor would have been willingly bestowed; but their extremely isolated position rendered such efforts almost impossible.
