# Israel Hands — Treasure Island character guide

> Israel Hands in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Israel, Hands, Mr. Hands

**First appearance:** 0014-x-the-voyage

## Snapshot

A grumbling, rum-hungry coxswain whose impatience with Silver's patient scheming marks him as the crew's most dangerous loose cannon.

## Who they are

Israel Hands serves as coxswain aboard the Hispaniola, one of the pirates Silver keeps on a short leash while the treasure is still being hunted. He chafes openly at Silver's caution, demanding pickles, wine, and action while the more calculating men wait — a tension that shows how fragile the conspiracy really is. His readiness to hurry toward violence makes him a quiet threat long before the plot on the island fully breaks open.

## Relationships

### [Long John Silver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/characters/long_john_silver)

_professional_

Israel Hands is a loyal but treacherous pirate subordinate to Silver, ultimately betraying him for personal gain.

### [Long John Silver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/characters/long_john_silver)

_professional_

Israel Hands is a loyal but treacherous pirate subordinate to Silver, ultimately betraying him for personal gain.

### [Long John Silver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/characters/long_john_silver)

_professional_

Israel Hands is a loyal but treacherous pirate subordinate to Silver, ultimately betraying him for personal gain.

## In the story

### [XI: What I Heard in the Apple Barrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xi-what-i-heard-in-the-apple-barrel)

Joins Silver in the conversation, expressing impatience to take over the ship and agreeing to the plan of murder.

### [Narrative Continued by the Doctor—How the Ship Was Abandoned](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xvi-narrative-continued-by-the-doctor-how-the-ship-was-abandoned)

Addressed as coxswain; warned by Captain Smollett not to signal the mutineers.

### [Narrative Continued by the Doctor—The Jolly-Boat’s Last Trip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xvii-narrative-continued-by-the-doctor-the-jolly-boat-s-last-trip)

Flint's gunner; seen loading and aiming the long nine gun on the Hispaniola.

### [Part V: My Sea Adventure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/part-v-my-sea-adventure)

The coxswain and mutineer who fights Jim on the Hispaniola and is killed by him.

### [The Ebb-Tide Runs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xxiii-the-ebb-tide-runs)

Heard quarreling drunkenly in the cabin with another pirate; later glimpsed locked in a deadly wrestle.

### [I Strike the Jolly Roger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xxv-i-strike-the-jolly-roger)

Found wounded on deck; bargains with Jim to help sail the ship in exchange for food, drink, and a bandage.

### [Israel Hands](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xxvi-israel-hands)

Wounded coxswain who feigns weakness, arms himself with a dirk, and attempts to kill Jim but is ultimately shot and falls overboard.

### [Pieces of Eight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/chapters/xxvii-pieces-of-eight)

Israel Hands falls from the ship and drowns; his body lies on the sand, later joined by O'Brien's corpse.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/characters/israel_hands
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/treasure_island_se/characters