frigate, who was on board the governor's boat; if he had been listened to,
this tow-rope would not have been let go; every moment an officer who was
in the governor's boat cried out aloud, "_shall I let go?_" Mr. Clanet
opposed it, answering with firmness, "_No no_!" Some persons joined him,
but could obtain nothing, the tow-rope was let go: we considered it as
certain, that the commander of the other boats, on seeing the chief of the
expedition courageously devote himself, would have come and resumed their
posts: but it may be said that each individual boat was abandoned by all
the others: there was wanting, on this occasion, a man of great coolness:
and ought not this man to have been found among the chief officers? How
shall their conduct be justified? There are, certainly, some reasons to be
alledged. Impartial judges of events, we will describe them, not as unhappy
victims of the consequences of this desertion, but as men free from all
personal resentment, and who listen only to the voice of truth.
The raft, drawn by all the boats united, dragged them a little back; it is
true that we just had the ebb, and the currents set from shore. To be in
the open sea with undecked vessels, might well inspire some apprehensions:
but, in a few hours, the currents would change and favor us; we ought to
have waited for this moment, which would have infallibly demonstrated the
possibility of drawing us to the coast, which was not above twelve or
fifteen leagues distant: this is so true that the boats discovered the
coast, the same evening, before sunset. Perhaps they would have been forced
to forsake us the second night after our departure, if indeed more than
thirty-six hours had been required to tow us to land; for the weather was
very bad; but we should then have been very near to the coast, and it would
have been very easy to save us: at least we should have had only the
elements to accuse!--We are persuaded that a short time would have sufficed
to tow us within sight of land, for, the evening of our being deserted, the
raft was precisely in the direction which the boats had followed between
the frigates and the coast, and, at least, five leagues from the former.
The next morning, at daybreak, we could no longer see the Medusa.[A9]
At the first moment we did not really believe that we had been so cruelly
abandoned. We imagined that the boats had let loose, because they had
perceived a vessel, and hastened towards it to ask assistance. The
long-boat was pretty near us to leeward on the starboard. She lowered her
foresail half way down: her manoeuvre made us think that she was going to
take the first tow-rope: she remained so a moment, lowered her foresail
entirely, setup her main-mast, hoisted her sails, and followed the rest of
the division. Some men in this boat, seeing that the others deserted us,
threatened to fire upon them, but were stopped by Lieutenant Espiau. Many
persons have assured us that it was the intention of this officer to come
and take the tow-rope; but his crew opposed it; had he done so, he would
certainly have acted with great imprudence. His efforts would have been of
little use to us, and his devotedness would but have increased the number
of victims.[B6] As soon as this boat was gone, we had no doubt but that we
were abandoned; yet we were not fully convinced of it till the boats had
disappeared.
It was now that we had need of all our courage, which, however, forsook us
more than once: we really believed that we were sacrificed, and with one
accord, we cried that this desertion was premeditated. We all swore to
revenge ourselves if we had the good fortune to reach the shore, and there
is no doubt but that, if we could have overtaken, the next day, those who
had fled in the boats, an obstinate combat would have taken place between,
them and us.
It was then that some persons who had been marked out for the boats, deeply
regretted that they had preferred the raft, because duty and honor had
pointed out this post to them. We could mention some persons: for example,
Mr. Correard, among others, was to go in one of the boats; but twelve of
the workmen, whom we commanded, had been set down for the raft; he thought
that in his quality of commander of engineers, it was his duty not to
separate from the majority of those who had been confided to him, and who
had promised to follow him wherever the exigencies of the service might
require; from that moment his fate became inseparable from theirs, and he
exerted himself to the utmost to obtain the governor's permission to have
his men embarked in the same boat as himself; but seeing that he could
obtain nothing to ameliorate the fate of these brave men, he told the
governor that he was incapable of committing an act of baseness: that since
he would not put his workmen in the same boat with him, he begged him to
allow him to go on the raft with them, which was granted.
Several military officers imitated their example; only two of those who
were to command the troops did not think fit to place themselves upon the
raft, the equipment of which, in truth, could not inspire much confidence.
One of them, Captain Beinière, placed himself in the long-boat with 36 of
his soldiers. We had been told that these troops had been charged to
superintend the proceedings of the other boats, and to fire upon those who
should attempt to abandon the raft. It is true, as we have seen above, that
some brave soldiers listening, perhaps, more to the voice of humanity and
French honor, than to the strict maxims of discipline, were desirous of
employing their arms against those who basely abandoned us, but, that their
will and their actions were paralized by the passive obedience which they
owed to their officers, who opposed this resolution.
The other, Mr. Danglas, a lieutenant, who had lately left the
_gardes-du-corps_, had at first embarked with us upon the raft, where his
post was assigned him, but when he saw the danger which he incurred on this
unstable machine, he made haste to quit it, on the pretext that he had
forgotten something on board the frigate, and did not return. It was he
whom we saw, armed with a carbine, threaten to fire on the barge of the
governor, when it began to move from the frigate. This movement, and some
other actions which were taken for madness, nearly cost him his life; for
while he was thus giving himself up to a kind of extravagance, the captain
took flight, and abandoned him on board the frigate with the sixty-three
men whom he left there. When M. Danglas saw himself treated in this manner,
he gave marks of the most furious despair. They were obliged to hinder him
from attempting his own life. With loud cries he invoked death, which he
believed inevitable in the midst of perils so imminent. It is certain that
if Mr. Espiau, who had his long-boat already full, had not returned to take
from on board the frigate, the forty-six men, among whom, was Mr. Danglas,
he and all his companions would not, perhaps, have experienced a better
fate than the seventeen who were finally left on board the Medusa.
After the disappearance of the boats, the consternation was extreme: all
the terrors of thirst and famine arose before our imaginations, and we had
besides to contend with a perfidious element, which already covered the
half of our bodies: when recovered from their stupefaction, the sailors and
soldiers gave themselves up to despair; all saw inevitable destruction
before them, and gave vent in lamentations to the gloomy thoughts which
agitated them. All we said did not at first avail to calm their fears, in
which we however participated, but which a greater degree of strength of
mind enabled us to dissemble. At last, a firm countenance and consoling
words succeeded in calming them by degrees, but could not wholly dispel the
terror with which they were struck; for according to the judicious
reflection, made after reading our deplorable story, by Mr. Jay, whose
authority we quote with pleasure, "To support extreme misfortunes, and what
is worthy of remark, to bear great fatigues, moral energy is much more
necessary than corporeal strength, nay, than the habit of privations and
hard labour. On this narrow theatre where so many sufferings are united,
where the most cruel extremes of hunger and thirst are experienced, strong
and indefatigable men who have been brought up to the most laborious
professions, sink in succession under the weight of the common destiny,
while men of a weak constitution, and not inured to fatigue, find in their
minds the strength which their bodies want, endure with courage unheard-of
trials, and issue victorious from their struggle with the most horrible
afflictions. It is to the education they have received, to the exercise of
their intellectual faculties, that they owe this astonishing superiority
and their deliverance," When tranquillity was a little restored, we began
to look upon the raft for the charts, the compass and the anchor, which we
presumed had been placed there, from what had been said to us at the time
we quitted the frigate. These highly necessary articles had not been put
upon our machine. The want of a compass in particular, greatly alarmed us,
and we uttered cries of rage and vengeance. Mr. Correard then recollected,
that he had seen one in the hands of one of the chief workmen under his
command, and enquired of this man about it: "Yes, yes," said he, "I have it
with me." This news transported us with joy, and we thought that our safety
depended on this feeble resource. This little compass was about the size of
a crown-piece, and far from correct. He who has not been exposed to events,
in which his existence was in imminent peril, can form but a faint idea of
the value which one then sets upon the most common and simple objects, with
what avidity one seizes the slightest means, that are capable of softening
the rigour of the fate with which one has to contend. This compass was
given to the commander of the raft; but an accident deprived us of it for
ever: it fell, and was lost between the pieces of wood which composed our
machine: we had kept it only for a few hours; after this loss, we had
nothing to guide us but the rising and setting of the sun.
We had all left the frigate without taking any food: hunger began to be
severely felt; we mixed our biscuit-paste (which had fallen into the sea)
with a little wine, and we distributed it thus prepared: such was our first
meal, and the best we had the whole time we were on the raft.
An order, according to numbers, was fixed for the distribution of our
miserable provisions. The ration of wine was fixed at three quarters[21] a
day: we shall say no more of the biscuit: the first distribution consumed
it entirely. The day passed over pretty quietly: we conversed on the means
which we should employ to save ourselves; we spoke of it as a certainty,
which animated our courage: and we kept up that of the soldiers, by
cherishing the hope of being soon able to revenge ourselves upon those who
had so basely abandoned us. This hope of vengeance inspired us all equally,
and we uttered a thousand imprecations against those who had left us a prey
to so many misfortunes and dangers. The officer who commanded, the raft
being unable to move, Mr. Savigny took on himself the care of setting up
the mast; he caused the pole of one of the frigate's masts to be cut in
two; we employed the main-top-gallant sail; the mast was kept up by the
rope which had served to tow us, of which we made shrouds and stays: it was
fixed on the anterior third of the raft. The sail trimmed very well, but
the effect of it was of very little use to us; it served only when the wind
came from behind, and to make the raft preserve this direction it was
necessary to trim the sail, as if the wind came athwart. We think that the
cross position which our raft always retained, may be attributed to the too
great length of the pieces of wood which projected on each side.
In the evening, our hearts and our prayers, with the impulse natural to the
unfortunate, were directed towards heaven; we invoked it with fervour, and
we derived from our prayers the advantage of hoping in our safety: one must
have experienced cruel situations, to imagine what a soothing charm, in the
midst of misfortune, is afforded by the sublime idea of a God, the
protector of the unfortunate. One consoling idea still pleased our
imaginations; we presumed that the little division had sailed for the Isle
of Arguin, and that after having landed there a part of its people, would
return to our assistance: this idea, which we tried to inspire into our
soldiers and sailors, checked their clamours. The night came, and our hopes
were not yet fulfilled: the wind freshened, the sea rose considerably. What
a dreadful night! Nothing but the idea of seeing the boats the next day,
gave some consolation to our people; who being most of them unused to the
motion of a vessel,[22] at every shock of the sea, fell upon each other.
Mr. Savigny, assisted by some persons, who, in the midst of this disorder,
still retained their presence of mind, fastened some ropes to the pieces of
the raft: the men took hold of them, and by means of this support, were
better able to resist the force of the waves: some were obliged to fasten
themselves. In the middle of the night the weather was very bad; very heavy
waves rolled upon us, and often threw us down with great violence; the
cries of the people were mingled with the roaring of the billows; a
dreadful sea lifted us every moment from the raft, and threatened to carry
us away. This scene was rendered still more awful by the horrors of a very
dark night; for some moments we thought that we saw fires at a distance. We
had taken the precaution to hang, at the top of the mast, some gun-powder
and pistols, with which we had provided ourselves on board the frigate: we
made signals by burning a great many charges of powder; we even fired some
pistol-shot, but it seems that these fires were only an illusion of the
eyesight, or perhaps they were nothing but the dashing of the breakers.
This whole night we contended against death, holding fast by the ropes
which were strongly fastened. Rolled by the waves from the back to the
front, and from the front to the back, and sometimes precipitated into the
sea, suspended between life and death, lamenting our misfortune, certain to
perish, yet still struggling for a fragment of existence with the cruel
element which threatened to swallow us up. Such was our situation till
day-break; every moment were heard the lamentable cries of the soldiers and
sailors; they prepared themselves for death; they bid farewell to each
other, imploring the protection of Heaven, and addressing fervent prayers
to God: all made vows to him, notwithstanding the certainty that they
should never be able to fulfil them. Dreadful situation! How is it possible
to form an idea of it, which is not below the truth!
About seven o'clock, in the morning, the sea fell a little, the wind blew
with less fury; but what a sight presented itself to our view! Ten or
twelve unhappy wretches, having their lower extremities entangled in the
openings between the pieces of the raft, had not been able to disengage
themselves, and had lost their lives; several others had been carried off
by the violence of the sea. At the hour of repast we took fresh numbers, in
order to leave no break in the series: we missed twenty men: we will not
affirm that this number is very exact, for we found that some soldiers, in
order to have more than their ration, took two, and even three numbers. We
were so many persons crowded together, that it was absolutely impossible to
prevent these abuses.
Amidst these horrors, an affecting scene of filial piety forced us to shed
tears: two young men raised and recognised, for their father, an
unfortunate man who was stretched senseless under the feet of the people;
at first, they thought he was dead, and their despair expressed itself by
the most affecting lamentations; it was perceived, however, that this
almost inanimate body still had breath; we lavished on him all the
assistance in our power; he recovered by degrees, and was restored to life
and to the prayers of his sons, who held him fast embraced in their arms.
While the rights of nature resumed their empire in this affecting episode
of our sad adventures, we had soon the afflicting sight of a melancholy
contrast. Two young lads, and a baker, did not fear to seek death, by
throwing themselves into the sea, after having taken leave of their
companions in misfortune. Already the faculties of our men were singularly
impaired; some fancied they saw the land; others, vessels which were coming
to save us; all announced to us by their cries these fallacious visions.
We deplored the loss of our unhappy companions; we did not presage, at this
moment, the still more terrible scene which was to take place the following
night; far from that, we enjoyed a degree of satisfaction, so fully were we
persuaded that the boats would come to our relief. The day was fine, and
the most perfect tranquillity prevailed on our raft. The evening came, and
the boats did not appear. Despondency began again to seize all our people,
and a mutinous spirit manifested itself by cries of fury; the voice of the
officers was wholly disregarded. When the night came, the sky was covered
with thick clouds; the wind, which during the day had been rather high, now
became furious, and agitated the sea, which, in an instant, grew very
rough.
If the preceding night had been terrible, this was still more horrible.
Mountains of water covered us every moment, and broke, with violence, in
the midst of us; very happily we had the wind behind us, and the fury of
the waves was a little checked by the rapidity of our progress; we drove
towards the land. From the violence of the sea, the men passed rapidly from
the back to the front of the raft, we were obliged to keep in the centre,
the most solid part of the raft; those who could not get there, almost all
perished. Before and behind the waves dashed with fury, and carried off the
men in spite of all their resistance. At the centre, the crowd was such
that some poor men were stifled by the weight of their comrades, who fell
upon them every moment; the officers kept themselves at the foot of the
little mast, obliged, every instant, to avoid the waves, to call to those
who surrounded them to go on the one or the other side, for the waves which
came upon us, nearly athwart, gave our raft a position almost
perpendicular, so that, in order to counterbalance it, we were obliged to
run to that side which was raised up by the sea.[A10]
The soldiers and sailors, terrified by the presence of an almost inevitable
danger, gave themselves up for lost. Firmly believing that they were going
to be swallowed up, they resolved to soothe their last moments by drinking
till they lost the use of their reason; we had not strength to oppose this
disorder; they fell upon a cask which was at the middle of the raft, made a
large hole at one end, and with little tin cups which they had brought from
on board the frigate, they each took a pretty large quantity, but they were
soon obliged to desist, because the sea water entered by the hole which
they had made.
The fumes of the wine soon disordered their brains, already affected by the
presence of danger and want of food. Thus inflamed, these men, become deaf
to the voice of reason, desired to implicate, in one common destruction,
their companions in misfortune; they openly expressed their intention to
rid themselves of the officers, who they said, wished to oppose their
design, and then to destroy the raft by cutting the ropes which united the
different parts that composed it. A moment after, they were proceeding to
put this plan in execution. One of them advanced to the edge of the raft
with a boarding-axe, and began to strike the cords: this was the signal for
revolt: we advanced in order to stop these madmen: he who was armed with
the axe, with which he even threatened an officer, was the first victim: a
blow with a sabre put an end to his existence. This man was an Asiatic, and
soldier in a colonial regiment: a colossal stature, short curled hair, an
extremely large nose, an enormous mouth, a sallow complexion, gave him a
hideous air. He had placed himself, at first, in the middle of the raft,
and at every blow of his fist he overthrew those who stood in his way; he
inspired the greatest terror, and nobody dared to approach him. If there
had been half-a-dozen like him, our destruction would have been inevitable.
Some persons, desirous of prolonging their existence, joined those who
wished to preserve the raft, and armed themselves: of this number were some
subaltern officers and many passengers. The mutineers drew their sabres,
and those who had none, armed themselves with knives: they advanced
resolutely against us; we put ourselves on our defence: the attack was
going to begin. Animated by despair, one of the mutineers lifted his sabre
against an officer; he immediately fell, pierced with wounds. This firmness
awed them a moment; but did not at all diminish their rage. They ceased to
threaten us, and presenting a front bristling with sabres and bayonets,
they retired to the back part, to execute their plan. One of them pretended
to rest himself on the little railing which formed the sides of the raft,
and with a knife began to cut the cords. Being informed by a servant, we
rushed upon him--a soldier attempted to defend him--threatened an officer
with his knife, and in attempting to strike him, only pierced his coat--the
officer turned round--overpowered his adversary, and threw both him and his
comrade into the sea!
After this there were no more partial affairs: the combat became general.
Some cried lower the sail; a crowd of madmen instantly threw themselves on
the yards and the shrouds, and cut the stays, and let the mast fall, and
nearly broke the thigh of a captain of foot, who fell senseless. He was
seized by the soldiers, who threw him into the sea: we perceived it--saved
him, and placed him on a barrel, from which he was taken by the seditious;
who were going to cut out his eyes with a penknife. Exasperated by so many
cruelties, we no longer kept any measures, and charged them furiously. With
our sabres drawn we traversed the lines which the soldiers formed, and many
atoned with their lives for a moment of delusion. Several passengers
displayed much courage and coolness in these cruel moments.
Mr. Corréard was fallen into a kind of trance, but hearing every moment
cries of "_To arms! To us, comrades! We are undone_!" joined to the cries
and imprecations of the wounded and the dying, he was soon roused from his
lethargy. The increasing confusion made him sensible that it was necessary
to be upon his guard. Armed with his sabre, he assembled some of his
workmen on the front of the raft, and forbid them to hurt any one unless
they were attacked. He remained almost always with them, and they had
several times to defend themselves against the attacks of the mutineers;
who falling into the sea, returned by the front of the raft; which placed
Mr. Corréard and his little troop between two dangers, and rendered their
position very difficult to be defended. Every moment men presented
themselves, armed with knives, sabres and bayonets; many had carbines,
which they used as clubs. The workmen did their utmost to stop them, by
presenting the point of their sabres; and, notwithstanding the repugnance
they felt to combat their unhappy countrymen, they were however obliged to
use their arms without reserve; because many of the mutineers attacked them
with fury, it was necessary to repulse them in the same manner. In this
action some of the workmen received large wounds; he who commanded them
reckons a great number, which he received in the various combats they had
to maintain. At last their united efforts succeeded in dispersing the
masses that advanced furiously against them.