mutiny, and some of whom had even ranged themselves on our side,[26] formed
a plot to throw us all into the sea, hoping to execute their design by
falling on us by surprise. These wretches suffered themselves to be
persuaded by the negroes, who assured them that the coast was extremely
near, and promised, that when they were once on shore, they would enable
them to traverse Africa without danger. The desire of saving themselves, or
perhaps the wish to seize on the money and valuables, which had been put
into a bag, hung to the mast,[27] had inflamed the imagination of these
unfortunate wretches. We were obliged to take our arms again; but how were
we to discover the guilty? they were pointed out to us, by our sailors, who
remained faithful, and ranged themselves near us; one of them had refused
to engage in the plot. The first signal, for combat, was given by a
Spaniard, who, placing himself behind the mast, laid fast hold of it, made
the sign of the Cross with one hand, invoking the name of God, and held a
knife in the other: the sailors seized him, and threw him into the sea. The
servant of an officer of the troops on board was in the plot. He was an
Italian from the light artillery of the Ex-King of his country. When he
perceived that the plot was discovered, he armed himself with the last
boarding-axe that there was on the raft, wrapped himself in a piece of
drapery, which he wore folded over his breast, and, of his own accord,
threw himself into the sea. The mutineers rushed forward to avenge their
comrades, a terrible combat again ensued, and both sides fought with
desperate fury. Soon the fatal raft was covered with dead bodies, and
flowing with blood which, ought to have been shed in another cause, and by
other hands. In this tumult cries, with which we were familiar, were
renewed, and we heard the imprecations of the horrid rage which demanded
the head of Lieutenant Danglas! Our readers know that we could not satisfy
this mad rage, because the victim, demanded, had fled the dangers to which
we were exposed; but even if this officer had remained among us, we should
most certainly have defended his life at the expence of our own, as we did
that of Lieutenant Lozach. But it was not for him that we were reduced to
exert, against these madmen, all the courage we possessed.
We again replied to the cries of the assailants, that he whom they demanded
was not with us; but we had no more success in persuading them; nothing
could make them recollect themselves; we were obliged to continue to combat
them, and to oppose force to those over whom reason had lost all its
influence. In this confusion the unfortunate woman was, a second time,
thrown into the sea. We perceived it, and Mr. Coudin, assisted by some
workmen, took her up again, to prolong, for a few moments, her torments and
her existence.
In this horrible night, Lavillette gave further proofs of the rarest
intrepidity. It was to him, and to some of those who have escaped the
consequences of our misfortunes, that we are indebted for our safety. At
length, after unheard-of efforts, the mutineers were again repulsed, and
tranquillity restored. After we had escaped this new danger, we endeavoured
to take some moment's repose. The day at length rose on us for the fifth
time. We were now only thirty left; we had lost four or five of our
faithful sailors; those who survived were in the most deplorable state; the
sea-water had almost entirely excoriated our lower extremities; we were
covered with contusions or wounds, which, irritated by the salt-water,
made us utter every moment piercing cries; so that there were not above
twenty of us who were able to stand upright or walk. Almost our whole stock
was exhausted; we had no more wine than was sufficient for four days, and
we had not above a dozen fish left. In four days, said we, we shall be in
want of every thing, and death will be unavoidable. Thus arrived the
seventh day since we had been abandoned; we calculated that, in case the
boats had not stranded on the coast, they would want, at least, three or
four times twenty-four hours to reach St. Louis. Time was further required
to equip ships, and for these ships to find us; we resolved to hold out as
long as possible. In the course of the day, two soldiers slipped behind the
only barrel of wine we had left; they had bored a hole in it, and were
drinking by means of a reed; we had all sworn, that he who should employ
such means should be punished with death. This law was instantly put in
execution, and the two trespassers were thrown into the sea.[28]
This same day terminated the existence of a child, twelve years of age,
named Leon; he died away like a lamp which ceases to burn for want of
aliment. Every thing spoke in favor of this amiable young creature, who
merited a better fate. His angelic countenance, his melodious voice, the
interest inspired by his youth, which was increased by the courage he had
shown, and the services he had performed, for he had already made, in the
preceding year, a campaign in the East Indies, all this filled us with the
tenderest interest for this young victim, devoted to a death so dreadful
and premature. Our old soldiers, and our people in general, bestowed upon
him all the care which they thought calculated to prolong his existence. It
was in vain; his strength, at last, forsook him. Neither the wine, which we
gave him without regret, nor all the means which could be employed, could
rescue him from his sad fate; he expired in the arms of Mr. Coudin, who had
not ceased to shew him the kindest attention. As long as the strength of
this young marine had allowed him to move, he ran continually from one side
to the other, calling, with loud cries, for his unhappy mother, water, and
food. He walked, without discrimination, over the feet and legs of his
companions in misfortune, who, in their turn, uttered cries of anguish,
which were every moment repeated. But their complaints were very seldom
accompanied by menaces; they pardoned every thing in the poor youth, who
had caused them. Besides, he was, in fact, in a state of mental
derangement, and in his uninterrupted alienation he could not be expected
to behave, as if he had still retained some use of reason.
We were now only twenty-seven remaining; of this number but fifteen seemed
likely to live some days: all the rest, covered with large wounds, had
almost entirely lost their reason; yet they had a share in the distribution
of provisions, and might, before their death, consume thirty or forty
bottles of wine, which were of inestimable value to us. We deliberated
thus: to put the sick on half allowance would have been killing them by
inches. So after a debate, at which the most dreadful despair presided, it
was resolved to throw them into the sea. This measure, however repugnant it
was to ourselves, procured the survivors wine for six days; when the
decision was made, who would dare to execute it? The habit of seeing death
ready to pounce upon us as his prey, the certainly of our infallible
destruction, without this fatal expedient, every thing in a word, had
hardened our hearts, and rendered them callous to all feeling except that
of self preservation. Three sailors and a soldier took on themselves this
cruel execution: we turned our faces aside, and wept tears of blood over
the fate of these unhappy men. Among them were the unfortunate woman and
her husband. Both of them had been severely wounded in the various combats:
the woman had a thigh broken between the pieces of wood composing the raft,
and her husband had received a deep wound with a sabre on his head. Every
thing announced their speedy dissolution. We must seek to console
ourselves, by the belief, that our cruel resolution shortened, but for a
few moments only, the measure of their existence.
This French woman, to whom soldiers and Frenchmen gave the sea for a tomb,
had partaken for twenty years in the glorious fatigues of our armies; for
twenty years she had afforded to the brave, on the field of battle, either
the assistance which they needed, or soothing consolations ... It is in the
midst of her friends; it is by the hands of her friends ... Readers, who
shudder at the cry of outraged humanity, recollect at least, that it was
other men, fellow countrymen, comrades, who had placed us in this horrible
situation.
This dreadful expedient saved the fifteen who remained; for, when we were
found by the Argus, we had very little wine left, and it was the sixth day
after the cruel sacrifice which we have just described: the victims, we
repeat it, had not above forty-eight hours to live, and by keeping them on
the raft, we should absolutely have been destitute of the means of
existence two days before we were found. Weak as we were, we considered it
as certain that it would have been impossible for us to hold out, even
twenty-four hours, without taking some food. After this catastrophe, which
inspired us with a degree of horror not to be overcome, we threw the arms
into the sea; we reserved, however, one sabre in case it should be wanted
to cut a rope or piece of wood.
After all this, we had scarcely sufficient food on the raft, to last for
the six days, and they were the most wretched immaginable. Our dispositions
had become soured: even in sleep, we figured to ourselves the sad end of
all our unhappy companions, and we loudly invoked death.
A new event, for every thing was an _event_ for wretches for whom the
universe was reduced to a flooring of a few toises in extent, who were the
sport of the winds and waves, as they hung suspended over the abyss; an
event then happened which happily diverted our attention from the horrors
of our situation. All at once a white butterfly, of the species so common
in France, appeared fluttering over our heads, and settled on our sail. The
first idea which, as it were, inspired each of us made us consider this
little animal as the harbinger, which brought us the news of a speedy
approach to land, and we snatched at this hope with a kind of delirium of
joy. But it was the ninth day that we passed upon the raft; the torments of
hunger consumed our entrails; already some of the soldiers and sailors
devoured, with haggard eyes, this wretched prey, and seemed ready to
dispute it with each other. Others considered this butterfly as a messenger
of heaven, declared that they took the poor insect under their protection,
and hindered any injury being done to it. We turned our wishes and our eyes
towards the land, which we so ardently longed for, and which we every
moment fancied we saw rise before us. It is certain that we could not be
far from it: for the butterflies continued, on the following days, to come
and flutter about our sail, and the same day we had another sign equally
positive: for we saw a (_goeland_) flying over our raft. This second
visitor did not allow us to doubt of our being very near to the African
shore, and we persuaded ourselves that we should soon be thrown upon the
coast by the force of the currents. How often did we then, and in the
following days, invoke a tempest to throw us on the coast, which, it seemed
to us, we were on the point of touching.
The hope which had just penetrated the inmost recesses of our souls,
revived our enfeebled strength, and inspired us with an ardour, an
activity, of which we should not have thought ourselves capable. We again
had recourse to all the means which we had before employed, to catch fish.
Above all, we eagerly longed for the (goeland), which appeared several
times tempted to settle on the end of our machine. The impatience of our
desire increased, when we saw several of its companions join it, and keep
following us till our deliverance; but all attempts to draw them to us were
in vain; not one of them suffered itself to be taken by the snares we had
laid for them. Thus our destiny, on the fatal raft, was to be incessantly
tossed between transitory illusions and continued torments, and we never
experienced an agreeable sensation without being, in a manner, condemned to
atone for it, by the anguish of some new suffering, by the irritating pangs
of hope always deceived.
Another care employed us this day; as soon as we were reduced to a small
number, we collected the little strength we had remaining; we loosened some
planks on the front of the raft, and with some pretty long pieces of wood,
raised in the center a kind of platform, on which we reposed: all the
effects which we had been able to collect, were placed upon it, and served
to render it less hard; besides, they hindered the sea from passing with so
much facility through the intervals between the different pieces of the
raft; but the waves came across, and sometimes covered us entirely.
It was on this new theatre that we resolved to await death in a manner
worthy of Frenchmen, and with perfect resignation. The most adroit among
us, to divert our thoughts, and to make the time pass with more rapidity,
got their comrades to relate to us their passed triumphs, and sometimes, to
draw comparisons between the hardships they had undergone in their glorious
campaigns, and the distresses we endured upon our raft. The following is
what Lavillette the serjeant of artillery told us: "I have experienced, in
my various naval campaigns, all the fatigues, all the privations and all
the dangers, which it is possible to meet with at sea, but none of my past
sufferings, is comparable to the extreme pain and privations which I endure
here. In my last campaigns in 1813 and 1814, in Germany and France, I
shared all the fatigues which were alternately caused us by victory and
retreat, I was at the glorious days of Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden, Leipzig,
Hanau, Montmirail, Champaubert, Montereau," &c. "Yes," continued he, "all
that I suffered in so many forced marches, and in the midst of the
privations which were the consequences of them, was nothing in comparison
with what I endure on this frightful machine. In those days, when the
French valour shewed itself in all its lustre, and always worthy of a free
people, I had hardly anything to fear, but during the battle; but here, I
often have the same dangers, and what is more dreadful, I have to combat
Frenchmen and comrades. I have to contend, besides, with hunger and thirst,
with a tempestuous sea, full of dangerous monsters, and with the ardour of
a burning sun, which is not the least of our enemies. Covered with ancient
scars and fresh wounds, which I have no means of dressing, it is physically
impossible for me to save myself from this extreme danger, if it should be
prolonged for a few days."
The sad remembrance of the critical situation of our country also mingled
with our grief; and certainly, of all the afflictions we experienced, this
was not the least, to us, who had almost all of us left it, only that we
might no longer be witnesses of the hard laws, of the afflicting
dependence, under which, it is bowed down by enemies jealous of our glory
and of our power. These thoughts, we do not fear to say so, and to boast of
it, afflicted us still more than the inevitable death which we were almost
certain of meeting on our raft. Several of us regretted not having fallen
in the defence of France. At least, said they, if it had been possible for
us to measure our strength once more, with the enemies of our independence,
and our liberty! Others found some consolation in the death which awaited
us, because we should no longer have to groan under the shameful yoke which
oppresses the country. Thus passed the last days of our abode on the raft.
Our time was almost wholly employed in speaking of our unhappy country: all
our wishes, our last prayers were for the happiness of France.
During the first days and nights of our being abandoned, the weather was
very cold, but we bore the immersion pretty well; and during the last
nights that we passed on the raft, every time that a wave rolled over us,
it produced a very disagreeable sensation, and made us utter plaintive
cries, so that each of us employed means to avoid it: some raised their
heads, by means of pieces of wood, and made with whatever they could find a
kind of parapet, against which the wave broke: others sheltered themselves
behind empty casks which were placed across, along side each other; but
these means often proved insufficient; it was only when the sea was very
calm that it did not break over us.
A raging thirst, which was redoubled in the daytime by the beams of a
burning sun, consumed us: it was such, that we eagerly moistened our
parched lips with urine, which we cooled in little tin cups. We put the cup
in a place where there was a little water, that the urine might cool the
sooner; it often happened that these cups were stolen from those who had
thus prepared them. The cup was returned, indeed, to him to whom it
belonged, but not till the liquid which it contained was drank. Mr. Savigny
observed that the urine of sum of us was more agreeable than that of
others. There was a passenger who could never prevail on himself to swallow
it: in reality, it had not a disagreeable taste; but in some of us it
became thick, and extraordinarily acrid: it produced an effect truly worthy
of remark: namely, that it was scarcely swallowed, when it excited an
inclination to urine anew. We also tried to quench our thirst by drinking
sea-water. Mr. Griffon, the governor's secretary, used it continually, he
drank ten or twelve glasses in succession. But all these means only
diminished our thirst to render it more severe a moment afterwards.
An officer of the army, found by chance, a little lemon, and it may be
imagined how valuable this fruit must be to him; he, in fact, reserved it
entirely for himself; his comrades, notwithstanding the most pressing
entreaties, could not obtain any of it; already emotions of rage were
rising in every heart, and if he had not partly yielded to those who
surrounded him, they would certainly have taken it from him by force, and
he would have perished, the victim of his selfishness. We also disputed for
about thirty cloves of garlic, which had been found accidentally in a
little bag: all these disputes were generally accompanied with violent
threats, and if they had been protracted we should, perhaps, have come to
the last extremities.
We had found, also, two little phials which contained a spirituous liquor
to clean the teeth; he who possessed them, kept them carefully, and made
many difficulties to give one or two drops of this liquid in the hollow of
the hand. This liquor, which we believe was an essence of guiacum,
cinnamon, cloves, and other aromatic substances, produced on our tongues a
delightful sensation, and removed for a few moments the thirst which
consumed us. Some of us found pieces of pewter, which, being put into the
mouth produced a kind of coolness.
One of the means generally employed, was to put some sea-water into a hat,
with which we washed our faces for some time, recurring to it at intervals;
we also moistened our hair with it, and held our hands plunged in the
water.[29] Misfortune rendered us ingenious, and every one thought of a
thousand means to alleviate his sufferings; extenuated by the most cruel
privations, the smallest agreeable sensation was to us a supreme happiness;
thus we eagerly sought a little empty phial, which one of us possessed, and
which had formerly contained essence of roses: as soon as we could get hold
of it we inhaled, with delight, the perfume which issued from it, and which
communicated to our senses the most soothing impressions. Some of us
reserved our portion of wine in little tin cups, and sucked up the wine
with a quill; this manner of taking it was very beneficial to us, and
quenched our thirst much more than if we had drunk it off at once. Even the
smell of this liquor was extremely agreeable to us. Mr. Savigny observed
that many of us, after having taken their small portion, fell into a state
approaching to intoxication, and that there was always more discord among
us after the distribution had been made.
The following is one instance, among many, which we could adduce. The tenth
day of our being on the raft, after a distribution of wine, Messrs.
Clairet, Coudin, Charlot, and one or two of our sailors, conceived the
strange idea of destroying themselves, first intoxicating themselves with
what remained in our barrel. In vain Captain Dupont, seconded by Messrs.
Lavillette, Savigny, Lheureux, and all the others, opposed their purpose by
urgent remonstrances, and by all the firmness of which they were
capable--their disordered brains persisted in the mad idea which governed
them, and a new combat was on the point of commencing; however, after
infinite trouble, we were beginning to bring back Messrs. Clairet and
Coudin to the use of their reason; or rather he who watched over us
dispelled this fatal quarrel, by turning our attention to the new danger
which threatened us, at the moment when cruel discord was, perhaps, about
to break out among wretches already a prey to so many other evils--it was a
number of sharks which came and surrounded our raft. They approached so
near, that we were able to strike them with our sabre, but we could not
subdue one of them, notwithstanding the goodness of the weapon we
possessed, and the ardour with which the brave Lavillette made use of it.
The blows which he struck these monsters, made them replunge into the sea;
but a few seconds after, they re-appeared upon the surface, and did not
seem at all alarmed at our presence. Their backs rose about 30 centimetres
above the water: several of them appeared to us to be at least 10 metres in
length.
Three days passed in inexpressible anguish; we despised life to such a
degree that many of us did not fear to bathe in sight of the sharks which
surrounded our raft; others placed themselves naked on the front part of
our machine which was still submerged: these means diminished, a little,
their burning thirst. A kind of polypus (mollusques),[30] known by seamen
under the name of _galère_, was frequently driven in great numbers on our
raft, and when their long arms clung to our naked bodies, they caused us
the most cruel sufferings. Will it be believed, that amidst these dreadful
scenes, struggling with inevitable death, some of us indulged in
pleasantries which excited a smile, notwithstanding the horror of our
situation? One, among others said, joking, "_If the brig is sent to look
for us, let us pray to God that she may have the eyes of Argus_," alluding
to the name of the vessel, which we presumed would be sent after us. This
consolatory idea did not quit us an instant, and we spoke of it frequently.
During the day of the 16th, reckoning ourselves to be very near land, eight
of the most determined of us, resolved to try to reach the coast: we
unfastened a strong fish of a mast,[31] which made part of the little
parapet of which we have spoken, we fixed boards to it at intervals,
transversely, by means of great nails, to hinder it from upsetting; a
little mast and sail were fixed in the front; we intended to provide
ourselves with oars made of barrel staves, cut out with the only sabre we
had remaining: we cut pieces of rope, we split them, and made smaller
ropes, that were more easy to manage: a hammock cloth, which was by chance
on the raft, served for a sail; the dimensions of which, might be about 130
centimetres in breadth and 160 in length: the transverse diameter of the
fish was 60 or 70 centimetres, and its length about 12 metres. A certain
portion of wine was assigned to us, and our departure fixed for the next
day, the 17th. When our machine was finished, it remained to make a trial
of it: a sailor wanting to pass from the front to the back of it, finding
the mast in his way, set his foot on one of the cross boards; the weight of
his body made it upset, and this accident proved to us the temerity of our
enterprise. It was then resolved that we should all await death in our
present situation; the cable winch fastened the machine to our raft, was
made loose, and it drifted away. It is very certain that if we had ventured
upon this second raft, weak as we were, we should not have been able to
hold out six hours, with our legs in the water, and thus obliged
continually to row.
Mean time the night came, and its gloomy shades revived in our minds the
most afflicting thoughts; we were convinced that there were not above
twelve or fifteen bottles of wine left in our barrel. We began to feel an
invincible disgust at the flesh which had till then, scarcely supported us;
and we may say that the sight of it inspired us with a sentiment of terror,
which was doubtless produced by the idea of approaching destruction.