Title: Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. To Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia.

Author: J. B. Henry Savigny and Alexander CorrÉard

Language: English

Produced by Robert Connal, Piotr Przemyslaw Karwasz and PG Distributed Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made available by gallica (BibliothÈque nationale de France) at http://gallica.bnf.fr.

[Transcriber's Note: The spelling inconsistencies of the original are retained in this etext.]

NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL IN 1816.

No person can read this Interesting Narrative without being deeply affected by the perils and misfortunes to which the small remnant of persons, who were saved from this deplorable Shipwreck, were exposed. Of one hundred and fifty persons embarked upon the raft, and left to their fate, only fifteen remained alive thirteen days afterwards; but of these fifteen, so miraculously saved, life constituted the sole possession, being literally stripped of every thing. At Paris, some benevolent individuals have recently opened a subscription for their relief. Should any persons, in this country, feel disposed to contribute to this humane object, Mr. Colburn will feel great pleasure in becoming the medium for transmitting their subscriptions to the unfortunate sufferers.

NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL IN 1816;

UNDERTAKEN BY ORDER OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT,
          COMPRISING AN ACCOUNT
                 OF THE
         Shipwreck of the Medusa,
       THE SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW,
AND THE VARIOUS OCCURRENCES ON BOARD THE RAFT,
    IN THE DESERT OF ZAARA, AT ST. LOUIS,
        AND AT THE CAMP OF DACCARD.
          TO WHICH ARE SUBJOINED
   OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING THE AGRICULTURE
                 OF THE
         WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA,
 FROM CAPE BLANCO TO THE MOUTH OF THE GAMBIA.
                   BY
           J.B. HENRY SAVIGNY,
                  AND
           ALEXANDER CORRÉARD.

ILLUSTRATED WITH THE NOTES OF M. BREDIF AND EMBELLISHED WITH A PLAN OF THE RAFT, AND A PORTRAIT OF KING ZAIDE.

1818.

ADVERTISEMENT.

At the moment that we publish a Second Edition of our Narrative, we learn that Mr. Sevigny [A] is going to publish a pretended Account, by Mr. Richefort, an auxiliary Ex-Officer of the French Marine.

Our readers will not have forgotten a certain pretended sea-officer who was partly the cause of our misfortunes, and who, when on board the Medusa, gave such unhappy advice to the captain, who still more unhappily, followed it too closely; well; this ex-officer, this fatal auxiliary, who conducted the frigate upon the bank of Arguin, is no other than Mr. Richefort!

Having gone on board the governor's boat, he remained a stranger to the disasters which he had partly caused, and consequently, knew nothing of what passed, either upon the raft, or on board the boats which stranded, or in the desert.

We make no farther remarks; the public will judge of his account and ours.

CORRÉARD AND SAVIGNY.

[A] This Mr. Sevigny must not be confounded with Mr. Savigny, one of the authors of this narrative.

This Mr. Sevigny is one of the directors of an anonymous company, which one of the King's Ministers has recommended in the following manner:

"The keeper of the seals has informed the magistrates, that an anonymous company, which had formed itself under the name of the Colonial Philanthropic Society of Senegambia, and which announced the project of procuring for all those who should confide in it, colonial establishments on the coasts near Cape Verd, has received no authority from the government, and that, on the steps which it has taken, to obtain such authority, it has been found that it was not in a condition to fulfil its promises, which, therefore, were a kind of snare, for those whom they might have seduced. It has been, consequently, prohibited from making any enterprise, or any expedition. The agents of this Society having no other object than to deceive the public credulity, must be denounced to his Majesty's Attorney-General, who will take against them the measures prescribed by the law."

(_Journal des DÉbats, Novembre _24, 1817.)

PREFACE.

The annals of the marine, record no example of a shipwreck so terrible as that of the Medusa frigate. Two of the unfortunate crew, who have miraculously escaped from the catastrophe, impose upon themselves the painful and delicate task, of describing all the circumstances which attended it.

It was in the midst of the most cruel sufferings that we took the solemn resolution, to make known, to the civilized world, all the details of our unhappy adventure, if heaven permitted us again to see our dear country. We should believe that we failed in our duty to ourselves, and to our fellow citizens, if we left buried in oblivion facts which the public must be desirous to know. All the details of the events at which we were not present, have been communicated to us by respectable persons, who have warranted their authenticity. We shall, besides, advance nothing which cannot be proved.

Here, we hear some voices ask, what right we have to make known to the government, men who are, perhaps, guilty, but whom their places, and their rank, entitle to more respect. They are ready to make it a crime in us, that we have dared to say, that officers of the marine had abandoned us. But what interest, we ask, in our turn, should cause a fatal indulgence to be claimed for those, who have failed in their duties; while the destruction of a hundred and fifty wretches, left to the most cruel fate, scarcely excited a murmur of disapprobation? Are we still in those times, when men and things were sacrificed to the caprices of favour? Are the resources and the dignities of the State, still the exclusive patrimony of a privileged class? and are there other titles to places and honours, besides merit and talents?

Let us venture to advance another truth, a truth useful to the Minister himself. There exists among the officers of the Marine, an intractable esprit de corps, a pretended point of honour, equally false and arrogant, which leads them to consider as an insult to the whole navy, the discovery of one guilty individual. This inadmissible principle, which is useful only to insignificance, to intrigue, to people the least worthy to call on the name of honour, has the most ruinous consequences for the State, and the public service. By this, incapacity and baseness are always covered with a guilty veil, which they dare to attempt to render sacred; by this, the favours of government are bestowed at random, upon persons, who impose upon it the strange obligation of being perpetually in the dark respecting them. Under the protection of this obligation of officious silence, hitherto seconded by the slavery of the press, men without talents survive every revolution, exhibit in every antichamber their privileged incapacity, and braving public opinion, even that of their comrades, who are the first victims of a foolish and arrogant prejudice, which deceives them, shew themselves more eager to monopolise favours and honours, in proportion as they are less able to render themselves worthy of them.

We shall believe that we have deserved well of our government, if our faithful narrative can make it sensible how much its confidence is abused. Just, besides, and not animated by passion, it is with real pleasure that we shall make those known, who, by their conduct in our shipwreck, have acquired a right to general esteem. Others will doubtless complain of the severity of our accusing language; but honest men will grant us their approbation. If we hear it said, that our frankness may have been useful to our country, this success will be, at once, our justification and our recompence.

We have questioned, concerning the nautical details, several gentlemen of the navy who were on board; we confess, however, that on comparing their accounts, we have observed that they did not always entirely agree; but we have taken those facts which had the most witnesses in their favour. We shall be sometimes obliged to record cruel truths; they will, however, be directed only to those, whose unskilfulness, or pusillanimity have caused these dreadful events. We venture to affirm, that the numerous observations, which we have collected, will give to our work all the accuracy rigorously required in so interesting a narrative.

We must observe to our readers that it has been impossible for us to avoid the use of naval terms, which will, perhaps, give a great degree of roughness to our narrative, but we hope that the public who are always indulgent, will be so on this occasion, to two unfortunate men, who pretend only to make them acquainted with the truth, and not to give them a superior work. Besides, as we in a manner, submit these events, to the judgment of the gentlemen of the French Navy, it was necessary to make use of the technical terms, that they might be able to understand us.

This second edition is enriched with notes, which will give the reader interesting details on many points, which in the former we could only slightly touch upon. He will have nothing more to desire, particularly respecting the march in the desert after the stranding of the long-boat.

These notes begin with the moment that the frigate stranded, and terminate with the arrival at St. Louis.

They were communicated to us by Mr. Landry, an officer of the Royal University, Professor Emeritus of the Academy of Paris, and at present at the head of a school or Academy, in the Rue Cerisaye, No. 2, quarter of the Arsenal, at Paris. He has had the kindness to extract them for us from a narrative, written by his nephew, Mr. Bredif, Engineer of Mines, belonging to the expedition to Senegal.

The Narrator sent this account to his family above a year ago, addressing it to his sister. The reader will, therefore, not be surprised at the tone of simplicity which prevails in this recital. Mr. Landry would not take away any part for fear of injuring the truth of the circumstances, by meddling with it. If Mr. Bredif, is always placed in the fore-ground, that is not surprising; in a sister, a brother is the principal object which she cannot lose sight of for a moment.

He who loves to observe men, in all the circumstances, in which they may be placed, will easily judge, after what Mr. Bredif did or felt, what may have been done or felt by the sharers in the same misfortunes, who are, besides, never forgotten.

Mr. Bredif is now in the interior of Africa, employed upon the Mission which the government has entrusted to him; the last accounts from him are of the 14th of October, 1817. The manner in which he knows how to give an account of the facts which he has observed, and still more the courage, the prudence, and humanity, which he displayed in the disaster of the Medusa, and in all that followed it, give reason to hope, and this hope cannot be deceived, that be will duly execute his Mission, and render himself worthy of his Majesty's favours.

[Illustration: PLAN of the RAFT of the MEDUSA, at the moment of its being abandoned. 150 Frenchmen were placed on this Machine. 15 only were saved 13 days after.]

NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL.