SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 87, 16 February 1907, Page 7

SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

How tltr Boats Fared. ■ ■ .-■;•■ • --- —-,"•••": ~'r:; ~~":\l,[':':, 1 % • Three G^flnf Sp^cfres *$ Ihe Wrick.

s^jta raft, m our issue of February 2 stands unparalleled m the annals of maritime disasters, but it serves to show to wha"t length huaian : beings:,, brought to the frenzy of despair by j hope deferred, will go to save their j own lives. Despite the world of cant, the martyr,.; spirit, is rarer than rubies ; and, the unfortunate crew of the Medusa probably deserve to be^ thought of with feelings of commiseration, rather than,,- of cendeamation. The mutiny on the London barque Flowery Land, the midnight massacre of her officers, and, the final drop scene, when five of the horrible wretches were hanged by Calcraft, at London, m 19,64, were just as tragic, but the' motives that actuated . the ruffians were entirely different. The crew of the barque were actuated by revenge, but the survivors of the frigate had become , PARTIALLY DEMENTED by facing' death so long, and, the more one is/confronted with his final v flight4b ihe- ; iinknown, the more one \ naturally longs to postpone that /\flicht, unle.'*s-he be racked and torby pain sufficient to cause him, ■ J to look upon his end as a hapnv ref lease from misery. ' Of those who had embarked on the raft, 160 persons, 15 only, as we have seen, were taken aboard the brig Argus., which had been sent m search. Six of these died from the effects of their wounds and exposure shortly after their arrival at St. Louis.. The remaining nine, although so altered m appearance as to have become objects of pity to all but ithe most obdurate and inhuman of their species, were, subjected to the neglect sA their who had previously got to St. Louis m safety, by means of the Medusa's boats. Of the six boats that were cut adrift from the raft, after having' left the wreck, the two m which the Governor of Senegal and the captain" had; embarked 'arrived at Senegal, whale the four other craft made the shore at different points, and landed their passengers, many of whom suffered: greatly before getting ashore. But the vicissitudes experienced m the boats were comparatively 1 light ..when; compared i with the misfortunes' encountered after landing by those who had left, the Medusa m her pinnace. Mdlle. Picard, one of the. sufferers m question, having left a record of the . events, the following is a PORTION OF HER STORY. >V ' "Shortly after landing, at about 7 m the morning,' a party was formed to penetrate into the interior, fdtf'the ,purpose of finding some fresh water.; Some accordingly was found at *a ; • little distance from the sea, by digging among the sand. Every one invstantly flocked round the little wells,, which furnished enough to quench our ' thirst. This' water was found to he delicious, although it had a sulphurous 'taste; its , color was that of. ; whey. As , all our clothes 1 were wet, and m tatters, and as we had no thins to ' change them", some 1 ; officers offered; theirs. My' stepmoth-' er, my cousin, and my sister were ' thus attired ; for myself, I preferred keeping my own. We remained nearly an hour beside' bur beneficent fountain, then took the route for Senegal ; that is, a Southerly "direction, for we did not know exaqtly where that country lay. It was agreed that the females and children should walk before the caravaa, as the general body was called, that they might not be left behind. The sailors Voluntarily carried the youngest on their shoulders, and, everyone took- the route along the coast. Notwithstanding it was nearly dusk,! the sand was quite -burning, and we? suffered severely, through walking without shoes, having lost them while .landing. As soon as we arrived; on the shore, we went to walk >on the wet sand to cool us a little. Thus we. travelled during the nlght.v without encounter frig anything;. '_■ :.- ; "Early on the morning of the 9th^ (July 1816) we saw an antelope on a little hill-; it instantly disappear-; ed, before any of the party. hadjame: to shoot it. The^ desert seemed : to; our v(e,w .one immense plain of sand,; on wh"i#i hpt a blade of verdure was. seen. However, we still found water >y digging m. the «sand. In the forenoon two oifiiiers of marine, fcompjained that bur family '" '■ '■'~X'.-'\ INCOMMODED THE, PROGRESS! i of the general body. , ft is true the females' and the children could not walk sq quickly as the men.; We walked .as fast, as it was 1 possible' for . us; nevertheless, we often .fell ■behind, which obliged them to halt Jill we came up. These officers, joined, with other individuals, considered among themselves whether they. would wait for us, or abandon us m; the desert. I will be bold to say, hQjyever, that but few were of the latter $pi-; nion. My father being inforined." of what was pldtting against us, step-ped-up ,tp, ,the, chiefs, ol^/the conspiracy, and j^p'roached them m the "bitserest terms. I for their selfishness; and cruelty. The, dispute waxed w'afnf. Those who. desirous of leaving us drew their swords, and my iather put his hand upon a poniard, with * which 1 he had provided himself on emitting' the frigate. At the scene we threw ourselves between them, cbniurine him rather to remain m- ;the desert with his family than seek 'the assistance' of those who were perhaps less humane than the Moors themr selves. Several nemile took our part, particularly M: : Bfe;enere, captain- of infantry. whei allayed the dismite by sayinc to- . the soldiers, 'Mv friends, you are. Frenchmen, and "I have " the honor to be. your commandfer ; let us. ji^vpr abandon an unfortunate family m f,he desert, so long, as, we. : are able to he of use to them.'* This brief .hut. finergetic jyneech caused; those to blu.ch. Vlfb; Wished to quit us. 'All inpfi joined with the ' old captain . savin it they would not leave us. on condition that- we would Wfil^ a little (wirVrr. M .' pnd l?,|s pnl'Mcrs f'eT'liPf' ■'■Vinf +h<ov . dirt not' ttt f «iTi 'tn Impose conditions on those to whom they were desirous of dninn a favem''

and tlie unfortunate family of Picard were on /the road with the whole caravan. , . "Abqut noon, hunger was felt so powerfully among us, 'that it was agreed to go to .the small hills of ;sand which were, near the coast, 1 to see if any herbs could be found fit for eating? Nothing, however, was procured, but v . ; POISONOUS PLANTS, among which were various kinds' of euphorbium. Convolvuli of a bright green carpeted the .down's, but on tasting their leaves we found them as bitter as gall, The party rested m this, place whilst several officers wient farther into the, interior. They returned m about an hour, loaded with wild purslain, which they distributed to each of us. Every one instantly devoured his bunch of herbage, without leaving the smallest branch, but as our hunger was far from being satisfied with this small allowance, the soldiers an;d sailors be Itbok themselves -tb-ltioli-Tor -mbreTThey soon' brought a sufficient quantity which was equally distributed, and eaten upon the spot, so delicious had hunger made that food to us. For myself, I declare 1 never . ate anything with so much appetite m all my life before. Water was also found m this place, but it was of ' a nauseous taste. After this truly frugal repast we continued our route. The heat was insupportable m the last degree. The sands on which we trod were burning ; nevertheless, several of us walked oh these scorching coals without shoes, and the females had nothing but their hair for a cap. When we reached the seashore, we all rafti and lay down among the surf, and, r after remaining for some time, we took r our route along the wet beach. On' our journey we met with several large crabs.i which Were of considerable service 1 to us, arid every now ,amd then we endeavored to slake oiir, thirst, by sucking -their crooked claws. About 9 at night we halted between two pretty high sandhills. After a short talk concerning . our misfortunes, all seemed desirous of passing; the Sight. in t 'this place, notwithstanding we heard on every side the ■ roaring •of leopards. Our situation 1 had thus been perilous during the night, but at break of day we had the satisfaction of finding none missing.' ■ # /'Early on the following morning we resumed our 'march, bearing towards the East,, m the hope that we might find water. Although disappointed m this, we were gratified • m observing that the country was less arid, and that it produced, a OF VEGETATION. Some of the party went on before to make observations, arid, on their re c turn they told us! that they had seen two Arab tents upon a slightly risins; ground. We instantly directed our steps thither. We had to pass great dunes of sand, very slippery, and arrived m a large plain; streaked here and there with verdure, but the turf was.v so .-#is£6i*xs that we could scarcely walk > over it without wounding ;our feet. '■:*■■•; "Our presence, m those frightful solitudes put to flight three or more Moorish shepherds, ■ who herded a small flock of sheep and goats m an oasis'. At last we arriveil at the tents, after whioh we were searching, and found in' them" three Mb»risk women^ istnd a' couple,;; bf ' chiWren, who did dnot seem m the. lbstst;. frightened by ouc visit, A , nepe "servant, be T longing to one of the ; bfficers,, interpreted between us . and the • : :w6meii: i Who, whei they' had heard f of out misfortunes, ofiered us 'millet aiti water for paymenti. ■: We ' bought a little of that' grain;a<t «the,.r^te pf i*ree francs a giass— it was Tery good, and, none grudged the mosey^it cost. As a dassiot w^er>with a . handfulof millet was^ ftrt - a poor ; ilihn|^ ' for jamisjied people, .. my father bought two kids, for which 20 piastres were charged;:-. We. immediately killed themand the Moorish women boiled them for us m a large kettle. . ■> "Having again set oux, we met several Moors; or Arabs, who; after saluting us in^^a .friendly- manner,, conducted us to tHeir encampment.' We .fountl -a Moor m the campj Who haH.v previously; 'kn'tiwn' my,, fatjier i,n Senegal, and who sp&kg a -little French., ;;W?. wete ■■ .all- ,str,-jilak with astonishment " ; at the 'unexpected •meeting. My father feco.llQCted having employed long ; ago a joxxjxg goldsmith atrSenegal, and, discoverjing che Moor AmetMtP.^be. <t^R. same ■person, shook him ; by the: hand; ' After that good fellow had been - niade acquainted with our shipwreck,' andVtb what extremities; .;•..: ..',;•. ..'...• OUR UNFORTUNATE' FAMILY had ; be*© fXeduced, h§ jQotild not refrain from tears. Antet was -hot satisfied .with deploring our hard fate ; he -was" desirous of proving that he was generous and humane, and instantly distributed among us a large quantity of milk and water, free of any. charge. He also raised for our family a large ' teilt'- of ; ;the < skins of> camels, cattle, arid sheep, because his religion would not allow- him to lodge under the same roof with Christians.' "The Moors having, furnished us with asses on hire, We proceeded ,on our journey towards a -Senegal, and, regaining the shore , we were grati/fied at seeing a ship out at sea, but sufficiently near, for those onb oard to take notice of the signals of distress that we immediately displayed from the s beach. In ■ answer to our appeal the vessel approached the land, when the Moors who accompan>ied our party plunged into the s"ea, and swamr to it. In aboiit half-an-hour we saw these friendly assistants returning, pushing before them three small barrels. Arrived on shore one of them gave a letter to the leader of our party from the commander of the ship, which proved to be the Argus, a vessel sent to seek after the raft, and to give us • provisions. This letter announced a small barrel of biscuits, a tierce of wine. r< hnlf-tierce of Vrnndv, and «a chces* 1 .- Oh, fortunate- circumstnncp ! We were yery desirous of testifying

our scratitude to the generous captain of the brig ; but he instantly set sail and left us. We, staved the barrels which held our stock of provisions, , and" 'distributed to each a biscuit, / I about a glass of wine, a half-glass of I brandy, and a small morsel of cheese. [ Each drank his allowance of wine at/ one gulp : the brandy was not even desnised by the ladies. I, however, preferred quantity to quality, and exchanged my ration of brandy for : one"'bTwnie. TO DESCRIBE OUR JOY whilst, taking this repast is impossible. Exposed to the fierce raps of a vertical sun, exhausted by a long train of suffering, deprived for a long time of the use of any kind of spirituous liquors, when our portions of water, wine, and brandy, mingled m bu.r stomachs, we became like insane people. Life, which had lately been a great burden, now became precious to us. Foreheads, lowering and sulky, began to unwrinklc; enemies became most brotherly ; the avaricious tried to forget their selfishness and cupidity ; the. children smiled for the first time since our shipwreck. In a word, every one seemed to revive froni a state of melancholy and dejection. . "About 6 m the evening my father," .finding himself extremely fatigued, wished to rest. We allowed the caravan to move on, While my stepmother and myself remained near him, and the resit of the family followed with their asses: We all three soon fell asleep. When we awoke, we were astonished at not seeing our companions. The sun was shining m the West, and several Moors, mjounted on camels,, were hastening .towards .iss.-andi we began |Q r reproaiih f du^selyes; ■' jgz " ,fis#ii*g slept- long. The appearance ..of-, the visitors , gave us great uneasiness, and we wished much to escape from them ; but my step-mother , and myself felt quite exhatisijed. The long-bearded Moors, coming up to us, one alighted and said, 'Be comforted, ladies; under the costume of an Arab you see an Englishman who is desirous of servinrc you. Having heard at Senegal that some Frenchmen were thrown ashore on these deserts, I thought I might be of service to them, as I, was acquainted with several of the chiefs here. ' These 1 words fromr . the I mouth of , a man we had at first . i taken to be' a Moor instantly calm-^ ed bur fears, and, recovering from, ouir fright, we rose and expressed to the philanthropic Englishman the gratitude we felt. Mr Garnet, the name of , ■'• ■ ' • ■ . ■ * THE GENEROUS BRITON, told us that our caravan waited for us about six miles ahead. He gave, us some biscuits, which we ate, 1 and we all set off to join our companions. Mr Carnet wished us to mount his ; camels, but my step-mother and myself, being unable to persuade Qur- ( ! selves we could sit securely, on them, continued to walk ; whilst my father, Mr Carnet; and the Moors who accompanied him, proceeded on the camels. We soon reached' a small- river, but found the waiter too bitter for drinking. Mr Carnet desired us", to have patience, and we should find water alongside the caravan. We forded the over knee-deep, and, m another hour, we came up with our companions, who had found several wejls of fresh water. It was resolved to pass the night m this place, which seemed less arid than any other we> saw neac us. The soldiers, when asked to search for wood to light a fire, to frighten off the beasts we heard roaring around us, refused; but Carnet assured us that his Moors knew well how to keep all such intruders from our camp. After a rest of a few hours we all continued our march, except. Carneti who left to « secure; food for us... At. noon the sun's heat became so terrific that even the Moors themselves sweltered. We then wished to find some shade behind the high itiounds of sand some distance off ; but the difficulty was to reach* them. We had been obliged to leave our donkeys ! on the shore, for they would neither advance nor recede. Most of us had no shoes or hats, yet we were obliged to travel some three miles' farther' on before we could find a little shade. Whether from want of air, or the heat of the earth' we sat upon,' we became . ■■ ■: - ( NEARLY. SUFFOCATED I thought my last moments were come. Already my eyes saw nothing but:a' dark cloud, .when a man named Bomer, who was to have been a smith /m Senegal,, gave me a. boot containing 'some muddy water that he had .saved, ;..I hastened .to, swallow the water m large gulps, when one of my companions-,, equally tormented, with "thirst, envious of the • pleasure , I seemed 1 to feel', and $ which I . felt effectually, -. drew the ... foot from, the boot But it availed him- nothing, as the water that remained was so. dis-:, gusting that he could not drink ■• it, so he spiltit. 'iCa^tainfß/fegnare, who saw it. judging' by the water which ,. fell how loathsome that -'must;. h2j,ve been'^hich I had drunk, offered.me some crumbs of bisbuit 1 . which he had; kept m his p.bcket. I chewed the' mixture of bread, dust and tobacco, but could not swallow it, and gave it all; masticated, to brie 'of my' vouVieer • brothers, Who had fallert from inanition. • ■ : ' f, i .We vve'revon the point? bf^ quitting this furnace when we saw our English friend approaching, carrying pro-; visicmg; at 'which sight I felt my; strength revive, and ceased to covet 1 death, which I had before called on to release -me from my sufferings. Several Moors accompanied Carnet, ■ and were Jaden with water, rice, and dried fiafti in 1 abundance. Every one , drankV his allowance of water ;. but,,; although the rice was excellent, no one could eat it. We ~were all anxious to return to the sea, that we' mipht bathe, and the caravan put itself on the road to the breakers of Sahara. After an hour's march of great suffering we regained the shore, as well as our asses, which were lyincr m the water; We rushed into the cooling water", and, after bathing for half an hour, we lay upon the beach a little revived. We had yet another long and fati- ; cuing journey before we reached the Senegal River, where we exnected to find boats waiting to convey us to St Louis. During the day we quickened our march, and, for the first 1 time since out shipwreck, a smiling ' picture presented itself to view. The ; trees, always green, with, which that ! noble river is shaded, the humming i birds, the redhirds, the parrakeets, pomerops and others that flitted among their long yielding branches, ■caused m us emotions difficult to e\nress. It was .4 o'clock m the afternoon before the Government boats arrived »

4nd we all got abdard. Biscuit and wine were m each of them, .and, of course, were , . , i VORACIOUSLY. $EIZEI> UPON. /After sailing idr an hour down the i stream, we came m sight of St. Louis, a town miserable m appearance, but ; delightful to our vision after so much sufferinjr. At 6 o - clock we rfeached ; -the ■ fort,/ where the late English Go'yernoi? ahtf others, including generous Garnet received us. My father presented us to the Governor, who seemed. affected at our misf6rtunes ; ,anc^ the natives and Europeans •tender.ly 'shook our hands ; even the negrp^ slaves deplored our misers. Here everything was done to render us comfortable." / ..<.*,. •• _.' . ? V•• Having followed the fortunes of some of the Medusa's, crew and passengers, as narrated by Mdlle. Picard, we now notice the vicissitudes, of the helpless men who. were left by their countrymen to apparent destruction upon the wreck. ;■ >' On the departure of .the. boats and the raft from the frigate, it was found thai} there remained 17 sufferers, some of whomrhad clung to the ship as their only hope of safety, while otheirs, had been ;tpp intoxicated to engage m the scramble for places on the raft ' or m the boats. Finding themselves abandoned to their fate, several of 'the men endeavored to secure, as much ,of the provisions stored m the. vessel as were available, m order to sustain theiv lives until rescued from; their dangerous position by a pa^ines ship, or the efforts of,, their; friends. Accordingly, some wine v and brandy^.' h£s-, edits 'anii '^bacQii, were ,c'ollfected^"' > an r d these stimulant and articles of f bod : served as rations to the survivors.fot' a number. of days, But, at length., the store of provisions' which had been gathered tbgethet became exhausted, without .any further effort being m ade, to. reach ,, the. larger n.non-; titles of food that we're m the h6ld.' After .42 . days ha;d been spent m AN^ AGONY'' OF ;FEAR ----- and suspense; 12'< of . the. more active of the men gave Jup, all hope of-being relieved; and, iri a fit of desperation, constructed a raft, f upohl which they : embarked with a small stock of food,leaving five, •-.of- their, companions upon the wreck. 1 : <j. Some time ■■' afterwards the shattered timbers of this 'raft were driven ashore by t the waves,, and the certainty of the men's-des-truction was thus placed unhappily beyond a doubt. One' seaman, who had refused- to go with the.raft, even trusted .his safety; to the Cragile keeping of a hencooP 1 ; jb,ut, when at the distance of a cable's length from the Medusa, the hencoop capsized, and the desperate 1 voyager drowned. . .•■ There npw remained only four souls upon the ill-starred ship, and they-;' severally determined to stay therteon until death br succor came to put a period to their misery. , To' one of thase wretches relief soon came, for, worn out with hunger and . fatigue, he sank under his sufferings" and died. The three who now remained upon the wreck shunned one another's society, and passed: the tedious hours m different parts of .jther' ship. So suspicious did they become m their, feeling towards one another, that no one ever met His 'fellow-sufferer without .rushing at him with a drawn knife. ' ; . . ■ Having secured his Own - : safety m the most cowardly and despicable manner, the Governor^ M l . Schmaltz, bethought himself that it would be .at least a wise, if not a profitable, proceeding to save the specie and stores which he knew 'to be stowed on ,the Medusa's .wreck.- According, he caused a; schooner' to:- be fitted and. -despatched from •■' {^neg?ai v f©iftihat -piv^ pose, seven v^ays alter the.,survivo'r'sof the raft had been landed. After two ineffectual- attempts had been made to reach ,tlie : wreck, and "the schooner had again returned from a fruitless- missiony she ; was a third time despatched, and- reached 'the Medusa 52 days after, the disaster ; when the captain arid crew of the schooner beheld; with ..'the' utmost astonishment, ' : ' THREE SPECTS&L ; OCCUPANTS of the unfortunate frigate, who welcomed those i who 'had thus unexpectedly come to , their relief. After the emaciated survivor^ had ; been put a.board the schooOfer.j and received proper attention <and f.'care, .^everything of. value that could' bp , removed from the wreck was ,alsp taken 'm; charge, .m terms of the ../ Governor' *s orders'; then the schooner returned to Senegal, where many, -hearts- beat with exultation » at the thought, that some of their personal, effects .would be restored to them. In this; hope, however , the poor . : survivora - were disappointed : 'for, upon some/ ; ,of the v ftiofficers, and;, men' going. '"'on 1 board the schpone'rv pnyher arrival at St. Louis, and, inquiring as toWh'at had been saved fufikj [ ii were told 'all : j the salvage wias nqw ; the property -;of * thp?e who. had secutpd it, and -thit it.; jvbuld be publicly sold in 1 themarlceti place of the town , for ; . the. benent- : pf the salvors'/ This threat was canried put- to the /lgttei?, and the clothes, appointments,' andi- stores,, of the shipwreoked Frenchmen were sold •■ by their piratical cpuntcymen, while tlie' : imhapnv owners of the .merchandise' looked on the 'fair which ' their -Krisfortunes ha'd r pceas(onett" with feelings of disappointment . arid 'smothered rage. For the honor of humanity, : however, ia brighter" scene closes this sorrowful dram# ;. ' Though plundered by some of their own nationality, ; and cruelly ne^ected by the officials of their own Government, who ought to have befriended them, the wretoh.ed survivors 0f,.. Jibe —Medusa's s crew and passenge^.,j^ej.e;i-kept frpm utter s-tarva'tioiv 'by^a ; ", few ,Br;itishers— men whpitn all frenchmen then regarded as their" natural enemies. "It seems his uncle fell out of a hotel window m Eurpne." "Gracious ! Any nones broken ?" v "Not one." '"•No ?" ' 'No, he was merely drowned .It happened In Venice . " • "You are a chemist by examination, are you ?" H t am." *"Been m business a' hummer of years ?" "I have." "That is' your dinloma haneing up over, there I ?'.' "It is." "Well, you may (rive me a pennvwnTtii of camphorated chalk:" "Will you pass ! me the butter, nlease ?" asked a ( seedv-lookinn; stran- ) e;er of a snob '%t a restaurant table, j "There's the waiter over there, sir," was the supercilious renlv. "I beg votir na.rdon," returned ; the stranger; ; "I made a mistake !" '"You're only ; 'addinn- insult, sir." broTfe In the snob; "T don't believe that you mistocJt pir ff)t ft wnit^r !" "Certainly not:"- lTi'irnrd thp .sfranfrei* "I mis-, took you for a gentleman V*