The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-08-24
The Shlpwreck Of the Medusa.

The Shlpwreck Of the Medusa.
A few days ago there appeared III our
foreign kilograms the announcement Of the
death in Paris Of All old man whose only
clam 70 notice the lightning summed up III
these eight words He WAS the last sur
vivoT Of the Medusa.
Not very many of our readers, perhaps,
are familiar with that awful tragedy which
has long ranked among the most thrilling
Of marine disasters, and the chief feature
Of which has been perpetuated on canvas
by the pencil Of one of the greatest artists
France can boast. Let US, thesefore, en-
deavor to reproduce the man points If
story To which the best efforts Of pen or
pencil can do but scanty Justice.
During the Napoleonic wars, III 1909.
the French colony of Senegal on the west
coast of Africa, WAS captured by the Eng
hsh. When peace was declared III 1915,
by the terms Of the treaty, Senegal passed
into the hands Of its original owners, and
the French Government immediately fitted
out AL expedition for the purpose Of con
veyIng t. the colony the new Governor, NJ
Schmaltz, and his officials together with
such material Of various kinds as Was deem
eds necessary 70 put affairs ON a proper
footing. This expedition consisted Of the
Medusa, frigate Of forty four guns the
Loire, Il store ship the Argus, brig and
the Echo, a corvette The whole squadron
carried in officers, passengers, and men
some coo people, of whom 2JO were sol
diers. On board the Medusa, which acted
as ag-ship, were about 400 souls. includ-
ing number of women and children. The
expedition sailed from Rochefort. June IL.
1916, and for some time all the vessels
kept within sight of each other, and moth
ing occurred To disturb the pleasure uf the
voyage. Soon. however, contrary winds
drove them apart, and each pursued Its
way alone, expecting to meet again IN safety
at the destined port Our narrative is
henceforth confined exclusively To the Me |
dusa, the commander Of which Lachau- I
mareys by name. speedily proved himself /
entirely untitled for the task assigned him. /
He appeared to know little or nothing IF 4
s"p ma s,sL--. - =, aI1 =, -.
rance, was grossly Negligent IN the uls-
charge Of his duty, and coarse even t" |
brutality in his conduct. A series Of minor |
accidents destroyed the confidence Of the /
ships company in his ability to compre-
hend and master the inevitable perils of
the ocean, and in a measure prepared them
for the disaster which followed.
On the lst day Of July the Medusa
crossed the equator, and the crew took
part in those grotesque ceremonies dedl-
Gated 10 Neptune which have been 80 often
described. Meanwhile the Captain had
confided the navigation of the vessel to
one Richfort, who seemed to have, If pos
sible, less knowledge and discretion than
his superior According to the written in
structiOns furnished by the Government,
LAchaumareys Was ordered to steer due
west for sixty-six miles after making Cape
Blanoo, SO that the dangerous shoals
known As the Arguin Banks might be
avoided. Instead Of doing this he permit
ted Richfort to change his ships course
southwark when only half the required dis
tance. The Echo, then in sight, hung out
signals Of warning, but they were treated
with contempt, and the ill-fated Meduss
went Or recklessly to her doom.
EArlv III the morning of the I'd, the sea
assumed sandy color, which alarmed those
who un1erstood the meaning Of this lntal-
ibIe SIN, but neither Lachaumareys nor
RichWbrt could be convinced of the lmml-
nent hazard of their strange proceeding
Officers and passengers in vain besought
them to alter the sailing directions, and,
when protests and prayers were alike una
vailing. all settled down into q sort OF stu
Dor and awaited the result with that calm
ness which comes from despair. Between
and 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the leads
man announced soundings in eighteen
fatholns, which started the Captain from
his stolid equanimity, and he attempted to
shift the ships seby bringing her nearer
the wind But it was too late. Another
cast Of the lead showed only six fathoms,
and at 3:l5 the Meduss struck heavily upon
the Arguin banks, located in - degrees
20 minutes north latitude, and ~ degrees
40 minutes west longitude. She had then
hardly four fsthoms Of water under her,
and when the tide ebbed there was consid-
erably less. The first impulse Of the VIC
Tins was to take summary vengeance upon
the authors of their misfortune but this
was soon lost sight Of in plans for securing
their own safe4y. The sails were furled,
some Of the upper spArs sent down, and
efforts made to drive the vessel over the
bank, but all 10 no geOd Next morning q
large amount Of freight was thrown over
board, and boats were employed IN carry
ing anchors ahead for the purpose OF haul
ing the ship up by means Of cables, and
the capstan but these devices failed, and
ii was then unanimously resolved 10 try the
last abandonment of the vessel.
There were, - we have said, 400 persons
on the Medusa, and but ak boats to trans
port them. Evidently some other project
must be adopted to rescue the surplus. At
this juncture, Schmaltz, the Governor, pro-
posed the construction Of a raft capable oi
carrying 200 meu, which should be towed
by the boats to the shore Of the desert, dis
tant about 40 miles. While deliberatine
upon the matter the next day-July A
the tide rose almost sufficient to float the
ship; and there ia no doubt that if the gum
had been thrown overheard the Medusi
might have been saved-but nothing VA
done, and when the ebb came she sank int
the treacherous sand deeper than ever.
All hands now went to work in earnes
At the raft, and it was nearly completes
the following morning. Ii was made O
masts, spAn and plank, fastened togethe
by ropes into . rude platform sixty-6v
feet long, twenty feet wide, and eightee
inches deep--the corners being held up b
empty barrels placed beneath them. Dul
ing the afternoon and evening Of the 9Th,
storm prevailed which threatened to brea
up the ship at once, and . general stan
pede commenced, which was with gres
/. diHiculty quelled. While the excitemer
|, wa n ia height, . plot was discovere