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 Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny; Alexandre Corréard

NOTES.

[A1] I.—On the Route to Africa.

In going from Europe to the western coasts of Africa, situated to the north of the line, it is better still, to pass between the Azores and Madeira, and not to come within sight of the coast, till you have nearly reached the latitude of the point where you desire to land. Nothing but the necessity of procuring refreshments can authorise vessels, bound to the Cape of Good Hope, or to the south of America, to touch at the Canaries, or at the Cape Verd Islands. Notwithstanding the depth of the channels between the first of these islands, these seas, which are subject both to calms and hurricanes are not without danger. By keeping at a distance, there is also the advantage of avoiding the current of Gibraltar, and of not running the risk of meeting with the north west winds, which generally prevail along the desert, (and hitherto insufficiently known.) Coasts of Zaara, along which the Medusa sailed to no purpose, and which winds also tend to impel vessels upon the dangerous bank of Arguin. (A)

[A2] II.—On the Manoeuvres before Funchal.

The usual indecision, which the commander of the frigate displayed in all his resolutions, joined to a little accident, made him change the intention which he had expressed of presenting himself before Funchal. From a singularity which nothing justified, he appeared to have more confidence in one of the passengers, who had indeed, frequented these seas, than in any of his officers, in respect to the management of the vessel. As they approached Madeira, the vessel was worked almost entirely according to the advice of this passenger; but suddenly the breeze, which is always strong in the neighbourhood of these mountainous countries, fell when they got too near it, the sails flagged, the current seemed rapid; but after some hesitation in the manoeuvring of the vessel, which the officers soon put into proper order, they recovered the wind, and it was resolved to steer for Teneriffe. (A)

[A3] III.—On the Islands of Madeira and Teneriffe.

Madeira and Teneriffe seen on the side where their capital cities lie, have a very different appearance. The first is smiling with cultivation from its shores, almost to the summit of the mountains. Every where the eye discovers only little habitations surrounded by vineyards and orchards of the most delightful verdure: these modest dwellings surrounded by all the luxuriance of vegetation, placed under an azure sky, which is seldom obscured by clouds, seem to be the abode of happiness, and the navigator, long wearied by the monotonous prospect of the sea, cheerfully hailed this delightful prospect. Teneriffe, on the contrary, shews itself with every mark of the cause by which it was formed. The whole south east side is composed of black sterile rocks, which are piled together in an extraordinary confusion; even to the environs of the town of Saint Croix, scarcely any thing is seen, on the greater part of these dry and burnt lands, but low plants, the higher of which are probably Euphorbia, or thorny Cereus; and those which cover the ground, the hairy lichen, Crocella tinctoria, which is employed in dying, and which this island furnishes in abundance. Seen from the sea, the town, which is in the form of an amphitheatre, appears to be situated in the recess, formed by two distinct branches of mountains, of which the one towards the south, forms the Peak properly so called; it is particularly remarkable at a distance for its slender towers, and for the steeples of its churches, the construction of which, calls to mind the arabic architecture. (A)

[A4] IV.—On the Mouth of the River St. John.

There is probably an error in this account: the river St. John, is much more to the south, and on the north side of Cape Meric. The inlet, which was perceived during the ceremony of the tropic, which was a little tardy, is the gulf of St. Cyprian, into which the currents appear to set. Early in the morning, and to the north of this gulph, they passed a little island, very near the coast, and the black colour of which, owing doubtless to the marine plants that cover it, made a striking contrast with the whiteness of the sandy downs of the great desert, the abode of the Moors, and of wild beasts.—Tellus leonum arida nutrix. (A)

[A5] V.—On the reconnaissance of Cape Blanco.

Mr. de Chaumareys gave notice in the course of this day, that he had a mind to anchor at a cable's length from Cape Blanco. He talked of it till the evening, but on going to bed he thought no more about it; however, he continually repeated that the minister had ordered him to make that Cape; and therefore, when somebody said the next morning, that this Cape was supposed to have been seen at eight o'clock the preceding evening, it was from that time forbidden to doubt of it; and either from deference or persuasion it was agreed, but not without laughing, that the Cape had been seen at the hour mentioned. It was from the course of the vessel at this moment that the route was calculated till an observation was made at noon. (A)

[A6] VI.—On the Refusal to answer the Signals of the Echo.

It would probably have been of no use to inform Mr. de Chaumarey's of the signals of the Echo. The commander of the Medusa, the chief of the division, had declared already in the roads of the island of Aix, his intention to abandon his vessels, and to proceed alone in all haste to the Senegal. Though he spoke of strictly following the pretended instructions of the minister respecting the route to be followed, it was, however, violating the principle one, since it is useless to form a division if it is not to go together. The corvette, commanded by Mr. Venancourt succeeded, it is true, several times in joining the commander; but soon, by the superior sailing of the Medusa, they lost sight of him again, and every time they rejoiced at it. This resolution, not to sail in company, was the chief cause of the loss of the principal vessel. The Echo having determined, as was proper, to follow its commander, alone passed to the north west of the bank. The two other vessels which had remained long behind and were much more at liberty, passed more than thirty leagues to the west of it, and thus proved that it was the safest and shortest rout. (A)

[A7] VII.—On the Stranding of the Medusa.

From ten o'clock in the morning the colour of the water visibly changed, and the head pilot, calculating after his sea-torch before mentioned, declared, at half past eleven, that they were at the edge of the bank, and this was probable. From that moment the sailors were entirely employed in drawing up the lines thrown out alongside of the vessel, and the astonishing quantity of fish, all of the cod species, which were drawn on board, added to the weeds that floated on every side, were more than sufficient to make it believed that they were sailing upon a shoal. We shall speak below of the species of this fish; but as for the weeds, which were perceived on every side, besides that they gave reason to suppose that we were approaching the land, their appearance in this gulph, also gives ground to presume, that the currents of these seas, at this season, set north, since the plants, with exception of some Zosterés, were nothing but long stalks of grasses; most of them still furnished with their roots, and many even with their ears, belonging to the tall grasses of the banks of the Senegal, and the Gambia, which these rivers bring away at the time of the inundations. All those which could be observed were Panios or millets. (A)

[B1] VIII.—Moment of the Stranding of the Frigate.

The officers wanted to tack about, as the water became shallower every moment: but Mr. Richefort,(who enjoyed the confidence of Mr. de Chaumarey's,) declaring that there was no reason to be alarmed, the captain ordered more sail to be spread. Soon we had only fifteen fathoms, then nine, then six. By promptitude the danger might still have been avoided. They hesitated: two minutes afterwards a shock informed us that we had struck; the officers, at first astonished, gave their orders with a voice that shewed their agitation: the captain was wholly deprived of his; terror was painted on the countenances of all those who were capable of appreciating the danger: I thought it imminent, and expected to see the frigate bilge. I confess that I was not satisfied with myself, at this first moment, I could not help trembling, but afterwards, my courage did not any more forsake me. (B)

[B2] IX.—Confusion on Board the Frigate.

The frigate having stranded, the same thing happened, which usually does happen in critical circumstances, no decisive measures were taken: to increase our misfortunes the obedience of the crew to the officers was diminished for want of confidence. There was no concert. A great deal of time was spent, and the second day was lost without having done any thing.

On the third, preparations were made to quit the frigate, and the efforts made the day before to get her afloat, were renewed, but only half measures were taken. The other preparations to insure our safety were not carried on with any activity. Every thing went wrong. A list of the people was made, and they were distributed between the boats and the raft, in order that they might hold themselves ready to embark when it should be time. I was set down for the long boat. Our mode of living, during all this time, was extremely singular. We all worked either at the pump or at the capstern. There was no fixed time for meals, we eat just as we could snatch an opportunity. The greatest confusion prevailed, the sailors already attempted to plunder the trunks. (B)

[B3] X.—The Frigate lost.

On the fourth the weather being fine, and the wind favourable to the motion which we wished to give to the vessel, we succeeded in it. The most ardent hope was excited among all the crew, we even supped very cheerfully; we flattered ourselves that we should free the vessel and sail the next day. A beautiful evening encouraged our hopes, we slept upon deck by moonlight; but at midnight the sky was overclouded, the wind rose, the sea swelled, the frigate began to be shaken. These shocks were much more dangerous than those in the night of the third. At three o'clock in the morning the master-caulker came to tell the captain that the vessel had sprung a leak and was filling; we immediately flew to the pumps, but in vain, the hull was split, all endeavours to save the frigate were given up, and nothing thought of but how to save the people. (B)

[B4] XI.—Embarkment of the Crew.

On the 5th, about seven o'clock in the morning, all the soldiers were first embarked on board the raft, which was not quite finished, these unfortunate men crowded together upon pieces of wood, were in water up to the middle.

Mrs. and Miss Schmalz went on board their boat. Mr. Schmalz, notwithstanding the entreaties of every body, would not yet quit the vessel.

The people embarked in disorder, every body was in a hurry, I advised them to wait patiently till every one's turn came. I gave the example, and was near being the victim of it. All the boats, carried away by the current, withdrew and dragged the raft with them: there still remained sixty of us on board. Some sailors, thinking that the others were going to abandon them, loaded their muskets, and were going to fire upon the boats, and particularly upon the boat of the captain, who had already gone on board. It was with the greatest difficulty that I dissuaded them from it. I had need of all my strength, and all the arguments I could think of. I succeeded in seizing some loaded muskets and threw them into the sea.

When I was preparing to quit the frigate, I had contented myself with a small parcel of things which were indispensable; all the rest had been already pillaged. I had divided, with a comrade, eight hundred livres in gold, which I had still in my possession; this proved very fortunate for me in the sequel. This comrade had embarked on board one of the boats, (B)

[A8] XII.—On Mr. Espiau.

The name of this officer cannot be mentioned, in this memoir, without acknowledging the services which he performed on this occasion. To him we owe the lives of several sailors and soldiers who had remained on board. It is he who, notwithstanding the various dangers with which he was surrounded, following only the impulse of his courage, succeeded in saving them. In giving him a command, the minister has paid the debt which the State had contracted towards this officer for his honorable conduct.(A)

[B5] XIII.—Embarkation of the Men who remained on Board the Frigate.

I began to believe that we were abandoned, and that the boats, being too full, could take no more people on board. The frigate was quite full of water. Being convinced that she touched the bottom, and that she could not sink, we did not lose courage. Without fearing death it was proper to do every thing we could to save ourselves: we joined all together, officers, sailors and soldiers. We appointed a master-pilot for our leader, we pledged our honour, either to save ourselves, or to perish all together; an officer and myself promised to remain to the last.

We thought of making another raft. We made the necessary preparations to cut away one of the masts, in order to ease the frigate. Exhausted by fatigue, it was necessary to think of taking some food; the gally was not under water; we lighted a fire; the pot was already boiling, when we thought we saw the long-boat returning to us; it was towed by two other lighter-boats, we all renewed the oath, either all to embark, or all to remain. It appeared to us that our weight would sink the long-boat.

Mr. Espiau, who commanded it, came on board the frigate, he said that he would take every body on board. First, two women and a child were let down; the most fearful followed. I embarked immediately before Mr. Espiau. Some men preferred remaining on board the frigate to sinking, as they said, with the long-boat. In fact, we were crowded in it to the number of ninety persons; we were obliged to throw into the sea our little parcels, the only things we had left. We did not dare to make the least motion for fear of upsetting our frail vessel.

I had had some water-casks and a great many bottles of wine put on board: I had got all these things ready before hand. The sailors concealed in the long-boat what ought to have been for every body; they drank the whole the first night, which exposed us to the danger of perishing with thirst in the sequel.(B)

[A9] XIV.—Occurrences which took place after the Raft was abandoned.

About half-past six in the evening, and just at sun-set, the people in the boats descried the land: that is to say, the high downs of sand of the Zaara, which appeared quite brilliant and like heaps of gold and silver. The sea, between the frigate and the coast, appeared to have some depth; the waves were longer and more hollow, as if the bank of Arguin rose towards the West. But as they approached the land, the water suddenly became shallow, and finding only a depth of three or four feet, they resolved to cast anchor till day-break. Several scattered hills, a few rocky shoals nearly dry, made them presume that they were in the Lagunes, formed by the River St. John; this opinion was verified by the sight of Cape Meric, which appears like the continuation of a high hill coming from the interior, but suddenly rising at its approach to the sea, like the torrents of Volcanic matter. In passing before this cape, out at sea and towards the West, the sea appeared to break over some shoals, which are suspected to be the Southern end of the bank of Arguin, which, according to some persons at Senegal, is dry at low water. (A)

[B6] XV.—Forsaking the Raft.

When we had overtaken the raft, towed by the other boats, we asked the latter to take from us at least twenty men, or otherwise we should sink. They answered that they were already too much loaded. One of our movements, towards the boats, made them fancy that despair had inspired us with the idea of sinking them and ourselves at the same time.

How could the officers imagine that such a design was entertained by Mr. Espiau, who had just before displayed such a noble desire to assist his comrades? The boats, in order to avoid us, cut the ropes which united them together, and made all the sail they could from us. In the midst of this confusion, the rope which towed the raft, broke also, and a hundred and fifty men were abandoned in the midst of the ocean, without any hope of relief.

This moment was horrible. Mr. Espiau, to induce his comrades to make a last effort, tacked and made a motion to rejoin the raft. The sailors endeavoured to oppose it, saying that the men on the raft would fall upon us, and cause us all to perish. "I know it, my friends," said he, "but I will not approach so near as to incur any danger; if the other vessels do not follow me, I will think only on your preservation, I cannot do impossibilities." In fact, seeing that he was not seconded, he resumed his route. The other boats were already far off. "We shall sink," cried Mr. Espiau, let us shew courage to the very last. Let us do what we can: vive le roi! This cry a thousand times repeated rises from the bosom of the waters which are to serve us for a grave. The boats also repeated it, we were near enough to hear this cry of vive le roi! Some of us thought that this enthusiasm was madness: was it the fulness of despair which made them speak so, or was it the expression of the soul broken by misfortune? I know not, but for my part, this moment appeared to me sublime: this cry was a rallying cry, a cry of encouragement and resignation. (B)

[A10] XVI.—On the sudden Gale experienced by the Raft.

This strong gale was the same North West wind which in this season, as has been said before, blows every day with great violence after sun-set; but which, that day, began sooner, and continued till 4 o'clock the next morning, when it was succeeded by a calm. The two boats which resisted it, were several times on the point of being wrecked. The whole time that this gale lasted, the sea was covered with a remarkable quantity of galères or physalides, (physalis pelasgica) which arranged, for the most part, in straight lines, and in two or three files, cut at an angle the direction of the waves, and seemed at the same time to present their crest or sail to the wind, in an oblique manner, as if to be less exposed to its impulse. It is probable that these animals have the faculty of sailing two or three abreast, and of ranging themselves in a regular or symetrical order; but had the wind surprised these, so arranged on the surface of the sea, and before they had time to sink, and shelter themselves at the bottom, or did the sea, agitated on these shores, to a greater depth than is supposed, make them fear, in this situation, to be thrown upon the coast? However it be, the orders of their march; their disposition, in respect to the force which impelled them, and which they strove to resist; the apparent stiffness of the sail seemed equally admirable and surprising. Mr. Rang, who has been mentioned with praise in this work, having had the curiosity to catch one of these singular animals, soon felt a tingling in his hand, and a burning heat, which made him feel much pain till the next day. Bones of sèche gigantesque (sepia, cuttle-fish) already whitened by the sun, passed rapidly along the side of the ship, and almost always with some insects, which having, imprudently ventured too far from the land, had taken refuge on these floating islands. As soon as the sea grew calm, they perceived some large pelicans, gently rocking themselves on the bosom of the waves. (A)

[B7] XVII.—Landing of the Sixty-three Men of the Long-Boat.

The sea was within two fingers breadth of the gunnale of the boat: the slightest wave entered; besides, it had a leak; it was necessary to empty it continually: a service which the soldiers and sailors, who were with me, refused. Happily the sea was pretty calm.

On the same evening, the 5th, we saw the land, and the cry of "land, land," was repeated by every body. We were sailing rapidly towards the coast of Africa, when we felt that we had struck upon the bottom. We were again in distress: we had but three feet water; but would it be possible for us to get the boat afloat again, and put out into the open sea? There was no more hope of being able to reach the shore. As for myself, I saw nothing but danger on the coast of Africa, and I preferred drowning to being made a slave, and conducted to Morocco or Algiers. But the long-boat grounded only once; we proceeded on our route, and by frequent soundings we got into the open sea towards night.

Providence had decided that we should experience fears of every kind, and that we should not perish. What a night indeed was this! The sea ran very high, the ability of our pilot saved us. A single false manoeuvre, and we must all have perished. We, however, partly shipped two or three waves which we were obliged to empty immediately. Any other boat, in the same circumstances, would have been lost. This long and dreadful night was at length succeeded by day.

At day break we found ourselves in sight of land. The sea became a little calm. Hope revived in the souls of the desponding sailors, almost every body desired to go on shore. The officer, in spite of himself, yielded to their wishes. We approached the coast and threw out a little anchor that we might not run aground. We were so happy as to come near the shore, where there was only two feet water. Sixty-three men threw themselves into the water and reached the shore, which is only a dry and burning sand, it must have been a few leagues above Portendic. I took care not to imitate them. I remained with about twenty-six others in the long-boat, all determined to endeavour to reach the Senegal with our vessel, which was lightened of above two-thirds of its burden. It was the 6th of July. (B)

[B8] XVIII.—The Fifteen Persons in the Yawl taken into the Long-Boat; sequel of the day of the 6th.

An hour after landing the sixty-three men, we perceived behind us four of our boats. Mr. Espiau, notwithstanding the cries of his crew who opposed it, lowered his sails and lay-to, in order to wait for them. "They have refused to take any people from us, let us do better now we are lightened, let us offer to take some from them." In fact, he made them this offer when they were within hail; but instead of approaching boldly, they kept at a distance. The smallest of the boats (a yawl) went from one to the other to consult them. This distrust came from their thinking, that, by a stratagem, we had concealed all our people under the benches, to rush upon them when they should be near enough, and so great was this distrust that they resolved to fly us like enemies. They feared every thing from our crew, whom they thought to be in a state of mutiny: however, we proposed no other condition on receiving some people, than to take in some water, of which we began to be in want, as for biscuit we had a sufficient stock.

Above an hour had passed after this accident, when the sea ran very high. The yawl could not hold out against it: being obliged to ask assistance, it came up to us. My comrade de Chasteluz was one of the fifteen men on board of her. We thought first of his safety, he leaped into our boat, I caught him by the arm to hinder his falling into the sea, we pressed each others hands, what language.

Singular concatenation of events! If our sixty-three men had not absolutely insisted upon landing, we could not have saved the fifteen men in the yawl; we should have had the grief of seeing them perish before our eyes, without being able to afford them any assistance: this is not all, the following is what relates to myself personally. A few minutes before we took in the people of the yawl, I had undressed myself in order to dry my clothes, which had been wet for forty-eight hours, from my having assisted in lading the water out of the long-boat. Before I took off my pantaloons I felt my purse, which contained the four hundred francs; a moment after I had lost it; this was the completion of all my misfortunes. What a happy thought was it to have divided my eight hundred francs with Mr. de Chasteluz who now had the other four hundred.

The heat was very violent on the sixth. We were reduced to an allowance of one glass of dirty or corrupted water: and therefore to check our thirst, we put a piece of lead into our mouths; a melancholy expedient!

The night returned; it was the most terrible of all: the light of the moon shewed us a raging sea: long and hollow waves threatened twenty times to swallow us up. The pilot did not believe it possible to avoid all those which came upon us; if we had shipped a single one it would have been all over with us. The pilot must have let the helm go, and the boat would have sunk. Was it not in fact better to disappear at once than to die slowly?

Towards the morning the moon having set, exhausted by distress, fatigue, and want of sleep I could not hold out any longer and fell asleep; notwithstanding the waves which were ready to swallow me up. The Alps and their picturesque scenery rose before my imagination. I enjoyed the freshness of their shades, I renewed the delicious moments which I have passed there, and as if to enhance my present happiness by the idea of past evils, the remembrance of my good sister flying with me into the woods of Kaiserslautern to escape the Cossacks, is present to my fancy. My head hung over the sea; the noise of the waves dashing against our frail bark, produced on my senses the effect of a torrent falling from the summit of a mountain. I thought I was going to plunge into it. This pleasing illusion was not complete; I awoke, and in what a state! I raised my head with pain; I open my ulcerated lips, and my parched tongue finds on them only a bitter crust of salt, instead of a little of that water which I had seen in my dream. The moment was dreadful, and my despair was extreme. I thought of throwing myself into the sea, to terminate at once all my sufferings. This despair was of short duration, there was more courage in suffering.

A hollow noise, which we heard in the distance, increased the horrors of this night. Our fears, that it might be the bar of the Senegal, hindered us from making so much way as we might have done. This was a great error: the noise proceeded from the breakers which are met with on all the coasts of Africa. We found afterwards, that we were above sixty leagues from the Senegal. (B)

[B9] XIX.—Page 162.—Stranding of the Long-Boat, and Two other Boats.

Our situation did not change till the eighth; we suffered more and more from thirst. The officer desired me to make a list, and to call the people to distribute the allowance of water; every one came and drank what was given him. I held my list under the tin cap, to catch the drops which fell, and moisten my lips with them. Some persons attempted to drink sea water; I am of opinion that they did but hasten the moment of their destruction.

About the middle of the day, on the 8th of July, one of our boats sailed in company with the long-boat. The people on board suffered more than we, and resolved to go on shore and get water if possible; but the sailors mutinied and insisted on being landed at once: they had drank nothing for two days. The officers wished to oppose it; the sailors were armed with their sabres. A dreadful butchery was on the point of taking place on board this unfortunate boat. The two sails were hoisted in order to strand more speedily upon the coast, every body reached the shore, the boat filled with water and was abandoned.

This example, fatal to us, gave our sailors an inclination to do the same. Mr. Espiau consented to land them; he hoped to be able afterwards with the little water that remained, and by working the vessel ourselves, to reach the Senegal. We therefore placed ourselves round this little water, and took our swords to defend it. We advanced near to the breakers, the anchor was got up, and the officer gave orders to let the boat's painter go gently, the sailors on the contrary, either let the rope go at once, or cut it. Our boat being no longer checked, was carried into the first breaker. The water passed over our heads, and three quarters filled the boat: it did not sink. Immediately we hoisted a sail which carried us through the other breakers. The boat entirely filled and sunk, but there was only four feet water; every body leaped into the sea, and no one perished.

Before we thought of landing I had undressed myself, in order to dry my clothes; I might have put them on again, but the resolution to land having been taken, I thought that without clothes, I should be more able to swim in case of need. Mr. de Chasteluz could not swim: he fastened a rope round his middle, of which I took one end, and by means of which, I was to draw him to me as soon as I got on shore. When the boat sunk I threw myself into the water, I was very glad that I touched the bottom, for I was uneasy about my comrade. I returned to the boat to look for my clothes and my sword. A part of them had been already stolen, I found only my coat and one of the two pair of pantaloons which I had with me. A negro offered to sell me an old pair of shoes for eight francs, for I wanted a pair of shoes to walk in.

The sailors had saved the barrel of water; and as soon as we were on shore they fought for the drinking of it. I rushed in among them, and made my way to him who had got the barrel at his mouth. I snatched it from him and contrived to swallow two mouthfuls, the barrel was afterwards taken from me, but these two mouthfuls did me as much good as two bottles; but for them I could not have lived longer than a few hours.

Thus I found myself on the coast of Africa wet to the skin, with nothing in my pockets except a few biscuits, steeped in salt water, to support me for several days: without water, amidst a sandy desert inhabited by a ferocious race of men: thus we had left one danger to plunge into a greater.

We resolved to proceed along the sea coast, because the breeze cooled us a little, and besides the moist sand was softer than the fine moveable sand in the interior. Before we proceeded on our march, we waited for the crew of the other boat which had stranded before us.

We had proceeded about half an hour, when we perceived another boat advancing with full sail, and came with such violence on the beach that it stranded: it contained all the family of Mr. Picard, consisting of himself and his wife, three daughters grown up, and four young children, one of whom was at the breast. I threw myself into the sea to assist this unhappy family; I contributed to get Mr. Picard on shore, every body was saved. I went to look for my clothes, but could not find them; I fell into a violent passion, and expressed in strong terms, the infamy of stealing in such circumstances. I was reduced to my shirt and my trowsers. I know not whether my cries, and my complaints, excited remorse in the robber, but I found my coat and pantaloons again, a little further off upon the sand. (B)

[B10] XX.—March in the Desert and Arrival at St. Louis.

We proceeded on our journey for the rest of the day on the 8th of July; many of us were overcome by thirst. Many with haggard eyes awaited only death. We dug in the sand, but found only water more salt than that of the sea.

At last we resolved to pass the sandy downs along the sea coast; we afterwards met with a sandy plain almost as low as the ocean. On this sand there was a little long and hard grass. We dug a hole three or four feet deep, and found water which was whitish and had a bad smell. I tasted it and finding it sweet, cried out "we are saved!" These words were repeated by the whole caravan who collected round this water, which everyone devoured with his eyes. Fire or six holes were soon made and every one took his fill of this muddy beverage. We remained two hours at this place, and endeavoured to eat a little biscuit in order to keep up our strength.

Towards evening we returned to the sea shore. The coolness of the night permitted us to walk, but Mr. Picard's family could not follow us. The children were carried, the officers setting the example, in order to induce the sailors to carry them by turns. The situation of Mr. Picard was cruel; his young ladies and his wife displayed great courage; they dressed themselves in mens clothes. After an hours march Mr. Picard desired that we might stop, he spoke in the tone of a man who would not be refused; we consented, though the least delay might endanger the safety of all. We stretched ourselves upon the sand, and slept till three o'clock in the morning.

We immediately resumed our march. It was the 9th of July. We still proceeded along the sea shore, the wet sand was more easy to walk upon; we rested every half hour on account of the ladies.

About eight o'clock in the morning we went a little from the coast to reconnoitre some Moors who had shewn themselves. We found two or three wretched tents, in which there were some Mooresses almost all naked, they were as ugly and frightful as the sands they inhabit. They came to our aid, offering us water, goat's milk, and millet, which are their only food. They would have appeared to us handsome, if it had been for the pleasure of obliging us, but these rapacious creatures wanted us to give them every thing we had. The sailors, who were loaded with what they had pillaged from us, were more fortunate than we, a handkerchief procured them a glass of water or milk, or a handful of millet. They had more money than we, and gave pieces of five or ten francs for things, for which we offered twenty sous. These Mooresses, however, did not know the value of money, and delivered more to a person who gave them two or three little pieces of ten sous, than to him who offered them a crown of six livres. Unhappily we had no small money, and I drank more than one glass of milk at the rate of six livres per glass.

We bought, at a dearer price than we could have bought gold, two goats which we boiled by turns in a little metal kettle belonging to the Mooresses. We took out the pieces half boiled, and devoured them like savages. The sailors, for whom we had bought these goats, scarcely left the officers their share, but seized what they could, and still complained of having had too little. I could not help speaking to them as they deserved. They consequently had a spite against me and threatened me more than once.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, after we had passed the greatest heat of the day in the disgusting tents of the Mooresses, stretched by their side, we heard a cry of "To arms, to arms!" I had none; I took a large knife which I had preserved, and which was as good as a sword. We advanced towards some Moors and Negroes, who had already disarmed several of our people whom they had found reposing on the sea shore. The two parties were on the point of coming to blows, when we understood that these men came to offer to conduct us to Senegal.

Some timid persons distrusted their intentions. For myself, as well as the most prudent among us, I thought that we should trust entirely to men who came in a small number, and who, in fact, confided their own safety to us; though it would have been so easy for them, to come in sufficiently large numbers to overwhelm us. We did so, and experience proved that we did well.

We set off with our Moors who were very well made and fine men of their race; a Negro, their slave was one of the handsomest men I have ever seen. His body of a fine black, was clothed in a blue dress which he had received as a present. This dress became him admirably, his gait was proud and his air inspired confidence. The distrust of some of our Negroes, who had their arms unsheathed, and fear painted on the countenances of some made him laugh. He put himself in the middle of them, and placing the point of the weapons upon his breast, opened his arms, to make them comprehend that he was not afraid, and that they also ought not to fear him.

After we had proceeded some time, night being come, our guides conducted us a little inland, behind the downs where there were some tents inhabited by a pretty considerable number of Moors. Many persons in our caravan cried out, that they were going to be led to death. But we did not listen to them, persuaded that in every way we were undone, if the Moors were resolved on our destruction, that besides, it was their true interest to conduct us to Senegal, and that in short, confidence was the only means of safety.

Fear caused every body to follow us. We found in the camp, water, camels' milk, and dry, or rather rotten fish. Though all these things were enormously dear, we were happy to meet with them. I bought for ten francs one of these fish which stunk terribly. I wrapt it up in the only handkerchief I had left, to carry it with me. We were not sure of always finding such a good inn upon the road. We slept in our usual bed, that is to say stretched upon the sand. We had rested till midnight: we took some asses for Mr. Picard's family, and for some men whom fatigue had rendered incapable of going any further.

I observed that the men who were most overcome by fatigue were presisely those who were the most robust. From their look and their apparent strength they might have been judged indefatigable, but they wanted mental strength, and this alone supports man in such a crisis. For my part I was astonished at bearing so well so many fatigues and privations. I suffered, but with courage; my stomach, to my great satisfaction did not suffer at all. I bore every thing in the same manner till the last.

Sleep alone, but the most distressing sleep possible, had nearly caused my destruction. It was at two or three o'clock in the morning that it seized me, I slept as I walked. As soon as they cried halt I let myself fall upon the sand and was plunged into the most profound lethergy. Nothing gave me more pain than to hear at the expiration of a quarter of an hour "up, march."

I was once so overcome that I heard nothing, I remained stretched upon the ground while the whole caravan passed by me. It was already at a great distance when a straggler happily perceived me; he pushed me, and at last succeeded in awaking me. But for him I should doubtless have slept several hours. If I had awoke alone in the middle of the desert, either despair would have terminated my sufferings, or I should have been made a slave by the Moors, which I could not have borne. To avoid this misfortune I begged one of my friends to watch over me, and to waken me at every stage, which be did.

On the 10th of July towards six o'clock in the morning, we were marching along the sea coast, when our guide gave us notice to be upon our guard and to take our arms. I seized my knife; the whole party was collected. The country was inhabited by a poor and plundering race of Moors, who would not have failed to attack those who had loitered behind. The precaution was good, some Moors shewed themselves on the downs; their number encreased and soon exceeded ours. To move them, we placed ourselves in a line holding our swords and sabres in the air. Those who had no arms waved the scabbards, to make them believe that we were all armed with muskets. They did not approach. Our guides went halfway to meet them. They left one man and retired: the Moors did the same on their side. The two deputies conversed together for some time, then each returned to his party. The explanation was satisfactory, and the Moors soon came to us without the least distrust.

Their women brought us milk which they sold horribly dear; the rapacity of these Moors is astonishing, they insisted on having a share of the milk, which they had sold us.

Mean time we saw a sail advancing towards us: we made all kinds of signals to be perceived by it, and we were convinced that they were answered. Our joy was lively and well founded: it was the Argus brig which came to our assistance. She lowered her sails and hoisted out a boat. When it was near the breakers a Moor threw himself into the sea, carrying a note which painted our distress. The boat took the Moor on board and returned with the note to the captain. Half an hour afterwards the boat returned laden with a large barrel, and two small ones. When it reached the place where it had taken in the Moor, the latter threw himself into the sea again to bring back the answer. It informed us that they were going to throw into the sea a barrel of biscuit and cheese, and two others containing brandy and wine.

Another piece of news filled us with joy; the two boats which had not stranded on the coast as we had done arrived at the Senegal, after having experienced the most stormy weather. Without losing a moment the governor had dispatched the Argus, and taken every measure to assist the shipwrecked people, and to go to the Medusa. Besides, he had sent by land camels loaden with provisions to meet us, lastly, the Moors were desired to respect us, and to render us assistance: so much good news revived us, and gave us fresh courage.

I learned also that Mr. Schmalz and his family, those very ladies, whom I had seen expose themselves with so much composure to the fury of the waves, and who had made me shed the only tears which our misfortunes had drawn from me, were well and in safety. I should have been sorry to die without having learned that they were preserved.

When the three barrels were thrown into the sea we followed them with our eyes; we feared lest the current, instead of bringing them to the coast, should carry them into the open sea. At last we saw, clearly, that they approached us. Our Negroes and Moors swam to them, and pushed them to the coast, where we secured them.

The great barrel was opened: the biscuit and cheese were distributed. We would not open those of wine and brandy. We feared lest the Moors, at this sight, would not be able to refrain from falling upon the booty. We continued our march, and about half a league farther on, made a delicious feast on the sea-shore. Our strength being revived, we continued our route with more ardour.

Towards the close of the day, the aspect of the country began to change a little. The downs were lower: we perceived, at a distance, a sheet of water: we thought, and this was no small satisfaction to us, that it was the Senegal which made an elbow in this place to run parallel to the sea. From this elbow runs the little rivulet called Marigot des Maringouins; we left the sea-shore to pass it a little higher up. We reached a spot where there was some verdure and water, and resolved to remain there till midnight.

We had scarcely reached this spot, when we saw an Englishman coming towards us with three or four Marabous, or priests; they had camels with them; they were doubtless sent by the English Governor of Senegal, to seek for the shipwrecked people. One of the camels, laden with provisions, is immediately dispatched; those who conduct it are to go, if necessary, to Portendic, to fetch our companions in misfortune; or at least to get some information respecting them.

The English envoy had money to buy us provisions. He informed us that we had still three days march to the Senegal. We imagined that we were nearer to it; the most fatigued were terrified at this great distance. We slept all together on the sand. Nobody was suffered to go to a distance for fear of the lions, which were said to haunt this country. This fear did not at all alarm me, nor hinder me from sleeping pretty well.

On the 11th of July, after having walked from one o'clock in the morning till seven, we arrived at a place where the Englishman expected to meet with an ox. By some misunderstanding there was none; we were obliged to pinch our bellies: but we had a little water.

The heat was insupportable; the sun was already scorching. We halted on the white sand of these downs, as being more wholesome for a resting place than the sand, wetted by the sea-water. But this sand was so hot, that even the hands could not endure it. Towards noon we were broiled by the beams of the sun darting perpendicularly upon our heads. I found no remedy, except in a creeping plant, which grew here and there on the moving sand. I set up some old stalks, and spread over them my coat and some leaves: thus I put my head in the shade; the rest of my body was roasted. The wind overturned, twenty times, my slight scaffolding.

Meantime, this Englishman was gone, on his camel, to see after an ox. He did not return till four or five o'clock: when he informed us that we should find this animal, after we had proceeded some hours. After a most painful march, till night, we, in fact, met with an ox which was small, but tolerably fat. We looked at some distance from the sea, for a place where there was supposed to be a spring. It was only a hole, which the Moors had left a few hours before. Here we fixed ourselves, a dozen fires were lighted around us. A negro twisted the neck of the ox, as we should have done that of a fowl. In five minutes it was flayed and cut into pieces, which we toasted on the points of our swords or sabres. Every one devoured his portion.

After this slight repast, we all lay down to sleep. I was not able to sleep: the tiresome buzzing of the mosquitoes, and their cruel stings, prevented me, though I was so much in need of repose.

On the 12th, we resumed our march at three o'clock in the morning. I was indisposed; and to knock me up entirely, we had to walk over the moving sand of the point of Barbary. Nothing hitherto, had been more fatiguing: every body complained; our Moorish guides assured us that this way was shorter by two leagues. We preferred returning to the beach, and walking on the sand, which the sea-water rendered firm. This last effort was almost beyond my strength, I sunk under it, and but for my comrades, I should have remained upon the sand.

We had absolutely resolved to reach the point, where the river joins the downs. There some boats, which were coming up the river, were to take us on board, and convey us to St. Louis. When we had nearly reached this spot, we crossed the downs, and enjoyed the sight of the river which we had so long desired to meet with.

Happily too, it was the season when the water of the Senegal is fresh: we quenched our thirst at our pleasure. We stopped at last; it was only eight o'clock in the morning. We had no shelter during the whole day, except some trees, which were of a kind unknown to me, and which had a sombre foliage. I frequently went into the river, but without venturing too far from the bank, for fear of the alligators.

About two o'clock, a small boat arrived; the master of it asked for Mr. Picard; he was sent by one of the old friends of that gentleman, and brought him provisions and clothes for his family. He gave notice to us all, in the name of the English Governor, that two other boats loaded with provisions, were coming. Having to wait till they arrived, I could not remain with Mr. Picard's family. I know not what emotion arose in my soul when I saw the fine white bread cut, and the wine poured out, which would have given me so much pleasure. At four o'clock we also were able to eat bread and good biscuit, and to drink excellent Madeira, which was lavished on us with little prudence. Our sailors were drunk; even those among us who had been more cautious, and whose heads were stronger, were, to say the least, very merry. How did our tongues run as we went down the river in our boats! After a short and happy navigation, we landed at Saint Louis, about seven o'clock in the evening.

But what should we do? whither should we go? Such were our reflections when we set foot on shore. They were not of long duration. We met with some of our comrades belonging to the boats who had arrived before us, who conducted us, and distributed us among various private houses, where every thing had been prepared to receive us well. I shall always remember the kind hospitality which was shewn to us, in general, by the white inhabitants of St. Louis, both English and French. We were all made welcome; we had all clean linen to put on, water to wash our feet; a sumptuous table was ready for us. As for myself, I was received, with several of my companions, in the house of Messrs. Potin and Durecur, Merchants of Bordeaux. Every thing they possessed was lavished upon us. They gave me linen, light clothes, in short, whatever I wanted. I had nothing left. Honour to him, who knows so well how to succour the unfortunate; to him especially who does it with so much simplicity, and as little ostentation as these gentlemen did. It seemed that it was a duty for them to assist every body. They would willingly have left to others no share in the good that was to be done. English officers eagerly claimed the pleasure, as they expressed it, of having some of the shipwrecked people to take care of. Some of us had feather beds, others good mattrasses laid upon mats, which they found very comfortable. I slept ill notwithstanding, I was too much fatigued, too much agitated: I always fancied, myself either bandied about by the waves, or treading on the burning sands.(B)

[A11] XXI.—On the Manufactures of the Moors.

The Moors tan skins with the dried pods of the Gummiferous Accia: thus prepared, they are impenetrable to the rain, and it may be affirmed that, for their suppleness, as well as for the brilliancy and finesss of their grain, they might become a valuable fur in Europe, either for use or ornament. The most beautiful of these skins seemed to be those of very young goats, taken from the belly of the dam before the time of gestation is completed. The great numbers of these animals, which are found round all the inhabited places, allow the inhabitants to sacrifice many to this species of luxury, without any extraordiny loss. The cloaks, with a hood, which are mentioned in this memoir, are composed of several of these skins, ingeniously sewed together, with small and very fine seams. These garments, designed as a protection against the cold and the rain, are generally black, but some are also seen of a reddish colour, which are not so beautiful, and heavier these latter are made of the skins of the kind of sheep, known by the name of guinea-sheep, which have hair instead of wool. As for the goldsmiths work, made by these people, it is executed by travelling workmen, who are at the same time armourers, smiths and jewellers. Furnished with a leather bag which is provided with an iron pipe, and filled with air, which they press and fill alternately, by putting it under their thigh, which they keep in constant motion, singing all the while; seated before a little hole dug in the sand, and under the shade of some leaves of the date-tree laid upon their heads, they execute on a little anvil, and with the help of a hammer, and some small iron awls, not only all kinds of repairs necessary to fire-arms, sabres, &c. but manufacture knives and daggers, and also make bracelets, earrings, and necklaces of gold, which they have the art of drawing into very fine wire, and forming into ornaments for women, in a manner which, though it wants taste, makes us admire the skill of the workman, especially when we consider the nature, and the small number of the tools which he employs.

The Moors, like the Mahometan negroes, are for the most part, provided with a larger or smaller number of gris-gris, a kind of talisman consisting in words, or verses copied from the Coran, to which they ascribe the power of securing them against diseases, witchcraft and accidents, and which they buy of their priests or Marabous. Some Spaniards from Teneriffe, who came to Cape Verd, at the time that the French Expedition had taken refuge there, struck us all, by their resemblance with these Africans. It was not only by their brown complexions that they resembled them; but it was also by their long rosaries, twisted in the some manner about their arms, resembling, except the cross, those of the Moors, and by the great number of Amulets, (gris-gris of another kind) which they wear round their necks, and by which they seemed to wish to rival the infidels in credulity. There is then, in the South of Europe, as well as in the North of Africa, a class of men, who would found their authority, upon ignorance, and derive their authority from superstition.

[A12] XXII.—On the Bark given to the Sick.

The bark, which began to be administered at that time, had been damaged, but an attempt was made to supply the want of it by the bark which the negroes use to cure the dysentery, and which they bring from the environs of Rufisque. This bark, of which they made a secret, seems to come from some terebinthine plant, and perhaps, from the monbins, which are common on this part of the coast. In the winter fevers which prevail at Goree, Cape Verd, &c. two methods of cure were employed which had different effects. These fevers were often attended with cholic, spasms in the stomach, and diarrhea. The first method consisted in vomitting, purging, and then administering the bark, to which musk was sometimes added, when the disorder grew worse. In this case, when the disease did not end in death, the fever was often succeeded by dysentery, or those who believed themselves cured, were subject to relapses. The second method, which Doctor Bergeron employed with more success, was opposite to the former; he vomited the patients but little, or not at all, endeavouring to calm the symptoms, to strengthen the patient by bitters, and at the last, he administered the bark.[A13]

The Negroes who, like all other people, have a materia medica, and pharmacopeia of their own, and who at this season, are subject to the same disorders as the Europeans, have recourse at the very beginning, to a more heroic remedy, and such of our soldiers encamped at Daccard, as made use of it, in general found benefit from it. The Priest or Marabous, who often offered them the assistance of his art, made them take a large glass of rum-punch, very warm, with a slight infusion of cayenne pepper. An extraordinary perspiration generally terminated this fit. The patient then avoided, for some days, walking in the sun, and eat a small quantity of roasted fish and cous-cous, mixed with a sufficient quantity of cassia leaves of different species, to operate as a gentle purgative. In order to keep up the perspiration, or according to the Negro Doctor, to strengthen the skin, he applied from time to time, warm lotions of the leaves of the palma christi, and of cassia, (casse puante.) The use of rum, which is condemned by the Mahometan religion, and is a production foreign to this country, gives reason to suppose that the remedy is of modern date, among the Negroes.

[A13] It is to be observed that the author, in these two passages, uses the word Kina or Peruvian bark—T.

[A14] XXIII.—On the Isle of St. Louis.

St. Louis is a bank of scorching sand, without drinkable water or verdure, with a few tolerable houses towards the South, and a great number of low smoky straw huts, which, occupy almost all the North part. The houses are of brick, made of a salt clay, (argile salée) which the wind reduces to powder, unless they are carefully covered with a layer of chalk or lime, which it is difficult to procure, and the dazzling whiteness of which injures the eyes.

Towards the middle of this town, if it may be so called, is a large manufactory in ruins, which is honored with the name of a fort, and of which the English have sacrificed a part, in order to make apartments for the governor, and to make the ground floor more airy, to quarter troops in it.

Opposite is a battery of heavy cannon, the parapet of which covers the square, on which are some trees, planted in strait lines for ornament. These trees are oleaginous Benjamins (Bens Olefères) which give no shade, and ought to be replaced by tamarinds, or sycamores, which are common in this neighbourhood, and would thrive well on this spot. None but people uncertain of their privilege to trade on this river, merchants who came merely to make a short stay, and indolent speculators would have contented themselves with this bank of burning sand, and not have been tempted by the cool shades and more fertile lands, which are within a hundred toises, but which, indeed, labour alone could render productive. Every thing is wretched in this situation.

Saint Louis is but a halting place in the middle of the river, where merchants who were going up it to seek slaves and gum, moored their vessels, and deposited their provisions, and the goods they had brought with them to barter.

What is said in the narrative of the means of attacking this port, is correct. When the enemy have appeared, the Negroes have always been those who have defended it with the most effect. But unhappily, there, as in the Antilles, persons are already to be found, who are inclined to hold out their hands to the English.

At Louis there are some palm-trees, and the lantara flabelliformis. Some little gardens have been made; but a cabbage, or a salad, are still of some value. Want, the mother of industry, obliged some of the inhabitants, during the war, to turn their thoughts to cultivation, and it should be the object of the government to encourage them.

[A15] XXIV.—On the Islands of Goree and Cape Verd.

At the distance of 1200 toises from the Peninsula of Cape Verd, a large black rock rises abruptly, from the surface of the sea. It is cut perpendicularly on one side, inaccessible in two-thirds of its circumference, and terminates, towards the south, in a low beach which it commands, and which is edged with large stones, against which the sea dashes violently. This beach, which is the prolongation of the base of the rock, bends in an arch, and forms a recess, where people land as they can. At the extremity of this beach is a battery of two or three guns; on the beach of the landing-place, is an epaulement, with embrasures which commands it. The town stands on this sand bank, and a little fort, built on the ridge of the rock, commands and defends it. In its present state, Goree could not resist a ship of the line. Its road, which is only an anchoring place in the open sea, is safe in the most stormy weather; but it is exposed to all winds except those that blow from the island, which then serves to shelter it.

The Europeans who desire to carry on the slave trade, have preferred this arid rock, placed in the middle of a raging sea, to the neighbouring continent, where they would find water, wood, vegetables, and in short, the necessaries of life. The same reason which has caused the preference to be given to a narrow and barren sand bank, in the middle of the Senegal to build St. Louis, has also decided in favor of Goree: it is, that both of them are but dens, or prisons, intended as a temporary confinement for wretches who, in any other situation, would find means to escape. To deal in men, nothing is wanting but fetters and jails, but as this kind of gain no longer exists, if it is wished to derive other productions from these possessions, and not to lose them entirely, it will be necessary to change the nature of our speculations, and to direct our views and our efforts to the continent, where industry and agriculture promise riches, the production of which humanity will applaud.

The point which seems most proper for an agricultural establishment, is Cape Belair, a league and a half to the leward of Goree: its soil is a rich black mould, lying on a bed of Lava, which seems to come from the Mamelles. It is there that other large vegetables, besides the Baobabs, begin to be more numerous, and which, farther on, towards Cape Rouge, cover, like a forest, all the shores. The wells of Ben, which supply Goree with water, are but a short distance from it, and the lake of Tinguage, begins in the neighbourhood. This lake, which is formed, in a great measure, by the rain water of the Peninsula, contains a brackish water, which it is easy to render potable; it is inhabited by the Guésiks, or Guia-Sicks of the Yoloffes, or Black Crocodiles of Senegal; but it would be easy to destroy these animals. In September, this lake seems wholly covered with white nymphaea, or water-lilly, and in winter time it is frequented by a multitude of waterfowl, among which, are distinguished by their large size, die great pelican, the fine crested crane, which has received the name of the royal-bird, the gigantic heron, known in Senegambia by the venerable name of Marabou, on account of its bald head, with a few scattered white hairs, its lofty stature, and its dignified gait.

Considered geologically, the Island of Goree is a group of basaltic columns still standing, but a part of which seem to have experienced the action of the same cause of destruction and overthrow, as the columns of the same formation of Cape Verd, because they are inclined and overthrown in the same direction.

Cape Verd is a peninsula about five leagues and a half long; the breadth is extremely variable. At its junction, with the continent, it is about four leagues broad; by the deep recess which the Bay of Daccard forms, it is reduced, near that village, to 600 toises, and becomes broader afterwards. This promontory, which forms the most western part of Africa, is placed, as it were, at the foot of a long hill, which represents the ancient shore of the continent. On the sea-shore, and towards the north-east, there are two hills of unequal height, which serve as a guide to mariners; and which, from the substances collected in their neighbourhood, evidently shew that they are the remains of an ancient volcano. They have received the name of Mamelles. From this place, to the western extremity of the Peninsula, the country rises towards the north-east, and terminates in a sandy beach on the opposite side.

Almost the whole north-side is composed of steep rocks, covered with large masses of oxyd of iron, or with regular columns of basalt which, for the most part, still preserve their vertical position. Their summits, which are sometimes scorified, seem to prove that they have been exposed to a great degree of heat. The soil which covers the plateau, formed by the summit of the Basaltic columns, the sides of which assume towards the Mamelles, the appearance of walls of Trapp, but already, in a great degree, changed into tuf, is arid and covered with briars. The soil of the Mamelles, like almost all that of the middle of the Peninsula, which appears to lie upon argillaceous lava, in a state of decomposition, is much better. There are even to be found, here and there, some spots that are very fertile; this is the arable land of the inhabitants. Towards the south, all resumes more or less, the appearance of a desert; and the sands, though less destitute of vegetable mould, extend from thence to the sea-shore. It is by manuring the land, with the dung of their cattle, that the Negroes raise pretty good crops of sorgho. The population of this peninsula may be estimated at ten thousand souls. It is entirely of the Yoloffe race, and shews much attachment to all the ceremonies of Islamism. The Marabous or Priests, sometimes mounted on the top of the Nests of the Termites, or on the walls surrounding their mosque, call the people several times a-day to prayer.

The social state of this little people, is a kind of republic governed by a senate, which is composed of the chiefs of most of the villages. They have taken from the Coran the idea of this form of government, as is the case with most of those, established among the nations who follow that law.

At the time of the expedition of the Medusa this senate was composed as follows:

Moctar, supreme chief resident of Daccard.
Diacheten, chief of the village of Sinkieur.
Phall Yokedieff.
Tjallow-Talerfour Graff.
Mouim Bott.
Bayémour Kayé.
Modiann Ketdym.
Mamcthiar Symbodioun.
Ghameu Wockam.
Diogheul, chief of the village of Gorr.
Baindonlz Yoff.
Mofall Ben.
Schenegall Bambara.

This tribe was formerly subject to a Negro King in the neighbourhood; but having revolted against him, though very inferior in numbers, it defeated his army a few years ago. The bones of the vanquished, that still lie scattered on the plain, attest the victory. A wall, pierced with loop-holes, which they erected in the narrowest part of the Peninsula, and which the enemy was unable to force, chiefly contributed to their success. The Yolloffes are in general handsome and their facial angle has hardly any thing of the usual deformity of the Negroes. Their common food is cous-cous, with poultry, and above all fish; their drink is brackish water, mixed with milk and sometimes with palm wine. The poor go on foot, the rich on horseback, and some ride upon bulls, which are always very docile, for the Negroes are eminently distinguished by their good treatment of all animals. Their wealth consists in land and cattle; their dwellings are generally of reeds, their beds are mats made of Asouman (maranta juncea) and leopards' skins; and their cloathing broad pieces of cotton. The women take care of the children, pound the millet, and prepare the food; the men cultivate the land, go a hunting and fishing, weave the stuff for their clothes, and gather in the wax.

Revenge and idleness seem to be the only vices of these people; their virtues are charity, hospitality, sobriety, and love of their children. The young women are licentious, but the married women are generally chaste and attached to their husbands. Their diseases among the children, are worms, and umbilical hernia; among the old people, and particularly those who have travelled much, blindness and opthalamia; and among the adult, affections of the heart, obstructions, sometimes leprosy, and rarely elephantiasis. Among the whole population of the Peninsula, there is only one person with a hunch back, and two or three who are lame. During the day they work or rest; but the night is reserved for dancing and conversation. As soon as the sun has set, the tambourine is heard, the women sing; the whole population is animated; love and the ball set every body in motion. "Africa dances all the night," is an expression which has become proverbial among the Europeans who have travelled there.

There is not an atom of calcareous stone in the whole country: almost all the plants are twisted and thorny. The Monbins are the only species of timber that are met with. The thorny asparagus, A. retrofractus, is found in abundance in the woods; it tears the clothes, and the centaury of Egypt pricks the legs. The most troublesome insects of the neighbourhood are gnats, bugs, and ear-wigs. The monkey, called cynocephalus, plunders the harvests, the vultures attack the sick animals, the striped hyoena and the leopard prowl about the villages during the night; but the cattle are extremely beautiful, and the fish make the sea on this coast boil, and foam by their extraordinary numbers. The hare of the Cape and the gazell are frequently met with. The porcupines, in the moulting season, cast their quills in the fields, and dig themselves holes under the palm trees. The guinea-fowl (Pintada), the turtle-dove, the wood-pigeon are found every where. In winter immense flocks of plovers of various species, are seen on the edges of the marshes, and also great numbers of wild ducks. Other species frequent the reeds, and the surface of the water is covered with geese of different kinds, among which is that whose head bears a fleshy tubercle like that of the cassowary. The fishing nets are made of date leaves; their upper edge is furnished, instead of cork, with pieces of the light wood of the Asclepias.—The sails of the canoes are made of cotton.

Several shrubs, and a large number of herbaceous plants of this part of Africa, are found also in the Antilles. But among the indigenous plants, are the Cape Jessamine, the Amaryllis Rubannée, the Scarlet Hoemanthus, the Gloriosa Superba, and some extremely beautiful species of Nerions. A new species of Calabash, (Crescentia) with pinnated leaves is very common. Travellers appear to have confounded it with the Baobab, on account of the shape of its fruits, the thickness of its trunk, and the way in which its branches grow. Its wood, which is very heavy and of a fallow colour, has the grain and smell of ebony: its Yoloffe name is Bonda, the English have cut down and exported the greatest part of it.

In short, Africa, such as we have seen it either on the banks of the Senegal or the Peninsula of Cape Verd, is a new country, which promises to the naturalist an ample harvest of discoveries, and to the philosophical observer of mankind, a vast field for research and observation. May the detestable commerce in human flesh, which the Negroes abhor, and the Moors desire, cease to pollute these shores! It is the only means which the Europeans have left to become acquainted with the interior of this vast continent, and to make this great portion of the family of mankind, by which it is inhabited participate in the benefits of civilization.

[1] The Medusa was armed en flute, having only 14 guns on board; it was equipped at Rochefort with the Loire.

[2] Equipped at Brent.

[3] Came from L'Orient.

[4] The town of Chassiron is on the point of Oleron, opposite a bank of rocks called Les Antiochats.

[5] The light house of La Baleine is placed at the other end of the Pertuis d'Antioche, on the coast of the Isle of Rhé.

[6] _Les Roches Bonnes _are 8 or 9 leagues from the Isle of Rhé, their position is not exactly determined on the charts.

[7] Three knots make a marine league of 5556 meters.

[8] These are very large fish which every moment appear on the surface of the water, where they tumble about. They pass with such prodigious rapidity, that they will swim round a ship, when it is going at the rate of nine or ten knots an hour.

[9] The life buoy, is made of cask staves hooped together, and is about a metre (something more than a yard.) in diameter, in the middle of which is a little mast to fix a flag to. It is thrown into the sea, as soon as a man falls overboard, that he may place himself upon it while the operation of lowering a boat down, or heaving the, vessel to, is performed.

[10] We do not know why the government makes its vessels take this route; when one can proceed directly to the Canaries: it is true they are often obscured by mists, but there are no dangers in the principal canals which they form, and they extend over so large a space that it is impossible not to recognise them, with facility. They have also the advantage of being placed in the course of the monsoons; though however, west winds sometimes blow for several days together. We think that vessels going to the East Indies might dispense with making Madeira and Porto Santo, the more so as there are many shoals near these islands; besides the rocks, of which we have spoken above there is another, to the N. E. of Porto Santo, on which many vessels have been lost; by night all these reefs are very dangerous, by day they are recognised by the breakers on them.

[11] This route was not recommended by the instructions, but there was on board an old sea officer, who announced himself as a pilot in these seas; his advice was unfortunately attended to.

[12] A description of the reef of Arguin may be found in the Little Sea Torch.

[13] Besides the instructions given by the Minister, for sailing, after having made Cape Blanco, there was a letter sent some days before our departure from the road of the Isle of Aix, recommending the commander of the expedition not to depend upon the Charts, upon which the reef is very erroneously placed.

[14] Mr. Lapérère, the officer on the watch before Mr. Maudet, found by his reckoning, that we were very near the reef; he was not listened to, though he did his utmost, at least to ascertain our situation by sounding. We have mentioned the names of Messrs. Lapérère and Maudet, because if they had been attended to, the Medusa would be still in existence.

[15] This was not the long boat of the frigate; it was a boat in no very good condition, which was to be left at Senegal, for the service of the port.

[16] The bottom was besides soft; being sand mixed with grey mud, and shells, the raft, were also put over board: the two lower yards were retained in their place, to serve as shores to the frigate, and to support it, in case it threatened to upset.

[17] This plan was shewn to several persons; we ourselves saw it in the hands of the governor, who sketched it, leaning on the great capstern.

[18] Two officers displayed the greatest activity, they would have thrown into the sea every thing that could be got overboard. They were permitted to proceed for a moment; and the next moment contrary orders were given.

[19] Why was it opposed?

[20] The numbers above mentioned make only three hundred and eighty-three, so that there is an error somewhere. T.

[21] Trois quarts: it is not said of what measure; probably a pint.—T.

[22] The original is n'ayant pas le pié marin, not having a sailors foot.

[23] Our Lady of Laux is in the Department of the Upper Alps, not far from Gap. A church has been built there, the patroness of which is much celebrated, in the country, for her miracles. The lame, the gouty, the paralytic, found there relief, which it is said, never failed. Unfortunately, this miraculous power did not extend, it seems, to shipwrecked persons: at least the poor sutler drew but little advantage from it.

[24] One of the water casks was recovered; but the mutineers had made a large hole in it, and the sea water got in, so that the fresh water was quite spoiled; we, however, kept the little cask as well as one of the wine barrels, which was empty. These two casks were afterwards of use to us.

[25] These fish are very small; the largest is not equal to a small herring.

[26] This plot, as we learned afterwards, was formed particularly by a Piedmontese serjeant; who, for two days past, had endeavoured to insinuate himself with us, in order to gain our confidence. The care of the wine was entrusted to him: he stole it in the night, and, distributed it to some of his friends.

[27] We had all put together in one bag the money we had, in order to purchase provisions and hire camels, to carry the sick, in case we should land on the edge of the desert. The sum was fifteen hundred francs. Fifteen of us were saved, and each had a hundred francs. The commander of the raft and a captain of infantry divided it.

[28] One of these soldiers was the same Piedmontese serjeant of whom we have spoken above; he put his comrades forward, and kept himself concealed in case their plot should fail.

[29] Persons shipwrecked, in a situation similar to ours, have found great relief by dipping their clothes in the sea, and wearing them thus impregnated with the water; this measure was not employed on the fatal raft.

[30] Perhaps a kind of sea-nettle is here meant.

[31] What is called a fish, is a long piece of wood concave on one side, serving to be applied to the side of a mast, to strengthen it when in danger of breaking, it is fastened by strong ropes; hence, to fish a mast.

[32] The conduct of this young man merits some recompense. At the end of 1816, there was a promotion of 80 midshipmen, who were to be taken from the élèves who had been the longest in the service; Mr. Rang was. amongst the first 70, according to the years he had been in the service, and should therefore have been named by right. In fact, it is said that he was placed on the list of Candidates; but that his name was struck out because some young men, (whom they call protégés) applied to the ministry, and were preferred.

[33] This report of a mutiny, among the crew of the long-boat, began to circulate as soon as it joined the line which the boats formed before the raft. The following is what was told us: when the boats had abandoned the raft, several men, in the long-boat, subaltern officers of the troops on board, exclaimed: "let us fire on those who fly;" already their muskets were loaded; but the officer, who commanded, had influence enough to hinder them from executing their purpose. We have also been told that one F. a quarter-master, presented his piece at the captain of the frigate. This is all we have been able to collect concerning this pretended revolt.

[34] The fruit here mentioned, is probably jujubes (ziziphum), in their last stage of maturity. The author of this note, has found in the deserts of Barbary, and the shades of the Acacias, some immense jujubes; but, besides this fruit, the only one of a red or reddish colour which he has remarked in this country, are those of some caparidées, very acid; some icaques before they are ripe; the tampus or sebestum of Africa, and the wood of a prasium, which is very common in most of the dry places: the calyx of which, is swelled, succulent, and of an orange colour, good to eat, and much sought after by the natives.

[35] Is it really maize (zea) which has been observed about this Marigot, in large plantations? This name is so often given to varieties of the Sorgho, or dourha of the negroes, that there is probably a mistake here. In a publication, printed since this expedition, it has been stated, that maize was cultivated in the open fields, by the negroes of Cape Verd, whereas they cultivate no species of grain, except two kinds of houlques, to which they add, here and there, but in smaller fields, a kind of haricot, or French bean, dolique unguiculé, which they gather in October, and a part of which they sell at Goree and St. Louis, either in pods or seed. The dishes which they prepare with this dolique, are seasoned with leaves of the Baobab, (Adansonia) reduced to powder, and of cassia, with obtuse leaves, and still fresh. As for the cous-cous, the usual food of the negroes, it is made of the meal of sorgho, boiled up with milk. To obtain this meal, they pound the millet in a mortar, with a hard and heavy pestle of mahogony, (mahogon) which grows on the banks of Senegal. The mahogon or mahogoni which, according to naturalists, has a great affinity to the family of the miliacées, and which approaches to the genus of the cedrelles, is found in India, as well as in the Gulph of Mexico, where it is beginning to grow scarce. At St. Domingo, it is considered as a species of acajou,[36] and they give it that name. The yellow mahogoni, of India, furnishes the satin wood. There is also the mahogoni febrifuge, the bark of which supplies the place of the Peruvian bark. Lamarque has observed that the mahogon of Senegal has only eight stamina; the other kinds have ten.

[36] Acajou is, we believe, generally used for mahogany.—T.

[37] The probity and justice of General Blanchot were so fully appreciated by the inhabitants of St. Louis, that when his death deprived the colony of its firmest support, all the merchants and officers of the government united to raise a monument to him, in which the remains of this brave general still repose. It was a short time after his death that the English took possession of St Louis, and all the officers of that nation joined in defraying the expences of the erection of the monument, on which there is an epitaph beginning with these words: "Here repose the remains of the brave and upright General Blanchot," &c. We think it not foreign to the purpose, to publish a trait which will prove how far General Blanchot carried his ideas of justice; every man, of sensibility, reads with pleasure, the account of a good action, particularly when it belongs to an hero of his own nation.

Some time before Senegal was given up to the English, St. Louis was strictly blockaded, so that all communication with France was absolutely impossible; in a short time the colony was short of all kinds of provisions. The prudent general called an extraordinary council, to which he invited all the chief inhabitants of the town, and the officers of government. It was resolved not to wait till the colony was destitute of provisions; and that, in order to hold out to the last extremity, all the inhabitants, without distinction of colour, or of rank, should have only a quarter of a ration of bread, and two ounces of rice or millet per day; to execute this decree, all the provisions were removed into the government magazines, and the general gave orders that it should be punctually followed. Some days after these measures were taken, the governor, according to his custom, invited the authorities to dine with him; it was understood that every one should bring his portion of bread and of rice; nevertheless, a whole loaf was served up on the governor's table. As soon as he perceived it, he asked his servants who could have given orders to the store-keeper to suspend, in respect to himself, the decree of the general council? All the company then interfered, and said that the council had never had any idea of putting him upon an allowance, and that he ought to permit this exception. The General, turning to one of his aides-de-camp, said: "go and tell the store-keeper, that I put him provisionally under arrest, for having exceeded my orders; and you, gentlemen, know that I am incapable of infringing on the means of subsistance of the unhappy slaves, who would certainly want food, while I had a superfluous supply on my table: learn that a French general knows how to bear privations, as well as the brave soldiers under his command." During the short time of the scarcity, which lasted four months, the General would never permit a larger ration to be given to him, than that which came to the meanest slave; his example prevented every body from murmuring, and the colony was saved. While they were suffering the severest privations the harvest was approaching, and, at length, delivered St. Louis from the scarcity. At the same time, vessels arrived from France, and brought abundant supplies. But soon after, the English returned to besiege St. Louis, and made themselves master of it. Though this note has carried us rather away from our subject, we would not pass over in silence, so honorable a trait; it is a homage paid to the memory of the brave General Blanchot. We may add, that after having been governor, during a long series of years, he died without fortune. How few men do we find who resemble Blanchot?

[38] Every body knows the popular proverb, which very well expresses our idea: "That which is worth taking, is worth keeping."

[39] It will hardly be believed to how many popular reports, these 100,000 francs have given rise. There are people who do not believe that they were ever embarked on board the frigate. How do they explain this supposition? It is by asking how the conduct of persons, who had sold the interest of their country, and their honor, to foreign interests, would have been different from that of certain persons? For our part, we do not doubt but that this report is a fable. The folly, the pride, the obstinacy which conducted us on the bank of Arguin, have no need of having another crime added to them. Besides, if there are, sometimes, persons who sell their honor, there are none who, at the same time, sell their lives; and those whom people would accuse of something more than extreme incapacity, have sufficiently proved in dangers which threatened themselves, that they well knew how to provide for their own safety.

[40] Probably the cross of the legion of honor—T.

[41] These desertions are unhappily too frequent in naval history. The St. John the Baptist stranded in 1760 on the isle of Sables, where 87 poor people were abandoned, in spite of the promises to come and fetch them, made by 320 of the shipwrecked persons, who almost all saved themselves upon the island of Madagascar. Eighty negroes and negresses perished for want of assistance, some of hunger, some in attempting to save themselves upon rafts. Seven negresses and a child who lived there for fifteen years, were exposed to the most terrible distresses, and were saved in 1776 by Mr. de Trommelin, commanding the Dauphine corvette.

The Favorite, commanded by Captain Moreau, fell in with the island of Adu in 1767; he sent a boat on shore with a crew of eight men, commanded by Mr. Rivière, a navy officer, but Moreau abandoned them, because the currents drove him towards the island; and he returned to the isle of France, where he took no step to induce the government to send them assistance. The brave Rivière and all his sailors succeeded in saving themselves on the coast of Malabar, by means of a raft and his boat; he landed at Cranganor, near Calicut.

One may conceive that at the first moment the presence of danger may derange the senses, and that then people may desert their companions on board a vessel; but not to go to their assistance, when the danger is surmounted, not to hasten to fly to their relief, this is inconceivable.

[42] Persons whom we could name, divided the great flag, and cut it up into table-cloths, napkins, &c. we mention with the distinction which they deserve, Sophia, a negress belonging to the governor, and Margaret, a white servant.

[43] They dined almost every day with the English officers; but in the evening they were obliged to return to the fatal hospital, where an infinite number of victims languished: if, by chance, one of the convalescents failed to come, their generous and benevolent hosts sent to the hospital, anxiously enquiring the cause of his absence.

[44] The affair of the coal-mine of Beaujon, as a journalist has well observed, insures lasting celebrity to the name of the brave Goffin, whose memory the French Academy has consecrated by a poetical prize; and the city of Liege, by a large historical picture which has been publicly exhibited.—Doubtless the devotedness of Goffin was sublime; but, Goffin was only the victim of a natural accident, no sentiment of honour and duty, had plunged him voluntarily into an imminent danger, as it had many of those on the raft, and which, several of them might have avoided. Goffin, accusing only fate and the laws of nature, to which we are subject, in every situation, had not to defend his soul against all the odious and terrible impressions of all the unchained passions of the human heart: hatred, treachery, revenge, despair, fratricide, all the furies in short, did not hold up to him their hideous and threatening spectres; how great a difference does the nature of their sufferings, suppose in the souls of those who had to triumph over the latter? and yet, what a contrast in the results! Goffin was honored and, with justice; the men shipwrecked on the raft, once proscribed, seem to be forever forsaken. Whence is that misfortune so perseveringly follows them? Is it that, when power has been once unjust, has no means to efface its injustice but to persist in it, no secret to repair its wrongs, but to aggravate them?

[45] Three men saved from the raft, died in a very short time; those who crossed the desert, being too weak to go to Daccard, were in considerable numbers in this same hospital, and perished there successively.

[46] Major Peddy had fought against the French in the Antilles and in Spain; the bravery of our soldiers, and the reception given him in France at the time of our disasters, had inspired him with the greatest veneration for our countrymen, who had, on more than one occasion, shewn themselves generous towards him.

[47] The Governor, who it seems did not like the sight of the unfortunate, had, however, no reason to fear that it would too much affect his sensibility. He had elevated himself above the misfortunes of life, at least, when they did not affect himself, to a degree of impassibility, which would have done honor to the most austere stoic and which, doubtless, indicates the head of a statesman, in which superior interests, and the thought of the public good, leave no room for vulgar interests, for mean details, for care to be bestowed on the preservation of a wretched individual. Thus, when the death of some unhappy Frenchman was announced to him, this news no further disturbed his important meditations than to make him say to his secretary, "Write, that Mr. such a one is dead."

The governor is, at the bottom, doubtless, a man not destitute of sensibility; for example, he never passed by the king's picture (if any strangers were present) but he shed tears of emotion. But his great application to business, the numerous occupations, the divers enterprises which have agitated his life, have, if we may so express it, so long distracted his thoughts that he has at length felt the necessity of concentrating them wholly in himself.

We cannot here become the historians of the governor; we do not know whether his modesty will ever permit him to publish the memoirs of his life; but the public who know, or easily may know, that having been an apothecary in Bengal, a physician in Madagascar, a dealer in small wares, and land-surveyor in Java, a shopkeeper's clerk in the isle of France and Holland, an engineer in the camp of Batavia, commandant at Guadaloupe, chief of a bureau at Paris, he has succeeded after passing through all these channels, in obtaining the orders of St. Louis, and the Legion of Honor, the rank of colonel, and the command of a colony; the public, we say, will reasonable conclude, that the governor is, without doubt, a universal man, and that it is very natural that so superior a genius should have set himself above many little weaknesses, which would have arrested his flight, and which are proper for none but weak minds, for good people who are made to creep on upon the common route, and to crawl on the ground.

[48] The giving up of the colony did not take place till six months after our shipwreck. It was not till the 25th of January, 1817, that we took possession of our settlements on the coast of Africa.

[49] What would our good Major have said if he had known that our Minister of the Marine, Mr. Dubouchage, had exposed himself in a far greater degree, to the embarrassment of the species of shame, attributed to him here, by confiding seven or eight expeditions to officers who do no more honour to his choice and discernment, than the expedition to Senegal has done.

Besides the Medusa, which was conducted so directly upon the bank of Arguin, by the Viscount de Chaumareys, Knight of St. Louis, and of the Legion of Honour, and in the intervals of his campaigns, receiver of the droits réunis, at Bellac, in Upper Vienne, every body knows that the Golo, bound from Toulon to Pondichery, nearly perished on the coast, by the unskilfulness of the Captain, Chevalier Amblard, Knight of St. Louis, and the Legion of Honour, who, in order not to lose sight of maritime affairs, had become a salt merchant, near Toulon. Neither is the début of the Viscount de Cheffontaine forgotten, who, on quitting Rochefort, whence he was to sail to the Isle of Bourbon, put into Plymouth to repair his masts, which he had lost after being three or four days at sea. Who does not know that it would be in our power to mention more examples of this kind?

We spare the French reader these recollections, which are always painful; besides, what could our weak voice add to the eloquent expressions which resounded in the last session, in the chamber of deputies: when a member, the friend of his country and of glory, pointed out the errors of the Minister of the Marine, and raised his voice against those shadows of officers whom favor elevated to the most important posts. He represented, with reason, how prejudicial it was to government, that the command of ships and colonies should be given as caprice dictates, and to gratify the pretentions of vain pride, while experienced officers were overlooked, or disdainfully repulsed, condemned to figure on the lists of the half-pay, of the reforms, and even before the time, which would have called them to a necessary, or at least legal repose. How burdensome to the State, are these retraites which render useless, men whose zeal and talents ought to insure no other than their vessel, who wished but to spend their life there in uninterrupted service, who would have found there a tomb, the only one worthy of a French sailor, rather than suffer any thing contrary to duty and honour. Instead of that, we have seen titles take the reward of knowledge, repose of experience, and protection of merit. Men proud of thirty years of obscurity, make them figure on the lists, as passed under imaginary colours, and this service of a novel description establishes for them the right of seniority. These men, decorated with ribbons of all colours, who counted very well the number of their ancestors, but of whom it would have been useless to ask an account of their studies, being called to superior commands, have not been able to shew anything but their orders, and their unskilfulness. They have done more: they have had the privilege of losing the vessels and the people of the State, without its being possible for the laws to reach them; and after all, how could a tribunal have condemned them? They might have replied to their judges, that they had not passed their time in studying the regulations of the service, or the laws of the marine, and that, if they had failed, it was without knowledge or design. In fact, it would be difficult to suppose that they intended their own destruction; they have but too well proved that they knew how to provide for their own safety. And what reply could have been made to them, if they had confined their defence to these two points? We did not appoint ourselves; it is not we who are to blame.

[50] Just as we are going to send this sheet to the press, we learn from the newspapers, that this expedition has failed; that it was not able to proceed above fifty leagues into the interior, and that it returned to Sierra Leone, after having lost several officers, and among them Captain Campbell, who had taken the command after the death of Major Peddy. Thus the good fall and the Thersites live, and are often even honoured. Captain Campbell was one of our benefactors, may his manes be sensible to our regret, and may his family and country permit us to mingle with their just affliction, this weak tribute of respect, by which we endeavour as far as lies in our power to discharge the sacred debt of gratitude!

Among the losses which this expedition has experienced, it is feared that we must reckon that of our excellent companion, the Naturalist Kummer; nevertheless, as no positive information of his death has yet been received of his fate, his numerous friends, in the midst of their fears, still cherish some hopes: May they not be disappointed.

The accounts which inform us of this event, attribute the ill success of the expedition, to the obstacles opposed to it by the natives of the interior, but enter into no details. We learn from geographers, that up the Rio Grande there lives the warlike nation of the Souucsous, whom some call the Fonllahs of Guinea. The name of their capital is Teembo. They are Mahometans, and make war on the idolatrous tribes who surround them, to sell their prisoners. A remarkable institution, called the Pouarh, seems to have a great resemblance with the ancient secret Tribunal of Germany. The Pouarh is composed of members who are not admitted among the initiated till they have undergone the most horrible probations. The association exercises the power of life and death; every body shuns him, whose head it has proscribed. It may be that it was by this species of government, which seems not to want power, that the English expedition was stopped.

[51] This remark on the conduct of one of our companions whom we had known, under more favourable circumstances, had cost us some pain in the first edition: therefore, we did not expressly name the person meant. When we now name Mr. Griffon, we conceive ourselves to be fulfilling a duty, which his present sentiments impose on us.

A man of honor, especially, when in the state of weakness, and of mental and bodily infirmity to which we were reduced, might be misled for a moment; but when he repairs this involuntary error, with the generosity which dictated the following letter, we repeat it, there is no longer any crime in having thus erred, and it is justice, and a very pleasing duty for us to do homage to the frankness, to the loyalty of Mr. Griffon, and to congratulate ourselves, on having found again the heart of the companion of our misfortunes, such as we had known him, and with all his rights to our esteem.

The following is the letter which he has just written to Mr. Savigny, and which is a highly valuable proof of the truth of our accounts.

Extract of a letter from Mr. Griffon to Mr. Savigny.

At present, Sir, I owe you a testimony of gratitude for your attention in anticipating me. I know, that in your eyes I could not merit so much generosity from you: it is noble to forget the ills that have been done us, and to do good to those who have sought to injure us: your conduct towards me is admirable; I confess, that, though my reclamations were just at the first, I have suffered myself to be carried too far by the first impulse of a weak and exalted imagination, which led me to decry my unhappy companion in misfortune, because I fancied, that the account which he had drawn up of our misfortunes might render us odious to all our relations and friends.[52] Such are the reasons which I alledged to you at Rochefort, and you must then have perceived, that I spoke to you with frankness, since I concealed nothing from you. I am not at present without repentance, for not having waited for better information, before I acted against one, whose firmness did not a little contribute to save our lives.

Bourgneuf, January 7, 1818. GRIFFON DUBELLAY.

[52] The same means were employed with Mr. Corréard.

[53] I, the undersigned chief of the workmen under the command of Mr. Corréard, engineer, geographer, one of the members of the commission appointed by his excellency the minister of the marine and the colonies, to examine Cape Verd and its environs, certify that, in the month of November, 1816, a memorial was presented me to sign, by order of the governor of Senegal; that, at this time, living in the hospital in the island of Goree, to be cured of an epidemic fever, which then raged on Cape Verd; it occasioned temporary fits of delirium; that consequently, this weakening of my moral faculties, and even the state of mental derangement, in which I was caused to sign this piece without reading it: it appears, that it tended, in part, to blame the conduct of Mr. Savigny on the raft, and for which I owe him, only commendations. It appears, also, according to what has been told me, that I have been made to certify, that the tow-rope broke and was not loosened; I declare, that my signature at the bottom of this memorial, having been surreptitiously obtained, is null and void; in testimony whereof, I have delivered the present certificate to serve towards repelling any attack that might be made against Mr. Savigny, on the ground of this memorial.

Done at Paris, November 1, 1817. TOUCHE LAVILETTE.

[54] I, the undersigned, appointed to command the raft of the Medusa frigate, certify, that Mr. Savigny, the surgeon, who embarked in the said raft, has given on all occasions, in the unhappy situation in which we were placed, proofs of the greatest courage and coolness, and that on several occasions, his prudence was of the greatest service to us, in suggesting to us means to maintain good order, and discipline, of which we had so much need, and which it was so difficult for us to obtain.

(Signed) COUDIN.

[55] I, the undersigned, certify, that Mr. Savigny, by his courage and coolness, succeded in maintaining good order upon the raft, and that, his prudent arrangements saved the lives of the fifteen unfortunate persons, who were taken up by the _Argus _brig.

(Signed) NICOLAS FRANÇOIS.

[56] I, the undersigned, certify, to all whom it may concern, that I have refused to sign a memorial drawn up by Mr.———, which was addressed to his excellency the minister of the marine, and tended to disapprove the conduct of Mr. Savigny on board the raft, as well as to refute some parts of the narrative of our shipwreck, inserted in the Journal des Débats, the 13th of September, 1816, besides, the events related in this memorial, appear to me so entirely false, and so contrary to all that we owe to Mr. Savigny, that it was impossible for me to pat my name to it.

(Signed) CORRÉARD

[57] The Board of Health certifies, that Mr. Jean Baptiste Henry Savigny, has been employed in the character of surgeon, from the 15th of April, 1811, to the 5th of May, 1817, and that in the course of his service, both by sea and land, he has given proofs of zeal, emulation, and good conduct.

It is with regret, that the Board of Health, sees an officer retire from the service, who is so distinguished by his talents as Mr. Savigny.

(Signed) CHASLON, TUFFET, RÉJOU.

[58] To His Excellency the British Ambassador, at the Court of France.

My Lord,

A Frenchman who, after a shipwreck without parallel, has been fraternally assisted by foreigners whom national interests seemed calculated to estrange from him, is eager to give utterance to the sentiments of gratitude with which he is filled.

This Frenchman, My Lord, is Alexander Corréard, an engineer, an honorary member of the commission appointed to examine Cape Verd and its environs, one of the fifteen persons who escaped out of the hundred and fifty individuals shipwrecked, with the raft of the Medusa frigate, of whom only eleven are still living.

It is this want of my heart, which emboldens me to address Your Excellency, the worthy representative in my country of that of my generous benefactors, whose names will be ever memorable in the annals of humanity.

Yes, My Lord, it is a duty delightful to my heart, to declare, that the justest title to the gratitude of all the French has been acquired by Major Peddy, commanding the Expedition to the Interior of Africa, charged to continue the great undertaking of Mungo Park, by the obliging generosity which he shewed to the unfortunate men who escaped from the fatal raft, by bestowing on them linen, clothes, money and admitting them to his table, &c. These attentions were aided by Captain Campbell, the second in command, who never ceased to load me also with his benefits; in short, in imitation of them, all the English Officers, both those of the Expedition, as of the Royal African Regiment in garrison at St. Louis, vied with each other in relieving us, especially Captain Chemme, Lieutenant Hommera, Adjutant-Major Grey, Ensigns Beurthonne and Adams.

May Your Excellency receive with kindness, the sincere expression of gratitude to the English nation, of a French private citizen who has been ruined by this dreadful disaster. Above all, may what he has experienced give his countrymen fresh reason to esteem these brave officers, at the same time that it is a proof of the wisdom of a government, which, among so many enlightened persons, has so well chosen, to finish an immense enterprise, co-operators, whose distinguished talents and social virtues, must ensure success, which promises such great advantages to the universe.

Relying on Your Excellency's generosity, Mr. Corréard begs you to be pleased to transmit to him some information respecting his benefactors, and particularly the honorable Major Peddy, to whom he has vowed eternal attachment,

I have the honour to be, &c.

A. CORRÉARD.

Paris, March 5, 1817.

[59] The flute La Caravane, commanded by Mr. Le Normand de Kergrist, perished in the dreadful hurricane, which was experienced at Martinique and some other Islands, on the 21st and 22nd of October last. Messrs. Fournier Lieutenant, Legrandais, and Lespert Midshipman, and Paulin Boatswain, have received the cross of the Legion of Honor for their conduct on this occasion.—Vide the Moniteur of January 22.

[60] Paris, Sept. 8, 1817.

Sir.—The Memorials which you addressed on the tenth of June last, to the King and to His Royal Highness the Duke of Angouleme, have been referred to my apartment. I have examined the Memorials, as well as the letters which you have written on the same subject to my predecessors. If an opportunity should occur, in which I can serve you, I will readily embrace it.

Receive, Sir, the assurance of my perfect consideration.

The Minister Secretary of State of the Marine and Colonies.

COUNT MOLÉ.

[61] A kind of crab found on the sea-coast; it is the Cancer cursor of Linnaeus, and the same that is found on the shores of the Antilles.

[62] The Baobab or Adansoia of botanists, is placed in the class Monadelphia polyandria, in the family of malvaceous plants, and has but one species. The first of these trees seen by Adanson, were twenty-seven feet in diameter, about eighty-three feet in circumference. Ray says they have been seen thirty feet in diameter, and Goldberry says he saw one of thirty-four feet. According to the calculations of Adanson, a tree, twenty-five feet in diameter, must have taken 3750 years to acquire these dimensions, which would allow a foot growth in 150 years, or an in inch in twelve years and a half; but an observation of Goldberry's would quite overturn this calculation. He, in fact, measured a Baobab thirty-six years after Adanson, and found its diameter increased by only eight lines. The growth is not therefore uniformly progressive, and must become slower at a certain period of the age of this tree, in a proportion which it is hardly possible to determine. Otherwise, if we admitted that it takes thirty-six years to increase in diameter only eight lines, it would require fifty-four years for an inch, and 648 for a foot, which would make 16,200 years for a tree twenty-four feet in diameter!

[63] These aigrettes or white herons, are found in large flocks in this part of Africa; they follow the cattle to feed on the insects with which they are infested.

[64] The blacks think that all the whites are very rich in their own country.

[65] This lizard was probably a turpinambis. This animal, which is not uncommon at Cape Verd, climbs up trees, frequents the marshy places, and is said to inflict severe wounds if it is not laid hold of with great precaution. The inhabitants of the Mamelles assert that it devours young crocodiles. This species seems to be the same as that which frequents the banks of the Nile. It grows to the length of four feet and uses its tail in swimming.

THE END.