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

On his arrival, his first step was directed by gratitude; he recollected the signal services which he had received from the English officers, during his abode at Saint Louis; and his heart urged him to enquire of the ambassador of that nation, if he had not received any intelligence respecting his benefactors.[58]

After he had thus discharged the duty which was imposed on him by their beneficence, he made all the necessary applications to the office of the Marine to obtain an employment in the capital. He was answered that it was impossible, advising him to make an application for a situation in the colonies, particularly Cayenne. Three months passed in useless solicitations to obtain this employment, as well as the decoration of the legion of honour, which he had been led to hope for.

During this time he neglected nothing which he thought might conduce to enable him to attain the object which he thought he might propose to himself without being accused of extravagant pretensions. Excited by the advice of a great many persons, whose judgment, as well as their noble and generous sentiments, commanded implicit confidence, he resolved to go to the very fountain of favors, to carry into the royal palace the sight of his strange misfortune, to invoke that hereditary goodness, the bright patrimony of the Bourbons, which so many other unfortunate persons have not solicited in vain. But the malignant influence of the adverse star, which so long persecuted Mr. Corréard, doubtless continued to manifest itself here. Neither he nor any other person will accuse the heart of the august personages to whom he addressed his petition; but whether timidity, the natural concomitant of misfortune, or a certain delicacy, hindered him from renewing his applications, for fear of seeming importunate, whether, as in the crowd of solicitors who surround princes, it is morally impossible that some should not be forgotten or less remarked, Mr. Corréard's ill-fortune placed him among this less favored number, or whether it be the effect of some other unknown adverse cause, he obtained on this side only vain hopes, as well as a just idea of the obstacles of every kind, with which the best princes are, as it were, surrounded without being conscious of it, and which keep back or turn aside the favor, which is always granted in their heart, just at the moment that it is on the point of being declared.

He first presented a petition to His Royal Highness Monsieur. He solicited the insignia of that order which was instituted to recompence all kinds of civil and military merit, to spread among all classes of society, the noble flame of emulation, of that order which was offered to Goffin, whose firmness forced his desponding companions, to hope for the assistance that was preparing for them: which has just been given to several of the shipwrecked crew of La Caravane,[59] who in their disaster, shewed themselves equally generous and intrepid; but who, however, had nothing to complain of but the elements, nothing to combat but the tempest.

He has every reason to believe that Monsieur had the goodness to sign his petition; but he has not been able to discover where, or how it has been lost on the way without reaching its destination. In the inquiries which he made at the office of the Prince's Secretary, he met with a young man eighteen or 20 twenty years of age, who already wore the same mark of merit which Mr. Corréard desired, and who only expressed an astonishment which was more than disobliging, at the subject of his demand, asking him if he had been twenty-five years in the service. Mr. Corréard, feeling on his side something more than surprise, thought it best to withdraw, but not till he had observed to this very young man, that he who appeared so difficult about the claims of others must, according to appearance, in order to obtain the cross of the legion of honor, have got the years of his ancestors services counted instead of his own.

His friends again persuaded him to petition the Duke d'Angouleme, from whom, as High-Admiral of France, these friends thought that Mr. Corréard might expect an intervention more likely to promote the success of his application to the Minister of the Marine. He therefore went to the Tuileries on the 8th of May, and though his wounds still rendered walking painful to him, he had the good fortune to meet with the Prince as he was coming from a review, and to present him a memorial as he passed. His Royal Highness received him graciously, expressed his satisfaction at seeing one of the persons who had escaped from the fatal raft, and pressing his hand in the most affable manner, said to him, "My friend, you have experienced very great misfortunes. It seems that amidst these disasters you have behaved well." After having run over the memorial, the Prince was pleased to add: "Thus it is that the King should be served; I will recommend you to His Majesty, and let him know your conduct and your situation."

These marks of kindness have hitherto been all that Mr. Corréard has obtained by this memorial. However, His Royal Highness transmitted it to the navy-office, but there is every reason to suppose that it will remain buried there amidst the mass of papers; from which it might be presumed that the recommendations of princes are received with great indifference by the clerks of ministers, and that their offices are the shoals where the petitions of the unhappy are lost; in fact, a man of great experience, to whom Mr. Corréard communicated this mischance, told him, that, in such an affair, he would rather have the protection of the meanest clerk, than that of the first prince of the blood.

We think it superfluous to detain the reader any longer, with two or three other attempts, which were still more unfortunate, and only revived painful recollections in the mind of Mr. Corréard.

At last he received a letter from the Minister of the Marine, dated the 4th of June: it was a thunder-clap to him, for he was made to understand that all his applications would probably be in vain.

However, on the 20th of July, he received a note from Mr. Jubelin, inviting him to call at the Office of the Marine. His heart opened at this ray of hope; it was merely to know whether it were true, that he had received a pass to repair from Rochefort to his home. He answered in the affirmative, which seemed to cause much surprise, for one had just been refused to Mr. Richefort, who solicited it in vain, though he was also one of those shipwrecked. He profited by the opportunity to inquire whether the expedition to Cayenne was soon to depart? A vague answer being returned, he represented how unfortunate he and his companions on the raft were, that they could obtain nothing, while some officers of the frigate had been appointed to commands. Mr. Jubelin answered that the minister owed them nothing, and particularly to him: that he had gone of his own free will, and had engaged to ask nothing of the minister, except what was stipulated and mentioned in the treaty of May 16, 18l6, by which His Excellency made to the explorers, numerous concessions (which it would be too long to mention here) on condition that they should correspond with His Excellency, through the Governor of Senegal; that they should be placed under the orders of that governor, and that they should undertake nothing without his approbation.