Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816

Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal
in 1816

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1816
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Title: Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order
of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck
of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various
Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and
at the Camp of Daccard. To Which Are Subjoined Observations
Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape
Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia.
Author: J. B. Henry Savigny and Alexander Corréard
Release Date: April 3, 2004 [EBook #11772]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL IN 1816.
_No person can read this Interesting Narrative without being deeply
affected by the perils and misfortunes to which the small remnant of
persons, who were saved from this deplorable Shipwreck, were
exposed. Of one hundred and fifty persons embarked upon the raft, and
left to their fate, only fifteen remained alive thirteen days afterwards;
but of these fifteen, so miraculously saved, life constituted the sole
possession, being literally stripped of every thing. At Paris, some
benevolent individuals have recently opened a subscription for their
relief. Should any persons, in this country, feel disposed to contribute
to this humane object, Mr. Colburn will feel great pleasure in becoming
the medium for transmitting their subscriptions to the unfortunate
sufferers._

NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL IN 1816;
UNDERTAKEN BY ORDER OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT,
COMPRISING AN ACCOUNT OF THE Shipwreck of the Medusa,
THE SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW, AND THE VARIOUS
OCCURRENCES ON BOARD THE RAFT, IN THE DESERT OF
ZAARA, AT ST. LOUIS, AND AT THE CAMP OF DACCARD. TO
WHICH ARE SUBJOINED OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING THE
AGRICULTURE OF THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA, FROM
CAPE BLANCO TO THE MOUTH OF THE GAMBIA. BY J.B.
HENRY SAVIGNY, AND ALEXANDER CORRÉARD.
ILLUSTRATED WITH THE NOTES OF M. BREDIF AND
EMBELLISHED WITH A PLAN OF THE RAFT, AND A
PORTRAIT OF KING ZAIDE.
1818.

ADVERTISEMENT.

At the moment that we publish a Second Edition of our Narrative, we
learn that Mr. Sevigny [A] is going to publish a pretended Account, by
Mr. Richefort, an auxiliary Ex-Officer of the French Marine.
Our readers will not have forgotten a certain pretended sea-officer who
was partly the cause of our misfortunes, and who, when on board the
Medusa, gave such unhappy advice to the captain, who still more
unhappily, followed it too closely; well; this _ex-officer_, this fatal
auxiliary, who conducted the frigate upon the bank of Arguin, is no
other than Mr. Richefort!
Having gone on board the governor's boat, he remained a stranger to
the disasters which he had partly caused, and consequently, knew
nothing of what passed, either upon the raft, or on board the boats
which stranded, or in the desert.
We make no farther remarks; the public will judge of his account and
ours.
CORRÉARD AND SAVIGNY.
[A] This Mr. Sevigny must not be confounded with Mr. Savigny, one
of the authors of this narrative.
This Mr. Sevigny is one of the directors of an anonymous company,
which one of the King's Ministers has recommended in the following
manner:
"The keeper of the seals has informed the magistrates, that an
anonymous company, which had formed itself under the name of the
Colonial Philanthropic Society of Senegambia, and which announced
the project of procuring for all those who should confide in it, colonial
establishments on the coasts near Cape Verd, has received no authority
from the government, and that, on the steps which it has taken, to
obtain such authority, it has been found that it was not in a condition to
fulfil its promises, which, therefore, were a kind of snare, for those
whom they might have seduced. It has been, consequently, prohibited
from making any enterprise, or any expedition. The agents of this
Society having no other object than to deceive the public credulity,
must be denounced to his Majesty's Attorney-General, who will take
against them the measures prescribed by the law."
(_Journal des Débats, Novembre