ed, or spoiled by the salt water; and perhaps some, as the waves
hurried them along, became food for the monsters of the deep. Two only
of all the boats which left the Medusa, and these with very few people
in them, were provisioned with every necessary; these struck off with
security and despatch. But the condition of those who were in the
shallop was but little better than those upon the raft; their great
number, their scarcity of provisions, their great distance from the
shore, gave them the most melancholy anticipations of the future. Their
worthy commander, M. Espiau, had no other hope but of reaching the shore
as soon as possible. The other boats were less filled with people, but
they were scarcely better provisioned; and, as by a species of fatality,
the pinnace, in which were our family, was destitute of every thing. Our
provisions consisted of a barrel of biscuit, and a tierce of water; and,
to add to our misfortunes, the biscuit being soaked in the sea, it was
almost impossible to swallow one morsel of it. Each passenger in our
boat was obliged to sustain his wretched existence with a glass of
water, which he could get only once a day. To tell how this happened,
how this boat was so poorly supplied, whilst there were abundance left
upon the Medusa, is far beyond my power. But it is at least certain,
that the greater part of the officers commanding the boats, the Shallop,
the pinnace, the Senegal boat, and the yawl, were persuaded, when they
quitted the frigate, that they would not abandon the raft, but that all
the expedition would sail together to the coast of Sahara; that when
there, the boats would be again sent to the Medusa to take provisions,
arms, and those who were left there; but it appears the chiefs had
decided otherwise.

After abandoning the raft, although scattered, all the boats formed a
little fleet, and followed the same route. All who were sincere hoped to
arrive the same day at the coast of the Desert, and that every one would
get on shore; but MM. Schmaltz and Lachaumareys gave orders to take the
route for Senegal. This sudden change in the resolutions of the chiefs
was like a thunderbolt to the officers commanding the boats. Having
nothing on board but what was barely necessary to enable us to allay the
cravings of hunger for one day, we were all sensibly affected. The other
boats, which, like ourselves, hoped to have got on shore at the nearest
point, were a little better provisioned than