ho commanded the long-boat, seeing that they
refused to take any of his men, and falling more and more under the wind,
because his sails were badly trimmed, and the currents drove him, made up
to the third-boat, commanded by a sub-lieutenant named Maudet; this
officer, commanding a slight boat which the day before had a plank beat in,
by one of the cross pieces of the raft, (an accident which had been
remedied by covering the hole with a large piece of lead,) and being
besides heavily laden, in order to avoid the shock of the long-boat, which
might have been fatal to him, was forced to let loose the tow-rope, which
held him to the barge, and thus broke in two the line formed by the boats
before the craft, by separating himself from it with the captains boat
which was at the head: when the captain and Mr. Maudet had disengaged
themselves they hauled the wind, and then put about to come and take their
post; Mr. Maudet even hailed M. de Chaumareys, "_Captain take your towrope
again_," he received for answer, _yes my friend_. Two boats were still at
their post, but before the other two were able to rejoin them, the barge
separated itself; the officer who commanded it, expressed himself as
follows respecting his thus abandoning us. "The towrope was not let go from
my boat, but from that behind me." This second desertion was the forerunner
of another still more cruel; for the officer who commanded the last boat in
which was the governor, after having towed us alone, for a moment, caused
the rope to be loosened which held it to the raft. When the towropes were
let go, we were two leagues from the frigate; the breeze came from the sea,
which was as favorable as could be desired. This last tow-rope did not
break, as the governor has tried to persuade the minister of the marine,
and several persons who escaped from the raft. Walking on the terrace of a
French merchant at Senegal, in the presence of Messrs. Savigny and Coudin,
the governor explained the affair as follows: "Some men were on the front
of the raft, at the place where the tow-rope was fixed; which they pulled
so as to draw the boat nearer to them; they had already pulled several
fathoms of it to them, but a wave coming, gave a violent shock; these men
were obliged to let go; the boats then proceeded more rapidly, till the
rope was stretched; at the moment when the boats effected this tension the
effort was such, that the rope broke." This manner of explaining this last
d