Dark clouds hung over the ocean. Heavy, huge waves rise to the sky, threatening to flood the raft and the unfortunate people huddled on it. The wind tears the sail violently, tilting the mast, held by thick ropes.
In the foreground, people are dying, immersed in complete apathy. And next to them are already dead …
In hopeless despair, the father sits by the corpse of his beloved son, supporting him with his hand, as if trying to catch the beating of a frozen heart. To the right of the son's figure is the corpse of a young man lying head downward with an outstretched hand. Above him is a man, apparently, lost his mind, since his gaze is wandering. This group ends with the figure of a dead man: his numb legs caught on a beam, his arms and head are lowered into the sea …
This is how the artist Theodore Gericault portrayed the death of the French frigate "Medusa", and the theme for his painting was an event that happened to one of the ships of the French fleet.
On the morning of June 17, 1816, a French expedition set off for Senegal, consisting of the frigate Medusa, the Echo caravel, the Loire flute and the Argus brig. These ships carried colonial employees, as well as the new governor of the colony and officials with their families. In addition to them, the so-called "African battalion" was sent to Senegal, consisting of three companies of 84 people, according to rumors, from former criminals. In fact, these were just people of different nationalities, among whom there were also desperate daredevils. The head of the entire expedition was the captain of the Medusa, Hugo Duroy de Chaomarey.
Senegal was France's main supplier of gum, which was used in pharmaceuticals, confectionery and especially in textile dyeing. In addition, this colony supplied gold, wax, ivory, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, indigo, tobacco, cotton, and - which was shyly silent about! - black slaves.
There was not enough money to organize this expedition, so for such a difficult journey it was necessary to use ships that were on the move at that time. Before sailing, Captain Chaomarey received a special instruction from Minister du Bouchage, warning that he must have time to swim to Senegal before the onset of the hurricane and rainy season. On the way, the ships had to pass Cape Blanc (Bely), but there was no cape with a characteristic white rock. Captain Shomarei did not attach any importance to this, but the next day he had to answer in front of the crew and he said that the day before they had sailed something like Cape Blanc. Subsequently, he based all his reasoning and explanations on the fact that he actually saw this cape. In fact, the Medusa was carried south at night, the course was straightened only in the morning, so that the frigate could not pass this cape. Caravel "Echo",without deviating from the course, in the morning she overtook the Meduza.
On the fateful night from July 1 to July 2, Shomarei never once asked how the ship was going, only by morning he was slightly surprised by the disappearance of the Echo. He did not even try to find out the reasons for her disappearance. Other ships accompanying the frigate lagged behind a few days ago.
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And the Echo caravel continued to follow the correct course, the Meduza was moving in the same direction, but closer to the coast. Shomarey ordered to measure the depth of the seabed and, without feeling for it, decided that he could lead the ship to the shore without hindrance. Despite numerous warnings from the crew that the ship was in the Arguin Shoal area, the captain of the Meduza continued to lead the frigate to the shore. And the fact that this was a dangerous place was indicated by the surrounding landscape and the changed color of the sea.
When the depth of the sea was measured again, it turned out to be only 18 cubits instead of the supposed eighty. In this situation, the frigate could only be saved by the speed of the captain's reaction, but Shomarei seemed to have fallen into some kind of numbness and did not turn the ship. And soon "Medusa" ran aground - between the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.
The rescue operations began in a disorganized and disorderly manner, and the whole day was wasted. All attempts to remove the frigate from the shallow were in vain. A leak opened in the ship's hull, and on July 5 it was decided to leave the sinking ship. According to all maritime rules and laws, Shomari, as a captain, had to leave the ship last, but he did not. Captain Shomarei, the governor with his retinue and the senior officers were accommodated in the boats. One hundred and fifty sailors and women embarked on a raft built under the direction of engineer Correar by a ship's carpenter. The raft was commanded by a graduate of the Naval School Couden, who could hardly move due to a leg injury.
At first, boats towed the raft to the shore, which was relatively close. But, frightened by the onset of the storm, the boat commanders decided to abandon the raft and treacherously cut the towing ropes. People were left to the waves of the waves on a small raft flooded with water, which was almost impossible to control.
As the boats began to disappear from view, screams of despair and rage echoed on the raft. Then they gave way to complaints, and then horror seized those doomed to death. It was a terrible heat, but people were saved from thirst by the fact that the raft was heavily submerged in the water. It was soon discovered that in the rush to evacuate the frigate, a negligible amount of fresh water and food had been loaded. Unprotected from the weather and the sun, without provisions, having exhausted all supplies of water, people became bitter and rebelled against each other.
Towards nightfall, the raft began to sink into the water, and for the first time a bloody massacre broke out on it for the last drops of water and the safest places near the mast. After the second massacre, only 28 people survived. Wounded, exhausted, tormented by thirst and hunger, people fell into a state of apathy and complete hopelessness. Many went crazy.
Among those who survived, some were so hungry that they attacked the remains of one of their comrades in misfortune. They dismembered the corpse and began their horrible meal. One of the surviving sailors later recalled: “At the first moment, many of us did not touch this food. But after a while all the others were forced to resort to this measure. So cannibalism began.
For twelve days the raft was rushed along the waves of the sea. In the early morning of July 17, a ship appeared on the horizon, but soon it disappeared from sight. At noon he reappeared and this time approached the raft. This "Argus" discovered the half-sunken raft and took on board fifteen emaciated, half-insane people (five of them later died). A terrifying and chilling sight appeared to the eyes of the sailors from the "Argus": the corpses of people emaciated to the last extreme, and the living did not differ much from the dead … And next to them were pieces of human meat that the unfortunates dried in the sun and ate.
Fifty-two days after the disaster, the frigate "Meduza" was found, which did not sink. Of the seventeen people who decided not to panic and stay on the ship, only three survived.
A book about this tragedy was published in 1817, the authors of which were the engineer Alexander Correar and the surgeon Henri Savigny. Her first phrase was as follows: "The history of sea voyages knows no other example, as terrible as the death of Meduza." And indeed, for that time, the message about the death of the frigate sounded as terrible as for subsequent generations the news about the tragic fate of the Titanic.
French society, shocked by the tragedy that had happened, was excited to the limit. Responsibility for this disaster fell on the captain of the Medusa, Count de Chaumarey, who did not meet his assignment. In the past, an emigrant, he came from a not very noble family and received such a responsible position thanks to the patronage and connections in the ministry.
Captain Shomarei appeared before a tribunal, was dismissed from the Navy and sentenced to three years in prison. But the most intolerable for him was that he was forever struck out of the Knights of the Legion of Honor. This circumstance drove Shomarey into deep despair. He even tried to regain this award, but to no avail.
In the regions where Shomarei lived out his life, everyone knew about his "exploits" and treated him with contempt and hostility. He lived a fairly long life, died at 78 years old, but longevity was not a joy for him.
From the book: "HUNDRED GREAT DISASTERS". ON THE. Ionina, M. N. Kubeev
