a list of the persons who were to embark, assigning to every one the post he was to occupy; but no attention was paid to this wise arrangement; every one took the means which he thought the most favorable to reach the shore; those who executed the orders which they had received to place themselves on the raft, had certainly reason to repent it.  Mr. Savigny was unfortunately of this number; he might have stopped on board a boat, but an invincible attachment to his duty made him forget the danger of the part which was allotted him.

At length, the moment when we were to abandon the frigate arrived.  First, the soldiers were embarked, who were almost all placed upon the raft:  they wanted to take their muskets and some cartridges:  this was formally opposed.[19] They left them on the deck, and preserved only their sabres:  some few, however, saved their carbines, and, almost all the officers, their fowling pieces and pistols.  In all, we were about one hundred and forty-seven or one hundred and fifty; such is pretty nearly the account of the persons who embarked on this fatal machine, one hundred and twenty soldiers, including the officers of the army, twenty-nine men, sailors and passengers, and one woman.  The barge, commanded by a lieutenant, on board of which were the governor and his family, took in thirty-five persons in all:  this large fourteen-oared vessel, could certainly have carried a larger number:  besides the people, there were three trunks; another fourteen-oared boat took in forty-two persons; the captain’s barge took twenty-eight; the long boat, though in a very bad condition, destitute of oars, took in, however, eighty-eight; an eight-oared boat which was to be left at Senegal, for the service of the port, took twenty-five sailors; the smallest of the boats had fifteen persons on board; among whom were the interesting family of Mr. Picard, of whom we have spoken above:  it was composed of three young ladies, his wife, and four young children.  All these numbers added together, form a total of three hundred and ninety-seven persons;[20] there were on board the frigate, near four hundred sailors and soldiers:  thus it appears that several poor wretches were abandoned; when the Medusa was again found, fifty-two days after, it was ascertained that the number of those, who had been abandoned, was seventeen; which proves to us, that there were more than one hundred and forty seven of us on the raft, and that it is more correct to fix the number of the men at a hundred and fifty.  It is said, that when the last boat, which was the long boat, left the frigate, several men refused to embark in her; the others were too much intoxicated to think of their safety.  A man of the name of Dales, one of the seventeen who remained on board the frigate, deposed in the council, that fourteen men had left the long boat, because they did not think it capable of carrying so many, and that he, with two others hid themselves, that they might not be compelled to go on board.  We are ignorant of the depositions of his two companions.