belem's history
1897, second voyage
As soon as repairs ended (following the important fire in the hold of the first journey), the Belem took a load of pavements from Sainte Anne’s quarries, to serve as ballast, to go to Montevideo. A new 26-year-old captain was appointed, François Rioual. It was the first command for this young man native of Binic that had just obtained, one month earlier, its fully-licensed captain’s patent from Paimpol’s hydrographic school. Rioual had got up all the rungs of the Merchant nav : he began as ship’s boy, at the age of 12 years, on the three-master barque Le Penseur.
She left on March 11th but the next day the wind strengthened. The outer jib was torned. The boat and the crew had to support difficult conditions until March 19th. They crossed the Equator on April 15th, ritual passage which gave place to the baptism of 5 sailors (among which the young Rioual’s brother, Louis, embarked as ship’s boy).
On May 4th and 5th, the boat faces a bad blow of pampero off the Uruguayan coasts.
Arrived on May 7th, the Belem embarked in Montevideo not only she-mules as in its first journey, but also sheeps (an ewe gave birth to a lamb during the voyage), and naturally of all that was neede to feed that flock. The departure was set for May 30th.
François Rioual noted the extra work caused by her lively load on the log book:
“The men embarked 82 bags of bran, 529 balls of hay, 704 balls of alfafa, 828 bags of corn, 18 ornamental lakes for animals. A hospital was installed to look after them.”
“In June 14th. 11. 30. A she-mule falls. No one can lift it. Put this animal in the hospital where its legs were rubbed with some camphorated alcohol. Its drinks and eats but refuses to get up. Midnight: the she-mule dies without having given any sign of suffering. Five men shad to fuss around to throw it over board.”
“In June 18th. At horrible night for animals. Violent rolling. A second she-mule put in the hospital has an abscess in the eye as a result of a bite. Need eight men, to put the animal on the belt to maintain it up. Otherwise it will die.”
“In June 19th. A she-mule falls but is not sick: no one can approach it . It bites everybody.”
“In June 20th. The she-mule having an abscess dies. The men tired out to get it up on the bridge and to throw it to the sea.”
“In June 24th. 8. 45. A she-mule begins to bleed of the nose. We can stop this bleeding only at 11 o’clock. It lost 4 liters of blood. It goes well and has good appetite.”
As the ship’s log can testify, the hundred and eleven she-mules don’t really appreciated the navigation conditions and some of them had died before the arrival to the Belém’s port on June 27th.
The accosting turned out badly, the Belem runs aground. It will be necessary to wait two days before the tide could free the boat.
“Smothering heat. She-mules fall as flies.”
We unloaded the survivors on June 30th: 99 she-mules, 63 sheeps and ewe and the 7-days lamb. Then we repaired the hold.
For her return towards Nantes, the Belem took her first load of Brazilian cocoa (4210 bags).
The boat left Belém on July 14th and after 38 days in sea, reached the estuary of the Loire. She was held 24 hours for disinfection to Mindin’s lazaret, because of a yellow fever epidemic.
Story of this journey by Louis Lacroix, ocean trade captain:
“Fifty-nine days after her departure, she arrived at destination [Montevideo] and embarked a hundred and eleven she-mules plus sixty five sheeps again for Pará [Belem]; she arrived there on June 27th, 1897, after twenty eight days in sea and having lost eight she-mules following the bad weather that occurred during crossing. After landing of her load and being load at full capacity of cocoa for Nantes, she sailed for this port from which she obtained practice on August 21th, when she had been disinfected in the Mindin’s lazaret, where all bedding objects on board were burned by order of the Health because of the yellow fever which reigned in Brazil at the time of its departure of Pará.” [Louis Lacroix, on 1945].
Capitain François Rioual.
Jean Noli, in the text of the album Le siècle du Belem published in 1996, delivered a romanced portrait of the young captain:
The three-master barque Le Penseur was his first embarking. He was only 10 years old and he was ship’s boy. At 15 years old, he was named ordinary seaman before becoming a sailor four years later. His military service in the Royal, as gunner, lasted 24 months. At 24 years old, when he began studies to become an ocean trade captain, he had already lived eleven years and three months on boats. In 26 years old, he picked up his master’s certificate of ocean trade captain. On February 17th, 1897, François Rioual, of Binic, receives his first command: the Belem.
He is a robust, powerful, calm, authoritarian but just man. He knows the sailor’s life. A life spent to slave away on the bridge or in masting. Every muscle of its body had strengthened due to maneuvering. He knew the cold, the suffering and these oppressive silences, at the crew’s quarter, ears on watch while storms shook badly the vessel. He learnt to respect the men, those that dare to face the ocean’s furies. He chose with care his crew. His chief officer is Barillec from Damgan. The boatswain is named Le Port from Carnac. The crew consists of Dupont, an inhabitant of Nantes, a cook; Rival from Saint-Malo; Le Port from Lorient; Celu from Vannes; Trionnaire from Nantes; Chanteau from Noirmoutier. They are sailors. Bertie from Étel, and Lesquelen from Étables-sur-mer are ordinary seamen. Canivet, from Pont-Aven, and Louis Rioual, from Binic, the captain’s young brother are ship’s boys.