The castaways of the "Cigale"

Last month, the small steamer Cigale, measuring 350 tons, left Mauritius to sail for Madagascar and Reunion. It had a crew of 22 men on board commanded by Captain Bérenger, and, in addition to the cargo, was carrying about thirty passengers. Everything was going well at first when, 25 miles from Mauritius, a tremendous explosion occurred in a hold.
Without losing his cool, the captain managed to calm the panic and control the fire. But soon a second explosion occurred, this time in the coal bunkers. Seeing that he was no longer master of his ship, the captain gave the order to evacuate it. The passengers and crew took their places on board the boats that had not been destroyed by the fire and on a hastily constructed makeshift raft.
While the Cigale slowly sank into the waves, the castaways set off on an adventure. It was an agonizing odyssey for all. The boat where the captain was was attacked by sharks against which they had to defend themselves fiercely. The others suffered terribly from hunger and especially from thirst. It is not clear what would have happened to them. Fortunately, alerted by the Governor of Réunion, La Ville-du-Havre, of the Compagnie Havraise Péninsulaire, set out to look for the castaways and, after a long search, managed to find them. One can imagine the joy of the poor people, groaning with thirst, when they saw the powerful hull of the ship that had come to save them looming on the horizon.