On 5 July a gale developed and Méduse showed signs of breaking up. 146 men and one woman boarded an unstable raft. The raft had few supplies and no means of steering or navigation. By the fourth day there were only 67 people left alive on the raft and some resorted to cannibalism to survive. On the eighth day the fittest decided to throw the weak and wounded overboard, leaving just 15 men remaining, all of whom survived another four days until their rescue on 17 July by the brig Argus which accidentally encountered them.