Project Gutenberg's "The Gallant, Good Riou", and Jack Renton, by Louis Becke

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: "The Gallant, Good Riou", and Jack Renton
1901

Author: Louis Becke

Release Date: April 19, 2008 [EBook #25106]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "THE GALLANT, GOOD RIOU" ***

Produced by David Widger

"THE GALLANT, GOOD RIOU", and JACK RENTON

From "The Tapu Of Banderah and Other Stories"

By Louis Becke

C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.

1901

"THE GALLANT, GOOD RIOU"

This is a true story of one of Nelson's captains, he of whom Nelson
wrote as "the gallant and good Riou"--high meed of praise gloriously won
at Copenhagen--but Riou, eleven years before that day, performed a deed,
now almost forgotten, which, for unselfish heroism, ranks among the
brightest in our brilliant naval annals, and in the sea story of
Australia in particular.

In September, 1789, the _Guardian_, a forty-gun ship, under the command
of Riou, then a lieutenant, left England for the one-year-old penal
settlement in New South Wales. The little colony was in sore need of
food--almost starving, in fact--and Riou's orders were to make all haste
to his destination, calling at the Cape on the way to embark live stock
and other supplies. All the ship's guns had been removed to make room
for the stores, which included a "plant cabin"--a temporary compartment
built on deck for the purpose of conveying to Sydney, in pots of earth,
trees and plants selected by Sir Joseph Banks as likely to be useful to
the young colony--making her deck "a complete garden," says a newspaper
of the time. Friends of the officers stationed in New South Wales sent
on board the Guardian great quantities of private goods, and these were
stored in the gun-room, which it was thought would be a safer place than
the hold, but, as the event proved, it was the most insecure.

The ship arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in November, and there filled
her decks with cattle and provisions, then sailed again, her cargo being
equal in value to about L70,000. On December 23rd--twelve days after
leaving the Cape--what is described as "an island of ice" was seen. Riou