CHAPTER XVIII.

Voyage and Travels of Pietro Quirini into Norway, in 1431688

Pietro Quirini, a Venetian nobleman, was a merchant and master of a ship belonging to the island of Candia, which at that time was in the possession of the Venetian republic. With a view both to fame and profit, he undertook in 1431 a voyage from Candia to Flanders; and towards the end of autumn of that year suffered shipwreck on the coast of Norway, not far from the island of Rost. He wintered in that island, and in the following summer, 1432, travelled through Drontheim to Wadstena, in Sweden, and from thence returned to Venice that year. He has himself given an account of his adventures, and two of his companions, Christopho Fioravente and Nicolo di Michiel, did the same. Both of these journals are to be found in the collection of Ramusio; and extracts have been published from them by Hieronimus Megiserus, in a work entitled, Septentrio Novantiquus, printed in 8vo, at Leipsic in 1613. –Forst.

On the 25th of April 1431, Pietro Quirini set sail from Candia, steering westwards to the straits of Gibraltar; but, owing to contrary winds, he was obliged to keep near the coast of Barbary. On the 2d of June, he passed the straits, and, through the ignorance of the pilot, the ship got upon the shoals of St Peter, in consequence of which accident the rudder was thrown off the hinges, and the ship admitted water in three several places; insomuch that it was with great difficulty they could save the vessel from sinking, and get her into Cadiz. The vessel was here unloaded; and, having given her a thorough repair, the lading was again put on board in twenty-five days after their arrival. Having learned in the meantime that the republic of Venice had entered into a war with Genoa, he thought proper to augment the number of his men, so that his crew in all amounted to sixty-eight. He set sail again on the 14th of July, and endeavoured to bear up for Cape St Vincent; but, owing to a strong north-east wind, which on that coast is called Agione, he was forced to beat up to windward forty-five days at a great distance from land, and was driven into dangerous and unknown seas near the Canary islands. When at length their stock of provisions was nearly exhausted, they got a fair wind from the south-west, and directed their course towards the north-east; and the iron work about their rudder giving way, they mended it up as well as they could, and arrived safe at Lisbon on the 25th of August.

Having here carefully repaired the iron work of their rudder, and taken in a fresh stock of provisions, they again set sail on the 14th of September; and were a second time baffled by contrary winds, insomuch that they had to put in at the port of Mures in Spain, whence Quirini went with thirteen of his crew to perform his devotions at the shrine of St Jago di Compostella. They returned from thence with all speed, and again set sail with a fair wind at south-west, and kept at the distance of 200 miles from the land, in hopes the wind might continue. But on the 5th November the wind shifting to the east and south-east, prevented them from entering the English channel, and forced them beyond the Scilly islands. The wind now again increased in violence, and on the 10th November carried the rudder a second time from its hinges. They slung it by means of ropes to the quarters of the ship, but it soon broke loose, and was dragged after the ship for three days, when, by exerting their utmost efforts, it was again made fast. The vessel now drove continually farther from land; and as the crew consumed the victuals and drink without bounds or moderation, two or three of the men were appointed to guard the provisions, with orders to distribute regular shares to each person on board twice a day, Quirini himself not excepted.

As a substitute for their disabled rudder, they constructed, by the advice of the carpenter, out of some spare masts and yards, two rudders with triangular boarded ends, in order to steady the course of the vessel. These being properly fastened proved highly serviceable, and inspired them with fresh hopes of safety; but, by the extreme violence of the winds and waves, this their last refuge was torn away. On the 26th of November the storm increased to such extreme violence, that they expected every moment to founder, and had no doubt this was to have proved the last day of their lives. By degrees, indeed, the storm abated; but they were driven out to sea to the W.N.W., and the sails, from being perpetually fatigued by the rain and wind, were now torn to shivers; and though they put up new ones, they were soon likewise destroyed. The ship now drove without either sails or rudder, at the mercy of the winds and waves, and was filled by the sea which continually beat over it; insomuch that the crew, worn out with constant labour, anxiety, and watching, were scarcely able to keep the water under. On heaving the lead they found water at 80 fathoms; on which they spliced all their four cables on end, and rode at anchor for the space of forty hours; when one of die crew, terrified at the dreadful working of the ship occasioned by the winds and waves, cut the cable at the forecastle, and the ship now drove about as before. On the 4th December, four large waves broke in succession over their ill-fated vessel, and filled it so full of water that it seemed just ready to sink. By exerting their utmost strength and resolution, the crew baled the water out, though it reached to their waists, and at length succeeded in emptying the vessel entirely. On the 7th, the tempest increased with such violence, that the sea flowed into the ship uninterruptedly from the windward, and their speedy destruction seemed quite inevitable; so that they were now of opinion their only chance of safety was by cutting away the mainmast, which might lighten the ship. This was done therefore immediately; and a large wave fortunately carried the mast and yard clear away, by which the ship worked with considerably less strain and violence. The wind and waves too, now became less violent, and they again baled out the water. But now the mast was gone, the ship would no longer keep upright, and lay quite over on one side, so that the water ran into her in torrents; and the people, being quite exhausted with labour and want of food, had not strength remaining to clear out the water.

In this desperate situation, expecting every moment that the vessel would sink or go to pieces, they came to the resolution of endeavouring to save themselves in the boats, of which the larger held only forty-seven men, and the smaller twenty-one. Quirini had the choice of either of the boats, and at last went with his servants, into the larger boat, in which the officers had embarked. They took with them a stock of provisions; and on the 17th December, the winds and waves having somewhat moderated, they quitted their unfortunate ship. Among other costly articles of commerce, the ship was laden with 800 casks of Malmsey wine, and a great quantity of sweet-scented Cyprus wood, with pepper and ginger. On the following night, the small boat in which twenty-one of the crew were embarked, was separated from them by the violence of the storm, and they never heard of her more. Those in the larger boat were obliged to throw overboard most of their stock of wine and provisions, and all their clothes except those they had on, in order if possible to lighten her a little. As the weather proved fair for some time, they steered to the eastwards, in hopes of getting as they thought to Iceland; but the wind again chopping about, drove them about at its will, and they were quite ignorant whereabouts they were.