For the space of five days they continued in this dreadful situation, sailing all the time to the north-eastward. At length on the 4th of January, one of the people who sat in the bow of the boat, descried somewhat to leeward which he conceived to be the shadow of land, and immediately informed the crew of his discovery in an anxious voice. All eyes were now eagerly directed to this object, and as day broke they saw with extreme joy that it really was the land. The sight of this welcome object inspired them with fresh vigour, and they now plied their oars in order to arrive the sooner at the shore; but on account of its great distance, as well as the shortness of the day, which was only two hours long, they were unable to accomplish this desire. Besides, they were now so weak as to be unable to make use of their oars for any length of time; and as night soon overtook them, and was of long continuance, it seemed to men in their forlorn state as if it would never end. When the next day broke, they could no longer discern the land which they had seen the day before; but they discovered another mountainous country very near them and to leeward. That they might not lose the way to this during the ensuing night, they took its bearings by the compass, and hoisting sail with a fair wind they reached it about four o'clock in the evening. On approaching the shore, they observed that it was surrounded by many shallows, as they distinctly heard the sea breaking over these; but they gave themselves up to the guidance of providence, and at one time the boat grounded on a shoal, but a vast wave came and floated them over, and at the same time carried them safely to land upon a shelving rock, which was now their great security, as the spot was encompassed on every side with rugged projecting rocks, and they could not possibly have got on shore in any other place. Here therefore they ran their boat on shore; and those who were on the bows leaped directly on the coast, which they found entirely covered with snow, which they swallowed in immense quantities, filling their parched and burning stomachs and bowels. They likewise filled a kettle and pitcher for those who from weakness remained in the boat; and Quirini alleges, that he swallowed as much snow as he would have found it difficult to have carried on his back, all his happiness and welfare seeming to depend upon the quantity of it he could swallow. This extravagant quantity of snow agreed so ill with some of the people, that five of them died that night; though their deaths were attributed to the sea water which they had previously drank.
SECTION II.
Preservation of Quirini on the Coast of Norway, and Residence In the Isle of Rostoe.
As they had no rope with, which to make fast their boat to the shore and prevent it from being dashed to pieces, they remained in it the whole night. Next day at dawn, sixteen weak, miserable and exhausted wretches, the sad remains of forty-seven who had originally taken refuge in the large boat, went on shore and laid themselves down in the snow. Hunger, however, soon obliged them to examine if there might not remain some of the provisions which they had brought with them from the ship: All they found was a very small ham, an inconsiderable remnant of cheese, and some biscuit dust in a bag, mixed with the dung of mice. These they warmed by means of a small fire, which they made of the boat seats, and in some measure appeased their hunger. On the following day, having convinced themselves beyond doubt that the rock on which they then were was quite desert and uninhabited, they resolved to quit it in hopes of being able to reach some inhabited island, or part of the adjacent coast of Norway; but, after filling five small casks with snow water, and getting into the boat to put their resolution into execution, the water ran in torrents through all the seams, and the boat went to the bottom immediately, so that they were forced to get on shore again quite drenched in the sea. During the whole of the preceding long night, the boat had been beating against the rock, which had loosened its planks and opened all the seams. Despairing now of any relief, as they were utterly destitute of any means to repair their boat, they constructed two small tents of their oars and sails, to shelter themselves from the weather, and hewed the materials of their boat in pieces to make a fire to warm themselves. The only food they were able to procure consisted in a few muscles and other shell-fish, which they picked up along the shore. Thirteen of the company were lodged in one of the tents, and three in the other. The smoke of the wet wood caused their faces and eyes to swell so much that they were afraid of becoming totally blind; and, what added prodigiously to their sufferings, they were almost devoured by lice and maggots, which they threw by handfuls into the fire. The secretary of Quirini had the flesh on his neck eaten bare to the sinews by these vermin, and died in consequence; besides him, three Spaniards of a robust frame of body likewise died, who probably lost their lives in consequence of having drank sea water while in the boat; and so weak were the thirteen who still remained alive, that during three days they were unable to drag away the dead bodies from the fire side.
Eleven days after landing on this rock or uninhabited island, Quirini's servant, having extended his search for shellfish, their only food, quite to the farthest point of the island, found a small wooden house, both in and around which he observed some cow-dung. From this circumstance the forlorn people concluded that there were men and cattle at no great distance, which inspired them with, fresh hopes of relief, and revived their drooping spirits. This house afforded them abundant room and good shelter; and all, except three or four, who were too weak to be able for the fatigue of removing to such a distance, changed their abode to this hut, crawling with great difficulty through the deep snow, the distance being about a mile and a half, and they took with them as much as they were able of the ruins of their boat, to serve them for fire-wood. Two days after this, while going along the shore in search of the usual supply of shell-fish, one of the company found a very large fish quite recently cast up by the sea, which appeared to weigh about two hundred pounds, and was quite sweet and fresh. This most providential supply they cut into thin slices and carried to their dwelling, where they immediately set to work to broil and boil it; but so great was their famine, and so tempting its smell, that they had not patience to wait till it was thoroughly dressed, but devoured it eagerly half raw. They continued to gorge themselves with this fish almost without intermission for four days; but at length the evident and rapid decrease of this stock of food taught them more prudent economy, and by using it sparingly in future it lasted them ten days more. Those who staid behind in one of the tents near the place of their first landing, sent one of their number to see what had become of the rest; and, when he had been refreshed with some of the fish, he carried a portion to his two companions, and the whole survivors were soon afterwards reassembled in the wooden hut. During the whole time that they subsisted upon the providentially found fish, the weather was so exceedingly tempestuous that they certainly would not have been able to have looked out for shellfish, and they must inevitably have perished of famine.
Having made an end of the large fish, which seems to have lasted them for fourteen days, they were obliged to have recourse again to the precarious employment of gathering shellfish along the shore for their subsistence. About eight miles from the rock upon which they now were, which Fioravente informs us was called Santi, or Sand-ey by the natives, there was another isle named Rustene[1], which was inhabited by several families of fishers. It happened that a man and two of his sons came over from Rost to Sandey to look after some cattle which were amissing. Observing the smoke from the hut in which Quirini and his wretched companions had taken shelter, curiosity led them to examine the hut. On their approach, their voices were heard by the people within the hut; but they believed it to be only the screaming of the sea-fowl who devoured the bodies of their deceased companions. Christopher Fioravente, however, went out to examine whence the unusual sound proceeded; and espying the two youths, he ran back in haste, calling aloud to his companions that two men were come to seek them. Upon this the whole company ran out immediately to meet the lads, who on their parts were terrified at the sight of so many poor famished wretches. These latter debated for some time among themselves whether they should not detain one of their visitors, with the view of making themselves more certain to procure assistance; but Quirini dissuaded them from this projected violence. They all accompanied the youths to the boat, and entreated the father and sons to take two of their people along with them to their habitations, in order the sooner to procure them assistance from thence. For this purpose they chose one Gerrard of Lyons, who had been purser of the ship, and one Cola a mariner of Otranto, as these men could speak French and a little German.
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