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Letters

FROM THE

CANARY LTSLANDSo

BY

DO. J. Browre.

rad

‘¢ Wilt thou fly
With laughing Autumn to the Atlantic isles,
And range with him the Hesperian fields, and see
Where’er his fingers touch the fruitful grove,
The branches shoot with gold ; where’er his step
Marks the glad soil, the tender clusters grow
With purple ripeness, and invest each hill
As with the blushes of an evening sky?”

aS A RY
NEW YOR®
BOT

£G% « &>%:

Boston :

GC RrOn Gf Wo BEG ET’,
Lyceum Press, 3 Cornhill.

1834.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1834,
By DANIEL J. BROWNE,

in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

LISR A wy

Mis yy YOR >
BOTA. -

EAE, Perr ree:

Introduction.

€&o Hon. Tuomas H. Perxrns, John Parker, Hon. John Davis, Samuel Appleton,
Hon. Benjamin W. Crowningshield, Ebenezer Francis, Hon. Nathaniel Bow-
ditch, Henry Codman, Abbott Lawrence, Hon. Francis C. Gray, Amos Law-
rence, Dr. John C. Warren, Lucius M. Sargent, Hon. Stephen White, Dr.
William Ingalls, John Parker, Jr., Dr. Benjamin D. Greene, Dr. John Ware,
David Sears, Dr. Edward Warren, Epes 8. Dixwell, Dr. Jerome V. C. Smith,
Gustavus Tuckerman, Dr. Winslow Lewis, Jr., Demming Jarves, Dr. Josiah
F. Flagg, Marcus Whiting, Dr. Martin Gay, Israel Thorndike, George W.

6S)

Pratt, Thomas C. Smith, William W. Stone, Charles H. Parker, George W.
Bond, Hon. John Lowell, Salem East India Marine Society, Charles G. Page,
Dr. William T. Harris, Dr. Paul Swift, William Cooper, Dr. John C. Jay.

Gentlemen E

As it was the request of several of the individuals
under whose auspices I have had the honor to act, that I
should draw up a popular account of the principal occur-
rences of my late voyage, I have availed myself of the
favor of bringing it before the public under the protection
of all your names. I have preferred uniting them in a
connected series, by making a faithful abstract of my
Journal, which was invariably written on the spot, at the
close of each day, taking advantage to introduce such re-
marks or observations as might be illustrative or entertain-
ing. I am sensible that many imperfections will be found,
both as regards style and arrangement; but as they claim
no great degree of merit, it is hoped that they will escape
the severity of unsought, though, perhaps, deserved criti-
cism.

APR 22 1930

4 CANARY ISLANDS.

Before entering into the career of my narrative, it may
be interesting to take a rapid survey of the regions which
I am about to describe, in relation to the state in which
they came from the hands of nature. Although situated
within five degrees of longitude, they exhibit the most
striking and the most opposite contrasts ; and, from their
natural features and their proximity to Africa, they appear
to be strongly allied to that continent. Considered in re-
lation to their place on the globe, they possess an extraor-
dinary degree of natural beauty, and even of considerable
commercial and political value; while, at the same time,
they offer incalculable advantages to the painter, the anti-
quary, the naturalist, and above all, to the invalid.

The Canary Islands are particularly distinguished, from
the fact that they are situated nearly on the verge of the
torrid zone, and from the numerous volcanic eruptions to
which they have been exposed. On these circumstances
chiefly depend their physical peculiarities. Their mhabi-
tants, at least one half of the year, experience the intense
and almost perpendicular rays of the sun, which glares on
them with oppressive and often malignant beam; and when
the periodical rains neglect to fall, he blasts the whole face
of nature, and overspreads her with sterility and desolation.
Then that same orb which cheers and enlightens the more
temperate regions of the earth, here becomes the most
deadly bane, and the inhabitants are reduced to the most
desperate famine, and often have to resort to the most un-
natural food. But what is still more dreadful, are those
internal conflagrations which so often burst forth, and
threaten the poor wretches below with impending ruin.
The traces of these awful events are conspicuous in every
portion of theseislands. Indeed, “ this part of the earth
seems already to have undergone the sentence pronounced
upon the whole of it; but, like the phoenix, has risen
again from its own ashes in much greater beauty and
splendor than before it was consumed.” ‘Thus nature em-
ploys the same agent to create, as to destroy ; and what
has been regarded here as the deadliest consumer, has
proved in the end, to be the highest blessing.

In order to counteract the baneful influence of the tor-
rid sun, kind nature has devised suitable reparation, by

CANARY ISLANDS. 5

fanning the earth with refreshing breezes, and by setting
apart an appropriate season for rain. Then, amid the roar
of winds, the glare of lightnings, and the crash of thunders
that seem to rend the skies, heaven opens all her windows
and pours down an unbroken flood, and deluges the earth.
The dry beds of the ravines and of the rivulets are now
converted into torrents which tumultuously rush down the
stupendous precipices, and lay the lower regions in com-
plete inundation. To this cause may be imputed, in a
measure, the amazing fertility which so particularly char-
acterizes these regions. Another fruitful source of irriga-
tion, or at least, of affording artificial imundation, are the
lofty mountains, which give birth to numerous springs.
Their Alpine pinnacles are perforated by deep fissures,
constantly filled with perennial snows, which, on melting,
gush forth and run down their declivities, producing the
most luxuriant fertility. Their porous sides, too, are often
dashed with vapors, and imbibe large quantities of moisture,
which, flowing together, issues in the form of springs, and
has the same fertilizing influence. Hence it is, that vege-
tation attains that luxuriant growth which so remarkably
distinguishes these regions.

From the variety of soil and climate with which these
islands are favored, they produce, or rather are susceptible
of producing, almost every species of vegetable that ever
has been useful to man. In truth, the cultivated regions
may be compared to an earthly paradise. ‘They have
often been painted in colors that pertain not to the imper-
fect abodes of the earth; as the “ Elysian Fields,” or as
‘islands destined to be the future mansions of the blessed.”
It is here that we have an agreeable mixture of the olive
and the vine, the fig and the banana, the cocoa and the
orange, the apple and the pear, the peach and the almond,
the coffee-tree and the sugar-cane, the strawberry and the
bread-fruit, and a variety of other fruits, rising up promis-
cuously amidst countless herbs and flowers, tinted with
the most brilliant and delicate hues. It is here, too, that
the great dragon-tree displays its gigantic forms, and the
majestic date sends its summit into the sky. As we con-
tinue to ascend, we behold the stately chesnut and the
lofty pine, surrounded by small elegant trees and flowering

|

6 CANARY ISLANDS.

shrubs, which embellish the way; and at last, we reach
the more elevated tracts destined to perpetual sterility, the
borders of which, are not destitute of interest, nor of
beauty. As we approach the confines of these wastes,
numerous oases of arborescent heaths spring up in wild
and spontaneous profusion, and assume a truly pleasing
and smiling aspect.

Nor is the animal world destitute of interest here. Not-
withstanding the detached situation, and the narrow limits
of these islands, they formerly contained large bands of
wild beasts, most of the species of which, have either been
extirpated or reclaimed ; but they were not of such vast
numbers, nor of that savage character as those which per-
vade almost every tract of the adjacent continent. They
were for the most part creatures innocent, gentle, and
beautiful. Large packs of wild dogs of a ferocious char-
acter appear to have been found here; but it is not allowed
that they constituted the true species in a state of nature,
but that they descended from dogs once domesticated,
which have relapsed into a state resembling that of primi-
tive wildness.

Although the limited range, the arid aspect, and the
fiery summits which these islands present, would cause one
to suppose that they are unfavorable to the existence and
propagation of the feathered tribes, yet many a cliff, many
a tree, and many a verdant spot, afford appropriate recesses
for this fairy race. ‘To these islands we are indebted for
some of our sweetest songsters.

In descending into the briny regions, we find them peo-
pled, also, with immense tribes of the finny race, which
furnish an abundant supply of food. And all about the
shores are found myriads of crustacez, madrepores, shells,
and other products that ornament the deep. But happily,
the reptiles of these islands are very limited in their spe-
cies, and none of them are of a poisonous nature, and
consequently are regarded as harmless.

Nor is the insect race here less numerous or less pleas-
ing than the vegetable world; yet some of them are pos-
sessed with many singular and even formidable character-
istics. Sometimes legions of locusts migrate from the con-
tinent to these islands, where their havoc is almost incredi-

CANARY ISLANDS. 7

ble. They issue in clouds so dense that they darken the
air. In vain do the forlorn inhabitants ring their bells,
throw water, and devise other means to obstruct their
course ; but the irresistible mass moves forward, and eludes
every attempt to check their depredations. Whole fields
and vineyards enlivened with verdure, or laden with har-
vest, are ravaged by them without suffering to remain a
leaf or even a blade of grass. Sometimes in attempting to
cross the ocean, they are driven upon its surface by tem-
pestuous winds, and inconceivable numbers are driven
upon the shores dead, and the putrid exhalations arising
from them, have been regarded as noxious to health.

In conclusion, we come to man as he existed here at
the time of the arrival of the Spaniards at these islands.
At that period, the people here were known by the name
of Guanches. In general, they inhabited natural caverns
and caves or huts, built of gross and unhewn materials,
constructed without the aid of mortar. They led, in many
respects, a truly savage life, and hardly possessed a knowl-
edge of the earliest rudiments of art. Although the cereal
grasses were known to them, agriculture was in its rudest
and most uncultivated state, and they subsisted chiefly on
parched barley flour and goats’ milk, and fed in common
with dogs. They deposited their dead in caverns for the
purpose of inhumation, and even possessed the art of em-
balming, which tend to prove that they descended, or had
some know ledge of the Caucasian tribes. But a profound
silence reigns with regard to their origin, in which the
world probably must remain forever in darkness.

D: J. B.
Boston, May, 1834.

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Pee ee RPP:

Voyage from New-York to Teneriffe.

ArrerR making due preparations for a long voyage,
we weighed anchor and set sail from New-York at sunrise
on Tuesday the 9th instant, for the island of Teneriffe.
The morning was rainy, and the wind in an unfavorable
quarter. We worked our way, however, with little difh-
culty through the Narrows, and about mid-day found our-
selves just launching into the broad and interminable ocean.
About this time the wind came round to the north-west;
the clouds dispersed, and the sun burst forth with fervid
brightness. A gentle breeze filled our sails, and we
directed our course east-by-south, passing by the United
States frigate Brandywine, which was proudly riding at
anchor, and waving her stars and. stripes. As we ad-
vanced, the adjacent shores and high lands were fast
receding from our view, and at four o’clock they gravely
sunk behind the waves, and were seen no more.

It is difficult to describe the sensations which crowd
upon one as he is bidding adieu to his home and native
land, though but for a limited period of time; still more
difficult is it to pourtray the painful emotions that burst
upon one as he is taking the last glimpse of his native
shores, leaving behind him all his friends, his kindred, and
his country, and this, for an indefinite period—and per-
haps, forever. Of the first of these feelings I have had
many to contend with; of the latter, none before the
present.

During the last fifteen years of my life, my pursuits have
led me over a considerable portion of our country, as well
as other parts of America. I have travelled by land and
by sea; have been separated from home, from relatives,

10 CANARY ISLANDS.

from friends, and have often been impressed with emotions
that weighed heavily on my heart. But then I was still
to remain in a land, and mingle with a people, whom I
could boast as my own; a land far-famed in greatness;
“a nation whom I was taught to regard as no less free than
brave, no less intelligent than virtuous, and no less high-
minded than powerful.” But whither now? ‘To regions
fair and delightful on the one hand, decked with ancient
monuments of genius and of art, renowned for modern
works of grandeur, and possessed by people, free, enlight-
ened, and intelligent. On the other hand, to regions over-
shadowed with despotism and superstition ; to nations im-
bued with frightful prejudices, degraded and demoralized
to the last degree, and totally inaccessible to persuasion or
to civilization. *

The breeze continued to heighten, and at night we
were swiftly ploughing our way through the pitchy deep,
marking out a furrow of liquid fire, which, at one moment,
was brilliant and dazzling—at another, tranquil and pearly.
These moveable lights were grouped in endless varieties.
Here, myriads of luminous points like little stars appeared
floating upon the surface, and then flowing together, form-
ing one vast sheet of light. Then the scene became more
tumultuous; the refulgent waves hove up and broke in
shining foam. At other times, appeared large sparkling
bodies, resembling the forms of fishes pursuing each other,
alternately disappearing and bursting anew.

The explanation of this phenomenon has long attracted
the attention of philosophers. Valisneri, Rigaud, and
Dicquemare, have shown, that on several occasions, this
light was produced by a little animal called the glow-worm
of the sea. It has a body extremely thin and transparent,
is possessed with astonishing activity, and emits a dazzling
and vivid light. All the zoophytes and mollusca seem to
be phosphorescent in a greater or a less degree. The
observations of Peron, and of Langsdorff confirm this ex-

* It may be here remarked, that after passing a number of weeks at Teneriffe, I
touched on the west coast of Africa, and afterwards visited several parts of Spain,
France, Sicily and the Belearic Islands, and intended travelling to Italy, Greece,
Turkey and Egypt ; but on reaching Sicily, imperative circumstances compelled a
speedy return. “

35
i

CANARY ISLANDS. ll

planation of luminous phenomena in the sea, and it seems
to be the only one that can be admitted as general. It
appears that this emission of phosphorus arises from the
excited state of the vital spirits in these animals, and that
it is chiefly at the moment of amorous enjoyment that they
cast forth so brilliant a light.

Fougeroux, Canton, Forster and other accurate ob-
servers, while they agree with respect to the existence of
glow-worms, think that the light of the sea, when it is
tranquil, and as it were united with the water, originates
from the decomposition of vegetable and animal substan-
ces collected together into it, and which, in putrifying,
emit their phosphorus. Light, of this description, is chiefly
observed in long calms, and after great heat. ‘The spawn
of fish, also, possesses the power of emitting a certain
light. This marine phosphoric light has been observed to
be the most powerful during a storm, which has given rise
to the belief that the phenomenon was produced by the
friction of the marine currents. Upon this topic I will
conclude in quoting a reflection from Newton. ‘“ Do not
all solids,’ says this philosopher, ‘‘ when they are heated
beyond a certain degree, emit a portion of light, and is not
this emission produced by the vibratory motion of their parti-
cles? And do not all the bodies which abound in earthy and
particularly sulphureous particles, throw forth light as often
as these particles are sufficiently agitated? May not this
agitation proceed from heat, friction, putrefaction, from
vital motion, or from some other cause? It is thus that
the sea-water in a stormy tempest becomes luminous.”

At sea, on board of the Panope,
Thursday, July 11, 1833.

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Voyage to Teneriffe Continued.

Durine the week past we have been sailing under the
most propitious circumstances. We have made 20° of
longitude, and are now in the Gulf Stream, receiving its
utmost benefits. We entered it on the 11th instant, at
four o’clock in the afternoon, which was obvious from an
increase of temperature of the water. A thermometer
being immersed, indicated 72° F.,* two degrees higher
than at noon of the same day. Yesterday the temperature
of the atmosphere at noon, in latitude 40° 4’ N., and
longitude 57° 41’ W. was 82°, and that of the ocean at
the surface 80°, which is 15° higher than it was near
Sandy Hook, at noon on the day of our departure.

This great current may be explained as follows :—
‘“‘ Between the tropics, especially from the coast of Senegal
to the Caribbean Sea, there is a stream that always flows
from east to west, and which is named the Equinoctial Cur-
rent. Its mean rapidity may be estimated at ten or eleven
miles in twenty-four hours. This movement of the waters,
which is also observed in the Pacific Ocean, having a
direction contrary to that of the earth’s rotation, is supposed
to be connected with the latter only in so far as it changes
into trade-winds those aerial currents from the poles, which,
in the lower regions of the atmosphere, carry the cold air
of the high latitudes towards the equator ; and it is to the
general impulse which these winds give to the surface of

*Tt will be understood that the variations of temperature expressed in this work,
are noted after Fahrenheit’s scale, except otherwise specified.

2

14 CANARY ISLANDS.

the ocean that the phenomenon in question is to be
attributed.

«This current carries the waters of the Atlantic towards
the Mosquito and Honduras coasts, from which they move
northward, and passing into the Gulf of Mexico, follow
the bendings of the shore from Vera Cruz to the mouth of
the Rio del Norte, and from thence to the mouths of the
Mississippi and the shoals at the southern extremity of
Florida. After performing this circuit, it again directs
itself northward, rushing with great impetuosity through
the Straits of Bahama. At the end of these narrows, in
the parallel of Cape Canaveral, the flow, which rushes
onward like a torrent, sometimes at the rate of five miles
an hour, runs to the north-east. Its velocity diminishes
and its breadth enlarges as it proceeds northward. Be-
tween Cape Biscayo and the Bank of Bahama, the width is
only 52 miles, while in 28.5° of lat. it is 59; and in the
parallel of Charleston, opposite Cape Henlopen, it is from
138 to 173 miles, the rapidity being from three to five miles
an hour where the stream is narrow, and only one mile as
it advances towards the north. ‘To the east of Boston and
in the meridian of Halifax the current is nearly 276 miles
broad. Here it suddenly turns towards the east ; its west-
ern margin touching the extremity of the great bank of
Newfoundland. From this to the Azores it continues to
flow to the E. and E.S.E., still retaining part of the im-
pulse which it had received nearly 1150 miles distant in
the Straits of Florida. In the meridian of the Isles of
Corvo and Flores, the most western of the Azores, it is
not less than 552 miles in breadth. From the Azores it.
directs itself towards the Straits of Gibraltar, the island of
Madeira, and the Canary Isles. To the south of Madeira
we can distinctly follow its motion to the S.E. and §.8.E.,
bearing on the shores of Africa, between Capes Cantin
and Bojador. Cape Blanco, which, next to Cape Verd,
farther to the south, is the most prominent part of that
coast, seems again to influence the direction of the stream ;
and in this parallel it mixes with the great equinoctial cur-
rent as already described.

-

CANARY ISLANDS. 15

‘¢TIn this manner, the waters of the Atlantic, between the
parallels of 11° and 43°, are carried round in a continual
whirlpool, which Humboldt calculates must take two years
and ten months to perform its circuit of 13,118 miles.
This great current is named the Gulf Stream. Off the
coast of Newfoundland a branch separates from it, and
runs from 8.W. to N.E. towards the coasts of Europe.”

This current is of great utility to the navigator, who may
judge, with a degree of certainty, of his situation, and of
the proximity of his approach towards the coast of the
United States. When he enters the borders of it, the in-
creased temperature of the water, its. strong saltness, its
intense azure color, and the large quantities of sea-weed
(Fucus) which floats along its surface, as well as the ele-
vated heat of the surrounding atmosphere, all indicate,
even in winter, that he has reached this noble Gulf.

On the 11th instant, in latitude 39° 54’, and in longitude
69° 41’, I observed some fragments of fucus, a kind of sea-
weed which grows on submarine rocks, as well as three
species of medusz, floating in a south-westerly direction,
propelled by the counter current near the western edge of
the gulf.

The medusz are animals consisting of a tender gelati-
nous mass of different fibres, supplied with arms or tentacu-
lar processes proceeding from their lower surface. They
are marked with various colors, which, by the reflection of
the sun’s rays, create a beautiful contrast with the azure
tintof the ocean. The larger species when touched by the
hand, cause a slight stinging and redness; hence they are
commonly called sea-nettles. By gently agitating them in
the dark, they will emit light. ‘* When a very irritable in-
dividual is placed on a tin plate, and the latter is struck
with a piece of metal, the vibrations of the tin are sufficient
to make the animal shine. Sometimes, on galvanizing
meduse, the phosphorescence appears at the moment when
the chain closes, although the exciters are not in direct
contact with the body of the subject. The fingers, after
touching it, remain Juminous for two or three minutes.
Wood, on being rubbed with meduse, becomes luminous,
and after the phosphorescence has ceased, it may be

16 CANARY ISLANDS.

rekindled by passing the dry hand over it; but when the
light is a second time extinguished it cannot be repro-
duced.” * These animals are supposed to constitute the
chief food of cetaceous fish.

I observed another beautiful class of animals floating
down the Gulf, called by seamen, the Portuguese man-o-
war (Physalia pelagica. Lam.) 'They resemble an ob-
long bladder, elevated superiorly into an oblique and
wrinkled crest, and furnished beneath, near one of the
extremities, with a variety of cylindrical, fleshy productions,
terminated at different lengths, which unite with the body.
They float at will, upon the surface of the water, most fre-
quently when it is calm, employing the crest for a sail;
and when quietly gliding along, the rays of the sun drop
upon them, and produce a beautiful irridescent appear-
ance. By touching these animals with the hand, they dis-
charge, as a means of defence, a gaseous fluid, which stings
and burns like the sea-nettle. They are found in all
tropical seas.

On the morning of the 14th instant, thousands of flying-
fish (Exocetus volitans. Lin.) were seen darting through
the air in a direct line opposite to the waves. ‘These fish
seem to lead the most miserable existence. In their own
element, they are incessantly pursued by dolphins and
other fish of prey. If they endeavor to avoid them by hav-
ing recourse to the air, they either meet their fate from
gulls or other predatory birds, or are forced down the
mouths of the inhabitants of the deep, which keep pace
below with their aerial excursions. The head of this fish
is scaly, their body whitish, and their belly angular. Their
pectoral fins are very large, which enable them to raise
themselves from the water, and fly to a considerable dis-
tance, til] their fins become dry, and then they descend
into the water. ‘They are sometimes found in northern
seas, but are the most common between the tropics. When
taken, they serve for excellent food.

In calm.weather, I have constantly seen the pilot-fish
(Gasterosteus ductor. Lin.) at our stern. These fish

* Humboldt.

CANARY ISLANDS. yy:

derive their name from the fact that they follow vessels to
seize upon whatever may drop from them; and asa similar
habit is observed in the shark, it has been said that these
small fishes serve as a guide to it. They are of a bluish
color, having broad bands running transversely across their
sides, of a much deeper hue, and are seldom found more
than ten or twelve inches in length. They are considered
by some as excellent food.

Tuesday, July 16th, 1833.

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LE LE kh EM.

Voyage to Teneriffe Continued.

We progress in our voyage with every success that
could be anticipated. The weather has been fine and
agreeable, except in the night of the 2Ist instant, when
we were visited, at midnight, by a torrent of rain. The
lightning gleamed with awful and vivid flashes, and the
thunder rolled in quick successive peals from clouds imme-
diately over our heads. The morning following, the
clouds had passed away, and pleasant gales, as usual, con-
tinued to waft us along.

The flying-fish are still seen skipping over the dark-blue
waves, and occasionally I catch a glimpse of the parrot-fish,
commonly, but improperly called the dolphin, which is
quite another sort of fish, (Delphinus delphis. Lin.) and
belongs to the whale family. The parrot-fish (Coryphena
cerulea. Lin.) has a head of an odd structure, resembling
that of the spermaceti whale. The mouth is small, and
each mandible is armed with a single row of even
teeth, so that they appear to be entire bones. Its irides
are of a bright red; on the back is a long fin indented
on the edge; behind the gills are two more fins; also
one under the abdomen, and another near the extreme
end. The tail is forked, and the color of the whole
fish, when alive, is entirely blue. It is taken in great
abundance on the coast of the Bahama Islands, and
is found in most of the seas between the tropics. It is
considered by some, as delicate food.

Scarcely any other beings endowed with life, have
come under notice, except petrels and stern, or sea-
swallows. The last appellation takes its name from their
excessively long and pointed wings, and from their forked

20 CANARY ISLANDS.

tail, which renders their flight and carriage analogous to
those of swallows. Their bills are pointed, compressed,
and straight, without curve or projection ; their nostrils,
situated near the base of the bill, are oblong and pierced
quite through; the membranes that unite their toes, are
deeply emarginate, in consequence of which, they swim
but seldom. They fly over the waves in every direction
with great velocity, uttering, at the same time, shrill cries,
and skilfully dipping from the water mollusca and small
fishes upon which they feed.

The petrils are particularly designated by sailors under
the name of Mother Carey’s Chickens. They are also
sometimes called Storm Finches, Stormy Petrels, and
Devil’s Birds. The most common species on the Atlantic
is the Thalassidroma wilsonii of Bonapart. It is about
the size of a common swallow, and has the general appear-
ance of that bird. Its color is brown, except the rump,
which is white, and a white line on the end of the great
wing-coverts. At all seasons they keep far out at sea, and
often skip along the hollows of the waves with incredible
swiftness, and sometimes light upon their summits, braving
the utmost fury of the tempests. As they appear to run on
the surface of the water, which they effect by the aid of
their wings, they are called petrels, from the allusion of
Peter’s walking on the water.

“These petrels are said to breed in great numbers on the
rocky shores of the Bahama and the Bermuda Islands,
and along some parts of East Florida and Cuba. Mr.
Audubon informs me* that they also breed in large flocks
on the mud and sand islands off Cape Sable, in Nova
Scotia, burrowing downward from the surface to the depth
‘of a foot or more. They also employ the holes and cavi-
ties of rocks near the sea for this purpose. The eggs,
according to Mr. Audubon, are three, white and translu-
cent. After the period of incubation, they return to feed
their young only during the night, with the oily food which
they raise from their stomachs. At these times they are
heard through most part of the night, making a continued

Professor Nuttall.

CANARY ISLANDS. 21

cluttering sound like frogs. In June and July, or about
the time that they breed, they are still seen out at sea for
scores of leagues from the Jand, the swiftness of their flight
allowing them daily to make their vast excursions in quest
of their ordinary prey ; and hence, besides their suspicious
appearance in braving storms, as if aided by the dark
Ruler of the air, they breed, according to the vulgar opin-
ion of sailors, like no other honest bird, for, taking no time
for the purpose on land, they merely hatch their egg under
their wings, as they sit on the water.

“ The food of this species, according to Wilson, appears
to consist, as he says, of the gelatinous spora of the Gulf
weed (Fucus natans. Lin.) as well as small fish, barna-
cles, and probably. many small mollusca. Their flesh is
rank, oily, and unpleasant to the taste. Their food is
even converted into oil by the digestive process, and they
abound with it to such a degree, that according to Brun-
nick, the inhabitants of the Fero Isles make their carcases
to serve the purpose of a candle, by drawing a wick through
the mouth and rump, which being lighted, the flame is for
a considerable time supported by the fat and oil of the
body.”

In passing over the vast and watery deep, it is wondered
why its inhabitants do not more frequently exhibit them-
selves ; for often whole days pass by without observing
anything possessed with life, and even weeks, except now
and then a shoal of porpoises, making their ‘‘ uncouth
gambols” around the bow of our vessel, and the grampus
slowly throwing his unwieldy form above the water, or the
voracious shark, darting like a spectre just below its sur-
face. But when we reflect on the immensity of the ocean,
of its immeasurable depths, which probably extend as far
below its surface as the highest of our mountains are ele-
vated above it, and when we consider that its bottom is
diversified with mountains, valleys and plains, how vast are
the spaces susceptible of affording adaptation and suste-
nance to countless tribes of beings. And when we look
around us, we see every mountain and marsh, every wil-
derness and wood, teeming with myriads of living crea-
tures, all adapted to their respective situations, and pos-

22 CANARY ISLANDS.

sessed with their proper instincts and enjoyments. And
if we admit that

‘¢ Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear,”

we must allow from the analogy of reason, that innu-
merable classes of animals inhabit this vast abyss, thous-
ands of which, never have appeared to the eye of man.
And yet, who is there that can doubt the existence of an
outre monster of the deep, when deduced from creditable
authority? Who is there that has ever descended these
briny floods, and rambled about the ‘“ mermaid’s cells,”
the “‘triton’s halls,” andthe ‘ sea-nymph’s coral bowers,”
to explore and enrol the wonders of the mighty deep?
According to Kircher, the celebrated diver, Pescecola,
whom the emperor Frederic II. employed to descend into
the Straits of Messina, saw there with horror, enormous
polypi attached to the rocks, the arms of which, being
several yards long, were sufficient to strangle a man. If
this can be credited, we have as much reason to believe in
the present existence of the sea-serpent, of the great levia-
than, or of the behemoth.

Tuesday, July 23, 1833.

LETTER V.

Voyage to Teneriffe Continued,

Ar length, wafted by propitious gales, we begin to
approach our destined haven. Since my last date, the
weather has been incomparably delightful, and each day
closed by evenings of tranquil beauty. The vivid colors
which gild the setting sun, the fantastic forms that mark
the golden clouds, and the sublimities of a starlight even-
ing at sea, inspire emotions sufficient to compensate the
most reluctant voyager for all the endurances of an Atlan-
tic passage.

On the morning of the 5th instant, we observed the Isle
of Madeira eight or ten leagues to the south of us, the sum-
mit of which, was distinctly seen above the clouds that
were hanging about its sides; and low in the south-east
were to be seen the peaked tops of Porto Santo just peep-
ing above the horizon. We slowly glided along during
the day, and the next morning were in sight of the
Desertas, which lay a few leagues to the southward. At
our left hand was Porto Santo displaying its ragged sum-
mits, and near by, at our right, Madeira, which exhibited
to us a friendly look, and seemed once more to reconnect
us with our mother earth. It wore a truly pleasing and
picturesque appearance as we passed by. The top of the
mountain was incessantly enveloped in light cumulous
clouds; its sides, peculiarly broken and rugged, consisted
of dark arid ridges, destitute of verdure, alternated by
deep fertile valleys. At the bottom of the descent was the
city of Funchal, in the vicinity of which, were innumerable
sloping vineyards, interspersed with gentlemens’ seats, and
the more humbie huts of the vine-dressers, whose whit-
ened walls conspicuously diversified the face of nature.

24 CANARY ISLANDS,

For some evenings past, I have observed an immense
number of shooting stars, leaving behind them a sparkling
train. As we advanced southward, they appeared to
increase in brilliancy and in numbers. The same fact
was observed by Humboldt, who remarks that these me-
teors are more common and more luminous in certain
regions of the earth than in others. He has nowhere seen
them more frequent, than in the vicinity of the volcanoes
of Quito and in that part of the South Sea which washes
the shores of Guatimala. Between the tropics, and in fact
all warm climates, they generally leave a train behind them,
which sometimes remains luminous for ten or twelve
seconds. At other times, they seem to explode and dis-
charge thousands of brilliant sparks. They are much
lower here than in high latitudes, and are very seldom seen
beneath a cloud. They are most frequently observed in
clear, serene weather, and move in the direction which
the wind blows ; but this is not always the case, for I have
noticed them when the sky was totally overcast, and to
move in various directions about the same time, and in
one instance I observed one in the day-time, which passed
between me and a dark-blue cloud.

Although these shooting or falling stars are a common
phenomenon, their great distance and transient nature
have hitherto frustrated every attempt to ascertain their
cause. However, the connection of these meteors with an
active state of the atmospheric electricity, is certain from
observation; and we have more reason to consider them
as electric sparks, than as solid or fluid matter in the act
of combustion.

During most of the time this week back, we have been
visited by light baffling winds, and often by perfect calms,
which afforded me at times, no small share of amusement.
Every body who has been at sea, has heard sailors whistle
during a calm, in order to ‘raise the wind,” which many
of them attribute to the agency of some unknown power ;
but some of our modern theorists impute it to a certain
sympathy existing between the air and the sound resem-
bling that of the whistling of the wind.

It is a well known fact in acoustics, that harmonic
sounds may be effected by a sympathetic action conveyed

CANARY ISLANDS. Q5

by the air; for example—‘ a body of singers with great
power of voice, are able to break into pieces a large tum-
bler glass, by singing close to it its proper fundamental
note ; and it is from the same sympathetic communication
of vibrations, that two pendulum clocks fixed to the same
wall, or two watches lying upon the same table, will take
the same rate of going, though they would not agree with
one another, if placed in separate apartments. Mr. Elh-
cott even observed, that the pendulum of the one clock
will stop that of the other; and that the stopped pendulum
will, after a certain time, resume its vibrations, and in its
turn, stop the vibrations of the other pendulum.”* Toa
similar cause they will say, may be attributed an increase
of wind from the sympathy existing between the air and
the whistling sound resembling that of the wind.

Thursday, August 8, 1833.

* Dr. Brewster.

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baie DEER Ved.

Arrival at Orotava.

Earty on the morning of the 10th instant, we had
approached the island of Teneriffe, sufficiently near to
discern trees, houses and vineyards, and the Peak of Teyde,
illuminated by the earliest rays of the sun, was seen just
over our heads. Before we had come within a league’s
distance of the port, we were hailed by the custom-house
authorities, who, after making the usual inquiries, and
receiving our passports, pronounced upon us a quarantine
of eight days, and ordered us to anchor a mile from the
shore, with the privilege of landing at the lazaretto as often
as might be necessary. Here we remain anchored in 40
fathoms of water, enjoying a cool sea-breeze of 75°, while
on shore the thermometer indicates a temperature of 86°
in the shade, and from 100° to 120° in the sun.

On first descrying the features of a new country, one
cannot express the emotions with which he is inspired.
His eyes are wont to glance with eagerness upon the many
objects that are brought to view, and amidst his agitation,
everything, although regarded as common before, now
wears the aspect of something new; but after he becomes
more familiar with them, they assume their true character,
and he can hardly conceive them to be the same.

On first reaching the shore, I was particularly struck
with the singular appearance of the Euphorbia canariensis
of Linneus. It is an herbaceous perennial shrub, sending
forth slender succulent stalks from ten to twelve feet in
length, and having from four to five sides, armed with sharp
prickles. It puts forth quadrupetalous flowers of a white-
ish or yellow color, and its light green stalks form an

28 CANARY ISLANDS.

agreeable contrast with the dark stones and earth upon
which it usually grows.

All the shores and ravines in this vicinity are lined with
basalts and other igneous rocks, in which may be found
crystals of hornblende, and in some instances, olivine and
transparent pyroxene, the latter occurring generally, in
six-sided prisms, and of an olive-green tint. I observed,
also, large quantities of volcanic sand along the shore, con-
taining minute fragments of the same materials as the
neighboring rocks are composed. From the reverberation
of this sand, and the black, arid rocks with which the
shores of this island are formed, may be imputed the
intense heat to which they are exposed. This sand, in the
middle of a hot day, is insupportable to the hands or bare
feet for any length of time.

From the hazy state of the atmosphere, we did not dis-
cern the Peak before the 9th instant, at mid-day, which
was then at sixty miles’ distance. When it first came un-
der our observation, the horizon below it, as far as the eye
could reach, exhibited only a wide expanse of water, so
that the summit appeared like a thin blue vapor, till its
stationary position fixed our attention. It was soon con-
cealed from view, and was seen no more until half past
three in the afternoon, when its conical head was tower-
ing far above the clouds. I now availed myself of making
a trigonometrical measurement of its height, which I did
by throwing the log, and noting the velocity of the vessel,
and the time it sailed between two stations, to determine
a base; and employed two vertical angles of the summit of
the Peak, one at each station. By my calculation I found
it to be elevated 12,352 feet above the ocean, which is
considerably more than the average measurements that
have been made by different observers, showing at once
the uncertainty of this mode of measurement of mountains.

For want of other matters of interest, I may here take a
glance of the physical observations since my departure,
relating to the air and the ocean, with some remarks from
other sources.

TreMPERATURE oF THE Air.—The great basin of the
Northern Atlantic Ocean, between Europe, Africa, and

CANARY ISLANDS. 299

America, exhibits very different degrees of temperature,
but very slow in its changes. In passing from Sandy
Hook to this place the increase of temperature has been
only 3:5°. The maximum observed during the voyage
was 82°, the minimum 73°, with a mean of 76:1. Hum-
boldt, in travelling from Spain to South America, in July,
1799, observed a gradual increase from 50° to 77°, the
maximum being only 79:9°. In comparing the observa-
tions of several navigators, I find that the thermometer has
not been known to rise, in the open air at sea, above 93°
in any place between the tropics of either hemisphere ;
while in corresponding latitudes of the continents of Asia,
Africa and America, it attains a temperature of 120°, 130°,
and even 140°.

The gradual increase of temperature during a voyage
from the temperate to the torrid zone, is highly conducive
to the health of voyagers, as it prepares them, by degrees,
for the intense heat which they have to encounter. This
change is attributed, in a measure, to the evaporation of
the water, increased by the wind and the waves, together
with the property possessed by transparent liquids of ab-
sorbing very little light at their surface.

TEMPERATURE OF THE SeA.—I*rom New York to this
place, the temperature of the ocean has been, in general,
uniform in its increase, although inequalities have occur-
red, caused by the Gulf Stream. The mean temperature
has been 74:4° ; maximum 80°, and minimum 66°5°. In
the inter-tropical seas, there is everywhere a great uni-
formity in the maximum of heat, which varies, according
to Humboldt, from 82° to 845°. This proves that the
ocean is in general warmer than the atmosphere in direct
contact with it, the mean temperature of which, near the
equator, is from 78°8° to 80°69. As sea-water is a bad
conductor of heat, its temperature changes less suddenly
and less easily than that of the atmosphere; hence the
cause of its uniformity. Besides, the visible solar rays
cannot heat the bottom of the sea, as they penetrate only
to the depth of about 700 feet. Beyond that limit, the sea
receives no more light. The temperature of the depth of
the ocean would appear, then, to follow that of the tempe-

a

30 CANARY ISLANDS.

rature of the interior of the globe in different latitudes.
But it has been proved by experiments, that the tempera-
ture of the sea, at great depths, diminishes in a constant
progression ; from which fact, some philosophers have
maintained that the bottom of the ocean is actually a bed
of ice. But, unfortunately for them, Count Rumford has
shown by experiment, that ice is always formed at the sur-
face of the water, and that, except to a certain extent
within the polar regions, it cannot exist at the bottom of
the ocean.

INTENSITY OF THE Cotor or THE Sky.—In travelling
from the higher latitudes to the torrid zone, I have re-
peatedly observed an increase of the azure tint of the sky,
and in the same parallel, fainter at sea than when on land.
The latter circumstance is owing to the quantity of aque-
ous vapor which is constantly rising from the ocean to the
upper regions of the atmosphere. Hence, in all latitudes,
the intensity of the color of the sky diminishes from the
zenith to the horizon, and this nearly in arithmetical pro-
gression.

Cotor oF THE Sea.—The color of the sea varies very
much in appearance, but it is generally of a deep, bluish-
green, which becomes less intense as we approach the
coasts. This apparent color of the sea may be attributed
to the same causes that impart the blue shade to the dis-
tant mountains, and to the sky its azure hue. The other
shades in the color of the sea, depend on causes which
are local, and sometimes illusory. It is said that the Medi-
terranean, in its upper part, sometimes assumes a purple
tint. In the Gulf of Guinea, the sea has a whitish ap-
pearance, and around the Maldive Islands, it is black.
The Vermeille, or Vermillion Sea, near California, has
received its name from the red color which it bears. I
have observed a phenomenon similar to the latter about
the coast of Florida.

Humboldt observes, in his travels from Spain to South
America, that in fine calm weather, the color of the sea
was found to be equal to 33°, 38°, and sometimes 44° of
Saussure’s cyanometer, although the sky was very pale,

CANARY ISLANDS. ol

and scarcely attained 14° or 15°. ‘“‘ When, instead of di-
recting the apparatus to a great extent of open sea, the
observer fixes his eyes on a small part of its surface viewed
through a narrow aperture, the water appears of a rich
ultra-marine color. ‘Towards evening, again, when the
edge of the waves, as the sun shines upon them, is of an
emerald green, the surface of the shaded side reflects a
purple hue. Nothing is more striking than the changes
which the color of the sea undergoes under a clear sky, in
the midst of the ocean and in deep water, when it may be
seen passing from indigo-blue to the deepest green, and
from this to slate-gray. ‘The blue is almost independent
of the reflection of the atmosphere. The inter-tropical
seas are, in general, of a deeper and purer tint than those
of high latitudes, and the ocean often remains blue, when
in fine weather, more than four-fifths of the sky are cover-
ed with light and scattered clouds of a white color.”

At anchor in Quarantine, Port Orotava,
Thursday, August 15, 1833.

Lm tne | |
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Sr apeheh ESHA RRM, mle .

moe ee ee

Excursion to Santa Cruz.

Havine just obtained my emancipation, I am happy once
more to enjoy the sweets of freedom. On the 18th instant,
at mid-day, I was released from quarantine, and conducted
by some soldiers directly to the Governor of this port,
who ordered me to present myself, immediately, before the
Governor General, at Santa Cruz which is situated about
thirty miles from here. It being impracticable to reach
that place on that evening, my journey was postponed
until the next day. Early the ensuing morning I set off
on horseback, and just after leaving this town, ascended a
steep hill, in a winding direction; and all of a sudden
there burst upon me a most charming view of the Valley
of Orotava. The scene before me was so enchanting, that
a description of it, to bear even a faint resemblance, would
appear like romance. It consists of an elevated slope,
containing about four square leagues, and is abruptly
hemmed on three sides by a range of lofty mountains
which intersect the island. The other side is bounded by
the ocean, the shores of which are bold and precipitous at
all points, and are constantly dashed by the snow-white
surf. Numerous rivulets and springs gush forth from the
foot of the mountains, and after rushing down the ravines
and forming beautiful cascades, are employed in irrigating

“and fertilizing the soil, and in turning mills.

This broad champaign is interspersed with compact
villas and detached dwellings, which are encompassed by
vineyards and corn-fields, that yield at once the choicest
and the most varied fruits. In short, “it is a vast garden,
decked out in aromatic groves, which realize the beau
ideal of Paradise.’ There can be but few spots on the

34 CANARY ISLANDS.

globe that present a spectacle more beautifully romantic
and wildly picturesque than the Valley of Orotava.

After an hour’s ride over a fertile plain, 1 commenced
ascending the mountain in a zig-zag manner, and con-
tinued my way to Laguna over a rough, narrow road,
which, in many places, was almost impassible. The only
settlements between this place and Laguna, are the ham-
lets of Santa Ursula, Vittoria, and Matanzas, the two lat-
ter names, (victory and slaughter,) notorious in occurring
together in most Spanish provinces, create an unpleasant
contrast with the peace and quietude which these colonies
usually inspire. In pursuing my route, I observed on the
left, along the sea-shore, numerous date-trees, (Phenix
dactylifera. Lin.) and farther up, groups of the orange
and the banana. The more precipitous parts of the de-
scent were covered with vines and peach-trees, richly
laden with fruit, while the more level portions were planted
with grain and other vegetables. The fields were fre-
quently separated by hedges of the prickly pear, (Cactus
opuntia. Lin.) and the American aloes, (Agave ameri-
cana. Lin.) The latter, when vigorous, sometimes rises
to the height of sixty feet, and branches out on every side,
so as to form a kind of pyramid of greenish yellow flowers,
which stand erect, and come out at every jot. As a
hedge, its hardy lance-like leaves render it totally impene-
trable to man and beast. When pressed, the light blue
leaves yield a thick juice, which, with lye-ashes, is formed
into balls and used as soap. The peasantry of these islands
soak them in water, and beat them with mallets, as flax or
hemp, and afterwards spin the lignum into coarse thread,
suitable for making lines and small cordage of a very
strong and durable quality.

In travelling from Laguna to Santa Cruz, the only
plants that I observed were the Euphorbia canariensis, the
Cacalia kleinia, and the Cactus opuntia. The road was
steep and difficult, in many places, and appeared to be
formed of the débris of an ancient current of lava from the
Peak. My horse moved with a snail-like pace, and slipped
at every rod. At length, after a considerable fatigue, I
reached a small plain near a beautiful stone bridge, thrown
across a deep ravine, and shortly after arrived at the place

CANARY ISLANDS. 30

of my destination. The evening being too far advanced
to prosecute the object of my journey, it was deferred.
The next morning I presented myself to the Governor
General, who, after passing a few civilities, gave me per-
mission to examine the whole island, and kindly offered
me assistance whenever required. I passed the remainder
of the day in viewing the town, and in examining the cliffs
in its vicinity.

Santa Cruz is a pleasant town of considerable extent,
containing, according to the last census, 6,400 inhabitants.
It has less appearance of poverty than this place, although
I was constantly assailed by the most importunate beggars.
A friend pointed out to me the exact spot where Nelson
experienced the only failure of his glorious career. No
one who has ever read of this memorable conflict could
gaze upon this spot without being possessed with feelings
of peculiar interest.

After a comfortable night’s rest, I set off yesterday morn-
ing about eight o’clock, under a burning sun, from Santa
Cruz for this place. On my road to Laguna, I met a
drove of white camels, (Camelus dromedarius. Lin.) em-
ployed in conveying produce to the town. The monoto-
nous tinkling’ of their bells, their slowly-measured pace
and lethargic countenances, all of which were exactly in
unison with the listless heat, and the sun-scorched hills,
bearing now and then a cluster of succulent plants, which
receive their nourishment from the air rather than the soil,
strongly impressed me that the aspect of these islands
belongs to Africa, and to the most arid part of it.

I pursued my way on horse-back as far as Matanzas, and
performed the remainder of my journey on foot, in order
to examine the geology of the rout more minutely. In
descending the ravines to the sea-side, I observed that the
lowermost stratum consisted of huge masses of yellowish-
brown columnar basaltes, somewhat irregular in their
forms. Directly above them were strata of breccia,
resembling volcanic tufa. They contained fragments of
the same basaltes that they covered, and often recent ter-
restrial shells ; and it is asserted, that the remains of ma-
rine productions are observed in them. Next in succes-
sion above, was a stratum of ferruginous earth, overlaid

36 CANARY ISLANDS.

with a dark argillaceous soil, containing crystals of pyrox-
ene, and fragments of compact lava.

I arrived here late last evening, lame and worn out with
fatigue ; and to-day have taken up my residence during
my stay in this place with Mr. Alfred Diston, an English
merchant, a gentleman no less distinguished for general
information than for the friendly services which he has
rendered scientific men who have visited these regions.

Port Orotava, Wednesday, }
August 22, 1833. j

LETTER VIII.

First Ascent of the Peak.

AFTER arranging the necessary preliminaries, I set off
for the Peak on the 29th instant, before the break of day,
accompanied by ten persons, principally professional and
mercantile men of this island, each of us attended by a
guide, or rather such as professed to be our guides. Al-
though born within two leagues of the mountain, most of
them had never been induced by the excitement of curi-
osity to ascend from their native valley to the “regions
of barren grandeur above them.”

We pursued our course along the sea-shore for a league
or more, till we reached Realejo de Abaxo, shortly after
which, we commenced ascending the lofty mountain of
Tygayga passing by the straggling hamlet of Ycod del
Alto; and after attaining the height of about 4000 feet,
we halted a few moments in order to view the surrounding
scenery. We were situated on the brink of a precipice
where we could look down more than 2000 feet nearly
perpendicularly, which, at first sight, would make a person
of ordinary nerves, shudder. The cold had_ sensibly
increased, the mercury having sunk to 57°, and the vegeta-
tion and general] aspect of things had totally changed, bear-
ing quite ‘another character from those in the v alley below.
We continued to ascend over regions distinguished by
their peculiar vegetation until eight Oo ‘clock, when we
reached Las Canadas, or Los Llanos de Retama, which
are remarkable for bearing a profusion of broom, (Spartiwm
nubigenum. Lin.) called by the natives, la retama. It is
a woody shrub, ramifying close to the earth, and sends
forth numerous tufted branches to the height of nine or ten
feet. It is an ever-green, varying from light-blue to pale-

4

38 CANARY ISLANDS.

green, forming a beautiful contrast with its white papiliona-
ceous flowers which emit an agreeable odor, and are very
productive in honey. During the season of their bloom,
the natives transport their hives of bees to the distance of
several leagues, that they may extract the nectary, and
likewise to prevent them from puncturing the grape which
is 10 an immature state at this period. The retama grows
in the midst of a vast field of ashes and pumice-stones, which
encircles the Peak, and which is generally ranked by
botanists as its highest zone of vegetation, although there
are a few species of gramineous and cryptogamous plants
growing amongst it, and even some of the latter are found
on the most elevated parts of the mountain.

In passing over a small plain destitute of vegetation,
which appeared to have been inundated during the rainy
seasons, I observed a flock of wild goats, (Capra hrcus.
Lin.) the species of which, has run wild on the Peak for
centuries, and has subsisted on the boughs of the retama.
From this place we travelled more than a league over a
sterile tract, composed almost entirely of small fragments
of pumice-stones and ashes, which were constantly pelting
our faces by the cold south-west wind that was blowing
directly against us. ‘The latter portion of these llanos
became more steep, and bore scarcely any marks of vegeta-
tion, and huge masses of feldspathic lava, lay scattered
up anddown. On leaving Las Canadas, the way became
very rugged and difficult of ascent, so much so, that our
mules were scarcely able to sustain their burdens. How-
ever, after a great deal of patience and fatigue, we arrived
at La Estancia de los Yngleses, at two o’clock in the after-
noon, where we pitched our tent for the night. Here the
mountain became less steep, and contained some rocks of
lava, of an incredible size, which evidently were dis-
charged from the crater at some remote period. ‘They
served to break off the winds which blew with biting keen-
ness from the south-west, rendering this the most com-
fortable resting-place that the mountain affords. After
refreshing myself with food and repose, | employed myself
the remainder of the evening in making observations.

My principal object in ascending this mountain, was to
make an admeasurement of its height, and also of several

CANARY ISLANDS. 39

other points between its summit and the ocean, in order
to ascertain the elevation at which certain species of
vegetation can exist in these latitudes. My barometer
having become impaired during the ascent, I was obliged
to resort to the thermometrical barometer which consists
of nothing more than immersing a common thermometer
into boiling-hot water, which will cause the mercury to
rise in proportion to the specific gravity of the atmosphere.
At the level of the ocean, the boiling point of F'ahrenheit’s
scale is 212°; but as we ascend into the air, it gradually
decreases, which depends, in a measure, on the humidity
and temperature of the air. In making experiments of
this kind, many precautions are necessary. It is im-
portant to have the instrument properly constructed, and
to make use of pure water. Care should also be observed
with regard to communicating the instrument to the water,
and to the time after it commences boiling.*

At a quarter past seven in the evening, the thermometer
stood at 53°, and on being immersed into boiling-hot
water, the mercury indicated a depression of 175° below
the boiling point at the level of the ocean, which gives an
elevation of about 9800 feet above the sea. After enjoy-
ing a delicious view of the nocturnal scenery and the
rising moon, I retired to the tent in order to pass the night
in tranquillity and silence; but our merry guides were
seated round an enormous fire revelling over the fragments
of a wild goat, and kept up their noisy mirth during the
night with so much enthusiasm, that neither threats nor
persuasion would induce them to be quiet. I remained in
the camp until midnight, trying to catch a moment’s
repose, but finding my efforts in vain, I was forced to dis-
card all thoughts of sleep, and rose to prepare for the
ascent. From the diminution of the weight of the atmos-
phere, combined with other circumstances, several of us
were affected with nausea, vertigo, hemorrhage, and a uni-
versal uneasiness. Our pulse ‘ did not beat, but flutter ;”’
and so feeble as to be hardly perceived. Every breath of

*For an account of an improved instrument of this kind constructed by Rev.
F. J H. Wollaston, see the Philosophical Transactions for 1817, p. 183,

40 CANARY ISLANDS.

air that we inhaled, seemed to pierce the lungs like a
stinging instrument.

After haranguing with our guides for two tedious hours,
we recommenced our march over a way more steep than
ever, so much so that we were obliged to abandon our
mules, and perform the remainder of the distance on foot.
At half past two, we arrived at Alta Vista, where the ther-
mometer indicated a temperature of 47°, and the wind
blew directly from the north. From this place, we com-
menced the most difficult and the most arduous part of our
ascent, climbing over huge, precipitous crags of lava,
which were sharp and rasping to the fingers, and to the
soles of our shoes. At half past three, we reached La
Cueva del Yelo, a subterranean glacier, from which we
procured some excellent water. Here the wind blew
again from the south-west, and the mercury had risen to
48°. After two hours’ climbing over avast and almost
perpendicular tract of lava, attended with much toil and
danger, we reached La Rambleta, where there was for-
merly a small platform surrounding the Piton, or sugar-
loaf; but now, the débris thrown from the crater, have
almost obliterated its outline. On our way thither, those
of our company who had not the precaution to bring
with them gloves and a sufficient quantity of clothing,
were complaining bitterly of the cold, and of bloody fin-
gers. The wind still continued to blow from the south-
west, and the mercury had sunk to 41°. At the rising of
the sun, we commenced climbing the sugar-loaf which is
covered with loose ashes and pumice, and so steep that it
would have been almost impracticable to ascend it, had
there not been an old current of lava to aid our footsteps.
At half past seven, we attained the summit of this cele-
brated mountain, where the wind blew a tremendous hur-
ricane from the south-west, and disenabled us to stand
without supporting ourselves by a lance, or clinging to the
walls of the crater. Most of the lower regions were inter-
cepted by a stratum of white clouds exactly resembling the
ocean, foaming with its utmost agitation. The sulphure-
ous stench and suffocating vapors impelled most of my
companions to descend immediately after reaching the brink

GANARY ISLANDS. Al

of the crater. We immediately prepared for observation,
and with some difficulty, struck up a fire on the leeward
side near the top of the highest pinnacle.

Oxservations.—Temperature of the atmosphere on the
top of the Peak, 72° ; at six feet above, 39° ; temperature
of boiling hot-water, 190°. On thrusting a lance into the
crater to the depth of a foot, and introducing the ther-
mometer, the mercury instantaneously rose to 220°, the
extent of its graduation. The plate of the instrument
accumulated, from the vapor which issued from the aper-
ture, some drops of liquid that had a powerful corroding
effect. It is highly probable that these vapors contain
muriatic or sulphuric acid ; or the corrosion of the plate of
the instrument was caused by sulphuretted hydrogen com-
ing in contact with it. Sound was greatly diminished
when made with the same efforts as below ; the compass was
not at all agitated. From the disagreeable and nauseous
effect of the sulphureous exhalations of the volcano, and
the difficulty of breathing, we were under the necessity of
suspending further observation, and descended, as soon as
practicable, to La Cueva del Yelo, where we stopped
and refreshed ourselves, took its dimensions, and the
temperature of the water which it contained. Itis entered
by an irregular aperture of about eight feet in diameter,
and is fifteen feet deep, twenty-five wide, and as far as
penetrated, two hundred feet in length. Its bottom is a
solid bed of ice covered with pure crystalline water about
a foot deep, having a temperature of 41°. During winter,
this cavern is filled with ice and snow; and as the rays of
the sun do not penetrate beyond its mouth, the heats of
summer are insufficient to empty the reservoir. ‘There is
a tradition amongst the natives here, that the water in this
cave was formerly unfathomable, and that it ebbed and
flowed with the sea.

At mid-day, we returned to La Estancia, where we over-
took our other companions. Overpowered with fatigue,
and affected with an unaccountable perturbation of mind,
I was unable to proceed any further without relief. The
cause of my illness was soon discovered, and after being
removed, we continued our descent over Las Cafiadas, and

4*

42 CANARY ISLANDS.

called E] Portillo, and partook of an excellent dinner in a
grove of chesnuts situated in the higher regions of the
Valley of Orotava, and at six o’clock last evening, we
reached this place, where the freshness of the air, with the
melody of a hundred songsters that were perched among
the creeping plants, whose flowers diffused an aromatic
odor, formed the most delightful contrast with the desolate
and inhospitable regions from which we had returned.

Port Orotava, Saturday,
August 31, 1833.

PP ees Rr

Second Ascent of the Peak.

Arter having a day’s rest, I again set off for the Peak,
in order to accomplish my intended observations. The
weather was clear and serene, and I commenced my jour-
ney under every auspicious omen. I proceeded to Realejo
de Abaxo, and shortly after, ascended the mountain of
Tygayga, where the botany was exceedingly interesting.
Towards evening, I crossed Las Cajfiadas, and with little
difficulty, reached La Estancia de los Yngleses at six
o'clock, where I met M. Despreau, of Paris, and his
attendants, who was ascending the Peak in order to make
some astronomical observations. Here we passed the night
in the open air near a large fire which our guides con-
structed with branches ofthe retama. Though in a torrid
country, and under the brilliant sky of Africa, we suffered
extremely from the cold during the night. At the break
of day, we mounted our mules and proceeded with some
difficulty as far as Alta Vista, where I learned that M.
Despreau had met with a fall and disenabled himself so
much, that he was unable to ascend, and had returned to
La Estancia. Being excessively fatigued, and affected
with nausea, I found it prudent to return also, and defer
my journey. At La Estancia, I lay down upon the dry
earth, throwing my cloak over me, and enjoyed two or
three hours’ undisturbed repose, which greatly relieved me
from my illness and fatigue.

Osservations.—The upper regions of the sky were
perfectly clear; no wind; the moon and stars very bril-
liant. Mercury and Venus, in particular, appeared

44 CANARY ISLANDS.

brighter than I ever saw them before. Below my feet,
over Las Cafiadas, there was a sea of white clouds appar-
ently rolling against the mountain. The tops of the
lesser hills were jutting out of the clouds resembling small
islands. ‘Temperature of the atmosphere at three o'clock
in the morning, 48°.

At nine o’clock, I took my leave of M. Despreau and
descended to the mountain of T'ygayga where I was envel-
oped in a thick stratum of clouds so dense, that I could
scarcely distinguish one object from another. The retama
and other shrubs were shedding water so profusely, that it
run down the mountain in continued rills. This may lead
us to inquire whether the marvellous ‘ fountain tree” of
Hierro did not derive its moisture from a similar cause?
I cannot learn, only by tradition, that such a tree ever
existed there; although there is no doubt, that in the early
part of the last century, a tree was blown down and
destroyed there, from the branches of which, a small degree
of moisture used to trickle, but so far from being an inhe-
rent property of the tree, that the same effect would have
been produced by any other like tree, if placed at the
mouth of a ravine where a succession of clouds and mists
are constantly rushing. The tree in question undoubtedly,
was placed in a similar situation, and by the attraction of
cohesion, accumulated drops of water which it shed, and
gave rise to the story of the “ vegetable spring,” so zeal-
ously perused and repeated by the marvellous.

In passing through the clouds, I observed a phenome-
non which has often been remarked on high mountains.
*< Small currents of air chased trains of clouds with unequal
velocity, and in opposite directions, and bore the appear-
ance of streamlets of water in rapid motion, in all directions,
amidst a great mass of stagnant waters. The causes of
this partial motion of the clouds, are probably very various ;
we may suppose it to rise from some impulsion at a great
distance ; from the slight inequalities of the soil, which
reflect in a greater or less degree, the radiant heat; from
a difference of temperature kept up by some chemical
action, or perhaps from a strong electric charge of the vesi-
cular vapors.” *

* Humboldt.

CANARY ISLANDS. 45

Although the body of the mountain is often wrapped in
clouds, and the Peak seen above them quite clear, some-
times the reverse of this happens; the whole body of the
mountain is distinctly seen, while its summit is covered
with a thick, white cloud, as with a cap. This is often
observed in the finest weather ; and the Spaniards on this
occasion say, El Pico tiene su sombrello puesto—‘‘ The
peak has put his little hat on,” and look out for rain.

Towards evening, I descended below the clouds, and
continued my way down the mountain quite to the sea-
shore near San Juan de la Rambla, and at the break of
the mountain, entered a ravine of a frightful aspect, which
served as an issue to one of the sepulchral caverns of
the Guanches. I ascended a perpendicular rock nearly
one hundred feet, where a yawning cave presented itself
containing an immense quantity of the bones of the abo-
rigines of this island; but they were too much decomposed
to be examined to advantage. ‘They appeared, however,
to be generally of a larger size than the bones of the
Europeans, which coincides with the history of the Guanche
race. Irom thence I returned to this place compara-
tively satisfied with my excursion, although I had not
accomplished its intended object.

Port Orotava, Friday,
September 6, 1833,

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Third Ascent of the Peak.

On the morning of the 9th, at eight o’clock, I set off
for the third time, to ascend the Peak, with a resolution
not to return, if possible, until I had perfected my purposed
objects. I pursued my route as usual, up the mountain of
Tygayga, and at ten o’clock, entered a dense body of
clouds, ‘“‘ dark as night,” through which, I wandered for
two hours without knowing whether the next moment I
should be thrown headlong down the neighboring preci-
pice, or should find some more favorable issue, till all of a
sudden, the sun burst upon me, and I found myself just
entering Las Cafiadas. Soon after I came to the small
llano at the foot of the mountain, where I stopped and
refreshed myself, and made some observations on tempera-
ture, and a rude trigonometrical measurement of the Peak,
according to which, its elevation above this plain is 5467
feet.

From this small plain, I passed through a narrow defile
hollowed very anciently by the torrents, and about five
o’clock, I passed into the shadow of the Peak. The atmos-
phere was remarkably serene during the afternoon, and the
sun shone with its utmost brilliancy, the light of which,
created a painful sensation in my eyes. Shortly after
entering the shadow of the mountain, I observed a phe-
nomenon which, in former times, would have struck the
beholder with terror, and would have been regarded as
the direct agency of supernatural power ; but fortunately for
myself, science had reduced it to the level of other natural
phenomena, and I watched it with intense interest and
admiration. In casting my eye towards the eastern hori-
zon, I observed, suspended in the air, nearly on a level

48 CANARY ISLANDS.

with myself, a perfect image of the Peak itself, diminished
in size as if reflected in a convex mirror, having all the
distinctness and apparent solidity of reality; not only were
the light and dark tracts of lava plainly defined, but even
the very vapors which issue from the crater were rising
from its summit.

It remained visible about fifteen minutes, and gradually
disappeared as the sun went down. At the time of the
illusion, there was scarcely a breath of wind, and the
lower regions of the atmosphere over the Valley of Orotava,
were charged with a horizontal sheet of dense vapors.
The next day on my return, I learned that the inhabitants
below had been visited by an extraordinary fall of rain.

The foregoing phenomenon derived its origin from noth
ing more than the image of the Peak projected on the
humid atmosphere over the ocean, which acted as a con-
vex mirror, and by well-known laws of refraction and
reflection, produced the effect above described. The ele-
vated position of the image may be accounted for by the
passing of the light from a rarer medium to a denser one ;
which, to an observer in the rare medium, appears to ele-
vate objects that are at the bottom of the dense one, as is
familiarly explained with a piece of money and a bason of
water.

From a similar cause, rose the story of the ‘ enchanted
island of San Borondon,”’ which formerly excited so much
wonder and terror. According to the reveries of pilots
and certain legends, it was situated in the west, in some
unknown part of the ocean, buried, as was supposed,
when invisible, in eternal fogs. ‘‘'This land, represented
to have been governed by an archbishop and six bishops,

CANARY ISLANDS. 49

and which Father Feijoo believed to be the image of the
isle of Hierro, reflected on a fog bank, was ceded in the
16th century, by the King of Portugal, to Luis Perdigon,
at the time the latter was preparing to make a conquest of
it.” * It is supposed to have been caused by a peculiar
humid wind from the W.S.W., which produces an aston-
ishing effect of mirage in these latitudes.

At half past six, [ reached La Estancia, where I passed
the night in the open air and suffered intolerably from the
cold. But a more glorious evening there never was
beheld. The sky was not, asseen from the lower regions,
*‘an ebon concave gemmed with brilliants,”’ but one calm
expanse of the darkest blue,

*¢ So cloudless, pure, and beautiful,
That God alone was to be seen in heaven.”

The stars shone with peculiar brilliancy, and were
mcreased in numbers and in size. The galaxy appeared
a flame of pure white, and in some parts, was composed
of clusters of minute stars ; in others, nebule of the richest
pearl, gradually blending with the deep-blue sky ; while in
another part, appeared a delightful vista which seemed to
lead through the common firmament to regions more ethe-
rial and more pure. At first, I was astonished at these
scenes, but when I came to reflect that I had passed
through ten thousand feet of dense atmosphere, charged
with vapors, which have a tendency to blunt and confuse
every ray before it reaches the earth, I was at once con-
vinced of the cause.

Ere the dawn of day, I was again on the march, and at
twilight, arrived at Alta Vista. Here my attention was
arrested with some curious flashes of light, shooting up
from the east, resembling small rockets. But soon, how-
ever, I found them to be nothing but the images of the
stars, magnified and refracted by the vapors which were at
that time spread along the horizon. Sometimes these lights
remained stationary, while at others, they rose perpendicu-
larly, and then descended laterally to their former position.

* Humboldt.

50 CANARY ISLANDS.

I next proceeded to La Cueva del Yelo, where I
beheld the beautiful and sublime spectacle of the rising
sun. After refreshing myself and making some observa-
tions on temperature, | continued to ascend by degrees,
having repeated turns of resting, and at ten o’clock, once
more gained the “‘ grand summit,” where the sublimity of
the scene was at first almost overwhelming. [ar removed
from every human habitation, and elevated at an immense
height from the face of the earth, drawn as it were to a
single point without any intermediate objects, save the
clouds, for the senses or the imagination to rest upon, and
recover from their astonishment in their way down to the
world, it was not until some time that I was capable of
discriminating and judging of the things that were about
me. ‘Then to reflect that the very pinnacle upon which I
was placed, was raised over a bottomless gulf, old as the
world itself, and often had discharged rivers of liquid fire,
and flaming rocks, attended with the most dreadful conse-
quences, I was struck with awe and with horror. Soon,
however, I collected myself and commenced the object of
my ascent, and accomplished its full intention.

At twelve o’clock, I bade adieu to this awful spot,
inspired with feelings both of pleasure and of pain. I
descended to La Estancia, making several observations on
the way, and at two o’clock in the afternoon pursued my
journey homeward.

OxssrervatTions.—During the two hours which I passed
on the Peak, the face of the sky was intensely serene, and
of a hue approaching to black.* The rays of the sun fell
upon me with such potency, that they could be hardly
endured. The wind was but just perceptible from the
north-east, and a stratum of white, fleecy clouds was spread
out, concealing all the lower regions, presenting an appear-
ance exactly resembling an extensive plain covered with
snow. From the rarified state of the atmosphere, there
was great difficulty in breathing. Although a deep silence
prevailed around me, the voices of my guides ceased

* Humboldt remarks, that the cyanometer indicated an intensity of the sky, of
41°, at the time he was on the Peak.

CANARY ISLANDS. 51

to be heard at the distance of a few hundred feet,
and efforts that would produce sounds of ordinary inten-
sity in the regions of common life, made but feeble im-
pressions. Notwithstanding these disquietudes, 1 was
not out of the range of other beings than myself.
About mid-day, several swallows, (Hirundo apus. Lin.)
were seen darting across the crater with great celerity,
and a number of wild bees were collecting spoils from
the soft mud that covers the summit.

The following table shows the temperature of the atmos-
phere, and of boiling-hot water at different points of eleva-
tion indicated by Fahrenheit’s scale.

Temp. ee the Air. Of Hot Water.

At the small llano at the base of the Peak, Sept. 9, . 76 4 200°
La Estancia de los ‘ameceiliie aoa 10, . ‘ 74 . : 194:5
Alta Vista, . 7 . : 70 ‘ “ 192-75
La Cueva del Yelo, - - = s 2 43 : - 192
La Rambleta, . ‘ : - a < = . 77 ° - 190-9
Summit of the Peak, A . - - a 72 , 190
At six feet above the summit, . 55

Aqueous vapors in the small hole of the crater, - 160

The Peak of Teneriffe, called by the natives, El Pico
de Teyde,* consists of a pyramidal mass of more than
twenty miles in circumference at the base, and is elevated
nearly 12,200 feet above the level of the ocean. Nearly
one half of its surface is thinly scattered with the retama,
the remaining portion being sterile and very sparingly pro-
ducing a small violet, ( Viola chetranthifolia. Lin.) which
isofaflaming hue. Also a few species of grasses are found
a considerable distance up the sides, and some species of
cryptogamous plants vegetate quite on the verge, and even
in the crater. A great portion of the surface of the moun-
tain consists of rugged tracts of lava, having a base of

itch-stone, or obsidian of a blackish-brown, or deep-green
color, and in most instances, contains crystals of feldspar.
Several varieties of obsidian are found here, as well as
pumice, the latter being generally of a whitish color. On
the borders of Las Canadas are also to be found immense

* Corrupted from the Guanche word Echeyde, hell; from the belief of the abo-
rigines, that the infernal regions existed on the highest summit of this mountain, in
consequence of their having seen it discharge fire and sulphur at the time of
eruptions.

5 CANARY ISLANDS.

blocks of feldspathic lava with a base of pyroxene, and con-
tains crystals of feldspar ; and in some instances are found
fragments of granitic lava.

The present crater of this volcano, called by the Span-
iards, la caldera, is of an elliptical form, surrounded by a
wall of lithoidal lava, shelving down on each side, and
forms a hollow like a vast amphitheatre. It inclines to the
S.S.E. at an angle of about 15°, having a tranverse diameter
of 420) feet, a conjugate diameter of 350, and a depth of
103 feet. There is continually rising from the small
crevices, an aqueous vapor which issues with such force,
as to create a peculiar buzzing noise. It condenses against
the neighboring walls, and distils in drops of sulphuric, or
muriatic acid, while the residue adheres to the rocks, and
forms an incrustation of fine crystals of sulphur. It also
acts on the scattered fragments of lava about the crater,
and forms certain portions of it into a soft, whitish paste, in
which, are found crystals of sulphate of alumine.

This volcano may be compared to a grand laboratory
for manufacturing sulphuric acid. There probably exists
an extensive bed of ignited sulphur, deep in the earth, and
by large quantities of nitre, or some other substance, it is
supplied with oxygen to maintain its combustion. And as
the mountain is constantly absorbing moisture from the rain,
clouds and snows, which prevent the escape of the volatile
matter, by imbibing the sulphureous vapors, it gradually
becomes more and more acid, till it exudes in the man-
ner above described.

An expedition to the summit of this mountain is particu-
larly interesting, on account of the multiplicity of phe-
nomena, which are objects of scientific investigation, and
still it has great attractions from its picturesque beauties ;
but I never could recommend a person to subject himself to
all the toils and fatigues in accomplishing it, on account of
the latter, for he will surely return, like almost every one,
dissatisfied.

Port Orotava, Friday,
Septemher 13, 1833.

1 BE A ines OA on ga

Excursion to Chasna.

On the 16th instant, I set off from Port Orotava, in
order to make a grand excursion round the Peak. I pur-
sued my course during the entire day along the sea-shore,
travelling through a country widely diversified in its
aspect, as well as its productions. That portion of the
rout between Realejo de Abaxo and San Juan dela Rambla,
is one of the most interesting parts of the island, both as
regards its fertility and its picturesqueness. Here the lofty
mountain of T'ygayga abruptly breaks above your head
and may be seen

‘¢ Mirror’d in the ocean vast,
A thousand fathoms down.”

Here you enter a lovely glen traversed by babbling
streamlets, which are overhung with the ‘ golden orange,”
the “ blushing peach,” and the ‘‘ generous vine.” Here,
too, you may gaze at myriads of golden insects and glit-
tering lizards basking in the sun; and there, countless
warblers

*¢ Gracefully riding through the sky.”

I continued my way to Ycod de los Vinos, passing
through San Juan de la Rambla; where near the latter
place, I observed an irregular basaltic rock, the columns
of which were six-sided, and were connected with each
other at the ends by oblique angles. The country between
these two villas affords scarcely any vegetation, except
the Cactus opuntia, and a few stinted fig-trees, and is
truly called by the natives la mal pais, (the bad coun-

~%
5%

54 , CANARY ISLANDS.

try), which signifies, in all Spanish provinces, a ground
destitute of vegetable mould, and covered with fragments
of lavas. A

About mid-day, I left Ycod, where I had a most mag-
nificent view of the Peak, and travelled about a league
through a succession of fertile vineyards to Garachico, the
port of which was destroyed in 1706, by an enormous
lateral eruption of the Peak. Before that event, this place
had the best harbor in the province, and was extensively
engaged in foreign commerce; consequently, from that
circumstance, it was deprived of its opulence, and now is
inhabited principally by vine-dressers and fishermen, hav-
ing only 1861 inhabitants. .

At six o’clock in the evening, I arrived at Los Silos,
where I passed the night on the estate of Mr. John Colo-
gan, of Orotava. Here I enjoyed one of the most inviting
scenes in existence, where

‘¢ The clusters clear,
Half through the foliage seen, or ardent flame,
Or shine transparent; while perfection breathes
White o’er the turgent film the living dew,
As thus they brighten with exalted juice,
Touch’d into flavor by the mingling ray ;
The rural youth and virgins o’er the field,
Each fond for each to cull the autumnal prime,
Exulting rove, and speak the vintage nigh.”

The following morning I resumed my march and pur-
sued my rout over a small fertile plain, and at nine
o'clock, reached Buena Vista, a compact village, situated
near the western extremity of the island, and contained,
according to the last census, 1228 inhabitants. I soon
commenced ascending a lofty range of mountains which
encircle the Peak, and after climbing over a remarkably
steep and rocky path for more than two hours, I entered a
dense forest of cedars, resembling the Scottish fir, where
the rain began to pour down in torrents. I quickened
my pace, and about mid-day, came to an opening where
I took shelter in a wretched hovel constructed of loose
stones and straw, and contained neither windows, floor, or
chimney, nor furniture, except a few stones and earthen-
pots. Here I found a poor woman clothed in rags, and
four small children in an entire state of nudity. Shortly

CANARY ISLANDS. 55

after my arrival, a fire of pine torches was constructed in
one corner of the hut, from which we were soon enveloped
in fumes. Occasionally the light of the torches would cast
a glimmer on the puny imps, who were encircled in smoke
and darkness, and gave them the appearance of so many
little demons.

_ The storm having become less violent, I again continued
my journey. But I had not progressed far, before the rain
began to fall more furious than ever, and the wind blew
with great violence. I soon reached the summit of the
mountain, when, all of a sudden, the rain ceased, and the
sun broke through the clouds, and presented beneath me,
a gulf truly frightful, a sight of which, would cause the
strongest nerves to shudder. I could look down 3000 feet
almost perpendicularly towards La Punta de Teno over
numerous strata of sand and rocks of lava of a singular
appearance, an inspection of which, could not be made,
from the threatening aspect of the clouds. No sooner had
I begun to descend, than the sun concealed itself, and the
rain recommenced falling with increased vehemence, and
the wind, sweeping over the mountain, blew a tremendous
hurricane, awfully grand and appalling. With extreme
difficulty, I advanced struggling against the fury of the
wind, which incessantly dashed large piercing drops of
rain against my face and limbs. ‘The path became so
precipitous, that my mule was scarcely able to descend.
The poor beast would have to poise itself for some time on
its fore legs with its heels upwards, in order to gain its
equilibrium, that it might securely light upon some place
below. Inthe mean time, the rain had caused a frightful
torrent to rush down the ravine with astonishing tumult
over the huge masses of rock that obstructed its course.
However, at two o’clock the rain had ceased, and I
reached El Valle de Santiago, from which I immediately
ascended the mountain, on its eastern side, where a
most charming prospect was laid before me. The wind
blew with great violence, but the storm had ceased,
and the sun shone with its usual brightness. Far and
deep down, was seen the beautiful valley below, and high
aloft hung huge columns of basalt, seemingly ready to fall
upon my head. Here I begun to grow forgetful of my

56 CANARY ISLANDS.

danger and of my fatigue, for I had discovered a deep
stratum of yellowish earth, which contained millions of
crystals of pyroxene, distinct in their forms, of a large
size, and easily procured. From the danger of being
swept off the precipice by the fury of the wind, I was soon
obliged to descend to the south side of the mountain, where
I found the weather fair and calm, and the lofty Teyde,
just peeping over the intermediate mountain, was crowned
with a brilliant rainbow, a spectacle, perhaps, as rare as it
was sublime.

The remaining part of the day, I travelled over a barren
country, having scarcely any vegetation to diversify its
monotonous cliffs, except the prickly pear and a few fig-
trees. I observed large heaps of the fruit of the former
preparing for the winter store of the natives; this and gofio*
being their chief sustenance during the year.

About dusk, I arrived at Guia, a straggling village, con-
taining 1571 inhabitants, chiefly fishermen, where, with
some difficulty, my guides procured me lodgings for the
night. Early the next morning, I set off again and trav-
elled more than three leagues over an excessively barren
tract intersected by numerous ravines, some of them being
of such terrific depth, that the mind of the descending
traveller is impressed with involuntary agitation. On
reaching their bottom, the voices of my guides were
increased to an astonishing loudness, and echoed against
their walls with repeated reverberations.

About noon, I arrived at Adexe, a pleasant village
situated in a fertile valley, which contains 1048 inhabitants.
It stands on a stratum of breccie, which is very easily cut
into blocks, that are used for building. Here I observed
several dark-complexioned people, having straight black
hair, resembling the Moors of the continent. Towards
evening, I reached a small plain situated on a hill, called

* This substance is usually made of maize, or barley, and at times, as a dainty,
of wheat. The grain is first parched over the fire, and then ground into coarse
flour between two small portable mill-stones, moved by the hand; and this powder
is the gofio, which they eat without any other kind of food. Sometimes, how-
ever, they put a quantity of it with water, or, as a Juxury, with goats’ or asses’ milk,
into a zurron, or small leather sack, and after working it well upon their knees,
they knead it into small pellets, which they throw into their mouths by handfulls,
and devour them with greediness.

CANARY ISLANDS. 57

Las Colonias, which commands El Valle de las Calderas,
(the valley of craters), where there were to be seen, at the
same time, more than twenty conical hills with extinct
craters. About sunset, I came into the borders of San
Miguel, and passed the night with a family of Guanche
descent, who still retain similar habits and modes of life,
as those of their ancestors. I was quite amused with
many of their movements, particularly their mode of pre-
paring and eating the gofio.

Early this morning, I bade adieu tomy Guanche friends,
and pursued my journey over a somewhat fertile country,
producing an abundance of fig-trees, from which I made
a delicious breakfast of their ripe, purple fruit. About ten
o’clock, I reached this place, shortly after which, I procured
a comfortable room, and after refreshing myself, made an
excursion about a league and a half at the northward, to
some mineral springs. The first two that I came to, were
situated about eight feet apart, and both issued from a bed
of talcky slate. One of them, called by the natives, La
Agua Agria, (sour water), was about a foot in diameter, and
six inches deep, discharging a small quantity of acidulous
water highly charged with carbonic acid gas, with a tem-
perature of 62°. The other spring was about the same size,
with a temperature of 63°, and is called La Agua Dulce,
(sweet water), having no other sensible properties, but
those of common water. [From these two springs, I trav-
elled over a steep mountain at the distance of about half
of a league to the northward, where I found another spring,
situated on the eastern side of El Valle de Ucanca. It
discharged a considerable quantity of saline water, having
a very disagreeable acrid taste, with a temperature of 54°.
It issued from a stratum of whitish sand, overlaid with
large blocks of feldspathic lava, and is called by the natives,
La Agua Agria de Ucanca.

Many of the natives of these islands have great faith in
the medicinal virtues of this spring, and assemble here at
certain seasons of the year, and pass several days together.
The drinking of the water is sometimes attended with the
most serious consequences, producing immediate death.

On my return to this place, I passed through a forest of
pines, (Pinus canariensis. Lin.) many of which were

58 CANARY ISLANDS.

twenty or thirty feet in circumference. The wood of
this tree contains an abundance of resin, and serves for
excellent timber and fuel.

The hamlet of Chasna is situated in a fertile valley in
the heart of the mountains, and is elevated about 4500 feet
above the level of the ocean. It hasa greater resemblance
to a New-England village than any other place on the
island that I have visited. It is encompassed by extensive
orchards of peach, pear, and almond trees, and some well
cultivated fields and gardens. The neighboring hills and
mountains are crowned by forests of majestic pines, or are
interspersed with large flocks of sheep, each attended by a
shepherd during the entire day and night. A population
of 574 souls inhabit this Alpine recess, all animated with
the most friendly spirit, and live in simple beauty.

From the elevated situation of this place, the mean
annual temperature is much less than that of the lower
regions, and often in winter, the snow falls to the depth of
more than a foot, and remains for several weeks together.
The inhabitants are a hardy people, generally of a dark
complexion, and are so primitive in their diet, that few of
them seldom, if ever, taste animal food, living entirely on
fruit and gofio. This appears to be a wholesome regimen,
for they are healthy, strong, and athletic, and are sus-
ceptible of great fatigue. When they go abroad, they
usually carry with them a long staff, or pole, pointed with
iron, with which they bound from rock to rock, with an
agility that would baffle all European pursuit. ‘The parish
register of this place exhibits two very extraordinary instan-
ces of longevity ; one who died in 1819, at the age of 110
years, and the other in 1825, of 121 years.

Villa Flor de Ja Chasna, Thursday, )
September 19, 1833. §

Cee 2 tah: AEE

Return to Orotava.

AFTER completing my inquiries at Chasna, I set off
early in the morning of the 20th instant for this place. I
pursued my rout about half of a mile to the south-eastward
from the village to a spring called by the natives, La Agua
Blanca, (white water). It consisted of a small pool of a
whitish appearance, probably caused by stagnation, and
contained millions of the larve of mosquetoes. In tasting
the water, | found nothing uncommon in its properties.
From thence, I proceeded to El Valle de Ucanca, when
about nine o’clock, the sky became overcast, and indicated
an approaching storm. I immediately commenced ascend-
ing the girdle of mountains that surrounds the Peak, which
were so steep, that I was under the necessity of dismounting,
and with some difficulty, reached its summit, where the
wind blew most violently, dashing me with thick mists and
clouds. I descended the northern side of the mountain at
the depth of about 2000 feet to an extensive plain, destitute
of vegetation, and apparently the bed of a lake during the
rainy seasons. Near this plain, it is said that there is
another spring which either possesses the quality of incrus-
tation, or of petrifaction, and that by placing objects within
its influence, they soon become incrusted with a calcareous,
or a silicious covering. In some of the ravines near the
southern extremity of this plain, there are immense quan-
tities of argillaceous tufa, called by the natives, e/ azulejo,
which has a beautiful, soft, cerulean hue.

About ten o’clock I overtook my mule and proceeded to
Las Cafiadas, over a succession of tracts of scragged rocks
and small llanos, passing by a number of conical masses of
lava of an immense height, which threateningly leaned over

60 CANARY ISLANDS.

my head. In the mean time the rain had commenced fall-
ing and continued to fall until two o’clock, when it ceased
for atime, affording delightful weather. The cold sharp
air had created a pretty active appetite which I eagerly
satiated near a limpid spring. Shortly after 1 resumed my
march and proceeded to a plain more than a mile in length,
and before I had travelled half of its length the rain recom-
menced falling with increased fury. As I was plodding
along I observed a high precipitous rock with a perpen-
dicular face, some parts of which were decomposed, leav-
ing small apertures where the swallows sometimes brood
their young. One of these holes exactly represented a
human profile, having a fine Grecian nose, a high forehead

and regular chin, each possessing its due proportions.

About four o’clock I passed through El Portillo to El
Llano de Gaspas, which is elevated about 5000 feet above
the level of the ocean, and bears a profusion of the Genista
canariensis, a beautiful arborescent heath. Near its bor-
ders I observed a great number of impressions of ferns in
basaltes. (?) I continued my descent and reached this port
about dark.

Yesterday I made a botanical excursion over the moun-
tain of Tygayga from Ycod del Alto to El Llano de Gas-
pas, returning through the Valley of Orotava. ‘There can
be but few regions on the globe that afford more ample
resources to the botanist than this island. It contains in
itself several hundred species of plants, besides a great
number of exotics both from the torrid and the temperate
zones. In ascending from the sea-shores to the top of the
mountains, from July to October, one may examine a
great portion of the plants which it produces, and in almost
every stage of growth.

During some of my more leisure hours I have often
taken pleasure in rambling to the Botanic Garden at Du-
rasno, where I saw a great number of foreign plants which
grow without the aid of human culture, and have as often
experienced emotions of regret when I beheld the neglect-
ful state into which it had fallen. It was first established
by the Marquis de Nava who had an idea that these islands
would afford a suitable place for naturalizing plants of the
East and West Indies, previous to their introduction into

CANARY ISLANDS, 61

Europe. He accordingly put his project into execution,
and continued it with considerable success for several
years, but the expenses annually incurred were so heavy,
that he was obliged to abandon it. Humboldt made pro-
posals for the Prussian Government to purchase it and
continue its object, but as no land belonging to Spain can
be owned out of its provinces, the proposition could not
be carried into effect. The Marquis, however, very mu-
nificently made the king of Spain a present of it, provided
he would keep it under cultivation. This generous offer
he accepted, but through some neglect or other, it has
been suffered to decline, and is now rented for a trifling
sum, and little or nothing more is done for it except what
nature does, than to plant the open spaces with a few
culinary vegetables.

Between this Garden and the ocean there is a delightful
country mansion called La Paz, which, together with the
surrounding prospect, is the most enchanting and romantic
spot on the island. It is built near the brink of a lofty
precipice about 300 feet in height, which overhangs the
sea. It is encompassed by a beautiful garden tastefully
laid out, and is supplied with tanks. From the top of the
house one can command the whole Valley of Orotava, and
in clear weather the island of Palma. But the most pic-
turesque part of the scene is the precipice. The spectator,
standing on the verge of the descent, sees beneath him the
vast ocean, which he hears hoarsely bellowing in the cav-
erns beneath his feet. In placing himself on the sea-shore,
he can ascend mid-way up the cliff by an avenue, toa deep
cavern which was formerly occupied by one of the Guanche
kings for a palace.

A few days ago I took an excursion to La Villa de la
Orotava, and visited the garden of Mr. Cologan, in which
stands the great dragon-tree (Dracena draco. Lin.) men-
tioned by Humboldt. At the time that he visited these
islands it was fifty or sixty feet high, having a circumfer-
ence, near the roots, of forty-five feet. The trunk was
divided into a great number of branches which rose in
the form of a candlestick, and were terminated by tufts of
leaves radiating similar to the burs of chesnuts. But in la

6 i

62 CANARY ISLANDS.

aluvion* of 1826, the tree severed, one half of which was
swept away, leaving the other half which stands at the
present day. Every year it bears flowers and fruit, and is
regarded, among organized beings, as one of the oldest
inhabitants of our globe, which sensibly recalls to mind
‘that eternal youth of nature,” the inexhaustible source
of motion and of life. This tree is not found indigenous
to any part of the world except the East Indies, which
proves, in a degree, that the Guanches had at some remote
period, communication with nations originally from Asia.
It was reverenced by them as the ash of Ephesus was by
the Greeks ; and the more ignorant classes of the natives
here at present, have many superstitious notions respect-
ing it.

I have been recently informed of a man in this place
who has a profuse flow of milk from his breast. He is of
a middle age, a fisherman by occupation, and is strong,
healthy and robust. A similar phenomenon is mentioned
by Humboldt in Cumana, and another by Benedictus in
Syria.

Port Orotava, Tuesday, }
September 24, 1833. §

* In the night of the 7th of November, 1826, these islands were visited by a tre-
mendous tempest of wind and rain, the fury of which was so violent at Teneriffe,
that it bore away almost everything that opposed its passage ; churches, convents,
houses to the number of three handred and eleven; and drowned two hundred and
forty-three people, and one thousand and nine animals, besides doing great injury
to fields, vineyards, houses, etc. New ravines were formed in the mountains, and
stones and trees were swept from their summits to the ocean.

Ria! EAL

Excursion to Candelaria.

Earty in the morning of the 25th instant, I set off
on an excursion to the south part of the island. After
passing directly through the Valley of Orotava, I entered
a beautiful grove of chesnuts, (Castanea vesca. Lin.)
shortly after which I came to a small hamlet near a famous
fountain called La Agua Mansa, (meek water,) from
which the Villa of Orotava is supplied with water. Many
of the chesnut-trees among which I passed had a circum-
ference of twenty-five or thirty feet, although they were
planted within the last century

After making some observations on temperature and
mineralogy, I ascended a steep mountain to the height of
about 9000 feet above the level of the ocean. On reach-
ing its top, I observed a phenomenon, the like of which I
have never seen nor heard of before, although it might
often occur in many parts of the globe, if the spectator
were placed under similar circumstances. In ascending the
mountain I passed through a stratum of dripping clouds,
and about noon reached its summit, where the sun shone
with intense brilliancy. On turning my face towards the
north I beheld the sun’s rays refracted in the clouds below
my feet, forming a perfect bow which unfolded every hue

‘¢ In fair proportion running from the red
To where the violet fades.”’

Shortly after I commenced my descent on the southern
side of the mountain, and about one o’clock reached El
Volcan de Guimar, formed by a lateral eruption of the
Peak in El Llano de los Infantes, on the 31st of De-
cember, 1704. On the Sth of January following, a sec-

64 CANARY ISLANDS.

ond opening took place in El Baranco de Almerchiga,
a league from Ycore. The lavas were so abundant, that
the whole Valley of Fasnia, or Arenza, was filled up. The
second mouth ceased vomiting eight days after its com-
mencement. A third opening was formed on the 2d of
February of the same year, in La Canada de Arafo. The
lavas divided into three currents, and would have destroyed
the village of Guimar, had they not been stopped in El Valle
de Melosar, by a chain of rocks, which formed an insupera-
ble obstacle to their passage. The volcano is now extinct,
and consists of large conical masses of small fragments of
black scoriz and ashes.

A short distance to the westward of this volcano there
is a frightful-looking mountain, rismg more than 1000 feet
perpendicularly, on the sides of which grows an abundance
of orchilla, or archil, (Lichen rocella. Lin.) a kind of moss
used in dyeing. It is of a grayish color, and yields a pur-
ple tincture, fugitive, but very beautiful, which is one of
the best chemical tests for acids and alkalies, and is known
by the name of tincture of litmus. By the addition of tin
it is rendered durable as a dye, and then approaches to
scarlet. Archil, however, is most commonly employed to
give a bloom to pinks and other colors. It readily gives
out its coloring matter to water, or to any kind of spirits.

About three o’clock I had descended below the clouds,
and had a fine view of Grand Canary, and most of the
towns on the south side of this island. Just before I reached
Guimar I came to a deep ravine, from the top of which
{ attempted to descend to a Guanche cave, but without
success, after descending fifteen or twenty feet. In climb-
ing back, a projecting rock gave way and fell upon my
head, which caused me to stagger quite to the brink of the
precipice. One of my feet slipped off, and fortunately,
one of my guides caught me by the arm, and saved me
from being dashed to pieces on the rocks below.

Shortly after I passed through Guimar, a pleasant vil-
lage situated on a fertile plain, and containing 2990 in-
habitants, and proceeded about a league over a barren
tract to Candelaria, where I passed the night. Most of
the inhabitants that I observed at Guimar had very small
black eyes and tawny complexions.

CANARY ISLANDS. 65

Early the next morning I pursued my way nearly a
league, at the northward, to E] Baranco de Herque, where
I visited one of the sepulchral caverns of the Guanches. It
is entered by two comparatively small openings of the rocks,
leading toa large, dark and gloomy vault, formed by nature,
which formerly contained an immense number of mummies.

The history of the antiques of these islands is involved
in great obscurity, and their existence is best proved by the
remains of their dead; for their posterity is nearly, if not
entirely extinct. ‘‘ The manner of embalming their dead
is not explicitly illustrated, but apparently the brain and
intestines were completely removed, after which it is said
the body was washed with an infusion of pine bark. Next,
it was anointed with butter or warm grease, which had
been boiled with such penetrating and odoriferous herbs
as were peculiar to the islands, and then it was exposed to
the sun. Being well dried, the same operations were re-
peated, and also subsequent drying, until the body was
completely impregnated with the aromatic unguent. When
reduced to very inconsiderable weight, the process was
deemed complete, and the deceased was wrapped in an
envelope, consisting of three successive layers of bandages
of tanned goat-skin, about three inches broad.” Bodies
thus embalmed were carried to caves in the mountains,
and then placed upright in niches, or laid out on square
tables of stone. They appear to have selected for this pur-
pose, the most precipitous and inaccessible places that they

*6

66 CANARY ISLANDS.

could find, many of which exist on the islands where man
dares not enter his foot.

I visited several other caverns in the vicinity of this ba-
ranco, which contained immense quantities of bones that
had not been embalmed. Many of them were in a fine
state of preservation, but they were thrown together in so
confused a manner that an entire skeleton could not be
obtained. I had an opportunity, however, of comparing
the crania with those of the aborigines of the other islands,
and found a striking similarity to exist among them, prov-
ing in a degree that they all originated from the same race.
But we are informed that the natives of some of these
islands were unknown to those of others, and that the na-
tives of one island had but very little imtercourse with
those of another at any rate.

In reviewing the vocabularies of the languages of the
antiques of these islands, I find a wide difference to exist
among them. However, those of Lanzarote and I*uerte-
ventura very nearly agree, and also that of Hierro nearly
coincides with that of Gomera, but the others, with the
exception of a few words, have not the least analogy. The
word ganigo, a kind of earthen ware, signified the same
on all the islands but Palma; and the word gofio was com-
mon to all the islands except Teneriffe, Hierro and Gomera.
These two words are used throughout all the islands by
the lower classes of the natives at the present day, and
have the same signification as formerly.

It was formerly supposed that the languages of the abo-
rigines of these islands had no analogy with the living
tongues; but since Africa has been more thoroughly in-
vestigated it is found that several words have common
roots with words of the Chilha and Gebali dialects. For
example I will cite a few words :—

Heaven, (in Palma,) Tigotan. (in Berberic,) Tigot.
Milk, (in Fuerteventura,) Aho. a Acho
Barley, do. Temesen. x Tomzeen.
Basket, (in Canary,) Carianas. ee Carian.
Water, (in Hierro,) Aenum. = Anan.

It is doubted whether this analogy is a proof of a com-
mon origin; but it indicates the ancient connexion be-
tween the Guanches and Berbers, a tribe of mountaineers

CANARY ISLANDS. 67

with whom the Numidians, the Getuli, and the Garamanti
are confounded, and who extend themselves from the east-
ern extremity of Atlas by Harutsch and Fezzan, as far as
the oasis of Siwah and Augela.*

About eight o’clock I returned to Candelaria, which
takes its name from the miraculous appearance of Nuestra
Senora de la Candelaria at this place, in 1892. She was
picked up on the beach and placed in the chapel, and was
believed, by the natives, to be the real Virgin Mary. They
looked upon her with profound veneration, and loaded her
shrine with many valuable offerings. She remained in
that situation until the 8th of November, 1826, when
she, with the chapel, was swept away by an awful hurri-
cane and deluge, and has not yet performed the miracle of
returning, though many less feasible ones are attributed to
her by her devotees. She consisted of a small, black im-
age bedecked with jewels and other trappings, and in fact
was nothing more than the figure-head of a vessel, which
washed up in that place.

About nine o’clock I left Candelaria, and pursued my
way homeward over the mountain, nearly in the same path
through which I passed yesterday.

Port Orotava, Friday,
September 27, 1833.

* Vide Adelung und Vater, Mithridates, t. iii. p. 60.

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LETTER XIV.

Trigonometrical Measurement of the Peak.

Tur measurement of the Peak of Teneriffe has occu-
pied the attention of various individuals at different periods,
whose efforts have been attended with the widest results ;
and the obscure manner in which most of their operations
have been brought before the public has prevented us from
judging of their error or truth. Consequently, my atten-
tion has been occupied for several days past in performing
that task trigonometrically, not, however, as an object of
mere curiosity, but as being essentially connected with my
physical labors.

The ground in the Valley of Orotava being uneven and
intersected by ravines, it was impossible to find a base
extensive enough to determine the distance of the Peak
by a single triangle, consequently I employed two. 1
measured on the plain between the Botanic Garden and
La Paz, my first basis a 6 of 100 toises, or 639 English
feet. See the following figure.

i

i}

Q

70 CANARY ISLANDS.

By means of this, I calculated a second ac of 1430-06
toises, and afterwards a third a p of 9953-4 toises, which
was the first grand base required. The point ¢ was in
Mr. Cologan’s garden in La Villa de la Orotava, near the
great dragon-tree spoken of in a former letter; and the
point p was the summit of the Peak. The base a 6 was
measured by Mr. Hurst of London, and myself, on three
occasions, each of the measurements terminating with
nearly the same results. ‘The following were the angles
of the two triangles taken with minute attention.

Triangle abc. Triangle acp. .
Angleabc = 86° 00/ Angleacp = 119° 58’
cach = 4 00 i apie, = 7:13
« bac = 90 00 GG i= oad

At the point a, the Peak subtended an angle of 10° 35’,
by means of which, I found that its summit is elevated
1859-73 toises above the point a.

My next object was to determine the height of the point
a above the ocean. In order to do this, I employed the
same basis a 6 of 100 toises as in the preceding triangle,
from which I calculated another ao of 1339-46 toises,
which was the second grand base required. The point 0
was a vessel riding at anchor in the quarantine of this port.
The following were the angles of the triangle a 6 o, taken
in the same manner as those of the other triangles.

Angleabo = 137° 58’
ce aob = 2 ae
“ bao = 39 07

The angle of depression from the point a to the point 0,
was 19° 49’, and of course, the angle of elevation from the
point o to the point a, was the same. From these data, I
ascertained that the point @ was elevated 48.26 toises
above the ocean. The height of the eye above the point
a, in taking the angles of elevation and depression, was
1‘5 toises ; and the state of the atmosphere at the time that
the angles were taken, was perfectly serene, on account of
which, I only deducted, for the effect of refraction, 2:34
toises. Hence we may infer from the foregoing operations,

CANARY ISLANDS. 71

that the absolute height of the Peak of Teneriffe, above
the level of the ocean, is 1905°65 toises,* or 12,177 English
feet.

From the action of the elements, and the numerous
lateral eruptions to which this mountain has been subject
these last two centuries, its elevation has been considerably
diminished. I am informed that the appearance of its
summit was sensibly altered after the deluge of 1826, and
to compare the present outline of its summit with the
ancient drawings of it, there is but avery faint resemblance.

It has been asserted, that volcanoes always increase in
height, until they are extinguished, when they begin to
fall, and, by degrees, sink into the caverns below. This,
undoubtedly, has been the case in the present instance,
the lateral eruptions having exhausted a great quantity of
the bowels of the mountain, and the portions above, being
too heavy for their hollow foundations, have given way and
settled down into the mountain. Some are of an opinion,
however, that the crater of this volcano has never been
totally extinguished, and that another grand eruption is
approaching, from the fact that a hot vapor issues from its
nostrils, which is said to have gradually increased in tem-
perature within these last thirty years. This may be the
case, but it is a matter of uncertainty; for the first time
that I visited this volcano, the vapor had a temperature of
more than 220°, and about two weeks afterwards, I found
that it had a temperature of only 160°; but one of the
probable causes of this change was, that the summit of the
mountain existed under very different circumstances, at
one time a tremendous hurricane, and the other, scarcely
a breath of wind.

For many evenings past, my attention has been particu-
larly arrested by an extraordinary brilliancy of the zodiacal
light, and the sudden departure of the twilight. The
former is a beautiful phenomenon, constantly existing at
the equator, and presents itself just before sunrise or after

* My first basis was divided into toises of 6:39 English feet each, and of course,
all the distances calculated from it, were of the same proportion; but more accu-
rately the French toise contains 6°3957 feet ; hence the Peak has an elevation of
about 1904 toises.

72 CANARY ISLANDS,

sunset, under the appearance of a serene whitish clearness,
resembling the galaxy. It has the form of a pyramid, with
its base turned towards the sun, and its axis in the zodiac.
As we approach the poles, it appears towards the end of
winter, and in the spring, after sunset ; and in autumn, or
the beginning of winter, we observe it before sunrise.
Many theories have been advanced with regard to its cause,
but none of them satisfactory; it must be referred, how-
ever, either to the nature of the terrestrial atmosphere, or
to the position of the globe with its relation to the sun.
The delightful spectacle of the dawn and of twilight, is
almost entirely denied to those who live in the regions of
the equator, where the sun rises in a direction nearly
vertical; the light or darkness comes on very near the
time that the sun approaches or recedes from the horizon.
It is towards the poles that these reflected splendors are the
longest visible. As we pass northward, or southward from
the equator, they become brighter and brighter, until they
change the whole of the night into a magic day.

Port Orotava, Friday,
October 4, 1833.

ES ES a a se

Departure from Orotava.

Arter a protracted and satisfactory visit at Port Orotava,
I took leave of my intelligent and hospitable friend, Mr.
Diston, whose kind attentions I gratefully acknowledge,
and shall long cherish them in my remembrance. Early
in the morning of the 7th instant, I was prevailed upon to
visit some of the large wine cellars, connected with the
‘“‘ Salvador House,” in Londen, known under the firm of
Pasley, Little & Co. It was extremely gratifying to
observe the systematic manner in which they conducted
their business. ‘The better classes of their wines are
fabricated with the most careful attention, and are shipped
to Europe and America under the name of Teneriffe par-
ticular wine, and are generally drunk for Madeira. A
very bad practice exists here in bringing considerable
quantities of inferior wines from Palma and other islands,
and shipping them for those of Teneriffe, in consequence
of which, they have gone into less repute. In truth, there
are actually more wines disposed of in Europe alone under
the name of Madeira and Teneriffe, than all these islands
produce, including every kind.

At eight o’clock, I took my departure on foot, and con-
tinued my way as far as Matanzas. The morning was
splendidly beautiful; not a wandering vapor tinged the
deep-blue sky, nor scarce a breath warped the silver mir-
ror of the sea. Myriads of glittering insects were sporting
in the sunbeams, and birds of the most brilliant plumage
were gliding through the air, alternately perching on the
fig-trees. Among them, I observed that the canary birds,
(fringilla canaria. Lin.) held an appropriate rank. They
were, in general, of a dingy, greenish-gray, but some of

7

re! CANARY ISLANDS.

them had a yellowish tint on their backs. They appeared
to be less disposed to sing than the domestic canary, and
their note less musical, although it has been remarked,
that those which inhabit Grand ree and Montaiia
Clara, have a more harmonious song, proving in a degree,
that under every zone, among birds of the same species,
each flock has its peculiar note. The domestic yellow, or
mottled canary, is a variety which has taken birth in Europe,
being the offspring of the wild canary and the German
siskin, (Fringilla spinus. Lr.)

Early yesterday morning I pursued my way to this
city, called by the people here, Laguna. It is situated
on an elevated plain which unites with the Valley of Taco-
ronte, of which travellers of all nations speak with raptu-
rous enthusiasm. This delightful country extends from
this ano to San Juan de la Rambla, and presents scenes
of unrivalled beauty. The plain on which this city stands,
was formerly the bed of a fake, and takes its name from
the Spanish word, laguna, a lake. By the annual
increase of the alluvion from the neighboring mountains,
it is now converted into richly-cultivated fields and gar-
dens. No longer than eighty years ago, some portions of
it were so fenny, that boats remained here during the
year; and even at the present day, in the rainy seasons,
the water sometimes collects and forms a large pool, or
lake, and the inhabitants make use of boats to pass from
one place to another.

This city, in 18360, contained 6,600 inhabitants, and is
nominally the metropolis of the province. Formerly, Las
Palmas in Canary, bore that title, and yet is so much so,
that the Audencia, or Supreme Civil Court, is held there.
But virtually, Santa Cruz may be regarded as the capital,
it having been the residence of the Governor General,
who, in virtue of his military office, has been the President
of the Audencia, for more than a century. This city has
a university, two parish churches, and five convents. It
has no trade, being inhabited by many of the nobility of the
island.

Cuidad de San Cristobal de la Laguna, )
Thursday, October 10,1833. =}

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LETTER XVI.

Topography.

ALTHOUGH it is equally remote from my intention, as it
is from my power, to give a complete account of these
islands, a few succinct remarks on their history and topog-
raphy may not appear superfluous, premising that I can
speak, from my own knowledge, only of a few weeks
passed on this island. Whatever relates to the rest is de-
duced from undoubted authority.

Properly speaking, the number of the Canary Islands is
twelve ; but Alegranza, Graciosa, Moutafia Clara, Lobos,
and Roca del Este, being small uninhabited rocks, afford-
ing few topics of description, I shall only speak of the
other seven.

Situation, Extent and Population.

LEAGUES.
—EE——————

o .
As is: =
Zz = o fs 2 e a
Z . to Lr | 2 3S
= op = 3 — =]
3 5 g 2 5 < t
Fh sleah ethan inne ane é
5 “
Teneriffe, .. | 28°15’ | 16° 40’ 17 9 48 83-805 70,968
Canary, ...| 2800 | 1538 | 12 | 11 | 48 | 68-361 57,625
Palma, .... | 28 42 | 18 00 10 9 27 32-136 28,693
Lanzarote, .. | 29 00 | 13 50 10 5 24 34-352 15,404
Fuerteventura, | 28 15 | 14 19 26 7 57 60-394 8,040
Gomera, ... | 28 27 | 17 20 8 6 22 9-436 9,090
Hierte, « 4 )<.-)), 27.15, | 18 10 7 5 24 6°625 4,336
fae Dba Lt le SBotals 190% | 652-4250] 205-266 »” p-194,068.0.,

Tenerirre, the largest and the most important in
wealth and population, is so varied in its soil, its climate,

76 CANARY ISLANDS.

and its productions, that it will be difficult for me to give
even a general description of it. Every variety of soil and
surface may be found within its narrow limits; sands as
barren and as dreary as those of the deserts of Africa,
rocks as precipitous and as magnificent as those of the
Alpine regions, and fields and vineyards as fertile and as
luxuriant as those of the most favored regions of the earth.
Within the space of about sixty miles, every object of this
multum in parvo must, of necessity, be in small portions,
except the Peak, the mighty dome that crowns the edifice
of the whole. Its staple commodities are wines, wheat,
maize, barley, rye, pulse, potatoes, barilla, and archil.
Its chief towns are Santa Cruz, Laguna, and Orotava
which comprises two parishes, situated about two miles
apart, one called by the natives El Puerto de la Orotava
or Puerto de la Cruz, and the other La Villa de la Oro-
tava; the former contains 3,956 inhabitants, and the latter
7,300.

Granp Canary, is perhaps, more favored by nature,
than any of these islands. It possesses a very productive
soul, and an abundance of springs of excellent water, which
are made to irrigate the land to great advantage. Its
staple products are the same as those of Teneriffe, except
barilla. Its produce of grain is proportionably large, and
is not subject to the same contingencies as that of the other
islands, which merely depends on an abundant fall of rain
at the proper season, to insure a plentiful crop. From the
same cause, the fruit of this island is generally better than
that of the others. Within these few years past, the culture
of the olive has been zealously attended to, so that there
is made, already, a considerable quantity of oil. The
making of wine with the view of exportation, is also of a
few years’ standing ; though not equal to that of Teneriffe,
it is of a very fair quality.

The division of these islands in 1826 into two bishop-
rics, instead of being as formerly, all dependant on the
see of Canary, is a great diminution of the wealth and
influence of this island. Of the three ports of the prov-
ince allowed to carry on a foreign import trade, that of
Las Palmas, the chief town of this island, is one; and

CANARY ISLANDS. 77

those of Santa Cruz and Port Orotava in Teneriffe, the
others. All other ports of these islands may export in
foreign bottoms without difficulty ; but to import, the vessel
must first come to one of these three ports. Population of
Las Palmas, 11,363.

Pama is almost as varied in its soil and its surface, as
Teneriffe, and still more precipitous on all but its western
side, where there is an extensive district of llanos in a high
state of cultivation. The centre of the island is thickly
wooded, and numerous rills of water descend from the
high lands, affording constant nourishment to vegetation.
The chesnut-tree attains an enormous size, there being
one, the trunk of which is partially hollow by decay, that
served as a stall for a pair of oxen for several nights in
succession. ‘The staple products of this island, are the
same as those of Teneriffe, except barilla. Besides a
variety of fruit-trees indigenous to these islands, Palma
contains an abundance of tamarind-trees, though they
rarely give fruit. The sugar-cane flourishes well here,
and the sugar produced from it, possesses a certain aro-
matic flavor, that is nowhere perceived in any other.
There are also considerable quantities of silk reared on
this island, and manufactured into garters and coarse
ribbons. Many of the cocoons are transported to Tene-
riffe, where they are reeled, and in the raw state, exported
to Spain for manufacture. Its chief towns are Santa Cruz,
which contains 4,733 inhabitants, and Mazo, which has a
population of 4,509.

LanzaArore and Fuerteventura, the two most eastern
inhabited islands of this archipelago, though mountainous,
are not worthy of being called high land, when compared
with any of the others. They are mentioned together, as
they are very similar in the sandy, arid nature of their soil,
and in their produce, which is principally wheat, barley,
and barilla. ‘These two islands are entirely destitute of
forests, or indeed, of any tree of size, except the date-
palm, (Phenix dactylifera. Lin.) Itis generally believed,
that the soil is too loose and shallow to allow trees to take

sufficient root to withstand the violent winds that sweep
vhs

78 CANARY ISLANDS.

over them, besides the great want of water in both. To
raise a supply of fruit, it is necessary to plant fig and pear-
trees in circular holes about four feet deep, where they
are sheltered from the winds, and derive most of their
moisture in summer from the filtration of dew; so soon as
the plant overreaches the top of the surrounding earth, it
is stinted by the blast ; but the quality of its fruit is excel-
lent. he muscatel grapes and watermelons, are particu-
larly fine on these islands. Lanzarote possesses in El
Puerto de Naos, the only safe harbor during all winds, that
there is in the province; whereas all the others are open
roadsteads, or very indifferent bays. Its chief town is La
Villa de Teguise, which contains 4,424 inhabitants. The
chief town on Fuerteventura, is Oliva, having a population
of 2,181.

Gomera and Hierro may be linked together, being
small islands, and of mmor importance when compared
with the others, though there are different features in the
characters of each. The former is thickly covered with
wood, and has an abundant supply of water. Its staple
commodities are similar to those of Teneriffe, except
barilla. The Gomerans are very tenacious of the honor
of having given the West Indies the invaluable sugar-cane,
from whom Columbus procured that plant, and transported
it on his second voyage to America. The chief town of
Gomera, is San Sebestian, which contains 1,500 imhabi-
tants. There is also, in this island, a very good bay,
which, though small, may be considered the best anchorage
in the province with the exception of that of Lanzarote.

Hierro, on the contrary, is a high rock, covered with a
thin soil, with only one spot on the circumference of its
coast, where a safe landing can be effected, and water is
extremely scarce. Its principal products are like those of
Gomera, but less abundant. Its chief town is La Villa de
Valverde.

Santa Cruz de Teneriffe, Friday, }
October 11, 1833. )

Bee The 5 VEL

Natural History.

Grotocy.—The whole of this archipelago is particu-
larly characterized by its igneous origin, and according to
the conjecture of many geologists, this, together with the
Azores, the Madeiras and the Cape de Verds, is the
remains of a submerged chain of mountains, probably the
ancient isle of Atlantis, which is in no way contradictory
to the acknowledged laws of nature. But to verify or
refute this conjecture will require more time than is allotted
to my task.

The question has often been agitated, whether “ the
archipelago of the Canary Islands contains any rocks of
primitive or secondary formation ; or is there any produc-
tion observed, that has not been modified by fire?” To
this interesting question, I will reply that there are. On
the authority of Broussonet, the island of Gomera contains
mountains of granite and mica-slate; and on a hill above
Guimar in Teneriffe, fragments of the latter substance,
containing beautiful plates of specular iron, have been
found. In passing over Las Canadas, I repeatedly ob-
served masses of granitic lava which had evidently been
thrown from the crater of the Peak. From these facts, it
appears that in this archipelago, as well as the Andes of
Quito, in Auvergne, Greece, and a greater portion of the
globe, the subterranean fires have forced their way through
the rocks of primitive formation.

From the information of several well-informed gentle-
men of this island, I learn that there are secondary forma-
tions in Grand Canary, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gra-
ciosa, and Teneriffe. At Lanzarote, there are large quan-
tities of calcareous stone which the natives burn into lime.

&0 CANARY ISLANDS.

On Graciosa, there are beds of marl, containing large quanti-
ties of chalk which strongly effervesces with nitric acid,
‘and even on points where it is found in contact with the
basalt.” * Near the foot of the mountain of Tagayga
between Realejo de Abaxo and San Juan de la Rambla,
I am told that there are found a species of marble, and
some vegetables, either incrusted with calcareous sand, or
are petrified. ‘Teneriffe, also, exhibits among its alluvial
deposits, an abundance of clayey calcareous tufa, which
alternates with volcanic breccie, and which, according to
Mr. Viera,t contains, near San Juan de la Rambla, and
Candelaria, plants, impressions of fishes, buccinites, and
other fossil marine productions. Just on the borders of
E] Llano de Gaspas, I observed a great number of the
impressions of ferns on some horizontal beds of basaltes,
and in a stratum of breccie in a ravine between Santa
Ursula and Port Orotava, I observed several recent terres-
trial shells, (felix ?)

Geology and Mineralogy of Teneriffe. In travelling
from the sea-shore to the summit of the mountains, the
lowermost stratum that we meet with, is composed of huge
masses of yellowish-brown basaltes, generally columnar,
and somewhat irregular in their forms, compact and par-
tially decomposed. ‘They contain hornblende, olivine, and
translucent pyroxenes, the latter being of a perfectly lamel-
lar fracture, of a tender olive-green tint, and often crys-
talized in six-sided prisms. ‘The first of these substances
is extremely rare on this island, and very seldom occurs in
the modern lavas. Directly above these ancient basaltes,
there are strata of breccie resembling volcanic tufa, which
are found on both sides of the island, situated about 300
or 400 feet above the ocean. They contain fragments of
the same basaltes that they cover, and often recent terres-
trial shells; and it is asserted by Mr. Viera, that the
remains of marine petrifactions are found in them. Next
in succession aboye, is a stratum of ferruginous earth, over-
laid with a dark argillaceous soil, containing crystals of
pyroxene, and fragments of compact lava. Next comes a

* Humboldt. t Noticias Historicas de las Canarias, I. i. p. 35.

CANARY ISLANDS. 81

lofty range of mountains which encircle the Peak, and
extend themselves towards Laguna, and la Punta de Naga,
their highest pinnacle being elevated about 9000 feet above
the level of the ocean. They appear to be composed prin-
cipally of basaltes of more recent origin than those of the
lower stratum, but they contain a variety of other sub-
stances. Near La Punta de Naga are found zeolites, and
a greater portion of their highest pinnacles near La Agua
Mansa, is composed of ferruginous sand which appears to
have withstood the action of fire. Just on the borders of
E] Llano de Gaspas, we meet with large masses of very
ancient basaltes which contains some distinct impressions
of ferns. On the southern side of this range of moun-
tains, in E] Valle de Ucanca, there is found an abund-
ance of feldspathic lava, and near by, at La Agua Agria
are large beds of talcose slate. And in the same range
on the eastern side of El Valle de Santiago, there
occurs an abundance of pyroxenic lava containing olivine,
and in a deep stratum of yellowish earth resembling tufa,
there are found millions of crystals of pyroxene of a very
large size, and a variety of forms. But whether these
substances found on the southern side of the mountains
are the products of the present volcano, it is difficult to
determine.

This range of mountains, and the products of the present
volcano, are separated by strata of tufa, puzzolana, and
other disintegrated lavas. A beautiful variety of the
former occurs on the northern side of the mountain near
El Valle de Ucanca. The currents of lava that I met with
on the slopes of these mountains, were black masses, par-
tially decomposed, and often cellular, having oblong pores.
Their basis is wacke, and when porous, they resemble
amygdaloid. Their fracture is irregular, and in some
instances, conchoidal. They are not divided into regular
columns, but occur in very thin layers irregularly inclined.
‘They contain a considerable quantity of olivine, small
grains of magnetic iron, and augites, the color of the latter
varying from a deep green to an olive tint.

Next in succession above the tufas, etc., comes the
great elevated llano of Las Cafadas, which contains about
ten square leagues, and is composed principally of small

82 CANARY ISLANDS.

fragments of pumice-stones, which are often reduced to
powder resembling ashes. In examining them with a lens,
there may be discovered among them, minute particles of
feldspar and pyroxene. This llano separates the dark,
basaltic, and earth-like lavas from the vitreous and feld-
spathic varieties, the bases of the latter being obsidian,
pitch-stone, and pyroxene. The feldspathic lavas are
destitute of hornblende and mica, and are of a blackish-
brown, often varying to the deepest olive-green. They
contain large crystals of feldspar which are not fissured,
and seldom vitreous. When the basis of the feldspathic
lava changes from pitch-stone to obsidian, the color is paler
and mixed with gray; in this case, the feldspar passes by
imperceptible gradations from the common to the vitreous.
Sometimes both varieties are found in the same fragment.
There are three varieties of obsidian met with, on the
Peak. The first occurs in large blocks several yards long,
which often have a globular figure. It contains a quantity
of vitreous feldspar, of a snowy whiteness, and has a most
brilliant pearly lustre. It is of a brownish-black, but little
translucent at the edges, and has an imperfect conchoidal
fracture, and passes into pitch-stone. ‘The second variety
is found in much smaller fragments, and is generally of a
greenish-black, but sometimes of an obscure gray, and
very seldom of a jet black. Its fracture is perfectly con-
choidal, and is extremely translucent at the edges. The
third variety is the most remarkable of the whole, from its
connexion with pumice-stones. It is like the former, of a
greenish-black, and sometimes of an obscure gray, but
occurs in very thin plates, alternating with layers of pumice-
stone. ‘The fibres of the pumice-stone are very seldom
parallel to each other, and perpendicular to the strata of
obsidian ; they are most commonly irregular, and abestoi-
dal, and instead of being disseminated in the obsidian,
they are found simply adhering to one of the external sur-
faces of the substance.*

* Obsidian was called by the Guanches, tabona, the splinters of which they
fixed to their lances, instead of iron. They carried on a considerable trade in it
with such of the neighboring islands, as were accessible to them.

CANARY ISLANDS. 83

Near the verge of the crater, and often upon its walls,
there is a saline efflorescence, called by the natives ed
salitron. ‘They are very eager to procure it for the prepa-
ration of matches which they make, by dipping pieces of
paper or tow into a solution of it. The matches readily
become ignited, and do not sparkle as if dipped into pure
nitre. Along the sea-shores of the northern side of this
island, there are often found hanging from the cliffs, sta-
lactitic salt, of a very pure quality.

Having examined the exterior structure of the island,
and the composition of its volcanic productions from the
sea-shore to the top of the mountain, I will now offer a few
remarks on its internal structure and its eruptions.

As the Peak appears to rise amidst a system of basaltes
and old Java, all of igneous origin, it has been supposed
that this collossal pyramid is the effect of a progressive
accumulation of lavas, or that it contains in its centre, a
nucleus of primitive rocks, covered with lavas which are
the same substances modified by fire. To verify or refute
this supposition, would cause me to wander too far from
the principal object of my task.

In regard to the first eruptions of the Peak, we seek in
vain in the writings of the Greek and Roman geographers,
which contain no passage that we can reasonably apply
to this volcano. Of all the written testimonies, the oldest
i have found of the activity of this volcano, dates from the
latter part of the fifteenth and the beginning of the six-
teenth centuries. In the life of Christopher Columbus,
by his Son, it is related that in August, 1492, he saw
flames gush out of the Peak in the night; and im the nar-
rative of a voyage by Aloysio Cadamusto, who landed at
these islands in 1505, he positively affirms that this moun-
tain burns without interruption, and that the fire has been
seen by christians retained in slavery by the Guanches.
The Peak, therefore, was not at those times in the state of
repose that it exists at present, nor have we any authentic
account that fire or even smoke, has been seen to rise from
the summit, that was visible at a distance since those
dates.

It is supposed that the whole group of these islands is
placed, as it were, on a great submarine volcano, and that

84 CANARY ISLANDS.

the fire sometimes forces its way out of one island, and
sometimes out of another. ‘Teneriffe alone contains in its
centre an immense pyramid, which discharges lavas from
one century to another; whereas the other islands have
broken out in various places. The following is a state-
ment of the volcanic eruptions which have occurred since
the middle of the sixteenth century.

On the 15th of April, 1558, a voleano burst out in the
isle of Palma, near a spring, in E] Partido de los Llanos.
A mountain rose from the earth and formed a crater at the
top, which discharged a current of lava 200 yards in
breadth, and more than 5000 in length. The lava flowed
to the ocean, raising the temperature of the water at a
considerable distance around, and destroyed a great num-
ber of fishes.

On the 13th of November, 1646, another volcanic
mouth was opened in Palma, near Tigalate, and two other
mouths were formed near the sea-shores. in 1677, a third
eruption took place. La Montafa de las Cabras threw
out scorie and ashes through a multitude of small mouths,
which were formed in succession.

On the 31st of December, 1704, the Peak of Teneriffe
formed a lateral eruption in El Llano de los Infantes above
Ycore, near Guimar, which was preceded by a tremendous
earthquake.* On the 5th of the January following, a
second opening took place in E] Baranco de Amerchiga,
a league from Ycore. ‘The lavas were so abundant, that
El Valle de Fasnia, or Areza, was nearly filled up. This
second mouth continued to discharge lavas eight days, and
then ceased flowing. A third mouth was formed on the
2d of February, the same year, in La Canada de Arafo.
The lavas divided into three currents, and would have
destroyed the town of Guimar, had they not been stopped
in El Valle de Melosar by a chain of rocks, which formed
an insuperable barrier to their course. During these
eruptions, Orotava experienced heavy shocks.

On the 5th of May, 1706, another grand lateral eruption
of the Peak took place. ‘The mouth opened at the south

* At Teneriffe, the shocks have hitherto been very inconsiderable, and limited
to a small extent of ground.

CANARY ISLANDS. &5

of the port of Garachico, which was at that time the finest
and the most frequented harbor in the island. Two cur-
rents of lava rushed down upon the town, and in a few
hours, not a building was left standing. This port was so
filled up that the lavas formed a promontory in the midst
of it. In the vicinity of the town, hills rose in the plain,
the springs became dry, and the rocks, shaken by frequent
earthquakes, remained naked, without vegetation, and with-
out mould.

On the Ist of September, 1739, an awful catastrophe
took place on the island of Lanzarote. A new volcano
broke out at Temanfaya, the lavas of which, and the
earthquakes that accompanied the eruption, destroyed a
considerable number of villages. The shocks continued
about six years, and a greater portion of the inhabitants of
this island fled to Fuerteventura. During this eruption a
column of thick smoke was seen to issue from the sea, and
pyramidal rocks rose above its surface, and gradually aug-
menting, became a part of the island itself.

On the 9th of June, 1798, another lateral eruption of
the Peak broke out on the flanks of La Montana Colorado
or Chahorra, which lasted three months and six days.
The lavas were discharged by four mouths, placed in a
right line. When the lava had gained twenty or thirty
feet in height, it advanced three feet every hour, and rocks
were ejected from its mouth to the height of more than
3,000 feet.

In the autumn of 1824, a second eruption in the island
of Lanzarote occurred on its northern side, and continued
intermittantly for nearly three months, and from one of
the craters a muddy saline water of boiling heat was
ejected to the height of thirty-six feet. Happily, the
injury caused by this eruption was very light.

The lateral eruptions of the Peak of Teneriffe is a very
remarkable geological phenomenon, which contributes to
create mountains that are produced by the principal vol-
cano, and appear to be isolated. I observed that almost
all the extinct craters, except the principal one, that the
island affords, occur below the girdle of mountains that
surround the Peak. On the southern side of the island, in
E] Valle de las Calderas, there are nearly forty conical

8

86 CANARY ISLANDS.

hills, having extinct craters; and in the Valley of Orotava
there are two considerable hills which rise in the form of
bells. One is called by the natives La Montafita de la
Villa, and the other La Montafiita del Frayle, the former
being elevated about 800 feet above the ocean, and the
latter about 1,000 feet. Humboldt advanced an opinion
that these paps owe their origin to the lateral eruptions of
the great volcano. ‘They have already emitted lavas, and
according to the tradition of the Guanches, the eruption
of La Montaiita de la Villa took place in 1430. The
craters of both of these hills are stil] visible, and some por-
tions of their black, scoriaceous sides are yet unproductive
of vegetation.

The following table exhibits the names of the principal
points of Teneriffe, with their approximate heights above
the level of the ocean, and the temperature of the air and
of boiling-hot water, by Fahrenheit’s scale.

Temp. of the Air. Of Hot Water. Approximate Height.

El Pico de Teyde, F : a ss 2 190° : 4 12,200 feet.
La Rambleta, . : : 77 2 ° 190-9 . ° 11, 700
La Cueva del Yelo, . . 43 F . 192 - . Ai "100 «
La Alta Vista, . 70 s a a on ‘ 10,600 we
La Estancia de los Y ngleses, 74 . . igi le . 9,300
La Montafia de Taygayga, . 70 . ° 199 . . 7,000 <¢€
Las Cafiadas, 7 76 - 4 20 s - 6,500 *
La Ermeta de la Chasna, * 66 . . 203-5 ° 4,700 *
La Agua Mansa, - : 64 . ° 205 3 ° a,700 .
Yeod del ILO, £ ?' : : 7 A 206 3 3,200 §
El Llano de la Laguna, = 75 < F 207°8 . 2,200 *

The island of Teneriffe is particularly remarkable for
the infinite number of caverns which it contains. They
are found in almost every declivity that the island affords,
and many of them are of surprising extent. In the vicinity
of Ycod there is one which has been penetrated more than a
quarter of a mile without reaching its extremity; and
there is another in the vicinity of Santa Cruz, in which
numbers of people have been lost for their temerity in
going in too far; consequently its mouth has been closed
by a wall. Many of these caverns on the more elevated
portions of the mountains serve as reservoirs for ice and
snow, and indeed they form the finest ice-houses in the
world, preserving it during the hottest summers.

The investigation of caverns has as much relation to
the geologist as it has to the antiquary, for it has been as-

CANARY ISLANDS, 87

certained that in caves in the south of France, human re-
mains have been found along with bones of quadrupeds
the species of which are now extinct. ‘The examination of
caves and caverns has been particularly recommended to
travellers, as not only being intimately connected with the
early history of man, and his condition in a low state of
civilization, even at the present day, but also with the
geological history of our species, and that of several of the
more powerful and interesting species of quadrupeds.

Although a considerable quantity of rain falls here at
certain seasons, these islands afford comparatively but few
springs. ‘This may be accounted for, however, by exam-
ining the nature of the rocks. When two formations come
together, the lower one dense and compact, and its upper
surface above the level of the neighboring country, and
the upper formation soft and porous, springs will occur
abundantly around the line of junction of the two forma-
tions. In this case, the rain filtrates through the porous
formation, and progresses downward until it is arrested by
the surface of the dense formation, where it accumulates,
and either remains stationary, or finds an opening at the
surface, and issues in the form of springs. On the con-
trary, if the porous formation extended below the level of
the surrounding country, the percolating water would
descend so far that it could not find an issue. This dis-
closes a very important fact relating to the geology of
Teneriffe. For I have not observed in any part of the
island, where a spring took its first issue from the earth
below 3,000 feet above the level of the ocean, which proves
that there exists a formation of dense and compact rocks
below that height.

Springs of mineral waters occur in many parts of the
island, the most important of which I mentioned in a for-
mer part of this work.*

Borany or TENeRiFFE.—Strictly speaking, the island
of Teneriffe, in its present state, exhibits but three zones
of vegetation. They occur one above the other, and
occupy, on the steep declivity of the Peak, its whole per-

* Vide pp. 57 et 59.

88 CANARY ISLANDS.

pendicular height. The two lower regions occupy about
3,000 feet each; andthe upper one, the remaining portion
of the mountain.

The first zone commences at the sea-shore, and com-
prises nearly all the inhabited parts of the island, and those
which are under careful cultivation. It contains nearly
all the culinary vegetables and fruits of the temperate and
the torrid zones, besides a great number of indigenous
plants. In this region, we meet with eight species of
arborescent euphorbiz, two species of mesembryanthema,
two of cacaliz, one of the draceena, and other plants with
naked trunks, succulent leaves, and bluish-green fruit,
which exhibit features of African vegetation. It is in this
zone, too, that we find the date-tree, the banana, the sugar-
cane, the orange, the cocoa, and the bread-fruit, all dis-
tinct inhabitants that adorn and increase the majesty of
the landscape in regions near the equator.

The second zone commences at an elevation of about
3,000 feet above the ocean, and includes nearly all the
sylvan tracts that the island affords. This region, con-
stantly irrigated by clouds and springs, presents a scene of
perpetual verdure. Lofty forests of the chesnut, the pine,
the laurel, and the oak, crown the hills, intermingled with
the visnea, the olea, the myrica, the sideroxylon, the
arbutus, the juniperus, and a vast quantity of ferns. It is
in this region that we find the golden campanula, the
chrysanthema, the hyperica, and a number of aromatic
plants.

The third and last zone commences at the height of
about 6,000 feet above the level of the ocean, and includes
the whole of Las Cafiadas, and the vast pyramid of the
Peak. It is the most sterile part of the island, where heaps
of pumice-stones, obsidian, and tracts of lava, impede the
growth of vegetation. Its principal plants are those ver-
dant islets of Alpine broom, (Spartium nubigenum. Lin.)
a few species of herbaceous plants, and the beautiful Viola
cheiranthifolia which flourishes amid regions of eternal
snows and barren grandeur. ‘Towards the summit of the
Peak, the urceolaria and other cryptogamous plants appear,
and even some are found within the verge of the crater.

CANARY ISLANDS. 89

The following table exhibits the names of some of the
most important species of plants that grow on this island,
and the approximate height above the ocean that they
vegetate, with the names of their locations. It has refer-
ence only to their perfect vegetation, not to their mere
existence above the soil, from local or incidental causes.
For example, plants flourish in warm valleys on the south
side of the island at a greater elevation than on the north
side, and many plants appear of a stinted growth far above
their natural zone.

Names and localities. Approximate elevation above the ocean.
* Pinus canariensis, vicinity of Chasna, : 6 x . 5,400 feet.
Cupressus sempervirens, Chasna, : 4,500

* Juniperus cedro, in the vicinity of La Punta de Teno, ? 4,000 <
Platanus orientalis, Botanic Garden at Durasno, < M "300 «
Platanns americana, do : * : : ‘ 300 *
Fagus sylvatica, Valley of Orotava, - . . . 3,000 *
Castanea vesca, La Agua Mansa, < ° “ 3,700 <*
* Quercus canariensis, Montaiia de Tagayza gre . : 4,000 <Ҥ
Populus alba, Botanic Garden at Durasno, 7 ¥ . 300 <“*
Morus alba, Valley of he Q . . = ° 1,500 <¢
<¢ migra, — ‘ . . . . 4 1,500 *
Ficus curica, San Miguel, . . . . . 2,200... £¢
* Ricinus communis, Villa Orotava, : ° . . 1,000
* Euphorbia canariensis, Guia, 2 s = - 1,000 *
* Trifolium fragiferum, Valley of Orotava, : : : 1,500 <<
* Lupinus angustifolia, Yeod del Alto, . - . : 3,200
* Genista canariensis, E] Llano de Gaspas, P . 5,000 <<
* Spartium nubigenum, Las Cafadas, . . 4 6,500 <«€
Mimosa farnesiana, Laguna, . : ; J s 2,200 *“«
Amygdalus persica, Chasna, . . * P » 4,000 *
* Frazaria vesca, Valley of Orotava, . : : s 3,000 <¢¢
Rosa centifolia, Botanic Garden at "Durasno, fs 3 . 300 «
.Pyrus communis, Villa Orotava, 2 . ° m 1,000 <<
‘¢ malus, La Agua Mansa, . e C - - 3,700 <«€
* Cactus Opuntia, Guia, - . - - - ° 1,000 «
Ribes rubrum, Villa Orotava, 2 . . - P 1,000 <¢€
Linum usitatissimum, Matanzas, z : ‘ 2,000 <«
Dianthus virginea, Botanic Garden at Durasno, . . 300“
* Ruta graveolens, Laguna, : 2 J s 2.000 «
* Viola cheiranthifolia, La Rambleta, . . ° 11,700 *
Gossypium arboreum, Botanic Garden at Durasno, 3 > 300 *“<
Vitis vinifera, Los Silos, 3 ‘ B00 <«
Citrus aurantium, Botanic Garden at Durasno, B . 300“
«medica, Santa Cruz, 2 - . ‘ 2 100 *
Isatis tinctoria, Laguna, . = é : > 2.200 «
/’ Brassica oleracea, Laguna, P 2 d 5 2,200. *<
~~ ee rapa, do. - : ° . : 2,200 <«
* Daticns carota, do. : a : : < 2,200 *
* Papaver rheeas, do. 5 - : 2,200 “
* Anethum feniculum, Valley of Orotava, : : - 1,500 *
* Apium petroselinum, Villa Orotava, - . ° - 1,000 *“
* Rubia fruticosa Laguna, - - ° - . : 2,200 *€

* Those names which have a star before them, indicate indigenous plants.

*8

99 CANARY ISLANDS.

* Artemisia arborescens, Valley of Orotava, 4 . . 500 feet.
Coffea arabica, Laguna, . = . ° 2 . 2200 “«
Lactuca sativa, Laguna, = - 2 = . 200
Convolvulus batatis, Laguna, ™ “ Z ° 2200 “

* Capsicum annuum, Laguna, - . . . 2,200 *“
Solanum tuberosum, Laguna, F : . . easan s¢
Thymus serphy llum, Laguna, ° ‘ ° ° 2200... 66
Lavandula spica, Laguna, 4 2 : . Zou

* Rosmarinus officinalis, Laguma, . . . 2200. .<¢
Olea europea, Villa Orotava, 2 - 1,000 *
Laurus persea, Valley of Orotava, 3 500 “6
Laurus cinnamomum, Laguna, . = . . ss 2,200
Artocarpus incisa, Laguna, = 5 - : 2,200
Musa paradisiaca, SantaCruz, . = 2 5 : 200. *

‘“< sapientum, Santa Cruz, ; 2 . e 100. “*
Agave americana, Matanzas, - ° ; . 5 2,000 <«
Allium cepa, Villa Orotava, ° ° - - . 3005,, <<
Dracena draco,* Villa Orotava, . ° . : ° 900 <“
Pheenix dactylifera, Villa Orotava, . : ° 3 900
Zea mays, Chasna, : : 4,990 “
Secale cereale, Valley of Orotava, : - 3 = 3,000
Triticum estivum, Chasna, ° . > . . 4,000 «

* Hordeum murinum, Matanzas, . . ° . . 2,000
Avena sativa, Chasna, . ° ° ° : : 4,000

* Saccharum officinarum San Juan dela Ramble, . : . 500 “*

Zoo.tocy.—In the present division, I propose to exhibit
a brief summary of the natural history of the animals
belonging to these islands, and for the sake of order, con-
tinue with a certain degree of systematic arrangement.
The first class that comes under consideration, is the

Mammalia. 'These islands contain no wild animals at
present, except rabbits,7 ferrets,¢ and a few wild goats §
in the more elevated parts of Teneriffe, and in Fuerte-
ventura, where they have been known from time immemo-
rial. The rabbits are of a much smaller size than those
of the same species in Europe, hundreds of which, are
destroyed every year by the ferrets. In Gomera, there was
formerly a species of small deer, (Cervus) but it is now
many years since it wasexterminated. The present domes-
tic animals are horses, asses, mules, oxen, camels, goats,
sheep, swine, cats, and dogs. Of the latter, a fine, pow-
erful brindled variety yet exists in Lanzarote, the genuine
descendants of the breed formerly so numerous in a wild
state, as to have caused the name of Canaries to be given
to these islands, in allusion to which, the supporters of the

+ This tree, although a native of the East Indies, is also found on Gomera, Palma,
and Canary.

t Lepus coniculus. t Viverra furor. § Capra hireus. Lin.

CANARY ISLANDS. 91

provincial coat of arms are two dogs. The barking of the
dogs here, even those brought from Europe, has degen-
erated into a howling noise. At the equator, as well as
towards the poles, this animal almost entirely loses his
voice. It has been asserted, that there were formerly
large numbers of wild asses, (Equus asinus. Lin.) on some
of these islands, and many of their descendants exist here
at the present day, partaking of a considerable share of
native elegance. Although this animal has long been
condemned to a state of the lowest servitude in Europe,
and looked upon with contempt, it exhibits, in its natural
state, an appearance of great beauty and vivacity. It is
said that the original stock were white, or a pale silver-
gray, with a slight tinge of straw-color on the sides of the
neck and body; along the back ran a deep-brown stripe
of thickish, wavy hair to the beginning of the tail, and
this stripe crossed over the shoulders, as in the domesti-
cated animal, by another of a similar color ; but it is said that
this was peculiar to the male only. At the time that these
islands were invaded by the Normans, the natives possessed
all the other animals before enumerated, except horses and
camels. ‘There are but a few of the latter on Teneriffe,
while they live and propagate by hundreds in Lanzarote
and Fuerteventura. These “ships of the desert,” as well
as horses, were brought to these islands in the 15th century,
by the Normans.

Birds. Although the general aspect and situation of
these islands are unfavorable to the existence and multi-
plication of birds, there is a considerable variety.

The first that claim our attention are the carnivorous
tribes. Of the falcon genus, there are several species, one
of which migrates to Africa. ‘There are also several spe-
cies of striges, one of which is called by the natives, e/ apa-
gador, and creates great terror among them in the night.

Of the hirundine family, there are the swift, (Hirundo
apus ) the common swallow, (f/. rustica) and the martin,
(7. urbica. Lin.) the latter remaining here at least nine
months in the year.

Among the fringillide, we notice the goldfinch, (Frin-
gilla carduelis) the chaffinch, (#. celebs) and the green
canary-bird, (J". canaria. Lin.) the last of which I noticed
in a former letter.

92 CANARY ISLANDS.

Of the raven genus, we meet with the carrion-crow,
(Corvus carone. Lin.) and a species of raven. There is
also a species of upupa found here.

Next in consideration, come the gallinaceous tribes.
To pass over the common domestic fowls of Europe, we
find at Teneriffe, the Barbary partridge, (Perdix petrosa.
Briss.) the common quail, (Tetrao coturniz, Lin.) and
in Fuerteventura, there is found a small species of grouse
called by the natives, la ganga. It has a black breast
and very small legs and feet. Inthe same island, there
is a species of bustard, nearly as large as a turkey, called
by the natives, la albutarda. It is never known to fly,
but runs along, flapping its wings very fleetly. Itis so
watchful that it cannot be taken by the sportsman without
his devising some peculiar stratagem. Neither of these
birds will breed in any of the other islands, nor will these
grouses remain there, for their young have been transported
to Palma, where there were none, and even their eggs have
been carried there and hatched; but so soon as the brood
had strength to fly, they proceeded to their favorite isle.

Of the columbine genus, we meet with the turtle-dove,
(Columba turtur. Lin.) and the radiant plumage of the
migratory pigeon

¢¢ Fills many adamp obscure recess
With lustre of saintly show.”

Among the wading birds, the woodcock and the snipe
inhabit these islands. The other water-birds that frequent
these shores, are the long-winged terns, (Sterna tenuiros-
tris. Tem.) Several species of gulls, and the stormy
petrel, ( Thalassidroma wilsonit. BonaP.)

Reptiles. Intermediate between the birds and _ fishes,
are the reptile race; but fortunately for these islands,
they do not brood with those horrid monsters that spread
terror to almost every portion of the African regions.

Among the chelonian reptiles, there are two species of
Chelonie, the green-tortoise, (Chelonia mydas. Bronen.)
and one other kind.

Among the saurian tribes, we observe but two species
of true lizards, (Lacerta. Lin.) one of which abounds
here, and is very destructive to the grapes. Some of them

CANARY ISLANDS. 93

are nearly a foot in length, marked with an azure spot on
each cheek, which they inflate when disturbed. We also
notice a small gecko* here, called by the natives, el peren-
quen. It secretes itself in some dark corner in the houses
in the day-time, and moves about in the night, when its
eyes appear luminous like those of the cat. It is as bloated
and loathsome in appearance as the toad, and is regarded
as harmless.

Of the ophidian reptiles or serpents, not a species exists,
nor can be made to live here. And it is asserted that there
is not a venomous animal of any kind to be found on these
islands.

Among the batrachian reptiles, or frogs, there is but
one small species which frequent pools and springs.

Fishes. ‘The next great class that demands our atten-
tion, is that of the finny race. From the inconceivable
and continuous nature of the element which they inhabit,
and the ample facilities that they possess for dispersion, it
is difficult to give even a general account of them. For
the present, however, I must confine myself to a brief
allusion to a few species.

Ist. Scomberoides.—Several of this family occur, among
which we meet with the tunny, ( T’hynnus. Cuv.) and the
sword-fish, (Avphias gladius. Lin.)

2d. Labroides.—In this family, we notice the parrot-fish,
(Scarus. Lin.)

3d. Fistularide.—In this family, we find a species of
pipe-fish, (Jstularia. Lin.)

4th. Esoces—In this family, we recognize the flying-
fish, (Exocetus volitans. Lin.)

Sth. Clupee. In this family, we meet with the com-
mon herring, (Clupea harengus. Lin.)

6th. Gadites—In this family, occur myriads of cod,
(Gadus morrhua, Lr.)

7th. Anguilliformes.—In this family, we notice several
species of eels, among which, we find the conger, (Mu-
rena conger. Lin.)

Sth. Selachii—In this family, we meet with the shark,
(Carcharias. Cuv.) and the skate, (Raia. Liv.)

* Askalarotes. Cuv.

94 CANARY ISLANDS.

Mollusca and Shells. The next classes that merit our
attention, are the mollusca and conchifera of these islands.
They are peculiarly rich in shells, many species of which
are distinguished by their beautiful forms and splendid
colorings, and are highly valuable in consequence of their
comparatively rare occurrence in cabinets. But unfor-
tunately, the heavy surf which constantly thunders round
these rocky shores, appears to prevent them from being
gathered in a perfect state.

A few of the more remarkable animals of these classes
are as follows :—

In the order cephalopoda, we meet with the cuttle-fish,
properly so called, (Sepia officinalis ) the Spirula peronii,
and the Argonauta argo.

In the order pulmona, we observe the common field-slug,
(Limaz agrestis) and a number of helices, among which,
we notice the Helix lactea, H. bidentalis, H. diaphana, H.
plicatula, H. maritima, and the H. aspersa; we also observe
the Lima squamosa, Carocolla planaria, C. hispidula, and
the Pupa maculosa.

On several kinds of fuci about these shores, we notice
the Scyllwa pelagica, and a species of doris.

Among the other orders, we meet with the Bullea
aperta, Bulla ampulla, B. physis, Natica canrena, ‘Tro-
chus(?), Scalaria communis, Cyclostoma flavula, Jan-
thina communis, Conus (?), Cyprea tigris, C. helvola, C.
lurida, C. moneta, C. spurca, Marginella glabella, Mitra
melaniana, Purpura rudolphi, Columbella rustica, Rici-
nula morus, Triton nodiferum, (var.) Triton (?), Doli-
um perdix, (var.) Fusus (?), Haliotis tuberculata, Patella
vulgata, Spondylus gedaropus, Pinna rudis, (var.) My-
tilus elongatus, Cardita calyculata, Venerupis irus, Car-
dium costatum, Lucina pecten, Venus verrucosa, Mac-
tra (?), Balanus (?), Serpula contortuplicata.

Crustacea and Insects. Although these two classes
of animals are extremely interesting on these islands, I
did not devote much attention to them for the want of
time, consequently my readers must be contented with the
following brief detail :—

Among the crustacea, we notice a species of lobster,
(Astacus. Fas.) and several species of land and other
crabs peculiar to intertropical countries.

CANARY ISLANDS. 95

In the class arachnides, we meet with several species of
spiders, one kind of which the natives tell long stories
about, as being of a very poisonous nature; but no one
can be found who has ever known any injury done by that
animal.

In the suctoria tribes, we meet with an abundance of
fleas, (Pulez. Lin.) which are very noisome in the summer
months.

In the coleoptera order, there are to be found several
species of carabici, among which, we observe the Carabus
agrorum, (Oxiv.) ‘There also occur in this order, several
species of pimeliz, tenebrionites, and curculionites.

In the order orthoptera, we meet with myriads of
cockroaches, (Blatta. Lin.) and the mole-cricket, (Gry/l-
lus vulgaris. Ourv.) and the field-cricket, (G. campestris.
Oxiv.) In this order, too, we find several species of
locusts, the most formidable of which, is the African locust,
(Acrydium migratorius. Cuv.) alluded to in a former
letter.*

In the order hemiptera, we find several species of cimices,
in which we recognize the Cimex Jectularius, (Liy.) much
to be dreaded by the weary traveller when he retires to his
night’s repose.

In the order neuroptera, we notice several species of
dragon-flies, (Libellula. Fas.) eminently distinguished for
the brilliancy of their hues.

In the order hymenoptera, we observe several species of
ichneumonides, among which, occur the Ichneumon mani-
festor, and the I. bidentatus, (Oxiv.) We also observe
among the ants, the Formica rufa, (Oxrv.) and like-
wise several species of bees, among which, may be found
wild, the common honey-bee, (Apis mellifica. )

In the order lepidoptera, we meet with the usual num-
ber of butterflies, (Papzito. Lrx.) and moths peculiar to
warm countries, among which, we find a large sphynx,
and the silk-worm, (Bombyx mort. Lin.)

At last, we find in the order diptera, the usual] quan-
tity of flies and mosquetos, common to tropical climates,

* Vide pp. 6 et 7.

96 CANARY ISLANDS,

which serve to keep the blood in free circulation, and prove
exceedingly offensive at first, to the visitors of these islands.

Animalia Radiata. I come now to the last of the ani-
mal kingdom, called zoophytes,—‘‘ although the lowest in
the scale of animated beings, yet highly interesting in the
sublime plan of creation. Their numbers exceed all cal-
culation ; the minuteness of many species is such, that they
cannot be discriminated by the aid of the most powerful
microscopes.” Among this class of animals, these islands
are not destitute of their share, but whatever relates to
them I must pass over in silence.

Metrorotocy.—Mr. Anderson, the naturalist, in the
third voyage of Captain Cook, particularly recommends
European invalids to go to Teneriffe on account of the
equality of the temperature, and the mildness of the climate
of these islands. The ground on this island rises in an
amphitheatre, and presents, at the same time, the tempera-
ture of almost every climate, from the scorching heats of
Africa, to the cold of the higher Alps. ‘Three hours’ ride
from any part of the sea-shore towards the centre of the
island, will afford every degree of temperature that man
can desire ; and none intolerable, except in winter, when
the light atmosphere on the summits of the higher moun-
tains becomes too much chilled. Indeed, so happy is the
climate of Port Orotava, that the range of the thermometer
during the years 1823-4-5 did not extend below 62° nor
above 83°, although it sometimes surpasses for a day or
two of south-west wind in autumn, but scarcely ever sinks
below the former.

No climate on the globe seems better fitted to dissipate
melancholy and restore peace to an agitated mind, than
this island. The unrivalled beauty of its situation, and
the salubrity of the air, conspire to quiet the anxieties of the
spirit, and invigorate the body, while the feelings are not
depressed by the sultry heat, the pestilential vapors, nor
the revolting sight of slavery which pervades almost every
colony of the torrid zone.

In winter, the climate of Laguna is extremely foggy,
and the inhabitants often complain of cold. It has been
remarked, that snow has never been known to fall in that

i.

CANARY ISLANDS. 97

place, while it often fallsin La Villa dela Orotava, which is
situated at an elevation of about 1,000 feet above the level
of the ocean. The climate of Santa Cruz is too hot in
summer, but it makes a pleasant place of residence in
the winter.

During the months of April, May, June, October, Novem-
ber, and December, the inhabitants of these islands expe-
rience most of the time, a northerly wind; while in the
months of July, August, and September, the wind blows
promiscuously from all quarters; and during the winter
months, they have a prevailing wind from the east or north-
east, attended by awful tempests of wind, hail and rain ;
but notwithstanding the calamities which they frequently
occasion, and which the thunder-rod cannot infallibly pre-
vent, they deserve to be considered as one of the greatest
benefits that providence has bestowed on them. “ They
diffuse freshness through the atmosphere when it is in a
confined and sultry state; the plants resume their lively
gteen, the flowers raise their drooping heads when their
thirst has been quenched by the rain; the crops and fruits,
penetrated by the new warmth, ripen more rapidly, and
man silently adores the Great Being whose power has
been thus displayed.”

Santa Cruz, Monday,
October 14, 1833.

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BETTER X VITEP:

Social Condition.

As I commenced these letters by giving a general
survey of these islands as they came from the hands of
nature, it may not be improper to take a cursory view of
the changes made by man; of the arts and industry, and
the social and moral existence of the present inhabitants.
But a grand distinction must be made between the higher
orders of society, and the middling and lower classes.
Although the former are possessed with a considerable
portion of philanthropy and urbanity, it must be acknowl-
edged that the latter, though the descendants of an enlight-
ened and powerful nation, are on the next stage to barba-
rism. ‘To them, mostof the following remarks are strictly
applied.

Physical Distinction of the Natives. In taking a
glance of the inhabitants of these islands, we view every
variety of feature and complexion, from the fair and well-
formed European to the ugly and filthy Hottentot, who
vary in stature from the Lapland dwarf to the gigantic
Guanche. The natives generally, however, are of a dark,
sallow complexion which is the most conspicuous among
the peasantry who have, for the most part, an agreeable
physiognomy, and are well-proportioned. In general, they
have full dark eyes, and an abundant supply of hair, which
is often black, and terminates with a yellowish-brown hue,
though many of them have light-colored hair and blue
eyes. ‘Their cheek-bones are frequently prominent ; the
nose regular or is inclined to aquiline, and the face oval
or round. ‘T'hey are generally endowed with a strictly
moral and religious character, but possess a roving and
enterprising disposition, and are said to be less industrious
at home than abroad. ‘They are exceedingly athletic, and

100 CANARY ISLANDS.

are susceptible of performing a great deal of labor, or of
encountering the utmost hardships. The natives of Fuer-
teventura are bony and well-set men, but spare, and very
tawny ; they are excessively dirty in their person and
habits, and will not work any longer than to supply their
present wants. They are wild and ferocious, and are
excessively vindictive, and are provoked to anger by the
most trivial offences. The proximity of this island and
Lanzarote to the Barbary coast, and the frequent invasions
made on them by the Moors in former times, together with
the intercourse kept up between them at present, give
the inhabitants many of the manners and customs, and
even the looks of the natives of Barbary. [For example,
their manner of sitting balanced on the balls of their feet,
with their hams resting on their heels, is decidedly a
Moorish custom ; and the shortness of the distance that
divides them, is indicated by one of their popular sayings :

* De Tunege & Berberia,
Se va, y se viene en un dia.” *

Education. All the larger towns are provided with
schools of some sort or other, mostly taught on the Lan-
casterlan system, and in a few instances, there are schools
for teaching the ancient and modern languages, some of
the sciences, and ornamental literature. There is also a
university at Laguna, which was in a flourishing condi-
tion a few years ago, but about the time of the revolution
in France, it was considered a dangerous institution by
the regal authorities, and it was ordered to be closed.
Notwithstanding these advantages, not more than one half
of the natives can read or write. The more wealthy por-
tion of the inhabitants send their children abroad to be
educated, or more latterly, they are sent to their better
schools at home. It is a happy thing to find that most of
the young people who have been kept at school, can read
or speak the English or French languages. ‘The prevail-
ing language of the province is Spanish, and the higher
classes speak the Castillian in its utmost purity; but the

* From Tunege, (a spot on the S.E. shore of Fuerteventura) you may go to Bar-
bary and back again in a day.

CANARY ISLANDS. 101

lower classes have many provincial terms which would be
perfectly unintelligible to an inhabitant of Spain.

Domestic Accommodations. Most of the domestic ac-
commodations throughout these islands, are simple, and
often limited to the lowest degree of barbarism. There
are few buildings in any part of the province that exceed
two stories in height, and the greater number of dwellings
are las casas terreras, or those having a ground floor only.
The better classes of houses are built on the same plan as
those in other Spanish provinces, having many large win-
dows, but often are only partially glazed. The walls are
constructed of rough stone, laid in mortar or mud, and are
generally plastered or whitewashed with their corners
painted in black and white squares, which, although pain-
ful to the eyes from the great reflection of the sun, give
a very neat appearance to the outside. It is remarked that
a visible improvement in domestic cleanliness has taken
place in the larger towns within these few years past,
yet there is room for much more.

Among the poorer classes of the peasantry, their houses
are often built of irregular stones, carelessly laid together
without the use of mortar, forming a circular wall, which
they cover with rafters and tiles, or straw; and have no
other floor than the bare earth. These habitations very
often serve for the whole family and all the domestic
stock, including men, women, children, pigs, poultry,
goats, cats, dogs, etc., the latter animal being an indis-
pensable member of almost every family in the province.
Great numbers of the more wretched people dwell in
caves, formed by nature in the rocks, and have no articles
for convenience, except a few stones for seats and a bed of
ferns.

Mode of Living. The manner of living among the
natives who possess a certain degree of wealth, is very uni-
form. About an hour after rising in the morning, they
breakfast, not making a meal of it as with us; but each
member of the family takes a cup of chocolate with a
small quantity of toast or a sweet biscuit in his own
apartment, or takes it in his hand and eats it when
sauntering about the house. Two o'clock is generally
the dinner nour, ShOurE in retired places, many yet keep

93

102 CANARY ISLANDS.

up the custom of dining at noon. During this meal,
the street door is always closed, but kept wide open the rest
of the day. The repast invariably begins with soup, and is
succeeded by el puchero, which is equivalent to the olio in
Spain. It is composed of boiled beef, pork, mutton or
other meat, fowls, and a variety of vegetables dressed
together. After a greater or less number of made dishes
and roast meat, it closes with a desert of fruit and an
abundance of sweetmeats. After dmner da siesta occupies
an hour anda half or two hours. A little after dark comes .
la merienda, or collation, when chocolate is taken with
solid food, sweetmeats, and iced-water ; and at ten or eleven
o’clock at night, they conclude with a hot supper.

The aliment of the poorer classes is imited to three
kinds of food, say Barbary salt-fish, potatoes, and gofio.*
Bread or meat they seldom taste, and often in summer,
they make many a meal entirely of the fruit of the prickly
pear, and in time of famine, they are happy to make a
meal from its leaves. In Hierro, they cure the flesh of
such goats as are disabled by accident, and even it is said
of such as die of disease, and when cut into pieces and
dried by the sun, they call it toctnete. In Lanzarote and
Fuerteventura, they eat without scruple the flesh of camels
that die of age or of disease; and the foetus of the camel,
which they call el majalulo, is esteemed a great delicacy, and
only is served upon occasions of particular festivity. In
Palma and Gomera, they often reduce fern-roots (Pteris
aquilina. Brovs.) to powder, and mix it with barley flour
in the preparation of the gofio. ‘The garden lupine ( Lupi-
nus angustifolia) is extensively used for food, both for
man and beasts. It is prepared by boiling in salt and
water, which deprives it of its bitterness, and in that state,
it is eaten without any other ingredients,

All classes are equally abstemious both in eating and
in drinking ; and indeed, intoxication is scarcely ever wit-
nessed, except among the very lowest people, and then it is
far from being common. ‘These traits, and hospitality to
the utmost extent of their powers, are a few of their many
virtues.

* Vide Note, p. 56, where this substance is described.

CANARY ISLANDS. 103

Diseases. 'The most common maladies, or those which
may be regarded as endemical, are obstinate gastric affec-
tions, oftentimes accompanied with loss of strength; putrid
and chronical diarrheas; low and debilitating fevers;
scorbutic cachexies; and cutaneous eruptions of various
kinds. Most of these diseases are confined to the lower
classes of the natives, and seem to derive their origin from
the faulty nutriment of their food throughout these islands.
The more wealthy portion of the inhabitants generally
enjoy excellent health, and live to a ‘good old age.”

Religious Customs. It is hardly necessary to remark,
that in all Spanish provinces, the catholic religion is uni-
versally tolerated, and that the discipline of the church is,
perhaps, more rigidly carried into effect, than in any other
country. It will likewise be quite as unnecessary for me
to repeat the general laws and ceremonies of that church,
as they are invariably the same in all countries. But as
far as local customs are concerned, which deviate from the
general rules of the church, it may not be improper to
name a few.

Some of their acts of penance are extremely singular.
At the feast of Candlemas, which is annually held at
Candelaria, it has been no unusual thing to observe women
with their arms extended, and five lighted tapers in each
hand, shuffling on their knees, at the distance of a furlong
up to the altar of the chapel where the miracle-working
virgin was placed, leaving a bloody track behind them, an
undeniable proof of the pitiable condition of their knees.
And men have as often been seen walking over the same
ground with their arms extended in the form of a cross,
with an iron crow-bar bound to each.

Besides the regular religious orders, there are several
associations here bearing the name of los colfradias, or
brotherhoods. They are exclusively composed of laymen,
whose duties only consist in taking charge of the shrine
or altar of which they are devotees at las funciones ; of
attending processions with their distinctive banners and
uniform dress, and of accompanying the funerals of the
members of their own fraternity. ‘They raise pecuniary
subscriptions among themselves, and solicit public dona-

104 CANARY ISLANDS.

tions on the day of their annual festival for defraying the
necessary expenses attending their respective shrines.

The brotherhood of El Gran Poder de Dios, (the great
power of God) is composed of persons of the middling and
higher classes of society, the uniform of which, consists of
a scarlet, silk gown, called Ja opa, in the shape of a carter’s
frock, worn over their ordinary habiliment. Their annual
festival is held on the second Sunday of July, an uncom-
fortable season in this latitude to perambulate the streets,
which they do, bare-headed, at mid-day, with lighted tapers
in their hands.

Marriage and Funeral Ceremonies. 'The marriage cere-
monies of the middling and lower classes are generally per-
formed in church at an early hour of the day; but the
wealthy are married in the evening, at the house of the
bride’s parents. The people here look without repugnance
on the matrimonial alliances of an uncle with his own
niece, as well as men marrying the sisters of their former
wives. The practice in either case is confined, however,
to the more opulent, who can afford the expense of obtain-
ing the necessary license from Rome.

When a widow marries, on the eve of her wedding, her
residence is surrounded by a concourse of people, some of
whom are tinkling mule-bells, sounding conch-shells, and
uttering the most diabolical terms of reproach; while
others are performing on musical instruments, and lauding
the couple in question to the skies, according to their
approval or disapproval of their marrying. It is generally
disapproved of for a widow to marry a second husband,
which, they say, indicates that she did not duly and virtu-
ously appreciate her former husband. A similar custom
prevails in Spain, called da cencerrada.

In regard to their funeral ceremonies, the general points
are the same as those of Spain and other catholic coun-
tries, but I will cite a few peculiarities which were
entirely new to me. When a wealthy person dies, his
relatives perform one or more solemn offices for his de-
cease, on the days immediately succeeding that of the
interment, and then in addition to the regular surplus
fees, the clergy receive from them wna ofrenda, or offering,
which consists of provisions that are deposited in the

CANARY ISLANDS. 105

church. It is not uncommon on such occasions, to see a
live sheep, a pipe of wine, and some sacks of grain, at
the steps leading to the altar.

The ceremonies of children under seven years of age
usually take place in the night, if their parents are
wealthy, and all their male friends send their servants with
lanterns to accompany the procession. No females of any
class attend as mourners to the burial.

Many of the people of Hierro employ at their funerals,
professional mourners, or weepers, who are always paid in
proportion to the violence of their lamentations.

Superstitions. 'The lower classes in these islands are
very credulous, and in addition to their common faith m
witches, ghosts, hobgoblins, signs, and auguries, one of
their greatest fears, is the effect of the “evil eye.” This
charm they do not believe to be always an act of volun-
tary malice, but think that an excess of fondness or admo-
nition of an object, animate or inanimate, may pro-
duce the same baneful influence. Anything in the
shape of a horn is supposed to neutralize the spell ; and
small pieces of bone worked into that shape, are fre-
quently suspended on bird-cages, as preventives, or on
the headstall of a well-conditioned mule or other beast ;
and the countryman who has a good share of fruit in his
vineyard, takes care to protect it from the evil eye, by
planting about it a number of stakes with a ram’s horn
on each.

It is not many years since a lady, every time her infant
went out under the charge of her nurse, used to send
another servant a few steps in advance, requesting every
person who looked upon the child, to say Dios lo bendiga,
(God bless it,) lest they should unwillingly cast upon it
the dreadful mal de ojo, which operates, it is believed, in
withering up, and causing to decline and perish, whatever
it lights upon.

When a countryman feels the apprehension of the pres-
ence of a witch, he turns the waistband of his ‘“‘ unmention-
ables” inside out, or tomake security doubly sure, pulls them
off, and reversesthem altogether. Thisisconsidered acharm
of such potency, that no witch has the power of annoying
any person while protected in this manner. Setting the

~~ %

106 CANARY ISLANDS.

broom behind the door is also a sure way ‘‘ to send a witch
packing,” if she attempts to enter a house, where her first
act would be to suck the breath out of any infant that she
might meet. The sudden death of little children is
always attributed by the vulgar, to this practise of the
witches.

A great source of dread to all classes of people, is the -
cry of a bird which they call el apagador, (the extin-
guisher) from the resemblance of its note to that word
pronounced in a peculiarly harsh manner. This bird is a
species of owl and makes its appearance only in the night,
and often may be seen by moon-light, skimming over the
roofs of the houses, which is regarded as a sure forerun-
ner of the death of some of the inmates of the dwelling
that it frequents.

Many of the peasant women on the north-western side
of Teneriffe, protect themselves by the wearing of as many
crucifixes, images, and amulets, about their person as
they can procure, which they consider as charms, against
every accident and disease, that mortality is heir to.

Amusements. Like their parent stock, the Spaniards,
and other southern nations, these islanders are not at alla
domestic people: indeed, the climate leads them, in
general, to prefer such amusements as can be enjoyed in
the open air, in the cool of evening, which bring on very
different habits, from those which originate around

‘¢ Our own family and fire,
Where love our hours employs ;
No noisy neighbor enters here,
No intermeddling stranger near,
To spoil our heartfelt joys.”?

As there are but few places of public amusement in
these islands, and there being but little taste for literature,
or the cultivation of any of the fine arts, except music,
the diversions of the inhabitants are principally circum-
scribed to frequenting the squares or public walks in the
afternoon, and to attending las tertulias, or evening assem-
blies. These in many respects, are extremely agreeable,
as no invitation is necessary. Every person who is in the
habit of visiting a house at any other time, is at liberty to
walk in, whenever a party of this kind is held, stay as long

CANARY ISLANDS. 107

as he pleases, and go away whenever he may choose, after
enjoying conversation, music, dancing, or gaming, as his
fancy may dictate. The game that is usually played, is
monte or lansquenet, the chances of which are among
the greatest excitements that the natives seem capable of
receiving.

The lower classes are also addicted to gambling, but
their chief amusements are playing the guitar, singing
and dancing. Their principal dances, are las seguidillas,
las malaguenas, and what they call las folias. ‘They
are all accompanied by words adapted to the air, and
these are very frequently composed, extemporaneously,
each one of the party giving a verse alternately, which
often contains neither rhyme, measure, music, nor mean-
ing. Some of them, however, are noted for their quick-
ness and repartee on these occasions, and introduce every
passing occurrence into song with admirable success.

The carnival masquerading, properly begins at noon
on El Domingo gordo, (fat Sunday) and is continued
on the Monday and Tuesday following ; but, a party will
occasionally dress and go by night, and play a few antics
at their friends’ houses for nearly a month previous. The
amusement of the carnival days is almost confined to the
populace, who perambulate the streets, and disguise them-
selves in fantastic and showy dresses, their contrivances
displaying in general, but very little humor. Their gym-
nastic sports consist principally of pitching the crow-bar,
wrestling, and hand-ball. The two latter are mostly
practised by the men of Fuerteventura, who particularly
excel in wrestling, though their manner of taking the
‘‘ gripe” and other laws of the game, would not agree with
a scientific wrestler’s notions of ‘“ fair play.”

Costumes. It is remarkable that so great a variety of cos-
tumes should exist among so small and so scattering popula-
tion as these islands afford, but an innate predilection, and
jealous adherance to the pursuits, the habits, and the tastes
of their forefathers, lead the natives generally, to retain such
modes of dress, as not only distinguish the inhabitants of
one island from tho-e of another, but those of almost every
town or village of the same, and even the occupations that
they follow, which long association has rendered almost

108 CANARY ISLANDS.

sacrilegious to abandon. These, however, are limited to
the middle and lower classes, the higher order of society
following the European fashions, only varying from them
in such a degree as the climate requires.

The church dress of the ladies of the first class is simi-
lar to that of the peninsula, and either is called la saya y
mantilla, or la mantilla y vesquina, the principal part of
which, is of black silk, ornamented at the bottom, accord-
ing to the fashion or taste of the wearer. ‘The most
striking part of the dress is the long veil of black or
white lace, which forms the only covering for the head.
This is called la mantilla.

The common out-door dress of the women of the mid-
dling classes in the larger towns of some of these islands, con-
sists of a white flannel or baize mantilla, drawn close over the
face, and is called la tapada, which signifies that they are
concealed. It is commonly worn over a black bombazine
or silk gown when they go abroad, but on ordinary occa-
sions, it is worn over their common dress. When the man-
tilla is gracefully put on by a well-formed and neatly-
dressed female, it is in the highest degree becoming ; and
being closed over the face in such a manner as only to
leave an opening wide enough to display a pair of spark-
ling black eyes, shaded by the long projecting point of the
mantilla, it gives to the whole appearance of the wearer
an air of mystery, well calculated to attract attention and
curiosity. This dress is frequently assumed by the higher
classes, as a sort of incognito on shopping and other occa-
sions.

Many of the wives of mechanics and shopkeepers wear
a dress which seems to consist of nothing more than two
petticoats made of black bombazine, fastened round the
waist, the lower one worn the common way, and the other
one thrown over the head. ‘The lower one is confined
tight to the waist, by six or seven plaited and folded runs
with strings, and at the bottom it is lined with some light-
colored stuff. The upper one entirely conceals the arms
and hands, which are employed in closing the part which
falls over the forehead. When a person with this dress is
viewed sideways, her appearance is truly ridiculous. The
linen coif and bodice are peculiar to most of the peasant

CANARY ISLANDS. 109

women on the north-western part of Teneriffe. When
going any distance from home they all wear mantillas, and
indeed the only difference in their habit is the pattern of
the nether garment, which is obtained by unravelling
English baize, and weaving it anew into stripes of a
variety of colors, according to the fashion of the place.
This stuff they call el reves y derecho. It is extremely
thick and heavy, and so durable that many of their gar-
ments descend as heir-looms from mother to daughter, for
generations.

The women of the hamlet of Ycod del Alto are very
fond of a mixture of gaudy colors. They wear hats made
of straw, ornamented with small scraps of cloth, and their
‘headgear,’ and sleeves of home-spun linen, are plaited
with the nicest care. Their mantillas are of yellow baize,
bordered with blue ribbon.

At certain seasons of the year, there are fairs held in
many parts of these islands, and the women who attend
them, ornament their hats with as great a variety of showy
ribbons as they are able to obtain at these times.

In the eastern part of Teneriffe, red and yellow are the
predominant colors for the dress of women; and a pair of
silver buckles touching the ground on either side of the
foot, is an indispensable requisite tosuch as wish to be con-
sidered buenas mozas.

The dress peculiar to the women of Palma, particularly
the part called La Punta del Norte, is generally made of
blue camlets lined with yellow flannel, and bordered with
red cord. All of them have a peculiar way of tying a
handkerchief or white cloth over their heads, so that one
of the points projects out from under the cheeks, by which
they may always be distinguished from those of the other
islands. In the neighborhood of Las Sauces, the women
wear a cloth cap resembling el montero which is worn by
the men of I*uerteventura.

The general costume of the countrymen of the Valley of
Orotava, consists of a felt hat of Canary manufacture, a
pair of black breeches of coarse wool or velvet, with a shirt
and calzoncillos, made of domestic linen. They wear the
knee part of their small-clothes loose and open, below

10

110 CANARY ISLANDS.

which hang their calzoncillos or drawers, three or four
inches, leaving the lower part of the legs bare, except in
the colder season, when they wear long stockings, with
shoes. Many of them, such as wood-cutters, herdsmen,
and muleteers, wear a coarse English blanket doubled over
a piece of cord by which it is fastened round the neck.
This serves as a cloak, and defends them against the fre-
quent showers that fall on the more elevated regions, and
also protects them against the cold.

The winter dress of the men of Lanzarote consists of a
long coat of blue cloth, reaching nearly or quite to their
feet, which they wear over their ordinary garments. It is
lined throughout with red baize, and the seams, pocket-
holes, and cuffs are trimmed with the same color. Instead
of a hat, they wear a kind of cap which they call
el montero.

The natives of Fuerteventura are known in the Canaries
by the name of Los Majoreros, from their formerly wearing
a kind of sandals called los majos, which were bound on
their feet by thongs. Their dress in warm weather is limi-
ted to a shirt, and a pair of very wide, short calzoncillos,
confined round the waist by a parti-colored sash, and some-
times they wear a blue cloth waistcoat scalloped round the
back. On holiday occasions, however, the better sort
wear a cloth jacket and small-clothes with coarse leggins.
The use of hats is entirely disregarded by them, a sub-
stitute for which they wear a cap called el montero. It is
made of blue cloth, lined with red or yellow stuff, and is
so constructed that the lower part of it, when loosely put
on, hangs behind the head ; but they can draw it, at pleas-
ure, over the lower part of the face, in such a manner as
to leave only the eyes and nose visible, much in the way
of the ancient viziers. In the latter fashion, it is used in
the winter, or on any occasion when the wearer chooses
to disguise himself, which is, unfortunately, too often the
case.

The dress of the sea-faring men of these islands consists
of a cloth montero, a shirt of colored baize, and a pair of
wide linen calzoncillos, confined round the waist by a
broad, red sash, the folds of which serve for pockets. In
the stormy or cooler weather, they wear a long, thick

CANARY ISLANDS. lll

jacket, which has a kind of hood attached to it, that they
throw over their heads whenever occasion may require it.

From the mildness of the climate of these islands, the
children of the lower classes are permitted to go almost or
completely naked until they are six, eight, or even ten years
of age. They are seldom seen with any other clothing than
a coarse linen or muslin camisa, and often they are seen
in an entire state of nudity.

Employments. The principal occupations of the natives
of these islands, independent of a necessary supply of mer-
chants, husbandmen, mechanics, shopkeepers, and fisher-
men, are as follows :—

Many of the peasantry of the Valley of Orotava of both
sexes, lead a miserable life in gathering the branches of
trees on the mountains and burning them into charcoal,
which they afterwards convey on their heads, or on mules,
to the larger towns, and sell it for a very trifling sum.
They generally go to market provided with a hoe and
sieve, with which, after disposing of their fuel, they collect
and sift such part of the dung-hills in town as may be use-
ful to carry back into the country for manure. They
appreciate this article so highly, that I have known a man
to work nearly half of a day in order to get his hat full.

Many of the men in various parts of the province are
employed as herdsmen. ‘They have the charge of a large
flock of goats or sheep, with which they constantly keep,
day and night. The goats, in many instances, are driven
into town early every morning for the purpose of supplying
the inhabitants with milk.

In Orotava, Santa Cruz, and most other large towns,
there are men and boys employed in conveying people and
luggage from one place to another on horse-back, or on
mules or camels. They generally travel on foot them-
selves over the worst of roads, barefooted, and often with
a heavy burden on their backs or heads.

On Teneriffe, there is another class of men, called Jos
nieveros, who,are employed in summer in conveying snow
and ice from the higher regions of the Peak to the larger
towns, for sale.

The wives and daughters of the sea-faring men of Port
Orotava obtain their daily subsistence by leaving that

112 CANARY ISLANDS.

place every morning, and travelling two or three leagues
into the interior, at day-break, with a basket of fresh or
salted fish, and other articles of demand in the country,
which they barter for vegetables or fruit. They return to
town with a heavy load which they dispose of from door to
door, in small quantities, or sell them to market-women for
the next day’s consumption. ‘These women lead a very
hard life for small gains. It is common to meet parties of
them, barefooted, on their return in the evening, pouring
forth in measured accents their spontaneous song, which
gives utterance to their ‘ hopes and fears,” their “joys
and sorrows.”

In the island of Gomera, one of the principal employ-
ments of the men is that of gathering orchilla, a kind of
lichen, which generally grows on the face or in the clefts
of the steepest rocks. The mode of collecting it is as fol-
lows:—The gatherer fastens one end of a rope twenty or
thirty fathoms in length to a trunk of a tree or to a large
stone on the summit of the precipice, and, after trying its
strength, he lets himself over the brink, and slides down
the rope to its lower extremity, where a stick or piece of
board is fastened cross-wise. On this, he seats himself,
holding on the rope with his left hand, while with a scra-
per in his right hand, he collects the weed and lodges it in
a bag, suspended to his neck. As soon as the bag is filled,
he ascends the rope, “‘ hand over hand,” and after dislodg-
ing its contents, he either descends again, or shifts his
place, according to the scarcity or abundance of the arti-
cle of his pursuit. The dangers of this occupation are
obvious, and accidents often occur from the vibrating of
the rope, or from the giving way of its support; yet habit
has rendered it so little to be dreaded, that the gatherer
pursues it with the most daring intrepidity. He often fixes
his feet agaist the rock, and darts off to a considera-
ble distance from it, in order to ascertain where the orchilla
grows in the greatest abundance. Often they may be
heard singing, suspended in the air, at an elevation where
the eye cannot easily distinguish them.

Notwithstanding these dangers, if a man once com-
mences this business, he seldom, if ever, attempts any other

CANARY ISLANDS. 113

occupation. There is a certain stimulus in it that cannot
be overcome, even by the utmost persuasion.

There are men to be met with from Grand Canary in
almost every part of these islands, trafficking in coarse,
felt hats of their own manufacture. They are purchased
by the lower or middle classes, who are unable to wear
those of a better quality.

Commerce, Agriculture, and General Industry. In
general, the natives of these islands have but just advan-
ced beyond the earliest rudiments of maritime commerce.
They derive a considerable portion of their support, how-
ever, from their fisheries, which exist between Cape Boja-
dor and Cape Blanco, on the coast of Africa; and, in-
deed, the natives of Palma have a natural turn for specu-
lation, either in trafficking to the other islands for for-
eign goods, or in sending small adventures of brandy,
silks, and almonds to Cuba and Porto Rico, where they
send regularly a few small vessels, the only foreign com-
merce that any of the natives of these islands carry on.

Almost all the foreign commerce that these islands pos-
sess, is effected by Europeans, who have settled here, or
a few of the higher classes of the natives. Their staple
products of exportation are wines, brandy, barilla, archil,
silk, potatoes, and a few other vegetables. The principal
articles that they receive in return, are staves, hard-ware,
cutlery, dry goods, and in years of famine, they draw large
cargoes of provisions from America, Spain, England, and
the north of Germany.

These islands, in their present state, are so far from
yielding a profit to the government, that they annually
exact large sums from it for the maintenance of their gar-
risons; while, if they were in the hands of a more liberal
and enterprising nation, they would be of considerable
commercial value.

Agriculture forms the most important branch of industry
among all classes of society ; but with few exceptions, all
the processes employed in preparing the ground, casting
in the seed, and gathering the harvest, are slight and
simple. The only plough used here, is a rude implement,
constructed entirely of wood, except a small iron colter,
which just serves to scratch and turn over the stony sur-

10*

114 CANARY ISLANDS.

face of the soil, and is put together in the roughest man-
ner possible. It is drawn with a pair of oxen, and little
effort is requisite to keep it down; in fact, the whole is
so slight a concern, that the laborer, on unyoking his team
at the end of his work, always throws the plough over his
shoulders, and carries it home without any inconvenience.
The greater portion of the natives, having no personal inter-
est in the soil which they cultivate, do not exert themselves
beyond that state which the fertility of the soil renders pro-
ductive. No inducements are held out by the Spanish
government for improvements of any kind, and the natives,
possessing an hereditary aversion to the introduction of
modern inventions, do not advance one step beyond the
modes which have been adopted for centuries. ‘‘ Unhappily,
the real welfare of the inhabitants does not correspond with
the advantages which nature has lavished on these regions.
The farmers are not proprietors; the fruits of their labor
belong to the nobles; and those feudal institutions, which,
for so long a time, have spread misery throughout Europe,
still weigh heavily on the happmess of the people.”

The cultivated regions are so fertile, that two crops of
grain may be obtained in a year, and a succession of crops
of potatoes and many other kinds of vegetables or fruits.
Grain is raised only by imperfectly ploughing the ground
and sowing the seed which is slightly covered with a hoe,
and being profusely supplied with moisture, it brings forth
in abundance, and is separated from the ear in a very rude
manner. A circular space in the field is prepared by mak-
ing a solid and smooth foundation, upon which the sheaves
are placed, and a long frame with projecting points on the
under side is dragged over them by oxen or cows; upon
this frame the driver sits, and often it is loaded with
stones. The projecting points break the straw and detach
the kernel, which is carefully separated, and is ready for
use. But one of the greatest exertions bestowed upon
agricultural industry, is the culture of the grape. The
vines are planted among the crevices and loose fragments
of lavas, from which they derive their nourishment, and
spread their tendrils over the surface of the rocks, receiv-
ing the whole influence of the heat from the perpendicular
rays of the sun, as well as from the reflected heat from the

CANARY ISLANDS. 115

stones upon which they rest. In some instances, the vines
are trained over lattice-work, forming delightful arbors, but
their fruit is less delicious than when ripened the other
Way. |

The vintage occurs from the middle to the last of Sep-
tember, when the peasantry of both sexes are engaged in
gathering the fruit and making wine. The extemporane-
ous song resounds throughout the valley, and the laborer
keeps time to his tune, and all seems less like a scene of
labor than a gay festival. The process of making wine
is similar to that practised in Madeira, the Azores, or most
of the countries of Europe. The grapes are first cut from
the vines, and conveyed to the press, which consists of a
large vat holding forty or fifty bushels. As soon as the
vat is completely filled with the fruit, four or five of the la-
boring men enter it, bare-legged, and tread the grapes until
they are quite broken. In the mean time, the principal
part of the juice is expressed and conveyed into proper
vessels, and afterwards to the wine-cellar, where it is put
into large casks in order to undergo the process of fer-
mentation. ‘The remaining grapes are subjected to heavy
pressure, which deprives them of the rest of their juice,
which is conveyed away as the former. The wine in this
state is very like new cider, but more insipid to the taste ;
but after being fermented and receiving a due portion of
alcohol, it receives that flavor as when remitted to us.

Another considerable source of industry is the produc-
tion of barilla. ‘This substance, though generally thought
to be a mineral, from the form it assumes, is made from a
species of plant, (Salsola soda. Lin.) It thrives best
on the cliffs near the ocean, and seems to be possessed
with the property of decomposing the salt-water, which is
conveyed to it in the form of vapors or spray, in separat-
ing the muriatic acid from the soda, the latter of which, it
absorbs. Its seed is sown in winter, and the period for
gathe?ing it usually begins about the end of July or the early
part of August. The weeds are first torn up by the roots
and thrown into large pits dug in the earth, and after being
suffered partially to dry, they are set on fire, and the alkali
contained in them, flows in a liquid state from the bottom
of the pit. This liquid, on cooling, hardens into large,

116 CANARY ISLANDS.

stone-like masses, in the manner as shipped to us. It is
not fifty years since this plant was first introduced into
these islands from Spain, and its cultivation is an increas-
ing source of wealth.

The following table exhibits the amount of the principal
productions of these islands in an abundant year :—

Total.

Teneriffe
Canary.
Palma
Lanzarote
Fuerteventura.
Gomera.
Hierro.

iia Se ERD ie wiih ERA Guat. eves teen em
Wine, | 23,560| 8,848! 5,158] 3,720] 220] 2,650] 2,100| 46,256 pipes.
Wheat, | 85,617| 60,876] 17,978] 51,120] 60,860] 8,520] 480/285,451 fanegas.
Maize, | 38,259] 122,980| 5,120] 19,140} 5,200] 4,680] 1,000]196,379 — «
Barley, | 25,100] 55,600| 18,570] 92,980] 120,500] 9,300] 9,360|331,410 — «
Rye, 7,948} 4,960] 5,600] 5,060] 550] 1,700} 900] 26,718 = «
Pulse, | 13,710] 11,560] 9,100] 10,150] 1,600] 3,820] 400] 50,340 = «
Potatoes, 400,000] 180,000] 80,000| 50,000} 15,000] 22,000] 11,000|758,000 — «
Barilla, | 35,000 46,000] 33,000 114,000 quintals.
Archil, 410| 190} 135] 125] 390] 140] 108} 1,498“

The sledges used on these islands for the conveyance of
casks of wine and other goods, are of the rudest construc-
tion that can be imagined. They consist of only two rough
pieces of wood, terminating at a point at the forward end,
and spreading out at the hind end at the distance of about
two and a half feet. These are kept in their position
by two cross pieces nailed on the top. One end of a
pole, is fastened to the forward end of the sledge by
thongs of leather, while the other end is attached to the
heavy yoke that crosses the neck of the oxen directly be-
hind their horns, to which the yoke is confined by other
thongs that rest on a mat or cushion placed on their fore-
heads. The provincial name for the sledge is da corsa,
and the Spanish name of the yoke, la yunta.

Manufactures, in a country where the people are satis-
fied with the simplest accommodation, cannot be ex-
pected to attain any high importance. The distaff and
spindle are universally used by the spinsters of all these
islands. Not a female in the province will allow ma-
chinery in the shape of a spinning-wheel to supersede
their most simple and ancient implements. ‘The females

CANARY ISLANDS. IF?

of Palma, however, are extremely industrious, in whose
dwellings is to be seen, besides their ordinary utensils of
house-hold work, either a small loom for weaving ribbons,
garters, and other trifling articles, or reels for winding the
silk which is produced in that island. Within a few
years, they have very much improved the quality of their
manufactures, and now produce some excellent samples of
different kinds of silk cloths, which possess almost as
much firmness as the French fabric, and of far greater
substance, but deficient in gloss and colors, which distin-
tinguish the latter, which they have not the means of imi-
tating.

Boston, Wednesday,
May 21, 1834.

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LETTER xs.

History.

Ir is generally admitted that the Canary Islands are
the Fortunate Islands of the ancients, and many writers
have contended, and with some degree of plausibility, that
they formed a part of the vast island known under the name
of Atlantis. ‘Those who are of this opinion found their
belief on the testimony of Plato. He represents it as a
large island in the western ocean, situated before or op-
posite to the Straits of Gades. Out of this island there
was an easy passage into some others which lay near a
large continent, exceeding in bigness both Libya and
Africa together. Neptune settled in this island, from
whose son, Atlas, came its name, and divided it among
his ten sons. ‘The descendants of Neptune reigned there
during a period of 9,000 years. But subsequently, pro-
digious earthquakes and deluges took place, and in the
space of one day and night, the whole was brought into a
state of desolation, and the noble race of people who in-
habited it, was at once merged into the earth, and the
island itself being absorbed in the sea, entirely disappeared,
and for a long time afterwards the sea was innavigable on
account of the rocks and shoals that existed thereabouts.*

Most of those who admit the foregoing remarks to be
true, consider the Azores, the Madeiras, the Canaries, and
the Cape de Verds to be the fragments of Atlantis; and
contend that the Azores were connected with Ireland,
and that the Cape de Verds extended to the Carribee Islands.
One thing, however, is certain, if this be true, the whole

* Vide Plato’s Timeus.

120 CANARY ISLANDS,

island must have been a continuous chain of volcanos, for
all these islands are decidedly of volcanic origin; and who-
ever will attentively examine the basaltic cliffs of the Giant’s
Causeway, will soon discover sufficient cause to conclude
that the crater from which that melted matter flowed, was ac-
tually sunk, at some remote period of time, and became the
bottom of the Atlantic Ocean—a period, indeed, much be-
yond the reach of any historical monument or even of tra-
dition itself.* And often, in strong easterly winds, vitri-
fied substances, as well as tufa and pumice-stones, are
washed up by the waves on the eastern shores of the An-
tilles, which tends to prove that the bottom of the ocean
from thence, towards the Cape de Verds, is covered with
the debris of some large volcano, that has consumed its
foundation, and buried itself beneath the ocean.

The first writer among the Greeks who has made any
mention of the Atlantic Islands, is supposed to be Hesiod,
who speaks of the Hesperides and the Gorgons, about 640
years before the commencement of the Christian era. But
long before that period, some of the illustrious Myrmidonian
navigators probably made occasional voyages to these and
other islands, either driven there by adverse winds, or
incited by an enterprising spirit, and gave rise to the various
traditions respecting the renowned country, Atlantis, the
Elysian Fields, the Gardens of the Hesperides, the
Fortunate Islands, and other delightful abodes, the beau-
ties of which were either heightened by the vanity of
the discoverer, or were the actual descriptions of the more
fertile regions and richer scenery of Teneriffe, Madeira, or
other Atlantic Isles.

‘When Sertorius, a native of Nursia, fled before the
arms of Sylla, and having passed the straits of Gades,
reached the coast of the river Betis, he there met with
some seamen who were but lately returned from thie
Tortunate Islands, and spoke in the highest terms of the
beauty of the country.” This circumstance is mentioned
by Plutarch in his life of Sertorius, with the additional in-
formation, that the islands mentioned were two in number,

* Vide Whitehurst’s Theory, p. 91.

CANARY ISLANDS. 121

situated about 10,000 stadia from the coast of Africa.
These flattering descriptions seemed to offer so much tran-
quillity to the harrassed partizan of Marius, that Sertorius,
in a moment of despondency, had resolved to embark ; but
the war which broke out in Africa awakened the military
spirit which he possessed in so eminent a degree. He
therefore returned to scenes more congenial with his nature,
delivered the Mauritanians from the yoke of a tyrant, and
having accepted the proffered friendship of the Lusitanians,
was invested by them with absolute authority. ‘The infor-
mation which Sertorius had received respecting these
islands, and the disposition he had manifested to reside
there, induced others to make the voyage. About twenty
years afterwards, Statius Sebosus collected the various
accounts that had prevailed, and whatever journals had
appeared ; but vainly attempting to make such narratives
agree, he was led into errors which required more than
fourteen hundred years to correct.

The short account which Juba, the young king of Mau-
ritania composed, respecting some islands in the Atlantic,
was preserved, and confused by Pliny. In this royal jour-
nal of maritime discovery, a new island is added to the
number which Sebosus had previously mentioned.

The following table exhibits the names of these islands
as described by Sertorius, Plutarch, Sebosus, Juba, and
Ptolemy, corresponding with their modern names :—

5 g 2 3 5
~ 3 ~ S 3 Modern Names.
~
a ie si x
Atlantic. | Fortunate. | Hesperides, | Purpuria. | Apositos. Fuerteventura.
Atlantic. | Fortunate. | Hesperides. | Purpuria. Junonia rote.
| perides, | Purp ‘Autkolala. Lanzarote
: Junonia :
Junonia parva. Graciosa
Pluvialia. Ombrios. | Pluitalia. Hierro.
Capraria. Capraria. | Casperia. Gomera.
Convallis. | Nivaria. Pinturia. Teneritfe.
Planaria. Canaria. | Canaria. Canary.

| | | Junonia. Junonia. | Palma.

Ombrios is described by Juba as being uninhabited.
The Mauritanian seamen found a pond in the mountains,

11

122 CANARY ISLANDS,

and also observed many curious trees, some of which
yielded a bitter kind of water, while from others they pro-
cured water by no means unpleasant to the taste. They
visited Junonia which presented nothing remarkable ex-
cept a small, stone temple. Near Junonia, they fell in
with another smaller island to which they gave the same
name. They afterwards visited Capraria which was in-
fested with enormous lizards. The Mauritanian naviga-
tors then stretched across to the opposite island, which,
from the continual mist and snow that enveloped it, they
called Nivaria. Adjoining Nivaria, they discovered an-
other island, to which they gave the name of Canaria, from
the number of large dogs found upon it, two of which
were captured and presented to Juba.

After the decline of the Roman empire, these islands
remained unknown to Europeans until the year 1328, when
they were accidentally discovered by an Englishman by
the name of Robert Macham, who was driven there by a
tempest, and on his return, made his discovery known.
In 1334, Alphonso IV. of Portugal, sent Louis de Ordo
to conquer them; but being repulsed at Gomera, he aban-
doned his enterprise. From this circumstance, the Por-
tuguese founded their claim to these islands. But Pope
Clement VI. granted them to prince Louis, of Spain, son
of Alphonso de la Corde, the right heir of Castile, by the
name of the Furtunate Islands, and caused soldiers to be
levied in France and Italy to assist him in the conquest,
which gave such umbrage to the English ambassadors then
at Rome, who thought there were no other Fortunate
Islands than those of the British empire, that they sent an
express to the English court to prevent the danger of the sus-
pected conveyance. But nothing was done in pursuance
of the Pope’s grant until 1385, when some Biscayans fell
among these islands, and having plundered Lanzarote, re-
turned to Spain with great stores of wax, hides, and other
commodities of the island. ‘The next expedition to Lanza-
rote was from Seville in 13938, not to subdue the islands, but
to enrich themselves by robbery and plunder. At this time,
several people of Spain were excited by avarice, and soli-
cited Henry ILI. king of Castile, for a license to conquer
these islands, as he pretended they were his property.
Accordingly, a grant was given to Jean de Bethencourt, a

CANARY ISLANDS. 123

Norman, in 1400, who subdued Lanzarote, Fuerteventura,
Gomera, and Hierro, after a contest of six years. The
other islands remained unconquered, after numerous un-
successful attempts by the Spaniards, who were repeatedly
interrupted by the Portuguese, until the year 1477, when
the island of Canary was conquered by Don Juan Rejon un-
der the crown of Castile. Under the same reign, the island
of Palma was subdued in 1491 by Alonzo de Lugo, who,
at last, completed the subjugation of these islands by the
bloody battle of Laguna in 1493. Ever since that event,
they have been subject to the crown of Spain.

When the Europeans first came to these islands they
were inhabited by a savage race of people, the following
account of whom, is translated from a Spanish manu-
script written by Juan de Abreu Gallineo, a Franciscan
friar in the island of Palma, in the year 1562 :—

The natives of Lanzarote were of a middling stature,
having a tawny complexion, and straight, coarse, black
hair. ‘They were of a humane, social, and cheerful dispo-
sition, and were very fond of singing and dancing. Their
music was vocal, accompanied by a noise they made by
clapping their hands, and beating the ground with their
feet. They were very active, and took great delight in
leaping and jumping, which were their principal diversions.

When they were ill, which seldom happened, they effected
a cure with such herbs as were peculiar to the island; or *
when they had acute pains, they produced a scar on the
part affected, or burned it with fire, and anointed it with
butter. They deposited their dead in caves, stretching
out the bodies and covering them with goat-skins.

Their food consisted of gofio, butter and milk, and goats’
flesh boiled or roasted. They ate their food from vessels
made of clay, and hardened by the heat of the sun. Their
method of obtaining fire was by taking a stick of hard,
dry wood, which they caused to ‘turn round rapidly on the
point, within a soft, dry, spongy thistle, which soon became
ignited.

The costume of the natives of Lanzarote consisted of
goat-skins sewed together and fashioned like a cloak, with
a hood to it, which reached to the knees. The seams
were closed in a very neat manner with thongs of leather,

124 CANARY ISLANDS.

which were as fine as common thread. Instead of knives
and scissors, they used sharp stones of obsidian. Their
shoes were made of goat-skins with the hairy side out-
ward. They wore bonnets made of goat-skins also, hav-
ing three large feathers placed in front; the women wore
the same, with a fillet of leather dyed red with the bark
of some shrubs. The men had long hair, and wore their
beards plaited. The king of the island wore a diadem or
crown resembling a bishop’s mitre, made of goat-skin, and
ornamented with sea-shells.

When they sowed their ground with barley, their only
grain, they dug or ploughed it with goats’ horns. They
threshed their grain with sticks and winnowed it with their
hands, and reduced it to flour by means of two small porta-
ble mill-stones.

Their houses were built of stones, without the aid of
mortar, and were very strong. ‘The threshold was so
narrow that but one person could enter atatime. They
also had houses of worship and devotion, called efeguen,
which were built of loose stones, of a circular form, com-
posed of two walls, one within the other, with a space
between, and like their dwelling houses, were entered by
a narrow threshold. In these temples, they offered to their
one and only God, milk and butter. They sacrificed to
him on the mountains, pouring out, from earthen vessels,
offerings of goats’ milk, and adoring him at the same time,
by lifting their hands towards the heavens.

Duels and combats were frequent among them, which
they fought with large clubs called tezzezes. If a man en-
tered the door of his enemy’s house, at his knowledge, and
killed him, or did him any injury whatever, he was not pun-
ished for it; but if he came upon him unawares and killed
him, he was put to death, by placing his head upon a flat
stone, and with another, dashing out his brains.

The manners, and customs, and mode of life of the
natives of Fuerteventura were similar to those of Lanzarote.
They were of a larger stature, however, and were pos-
sessed with solid courage, and a warlike spirit. They
were clothed with jackets made of sheep-skins with the

CANARY ISLANDS. 125

sleeves short, and reaching no further than their elbows.
They wore high, goat-skin caps, and short breeches which
left the knee bare, and socks or short stockings that reached
little higher than the ankles. They wore the same kind
of shoes as the natives of Lanzarote, and dressed their hair
and beards in the same manner.

In this island there lived two women, one named Tibiatin,
and the other T'amonante, who were mother and daughter.
The business of one was to settle and compose differences
that might arise among the chiefs of the island, and that of
the other to regulate the ceremonies. The natives believed
them to have been sent from heaven to instruct them, to
foretell future events, and to cause them to live in peace
and unanimity with each other. It was by the assistance
of these two women that Bethencourt made an easy con-
quest of thisisland. When he arrived there, it was divided
into two portions, each of which was governed by its own
king, and separated by a wall of loose stones, crossing the
island from shore to shore.

The natives of Gomera were of a lively disposition, of a
middle stature, very active and dexterous in attacking and
defending, and excellent slingers of stones and darts. It
was a common amusement with the young people to cast
small stones and darts at each other, to avoid which, they
seldom moved their feet, but only waved their bodies ; and
they used to catch in their hands the stones and arrows as
they flew. In their combats, they made use of slings, bows,
lances, and darts made of hard wood. ‘They had several
men among them renowned for valor, and others who were
famous for their songs.

The costume of the men of Gomera was a sort of cloak
made of goat-skins which extended below their knees.
The women wore a petticoat, and a head-dress which hung
down to their shoulders, made of goat-skins, dyed and
painted red and blue in a curious manner. Their shoes
were made of hog-skins.

When Bethencourt arrived there, the island was divided
into four parts, each division governed by a chief or king.
These chiefs often had quarrels among themselves concern-

1

126 CANARY ISLANDS.

ing the limits of their respective districts; and when a quar-
rel was to be decided by combat, they divested themselves of
their cloaks, tied a kind of bandage about their waists and
proceeded to action.

The natives of Hierro were of a middling stature, and of
a melancholy turn of mind. ‘Their songs were on grave
subjects, and set to slow, plaintive tunes, to which they
danced in a ring, joining together their hands. They
lived in large circular inclosures, the walls of which were
built of dry stones without the aid of cement, each inclos-
ure having one narrow entry. On the inside they placed
poles or spars against the walls, in such a manner that one
end might rest on top of the wall, and the other end on
the ground, at a considerable distance from it ; these they
covered with the branches of trees and ferns. Each
inclosure contained about twenty families. Their beds
were made of ferns covered with goat-skins.

Their principal food consisted of the flesh of goats,
sheep, and hogs; they also had a species of potatoe, but
no grain. ‘Their bread was made of fern-roots which they
ate with butter and milk. Before they offered their infants
the breast, their mothers gave them fern-roots, roasted,
bruised, and mixed with butter.

When any one became ill, they rubbed the patient’s
body all over with sheep’s marrow and butter, taking care
to cover him up warm to promote perspiration. When any
one happened to get cut or wounded, they burned the part
affected, and then anointed it with butter in the same
manner as the natives of Lanzarote. ‘They deposited
their dead in caves, and if the deceased was wealthy, they
buried him in his clothes, and placed a board at his feet,
and the staff with which he used to travel at his side, and
then closed the mouth of the cavern with stones to prevent
the ravens from devouring hin.

The costume of the men consisted of a cloak made of
three sheep-skins sewed together, the wool side of which
they wore next to their skin, in winter, and in summer,
they reversed it. ‘The costume of the women, besides a
cloak made of sheep-skins, consisted of a petticoat which

CANARY ISLANDS. 127

reached down to the middle of their legs. In sewing these
skins together, they used small thongs for thread, and
small, pointed bones for needles. They went bare-headed,
with their long hair done up into a number of plaits. Their
shoes were made of the raw skins of sheep, goats, or hogs.

The natives adored two deities, one of them male, and
the other female. The male was named Eraoranzan, and
was worshipped by the men; and the female was named
Moneyba, and worshipped by the women. They had no
representations of these deities, nor did they sacrifice to
them, but only prayed in the time of necessities. The
natives feigned that when their gods were inclined to do
them good, they came to the island and stationed them-
selves on two great rocks, named Ventayca, which are sit-
uated in a place called by the Spaniards, Los Antillos de
los Antiguos. On these rocks, the deities received their
petitions, and afterwards returned to heaven. When a
long contmuance of dry weather occurred, and they were
reduced to great necessity, and their prayers were not an-
swered, they assembled together at Ventayca with their
cattle and there held a fast for three days and as many
nights, weeping and lamenting, and their flocks bleating
for the want of food. If all this did not produce rain, they
sent a man whom they considered as a saint, to a cave
called Atecheita, where he invoked the gods to send a me-
diator, upon which, as tradition gives it, an animal like a
pig would appear to him, called Aranjaibo, or mediator.
Then the saint would put the animal under his cloak and
carry it to the natives who were assembled at Ventayca,
and they formed themselves and their flocks into a proces-
sion, and continued to walk round the rocks lamenting and
wailing.

They all lived under one king, consequently they never
had occasion to go to war. They had no rules in their
marriages, except that a man should not marry his mother,
daughter, or sister, and could not marry but one wife.
They were all on an equality, except the king, who received
no stipulated tribute, but every one made him presents
according to his wealth or pleasure ; and the only distinc-
tion among them was in their substance, which consisted
in flocks. It was customary for a man when he chose a

128 CANARY ISLANDS.

wife, to make a present of cattle to her father according
to his ability, as an acknowledgement. When they made
a feast, they killed one or two fat lambs, according to the
number of guests, and roasted them whole; these they
placed on the ground, and seating themselves round them,
never rose until they had entirely devoured them.

They inflicted no punishment for crimes except murder
and theft. The murderer was put to death in the same
manner as he killed the deceased. For the first offence
of the thief they put out one of his eyes, and for the second,
the other, that he might not see to steal any more. Their
punishments were executed by a particular person set
apart to perform offices on these occasions.

When the natives perceived Bethencourt’s ships ap-
proaching with their white sails, they remembered the
prophecy of a man who had formerly lived among them,
named Yore, and who was considered a soothsayer or divin-
er. This man, when on his death-bed, called the natives to-
gether, and told them that long after he was dead and gone,
and his flesh should be consumed, and his bones mouldered
to dust, their god Eraoranzan would come to them in white
houses on the water; and advised them not to resist him
nor fly from him, but adore him, for he was to come to do
them good. The natives, who placed great faith in his pre-
dictions, buried him in a separate place from the rest of
their dead, that his bones might be afterwards distinguished
from theirs. On seeing the ships approach with their white
sails swelling on the surface of the waves, they firmly be-
lieved that the prophecy was fulfilled, and directly went
to the cave where Yore was buried, and there found his
bones crumbled to dust; upon which, they ran joyously to
the shore to receive their god Eraoranzan. |

The natives of Canary were of a dark complexion, well-
proportioned, and of a good stature. ‘They were an active,
warlike people, but cheerful and good-natured, and were
strictly faithful to their promises. They were very fond
of hazardous feats, such as climbing to the top of steep
precipices, and pitching poles of so great weight, that one of
them was a sufficient burden for a man of ordinary strength

CANARY ISLANDS. 129

to carry on level ground. They had public houses or
rooms in which they assembled to dance and sing. ‘Their
songs were either dirges or amorous sonnets, set to grave
and plaintive tunes.

The houses of the Canarians were built of stone without
cement, but were regular, and had a neat appearance. At
the top, they had wooden beams or rafters very close to
each other, and were covered with earth. Their walls
were low, and their floors were sunk below the surface of
the earth. ‘Their beds consisted of goat-skins dressed in
a curious manner withthe hairon. Their other furniture
consisted of baskets and mats made of palm leaves and
rushes very ingeniously wrought. ‘The women, in general,
were employed in painting and dyeing, the colors for which,
they extracted from flowers and shrubs. The thread
which they used for sewing and other purposes was made
from the elastic sinews of sheep, goats, or swine. ‘These
they first anointed with butter, and after undergoing an
operation by fire, they were susceptible of being split into
fine threads at pleasure. Their needles were made of
bone, and their fish-hooks of horn. All their vessels used
in cooking were made of clay, hardened by the sun, in the
same manner as those of Lanzarote. Their wealth con-
sisted chiefly in cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs.

Their common food consisted of goats’ flesh, milk and
gofio. When they made a feast, they dressed their goats’
flesh in lard or butter.

The costume of the Canarians was a tight coat with a
hood to it like that of a capuchin friar; it reached down
to the knees, and was girded about the waist with a leather
belt. This garment was made of a kind of rush, which
they beat till it was quite soft like flax, and then divided
the filaments and wove them together. Over this they
wore cloaks of goat-skins with the hair-side outwards, in
summer, and inwards, in winter. ‘They also had caps
made of goat-skins taken off almost entire, which they
placed on their heads in such a manner, that they had the
goats’ beard hanging under each ear, which they some-
times tied under their chin. All these garments were
neatly sewed and painted, and in every respect were supe-
rior to those of the natives of the other islands. Some of

130 CANARY ISLANDS.

the women wore bonnets made of skins, adorned with
feathers. Their shoes were made of raw skins like those
of the natives of the other islands.

The Canarians had among them religious women, called
magadas, a number of whom lived together in one house,
and were held sacred; and criminals who fled to any of
them were protected from the officers of justice. The
magadas were distinguished from other women by their
long, white garments, which swept the ground as they
walked. The houses in which they dwelt were called
tamoganteen Alcoran, (houses of God.) The natives had
temples of worship called almogaren, (holy houses,) which
they daily sprinkled with goats’ milk. They believed that
their God, Alcoran, dwelt on high, and governed every-
thing on earth. They adored him by putting their hands
together, and raising them towards the sky.

In the island there are two large rocks, one in the dis-
trict of Galdar, which the natives called T%rmac, and the
other in Telde, called Vinicaya. ‘They went to these rocks
at the time of public calamity, in procession, accompanied
by the magadas, carrying branches of palm-trees and ves-
sels filled with milk and butter which they poured on the
rocks. ‘They then commenced dancing around them, sing-
ing mournful songs or dirges, called by the Spaniards las
endechas. l*rom thence they went to the sea-side, and all.
at once, and with one accord, struck the water forcibly with
their rods, all shouting at the same time with a very loud
voice.

The Canarians had nobility among them, who were
distinguished from the populace by the peculiar cut of
their hair and beards. It was not sufficient to entitle a
man to nobility by being the offspring of noble or rich
parents, but it was necessary for him to be declared noble,
formally, by the facag, a person of great rank, and next in
dignity to the guanarteme, or king. It was his duty also
to decide differences among the natives, and to regulate
the ceremonies of their religion; in fact, he was a priest,
and also a judge in civil affairs.

The Canarians were remarkable for their good govern-
ment, regularity, and strict administration of justice.
When a man committed a crime deserving death, he was
apprehended and imprisoned, where he was tried, and im-

CANARY ISLANDS. 131

mediately upon conviction, he was led to the place of exe-
cution. Then he was stretched out on the ground with his
head placed on a flat stone, and the executioner, a man set
apart for that office, taking a heavy stone, and lifting it as
high as he could, suddenly let it fall on the criminal’s
head. But for crime not worthy of death, they used the
lex talionis, “ eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” etc.

In their wars, they viewed it as base and mean to mo-
lest or injure the women and children of their enemies,
considering them innocent, and therefore improper objects
of resentment. Their war instruments were clubs, stones,
and sharp-pointed poles hardened by fire.

They had public places set apart for fighting duels,
which consisted of eminences or stages raised above the
ground. When a challenge was given and accepted, the
parties went to the council of the island, which was com-
posed of twelve members, called gayres, and obtained a
license to fight. ‘They then went to the facag to have
this license confirmed. This being done they brought
together all their friends to be spectators to their gallan-
try and behavior. They next mounted upon two stones,
placed on each side of the stage, where they stood with
their feet stationary till both had thrown three rounds of
stones at one another. Though they were good marks-
men, yet they generally avoided those missive weapons by
the agile writhing of their bodies. ‘Then arming them-
selves with sharp stones in their left hand, and clubs in
their right, they approached one another and continued
beating and cuttmmg one another until they were nearly
exhausted, when the parties retired, by consent, and re-
freshed themselves. ‘They then returned to the scene of
action and renewed their engagement, continuing with
increased violence, until their council cried out gama!
gama! (enough! enough!) when they immediately
ceased fight, and afterwards remained friends. If, during the
combat, one of the party happened to break his club, the
other immediately desisted from striking, and there the
dispute ended, and neither of them were declared victor.
If they were deeply wounded, they beat a rush until
it became like flax, which they dipped into hot butter and
applied to the wound ; the older the butter was, the sooner
it effected a cure.

132 CANARY ISLANDS.

When the Canarians were inclined to marry their daugh-
ters, they set them apart thirty days, during which, they
fed them with large quantities of milk and gofio, in order
to fatten them.* Polygamy was never practised among
them, as some misinformed writers have affirmed. They
were very careful in the education of their children, and
never failed to chastise them when they did wrong. It
was also a custom among them to propose two youths, one
virtuous and the other vicious, as examples for the rest, of
good and evil.

When any of the nobles died, they deprived the body
of its intestines, washed it, and after drying it in the sun,
swathed it with bandages of goat-skin, and then fixed it
upright in a cave, clothed with the same garment as the
deceased wore when alive. But if no suitable cave was at
hand, they deposited the body in a stone coffin in some
barren part of the island, covering it up in a very ingeni-
ous manner with small stones. Some of their dead were
put into chests, and afterwards deposited in a kind of stone
sepulchre. ‘The lower class of people were buried in holes
dug in some retired place, and covered over with dry stones.
All the bodies, except those set upright im caves, were
placed with their heads to the north.

None of the Canarians exercised the occupation of a
butcher except the very lowest class of society. This
employment was accounted so ignominious, that they
would not so much as allow one of that profession to enter
any of their houses, or to touch anything that belonged to
them. It was unlawful for the butchers even to keep
company with any except those of their own profession,
and when they wanted anything of any other person, they
were obliged to carry a long staff with them, and point at
whatever they wanted, when standing at a considerable
distance. As a recompense for this abject state, the other
natives were obliged to supply them with everything that

* A similar custom was practised among the Libyans. Before they gave their
daughters in marriage, they kept them apart for a time, and fedthem with milk
until they became fat. One of the principal articles of food among them was a
substance similar to gofio, which they called couscoussou. These customs tend to
prove that the Canarians descended from, or had some intercourse with, the
Libyans.

CANARY ISLANDS. 133

they needed. It was unlawful for any of them to slaughter
animals, except the butchers, and when any person wanted
a beast killed, he was obliged to lead it to the public sham-
bles for that purpose.

When the Europeans first came to Canary, it was sup-
posed that the island contained 14,000 fighting-men.
They were governed by captains, or patriarchs, who pre-
sided over small circles, like parishes. Each tribe was
confined to its own district, and was not allowed to graze
its flocks on the grounds of another tribe. The natives
were more polished and civilized than those of the other
islands. Their division of time was reckoned by moons.
They tilled their ground with a wooden instrument,
not unlike a hoe, with a tooth or spur at the end of it,
on which they placed a goat’s horn. After sowing their
barley, if the rain neglected to fail, they watered their
fields by means of canals or rills. They threshed their
grain with sticks, or beat it out with their feet, and win-
nowed it with their hands.

When the Europeans first landed on Palma, the island
produced no sort of corn nor edible roots, except the seeds
of a kind of shrub, and fern roots. Both of these substan-
ces were reduced to powder and eaten with milk or broth.
The rest of their food consisted of the flesh of goats, sheep,
and hogs, which they either boiled or roasted. The skins
of the first two animals served for clothing, and that of the
latter for shoes. ‘The weapon they used in war was a staff
or pole, sharpened at the point, and hardened by the fire.

The island was divided into twelve districts, each of
which was governed by its own lord or captain. Their
police was not so good as that of the other islands. He
who could steal with such address as not to be discovered,
was considered as the cleverest fellow, and if any one hap-
pened to be detected in this practice, no other punishment
was inflicted on him than of being obliged to restore the
article stolen. If a man received an insult from any one
of his own district} he thought it mean to complain of the
injury to his captain, and avenged his own cause, by col-

12

134 CANARY ISLANDS.

lecting his friends, and retaliating the affront, by taking up
their residence in some other district.

The natives of Palma held the sun and moon in great
veneration, keeping an exact account of time, in order to
know when it would be new or full moon, which were
times of particular devotions. ‘Their manner of worship
was by assembling together on certain occasions, sing-
ing and dancing round a high pyramid of loose stones,
and sometimes accompanied with wrestling, and perform-
ing other feats of agility. In one of the districts, instead
of a pyramid of loose stones, there was one formed by
nature, being a large basaltic rock upwards of a hundred
fathoms in height, where the natives worshipped their god
Idafe, whose name the rock still retains. ‘They were in
continual apprehension of its fallmg down, and therefore,
when they killed a sheep or goat, they roasted a piece of
it, which was presented to the rock by two persons, who,
on going thither, sung these words :—Y iguida, y iguan,
Idafe, which signifies in their language, ‘It will fall,
Idafe.” Upon this, the other answered in the same tone,
Guegerte, y guantaro, which signifies ‘‘ Give to it, and
it will not fall”’ On reaching the rock, they threw
down the offermg, and both ran away, and the meat was
quickly devoured by the ravens which hovered round the
rock. Besides Idafe, they acknowledged one God in the
heavens, greater than all, called Abora, whom they adored.
They also believed in an evil being, called Irvene, which
it is said, sometimes appeared to them in the shape of a
shock-dog. They were extremely alarmed in time of sick-
ness, and when any one was taken ill, he sent for his
friends, and said to them, vacaguare, that is, “‘I want to
die.” Upon this he was carried into a cave and laid upon
a bed of goat-skins, with a vessel of milk by his side, and
the mouth of the cave was closed, leaving him to expire by
himself. The natives deposited their dead in caves, and
always placed them on goat-skins, considering it improper
for a dead body to touch the ground.

The Guanches, or natives of Teneriffe, were generally
famed for their tall stature, and sometimes attained an

CANARY ISLANDS. 135

incredible height. It is said that a descendant of one of
the kings of Guimar was fourteen feet in height, Spanish,*
and had eighty teeth. His body, when dead, was kept for
many years in the cave of Guar Damohatex, which is
situated a few miles to the south-westward of Santa Cruz.
He is said to have been hardy, brave, and of good stomach.
The natives of the southern part of the island were of a
tawny and sun-burnt complexion, and many of them had
dark hair, flat noses, and spare, thin faces. Those of the
northern side of the island were rather tall, well-made,
and of robust constitutions. They had fine, clear counte-
nances, and generally lighter hair than those of the south-
ern part. The females were peculiarly beautiful, having
expressive countenances, and brilliant eyes. The Guan-
ches possessed an acute understanding, and were so quick
of discernment, that they would count a large flock of
sheep and goats, when issuing tumultuously out of the fold,
without so much as moving their lips or pointing to them
with their fingers, and this with the greatest exactness.

The Guanches had no other houses than caves formed
by nature in the rocks. They slept on beds‘made of herbs
and grass covered with goat-skins, neatly dressed and
sewed together, and with blankets or coverings of the same
materials. ‘There were among them artificers who dressed
goat-skins and made their garments. ‘They also had _pot-
ters who manufactured a kind of rude earthen-ware, and
carpenters who wrought in wood. ‘They had no animals
except sheep, goats, and small dogs which they called
cancha. "Their grain was wheat and barley. The men
prepared the ground for seed, by digging it with wooden
hoes, and the women sowed the seed.

The Guanches were very neat and cleanly; they wash-
ed their faces and hands whenever they rose from sleep,
and before and after their meals. ‘Their food was the
flesh of goats and sheep, boiled or roasted, which they ate
alone, and not like the Europeans, with the addition of
bread or roots. The rest of their food consisted prinei-
pally of gofio, milk, butter, and roots. After eating, they
did not drink for the space of half an hour, as they imag-

* About twelve feet and eleven inches English.

136 CANARY ISLANDS.

ined that drinking cold water immediately after eating
warm food, injured their teeth. Both sexes anointed their
bodies with tallow. ‘Their common diseases were fluxes
and pleurisies. When they were troubled with acute pains
they drew blood from the part affected with lancets made
of obsidian, as they had no metals, and all their sharp in-
struments were made of the same kind of substance.

The costume of the Guanches consisted of cloaks made
of goat-skins, dressed and softened with butter. Those of
the women were longer than those of the men, and reach-
ed down to their feet. ‘They wore, beneath their cloaks,
petticoats made of the same kind of materials.

The Guanches acknowledged but one God, whom they
believed existed above, and sustained both heaven and
earth. They believed that he created them of earth and
water, and that he made, at first, as many men as women,
giving them flocks and herds, and everything necessary for
their subsistence; but afterwards he thought them to be
too few, and created more, whom he would not give any-
thing, but bid them serve the other people whom he had
made. ‘They had not idols, nor did they worship the
sun or moon, stars or stones; neither had they rites nor
ceremonies. When they were in great distress, occasion-
ed by the want of rain or dews, they assembled im certain
places set apart for that purpose, with their children and
flocks, where they sat in a circle on the ground, weeping
and making a mournful cry, and at the same time, their
flocks were bleating for the want of food. ‘They washed
their children at birth all over with water, which was’ per-
formed by women who lived in separate caves, and declared
themselves virgins. ‘They taught their children precepts
similar to the scriptural commandments, which they strictly
obeyed ; if not, they were severely punished.

A few years before the conquest of Teneriffe, the whole
island was governed by a prince named Betzenuria. He
had nine sons, who, upon his death, divided the govern-
ment equally amongst themselves; consequently, the island
contained nine kingdoms. Light of the kings did homage
to T'mobat, the elder brother, who was the most powerful,
and possessed the richest and most fertile part of the island,
being that tract which stretches between San Juan de la

CANARY ISLANDS. 137

Rambla and Laguna, in which he could raise 7,000 fight-
ing-men. One of the brothers, named Acaymo, was king
‘of Guimar; another, called Atguarona, of Abona; and a
third, Arvitocaspe, of Adexe. The names of the other
five are lost; one however, reigned in Tegueste, another
in Ycod, another in Centejo, and another in Daute. The
royal dignity, in the Guanche language, was called qguebechz,
and waselective. In summer the king resided in the moun-
tains, but in winter he removed to the sea-side. When he
changed his place of residence, or travelled, the elders of
his tribe assembled, and carried before him a sceptre and
a lance, with a kind of flag upon it, to give notice of
his approach to all who might be travelling upon the
road, that they might pay him their customary homage,
which consisted of prostrating themselves before him on
the ground, wiping off the dust from his feet with the cor-
ners of their garments, and kissing them. ‘The natives
were divided into three classes, the nobles, the gentlemen,
and the peasants. ‘The first was called achimensey, and
belonged to the house or family of the king; the second
class was called cilhiciquico, and included the gentry or
yeomanry; and the third was called achicarnay, and in-
cluded the peasantry or servants. ‘The Guanches often
had disputes among themselves about their flocks and pas-
tures, which frequently ended in wars. Their war imple-
ments consisted of darts made of pine wood, sharpened and
hardened by the fire like those of the natives of other
islands. They also had a weapon like a spear, which they
were so dexterous in throwing, that they scarcely ever miss-
ed their aim. When an enemy approached, they alarmed
the country by making a smoke which was repeated from one
district to another. ‘The women always attended the wars
with provisions and other necessaries, and in case that any
of the men were killed, they carried them off and deposited
them in caves. Their manner of holding their courts
of judicature was by assembling to some plain in the
island, in the middle of which they placed a large, square
stone, and on each side of the plain they placed several
stones of an inferior size and height. On the day appointed
for holding the court, the king was seated on the high
stone, and the principal elders, or council, were placed on

138 CANARY ISLANDS.

the lesser stones, according to their seniority; and in this
manner they heard and decided causes. When any one
was sentenced to corporeal punishment, he was laid flat
on the ground, and the king delivered his staff or sceptre to
some person, commanding him to give the offender such
number of blows as the crime merited, and then to be
taken from his presence. For murder, the king took away
the criminal’s flocks and effects, giving them to the rela-
tions of the deceased, and banished the murderer from his
district, but always took him under his protection, so that
the friends and relations of the deceased might not injure
him. ‘They never punished any person by death, saying
that it belonged to God alone to take away that life which
he had given. ‘They had a law among them, that when a
man, by chance, met a woman alone on the road, or in a
solitary place, he was not to look at her, unless she first
spoke to him, but to turn out of the way; and if he used
any indecent expression, or behaved in an unbecoming
manner any way, he was severely punished. They also
had a custom among them, that when one person went to
the house of another, he did not attempt to enter, but sat
on a stone at the door, and either whistled or sang, till
some one came out and desired him to walk in. Who-
ever observed not this rule, and entered another person’s
house without being invited, was liable to punishment, as
it was considered among them as the highest offence.
Polygamy was not practised at all by them. They paid
no regard to marrying kindred, except that of father and
brother, or mother and sister. When a young woman
pleased a man, he, in person, asked her parents, if she had
any, if not, asked herself for her hand, and if agreeable,
without any further ceremony than giving one another the
hand, they became man and wife. If at any time after-
wards they became disgusted with one another, they parted,
and their union was dissolved, and they were at liberty to
marry any one else. If they had children, they were con-
sidered as illegitimate, and could not inherit their father’s
effects. The king was always obliged to marry a person
who was his equal, and if such a one could not be found,
he was allowed to marry his own sister, that he might not
debase his family by a mixture of plebeian blood. They

CANARY ISLANDS. 139

also had a custom, that in a house or cave where the hus-
band and wife slept, no other person was allowed to lodge,
and the man and wife were obliged to sleep on separate
beds.

When any person died, they preserved the body, by first
carrying it to a cave, and placing it on a flat stone, where
they opened it and took out the intestines; then, twice a
day, they washed the porous parts of the body, such as the
groins, the arm-pits, the parts between the fingers, and be-
hind the ears and neck, with cold water; and then they
anointed those parts with sheep’s butter, and sprinkled
them with a powder made of the dust of decayed pine
trees and pumice-stones, and let the body remain till it
was perfectly dry, when the relations of the deceased came
and swathed it tight with thongs of sheep or goat skins ;
then they deposited it in a cave which had been set apart
by the deceased for his place of inhumation. The king
could only be interred in the cave of his ancestors, in
which the bodies were so prepared as to be known again.
There were particular persons set apart for the office of
embalming, each sex performing that of his or her own.
During the process of embalming, the bodies were strictly
watched, to prevent the ravens from devouring them.*

The Guanches have now become nearly or quite ex-
tinct, and probably there is not an individual of pure blood
in existence, although there are a few families in the south
part of Teneriffe, who boast of being possessed with pure,
unmixed blood. In the fifteenth century, the Spaniards
and Portuguese made voyages to this and other islands, to
procure slaves, in the manner as has latterly been done
by Europeans on the coast of Africa. At that time, it is
said that one Guanche became the property of another,
and was sold to the dealers; while many of them, rather
than be carried away, killed their children and themselves.
They had been greatly depopulated in this manner, and
when Alonzo de Lugo completed their subjugation, most
of the residue of that unfortunate race perished by a terri-

* The above method of embalming, given by Gallineo, does not exactly corres-
pond with that given in page 65; however, it is not probable that all the manners
and customs of the Guanches were uniform ; hence both may be correct.

140 CANARY ISLANDS.

ble pestilence which was supposed to have originated
from the dead bodies left exposed after the memorable
battle of Laguna.

Numerous inconsistent theories have been advanced
by writers, respecting the origin of the antiques of these
islands, the labor of confuting which, would only equal the
absurdity of expressing such opinions. It is not probable,
however, that they descended wholly from any particular
nation, but were impelled there by fortuitous or other
circumstances, at different periods, and from different
countries.

Thus, gentlemen, have I laid before you a short detail
of my observations and research on the Canary Islands.
Many more, equally interesting, might be given of the
places that I have since visited, but time and circum-
stances forbid. Allow me to close by expressing my high
veneration for your characters, which persevering industry
and virtuous principles have given birth, and to solicit for
my labors, a continuance of that honorable distinction
which your patronage has ever conferred.

I have the honor to subscribe myself,
Your most faithful and devoted servant,
J / V/.
D. Jay Browne

Boston, Thursday,
May 29, 1824.

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