From the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. Hiftorical Account of the Canary Islands. (Continued from p. 70.)

TH

HE capital punishment in Canaria was the fame that has been already defcribed: other punishments were exactly according to the Lex Talionis, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

The trade of a butcher was exerci fed only by the dregs of the people, and was accounted fo ignominious, that no other Canarian would fuffer one of that profeffion to enter his houfe, or touch any thing, belonging to him; it was even unlawful for butchers to keep company with any but butchers, and when they wanted any thing of another perfon, they were obliged to point at it with a long staff, ftanding at a confiderable distance.

The houses were built of stone, without cement, covered with rafters and earth, but fo neat and regular, that they made a beautiful appearance; their beds and bedding were goat-skins curiously dreffed in the hair; their other furniture confifted of baskets and mats of palm-leaves and rushes, very curioufly wrought the women in general were employed in painting and dying, and they were very careful to gather the flowers and fhrubs from which they extracted the colours at the proper fea. fon. Their fewing thread was like what we call cat gut, made of the tendons of fleep, goats, or fwine; thele tendons they firft anointed with butter, and then drying them by the fire, they fplit them into fine threads; their needles were of bone, and their fifh-hooks of horn; all the veffels used in cookery were of clay, baked in the fun. Their wealth confisted wholly of goats and fheep, with a few hogs; their common food was barley-meal roasted, and eaten with milk, or goat's flesh; but when they made a feat they drefied their goat's feh with hog's lard, or butter.

They ground their barley with a handmill, and they plowed their ground with a wooden inftrument not unlike a hoe, with a fpur or tooth at the end of it, on which they fixed a goat's horn; the ground being broken with this implement, they took care to water it if the rain did not come in its proper feafon, bringing water by canals from the rivulets for that purpose; of the corn they reaped only the ears, which was the employment of the women; these ears they thrashed with sticks, or beat with their feet, and then winnowed with their hands.

They had no fruit but vicacorras, mocanes, wild dates, and figs. The poor lived on the fea coaft, and fubfifted chiefly upon fish, which they caught in the night, by making a blaze on the water with torches of pitch-pine,

When any of their nobles died, they brought out the corps and placed it in the fun, took out the bowels and intrails, which they washed, and then buried in the earth; the body they dried and fwathed round with bandages of goat-skins, and then fixed it upright in a cave cloathed with the fame garments that had covered it alive if no cave was at hand they enclosed it within loofe ftones, fo laid as not to touch it, and covered it with a large stone at the top. The lower clafs were buried in pits, and covered with dry ftones; thofe bodies that were not placed upright, were laid with their heads towards the North.

The inhabitants of Canaria were more polished than thofe of other inlands, and at the time of the conqueft were governed by two princes who did not rain jointly, but one was fovereign of the diftrict called Teide, the other of the diftri&t called Galdar, which were divided from each other by a line drawn from the village of Tamarazeyte to that of St. Nicholas. It had formerly been ruled by chiefs or heads of tribes, who prefided over fmall circles like parishes, but this form of government was changed by the following accident:

In

In the district of Galdar, which was the most fertile part of the island, there lived a virgin lady, whose name was Antidamana, of great worth and me rit, whofe wisdom was held in fuch esteem by the natives, that they applied to her to determine their differences, and never appealed from her decifions. After fome years, the chiefs envying this distinction paid to a woman, prevailed upon the people to refer their caufes to her decifion no longer. Antidamana, when the found herself deferted, having devoted her lite to the fervice of the public, was stung with refentment and indignation; but her understanding being equal to her fenfibility, fhe did not indulge herself in idle complaints, nor render herself cheap by impotent anger; but she went to the moft valiant and prudent of all the chiefs of Canaria, whose name was Gumidase, and having related her grievances, the offered him marriage; Gumidate gladly confented, and the marriage immedi ately took place: the refidence of this chief was a cave, which is now known by the name of the House of the Knight of Facáracus. From this place he difpenf ed his laws, and had a great and extenfive influence over the people. Soon after his marriage with Antidamana, he found various pretences to make war upon the other chiefs, and fucceffively fubdued thein all, fo that he became king of the whole island. He had by his illuftrious wife a ton, named Artemis, who fucceeded his parents as fole king of Canaria, who was reigning when John de Betancour invaded the island, and who fell in battle. Artemis had two fons, who, upon his death, divided the ifland between them, and were fovereigns of the two diftrists when it was fubdued. Each of thefe princes had a council of fix, called Gayres, who administered the affairs of government: the most powerful Gayre of the district of Galdar was Ardagoma, and Guarinayga was the principal Gayre of Telde, both having very large flocks of Theep and goats. It happened that their thepherds had a difpute about pallure,

which they referred to their lords, and their lords agreed to determine the difference by a wrestling match. Ardagoma was much stronger than Guarinàyga, but, on the other hand, Guarinayga was fuperior in activity and skill, so that the iffue of the conteft was for a time doubtful. Skill, however, at las prevailed over force, and Ardagoma was thrown to the ground, but availing himfelf of his great ftrength, he grasped Guarinayga with fuch violence, that finding his breath just gone, he cried out, Do not kill me, I acknowledge myfelf vanquished; Ardagoma immedi-' ately releafed him, and they afterwards' determined the matter in difpute'in an amicable manner. Such was the generous magnanimity of thefe heroes, that when Ardagoma was asked the event of the combat, he said that Guarinayga was the victor; and when Guarinayga was asked the fame quftion, he answered that he had been vanquished by Ardagoma.

In the fatal battle that put an end to the liberty of this ifland, Ardagoma was defperately wounded in the thigh with a lance, as he was bravely fighting at the head of a chofen body of veteran troops, who, till then, had pushed the Spaniards from their ground, and were on the brink of throwing them into irrecoverable confufion: on the fall of their champion they made one violent etters, which, like the agony of a dying man, exhausted all their ftrength, and they then fed with precipitation, leaving their champion on the ground behind them. The Spaniards into whose hands he tell, cured him of his wounds, made him a convert to their religion, taught him the Caftalian language, and, foon after, fent him into Spain.

During his refidence there, his fame as an extraordinary wrettler was spread through the country, and being one day at the palace of the archbishop at Seville, a pealant of La Mancha, who was alto a famous wreitler, being moved with emulation, challenged him to a trial of skill. Anda goma accepted the challenge, but, coalitions of his fuperio

rity, faid to him, Brother, fince we are to wrestle, let us first, as a token of friendship, drink together: the peafant readily confented, and Ardagoma taking a glass of wine, faid to the peasant, If you can, by your utmost strength, prevent me from carrying this glass of wine to my mouth and drinking it, or caufe me to spill one drop of it by the wy, then I will weftle with you; but if not, I would advise you to return home. The peafant immediately affailed him,

but with no more effect than he would

have affailed a rock; Ardagoma with one hand repreffed all his efforts, and continuing at the fame time immoveable, drank off his wine; upon which the peasant, aftonished at his amazing ftrength, prudently took his advice and freaked off*. This happened in the prefence of many witnesses, and he was famous for this among many other wonderful feats in his own country, there being no man in all Canaria that could have prevented his drinking the wine,

which he drank in defpight of the peafant of La Mancha. He was of a middle ftature, but very broad fhoulder'd; his name, Ardagoma, fignifies in the Canarian language, shoulders of rock.

There were alfo in Canaria two other famous wrestlers named Huaneben and Caylafaya. It happened upon fome public occafion that they challened each other, and wrestled in the presence of their countrymen, who were assembled from all parts as fpectators. Having wrestled a great while without either's gaining any advantage over the other, the people at length parted them; but Huaneben perceiving that Caylafa's strength was not leflened by the contest, and feeling that his own was not fufficient to engage him a fecond time, cried out, Are you able to perform what I am going to do? Caylafa answered, I am; upon which Huaneben immediately ran to the brow of a precipice, and threw himself down headlong; Caylafa, difdaining to be outdone, inftantly fol

An incident fomething like this happened between Thomas Topham, commonly called, The Strong Man, and a famous boxer, remarkable alfo for his dexterity and strength. Topham then kept the fign of the Strong Man at Iflington, where he exhibited his uncommon prowess in a great variety of feats, of which Dr. Defaguliers has given an account in a paper which he communicated to the Royal Society, and which is published in their Memoirs. The athletic hero fat fome time among his fpectators with a kind of fullen difcontent, and then broke out in a strain of eloquence peculiar to his clafs : What fignifies this – fellow's playing his legerdemain tricks ; it's all artifice; there's many a better man than he is that walks the fireets every hour in the day; I'll show you pref-ntly what he's made of. Upon which he goes down to Topham, and gives him a formal challenge to box him before the company: Topham furveyed him with fome furprize and much contempt, but yet without any malig nity, Boxing, fays he, is not my trade, and I have no quarrel with you, nor you with me, why then fhould we fight? The champion now became more vociferous than before; he mistook Topham's phlegm for cowardice, and infifting upon his accepting the challenge not without fome terms of reproach. Topham, at length, feemed to confent; but, Cocky, fays he, as we fight for honour, let us be friends, come, give me your paw; the hero condefcended to ftretch out his hand, which Topham taking hold of griped it harder and harder, till after making many wry faces and contortions, the fellow roared out like a bull; upon which Topham immediately le ting him go, he went quietly back to his feat without fpeaking a word, to the no fmall diverfion of the company, from which he was foon expelled by hoots of derifion and contempt, and the clamorous applaufe that was beftowed on the man he had infulted

This Topham had been a failor before the maft on board of a man of war, and was not conscious of his own fuperior ftrength till one day getting drunk, and quarrelling with the cook, he pulled out the iron bars of the grate by laying hold of them in the middle, and bending them violently forward, fo as to force off the rivettings at each end. After this the ship's company was continually folliciting him to fhew fome feat of his ftrength; and when they came to Portsmouth, the peo; le that came with liquor in a bomb-boat, having heard of his fame, was very follicitous to fee fome of his performances, particularly an od Irish woman, who had handed him up fome beer in a large filver tankard; when the tankard was empty, Topham held it over the fide of the veffel to be filled again, upon which the old womancried out, Tommy, do, Gol love you, let's fee what you can do!" Weii, fays Tophim, take your tankard then ;" and reaching it down, he preffed it between his finger and drunsh with such force, that when the old woman received it, it was as flat as a pancake. Tush asw, laid the old woman, and by Jefus, my dear, why could not you squeeze it without spoiling the shape?

lowed

This island was called by the natives Bena-hoare; whence it derives its prefent name is not certainly known. When the Europeans first landed upon it, it produced no corn, nor any eatable roots except fern, of which the natives made meal; they made meal alfo of the feed of a fhrub called amazante; both these sorts of meal they eat mixed with milk or broth; their other food was the flesh of goats, sheep, or hogs, either roafted or boiled: The skins of the goats and the sheep served them for cloathing, and of the hog's-skins they made fhoes.

This ifland, like Canaria, was divid. ed into districts, of which there were 12, and each was governed by its own chief. Their police, however, was not fo good as that of the other iflands, for he was thought the cleverest fellow who could fteal with fuch addrefs as not to be discovered, and if any one was detected, no other punishment was inflict ed upon him than the restoration of the thing ftolen. If a man received an infult from any of his own district, he thought it mean to complain to his chief, he therefore gathered his friends and relations together, and retaliated the af front, after which they all removed, and took up their refidence in another diftri&t.

Their manner of worthip was as fin gular as their policy. In each district there was a great pillar or pyramid of loose ftones; at this pillar the natives affembled at ftated times, finging and dancing round it, wrestling, and performing other feats of activity. In one of the diftricts there was a natural pyramid upwards of 100 fathoms high, where the natives worshipped their god Idafe, whofe name the rock itill retains. They where in perpetual apprehenfion of its tumbling down, and therefore, whenever they killed a sheep or a goat, they roafted a piece of it, which they fent by two perfons as a prefent to the rock. As they went along, he who carried the offering fang, "It will fall, Idafe;" VOL. III.

to which the other replied, "Give to it and it will not fall;" they then threw down the meat and both went away, leaving it to be devoured by the ravens which hover'd about the rock.

The natives held the fun and moon in great veneration, and kept an exact account of time to know when the moon was new or at the full. They alfo acknowledged one fupreme deity, whom they called Abora, and believed to refide in the Heavens. They had a superstitious notion that the Devil, whom they called Irvene, frequently appeared in the form of a shock dog. When any one of them was taken ill, he fent for his relations and friends, and faid to them, I want to die, upon which they carried him into a cave, where they laid him down upon a bed of goatskins, put a pitcher of milk by him, and then clofing up the mouth of the cave, left him to expire by himself. They buried their dead in caves, and always fpread the skins of goats under them, faying, it was not proper that a dead body thould touch the ground. Of TENERIF.

This ifland was by the natives called Chineche; and Tenerife or White Mountain, by the natives of Palma ; the Spaniards have continued the Palmarine name of the place, but the natives they call Guanches, but for what reaton is not known. The inhabitants of this ifland were generally of a middling ftature; thofe who dwelt on the North fide were fairer than thofe on the South: a few years before the conquest it was governed by a Sovereign who left nine fons, and they fhared the island among them, fo that it became divided into nine kingdoms.

The natives acknowledged a god, whom they called Achaman, the fuftainer of heaven and earth.

When they were in great diftrefs for want of rain, they affembled in certain places fet apart for that purpofe, with their children and flocks, where they fat in a circle on the ground, weeping and making a mournful noife, their flocks bleating at the fame tine for