Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-13
c A N AIRY w 9 NJ EN-
They Have Heavy Mustaches and Are Mas
ouline Looking.
Inveterate Sm0kers-The Feminine
Portion of Spain's Island Popula-
ton Is Not Beautiful.
From the Commercial Tribune.

| rroIn the COMMERCIAL IriDune.
| Now that Uncle Sam is in an annexing
mood, who knows but that the tabled At
| lantis Of Plato the Garden OF Hesperides
and St. Brandon's Fairy Isle, all known
| to modern geographers as the Canary ISL
| ands, may not soon become a part OF the
| United States? Certainly no spot on earth
| offers a more curious illustration of primi-
| tive women.
| When the Canaries We're conquered by
| Jean de Bethencourt, a Norman baron in
| 1902 in the name of Juan II of CASTLE, they
were peopled by two races which had emf
grated from the mainland. Each race had
different laws, habits and customs, and was
possessed of Ddtual hatred which engen-
| dered constant warfare.
The inhabitants of the western Canary
| Islands were small, fair, energetic, brave
and amiable; some of them even had blue
eyes and red hair. In Feurteventura and
Lanzarote they were taller, darker and
more fndolent, laziiy obeying their heredi-
tary rulers, whether the latter were men or
women. The dark-skinned inhabitants are
supposed to be of Arabic or of Phoenician
origin. They were conquered easily be-
cause they were even more indolent than
| the SpaniardS, and then the fairer race was
subjugated.
Today the common type of the Canaries,
of both men and women, consists of a tall
frame, an elongated head, badly chiseied
blue eyes. This type is universal, but the
dress in every island is slightly different.
OF course, the true Canary costumes are
seen these peasants, for the higher
classes are entirely Spanish and European.
They have no native clothes, such as the
Philippians have, hence the material for
their clothing is imported from Europe,
and the women make up the garments in
their houses. However, hats and shoes are
made in the CanarieS.
Strange to say, the men. women and
nod to xyllx hn rot
over the thorny plants, the plains filled
with spiny cacti. and the burning rocks OF
lava, which, in a few hours, will purn and
wear out the stoutest shoes. Both men and
women always wear their shoes in the
towns; but # you meet them on the road,
the men are invariably carrying their shoes
at the end of a stick, while the women car
ry theirs on their heads.
The women of Tenerife wear skirt and
apron of cotton, a well-fitting bodice or
namented with large sleeves, and hchu
which ends in points both front ana be-
hind. The head is covered with the great
est care A silk handkerchief is folded
around the chin, and then large wooden
shawl is wrapped around the entire head
and falls down below the waist pehind.
Above this is placed small straw nat
with a low crown, saucershaped. on which
the bundle, jar load of faggots is placed.
The string of wool or leather around the
neck must not be forgotten, for from 1t Is
suspended an amulet, blessed by the priest,
and which preserves the wearer from all
darger and unseen evil.
Notwithstanding their feminine attire the
women of Grand Canary are entirely mas
culne in appearance Their hair is short,
the mustache which ornaments their upper
lip is luxUriant, they wear a mans hat and
they are passionately devoted to smoking
cigars. The women of the Grand Canary
ara not sirens according to American ideas.
Neither are they as polite as they are gen
erous for although they will give a
stranger drink of water, while he has
lifted the jug to his mouth, they will often
throw an unexpected shower over his head
and shoulders as practical joke.
In the Island of Palma the women go
about almost naked, yet occasionally they
dress with their heads and necks covered
with kerchief and surmounted by a Curl
Gus hat
The woman's costume in Lanzarote con-
sists of short striped cotton skirt sleeves
to the elbow, bodice laced in front ana
a white cape folded around the head and
shoulders, surmounted by a straw hat often
trimmed with flowers. They make the
mens clothes, which are quite gay in this
island, consisting Of trousers to the knee,
tied with bright ribbons carriers, a
sleeveless jacket, sash betting in the
shirt and a montera or cap, generally of
blue, embroidered with yellow, green or
red, and displaying knot of ribbons at
the side. The natives of Lanzarote are
content with very little. They drink water
and live on gofio, the native barley bread,
dried fish, potatoes and Barbary figs.
Many inhabitants of the CanarieS still
live in grottoes In the Grand Canary, for
example, there is entire village of frog
loditeS-La Talaya- The ordinary house is
of stone, with a terraced roof rendered i'm
pervious to water. The furniture is very
simple A bed with it's straw mattress is
the chief object in the room, and the rest
consists of a chest to hold the clothing a
mat on the floor, jug for water dish
for the grain. little hand MILL kind of
etagere to hold some highly priced plates
or porcelain ornamented with gaudy flow
ers-for decoration and not use-and a few
wooden chairs.
AT meal time the entire family sits on the
mat around large wooden bowl or earth
enWare platter and all dip their fingers and
rude spoons and forks in it at pleasure The
1000 Is generally goHo dried fish, figs etc.
as in the other islands. In the evening the
women boil some herbs, without any butter
or grease, and this bouillon is used to knead
the bread or gofio, instead of water They
also eat In large quantities kind of thistle
Wnlcn mas flowers as large as artichokes
water Is the universal beverage.