The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1902-01-16
AFFAIRS OF TODAY IN THE CANARIES.
, province of Spain, Managed for Profit
only. Life Among the People. The
,uancheS. Aboriginal Inhabitants.

only Lite Among the People, The
Cuanches. Aboriginal Inhabitants.
SmciaI Correspondence of The Journal.
SANTA CRUz, TENER1FFE. Dec. 4,
rul However fine the scenery or
..-slt the architecture of unfamiliar
Countries, 1t is after all the people, with
nur strange costumes and customs,
+.af most interest the traveller. The
..uav archipelago has long been a
r.,.Ace of Spain-not colony, as was
..ud and other western possessions;
..5so.Wcl did the Norman baron, Jean
Erthencourt, do his work when he
....Iapred the seven islands in the name
40 Nau H. of Castillo exactly five
rtd Years ago next June - that
putation of to-day is as thorough
Spanish IN thought and feeling as ma
the Step-mother country There
.. Ht three hundred and fifty thou
eorle all told, in the islands, and
g}el d collection as can be found
ili NNtltl Nf'etSS i)NlllS uC-
from PhOenicians, Carthagen-
rums and Negroes, mixed with
aces of modern Europe, they
..>rI in color than even the people
i-gu Spain, where Moorish blood
mates. Most of them are sim
.5Me folk. devoted to such agri-
ae the soil and climate admits;
-.r0gs as might be expected under
sun, with no lofty ambitions,
-E ruled by their Self-appointed
4~lrrs
Hattr interest centres around
inches. or aboriginal inhabitants
CdDaries. about whose origin
u-IstS and historians are vet
u- though the race has been
.. .O two or three centuries. Some
aH that the Guanches were an
H rom one of the Iybian tribes
GtE Africa, because the few
That have been preserved of
I Euage resemble the Berber dia-
,t today. Others find equal proof
. tleu creek or Roman origin in the
o. ut they had fair skins, blue eyes
. l- straight hair, often red or
-.lt Wy hich are certainly not Afri-
s. .aracteristics. Perhaps they be
W I0 the lost continent, Atlantis,
@.1ah. if it ever existed these is
o- we're a EMBELLISHMENTS of the
NJ that ancient catastrophe which
a4eI d world At any rate, all au-
+. tle~ agree that the original inhabi-
-. d the Happy Islands" the
7l of Hesperides," the ''Elysian
AS the group has been known
'.- nations, We're tall and hand
.u- brave and strong, and such
.. alters that their wooden spears
..Vs several times repealed Span
M iultuguese expeditions sent to
- them. But these primitive
could not long withstand the
If firearms. Most of the
rs were killed III opposing in
-.- many were sold by their con-
as slaves, and most of the re
uruehed in the terrible pesti-
.44- caused. it is said by the
wbcr OF dead bodies left I'M
u.s. .ht Spaniards after the bat
-Oaa.
tells Il, that the ancient peo-
o boats, and therefore could
communication with the main
With the several islands; so
land was a itlle kingdom by
.l a different dialect and its
ard customs. Their food was
lasted corn mixed with goats
a- they also ate cheese, fish,
a fresh meat. Their clothes
skins, seWed together with fish
uies. and a few wore skirts
plated ushes-tho of the
...- women being longer than
"us. The historian quantity
HE maidens of the Fortunate
went about quite naked, but
% consciouSneSs of shame. such
Yr innocence. They sang sweet
.H luced almost as well as French
.u religion the GHanches were
Norshlpping the God of earth
1aaNen, air and water; they believ-
Wmortality, and in rewards and
u-nts after DEATH A few had
uuuNes, thatched with palm, but
Hlorlty were troglodytes, or
III caves. BY the way, the
of turning the soft, volcanic
INTO habitations has never been
n."t' abandoned by the islanders.
i"e.iy at Gran Canaria you may
aly eaye-dwellings yet in use,
the modern ones have face
Nld many improvements. Among
Ifdtest sights of the islands are
' Stone houses and honey-combed
the aborigines, and their cata-
u- ~ the cliffs. The Guanches en-
'~u their dead and then hid them in
most inaccessible caverns they
-5iad, High up in a vertical cliff
lack Of this port of Santa Cruz
N' immense caverns, said to be
40