104 A VOYAGE TO AUG. 



instance* of a ship driving from her anchors on shore. 

 This may, in part, be owing to the great care they 

 take in mooring them : for I observed, that all the 

 ships we met with there, had four anchors out ; two 

 to the north-east, and two to the south-west : and 

 their cables buoyed up with casks. Ours suffered a 

 little by not observing this last precaution. 



At the south-west part of the road, a stone pier 

 runs out into the sea from the town, for the conveni- 

 ence of loading and landing of goods. To this 

 pier, the water that supplies the shipping is conveyed. 

 This, as also what the inhabitants of Santa Cruz use, 

 is derived from a rivulet that runs from the hills, the 

 greatest part of which comes into the town in wooden 

 spouts or troughs, that are supported by slender 

 posts, and the remainder doth not reach the sea ; 

 though it is evident, from the size of the channel, 

 that sometimes large torrents rush down. At this 

 time these troughs were repairing, so that fresh water, 

 which is very good here, was scarce. 



Were we to judge from the appearance of the 

 country in the neighbourhood of Santa Cruz, it might 

 be concluded that Teneriffe is a barren spot, insuffi- 

 cient to maintain even its own inhabitants. The 

 ample supplies, however, which we received, con- 

 vinced us that they had enough to spare for visitors. 

 Besides wine, which is the chief produce of the island, 

 beef may be had at a moderate price. The oxen are 

 small and boney, and weigh about ninety pounds a 

 quarter. The meat is but lean, and was, at present, 

 sold for half a bit (three-pence sterling) a pound. I, 

 unadvisedly, bought the bullocks alive, and paid 



* Though no such instance was known to those from whom 

 Captain Cook had this information, we learn from Glas, that some 

 years before he was at Teneriffe, almost all the shipping in the road 

 were driven on shore. See Glas's Hist, of the Canari/ Islands, p. 

 235. We may well suppose the precautions now used, have pre- 

 vented any more such accidents happening. This will sufficiently 

 justify Captain Cook's account. 



