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 whh 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, 



