34 SOME BIRDS OF THE CANARY ISLANDS 



village, and in this she was able to brew a concoction 

 of some sort from the supply of tea I had brought with 

 me. I think she considered this to be of untold value, 

 she poured it out so carefully, and was much distressed 

 if even a drop were spilt. 



The same man who had piloted us from Puerto 

 Cabras to La Oliva made his appearance in good time 

 with the camel, which animal we found kneeling down 

 ready to be loaded in front of the door of my room. 

 After getting my belongings stowed away on to a kind 

 of wooden saddle with projecting pieces at either side, 

 the man made the camel stand up, and treated it much 

 as though he were measuring it for a suit of clothes, 

 giving a hitch here and a twist of the rope there, and 

 being very careful to make an exact balance of the 

 luggage ; when at length he had adjusted this to his 

 satisfaction he climbed up the animal's tail, so that he 

 might make a last tightening of the ropes. Lorenzo 

 was immensely pleased at this procedure, to which he 

 drew my special attention. 



We were sorry to leave the people who had enter- 

 tained us so kindly during our short stay ; they made 

 Lorenzo a present of a stout wooden stick, which con- 

 tained a whistle in the handle, with which he was much 

 pleased, christening it by blowing several shrill notes on 

 it, and saying in an explanatory way to me, Para el Pico, 

 Senor ; he then whistled again and put his hand to his 

 ear as though listening, meaning that it would no doubt 

 come in useful to him in his excursions up the Peak of 

 Tenerife. Following this little performance, as usual, 

 came the customary raising of his old hat, ever so 

 slightly, with a step backward, Si, Senor. The only 



