VILLA DE LA LAGUNA. 43 
ance | hr having been formed by a current of lava 
- from the Peak. Some arborescent Euphorbie, Ca- 
ealia blcinia, and Cacti, were the only plants observ- 
ed op these parched acclivities. The mules slipped 
at every step on the inclined surfaces of the rock, 
although traces of an old road were observable, 
Which, with the numerous other indications that 
occur in these colonies, afford evidence of the activity 
displayed by the Spanish nation in the sixteenth 
century. | 
The heat of Santa Cruz, which is suffocating, is 
in a great measure to be attributed to the reverbe- 
ration of the rocks in its vicinity ; but as the tra- 
vellers approached Laguna they became sensible of 
avery pleasant diminution of temperature. In fact, 
the perpetual coolness which exists here renders it 
a delightful residence. It is situated in a small 
plain, surrounded by gardens, and commanded by 
a hill crowned with the laurel, the myrtle, and the 
arbutus. The rain, in collecting, forms from time 
to time a kind of large pool or marsh, which has 
induced travellers to describe the capital of Tene- 
riffe as situated on the margin of alake. The town, 
which was deprived of its opulence in consequence 
of the port of Garachico having been destroyed by 
the lateral eruptions of the volcano, has only 9000 
inhabitants, of which about 400 are monks. It is 
surrounded by numerous windmills for corn. Hum- 
boldt observes, that the cereal grasses were known 
to the original inhabitants, and that parched barley 
flour and goat’s milk formed their principal meals. 
This food tends to show that they were connected 
with the nations of the Old Continent, perhaps even 
with those of the Caucasian race, and not with the 
