CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GUANCHES. 
55 
as high as they could above their heads ; while their 
companions would clear by successive bounds, thi’ee lances 
so held at different parallel distances. This interesting 
race is said to be extinct, in its purity, but their de- 
scendants are found mixed with Spanish blood ; Monsieur 
Berthelot, says to their honour, they have more of the 
characteristics of the former than of the latter, in their 
carriage, lineaments, manners, and customs. Some few 
words of the ancient language are found mixed with 
the Castdlian, and many of the proper names perpetuate 
the fame of their heroes. The Guanches of Tenerifte are 
— more than those of the other islands — distinguished by 
the preservation of the virtues of their ancestors; as 
they, also, the longest maintained their independence.* 
Some portion of the population, even to the present day, 
in Teneriffe is found inhabiting caverns. The shepherd 
still excels in throwing the stone with precision, is swift 
of foot, and with the assistance of a light staff leaps with 
great facility the most dangerous precipices. 
The name Teneriffe may be derived from Tinerfe the 
Great, the last prince who united in his person the sole 
sovereignty of the island, one hundred years before the 
conquest ; previously to which desolating event, it would 
appear from tradition that these islands were very 
* Be Fuertaventura trigo, 
De Lancerot cebada, 
De Tenerife los hoinbres. 
Las mujeres de Canaria. 
