A VISIT TO MADEIRA AND THE CANARY ISLANDS. 125 
monotony of sunshine, but in Canary one positively grows 
weary with the continual brightness, and feels that, 
‘* Hateful is the dark blue sky, 
Vaulted o’er the dark blue sea :” 
sometimes almost longing for the invigorating influence of 
a refreshing November fog. The arrangements for the 
conduct of water in the country are excellent, but never- 
theless it often has to be carried by the women in the 
broiling sun for long distances, as at the Isleta, where 
there is no spring or supply of any sort. 
The Natural History Museum in Las Palmas is well 
worth a visit, as it has a fine collection of objects found 
about the Islands, including a large number of Guanche 
remains, skulls, bones, &c. It is a remarkable fact that a 
large proportion of the skulls found have indentations on 
the right side and above the forehead, so deep as to be 
almost holes, and yet clearly showing that the wound had 
healed up. From these holes occurring in the same place, 
it would appear that the weapon with which they fought 
was of one kind and handled in one way. We noticed 
precisely the same appearance in Guanche skulls turned 
up during our subsequent visit to Teneriffe. 
On proceeding to use our note-books at the museum we 
perceived an extraordinary flutter of excitement among the 
officials, and presently a small procession approached us, 
headed by Senor Dr. Don Gregorio Chil y Naranjo, who 
most courteously insisted on unlocking the cases, offering 
to aid in our examination of the specimens. The distin- 
cuished doctor seemed to be most kindly disposed towards 
us, and we ventured to hint how gladly a spare Guanche 
skull would be accepted by his foreign visitors. He at 
once fell in with our wish, and in triumph we carried off 
one that might have been the skull of an illustrious 
Guanche lawyer, but to us was simply a curious ana- 
