Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/87

INHABITANTS OF THE CANARIES. 61 than African. As in the Azores and Madeira, snakes are absent ; but large indigenous lizards, centipedes, and scorpions abound. Of the birds, several differ from those of Europe, amongst them the red partridge, highly esteemed by epicures, and the canary, which has become so common in Europe. Its new surroundings, captivity, food, climate, and crossings have gradually modified both its song and its plumage, originally green, now yellow. It is uncertain whether the mammals found in the islands by the Europeans are indigenous or were introduced by the Berbers ; but in any case they constitute distinct varieties. Although Pliny speaks of a large canine breed, no dogs were found by the Europeans, while those since introduced have acqtiired special characteristics. In Lanzarote they resemble the Newfoundland, and those occurring elsewhere look like a cross between the greyhound and sheepdog. The domestic goats, numbering about sixty thousand, also differ from those of West Europe, being larger, more agile and nimble, with a mild expression like that of the gazelle, and horns gracefully curved backwards. They yield an extraordinary quantity of milk, which acquires an exquisite flavour from the aromatic plants on which they browse. A wild variety is also found in the islet of Montana Clara, near Lanzarote, and in the southern part of Fuerteventura. There is also a vigorous breed of camels in the eastern islands between Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, introduced probably by the Berbers. The marine fauna is on the whole more allied to that of Europe than of Africa, most of the species being Iberian, Mediterranean, and British. There are even several American fishes, which do not occur on the coast of the neighbouring continent. The waters encircKng the Canaries are amongst the best stocked in the Atlantic, and are frequented at all seasons by hundreds of fishing smacks without mat-erially diminishing their teeming animal life. The fish in most request is a species of cod, rivalling in quality that of Newfoundland. With more efficient means these fisheries might be more productive ; but the fish are badly cured and little exported, being mostly required for the local consumption. InhabitanTkS of the Canaries. The Canaries have been inhabited from the remotest times. The types of the successive Stone Ages are perfectly represented in the archipelago, where are found a thousand objects, such as hatchets, clubs, earthenware, textiles, analogous to those occurring in the prehistoric mounds of Europe and America. But no trace has been met of the flint arrow' head, the lack of which is explained by the native archaeologist, Chil y Naranjo, by the absence of rapacious animals in the islands. When studying the multitude of objects already collected, the observer is struck by the progress made from generation to generation in the arts and industries by the indigenous race. But the masterpieces of their skill were specially reserved for the nobles. In the same grotto are found fine garments, perfectly worked utensils embellished with ornamental designs and hieroglyphics, side by side with coarse fabrics and earthenware. Thus has been revealed the ancient aristocratic constitution of Canarian society.