Journal of an African Cruiser | Page 6

there cannot be less than a thousand
persons living in the manner here described. Not only the destitute
inhabitants of Grand Canary, but vagabonds from Teneriffe and the
other islands, creep thus into the heart of the rock; and children play
about the entrances of the caverns as merrily as at a cottage-door: while,
in the gloom of the interior, you catch a glimpse of household furniture,

and women engaged in domestic avocations. It is like discovering a
world within the world.

CHAPTER II.
Nelson's defeat at Santa Cruz--The Mantilla--Arrival at Porto
Grande--Poverty of the inhabitants--Portuguese Exiles at the Cape de
Verds--City of Porto Prayo--Author's submersion--Green Turtle--Rainy
Season--Anchor at Cape Mesurado.
July 1.--Ashore at Santa Cruz. The population of the city is reckoned at
six or eight thousand. The streets are clean, and the houses built in the
Spanish fashion. Camels are frequent in the streets.
The landing at the Mole is generally bad, as Nelson found to his cost. It
is easy to perceive that, even in ordinary times, the landing of a large
party, though unopposed, must be a work of considerable difficulty.
How much more arduous, then, was the enterprise of the great Naval
Hero, who made his attack in darkness, and in the face of a
well-manned battery, which swept away all who gained foot-hold on
the shore! The latter obstacle might have been overcome by English
valor, under Nelson's guidance; but night, and the heavy surf, were the
enemies that gave him his first and only defeat. The little fort, under
whose guns he was carried by his step-son, after the loss of his arm,
derived its chief interest, in my eyes, from that circumstance. The glory
of the great Admiral sheds a lustre even upon the spot where success
deserted him. In the Cathedral of Santa Cruz are to be seen two English
flags, which were taken on that occasion, and are still pointed out with
pride by the inhabitants. I saw them five years ago, when they hung
from the walls, tattered and covered with dust; they are now enclosed in
glass cases, to which the stranger's attention is eagerly directed by the
boys who swarm around him. The defeat of Nelson took place on the
anniversary of the patron-saint of Santa Cruz; a coincidence which has
added not a little to the saint's reputation. It was by no means his first
warlike exploit; for he is said to have come to the assistance of the
inhabitants, and routed the Moors, when pressing the city hard, in the

olden time.
We wandered about the city until evening, and then walked in the Plaza.
Here the ladies and gentlemen of the city promenade for an hour or two,
occasionally seating themselves on the stone benches which skirt the
square. Like other Spanish ladies, the lovely brunettes of Santa Cruz
generally wear the mantilla, so much more becoming than the bonnet.
There are just enough of bonnets worn by foreigners, and travelled
Spanish dames, to show what deformities they are, when contrasted
with the graceful veil. This head-dress could only be used in a climate
like that of Teneriffe, where there are no extremes of heat or cold. It is
a proverb that there is no winter and no summer here. So equable and
moderate is the temperature, that, we were assured, a person might,
without inconvenience, wear either thick or thin clothing, all the year
round. With such a climate, and with a fertile soil, it would seem that
this must be almost a Paradise. There is a great obstruction, however, to
the welfare of the inhabitants, in the want of water. It rains so seldom
that the ground is almost burnt up, and many cattle actually perish from
thirst. It is said that no less than thirty thousand persons have emigrated
from the island, within three years.
The productions of Teneriffe, for export, are wine and barilla. Of the
first, the greater part is sent to England, Russia and the United States.
About thirty thousand pipes are made annually, of which two thirds are
exported. Little or no wine is produced on the southern slope of the
island. The hills around Santa Cruz are little more than rugged peaks of
naked rock. The scenery is wild and bold, but sterile; and scattered
around are stupendous hills of lava, the products of former volcanic
eruptions, but which have, for ages, been cold and wave-washed.
14.--Arrived at Porto Grande, in the island of St. Vincent's, one of the
Cape de Verds. The harbor is completely landlocked by the island of St.
Antonio, which stretches across its mouth. Still, there is, at times, a
considerable swell. The appearance of the land is barren, desolate, and
unpromising in the highest degree; and the town is in keeping with