Santa Cruz de Tenerife

“ Tenerife is considered of more value than all the other Canaries: the inhabitants however, in scarce seasons, receive supplies from the Grand Canary; but their vineyards here are said to be greatly superior. Their produce of corn, though exceedingly good, is not sufficient for their consumption; and owing to this the Americans have an advantageous trade here for their flour and grain, and take wine in return. The town of Santa Cruz is about half a mile in extent each way, built in a regular manner, and the houses in general large and airy, but the streets are very ill paved. ”

“ An aqueduct five miles long supplies water from the mountains. The harbor is protected by a breakwater and has good facilities for coaling. Santa Cruz is the second seaport in the Canary Islands. It exports sugar, cochineal, almonds, wine, cattle, and agricultural products. ”

“ In the evening we passed the south end of Tenerife which is a round lump of land that, from the lowness of the contiguous land, has at a distance the appearance of a separate island. By our run from the bay of Santa Cruz I make the latitude of the south end of Tenerife to be 28 degrees 6 minutes north. We ran all night towards the south-south-west having the wind at south-east. ”

“ Meeting a French ship on the 18th and getting no intelligence of our admiral, we made sail for the Canaries, and fell in with the island of Tenerife on the 28th, where we came to anchor in a small bay, at which there were three or four small houses, about a league from the town of Santa Cruz. In this island there is a marvellous high hill called the Peak, and although it is in lat. 28° N. where the air is as warm in January as it is in England at midsummer, the top of this hill, to which no man has ever been known to ascend, is seldom free from snow even in the middle of summer. ”

“ They touch their hats with a frank smile, not the Spanish scowl near Gibraltar, or of Santa Cruz, Tenerife. The men are comparatively noiseless; a bawling voice startles you like a pistol-shot. I rarely heard a crying child or a scolding woman offering 'eau bénite à la Xantippe;' even the cocks and hens tied to old shoes cackle with reserve. The climate tames everything from Dom to donkey. Except in January and February it is still, intensely still—the very leaves seem to hang motionless. ”

“ Before 1810 Tenerife exported her wines not from Santa Cruz, but from Orotava, the centre of commerce. Here, since the days of Charles II., there was an English Factory with thirty to forty British subjects, Protestants, under the protection of the Captain-General; and their cemetery lay at the west end of El Puerto, whose palmy days were in 1812-15. The trade was then transferred to the modern capital, where there are, and have been for years, only two English wine-shipping firms, Messieurs Hamilton and Messieurs Davidson. The seniors of both families have all passed away ”

“ AND THE GOVERNORS AT LAGUNA AND SANTA CRUZ.
It is reported they can raise 12,000 armed men on this island. The governor or general (as he is called) of all the Canary Islands lives at Laguna: his name is Don Pedro de Ponto. He is a native of this island, and was not long since President of Panama in the South Seas: who bringing some very rich pearls from thence, which he presented to the Queen of Spain, was therefore, as it is said, made general of the Canary Islands. The Grand Canary is an island much superior to Tenerife both in bulk and value ”

“ The Camiño de los Coches, a fine modern highway in corkscrew fashion from Santa Cruz to Orotava, was begun, by the grace of General Ortega, who died smoking in the face of the firing party, and ended between 1862 and 1868. This section, eight kilomètres long, occupies at least one hour and a half, zigzagging some 2,000 feet up a steep slope which its predecessor uncompromisingly breasted. Here stood the villa of Peter Pindar (Dr. Walcott) , who hymned the fleas of Tenerife: I would back those of Tiberias. The land is arid, being exposed to the full force of the torrid northeast trade. ”

“ But Santa Cruz, the modern capital, has provided herself with a larger and a better house; ergo Las Palmas, the old capital, must fain do the same. The metropolis of Grand Canary, moreover, claims to count more noses than that of Tenerife. To the west of the older theatre, in the same block, is the casino, club, and ball-room, with two French billiard-tables and smoking-rooms. The old hotel attached to the theatre has now ceased to exist. ”

“ At 7 A.M. next morning, after running past the Anaga knuckle-bone--and very bony it is--of the Tenerife gigot, we cast anchor in the Bay of Santa Cruz, took boat, and hurried ashore. In the early times of the A.S.S. halts at the several stations often lasted three days. Business is now done in the same number of hours; and the captain informs you that 'up goes the anchor' the moment his last bale or bag comes on board. This trading economy of time, again, is an improvement more satisfactory to the passenger than to the traveller and sightseer who may wish to see the world. ”

“ The wiser Spaniards have made Santa Cruz, Tenerife, a free port. The health-officer presently gives us pratique, and we welcome the good 'monopolist,' Mr. William Reid, and his son. The former, an Ayrshire man, has made himself proprietor of the four chief hostelries. Yates's or Hollway's in the Entrada da Cidade, or short avenue running north from the landing-place, has become a quasi-ruinous telegraph-station. Reid's has blossomed into the 'Royal Edinburgh;' it is rather a tavern than an hotel, admitting the 'casuals' from passing steamers and men who are not welcome elsewhere. ”

“ The soldiers in the Paso Alto and Valle Seco received 100 pairs of slippers, for which our Commandant-General had indented. Many peasants who had applied for and obtained guns, knives, and other weapons from the Laguna armoury were sent off to defend the northern part of the island. On the main road descending to Santa Cruz the Chief Magistrate planted a provisional battery with two field-pieces belonging to the Court of Aldermen. When thus engaged an unfortunate fall from his horse compelled him to retire. ”

“ Since July 22, when the first alarm-signal was made at Santa Cruz, Don Josef de Castilla, the Chief Magistrate (Corregidor) , with the nobility and men at arms (armas-tomar) assembled in force on the main square of La Laguna (Plaza del Adelantado) . The Mayor (Alcalde Mayor) , Don Vicente Ortiz de Rivera, presided over the court (cabildo) , at which were present all those members ( regidores ) who were not personally serving against the enemy. ”

“ Las Palmas 17,800 Telde 9,200 Arucas 8,000 Santa-Cruz 16,600
Tenerife 105,000 Laguna 11'000 Orotava 8'200
Gomera, 12, San-Sebastian 1,8000
Palma 12,000 Santa-Cruz 6,600 Los Llanos 6,000 Valverde 54,00
CAPE VERD ISLANDS.
Area, 1,450 square miles; population (1886) , 105,000. Exports (1886) , £66,000; imports £177,000. Shipping of St. Vincent (1880) , 1,560,000 tons. Shipping of Praia (1880) , 140.000 tons. ”

“ It is in these haggard, unpeopled plateaus of the interior that one begins to believe that the population of the peninsula is to-day barely one-third what it was in the prosperous years of Abd er-Rahman.
At length, across a valley that was like a lake of heat waves, appeared Santa Cruz, a hard, colorless town where I was forced to be content with the usual bread, cheese and wine, the former as ossified as the surrounding countryside. In the further outskirts of the place I found a potter at work in a large open hovel and halted to pass the most heated hour with him. ”

“ Every one agrees that La Palma is almost the most beautiful of the group of seven Fortunate Isles, so it is all the more deeply to be deplored that there is not better communication between the little port of Santa Cruz de la Palma and Teneriffe or Grand Canary. ”

“ It is a beautiful island, fertile and populous; and until recently the seat of government, which has been transferred to Teneriffe. It has a range of mountains, some peaks of which are over six thousand feet high. Many streams flow from these hills, which in the rainy season become raging torrents. Las Palmas, or the Palms, is a city of twenty thousand inhabitants, formerly the capital of the islands; but Santa Cruz de Teneriffe, as it is called to distinguish it from another Santa Cruz in the island of Palma, has wrested from it this distinction ”

“ N. of the New Hebrides; on one of the smaller islands Bishop Patteson was brutally murdered by the natives in 1871.
Santa Cruz or St. Croix (20) , one of the Virgin Islands; produces sugar, rum, and cotton; ceded by France to Denmark in 1733; a serious nigger revolt took place in 1878; capital is Christianstadt (6) .
Santa Cruz or Teneriffe (13) , capital and chief seaport of the Canary Islands, situated on the NE. side of Teneriffe; has an excellent and strongly-fortified harbour; is an important coaling port for ocean steamers; cochineal, wine, and garden-produce are the chief exports. ”

“ An hotel among the pine woods would certainly be very attractive, especially in spring, when the whole island is afoam with fruit blossom. At present a bad fonda is the only accommodation in Santa Cruz, and most people curtail their stay in consequence, and hurry away at the end of three days during which time the steamer has been at the neighbouring islands of Hierro and Gomera, or else they ride over to Los Llanos, spurred by the report of a very fairly comfortable inn. The island affords almost endless expeditions, especially to good walkers, as the tracks are bad and slippery for mules. ”

“ The journey across the Cumbres viâ El Paso to Los Llanos is one of extreme beauty, as the vegetation begins very soon after leaving Santa Cruz, and at a height of only 1000 ft. the chestnut, laurel, and heath woods begin. The path winds through these enchanting woods until at a higher elevation the giant heaths alone are left. From the top of the Cumbre Nueva there is a magnificent view over the whole island, Santa Cruz nestling among the hills by the shore and in the far distance lie Teneriffe and Gomera. ”

“ With respect to site nothing can be more beautifully picturesque than the town of Santa Cruz. It stands in the centre of a spacious bay, on a gentle acclivity surrounded with retiring hills, and the noble promontory of the Peek rising majestically behind it, dignifies the scene beyond description, being continually diversified with every vicissitude of the surrounding atmosphere, emerging and retiring thro' the fleecy clouds, from the bottom of the mountain to its summit. ”

“ At the Canary Islands, a week after leaving Liverpool, one may spend a day of interest and pleasure. On my first voyage we called at Las Palmas, in Grand Canary Island. On the second voyage we called at Santa Cruz on Teneriffe Island. The object of chief interest is the great Mount Teneriffe, seen sometimes a hundred miles at sea; probably the Mount Atlas of ancient fable, which was supposed to support the firmament. There are of course many mountain peaks in the world which rise to a greater height above the sea-level ”

“ Flowers, fruit, and kitchen gardens flourish on Santa Cruz in ordered beauty, and from every spot upon the island vistas and views of astonishing loveliness meet the eye. Nature and art combine to make an entrancing island, unsurpassed by any, even in this silvery bay so famous for the beauty of its shores. Birds, native and foreign, of many brilliant hues, flit unmolested through its trees and along its shores; their confidence in the protecting care lavished upon them holds them to a spot where they find perfect freedom and plentiful provision for all their needs. ”

“ It occupies a week to ride round the island, whose circumference measures about 120 miles. I contented myself with a last excursion to Doramas, which then supplied meat, cheese, and grain to Tenerife. My guide was old Antonio Martinez, who assured me that he was the 'most classical man' in the island; and with two decent hill-ponies we struck to the north-west. There is little to describe in the tour. The Cuesta Blanca showed us the regular cones of Arúcas. Beyond Tenoya town I inspected a crateriform ravine, and Monte Cardones boasted a honeycomb of caves like the Atalaya. ”

“ It is still the fashion, as at Lisbon, to look somewhat boudeuse when abroad, by way of hint that man must not expect too much; yet these cross faces at home or with intimates are those of bonnes enfants. Lastly, the dark complexions and the irregular features do not contrast well with the charming faces and figures of Tenerife, who mingle the beauty of Guanchedom with that of Spain and Ireland.
The list of public amusements at Funchal is not extensive. Years ago the theatre was converted into a grain-store, and now it is a wine-store. ”

“ They arrived at a large river, which the Indians crossed by swimming. The Christians were unable, so they turned back. In all this district there are very high mountains which seem to reach the sky, so that the mountain in the island of Tenerife appears as nothing in height and beauty, and they are all green with trees. Between them there are very delicious valleys, and at the end of this port, to the south, there is a valley so large that the end of it is not visible, though no mountains intervene, so that it [193] seems to be 15 or 20 leagues long. ”

“ He leads the life of a friar; he is tended carefully as any babe; he is permitted to indulge his pugnacity, which it would be harsh to restrain, and at worst he dies fighting like a gentleman. A Tenerifan would shudder at the horror of our fashionable sport, where ruffians gouge or blind the pigeon with a pin, squeeze it to torture, wrench out its tail, and thrust the upper through the lower mandible.
The bird in Tenerife surpasses those of the other Canary Islands, and more than once has carried off the prizes at Seville. ”