To the Gold Coast for Gold

R >> Richard F. Burton >> To the Gold Coast for Gold

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Half an hour's cold, bleak drive placed us at the Tafira village. Here
the land yields four crops a year, two of maize and two of
potatoes. Formerly worth $100 per acre, the annual value had been raised
by cochineal to $500. All, however, depends upon water, which is
enormously dear. The yelping curs have mostly bushy tails, like those
which support the arms of the Canary Islands. The grey and green finches
represent our 'domestic warbler' (_Fringilla canaria_), which
reached England about 1500, when a ship with a few birds on board had
been wrecked off Elba.

[Footnote: The canary bird builds, on tall bushes rather than trees, a
nest of moss, roots, feathers and rubbish, where it lays from four to
six pale-blue eggs. It moults in August and September; pairs in
February, and sometimes hatches six times in a season. The natives
declare that the wild birds rarely survive the second year of captivity;
yet they do not seem to suffer from it, as they begin to sing at once
when caged. Mr. Addison describes the note as 'between that of the
skylark and the nightingale,' and was surprised to find that each flock
has a different song--an observation confirmed by the people and noted
by Humboldt (p. 87).]

The country folk were habited in shirts, drawers derived from the Moors,
and tasseled caps of blue stuff, big enough for carpet-bags. The vine
still covered every possible slope of black soil, and the aloes, crowned
with flowers, seemed to lord it over the tamarisks, the hemlocks, and
the nightshades.

Upon this _monte_, or wooded height, most of the gentry have
country-houses, the climate being 12 degrees (Fahr.) cooler than by the
sea. La Brigida commands a fine view of the Isleta, with its black sand
and white foam, leek-green waters upon the reefs, and deep offing of
steely blue.

Leaving the carriage at the forking road, I mounted, after a bad
descent, a rough hill, and saw to the left the Pico de Bandana, a fine
regular cone 1,850 feet high. A group of a few houses, El Pueblo de la
Caldera, leads to the famous Cauldron, which Sir Charles Lyell visited
by mistake for that of Palma. Travellers compare it with the lakes of
Nemi and Albano: I found it tame after the cup of Fernando Po with its
beautiful lining of hanging woods. It has only the merit of
regularity. The unbroken upper rim measures about half a mile in
diameter, and the lower funnel 3,000 feet in circumference. The sides of
_piedra pomez_ (pumice) are lined and ribbed with rows of
scoriaceous rock as regular as amphitheatre-seats, full 1,000 feet deep,
and slope easily into a flat sole, which some are said to have reached
on horseback. A copious fountain, springing from the once fiery inside,
is collected below for the use of the farm-house, El Fondo de la
Caldera. The fields have the effect of a little Alpine tarn of bright
green. Here wild pigeons are sometimes caught at night, and rabbits and
partridges are or were not extinct. I ascended Bandana Peak to the
north-north-east, the _piton_ of this long extinct volcano, and
enjoyed the prospect of the luxuriant vegetation, the turquoise sea, and
the golden sands about Maspalomas, the southernmost extremity of Grand
Canary.

Returning to the road-fork, I mounted a hill on the right hand and
sighted the Atalaya, another local lion. Here a perpendicular face of
calcareous rock fronts a deep valley, backed by a rounded hill, with the
blue chine of El Cumbre in the distance: this is the highest of the
ridge, measuring 8,500 feet. The wall is pierced, like the torrent-side
of Mar Saba (Jerusalem), with caves that shelter a troglodyte population
numbering some 2,000 souls. True to their Berber origin, they seek
refuge in the best of savage lodgings from heat, cold, and wind. The
site rises some 2,000 feet above sea-level, and the strong wester twists
the trees. Grand Canary preserves more of these settlements than
Tenerife; they are found in many parts of the island, and even close to
the capital. Madeira, on the other hand, affects them but little. We
must not forget that they still exist at St. Come, within two hours'
rail of Paris, where my learned and lamented friend Dr. Broca had a
country-house.

Descending a rough, steep slope, I entered the upper tier of the
settlement, where the boxes were built up with whitewashed fronts. The
caves are mostly divided by matting into 'buts' and 'bens.' Heaps of
pots, antiquated in shape and somewhat like the Etruscan, showed the
trade of the place, and hillocks of potatoes the staff of life. The
side-walls were hollowed for shelves, and a few prints of the Virgin and
other sacred subjects formed the decoration. Settles and rude tables
completed the list of movables; and many had the huge bed affected by
the Canarian cottager, which must be ascended with a run and a jump. The
predatory birds, gypsies and others, flocked down from their nests,
clamouring for _cuartitos_ and taking no refusal.

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 Arucas. Beyond Tenoya town I
inspected a crateriform ravine, and Monte Cardones boasted a honeycomb
of caves like the Atalaya. The fine rich _vega_ of Arucas, a long
white settlement before whose doors rose drying heaps of maize and black
cochineal, was a pleasant, smiling scene. All the country settlements
are built pretty much upon the same plan: each has its Campo Santo with
white walls and high grey gate, through which the coffin is escorted by
Gaucho-like riders, who dismount to enter. Doramas proved to be a fine
_monte_, with tree-stumps, especially chestnuts, somewhat
surprising in a region of ferns and furze. Near the little village of
Friga I tasted an _agua agria_, a natural sodawater, which the
people hold to be of sovereign value for beast as well as man. It
increases digestion and makes happy mothers, like the fountain of
Villaflor on the Tenerifan 'Pike '-slope. I found it resembling an
_eau gazeuse_ left in the open all night. We then pushed on to
Teror, famous for turkeys, traversed the high and forested northern
plateau, visited Galdar and Guia of the cheeses, and rode back by
Banaderos Bay and the Cuesta da Silva, renowned in olden island story.

These three days gave me a fair general view of Grand Canary. The
Cumbre, or central plateau, whose apex is Los Pexos (6,400 feet), well
wooded with pines and Alpines, collects moisture in abundance. From this
plateau _barrancos_, or ravine-valleys, said to number 103, radiate
quaquaversally. Their bottoms, becoming more and more level as they near
the sea, are enriched by gushing founts, and are unrivalled for
fertility, while the high and stony intervening ridges are barren as
Arabia Deserta. Even sun and rain cannot fertilise the dividing walls of
the rich and riant _vegas_. Here, as at Madeira, and showing even a
better likeness, the _tierra caliente_ is Egypt, the _mediania_
(middle-heights) are Italy, and the upper _mesetas_, the cloud-compelling
table-lands, are the bleak north of Europe plus a quasi-tropical sun.

CHAPTER IX

THE COCHINEAL--THE 'GALLO'--CANARY 'SACK'--ADIEU TO THE CANARIES.

I must not leave the Jezirat el-Bard (of Gold), or Jezirat el-Khalidat
(Happy Islands), without some notice of their peculiar institutions, the
cochineal, the _gallo_, and Canary 'sack.'

The nopal or tunal plant (_Opuntia Tuna_ or _Cactus
cochinellifera_) is indigenous on these islands as well as on the
mainland of Africa. But the native growth is woody and lean-leaved; and
its cooling fruit, which we clumsily term a 'prickly pear' or 'fig,' is
everywhere a favourite in hot climates. There are now sundry claimants
to the honour of having here fathered the modern industry. Some say that
in 1823 a retired intendant introduced from Mexico the true
_terciopelo_, or velvet-leaf, together with the Mexican cochineal,
the _coccus cacti_ hemipter, [Footnote: The male insect is winged
for flight. The female never stirs from the spot where she begins to
feed: she lays her eggs, which are innumerable and microscopic, and she
leaves them in the membrane or hardened envelope which she has
secreted.] so called from the old Greek _KOKKOS_, a berry, or the
neo-Greek _KOKKIVOS_, red, scarlet. It is certain that Don Santiago
de la Cruz brought both plant and 'bug' from Guatemala or Honduras in
1835; and that an Englishman, who has advanced a right even in writing,
labours under a not uncommon hallucination.

But the early half of the present century was the palmy day of the
vine. The people resisted the cactus-innovation as the English labourer
did the introduction of machinery, and tore up the plants. Enough,
however, remained in the south of Tenerife for the hour of
need. Travellers in search of the picturesque still lament that the ugly
stranger has ousted the trellised vine and the wild, free myrtles. But
public opinion changed when fortunes were made by selling the
insect. Greedy as the agriculturist in general, the people would refuse
the value of a full crop of potatoes or maize if they suspected that the
offerer intended to grow cochineal. No dye was prepared on the islands,
and the peasants looked upon it as a manner of mystery.

The best _tuneras_ (cochineal-plantations) lay in Grand Canary,
where they could be most watered. Wherever maize thrives, producing a
good dark leaf and grain in plenty, there cochineal also succeeds. The
soil is technically called _mina de tosca_, a whitish, pumice-like
stone, often forming a gravel conglomerate under a rocky stratum:
hardening by exposure, it is good for building. Immense labour is
required to prepare such ground for the cactus. The earth must be taken
from below the surface-rock, as at Malta; spread in terraced beds, and
cleared of loose stones, which are built up in walls or in
_molleras_, cubes or pyramids. Such ground sold for $150 per acre;
$600 were paid for metre-deep soil unencumbered by stone. Where the
chalk predominates, it must be mixed with the volcanic sand locally
called _zahorra_. In all cases the nopals are set at distances of
half a yard, in trenches at least three feet deep. The 'streets,' or
intervals, must measure nearly two yards, so that water may flow freely
and sunshine may not be arrested. Good ground, if irrigated in winter
and kept clear of weeds by the _hacada_ (hoe), produces a cactus
capable of being 'seeded' after the second year; if poor, a third is
required. The plant lasts, with manure to defend it from exhaustion, a
full decade. [Footnote: The compost was formerly natural, dry or liquid
as in Switzerland; but for some years the costly guano and chemicals
have been introduced. Formerly also potatoes were set between the stems;
and well-watered lands gave an annual grain-crop as well as a green
crop.]

I now translate the memoir sent in MS. to me by my kind friend
Dundas. It is the work of Don Abel de Aguilar, Consul Imperial de
Russie, a considerable producer of the 'bug.'

The _semillado_, or cochineal-sowing, is divided into three
_cosechas_ (crops), according to the several localities in the
islands.

The _abuelas_ (grandmothers) are those planted in
October-November. Their seed gives a new growth set in February-March,
and called _madres_ (mothers). Thirdly, those planted in June-July,
gathered in September-October, and serving to begin with the
_abuelas_, are called _la cosecha_ (the crop). The first and
second may be planted on the seaboard; the last is confined to the
midlands and uplands, on account of the heat and the hot winds,
especially the souther and the south-south-easter, which asphyxiate the
insect.

And now of the _abuelas_, as cultivated in the maritime regions
of Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

Every cochineal-plantation must have a house with windows facing the
south, and freely admitting the light--an indispensable condition. The
_cuarto del semillado_ (breeding-room) should be heated by stoves
to a regular temperature of 30 deg.-32 deg. (R.). At this season the proportion
of seed is calculated at 30 boxes of 40 lbs. each, or a total of 1,200
lbs. per _fanega_, the latter being equivalent to a half-hectare.
The cochineal is placed in large wooden trays lined with
cloth, and containing about 15 lbs. of the recently gathered seed. When
filled without crowding, the trays are covered with squares of
cotton-cloth (raw muslin), measuring 12-16 inches. Usually the
_fanega_ requires 20-30 quintals (128 lbs., or a cwt.), each
costing $15 to $17. The newly born insects (_hijuelos_) adhere to
the cochineal-rags, and these are carried to the _tunera_, in
covered baskets.

The operation is repeated with fresh rags till the parturition is
completed. The last born, after 12-15 days, are the weakest. They are
known by their dark colour, the earlier seed being grey-white, like
cigar-ashes. The cochineal which has produced all its insects is known
in the markets as 'zacatillas.' It commanded higher prices, because the
watery parts had disappeared and only the colouring matter remained. Now
its value is that of the white or _cosecha_.

The cochineal-rags are then carried by women and girls to the
_tunera_, and are attached to the cactus-leaves by passing the
cloths round them and by pinning them on with the thorns. This
operation, requires great care, judgment, and experience. The good
results of the crop depend upon the judicious distribution of the
'bugs;' and error is easy when making allowance for their loss by wind,
rain, or change of temperature. The insects walk over the whole leaf,
and choose their places sheltered as much as possible, although still
covered by the rags. After 8-10 days they insert the proboscis into the
cactus, and never stir till gathered. At the end of three and a half to
four months they become 'grains of cochineal,' not unlike wheat, but
smaller, rounder, and thicker. The sign of maturity is the appearance of
new insects upon the leaf. The rags are taken off, as they were put on,
by women and girls, and the cochineal is swept into baskets with brushes
of palm-frond. As the _abuelas_ grow in winter there is great loss
of life. For each pound sown the cultivator gets only two to two and a
half, innumerable insects being lost either in the house or out of
doors.

The crop thus gathered produces the _madres_ (mothers): the latter
are sown in February-March, and are gathered in May-June. The only
difference of treatment is that the rags are removed when the weather is
safe and the free draught benefits the insects. The produce is
greater--three and a half to four pounds for one.

The _cosecha_ of the _madres_ produces most abundantly, on
account of the settled weather. The cochineal breeds better in the
house, where there is more light and a higher temperature. The result is
that 8 to 10 lbs. become 100. It is cheaper too: as a lesser proportion
of rag is wanted for the field, and it is kept on only till the insect
adheres. Thus a small quantity goes a long way. At this season there is
no need of the _cuarto_, and bags of pierced paper or of
_rengue_ (loose gauze), measuring 10 inches long by 2 broad, are
preferred. A spoonful of grain, about 4 ounces, is put into each bag and
is hung to the leaves: the young ones crawl through the holes or meshes
till the plant is sufficiently populated. In hot weather they may be
changed eight times a day with great economy of labour. This is the most
favourable form; the insects go straight to the leaves, and it is easy
to estimate the proportions.

So far Don Abel. He concludes with saying that cochineal, which in other
days made the fortune of his native islands, will soon be completely
abandoned. Let us hope not.

The _cosecha_-insects, shell-like in form, grey-coloured, of light
weight, but all colouring matter, are either sold for breeding
_abuelas_ or are placed upon trays and killed in stoves by a heat
of 150 deg.-160 deg. (Fahr.). The drying process is managed by reducing the
temperature to 140 deg.. The time varies from twenty-four to forty-eight
hours: when hurried it injures the crop. Ninety full-grown insects weigh
some forty-eight grains, and there is a great reduction by drying; some
27,000 yield one pound of the prepared cochineal. The shiny black
cochineal, which looks like small beetles, is produced by sun-drying,
and by shaking the insect in a linen bag or in a small 'merry-go-round,'
so as to remove the white powder. [Footnote: Mr. H. Vizetelly (p. 210)
says that black metallic sand is used to give it brilliancy.] The form,
however, must be preserved. It sells 6_d_. per lb. higher than the
_cochinilla de plata_, or silver cochineal. Lastly, the dried crop
is packed in bags, covered with mats, and is then ready for exportation.

The traffic began about 1835 with an export of only 1,275 lbs.; and
between 1850 and 1860 the lb. was worth at least ten francs. Admiral
Robinson [Footnote: _Sea-drift_, a volume published by subscription.
Pitman, London, 1852.] in 1852 makes the export one million of
lbs. at one dollar each, or a total of 250,000_l_. During the
rage of the oidium the cultivation was profitable and raised
the Canaries high in the scale of material prosperity. In 1862
the islands exported 10,000 quintals, or hundred-weights, the
total value being still one million of dollars. In 1877-78
the produce was contained in 20,000 to 25,000 bags, each
averaging 175 lbs., at a value of half a crown per lb.: it was then
stated that, owing to the increased expense of irrigation and of guano
or chemical manures, nothing under two shillings would repay the
cultivator. In 1878-79 the total export amounted to 5,045,007 lbs. In
1879-80 this figure had fallen off to 4,036,871 lbs., a decrease of
5,482 bags, or 1,008,136 lbs.; moreover the prices, which had been
forced up by speculation, declined from 2_s_. 6_d_.-3_s_. 4_d_.
to 1_s_. 8_d_. and 1_s_. 10_d_. [Footnote: These figures are taken
from the able Consular Report of Mr. Consul Dundas, printed in Part
viii., 1881.] When I last visited Las Palmas (April 1880), cochineal,
under the influence of _magenta_ and _mineral_ dyes, was selling at
1_s_. 4_d_. instead of one to two dollars.

It is to be feared that the palmy days of cochineal are over, and that
its chief office, besides staining liqueurs and tooth-powders, will be
to keep down the price of the chemicals. With regret I see this handsome
and harmless colour being gradually superseded by the economical
anilines, whose poisonous properties have not yet been fully recognised
by the public. The change is a pregnant commentary upon the good and
homely old English saying, 'Cheap and nasty.'

The fall of cochineal throughout the Canaries brought many successors
into the field, but none can boast of great success. Silk, woven and
spun, was tried; unfortunately, the worms were fed on _tartago_ (a
_ricinus_), instead of the plentiful red and white mulberries. The
harvest was abundant, but not admired by manufacturers. In fact, the
moderns have failed where their predecessors treated the stuff so well
that Levantines imported silks to resell them in Italy. Formerly
Tenerife contained a manufactory whose lasting and brilliant produce was
highly appreciated in Spain as in Havana. At Palma crimson waist-sashes
used to sell for an ounce of gold.

Tobacco-growing was patronised by Government in 1878, probably with the
view of mixing it in their monopoly-manufactories with the growths of
Cuba and Manilla. But on this favour being withdrawn the next year's
harvest fell to one-fourth (354,640 lbs. to 36,978). The best sites were
in Hierro (Ferro) and Adejo, in the south of Tenerife. The chief
obstacles to success are imperfect cultivation, the expense of skilled
labour, and deficiency of water to irrigate the deep black soil. Both
Virginia and Havana leaves were grown, and good brands sold from eight
to sixteen dollars per 100 lbs. The customers in order of quantity are
Germany, England, France, South America, and the West Coast of Africa,
where the cigars are now common. One brand (Republicanos) is so good
that I should not wish to smoke better. At home they sell for twelve
dollars per 1,000; a price which rises, I am told, in England to one
shilling each. They are to be procured through Messieurs Davidson, of
Santa Cruz.

The Canarians now talk of sugar-growing; but the cane will inevitably
fare worse for want of water than either silk or tobacco.

Next to cochineal in the Canary Islands, especially in Tenerife, ranks
the _gallo_, or fighting-cock. Cockfighting' amongst ourselves is
redolent of foul tobacco, bad beer, and ruffianism in low places. This
is not the case in Spain and her colonies, where the classical sport of
Greece and Rome still holds its ground. I have pleasant reminiscences of
the good _Padre_ in the Argentine Republic who after mass repaired
regularly to the pit, wearing his huge canoe-like hat and carrying under
his arm a well-bred bird instead of a breviary. Here too I was told that
the famous Derby breed of the twelfth Earl had extended in past times
throughout the length and breadth of the land; and the next visit to
Knowsley convinced me that the legend was based on fact. As regards
cruelty, all popular sports, fox-hunting and pigeon-shooting, are
cruel. Grallus, however, has gained since the days of Cock-Mondays and
Cock-Fridays, when he was staked down to be killed by 'cock-sticks' or
was whipped to his death by blindfolded carters. 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. A moderately
well-bred specimen may be bought for two dollars, but first-rate cocks
belonging to private fanciers have no price.

Many proprietors, as at Hyderabad, in the Dakhan, will not part with
even the eggs. The shape of the Canarian bird is rather that of a
pheasant than a 'rooster.' The coat varies; it is black and red with
yellow shanks, black and yellow, white and gold, and a grey, hen-like
colour, our 'duck-wing,' locally called _gallinho_. Here, as in
many other places, the 'white feather' is no sign of bad blood. The
toilet is peculiar. Comb and wattles are 'dubbed' (clean shaven), and
the circumvental region is depilated or clipped with scissors, leaving
only the long tail-feathers springing from a naked surface. The skin is
daily rubbed, after negro fashion, with lemon-juice, inducing a fiery
red hue: this is done for cleanliness, and is supposed also to harden
the cuticle. Altogether the appearance is coquet, sportsmanlike, and
decidedly appropriate.

The game-chicks are sent to the country, like town-born babes in France
or the sons of Arabian cities to the Bedawin's black tents. The cockerel
begins fighting in his second, and is not a 'stale bird' till his fifth
or sixth, year. In early spring aspirants to the honours of the arena
are brought to the towns for education and for training, which lasts
some six weeks. I was invited to visit a walk belonging to a wealthy
proprietor at Orotava, who obligingly answered all my questions. Some
fifty birds occupied the largest room of a deserted barrack, which
proclaimed its later use at the distance of half a mile. The gladiators
were disposed in four long, parallel rows of cages, open cane-work,
measuring three feet square. Each had a short wooden trestle placed
outside during the day and serving by night as a perch. They were fed
and watered at 2 P.M. The fattening maize was first given, and then
wheat, with an occasional cram of bread-crumb and water by way of
physic. The _masala_ and multifarious spices of the Hindostani
trainer are here ignored.

The birds are not allowed, as in India, to become so fierce that they
attack men: this is supposed to render them too hot and headstrong in
combat. Every third day there is a _Pecha_, or spurring-match,
which proves the likeliest lot. The pit for exercise is a matted circle
about 6 feet in diameter. A well-hodded bird is placed in it, and the
assistant holds up a second, waving it to and fro and provoking No. 1 to
take his exercise by springing to the attack. The Indian style of
galloping the cock by showing a hen at either end of the walk is looked
upon with disfavour, because the sight of the sex is supposed to cause
disease during high condition. The elaborate Eastern shampooing for
hours has apparently never been heard of. After ten minutes' hard
running and springing the bird is sponged with Jamaica rum and water, to
prevent chafing; the lotion is applied to the head and hind quarters, to
the tender and dangerous parts under the wings, and especially to the
leg-joints. The lower mandible is then held firmly between the left
thumb and forefinger, and a few drops are poured into the beak. Every
alternate day the cage is placed on loose ground in sun and wind; and
once a week there is a longer sparring-bout with thick leather hods, or
spur-pads.

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