A TRIP TO THE CANARY ISLANDS.
“Arrived at Portsmouth, steamer Ville d’Angers, having in tow the hulk
of the ship Castle William, dismasted in the violent gale of April 8,”
read Mr. Pelham, from a newspaper which had just been received by the
African steamer.
He had hastened on board of the Prince with the paper as soon as he
obtained it. The news was certainly very important, for it assured the
principal that the missing steamer was safe; and, in the absence of any
additional intelligence, it was presumed that her crew were all well.
Mr. Fluxion took the paper, and looked it over. He was especially happy
because his confident prediction that the Ville d’Angers was all right,
had been fully verified. Mr. Lowington was delighted in the safety of
the students on board of her. The Marian was still in port; for Judge
Rodwood enjoyed the climate of the island and the frequent hospitality
of Don Roderigue so much, that he was in no haste to pursue his truant
ward.
A boat was immediately sent to the Marian to inform the judge that
his ward had been heard from, and was believed to be all right. He
was glad to hear it, though he seemed to be in no hurry to leave the
beautiful islands.
“Ah, here is more news!” exclaimed Mr. Fluxion, who was still looking
over the paper.
“About the steamer?” asked Mr. Lowington.
“Yes, sir: here is a tolerably full account of the voyage of the Ville
d’Angers, and of the state of things on board of the Castle William,”
continued the senior vice-principal, as he seated himself under the
awning on the quarter-deck of the American Prince.
“Let us hear it,” added the principal eagerly.
It was a Southampton paper; and the editor reminded his readers of the
visit of the academy squadron to the waters of the Solent and Spithead,
and the race around the Isle of Wight, about six years before. Then
followed an account of the picking-up of the French steamer, and the
subsequent falling-in with the wreck of the Castle William.
“A very wealthy American gentleman,” the article continued, “who
was the patron of the academy squadron, and had presented to its
distinguished principal an elegant and costly steam-yacht of twelve
hundred tons burden, happened to be a passenger, with his family,
in the Ville d’Angers from Havre to Malaga. When the condition of
things on board of the unfortunate Castle William was ascertained,
this noble-hearted gentleman, with his wife and her sister, went on
board of the hulk where pestilence and death were raging, and tenderly
nursed the sick. Mr. Frisbone, who is jocosely called the ‘American
Prince,’--and he is one of Nature’s most royal princes,--immediately
resorted to various sanitary measures, and with his own hands
whitewashed the space between decks of the fever-stricken vessel. The
medicines and supplies put on board of the ship by the steamer were
so well used that the sick immediately began to improve; and now all
are doing well. They have all been removed to the quarantine hospital,
where the small-pox patients are convalescent.
“Undoubtedly the careful nursing of the sick by this self-sacrificing
gentleman and the ladies saved the lives of many, if not all, of the
sick. Certainly the heroic exertions of the young gentlemen of the
school-ship saved the vessel and her freight of human beings; and they
deserve the highest praise. Mr. Frisbone, as the agent of the principal
of the academy squadron, has libelled the Castle William for salvage;
and we learn that negotiations for an amicable adjustment of the
amount are in progress. The owners of the steamer, by their attorney,
have already put in their claim for the Ville d’Angers, subject to
reasonable salvage.
“We regret to add that there has been some trouble about the discipline
among the young officers of the steamer. The first and third officers
of the steamer, appointed by the senior vice-principal in charge
of one of the vessels of the academy squadron, were mutinous, and
refused to do duty, attempting to incite others of the crew to follow
their example. Possibly it was a boyish frolic; but the young captain
promptly caused the arrest of the two offenders, and has kept them
prisoners in their state-rooms up to the present time. But all the rest
of the ship’s company yield a willing obedience to the authority of the
captain.
“We regard Capt. O’Hara, for such is his name, as a rather remarkable
young gentleman. Mr. Frisbone assures our informant that he is a
thorough seaman, having served before the mast, and worked his way up
to fourth lieutenant of the vessel to which he is attached. He was
born in Italy, of an Irish father formerly in the English consular
service, and an Italian mother. He is twenty years of age, and speaks
Italian and French as fluently as he does English. Though there is an
instructor, as well as two adult forward officers, attached to the
ship, she is under the entire management of her youthful commander.”
This was the principal portion of the article which Mr. Fluxion read,
to which the party gave the most undivided attention. Of course it was
gratifying to the professional pride of the principal; and both of the
vice-principals congratulated themselves upon their own discretion in
appointing O’Hara to the command of the steamer, though it was not
foreseen that he would make such an extended cruise in her.
“I am sorry to learn that there has been trouble on board of the
steamer,” said Mr. Lowington, when the account of the voyage had been
partly digested.
“But O’Hara seems to have made an end of the mutiny at once,” replied
Mr. Fluxion.
“He is a very decided fellow,” added Mr. Pelham. “He is a peaceable and
well-disposed young man; but he would fight his way through any thing
if the occasion required.”
“This paper says the first and third officers were insubordinate,”
continued the principal anxiously. “Who were these officers?”
“Gregory was the first, and Clinch was the third officer,” replied
Mr. Fluxion, not a little disconcerted, as the heavy frown on his
brow indicated. “I am sorry to say that both of them were from the
Josephine.”
“They used to be bad boys,” said Mr. Lowington.
“For the last year there have been no better officers or students in
the vessel than Gregory and Clinch. I don’t understand it,” replied Mr.
Fluxion, musing. “Possibly O’Hara has been a little airy, and provoked
them: it would not be strange if any young fellow should feel good, in
command of a steamer of six hundred tons.”
“It is not at all like O’Hara to put on airs,” interposed Mr. Pelham.
“Even if he did, that is no excuse for Gregory,” added Mr. Fluxion.
“I suppose we shall not understand the matter till we see the students,
and get their account of the affair,” said Mr. Lowington.
“The name of my ward is not mentioned in connection with this
business,” remarked the judge.
“He is not mentioned as a mutineer; and so far it is perfectly
satisfactory,” added Dr. Phelps.
“I have no doubt he has done his duty faithfully,” said Mr. Pelham.
“But when shall we have these young fellows back here?” asked Judge
Rodwood.
“That is more than I can tell: they are out of my reach, and I cannot
instruct them what to do,” replied the principal. “But Mr. Frisbone is
happily with them; and I have entire confidence in his good judgment
and discretion.”
“What will he do with them? He has no authority over them; and I fancy,
if they once get ashore, Capt. O’Hara will not be as powerful as he
seems to have been on board. What will they do?”
“I have no doubt Mr. Frisbone will send them to these islands in the
next steamer, and come himself, if he is not wholly disgusted with his
experience at sea.”
“The steamer which arrived to-day is an extra one,” said Mr. Pelham.
“The next steamer will not leave Southampton till the 24th of the
month, and will arrive on the 30th.”
“And this is only the 21st,” added the judge. “Shall we remain here
nine or ten days longer?”
“We will consider that matter,” replied Mr. Lowington, rising from his
deck-chair.
The conference was ended, and all returned to their own vessels. The
principal went forward to the chart-room, on the table of which was
spread out the chart of the North Atlantic. He looked it over, applied
the parallel ruler and the dividers. In less than half an hour orders
were sent to the Josephine and the Tritonia to sail at four o’clock in
the afternoon for Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, one of the Canary Islands.
Notice of this intention was sent to Judge Rodwood, who immediately
hastened on board of the Prince to ascertain more definitely the
intentions of the principal.
“You seem to have come to a sudden conclusion,” said the judge, when he
met the principal on the deck of the Prince.
“My absent students cannot get to Funchal under ten days; and I cannot
afford to lose so much time,” replied Mr. Lowington. “It is only a
day’s run for the steamer to the Canaries; and we can spend a week at
Santa Cruz, or in cruising about the islands, and return in season to
take them on board.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed the judge. “I shall go with you; and this
excursion will afford me an opportunity to reciprocate the hospitality
of our friend Don Roderigue; for I shall invite him and his family to
take passage in the Marian.”
“I was just thinking of offering them state-rooms on board of the
American Prince; but I have no doubt you can accommodate them more
elegantly than I can; and I will yield the privilege to you, judge.”
“Thank you, Mr. Principal.”
Judge Rodwood hastened on shore to extend the invitation to Don
Roderigue; and great was the delight of the young officers when they
saw Dona Maria go on board of the Marian just before the hour appointed
for the sailing of the squadron. They lustily cheered the party. Don
Roderigue raised his hat, and bowed his thanks, while his daughter
vigorously waved her handkerchief.
Promptly at the hour set, the two steamers and the two schooners got
under way, and stood out of the Bay of Funchal. The wind was quite
fresh from the west, veering a little to the north, so that the
sailing-vessels had all the breeze they wanted. It had been agreed
that the vessels of the fleet should keep together, and the steamers
were worked at about two-thirds of their ordinary speed to accommodate
them. The course was true south till seven o’clock in the morning,
when the Salvages, a group of islands with very rocky and dangerous
surroundings, bore to the eastward; and then the fleet was headed to
the east south-east. The islands looked barren and forbidding.
“Land, sharp on the weather-bow!” shouted the lookout on the
top-gallant forecastle of the Tritonia.
“Land!” exclaimed Scott, who had the deck. “There is no land within a
hundred miles in that direction. The lookout has a gravel-stone in his
eye, and thinks it is an island.”
“Don’t be too sure of that, Scott,” added the vice-principal, leaping
on the rail at the weather side, and looking out in the direction
indicated by the lookout. “I see it.”
The lieutenant sprang into the weather rigging, and strained his eyes
to the utmost; but he could see nothing that looked like land.
“I think I am getting blind, sir,” added Scott, with a laugh.
“Where are you looking? Up here!” and Mr. Pelham pointed a considerable
distance above the horizon.
“Up there! I shouldn’t think of looking up there for land, unless I
expected to find it in the moon,” replied Scott. “The Mountains of the
Moon are away over on the other side of Africa. Are you looking for
them?”
“Don’t you see that mountain?” continued Mr. Pelham, pointing again.
“I see it now,” answered Scott, as he made out a mazy mass, high above
the horizon. “What in the world is that?”
“It is the peak of Teneriffe.”
“I have heard enough about it to know it without an introduction.”
“It must be nearly a hundred miles off.”
“And we are in no immediate danger of getting aground on that land.”
This mountain was the point of attraction for the day, as it gradually
displayed its outline more clearly to the students. At three o’clock
in the afternoon, the squadron rounded Point Anaga, the north-eastern
cape of Teneriffe. It was only nine miles farther to the chief town
of the island; and by five, the squadron was at anchor, and all the
formalities of the government had been complied with.
At eight the next morning all hands were assembled in the grand saloon
of the Prince, to hear what Mr. Mapps had to say about the Canary
Islands in general, and Teneriffe in particular.
“The _Islas Canarias_, as the Spaniards have it, or the Canaries,
or Canary Islands, as we have it, lie between thirteen and eighteen
degrees of west longitude, and between twenty-seven and a half and
twenty-nine and a half degrees of north latitude. They have an
aggregate area of thirty-two hundred square miles, and a population
of two hundred and twenty-seven thousand. There are seven principal
islands, the most important of which are Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and
Palma. These islands are all very mountainous, volcanic, and rocky. The
peak of Teneriffe, which we have had in sight since yesterday morning,
is over twelve thousand feet high.
“The two most western islands are Hierro, or Ferro, and Palma, both of
which contain peaks from five to over seven thousand feet high. The
meridian which passes through Ferro was the one formerly selected as
the first, from which longitude was measured; and for this reason it
has been adopted as the dividing line between the Eastern and Western
Hemispheres. Gomera is fourteen miles south-west of Teneriffe. The
water between these islands is very deep; and there are no dangers,
except within a few hundred feet of the shore.
“Teneriffe is forty-five miles long, and twenty-two wide. The natives
call the summit of the mountain which stands in the middle of the
island, the ‘Pico de Teyde.’ We saw it yesterday morning when we were
nearly a hundred miles from it; and the people say it can be seen a
hundred and sixty miles, but this is vanity on their part. There are
generally more or less clouds hanging about it. Santa Cruz, or ‘Holy
Cross,’ is the most driving city of all the islands of the Atlantic.
It has twenty thousand inhabitants. The mole which you see is of
recent construction, and was very much needed to protect the shipping
from the strong winds coming from north-east to south-east. There is
some British naval history connected with this city. In 1657 Admiral
Blake destroyed a Spanish fleet, anchored under the batteries of the
town; and, favored by a sudden change of wind, got his ships out of
the harbor with but little loss. Nelson lost an arm here in 1797, and
was badly beaten in his battle with Fort San Miguel, which is still in
existence. British flags are so scarce with the Spaniards, that those
captured in this engagement are still on exhibition in the principal
church of the city. In the middle of the summer the heat in the town is
very oppressive; and the wealthy inhabitants flee from it to Laguna, a
place among the hills, five miles inland.
“On the north-west side of Teneriffe is the port and city of
Orotava, which is probably the best health station in the world for
invalids troubled with throat and lung diseases. It is located in an
amphitheatre of hills, two or three miles from the sea. It is even
superior to Madeira in the uniformity of its temperature. The region
around it is a perfect garden, and the thermometer never falls below
fifty degrees, or rises more than a degree or two above eighty; and
these extremes are of very rare occurrence. The average temperature is
about sixty-eight degrees. One month hardly varies more than a couple
of degrees from the one next to it. Invalids here may remain out of
doors all the time, and keep their windows open night and day. But it
has not yet become to any great extent a health resort; and there is a
lack of accommodations for visitors and temporary residents.
“The Grand Canary is about fifty miles to the south-east of Teneriffe.
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;
and there is a strong rivalry between the two places. It is still
the Church capital of the Canaries. It is overlooked by two high
mountains; and through the city runs the Guiniguada River, which is
crossed by a bridge with immense arches, built two hundred years ago.
It has some fine buildings, and several educational institutions. The
harbor is very bad, for a heavy surf rolls in most of the time; but it
has a sheltered port two miles to the eastward of it.
“Fuerteventura lies east of Teneriffe, and is fifty-two miles long. It
has the appearance of being a barren island, but has very fertile spots
in it. The mountains are not so high as in Grand Canary, and it has
no good harbors. Lanzarote lies to the north-east, and is thirty-one
miles long. Alegranza is a small island, and the most northerly of the
group; but it is celebrated as being the home from which first came
the beautiful songster we call the canary-bird. There are other small
islands. Fuerteventura is only about sixty miles from the coast of
Africa.
“These islands form a province of Spain, and are represented in the
Cortes of the mother country. Mail-vessels ply between the different
islands, and there is frequent communication by steamer with Spain and
England. The people are Spaniards, a little darker of complexion than
those you meet in Spain. The islands are generally very fertile, and
the productions of both the torrid and the temperate zone are raised
here. The vine has been an important item, and forty thousand pipes of
wine were the average manufacture until 1853, when the grape disease
destroyed the vines; but, like Madeira, these islands are rapidly
recovering from this disaster.
“The Canaries are believed to have been known to the ancients, and to
have been mentioned by Pliny the Elder, and others, as the Fortunate
Islands. The ruins of some stone temples in Gomera indicate that
they were known to the Carthaginians. Like the Madeiras, they were
discovered in modern days by a vessel driven off its course by heavy
weather, in 1334. They were conquered--and the original inhabitants
fought well for their country--by Jean de Bethencourt, a Norman baron
in the service of Spain, in 1402. They were claimed by the Portuguese,
and the natives were troublesome for a long period; but Spain
eventually obtained full possession.”
The professor finished his remarks, after he had spoken for some time
about the manners and customs of the aborigines of the islands, as
indicated by the implements and ruins found in them; and then the
students of the Tritonia and Josephine returned to their vessels.