We sailed from Madeira, following a southerly course, and arrived at the Canary islands, which are at the distance of about 320 miles from Madeira.  There are seven of these islands in all, four of which have been settled by the Christians, Lancerotta, Fuerteventura, Gomera, and Ferro; over which Herrera[10], a Spanish gentleman, is lord.  Large quantities of an herb called Oricello or Orchel[11], are annually sent from these islands to Cadiz and Seville, which is used in dying, and is sent from these places to all parts of Europe.  Great quantities of excellent goat skins are exported from these islands, which likewise produce abundance of tallow, and good cheese.  The original inhabitants of the four islands that are subject to the Christians, are Canarians[12], who speak various languages or dialects, not well understood between the different tribes.  These people have only open villages, without any fortifications; except on the mountains, which are exceedingly high, and there they have a kind of rude walls or redoubts, to flee to in case of need.  The passes of these mountains are so difficult of access, that a few resolute men might defend them against an army.  The other three islands of this group, Grand Canaria, Teneriffe, and Palma, which are larger and better peopled than the other four, are still unsubdued and possessed by the aboriginal idolaters.  Grand Canaria has between eight and nine thousand souls, and Teneriffe, which is the largest of all these islands, is said to contain fourteen or fifteen thousand, and is divided into nine separate lordships.  Palma, however, has very few inhabitants, yet it appears to be a very beautiful island.  Every lordship seems to have its own mode of religious worship; as in Teneriffe, there were no less than nine different kinds of idolatry; some worshipping the sun, others the moon, and so forth.  They practise polygamy, and the lords have the jus primae noctis, which is considered as conferring great honour.  On the accession of any new lord, it is customary for some persons to offer themselves to die as a sacrifice to his honour.  On this occasion, the lord holds a great festival on his accession day; when all who are willing to give this cruel proof of their attachment, are attended to the summit of a high cliff in a certain valley, where, after some peculiar ceremonies, and certain words muttered over them, the victims precipitate themselves from the cliff, and are dashed to pieces.  In reward of this sanguinary homage, the lords consider themselves bound to heap extraordinary honours and rewards on the parents of the victims.

Teneriffe, which is the largest of these islands, and the best inhabited, is one of highest islands in the world, and is seen in clear weather from a great distance; insomuch, that I was informed by some mariners, that it had been descried at the distance of between sixty and seventy Spanish leagues, which make about 250 Italian miles.  In the middle of the island, there is a prodigiously high peaked mountain, shaped like a diamond, which is always burning.  I received this account from some Christians, who had been prisoners in the island, who affirmed that it was fifteen Portuguese leagues, or sixty Italian miles, from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the peak.