We learnt all these things from the Christians of the four settled islands, who sometimes go over by night to the three other islands, and make prisoners of the natives, whom they send into Spain to be sold as slaves. Sometimes the Spaniards are themselves made prisoners on these expeditions, on which occasions the natives do not put them to death, but employ them to kill and flea their goats, and to cure the flesh, which they look upon as a vile employment, and therefore condemn their Christian prisoners to that labour in contempt. The native Canarians are very active and nimble, and are exceedingly agile in running and leaping, being accustomed to traverse the cliffs of their rugged mountains. They skip barefooted from rock to rock like goats, and sometimes take leaps of most surprising extent and danger, which are scarcely to be believed. They throw stones with great strength and wonderful exactness, so as to hit whatever they aim at with almost perfect certainty, and almost with the force of a bullet from a musket; insomuch that a few stones thrown by them will break a buckler to pieces. I once saw a native Canarian, who had become a Christian, who offered to give three persons twelve oranges a-piece, and taking twelve to himself, engaged, at eight or ten paces distance, to strike his antagonists with every one of his oranges, and at the same time to parry all theirs, so that they should hit no part of him but his hands. But no one would take up the wager, as they all knew he could perform even better than he mentioned. I was on land in Gomera and Ferro, and touched also at the island of Palma, but did not land there. [1] In Grynaeus, this person is called a patrician or nobleman of Venice, and his surname is omitted.--Astley. [2] _Con Veuto da greco et tramantana in poppe_; literally, having a Greek, and _beyond the mountain_ wind in the poop. The points of the compass, in Italian maps, are thus named, N. _Tramontana_. N. E. _Greco_. E. _Levante_ S. E. _Sirocco_. S. _Mezzoni_. S. W. _Libeccio_. W. _Ponente_. N. W. _Maestro_.--Clarke. [3] This date ought to have been 1413.--Astl. [4] Barbot says eight leagues; other authors say more, and some less. It is about twelve leagues to the north-east of Madeira.--Astl. [5] When Sir Amias Preston took this island in 1595, it abounded in corn, wine, and oil, and had good store of sheep, asses, goats, and kine. There was also plenty of fowl, fish, and fruits.--Astl.