Betancourt, who begun the conquest of the Canaries, was slain in a war with the natives, leaving one Menante his heir; who afterwards sold the islands to one Peter Barba of Seville. But others say, that John de Betancourt went to France to procure reinforcements, to enable him to complete his conquests, and left the command of Lançerota with his nephew; who, hearing nothing of his uncle, and being unable to continue the contest with the natives, sold the Canaries to Don Henry, for an estate in the island of Madeira. It is related that, in 1424, Don Henry sent a squadron with some land forces, under Don Ferdinando de Castro, on purpose to make a conquest of these islands; but, being repulsed by the bravery of the natives, de Castro prudently desisted from the enterprize and returned home; and that Don Henry afterwards resigned his claim to these islands in favour of the crown of Castile. The Castilian writers, however, assert that both Don Henry and the king of Portugal refused to give up these islands, until the dispute was ended by the judgment of Pope Eugenius IV. who awarded them to the king of Castile. These islands, anciently called the Insulae Fortunatae, or Fortunate Islands, are seven in number, in lat. 28° N. where the longest day is thirteen hours, and the longest night the same. They are 200 leagues distant from the coast of Spain, and 18 leagues from the coast of Africa. The people were idolaters, and eat raw flesh for want of fire. They had no iron, but raised or tilled the ground with the horns of oxen and goats, for want of better implements of husbandry. Every island spoke a separate language, and many pagan customs prevailed among the natives; but now the Christian religion is planted among them. The commodities of these islands are wheat, barley, sugar, wine, and Canary-birds, which are much esteemed for the sweetness and variety of their song. In the island of Ferro they have no water but what proceeds in the night from a tree, encompassed by a cloud, whence water issues, and serves the whole inhabitants and cattle of the island[4].