Show THEY ARE BIRDS Canary Females Wear Moustaches and Smoke Commercial Tribune Now that Uncle Sam is In an annexing mood who knows but that the fabled tats of Plato the Garden of Heserde and St Brandon FaIry Isle all known to modern geographers a the Canary islands may not son become a part of the United States Certainly n wot on earth offers a more curIous lustra tiop of primitive women Then the Canaries were conquered by Jean de Bethencurt a Norman baron in 102 in the name of Juan I of Castile they were peopled by two races whIch had emigrated from the maInland Each race had different laws habits and custon and was pos seed of mutual hatra whIch engendered engen-dered constant warfare The inhabitants of the western Canary Ca-nary Islands were small fair energetic brave and amiable some of them even had blue eyes and red hair In Feurte ventura and Lanzarote they were taller Indolent lazily and darker and more lazIy rulers whether obeying their hereditary er the latter were men or women The darksldnned Inhabitants are supposed to be of Arabic or Phoenician origin They were conquered easily because they were even more indolent than the SpanIards and then the fairer race was sUbjugated Today the common type of the Ca nre of both men and omen con sits of a tall frame a elongated head a badl chiseled nose and mouth a large heavy face and olue eyes ThIs type Is universal but the dress In ever islad Is slightly different Of course the Canary costumes are seen on the peasants for the higher classes are entirely en-tirely Spanish and European They have no native clothe such a the I Phippians have henc the material for theIr clothing Is Imported from I Europe and the women make up the garment In their houses However I hats and shoes are mae In the Canaries I Ca-naries Strange to say the men women and children are accustomed to walk bae foot over the thorny plants the plains fled wih spiny cacti and the bUr ing rocks of lava which in a few hour will bur and wear out the stoutest shoes Both men and women I always wear theIr shoes in the towns but I YOU meet tem on the road the men are invariably carrying their shoes at the end of a stick while the women I carry theirs on theIr heads The women of Tenerfe wear a skirt and apron of cotton a welfitting bodIce bod-Ice ornamented with large sleeves and a fichu which ends In points both front I and behind The head is covered with the geatet care A silk handkerchief Is folded around the chIn and te a large woolen shawl Is wrapped around the entire head and falls down below the waist behind Above this Is placed a I small straw hat with a low crown I saucershped on whIch the bundle Or jar or load of faggots Is nlaced The string of wool or leather around the I neck must not be forgotten for from it Is suspended an amulet blessed 1y the > rest and which preserves the wearer from all danger and unseen evIl Notwithstanding their female attire the women of Grand Canary are entirely en-tirely masculine in appearance Their hair is short the mustache whIch 01 uaments heIr upper lip is luxuriant they wear a mans hat and they are passionately devoted to smoking cIgar The women of the Grand Canary are not sirens according to American ideas Neither are they as polite as they are gEnerous for although they will gIve I a stranger a drink of water while he has lifted the jug to his mouth they vIll often throw an unexpected shower I I over his head and shoulders as a prac tcal joke I In the island of Palma the women go I about almost naked yet occasionally they dress their heads and necks covered i cov-ered with a kerchief and surmounted I by 2 curious hat I The womans costume in LR1Zarote Insists I I-nsists of a short strIped cotton skIrt sleeves to the elbow a bodice laced in front and a white cape folded around the head and shoulders surmounted by a straw hat often trimmed with flowers flow-ers The make the mens clothes I whIch are quite gay In this Island consisting con-sisting of trouser to the knee tied with bright ribbons or garters a seeYe lens jacket a sash belting in the shirt and a montr or cap generally of blue embroidered with yellow green or red and displaying a knot of ribbons rib-bons at the side The natives of Lan Z3rote are content with very little They drink water and live on gofio the native barley bre dried fish nota I toes and Barbary figs I Many inhabitants of the Canaries are still live In grottos In the Grand Canary Ca-nary for example there I a entire village of tro odlesLa Talaya The ordinary house is very simple A be with its is the chief is stray mattress ob ject in the room and the rest consists of a chest to hold the clothing a mat on the floor a jug for water a dIsh for the gin a little hand mill a kind of etagere to hold some hIghly prized plate of porcelain ornamented with gaudy fiowersfor decoration and not I Ueand a few wooden char U meal time the entire family sit on the mat around a large wooden I bowl or ethenware platte and all dip their fingers and rude spoons and I Corks In It at pleasure The food Is I generally gofio dried fish fig etc a I in the other islands In the evening the omen boil some herbs without any I butter or grease and thIs boumion i use to knead the brad or gofio in stead of water They also eat in large quantitesa kin of thistle which h I flowers a large as artichokes Water Is the universal beverage |