Note 13 — Decade Fourth

All those islands are defended by reefs, which makes the navigation of those seas very dangerous, even in the time of fair weather. Within their boundaries there are a number of different kinds of animals, of rare form. There was one the size of a cat, with the head and feet of a tiger, and the eyes, nostrils, and hands of a man, and entirely covered with soft down. There is another little animal seen, which, as it has no teeth, because these never grow, lives on [212] maggots. To get them it sticks out its tongue, which is very long, where those little animals congregate; and, when the tongue is full of them, it draws it back and swallows them.13 The forests abound with many incorruptible woods, such as ebony, cypress, cedar, and small pomegranate trees.