Note 1 — Chapter XII

This island is very flat, and about 6 leagues long. In one part, which is nearly submerged, is the water which the natives drink, which seems to me to be only rain-water detained in the sand on its passage to the sea. In this same part there are some collections of huts. The land is divided among many owners, and is planted with certain roots, which must form their bread. All the rest is a large and thick palm grove, which is the chief sustenance of the natives. Of the wood and leaves they build and roof their houses, which are of four vertientes,1 curiously and cleanly worked, each with a roof, open behind, and all the floors covered and lined with mats, also made of palms; and of the more tender shoots they weave fine cloths, with which the men cover their loins, and the women their whole bodies.