Now they put
many of them together with iron nails instead of the wooden pegs and
the joints in the planks, while the helms and bows have beaks like
Castilian boats. [71]
The land is well shaded in all parts by trees of different kinds,
and fruit-trees which beautify it throughout the year, both along
the shore and inland among the plains and mountains. It is very full
of large and small rivers, of good fresh water, which flow into the
sea. All of them are navigable, and abound in all kinds of fish,
which are very pleasant to the taste. For the above reason there
is a large supply of lumber, which is cut and sawed, dragged to the
rivers, and brought down, by the natives. This lumber is very useful
for houses and buildings, and for the construction of small and large
vessels. Many very straight thick trees, light and pliable, are found,
which are used as masts for ships and galleons. Consequently, vessels
of any size may be fitted with masts from these trees, made of one
piece of timber, without its being necessary to splice them or make
them of different pieces.
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