f Trinidad,
he observes the very strong currents which are always noticed by
voyagers, running with as much fury as the Guadalquiver in time of
flood. In the night a terrible wave came from the south, "a hill as
high as a ship," so that even in writing of it he feels fear. But no
misfortune came from it.

Sailing the next day, he found the water comparatively fresh. He is, in
fact, in the current produced by the great river Orinoco, which affects,
in a remarkable way, all the tide-flow of those seas. Sailing north,
he passes different points of the Island of Trinidad, and makes out the
Punta de la Pena and the mainland. He still observes the freshness of
the water and the severity of the currents.

As he sails farther westward, he observes fleets, and he sends his
people ashore. They find no inhabitants at first, but eventually meet
people who tell him the enemy of this country is Paria. Of these he took
on board four. The king sent him an invitation to land, and numbers
of the people came in canoes, many of whom wore gold and pearls. These
pearls came to them from the north. Columbus did not venture to land
here because the provisions of his vessels were already failing him.

He describes the people, as of much the same color as those who have
been observed before, and were ready for intercourse, and of good
appearance. Two prominent persons came to meet them, whom he thought to
be father and son. The house to which the Spaniards were led was large,
with many seats. An entertainment was brought forward, in which there
were many sorts of fruits, and wine of many kinds. It was not made from
grapes, however, and he supposed it must be made of different sorts of
fruits.

A part of the entertainment was of maize, "which is a sort of corn which
grows here, with a spike like a spindle." The Indians and their
guests parted with regret that they could not understand each other's
conversation. All this passed in the house of the elder Indian. The
younger then took them to his house, where a similar collation was
served, and they then returned to the ship, Columbus being in haste to
press on, both on account of his want of supplies and the failure of his
own health. He says he was still suffering from diseases which he had
contracted on the last voyage, and with blindness. "That then his eyes
did not give him as much pain, nor were they bloodshot as much as they
are now."

He describes the people whom they at first visited