On the 1st of August, 1498, the man stationed at the round-top surprised
them with the joyful cry of "Land!" They stood towards it, and
discovered a considerable island, which the admiral called Trinidad, a
name it still retains, and near it the mouth of a river, rolling towards
the ocean such a vast body of water, and rushing into it with such
impetuous force, that when it meets the tide, which on that coast rises
to an uncommon height, their meeting occasions an extraordinary and
dangerous swell of the waves.

In this conflict, the irresistable torrent of the river so far
prevails, that it freshens the ocean many leagues with its flood.

Columbus, before he could perceive the danger, was entangled among these
adverse currents and tempestuous waves; and it was with the utmost
difficulty that he escaped through a narrow strait, which appeared so
tremendous, that he called it "The Dragon's Mouth."

As soon as his consternation permitted him to reflect on an appearance
so extraordinary, he justly concluded that the land must be a part of
some mighty continent, and not of an island, because all the springs
that could rise, and all the rain that could fall on an island, could
never, as he calculated, supply water enough to feed so prodigiously
broad and deep a river; and he was right, the river was the Oronoko.

Filled with this idea, he stood to the west, along the coast of those
provinces which are now known by the name of Paria and Cumana. He landed
in several places, and found the people to resemble those of Hispaniola
in their appearance and manner of life.