Ojeda sailed from Port St. Mary on May 20, 1499, and, having touched for supplies at the Canaries, took a departure from Gomera, pursuing the route of Columbus in his third voyage, being guided by the chart he had sent home, as well as by the mariners who had accompanied him on that occasion. At the end of twenty-four days he reached the continent of the New World, about two hundred leagues farther south than the part discovered by Columbus, being, as it is supposed, on the coast of Surinam. Hence he ran along the coast to the Gulf of Paria, passing the mouths of many rivers, but especially those of the Esquivo and the Orinoco. These, to the astonishment of the Spaniards, unaccustomed as yet to the mighty rivers of the New World, poured forth such a prodigious volume of water as to freshen the sea for a great extent. They beheld none of the natives until they arrived at the island of Trinidad, on which island they met with traces of the recent visit of Columbus. Vespucci, in his letters, gives a long description of the people of this island and of the coast of Paria, who were of the Carib race, tall, well-made, and vigorous, and expert with the bow, the lance, and the buckler. His description in general resembles those which have frequently been given of the aboriginals of the New World; there are two or three particulars, however, worthy of citation. [Here follows the narrative of Vespucci, as given in the preceding chapters, pages 82-124.]
After touching at various parts of Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria, Ojeda passed through the strait of the Boca del Drago, or Dragon's Mouth, which Columbus had found so formidable, and then steered his course along the coast of Terra Firma, landing occasionally until he arrived at Curiana, or the Gulf of Pearls. From hence he stood to the opposite island of Margarita, previously discovered by Columbus, and since renowned for its pearl fishery. This, as well as several adjacent islands, he visited and explored, after which he returned to the main-land, and touched at Cumana and _Maracapana_, where he found the rivers infested with alligators resembling the crocodiles of the Nile. Finding a convenient harbor at Maracapana, he unloaded and careened his vessels there, and built a small brigantine. The natives came to him in great numbers, bringing abundance of venison, fish, and cassava bread, and aiding the seamen in their labors. Their hospitality was not certainly disinterested, for they sought to gain the protection of the Spaniards, whom they reverenced as superhuman beings.