Pinzon was, of course, in strange waters. He did not know that twice each month the tide does not rise in the usual way, but rushes up the mouth of the Amazon with great force. The tide, as a rule, is about six hours in rising and six hours in falling. In the mouth of the Amazon, however, at new moon and at full moon the tide swells to its limit in two or three minutes. It comes as a wall of water, twelve or fifteen feet high, followed by another wall of the same height. Often there is a third wall of water, and at some seasons of the year there is a fourth wall. This peculiar rising of the tide is called the _bore_. The noise of this rushing flood can be heard five or six miles off. It comes with tremendous force, and sometimes uproots great trees along the banks. During the few days when the tide rushes up the river in this way vessels do not remain in the main channel, but anchor in coves and protected places. Pinzon, as we have said, did not know about the sudden rising of the tide. His fleet was anchored in the main channel when the bore came, and it dashed his vessels about like toy boats and almost wrecked them. After repairing the damage done to his fleet, he made up his mind that there was little gold to be found in those parts, and so he sailed out of the mouth of the great river, and then turned northward along the coast. It may be of interest to know what befell Pinzon after he left the mouth of the Amazon. We will tell you briefly. He sailed along the coast to the northwest, and passed the mouth of the Orinoco, another large river of South America. About a hundred and fifty miles beyond the Orinoco, he entered a gulf and landed. Here he cut a large quantity of brazil wood to take back to Spain. [Illustration: Scene on the Orinoco River.] Then he sailed for the island of Hispaniola, now called Haiti. From this island he sailed to the Bahama Islands. It was July when he reached the Bahamas. Misfortune again came to his fleet. While anchored in the Bahamas a hurricane came up, and two of his vessels were sunk. A third was blown out to sea. The fourth vessel rode out the storm, but the crew, thinking all the while she would sink, took to their small boats and at length reached the shore. The Indians came to them when they landed, and proved friendly. After the hurricane was over, the vessel that had been carried out to sea drifted back. As soon as the sea was smooth enough Pinzon and his men went on board the two remaining vessels and set sail for Hispaniola. At Hispaniola he repaired his vessels, and then sailed back to Spain. He reached Palos in September. About three months after Pinzon sailed away from the mouth of the Amazon it was visited by a Portuguese navigator named Cabral. Although the Portuguese were not so fortunate as to discover America, yet they had been very active in making discoveries for seventy years and more before Columbus's first voyage.