168 THE RIVER MIEL. 



16th. At daylight found that the river 

 had so much swollen, as to put out the fire, 

 and cover the embers with water : we had 

 reason, therefore, to congratulate ourselves 

 on having slept on board, rather than on 

 shore, as we at first intended. We feared 

 this increase would materially retard our 

 progress towards Honda, as the men could 

 not work well, being unable to find bottom 

 for their poles, and having constantly to 

 haul along by the branches of the trees. 

 At eleven o'clock we passed the river Mi^l, 

 whose waters are very clear, forming a great 

 contrast with those of the Magdalena, which 

 are particularly muddy. We passed the 

 small village of Buenavista, and at sunset 

 stopped at a cottage to sleep. 



Saturday 17th. The river decreasing, but 

 in its late rise had so much undermined the 

 banks, that we constantly heard them falling 

 away, to an extent of three or four hundred 



