red
miles up the Magdalena; and where also, should it, as we hoped, be in
the hands of the Republicans, we might obtain the information we
required to send back to the schooner. The fury of the wind, which, now
shifting, blew partly across and partly down the lake, made it
impossible for us to proceed in the direction we desired; and an opening
among the mangrove-trees, which my uncle hoped might prove the mouth of
a stream, appearing, he steered towards it.

Scarcely had we got the boat's head round when the gale came down upon
us with redoubled fury, and sent her flying along with only two oars out
at a furious speed. A small palm-branch which, floating by, my uncle
picked up, was almost blown out of his hands as he held it in the air.
We were fortunately right in conjecturing that we were entering the
mouth of a stream; so we went on some distance with unabated speed, when
a crash was heard, and the water came rushing into the boat. We had run
against a sunken log or projecting root. Still we ran on, while the man
in the bows attempted to stop the leak with his jacket and the boat's
sail, and my uncle and I bailed as fast we could with our hats. Every
moment we expected the boat to fill; but presently we saw a narrow
opening, through which we rushed, with only space sufficient for the
oars on each side to avoid the roots of the mangrove-trees, while the
dense foliage formed a wall of verdure high above our heads.

We had no provisions with us, and we could not tell whether the region
into which we were penetrating was inhabited by hostile Indians or wild
beasts and venomous serpents. After going some way, however, the stream
widened, and at the same time became shallower; and the mangrove-trees
ceasing, we found ourselves in the midst of a dense forest. Looking out
anxiously on both sides, we observed a bank which would afford us a
small space on which to land; so pulling up to it, we hurriedly sprang
on shore. In spite of all our efforts, the boat was nearly half-full of
water.

Our first care was to land our baggage, and especially to keep our guns
and ammunition dry. We then, having piled our property together, by our
united efforts hauled up the boat, and the extent of the damage she had
received was soon discovered. A hole had been made through a plank, a
portion of which had also been ripped off. It was a wonder the boat had
not filled and gone down. We had no tools--not even a marling-spike to
s