May 14th. Mosquitoes and ants chased us from the river bank before two in the morning. We thought that ants could not climb the ropes on which we hung our hammocks; but whether this was inexact, or whether they fell on top of us from branches, we struggled to rid ourselves of these annoying insects. The more we advanced the narrower the river became. Its banks were so muddy that Bonpland could only reach the trunk of a Carolinea princeps covered with enormous purple flowers with extreme effort. This tree is the most beautiful in these jungles.