at stones. These
were laid upon each other in this form,
_______
___|__ __|___
| |

and the interstices were filled in with clay of red and brown colour,
of a different character from any in the neighbourhood. The stones were
many layers deep, and he did not go down to the bottom, lest by some
accident the foundation should be injured, and the fault be imputed to
him.

Near the centre, in places which he indicated as we rode along the
bank, he discovered four ancient wells. These were five feet in
diameter, faced with smooth stone not covered with cement, eight yards
deep, and at the time of the discovery were also filled with mud. And,
besides these, he found along the margin upward of four hundred
casimbas, or pits, being holes into which the water filtered, and
which, with the wells, were intended to furnish a supply when the
aguada should be dry.

The whole bottom of the aguada, the wells, and pits were cleared out;
Senor Trego portioned off the pits among families, to be preserved and
kept in order by them, and the dry basin was then given up to the
floods of the rainy season. It so happened that the next year was one
of unusual scarcity, and the whole country around was perfectly
destitute of water. That year, Senor Trego said, more than a thousand
horses and mules came to this aguada, some even from the rancho of
Santa Rosa, eighteen miles distant, with barrels on their backs, and
carried away water. Families established themselves along the banks;
small shops for the sale of necessaries were opened, and the butcher
had his shambles with meat; the aguada supplied them all, and when this
failed, the wells and the pits held out abundantly till the rainy
season came on, and enabled them to return to their several homes.

Throughout our journey we had suffered from the long continuance of the
rainy season, and at this place we considered it one of the greatest
misfortunes that attended us, that we were unable to see the bottom of
this aguada and these ancient wells. Senor Trego told us that usually,
at this season, the aguada was dry, and the people were drawing from
the wells and pits. This year, happily for them, but unluckily for us,
water was still abundant. Still it was a thing of high interest to see
this ancient reservoir recovered and restored to its original uses,
and, as we rode along the bank, to ha