WATER AFFORDED BY THIS AGUADA. 213 



water. That year, Senor Trego said, more than 

 a thousand horses and mules came to this agua- 

 da, some even from the rancho of Santa Rosa, 

 eighteen miles distant, with barrels on their backs, 

 and carried away water. Families estabhshed 

 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 misfor- 

 tunes 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 reser- 

 voir recovered and restored to its original uses, and, 

 as we rode along the bank, to have indicated to us 

 the particular means and art used to render it avail- 

 able. Hundreds are perhaps now buried in the 

 woods, which once furnished this element of life to 

 the teeming population of Yucatan. 



Leaving the aguada, our road lay over a level and 

 wooded plain, then wet and muddy from the recent 

 rains, and at the distaixe of a league we reached 



