22 October: After lunch we set out [from Santa Clara] for the place called the Alameda. We arrived by nightfall at the first arroyo, which is [the one mentioned by] Sergeant Amador. At sunrise of the 23rd we went on our way upstream, as far as we could go on horseback, which will be about one league distant from the camping place. We wanted to examine the origin of the stream but the soldier told us that it emerged opposite the town. When the various sections of the arroyo had been explored, the water was found to be of the same quantity throughout and in my opinion can irrigate two or three ditches of corn at the same time because of the slope of the land. The removal of the water is not a great problem, for the heathen took it out in two distinct places. There is much fine land and easily worked. The timber in this place is scarce, as is also the firewood. It is to the north of Santa Clara about 6 or 7 leagues. In this arroyo are three empty houses. Having examined all that has been described, we went along the foot of the hills. We encountered [p. 197] another watercourse which was dry, and where there is the stone called cantarra [a type of clay]. This is not far from the camping place. A little farther on is the lime pit, which is no more than caliche [crude, soft limestone]. We arrived at the Alameda, but before reaching it there are three little creeks, one of which could irrigate a garden. The other two, if widened, could serve as watering places for cattle. We went on to the river of the Alameda, which is filled with many large boulders from floods and is heavily overgrown with willow, cottonwood, and some laurel. Where the water runs, the stream is half a vara deep and 4 varas across, and in other places it widens and contains more water. We proceeded along it with much effort for about a league and a half, at which point it is joined by another arroyo from the north, the main stream continuing on to the east. We examined the feasibility of removing water and found it to be not impossible but very difficult. This is because of the gravelly nature of the soil and because several ditches would have to be constructed to regulate the floods, and in case these occurred annually a dam would have to be built. Following the arroyo farther down, we saw where the water disappears, perhaps a quarter of a league from the hills. At a distance of a league the water comes out again. In all this stretch [p. 198] the bed of the river, or arroyo, is deep and the removal of water impossible. In this locality the arroyo is covered with a dense stand of woods: cottonwoods and willows. A short section through which the river flows is reached by the tides of the bay.