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286 of vault, the sides of which rested upon a foundation of no solidity. The consequence was, that the walls were gradually undermined by the water, and that the vault itself, in many parts, fell in.

This accident rendered the Government indifferent to the fate of the gallery, which was neglected, and finally abandoned in the year 1623, when a Dutch engineer, by name Adrian Boot, induced the Viceroy to resume the old system of dykes and embankments, and to give orders for closing the Socabon of Nochistongo. A sudden rise in the lake of Tezcuco caused these orders to be revoked, and Martinez was again allowed to proceed with his works, which he continued until the 20th June, 1629, when an event took place, the real causes of which have never been ascertained.

The rainy season having set in with unusual violence, Martinez, either desirous to convince the inhabitants of the Capital of the utility of his gallery, or fearful, (as he himself stated,) that the fruits of his labour would be destroyed by the entrance of too great a volume of water, closed the mouth of the Socabon, without having communicated to any one his intention to do so. The effect was instantaneous; and in one night the whole town of Mexico was laid under water, with the exception of the Plaza Mayor, and one of the suburbs. In all the other streets the water rose upwards of three feet, and during five years, (from 1629 to 1634,) canoes formed the only medium of communication between