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01'r Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
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repaired to the location of the new town which was being surveyed. There he continued the laying out of lots and marked off thirteen addi- tional home sites. Each one was eighty varas square, or two hundred and forty feet, with a street forty feet wide between them. The lots imme- diately adjoining the church and the Casa Real on opposite sides of the square were three hundred and twenty feet square. The corners and centers of each lot were further delineated by making a deep furrow with a plow along its boundaries as suggested in the order of the viceroy. The following day the survey was resumed. This time, taking a cord fifty varas long, a line was drawn from the center of the main entrance of the proposed church, due northeast, for a distance of one thousand and ninety-three varas. Here a hole was dug and a large boulder placed to indicate the terminal. Returning to the starting point, a similar line of equal length was run due southwest and its end was marked in the same manner. Returning to the center of the door of the church, another line was run at right angles to the northwest, for one thousand and ninety-three varas, where another boulder was placed to show the spot. This line was extended from center in the opposite direction; that is to the southeast, for a similar distance and another stone placed where the line ended. Thus a large cross was formed with the main entrance of the church as the radiating point. By completing each of the four squares of the four sides of the cross a _perfect larger square two thousand one hundred eighty-six varas on each side was delineated, the corners of which were identified by four long rocks as markers. A deep furrow was then plowed along its perimeter from corner to corner to indicate the exact boundary of the town site surveyed in accord with the instruc- tions of the viceroy. Going then to the northeast extremity of the original cross formed by the two center lines of the town site, this was prolonged for a dis- tance of one thousand nine hundred twelve and three-fourths varas. At this point a hole was dug in the ground and a large stone placed there to mark the spot. This ·was destined to be the boundary of the ejido or town common. Captain Almazan, accompanied by the settlers,. now went to the northwest extremity of the cross and from the stone placed at that point, extended the line for a distance of one thousand six hundred thirty-nine and one-half varas and marked the end in the same man- ner as before. He then went to the third extremity of the cross on the southwest and extended this line in the same direction for one thou- sand nine hundred twelve and three-fourths varas, marking the spot as
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