Another ordinance was passed on the 15th of May, fixing the salary of the Chairman of the Water Commissioners at $1500 per annum, and that of each of the others, at $1000, to be paid as part of the contingent expenses of said work. The Commissioners went to work zealously ; on the 2d of June, they appointed D. B. Douglas, Esq., their chief engineer, and directed him to organise a corps of engineers as soon as practicable. The party, consisting of seventeen, took the field on the 6th of July, 1835. Their first care was to stake out the land that was to constitute the lake, formed by damming the Croton, the line to include one rod of land above that which would be overflowed by the backing of the water. The next step was to stake out the whole line, from the Croton to the Harlem, in order to show its direction, and the width of land required for building the aqueduct and culverts, and forming the necessary excavations and embankments.

The urgency of these preliminary operations arose from the fact, that by the law the Commissioners were restricted from using any land, until it was acquired by purchase or appraisement. Hence, therefore, they were compelled to ascertain the quantity and situation of the land needed, before they could enter into any negotiation for the purchases.

The quantity requisite for the lake that would be formed by damming the river, was reported by Mr. Cartwright, who was specially employed to survey it, at 496 acres, of which some was obtained by purchase, the residue through the intervention of appraisers. The engineers kept the field till January, 1836, and returned to it in April. The whole line was re-surveyed during the summer, being the fourth survey and level, under the direction of Mr.