LOUISIANA. S9 



^lefada^ with two hundred and fifty brave 

 foldiers, fet out immediately in fearch of it. On 

 St. James's day they perceived, from the top of 

 a mountain, feme vafl plains which refembled 

 4 fea 'y and when they were defcended to the 

 foot of the mountain, they built there a town, 

 and called it San-Tago^ in remembrance of the 

 flay on which they difcovered the plain ; they 

 likewife furnamed it Las Atalayas '-, in order to 

 point out the defign of their journey, which v/as 

 X.0 difcover the Dorado. This town exiils Hill 

 in the place, which is marked in the maps as a 

 monument which feems to engage pofterity to 

 go out upon the difcovery of this unknown 

 treafure. ^efada paiTed through the woods of 

 Ayrico with exceflive trouble, and arrived at ^z- 

 mana in 1543, having loil almoft all his people. 



Orellana undertook the fame voyage in that 

 year •, he fet out from Peru., defcended the ri- 

 ver Maragnon or of the Amazons, came to the 

 coafl, and negleded nothing towards arriving 

 at the mountain of gold ; but all his pains were 

 yfelefs, and he gained no more honour by the 



under- 



* Atalayar figniiies to difcover, or to fjpy, in Spaniih : 

 Atalaya, a tower or fort from whence one difcovers : Las 

 Atalayas is the plural. 



