8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 66 



Antonio Sedeno, as we have already seen, hostile ever since the 

 time of Ordaz to any attempt at colonizing on the opposite shores of 

 the mainland, had unexpectedly landed on the coast of Maracapana, 

 with the unmistakable intention of seizing Dortal, his hated rival. 

 Dortal, however, having been informed in time, by some friends, of 

 Sedeno's presence at the town of San Miguel, fled to Cubagua ; and 

 shortly after to Santo Domingo, where he notified the " Audiencia " 

 of the armed invasion of that peaceful colony. The Royal Court 

 ordered him, accompanied by Johan de Frias, " juez de comision," 

 to return to his settlement, November, I536. 1 



Sedeno died in the meantime near the River Tiznados. 2 



At the beginning of the year 1540, Dortal led his second recon- 

 noitering expedition into the interior of Venezuela. 5 



The two legends relating to his last expedition are as follows: 

 " De aqui partio El gou or hieronimo dortal E atra' ueso todos Estos 

 rios hasta q[ue] llego al rio grande de huyapari E fue adonde 

 mataron a alonso de herrera su teniente al qual El avia Enviado por 

 El rio de Huyapari y fue Entre El estero de garranaca y Meta y se 

 voluio a la mar" ("From here Governor H. Dortal started and 

 crossed all these rivers until he reached the great river Huyapari ; and 

 he went to the place where A. de Herrera, his lieutenant, was killed, 

 whom he had ordered [to go] by the river Huyapari ; and it hap- 

 pened [Herrera's death] between the swamp of (Jarranaca and Meta ; 

 and he (Dortal) returned to the sea "). 



The second inscription relates the capture of Juan de Arguello. 

 one of the principal instigators of the above mentioned seditious 

 movement against Dortal. It reads : " Junto a este rio En el pueblo 

 de Catalina prendio geronimo dortal a Ju a de arguello E lo hizo 

 ahorcar por sus meritos " (" Near that river (the Guarico), in the 

 village of Catalina, G. Dortal seized Juan de Arguello, and had him 

 hanged according to his merits "). 



1 Oviedo, II, libro XXIV, cap. X, p. 249" ; and cap. XII, p. 253 ss ; cap. XIII. 

 p. -259". ". . . . Dortal .... me certifico en presengia de algunos hombres 

 prengipales . . . ." (" Dortal .... told me in the presence of some leading 

 men . . . ."). 



2 Caulin, op. cit., p. 159. Rio de los Tiznados means : " river where they 

 found tattooed Indians." Carbajal, p. 70 "they came painted black all over 

 (tiznados), for this reason we called that place province of the negroes." 



3 Oviedo, cap. XIV, p. 262 b ". ... en el mes de junio de 1541, avia mas 

 de un ano que no se sabia del gobernador Dortal" (". ... in June, 1541, it 

 was more than a year since they had had news of Governor Dortal"). 



