NO. 4 THE ORDAZ AND DORTAL EXPEDITIONS SCHULLER 3 



Two of these inscriptions refer to the exploring expedition of the 

 famous conqueror Diego de Ordaz 1 which set out from Paria on 

 June 23, 1532. With 280 men, 18 horses, and one mule he arrived 

 at the Indian village of Huyapari. 2 



The first legend, on the right of the Indian village depicted on the 

 map, runs thus: "El pueblo grande de huyapari E'a dos leguas a 

 tierra adentro q(ue) do En seco la canoa gra(n)de de ordas " (" The 

 large village of Huyapari is situated two leagues inland from the 

 Orinoco River " to which Oviedo added mention of the accident to 

 Ordaz's large canoe after his return from the expedition in search 

 of the M eta-El Dorado 3 " Ordaz's large canoe remained [here] on 

 dry [land] "). 



The second legend, above the mountains in the upper right-hand 

 part of the map, reads : " Esta sierra no la pudo pasar ordas por El 

 foE yndisposicion del agua E se torno por El mismo rio abajo a la 

 mar desde aquesta montafia." (" Ordaz could not pass this chain of 

 mountains 4 [by the river, on account of] the bad condition of the 

 water 5 and from this mountain he returned down the same river to 

 the sea.") 



And, to the west of the mountains on the map, we read : " A Esta 

 parte o del otro cabo desta pefia no an pasado xpianos " (" To this 

 side, or the other end of this rock, Christians had not [yet] come ") . 



These two inscriptions unquestionably refer to the disastrous 

 expedition up the River Orinoco to the " rapids," near the mouth 

 of the Meta, undertaken by Ordaz in the second half of the year 

 1532, and this evidently led Harrisse 6 to believe that the map was 



1 Native of Castro Verde in the Kingdom of Leon. Herrera : Historia 

 General, etc., Madrid, 1601, Dec. IV, libro X, cap. IX, p. 275. We see him 

 as early as 15*5 in Cuba; cf. " Probanza hecha a peticion del almirante D. 

 Diego Colon," etc. Villa de San Salvador, Febrero 16, 1515; in " Colecc. 

 Docs. Ineditos " [" De los Pleitos de Colon," II], 2d serie, T. num. 8. Madrid, 

 1894, pp. 61-87. 



Herrera: Dec. II, libro VI, cap. XVIII, ". . . . i que Diego de Ordas 

 reconocio el Bolcan de Tlascala [Popocatepetl], cosa para los Indies mui 

 admirable" (edit, of 1726) (".... and that Diego de Ordas explored the 

 Tlascala volcano, a feat greatly admired by the Indians"). 



2 Properly termed Aruacay, according to Oviedo, loc. cit. 



3 Oviedo, loc. cit., pp. 217-218; especially p. 2i8 b . 



4 It means that they could not overcome the powerful and rapid currents 

 produced by the narrowing of the river-bed between the mountains. 



5 The low level during July and August. 



6 " Cartographia Vetustissima," No. 200 (sic), instead of 202; in "Dis- 

 covery of North America," etc., London, 1892, pp. 588-589. 



