Note 116 — Chapter VI

The most recent work, summarizing the legend of El Dorado, is Zahm [b]; and the earliest versions of the tale are those of Simon, Fresle, Piedrahíta, Cavarjal, and Castellanos, the latter of whom incorporated the story in his poetical Elejias de Varones Ilustres de Indias, which was printed at Madrid, in 1850. Critical accounts, in addition to Zahm, are Bollaert's "Introduction" to Simon's Expedition of Pedro de Ursua (Spanish in Serrano y Sanz, Historiadores de Indias, ii) and in Bandelier's The Gilded Man. On the historical side, especially as regards the period of the Conquest, Andagoya, Castellanos, Carvajal, Fresle, Simon, give unforgettable pictures of the adventurous extravagance and bizarrerie of a time scarcely to be paralleled in human annals. Father Zahm's Quest of El Dorado is an inviting introduction to this literature.