Another friar who wrote on Chile and Chilean affairs in the middle of the seventeenth century was Francisco Ponce de León. His descent from the noble houses of Arcos and Medina Sidonia gave him special consideration, and in the official service of his order (the Order of Mercy), he had an opportunity to visit various parts of South America. The most noteworthy of his expeditions was his missionary journey into the valley of the Marañón, where without stipend of any sort he spent three years preaching to various tribes of Indians. He performed important official functions as a member of his order and as a commissary of the Inquisition. Later by the favour of the viceroy, Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marqués de Guadalcázar (1623-1629), he was appointed general chaplain of the military and naval forces, and served for five years in this capacity in Chile. His principal literary production was _Descripción del reino de Chile, de sus puertos, caletas, y sitio de Valdivia_, which was published in Madrid in 1644. He wrote also _Conquistas y poblaciones del Marañón_, but he was not able to secure its publication. [Sidenote: _Mapa de Chile_] [Sidenote: Olavarría and Méndez] Another descriptive work on Chile was called _Mapa de Chile_, and was attributed to a Franciscan friar named Gregorio de León. It is said to have been printed, but no verification of this statement is at hand. In the same class as the foregoing are the anonymous _Descripción y cosas notables del reino de Chile_ and Miguel de Olavarría’s _Informe sobre el reino de Chile, sus indios y sus guerras_.[105] This last mentioned paper covers three topics, presenting a description of the cities, the characteristics and condition of the Indians, and finally a brief account of the history of Chile and its governors. Two other historical documents belonging to this period may be noted, a _Relación_, written circa 1607 and still in MS., by Tomás de Olavarría, and _Discursos sobre la centinela del reino de Chile_, by Andrés Méndez; the latter was published in Lima in 1641. [Sidenote: Indian policy] [Sidenote: Defence or Conquest] [Sidenote: Programme]