MITTEN, Puttte voN tc.1515-40). A I;erman adventurer, and relative of I. kid) nUttell ( q.v. ) IV was one of the GOO adven turers collected from all parts of Europe who went out under George Hohermuth (better known as George of Speyer) to conquer the Prov ince of 1. enezucla, which had been granted Emperor Charles V. to the great Augsburg fam ily of Weiser (q.v.). When Ilohermuth died in 1540. Butte!' became Captain-General, and the next year, in company with young Bartholmnflus 'Weiser, eldest son of the bead of the family, left Coro with a well-equipped force to seek the mythical El Dorado (q.v.). After wandering about for five years, the remnant of the expedi tion returned to Venezuela to find a new Gov ernor in power. Juan de Caravajal had been ap pointed by the Audieneia of Santo Domingo to preserve order in Venezuela. but as the years went by with no news of Mitten and his follow ers, he began to feel secure in his position. Con
sequently, the return of the adventurers was anything hut welcome to him. When he saw how diminished they were in number he thought to force from them an acknowledgment of his au thority. In this, however, he was unsuecessful, as lie also was in an attempt to seize them. In fact, this last effort was well nigh disastrous to himself. for he was wounded by Weiser, and forced to pledge the Germans safe passage to the coast. Relying upon Caravajal's word of honor, the adventurers took no precautions against at tack, and were easily captured by the treacherous Spaniard. who, after keeping Mitten and Weiser in chains for a time. had them beheaded. Mit ten seen = to have been a man of higher character than most of those with whom he was associated. Ile left a narrative of his adventures entitled Zeitung sus lndien (1785).