The Mystery of the Spanish Mound

Evidence for Early Contact

Mar 11, 2009
James Hamilton

Among the First Nations peoples of south-central British Columbia, there is a legend of buried Conquistador artifacts at a location referred to as the Spanish Mound.

Among the First Nations peoples of south-central British Columbia, there is a legend of buried Conquistador artifacts at a location referred to as the Spanish Mound. The story draws from oral history and is supported by Pictographic representations and some unusual finds. Much of the details of this mystery can be found in an article written by Jim Christy called “Pictographic Mystery” which was published in the March 1987 edition of Western Living. Copies of this article are available in the Public Library in Keremeos, B.C.

Christy's Sources

The article is a well researched work that draws from oral and written sources. It also attempts to correlate pictorial and artifacts to support his theory. Christy bases his position on the following:

Oral history of the First Nations peoples living in the vicinity of Keremeos, B.C.
Historical account of the search for the North West Passage and specifically the Strait of Anian which he believes to have been the mouth of the Columbia River.
The story of Michael Lok’s meeting with Juan de Fuca.
Historical information collected by N.L. Barlee of Westbank (B.C.)
Evidence of an early settlement north-east of Kelowna
Pictographic painting found near Hedly, B.C.

Historical Timeline

If this theory is correct, the history of the arrival of Europeans in British Columbia should be rewritten.

The current time line is:

1570 Approximate location of the “Columbia River” indicated by Flemish geographer Abraham Ortelius
1576-1632 The British sent approximately 20 expeditions to look for this river. Most of these ended in disaster in at either the mouth of the Columbia river or the Strait of Juan de Fuca
1577 Sir Francis Drake is sent to the coast of Oregon to find an inland passage to Hudson Bay
1580’s The Spanish sailed from Mexico up the West Coast.
1592 Spanish are believed to have reach a strait between the 47th and 48th parallel.
1811 Fur trader David Thompson arrives in B.C.

Spanish in the Okanagan

The legend of the Spanish Mound would indicate that the Spanish not only reached the mouth of the Columbia River but also ventured inland to what is now the Okanagan Valley. Oral history would place this incursion at approximately 1700.

Spanish Conquistadors are thought to have reached reached the valley of the Similkameen river and possibly also ventured as far north as the site of present day Kelowna. Antagonism developed between the Spanish and the local natives. This resulted in conflict and in one instance a group of Conquistadors were attacked at night and killed. Their bodies and possessions are thought to have been buried in a mound near Keremeos.

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence used by Christy to support his theory of an Early Spanish presence includes:

Pictographic representation of men on Horses with dogs yoking First Nations men (between Hedly and Keremeos).
The discovery of burried Copper Armor used by Natives in Keremeos area.
The physical appearance of Similkameen peoples.
The discovery of ancient steel weapons and turquiose (possibly Mexican).

Cathedral Lakes Lodge

The author spent two summers in this region, during which time he heard of the theory of the Spanish Mound from several locals. At Cathedral Lakes Lodge, he was told that a Conquistador helmet was found in the Ashinola river. Another source suggested that one of his native friends knew where the mound was. If there is a mound, then it has been well hidden for more than 300 years.

It is not uncommon for graves to be unearthed by highway and building construction and this may be a way that the truth will be discovered. It is also possible that such a mound would be hidden (for fear of retribution) and may be several kms from Keremeos.

The town of Hedly is known in B.C. for its spectacular gold mines. It would not be surprising to find that the Spanish, with their “nose for gold”, ventured into this region in search of this precious metal. The find of “Mexican” turquoise would suggest that Conquistadors did possess wealth and may have had other valuables taken from the Aztec and Incan peoples to the south.

James Hamilton - James Hamilton has spent over twenty-five years studying the music of South Asia including fourteen years while living in India. He has ...

Comments

Jun 19, 2011 2:18 AM

Guest :

James

I believe that Christy may have been on the right track but he got his dates wrong. Take the timeline of 1690 to 1710 so we give ourselves a lot of room to wiggle around the 1700 date that Christy has proposed. From the artifacts and descriptions of the armour found the date of 1700 is too late. Take the “conquistador helmet” or a marion helmet as it is correctly called. This style of helmet was not used much after the mid 17th Century making it outdated by 1700. It is possible that some places in the far edges of the Spanish Empire some antiquated equipment would be in use but by 1700 we are looking at uniforms similar to those of the War of Spanish Succession or the Nine Years' War, which means Tricorns. This date would also be in contradiction to the style of armour that has been discovered in burial sites. Even if the copper armour was produced by the native population and copied from the Spanish invaders the armour that would have been used would more than likely be only a breast plate, cuirass or the lighter armour of the harquebusier but this would be very expensive kit and again it would not fit the description of what has been found “The armour is perforated and amazingly similar to the old Spanish mail." - N.L. Barlee

Barlee also talks about steal weapons that have been found in concentration around the Keremeos area. A soldier of this period would more than likely still carry a sword and bayonet but they would more than likely be equipped with a flint lock or a matchlock musket. There have been none discovered and because of this I believe the date of the Spanish column needs to be earlier.

There is one other detail that N.L. Barlee mentions and that is that oral history claims that the Spanish came to the area around 2 centuries before “King George’s Men” came to the valley. In 1812 Fort Kamloops was founded brining the fur trade to the area. If we go by this we should be looking not at 1700 but 1600 as a rough date of the Spanish incursion into the region. Personally I think we should be looking at a date between 1560 and 1590 after the return of the Cabrillo-Ferrelo expedition in 1543 but maybe before the Zaltieri Map was published in 1566 or after as a result of the map.

There is one last thing that most people of European decent do not know and that is the story of the disease that came through the Similkameen Valley. An elder who is no longer with us told me a story that before the European settled here disease killed off about 75% of the population and then when settlement took place it killed another 75% of the remaining population. If this is correct then by the time the first settlers would have came to the region they would not have found a functioning society but one in ruins as even if it had only been 60 years between the first disease around 1800 and the first settler in 1860 it would have only been a generation removed but if the Spanish brought the disease 200 years earlier the disaster would have been farther removed and by the time the Europeans began to settle the Similkameen area the native population although still small would have been recovered from the disaster.

Spencer