Subject: The Hybrid Map "Virginia 1567" and a Buried Conquistador
Date: Thursday 16 May 2013. 4:50 pm.
To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history 
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From: Jim Glanville <[log in to unmask]>

Fellow List Members:

On March 13th this year, an email message brought me the transcript of a 
short article from the December 31, 1869 issue of the "Bristol News" 
(see http://goo.gl/96BFY and also the 110-word transcript in the 
appendix below). That information quickly led to my stunning discovery 
in the previous week's "Bristol News" (December 24, 1869) of an 
archeological account of the excavation of a Spanish soldier near 
Holston Knob in eastern Sullivan County, Tennessee, not far from today's 
Appalachian Trail and only 3-4 miles south of the present VA-TN boundary 
line (see http://goo.gl/wPVfb and also the 520-word transcript in the 
appendix below).

This newly-found documentary evidence provides strong confirmation that 
the first Europeans definitely known to be on the ground within the 
perimeter of the future state of Virginia were indeed Juan Pardo's 
lieutenant Hernando Moyano and his men at Maniatique (Saltville) in 1567 
--- as suggested among others by Robin Beck in his 1997 article "From 
Joara to Chiaha: Spanish Exploration of the Appalachian Summit Area, 
1540-1568" ("Southeastern Archaeology," pp. 162-169). Charles Hudson 
told the story of sixteenth century Spaniards in Appalachia  in his 1990 
book "The Juan Pardo Expeditions" (Washington, DC: The Smithsonian 
Institution Press). Paul Hoffman transcribed and translated the Spanish 
primary documents included in that volume.

Last month, I published two articles in the "Saltville Progress" 
newspaper describing the new archeological evidence and discussing it 
and its implications  (see http://goo.gl/HW19k and http://goo.gl/wQ8Nd).

Prompted by this new evidence, I have reexamined the 1584 Geronimo 
Chaves map titled "La Florida" to consider in detail what it says about 
Virginia. The "La Florida" map (see http://goo.gl/1Hvp1) was published 
by Abraham Ortelius in the third edition of his "World Atlas" in 1584, a 
decade after Chaves' death. Information for the northern region of 
Chaves' map comes from the de Soto expedition of 1539-1543. Internal 
evidence from one of the names shown in its southern region demonstrates 
that Chaves' map was prepared later than 1554. While we will likely 
never know its precise date, the Chaves' map was drawn within a decade 
either side of 1564.

Incidentally, the Chaves map draws extensively from the so-called "de 
Soto map," see http://goo.gl/3Bd0R. "This map [is] attributed to Alonso 
de Santa Cruz [and] is often given the date of 1544, about the time some 
of Soto's men returned to Spain. In truth, both its authorship and the 
date are uncertain, its popular label misleading," see Robert Weddle at 
http://goo.gl/BwtTk. It is the earliest known map that shows inland 
features of the American Southeast. It is possible that the northernmost 
town on the eastern side of this map attributed to Santa Cruz lies 
within the future state of Virginia; however, to actually make that 
claim would be to over press the case.

As is well known, Spanish maps of the Southeast dating from the 
sixteenth century are defective in their estimates of latitude and 
longitude. By means of the program GPS Visualizer, I plotted the 
as-marked corner coordinates of the Chaves map to make a modern version 
of its outline. This procedure yielded the outline of an approximately 
150-mile wide strip of land running north-south from Cuba to Cleveland, 
see http://goo.gl/94wKG. This outline graphically illustrates Chaves' 
latitude and longitude errors when judged by modern standards. By 
adjusting the latitude and longitude of the Chaves map's edges  I was 
able to generate an outline on a modern map which looks very much like 
the published Chaves map, see http://goo.gl/Ey3KY. These adjustments 
were the first step of my adaptation of the Chaves map for a modern 
rendering.

A further deficiency of the Chaves map is that its northern and southern 
regions are incompatible. The southern region traverses almost 20 
degrees of longitude, while the equally-sized northern portion traverses 
only 4 degrees of longitude. The consequence of this incompatibility is 
that locations in the upper region of the map known to be in East 
Tennessee are placed due north of locations in the lower region of the 
map known to be in Texas and actually 500 miles to the west of those in 
Tennessee. To apply the Chaves map for today's Virginia, and to analyze 
it, I therefore extracted and used an upper right hand rectangular 
segment of the map. Specifically, I took the rightmost two-thirds and 
the upper one-third of the map, or about one-quarter of the map's area. 
That segment includes the map's prominent cartouche.

Next, I adjusted the excerpted segment of the Chaves map using its upper 
right hand corner as a reference point, and relating it to features such 
as the location of Xuala (and other identified places). I increased the 
length of the N-S axis by a factor of 2.34, to make the N-S scale 
consistent with the E-W scale. Overlaying the adjusted Chaves map with a 
Google-derived map using the same four corner coordinates allowed me to 
prepare a hybrid map which combines the features shown on the sixteenth 
century map with modern features.

The remains of the town of Xuala (Joara), where Spanish soldiers lived 
in close proximity to Native Americans for eighteen months in 1567-1568, 
are situated at the Berry site, near Morganton, NC. The Spanish called 
their settlement Fort San Juan. Berry has been studied with increasing 
intensity over the past 25 years. Archeological work at the site has 
generated a large body of published literature; see, for example, the 
112-page report published in 2010 from the principal investigators to 
the National Science Foundation, http://goo.gl/2aayD.

All students of Virginia history should be aware of the significance of 
the Berry site and its implications for Virginia's history. Berry is 
only about 50 miles south of the VA-NC state line.  In recent years, 
students of North Carolina history, making a passing reference to the 
late-coming arrival of the English on the Carolina outer banks, have 
been waggishly calling the Berry site "the First Lost Colony."

I have designated my hybrid map "Virginia 1567." My first draft is on 
line at the link http://goo.gl/F7zt6. Its scale is approximately 250 
miles N-S and 200 miles E-W. Its bounding latitudes are 37.54° top and 
23.58° bottom. Its bounding longitudes are -83.68° left and -79.14° 
right. Its top and right edges are those of the circa 1564 Chaves map.

To make "Virginia 1567" a hybrid map, on the adjusted Chaves segment map 
I overlaid historical places, state boundary lines, and some modern 
towns. Historical places include Maniatique (modern Saltville) where the 
first battle of Virginia took place in 1567, the newly-discovered burial 
site of the conquistador near Holston Knob, and Phoebe Butt --- in 
western Lee County near the present Tennessee state line --- where it is 
likely (though not proven) that, heading north from Chiacha in search of 
metals, the first Europeans (Juan de Villalobos from Seville and 
Francisco de Silvera from Galicia) ever to set foot in Virginia did so 
in 1541 see, http://goo.gl/rk0w9.

With the evidence of this hybrid map, I assert that the Chaves map of 
circa 1564 shows the earliest European depiction of Virginia. None of 
the Chaves map towns is in Virginia, though the two mountain peaks 
depicted immediately north of present-day Bristol are.

I am currently preparing a formal article on this same topic. In it, I 
will explain in further detail the basis for my adjustments to the 
Chaves map and include a full set of citations.

Comments, criticisms, and corrections,  either on line or privately, 
will be welcomed.

Jim

Jim Glanville
Former Fincastle County

PS: While preparing this posting for the Virginia History list server, 
my attention was called to the article "Why Virginia Was Not Spanish" by 
Anthony Aventi, published in the Spring 2013 issue of the popular 
history journal "Colonial Williamsburg," see http://goo.gl/cHrsZ.  One 
does not wish to be unduly critical of either the article's author or 
its publisher. However, noting the absence in the article of any mention 
of the Pardo/Moyano Appalachian Spanish expeditions of 1566-1568, I was 
reminded of the famous James Branch Cabell dictum that we Virginians 
tend to write our history not as it actually happened but rather as it 
"ought to have happened."

------------------------------------------------------Appendix--------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------- Transcripts of the 1869 articles 
--------------------------------------

Bristol News, December 24, 1869, Page 2, column 3. "Mysterious Discovery 
in Iron Mountain---Opening of a Curious Sepulchre, Special 
Correspondence of the News, NEAR HOLSTON, Sullivan. co , Tenn, Dec., 
15th '69. //     Messrs. editors, Gents:--- Knowing that you are 
interested in all matter of news and moreover that the greater part of 
your time is passed in catering to the reading public, I have determined 
to send you a short account of a very curious discovery that I, in 
company with some other gentlemen, had the good fortune of making, some 
days ago. Being in the mountains (Iron) on a hunting excursion chance 
led our party into a deep and gloomy gorge, flanked on either side by 
beetling walls of granite, adown [sic] whose side the "forked 
lightnings" have played these many centuries; with here and there a 
stunted tree, to relieve the vision, while at its base a little stream 
flowed, or rather floundered on its way, here forming in a deep crystal 
pool, and the next moment creeping threadlike among the boulders. Whilst 
sitting near this little stream, I happened to cast my eye around and 
observing a rather singular mound at a short distance, I arose and on 
examination became convinced that it must have been erected by men at 
some period anterior to this. With the assistance of my companions I at 
once began to remove  the earth and stones from the surface, and we were 
soon rewarded with a sight into its interior, for at the place where we 
began removing earth, &c., the crust, so to speak, was not exceeding 2 
feet in thickness. Having made a cavity of a foot or more in diameter, 
we could at first distinguish nothing in the interior save the decayed 
remains of bodies the nature of which---owing to the imperfect 
light---we could not determine, curiosity being excited we determined to 
unearth the mystery at all events. Accordingly we dispatched one of our 
party to the nearest house for implements and on his return set to work, 
and soon succeeded in removing totum jugum tumuli; On entering this 
"habitation of the dead," for such it proved to be we found several 
human skeletons in various stages of decay; but with one exception all 
in a very imperfect state. This one underlying the others, at first 
presented the appearance of a corpse in complete preservation; but on 
examination the fleshy parts we found to be of a sort of cheesy 
consitence [sic], and readily yielded to the touch, Decayed implements 
evidently those of war were found intermingled, and one medal or coin 
the inscription of which was so effaced that nothing could be 
deciphered, except the word "Espa," or, I should say part of a word for 
there was an appearance of other letters, on the reverse the figure of a 
cross could be plainly seen, its presence owing to the concavity of the 
side. One skull which I examined is evidently that of a Caucasian; or, 
at least differs widely from that of the aboriginal inhabitants of this 
country. You will probably aid in throwing a new light on the early 
history of this country by giving publication to this in your excellent 
paper. //     This tumulus is near the residence of Mr. F. Wright on 
Jacobs Creek, Sullivan County. //  with respect, I remain yours, T. C. KING

Bristol News, December 31, 1869, Page 3, column 1 // "The Iron Mountain 
Mystery." ---The communication of Mr. T. C. King, in our last issue has 
attracted much attention. The remains found by him, in a gorge of the 
Iron Mountain, while very ancient are evidently those of European 
persons. That they must date their sepulture beyond the settlement of 
the County is plainly evident. It has been suggested that they are those 
of a portion of De Soto's party, in its journey to the Mississippi River 
in [blank space, 1541 intended?] and we regard this conjecture as not 
only plausible, but probably true. The spot will be visited by gentlemen 
of our town, and perhaps by one of the editors of the News.


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