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Dennis Begin
The Spanish Mound of Keremeos
Taken in Olalla looking towards Similkameen Valley.
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Dennis Begin
The Spanish Mound of Keremeos
Photo of a Kastane Sinhalese sword from Sir Lanka. Photo taken in Penticton Museum/Archives.
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Courtesy of Penticton Museum
The Spanish Mound of Keremeos
Photo of Sinhalese sword with Dennis Ooman, Curator of Penticton Museum.
By Dennis Begin
The small village of Keremeos [Kere’mi:es], British Columbia, is best known as ‘The Fruit Stand Capital of Canada.’ In spite of its small size and location along Highway #3, the area has a connection to Spanish history. The word ‘Keremeos’ means, ‘the creek that runs through the flats,’ or through the beautiful Similkameen Valley. There is evidence that the Spanish first visited this valley around 1750 - well before the fur traders and missionaries.
The storyline involves a small group of Spanish soldiers/sailors who were shipwrecked near the mouth of the Columbia River (Astoria), and then made their way up the Columbia, Okanagan and Similkameen Rivers to Keremeos. The Spanish soon ran into trouble with the First Nations people by forcing some of their members into slavery, a common Spanish practice. The expedition then proceeded up the Keremeos Creek and Yellow Lake to Penticton, finally turning north to the Kelowna area. At Mill Creek, they spent the winter before retracing their steps to Keremeos in the spring. This time the Indians were prepared and massacred all the Spanish. The soldiers’ remains and possessions were then buried in a low grassy mound somewhere between Keremeos and Olalla. The question remains, is the Spanish Mound (Esparia Monticalo) a legend or a fact?
Evidence of the Legend
The Lower Similkameen Indian Band or Smelqmix, have oral legends of white bearded men clothed in metal (armor), riding elk (horses) and having vicious wolves (dogs), but what evidence supports the legend?
The Spanish kept detailed records of exploration for sovereignty claims. Their records show that Spanish galleons were wrecked near the mouth of the Columbia River in 1693 and 1705, but a third ship in 1725 just disappeared. Local historian Scott Williams, tells stories of the Chinook Indians in the Willamette Valley seeing white men going up the river but never returning. (Google, List of Oregon Shipwrecks).
Proof of the Spanish visiting the Similkameen Valley starts west of Keremeos on the Old Hedley Road. A pictograph called ‘Prisoner Paintings’ features four people tied together by their necks, surrounded by dogs, just as Spanish slaves were bound for transport.
Near Kelowna, at Mill Creek, early settlers with Father Pandosy’s Mission found the remnants of an old building in 1863, 36’x75’, typical of Spanish construction.
Edged weapons have been found in the Okanagan area, as well as a spontoon or short spear called a half-pike, displayed in the Kamloops Museum. The Penticton Museum and Archives displays a traditional ceremonial Sinhalese sword made in Sri Lanka, something the Spanish used in trade and found near the O’Keefe Ranch near Vernon.
Pieces of Spanish armor have been found in the Keremeos area, rumoured to be a helmet, but never corroborated by an archaeologist. It is of interest to note that the copper Indian breast armor resembles Spanish armor in design.
Lastly, turquoise was discovered in a grave site in Okanagan Falls, a gem used by the Spanish in trade, but not common to British Columbia.
Historical Facts Disprove Legend
Although Spain laid claim to the entire North American West Coast from 1513 to 1791, they never took much interest, other than California. It was the Russians, Americans and British who realized the wealth of the sea otter trade. When Captains James Cook, George Vancouver and Juan Bodega Quadra sailed along the Pacific West Coast [1778-1799], Spain had no interest in the vast Interior of what is now British Columbia.
The Spanish dream of finding the Seven Cities of Chibola [Gold], was a dream even the Spanish disregarded following the journey of Francisco Vazquez de Coronado [1540-42]. The role played by the conquistadors in New Spain had been over for two hundred years and their travels never reached past Southern Nevada, let alone Canada.
Although there are rumours of Spanish armor found around Keremeos, by 1750 the Spanish were no longer wearing the cumbersome mail armor, be it the breastplate [cuirass] or those strange iron helmets [morion]. It is also difficult to believe that the Spanish used horses to travel up the Columbia River and in the Interior Mountains.
The Sinhalese sword from Sir Lanka is only one of several ‘edged weapons’ found in the Okanagan. The sword called a kastane has an iron blade with brass-alloy inlays and a bone handle. The kastane was not manufactured by the Spanish, but was a common item of trade used by many European Nations.
As for that grassy mound, its location should be somewhere between Cawston and the traditional Indian village of Keremye’us. There is, however, a problem with the grassy mound, with its exact location not being proven. The practice of building a burial mound had been abandoned by the Adena and Hopewell Civilizations in the American Northeast for hundreds of years. Burial mounds were not a common cultural practice of native tribes in British Columbia.
Draw your own conclusion. There are individuals who believe in the legend, including Bill Barlee, former local historian and MLA. His book is called ‘Similkameen: The Pictograph Country.’ In Vancouver, Stan Copp, Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, at Langara College, makes a strong case to support the legend. Dr. Copp has undertaken archaeological excavation at the McCall site near the pictograph, but did not discover any Spanish artifacts. Speaking with long term residents of Keremeos and the elders of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, their opinions are very diverse.
As for me, the legend remains intriguing.