Espiritu Santo

About a month ago I was going through some of the details of the old maps used in the recreation of the Master map… there is one particular map which to my knowledge is still unpublished and I hope it remains that way, it was entrusted to me of which I have done my best to keep it from the general public. However there are a few who often help me by way of perspective in helping to resolve the mysteries of some of these maps. This particular map location or where it applied has remained unknown ever since it was acquired I believe in the 70’s.

Although this map is from the original, it has been altered, it contains all that is on the original map, but it has all been moved to different locations and is only shown for visual effect.

A few years ago, I pulled out the map once again and decided that due to certain details of the map it no doubt applied to a particular part in the Uintas. I did my best in identifying what I thought were certain feature such as drainage's, of which this map had many. The map was clearly made by a privateer and not a cartographer of some royal funded expedition…. I have come to notice after examining many maps that although a cartographer of the past is much better at capturing accuracy in a map and its features, a privateer, is much better at capturing noticeable geographic features and often in abundance far more so that an expedition assigned cartographer and in many ways, I think is more helpful in finding some location intended on the maps....

After labeling some of the drainage's according to my perspective I sent it to one individual whom I have always know had a great sense of the Geographic’s of the Uintas. He responded immediately telling me that I was close but incorrect, He then sent me his notations, and I began the meticulous process of visual comparing and validating every details found upon the map, and I am certain with few small exceptions, he hit the geographic nail on the head.

Several years past believing the map all along was dated 1884-88 until one day not a month ago, I decided to send a clip of the signature to another friend in California who has displayed his ability to recognize the old Spanish words, even when the handwriting is obscure… he Immediately sent me a response as to what he believed it to say, I must say, I could see at that point that he was right. But… there was a problem, the man who authored the map, Antonio de Espejo has quite a history, and seemed to fit the bill flawlessly except for one thing… This man lived from 1540 to 1585 (According to the Academic world) he was best know for his well documented expedition of 1582 to 1583 into what was at the time known as Nuevo Mexico, at this time I want to remind the reader that New Mexico was NOT the geographic boundaries you know today… It was for the most part, the south western states.

Seeing however this man lived in the 1500’s rather than the sought after time frame of the 1800’s, I thought how could this be… Unless… (The Lights came on) I immediately pulled up an image of the map and zoomed in on the date, and sure enough, what we had always believed was 1884, was 1584, But academics says he “reached San Bartolomé on September 10, 1583. His discoveries probably did more to stimulate the settlement of New Mexico and the exploitation of its mineral resources than did those of any other of the early explorers. He started back to Spain to urge the settlement of New Mexico but became ill at Havana, Cuba, where he died in 1585.”

Well, if this is the case. How did he sign a map in 1588? I have yet to find a comparable signature… but I don’t think I need to go that far… Let it suffice that all efforts so far to discover the source information of Espejo dying in 1585 failed.

( Added Note: Why would Espejo go "Back" to Spain when he had a ranch in Chihuahua? Not to mention at the time, he and his brother were wanted for murder, his brother had already been captured.)

These kinds of conflicts come up often in our histories and I have found it is often due to lazy research… simply quote the previous writer and continue on…  the only way to find the truth behind this is to follow the bibliography. To keep this segment short, I assure you the man who signed this document was not in Havana at that time and certainly did not die there.

Should I decide it is necessary to dig into this further… I’ll let you know the results. One might ponder the implications at this point that we now have very good documented evidence that the Spaniards were mining in the Uinta mountains as early as 1584, with his expeditions documents of 1583 clearly making mention of himself and 8 others disappearing for a time to travel North in search of the elusive Lake Copala.

After this new discovery of date conflicts, I decided to visit a particular site found upon the map and quite frankly the only one we could reach due to… pfft…. Snow…  The target or symbol we was aiming for on the map is one we have rarely seen, yet on this map there are two and according to 3 sources, of which I cannot verify any of the three’s sources, it is said that the symbol means a Vault, at this point I can only take their word for it.

The Target

A colleague visited the site just a few days ago looking for signs of… anything, and although he sent me some photos of which included a certain tree, I did not take it serious until I seen it for myself and quite frankly, I do not know what to make of it, other than I know it is an intentional manipulation of the tree as evidenced by the thin blade sword or thin blade broad axe that is quite evident was used in the manipulations.  

The old tree along the old trail

Photo by Tracy Gardner

In 30 years I have only seen one other tree such as this that appears to be created for the same reasons or purpose. Perhaps the answer to it’s intended purpose lies within the site found 30 years prior. Strangely enough it also has to do with a suspect Vault, something ascertained not from an old map, but the Native Glyphs found at the site and intertwined with the Spanish evidence, making it possible to find the tree which was badly over grown making it near impossible to see, is was the glyphs that caused me to part the branches when I discovered its manipulation. The following photo was taken after the branches had been pruned so as to see the intended manipulation from afar.

Although still difficult to see due to growth of the tree it is the same manipulation

of the center being cut off and grooming two branches opposite each other

to grow with the appearance of a goal post.

At one time, both trees would have been very visible at a fair distance…

Discovery of the tree associated with the map has now caused me to rethink a 30 years old discovery and a return trip to the first discovery is without a doubt in the making. Return trips to the second tree is a given.

The glyphs which enabled me to find the tree and which told me

there is a tree to look for…

If any of you have any “real” ideas as to the goal post tree’s  potential purpose, please feel free to contact me at tuscoro@gmail.com. I will say that there was a specific location we were trying to locate, but as a result it seems to have created more questions than answers, lets face the facts, what bona fied information do we have that gives credibility to the above symbol as to having the meaning of vault? Is it possible that it could mean camp site? Because this is what we believe we found at the location, is it possible that a camp site was set up at the vault site and that the symbol does indeed mean vault? If so, whose vault? The 1584 expeditions vault of their own making? Perhaps earlier expedition of the Castilians (Those of Septimania of Eastern Spain) which few even know came to this very place from 700 to 1000 AD…they themselves simply following a much older trail…  is the presumed vault of an even more ancient people?

Did anyone notice the word Castilian on the 1584-88 map?

Why is it there?

The term Castilian only survived in 1584 as a language spoken by the Spaniard, the Kingdom of Castile existed between 1065 until 1230 AD. The word itself came into existence in the Spanish language as early as 800 AD among those of the people of Septimania, and are those of which the Castilian people and Kingdom of Castile derive.

It is VERY clear in the many expedition documents from Columbus to Antonio de Espejo and beyond, that these people who are supposed to be the first Europeans to arrive on the continent were CLEARLY looking for earlier evidences of Castilians… The skeptics might want to rethink the validity of the Tucson Lead artifacts discovered in 1927. These artifacts tell the tale of Roman Colonies coming to the Americas as early as 100 BC! And a second colonization in 700 AD which are those of Castile and/or Septimania (Eastern Spain) Because… the evidences are growing in favor of the lead artifacts authenticity. But this is another chapter…

The most amazing thing I have found, although I am certain you will not see it, and this  article is but a drop in the bucket, is that in all the broad topics of my research of near 30 years… I have discovered that all of it is connected… all the way back "the beginning" and that each seemingly different topic, is as a result of some earlier time or event…