The Forgotten Expedition: A Search for God, Glory, and Gold

By Hank Wilson

The Forgotten Expedition by Hank Wilson tells the story of a group of Spanish explorers who disappeared from the official records. They were a product of their time.

Their story actually begins in 1598, when one of the most brutal of all of the Spanish governors in what is now New Mexico came into power. Juan de Oñate brought in approximately 400 settlers and built a settlement named San Juan de los Caballeros. His real purpose was not to establish a new colony but to locate the legendary treasure of Quivira. He started searching for the treasure in 1601, he never did locate it and his missions to find gold and treasure were fruitless. His legacy does, however, include perhaps the most inhumane treatment of the Pueblo peoples in the area, and he left office in 1607 in disgrace. He was found guilty of cruelty, immorality, and false reporting, and he was exiled from the colony, fined, and deprived of his titles.

This story takes place approximately 4 years after Onate’s departure. New Mexico has a new governor, Governor Don Pedro de Peralta. He has authorized an expedition to explore more of what is now the Trans-Pecos region of the American Southwest. While the story is fictional, the people’s involved all either could have or did exist during this period. This story is built around excerpts from the journal of Fray Miguel De La Garza as he recorded the events that took place during the group’s exploration of an unknown territory.

Those who found the journal noted the closing entry “I recorded this for the benefit of those who are to come. I have tried to be faithful to what we saw and did. May God have mercy on our souls. Fray Miguel De La Garza. December 1611”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hank Wilson
• Release date: Jul 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005283209

Hank Wilson

Just the boring non-glamourous facts about me.I specialize in the fine art of communication between human beings.I focus on helping small businesses and rural communities promote themselves through targeted marketing and communication programs.I record video lectures that focus on human communicationI write books and articles that focus on how we can use technology to better communicate with one another.I am a student of history because I truly believe that we need to understand our history.I also know that the reality of history can often make some people uncomfortable.I write historical novels because I feel that is a way to talk about history without it being a lecture.I have lived a life of variety and as a result I have experienced the good and bad of life.I grew up in a Navy family, so I have been exposed to a wide variety of human beings.I enjoy inter-cultural and inter-generational interactions.I have served in the United States Coast Guard.I have been a radio disc jockey.I have been the pastor of a Cowboy Church.I have worked in technology as a computer programmer for over 40 years, yes I am old, and I know how to adapt.

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The Forgotten Expedition

A Search For God, Glory, Gold

A Novel by Hank Wilson

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2023-2024 Hank Wilson

Published by Ashby Navis & Tennyson

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

9798369253991

Printed in the United States

4th Edition

Table Of Contents

Introduction

The Discovery

A Closer Look

The Opening

The First Reading

We Begin The Expedition

Our First Natives

We Change Course

We Make The Mountain

We Search For Gold

We Cross the Desert

The First Attack

We Continue Our Journey

More Trouble

Refuge and Safety?

The Cave

Epilogue

Introduction

The Forgotten Expedition

A Search For God, Glory, Gold

In the early part of the 16th century when Europeans first arrived in what they considered the new world, they found peoples and cultures who had been established for centuries. That people were already inhabiting the land, was not of much concern to the explorers. While they noted their discoveries, seeking knowledge of the inhabitants was not a priority. The early Europeans, particularly the Spanish, had three main priorities for their explorations.

Gold, Spain needed gold and / or silver to finance the empire. Gold and silver enabled nations to continue to grow and paid for more exploration. It also increased the wealth of the royal families and provided for a more luxurious lifestyle. As a predominantly Catholic nation they were obligated to try and convert the world to Christianity. In their case, Christianity meant Catholicism and as a result their expeditions often had either a priest or a frier as a member. The final reason was glory. Military men knew they could achieve fame if they discovered gold or silver. They also were rewarded if they conquered territory for the Spanish government.

In 1519 Hernán Cortés and his men landed near what is now Veracruz. Within 2 years they had begun to conquer the interior and colonize the territory. It was during these early days that Cortes and others began hearing stories about great wealth in the interior. From that point on, explorer after explorer searched for either a lost city of gold or a hidden cache of gold. These included men such as Fray (Frier) Marcos de Niza in 1539 looking for a city called Cibola. In 1542 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado began to search for Cibola. Even though these early explorers found no cities of gold, the friers and priests that were with them found souls to save and in 1580s two Franciscan friars, Agustín Rodríguez and Antonio Espejo began to establish inroads into the indigenous peoples.

In 1598, one of the most brutal of all of the Spanish governors in what is now New Mexico came into power. Juan de Oñate brought in approximately 400 settlers and built a settlement named San Juan de los Caballeros. His real purpose was not to establish a new colony but to locate the legendary treasure of Quivira. He started searching for the treasure in 1601, he never did locate it and his missions to find gold and treasure were fruitless. His legacy does, however, include perhaps the most inhumane treatment of the Pueblo peoples in the area, and he left office in 1607 in disgrace. He was found guilty of cruelty, immorality, and false reporting, and he was exiled from the colony, fined, and deprived of his titles.

This story takes place approximately 4 years after Onate’s departure. New Mexico has a new governor, Governor Don Pedro de Peralta. He has authorized an expedition to explore more of what is now the Trans-Pecos region of the American Southwest. While the story is fictional, the people’s involved all either could have or did exist during this period. This story is built around excerpts from the journal of Fray Miguel De La Garza as he recorded the events that took place during the group’s exploration of an unknown territory.

Those who found the journal noted the closing entry I recorded this for the benefit of those who are to come. I have tried to be faithful to what we saw and did. May God have mercy on our souls. Fray Miguel De La Garza. December 1611

The Discovery

The afternoon shadows were beginning to appear over the Western part of the Cibola National Forest and were probing the cave’s entrance. This was the usual signal to the university’s team of archeologists that it was time for the exploration of the previously unexplored site to begin shutting down for the day. This time though Dr. Douglas Thomas sensed that something was different. Instead of quiet, tired workers gathering their tools and leaving, there seemed to be an unusual energy in the air. He glanced around, and then shook off the feeling, believing it was in his imagination.

He turned his attention back to the drawing of what looked like, but he thought it couldn’t be, but it looked like a soldier with a long rifle. He studied it a little closer and then noticed there was something else drawn on the wall. He leaned in and gently brushed away some of the dirt. He was then able to barely make out what looked like a cross. He was puzzled by this because there hadn’t been any record of Europeans in this area. It was mostly unexplored and in fact, the cave they were in had just recently been discovered. It was only after a major thunderstorm storm had passed through the area and the rains and winds had caused an avalanche that the cave’s opening became visible to park rangers. Believing that he was one of the few people who had even seen the inside of the cave, he was puzzled by the drawings. As he absently chewed on his pen and puzzled over the drawings, his thoughts were interrupted.

Dr. Thomas, will you come here, I think I might have found something. Marco’s excited and yet faint yell seemed to come from deep inside the cave. Dr. Thomas’ looked up quickly from his work and glanced at the spot where Marco should have been working. The light from the lamp on his cap, showed an empty space where Marco had been excavating the floor. As he looked further into the cave, the light barely cut through the darkness and the back of the cave remained black. Marco was