As I pursued this historical research, exploring anthropological records, linguistic characteristics of the Foothill Maidu or contemporaneous news sources, the project grew ever more tantalizing. Ultimately, the question remained unresolved and with publication in 1992 I moved on.
During those previous fifteen years I spoke with an assortment of experts in a variety of fields (see PDF for a abbreviated list), checking and rechecking sources, verifying interpretations while updating current research on the topic available at the time; all before the arrival of the vast information resource that is the World Wide Web.
The reader will note the lack of formal referencing. Please accept my apology. The original paper was fully referenced and footnoted, but subsequent revisions to meet publication style resulted in their omission here. The only surviving copy of the original was on 5.5″ floppy and that appears lost over the 28 years.
Many of the published sources referenced in the article are more easily accessed now. Most of the titles listed below are available on Amazon.
Hernan de Soto: The most comprehensive resource pertaining to Hernan de Soto’s “conquest” of Florida at that time was John Swanton’s Final Report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission. It provides exhaustive research involving many details of the expedition.
The amateur historian will likely find the many other translations more enjoyable reading. Heading the list is Garcilaso de la Vega’s The Florida of the Inca. Though his work was written years after the event, Vega’s sources included several members of the expedition. It is by far the most detailed of the accounts. I also recommend Theodore Maynard’s De Soto and the Conquistadores. I found much of it delightful reading. Finishing the list would be the Gentleman of Elvas’ The Discovery and Conquest of Terra Florida from Hakluyt’s Voyages.
Regarding Alvar Nuñez:His remarkable story is a must for any scholar of early American history. I highly recommend Fanny Bandlier’s translation, The Narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca as well as Buckingham Smith’s The Relation of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca.
On Coronado’s expedition and Rodriguez Cabrillo’s voyage:See George Winship’s The Coronado Expedition, Herbert Bolton’s Coronado: Knight of the Pueblos and Plains and Henry Raup Wagner’s Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast of America in the Sixteenth Century.
Further reading on the Concow, or Foothill Maidu:The various works of Roland Dixon, A.L. Kroeber and E.M. Loeb are excellent, as is Francis Riddell’s “Maidu and Koncow” essay, which appears in Robert Heizer’s California (8) volume from the Indians Of North America.
Lastly, John Harrington’s field notes are a fascinating reflection of both obsession and genius. I highly recommend Encounter With an Angry God: Recollections of My Life With John Peabody Harrington by Carobeth Laird.
These resources are drawn from the original article.