Various contemporary authors from both sides collect in their memoirs the legend relative to his enthronement as sovereign of an independent country. A "Gipuzkoan Spaniard" (1836) wrote: "we remember having heard outside of Spain that in the life of Zumalac Rregui an attempt was made to get this caudillo, worthy of a better cause, to endorse the idea of forming an independent State with that of Navarra and the Basque Provinces. This we heard say and it seemed to us then and it still seems to us, perhaps mistakenly, that it is not absolutely without foundation". The British Wilkinson and Somerville (1837 and 1839) relate that he was about to accept the crown of the country as Tomás I, King of Navarre and Lord of Vizcaya . The general's adjutant, Colonel de Vargas, echoes this rumor in his memoirs, a rumor that is contested by the Prussian Laurens (1839): "Zumalacarregui -he says- was the idol of his people and there was no qualms about raising him with the crown of Navarre and make him king of the Basques. This was not, however, the idea of Zumalac Rregui. He wanted nothing more than to defend the rights and liberties of his country and he modestly dodged that honor, making way for his legitimate king who He was in England." For Chaho, Zumalac Rregui was the providential man who wanted to resurrect ancient Cantabria. Upon his death he comments (1842): "We will not do anything worthwhile, and it is a pity. We already have the Holy Virgin General of the Armies of Don Carlos in the Pyrenees and Duchess of Poland, according to the rite So, goodbye, Navarre and Poland, two heroic nations, selfishly sacrificed on the altar of Catholicism."