HMS NANCY & The Lost Jesuit Gold

HMS Nancy & the Lost Jesuit Gold

Our story begins in the fall of 1627 in the small French village of Fougeres north east of the olde Royal city of Rennes in Normandy. A French trapper by the name of Louis Sevard was dying at the age of 32 and in his estate papers was a map from his days a trapper working out of Montreal in New France. He was one of the original French explorers-voyageurs from the earlier days brought into the Saint Mary’s Falls region by Samuel de Champlain in 1617 and later explored by Etienne de Brule in 1623. One of the new breed of “courier de bois” that was to arise with various fur trading companys being developed as an off-shoot to find the route to China on the inland seas of north America. The trade in furs just being one of the many new economic benefits of exploring and trading with the indigenous peoples as they moved westward. Part of the commentary in his estate papers dealt with the “shinny metal” being worn by the northern people referred to as the Ojibwa and Cree from what later became known as the Manitoulin Islands and those just south of “la grande saulte” or what we now call Saulte Ste Marie. Lac de Huron was rapidly changing from La Mer Douce to La Mer D’Ore and had nothing to do with the sunsets on the bays.
In folowing spring of 1628, to make a long story short, this last will and testiment along with the map was given to Louis Dumont an olde close friend of his who in turn gave it to Andre Marie Daumont who again was to be the father to a Jesuit priest by the name of Simon Francis Daumont of the local Jesuit mission in Caen. This priest who was to join with the mission, was sent out to establish a mission among the Ojibwa and Cree at a place on the map refrred to as Baawitigong [place by the falls] and subsequently called Saulte Saint Marie in 1668. When they arrived at the falls they found numerous French trapper-adventurers still working in the area. To their delight they also found that this “shinny metal” turned out to be gold being extracted from a multitude of small mines in the area by the Indians and of course which turned out to be a useful source of minerals in aid of financing their mission amongst the natives. To a certain measure it was south America all over again but while it was on a much smaller scale it was “highly profitable” none the less. Over time the amount of gold that was accumulated and smelted into small “cing livres” bars turned out to be “plentifull” to such an extent that it began to attrack some unwanted attention due in large part to more trappers going home to die either in Quebec or back in France just like where our story starts with Louis Sevard.
As in all things, the agents of none other than Louis XIV began to get wind of this bounty in the hands of the church and in 1674 informed Sieur de LaSalle that he should form a company of adventurers and while he was to be obstenively looking for a trade route to China, that he should check out the stories of what was now being referred to as Jesuit gold from New France. So in 1677 under the provisional guidance of Count Sieur de La Frontenac in New France Sieur LaSalle and company shipped out to Quebec and set up their base camp at the new French village of Fort Frontenac (Kingston) in New France. Here in the spring of 1678 he built the little bargue Le Frontenac with over sized timbers and sailed to the Niagara River arriving on Christmas day. They made arrangements with the local Seneca to allow them to cut trees and on januray 17, 1679 they started work on Le Griffon which was essentially a revised version of Le Frontenac but twice the size. From here they knew from Jesuit records and from the maps obtained from French trappers that their way was clear to sail straight to the Lac du Huron and of their main objective, that being the Jesuit mission at Saulte Saint Marie as directed by the King of France. Since communication is a two way street, the Jesuits knew of Sieur de LaSsalles intentions and were busy “making al necessary arrangements” to bury their gold on one of three islands just south of their mission one of which was called Isle St Joseph with the main disposal point being two more small islands off the mouth of yet another “saulte where the river flows to the west into the Michigan [one of which was later renamed Drummond Island] and further to the south east into Matchdash Bay near the main Huron WendotteVillage [Coldwater - now lock 45 at the northern end of the Huron indian trail leading all the way up from Lac Iroquois – now Lake Ontario]. A locale we shall hear of more later in our story. The actual trail is along the valley’s and highlands starting with the Rouge valley along Lake Couchiching to Bass Lake to “Gissinausebing” now known as Coldwater.
Niagara River to Saginaw Bay
In July of 1679, La Salle directed 12 men to tow Le Griffon through the rapids of the Niagara River with long lines stretched from the bank. They moored in quiet water off Squaw Island 3 miles from Lake Erie waiting for favorable northeast winds. La Salle sent Tonti ahead on 22 July 1679 with a few selected men, canoes, and trading goods to secure furs and supplies. Le Griffon set off [rowed] on 7 August with unfurled sails, a 34-man crew, and a salute from her cannon and musketry. They were navigating Le Griffon through uncharted waters that only canoes had previously explored. They made their way around Long Point, constantly sounding as they went through the first moonless, fog-laden night to the sound of breaking waves and guided only by La Salle's knowledge of Galinee’s [Sevard’s old map] crude, 10-year-old chart. They sailed across the open water of Lake Erie whose shores were forested and "unbroken by the faintest signs of civilization". They reached the mouth of the Detroit River on 10 August 1679 where they were greeted by 3 columns of smoke signaling the location of Tonti's adavnce camp whom they received on board. They entered lake St Clair on 12 August, the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi, and named the lake after her. They again sounded their way through the narrow channel of the St. Claire River to its mouth where they were delayed by contrary winds until 24 August. For the second time, they used a dozen men and ropes to tow Le Griffon over the rapids of the St. Clair River into lower Lake Huron. They made their way north and west into Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron where they were becalmed until noon of 25 August.
(*) La Salle took personal command at this point due to evidence that the pilot was negligent. He was working for the Jesuits who wanted LaSalle to sail north west rather than north east where both the French River and the Severn River emptied into Matchdash Bay which at that time referred to all of east Lake Huron as the name Georgian Bay was not used until much later.
Lake Huron Storm
On noon of 25 August 1679 they started out northwest with a favoring northerly wind. When the wind suddenly veered to the southeast they changed course to avoid Presque Isle. However, the ferocity of the gale forced them to retreat windward and lie-to until morning. By 26 August the violence of the gale caused them to "haul down their topmasts, to lash their yards to the deck, and drift at the mercy of storm. At noon the waves ran so high, and the lake became so rough, as to compel them to stand in for land." Father Hennepin wrote that during the fearful crisis of the storm, La Salle vowed that if God would deliver them, the first chapel they later erected in Lousiana would be dedicated to the memory of saint Anthony of Padua, the patron of the sailor. The wind did slightly decrease but they drifted slowly all night, unable to find anchorage or shelter. They were driven northwesterly until the evening of 27 August when under a light southerly breeze they finally rounded Point St. Ignace and anchored in the calm waters of the natural harbor at Mackinac Island [within eyesight of the Jesuit mission at Saulte Saint Marie] where there was a settlement of Hurons, Ottawas, Cree and “a few Frenchmen”. The Jesuits were not thrilled to see Sieur de LaSalle and his band of thieves [entrepeneurs] arrive. What to do?
Mackinac Island
Upon Le Griffon's safe arrival at Mackinac Island, the voyagers sent by the King fired a salute from her deck that the Hurons respnded on shore and volleyed three times with their firearms. More than 100 native American birchbark canoes gathered around Le Griffon to look at the "big wood canoe". La Salle dressed in a scarlet cloak bordered with lace and a highly plumed cap, laid aside his arms in charge of a sentinel and attended mass with his crew in the Jesuit chapel of the Ottawas and then made a visit to the local indians in a ceremony with the Chiefs. Big wampum was here somewhere and he meant to find it for the King who was financing his “trade mission” via Count Sieur de La Frontenac.
La Salle found some of the 15 men he had sent ahead from Fort Frontenac to trade with the Michigan Illinois but they had listened to La Salle's enemies who said he would never reach Mackinac Island. La Salle seized 2 of the deserters and sent Tonti with 6 men to arrest 2 more at Saulte saint Marie who had been threatened with all sorts of “religious torments by the priests”.
Prairie du Chien – Wisconsin River - Green Bay
The short open-water season of the upper Great Lakes compelled La Salle to depart for Green Bay on 12 September, 5 days before Tonti's return. They sailed from the Starits of Mackinac to an island (either Washington Island, Rock Island on Lac du Michigan) located at or near the entrance of Green Bay (Lake Michigan). They anchored on the south shore of the island and found it occupied by the friendly Pottawatomies and Salk indians and 15 of the missing fur traders that La Salle had sent ahead. The traders had collected 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) of furs in anticipation of the arrival of the Le Griffon. La Salle decided to stay behind with 4 canoes to explore the head lands of Lake Michigan. La Salle gave instructions for Le Griffon to off-load merchandise for him at Mackinac Island that would be picked up on the return trip. Le Griffon rode out a violent storm for 4 days and then on 18 September, the pilot Luc and 5 crew sailed south east under a favorable wind via Matchdash Bay for the Niagara River with a parting salute from a single gun. She carried a cargo of furs valued at from 50,000 to 60,000 francs ($10,000 – $12,000) and the rigging and anchors for another vessel that La Salle intended to build to find passage to the West Indies via the Ohio valley river, and finally a detailed map for Matchdash Bay. La Salle never saw Le Griffon again.
Shipwreck of Le Griffon
Father Hennepin wrote that Le Griffon was lost in a violent storm. Some charged fur traders, and even Jesuits with her destruction. Some said that the Pottawatomies or the Ottawas boarded her, murdered her crew, and then burned her. La Salle was convinced that the pilot Luc and crew treacherously sank her at the explicit orders of the Jesuits and made off with the goods. They say that there is no conclusive evidence about any of the theories about Le Griffon's loss.
Le Griffon is reported to be the "Holy Grail" of Great Lakes shipwreck hunters. A number of sunken old sailing ships have been suggested to be Le Griffon but, except for the ones proven to be other ships, there has been no positive identification. One candidate is a wreck at the western end of Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, with another wreck near Escanaba, Michigan, also proposed. Le Griffon was the second in a string of thousands of ships that found their last berth on the bottom of the Great Lakes.
Le Griffon may have been found by the Great Lakes Exploration Group but the potential remains were the subject of lawsuits involving the discoverers, the state of Michigan, the U.S. federal government and the government of France acting on behalf of the “Crown”.
Le Griffon is considered by some to have been the first ship lost on the Great Lakes. It was another vessel used by LaSalle and Tonti, however, that was the first loss on January 8, 1679. As noted above, sources give its size as either 20 tons or 40 tons. It dragged anchor and ran aground near Thirty Mile Point on Lake Ontario, where it broke apart. Some say that this vessel was named the Frontenac, while others say the other vessel used on LaSalle's expedition was the Frontenac. Some sources confuse the two vessels.
In July, 2010 the Great Lakes Exploration Group issued a press release stating that they, the state of Michigan and France had reached agreement to co-operate in the next phase of an archaeological site assessment for identifying the shipwreck. Little do they realize just how far off the trail theyreally are.
Jesuit Gold
In looking for the Jesuit gold from the shinning seas of La Mer D’Ore long extracted by both Indian and trader alike from a multitude of small workings in what became the Algoma district one must first of all look at the entrance to Matchdash Bay and the charts extant from Father Hennepin a Recollet priest. Both he and the enterprising “fur” traders were reviled by the Jesuits with Hennepin nearly killed by accidentally “falling” into the falls at St Mary’s. His estate, which was, filed many years later in Calais France was also, along with another estate filed in 1705 by the family of one Jean de La Lande from the Landes estates in southern France in the Bordeaux region east of the Gironde River estuary and now called the Lande de Pomeral region and famous for its dry Bordeaux wines provided some interesting details as to the fate of the Jesuit gold. The olde estate is now a popular Chateau and tourist resort. Jean de La Lande has a stature dedicated to him at the Saint Marie Among the Hurons in Midland Ontario. The de La Lande family was also prominent in the later religious wars in France and where commanders for the Huguenot army of the south under Coligny during the reign of Louis XIV.

In 1765 Clan MacKintosh [Clan Chattan] of Inverness at the request of Richardson Forsythe of Aberdeen Scotland were requested to set up a trading enterprise in the Canadas from Montreal to re-organize the “courier de bois” of Montreal into a trading company and expand it westward into the Assinaboine Country west of the great lakes obsessively for the beaver furs that were now so popular in Europe, ‘along with anything else they could find” …. a standard caveat. As a result the Richardson Forsythe Company set up their business in Montreal along with a joint venture called the XY Company which was the financing wing of the fur trade enterprise out of Montreal. From here they set up trading posts or took over olde French trading posts from the Detroit River to the Wisconsin River all the way out to Fort William established in 1796 to replace the original trading post established twenty years earlier. To supply these forts and sundry trading posts Richardson Forsythe build a number of schooners and brigs to supply and carry the heavy freight on the lakes with the bateaux and canoe d’Maitre to run the river systems.

In 1769 the North West Company built the executive express schooner for John Richardson and named her after his eldest daughter, Nancy Richardson – the Nancy. John Forsythe named another schooner after his daughter, the Ellen. The Nancy interestingly enough operated from Fort Erie to Saint Mary’s Falls [Saulte Sainte Marie] and covered the olde trading posts in Saginaw Bay and both Michilimacquinac on the mains land and Fort Mackinaw just opposite that on Mackinaw Island. And of course the North West Company being from Montreal operated with the “courier de bois” and the voyageur families dating back to the days of Sieur de Champlain and Count Sieur de La Frontenac and of course Sieur de la Salle and a few sundry contacts with religious orders of various “bents”.

The NANCY & Jesuit Gold
As in all things, there is the ever-present “six degrees of separation”. The crew of the NANCY now under the command of one Alexander MacIntosh included a cadre of French voyageurs and adventurers from France and Montreal and around the lakes with a long heritage of being “Canadienne”. In amongst these men were three individuals of particular interest being Joseph LaMotte and Joseph Paquette and Joseph L’Tromp. They were from Montreal of course with friends and relatives in Saulte Ste Marie. Of specific interest is Joseph LaMotte who was cousin of Jean LaMonte who was related on his mother’s side to one Louis Dumont cousin to the Jesuit founder of the mission to Saulte Saint Marie, Simon Francis Daumont. On occasion there was a Henri Dumont that sailed on the Nancy as well in the later 1790’s.
It was Louis Dumont who gave a certain map obtained from Simon Daumont to Henri Dumont as a family heirloom and then who gave it to Jean LaMonte who in turn gave it to Joseph LaMotte who as we have said sailed onboard the NANCY and who was a friend and confident of Alexander MacKintosh. While the main based of operations for the NANCY were from “Moy” a place called Sandwich later called Windsor to either Fort Erie or to Saulte Saint Marie her “mid-point” was the provisioning base in Matchdash Bay between the Severn and French River for incoming supplies from Montreal up the Ottawa River valley.
In referring back to the loss of the “Le Griffon” one must keep in mind that as a marine archaeologist one is familiar with the use by the French use of nickel-plating to keep their guns barrels and fittings from rusting in New France. The Charleville muskets of the period found at Fortress Louisburg were all nickel-plated. From French records many of the fittings sent out for the ships in New France were also nickel-platted including those designed for both Le Frontenac and Le Griffon used by Sieur de La Salle. There is only one wreck on the south eastern side of Manitoulin Island in Meldrum Bay that has a wreck with French artefacts that are nickel plated and this is the wreck of the Le Griffon, including small traces of “L’Ore” .. gold. It is approximately half way between the French and Severn River in the opposite direction to that of Lake Michigan.
Both the Logs by Alexander MacIntosh and Masters Logs by Jacob Hammond of the schooner Nancy, later HMS Nancy, while Joseph LaMotte was present, clearly indicate that she visited Meldrum Bay on numerous occasions and “brought off 3000 livres d’ore”. As to what happened to this gold, one can only guess. Most of it was sent onto Montreal and to Aberdeen where the MacIntosh Clan suddenly experienced a period of wealth in building their new castle [now gone] and to the fortunes of the North West Company. Without a doubt some of that gold financed the founding of McGill University.
But of the nearly 1 ton of the ton and half of gold, which took some 50 years to accumulate by the Jesuits in 5 livre bars made in granite moulds, some remained reburied on one of three islands named above and more importantly in Matchdash Bay north to Meldrum bay. This body of water was easily navigated by the Nancy before her commissioning days with the royal navy as HMS NANCY, and somewhere between Port McNicoll and Christies Mills at Lock 45. It is estimated that at least half remains to be found underwater in a small inlet easily spotted from the mainland. One final note and that is Simon MacGillivray liked come all the way from Montreal to fish in Matchdash Bay shortly after the war of 1812 and when he was donating numerous canoes to Indian Chiefs “who honourably maintained his assets” during the war. Why here?
So then, I leave it up to you the intrepid reader, who by happenstance reads this, to go find the long lost 1000 livres of gold bars of the Jesuits confiscated by de LaSalle and now belonging to the Crown. [Subsequent to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 the Crown is now the British Crown - and with the new Canada Repatriation Act to the Canadian Government] and reburied by the crew of the NANCY somewhere in Matchdash Bay for safe-keeping. All you need now is an olde map, binoculars, a pair of fins, a shovel and a strong back.

In today’s terms a 1000 pounds of gold at $980 an ounce is about $15.7 million. Well worth a peak.