1. French doubloons in Canada

Lost treasures, even small ones, do strange things to people.

The following treasure site is included in this series on Maine because it is less than 50 miles to the St. Charles River in Canada from Somerset County in Maine. I quote the story from a booklet called True Tales of Buried Treasure by T. D. Barrett, printed in 1946.

About the middle of the 18th century, the French were fighting the British in an attempt to retain their hold on Canada. A few months before the Battle of Quebec, a ?ast treasure of gold doubloons, louis d?r, and grand seigneurs· family jewels and plate was deposited in the citadel at Quebec for safekeeping.

The post commander was the Marquis de Montcalm. He had it all packed in canvas and rawhide, with each package properly labeled and stored in heavy brass-bound chests. They were secretly loaded into boats at night and taken up the St. Charles River. The chests were not returned to the city, and therefore must have been hidden somewhere up the river. It is said that the value was between $2 million and $3 million dollars. Only four persons knew the secret of its hiding place, and all four died without revealing it.

"In 1909," writes Harold T. Wilkins, a famous author of treasure stories, "a French habitant living outside Quebec, decided to rebuild an old-fashioned fireplace in his principal room.

"He was removing a slab at the back of the fireplace when he found a small box made of silver, and of 18th century make. Opening the lid he saw inside a piece of parchment, yellow with age and bearing an inscription in old French handwriting. It read: ?t the little bay on the River St. Charles, 10 feet up the east bank, you shall find buried in plaster, a box and an ingot of silver and a sheep? skull, Beneath is the secret of great treasure.·

"The man told one of his sons about the box and showed him the parchment. The two crossed the river and dug in the place indicated. They unearthed the silver, the sheep? skull and a wooden box, bound with straps of iron. When this was opened it revealed a piece of parchment with these words in French: ?cross the River St. Charles to the wood near the small bay and peninsula. Twenty feet NW by N towards a clump of lirs. Fifty feet deep and set in plaster, our great treasure out of the citadel.·

The little bay and peninsula were located, but the grove of firs was something else. Doubtless when the inscription was written there was a clump of fir trees on the east bank of the St. Charles, but in 1909 the whole region was covered with firs. The quest seemed hopeless. The search was especially difficult since all work had to be done at night. This precaution was because the land was now owned by a Roman Catholic order, and the two French-Canadians did not wish to divide the treasure with the church.

They dug for several nights, but to sink a shaft 50 feet deep, working in the dark was practically impossible. The two men gave up the project and returned home.

Since 1909 there have been several attempts by local treasure hunters to find this lost treasure, but it has eluded all efforts.