While going through old voynich.net posts (courtesy of Rich SantaColoma, thanks!) in my hunt for previous insights into how the zodiac nymphs were ordered, I found an unexpected ally: on the old mailing list in Jan 2003, a now all-too-familiar face asserted that the nymphs were ordered inner ring first and clockwise, starting from 10 o’clock. Though by February 2003, that same person then got tangled up in Rene Zandbergen’s George of Trebizond theory, and lost focus, which was a shame.

That person was, of course, *checks notes* a certain Mr. Nick Pelling. *sigh*

Why did I think inner ring first? I can’t reconstruct my argument from back then, but I think it was something to do with ink strength on some pages (when going from inner to outer). But even so, I’m now happy to instead rely on Stefano Guidoni’s far stronger argument: Stefano pointed out that the barrels finish in the inner ring of Taurus II, which suggests that the barrels were abandoned halfway through.

As far as clockwise or anticlockwise, I’m reasonably comfortable with the fading ink on the outer nymph ring of Taurus I as evidence for clockwise:

So, if what we’re looking at is actually a saints calendar, and we can now number the days, and we can make a tolerably good guess at which month each one represents (and because of the 29 stars in Pisces, I’m much more minded to read that as February, rather than the March that has been inelegantly added), then we can try to work back to the month and a day linked to each zodiac nymph.

But… most of the nymphs look basically identical (or perhaps rather our modern understanding of saints is not subtle enough to help us tell them apart). So I thought it would be good to look at some nymphs who visually stand out from the crowd, and see if there might be anything interesting about their reconstructed date…

Beardy man, 22nd February

This appears on the Pisces page in the outer ring, on the bottom right. I believe it’s the only bearded zodiac nymph, but please feel free to tell me if I’ve missed any others.

22nd February is the Feast of Cathedra Petri (the Seat or Throne of St Peter), one of the oldest feasts in the Catholic Church. Because St Peter was considered to be the first Bishop of Rome, his seat (by synecdoche) “signifies the episcopal office of the Pope”. Inevitably, there’s a Wikipedia page on it.

Is this beardy guy meant to somehow be St Peter? Maybe, maybe not: but that’s as far as I’ve got.

Stray barrel nymph, 7th August

On the Virgo-roundel zodiac page, there’s a single nymph standing in a stray half barrel:

This looks vaguely to me like a medieval half-barrel bath tub:

Incidentally, the last image is Melusine having a wash, from a JSTOR daily post. But do I have the faintest idea why there’s a half-barrel bathtub associated with this day? I most certainly do not, sorry.

As to the date (7th August): what I quickly found is that many saints are associated with each day (that is, there seems to be a huge oversupply of saints relative to days of the year).

However, if you think that Milan might be connected to the Voynich Manuscript in some way, then you might be interested to know that 7th August was the day linked with St Faustus, a Roman soldier martyred in Milan in ~190. To be fair, there’s almost nothing known about him historically, so the Church quietly dropped him from the Roman Martyrology list in 2001.

Grassy nymph, 26th May

The unusual thing about the nymph at the top left of the Gemini page is that she appears barefoot, and apparently standing on some grass. So… what might that all be about?

What I quickly found out was that 26th May is the day of Madonna of Caravaggio. The story (there’s a better page in Italian here) is that on 5pm on 26th May 1432, an abused peasant wife Giannetta de’ Vacchi was collecting grass for her animals in Mazzolengo meadow near Caravaggio (near Cremona in Bergamo, 20 miles east of Milan), when the Madonna suddenly appear to her in a bright light. Mary told her that She was displeased about her husband’s drinking (and that She would stop that): and also that Giannetta should convince Milan and Venice to halt their war. The Madonna then touched the ground with Her foot, and a spring appeared.

Despite initial disbelief from the people, the spring (and Mary’s footprint) quickly started to attract visitors and pilgrims. Giannetta ended up meeting both Filippo Maria Visconti (the Duke of Milan) and Francesco Foscari (the Doge of the Serenissima); and in 1433 the war stopped. Duke Filippo Maria Visconti wanted a church built near the spring (this was consecrated on 20th December 1451, supported by the Sforzas). And in 1475 this modest church was replaced by a Sanctuary, which still stands. Even today, you can go down into an undercroft beneath the Sanctuary and draw water from that spring.

Might the grassy nymph be signifying the Madonna of Caravaggio? Nothing’s for sure (yet), but I think it’s a strong possibility, particularly if the Voynich Manuscript was made near Milan from 1432 onwards.

I’ve spent some time recently revisiting the Voynich Manuscript’s labelese, as well as its Pisces zodiac roundel page, and thinking about how that might relate to February. However, making all of these parallel strands “land” at the same time has proved difficult: even if the zodiac labels are some kind of cisiojanus “syllable soup”, we still have many practical problems linking everything together into one solid decryption.

Still, having now spent some time putting February’s “Bri pur bla sus” saint’s days and festivals under the microscope, it’s becoming apparent that many of these Christian saints were martyred virgins: and so perhaps the whole notion of oddly-angelic naked nymphs isn’t as far away from the subject matter as you might at first think.

Moreover, having thought about the really important feast days associated with men, I’m coming round to the idea that perhaps these may be connected to the few “male nymphs”. I’m thinking specifically about whether the beardy breastless nymph below might be connected with February 22nd, Cathedra Petri [the Feast of St Peter’s Seat].

So I’m now coming round to wonder: if the (relatively few) male nymphs in the zodiac section are broadly linked to specifically male feast days, might we be able to use them to reconstruct the nymph numbering? (i.e. which nymph is linked with which day.)

But before launching into that, I thought it would be good to see what people had previously posted on this general topic.

Notes on Nymph Numbering

D’Imperio mentions (3.3.3) that Peterson noted that some of the nymphs might be male: but doesn’t seem to mention trying to reconstruct the correct order of the nymphs.

Going through the voynich.net archives reveals various observations:

  • Rene Z [15 Aug 1997]: “The nymphs were drawn from the inside ring outwards, with the text added either immediately or afterwards. I think there are two possibilities for the order: either starting near 00:00 and going clockwise or starting near 09:00 and going against the clock, this from observing where the nymphs are more cramped together (especially the inner circle of Sagittarius).”
  • Rene Z [15 Aug 1997] “There is one nymph in Gemini without a label. I would favour the idea that this was a simple oversight. There is also one nymph without a star somewhere…”
  • John Grove [05 Oct 1997]: “In the June and December pages, the first nymph outside the circle has a ‘carpet’ under her feet. If you read the calendar from the inside out (as I have had a tendancy to do), these two nymphs occur 5 (for June) and 4 (for December) — days? — before the end of the zodiac month.”
  • Rene Z [1 Oct 1998]: “In the zodiac section, the standing nymphs all have their right hands either pointing backwards or placed on their hips.”
  • Rene Z [18 Jan 1999]: “About 1 out of 6 of the standing nymphs have their hand pointing behind them, not on the hip. But for nine-pointed stars this fraction is zero. I checked that the probability of this is 0.02 if this was just due to chance.”

One thread also suggested looking here at a woodcut in: Paul Heitz (Hg.), Einblattdrucke des 15. Jh., Bd. 18: Richard Schmidbauer, Einzel-Formschnitte des 15. Jh. in der Staats-, Kreis- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg, Straßburg 1909, Taf. 9. Wilhelm Ludwig Schreiber, Handbuch der Holz- und Metallschnitte des XV. Jh., Leipzig 1925-1930, Nr. 1883a. However, Google Books didn’t seem to have a copy of this, alas.

I also found a VoynichViews blog post that highlighted a specific Sagittarius nymph holding her star downwards.

Please feel free to point me towards any posts that specifically discuss issues around determining / reconstructing the correct order of the Voynich zodiac nymphs, because (for example) I had no luck finding anything on voynich.ninja.

However, most of the interesting thoughts on the (old) list were in a single 1999 post by Jorge Stolfi: he wondered if he could discern any visual clues that signalled which was the first nymph of each zodiac page. So I decided to copy the whole post here as a section in its own right…

Jorge Stolfi’s thoughts [21 Jan 1999]

(Here’s what Jorge Stolfi posted on the subject of nymph numbering back in 1999):

Yesterday I thought that those nymphs might mark the starting point
for reading each ring of stars. Now that I have looked at those cases
with some care I am not so sure. Anyway, here are the cases that I
could see:

70v2 Pisces

 There is one nymph with both arms raised at 00:15 in
 the inner band.

 I would say that this is the most likely starting point for
 the inner star sequence, which runs clockwise (agreeing with
 the text). Thus I think that the inner parade begins with
 Miss Otalar (stretched arm), and ends with Miss Otaral
 (facing clockwise)

 This is another anomaly of Pisces, since in the
 other diagrams the starting point seems to be around 10:30. I
 suppose tha the last nymph at 11:30 was reversed so that it
 would face the "honor spot" at noon.

 The starting point of the outer band is not so obvious. I
 would say it is near the top, too, but it could be before,
 after, or in the middle of the four "baby" nymphs.

f70v1 Aries “dark”

 Here all nymphs have the right hand on the hip; several have
 the left hand down too. My guess for the starting point is at
 10:30 in both bands, i.e. Miss Otalchy (the Tar Am Dy) and
 Miss Okoly. Note that they (and only they) are holding their
 high enough to intrude into the surrounding text ring.
 Moreover Miss Okoly is wearing a striped sleeve (or
 whatever).

 Note again that the label at 06:00 is not obviously
 associated with any star, so it must be attached to one of
 the nymphs. I would say that, going clockwise, each label is
 associated with the preceding nymph.

f71r Aries light

 Here all nymphs have the same pose: right arm
 on the hip, left arm up and holding the star.
 The stars have no tails, except for the outer 04:30
 one that has a very short one.

 The starting point for each text ring is clearly marked by
 the "notched square" device, which occurs in other cosmo
 diagrams, presumably with the same function.

 As I argued in my previous message, this is the zodiac page
 with the most "primitive" style.

f71v Taurus “light”

 Here too all nymphs have the same pose. I see no obvious
 "start" marker for the nymphs, except perhaps for the
 decorated dustbin of Miss Otalody, the inner nymph at 00:00.

 However the outer text ring has a wider gap at 10:30 (the
 "standard" starting place), with a centered dot which may be
 the last vestige of the notched square symbol.

 To my eyes, the style of this page is only a bit less primitive than that
 of f71r.

f72r1 Taurus “dark”

 The outer nymph at 02:30 has her right arm stretched back and
 down; all the others have the right hand on the hip or inside
 the dustbins.

 There are no obviosu start markers that I can see, but the
 reproduction I have is unreadable around 03:00. There is
 anextra wide gap in the inner parade around 10:30, but that
 may be a consequence of the "cigarette hole" and its visual
 pun. Other plausible candidates are the nymphs at 00:00, Miss
 Otchoshy and Miss Oaiin Ar-Ary.

 I would say that the figures on the outer band of this
 diagram are the first attempts by the artist at drawing
 full-body naked women.

f72r2 Gemini

 My copy is almost illegible. I can see on the outer band one
 naked nymph at 10:30, Miss Okar-Aldy, with the right arm
 stretched out. That seems to be the "standard" starting
 position in several other diagrams.

 Most of the other nymphs have the right hand on the hip. Some
 have the right arm back and down, bent or straight, but it is
 questionable whether this pose is significantly different
 from hand-on-hip. The extreme case is the figure at 06:30 on
 the outer band, Miss (or Master?) Otarar (dressed, standing
 on an horizontal tube); the first of four dressed figures.
 Miss Ofchdamy, the first of the five "extra" nymphs at the top,
 may be another significant exception, but her
 forearm is not visible on my copy.

f72r3 Cancer

The outer nymph at 11:00, miss Otchy(?)-Daiin, has the right
arm stretched back and down at 45 degrees. She may well be the
leader of that band; there is a wide gap between her and the 
preceding nymph at 09:30.

I cannot see any other nymph with stretched right arm, but 
half of the nymphs are just faint blurs on my copy. 

f72v3 Leo

I see two ladies with the right arm stretched back and down at
45 degrees, bot on the inner band: Miss Oky at 11:30,
and Miss Oteeod(?) at 06:15.  

There is no obvious starting point, but the diagram is 
cut by multiple creases between 07:00 and 10:30, which seems
a natural place to start.

f72v2 Virgo

This seems to be a very complicated month astronomically 8-)
There are many nymphs in new and strange poses, and even a freak
reappearance of the dustbin (shallow, with "cutaway" edge).

I can see several nymphs with the right arm stretched back and
down at 45 degrees.  In the outer band there are Opaiin at 08:30,
and Ofchdy-Sh. at 05:00.  In the inner band we have four consecutive
nymphs starting at 05:00 (Cheosy, Ofcheey, Yteedy, On-Aiin).

However we also have a nymph at 00:15, Miss Oeedy, with *both*
arms stretched back, and hands clasped behind her.  Three 
nymphs (outer Oeedey and Oeeo-Daiin at 10:30-10:45, inner
Oka*** at 10:30) are grasping their stars with both hands;
and inner Okeeom at 01:30 is almost doing the same.

f72v1 Libra

Miss Oteoly at 10:30 on the outer band (the "standard" starting
place), has the right arm stretched back and down. But so do
Miss Okeeoly at 01:00 and Miss Okal at 11:00.

In the inner band the nymphs are holding their right hand in
various positions near the hip; none seems to have a clearly
"stretched-out" arm. The one that comes closest is Miss Oko**y
at 03:30, but she is bending down to avoid the "cigarette
hole", and the hand position my be accidental. In any case
that hole would be a natural starting place for the inner band.

f73r Scorpio

Outer Misses Dolshey and Opaiin at 08:00-09:00 have outstretched
right arms. The latter is more exhuberant and holds a bigger
star.  09:00 could be a starting place in this case.

Ladies Shekal, Okeedy and Okedal at 05:00-06:30 outer band, 
have stretchde arms.  They cannot be all starting points...

In the ineer band, the stretched-arm ladies are Miss Chek and
Miss Kar (not their real names, I am sure 8-) Miss Kar, by the
way, is the one who was involved in the cigarette hole affair
with Taurus girl, as reported bove.

Outside the diagram, at the top, there are Miss Chockhy and 
Miss Yteeody; the latter may a full stop, hardly a start marker...

f73v Sagittarus

I see only three ladies with stretched arms here. In the outer
band we have Miss Ykeody at 02:00 and Miss Okeody at 10:00; the
latter may well be the band leader. In the inner band I see only
Miss Otal at 03:00.

As previously mentioned, I’ve been grinding my way through the Cisiojanus entries for February (mainly from the Usuarium website). However, it turns out that there is far less variation than I supposed. For example, “Ig” (on the 1st February) appears in only a single missal (FR Noyon 1541, Missale Noviomense). And even though St Walburga is listed in some volkskalenders, I haven’t seen “Wal” appear in an single Cisiojanus mnemonic for February 25th. And finally, many of what I first thought were variants are actually nothing more than transcription errors.

Anyway, here’s my current list for February circa 1400-1450:

1Bri / IgSt Brigid of Ireland (v)
2Pur*Purificatio Mariae
3BlaSt Blaise (Blasius)
4Sus
5AgSt Agatha (v)
6Ath / At / DorSt Dorothea (v)
7Fe
8BruBruno of Querfurt, Archbishop in Prussia
9O / ApSt Apollonia (v)
10ScoSt Scholastica (v)
11Las / La
12Ti / Sti
13Ca
14Val / VaSt Valentine (yes, that St Valentine)
15Ent / Lent
16Lu / In / JuSt Juliana of Nicomedia
17Li / Ly
18ConSt Concordia
19Iun / Jun
20Ge
21Tu[n]c
22Pet / Pe*Cathedra Petri (St Peter’s Chair)
23Ru[m] / Tru[m]*[vigilia]
24Mat / Ma*St Matthias, Apostle
25ThiSt Walburga (v)  
26Am
27In
28De / Te

Note that the four starred days are the ones I’ve seen written in red on some (but not all) calendars: most have only one or two red days.

My original plan was to compare these mnemonic syllables with the labels for the Voynich Manuscript’s f70v2. However, this simply doesn’t seem to go anywhere. I’ve tried to line up ot/ok in labels with male saints vs female saints, or with virgin martyrs, but nothing seems to match.

I’ve also looked for (more traditional Art History) subject matches (e.g. St. Apollonia is associated with toothache, St Brigid with protection, blacksmithing, livestock, dairy, etc) in the “nymph” drawings, but so far have found zilch. [The outer ring ‘nymph’ at around 4 o’clock appears to have a beard and no breasts so I’d guess is male, but might he be St Peter? It’s not a very convincing argument, I cannot deny it.]

I’ve also been thinking about this with reference to the Volkskalender B family of manuscripts I discussed here many years ago. For example, BSB Cgm 28, or St Gallen Cod. Sang. 760, or Zurich Ms C. 54 [which has a Cisiojanus column], Pal. Germ. 291, and so on. But this too feels like it’s a busted flush: computus aside (calculating Easter), there’s really not a lot to work with there, calendar-wise.

What’s Left?

My “Attack the Fish!” post mentioned Fribourg Ms L. 309, which inspired commenter Peter Moesli to look beyond the calendar page in that manuscript. He found a health tip for February there: “Beware of the cold and do not wash your head or cut your hair“.

All I feel I currently have left is wondering whether this health tip is broadly the type of ‘secret’ we should be looking for as a possible text match for the rings of the zodiac pages. The Pisces page, for example, has three circular rings, which would amount to roughly 5/6 lines of text. So if these rings are where the actual ‘payload’ is located, it’s surely not a very big payload.

Bah.

In a comment to my last post, I remarked that I suspect the labels on the pages with the zodiac roundels might be verbosely-enciphered syllables of a cisiojanus mnemonic. As an example of how this might work, I expanded out “cisiojanus epi sibi vendicat”: unfortunately, this was for January, and January was (circa 1400-1450) associated with Aquarius, which – along with Capricorn – is one of the two zodiac signs that were (probably) removed from the Voynich Manuscript, alas.

Consequently I need to pick a different target. Hence my plan is to Attack The Fish! (i.e. Pisces, f70v2)

So, what I’ll be doing over the next few days / weeks (though I sincerely hope not months) is exploring the world of Cisiojanus through a fishy February lens. This will involve understanding the saints, syllables, languages, traditions etc. For example, February 1st celebrates St Brigide v. [“v.” = virginis], February 2nd is Purificatio Marie (this is Candlemas, celebrated 40 days after Christmas, which is the day Mary went to the Temple in Jerusalem to be purified, following Jewish law), 5th is for St Agatha, 9th for St Appolonia, and so on.

For anyone wanting to come along for the ride, here’s a link to February from (arguably) the nearest example of an astronomical calendar we have, i.e. the “Astronomical medical calendar in German (Studio of Diebolt Lauber at Hagenau, about 1430 – 1450)“. I haven’t yet read Rosy Schilling’s work on this, but I plan to do this very shortly. Similarly, here’s a cisiojanus column in a volkskalender February from Fribourg MS L. 309, another nice manuscript I’ve previously linked to here. There will be more, many more!

Just so you know, it’s easy to Google web pages with February cisiojanus manuscripts. This is because they typically start “bri pur blasus…” or “bri pur bla sus”. One exceptional source for liturgical calendar stuff is the Usuarium (here’s its page for February), which I hadn’t seen before today.

One of the enduring mysteries of the Voynich Manuscript’s enigmatic “Voynichese” script is that it varies. Not content with having two full-blown ‘languages’/’dialects’ (known as Currier A and Currier B), the way Voynichese ‘behaves’ on a glyph-level, word-level, line-level, paragraph-level, page-level and even section-level varies in many, many other ways (e.g. LAAFU etc).

This pervasive variability is an easy spanner to throw in the works of the kind of ‘simple [universal] explanation’ that gets periodically churned up for Voynichese – you know, mirrored High German, etc. No natural language structure could explain this variability – languages are stubbornly historical and offer students challenges on many levels, for sure, but Voynichese is just something else.

One of the many Voynichese variations is “labelese”: these are short words or phrases that appear to be attached to labels on complicated diagrams (normally with astronomical or zodiacal content, as per the dominant interpretation). Complicating the issue is that labelese can be juxtaposed with non-labelese, such as with this image from the “Aries” (f71r) page:

Here you can see some normal-looking (continuous) Voynichese (on the curved lines of text), together with some shorter labels (in EVA: okldam, oteoaldy, and oteolar). And you might possibly speculate from this that the continuous-looking Voynichese might be normal Voynichese language, and that the labelese might be some kind of simplified subset of Voynichese.

The reason for suspecting a subset is that you almost never see labelese words starting with (EVA) qo- (which is a hugely popular pattern in Currier B – so almost no qok- words or qot- words). And you often see l- initial words in some Currier B (particularly in Q13), which we can see here (but never in Currier A).

But… look again at the image. The outer band of text here runs “okeeedy oky eey okeodar okeoky oteody oto otol oteeyar“. And the inner band of text runs “ockhchy oteesaey lcheotey okarody shs“. The way that so many of these words (both in the labels and the continuous curved text) start with ok- / ot- is more than a bit suspicious, hein?

In fact, you might go so far as to suggest that labelese’s ok- words seem to broadly correspond to (say) Q20’s qok- words (I think that the labelese ok-/ot- ratio is about the same as the Q20 qok-/qot- ratio, but I haven’t checked).

In Q20, y- initial words tend to be the first words in a line (suggesting that there is some clever bastard trickery going on with line-initial glyphs), but in labelese we see very few. Perhaps labelese might be trying to disguise where each individual set of labels start?

So my thought for today is simply this: might ok- be a kind of labelese-specific null? In which case the original text might have been continuous text, which was then divided into small label-sized chunks and had an ok- prepended to most of them.

What I infer from Prosper Thomson’s 1947 small ads:

  • Thomson sold his second-hand car business around May 1947
  • Thomson had a property in Belair that he sold around July 1947
  • Thomson bought 90a Moseley st (just) before 18 October 1947
  • Also: I see no sign that Thomson stopped renting 7 Main St, Henley Beach

The obvious question here is: who owned the 1939-built property in Alta-Mira crescent, Belair before Prosper Thomson?

This leads me to the most interesting pair of Adelaidean small ads of all, and they weren’t even placed by Thomson:

[25 Aug 1948] ELECT. eng, 50, many years’ exp., foreman, manager, contracts, maintenance, diploma “A” grade, Vic. licence, ex. refs. 7 Main st, Henley.

[27 Aug 1948] ELECT. eng., 50, many years’ exp., foreman, manager, contracts, maintenance, diploma “A” grade, Vic. licence, ex. refs. 7 Main st.. Henley.

Just so you know, according to 1947 (and 1948, and 1949) Sands and McDougall, 7 Main St Henley Beach was owned by “Miss R. Ward”.

Who was this Victoria-licensed electrical engineer living in 7 Main St, Henley Beach? Might he turn out to be the person who connects Prosper Thomson with Carl Webb? Over to you!

I’ve found two things that might possibly be connected. Firstly, this advert from 27 Jan 1948:

ELECTRICIAN seeks situation with accommodation for self and wife. Victorian licence and references. K267. Advertiser.

Secondly, there was an electrician called J. Girven living a few doors away (at 16 Main St, Henley Beach), who had previously (on 4 Jan 1947) placed this ad:

ELECTRICAL wireman wanted. Apply Girven, 16 Main st, Henley Beach. L8638.

Perhaps J. Girven had seen the 27 Jan 1948 ad, and had hired the Victorian electrician?

Now, it may be a bit of a stretch, but the K267 box was also used for an ad on 12 Oct 1948:

STRAYED, tan and white Pekinese pup from 1 Leicester av., Kilburn, Monday, 11th: good reward. K267. Advertiser.

And the same address (1 Leicester av., Kilburn) also came up exactly one other time in 10 Jan 1952:

DOHERTY.—On January 1 (suddenly), James “Len” Doherty, of 1 Leicester av., Kilburn, loved husband of Ivy, and loving father of Kathleen (Mrs. H. Armstrong), Maureen (Mrs. W. Badenoch), Agnes (Mrs. B. Baldock), Brian and Pat. Aged 52 years. Requiescat in pace.

Might this Victorian electrician have been James “Len” Doherty?

I enjoyed Pete Bowes’ most recent “bloodhound” post, but I was pretty sure I’d seen many, many more ads placed by Prosper McTaggart Thomson than he listed there. So I thought I’d have a go at compiling my own list. So… here are all the small ads I found for 1947 (including a single one from 1946).

Note that I assume we can tie all these addresses:

  • 200 Hindley St
  • 7 Main St, Henley Beach
  • “Robinvale”, Altamira Crescent, Belair
  • 90a Moseley St, Glenelg

…and all the various P.O. Boxes to Prosper Thomson. Do you agree?

Dec 1946

[18 Dec] HOUSE, will purchase for cash to £ 1,500, prefer hills district, vacant possession, can trade 1939 Ford V 8 sedan, as new, if reg., NSPR £310 Apply P. M. Thomson, G.P.O., Adelaide.

Jan 1947

[4 Jan] WANTED car, tourer, sedan. or rdst., reasonable order. £50 to £200, by ex-serviceman for business: consider buckboard. Full particulars as condition and price. Will inspect 50 mile radius Adelaide. Thomson, 7 Main st.. Henley Beach, after 1 pm, or Sunday.

[8 Jan] MODERN house, suit couple. Adelaide or hills, will exchange 1939 Ford V8 sedan. as new. NSPR £306. with extras, if required. Thomson, 7 Main st. Henley Bch.

[22 Jan] CAMERA Hertie F.4.5 lens, 5 speed shutter, takes 16 pictures on 127 film, small compact job, carrying case, films, exchange for crystal water set and fruit set. Thomson, 7 Main st., Henley Beach.

[22 Jan] UTILITY Bedford coupe front. 10 h p., 1939. NSPR £210, appearance as new, exchange for 8 to 14 h.p. car. 1938 or later. Thomson. 7 Main st.. Henley Beach.

[25 Jan] WANTED 10 to 14 h.p. car or utility, urgent, pay your price, cash, or take over terms. Home week-end, or inspect anywhere. Thomson. 7 Main st., Henley Beach.

[27 Jan] WANTED 10 to 14 h.p. car or utility, urgent, pay your price, cash or take over terms. Home week-end or inspect anywhere. Thomson, 7 Main St., Henley Beach.

Feb 1947

[1 Feb] MORRIS 10-h.p. 1940 saloon, series M, similar, as now being sold as 1947 models, for £635, previously owned by Melbourne doctor, exceptionally well kept. Just driven overland by me, averaged 38 m.p.gal., performed perfectly, NSPR £288 Exchange for larger sedan and cash diff. Thomson, 7 Main st., Henley Beach.

[12 Feb] WANTED urgently, car, suit city traveller, 8 to 14 h.p. preferred, consider larger car, utility, pay good price. Clinic Distributors. Box 1009J. G.P.O., Adelaide.

[12 Feb] CHEV. wanted. 1941 sedan, consider 1940. or similar car for taxi, pay your price for good job. Thomson. 7 Main st Henley Beach. Inspect anywhere.

[12 Feb] CAMERA. Foth 120, folding, f4.5, double anastigmat lens, 5 speed shutter, extra good, little used. £12/10/- cash. Thomson, 7 Main st, Henley

[15 Feb] WANTED, 1928 to 1932 American sedan, tourer or roadster, pay good price. Thomson, 7 Main st., Henley Beach, week-end.

[15 Feb] MANTEL 5-valve Mickey Mouse, good interstate performance, perfect order, modern plastic cabinet, cost £19/19/-. accept £14 cash. Thomson. 7 Main st, Henley.

[19 Feb] WANTED, 1928 to 1932 sedan tourer or roadster, good order, pay cash or take over terms. Thomson, 200 Hindley St.. Adelaide. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

[22 Feb] CAMERA, Kodak, folding. No. 2A, double lens, as new; sell or exchange for auto. .22 rifle. Thomson. 7 Main st, Henley Beach.

Mar 1947

[1 Mar] MORRIS 10 h.p. saloon. Series M. 1940. same cars now selling as 1947 models for £635. This car has Just been rebored, crankshaft ground, all bearings renewed, brakes relined. king pins replaced, and is definitely equal to new car and represents rare opportunity to acquire most popular sedan . Doing approx. 40 m.p. gal of petrol. We require large sedan or coupe, like Chev., Dodge or similar, suitable country traveller, on exchange basis. NSPR of Morris £298. genuine NSPR deal. See Mr. Thomson. Clinic Distributors. 200 Hindley st, business hours.

[1 Mar] WANTED, house or flat, furn, or unfurn., in hills or Blackwood d’st., business people. Thomson. Box 1009J. G.P.O., Adelaide.

[5 Mar] DODGE 1923 single seater, very good order mechanically, tyres as new, reg. 6 months.,NSPR £110, accept £85, ready drive anywhere. Thomson. 200 Hindley street.

[6 Mar] MORRIS 10 h.p. sedan. 1941, NSPR £309. Just rebored, overhauled, extent. £65. now as new. exchange for 8 to 14 h-p. utility or large car, suitable country traveller. Clinic Distributors. 200 Hindley St.

[8 Mar] WANTED, American tourer, rdstr, or sedan. Whippet. Rugby. Chev, similar. Consider utility. Pay cash. Inspect anywhere. Clinic Distributors, 200 Hindley

[8 Mar] ELECTRIC copper or washing machine. Inspect anywhere, pay cash. Thomson. Box 1009J, G.P.O.

[8 Mar] WANTED, car, any make or model, buckboard would do. £50 to £175 cash. Urgent, by discharged A.I.F. man. Thomson, Box 1009J, G.P.O.

[12 Mar] RIFLE. .22. auto, or repeater, pay cash or exchange Healing cycle, as new. Thomson, 200 Hindley st.

[13 Mar] RIFLE. .22 repeater or auto, in good order. Will inspect. Thomson. Box 1009J. G.P.O.

[14 Mar] GENT’S Healing cycle, cond. as new, tyres new, Eadie coaster new, price £18/18/-, accept £9/10/-. Thomson, 200 Hindley St.

[15 Mar] PARTNER for used car business, active or silent, good returns assured. £500 to £1,000, money under own control. I have city premises and 10 years experience in motor trade, stocks assured. Thomson. Box 1009J, G.P.O.

[15 Mar] RIFLE. .22 repeater or auto. In good order. Will inspect. Thomson. Box 1009J. G.P.O.

[19 Mar] MORRIS 10 h.p. saloon. 1941. extra good mechanically. NSPR £311, exchange tourer or utility. 1936. 8 to 14 b.p. Clinic Distributors 200 Hindley st.

[22 Mar] WANTED Morris 8/40 or similar, or utility, to 10 h.p.: pay your price, cash Thomson, ‘Robinvale,’ Altamira Crescent Belair. near Methodist Church.

[22 Mar] MAN to clean block and gardening. Thomson, Alta Mira Crescent, Belair, 2 doors from Methodist Church.

[26 Mar] WANTED urgently, tourer or roadster, by ex-serviceman, commencing business, utility will do, cash £75 to £150. Will inspect. McTaggart, Box 1009J. G.P.O.

[26 Mar] WANTED. Morris. Standard. Vaux, 8 to 14 h.p, car or prefer utility. Thomson. Alta Mira crescent. Belair. Inspect anywhere.

[29 Mar] WANTED urgently by ex-serviceman about commence business, car or buckboard, £50 to £150. Will call, pay cash. McTaggart, Box 953H. G.P.O. Adelaide.

[29 Mar] WANTED Bedford utility or similar make 8 10 14 h.p, 1937 to 1940; cash to £300. Thomson. Alta Mira cres, Belair. 2 doors from Methodist Church or letter to P.O. Belair.

[29 Mar] RIFLE, automatic. .22. as new; Healing gent’s cycle, unmarked, cost £16/10 accept £16 the lot. Thomson. Alta Mira crescent. Belair. 2 doors from Methodist Church.

Apr 1947

[5 Apr] WANTED, car or buckboard, cash, £50 to£200. Thomson, Alta Mira cres., Belair

[5 Apr] WOMAN for washing, cleaning, no children. Mrs Thomson, Robinvale, Alta Mira Cres., Belair

[5 Apr] STANDARD 10 h.p. 1938 tourer, new 3 tyres, hood, curtains, recently overhauled. NSPR £170. make clean swop for utility, 6 to 14 h.p. Thomson. Alta Mira crescent. Belair. 2 doors past Methodist Church.

[12 Apr] WANTED urgently by ex-serviceman, car, any make or model, reliable utility would do, cash, about £100 to £150. McTaggart. Box 953H. G.P.O., Adelaide.

[12 Apr] FORD A utility, factory built steel body, just reconditioned to extent of £65. new tyres. 6 wheel equip, NSPR £85. exchange outright or take car part payment. Thomson. Alta Mira cres, Belair. 2nd house from Methodist Church.

[19 Apr] WANTED car or buckboard, reas. order, any make suit traveller, cash £75 to £150. McTaggart. Box 953H. G.P.O.

[19 Apr] BEAN tourer, 14 h.p., 1928-30 series, sound mechanically, well shod, good hood, complete tools, instruct, book, rgd.; NSPR £179, accep: £135 cash. Thomson. Alta Mira Cres, Belair, 2nd house past Methodist Church. Sat. only.

[26 Apr] WANTED—Woman to do washing, cleaning, one day a week, no family. Mrs. Thomson, Alta Mira Crescent, Belair.

[26 Apr] MORRIS 8/40 utility, 1940, used privately. as new. NSPR £205. Exchange for car. 1938 or later on NSPR basis. Thomson. Alta Mira Crescent. Belair. 2nd house from Methodist Church.

[30 Apr] WANTED, building, suitable for garage business, city or suburbs. ex-AIF man, good references. Rent in advance. Thomson. Box 953H. G.P.O.

[30 Apr] WANTED urgently, any type or make car, going order, £75 to £150. Buckboard would do. I will inspect anywhere if give full details. Thomson. Box 953H, G.P.O., Adelaide.

May 1947

[7 May] GENTLEMAN, ex -2nd A.I.F., with 1940 Austin car. exper. traveller, collector, had own garage, business 5 years, good refs., any kind employment, perm, or casual, required urgent. Thomson, Box 953H, G.P.O.

[8 May] VACANT possession, all electric, jarrah 4 rooms, large louvred glass sleepout, modern kitchen and bathroom, large block, nicely laid out garden, definitely best position in Belair, 7 miles from G.P.O., 2 minutes Belair rly. Stn., built 1939. Require sedan car, 1938-46 model, suitable taxi, balance cash. Write Box 953H, G.P.O. for appoint.

[10 May] GENTLEMAN, ex-2nd A.I.F., with 1940 Austin car, exper. traveller, collector, had own garage, business 5 years, good refs, any kind employment, perm, or casual, required urgent. Thomson, Box 953H, G.P.O.

[17 May] VACANT pos., all-electric 5-roomed jarrah bungalow, condition as new, 2 minutes Belair rly. stn., 7 miles from city; car taken as part payment if desired. Write Box 953H. for appoint.

[24 May] WANTED urgently, car, any type, reasonable condition, utility would do, £75 to £150, inspect anywhere if full particulars given, spot cash. Thomson. Box 953H. G.P.O, Adelaide.

[28 May] WANTED desperately by ex-A.I.F. man, car, any type, for business, utility will do, can pay cash £75 to £200. Will inspect anywhere city or country, if full particulars given. Thomson. Box 953H, G.P.O., Adelaide.

[28 May] GENTLEMAN. ex-2nd A.I.F.. experienced traveller and collector, recently sold own business, have 1940 Austin car, seeks employment any kind, perm, or casual, good rels., sound financial position. Thomson. Box 953H. G.P.O., Adelaide

[31 May] WANTED, building, suit garage, workshop, city or subs.; pay ingoing or buy plant; urgent. Thomson. Box 953H. G.P.O., Adel.

[31 May] WANTED any make car. reasonable order, utility would do, cash to £150 or take over terms. Inspect anywhere. Full particulars to Thomson, Box 953H. G.P.O., Adelaide.

Jun 1947

[28 Jun] WANTED flat, or anything self-contained, will purchase contents if necessary or take short term basis, req. by 1/8/47 or sooner Thomson, Box 953H, G.P.O.

Jul 1947

[5 Jul] YOUNG man, ex-2nd A.I.F., experienced traveller, also experienced all sections of motor trade, recently disposed of garage business, own car, seeks position. Consider any type employment. Have good references. P. Thomson, Box 953H, G.P.O. Adelaide.

[22 Jul] FORD 10 h.p. sedan, 1937, new car appearance, 35 miles gallon, good tyres NSPR £155, exchange for car suitable taxi, adjust diff. cash. Thomson, Alta-Mira Cres., Belair, 2 doors from Methodist Church.

[26 Jul] FORD 10 h.p. Prefect, 1937-38 mid, 4-door sedan, camp seat, roomy luggage compartment, in new car condition. NSPR £155. exchange for car suitable taxi and pay cash diff. Thomson, “Robinvale,” Alta-Mira cres, Belair. 2 doors from Methodist Church.

Aug 1947

Sep 1947

Oct 1947

[18 Oct] WANTED 1946 or 1947 sedan, by ex-A.I.F. man for taxi, have permit, urgent. Thomson. 90a Moseley st. Glenelg. Phone X 3239.

Nov 1947

Dec 1947

While searching Gallica just now to try to see if Charles de la Ronciere had donated his personal papers to the Bibliotheque Nationale (TL;DR: I didn’t find anything, but maybe something is there), I noticed that it had a digital copy of (what was almost certainly) de la Ronciere’s last book, (1941) “Explorateurs et pionniers français“. I had a quick look: and was both surprised and delighted to find that it included (on pages 26-27) a section discussing his previous book.

Here’s my translation of these two interesting pages, followed by the original French (which doesn’t seem to be anywhere on the Internet). Enjoy!

My (free and easy) translation

The mysterious pirate: story of a hidden treasure in the Seychelles Islands.

“I would like to see a copy of The Clavicles of Solomon, to use its magical characters to help decipher a cryptogram left by a pirate.” This was the request made to the Bibliotheque Nationale by a reader from a distant region of Africa. She explained to me that, on a certain island in the Indian Ocean, in the Seychelles, one could see sculptures and rock engravings emerging from the waves during high tides, or from the ground when large trees fell, which corresponded to the signs in the cryptogram. Thus, a shape in the form of a monster’s eye appeared in this document; this same shape also appeared on M[auritius]. Near there, three bodies had been found, two of them with a gold ring on the left ear, pirate-style; the third was buried as if he had been stoned for having murdered his companions.

– “What language is the cryptogram in? I asked.

– It can be read in French.

– Do you have any idea of the name of the pirate who wrote it?

– None. Could you open an investigation into this?” asked the reader.

And so my investigation began. Was it plausible that a bandit would use a cryptogram? And was it admissible that he used a desert island as a ‘safe deposit box’? No doubt about it. In 1690, on his way to the Indian Ocean, a sea captain called Duquesne-Guitton on Ascension Island left inside a bottle – like a sort of Post Office – a list, in columns, of pounds, shillings and pence for one of his stashes (e.g. gold, 310 pounds, 10 shillings, 6 d): see the New French Dictionary of Father Charles Payot, on page 310, 10th line, 6th word.

It was also the habit of bandits to bury their loot in desert islands. The Golden Scarab by Edgar Poe is merely a fictionalized version, with a skull in a tree as a landmark, of the discovery made, in 1699, of the treasures buried on Gardiner Island by the pirate William Kidd, comprising bars of money, bags of gold and precious stones. Pirates buried their loot ten feet underground so that probes by spears and pertuisanes [?] could not detect it. Gold and precious stones were hidden by the sea; the money and what feared humidity were buried between two calabashes inside the desert island, in a very dry place. Remember this duality of the deposit. It will soon have considerable importance.

The history of French pirates in the Indian Ocean was far from banal!

A Provençal rogue by the name of Misson gained a singular fortune in the Comoros Islands. Wearing a gold-embroidered red coat of the royal princes, and a jewel-encrusted dagger on his belt, he had married the daughter of the Queen of Anjouan, with nails dyed red, eyebrows and eyelashes dyed blue. And with the help of the Anjouanese, he founded a republic of pirates. In the north of Madagascar, there is a deep bay to which a narrow neck gives access. On both sides of the Diégo-Suarez strait arose, under the direction of Misson, the strange city of Libertalia, where all the races formed one people, the Liberi. “Hsis High Excellence the conservative” is the title that Misson gave himself, as he directed its destinies, with the assistance of a Parliament, presided over by the defrocked Neapolitan priest Caraccioli. In this parliament, each group of voters, French, Portuguese, English, Dutch, Negroes or Arabs from the Comoros, appointed a delegate. The ships and sloops of the Libertalian Republic, commanded by the Englishman Thomas Tew, were armed half with blacks, half with whites. In 1705 and 1706, they stoked up trouble for our settlers on Bourbon Island (now known as Reunion). But this Babel of races shared the same the fate as the original Tower of Babel. The ships perished in a typhoon. Then, invading Libertalia at night, the Malagasy massacred the population. The republic of the bandits perished without leaving a trace.

The problem of the pirate who buried a fortune in the Seychelles Islands remained unsolved.

The small island of Sainte-Marie, just off the coast of Madagascar, was another pirate den. The virtuoso of the genre was a Calaisian, Olivier Le Vasseur, nicknamed La Buse. Among the ships he kidnapped was a Portuguese ship, coming from Goa, loaded with millions, which was bringing back to Portugal the viceroy of India and the archbishop of Goa. Diamonds were in abundance there, so much so that each of the bandits, of whom there were hundreds, received forty-two diamonds for their share. One thug, having received only one magnificent diamond, crushed it to have the same number of jewels as the others. This whole event took place in 1724. La Buse later dared to ask the governor of Bourbon Island (Reunion) for an amnesty, by returning some of the Archbishop of Goa’s sacred vases. His request was denied. Had he not kidnapped a ship from the Compagnie des Indes, to which Bourbon Island belonged? And in 1730 he atoned. Having been captured by a captain of the Compagnie, he was brought to Bourbon, then tried and hanged. Legend has it that when he went up to the gallows, he held out the cryptogram, saying: “To him who finds it.” La Buse, living on Sainte-Marie, no longer had the fruits of his plunders: he had therefore hidden them somewhere. And from 1724 to 1730, he had plenty of time to act. Back then, the Seychelles Islands were deserted: it was only in 1742 that Mahé de La Bourdonnais took possession of them.

Anyway, now listen to the rest of the story. My own investigation had led to my writing a book: “The Mysterious Filibuster: Story of a Hidden Treasure“. My friend Lenotre from the French Academy gave an excellent account of it in Le Temps, which by chance ended up being read in Cameroon by an islander from the Seychelles. The islander then sent his mother to me.

– “Could it have been that the treasure was found on our land? asked Mrs. D[…] She owns Silhouette Island in the Seychelles.

– No, Madam.

– I had, monsieur, another property on M[auritius], in Coëtivy. One day, a ship dropped anchor in the nearby cove…

– Anse des Forbans, I interrupted.

– The next day, it had disappeared. But instead of a sort of big pole-shaped rock, there was a big hole….

– Nine to ten feet deep.

– We could see at the bottom the traces left by two urns.

– Two water gourds, I interrupted again. And the bottom was very dry?

– Very dry.

– Well, madame, it was [probably] a pirate’s hiding place that was emptied, the kind of one that contained objects sensitive to humidity, such as silver or cashmeres, but what do I know?”

But then a conclusion was necessary. The habit of the bandits was to make two separate kinds of hiding places, where the gold and the precious stones would be buried close to the water’s edge: sculptures and rock engravings would be points of reference, although the coast has subsided since then and may well have buried these caches itself. May Madame S[avy] now detect their location, courtesy of the radiological dowsing of Abbot Mermet!

The original text

Le flibustier mystérieux : histoire d’un trésor caché aux îles Seychelles.

« Je voudrais voir les Clavicules de Salomon pour achever de déchiffrer, au moyen de ses caractères magiques, le cryptogramme laissé par un forban. » Telle était la demande formulée à la Bibliothèque Nationale par une lectrice venue d’une région lointaine de l’Afrique. Elle m’expliqua que, dans certaine île de l’Océan Indien, aux Seychelles, on voyait surgir du sein des flots, lors des grandes marées, ou du sol, lors de la chute de grands arbres, des sculptures at des gravures rupestres, qui correspondaient aux indications du cryptogramme. Ainsi, un œil du monstre était spécifié dans ce document ; et il existait dans l’île M… Près de là, on avait trouvé trois corps, deux d’entre eux ornés d’un anneau d’or à l’oreille gauche, selon l’habitude des forbans ; le dernier, enfoui, comme s’il avait été lapidé pour avoir assassiné ses compagnons.

« En quelle langue est le cryptogramme ? demandai-je.

                – Il se lit en français.

                – Avez-vous quelque idée du nom du forban qui l’a écrit ?

                – Aucune. Pourriez-vous ouvrir une enquête là-dessus ? » me demanda la lectrice.

                Et mon enquête commença. Était-il plausible qu’un forban usât d’un cryptogramme ? Et il était admissible qu’il prît pour coffre-fort une île déserte ? Aucun doute là-dessus. Dans le ventre d’une bouteille – qualifiée Bureau de la Poste – à l’île de l’Ascension, un capitaine de vaisseau, Duquesne-Guitton, en route pour l’océan Indien, laissait, en 1690, une liste, en colonnes, de livres sterling, de shillings et de pence à destination d’une de ses conserves. Or, 310 l. 10 s. 6 d. par exemple, devaient se lire ainsi : prenez le Dictionnaire nouveau français de Père Charles Payot, à la page 310, 10e ligne, 6e mot.

                C’était également l’habitude de forbans d’ensevelir leur butin dans des îles désertes. Le Scarabée d’or d’Edgar Poe n’est que l’histoire romancée, avec crâne dans un arbre comme repère, de la découverte faite, en 1699, des trésors enterrés dans l’île Gardiner par le pirate William Kidd, barres d’argent, sacs d’or et de pierreries. Les forbans ensevelissaient leur butin à 10 pieds du sol, afin que la sonde avec les lances et pertuisanes ne pût le déceler. L’or et les pierres précieuses étaient cachés au bord de la mer ; l’argent et ce qui craignait l’humidité étaient inhumés entre deux calebasses à l’intérieur de l’île déserte, dans un endroit très sec. Retenez bien cette dualité du dépôt. Elle aura tout à l’heure une importance considérable.

                L’histoire des forbans français de l’océan Indien n’avait rien de banal.

                Un forban provençal du nom de Misson avait eu, aux îles Comores, une singulière fortune. En habit rouge brodé d’or des princes royaux, le poignard incrusté des pierreries à la ceinture, il avait épousé la fille de la reine d’Anjouan, aux ongles teints en rouge, aux sourcils et aux cils teints de bleu. Et avec l’aide des Anjouanais, il avait fondé une république de forbans. Au nord de Madagascar, il est une baie profonde à laquelle donne accès un étroit goulet. Des deux côtés du goulet de Diégo-Suarez s’éleva, sous la direction de Misson, l’étrange cité de Libertalia, où toutes les races no formaient qu’un peuple, les Liberi. « Su Haute Excellent le conservateur », c’est le titre que se donnait Misson, en dirigeait les destinées, avec le concours d’un Parlement, présidé par le prêtre napolitain défroqué Caraccioli. Au Parlement, chaque décurie d’électeurs, Français, portugais, Anglais, Hollandais, Nègres ou Arabes des Comores, nommait un délégué. Vaisseaux et sloops de la république des Liberi, commandés par l’Anglais Thomas Tew, étaient armés moitié do Noirs, moitié de Blancs. Ils causèrent de l’iniquiétude, en 1705 et 1706, à nos colons de l’île Bourbon, l’île actuelle de la Réunion. Mais cette Babel de races eut le sort de la tour de Babel. Les vaisseaux périrent dans un typhon. Envahissant de nuit Libertalia, les Malgaches en massacrèrent la population, La république des forbans avait vécu sans laisser de traces.

                Le problème du flibustier qui aurait enseveli une fortune aux îles Seychelles, restait entier.

                La petite île Sainte-Marie, sur la côte de Madagascar, était un autre repaire de forbans. Le virtuose du genre tait un Calaisien, Olivier Le Vasseur, surnommé La Buse. Parmi les navires qu’il enleva se trouvait un vaisseau portugais, venant de Goa, chargé à millions, qui ramenait en Portugal de vice-roi de l’Indes et l’archevêque de Goa. Les diamants y étaient à foison, si bien que chacun des forbans, qui étaient des centaines, reçu quarante-deux diamants pour sa part. Une brute, n’en ayant touché qu’un, un diamant magnifique, le broya pour avoir le même nombre de joyaux que les autres. Le fait se passait en 1724. La Buse osa demander au gouverneur de l’île Bourbon (la Réunion) l’amnistie, en restituant quelques vases sacrés de l’archevêque de Goa. Il fut évincé. N’avait-il pas enlevé un navire de la Compagnie des Indes, dont relevait l’île Bourbon. Et en 1730, il expia. Cpturé par un capitaine de la Compagnie, il fut amené à Bourbon, jugé et pendu. Le légende veut qu’en montant au gibet, il aurait tendu le cryptogramme, en disant : « A celui qui trouvera. » la Buse, à Sainte-Marie, n’avait plus le fruit de ses rapines : il les avait donc cachées quelque part. Et de 1724 à 1730, il avait eu tout le temps d’agir. Les îles Seychelles étaient alors désertes. Ce n’est qu’en 1742 que Mahé de La Bourdonnais en prit possession.

                Écoutez la suite. De l’enquête à laquelle je m’étais livré, j’avais tiré un volume : le Flibustier mystérieux : histoire d’un trésor caché. Mon ami Lenotre, de l’Académie française, en fit, dans le Temps, un excellent compte rendu, qui tomba par hasard, au Cameroun, sous les yeux d’un insulaire des Seychelles. L’insulaire me dépêcha sa mère.

                – « Serait-ce chez nous que se trouve le trésor ? me demanda Mme D… Je possède, aux Seychelles, l’île Silhouette.

                – Non, madame.

                – J’avais, monsieur, une autre propriété dans l’île M…, à Coëtivy. Un jour, un navire jeta l’ancre dans l’anse voisine…

                – L’anse des Forbans, interrompis-je.

                – Le lendemain, il avait disparu. Mais à la place d’une sorte de grande perche, il y avait un grand trou….

                – De neuf à dix pieds de profondeur.

                – On voyait au fond la trace laissées par deux urnes.

                – Deux calebasses, interrompis-je encore. Et l’endroit était très sec ?

                – Très sec.

                – Eh bien, madame, c’est une cachette de forban qui a été vidée, celle qui contenait des objets craignent l’humidité, argent, cachemires, que sais-je ? »

                Mais alors s’imposait une conclusion, L’habitude des forbans étant de faire deux cachettes, l’or et les pierreries seraient biens ensevelis au bord de la mer : sculptures et gravures rupestres seraient bien des points de repère, encore que la côte se soit affaissée depuis lors et les ait souvent elles-mêmes ensevelies. Puisse madame S… déceler le gîte, grâce a la radiesthésie de l’abbé Mermet !

Here’s a guest post by Cipher Mysteries commenter Pat, who has been hot on the trail of Dorothy Jean Robertson in Trove. There are, of course, many different Dorothy Robertsons out there, but Pat thinks these refer to the Dorothy Jean Robertson who married Carl Webb (the Somerton Man).

So… here we go!

Yet Another Treasure Trove

A while ago I posted some Trove links of a Dorothy Robertson student at Mildura Central school. What follows is the evidence that she is our Dorothy. (I have capitalised the important names)

17 AUGUST 1927 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – GIRL GUIDES

GIRL GUIDES
An enrolment of Brownies of the First Mildura Pack (Church of England) took place at St. Margaret’s Parish hall last, Saturday week, Rev. Canon Horner opening the proceedings with prayer. Miss McWilliams 1 District Commissioner performed the enrolment ceremony, and Miss Gcocissor. (Drov.11 Ov.-ii and the First Meri.eii! Brownies were present.
Mirs Jr.hr.s’.on (Brown Owll and Mirs . Currey ‘Tav.-uy Qv;lk wove emrcVie-tl before- tho children. Tho children linishfu with fairy rings and grand r.alutc. The following children were carolled: Esther Nichols, Doreen Sarah, Eetiv litimmertGn, Irene Ijciich. Doreen Leach, Morle Dowlin, Enid Norman, Wilntit Halpin. Joan Halpia. Vaida Woods, Trixie Robertson and DOROTHY ROBERTSON.

10 DEC 1932 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – MILDURA CENTRAL

During the year, swimming certificates were gained as follow:—Senior swimming: Irvine Corbould, Allan Eagle, John Magnusson. Junior swimming, boys: Graeme Baker, Max Baker, John Carson, Ronald Carter, Irvine Corbould, Alan Blackwood, Robert Davidson, Allan Eagle, Harry Heme, Roy Hunter, John Magnusson, Ray Magnusson, Joseph McGinty, Douglas Noyce, Charles Scarff, Robert Styles, Ronald Stephens, George Risbey, Max Wilson, Keith Wood, Rowland Woodhead. Girls: Ivy Fleming, Ilma Jones, Mary Malloch, Lorna Thomson, Thelma Thornton, DOROTHY ROBERTSON.

15 DEC 1934 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – MILDURA CENTRAL

Grade 8 have satisfactorily completed the year’s work. At the merit certificate examination they were very successful, gaining 13 merits out of a possible 14, and one pupil still pending in mental arithmetic.

The following pupils were successful: Girls: Heather Carter, Mavis Feuton, DOROTHY ROBERTSON, Sylvia Surgey, Gladys Thomson. Boys: Kenneth Adamson, Edward Heaner, Ronald Simmonds, Edward Surgey, Colin Williams, John Young, Keith Dunn, Robert Chamberlain. A penny concert in aid of Junior Red Cross will be held on Monday afternoon.

21 DEC 1934 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – CENTRAL SCHOOL YEAR ENDS

SWIMMING CERTIFICATES
At the conclusion of the penny concert Mrs. Segnit, president of the Mothers’ Club, presented to the boys and girls the Merit Certificates obtained at the recent examination, and also the certificates for Education Department tests in swimming efficiency. Merit certificates.—Girls: Mavis Fenton. Heather Carter, Sylvia Surgey, DOROTHY ROBERTSON, Gladys Thomson.

4 JAN 1939 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – SOCIAL JOTTINGS

Miss DOROTHY ROBERTSON, of Melbourne, is the guest of Mrs. F. Hall, of Orange Avenue.

[Mrs. F. Hall is Florence Olivia Hall (nee Stratford), sister of Alice Robertson (nee Stratford), both daughters of Louisa Wilhelmina Stratford (nee Reither). Florence Olivia’s husband Ernest Clarence Hall died in 1917, hence Mrs. F. Hall.]

31 MARCH 1936 – FAMILY NOTICES

Births, Marriages, and Deaths
IN MEMORIAM.
STRATFORD — In loving memory of our dear mother, Louisa W. Stratford, who passed away on March 31, 1935. Sadly missed.
—Inserted by her loving family.
STRATFORD — ln sad and loving memory of our darling grandma, who passed away on March 31, 1935. Dearly loved and sadly missed.
—Inserted by her loving grandchildren. Trix. Pat and Dig. Hall

[Trix (Floris Jean), Pat (Patricia Doreen) and Dig (Clarence Charles) were the children of Florence Olivia Hall (nee Stratford) and Ernest Clarence Hall]

12 OCTOBER 1938 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – ENGAGEMENT

Engagement
The engagement is announced of Patricia Doreen, youngest daughter of Mrs. F. O. Hall, of Orange Avenue, and the late Mr. E. C. Hall, of St. Arnaud, to John Squire, youngest son of Mr. S. Johnson and the late Mrs. Johnson, of Ballarat.

4 JANUARY 1939 (SUNRAYSIA DAILY, MILDURA) NEW YEAR’S EVE DANCES

SERGEANTS’ MESS DANCE

Miss D. ROBERTSON
(Melbourne), white georgette

22 MARCH 1939 (SUNRAYSIA DAILY, MILDURA) – WOMEN’S AIMS & INTERESTS

The St. Patrick’s dance at Casa Loma was very enjoyable. I met MISS ROBERTSON there, who looked striking with the Romany tan make-up. She may be interviewed at Ramsay’s chemist’s shop, and will put you on the right track for making the most of your personal appearance.

19 APRIL 1939 (SUNRAYSIA DAILY, MILDURA) – DOUBLE WEDDING

Johnson—Hall
There was a floral setting in St. Margaret’s Church of England for the marriage of Patricia Dawn, youngest daughter of Mrs. F. O. Hall, of Orange Avenue, and the late Mr. E. E. Hall, of St. Arnaud, to John Squire, youngest son of Mr. S. Johnson and the late Mrs. Johnson, of Raglan Street, Ballarat.
Canon Horner officiated, and Mrs. A. G. Horner, who presided at the organ, played the “Bridal March” as the bride entered the church with her brother, Mr. Clarence Hall, who gave her away. During the signing of the register, MRS. J. C. ROBERTSON, of Melbourne (aunt of the bride), sang “Mate o’ Mine.”
The gown of French crepe, embroidered in silver, worn by the bride, moulded her slim figure and merged into a semi-train. The draped bodice was caught on the shoulders with silver knots, the long sleeves forming points over the hands. Over a filmy cloud of tulle billowed her exquisitely embroidered veil, which was hold by a halo of orange blossoms. She wore white satin and silver shoes, and carried a bouquet of carnations, gladioli, azaleas, and fern, tied with satin ribbon.
The bridesmades. Miss Trixie Hall (sister of the bride) and Miss Jean Dixon, carried bouquets of charm dahlias and carnations, the toning being reproduced in their frocks in two shades of cyclamen and mauve chiffon, making a delightful foil to the bride’s toilette. Picture hats in the same tonings and silver kid shoes completed their ensembles.
The best man was Mr. Alex. Grant, of Melbourne, and the groomsman Mr. Alex. Johnson, of Ballarat (brother of the bridegroom).
At the reception at the Grand Hotel the bride’s mother received the guests in a smart frock of vintage wool georgette, with gold accessories, and hat en suite. She carried a bouquet of autumn-tinted dahlias and maidenhair fern. Canon Homer presided. The usual toasts were musically honored, and many telegrams read. The honeymoon was spent at Lorne, the bride travelling in an imported frock of teal blue woollen, with small toque of prune felt, and prune accessories. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, who will make their home in Ballarat, were the recipients of many gifts.

{Mrs. J. C. Robertson, nee Alice Stratford)

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/268806209

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/268787718

13 APRIL 1940 (THE AGE, MELBOURNE) – ADVERTISING [this may or may not be her]

MISSING FRIENDS
MISS DOROTHY ROBERTSON, please call at 23 Union-st, Brunswick; Important news

15 MAY 1940 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – SOCIAL NOTES

Mrs. F. O. Hall, or Madden Avenue, left, this week for BALLARAT, where she will be the guest of Mr. and Mrs. J. Johnson.

8 DECEMBER 1920 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – BERRI IMPROVEMENTS

RAMSAY’S CHEMIST

Rumour says that the corner of Wilson Street and Vaughan Terrace will shortly be occupied by two handsome rows of shops. This block has lately changed hands.
Mr. A. M. RAMSAY, CHEMIST, will have possession of his double fronted shop in Vaughan Terrace by Christmas, and is considering extensions.

4 SEPTEMBER 1929 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA)

SAMPLE TINS OF PHOSPHATINE FOOD FREE TO MOTHERS
The following Chemists will be glad to hand you a sample tin of Phosphatine for your Baby:—MILDURA: A. J. Jenkins, H. P. Blackett, P. T. Stone W. It. Weir, A. RAMSEY, J. H. Smith. RED CLIFFS: J. M. Couve, E. J. Dean MERBEIN: G. H. Kendall, S. H. L. Harris. FAILlERES’ PHOSPHATINE Wholesale Agents: Joubert & Joubert Pty. Ltd., Melbourne

5 APRIL 1933 (SUNRAYISIA DAILY, MILDURA) – ADVERTISING

HOT Water Bags.—Moulded rubber, just arrived. Barnet Glass or Dunlop. Price 3/ each.—RAMSEY, CHEMIST, Eighth Street.

Given the solid dating of Jean-Marie Justin Nageon de l’Estang’s birth to 1776, I decided to revisit the issue of whether the “richesses de l’Indus” refers to an actual ship. We’ve already seen a brig called “Indus” captured by the French in 1782 (though full of rice rather than treasure). Additionally, Jean-Marie Justin’s reported death date of 1798 would appear to give us a latest possible date. So let’s look for ships called “Indus“, 1783-1798…

Indus (1792-1792) – Calcutta

According to Hackman (2001) [which I can’t currently buy a copy of, bah], this Indus was a ‘country ship’ (i.e. only allowed to sail the Indian Ocean as far as the Cape of Good Hope). It was built in Calcutta in 1792, and lost in the same year.

According to Lloyd’s List No. 2417 (10th July 1792) p.1, “The Indus, a country ship from Bengal, loaded with rice, is supposed to be lost“. So even though we have two similar lost ships called Indus, both were reportedly stuffed with rice rather than treasure. (That joke’s not going to get old for a good while yet, sorry.)

Indus (1789-1794) – Amsterdam

This Indus was built in Amsterdam for the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Nederlandsche Geoctroyeerde Oostindische Compagnie, helpfully abbreviated as “VOC”) and launched in 1789. It was rated at 1150 tons.

In the VOC archives, we can see various sailors and carpenters (such as Samuel Steenveld, Pieter Lohee, Samuel Erhard Frenckler, and Johan Friedrich Schmidt) on this Indus, leaving Amsterdam on 27 Aug 1790, arriving at the Cape of Good Hope on 05 Jan 1791, leaving there on 01 Feb 1790, arriving in Batavia on 20 May 1791.

The end of this Indus was when it burnt and sank in Batavia Roads in 1794. Frenckler is marked as “deceased” on 15 Sep 1794, and Lohee as “missing” on 23 Sep 1794, so I think it’s fairly likely that this Indus caught fire on 15 Sep 1794.

Industan (1796), Captain Lewis – Philadelphia

I first posted about this ship back in 2016: Auguste Toussaint mentioned it in his (1967) “La route des Iles: contribution à l’histoire maritime des Mascareignes”.

  • (p.306) 4th March 1796, the ‘navire’ “Industan” (Captain Louis) arrived from Philadelphia.
  • (p.262) 22nd August 1796, the American ‘vaisseau’ “Industan” (Captain Lewis) arrived from Pondicherry.

Annoyingly, newspapers.com only returns useful results if you search for “Indoftan” (rather than “Indostan”). The earliest mention there of “the Indiaman Indoftan” is from 9 May 1794 (with Captain Mackintofh, *sigh*). On 11 June 1796, the Captain of the brig Rose reports having seen the Indostan at Ile de France a couple of months earlier. The Indostan later arrived at Newport (Rhode Island) on 14 Jan 1797, having taken 96 days to get back from Ile de France, “and 55 days to the coast”. So this all seems to tie up nicely with Toussaint.

As I noted in 2016, we can see Captain Jacob Lewis’ ship selling its goods from March 1797 to May 1797, so this doesn’t really seem likely to be the “Indus” we’re looking for:

In 1805, we can see the Indostan, 22 guns, Capt. Lewis, still going strong as part of Ogden’s fleet, so it doesn’t seem to have been lost along the way. Incidentally, the USA received a stiff letter from France in 1805 complaining that:

Considering that it is notorious that the America of 32 guns, the Connecticut of 22, the Indostan of 14, and several other American vessels of that description, are not only engaged in that execrable commerce, but actually transport the arms and ammunition of Dessalines’ army from one port to another, thereby becoming the auxiliaries of the black rebels against France.

I’m guessing that this was the same Indostan, but it’s hard to be 100% sure.

Indostan privateer (-1797)

The Philadelphia Inquirer of 07 Oct 1797 p.3 included a colourful extract from the logbook of the brig Alexander, which had been boarded by the Mayflower privateer on 12 Sep 1797:

The captain of the privateer informed Captain Whelan [of the Alexander] that the Indostan privateer of 15 guns was run ashore in the gulf of Bahamia and totally lost ; crew and officers saved. The sloop of war that chased the privateer was from Cape Francois, and had on board Santhonax, who made his escape from the Cape. Santhonax arrived at the Havanna the 5th September and saluted the ships and town with 21 guns. It was reported he had brought with him one million of dollars. The cause of his retreat from the Cape was not made public ; but it was thought he made his escape from Toussaint.

The snow Cleopatra, captain Christie, picked up part, or the whole of the Indostan’s crew. The Cleopatra was from Cape Francois bound to the Havanna.

Note that the same page has an extract from Lloyd’s List of August 4-11, noting that the other Indostan (Captain Lewis) had arrived at Hamburg from Philadelphia: so this would seem to be an entirely different ship.

The Philadelphia Inquirer of 20 Nov 1797 p.3 mentions that “The Nassau (late Indostan), Merchant, of this port, was ready to sail for Batavia, under Danish colours“. This name then seems to have changed back to Indostan by the next year: The North American of 13 Sep 1798 p.1 mentions: “Died at Batavia, 20th April, capt. Merchant of the ship Indostan of Philadelphia“. A diary of a ship’s lad (Charles Francis Waldo) has been preserved in Salem: in 1802, he sailed from Boston in the ship “Indus” for Canton and Batavia. This was mentioned in “The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem“, pp. 327-329: perhaps this was the same Indostan, it’s hard to say.

Any progress here, Nick?

Pfffft, not really, it has to be said. I don’t really buy into either of the 1782 or 1792 Indus prize ships, both full of rice rather than treasure; the Dutch Indus seems to have caught fire in the safe Dutch port of Batavia; I don’t see how it could have been Captain Jacob Lewis’ Indostan; and the privateer Indostan was in the wrong ocean completely.

I’m now wondering whether all the ‘action’ might have taken place after 1800. Is there any primary evidence that Jean-Marie Justin Nageon de l’Estang died on 09 May 1798? There’s an entry claiming this on ancestry.com (mentioned here), but my subscription has run out so cannot check it. 🙁