When Graffenried wrote his "memoirs" after the American adventures were ended, he told of his views toward the mines at that time.
In the German version, he wrote:
"My hair raises when I think how many families were deceived, especially so many families of miners, who, building upon a formal contract, left their Fatherland, traveled at great expense to America and now met neither [Michel] nor any one else who showed them the purported mines. I must now cease to speak of this disagreeable matter, otherwise I should bury myself so deeply in it that there would not be room enough for other things, for this is really not my purpose."
In one of the French versions, we have longer comments:
"It is to be remarked here that [Michel] has thoroughly duped people by his fine and persuasive accounts of having found such rich mines; and if I have also gone into the snare it was easy to entrap me, being a stranger in these parts. My foundation was this: First, I hardly thought a man of his rank, and a fellow countryman besides, capable of such tricks. Second, the mineral which he had shown, having been tested, was found very good. Third, the oaths that he took. Fourth, the patents which he asked of the Queen of England for this purpose, a very bold trick. Fifth, since so many persons from Pennsylvania and other provinces having made the journey openly, with the permission of the neighboring governors for the discovery of these mines, there appeared something real in the affair. Sixth, among others who had interested themselves in it, were a merchant of Pennsylvania a very shrewd man and no longer young, a skillful goldsmith and other persons who ought to know the country thereabouts well. Seeing that these persons of ability living in those places, risked considerable sums, I could not think that they had not taken all security and precautions. Seventh, we made a formal agreement with some German miners to carry on the whole thing. [Michel] made a voyage to Holland to confer with the chief of the miners [that is, Albrecht] who was to prepare all the tools and supplies necessary for this enterprise, the cost of which was nearly one thousand ecus in silver. Eighth, Mr. Penn, Proprietor of Pennsylvania made a contract with us, having thorough knowledge of all. He favored us very much in this regard, even made [Michel] director-general of all the minerals in the province. Who after so many such proceedings would doubt the reality of the thing? There could be made a whole history of this farce, and a rather funny one; but I am sorry for the poor miners who have left the certain thing they had in Germany to go to find the uncertain in America. In place of a good vocation that they had, they have nothing at present except what they can gain from some cleared land where they are obliged to live very modestly. The mining master was even arrested with all his clothes and tools by the ambassador of the [Holy Roman] Emperor and would have been in danger of a grave punishment, even of his life, if the English ambassador had not found means to liberate him."
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.