In one of the French versions of his memoirs, Graffenried attached a copy of a letter he had written on 6 May 1711 to "Gentlemen" who were probably his associates in Bern, Switzerland. In a postscript he tells that he had become very despondent about the situation in "Carolina" but he relates an incident which gave him a little hope:
"There came up to me from the sea a little old Englishman, to sell me oysters. He inquired for F. Michel, but since he was not present any more and understanding that we were good friends he wanted to show me something that probably would be acceptable to me. He said he had, sometime ago, traveled with F. Michel and the Governor of Virginia, to look for mines; but he knew of a better and richer one, and in that connection, he could tell me all the circumstances of F. Michel's trip. It agreed well with what I already knew very well. Although before this I had entirely discounted Squire Michel's affairs, I saw by this there were nevertheless realities. Now according to this report I have some hope. May the Most High, who through his inexpressible kindness had created so many things for the good of men, give his blessing to it, and give to us the grace not to misuse his benefits, but to praise him for all.""This mine, the little man indicated to me is a gold mine in Virginia, while F. Michel's is a silver mine in Pennsylvania; and this gold mine is said by report to be eight days out from here, while the other is more than fourteen days from Philadelphia. At the discovery of this nearer and better mine F. Michel was not present, but Governor Nicholson of Virginia was. In the matter of the gold, the Governor would let neither him nor any one else know and also forbade him to tell anyone of it. In the meantime, the Governor looked about for a man expert in such things. He found one also, who, on test, found it very rich. They were already making arrangements to put it into operation, but soon after, the mining master or chemist died. Some time after this a disturbance rose in Virginia, the Governor was called to New England to take the government of the same, and he is actually at this time in a notable expedition against the French in Canada, has also taken Fort Royal, and so this mine has disappeared with him and this mining operation is suspended."
........."The mine referred to is not more than twenty or thirty miles from the land which the Queen gave us. This in secret; we could take a piece of land further up, and so we could also take possession of the mine, reserving of course the Queen's share for her. I considered it advisable to interest the present Governor in this in order that he might help us."
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.