I had this posted in another section someplace!
In 1973-74 I ran a diving shop in Toronto. One of my customers was into treasure hunting, and knowing that I lived up near lake simcoe, he asked me if I would like to give it a try on a spot he heard about. Soldiers bay is a spot on the Holland river where a marina is located. At that time the East shore was simply a farm field. According to the records he searched, during the war of 1812 a bateau (small barge) was tied to a large willow tree on soldiers bay. The bateau was bound for Big Bay Point, the jumping off spot to willow creek, Georgian bay, and north to the fort at michilimacinac(sp?) It caught fire and there was an explosion (black powder and muskets were also being hauled) The record said along with the muskets and powder was the 'soldiers pay' supposedly in an iron box on board. We found a old wagon rut trail (large trees now growing up in the middle of it) and followed it to a depression near the waters edge My friend had two detectors with him, a hand held conventional unit, and a thing he called a metritech(sp?) which consisted of a 6 foot pole with a transmitter on one end, and the receiver on the other. He said it would detect down to about 25 feet.. We found a lapstrake boat held together with squared copper nails under the mud, and dug through the hull because we were getting a stronger signal below the wood.. digging down about 12 inches, we found a wooden box and retrieved it. There was a signal from the box, and it was heavy.. We pulled it apart, and it was full of concrete (obviously a makeshift anchor) there was a sold signal coming from the concrete so I bashed it with a rock ,and out rolled a cannon ball.. The large detector was picking up a weak signal of a large mass of metal just off shore (all mud) so there was something definitely down there. Unfortunately, it would have taken, days, a cofferdam and mud pumps, to get down, and that was a much bigger operation than we were capable of undertaking.. Bob, my friend, has since passed away, but I was always fascinated by the things he found, from Spanish silver to other coins and artefact's. My wife and I visited him several times after he and his wife Bev. had moved to Nova Scotia. Some of the stuff he found, and where he found it was absolutely fascinating. Now, over thirty years later, I have a MD.. My wife bought be one for Christmas this year.. A bounty hunter 2200 .. Maybe not the best, but now I can't wait for the ground to thaw and get out there.. Thanks Bob, rest in piece old friend... I've been waiting 30 years for this, and I suppose I can wait a few more months.....
Any stories,anybody?H.H.
