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''Le Griffon'' ((:lə ɡʁifɔ̃), ''The Griffin'') was a 17th-century sailing ship built by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in his quest to find the Northwest Passage to China and Japan. ''Le Griffon'' was constructed and launched at or near Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River as a seven-cannon, 45-ton barque. La Salle and Father Louis Hennepin set out on ''Le Griffon's'' maiden voyage on August 7, 1679 with a crew of 32, sailing across Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan through uncharted waters that only canoes had previously explored. La Salle disembarked and on September 18 sent the ship back toward Niagara. On its return trip from Green Bay, Wisconsin, it vanished with all six crew members and a load of furs. In late December of 2014, treasure hunting divers Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe alerted media outlets that they found indisputable proof of ''Le Griffons location. They happened upon the wreckage while searching the floor of Lake Michigan for Confederate gold. Evidently, they spotted the wreck in 2011, but waited until 2014 to reveal the discovery of what some call the "holy grail" of Great Lakes shipwrecks while they consulted experts. There are "no cables, no cabin, and no smokestacks," no mechanical devices of any kind, and a carving on the front of the ship strongly resembles 17th-century French carvings of griffins, Dykstra says. On January 2, 2015, Frederick Monroe told an interviewer for public radio that he believed ''Le Griffon'' was built in Canada, below Niagara Falls, and brought to the upper Great Lakes. He went on to say that the wreck is "the one that got in the way." Monroe and Dykstra are the only ones who know the exact location of the wreck. They will be more forthcoming with that information when the environment to protect it is secured to their satisfaction. Prior to this, wreckage from the ''Le Griffon'' was thought to have possibly been located near Fairport, Michigan by US wreck diver Steve Libert in 2004. Since then, ownership of the potential remains has been the subject of lawsuits involving the discoverers, the state of Michigan, the U.S. federal government and the government of France. Some scientists concluded it was a bowsprit detached from a ship dating hundreds of years old, while others believe it is a 19th-century pound net (fishing) stake.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Interlochen Public Radio )〕 ==Historical context== ''Le Griffon'' was the first full-sized sailing ship on the upper Great Lakes of North America and she led the way to modern commercial shipping in that part of the world. Historian J. B. Mansfield reported that this "excited the deepest emotions of the Indian tribes, then occupying the shores of these inland waters".〔 French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, sought a Northwest Passage to China and Japan to extend France's trade. Creating a fur trade monopoly with the Native Americans would finance his quest and building ''Le Griffon'' was an "essential link in the scheme". While work continued on ''Le Griffon'' in the spring of 1679 as soon as the ice began to break up along the shores of Lake Erie, La Salle sent out men from Fort Frontenac in 15 canoes laden with supplies and merchandise to trade with the Illinois for furs at the trading posts of the upper Huron and Michigan Lakes.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Le Griffon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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