Pulaski,NY and Toussaint's Lost Gold

"The Salmon River [connected to the east end of Lake Ontario] in Central New York has much scenic beauty and a great variety of fish.... In the year 1716 the only inhabitants of the area were Native Americans and a few trappers and traders. Marc Toussaint was one such man. Born in Montreal, he was one of a family of trappers and loggers who were part Mic-Mac, or perhaps Oneida Indian. He was not averse to stealing from the traps of others, and since this crime was difficult to detect, he always got away. Toussaint was getting rich fast. He soon amassed a small fortune that equaled $6,000,000 by present day measures. He even had a secret forge and molding operation at which he remolded his bullion into blocks he could carry and manage best. In all, his total in gold bars was 30."

            Legend had it that as Toussaint was headed toward Montreal, taking with him half his booty. He approached a section of the Salmon River known as "the Black Hole" and was pulled under, never to be seen again.

Good News, Bad news.
 The Black hole has alot of lore surrounding it but w/o cause. I have personally dredged all the way to bedrock in the hole. Found plenty of good coins, jewelry and even a couple of indian heads. But alas, not bars!
Next!

Hmmmmm.....then it seems you need to backtrack on Toussaint's trail and see where he buried that gold before he hit the Black Hole......

Maybe someone should ask the elders of the Oneida nation if they know of any "treasure" stories.

Odds are they won't tell you if you aren't a nation member, but perhaps they'll bend the stories into a good campfire tale appropriate for everyone.

Native American storytellers are often spellbinding and even if the tales aren't true...it's time well spent listening.

I dont know about the "black hole"... but there are a few holes there where I've pulled my fair share of salmon!  That area is awesome, great scenery, great fishing... lots of lore and adventure.

I shoulda been detecting instead of fishing. 

just because Toussaint went down in the black hole dosen't mean his gold did. Could be his gold was attached to his canoe, the preferred mode of travel in the day, and was swept downstream somewhere. Thats where I'd start my search, from the notorious "Black Hole" down stream. I would also look for old maps showing the course of the river at that approximate time. ;)

Well Jim, if you or anyone else for that matter wants to bring along their detector next time I can put you into some very good ghost town hunts.
 As far as that river goes, it is rough but if the story were verifiable it would take a long time to hunt. The bottom turns turtle bad and the gold would end up stuffed in a crevice. Not to say it might not be found, but it would take some time. Metal detectors wouldn't work here either.

Well Jim, if you or anyone else for that matter wants to bring along their detector next time I can put you into some very good ghost town hunts.
 As far as that river goes, it is rough but if the story were verifiable it would take a long time to hunt. The bottom turns turtle bad and the gold would end up stuffed in a crevice. Not to say it might not be found, but it would take some time. Metal detectors wouldn't work here either.

Although now in Montana (for 11 years) I am from Rochester originally.  I also spent 13 years living in Rome with the Air Force.  Upstate NY is a wonderful place... I miss it terribly! I was then an avid fisherman and haunted the Salmon River... all points north and West of Rome to include the walleye on Oneida and the bass everyplace else. At that time for me metal detecting was an afterthought and I did very little of it because it would have interfeared with my fishing. Now, I have regrets about not exploiting the area for treasure hunting.

The Black Hole is off of Lake St, very close to downtown and just above the Fly Fishing only area.  Its a nice pool, fish stack there.  So do the fishermen in the chilly Fall waters... Their wet, shriveled hands trying to land that 40lbs King would be idea for lost rings...