Long-Lost Pirate Treasure: Does It Belong to You?

All of our Mail Order Mysteries are a blend of fact and fiction. This allows us to create a window of sorts, where a child’s Mail Order Mystery opens into a larger mystery, which can then send the imagination sparking in all directions.

The story of the Treasure Hunt mystery, for example, is based on two real-life pirates and one genuine treasure. The pirates are Bernard Nageon L’Estang, aka “Booty Man”, and Olivier “La Buse” Lavasseuer, both of whom have ancient connections to a mysterious missing treasure in the Seychelles Islands.

Treasure Hunters have been searching for this treasure for years: they have solved puzzles based on Greek myths, located a hidden staircase in an underground cave, found a small metal door in a sea cave that can only be opened twice a year when tides are low…

Now it is obvious to us that this treasure once belonged to your child’s pirate ancestor and if it is found - by which we mean when it is found - it will surely belong to your family. Unless it’s intercepted along the way, yaaar!

Some of you may be surprised to learn that you have a notorious pirate ancestor, but we were surprised when we got a message from the mom of one of our latest treasure-hunters telling us that they have a genuine pirate ancestor. His name was Joseph Barss, born in Nova Scotia in 1776, Captain of a Ship called the “Liverpool Packet.” His career as a privateer was wild with adventure and hardship. Captain Barss survived a shipwreck, was rescued at sea, won and lost plenty of battles, captured 33 vessels and was eventually captured himself.

Another day in the life of a pirate, matey. Hope he buried a little something for his great-great-great-great-great grandson to come across some day.