Ships called “Indus”, 1783-1798…

Given the solid dating of Jean-Marie Justin Nageon de l’Estang’s birth to 1776, I decided to revisit the issue of whether the “richesses de l’Indus” refers to an actual ship. We’ve already seen a brig called “Indus” captured by the French in 1782 (though full of rice rather than treasure). Additionally, Jean-Marie Justin’s reported death date of 1798 would appear to give us a latest possible date. So let’s look for ships called “Indus“, 1783-1798…

Indus (1792-1792) – Calcutta

According to Hackman (2001) [which I can’t currently buy a copy of, bah], this Indus was a ‘country ship’ (i.e. only allowed to sail the Indian Ocean as far as the Cape of Good Hope). It was built in Calcutta in 1792, and lost in the same year.

According to Lloyd’s List No. 2417 (10th July 1792) p.1, “The Indus, a country ship from Bengal, loaded with rice, is supposed to be lost“. So even though we have two similar lost ships called Indus, both were reportedly stuffed with rice rather than treasure. (That joke’s not going to get old for a good while yet, sorry.)

Indus (1789-1794) – Amsterdam

This Indus was built in Amsterdam for the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Nederlandsche Geoctroyeerde Oostindische Compagnie, helpfully abbreviated as “VOC”) and launched in 1789. It was rated at 1150 tons.

In the VOC archives, we can see various sailors and carpenters (such as Samuel Steenveld, Pieter Lohee, Samuel Erhard Frenckler, and Johan Friedrich Schmidt) on this Indus, leaving Amsterdam on 27 Aug 1790, arriving at the Cape of Good Hope on 05 Jan 1791, leaving there on 01 Feb 1790, arriving in Batavia on 20 May 1791.

The end of this Indus was when it burnt and sank in Batavia Roads in 1794. Frenckler is marked as “deceased” on 15 Sep 1794, and Lohee as “missing” on 23 Sep 1794, so I think it’s fairly likely that this Indus caught fire on 15 Sep 1794.

Industan (1796), Captain Lewis – Philadelphia

I first posted about this ship back in 2016: Auguste Toussaint mentioned it in his (1967) “La route des Iles: contribution à l’histoire maritime des Mascareignes”.

• (p.306) 4th March 1796, the ‘navire’ “Industan” (Captain Louis) arrived from Philadelphia.
• (p.262) 22nd August 1796, the American ‘vaisseau’ “Industan” (Captain Lewis) arrived from Pondicherry.

Annoyingly, newspapers.com only returns useful results if you search for “Indoftan” (rather than “Indostan”). The earliest mention there of “the Indiaman Indoftan” is from 9 May 1794 (with Captain Mackintofh, *sigh*). On 11 June 1796, the Captain of the brig Rose reports having seen the Indostan at Ile de France a couple of months earlier. The Indostan later arrived at Newport (Rhode Island) on 14 Jan 1797, having taken 96 days to get back from Ile de France, “and 55 days to the coast”. So this all seems to tie up nicely with Toussaint.

As I noted in 2016, we can see Captain Jacob Lewis’ ship selling its goods from March 1797 to May 1797, so this doesn’t really seem likely to be the “Indus” we’re looking for:

In 1805, we can see the Indostan, 22 guns, Capt. Lewis, still going strong as part of Ogden’s fleet, so it doesn’t seem to have been lost along the way. Incidentally, the USA received a stiff letter from France in 1805 complaining that:

Considering that it is notorious that the America of 32 guns, the Connecticut of 22, the Indostan of 14, and several other American vessels of that description, are not only engaged in that execrable commerce, but actually transport the arms and ammunition of Dessalines’ army from one port to another, thereby becoming the auxiliaries of the black rebels against France.

I’m guessing that this was the same Indostan, but it’s hard to be 100% sure.

Indostan privateer (-1797)

The Philadelphia Inquirer of 07 Oct 1797 p.3 included a colourful extract from the logbook of the brig Alexander, which had been boarded by the Mayflower privateer on 12 Sep 1797:

The captain of the privateer informed Captain Whelan [of the Alexander] that the Indostan privateer of 15 guns was run ashore in the gulf of Bahamia and totally lost ; crew and officers saved. The sloop of war that chased the privateer was from Cape Francois, and had on board Santhonax, who made his escape from the Cape. Santhonax arrived at the Havanna the 5th September and saluted the ships and town with 21 guns. It was reported he had brought with him one million of dollars. The cause of his retreat from the Cape was not made public ; but it was thought he made his escape from Toussaint.

The snow Cleopatra, captain Christie, picked up part, or the whole of the Indostan’s crew. The Cleopatra was from Cape Francois bound to the Havanna.

Note that the same page has an extract from Lloyd’s List of August 4-11, noting that the other Indostan (Captain Lewis) had arrived at Hamburg from Philadelphia: so this would seem to be an entirely different ship.

The Philadelphia Inquirer of 20 Nov 1797 p.3 mentions that “The Nassau (late Indostan), Merchant, of this port, was ready to sail for Batavia, under Danish colours“. This name then seems to have changed back to Indostan by the next year: The North American of 13 Sep 1798 p.1 mentions: “Died at Batavia, 20th April, capt. Merchant of the ship Indostan of Philadelphia“. A diary of a ship’s lad (Charles Francis Waldo) has been preserved in Salem: in 1802, he sailed from Boston in the ship “Indus” for Canton and Batavia. This was mentioned in “The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem“, pp. 327-329: perhaps this was the same Indostan, it’s hard to say.

Any progress here, Nick?

Pfffft, not really, it has to be said. I don’t really buy into either of the 1782 or 1792 Indus prize ships, both full of rice rather than treasure; the Dutch Indus seems to have caught fire in the safe Dutch port of Batavia; I don’t see how it could have been Captain Jacob Lewis’ Indostan; and the privateer Indostan was in the wrong ocean completely.

I’m now wondering whether all the ‘action’ might have taken place after 1800. Is there any primary evidence that Jean-Marie Justin Nageon de l’Estang died on 09 May 1798? There’s an entry claiming this on ancestry.com (mentioned here), but my subscription has run out so cannot check it. 🙁