This is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. Native Americans living in the Great Lakes region had never seen anything like her. Her name was the Griffin. Many historians consider her the first sailing vessel on the Great Lakes. Her life was short and her fate remains a mystery to this day. French explorer Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, sought to extend the fur trade with the Native Americans in the Great Lakes region. Building a sailing ship to carry trade goods and furs would help realize that ambition. In January 1679, La Salle began construction of the Griffin near the mouth of Cayuga Creek on the Niagara river near Lake Erie. He brought in rigging, anchors, chains, cordage and small cannon that he had carried by barge and then dragged overland to the construction site. La Salle himself oversaw the laying of her keel and drove in the first bolt in her construction. Working during the winter months slowed the work, as did having to use crude tools and green timber. La Salle left his trusted Italian lieutenant Henri de Tonti in charge of construction while he returned to Fort Frontenac at the present day location of Kingston, Ontario for more supplies. La Salle and his men finally launched the Griffin in May 1679. The vessel, although tiny by today's standards, astounded the watching Iroquois. They considered her a floating fort and were much impressed by the thunder of her cannon. They dubbed her builders Atkan, meaning supernatural beings. Historians believe that she was probably a 45 ton bark with a single mast, about 30 to 40ft long with a 10 to 15 foot beam. She carried seven small cannon and had the figure of a griffin, a mythical half lion, half eagle, mounted on her jib boom. In July 1679, La Salle and a crew of 34 men set off. They towed the Griffin through the Niagara river rapids, made their way across Lake Erie to the Detroit river and Lake St. Clair and then proceeded up Lake Huron. From Mackinac island, the Griffins sailed across northern Lake Michigan to Green Bay. There, an advance party of fur traders had collected 12,000 pounds of fur. In September, LaSalle sent the Griffin back to the Niagara river with her cargo of furs. Lasalle himself stayed behind to explore Lake Michigan. He never saw the ship again. She may have wrecked in a storm or her own crew may have scuttled her and stolen the cargo. Whatever happened to her, the wreck has never been found. The Griffin remains one of the Great Lakes enduring mysteries. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.