Don't Mind | Sealskin Rock | Ep. 5

Hello listeners, I'm KA Stats, the writer and creator of Don't Mind.

First, though the cutoff date is fast approaching, there's still time to receive your own exclusive Grote Chateau coin.

To do so, support our small team on Patreon and we'll link that info in the show notes.

But today we'd like to bring something to your attention.

As creators of this show, we go to extreme lengths to bring you the authentic soundscapes you'll hear.

As such, the sounds of nature, wind, and ambiance we use are largely comprised of real field recordings.

These are recordings made with studio recorders, handhelds, cell phones, and at times even hydrophones, whatever it takes to capture the right sound.

Our search for authentic audio can mean that we collaborate with specialized groups, and for Sealskin Rock, we're proud to have worked with Dr.

Corey Lauson, the Director of Bat Conservation at Wildlife Conservation Society, Canada.

Dr.

Lausan has been traveling North America to record the sounds and songs of bats, particularly silver-haired bats, in an effort to better understand their behavioral ecology and to further conservation efforts.

Distinct from echolocation, she and her colleagues hope to learn the meaning behind the silver-haired bats' songs, and the group has generously given us permission to use select recordings from their work.

You can find a link to their report and to the website for Wildlife Conservation Society Canada in our show notes to learn more about the amazing work being done by WCS Canada.

We hope you appreciate and enjoy the small details we add to our show.

And on that topic, it's time to get started.

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Previously on Don't Mind Sealskin Rock.

Melody rushed back to their room after Maxine's scream and found her sister had fallen to the bedroom floor, terrified.

Maxine swore she had seen a face staring in from the balcony, but when Melody and their father went to investigate, there was nothing to be found.

The next morning, Melody went downstairs and encountered Julia, who was acting in a strange, upsetting manner.

After a short talk with Julia, Melody met with her father in the basement, where he reminded her to avoid the construction areas for her own safety.

Back upstairs, less than a minute later, Melody stopped by the front desk to pick up their groceries, only to encounter the terrifying sight of Miss Julia.

Don't mind sealskin rock

Hey, Miss Julia, when did you-

Mel, what?

What's wrong?

Is it Max?

No, Julia, Dad, Julia, she's

the armor thing.

Dad, come look!

What are you talking about?

Where'd she go?

She was here!

She was there on the cabinet thing!

And she was scratching!

There!

There!

See?

She was up there!

And she was scratching at the ceiling.

You can see the scratches she made.

Dad, look!

She's been acting so weird.

She's been talking to herself, too.

Mel, you dropped all the food on the floor.

I'll pick it up later!

Where did Julia go?

Really, Mel?

Stop.

What is going on with you and Maxine?

You've both been acting hysterical hysterical since we've got out here.

Hysterical?

Dad, Julia was on top of the armored laughing like a hyena and scratching at the ceiling.

That's not me being hysterical.

That's fucking terrifying.

Melody, I said, stop.

Just pick up the mess you made and go back upstairs.

You should be doing your schoolwork or helping Maxine.

No, Dad, I'm not lying.

Julia!

Miss Julia, where are you?

Are you here?

Where are you?

Melody, she was up

Julia is a 60-year-old, five-foot-nothing woman.

There's no way she climbed up the armoire on her own or got down quick enough to hide after you ran to get me.

It's too fast, and she's just not that agile.

But she was!

She was up there!

You can see the scratch marks!

What are you talking about?

Julia's like 40 tops.

She could totally get up there.

Julia, are you here?

She was in the closet last time.

You said she was on the armoire.

No, the the last last time, not now.

When I came downstairs to download things to the phone, she was acting weird and talking to herself while standing in the closet.

She was facing the wall and just talking.

Talking about being the caretaker.

She is the caretaker.

Melody, stop this.

Come here.

Pick up the mess you made and put away the food before it spoils.

I need to get back to work.

And you have schoolwork to do, I'm sure of it.

No more messing around.

You have to believe me!

I saw her!

This isn't.

Mel, pick it up, go upstairs, do your schoolwork, and don't bother me again.

I have to work.

There's a lot to do, and I don't think you're taking all this very seriously.

Even if I'm not the best at this work, we still need the money.

Do you understand me?

I know.

Yeah.

Fuck.

Wait, Dad, I think you stepped in something.

What?

Is that jam?

Ketchup?

No, we didn't order any.

Is that blood?

Are you bleeding?

No, it's just mud.

It's red.

From the rust in the pipes and the rot on the wood.

And since you called me up here, now I've tracked it through the hall and Julia's office.

I'm going back down to work.

Do not come to the basement.

If I wear a mask, can I come down there?

It's a work site, Melody.

Splintered Splintered wood, broken nails, shattered glass, and more.

It's dirty and falling apart.

This isn't some place for little girls to mess about.

There's lead paint in the old wine cellar and heating pipes wrapped with asbestos insulation.

It's not some playground.

Then why bring us here at all?

I don't get to leave you.

Mel,

you never knock.

Yeah, sorry.

I wouldn't usually make you get up, but my hands are just a little full.

Oh, did we get the blueberries?

Yeah, and the container didn't spill when I dropped the box, so they're fine.

Miss Julia took a few, but we've still got a lot.

I'm sure you'll make them disappear.

You dropped it?

Yeah.

Saw a spider.

Freaked out, but it's fine.

And

the string!

It's the right one?

Yes!

Great!

We can try fixing it tomorrow.

We can download those videos whenever.

Will you have time to help me with it tomorrow?

Yeah, of course.

But why not tonight?

I've been cleaning, and I'm exhausted.

I think I'm just gonna relax.

Maybe finish up some of my schoolwork, read some, play a little Diaz.

I can see you've been cleaning.

It's looking great in here.

Imagine if every room looked this nice.

Well, I can't do anything about the other rooms, but someone's gotta clean up in here.

That's why it's tracking stuff in, and the windows aren't waterproof, water tight, whatever.

Maybe we can get dad to seal the windows a bit better.

And it's great that you're cleaning.

As long as you don't push yourself.

Really?

You look more beat than me.

Why are you so pale?

Oh my god, Maxine.

You can't just ask people why they're pale.

Okay.

So why are you more pale than usual?

I don't think I had enough breakfast.

The stairs winded me coming back up with the box.

There's more oatmeal.

You might want to add more water and heat it back up, though.

Go ahead, go eat.

I'll unpack.

Thanks.

Just leave anything that needs to go in the fridge in the box.

I'll bring it back down in a bit.

Yeah, you'll have to put some of these in the fridge.

Do we have to keep syrup cold?

Max.

Hmm?

How old do you think Julia is?

I mean, her style ages her a bit, but she's maybe like 30, 37, Max, if she has a good skincare routine.

It didn't look like she'd had any work done.

Not that you can really tell sometimes, but what's that face?

Did you call her old?

Maybe you didn't get a good look at her?

Well, I only saw her the day we got here, and she hasn't come up to say hi.

I do remember she was super pretty.

Nice lipstick, great cheekbones.

Why?

She's probably older than that, really.

She has some gray hair, small lines.

Not that she isn't very pretty, she just looks like 40.

Or older, really.

Gray hair doesn't mean old.

You have gray hairs.

Well, those are from stress.

But I didn't see any gray hair or wrinkles on Julia.

I'll go see her again sometime.

Dad didn't bring his meds down this morning.

Did he not want them?

He didn't mention it.

That's good.

Maybe he's feeling better.

Or maybe since Ian's helping him, he's not hurting his back as much as the last job.

I think it'll come back.

It always does.

He hasn't complained, though.

He will.

He didn't even take any yesterday.

The pill bottle hasn't moved.

But he will.

There's more than food in the box, or the string.

Mr.

Lucas gave us a GED book and a book about the area.

Miss Julia.

Miss Julia gave me a bunch of newspaper articles and clippings about the rock and the chateau.

This is a bunch of old buildings in New Brunswick.

Mostly lighthouses.

There should be a section on the Groat Chateau.

I saw it earlier.

Yeah, here.

Want to read it to me?

I'll braid your hair.

Deal.

Want a French braid?

Or a waterfall?

French.

With frame tendrils.

And not too tight.

Can do.

You gonna read?

The Groat Chateau, a Gothic revival mansion in the Gulf of St.

Lawrence.

The north shore of New Brunswick, facing into the expanse of the Gulf of St.

Lawrence, offers ample fishing and seal hunting waters used by area residents for thousands of years.

Off the coast, jutting up from the seabed, stands a small island formed by a plateau of flat-topped black rock.

In heavy fogs, the small rock blends away into the gulf's waters and the gray skies beyond.

And even today, local ships know to avoid the small rock due to the hidden hole breakers waiting just below the waterline.

I guess that makes sense.

There are probably other rocks nearby that could really mess up a ship.

A big one, at least.

Little boats like Lucas's are probably too small to be bothered by them.

But no diving from the balcony.

Oh no, my weekend plans.

The minuscule island named Sealskin Rock is a small geological anomaly, an underwater butte that juts up out of the ocean and rises to a maximum of 9.7 meters from the waters below.

While previously considered little more than a marker for the dangerous waters of the Gulf, Sealskin Rock was acquired by the silver tycoon Jean-Paul Don Le Groot in 1724, who changed the use of the rock for centuries to come.

And this was his room then, Jean Paul?

Maybe.

That's what Julius said, right?

He was the guy who needed the wheelchair when he got older?

I think so.

Jean-Paul Don Lacrote arrived in what would become French Canada in 1706.

For over a decade, he, along with six other royally funded French prospectors, worked to locate profitable natural resources in lands that would later fall into the areas of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick.

In 1719, Don Lacrote discovered a vein of silver in eastern eastern Quebec during an exploratory survey mission and established a silver mine backed by trade with the French Royal Treasury and solidifying himself as a prominent figure in the area.

After the purchase of Sealskin Rock in 1724, the butte...

You said that before, what's a butte?

Think like a small plateau with super steep edges, like Devil's Tower in America.

So, like, without the chateau, sealskin rock was probably already pretty flat on top.

The butte was left left naturally barren for several decades as Don LeGro traveled back to Europe, set up additional business ties, and exploited his growing wealth.

He met Miss Josephine Levine during a trip back to France and then got married in 1726.

Sadly, Josephine died due to complications during childbirth a year later, but was survived by their son Henry.

That's sad.

They were married less than a year.

Anyway, Josephine's death left Jean Paul heartbroken.

He took his infant son and moved to the small town near his silver mine in Quebec during Henry's childhood.

In 1750, Jean Paul and Henry, now 23 years old, moved to New Brunswick with the intention of building the Groat Chateau.

Jean Paul lived until the incredible age of 103, but suffered from a declining mental state thought to have been dementia, starting in his mid-70s.

During his final 30 years, he fully funded the construction of the Grand Groat Château.

There's a paper in here about the silver mine too.

It looks like it was printed out from a website.

Finish the book stuff first.

Okay.

Yet Jean Paul never saw the completion of the chateau before his death.

The chateau and all other assets were inherited by his son Henry and the chateau was completed in the two years following Jean Paul's death.

Henry d'Amla Gret was considered an eccentric, having been greatly influenced by the dementia-ridden teachings of his aged father.

When Henry took control of the silver mine, he forced an increase in silver yields, leading to a mine collapse in 1791.

After the collapse and the final shipment of silver, Henry Don Lagrode sealed himself away in the chateau on Sealskin Rock.

The grand home of the once affluent family fell into gradual disrepair over the next 40 years until Henry's cousin discovered his naturally mummified mummified corpse in his bed.

What room do you think they found the body in?

Well, people die everywhere.

Get hurt everywhere.

There's nowhere left that's free from it.

From what?

History.

Oh, listen to you trying to be so smart.

So cringe.

Yeah, people die everywhere.

So, are you saying you wouldn't be grossed out to know someone died in this house?

Or in this very room?

This very bed no but it doesn't say where they found him then it shouldn't matter to you since you're not scared julia said it wasn't this room though apparently henry had his own room on the second floor go on what's next

henry had no children of his own his cousin french widower lucille tousant the daughter of jean paul's sister intended to visit henry during her immigration to montreal from france her discovery of henry's corpse corpse set in motion the transference of the Don La Groat estate to her charge.

After learning she inherited both the château and the silver mine, Lucille discovered that the estate was penniless and the silver mine, now somewhat repaired, was quickly running dry.

She sold the silver mine to a larger mining company but kept the château in her name while living in Montreal.

Lucille never occupied the château and in 1931 the Groat Château on Sealskin Rock was placed into a trust managed by Lucille's descendants.

During World War II, the chateau was used as a U-boat watch station and became the temporary home of a small group of women in service to the Royal Canadian Navy.

There's some local articles from the 40s about that.

They have pictures, too.

I'll look at those later.

We're still into the book, right?

Okay, so what happened to the silver mine?

And what happened to the stuff that was here in the chateau?

Most of the stuff's gone.

Uh, give me a.

It looks like after the silver mine was sold, like I said, and it became part of some larger mining and mineral company.

Ah, here.

Furniture and smaller parts of the estate were sold off when Lucille took possession of the chateau to help pay off her debts and taxes incurred upon inheritance.

She kept the land and the house to preserve the family history.

Ooh, one of the pieces sold was a cabinet of curiosity.

Wonder what was in there?

Done.

Like it?

Looks great.

Thanks, Mel.

This one looks like a website printout.

Were there any other pages in there?

Nope, just the one.

In 1730, the silver mine reported its first negative fiscal year.

The silver they mined was sold at lower prices than silver mined elsewhere, and large amounts of silver were recurringly sold at outdated prices to historically low buyers.

Seems like this is about the mine, not the chateau.

The mine entered the black again in 1731, and while the operation did not lose money, it was not substantially profitable again until 1738, when a new mine shaft was dug.

Jean-Paul d'Anlagrod began to rebuild his silver fortune at this time, but continued to sell silver off to several long-term clients at severely reduced rates.

So he could have sold it for more, but he kept selling some of the silver to people he'd known for a while at lower prices?

Were they friends of his?

Or enemies.

Maybe they were blackmailing him to get the silver for cheap or maybe it was money laundering what's money laundering

it's like

a way of taking illegally obtained money and making it legit

how

I'm not entirely sure

imagine that though a silver mine just pulling money up out of the ground That's so lucky.

Stuff like that is so rare nowadays.

I think there are a lot more tools available now.

Technology and stuff.

It's more of a science to find stuff like silver today, and it's not just luck.

I wonder how they did it back then, actually.

They'd have to go into caves and stuff, right?

With bears and.

Do you know how many people die going into caves?

Even today, they have to explore the smallest passageways and just hope they can get free.

It's way more likely to find something man-made.

Like Roman coins or a shipwreck, don't you think?

Maybe, or maybe we just hear about those things more.

Like you said, history is everywhere.

People have been tripping over other people's stuff or bones forever.

Like, dragons are just dinosaurs, and a lot of the buildings were torn down to make new buildings.

Not just the land, but the stone blocks and bricks were taken for something new.

Maybe that's stuff on his boots.

Hmm?

Whose boots?

That?

I know you don't leave the room a lot.

Or at all, really.

But if you do, be careful, okay?

Dad told me today that the basement is filled with dangerous stuff.

Asbestos, lead, glass.

Alright?

Yeah, not like I had plans to go down there or anything.

But are our rooms safe?

Apparently so, but the basement is a mess.

If you think this room is dirty, the basement looks like a hurricane blew through it.

Do hurricanes make it up here?

Oh, you know how we're talking about silver mines and stuff?

Well, look what I got.

Ian brought it up for me from the work downstairs.

Do you think it's real silver made from silver from the groat mines?

Ian brought you this?

Maxine, did Ian come up here?

Yeah, he stopped by yesterday when you were in the shower.

He didn't stay long.

He said he was really busy and was going back and forth from the island, but he wanted to say hi since he hadn't met me yet.

He's super nice, and I wanted to thank him for helping Dad since I think Dad's back has been hurting a lot less.

You need to tell me these things, Max.

Not the next day, not when you feel like it.

You tell me when it happens.

Better yet, come and get me.

Or don't answer the door.

I'm telling you now, aren't I?

He said he wanted to meet me, and he found this downstairs in the basement, so he wanted to give it to me as a gift.

Give it to me, Max.

You can look, but you can't keep it.

Believe me, I don't want a gift for me.

Now please give it to me.

Fine.

It's a cross.

It's a crucifix.

Most French Canadians are Catholics, or, you know, they're descendants of Catholics.

So Jean Paul or Henry or Lucille probably was too.

Ian said they found it while taking down a crumbling wall in the basement.

Isn't it nice?

He said it's real silver.

What do you think?

Makes sense since the girls had a silver mine.

I bet they had a ton of silver stuff before Lucille sold it all off.

Look, Max, I told you not to talk to Ian.

He's not...

He's an adult.

He doesn't need to be talking to you, and he shouldn't be giving you any gifts.

But why not?

He's dad's friend, and he was just being nice.

And...

And he knew my birthday is coming up soon.

Why can't I get gifts from people?

Maxine!

There are like no other people here.

He said he'd come up and say hello when he can, so I don't have to be lonely.

He said he'll get stuff from the mainland for me, and that he hopes I'll get some.

Fuck no.

He will not be doing that.

And I'll give him back the cross.

No!

Why?

It's mine!

I'm sure he can find an actual woman, not a child, to give an expensive gift to.

He's getting it back.

No!

Give it back!

Maxine, no!

It's just a gift!

Give it back!

I want it back!

I know!

I know.

I'm sorry, but this isn't something for you.

I'm not keeping it for myself.

I swear, I'm going to give it back to him.

Give it to me!

I know.

I'm sorry, really.

I'm gonna go back downstairs.

If he's back on the rock, I'll give it back to him.

The food needs to go in the fridge anyways.

Sorry.

Try to relax.

I'll be back later.

Fine,

fine.

Someone there,

Miss Julia

Dad

Miss

Miss Julia, are you back?

Hello?

Freaky.

That wasn't there before.

Ian must be back then.

And he can have his fucking cross back.

Before the temper, looks like either a different control, they put it it together, they noticed the quality issues after the first few rooms.

We should be able to take them up soon, but it'll just take a few more tools we haven't needed until now.

And I found where the power lines come in.

Honestly surprised it still works.

But I can't say we're not prepared to change out any of the wiring.

Alright.

Good.

The boards will slow us down.

I'll write it up and buy us a few more days before we need to start submitting anything for outside contractors.

We do need to be careful, though.

I know.

I saw the asbestos this morning.

We'll need to think of how to mitigate it.

If we do well enough, the asbestos won't make it into any of the reports.

We need to check the pipes.

Water, heating, maybe more, too.

Tiles, wall insulation.

Hope you get lucky.

Looks like it was partially renovated around World War II.

Can't we just call someone in?

We'll take care of it.

Odds are high, someone who comes in may figure out what we're doing.

They might figure out what's here.

If we intend to just toss it, we can move it out in sealed bags.

Get the right protections.

Minimize personal contact.

You need to do it soon.

Thankfully, it's not all the old pipes.

Just the ones insulated in the basement.

I don't even know how you're thinking about that when there's fucking silver sitting under your feet.

Oh shit.

Oh my god.

We still gotta figure out how we're gonna get all the silver out of the floor and off the rock.

And we don't know how far it goes.

If we leave any, it might raise suspicions to if there was more.

It's worth it, though.

It's real.

Every silver test kit came out the same.

We can figure it out.

Do the math.

If there are whole poured lines of silver in these grooves, then we can figure out the volume after we extract a few pieces.

We need the depth, width, and length of the channels.

Then we can figure out how much silver we'll come away with.

Yeah, and I was thinking there's a pattern to it.

Every part's a bit different, but we could work from a low average.

Like, if we do this section, we can estimate that the other sides are similar enough.

If we can get some free, like you said, we can measure the volume and check the weight.

With that, we can check the price per gram or per ounce, whatever silver sells by.

There's no way these grooves are structural.

No,

silver's not strong enough for that.

And there's more to find.

We haven't even found the edges to these pipes yet.

They can even go up into the house, the walls, or the grooves could go deep.

This part, the central section, where do you think we are?

Under the staircase?

We'll need to keep taking apart what we can too.

Hey!

What are you doing here?

Mel?

Shit!

Don't mind.

Sealskin Rock.

Written and created by K.A.

Stats.

Produced, directed, with additional sound design by Travis Vengroff.

Co-edited and directed with Dialogue Editing, Editing, Sound Design, Mixing and Mastering by Finner Nielsen.

Writing Assistance by W.K.

Stats.

Music by Brandon Boone.

And executive producers Dennis Greenhill, A.J.

Punkin, Carol Vengroff, and Michael Viegas.

Starring Marcy Edwards, Lily Pichu, Ewan Sheng, Stefan Konekart, Russ Moore, Mark Muir, and Caroline St.

Pei.

For bonus content, early releases, and ad-free episodes, please support the creators at patreon.com/slash foolandscholar.

You can also get a limited edition sealskin rock coin made of metal if you sign up today.

This is a Fool and Scholar production.

Thank you for listening.

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