Joseph Held, Captain and Explorer (1665-???)

Believed to have been born in France in the spring of 1645 to servants of the crown, Joseph Genet Held joined the French Navy as a captain's boy at the age of thirteen. Little is known about his childhood before this time except what Held wrote in his journals. He claimed to have spent 40 days in a German prison as a spy, to have been abandoned in the Sahara Desert where he was rescued by a vulture, and to have communed with God at a nunnery. These may have been fanciful tales, but what is known of Held's life in the Navy suggests there may be truth to the claims.

Held served on the Extinctuer for twelve years under the tutelage of Captain Rene Barrier, moving up the ranks to First Mate before his 18th birthday. While he saw little naval action in his early career – excepting the Gibraltar Conflict of 1683, of which little is known – he became renowned for his poise, determination, and loyalty. In 1688, these traits eventually earned him command of the Cauchemar, a ship of the line featuring a tar-blackened hull and black sails to allow it to engage in swift strikes at night. As captain of the Cauchemar, Held fought gallantly in various battles against the English, including at Bantry Bay, Beachy Head, and Lagos.

In 1694, after sinking two ships at the Battle of Camaret, Held was reassigned to the French Administration of Discovery and Sabotage, a secretive organization determined to undermine British efforts to discover and colonize the New World. While hunting British ships along the American coast, he came upon a Dutch vessel of unknown name. Among its occupants was Fenna Bakker, an infamous witch and socialite who fled the Netherlands to avoid persecution. In a series of conversations, Held became convinced not only that the colonial effort in the Americas was an immoral stain upon the soul but also that with Bakker's help, he could extend his life and uncover supernatural realms upon the globe.

Together, Held and Bakker convinced the crew to defect and set sail for the open sea, rounding the horn of South America and finding one of three “Pools of Life,” all of which have been lost to time. They were briefly hunted by privateers employed by the King of France; however, they escaped capture and began island hopping in the Pacific before cruising along the coast of Antarctica.

According to Held's journals, which were discovered along with the Cauchemar in 1934 during a U.S.-French expedition, they discovered a tunnel deep into the ice that could not be explained by natural causes. Held claimed that upon exploring the tunnel, he and his crew were beset upon by brutes who appeared like men with protruding brows and who spoke an unknown tongue. Efforts to communicate with them failed, and several crew members were killed. Held's journals indicate that he returned to the ship, sought council with Bakker, and then returned to the tunnels seeking to open communication. Held, Bakker, and the Crew were never heard from again.

Contemporary exports agree that there was a tunnel structure at the site of the Cauchemar, but that opening the collapsed ice would require extraordinary effort. A team of archaeologists from Leiden University are currently seeking funding for an expedition and excavation. Held is presumed dead.