by Lee Lamb
The Search for Proof
Frederick Blair wanted to be sure that the vault material was cement and not natural limestone. He sent a sample for analysis to a highly-respected laboratory in England. He did not tell them where the sample came from or any other details. The lab reported that the sample was manmade cement, comprised of lime, carbonate, silica, iron and alumina, moisture, and magnesium.
All of the treasure hunters who came to Oak Island had a try at the Money Pit, but it was Frederick Blair and his Oak Island Treasure Company (1893−99) who made the most significant new discoveries.
As they dug down in the Money Pit, at the 111-foot level, they found the entrance to the sea water inlet tunnel. The tunnel was two and a half feet wide and four feet high, and was filled with boulders twice the size of a man’s head, which were likely meant to keep the tunnel from collapsing. At the entrance to the tunnel they found a chip of wood, a piece of bark, and a bird bone, which confirmed in their minds that this tunnel was connected to the seashore. Figure 8: This sketch combines all that was believed to have been true about the Money Pit before the Restall family came to Oak Island.
To their surprise, when they drilled farther down into the Money Pit, water flooded in. This made them ask, “Could there be a second sea water inlet system?” They proved there was by pumping red dye into the Money Pit; it bubbled up in three places on the south shore.
Boring even deeper in the pit, their drill passed through some cement and then oak. During this exploration their auger brought up a tiny piece of parchment on which was written the Roman numerals vi in script. These findings led them to believe that there was a second treasure in the Money Pit. Years before, casks of treasure had been drilled through, and now, at a deeper level, there appeared to be a vault made of cement. They imagined it was filled with gold, jewels, and precious documents. They were stopped from going deeper by a plate of iron.
Actually, something else was also discovered at that time, but was kept secret. William Chappell was the drill operator who brought up the piece of parchment. Years later he told people that around the time that the parchment was retrieved, he had brought up traces of gold on his drill bit, but he had wiped it off and said nothing. Many years later he formed his own company to search for the treasure on Oak Island. Like so many before him, he spent a fortune, but gained nothing.
Oak Island: Fraud or Hoax?
American engineer Captain Henry Bowdoin headed up a search for treasure on Oak Island in 1909. Among his wealthy investors was a young man who would later become president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Captain Bowdoin told potential investors details of his planned work: he would bring an orange-peel digger (a large earthmover), a crew of men, and an underwater diver to the island. He would drill bore holes to locate the treasure and the inlet tunnel, and then would put down sheet piling to stop the flow of water. He would use the orange-peel bucket to dig up the inlet tunnel from the sheet piling to the shore and then to dig the inlet tunnel from the sheet piling to the Money Pit. After that, the digger would be used to excavate the pit. The crew would use a pump capable of removing water at the rate of 1,000 gallons per minute. If the water was still a problem, he would bring in an air-lock caisson with underwater divers.
Surely, this was the most ambitious plan ever considered for Oak Island.
But when Bowdoin arrived on the island, he seemed to forget his plan. He did nothing to locate the inlet tunnel or to stop the water. He used no sheet piling. He went straight to the Money Pit and pumped it out. He could see that it contained solid platforms every 10 feet that were connected by ladders. These had been left by the last treasure hunter and could have been used by Bowdoin.
But, instead, with his orange-peel digger, Bowdoin ripped out cross-beams, platforms, and ladders down to a depth of 107 feet, stripping the Money Pit bare.
Caissons
A “caisson” is a watertight structure within which construction work, such as the assembly of bridge foundations, is carried out underwater. A concrete structure is built around the work area. In an air-lock caisson, water is kept out and fresh air for the workers is pumped in.
He then built a platform deep in the Money Pit and drilled out at different angles. But he found no sign of treasure, although his drill did go through six inches of cement. Could that have been the cement vault?
Frederick Blair controlled the rights to dig for treasure on the island at that time, and he was determined to allow only search parties who could afford to see the job through to its end. When Bowdoin’s contract with Blair ran out, and he asked for an extension, Blair asked for proof that Bowdoin had enough money to continue.
Bowdoin replied that if he was not given an extension, he would be forced to write an unfavourable report about Oak Island. Blair remarked that this sounded like a threat, and repeated his request for proof the Bowdoin could finance further work.
But Bowdoin did not provide proof. Instead, he wrote an article, published in Collier’s Magazine, New York, entitled “Solving the Mystery of Oak Island.” In it he stated that there was not and never had been a treasure on Oak Island. He listed his reasons. (As an example, one reason offered was that there could not be an underground sea water tunnel because the distance was too great.)
Blair replied to this article in a Nova Scotia newspaper, the Amherst Daily News, giving reasons why Bowdoin was wrong on each point he had made, and adding that Bowdoin had not explained things known to be true about Oak Island; for example, the five-finger drain work in Smith’s Cove. Blair concluded by accusing Bowdoin of damaging the island and destroying the Money Pit for no reason at all.
And that was the end of Captain Henry Bowdoin’s treasure hunt on Oak Island. He was the first, but not the last, to call Oak Island a fraud.
The Stone Triangle
In 1897, along the south shore of the island, a formation of stones had been found hidden among the bushes and trees. The stones were laid out in the shape of a triangle. Their purpose was not known. When a later searcher, Gilbert Hedden, rediscovered the stone formation, he realized that it was very similar to a sailor’s sextant. A sextant is a triangular tool used since ancient times to navigate the sea. By pointing the sextant at the North Star and noting the horizon, a sailor can determine his location on a ship’s chart. Hedden discovered that in the stone formation on Oak Island, the head stone (or “pointer” on a sextant) pointed exactly due north to the Money Pit.
Figure 9: The Stone Triangle or Sextant.
On the back cover of this book, you will find a rare photograph of the stone triangle, as it appeared when the Restall family came to the island.
Destruction and Safety
By the time my family came to Oak Island, many treasure-hunting groups had come and gone. After the original Money Pit was discovered, more than 21 deep shafts and even more tunnels had been burrowed into the island. With each of those shafts and tunnels, sea water had flooded in and been pumped out, again and again. Think erosion.
Each searcher had to deal with oozing mud, sliding cribbing, and collapsing tunnels as a result of work that had gone before. Through the years, the exact location of the Money Pit was lost and found, then lost and found again among the maze of underground tunnels and shafts. More than once the hunters thought they were digging in the Money Pit, only to discover that they were actually working in a previous searcher’s shaft.
Often there would be no activity on the island for years. At times, no one had the money to undertake anything as frivolous as a treasure hunt. During those periods of inactivity, the surface of the island had a chance to heal, although the underground maze remained.
The Curse of Oak Island
Many people believe that Oak Island is cursed.
By the time the Restalls arrived to search for the treasure, two treasure hunters had already died on Oak Island.
In 1861, pumps that ran on steam power had been brought to the island, but when one of the boilers bur
st, a workman was scalded to death and several others were injured. Sadly, we do not know the name of the man who was the first to lose his life in search of the treasure on Oak Island.
In 1897, while the Oak Island Treasure Company hunted for treasure, working crewmember Maynard Kaizer was being raised by a pulley in one of the shafts when the rope slipped from the pulley and he fell to his death.
Before 1795, Oak Island had long been the subject of ghost stories. Mysterious fires reportedly appeared on the island at night, and it was said that men who rowed out to investigate never returned.
Of the many treasure hunters who came to the island after 1795, each encountered machinery breakdowns, weather that seemed to conspire against them, and endless delays, obstacles, and bad luck. Some who began their search as rich men ended it penniless.
Chappell's Pond
Over the years, the large hole referred to as “Chappell’s Pond” filled with freshwater. Later, my family would find it to be a great source of drinking water. It made a good ice-skating rink for Ricky, too!
As an example of the uncanny mishaps that occurred on Oak Island, Mel Chappell and Frederick Blair formed a partnership to search for the Oak Island treasure in 1951. They arranged for a huge clamshell digger to be brought to the island. In true Oak Island style, their digger slipped off the barge and sank in Mahone Bay. They brought over another to replace it and, with the help of new radar technology, they claimed they were able to pinpoint the exact location of the treasure. They began to dig, but once the hole was very large, the radar showed that the treasure was no longer there but was located some distance away. Blair and Chappell came to the conclusion that the new radar technology was useless on Oak Island and gave up. The large area they had excavated later became known as Chappell’s Pond.
Some people believe that all those occurrences prove that an evil spirit inhabits Oak Island — a spirit that will stop at nothing to safeguard its treasure.
Lucky are the ones who lose only their money.
Chapter Six
So This Is Oak Island
The day after arriving on the east coast, my father, mother, and Bobby headed across the water to Oak Island, where they docked at Hedden’s Wharf in Smith’s Cove (see Figure 1, page 15). Local boatmen had kept the wharf in good repair since Gilbert Hedden had ended his search for treasure on the island in 1934.
After they landed, my family trudged across the beach and up a hill to the highest part of the island, a large, flat clearing bordered by evergreen trees. Near the far side of the expanse they saw two large, rectangular holes with weather-worn cribbing poking out at the surface — the Money Pit!
The first shaft had been dug by William Chappell in 1931 through hard clay on one side and loose earth on the other, which led it to be badly twisted. By the time the Restalls arrived, it was seriously deteriorating. Beside Chappell’s shaft was a larger shaft (Shaft #22), which was wide, deep, and straight. It had been dug by Gilbert Hedden in 1932. These two shafts covered the site of the original Money Pit.
After they had taken a long look, the family decided to explore more of the island. Just a few steps away they found a huge excavation filled with water. This was Chappell’s Pond.
Just past the Money Pit, the land dropped quite steeply to the south shore. They descended and made their way along the beach, then turned inland to follow the edge of a swamp that seemed to cut the island in two. They then turned left and walked down the forested middle of the island, past a series of stone fences that marked the location of long-abandoned farms. At the far end of the island, quite close to the mainland, they found an old white wood farmhouse in a state of collapse. They turned, and headed back.
My mother, writing in her journal about that day, compared the condition of the Money Pit to what it had been four years earlier when, during a vacation, she had thought that Oak Island was just an interesting side trip. She had no idea that Dad was hoping to be the next Oak Island treasure hunter.
"The Pits"
Sometimes my parents referred to the two shafts as “the pits,” sometimes as “the Money Pit,” and sometimes by their individual names — “the Hedden Shaft” and “the Chappell Shaft.”
On October 15, 1959, the day after we arrived at Western Shore, we rented a boat to get over to the island. It was a raw, windy day and by the time we reached the dock, my husband closed the throttle with a firm twist. It snapped clean off. “That’s a good start,” I thought. An omen? Well we were here, so off we went to see the pits.
It had been four years since I last saw the pits, and standing there looking down at them I was shocked at their condition. One pit had partially collapsed, leaving broken and twisted timbers around; you could no longer see the water (at the bottom of the pit). In the other, the larger of the two, rotting cribbing was visible, as all the deck planking had been ripped off, exposing it to the weather. Even my son’s face fell momentarily. Looking across the slate grey sea at the black smudges of other islands, I felt utterly wretched. I don’t think I have ever seen a place so bleak and lonely as that island, that day. I just wanted to go home.
Soon Bobby’s eyes began to sparkle as he and his dad walked around, talking. They walked here, they walked there, son asking questions, my husband answering … all about the history of the place. I trailed after them, ignored and unnoticed. Finally Bob said it was time for us to go back. Catching sight of my face with its woebegone expression, he started to laugh, “Look,” he said to Bobby, pointing to me, “The reluctant treasure hunter.” They both thought that was hilarious and went off down the hill, roaring with laughter.
Back in the boat, Dad, Mom, and Bobby headed across the bay toward the mainland.
The next day, bright and early, they bought some lumber, and then loaded the lumber, tools, and a few other belongings into the boat and headed for the island.
Their first task was to build a shack beside the Money Pit where they could store the equipment. The shack they constructed was eight feet by 12 feet, and when it was completed, they separated the tools and other items to be left on the island, set them inside the shack, padlocked the door, and pointed their boat toward the mainland.
For the next two days a storm raged, holding them captive on the mainland. Their 15-foot outboard motorboat would have been no match for the towering waves and churning sea.
Mildred Restall stands in front of “the shack,” the family’s first Oak Island home, October 1959. In the foreground are “the pits”—William Chappell’s Shaft and Gilbert Hedden’s Shaft. They were dug on the site of the original Money Pit.
When the weather finally cleared and they could get back to the island, they found that someone had broken into the shack. Gone were blankets, tools, and equipment worth about $200.
That was it. No more construction shack, no more motel, no more braving the sea to go back and forth daily to the mainland. They cut windows into the front and back of the shack, bought a propane heater and a camp stove, and moved all their belongings to the island — the shack became their home.
Now, before we go any farther, let’s just be sure we’re on the same page — there was no electricity on the island. They had to use a propane stove and heater, naphtha lamps to read by, and a battery-driven car radio to listen to the news once a week. Eventually they acquired a few gasoline engines to keep a bank of batteries constantly charged — to run the winch and to do countless other small jobs.
Also, there was no telephone on the island. To make a call they had to take the boat to a dock on the mainland, walk to their car, drive to a nearby gas station, place the call at the payphone, and hope that the person they were trying to contact was home to answer. If there was a call coming in for them, they had to arrange to be at the payphone at a specific time, and then hope that the sea wouldn’t be too rough for them to cross. Many times it was. Other times they made arrangements to be there, but had to wait and wait at the payphone for a call that either came late or didn’t come at all.
They had no refrigerator, and had to survive on canned meats, powdered milk, and other non-perishable foods. They were able to get fresh meat on food shopping days, which involved a trip to the mainland, a walk to the car, then a 15-minute drive to the town of Chester and the Shamrock Food Store, which sold a range of goods and allowed them to “buy now and pay later,” as the local fisherman did. Two short blocks away from the Shamrock was the post office, where they received their mail.
At the beginning, drinking water had to be purchased, but later they had the water from Chappell’s Pond tested. It was fine. After that the water was pulled, by the bucketful, from the pond and poured through layers of cheesecloth to, as my mother said, “screen the bugs out.” Then it was boiled. It was delicious.
Bath water required carrying many more buckets of water. The toilet was a “privy” or outhouse.
Their new home resembled a rustic summer cabin that had been pressed into year-round service.
Chapter Seven
An October Start?
Starting a treasure hunt in the month of October may seem a bit strange. It was Canada and, as we all know, the winters are cold. The ground freezes. But there were good reasons to start the hunt in October.
Time and again, searchers had come to Oak Island in late spring, worked through the summer, and packed up and gone home as cold weather closed in. This meant a short season for the search. Years had gone by quickly, without results.
In October 1959, the island was owned by Mel Chappell. He also held the licence (granted through the Treasure Trove Act) to dig for treasure on his property. Only he could say who would be allowed to come to the island and search for treasure. He chose my father for several reasons.
