OakIslandTreasure:

TheTriumphofHopeoverReason

PeterFortune,Ph.D.

ThereisanislandintheNorthAtlanticwherepeoplehavebeenlookingforanincredibletreasureforover200years.Sofar,theyhavefoundbitsofgoldchain,astoneslabwithstrangesymbolscarvedintoit,evena17thcenturySpanishcoin.Todate,sixmenhavediedtryingtosolvethemystery.And,accordingtolegend,onemorewillhavetodiebeforethetreasurecanbefound.--LeadertoepisodesofTheCurseofOakIsland,HistoryChannelHumanstendtoseepatternswhen,infact,resultsarecompletelyrandom.--RichardA.Muller,psychologistTheTruthisOutThere!--FoxMulder,characterinthetelevisionseriesTheXFiles

2016

ii

iii

ContentsIntroduction 1OakIslandOverview 7TheOakIslandTreasureHunt 11ExploringSurfaceStoneFormations 33NaturalTheoriesofOakIsland 37Appendix1:TheEconomicsofOakIsland 47Appendix2:MonetaryWeightsandMeasures 51References 53

iv

Introduction

Inthelate1980smywifeandIwereonadrivingtriptoNovaScotia.We

stayedattheOakIslandInn1—aresorthotelinthetownofWesternShoreon

MahoneBay,nearthetownofChester.Thehotelwasnamedforanearbyisland,a

nametowhichIpaidnoattentionuntilitdawnedonmethattheeponymousisland

wastheOakIsland.IhadrecentlyreadanarticleinSmithsonianMagazineaboutthe

OakIslandtreasurehunt.2Thatarticlewasbasedona1965Reader’sDigestarticle3

thatwasitselfacondensationofanarticleinanissueofTheRotarianinthatyear.

AndsoitgoesonOakIsland.

TheLegend

TheReader’sDigestarticlehasbeenaninspirationtogenerationsofOak

Islandtreasurehunters,aspreviousarticleswereinspirationstoearlier

generations.Allofthistracesbacktoatreasurehuntdatingfrom1795when,oral

historysays,DanielMcGinnis,aboyfromWesternShoreorChester,reportedseeing

strangelightsonnearbyOakIsland.McGinnisrowedovertoinvestigateandfound

anareawhereoaktreeshadbeencutbutonetreewasleftstanding.Fromalimbof

thattreehunganoldblockandtackle,andthegroundbelowitwasdepressedasifa

holeabouteightfeetindiameterhadbeendug,thenfilledin—somethingmusthave

beenhiddenunderground!

ThenextdayMcGinnisreturnedwithtwoyoungfriends,AnthonyVaughan

andJohnSmith,toexcavatethehole.Afterdiggingdownforonlyafewfeetthey

foundalayerofflagstones.Ataten-footdepththeyencounteredaplatformofoak

logs.Afteranothertenfeettheyfoundanothersetofoaklogs,andyetanothersetat

thethirty-footdepth.Clearlytherehadbeenaminingoperationatthesiteandthe

1NowtheinnisnamedtheAtlanticaOakIslandInnandResort.2See[A7]3See[A5]

2

marksoroakplatformswereintendedtomarkdepthsand,perhaps,toprovide

stabilitytothepit’swalls.

Afterthirtyfeettheboysgaveup,realizingthatwhile“somethingwas

there”—thelitanyofOakIsland—amoreorganizedexplorationwasrequired.

Explorationwouldbeginagainin1803,andforwellover200yearstreasure

hunterswouldtrytodetermine“whatisthere.”Todateithascostsixlivesand

perhaps$25million(seeAppendix).

TheLegend’sFragility

LikethegameofTelephone,startfromsimpleobservationsandgrowinto

complexandgarbledstorieswithsubsequentretelling.EvenattheoutsetthisOak

Islandlegenderrsinseveralways.DanielMcGinnis(1758-1827)wasactually

Donald(Daniel?)McInnes,aformerBritishofficerduringtheAmericanRevolution

whoin1783,aftertheRevolution,movedfromNorthCarolinatoNovaScotia;we

willsticktotraditionandcallhim“DanielMcGinnis”untilheobjects.

In1788McGinnismovedtoOakIslandandboughtLot28.Thereafterhe

boughtLot23in1790,Lot27in1791,andLot1in1794.McGinniswaslistedasa

“farmer”inboththe1791and1794polltaxlistingsforLunenburgCounty’s“heads

ofhouseholds.”In1795—theyeartheMoneyPitwaslocated—McGinnismarrieda

localwomanfromWesternShore.HediedonOakIslandin1827atage69,hiswife

predeceasinghim,leavingawillindicatingninechildren.Hisageatdeathwould

placehimatage25whenheleftthearmyandmovedtoNovaScotia,atage30when

hecametoOakIsland,andatage37whentheMoneyPitwasfirstinvestigated.4

DuncanSmith,fatherofJohnSmith(1775-1857),isrecordedassellingOak

IslandLot24in1785whenJohnwasage10,thendyingsoonafter.John’smother

remarriedtoanOakIslandernamedNealMcMullen,butJohnSmithwaslistedon

the1794LunenburgCountypolltaxlistasafarmeronOakIsland,thereforea“head

ofhousehold.”HeisrecordedaspurchasingtheMoneyPit’sLot18in1795,theyear

4See[I1/archives/03-2016:22].

3

thePitwasfound.5SmithfamilyrecordsindicatethatinlateryearsheownedLots

16-21.JohnSmithwasage20whenthepitwasfoundonhissoon-to-beOakIsland

property.

AnthonyVaughanwasalsoonthe1794taxrecordasanOakIslandfarmer.

SomegenealogicalscoutingrevealsthatOakIslandhadtwoAnthonyVaughans,a

fatherandson.LikeDanielMcGinnis,AnthonyVaughanSr.(1750-1835)wasa

Britishofficer.Hewasage31whenheboughtLot14in1781,afterwhichhebought

Lots15and16in1785.6ThefathersoldsomeofhisOakIslandpropertyin1804.7

AtthetimetheMoneyPitwaslocatedAnthonyVaughanSr.wouldhavebeen45.

AnthonyVaughanJr.(1782-1860)wasbornonOakIslandandwasage13at

thetimeoftheOakIslandpit’sdiscoveryin1795.ItseemsprobablethatAnthony

VaughanSr.wasoneofthethreewhodiscoveredtheMoneyPit.Inthatcasenoneof

thethreediscovererswere“boys.”

Furthermore,therewasnoneedforthethree“boys”torowovertoOak

Islandtoinvestigate;theyalreadylivedontheisland.

Allofthisearlyhistorydemonstratesthateventhefoundationstoryofthe

MoneyPitisquestionable.Thisraisesafundamentalquestion:ifthefoundation

legendofOakIslandisinerror,howcrediblearethedetailsofthesubsequentOak

Islandtreasurehunt?Havetheybeengarbled,asthemetaphorofTelephone

suggests,orhavetheybeenintentionallyalteredbygreed—thesaltingoftreasure

sites,thehypingofinvestmentprospects8—orshouldtheybetakenatfacevalue?

Thisdocumentacceptsthedetailspasseddownthroughhistoryas“fact”

unlessreasonsforrevisionareclear.ButthereisextremelylittleintheOakIsland

storythatisrecorded.Reader,Beware!

5See[I1/archives/02-2016:117,119].6Thesourceforthe1785datesaysthelotswerepurchasedin1765.Giventhedifficultyinreadinglegalmanuscriptsofthe18thcentury,thiswasprobably1785,whichfitswithVaughan’sbirthyear.7See[I1/archives/01-2016].8ItmightnotbeacoincidencethattwoperiodsofintensetreasurehuntactivityonOakIslandwere1849-53,whentheCaliforniagoldrushwason,and1861-66,whenaNoviaScotiagoldfeverwasunderway.Investorsduringthoseepisodesweremoreeasilyfoundthangold.

4

WhatIstheOakIslandMystery?

IsOakIslandahoax,orisitanaturalphenomenonblownoutofproportion

byoveractiveimaginations,orisittheresultofamultigenerationalgameof

Telephonewithstoriesincreasinglygarbledastheyareretold,orisitaman-made

arearelatedtosomeactivityotherthantreasure,orisitacompletelynatural

phenomenonwithnohumanintervention,orisitatreasuresite,orisitallofthe

above?Ifitisatreasuresite,wasitcreatedbypirates,bymembersofsecret

societiesliketheRosicrucians,9theKnightsTemplar,10ortheFreemasons,orbythe

EnglishpolymathFrancisBacon—Shakespeare’scontemporaryand,somebelieve,

Shakespearehimself—tohidehisShakespearianmanuscripts,orbyPizzaro’smen

whentheyreturnedtoSpainwithIncantreasure,orbyFrenchRoyaliststohidethe

FrenchCrown’sjewels.OrbyCaptainKiddwhowasreportedtohavelefttwo

millionpoundsburiedonaremoteNewWorldisland?

Orisit,asIhavecometobelieve,justanexampleoftheall-too-human

triumphofhopeoverreason—atwo-centuryeffortguidedbyamateurswhowanted

tobelieveand,intheireagerness,trashedtheveryevidencethatmightgivethem

answers.LikeFoxMulder,theywantedtobelievethat“TheTruthisOutThere.”Oak

Islandmightsimplybeproofoftheadagethat“denialisnotjustariverinEgypt.”

Forme,thefascinationoftheOakIslandstoryisnotitspotentialfinancial

value,thoughatreasurehuntdidattractmyinitialinterest.Itisthatsomething

occurredatOakIslandtoleavearesidueofitemsbehind,andthatwestilldon’t

knowwhatthatsomethingwas.ItisalsothatOakIslandisataleabouttheabilityof

otherwiseintelligentpeopletofillintheblanks,makingacoherentstoryoutofwhat

isreallyasimplecollectionoflargelyundocumentedobservations—thatis,our9TheRosicrucians—the“OrderoftheRosyCross”—wereasecretsocietyformedduringthe17thcenturyEnlightenment.Theyespousedanesotericdoctrinebased,amongotherthings,onancientmysticism,includingtheJewishKaballah.SirFrancisBaconwassaidtobeamember.10TheKnightsTemplar,formallycalledtheOrderofthePoor-FellowSoldiersofChristandtheTempleofSolomon,wasanorderofwarrior-monksformedin1120afterthefirstcrusadefortheprotectionofpilgrimstoJerusalem,andtoprovidetransportationandtransit-relatedservices.ItdevelopedanextensivebankingandtransportationsystemintheLevant.Itwasviolentlysquelchedin1307anditstreasurewas,legendsays,transportedtoahidingplaceinitsships.Theorder’ssurvivorsmayhavefledtoScotland.

5

abilitytodeceiveourselvesbyfindingpatternswherenostructureexists.Wewill

seethatfromapossiblebuthighlyimprobablebeginning,OakIslandhaselicitedthe

zaniestoftheoriestoexplainaholeintheground—aholewhoseoriginsthemselves

mightwellbeapocryphal.

IhavevisitedOakIslandtwicesincemyinitialvisitinthelate1980s.Thelast

visitwasin2014whenIvisitedHalifaxonaboatwithmywifeandtwogood

friends.AtthattimeIhadthepleasureofmeetingsomeoftheprincipals:Dan

Blankenship,DaveBlankenship,CharlesBarkhouse,andRickLagina(“Lageena”).

Theseareverywelcoming,interesting,andlikablefolks,saneandstraightforward,

whosimplybelievethatsomethingofmajorarcheological,historic,orfinancial

importancewasburiedontheisland.Theyaretruebelieverswhohavedevoted

muchoftheirlivesandtreasuretotheOakIslandMystery.Myheartiswiththem,

andIwishtheywouldberewardedfortheirefforts;butIbelievethattheywon’t.

Toestablishmybonafidesasaone-timehopefulamongOakIslanddevotees

Iattachacopyofaduplicateofmystockcertificateinthenow-defunctOakIsland

ExplorationCompany.Theshareswerepurchasedintheearly1990sfor$2,500.

Thecertificateisnowemployedinitshighest-valueuse—framedandsittingonmy

officewall.

6

OvertheyearsIhavereadmanyoften-conflictingbooksandarticlesonOak

Island.VirtuallyallweknowaboutOakIslandistertiaryevidence—someone

repeatingwhatsomeoneelserepeatedfromwhatsomeoneelsesaidorread;both

disputesininterpretationandfactualerrorsareapartofthatterritory.Butin

preparingthisdocumentIcameacrossanextremelyusefulsource,identifiedinthe

Referencesectionas[I1].Icommenditforitsinvestigativestyle,itsdiscoveryof

newinformation,anditsimpartiality;itistheFoxNewsofOakIsland—“Fairand

Balanced.”Theblogseemswellstaffedwithtwoeditors,threeresearchers,andtwo

consultantswellknowninthatfield.

ThecitationmethodusedinthisdocumentisstandardexceptforInternet

sources,wherethereisnostandard.Abriefexplanationofthosecitationsisin

order.Supposeyouseethecitation[I1/archives/04-2016:85].Thisreferstopage85

ofwebsiteI1andsubsite=/archives/04-2016.

7

OakIslandOverview

BriefHistory

Inthe16thcenturyFranceclaimedthehugeregionfromHudsonBaytothe

GulfofMexico,andfromNewfoundlandtotheRockies,as“NewFrance.”Indian

tribes,primarilytheMi’kmaq,populatedwhatwenowcallCanada’sMaritime

ProvincesuntiltheFrencharrivedin1604andclaimedtheregion,callingit

“Acadia.”AcadiawastherefugefortheHuguenots,FrenchProtestantswho

immigratedtoescapeabuseathomebyFrenchCatholics.

In1710theBritishinvadedAcadiaandastrugglebetweenFranceand

BritainforcontroloftheareacontinuedthroughtheFrenchandIndianWar(1754-

1763),endinginaBritishvictoryandthedivisionoftheMaritimeProvinces

betweenFranceandBritain.

TheearliestrecordofOakIslandsettlementisa1753grantofthreeislands

inMahoneBaytotwofishmerchants,JohnGiffordandRichardSmith.11They

establishedaprocessingstationforthefishingindustryontheislandand,atleast

oneresearcherproposes,thiswasthegenesisoftheOakIslandMystery.

In1762,astheMahoneBayareabegansettlementunderBritishcontrol,

LunenburgCountylaidoutaplotplanforOakIslandthatisstillineffect.OakIsland

wasdividedinto32lots,mostofthem4acresinsizeandafewlarger;theaverage

lotsizeis4½acresperlot(seeplotmapbelow).Until1965theislandremained

accessibleonlybywater,butinthatyearRobertDunfield,thetreasurehunterdu

jour,builtacausewayconnectingtheislandtothemainland.Still,residential

developmentoftheislandhasbeenslow,tosaytheleast.Inthe1880stherewere

fivefarmsontheisland;therearenowonlythreeorfourhousesontheisland,all

occupiedbythelatestgenerationsoftreasurehunters.

OakIslandisinthetownofWesternShore,apartofthetownofinChester,

nestledinLunenburgCountyonMahoneBay.Itisasmall140-acredotsittingabout

11See[I3/dennis_king-march-2010.shtml]

8

100yardsoffofthemainlandatthebay’swesternshore;itisabout25mileswest-

south-westofHalifaxand10milesnorthofthecityofLunenburg.Chesteris

perhapsthemostpristinevillageonNovaScotia.Theisland’smaximumelevationis

36feetabovesealevelandtheelevationatthesurfaceoftheMoneyPitis32feet.

Threehundredyearsagotheseelevationsabovesealevelwerethreefeethigher—

thesealevelwasthenthreefeetlower.

OakIsland,NovaScotia

OakIslandLotLayout

9

AtthecausewayendoftheislandaretwohomesoccupiedbyDan

BlankenshipandhissonDavid;DanhasbeenhuntingfortreasureonOakIsland

since1967.AtJoudrey’sCoveonthenortheastsideisFredNolan’s.Nolan,whojust

diedin2016,cametotheislandin1962;heownsthesevenblacked-outlotsinthe

mapbelow;Blankenshipand/orhispartnersowntheother25lots.

DanBlankenshipisnowintohisninetiesbutstillengagedandalert,though

hissonhastakenontheheavylifting.HehasbeenexploringtheoriginalMoneyPit

areawithpartnerssincehisarrival.WhileBlankenshiphasfocusedonsubsurface

excavationattheMoneyPit,FredNolanhasfocusedonsurfaceformationsofrocks

onhisproperty,formationsthathethinksgivemeaningtotheOakIslandmystery.

Fred’sprimaryeffortshavebeenathissevenlots,thoughonoccasionhehasbeen

partneredwithBlankenshiponsubsurfaceexploration.

FredNolanandDanBlankenshipwereoncepartnersinoneofthemost

recentexplorationcompanies—TritonAlliance,Ltd.Tritonhuntedtheisland’s

secretsfromitsformationin1969to2011,whenitfoldedforlackofsubscription

foranissueof$10millioninadditionalshares.Inthe1980stherewasabitter

fallingoutbetweenNolanandBlankenship,possiblytheresultofTritonbringing

suitin1983contestingNolan’sownershipofhissevenOakIslandlots,thoughthat

isn’ttheonlydispute.

Recentlytheislandhasacquiredtwosummeroccupants.RickandMarty

LaginaarenewtreasurehuntersfromMichigan’sUpperPeninsula.TheLagina

brothersbecameinterestedinOakIslandaspre-teenadolescents.Rick,theeldest,

isaretiredpostalworker.Martyisanengineer,lawyer,andentrepreneurwith

energy-relatedbusinesses.In1982heformedTerraEnergy,whichbecame

Michigan’slargestnaturalgasextractor;in1995hesoldTerrafor$62.6millionand

startedacleanenergycompanyspecializinginwindfarms.

TheLaginasconnectedwithDanBlankenshipandformedapartnershipto

pickupwhereTritonAllianceleftoff.ForfundingtheyalliedwithTheHistory

Channeltoproducearealityshow.TheresultisTheCurseofOakIsland,ashowthat

airedin2014andisnowthroughitsfourthseason.TheCurseisaheavilyscripted

10

exampleofthefictionalhistoricalfictiongenreforwhichthechannelisknown.

MartyandRick,thehosts,areperfectfoilsforeachother:Rickistheunabashed

enthusiastwhowillalwaysvoteforthenextstepintheOakIslandtreasurehunt;

Martyistheconservativebrotherwhoisalwaysonthefence—willingtopullthe

plug,butsomehowalwaysagreeingwithhisolderbrothertospendmoremoney

andkeeplooking.

11

TheOakIslandTreasureHunt12

ThestandardworkingtheoryfortheOakIslandexplorationsisthatpirates

constructedtheMoneyPitinthe16thor17thcenturiestohidevaluablescapturedin

oraroundtheCaribbeanorcarriedbymerchantvesselsthattraveledthetrade

routealongtheGulfStreamthatrunsnorthwardalongNorthAmerica’seastcoast,

bendingovertotheOldWorldnearNovaScotia.Thatpirateswereabundantin

MahoneBayseemscertain:“mahone”isFrenchfor“pirate,”localhistoriesinNova

Scotiareferregularlytopirates,particularlyintheLaHavearea,andtheGulfStream

fromFloridabroughtshipsuptoNovaScotia;merchantvessels,Spanishtreasure

shipsfromSouthAmerica,pirates,andmilitaryvesselsreturningfromNorth

America’seastcoast.

TheOnslowCompany:1803-1805

ThefirstexplorationcompanytodigatOakIslandwastheOnslowCompany,

formedin1803byaNovaScotiannamedSimonorSimeonLyndswithOakIsland

residentsMcGinnis,Vaughan,andSmithaspartners.TheOnslowCompanyleftno

records,butJ.B.McCullyreporteddetailsofitsoperationsinan1862lettertoNova

Scotia’sLiverpoolTranscript.13McCullywasanengineerfortheTruroCompanythat

succeededtheOnslowCompanyin1849.

AccordingtoMcCully,theOnslowCompanyduga16-footdiameterpitdown

to93feet,uncovering“marks”describedas“puttyorcharcoal”everytenfeet;there

isnomentionofoakplatforms.Coconutfibers,notindigenoustothearea,were

foundalongtheway.At90feet14alargeflatstoneroughly2-feetwideand1-foot

thickandhavingseveralcharacterscutinit,wasuncovered;thisisthefamous“9012ThischronologyofexplorationonOakIslanddrawsheavilyon[I5].AlistofPolsson’sreferencesourcesisat[I5/refs.html].13See[I3]/diggings.shmtl].14McCall’slettersays“80feet,”anobviouserror.

12

FootStone.”TheOnslowCompanyreachedthe93-footlevelandplumbeddown

witharod,strikingwhattheythoughtwasawoodplatformatthe98-footlevel.This

suggestedafive-footemptyspacebetween93and98feet,justtherightsizefora

treasurechest.15

ThepitquicklyfloodedandtheCompanydugapitparalleltotheMoneyPit

atanunknowndistanceanddirection.Fromitsbottomtheydugsidewaysto

intersecttheMoneyPitattoapointbelow100-footinanefforttoretrievethe

treasurefrombelow;unfortunately,asthesidetunnelnearedtheMoneyPititalso

flooded.Stymiedbywater,theOnslowCompanystoppedoperating.OakIsland

remainedquietuntilthenextexplorationcompanystartedoperatingin1849.

Aphotooftheapocryphal90-footstoneisshownbelow.Thisisa“replica”

andthereisconsiderabledoubtthatthecharactersshownonitarethoseonthe

actualstone,orthatthereeverwerecharactersetchedontheoriginalstone.The

codeshownhasbeendecryptedas“Fortyfeetbelowtwomillionpoundsare

buried.”Thiswouldplacethetreasureatadepthof130feet.Twomillionpounds

sterlingingold(£2,000,000)atthe1795priceof£4.26pertroyouncecomesto

469,483.5troyouncesor20,540common(avoirdupois)pounds.Thiswouldhave

beenaheavytreasurechestindeed,andthechestitselfwouldrequireacapacityofat

least205cubicfeet(roughly14x14feetsquare)ifstoredasingots,moreifincoins!16

The90-FootStone

15See[I1/archives/05-2016].16SeeAppendix2

13

ThestoneisreportedtohavestayedinJohnSmith’spossession,embeddedin

thefireplaceoftheOakIslandhousehebuiltin1795,untilitwasmovedtoa

bookbinder’sshopinHalifaxaround1919,whereitwasusedasasurfaceonwhich

tosoftenleather.Unfortunately,buttypicallyforOakIsland,thestonehas

disappearedandthereisonlyoralhistorytotestifytoitsexistenceortoany

charactersscratchedonit.ScatteredreportsfromthosewhosawitinHalifaxsaid

thatithadnocharactersonit,perhapsbecausethecharactershadbeenrubbedoff.

TheTruroCompany:1849-1853

In1849AnthonyVaughan(probablyAnthonyVaughnJr.asAnthonySr.

wouldbeboth99yearsoldanddead)andJohnSmithjoinedwithnewpartners

fromTruroNStoformtheTruroCompany.ExplorationattheMoneyPitresumed.

J.B.McCully’s1862letter,citedabove,describestheTruroCompany’sactivitiesand

discoveries.

TheCompanybeganoperationsbydrillingthefloodedMoneyPit.At98feet

TheTruroCompanydrillencounteredsixinchesofwood(spruce),justasreported

bytheOnslowCompanyafterplumbingfrom93feetwitharod.Thenthedrill

droppedafootandencounteredfourinchesofoak,thencutthroughtwentyinches

ofloosemetal(judgingfromthesound),theneightinchesofoak,anothertwenty

inchesofloosemetal,andfourinchesofoak.Afterthisweresevenfeetofdisturbed

claybeforesolidclaywasreachedat111feet.Thetwosectionsofoakandmetalbits

from98’6”to104’2”suggestedtwooakchests,each2’9”high,oneontopofthe

other,filledwithloosecoins.

TheTruroCompanydrilledfouradditionalholesaroundtheoriginalMoney

Pit.OneofthosereplicatedthedrillingresultsforthePitbutalsobroughtupa

sectionofoakstave,somepiecesofbirchhoops,andthreelinksofagoldchain.The

staveandhoopsindicatedanoakencask.Thechainlinksweredescribedaspossibly

froman“epulet,”asonamilitaryuniform.Thisholealsorevealedafour-footby

three-footsidetunnelcomingfromtheeast(Smith’sCove)intothePitbelowthe98-

footplatform.OncethistunnelwasexposedwaterfloodedintothePit.

14

TheTruroCompanythenturneditsattentiontoSmith’sCove.17Exploration

thererevealedthatthebeachwas“artificial”—theCovehadbeendeepenedbyhand

andtheshorelinefilledinwithrocksandsand.McCullyreportedfindingevidenceof

anoldcofferdamand,betweenthecofferdamandthebeach,fiveboxdrainslined

withstoneandcoveredwitheelgrassandcoconutfiber,presumablytofilterout

sandandlargeparticlesthatmightclogtheboxdrains.Thecofferdamwasprobably

builttoexposethebeachareasothatthedrainscouldbeconstructed.

Thefiveboxdrainswerelocatedatanelevationbetweenthehighwaterand

lowwatermarksonthebeachsothattheywouldfillataboutmid-tidetohightide

anddrainfrommid-tidetolow.Theywerefirstdiscoveredin1850whenaworker

noticedwaterflowingintoSmith’sCovefromtheshore.Thefivedrainsconvergedto

atunnelthatwenttowardtheMoneyPit;itwasthoughttobeafloodtunnel

enteringthePitatadepthofabout111feet.TheconnectionwiththeMoneyPitwas

verifiedplacingbitsofclayintheSmith’sCovedrainsandobservingthemarriveat

thePit.

FieldSketchofSmith’sCove

17Whilediggingoneofthoseholes,theforemanwasobservedinspectingsomethingthathadcomeupandputtingitintohispocket.Heneverreportedhisfindings,butaclosefriendsoonappliedforhisowntreasure-trovelicenseontheproperty.ItwasdeniedbecauseTrurohadtherightsonthatland.

15

Armedwithevidenceofaman-madetunnelenteringtheMoneyPitata111

foot-depthfromtheeast(Smith’sCove),theTruroCompanyinvestigatedthewest

(SouthShoreCove)sideofthePit.McCullyreportsthattheyfoundanoldpitonthe

westsideoftheMoneyPitanddrilleddown,findingevidenceofatunneltothePit

fromthatdirectionthatintersectedthePitat118feetbelowthePit’sgroundlevel,

thatis,about7feetbelowtheSmith’sCovetunnelandabout20feetbelowthe98-

footwoodplatformfoundbytheOnslowCompanyandrediscoveredbytheTruro

Company.18Theintentofthiswest-sidetunnelmayhavebeentoallowretrievalof

thetreasurefrombelowthefloodedPit,oritmighthavebeenasecond“flood

tunnel’toSouthShoreCove.Thiswest-sidetunnelsooncollapsed.

SoendedtheTruroCompany,whichhadspentanestimated$40,000.The

TruroCompany’sdiscoveryofatunnelbetweenthePitandSmith’sCovesupported

theideathattheMoneyPithadbeenboobytrappedsothatdiggingdirectlydownit

wouldfloodthePit.Iftherewasatreasure,itwasnowclearthatdiggingintothe

MoneyPitwasnotthewaytogetit.Buthowwouldthe“pirates”recapturetheir

treasure?OneideawasthatthePitwasadecoyandthatthetreasurewasreally

buriedinshallowsideshaftsonlytwentyfeetorsobelowgroundlevel,butnosuch

shaftswerereportedbyeithertheOnsloworTrurocompaniesinthecourseoftheir

work,andmassivedigsinlateryearsalsofailedtofindtreasure-ladensideshafts.

Thenotionofadevilishlycleverandexpensivelyengineeredtreasuresite

suggestedthattherereallywassomethingveryvaluablehiddenintheMoneyPit.

Thisexcitedtheanimalspiritsoffuturetreasurehunters.

TheOakIslandAssociation:1861-65

TheOakIslandAssociationhadmanyoftheearlierTruroCompanypartners.

In1861asteam-drivenpumpwasinstalledtodraintheMoneyPit.Unfortunately,

itsboilerblewup,killingaworker.TheAssociationthendugseveraldeepshafts

closetotheoriginalMoneyPit,withtheintentionofinterceptingandblockingthe

18Itispossiblethatthiswest-sidetunnelwasthepitandsidetunneldugbytheOnslowCompanytoretrievethetreasurefrombelow,notanoriginaltunnelliketheeast-sidetunnel.Unfortunately,theOnslowCompanyleftnorecordsofthedirectionfromwhichtheirtunnelapproachedthePit.

16

“floodtunnels,”thendigginghorizontallyintothePit.Nofloodtunnelswerefound

butstillthenewshaftsflooded.BythistimeboththeOnslowCompanyandthe

TruroCompanyhadduglateraltunnelsanditwasimpossibletodistinguish

betweenthoseandtheoriginalfloodtunnels,iftheyeverexisted.19

AneffortwasmadetoblocktheboxdrainsinSmith’sCovewithclaytostop

theflowthroughthefloodtunnels.Thiswaspartiallysuccessful,indicatingthat

Smith’sCovewasasourceoftheflooding,butthesea’sactionclearedthedrainsand

fullwaterflowresumed.

TheOakIslandAssociationceasedoperatingin1865.

TheOakIslandElDorado/HalifaxCompany:1866-1867

TheOakIslandAssociationsolditsrightstotheOakIslandElDorado

Company,soonrenamedtheHalifaxCompany.A12-foothighcofferdamwas

constructedatSmith’sCovetoblockwatertotheMoneyPit.Thedamwasonly

partiallyeffective,andsoonanunusuallyhightidebreachedit.

A110-footshaftwasdug200feetsouthofthePit(towardSmith’sCove)and

atunnelwasdugfromitsbottomtowardthePittolocateanyfloodtunnels.Because

groundlevelslopeddownfromtheMoneyPittoSmith’sCove,thedepthofthis

tunnelwouldhavebeenseveralfeetbelowthe111-footdepthoftheMoneyPit.

ThisrevealedaprevioustunnelenteringthePitfromabove,decliningata22.5°

angle.ItssourcewasverifiedatSmith’sCovebyputtingbitsofclayintotheSmith’s

Coveboxdrainsandobservingtheclayarriveatthenewshaft.

In1867,afterallthediggingovermanyyears,thebottomoftheMoneyPit

collapsedabouttwentyfeet,to118feet.Thiswasinterpretedasthegiving-wayof

theceilingofalargecavernatthe120-footlevel.Alsoin1867aconsultantnamed

JohnBrownsubmittedareporttotheHalifaxCompany.20Browndrilledsomeholes

neartheoriginalMoneyPitandconcludedthattherewasnooakplatformas

reportedbytheTruroCompany,thatthePitwasoriginallyanaturalsinkhole,that

thePitfloodingcamefromwaterpassagethroughanaturallayerofgravelatthe19See[I3/floodtunnels.shtml].20See[I3/johnbrown.shtml].

17

140footlevel,thatifthereeverwasanoriginalfloodtunnelitwouldhavecollapsed

longago,andthattheloosemetalpiecesthroughwhichtheTruroCompanydrilled

wereprobablygravel.Perhapsonthebasisofthisreport,theHalifaxCompany

stoppeditsactivities.

TheCave-InPit:1878

In1878thewifeofanislandfarmerwasplowingafieldbetweentheMoney

PitandSmith’sCovewhenoneofherteamofoxensankintowhattheythoughtwas

asinkhole;theoxwasrescued.Thesinkholewascalled“TheCave-InPit,”andits

significanceemergedwhenitwasrealizedthattheCave-InPitwasonadirectline

betweentheMoneyPitandtheboxdrainsinSmith’sCove,aresultconfirmedin

RobertDunfield’smapshownabove.ThissuggestedthattheCave-InPitwasinitially

thesiteofaventilationshaftforthealready-foundfloodtunnelfromSmith’sCoveto

theMoneyPit.Byimplication,thepitfoundbytheTruroCompanytothewestofthe

MoneyPit,inthedirectionofSouthShoreCove,mighthavebeenaventilationshaft

forthewest-sidetunnelthatTruroreportedfinding.

TheOakIslandTreasureCompany:1893-1906

In1893FrederickBlair,aNovaScotiabusinessman,formedapartnershipto

exploretheMoneyPit,thoughbynowenoughpitsadjacenttotheMoneyPithad

beencuttomaskitsexactlocation.CoresamplesofthePitdownweretakendown

to165feet.At155feetthedrillencounteredcement,oak,metalpiecesincluding

flecksofgold,asmallscrapofparchmentwithtwoletters(“vi,”“ui,”or“wi”)written

inIndiainkwithaquillpen,and,finally,anotherlayerofoak.At165feettheyhitan

impenetrablelayerthoughttobeiron.

In1897TheOakIslandTreasureCompanyfoundafloodtunneltothePit

fromtheeast(Smith’sCove);itwascloggedwithstones.Thiswasthoughttobethe

originalfloodtunnel,butitmightwellhavebeenoneofthesidetunnelsdugbythe

OnslowandTruroCompanies.Fiveshaftsweredugalongthelinethatfloodtunnel

wassupposedtofollowbetweentheMoneyPitandSmith’sCove;thesefivenew

shaftswerefilledwithdynamiteandblownuptoblocktheflowofwaterfrom

18

Smith’sCove.Somuchforsubtlety,andforanymoremeaningfulevidencefrom

aroundtheMoneyPit.

TheCompanyalsoexploredtheareacalledthe“Cave-InPit.”Whenthe

drillingintheCave-InPitreached55feetthepitflooded.Onceagaindynamitewas

usedandafteradditionaldiggingtheCave-InPithasgrownfromox-legwidthtoa

diameterof100feet.Nothinghasbeenfoundthere.

In1898adyetestwasdoneattheMoneyPit.Thedyeemergedinboth

Smith’sCoveandSouthShoreCove.Thiswouldberepeatedinfutureyearswith

mixedsuccess.

ThusfartheOakIslandTreasureCompanyhadspentanestimated$100,000

andonelife—aworkerfellintoashaftin1897.ThiswastheseconddeathofanOak

Islandexplorer,anditledtoamutinyamongthesuperstitiousworkersthatforced

anendtoexploration,atleastforthetimebeing.OveritslifetheCompanyandits

predecessorshaddrivensome20shaftsneartheMoneyPitinordertoidentify

floodtunnels,stopwaterintrusion,andtunnelintothePitfrombelow.Fiveofthose

shaftshadbeenblownuptostopwaterintrusion,withnoeffect.TheentireMoney

Pitareawasashamblesandthelocationoftheoriginalpitwaslost.Moredamage

totheareawastocome.

OakIslandCrossSection

19

AchartoftheMoneyPitareagleanedfromtheseexplorationsisshown

above.21ThefloodtunnelisoftenshownasstraightlinefromSmith’sCove,butthe

shapeshowninthechartisthatfoundbytheHalifaxCompanyin1866:thetunnel

droppeddirectlydownfromtheshorelineatSmith’sCove,thenturnedupwardto

theCave-InPit,thendescendedata22.5°angletothebottomoftheMoneyPitat

about100feet.

In1904Blairreceivedafifty-yeartreasuretrovelicensetotherightstokeep

aportionofanythingofvaluefromexplorationaroundtheMoneyPitarea.Blair

boughtouthisOakIslandTreasureCompanypartnersandsearchedfornew

partnerstoworkthesite.

TheOldGoldSalvageandWreckingCompany:1909

CaptainHarryL.Bowdoin,aminingengineerfromNewYork,formedthis

partnershipwithFrederickBlairandothers.Amongtheinvestorswasayounglaw

studentnamedFranklinDelanoRoosevelt,whoworkedonOakIslandinthe

summerof1909.

TheCompanyexploredforjustoneyear,findingnothingofinterest.After

terminatingoperations,BowdoinwroteanarticleinCollier’sMagazine22reviewing

thehistoryofOakIslandexplorationandconcludingthatthereneverwastreasure

attheMoneyPit,aconclusionvigorouslydisputedbyFrederickBlair.Thetwohad

fallenoutandBlair’ssupportersclaimedthatBowdoinhadwrittentheCollier’s

articleinrevenge,hopingtowarnoffanyinvestorsinBlair’scompany.

Followingthis1911debacle,BlairmaintainedhisrightstoOakIsland

treasureuntilhisdeathin1951.Duringtheinterveningfortyyearsheleasedlandto

anumberofindividuals.

WilliamChappell:1931-32;GilbertHedden:1936-37;MelChappell:1951

1931-32–WilliamChappellofSydneyNSonthenorthcoastofCapeBreton

leasedBlair’srights.Chappellhadworkedatthesitein1897whentheparchment21See[I4],filea01,page16].22See[A2]

20

wasfound.Unfortunately,thepreciselocationofthe1897sitehadbeenlostinthe

interveningyearsofdigging.ChappellandBlairnowdisagreedontheexactlocation

oftheMoneyPit:Chappellthoughtitwasslightlynorthofthe1897drillsite,Blair

thoughtitwastothesouthofthatsite.In1931Chappellduga163-footshaftat

Blair’sselectedlocationsouthwestofthe1897hole.Thisisknownasthe“1931

ChappellShaft”).23

Between116-127feetChappell’sgroupfoundseveralartifactsincludingan

axe,aminer’spick,andananchorfluke.Theyencounteredevidenceofwhatthey

thoughtwasavaultroughly10feethigh(“theChappellVault”).Chappellthendug

sidetunnelstotheMoneyPitfromthe1931Chappellshaftbutfoundnothing.He

thenduga124-footshaftfromhispreferredPitlocation,searchingforthelocation

oftheparchmentandrelateditemsfoundin1897;thissecondshaft—the“1932

Chappellshaft”—revealednothing.In1932,afterspending$30,000andwiththe

Depressionunderway,Chappellgaveup.

1936-37—NextupwasGilbertHedden,aNewJerseymillionaire,whospent

$100,000tobringelectricpowerfromthemainlandtorunsubmersiblepumpsand

drainthePit;allfutureexplorershavebeengrateful.In1937Heddendugashaft

(the“Heddenshaft”)nearthe1931Chappellshaft;otherthanwaternothingwas

found.HethencommissionedasurveybyCharlesRoper,aprovinciallandsurveyor,

oftheeastendoftheislandtoidentifyallpreviousdigsandmarkings.The“Roper

Survey”hasbecomeatoolinallexcavations.AttemptstopumptheHeddenshaft

wereunsuccessful.Heddengaveupin1937.

In1941,neartheendofHedden’ssublease,anothertreasurehunter,Edwin

Hamilton,triedagobut,again,therewerenofinds.Severalothersmalloperators

followedbutallquicklyfellbythewayside.

Blaircontrolledactivityontheislanduntilhisdeathin1951.MelChappell,

William’sson,acquiredBlair’streasure-troverightsin1951.Hespent$25,000on

thePitbeforeleasinghisrightstoRobertRestall.

23The1937RoperSurveywouldlaterfindthe1897shaftandshowthatChappellhadbeencorrect.

21

RobertRestall:1959-65

RobertRestallwasafifty-nineyearoldsteelworkerfromOntariowho,in

earlierdays,hadbeenamotorcycledaredevilwithhiswife,Mildred;theirspecialty

wasridingtwomotorcyclesaroundacircularcagewithoutcrashingorcolliding.

Theyshouldhavestuckwiththatjob.

RestallleasedMelChappell’srightstoexplorein1959andmovedwithhis

wife,Mildred,andtwogrownsonstoOakIsland.Restallbuiltasmalltwo-room

cabinneartheMoneyPitandworkedthesitewithhissonsuntiltragedystruckin

1965.OneofhisdrillerswasLaverneJohnson,aFreemasonwhowroteapamphlet

abouthisexperiencesworkingforRestallonOakIsland.[I4]MoreonJohnsonlater.

AmongotherthingstheRoperSurveyhadmarkedwasanold“Stone

Triangle”ontheedgeofSouthShoreCove.Asshownintheleftpanelbelow,the

triangle’sinnerlineofstonespointstoTrueNorth,butanotherlinecanbemade

fromthecentralstoneinthereararcthroughthetriangle’spoint:thatline,the

“DeclinationLine,”isshownasthedottedline,runsabout7°WestofTrueNorth.

Roperhadalsofoundtwodrillstonesthatwererediscoveredin1959by

LaverneJohnson.TheseareshowninJohnson’schartintheright-handpanelbelow.

TheStoneTriangleXMarkstheSpot

22

JohnsonbelievedthattheMoneyPithadnosignificanceotherthanasthesite

ofthetwoflagstonesfoundjustbelowthesurface.Thus,onhischart(rightpanel)

theMoneyPitsiteiscalled“FlagstonesatTopofShaft.”Inaddition,onedrilled

stone(the“WesterlyDrilledStone”)wasabout50feetnorthoftheMoneyPitonthe

TrueNorthlinefromtheStoneTriangle.Theseconddrilledstone(the“Easterly

DrilledStone”)laytotheeastoftheMoneyPitnearSmith’sCove.

Johnson“decoded”theinformationfromthetwodrilledstonesandthe

flagstonestofindthesiteofthetreasure.Todothistakeastraightlinefromthe

EasterlyDrilledStonetotheFlagstonesattheTopoftheShaft,thentakealinethat

runsnorthwardatrightanglestothefirstline.Wherethatsecondlineandthe

DeclinationLineintersectistherealtreasuresite—Xmarksthespot.

Ifthisseemsbizarretoyou,youhavemyvote.InJohnson’sschemetheonly

functionoftheMoneyPitisservedbytheflagstonesfoundnearthesurfacein

1795—thatiswhereyoutakethe90°rotationtoX.Johnson’sbelievedthatthe

“boys”of1795thought“hole”insteadof“marker”andjustkeptdigging.Hadthey

knownabouttheRoperSurveystones,theywouldhavedecodedtheinformation

anddugatX—andtheywouldhavebecomerich.

ThesearethesortsofcontortionsthatOakIsland’streasurehuntersmadeto

trytoidentifyatreasuresite.IshouldaddthatwhenJohnsonduga30-footpitatX

hefoundnothing.

Backtothemainstory.RobertRestalldugeight27-footholesnearthe

MoneyPittotrytointerceptthefloodtunnels,withnosuccess.In1965,whileinside

oneofthesewater-filledholes,hewasovercomebyfumes,eithercarbonmonoxide

fromthepumpmotoror,morelikely,naturalhydrogen-sulfidefumes,averytoxic

gasassociatedwithorganicmaterialdecomposinginwater.Restalllost

consciousnessandfellintothewater,his30-yearoldsonRobertjumpedintoget

himandhadthesamefate,thentwoworkersjumpedintohelp.Allfourwere

overcomeanddrowned.

23

RobertDunfield:1965-1966

RobertDunfield,ageologistwhohadbeenRestall’spartner,leasedMel

Chappell’srightstocontinueexplorationaftertheRestalloperationendedin

tragedy.Heconstructedacausewaytothemainlandin1965tobringheavy

equipmentontotheisland.Thecausewaycostanestimated$40,000anditremains

inplaceeventhoughitwassupposedtoberemovedafterDunfieldwasfinished.

DunfieldimmediatelyranintoaconflictwithFredNolanbyrefusingtolet

Nolanusethecauseway.Nolanrespondedbymovinghissmallmuseumofartifacts

foundonOakIslandtoalocationthatblockedaccessfromthecausewaytothe

MoneyPit.Stalemate!DunfieldsuedNolan.EventuallyDunfieldwasforcedtolet

Nolanandothersusethecauseway;inreturn,Nolanwasforcedtorestoreaccessto

theMoneyPit.OnceagainmoneywasspentonOakIslandtonoeffect.

InadditiontobulldozingaroundtheMoneyPitlookingforfloodtunnels,

DunfieldandhispartnersexploredtheSmith’sCoveareaandfoundindicationsof

earlyconstructionactivity,amongthemanoldcofferdam,thefiveboxdrains

coveredineelgrassandcoconutfiber,logsfromawharforotherstructure,astone

market“1704,”apairofancientwroughtironscissors.24

Dunfieldspentanestimated$130,000withnoresultexceptthecollapseof

severaltunnelsinarain-soakedseason.Buthehadagreattimeonthatbulldozer

beforehesuspendedoperationsin1966.

TheareaofexcavationatthetimeofDunfield’sworkisshownbelow.Itis

clearthattheunscientificwaythehunthadprogressedovertheyearshad

effectivelymaskedanyoriginalworkdonebythoseubiquitouspiratesor

Rosicrucians.

TritonAllianceLimited/OakIslandExplorationCompany:1967-2011 In1967DanBlankenshiparrivedonOakIslandinpartnershipwithDunfield,

FredNolan,andanewpartner,DavidTobias.Thefollowingisasummaryoftheir

activitiesandfindings.

24See[I5]

24

TheMoneyPitAreain1965

1967—Blankenshipdrilledabout60deepexplorationholesaroundthe

MoneyPit,sometobelowthe180-footbedrock.Theybroughtupsomeman-made

items(brassfragments,wooddatedto1490-1660fromacavitybelowbedrock,

charcoal,fragmentsofchina).

1969—thepartnershipwasformalizedasOakIslandExplorationCompany

underTritonAllianceLimited,withDavidTobiasasitsPresident.Under

Blankenship’sdirection,TritondrilledBorehole10-Xabout160feetfromtheMoney

PitalongthelineoftheallegedtunnelfromtheMoneyPitpasttheCave-InPittothe

Smith’sCoveboxdrains.Borehole10-Xwasinitiallya27-inchdiametershaftdriven

throughthebedrockat180feetandthendownto235feet.Threefive-footcavities

werefound—oneat140feet,oneat180feet,andoneat230feet;thelastwaswell

belowbedrock.Metalfragmentswereretrievedfromthesecondcavity.

Towardtheendof1969Blankenshiptookwhatseemstobeatragicmisstep

inordertoflushtreasureoutofBorehole10-X:hesetoffchargesoftwodynamite

stickseachatfive-footintervalsinthethreecavernsat10-X.25Nothingcameup,but

25See[I1]/archives/2016_4,p.85].

25

theuseofbruteforcesuggestsnownothingwillcomeup.Thechartbelowisa

recordofthisaction.26

Blastingat10-X

1970—Tritonbuiltalarge400-footcofferdamtodrainSmith’sCove.The

remainsofanearliercofferdamwerefound—whetheritwasDunfield’scofferdam

ortheoriginalfoundbytheTruroCompanyisn’tclear.Somemanmadeitemswere

alsofound,allpre-1790:a12-inchruler,nails,spikesandtools.

1971—Borehole10-Xwaswidenedtoaneight-footdiametertoallowdivers

accessdowntothe180-footbedrocklevel;theoriginal27-inchdiameterholethat

runsfrom180feetdownto235feetwasleftuntouched.Diversweresentdownto

bedrockat180feet,butvisibilitywaspoorandnothingwasseen.Acamerawas

sentdowntothecavernat225feetandverygrainyphotosweretaken.Itseems

strangetoexpecttoseeanythingintactinanareayouhavedemolished,but

Blankenshipidentifiedseveralitemsinthephotos:ahumanhand,ahumanbody,a

26Alsoin1969FredNolandrainedthe“swamp”neartheMoneyPitandfoundwhatappearedtobeasectionofthemastofanoldsailingship.

26

pickaxe,chestsandtwosidetunnelsfromthecavern.(Icouldn’tidentifyanyof

thesewhenIsawthephotos.).

1972—GeorgeBates,aNovaScotiahistorian,presentedanewtheoryofOak

IslandatameetingoftheCanadianInstituteofSurveyingandMapping.Histheoryis

thattheoriginalexcavations(theMoneyPit,theeast-sidetunneltoSmith’sCove,

andtheworksinSmith’sCove)weresignsofashipyard.Thisideawillbediscussed

later.

1976—WhileDanBlankenshipwasdivinginBorehole10-Xthesideofthe

metalcasingcollapsedjustbelowhim,closingoffthelowersection.Hebarely

escaped.

1979—InFebruaryfourholesappearedintheiceoverSouthShoreCove.

ThisoccurredafterpumpingactivityinthePit;oncethepumpingstopped,theholes

disappeared.Theice-holesreappearedin1987,againafterapumpingoperation.27

Theholeshavebeenattributedtoairbubblesrelatedtothepumping.

1983—TritonsuedFredNolan,contestingownershipofhissevenlotson

OakIsland.IfNolanlosesthesuit,heloseshisrightsonOakIslandalongwithhis

influenceasamemberofTritonAlliance.Thismightwellhavebeenthesourceof

theenmitybetweenBlankenshipandNolan.Therewasalsolitigationlaterover

Nolanmovingsomepropertymarkerstoenhancehisproperty.

1985—NolanwonandTritonappealed.In1987Tritonlostagainonappeal:

Nolan’sownershipofthesevenlotswasfinallyconfirmed.(Nolanlostonthe

propertylinedispute.)

27See[I1/archives/03-2016:22]

27

1987—Tritonannouncedastockissuetoraise$10milliontodriveatubular

casing80feetincircumference(13-feetindiameter)aroundBorehole10Xdownto

bedrockat180feet,thusclosingoffthewatersourceandallowingdrainageof10-X.

TheOctober1987stockmarketcrashendedtheplanandTritonendedactive

exploration.Ithelditslastannualmeetingin2011andin2014itwasformally

eliminatedfromtheCanadianregisterofcompaniesfornonpaymentofannualfees.

2006—DavidTobiassoldhisfiftypercentshareofTritontotheLagina

Brothers.

2008—Tritonsolditstreasure-trovelicensetoOakIslandTours,Inc.One

estimateofthecosttoTritonofitsactivitiesontheislandis$500,000.28

OakIslandTours,Inc.:2008-Present

OakIslandTours,Inc.wasformedbyDanBlankenshiptopromoteOakIsland

asatouristarea.In2008itpurchasedTritonAlliance’streasure-trovelicense,

allowingittocontinueexplorationsatOakIsland.TheCompany’spartnersinclude

DanandDaveBlankenship,RickandMartyLagina,CharlesBarkhouse,andCraig

Tester.CraigisMarty’sformercollegeroommate,hispartnerinthenewwindfarm

energycompany,andanengineerwithexpertiseinsoilresistivity.Charlesiscurator

oftheOakIslandMuseumandaveryknowledgeablelocalhistorian.

TheLaginasbegannegotiationswiththeHistoryChanneltoseeifitmightbe

interestedinfilminga“realityshow”aboutOakIsland.Itwas,andtheresultisThe

CurseofOakIsland,nowendingitsfourthseason.Everyepisodeispaddedwith

segmentsfrompreviousepisodes,andeachsegmentofanepisodeendswitha

teaserthatbringstheviewerpastthecommercialonlytoletthemdownafterward.

Itisaveryfrustratingshowwithatightstructure:eachepisodehasasegment

filmedinthe“WarRoom,”wheretheprincipalsmeettoplanthenextforay,often

withoutsideadvisorswhohaveoutrageousideasaboutwhat’sthere,whereitis,

andwhodidit.Alsopresentarethedivers,drillers,andotherswhowillexecutethe

plans.AttheendofeachmeetingMartyputsonaseriousfaceandasks,“Shouldwe

28See[A3]

28

dothis?”ThenRick,alsowithhisgamefaceon,says,“Yes,itmightleadtonothing,

but...whatifitdoes!”Theotherprincipalsnodtheirheadssagely,Martypondersa

bit,slapsthetable,andsay,“Let’sdoit!”Thentheyretiretoabar.

Still,anyonewhohasfollowedtheOakIslandsagawillwanttoseeTheCurse

ifonlytoseewhattheLaginasdidandwhattheyfound.Theshortanswersare“a

lot”and“notmuch.”

WhathavetheLaginashaveactuallydoneis“alot.”

†Theyhavedrainedtheswampthreetimes.29(Nolanfirstdraineditin1969).ThefirsttimeallthatwasfoundwasaSpanish8-realemeravedi,acoppercoin,dated1652.ThesecondwasontheadviceofaNorwegiannamedPeterAmundsonwhobelievedthatthesurfacestonesforming“Nolan’sCross”wereactuallypartofalargerformationcalledtheTreeofLife,andthatsomethingwouldbefoundattheTree’s“MercyPoint”locatedintheswamp;instrumentsattheMercyPointlocatednonferrous

metal(perhapsgoldorsilver)butnothingofvaluewasretrieved.Thethirdtimetheydraineditdry,pumpingthebrackishwatertotheCave-InPit,thentheybroughtinabackhoetodiginaspecificareaandfoundalongplanklikefromaship’shullandalargespike,bothassociatedwithearlyshipconstruction,perhapsaSpanishGalleon.

†TheyrepeatedlysentdiversdownBorehole10-XtofindtheobjectsthatBlankenship’scamerarevealedin1971—awoodenchest,abody,ahand,apickaxe,sidetunnels.Onlyonedivermadeitandhefoundnoneofthoseobjects.Inthatdiver’sopinionthecavernisanaturalformation.

†TheyhaveexploredSmith’sCovetosearchfortheboxdrainsfoundbypreviousexpeditions.Theycameupwithmorecoconutfiberandafewwroughtirontoolsdatedpre-1790.

†Theyrepeatedlymetinthewarroomtolistentothedoofusdujourdescribehistheoryofwhodidit,when,andwhy.Noneofthesevisitorshashadcredentialsinhistory,archeology,orgeology.Somearesouncredibleastobeincredible.Mostoftheideasarebizarre,amongthem,

°TheRosicrucians,asecretsocietyformedduringthe17thcenturyEnlightenment.TheRosicrucianswereadherentsofamysticaldoctrinethatincludedtheJewishKaballahanditsTreeofLife.

°SirFrancisBacon,the17thcenturyEnglishpolymathwhosomethinkwasShakespeare,buriedWilliamShakespeare’slostplaysonOakIsland.

29In1969FredNolandrainedtheswampforthefirsttime,findingasectionofanoldship’smast.Thisledtotheideathatanentiretreasureshiphadbeenburiedintheswamp.

29

°TheKnightsTemplar,formallycalledthe“SocietyofthePoorFellow-SoldiersofChristandoftheTempleofSolomon,”buriedtheirtreasureamassedasbankersandtransporterstopilgrimsduringthecrusades—atreasurethatincludestheHolyGrailandtheArkoftheCovenant.TheKnightsTemplarwasformedcirca1120aftertheFirstCrusade,anditwasviolentlydissolvedin1307toexpropriateitswealth.°MarieAntoinette’sfabledjewels,ortheFrenchCrownjewelsburiedbyFrenchRoyalists.°CaptainWilliamKidd’stwo-millionpoundtreasurereportedtohavebeenburiesonasecludednorthernislandinAmerica.

†MartyandsometeammembersflewtoFranceandScotlandtofollowuponthehistoryoftheKnightsTemplar,whowerecenteredinFranceandreportedlyfledtoScotlandwiththeirshipsandtreasureafter1307.Theycamebackwellfedbutnowiser.†Theyinterviewedthreesisters—descendantsofDanielMcGinnes—whoreportedthefamilystorythatthethree“boys”hadactuallyfoundthreetreasurechests;eachhadtakenonechesthome.Ifthisstoryistrue,whateverwasburiedattheMoneyPithasalreadybeenfound.Asevidencetheyshowedabeautifulgoldcrossmadeforanecklace;jewelershaddatedittothe1500s.ThiswastheonlyiteminDanielMcGinnis’chestthatremainsinthefamily.†TheLaginasreturnedtotheMoneyPittopickupwhereTritonleftoffin1987.TheysankalargemetalcaissonaroundasitecalledV3,wheretheythoughttheoriginalPitwaslocated;thiswasdonetostabilizeit,toshutoffwatersources,andtofindwhatisatthebottom.Aclamshellshovelwasloweredbycraneintothetubetoremoveearthandmaterial.At140feettheyfoundsquaretimbers.Thiswasveryexcitinguntiltheynoticedthatthetimbershadmarksfromcircularsaws,whichweren’tinventeduntilthelate18thcenturyandwerenotcommonlyuseduntilthemid-19thcentury;theLaginasconcludedthatthetimberswerecribbingfromanearliersideshaftintothePitdugbyWilliamChappellin1931.†Theydugasecondshaft,calledC1,abouttwentyfeetfromV3withthesametypeofcaissonusedatV3.Thisreachedwhatappearedtobeacavityat170feet.Duringthisdigtheysentacameradownandsawglimpsesofashinyyellowobject.

Inshort,TheLaginabrothersandtheirHistoryChannelbackershave

foundnothingthatwasnotfoundbefore,andtheyhavefailedtofindsome

thingsthathadbeenfoundbefore.Theyalsohaveanindicationthattheir

treasurechest(s)mighthavebeenretrievedcenturiesago.Afterthislastrevelation

30

attheendofthethirdseasontheWarRoommettodiscusswhethertocontinue;

Martyslappedthetableandsaid,“Let’sDoIt!”.

It’sclearthatthereisatleastonehoaxintheOakIslandstory:itistheairing

ofTheCurseonachannelthatmasksfictionashistory.Ofcourse,thatdoesn’tstop

usfromwatchingtheseries—theLaginasaresuchperfecthosts,andtheshowisso

outréandcampy,thatourearsperkupeverytimesomeonesays,“Wow,whatis

this?”beforegoingtocommercial.WeknowthattheLaginasandtheirpartnersare

acting,butstillitsucksusin.

Hopefully,theHistoryChannelhasjumpedthesharkandinthefutureOak

Islandwillbeknownasaplaceratherthanasanadventure.Perhapssomedaywe

willbeatthatpointwhenthefirstquestionapsychiatristasksofapotentially

psychoticpatientis,“DoyoubelieveinOakIsland?”TheOakIslandMysterywill

thenhavereacheditsproperplaceinthepublic’sconsciousness—asasanitytest.

TheFloodTunnels:Digging,Dowsing,andDyeTests AnimportantgoalofexplorationatOakIslandhasbeentoinvestigatethe

networkoffloodtunnelsreputedlycreatedbytheoriginaldiggers.Thishasbeen

doneinthreeways:digging,dowsing,anddyetests.

Digginghasbeentheprimaryapproach.Shaftshavebeendugalloverthesite

tofindtunnels.Thishasbeendiscussedelsewhereinthisdocument,butitbears

repeatingthatbruteforcehasboth“muddiedthewaters”andtornuptheeastern

endoftheisland,alltoachieveinconsistentresults:somediggingfindsflood

tunnels,somediggingfindsnofloodtunnels,andsomesuggeststhatfloodtunnels

newlyfoundareactuallytunnelsdugbyearlierexplorerstoentertheMoneyPit.

Dyetestsareamorescientificapproach.Awater-dyemixispumpedintoa

shaft(usuallytheMoneyPitorBorehole10-X)andtheshorelineiswatchedfor

appearanceofthedye.Theseresultsarealsomixed.Thefirstreporteddyetest,in

1898whendyeporeddownthePit,showedatdyebothSmith’sCoveandSouth

ShoreCove.Thesecondtestwasin1941whenEdwinHamiltonpoureddyeintothe

MoneyPitanditappearedatSouthShoreCove.Thiswastakenasconfirmationofa

31

westwardtunnelfromthePit,perhapsthesametunneldiscoveredbytheTruro

Companycirca1897.

Thethirddyetestwasin1992whenDanBlankenshippoureddyeintothe

MoneyPitandafter3-4hoursitappeared1,155feetawayatthe“oppositesideof

theisland”(nearJoudrey’sCove?).30Thisshouldhavebeentotallyunexpected,but,

amazingly,Blankenshipreportedthathehadidentifiedthatwhollynewtunnelprior

tothedyetestbyusingtheancientmethodofdowsing.Thistunnelisasurprise

becausetherewerenoreportsofearlyexplorerstunnelingfromthePittothe

northeast,andbecauseJoudrey’sCoveissofaraway—overtwo-tenthsofamile.

Inthefourthdyetest,alsoin1992,Blankenshippoureddyedownahole

northofBorehole10-X.ThisdyeshowedatbothSmith’sCoveandatSouthShore

Cove.31TheWoodsHoleOceanographicInstituteperformedafifthdyetestin1995

aspartofalargerstudyofOakIslandhydraulics:WHOIpoureddyeintoBorehole

10-XandreportedthatnodyewasobservedemergingateitherSmith’sCoveor

SouthShoreCove.32Finally,circa2013theLaginasreplicatedthe1995WHOItest

bypouringdyeintoBorehole10-X:onceagain,nodyeappearedontheisland’s

coast.

Ifthesedyetestsindicateanythingatall,itisthatanyconnectionbetween

theMoneyPitareaandMahoneBayiseithernonexistentorverycomplicated:

subsurfacechannelsseemtoappearanddisappearovertime,andtheyseemtobe

foundatsomeholesbutnotatothers.Onewondershowmuchthediggingand

blastingaroundtheareahasclosedofforredirectedwaterchannelsfoundatearlier

dates.

WereferredabovetoBlankenship’suseofdowsing.Accordingtohimitwas

quitesuccessfulwithseveraltunnels,notjustthelongpreviouslyunknown

northeasterlytunneltowardJoudrey’sCove.Whenthisbecamecommonknowledge

itsetoffafloodofInternetdiscussionsabouttheefficacyofdowsing.Thereisno

30See[I1]/did-dowsing-dicoveries-lead-Dan-to-dig-10X:6].31See[I4].MacphiehasdevelopedanumberofexcellentscientificPowerPointpresentationsonOakIsland.32See[A8].

32

scientificbasisforthepractice,yetithasbeenusedforhundredsofyearsasaway

tofindwater,metals,orotherconductiveobjectsbelowground.

MacPhiereportstheresultsfromasmalldowsingtestinEngland.33Two

metalobjectswereburied,oneatthreemeters(26feet)andtheotherateight

meters(43feet).Sixteenstudentsindependentlydousedforthemandelevenfound

atleastoneoftheobjects,9findingboth;thisleftfivestudents(5)withnohits.

Usingstandardstatisticaltests,theprobabilitythat11ormorestudentswouldgeta

hitsimplybychanceis.067(6.7percent).Thisdoesnotquitemeetthestandardof

.05orsmallerthatstatisticianstypicallyusetodetermine“significance,”butitis

closeandwiththesmallsamplesizethereisconsiderablesamplingvariability.Still,

anumberofotherstudieshavealsofoundasuccessratenobetterthanchance.34If

Blankenship’smethodofffindingtunnelsisnobetterthanchance,howdidhefind

that1,155-footlongtunnel?Perhapsheisjustabetterthanaveragedowser.

Apersonalstory.WhileonafamilytriptoEnglandyearsagowevisitedthe

villageofAveburywherearingofstoneslikethoseatStonehenge(butmuch

smaller)hadbeenfoundlongagobydowsing.Somestoneswerestillburied,and

wewereaskedifwewantedtodowseforthem.WhenIpassedovercertainspots

thedowsingrodwasalmostforcedfrommyhand,apalpablehit.Theevidenceof

myownhandsledmetoachoice,eitherdowsingworkedorlargemagnetshadbeen

buriedfortouriststofind.35

33See[I4],filea03,p.5].Elevenofthestudentsidentifiedonlytheshallowobjectwhile9foundthedeeperobject.“Chance”meansa50percentprobabilitythatsomethingisfound,withacorresponding50percentprobabilitythatnothingisfound.34See“Dowsing”onWikipedia.35Myexperiencewithdowsingisanexampleofwhatpsychologistscallideomotoractivity—theentirelyunconscioustranslationofanidea(“thereissomethingburiedhere”)intophysicalaction.

33

ExploringSurfaceStoneFormations

LittlehasbeensaidofFredNolan’sindependentsearchforinformationfrom

surface-levelrockformationsonhisproperty.Thereasonis,ofcourse,thatthese

effortsarefarlessdramaticthantheMoneyPitexplorations.

Perhapsthemostdramaticstoneformationis“Nolan’sCross,”alarge

formationintheshapeofacrossonthenortheastsideiftheisland.Thetopofthe

crosspointseast,itsleftarmpointsnorth,andthecross’srightarmpointstothe

MoneyPit.

Nolan’sCross

Atthecenterofthecross,wherethetwoarmsintersect,Nolanfoundalarge

stonewithwhatlookslikepartofahumanfacecarvedonit.Thoseofusfamiliar

withthenow-collapsed“ManoftheMountain,”aoncefamousnaturalformationofa

humanprofilehangingoffofNewHampshire’sMountWashington,knowthat

humanfacescanbecarvedinstonebynaturalforces,sowemightnotbuythe“man-

made”stonefaceonOakIsland.Nordoweknowwhatotherstoneswereinthearea

ofthecrossfromwhichthesixstonesinthecrossmightbeselectedasameaningful

34

feature.Butthelegendisthatthesesixstonesstandoutinaclearcross,perhapsa

replicaoftheTemplarCross.

Indeed,PetterAmundson,aNorwegianfixatedonOakIslandandoneofthe

outsiderswhopresentedhistheoriestotheWarRoom,hasfoundfouradditional

stonesthatthatcreatealargerformationfromNolan’sCross,aformationthat

matchesasymbolfromtheJewishKaballahcalledthe“TreeofLife.”Themapbelow

overlaysNolan’sCrossonOakIsland,thentheTreeofLifeonNolan’sCross:Nolan’s

CrossisthecentralpillarandmiddlecrossarmoftheredformationcalledtheTree

ofLife.

OakIsland’sTreeofLife

TheTreeofLifehastenpoints,ornodes;asagroupthesepointsarecalled

sephirot(singular:sephirah).AteachOakIslandsephirah,shownasalargereddot,

isastone:sixofthemform“Nolan’sCross”andtheotherfourfoundbyAmundson

completetheTreeofLife.EachsephirahrepresentsanaspectofGod’suniverse:the

leftmostpillarwithitsthreesephirahshowsthethreeaspectsof“God’sMasculine

Side”(Understanding,Justice,Glory),thecentralpillarwithitsfoursephirahshows

35

fouraspectsof“IdealBalance”(DivineCrown,Beauty,Foundation,andGod’s

Presence),andtherightmostpillarwiththreesephirahshowsthreeaspectsofGod’s

FeminineSide(Wisdom,Mercy,Eternity).Amundsonfoundlargestonesatallten

points,allbutoneaboveground.Asmarkedonthephoto,themiddle-rightsephirah

represents“Mercy.”Again,theremighthavebeenaplethoraofstonesinthearea

withAmundsonselectingonlythetenthatfittherelativemeasurementsofaTreeof

Life.

Notetheareamarked“7.”ThisisthetriangularswampthatNolanfirst

drainedin1969.Thesephirahtotheleftof“7”markstheMercyPoint;itisatthe

triangularpointoftheswamp.InaWarRoommeetingAmundsondirectedthe

group’sattentiontotheMercyPoint,claimingexcathedrathatsomethingof

importancewouldbefoundthere.TheLaginasdrainedtheswampandexplored

thatareawithmetal-detectors.Nothingofsignificancewasfound.

TheTreeofLifeandNolan’sCrossarethelargestandmostcomplexofthe

stonefiguresfoundontheisland,butthereareotherstonesthathavebeen

interesting.NearSmith’scoveliesastonewitha“G”clearlycarvedintoit;Gisthe

symbolforGodinFreemasonry.Freemasonrywasarapidlygrowingmovementin

the17thcenturyandisthoughtbysome,withoutevidence,tobedirectlydescended

fromtheKnightsTemplar;itstiestoRosicrucianismaremoredirect.Thisstone

suggeststhatFreemasons—andperhapsKnightsTemplar—wereonOakIsland.

ButthepresenceofFreemasonsisnotsurprisingasitwasaflourishingegalitarian

organizationinBritainwithmembersdrawnfromthearmy,thearistocracy,andthe

growingmiddleclass.DuringtheAmericancolonialperiodFreemasonrywasactive

inAmerica.Indeed,GeorgeWashingtonwasaFreemason.

TheOakIsland“G”Stone

36

PageIntentionallyLeftBlank

37

NaturalExplanationsofOakIsland

Perhapstheonlysolidinformationgainedfrom216yearsofdiggingand

destructionisthattherewashumanactivityofsomesortonOakIslandpredating

the1795discoveryoftheMoneyPit:theSmith’sCoveareahasrevealedtools,

probableboxdrains,coconutfibersandeel-grass,wharf-likelogstructures,and

otherevidenceindicativeofshippingactivity;themanypitsdugontheislandhave

revealedevidenceoftools,nails,anchors,goldlinks,glassandpottery,oldcoins;

isolatedcarvedstoneslikethe“G”stoneandtheapocryphal”90FootStone”were

foundintheMoneyPitarea.36

Butoverthose200yearsmorequestionshavearisenthananswershave

beengiven.Amongthosequestionsis:

•WhatwouldjustifyalloftheengineeringandminingeffortthatOakIslandapparentlyreveals?

•HasthefloodingofthePitandothersitesbeenduetoman-madetunnelstoMahoneBay,orhasitbeentide-drivenflowthroughnaturalchannelsas

arguedbymanystudentsoftheisland.•Whyhave“supernatural”theoriesbeenpreferredto“natural”theoriesofOakIsland’shistory?

Thesequestionsremainunanswered,or,inmanycases,havereceived

conflictinganswers.Whatseemsclearisthatfewinvestigatorshavesought

“natural”solutionstotheOakIslandMystery—solutionsthatderivefromhuman

activityandexperience,nothumanaspirationsormysticism.Instead,OakIslandhas

becomeatreasurehuntdrivenbytheunderlyingsearchphilosophy“IfItIsn’t

Found,ItMustStillBeThere.”

Oncewearecommittedtosaneandscientificanswers,welookforplausible

explanationsforthesefindingsthatdon’trequiretravelingthreethousandmileson

36Allofthisassumesthatwhatisreportedtohavebeenfoundwasactuallyfound—treasuresitesarenotoriousforbeing“seeded”toattractinvestors.

38

potentiallydangerousseastohideextremelyvaluableitemsliketheArkofthe

CovenantorMarieAntoinette’sjewelsina100-footpit.Statedthisway,pirates

seemmoreplausible.

OakIslandhasclearlybeeninhabitedforalongtime,certainlywellbeforeit

waslaidoutin1762.Evenifnotinhabited,ithasbeenavailabletopassingships

boundforEuropesincethediscoveryofAmericabyEuropeans.Wewouldexpectto

findtoolsandsignsofearlylifeandactivityontheisland,thoughwewouldnot

expectthoseartifactstobeasdeepundergroundastheywerefound.Still,thecoins,

tools,nailsandotherindicationsofhumanactivitymightsimplybetheresiduefrom

constructionontheIslandthatisunrelatedtotreasure.

.

Cross-SectionofBorehole10-X

39

ThegeologicalcharacteristicsofOakIslandareaiscertainlyrelevant.Itisa

lowislandwithamaximumelevationofonly36feet,anelevationthathas

decreasedaboutonefootforeachcenturyassealevelsrose.Manyobserversargue

thattheislandrestsonporouslimestoneinwhichnaturaltunnelsandcavernsare

readilycarvedbygroundwaterorseawater.Doesthislimestonefoundationexist,

and,ifso,woulditcreatethefloodtunnelsthathavebeenthesubjectofsomuch

attention?Therearedoubters.

DougHenskee,anOakIslandinvestigatorwhodugBorehole10-Xwith

Blankenshipin1969,isskeptical.In1997HenskeestatedthatwhenBorehole10-X

wasdug,“Weneverfoundanysignificanthorizontalflowofwateratanydepth,

fromthesurfacedowntobedrockat180feet.”Butif10-Xwasandremaineddryfor

alongperiod,whydoesitnowhavewaterinit?Doesthe1971blastingexplainthis?

Thecross-sectionofBorehole10-XshownaboveisdrawnbyHenskee.Note

thattheisland’sbedrockisanhydriterock,whichhasahighlycrystallinestructure

andisveryporous.Whilebedrockcouldbewater-laden,itsabilitytotransmitwater

tohigherlevelsdependsonwhatisontopofthebedrock.Henskee’schartshowsa

layerofsandymaterialat170-180feet,alayerofdrylimestonemarl(150-170feet),

6feetofmixedbutdrylimestone(144-150feet),and4feetofsand(140-144feet).

Abovethis,at100-140feet,is40feetoffirmgrayclay,theresidueofglacialtill;this

isthesweetspotoftheMoneyPit,thetargetareformostofthedigging.The

impermeabilityofthatclaydoesnotbodewellforthetheorythatfloodingcame

fromnaturalchannels.

JohnWonnacott,awell-regardedgeologistrecentlyinterviewedfor[I1],

arguesthattheweshouldexpectnonaturalwatercourseintotheMoneyPitor

Borehole10-X.37Wonnacottnotesthattheisland’sbedrockisat180feetandthat

betweenbedrockandthegroundlevelattheMoneyPitorBorehole10-Xisalayer

37See[I1/archives/02-2016:44].

40

ofglacialtill,acompositeofusuallyfinestoneandheavyclaythatisimperviousto

water.Thus,Wonnacottclaims,anywaterthatfloodedtheMoneyPitduringearly

explorationswouldhavetocomefromman-madetunnels.Thisinformationhasre-

invigoratedthedebateaboutfloodtunnels,butithasleftthepurposeofthem

unexplained.

Still,itisobviousthatOakIslandwasasiteofhumanactivityfromearly

days—peoplelivedandfarmedthere,anditemswerelostonlytoberecoveredwith

theisland’sBigDigs.Thecoins,tools,nailsandotherindicationsofhumanactivity

mightsimplybetheresiduefromlifeontheislandunrelatedtotreasure;thatthey

wereoftenundergroundmightbebecausewellsweresunktoobtainfreshwater

anditemsweredroppedintothem.

Thediscoveryofcoconutfiber—acommoncomponentofship’scaulkingand

regularlyusedasdunnage(packing)forfragileitems—supportstheideathatthe

activitywasrelatedtoOakIsland’spositionintheGulfStreamataturningpointon

themainroutetoEuropeforshipsofalltypes—merchant,military,andpirate.It

wouldbenosurprisethattheislandwouldbeastoppingpointforrefittingand

provisioning,andfreshwater—shipsofthe18thcenturyandearlierrequired

bottomcleaning,hullrepairandcaulking,mastrepair,andothermaintenanceto

makethelongtripoveropenwatertotheOldWorld.Wherebettertodothisthan

anislandinreasonablyprotectedwatersandcoveredwithoaktrees?

OnesimpleexplanationfortheMoneyPitmightbethatitistheresultofan

unsuccessfulsearchforfreshwater.ThatthewaterintheMoneyPitisdescribedas

“brackish”suggestsasourceoffreshwater.Coconutfibersfoundinthepitmightbe

fromattemptstopreventseawaterseepagefromthepitwalls.This,ofcourse,leaves

other“facts”ofOakIslandunexplained—theSmith’sCoveworks,theflood

tunnels—butthosepossiblesignsofexcavationmighthaveindependent

explanations.

Amoreelaboratetheorywasofferedin1972atameetingoftheCanadian

InstituteofSurveyandMappinginDartmouth,NovaScotia.GeorgeT.Bateswasa

Canadiansurveyorwhohadworkedontheislandin1937,andaNovaScotia

historianwhowroteon18thcenturymigrationtoandfromNovaScotia.Bates

41

suggestedatthismeetingthatOakIslandwasusedasanearlyshipyardforpassing

vessels.Thatthiswasnotberecordedmightwellbebecausetherewasno

indigenouspopulationtorecordit,orthatactivitieswerecovertforavarietyof

reasons(smuggling,taxation,fearoftheft).

BatesarguedthatthedesignoftheMoneyPitcumfloodtunnelsmimickeda

knownpre-19thcenturyshipyardintheWestIndies.Regrettably,I’venotseen

Bates’presentationnorhaveIfoundanyreferencesupportingthatclaim.Histheory

wasthatthe“MoneyPit”isactuallyapumpingstationwithawindmillorwindlass

atthesurfacepoweringapumpdeepinthePit.Theschematicshownbelowwashis

creation;Batesoftenpresentedhisvisualdisplaysinablueprint-likeform.Smith’s

Cove,withadrydock,istotheright,withatunnelconnectingittoacavityatthe

bottomoftheMoneyPit.38

SchematicofaShipyardatOakIsland

Thedrydocktheoryworkslikethis:atSmith’sCoveadamisconstructed

withawatergatethroughwhichashipcanenterathightide.TheWatergateis

closedandtheboxdrainsareopenedtodraintheCoveintoacavityatthebottomof

38TheHalifaxCompanyfoundin1867thatthistunnelwasnotstraight,asBatesshows.InsteaditangledupwardfromSmith’sCovetowardapointbelowtheCave-InPit,thenitangleddownwardat22.5°tointersectthebottomoftheMoneyPit.

42

theMoneyPit.ThatcavityisthendrainedintoSouthShoreCovebypumpingitupto

ahigherfloodtunnelinthePitthatrunstothatcove.Attheendoftheoperationthe

shiphassettledintoacradleordry-dock,theSmith’sCoveboxdrainsareclosed,

andthecavityatthebottomofthePitisempty.Whentheshiprepairsaredone,the

outerwatergateisopened,refillingSmith’sCove,theshipdeparts,andrepair

stationisreadyforthenextship.

Thereare,ofcourse,criticismsofthisidea.OnesimplepointisthatBates

reversestherelativedepthofthetwofloodtunnels—theSmith’sCovetunnelwas

reportedas100-feetdeepatthePitwhiletheSouthShoreCovetunnelwas118-feet

deep.PerhapsBateswasshowingamoregenericplanofashipyardoperation,butit

makeslittledifferencetotheoperation.ASouthShoreCovetunnelisn’teven

needed—watercouldflowintothebottomofthePitfromSmith’sCove,thenbe

pumpeddirectlytothesurfacethenpipeddowntoSouthShoreCove.

Asecondcriticismisthatacommonwayofcleaningaship’sbottomsor

makingminorhullrepairswascareening.Theshipwouldbebeachednearhightide,

thetidewouldgoout,exposingthebottom,thebottomwouldbecleanedand

repairsmade,thentheshipwouldberefloatedatthenexthightide.Butwhile

careeningisaperfectlysoundpracticeintheCaribbean,wheretiderangesarelow

andsandybeachesarecommon,inNorthAmerica’snortheasttheshoresand

bottomarefilledwithrockandledgethatcoulddamageacareenedboat.

Furthermore,stormsarefrequentandacareenedboatissubjecttotheirfullfury.39

Anothercriticismisthatnoremnantsofawindmillhavebeenfound,andthat

thesidetunnelsarecontroversial,especiallythetunnelfromthePittoSouthShore

Cove.Butabsenceofawindmill/windlassorapumpcouldbeduetotheirvalue—

whentheshipyardwasfinallyclosedtheseitemswereremovedandeithersoldor

usedelsewhere.Afterall,EarlyOakIslandmapsindicatelocationsof18thcentury

houses,housesthathavealsodisappeared.

Yetanothercriticismisthatwitha30-foottidalrangeattheBayofFundythe

abilitytoworkonashipondrylandwouldbebettertherethanwiththe7-foottide39Infact,acommonpracticeistosendvesselstoseawhenaseriousstormapproaches.Acareenedboatcannotberefloatedquickly—itrequiresahightide—soitremainsexposedtountimelystorms.

43

rangeatOakIsland.WhynotgouptoFundytodorepairs?Thisignoresimportant

characteristicsoftheBayofFundy.Let’ssupposeweareatDigby,abouthalfwayup

theeasternsideoftheBay.Thetiderangethereaveragessome30feet,butitis

highlyvariablebothbytimeofmonthandlocalweather:therangebetweenneap

andspringtidesisfargreaterthantheaveragetiderangeinthatregion,and

unpredictablestormsurgescancreateevengreatertidevariation—northeastwinds

blowwaterout,southeastwindblowitin.

Ifthepointistogainalengthytimeforrepairs,careeningashipatDigby

mightbeabadchoicebecauseitexposestheshiptounpredictableflotationat

inopportunetimes,andtothepowerfulforcesoftidalflowsinthatregion.Addedto

thatisthefactthatgoingtoDigbyforrepairswouldtakeyouwelloutoftheGulf

Streamandaddseveralhundredmilestoyourtrip.Perhapsabetterchoiceisa

shipyardonOakIsland.

NodoubtotherfaultscanbefoundwithBates’idea.Buttothelayman—and

virtuallyeveryoneintheOakIslandgameisalayman—Bates’proposalhasthe

advantageofrestingonanaturalfoundationwithoutresortingtomysticismor

treasure.Anditisconsistentwiththedismalfailureofthetreasurehunttofind

anythingworthfindingotherthantheresidueofhumanactivityapparentlyrelated

toships.Bates’theoryhastheadvantageoftyingtheknownevidencetogether—the

Pit,thefloodtunnels,theboxdrainsatSmith’sCove,

DennisKingoffersanothertheory.40Kingbelieves,withBates,thattheidea

oftreasureistheresultofexcessiveenthusiasm.Tohimthefundamentalquestion

ofOakIslandis,“WhyweretheboxdrainsinSmith’sCoveandtheassociatedtunnel

fromthemconstructed?”Hedoesnotbelievethateitherthetreasurepitortheidea

offloodtunnelstoitholdwater(punintended).

King’sansweris“salt.”Overthecenturiessalthasbeenaveryvaluable

commodity.Saltisessentialasafoodpreservative,asanaidtofood’staste,andasa

sourceofhumanandanimalhealth.Warshavebeenfoughtforit,stateshave

40See[I3/dennis_king_march_2010.shtml]

44

monopolizedtradeinitasarevenuesource,andsocialcustomshavebeenbuilt

aroundit.41

Salthasbeenrecoveredinavarietyofways.TheancientChinese(circa2,700

BCE)drewbrinywaterthroughbamboopipesfrombrinewells,thenboiledthe

wateroffineitheropenpansorinpotsthatleftasolidpot-shapedblockofsalt.

Inhabitantsofareasonceunderseahaverakeditoffofthesurfaceorhaveminedit;

inthatformitisHaliteandcalled“rocksalt.”Infact,attheBayofFundy’snorthern

endisasaltmine4,000feetthickleftfromthelong-agodayswhensealevelswere

hundredsoffeethigher.

Saltisubiquitousinsocialcustoms.Medievalguestsofhighrankwereseated

“abovethesalt”atbanquettables;saltwasassociatedgiventosolidifypeacetreaties

andothertypesofsocialamity;soldierswerepaidinsalt,makingthem“worththeir

salt”(infact,thewords“salary”and“soldier”arebasedontheLatinfor“salt”).

Asnotedabove,thefirstrecordedresidentsofOakIslandwerethefish

merchantsJohnGilbertandRichardSmith,whoreceivedOakIslandina1753land

grant.ThiswouldplaceOakIslandasasiteforoffloadingfreshfishandthebuyers

wouldhaveaparticularinterestinsaltasapreservative.Butsaltwasexpensiveto

transportand,inmanycountries,highlytaxedtoboot.42Whatmorecost-effective

sourcethanaremoteislandnearthefishinggroundbutfarfromthetaxcollector,

especiallyifthetaxmancanbebought.

InNovaScotia’snorthernclimatesaltrecoverybysimplyboilingraw

seawaterwaspossiblebutinefficient:itwasnotonlyfuel-intensive(thoughtrees

wereabundant)butduringthewintertheseawaterwasfrozennearthesurface.

Thekeytocreatingsaltefficientlywastopassseawaterthroughseveralstages,

concentratingthesaltwitheachstage.Attheendofthatconcentrationphase,the

saltcontentoftheremainingwaterwouldbehighandthewatercouldmorerapidly

beboiledofftoleavealargeramountofsaltperBTUofheatrequired.

41See[B1]forasurprisinglycaptivatinghistoryofsalt.42TheFrenchGabellewasasalttaxthathelpedgeneratetheFrenchRevolution.BritishsalttaxeswereasourceofchronicunrestinIndia.TheChineseleviedasalttaxbeforeChrist.Thesesalttaxweresalestaxeslaidontopofthealreadyhighpriceofsaltduetostatemonopolies

45

InKing’stheory,theoriginalcofferdamwasbuilttoallowmanagementofthe

waterlevelinSmith’sCove.Betweenthecofferdamandtheshoreanumberofbox

drainswereconstructedarrayedinawidearccoveringthecentralportionofthe

cofferdamarc,asshowninRobertDunfield’sfieldsketch,(page14,repeated

below).Theboxdrainsconvergedatasinglepointontheshorewhereacommon

drainfedintoatunnelleadingtoawell.

Theboxdrainswerecoveredwithlayersofeelgrassandcoconutfiber,on

topofwhichathicklayerofsandwouldbelaid.Thepurposeofthesandwasto

capturethesaltcontentoftheseawater,leavingbrackishremainstofilterthrough

theeelgrassandcoconutfibersandintotheboxdrains,henceintothewellwhereit

wouldbepumpedout.

RobertDunfield’sFieldSketchofSmithCove

Afterseveralrepeatedtidecyclesthesalt-soakedsandiscartedtotheempty

wellanddumpedin.Pureseawaterwouldthenbeallowedtoenterthewellthrough

theboxdrains.Thisseawaterwouldabsorbthesaltconcentratedinthesand,

addingthattoitsownsalinecontent.Thehigh-salinewaterwouldthenbedrawn

fromthewellandboiledinlargepansuntilevaporationleftonlysaltcrystalstobe

harvested.

46

KingfindsthatseveralfeaturesoftheSmith’sCoveworksfitthisdescription.

First,OakIslandhadtimbertoburnasfuelfortheboiling-offofwater.Second,in

1965RobertDunfieldfoundawellontheshoreneartheboxdrains,butbecauseit

wasonly24-feetdeepanddidn’tconnecttoanyfloodtunnelshedisregardedit.43

Third,itwaswidelyreportedbyseveralexpeditionsthattheboxdrainswere

coveredwitheelgrassandcoconutfiberswiththeprobableintentionoffiltering

watergoingintothem,thoughnobodyunderstoodthattheunderlyingpurposewas

notjusttofilterwatergoinginbuttoleavesaltbehindinthesand.

Finally,in1969Blankenshipfoundanoddpan-shaped“U-shaped”)structure

buriedtwofeetdownabout150feetsouthofthecenterofSmith’sCovebeach.It

wasmadeofstonescementedtogether,itshowedsignsofintenseheat,piecesof

charcoalwerefoundatthesite,andthestoneshadareddishcolor—acharacteristic

ofsimilarstonesaltwater-boilingsitesinEngland.

SowehavetwocompletelynaturalargumentsforthefindingsatOakIsland.

Thefirst—shipyardactivity—isconsistentwiththenauticalnatureofmanyofthe

artifacts,andwiththediscoveryintheswampofitemsapparentlyrelatedtoship

construction.Thisexplanationrequiresapitlikeadeeppit(theMoneyPit?)and

floodtunnels.Thesecondexplanation—saltproduction—requiresneitherpitnor

floodtunnels;itonlyrequirestheartificialsandbeach,boxdrainscoveredwith

sand,ashorttunneltoawell,andapan-likestructureforboilingconcentrated

seawater—allofwhichhavebeenfound.

Takeyourpick,orfindanotherexplanation.

43SeeDunfield’sfieldsketch.ThewelltowhichKingrefersisjustinsidetheshorelineandwellabovehightide.Itislabeledasa“drain”24feetdeep.

47

Appendix1TheEconomicsofOakIsland

ThisAppendixconsidersthecostsandpotentialvalueofOakIsland’streasurehunt—whatmightbethemonetaryvalueofthetreasureshoulditexist?Howmuchhasbeenspentoneffortstofindthetreasure?Theseareallquestionsthathavenofirmanswers—anyanswerdependsontheassumptionsmadeand,mostimportantly,onhowgapsindataarefilledin.

Theeasiestquestionisthevalueofthetreasure.Thecorrectansweris,nothing,unlessitisfound.ButhowmanydollarsmightlieunderthesurfaceofOakIsland.Obviously,thatdependsonwhatisthere—isittheuncountabletreasureoftheKnightsTemplar,theoriginalmanuscriptsofShakespeare,ortheFrenchCrownJewels?Let’ssupposeitiswhatthe90-footstoneispurportedtosay:Twomillionpoundssterlingandthatthe£2,000,000isvaluedatthepriceofgoldintheyear1800.Between1800and2015thesterlingpriceofgoldrose171-fold,from£4.26perounceto£730,sothesterlingvalueofthetreasurein2015wouldbe£342millionor$505millionattheyear-end2015exchangerateof$1.48per£.So,asaroughestimate,theunfoundtreasuremightnowbeworthabouthalfabilliondollars!

HowmuchhasbeenfruitlesslyspentovertheyearstonotfindanOakIslandtreasure?Unfortunatelythisisafarmoredifficultcalculation.Toansweritweneedbothanaccurateyear-by-yearstatementofexpensesandanaccuraterecordofannualpricelevelstoassurethatallcalculationsareindollarsofthesameyear.Tomyknowledge,therehasbeennothoroughinvestigationofthebooksofthevariouscompanies,anditseemsunlikelythatthebookswouldaccuratelymeasurethecosts—uncompensatedworkers(FranklinRoosevelt,RobertDunfieldandRobertRestallcometomind)providedfreeorcontingentservices,expensesmighthavebeeninflatedfortaxadvantages,andequipmentusedmighthavebeenprovidedonacontingencybasis.Wedon’thaveanyyear-by-yearexpenseestimates,nordoweevenknowthegeneralshapeovertimeoftheactualamountsspent.

Yetanotherproblemisthattheamountsspentinanyyearwereinthatyear’sdollarswhileinflationanddeflationchangedthemeaningofadollar.Inthechartbelow,thelineexceeds1.0whenthedollarhasappreciatedvis-à-visthe1800dollar—thatis,whentherehasbeendeflationsince1800;thelineisbelow1.0whentherehasbeendollardepreciation(inflationvis-à-vis1800;inshort:onthechart“up”isdeflation,“down”isinflation.

Fortheentireperiod1800-1919priceswerelowerthanin1800andthedollar’spurchasingpowerappreciated.Forexample,in1896—theyearofWilliamJenningsBryan’sCrossofGoldspeechabouttheGoldStandard’sresponsibilityforchronicdeflation,adollarhadtwicethepurchasingpowerofone1800dollar.Thisreversedafter1945withtheadventofchronicinflationdue,inpart,tofiatmoney.By2015thepurchasingpowerofadollarwaslessthantenpercentofits1800purchasingpower.

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In1966RobertDunfield—themanwiththebulldozerwhoarrivedtowork

withRobertRestallin1965—estimatedthehistoricalcostsofOakIslandexplorationtodateat$1.75million.44Asaroughguess,I’lldoublethattoaccountfortheunquantifiedbutexpansiveworkoftheTritonAlliancefrom1969to2010.

ThisleavestheexpensesoftheBlankenship-LaginaOakIslandTours,Inc.tocompleteaninitialestimateofOakIslandcosts.Thereisnopublicrecordforthoseexpenses,buthavingseenonTheCursethemassiveequipmentthey’veusedliberallyforfourseasons,I’dbesurprisedifthey’vespentlessthan$3million.Solet’stake$6.5millionasaback-of-the-envelopeguessattotalspendingonOakIslandsince1800.

Thenextquestionis,“Howwasthatallocatedamongthe216yearsfrom1800through2015?”Again,wedon’tknow.Butlet’sconsidertwoapproaches.Thefirstisalinearapproach:assumeconstantannualspending—thereforelinearlyincreasingtotalspending.Thishasfatalflaws:theimpliedaverageannualspendingis$30,100,whichmustseriouslyoverstateannualspendingintheearlyyearsandbadlyunderstatespendinginlateryears.Sowhenaninflationadjustmentismade,thiswillseriouslyoverstateexplorationcostsin2015dollars.

Thesecondapproachistoassumethatspendingincreasedexponentiallyfollowingthesimpleequationa0bt2:a0isthefirstyear(1800)costandbisaparametermeasuringtherateofcostacceleration:wecaninterpretbasb=1+r,whereristheannualrateofincreaseincosts.

ToimplementtheexponentialapproachIassumethatyear1800spendingwas$200.i.e.a0=200.ThenIsearchforthevalueofbthatmakesthetotalcostover1800-2015sumto$6.5million,theestimatedtotalcostover1800-2015.The

44See[I6/dunfield-calls-halt-march-22-year-unknown.Dunfieldclaimedthathehadspent$120,000in1965-66.IassumethatwasincludedinDunfield’s$1.75billionestimate.

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resultingvalueofbis1.0328,meaningthatannualdollarspendingincreasedata3.28percentannualrate.Thisisasurprisinglysensibleestimate:theactualaveragerateofannualinflationfrom1800to2015was1.23percent,soa3.28percentaverageannualincreaseindollarspendingimpliesa2.05percentincreaseinrealspendingatOakIsland.

Theannualspendingthuscalculatedisinthedollarsofeachyear,sotoderivetotalspendingin2015dollarswemustadjustthoseannualspendingamountsbypriceinflationbetweentheeachspendingyearand2015.Forexample,if1864spendingis,say,$1,579(asoursimulation“predicts”)wemultiplythatbytheratioofthe2015priceleveltothe1864pricelevel(15.1)toget$23,843for1864spendingin2015dollars.ForthisfinalstepweusehistoricalpricedatafortheConsumerPriceIndexfrom1800-2015,madeavailablebytheFederalReserveBankofMinneapolis.45

Theresult:acrudeestimateoftotalspendingontheOakIslandTreasureHuntfromthebeginningthrough2015is$25,500,000in2016dollars.

45Ofcourse,theCPIdoesn’treallygobackthatfar.ThedatausedforearlyyearsareotherpriceindexesthathavebeensplicedtotheCPIdata.

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Appendix2

MonetaryWeightsandMeasures*

1TroyOunceofGold 31.1034768grams1CommonOunceofGold 28.3495231grams1TroyOunce 1.42857CommonOunces1CommonOunce 0.911458TroyOunces1TroyOunce,Gold CubicInches1CommonOunce,Gold .0897CubicInches1CubicInch,Gold 11.14CommonOunces1TroyOunce,Gold £4.26=$19.39(1800average) £796=$1,170(year-end2015)1PoundSterling $4.55(1800average) $1.47(year-end2015)*Inthistablea“common”unit(forexample,a“commonounce”)istheavoirdupoisunitcommonlyused;thereare0.7commonouncesforonetroyounce.Goldunitsaretypicallymeasuredintroyounces.

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Internet[I1]Hancock,K.andD.Crowell,www.oakislandcompendium.ca/blockhouse-blog/[I2]Johnson,Laverne.1999.“Revealed:TheOakIslandTreasure,”Benell-AtkinsPrinters,Vancouver.Availableatwww.freemasonry.bcy.ca/oakisland.[I3]Joules,Richard.www.criticalenquiry.org/oakisland/[I4]MacPhie,Les.www.oakislandcompendium.ca/les-macphie-archives.html[I5]Polsson,Kenneth.www.compendium.com/oakisland[I6]Troutman,Paul.www.oakislandbook.com/wp-content/uploads