Two hundred years ago 16 year old Daniel McGinnis, and two friends, John
Smith, and Anthony Vaughan rowed across the short distance from Chester,
Nova
Scotia to Oak Island. Chester is about twenty miles to the southwest of
the
city of Halifax. It was a small island covered with Oak trees, and
uninhabited. Most of the oak trees are gone today. The boys were on a
game hunting trip.
In a clearing at one end of the island they discovered a large oak tree
with a tackle block secured to an overhanging limb and a short length
of hemp rope in a later stage of deterioration hanging from the block.
Beneath the block was a 12 foot circular depression in the ground.
Despite tales in the community of spirits, haunts, and ghosts being on
the island, the next morning found the boys equipped with digging
implements crossing the stretch of water to the island again. They began
digging in the flinty clay and could see where the ground had been
loosened previously. As they dug they came to a layer of stones. Sure
that there was treasure just beneath the stones they rapidly removed
them. Undeterred by the absence of gold they continued to dig. About 12
feet down they struck a sturdy oak plank platform. Removing the boards
they continued to excavate. Down at 30 or 40 feet they noted that
there had been a timber platform every ten feet. Growing discouraged with
the
size of the project, they went to town and tried to get some of the local
citizens to help. Superstition and fear caused all to refuse, and the
labor was abandoned until 1804.
That year a rich man named Simeon Lynds formed a treasure company, and
began to dig in the pit. By the time they reached 90 feet down eight
platforms had been removed. It was at this point that they discovered a
smooth stone with cryptic writing on it. At about 100 feet their crowbar
struck something metallic, and they were sure it was the treasure.
Returning to their homes for the night, imagine the frustration the next
morning to find the pit full of water. Buckets and primitive pumps were
unable to lower the level as it stood in the pit.
The next year Mr. Lynds began sinking an auxiliary shaft down near the
original. At 110 feet in the second hole they began to tunnel sideways
toward the treasure. All of a sudden water began to gush into that pit,
and the workers had to scurry to save themselves. The water rose in the
second pit to the same level as in the first. Now having spent all of
his spare money Mr. Lynds abandoned the effort.
Daniel McGinnis was dead, and in 1849 John Smith, and Anthony Vaughan
with the help of some financing from Truro, Nova Scotia started the
project once again. Some smart individual noticed that the water rose
and fell with the tides, and suggested that there might be a tunnel
bringing water in from Smith's Cove. At last at 100 feet down they
discovered a man made tunnel connected to the cove. A demolition team
blasted the tunnel closed.
In 1942 a second tunnel was discovered at the depth of 150 feet, and it
is possible that there are more. Legend has it that seven people must be
killed working on the project before the treasure is recovered. Six have
already died so there is only one more to go. It seems they have never
thought to kill one more person on the island, a stranger perhaps, so they
can have the treasure at once. They are just waiting for nature or an
accident to do it for them. That is such a slow, unpredictable method
when there is such a noble treasure at hand! With all of the excavating
and moving around the exact location of the original pit has been
lost.
A causeway has been built from the shore out to the island. During
warm weather bus loads of tourists made the pilgrimage to see the money
pit until 1995 when all visiting and trespassing was stopped. There are
now two different teams at work in two different
locations on the island. They are securely guarded to keep out
unwelcomed visitors from the other side. So it is at present. After
spending more than $2,000,000.00 no one knows if there is treasure or not
beneath the Northern Red Oaks that grow on Oak Island.