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SEASON FINALE: “THE MYSTERY OF GOLD AND SILVER ON OAK ISLAND”

Popular Mechanics


During the course of the Oak Island Mystery, Gold and Silver has always been associated with a treasure that was believed to have been secretly buried on the island. The most likely suspect was always thought to have been Captain William Kidd and this belief was perpetuated by many of the people involved in the treasure hunt for a very long time. After Captain Kidd was seemingly ruled out, other possible suspects started to materialize and were put forth as possible sources for this rumored hidden horde. This search continues to this day with Gold and Silver still being sought after in the Money Pit area of Oak Island. Even though these activities have resulted in the landscape of the Money Pit area being completely altered by the many searchers over the years. This pursuit soldiers on with the reality television show, The Curse of Oak Island, but what is fueling the current search?


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


In Season 8, Episode 24 of The Curse of Oak Island, entitled, “Silver Lining”, Dr. Ian Spooner and Dr. Matt Lukeman of Acadia University suggested testing the water in the Money Pit area for any precious metal signatures. Dr. Spooner said that the test results suggested that a “Dump Truck” amount of silver was in the Money Pit area just waiting for retrieval. To this date, no silver has been found in this location. In Season 9, Episode 1, “Going for the Gold”, Dr. Spooner then found another geologist named Dr. Peir Pufahl of Queen’s University whose lab tests for gold. Water samples from Borehole C-1 indicated the presence of gold that Dr. Pufahl said was registering higher than what would be found naturally in the water. In Season 10, Episode 1, “On Their Marks”, Dr. Spooner is back with hydrogeologist Dr. Fred Michael who indicated that water testing near the Garden Shaft reveals traces of gold. In Season 10, Episode 16, “Striking Gold”, Archeometallurgist Emma Culligan informs the team that wood samples from the Garden Shaft contain trace levels of gold. Where is all this gold coming from?


Charles Dickson Archibald – Bonham’s


It is contended that these gold signatures are emanating from a hidden treasure cache. Although, it should be noted that the vicinity around Oak Island has been associated with natural deposits of gold. The nearby Gold River was the location of a gold rush in the 1800’s. The Ovens is another nearby location that had a gold rush in the 1800’s. Gold has also been found in the water in Mahone Bay. Surely all this geological evidence suggests that the gold that is being detected on Oak Island could be naturally occurring. Has gold ever been found on Oak Island in the past? An incident that happened during the Truro Company operation in 1849 certainly raises that possibility. According to witnesses, Foreman James Pitblado, took something off the recently retracted auger and put it in his pocket. When asked what it was, he simply said he’d reveal it at the next director’s meeting. Pitblado immediately went to Charles Dickson Archibald, who owned the iron mines in Londonderry, Nova Scotia. Archibald then attempted to buy the Oak Island property, but he was unsuccessful in acquiring the Money Pit area. It’s hard to believe that Archibald and Pitblado would go to all that trouble for anything other than something of great value, like gold or silver.


William and Mel Chappell, Frederick Blair, two unidentified people - Canada. Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys / Library and Archives Canada


This idea is supported by another incident that happened while drilling was being conducted on Oak Island. In 1897, during the Oak Island Treasure Company Operation, Drill operator William Chappell discovered gold on his drill bit after it was brought up, but he did not disclose it and kept it a secret. Why would Chappell do this? Seemingly it was kept a secret publicly, but Chappell’s boss, Frederick Blair must have been aware of the discovery. Which would make what Blair did later very intriguing. In 1904, Blair had an agent named Harry T. Black obtain an exclusive 40-year lease on the Money pit area to mine gold and silver. The next year Black assigned the lease to Blair. Previously in 1897, the Honorable Thomas Reuben Black, a relative of Harry Black, ruled in Blair’s favor that the Nova Scotia Government would forgo any tax on the first $50,000 of treasure found on Oak Island and then tax 2% of the total after that. It’s interesting to note that Black’s mother was Hannah Embree who was related to one time Oak Island Lot owner, Thomas Embree. The intrigue involving Blair and his well-connected lawyer, and fellow Freemason, R.V. Harris, didn’t stop there.


Joy Steele – Maritime Museum of the Atlantic


The late Oak Island researcher, Joy Steele, stumbled upon an interesting discovery when she was visiting the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She came across core samples from the Money Pit area of Oak Island that had been donated to the museum that indicated the presence of gold. Joy was surprised because there was never any record of them being found. The date of the samples was from 1917. William Lozier and the Rochester Group were on Oak Island in 1916, but it was reported that their operation ended the same year. It did not as Lozier was on the island from 1916-1918, and then left. Why was this information not reported? It’s even more interesting to note who donated the samples to the museum, R.V. Harris, Frederick Blair’s attorney. If the samples were being hidden why would Harris donate them to a museum? The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic specializes in marine-related exhibits, so a piece from Oak Island is not exactly going to get the attention it would if it was at another museum. R.V. Harris was a 33rd Degree Freemason and is it possible that he was leaving a breadcrumb for someone in the future to figure out what was going on at Oak Island? Safely tucked away, hidden in plain sight. This information was never released publicly by Frederick Blair or R.V. Harris in his book, “The Oak Island Mystery”. The question arises, did Blair and Harris use and perpetuate the Oak Island treasure story to fund their search for natural gold and silver on Oak Island?


USGS


The Compendium believes that from the time the first Europeans visited Oak Island, they noticed the plentiful Pyrite or Fool’s Gold on the shore which would provide the motivation to look for gold underground. It’s conceivable that a very early mining operation was conducted. Many people contend there’s no evidence that mining ever took place on Oak Island. The Compendium disagrees and will provide detailed evidence in an investigation called “The Mining of Oak Island” coming this summer. After not enough Gold and Silver were produced for a viable claim, the operation was abandoned. Later, the remnants of this mining operation yielded other discoveries like Limestone, Gypsum, Clay, and other materials that were needed for industrial operations that included brick and lime making and more. Again, another group discovered gold which re-ignited the “Gold Fever”. Later the remnants of these past operations provided the perfect cover for illegal trade and smuggling which lasted for a very long time. The question was always why would smugglers want to bring attention to the island if illegal activity went on there? The simple answer, GOLD, they knew gold was naturally occurring there and most likely used a treasure story to cover up their true intentions and their past activity. This story of “Hidden Treasure” would be used as a cover for searching for these precious metals for a very long time. What motivated people to do this, the simple answer again, GREED. The True Story of Oak Island is a complex web of different activities, weaved through different time periods by different people that revolves around one basic theme, GREED. It is the hope of Compendium Investigations that the truth regarding Oak Island continues to be unraveled so the mystery can finally be solved after all this time.


Cape Breton University Press


This article is dedicated to the memory of the late Joy Steele. Compendium Investigations never knew Joy personally, but we have become great admirers of her tenacity and thoroughness in her research which we hope will live on as we untangle the mystery involving Oak Island.


Please check in with us this summer as we are planning to provide more research for our readers that will cover topics such as The H + O Stone, The McGinnis Rock, The Mining of Oak Island, and other great features like Throwback Thursday. Thank you for reading.


“All that glisters is not gold—

Often have you heard that told.

Many a man his life hath sold

But my outside to behold.

Gilded tombs do worms enfold.

Had you been as wise as bold,

Young in limbs, in judgment old,

Your answer had not been inscrolled

Fare you well. Your suit is cold—"

 

—The Works of Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act II Scene 7


Good day from the Compendium!



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