The Oak Island Compendium presents, “The Mystery of the Oak Island Whistle, Part 2.” By Daniel Spino and Charlotte Wheatley. Our investigation continues to examine the Oak Island whistle that’s been one of the most mysterious artifacts that has been associated with Oak Island. Last week, we discussed the origin story of the 1885 whistle. In 1893, The Oak Island Treasure Company Prospectus described it as a stone whistle that was broken and thrown away by the finder. In the 1958 book, “The Oak Island Mystery” by R.V. Harris, it’s described as being a stone whistle made of bone or ivory, which is a complete contradiction. This week another whistle is added to the mystery.
Oak Island wouldn’t be Oak Island if there wasn’t some sort of twist, turn, and confusion inserted into its story. In "The Money Pit Mystery" by Rupert Furneaux, 1972, Pg. 40., Furneaux writes: “A whistle, made of bone or ivory, was found on the shore of Smith’s Cove in 1885. This was wrongly described as a “bosuns whistle, which according to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, ‘were always made of silver or plated’. Another whistle, about three in. long, was found in 1901. It was also made of bone or ivory and was shaped like a violin.” First, we concur with Furneaux that the whistle was not a boatswain or bosuns whistle due to its appearance. Interestingly, the 1901 whistle was reportedly found in the same location, was the same size, and made of the same material as the 1885 Harris whistle.
Furneaux’s book mentions for the first time a whistle being found in 1901. Interestingly in 1926, Frederick Blair made a sworn affidavit concerning the accuracy of his prospectus of 1893 and his treasure hunting activities due to some accusations that he was misleading investors with his information. The prospectus stated that a stone whistle was found in 1885, broken and thrown away by the finder. In 1934, an addendum by Gilbert Hedden added this about the affidavit, “No additional discoveries have been made or knowledge of any value obtained at any time since 1897.” It is uncertain where Furneaux received his information. When the book was published in 1972, The Triton Alliance on Oak Island was operated by Dan Blankenship and David Tobias, with M.R. Chappell on the board of directors.
In “Oak Island and its Lost Treasure” by Graham Harris and Les MacPhie, 1999, It states, “A number of artifacts were found on the island following the work by the Halifax Company. In 1885 a whistle made of bone or ivory was on the shore of Smith’s Cove. Another whistle was found in 1901. There is no description of the former, but the later is said to be in the shape of a violin”. This basically repeats Furneaux’s claim but adds a picture of it. Unfortunately, it is the exact same whistle as pictured in R.V. Harris’ book, “The Oak Island Mystery”, which he identified as the 1885 whistle.
This led to another reference, “Boatswain’s whistle made of bone or ivory found at Smith’s Cove about 1901. The whistle was given to M.R. Chappell by J.W. Lewis who wanted it to be passed on to another person who appreciated and understood the Oak Island mystery. This image provided courtesy of Robert Dunfield II”, Oak Island Treasure Forum UK. 2008. This again continues the claim of another whistle being discovered in 1901, and the photo again is the same one identified as the 1885 Harris whistle. According to the report, we are provided with a reason why the whistle was given to M. R. Chappell. J.W. Lewis was John Whitney Lewis, and he had ties to the Oak Island Mystery.
John Whitney Lewis was a successful geologist and mining engineer from New York City. In 1950, he came to an agreement with Gilbert Hedden to buy his lots on Oak Island. Reportedly, Hedden told him that Frederick Blair’s treasure trove license was ending and he would be able to apply for it and run his own operation any way he wanted. Lewis traveled to Oak Island and met with Blair, his attorney, R.V. Harris and M.R. Chappell about the Oak Island operations. During their meetings, the four men were negotiating to work together. It seemed an agreement was reached when Lewis made a stipulation that any documents recovered would be his property. Blair became upset and walked out of the negotiations. Lewis did not know that Blair had reapplied for his license, and it would be approved.
Meanwhile, both Harris and Blair were pulling strings in high places. R.V. Harris was the nephew of Robert Edward Harris, who was once the Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Chief Justice Harris had the influence to make R.V. a prothonotary (Chief Clerk) of the Supreme Court. Through R.V.’s considerable influence and connections, it’s believed that this is how the law was changed regarding the treasure trove license. It became legal for anyone who held the treasure trove license for a certain area, to legally enter that land, even if they didn’t own it, to conduct treasure hunting activities. Lewis was forced to sell his lots to Mel Chappell for $6,000, the same price he had paid to Gilbert Hedden. John Whitney Lewis returned to New York City, but that did not end his interest in or involvement with Oak Island. In a 1957 Sports Illustrated article called, “Pirate Gold: Ho, Ho, Ho and 171 Feet”, it identifies John Whitney Lewis of New York looking for investors for a venture on Oak Island.
As stated in Part 1, Mary Steward lived in New York City, and owned the whistle that was identified as being from 1885. She died in 1955 and it was passed to two sisters. In 1957, an article about J.W. Lewis forming a venture for Oak Island was published. In 1958, “The Oak Island Mystery” by R.V. Harris is published with a picture of the whistle. The same year, Elizabeth Steward Burrill dies, and the whistle was apparently auctioned off in 1959. Are these events related? Possibly, but merely speculation at this point. The idea gains credibility when we learn in a 1963 letter that John Whitney Lewis sent M.R. Chappell a whistle. Five months later, Lewis dies in Singapore. Was this the same whistle that Mary Steward possessed? It appears that M.R. Chappell obtained the same whistle that was pictured in the Harris book.
In a 1973 letter to Dan Blankenship, Chappell is talking about a book he’s writing called, “The True Story of Oak Island”. Chappell states, “Other pictures should go in the book such as The parchment, the whistle, the coconut fibre, and possibly other data prior to 1965.” Apparently, the whistle still took a position of prominence with Chappell. In a 1976 interview, D’Arcy O’Connor asked Chappell this question: “In an April 20, 1974, article in the Los Angeles Times about Oak Island, Charles Hillinger, the writer, says you showed him a three-inch bone or ivory bosun’s whistle dating back to the 17th century and which was found by your father in his shaft. Is there such as a whistle, and when exactly was it found? Harris (p. 73 of his book) mentions a bosun’s whistle that was found in 1885 and was last known to be in the possession of Miss Mary B. Stewart of New York. Is this the same whistle you own now?
In the Los Angeles times article, Hillinger writes, “Chappell lifted the three-inch bone or ivory bos’un’s whistle to his lips. A shrill note sounded as he blew the 17th-century device. The whistle also was found in a shaft by his father.” Chappell responded to the O’Connor’s question this way, “I have the whistle given me by Mr. Lewis. I don’t know where he got it, but it is supposed to either come out of the money pit in the Mid 1800 or found on the ground. I don’t know who found it or just where it was found.” Based on the evidence, it appears that Chappell had the same whistle that was pictured in the Harris book based on its description in the Los Angeles Times article. If that whistle came from John Whitney Lewis, it seems very likely that the whistle was obtained from the estate of Mary Bogert Steward in New York.
M.R. Chappell was very familiar with the whistle and knew its complete history based on his relationships with Lewis, Blair, and Harris. There were no other reports of any whistles found in the 1849-1850 Truro Company operations. The first whistle ever mentioned being found was the 1885 whistle that was detailed in the Oak Island Treasure Company Prospectus. Blair and Co. reported it as being broken and thrown away by the finder. Later, the whistle reappears as a bone/ivory version instead of stone. The whistle is claimed to be from 1885. Later, another whistle is referenced with the date of 1901, but with the exact same description as the 1885 whistle as reported by Harris. There were no reports of a whistle being found in 1901 until it is revealed by Rupert Furneaux in 1972. There was even a claim by J. Hutton Pulitzer that this 1901 whistle was really a Roman Legionnaire’s Whistle. It seems very likely that the 1885 and 1901 whistles were one in the same and conflated with each other. Why the whistles were tied to the original and brought into the story, we leave it for our readers to decide.
Attempts to contact the Chappell family to inquire about the current whereabouts of the whistle have been unanswered. The Compendium has learned that in the past the family has reported that they did not know its whereabouts. M.R. Chappell died in 1980. This was the last time the whistle was seen. If anyone knows the current whereabouts of the whistle, please contact us at the Compendium. Next week, we will be revealing what the whistle experts conclude about the whistle.