America Unearthed (2012–…): Season 4, Episode 3 - Cave of Secrets - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Demonic voice:
What is it you seek?

Riches?

Power?

Fame?

♪♪

What is it you would give to me?

It will take all.



Such a small price to pay.

Knights...

Show him.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: The history that we were
all taught growing up is wrong.

My name is scott wolter,
and I'm a forensic geologist.

There's a hidden history in this
country that nobody knows about.

There are pyramids here,

Chambers, tombs, inscriptions.

They're all over this country.

We're gonna investigate
these artifacts and sites,

And we're gonna
get to the truth.



Sometimes, history
isn't what we've been told.

AMERICA UNEARTHED - SEASON 4
EP - 3 - Cave of Secrets

♪♪

I'm on my way
to shippensburg, pennsylvania...

The oldest town in the state's
cumberland valley,

Known for its tireless support
of the patriot army

In the american revolution.

This area has a lot of historic
homes and colonial charm.

But I'm here to see
something else...

The site of a mystery
that has haunted a local man

For more than three decades...

A cave that he claims is filled

With clues
to a clandestine past.

As a geologist, I can tell you

That there are
thousands of caves

Hidden in this part
of pennsylvania

Thanks to massive amounts
of limestone underground.

But a real-life
chamber of secrets?

This is something I need to see.

Hey, chris.

Hey, scott. Nice to meet you.

Well, it's not every day
I meet somebody

Who's found something
so interesting

Right in their own backyard.

I mean, this was your house
back then, right?

Yep, I grew up here.

So, tell me about the discovery.

Back in 1981,
I was 12 years old.

I was hunting for salamanders
in the backyard.

I pulled up a piece of rock,
and I found a cave.

You must have been
a rock star back at the time.

I mean, a young kid,
you found this cave.

Yep, it brought in all
the newspapers

And the tv back then.

That's me with hair. [ laughs ]

I like that hair part
in the middle.

I remember those days.
The girls liked them.

I didn't like the hair part
in the middle.

"boy finds backyard cave.

Shippensburg... hundreds
of people have come to see it.

Crowds flattened the grass
in the courtneys' backyard,

Staring at the hole."

You know,
people have lived in caves

For hundreds of
thousands of years,

And they hide
their secrets in there.

Probably the most famous
is where the dead sea scrolls

Were found outside of jerusalem
back in the late 1940s.

And those scrolls certainly
have changed history

In a pretty profound way.

But you probably don't have
dead sea scrolls here.

In 2013, I saw another cave
a few hours from here.

I figured out that one was used
by a secret society for rituals

After discovering
an intricately carved basin

Where people
could have been baptized

To symbolize
a spiritual awakening.

And after hearing about my work,
chris thinks I might be the one

Who can finally
shed light on his,

Which lies just a few dozen feet

Out the backdoor
of his childhood home.

I think it's time
to go take a look at it.

Let's take a look.

♪♪

This is to keep other
12-year-olds out now, right?

[ laughing ] yeah.

Chris says his family
put the doors on,

But everything inside was there

When he found
the entrance in 1981.

Oh, wow! Look at that!

So, what's that steel bar there?

That's one of two axles
that were found

When we uncovered the rocks.

Above that was
two metal wagon wheels.

Well, they were trying
to cover it up.
Right.

And the wagon wheel
is interesting

Because that tells us something
about when that happened.

I would say late 1800s or so?

Yeah, I believe so.

Is there water down there? Yes,
there is.

Was there water here
when you found it?

It was here. It was much lower.

I have a map that was made
for us back in the '80s,

And you can see there,
the water level was much lower.

This year, we've had
record-breaking rain.

I believe the water table's
probably up 3 to 4 feet

As to what
it was back in the '80s.

So this is high?

This is very high.

This puts a whole new sense
of urgency

Into this entire investigation.

Nothing has the potential

To literally
wash away more evidence

Than water.

And based on what chris
tells me next,

I'm really worried.

There was some additional
information down in that cave.

There were writings.

I think they're covered up
by the water now.

What were the writings?
Two dates.

One was 1794. One was 1896.

We talked about the wheels,
and probably this cave

Was covered up back
in the late 1800s,

But that date of 1794
pushes it back another century.

I've got to get inside,
where I'm hoping

I can still find those dates
and even more clues

That hopefully
haven't been washed away.

This is definitely work stone,
all this rock here.

This is natural but
definitely modified by man.

The question is, why?

Oh, hey, right here.

Looks like a fish symbol
with a little curl

At the end on the right side.

Could be a christian symbol

Associated with some type
of religious ritual.

Christian religious groups
played a big role

In each of the british colonies,

Including here in pennsylvania,
but I'm not 100% sure

That this isn't
just the letter "l."

I see a "w" here, and then
could be an "r," possibly a "t."

Yeah, I can buy
that as initials.

Maybe that might tell us
something about

Who was using the cave.

Do we know who that might be?

I have no idea who that is.

There's a lot of water
moving in this cave

And condensing on the ceiling,

And it's flowing down
from these cracks.

I need to figure out a way
to get in there.

I want to see the rest
of this cave, for sure.

I want to see it, but it's
really hard to navigate.

This water really is
a big problem.

I couldn't see the dates
chris told me about at all.

As I come out of the cave,

I'm trying to come up
with a plan

And thinking about the clues
we have so far.

1794 is interesting
because in this area,

I think you had
the whiskey rebellion.

People making whiskey weren't
interested in paying taxes.

That led to a conflict,
and president george washington

Actually led a group
that came in here

And tamped down that rebellion.

That was the first time
and only time

That a sitting president
actually led troops into battle.

Really? Yeah.

Just maybe this cave
could be associated

With that production of whiskey.

I mean, you also need water
to make whiskey.

We've got clear
groundwater here.

Right now, I've got
three solid clues

To when and who used this cave.

There are two dates, 1794
and 1896, that are documented

But that I'm hoping
to find in person

And one set of initials,
w.R. Or w.T.

It's tough to make out.

So, are all of these clues
part of the same story

Or three different stories?

I ask chris about the house
on the property.

Do we know
who might have built it?

Edwin hamilton
built this house in 1890.

The cave's inscribed 1896 date

Might fit with edwin hamilton,

But right now, I need to know
if there are more clues

Hiding where we can't see.

What I'd like to do
is take an rov...

It's basically
a miniature submarine

That has a camera on it...
Put it in the water

And try to get
some more information.

♪♪

♪♪

So here we are, basically a
controller for a video game,

Except it's for the rover.

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: Kind of bumping
against the wall here.

I got to back up.
Okay, there we go.

Boy, it's tight in there,
isn't it?

Yep.

Okay, there we go.

Wow.

♪♪

Can't see any dates on here.

So, where would they be... on
the right side or the left side?

They're on the right side.

A lot of silt. Yeah.

Well, we're gonna kick up silt.

We're just near
the bottom there.

Oh, wait.
Look at that. See that?

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Look at that! What is that?

See that? It's like
a ring or something.

Well, there's
a lot of silt in there.

It's hard to tell. I know.

♪♪

Oh, I think we're at the back.

I don't think we can
go back any more.

Wolter: This cave is tight.

There's silt everywhere.

No matter what I do, I can't get
a better look with the rov.

But a person might be able
to grab whatever that ring is,

And it could be another clue
to what this cave is all about.

What we really need
at this point is

To get human eyes
and human hands

In that cave
to see what those things are.

I am a certified diver,

But I'm not
a certified cave diver,

And there's a big difference.

Wolter: Cave diving requires
intense training.

In fact, there are only
a few thousand cave divers

In the entire world.

Even then, an average of 10 of
these brave souls die each year.

Luckily, there is
a local family, the berkepiles,

Who are experienced cave divers

And experts on pennsylvania
caves in particular.

Hi, guys. Scott wolter.

Dan berkepile. Hi, dan.

This is chris.

Okay, guys.
You're gonna like this one.

In 1981, this guy, chris, who
was 12 years old at the time...

Right.

...Hair parted in the middle...
He looked great... [ laughs ]

...Was looking for salamanders,
and he found a cave,

And we spent all day yesterday

Trying to get
to the bottom of...

Literally to the bottom
of this cave

And what might be in there.

Thing about caves is
they hold a lot of secrets.

This cave certainly holds
some secrets.

We know there's been
some activity there.

We might uncover some things
that'll tell us more

About the history
of shippensburg,

Maybe even american history.

We don't know.

You had us at water-filled cave.

[ laughter ]

We saw some very
interesting things,

Maybe some more artifacts.

There's a gold ring down there.

Well, let's go over
and take a look at it.

Alright. Sounds good.

♪♪

Wolter: There it is.

Bill: Looks beautiful.

Beauty's in
the eye of the beholder.

Yes, it is. [ laughs ]

You can see the steps
going down.

Even the last couple steps
are underwater.

The water is crystal clear,
but the rov...

When I went down
near the bottom,

It silted up really fast.

I couldn't see anything.

Once I got going back into it,
it cleared up,

But you're gonna have to
deal with the silt, for sure.

Well, we have a line.
The line is important.

It shows your way
back out again.

People have died
for that simple thing,

Not having a line in the cave.

They just got lost,
right?
They got lost.

It looks to me like
it's pretty tight.

You're not gonna be able
to swim together down there.

I think it's just gonna
have to be one person.

This gives you
a little better idea

Of what we're looking at here.

Here are the steps, so it goes
down right here, and, you know,

It goes pretty much off to
the left here a little bit,

And then it takes a turn
over towards that tree there.

This is all water.

I'm not even sure,
once you get in there,

If you'll be able to
turn around to come back.

Well, guys, it's time
to get wet.

Wolter: Everyone is suiting up
in case there is an emergency,

Though only bill plans
to get in the water.

Once inside, he won't be
able to hear or talk to us.

Right now, we know that someone
used this cave enough

To want to build steps
leading down to it.

Was it a ritual cave
for a secret society,

A source of water for whiskey?

Was it both?

Pennsylvania has a rich history
of other things

I also need to consider.

It was pivotal
in the american revolution

As the political center
of the 13 colonies

Before washington d.C.
Was established.

Fast-forward just about
100 years

To the time of abraham lincoln

When pennsylvania's
southern border

Made up part of
the mason-dixon line,

Which separated free states
in the north

From slave states in the south.

But the question is,
does any of this come into play

In chris courtney's
backyard discovery?

Wolter: Well, guys, you look
like you're ready to go.

How's the rope gonna work?

If he tugs on the line once,

Then I know to pull it in
a little bit.

If he tugs on it three times,

Then I know he's ready
to come back.

Now, if he starts
tugging on that line...

A bunch of times?

...A lot, then I know
he's in trouble,

And we need to send dan in.

I can be in the water
in 30 seconds.

How about you, bill?

I'm ready.
Got my backup guys here.

This camera here...
These are my eyes.

These are for you
to wear down there.

And I've got the tablet
right here,

So whatever you see underwater,
whatever you point to,

We'll be able to see it up here.

So, let's all bring it in, huh?

Alright.

1, 2, 3... all: Success!

Bill: Alright.

♪♪

♪♪

[ metal clangs ]

Alright. There he goes.

Do you see any artifacts?

It's hard to tell.
There's a lot of silt.

A lot of silt, yeah.

How far in do you think he is?

Oh, maybe 15 feet now.

15? Yeah.

Okay. So he's about halfway.
It's just murky.

Well, you can see it,
but you can't see it...
Yeah.

...Because it's so murky.

Now you can start to...
See the roots there?

There's the ring.

Okay, there's some
roots and things around that.

Grab that ring.

♪♪

God, can he get it?

Come on, bill.
Can you get there?

Yes!

What is that?

I don't know, but he's got it.

♪♪

♪♪

Well, bill, I know
it was a tight squeeze,

But you did a really good job.

I could see some things
on the tablet,

But did you see any carvings,
any writings?

What'd you see?

Well, I could probably see
a little better than you did,

But no, I couldn't see
anything on the walls.

They were silt-covered.

And really, until I got back
to the back of the room...

Is where the visibility
improved a little bit.

So you didn't see
any more inscriptions?

You didn't see any more
writing on the cave?

In the water, no, you couldn't
see anything on the walls.

Wolter: The fact that
the dates are gone tells me

History has already been lost.

If other carvings were
down here,

Those were washed away, too,
meaning I can't date anything

Deep inside the cave
to prove when people were here.

Sites like these need to be
paid attention to and preserved

Before critical clues
to our past disappear.

What about my golden ring?

Your golden ring... right there.

[ laughs ]
that's my golden ring.

It's actually a root.

I couldn't tell it was a root
until I got right up on it.

It did look like a ring.

Okay, so we've checked it out,
so I feel good about that.

We still have our two dates...
1896, 1794.

They're documented
in the newspapers,

Even though
we couldn't see them.

I think these initials
could be important.

Is there anything else
that you can think of?

Courtney: Well, scott,
when we talked yesterday,

I forgot completely
about this medallion

I found in the garden about
a month after everybody left.

Wolter:
We'd been so busy looking
for clues inside the cave,

Chris didn't realize
this find outside of it

Might be just as important
in solving this mystery.

Well, that looks like a
fraternal medallion of some type.

I believe it says
"k.G.E." on the top.

"k.G.E."...
Knights of the golden eagle.

That's what it's got to be.

The knights of the golden eagle
were a fraternal organization

In the late 1800s, early 1900s.

This cave could have been
a place

Where they performed rituals.

You know what, guys?

This could be
a really important clue.

Do you mind if I hang onto this
for a little bit?

Sure, you can hold onto it.

♪♪

Wolter: The medallion chris gave
me could be the best clue yet

As to who used this cave,

If the knights of the golden
eagle used caves for rituals.

♪♪

♪♪

I'm on my way
to meet david beito.

He's a historian who knows
all about

The knights of the golden eagle.

I told him about chris's cave,
and he's excited to help.

So, david, what I really
want to know

Is if there's a connection
between the cave and this.

Beito: This is fascinating.

Knights of the golden eagle
was founded in 1872.

It grew to be a very large
organization,

About 70,000 members
in 250 lodges.

More than half of them
were in pennsylvania.

They would provide insurance,
unemployment benefits,

Sickness benefits,
and a way for somebody

To kind of build
connections in the community.

Here's a picture of
a gentleman who's a member of

The knights of the golden eagle
with his sword.

You know, I noticed something.

If you look on his hat...
Oh, yeah.

It looks an awful lot like...

It looks like a match to me.

This was something
that was fixed

And must have
fallen off somebody,

Maybe in the backyard
where this was found.

That's really interesting.

Let's go back to our cave.

The original landowner, we know,
was d. Edwin hamilton.

Is there any possible connection

With him and the
knights of the golden eagle?

This is an article from 1892.

Down there, we have a name
of one of the first members

Of the organization
in shippensburg,

And it was d...
D. Edwin hamilton.

That's right. You've
gotta be kidding me.

It's quite possible
that either edwin hamilton

Or one of his brothers
in the order

Could have lost this medallion
on his property.

Yes, it's very possible.

Is there anything else
that might make this

Come together more
that you might know?

Part of their ceremony
focuses very much on a cave.

Here is lucifer
with his trident in the middle.

[ thunder cracks ]

Here is the fallen knight.

This is someone
that had gone astray.

[ chains rattling ]

Here's the most interesting
character here.

This is the venerable hermit.

[ thunder cracks ] this is the
man in charge of the cave.

He leads them to the cave.
He provides this lesson.

And the lesson includes
things like a human skull.

They'll have a symbolic skeleton

Of the founder
of the organization.

They were trying to teach
various moral lessons.

Don't get on your high horse.

Realize that we're all
gonna end up like this.

Well, you're hitting
on all cylinders, david,

Because what you just
described is something

That I've actually experienced.

It's not quite the same,
but in masonry there is

Something we call
the chamber of reflection,

Where you go into a dark room,
in some cases a cave.

It involves a skull for the very
same reason that you mentioned.

It's to remind you
of your mortality,

That life is short,
to make the most of it.

And you could do all of that
in a cave

With just a small
number of people, I think.

Everything seems to fit,
at least in my mind.

And really the clincher for me
is this medallion,

And maybe it came off
some of the regalia

As they were walking in
or leaving,

And they just lost it,

And chris found it
almost a century later.

I can't prove it, but it
seems to me like a possibility.

Wolter: Just when I think I have
one thing figured out,

David sends my investigation
in a whole different direction

Toward a possibility
that had been lingering

In the back of my mind
ever since I realized

How close this cave is to what
was the mason-dixon line.

I have heard that caves in
pennsylvania and franklin county

Were used for another purpose...
To hide things.

To hide what?

People.

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: When it comes to
solving the mystery

Of what chris courtney's
backyard cave was used for,

David hints at a possibility
I'd already been thinking about.

I have heard that caves in
pennsylvania and franklin county

Were used to hide people
for the underground railroad.

The underground railroad
is the term

For the chain of safe havens
that slaves in the south

Used to escape, on foot,
to the free states in the north.

But even once they reached
free states, like pennsylvania,

Slave catchers could capture
and kill them on the spot

Or bring them back to face
the judgment of their masters.

It reached its height
around 1860,

And it's estimated
more than 100,000 people

Traveled that way to places like
pennsylvania seeking freedom.

And shippensburg, the site
of chris courtney's cave,

Is just 28 miles
from the border with maryland,

Which was a slave state
until 1864.

It was a key stop.

It probably was as big as
any part of pennsylvania

In the underground railroad.

There were a lot
of slave catchers,

And if you were a slave,
yeah, you got in here,

But you weren't home free yet,

Maybe not till
you got to canada.

You had to have a hiding place.

These people have escaped,
right?

They're desperate.
They want freedom.

So the cave could very well
have been used for that purpose.

Wolter: It could have been used
that way, but was it?

Before I leave my meeting
with david to figure that out,

I check the roster
of k.G.E. Members,

Looking for anyone
with the initials w.T. Or w.R.

Like I saw in the cave.

No luck.

But with this new lead,
I'm wondering if they match up

To slaves who could have used
this cave as a hiding place.

Pennsylvania had a very
important figure

In the history
of the underground railroad.

His name was william still.

He was really one
of the pioneers

In the underground railroad,

And he was
a meticulous record keeper.

Harriet tubman...
She would often go to still

With slaves and say,
"get them out of the country."

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: In pennsylvania,
rocky may be considered

A contemporary hero,

But real heroes are
people like william still.

I know still helped
almost 1,000 people

Find their way to freedom
while working for

The pennsylvania society
for the abolition of slavery.

What I don't know is if still
had any specific information

About any of them
using caves as hideouts.

But I track someone down
who might.

Not just any historian,
but a still family member

Who was motivated so much
by his work

That she pursued
a master's degree

In african-american studies.

And valerie still
also has her own

Quite-different claim to fame.

Wolter: You did play in the wnba
the first year, right?

I played in the abl...
Was out before the wnba,

Which is
the american basketball league.

And then the wnba came out,

And then I eventually played
in that as well.

Okay.

Well, we're not
playing hoops today...

Ah. ...So you won't
embarrass me there.

[ chuckles ]

So, valerie, I've been
investigating this cave

In shippensburg.

This cave was found by a guy
who was 12 years old in 1981.

Here's the thing
about that cave.

It's probably had multiple uses.

Maybe they stored booze.

It could have been used
as part of a fraternity

That the original owner of that
property was a founder of.

And then I'm wondering
if there might be a connection

With the underground railroad.

Well, I know that there's cases
where these individuals say,

"I was in a cave for a while."

Any escapee that comes through
up from the south...

Basically, it's gonna
come through william.

He documents everything,
writes down their name,

And most of the time, that's
really important for people

Because they always asked him,

"will you reach back
to my family?

Let them know I'm okay."

One of the clues
that I'm looking at is

There are some initials that are
carved on the wall of the cave.

Looks like a w.R. Or a w.T.

Do you think maybe william,

When he was writing down
his information,

Possibly some of those
names match these initials?

Be kind of interesting
to look and see.

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: Valerie and I walk to
the pennsylvania historical society

To see william still's
original journal...

Something she has never seen.

And it shares a vault
with something else

Very important
to our nation's past...

A document that strives
to create a more perfect union,

Not one divided over slavery as
it was in william still's time.

The very first draft of
the united states constitution.

Wolter: The constitution?

The constitution of
the united states.

Wow. No way. That constitution.

The one we all know about.

It was folded down the middle,

And so then they wrote
on the right-hand side,

Made corrections on the left,
so this is page one.

Ah. This is page four.

Pages two and three
are on the flip side.

So, this was done
probably late July of 1787.

The day the constitution
was approved

By the convention
was September 17th, 1787,

So this is a good month
and a half before the final.

Wolter: Laying my eyes on a
draft of the constitution is amazing,

But now it's time to see
what we came here to see.

Well, this is the
underground railroad journal

Kept by your ancestor
william still.

It's absolutely the original...
The original cover,

And there's something here
I really want you to see.

♪♪

♪♪

Laying my eyes on
the handwritten words

Of william still,

Who painstakingly documented
the journey to freedom

For hundreds of slaves,

Is a moving moment
for me and for valerie.

This is from 1852 to 1857.

Wow. Look at all that.

♪♪

This is dated
December 29th, 1854,

And here it says
"harriet tubman" on the top...

Oh!

So this is william still...
He wrote this,

But he's saying
that harriet tubman

Brought through
this group of people.

[ sniffles ] "arrived...
John chase, now dan lloyd."

That's right.

"benjamin ross,
now john stewart."

This is "henry ross,
now levin stewart."

So he lists all the names...

Wow, that's what he always did.

...Of the escaped slaves,
as they came,

And then also
their new assumed name.

That's why william's
so important...

Because he documented all that

'cause they didn't want
to leave their family,

And so the whole point was...
That's right.

...Maybe william could
connect them, or...

Absolutely, and that's one
of the projects

We're trying to do
at the historical society

Is to try to create a names
database that links everything.

This is an american hero...

Yep. Exactly.

...If there ever was one.

This is not just
african-american history.

This is the... Exactly.

...History of our country,
and something that we, you know,

As a country
still need to deal with.

Yes. We still need
to grapple with it.

[ chuckles ] now more than ever.

Now more than ever.

There is something I would
like to do, if we could.

There was a cave
that I've investigated,

And there are a couple of
initials down there,

And I'm wondering if maybe
some of those initials

Could match some names in here.

Could we take a look?

Not in this item.

This item is very fragile.

We do have published versions

That are down
in our reading room.

♪♪

Wolter: Together, valerie and I
check william's writings

For the initials I found
in the cave... w.T. Or w.R.

Right now, it's the only clue
I feel I haven't figured out.

Oh, whoa.

This is crazy. What?

Yeah, on the front page here.
There's a "w"...

First page... table of contents?

Yeah. You said w.R., right?

Willis redick.

He was owned by s.J. Wilson.

Let's see here... a very dark
hue, thickset, 32 years of age,

Possessed a fair share of mind.

He is supposed either
to have made his escape north

Or attempted to do so.

You want to check the other...

I'm gonna keep looking on
the online version here.

I'm gonna turn to this page
and see if I can't...

Man, I wish all research
was that easy.

[ chuckling ] yeah, really.

W.T.... William n. Taylor.

Look at this.

$100 reward.

Ran away from richmond city
on the 2nd of June,

Of gentle and easy manners,

About 5-feet-10
or 11 inches tall,

And is about 35 years old.

At least we found some names,
and admittedly it's a long shot.

But it could be that...
wow. It's possible.

You know,
the underground railroad...

Most people think of it
as being underground,

But the underground part
is just a reference

To how secretive it was.

If this cave is actually
part of, you know,

The underground railroad,
then there were places

That were,
you know, underground.

Literally underground.

Literally. Yeah.

I have a couple things I want
to investigate, but thank you.

Thank you. [ chuckles ]

♪♪

Wolter: Caves were used
in the underground railroad

To hide slaves.

That much is fact,
but which caves, exactly...

Caves in shippensburg
like chris courtney's?

♪♪

♪♪

The thing about small towns
is everyone knows everyone,

And it didn't take long for
someone to hear I was in town

And offer up another
piece to the puzzle,

Which I'm heading back
to shippensburg to investigate.

♪♪

I heard that you might have
a cave on your property,

Possibly associated
with the underground railroad.

It's right across
the street from us.

Oh, okay.

Do you mind if I ask you
a couple questions about it?

We'll be glad to talk to you
for a couple minutes about it

Because we really delved
into the history on it.

You want to come in? Yeah.

And I'll show you some stuff.

That'd be great.

♪♪

I have to say, it looks
a little barren in here.

Is something going on?

Well, we're finally moving
after almost 50 years.

So, my timing was pretty good.

Yep. Your timing was perfect.

Well, tell me a little bit
about the history of this house.

Well, the original owner
was a slaveholder,

And then 66 years later,
a family member

Named charles white
bought the home,

And they actually were
on the underground railroad.

And we know that
because one day,

I was here in the afternoon,
and a woman knocked on the door

And said, "my grandfather lived
here during the civil war."

So she told the story
of her aunt who died in 1937.

Their aunt carried food
across the meadow

To the slaves
hiding in the caves.

They had the young kids take it

Because the fugitive slave act
was in effect at that time.

It was passed, I think, in 1850.

If you got caught
helping slaves escape,

It was a federal offense,

And you had a chance
to go to federal prison.

Do you think that I could
maybe take a walk over there

And take a look at the caves?

Sure. It's down the hill
and across the meadow.

Wolter: Bill pointed me in the
right direction of the cave

And called the current owner,

Who agreed to meet me there
to let me take a look.

♪♪

At least one cave
in shippensburg

Was used to harbor slaves,

And I think there's
a good chance

Chris courtney's cave
was used that way, too.

♪♪

Allen: So, here it is.

This is the north entrance
to the main chamber.

Oh, wow.

♪♪

[ chuckles ] now this is a cave.

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: I came to pennsylvania
to solve a mystery.

Who used the cave chris courtney
stumbled upon as a kid?

What did they use it for?

When were they here?

There's a tunnel this way.

Now, I'm exploring a different
shippensburg cave...

One that's deeper
with more twists and turns,

But my gut
and the history in the area

Tell me that they both could
have served the same purpose...

A hideout for slaves
making their way toward freedom.

If I was fleeing from people

That were trying
to hunt me down,

This cave would be
more than welcoming.

Allen: Normally, the floor here
in the mid-summer is all dry.

That's enough ventilation,

You could imagine
someone building a...

Oh, yeah, you could...
...A fire right in there.

...Probably, yeah...
There or here.

Someone could hide for days,
I would think.

♪♪

I think we found
an underground railroad cave.

I'd like to think so.

I think we should head out.

I'm all for that.

[ both chuckling ]
okay, here we go.

Well, allen, that was
[chuckles] pretty exciting.

This cave is consistent with
your neighbor, you know, bill...

His story about
there being a cave over here

That housed
these fugitive slaves.

We're just north
of the mason-dixon line.

The underground railroad
ran through here,

So it's perfectly plausible
that bill's story is true.

I hope so. I'd like to own
a little bit of history, so...

Well, I think you do.

♪♪

♪♪

Wolter: There's only one thing
left to do...

Tell chris courtney I think I've
got his cave all figured out.

♪♪

Howdy, stranger. Hey, scott.

How are you? [
chuckles ] I'm good.

♪♪

Why'd you want to meet here?

Well, this is
mason-dixon distillery,

And we're right near
the mason-dixon line.

This was literally
the dividing line

Where slavery ended
and freedom began.

Wolter: I tell chris this
figures into the end of my story,

But I'm going to tell him
what I discovered

In the order I discovered it.

What did you find out
about my cave?

Well, I found out
a number of things,

And I think it's had
a rich history

That spans quite a time frame.

I think it was used
for many things.

I think that date
that you saw...

The 1794.

...1794, which is when
the whiskey rebellion was.

It's quite possible
that they were

Distilling whiskey down there...

Fresh water,
you got to have that.

You and I both know
that you get down in that cave,

That water is cold,
it's clear, and it's fresh,

So I think that's
a big part of it.

Another thing you
and I talked about...

You remember that
medallion you found?

Yes.

One of the things
that I found out was

The original owner
of that property

Was not only a member but one of
the founding members of the

Knights of the golden eagle.

Really? Absolutely.

They have rituals that are
very similar to masonic rituals

That I've actually been through,

And one of the things
that they had

In the knights of
the golden eagle's ritual

Was something that involved
a hermit inside of a cave.

The hermit would give
the initiate a skull,

And the whole idea
is you sit in there alone.

The skull makes you think
about your own mortality,

That life is short
and to make the most of it.

Wolter: I tell chris the
1896 date could correspond

To the time the k.G.E.
Used the cave.

It's just 6 years
after edwin hamilton,

The owner and k.G.E. Member,
built this house.

If it wasn't for you finding
that medal,

We never would
have known about it.

Right.

The last and probably,

I would have to say maybe
the most important aspect,

Is the whole
underground railroad story,

And that was a huge part
of the cumberland valley

And this part of pennsylvania.

Remember those initials
that were

Carved down
in the bottom of the cave...

Yes... The w.R. And the w.T.?

Well, actually there were
some slaves

Whose names matched
those initials...

William taylor, willis redick.

Really? Yep.

It's quite possible that there
was a slave in that cave,

And he carved his initials.

And it was documented
by william still.

Not too far from where your
cave is, there's another cave,

And it's huge,
and it's well-documented

That slaves that had escaped
did seek refuge there.

If it wasn't for you finding
that cave,

I wouldn't have gone
on this journey

In the first place
to learn myself

And to share this information
with you, so job well done, man.

Thank you.

I really wanted some answers.
Now I have some.

Alright.

[ glasses clink ] cheers.

[ smacks lips ] that's
good. That's good.

Wolter: In this case,
which started with

An unbelievable discovery
by a little boy in his backyard,

Ends with a better understanding
of three different time periods

In the history
of shippensburg, pennsylvania

And the history
of the united states.

I'm glad my investigation led
to some real discoveries,

Since clues were already
washing away underground.

It's easy to think of caves
as dark, scary places,

But in the case
of the underground railroad,

This investigation
reminds me that they can,

Instead, be a source
of great light.

And that's what
I want to be, too...

Someone on a quest to illuminate
the forgotten pieces of our past

So we can all be
more informed in the present.

♪♪

If you have a mysterious
artifact or site I need to see,

I want to know about it.

Go to travelchannel. Com/
americaunearthed.