The Curse of Civil War Gold (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - The Return - full transcript

NARRATOR: Tonight,
on the season two premiere

ofThe Curse
of Civil War Gold...

We're looking for $140 million
worth of gold.

-There's something.
-That's it.

That's where we're gonna
see the gold.

"It was there that
the Confederate treasury

was divided."

-No way.
There's a lot of missing gold.
-Yeah.

We're on our tiptoes wondering
what you're about to tell us.

KEVIN: We sonared this big,
rectangular object.

♪



KEVIN: Well, Alex,
we're really excited

to have you on board,
get this project going.

Yeah, for sure. You know,
I'm excited to be here.

I'm looking forward to it,

and it sounds like
we got a lot of stuff to do.

We're gonna start
where we left off.

NARRATOR:
In Muskegon, Michigan,

treasure hunter Kevin Dykstra,
his brother Al,

and Alex Lagina, the son of
Oak Island treasure hunter

Marty Lagina, are on their way
to Kevin's workshop.

KEVIN: To have your dad
and you work with us,

it's extremely exciting
to have that kind of support.

The thing that's cool about this
is finding out

that the big treasure hunt
that you guys have been on



leads to my backyard
here in Michigan, you know.

It's-it's unbelievable
is really what it is.

-It's just unbelievable.
-I think so.

Yep.

I'm through the wall.

NARRATOR:
For the past eight years...

It's here. I'm touching
the train right now.

...Kevin Dykstra has been
investigating the facts...

Let's take that map over here.

...behind a shocking
deathbed confession.

The ability to keep the secret
was monumental.

NARRATOR: Told more than
100 years ago,

a lighthouse keeper
claimed he saw a boxcar

containing some
$140 million in gold

being deliberately pushed off
a ferry into Lake Michigan.

According to Kevin's research,
it was during the arrest of

Confederate President
Jefferson Davis,

on the morning
of May 10th, 1865,

that Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard,

of the 4th Michigan Cavalry,
acting under orders

from Colonel Robert H.G. Minty,

confiscated six wagons filled
with gold, silver and jewels.

He then buried it nearby,
where it stayed for five years

before being secretly brought
by railroad

to Muskegon, Michigan,
and into the waiting hands

of lumber tycoon-turned-banker
Charles Hackley.

It is Kevin's belief that
Charles Hackley was secretly

shipping the stolen gold
out west to Utah,

where it would be laundered
through his various

mining operations.

And you think you can
prove all this?

-Yes, I do.
-Keep going.

NARRATOR: Last year, Kevin
convinced fellow Michigander

Marty Lagina to invest in his
search for the sunken boxcar.

[metal detector beeping]

Okay, then we come into
this area here...

NARRATOR: And it was during
a dive operation

in Lake Michigan...

KEVIN:
Boom. Right there.

...that Kevin and his team
captured video evidence

that may prove that
Kevin's years of research

were not in vain.

You see what's
in the corner there?

We have what we believe is
a gold bar.

MARTY: Are you saying that
you didn't notice that

-until you saw the video?
-Till we saw the video.

MARTY: Well, I can tell you
one thing you can't do.

-You can't quit.
-No, we're not gonna quit.

I looked at the video
they took when diving,

and there is, by gosh,
something that looks like a bar.

So, based on that, my son Alex
has joined the team this year.

That footage, it is
extremely intriguing.

We got to do more investigation.

I totally agree.

MARTY: Because I can't
be there with Kevin,

Alex is going to be
my eyes and ears.

ALEX:
So, this is the workshop?

This is the workshop.

KEVIN: The fact that Marty was
convinced enough

with the research

to send his son
to work with us,

that speaks volumes to me.

Looking forward to
meeting everybody.

Yeah, they're looking forward
to meeting you.

KEVIN: I have children. I wouldn't just throw them into

something that I didn't
fully believe in.

-Hey, guys.
-Hey, there they are.
-Hey.

Hi, guys.

-Alex.
-I'm Alex. How are you?

-Frederick Monroe.
-Very nice to meet you.

There's such a huge need
in human beings, I think,

to want to believe
fun stuff like this, you know.

-I'm Brad Richards.
-Hey, Brad, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.
-Hey, Alex. Jeff.

-Nice to meet you. Yeah.
-Hey, Jeff, nice to meet you.

MARTY: I'm excited to see Kevin
and his team get back going...

-Well, this is exciting.
-Yeah.

...because if Kevin actually

emerges from Lake Michigan

even with a picture of a,
of a bar of gold

stamped with
the Confederacy somehow,

he will have changed our version
of conventional history.

Where we left off last fall,

the footage that we got--
or that Jeff got--

was a godsend
to this whole project.

-It is.
-Yeah.

-Yeah.
-ALEX: Can we take a look again?

Sure. I think
we got it right here.

Okay, here we go.

There it is right there.

Just laying there,
waiting to be discovered.

JEFF: What was so frustrating
about getting this footage

when we did in the season,
was that it was so late,

the weather just did not allow
us to go back and verify

that that actually is
what it looks like.

We need to be able to get back
down to that site again.

Right. We have to see if that's
what you think it is.

Yep.

ALEX: It's quite clear
there's something there.

Then you want to get eyes on it.

And on that note,

my dad managed to obtain
about a 40-foot boat.

It's perfect for diving.

Wow.

-Nice.
-Wow.

-Marty's really paying off.
-[laughter]

-Seriously, we are so grateful.
-Absolutely.

That's a really big deal,
and I appreciate that, too.

FRED:
Well, gold gets people excited.

-It does.
-[laughter]
-Yes.

So, to be honest,
I think the diving part of it

-is significant.
-Yep.

It isn't like you can just go
to that point on a map,

go down, and it's there.

-Right.
-You can get
to that general area,

but with the shifting sands
at the bottom of the lake,

that-that could be
totally buried.

It could look totally different.

Now, one thing we got
to really think about is

the legalities of what
we're doing here are huge.

The state of Michigan says

we can take photographs, and
lightly hand fanning is fine,

as long as we don't disturb
and move any artifacts.

And they did say
that if we use a probe,

we can probe gently down
into the sand

and see if we hit something.

-Mm-hmm.
-But we're gonna step
into some troubled waters

if we go too far, if we try
to touch it or move it.

ALEX: Out on Oak Island,
it's been our approach

that, working with
regulations especially,

having somebody
who has the experience

lends some credibility
to the state.

So I have been able
to arrange for Dr. Mark Holley,

who's, uh, Northwestern
Michigan College--

he's an underwater
archaeologist-- to join us.

-Oh.
-Mm.

-That's good.
-Yeah.

ALEX:
So, he can bring a sonar,

various other
remote sensing equipment.

So we've got tools, and we've
got a place to dive from.

Perfect.

There's more than just
the footage, though.

You know, another reason
that I'm interested,

another reason that we're
interested, is all the research

-that led you to this point.
-Sure.

What's the agenda this year
in terms of that?

KEVIN:
Well, people are approaching us,

reaching out to us.

You've had some people
reach out to you

with some pretty
interesting things.

Yeah.

So, the game plan is
we're gonna split up.

Brad and Jeff are gonna head out
and follow some of those leads

-that people have
approached us with.
-Great.

Being a history teacher,
the treasure for me

is where this story originated,

and I'm just really excited
to chase down other leads

about where
the Confederate gold went,

because there's more stories
about Civil War gold

than just the part
at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

-Really?
-So, yep, that's where the
research is heading right now,

and I believe that
there's a lot more out there.

-Keep following the money trail.
-[laughter]

So I think we all kind of have
our marching orders

-on what we need to do here.
-Yep.

You ready to get in the water?

-Mm-hmm.
-So am I.

Let's get out there.

Get that dive boat
over top of that gold.

We'll-we'll get diving,
we'll see what's down there,

and then see if we can find it.

-Agreed.
-JEFF: Yeah, I agree.

There's nothing
like treasure hunting.

-[chuckles]
-I like this guy.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: One day after
their exciting meeting

with Alex Lagina,

Kevin Dykstra
and his brother Al

arrive at the harbor
in Frankfort.

-Gentlemen.
-MARK: Hey.

NARRATOR: Joining them
is Frederick J. Monroe...

-Good to meet you, sir.
-Kevin Dykstra.

...as well as
underwater archaeologist

Dr. Mark Holley.

-Let's load up.
-Let's get this underway.

NARRATOR:
In addition to teaching at

Northwestern Michigan College,

Dr. Mark Holley
has spent over 20 years

studying and exploring
the Great Lakes.

In 2007, he made headlines
after helping to discover

a mysterious rock formation
some 40 feet deep

in Lake Michigan's
Grand Traverse Bay.

Whoa!

FRED:
This is how it's done.

KEVIN:
This is a big boat.

This is nice.

AL:
This will work.

KEVIN:
To get this project underway

and start diving
this year is huge.

This is sweet.

The new boat that
Marty and Alex provided

is just perfect for what
we're doing right now.

-Alex and Marty hooked us up
this time.
-Yes, they did.

Look at the dive platform.

KEVIN: The dive platform is
a lot easier to dive off from.

This boat is the cat's meow.

Oh, look at this.

Wow, this is nice.

AL:
Oh, man. Two bedrooms.

KEVIN: Air-conditioned,
bathroom, kitchen.

AL:
Everything.

KEVIN:
Boy, those guys hooked us up.

So we'll thank them by
putting gold in Marty's hands.

-[laughs]: Yeah.
-How's that?

That-That'd be a good thank you.

We're as prepared
as we can possibly be

for-for getting back
into the water.

-We good to go?
-We are good.

-All right.
-All set?

-Yeah, we're all set.
-Okay.

KEVIN:
All right, here we go.

There's no going back.
We're only going forward.

We know that gold is
down there, and we can't wait

to get back down there
to see it.

FRED: Let's follow
the money trail, gentlemen.

[laughter]

-AL: Let the games begin.
-KEVIN: Let the games begin.

NARRATOR: Near the coast
of Frankfurt, Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra, along with
members of his team

and underwater archaeologist
Dr. Mark Holley,

are searching the waters
of Lake Michigan

for what they believe
to be the remains

of a 19th century boxcar

and more than $100 million worth of lost Confederate gold.

KEVIN: You know,
we burned a lot of air up

trying to locate this site.

We've done a good job,
but it's taken longer

-than it should have.
-Uh, yeah.

MARK: You're gonna burn
a lot more air

when you're working
in the water.

So, here's what I think
you should do.

I think we should go out
with a side-scan sonar sweep,

GPS position exactly
where that target is,

and then we have an ROV
we can put down on the site

and film exactly
what's down there.

-You've got an ROV?
-Yep.

NARRATOR: An ROV,
or remotely operated vehicle,

is a remote-controlled device,

usually connected by
means of a cable,

used for scanning or mapping
underwater areas.

What we'll do is
we'll film everything

that's down there
so we can put the divers

exactly on the spot
that you think

-you're going down on.
-I like that idea.

We burned up so much air trying
to find it the last time.

-It's much, much safer.
-Yeah.

-I mean, we're looking for
$140 million worth of gold.
-Yeah.

And if we could stay down there
an extra five minutes,

-that could be huge.
-Oh, that's everything.

NARRATOR: Last year,
Kevin, Al and the team

located what they believed
to be a debris field.

Using specialized
metal detectors,

they obtained readings
which indicated

the presence of precious metal
buried beneath layers

of sand and algae.

After checking their footage,

they noticed something
strange and rectangular,

something which looked
exactly like a bar of gold.

We could be just
one or two dives away

from seeing gold on the bottom
of Lake Michigan.

We can't wait to get back
down there and confirm it.

NARRATOR: With thick fog
blanketing the calm waters

of Lake Michigan,
Dr. Mark Holley begins running

side-scan sonar
to once again locate

the underwater debris field.

KEVIN: We're gonna be coming up
to it in a few hundred feet.

-Is that it?
-That's not it.

-There's a bunch
of debris around.
-Okay.

KEVIN: It's not as easy as just
hitting a pinpoint,

dropping an anchor
and going down to the site.

It's very difficult
to get to the location

and get back to the site
that's so far below you.

NARRATOR: Although
Kevin Dykstra is relying

on the same GPS coordinates
he obtained

in the area last year,

the conditions of
the lake bottom have changed

due to strong currents
and increased algae growth.

Just keep going
the way we're going.

It should start
showing up here anytime.

Well, there's something.

AL: I know.
I was just looking at that.

Couple big boulders.
That's us rocking.

-KEVIN: Yeah, yeah.
-Mm-hmm.

Oh, we got
a big debris field there.

KEVIN: That's something; there's
a bunch of debris around.

MARK:
Okay.

NARRATOR:
A debris field?

Could the team have once again
located the site

where a possible fortune
in lost Civil War gold

has laid hidden
for more than a century?

KEVIN:
When we get back in the water,

I'm gonna see
some familiar sites.

When I see those sites
from last fall,

I know that that gold
is right there.

-There it is, right there.
Look at that.
-That's it?

-That's it right there.
-You think that's it?

-AL: That's a 90-degree angle
right there.
-MARK: Yeah.

-That's the boxcar, right there.
-Okay.

Oh, that's the car?

KEVIN: But do you see
the size of that thing?

MARK:
Yeah.

NARRATOR:
A possible boxcar?

Could it be the same one
that Kevin thought he saw

during his search
in this area last year?

Look at this stuff showing up.

-Wow.
-Look at that.

-Shoot, nice.
-[laughs]: Oh, my gosh.

That is not natural.
That is man-made.

There's no doubt about it.

That to me looks like a boxcar.

This is the perfect shot of it.

You see the shadows

-on the north side of it?
-MARK: Yep.

-That give you an idea?
-Yep.

And that's a large--
Look at how long that is.

MARK:
Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Could Kevin have found
the exact same location

where he and his partners
photographed what they believe

might have been
one of the missing bars

of Confederate gold?

-Okay. Let's mark it.
-Right there.

-This is our reference point.
-MARK: Okay.

Right there is where
we want to be.

And then that point,
if we drop the ROV down there,

-that's where
we're gonna see the gold.
-Okay.

That's the kind of thing

that makes me really excited.
[chuckles]

NARRATOR:
Before they attempt to dive

into the frigid waters
of Lake Michigan,

Dr. Mark Holley will deploy
a remotely-operated,

high-definition camera.

This will enable them to obtain

a visual of
the mysterious object.

KEVIN:
Once we put that mask on,

we descend towards the bottom,

we only have
a limited amount of time.

And quite often, your time
is being used up searching.

-Yeah, you're good?
-Okay.

-How's that look?
-Thank you, guys.

-Good?
-Yep.

And let me grab it
right by the--

-Right here. I got it. Yep.
-Yeah.

-KEVIN: You good?
-Perfect. Got it.

Ready?

KEVIN:
Nice. All right.

MARK:
Run it down to bottom.

You're going straight down,
so you're doing good.

KEVIN: I'm gonna bump it
forward a little bit.

Oh.

MARK:
You see bottom yet?

-Um, just barely.
-You're fine.

KEVIN:
The last time we were out,

the visibility was very bad.

But this time,
the visibility is very good

and we stand a very good chance
of finding that location again.

I'm gonna bring her down
a bit more.

-What do you got there?
-We're coming up
to debris right now.

-AL: That's-that's that frame!
-Whoa.

-KEVIN: That's it. That's it.
-That's that frame
that we've seen.

-We're on it right now.
-So what's this?

-KEVIN: That's what I think
is the boxcar.
-AL: That-- Yeah.

Look at that.

MARK: You've got crossbeams
going across it.

KEVIN:
This is definitely man-made.

AL:
Absolutely, it is.

KEVIN: You can see
the spacing on them.

You can see what look like
rivets all along it.

NARRATOR: Between the early 19th
to the mid 20th centuries,

steel rivets
were the primary means

of fastening
metal structures together

in the railway industry,

especially in
the construction of boxcars.

All right, pull it up.
Let's get out the dive gear.

We need to get
diving on this right now.

-Yep.
-Okay, let's get in the water.

-Excited.
-Let's grab our kit.

KEVIN: We know that a boxcar
is approximately

35 foot long and approximately
seven to eight feet wide.

But we need to get down there
onto that target

and see what
the exact size of that is

to make sure that
it is either a boxcar

or possibly something else.

NARRATOR:
During the dive operation,

Kevin and Mark will both
be equipped

with high-definition cameras.

Kevin's brother Al
will be operating

an underwater metal detector

capable of
discriminating between

ferrous metals such as iron

and non-ferrous metals
such as gold.

Frederick J. Monroe,
a certified divemaster,

will remain on the boat
with Captain Larry Ring,

monitoring the divers'
oxygen levels

and maintaining constant
radio communication with them.

MARK:
Okay.

You want some cold water
on your hair?

[grunts]

[panting]

KEVIN:
Air's on?

FRED:
Yes, air's on.

[sighs]

NARRATOR:
Just as the team's

dive operation
is getting underway,

Kevin Dykstra's
brother Al indicates

that something has gone
terribly wrong.

KEVIN:
Are you okay?

[coughing]

Grab ahold.

Wait a minute.
Just grab ahold.

It's okay.

-[clears throat]
-[coughing]

Okay. You okay?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

Yeah, you got too hot.

I can tell that right now.

KEVIN:
We're done.

When Al was trying
to get into the water,

he knew I was in the water
using up oxygen.

So, with Al getting
into the water

in such a hurry like he was,
he was overheating.

I could tell he was sweating
really bad trying to get ready.

How's your breathing?

-It's-it's doing okay.
-Okay?

Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Among the many dangers

that divers face, overheating is one of the most threatening.

[groans]

It can be caused
by a number of factors,

such as thick wetsuits,

which are designed
to keep divers warm

while descending into deep,
frigidly cold waters.

If worn too long out of water,
the suit can cause potentially

deadly conditions,
such as heatstroke.

MARK:
We got perfect conditions.

We got plenty of time.
Let's go back, regroup,

catch our breath,
and we'll try it again.

AL:
Yeah. Sounds good.

-Yeah?
-KEVIN: Yup. Let's go.

KEVIN:
It's very disappointing.

I know I'm right above
what I think is that boxcar,

but I also know

when we go to the boxcar,
we want it to be safe.

We want it to be
under the right conditions.

So, regroup, make it safe,
then we'll go down.

We've waited eight years.
We may as well...

I know.
You can wait another hour.

AL:
Yup.

NARRATOR:
While Kevin and the team

wait to attempt another dive,

some eight miles away,
in the town of Benzonia,

team members Brad Richards
and Jeff Zehr

arrive at the Benzie Area
Historical Museum.

-Well, here we are.
-Yeah.

-This is
a cool-looking building.
-Yeah.

It is home
to a large collection

of nautical artifacts
and historical documents

from Michigan's
northern region.

BRAD:
You're gonna like Bob.

-Super excited
about Civil War research.
-Yeah?

-So, that's right up our alley.
-All right. Yeah.

They have come here
to meet with someone

who claims to have information

that corroborates
Kevin Dykstra's theory

about what occurred the morning of Jefferson Davis' arrest

by Union soldiers in 1865.

-Hey, Mr. Strawhorn.
-Hey there, Bob.

-Yes, sir.
-In addition to being

a Civil War historian,
Bob Strawhorn

is the great-grandson
of a Confederate soldier.

-Pleased to meet you.
-Well, I understand

you've got a lot
to show us here today.

Yeah, I do. And this is only
a small amount of what I've got.

He has traveled some 450 miles

from his home
in Ontario, Canada,

in order to share
with Brad and Jeff

what he believes to be
some important information.

This collection of books
came down

through a very prominent
Confederate family.

Wound up being refugees
in London, Ontario.

I don't know
their family history.

Whoever sold the books
to the antique dealer

that I got them from
wanted to remain anonymous.

-Oh.
-Okay.
-Yeah.

Well, what are all these books?

Well, they started in 1893,

printing a magazine called
the Confederate Veteran.

NARRATOR:
Published from 1893 to 1932,

theConfederate Veteran
was a periodical composed

of personal testimonies
and letters

written by
former Confederate soldiers

recounting the events
of the Civil War,

accounts that often differed
from the official war records.

So, Bob, did you find
anything in here about

-the capture of Jefferson Davis?
-Mm-hmm.

Is there anything you have that
might be in reference to gold?

Here I have a letter...

Bob has located
a firsthand account

of Jefferson Davis' arrest

written by Confederate veteran
Captain Andrew Sea

from the November 1913 issue.

"General Dibrell's

"command finally reached
Charlotte, North Carolina,

"and was ordered to escort
President Davis and Cabinet.

"We had with our command
Mr. Davis and his wife.

"We also had the Confederate
treasury in nail kegs,

-"ammunition boxes,
etcetera..."
-Yeah. Mm-hmm.

"...hauled in wagons."

This is awesome.

This is a primary account

from a soldier,
a Confederate soldier,

-with gold and silver,
who was there.
-Who was there.

Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR:
For more than 150 years,

historians have long denied
numerous claims

that Jefferson Davis
was in possession

of millions of dollars
in gold and silver

when he was arrested in 1865.

But does this firsthand account

buried in the pages
of theConfederate Veteran

undermine
this widely held assertion?

I believe the evidence
that Bob Strawhorn gave us

really verifies Kevin's theory.

Here we have
corroborating evidence

about gold and silver traveling with Jefferson Davis.

Well, and even when Kevin
first started telling us

the story in the beginning,
he talked about kegs

and ammo boxes being used
in order to-to transport this.

Yeah, I mean, primary document

-showing gold and silver...
-Mm.

...in powder kegs
and ammo boxes.

-Doesn't get any better
than that.
-Hang on.

There's one more thing.

What's that?

Here I have a letter
written in by

a John T. Moore
from Washington, D.C.,

and he's telling about
his experiences in the war.

"They returned with
President Davis to Charlotte.

"The next day... some member
of the Cabinet told us

"we could all consider ourselves honorably discharged,

"but if any of us wished
to accompany President Davis

"to Mexico we could do so.

"So I fell in line
to seek refuge in Mexico.

"The next day we crossed
the Savannah River,

"arriving at Washington,
Georgia.

"It was there that
the Confederate treasury

was divided."

-Wow.
-Oh, yeah.

[Brad laughs]

NARRATOR:
For Brad Richards,

this firsthand account

from Confederate veteran

John T. Moore

is hugely significant.

Not only does it validate

Kevin's theory
that Jefferson Davis

was fleeing with gold
from the Confederate treasury,

but also that
Davis' intended destination

was very likely Mexico,

further proof
that Davis was planning to use

what remained of the treasury
to set up

a new slave-based nation
under the leadership

of members of the KGC,

or the Knights
of the Golden Circle.

-Can I interrupt you
for one quick second?
-Mm.

Mm-hmm.

So, those six wagons
that were Davis,

that wasn't the only bit
of gold.

That's correct.

-[laughs]
-Well.

Mm-hmm.

BOB: "It was there
that the Confederate treasury

was divided."

NARRATOR:
In Benzonia, Michigan,

Civil War historian
Bob Strawhorn

has just revealed
a stunning letter

to Brad Richards and Jeff Zehr, a letter

containing eyewitness testimony from a Confederate soldier

which claimed that,
at the end of the Civil War,

the Southern treasury
was not only much larger

than previously reported

but, in addition to the gold
taken by Jefferson Davis,

another large portion of it had been taken by someone else.

"After the division

"a lieutenant was ordered
to select five men

"and take three wagons
loaded with bullion

and deliver it to the Georgia state authorities."

-Oh, my gosh!
-[chuckles]

BRAD:
Primary document

showing gold and silver

being moved at this time.

Oh, yeah.

Now, what happened
to the bullion?

To all that gold.

Yeah.

-Mm-hmm.
-BRAD: I can believe

that there are
so many different caches of gold

moving about the country
at this time

that was not recorded
in the history books.

So I think that
Kevin's original theory

is being validated
on a grand scale.

But I also think

this story is exploding

way past the original story.

This is a compelling piece
of evidence

that the "official document"
that's quoted

-by the college professors...
-Mm-hmm.

-...and the historians...
-Mm-hmm. Yeah, right.

...wasn't what happened.

-Mm-mm.
-Well done, Bob.

BRAD:
The three wagons going west,

in addition to the six that we

already knew about,
it just makes you wonder:

where did all
this gold and silver go?

There was a lot more
gold and silver out there

than just these
original six wagons

that were traveling
with Jefferson Davis.

Well, Bob, thank you so much
for meeting with us.

Thank you, sir.

Yeah, much appreciated.

BOB:
My pleasure.

NARRATOR: Back on the waters
of Lake Michigan,

just outside of Frankfort,

Kevin Dykstra, his brother Al

and underwater archaeologist
Dr. Mark Holley are now ready

to once again attempt a dive,
in an effort to confirm

if they have found
the legendary boxcar

reported to contain
some $140 million

in lost Civil War gold.

Clear.

KEVIN [over radio]:
All right, I'm descending.

AL:
The visibility is great.

Typically, the visibility
in Lake Michigan, I'd say,

on average is, you know, if
you get 25 feet, you're lucky.

If you get 75 feet,

that never happens.

So to have 75-foot visibility

cuts our search time
down to nothing.

Everything looks calm. Is it?

AL:
Not bad.

NARRATOR: Within minutes
of entering the water,

Kevin, Al and Mark see
the structure.

KEVIN: What I'm looking at
is something unlike

any other shipwrecks
that we've found.

It does not look like
a shipwreck at all.

Doesn't look like
any portion of a ship.

Heavy wooden timbers
that I would expect to see

in a railcar, very prevalent.

KEVIN: I would not expect to see
a full standing boxcar

at the bottom of the lake
after this many years.

I would expect to see
basically what we see.

The walls are gone.

The roof is gone.

What we're seeing down here
is what I believe to be

the floor structure
of the boxcar.

NARRATOR: Could the structure
that Kevin and the team

have found be the remains
of the elusive boxcar?

KEVIN: I wanted to just get down to that object

and clear all that stuff away
and see what this is.

But I have Dr. Holley with me,
and he cautioned me.

You can't touch anything.

KEVIN:
So I have Al

with the metal detector,

and he's going
alongside of this object.

My thoughts are: If that's
the floor of the boxcar,

whatever containers
held the gold

have probably long been smashed or long rotted away.

So the gold
could be laying anywhere,

but there's a high likelihood
that it's buried

in the sand, and we
might not be able to see it.

[beeping]

it.

NARRATOR: ...Kevin Dykstra's
younger brother, Al,

has just detected the presence

of possible precious metal
beneath the lake bed

next to an object that could be part of a boxcar

believed to contain a fortune
in stolen Civil War gold.

NARRATOR: Although the team
is not permitted

to dig on the lake bottom,

underwater archaeologist
Dr. Mark Holley

is able to fan the sand away
in order to see

if something of importance
might lie buried

just beneath the surface.

Ferrous or nonferrous hit?

It's making the metal detector
go nuts.

AL:
A metal detector doesn't lie.

I was getting
non-ferrous hits there,

but whatever is there is deeper

than what we can
get to by hand-fanning.

That's where the frustration
lies for all of us.

NARRATOR: Despite the
possibility of precious metals

lying just beneath the surface
of the lake bottom,

Kevin and the team will need
more compelling evidence,

like pictures or video,
in order to apply

for the permits necessary to legally dig down and confirm

if they have actually made
an important discovery.

KEVIN: So I'm trying
to hold the camera

and get as much data as I can,

but really, I'm looking
all around the outside

just to see if I can see
a gold bar.

Give me a pressure check.

500 pounds or less,
it's time to come up.

All right, guys,
I think this is our time.

NARRATOR: With their
air supply running low,

Kevin, Al and Mark
must now end

their dive operation.

KEVIN:
As we made our ascent back up,

I wanted to somehow
talk to Alex and Marty

from the bottom
of the lake and say,

"You guys aren't gonna
believe what we found."

NARRATOR: For Kevin Dykstra and his team,

they may be
one major step closer

to making a life-changing
discovery:

a fortune in missing
Confederate gold.

I think it's a boxcar.

I do, too. I have no doubt
in my mind.

Part of it, like it got
sheared in half.

Absolutely.

Those timbers were so big
and I seen the needle

on your metal detector
going off.

-It was going crazy.
-I know it.

Those huge timbers, I think
the frame was just below it.

Did you see the platform
underneath it?

Yeah! Yeah, that's what I mean.
The frame was just under it.

Yup.

I think that boxcar had really
deteriorated over the years.

So, the gold
could be laying anywhere,

but there's a high likelihood
that it's buried in the sand.

What'd you think?

I've never seen
anything like that.

I have no idea what it is.

-Have you dove
on a boxcar before?
-No.

Those were some mammoth timbers
down there, weren't they?

Yeah.

They were about
that thick, okay?

-It's two layers of timbers...
-KEVIN: Yeah.

-...across each other.
-AL: Plus the bottom.

And then there's six big beams
that go across it.

It measures 16 foot by 15 foot,
so it's almost a rectangle.

KEVIN: I feel like we're leaving
no stone unturned

when it comes
to trying to document,

as best we can, what this is.

Is it in fact a boxcar?
Could it be something else?

With Doc Holley's measurements,

we're gonna have
the best chance we have

to figure out what this is.

You guys see
any gold down there?

You got a big hit on that
little round item there.

I don't know,
I don't know what that is

'cause it was-- there was
so many zebra mussels on it.

If you guys are interested
in investigating that,

rather than spending a lot
of diver time on the bottom

measuring everything up
and drawing it, we can bring in

the sector scan sonar,

which will give us a really high
definition sonar picture of it

and fully document that part
of your site for you.

-That sounds like a plan.
-Sounds good.

NARRATOR:
Unlike more conventional

side-scanning sonar,
a sector scanning sonar device

can be rigged to a tripod

and literally stand
on the lake bottom

generating a three-dimensional
map of the environment

and any near-surface
buried objects

not visible to the naked eye.

Data from the device may help
Kevin and his team

not only acquire a permit
to dig at this site,

but also help them
locate the debris field

where Kevin obtained
possible video evidence

of a gold bar last year.

As far as what we do next,
I think that sector scan

is probably the best idea
that we have.

I think we need
to meet back at my shop

and go over all this stuff.

-That sound like a plan?
-That sounds like a good plan.

Yeah, it's a good one.

KEVIN: I know Marty's gonna want
to know what we found here.

[laptop ringing]

NARRATOR:
The next day...

-Hey, guys.
-Hello.

How are you guys doing?

NARRATOR:
...Kevin Dykstra and his team

have gathered in the workshop

to update Marty and Alex
Lagina, via video conference,

on their potential
breakthrough discovery

at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Well, we're eager.
We're on our tiptoes

wondering what you're
about to tell us.

Well, I don't hardly know
where to start.

KEVIN: So, get this,
we're heading out to the site

where we believe
that we found a gold bar,

and as we're heading out there,

we sonar this big rectangular
object on the sea bottom.

We were able to put the ROV
in the water

and this big massive frame
showed up.

This thing was made to carry
a lot of weight.

Is that what you sent me
a photo of, Kevin?

This one here,
just to make sure?

Yup, yup. That's it.

Al got some real heavy hits
on the metal detector,

um, showing that there was
significant metal

on this object down there.

This thing sticking up,

isn't just a frame,
like a bed frame then,

it goes down into the sand?

KEVIN:
We believe it does, Marty,

but according to Dr. Holley,
we couldn't move any sand,

we couldn't do anything.

How far from the bar we thought
was a gold bar that,

you know, jangled us
in our chairs last year?

How far away is this from that?

We're talking just
a couple of hundred feet.

In a lake that's as large
as Lake Michigan,

a couple hundred feet
is, like, right next to it.

Oh, I agree. A couple hundred
feet is spot on.

I mean, you know, when it...
once it hit the water,

it would kind of
have disintegrated,

probably, over time.

I think if that's a boxcar,

then you've probably found
your boxcar.

Yeah, I would agree.

MARTY:
If there's one word

that eventually
produces success,

it's perseverance.

That's what he needs to do
at this time,

-and it won't be hard
for Kevin...
-This is great.

...because he's got
that innate drive.

If he pulls a gold brick off
of Lake Michigan

with a Confederate stamp on it,

he has already
rewritten history.

You know, Marty, um,
a big part of this story

has been the historical research

to where this gold
in Lake Michigan

-would have come from.
-Right.

And so Jeff and I
were actually able to meet

with an old Canadian guy
named Bob Strawhorn,

and, believe it or not,

we've got firsthand testimony
from Confederate soldiers.

So let me pull these up.

So, this first one here
is from a Confederate veteran

that was traveling
with Jefferson Davis

at Washington, Georgia.

Three wagons head
a different direction,

full of gold.

It says,
"Five men took three wagons

loaded with bullion."

-Wow.
-BRAD: Off they went.

Where'd they go?

It wasn't just the six wagons
full of the gold

that was traveling
with Jefferson Davis.

There was multiple caches
of gold

being moved quickly away
from the northern troops.

-AL: And all
in different directions?
-BRAD: Yeah.

Going in different directions.

You guys are all starting
to sound like my brother.

[laughter]

KEVIN: I think
Jefferson Davis was carrying

a portion of the gold,
but I think other people

were carrying gold, as well.

But they split it off,
and I think they did that

to kind of hedge their chances
of success

with getting this gold further
to the South.

Are you gonna be able to come up

-on this next dive next week?
-ALEX: I want to be there.

I'd like him to be there.
I'dlike to be there,

but I don't think
I'm gonna be able to.

In the meantime, get out there

and verify it, go on that dive,

and let's see what happens.

Hopefully we get enough data
to go to the state of Michigan

and ask for a salvage permit.

Well, we'll work
towards that happening.

-Good deal.
-KEVIN: All right. Thanks, guys.
-See you guys soon.

MARTY:
Bye.

Let's get back at it.

-All right.
-Yeah. Let's go.

NARRATOR: For Kevin Dykstra and his team,

the potential discovery

of a boxcar
is not just exciting,

but if they can find
what they believe

to be its lost cargo
of stolen Civil War gold,

they may soon be
on the threshold

of rewriting American history.

But as their search widens

to include more gold

than they ever
thought possible,

what else will they discover?

Perhaps evidence
of an even bigger conspiracy?

One that involved

not only the theft
of millions in gold,

but the creation
of a new government

and a bloody plot
that would claim the life

of a beloved
American president?

This season on
The Curse of Civil War Gold...

KEVIN:
This thing is a lot bigger

-than what I
originally thought.
-What is that?

KEVIN:
We've just begun the search.

-We found something.
-KEVIN: There was gold

in many different places
during the time

of Jefferson Davis's capture.

-Look at all this.
-Wow, look at them all.

Wow. That is gold.

So, just how big
is this conspiracy?

MAN: The Knights
of the Golden Circle

was the most powerful,
subversive organization ever.

They wanted to take the power
from New York.

MAN 2: This was orchestrated
much higher up.

John Wilkes Booth was not killed
at the barn.

He was killed by Jesse James.

-Whoa.
-Oh, wow.
-KEVIN: That's a compass.

-The all-seeing eye.
-That could be a vault
down there.

MAN: They gave me a key
to the vault,

and that's when
they pulled the bags up.

-Bags of what?
-Gold.

There's treasure underneath the Pritchard house.

-That's it.
-[laughs] It's a coin!

KEVIN:
We could be an inch away

from millions of dollars' worth of gold.

-No way!
-Unbelievable!

That actually knocks
my socks off.

Subtitled by Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk