The Curse of Oak Island: Drilling Down (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 3 - William Shatner Meets Oak Island - full transcript

On September 30, 2019,

I traveled to Nova Scotia

to meet with brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina

and the other members
of their Oak Island team.

I wanted to see
for myself firsthand

just how this obscure island

off the coast of Nova Scotia
had become a global phenomenon

courtesy of a 225-year-old
treasure mystery.

After taking a brief tour,

we all adjourned
to what they call the war room.

It was here



that I was able to talk
to everyone face-to-face

and ask all of the questions

I was eager to have answered.

I'm a stranger
in a strange land,

so I want to know the details.

Here you are, two brothers,
four years apart.

You're younger, you're...

-Rick is four years
older than you. -Yes.

Not only are you dressed in
two different colored shirts...

-Right? Like,
diametrically opposed.

One in blue and one in red.
Come on.

You just need a green shirt
next to you,

-and you got
the primary colors there.

Um...



You guys

are the progenitors of this.

Where...
How does all this start?

-Where d...
Where-where does this begin? -Him.

-Him?
-With him, for sure.

Why don't you say his name?

-Him. I know him. He's...

-This is Rick Lagina,
my big brother. -There you go.

-Yeah. -"My big brother."
Did he protect you

-when you were young?
Yes, from others,

but he used to beat me up
himself.

Well...

Yes, from others.
I was untouchable.

-None of his friends.
-Wow. That's-that's huge.

So, how did all this start?

Rick?

-It's that article.
-The article being an article

-in the Reader's Digest.
-January 1965.

-Okay.
So, we went

to Catholic school,
and the nuns were very strict.

And you... Fridays, it was.

Friday afternoons.
We were allowed as a class.

You march in line.
You go to the library.

You're allowed but one book.

And, so, I happened

to read that article,
and I was mesmerized.

-How old were you?
11.

11. Wow.

So you're reading this at 11.

But people as adults

think that you're interested
in the treasure aspect of it,

and I... it never dawned on me.

-Really?
All I really wanted to know was

-who, what, when, where, why and how.
-That's not what he told

-his younger brother
at the time.

-Well...
-What did he tell you?

"There's a great treasure here
with booby traps

-and pirates and things."
-We-we would go...

We were treasure hunting

when we were knee-high
to a grasshopper.

There was
a great, big, giant stone

up on the hill
where we used to play ball,

and we called it
the Indian Rock.

The whole community of boys

that were sure
there was an Indian treasure

-underneath there.
There's a band around

this big, giant boulder,
and we all thought,

-"There's something
under there." -It was about this big.

-You know? "We got to..."
-When you're 11, that's big.

-It was big, yeah.
-You got to dig it up.

And he wouldn't dig it up
'cause there was a story there.

He'd dig it up 'cause we could
go buy ice cream bars

-with the treasure.
-Yeah.

-Fudgsicles, in fact.
-So... Exactly.

So, the whole point of it is,

-it wasn't the treasure.
-Point is that you were intrigued

-by the mystery of the treasure.
Yes. Yeah.

I want to know why. I mean,

we grew up with the Hardy Boys

and trying
to figure things out.

Once a week, I think,
Mom would gather us all

around the table,
and we would build puzzles.

Some of us
would separate the colors,

and Mom had this penchant for...

All the corner pieces
go over here.

All the straight pieces
go over here.

This color goes here.
That color goes there.

And it's kind of like
what we're doing.

So, the... You were putting

-the puzzles together...
The only time we...

The only time
we watched TV was for...

Wonderful World of Disney,
Bonanza, and Star Trek.

I don't know what you were doing
with the other two, but...

Seems incongruous,
doesn't it?

So, putting together the puzzle

-is how you would characterize
your interest. -Yeah.

The intrigue of the island
is what appeals to you.

-Yes.
-And it stayed with you?

-It did. Completely.
-Oh, it did, yeah. It did, but...

See, we went our separate ways,
right? As brothers do.

But it was
our common denominator.

-Okay.
And then...

I remember Dad.

He would read the Wall Street
Journal every morning.

And this one morning,

he looked at the newspaper,

and he quietly folds it.

And then, without saying a word,
he just pushed the paper across,

and it was
D'Arcy O'Connor's article

about Dan Blankenship
and Oak Island.

So, we decided on a lark

-to come up here.
-You're now how old? 30.

-30s.
-Oh.

So it did stay with you.

-Yes.
-Yes.

-Because of his interest?
-Yes, because of his interest.

It was our connection as...
Over the years.

-Wow.
So, anyway,

we came, and it's a funny story.

We-we tell it all the time.
We've told it ad nauseum.

-I don't know
that you want to hear it. -I have

-a high tolerance for nausea.
We came...

-I guess

you're proving that here today.

-Keep going, Rick.
So, we came up,

and we called from the hotel,

and Jane, his mom,
wouldn't let me talk to Dan.

I said, "Well, we're here."
And she said, "So?"

"I'd like to...
We'd like to come over tomorrow

to visit with your husband."

And she said, "So?"

And there was never an invite.
Never.

She never said, "Come over
tomorrow at 9:00 a.m."

So, we came to the edge
of the Causeway,

and we finally got up
the courage to drive across,

and we drive up.

Dan is cutting

-the trees for David's house.
-The opening for my yard.

-My driveway.
And Dan doesn't even look up.

Didn't even acknowledge
our presence.

And we sat in the car.

-We said, "You get out."
"No, you get out." -"You get out."

"No, you get out."
"I'm scared, you go out."

We finally...
We get out, and I go over there,

and, uh, Dan stops the saw.

Never even looked at us.
Maybe one time.

And he had
these piercing blue eyes,

kind of like David's
but a little more fierce.

And we had bought

whiskey for Dan
and flowers for Jane,

-and... So, I said,
"We've got gifts."

And he said, "Oh, beware
of Greeks bearing gifts."

I said, "Well, we're Italian."
He said, "No, that's worse."

And then...

Dan Henskee had showed up.

Yeah, that's what I remember.
And Dan

motions Dan over and whispers.

We didn't know
what-what you were saying.

Turns out that a friend of Dan's
had passed,

and Dan was reminding him

that the funeral
was that afternoon.

So we get the bum's rush
off the island.

-Wow.
So,

then we go back home,
and 11 years later,

through a series of events,

David Tobias, Dan's partner,

wanted to sell his interests,

and we collectively decided
to buy.

That's the beginning.
And you guys own the island?

We own the important part
of the island.

-With David. With David, Craig.
-With David?

-And Craig. Mm-hmm.
-What about yourself?

I've been
Marty's business partner

-for... forever. Yeah.
-Forever.

We went to college.
We met in college.

And, uh, you know, Rick had

his passion of reading
about Oak Island,

and then as he's talking
to his brother and...

Marty talked to me

and wanted to know if I wanted
to be involved and...

I'm an engineer by degree.

I enjoy solving things.

So, to me, when this came up,

it just sounded like
a-a lot of fun

to try to-to solve the mystery
and find out what's down there.

I do much more
on the technical side.

-Like what?
-I look into

ground-penetrating radar,
seismic

and then drilling techniques.

So, anything on that side.
I'm...

So, that must be
very satisfying.

You're using your education,
you're using your background

-to work on the island.
-It is. It...

But I would take it
a step further.

It is using part
of my background,

but a lot of it is expanding
what I learned in school.

So I-I just enjoy learning
about new techniques

-and how they might work.
-Great.

What about you guys?
Tell me your story.

-What's your name?
-Gary Drayton.

And I am a metal-detecting
addict.

Your accent suggests
you're local.

-Oh, yeah.

I came a long way 'round
to get to here.

Where are you from?

I'm from England, originally.

Metal detecting started
as an "obby" to me.

Wait a minute,
metal detecting is a what?

-It was an "obby" to me.
-He doesn't do

-He doesn't do Hs.
-He doesn't do Hs.

So-so we're on
the "Istory" Channel?

Correct. Correct.

You got it exactly right.

But metal detecting was just
an hobby to me,

and then it became a career.

-So what did you do before?
-Interior painter.

-Okay.
-House painting.

Okay. And then
how did you find the magic

in looking for metal objects
in the ground?

Where did you discover that?

Because I was raised
in rural England.

And so, raised on a farm,
you work on the farm,

and all I used to do
all the time was look down.

I'm always looking down,
and I'd be picking up

bits of Roman pottery...

Like an archaeologist.
-Yeah. And coins and stuff.

And then I discovered
the wonders of riverbanks.

I used to go searching
riverbanks,

tidal rivers.

And when the low tide's down,
you see all this stuff

-just waiting to be picked up
in the mud. -Wow.

So when did you discover
the metal detector?

My teen years.

One day I'm bottle digging
in England,

and I find a 1790 gold guinea.

And I was like, "Wow,"
you know, cause it looked like

the day it was minted.

-Wow. -And I'm like,
"Got to get myself

into detecting."

And I traveled
around the world,

and then I really got hooked
on Spanish treasure,

and I did really, really well.

I found a half-a-million-dollar
Spanish treasure ring.

-Wow.
-I got three of those.

-Then it became a way
to pay the bills. -Right.

Ended up in Florida,

the Treasure Coast,
searching for Spanish treasure.

But that gave me opportunities,
access to, like, swanky areas.

I'd be working in mansions
next to the beach.

And then I got
into the modern bling

the chains, the Rolexes,
and the rings

and it was like
shooting ducks in a barrel.

You got a metal detector, and...

-What are you doing here?

And that's the thing that
brings us to here, actually.

Yeah. Does he, or would he then
own the stuff he discovers?

-Are you kidding?
-No.

So he's got to turn over
what he discovers.

We have to turn over things to
the Nova Scotia museum system.

Of course.

And it's very different
for me coming here

because I'm used to
I'm like a modern-day pirate.

-Right, right, exactly.
-Take what you can and give nothing back.

So how do you rationalize
being here,

since you're under
such constrictions?

-It's the passion
to find old things. -Ah.

It's the potential to change
North American history.

That sounds great to me.

Oh, yeah.

Those massive structures dated

-to 1741.
-So nobody was here

to build the docks, but
the docks were built.

This is 600 years old.

Do you have any concrete ideas?

Templars.

Tell me what you've found

that's important enough
to rewrite history.

That.

-That.
-What?

-Yeah.
That medieval cross.

Give me the cross.

Okay. This has been ascertained

to have antiquity, right?

Yeah.
-1400s, is that correct? Yep.

-Mm-hmm.
-This is

around 600 years old.

Well, it was mined

600 years ago.

-Where was it mined?
-South of France,

-best we know at this juncture.
-Okay, wait a minute.

-South of France?
-Yes.

So that doesn't mean
that this was here

600 years ago.

-No.
-It was in France 600 years ago

and arrived here

-at an undetermined date.
Oh, of course.

-Correct.
-Mm-hmm.

Was this found underground?

It was found in Smith's Cove.

There's the man who found it.

-With your shovel...
-Yeah.

...you were able to uncover it?

Oh, I-I don't do
my own digging.

-I've got all these guys
to dig for me.

But, yeah, Rick and I were
on Smith's Cove beach,

and Rick dug that out.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Holy...

-Holy schmoly all right.
-It's a cross.

Oh, my gosh, I mean,
that is an old, old cross.

-Is this worth anything?
-It could be.

That could be part of the
treasure that we're looking for.

Doesn't have to be gold
and silver.

It could be some fantastic
religious treasure.

And I'm hoping it is.

Well, even the cynic in me says

how many of those
have you seen?

-Uh...
-In North America.

-I-I've never seen...
-Neither have we.

Who put all this here?

Do you have any concrete ideas,
any of you? Opinions?

What are your theories,
what are you thinking?

Templars.
That's where I'm going.

You all believe the Templars?

Because the Templars seems
to be the prevalent idea.

I would love it to be something

in association
with the Templars,

because 300 years ago,
from nine knights

to rivaling the monarchy
and the Vatican for power

and influence, right?

And then... they're gone.

How wonderful to fill
those pages of history.

You know, the Templars are
a-a great answer

in that we know that they were
marked for destruction,

and many of them ran
as quickly as possible

to escape the death
by the French king, wasn't it?

-Yeah. King Philip.
-King Philip.

And many of them were
put to death,

but many Templars escaped;
where did they go?

If I were a Templar, I'd have
gone to Oak Island immediately.

We went to the famous
Templar prison

in France: Domme.

There was a walled city.

-In France?
-Yes. At the gate there's a tower.

Where in France?

Domme. That's the name of it.

-Oh, that's the name
of the city. -D-O-M-M-E. Domme.

Oh. I am D-O-U-M-B.

-Right?

Come in.

But within the walls
of that prison,

where up to 70 Templar knights
were imprisoned,

they knew at that point
they would never see

their freedom again.

And you can see
lots of evidence

of how they passed their time,

which was by making carvings
in the walls

to sustain them spiritually.

Over here is some of the most
well-known carvings at Domme.

This way.

And there are hundreds,
perhaps even thousands

of carvings on the walls
of that prison.

Deep carvings of the Virgin Mary
with the child Jesus.

Rather ordinary crosses.

And one of those carvings,
it certainly looks like

that very cross.

And I would be willing to bet

that you could take that and put
it in the wall of the prison,

and it would line up perfectly.

Wow.

When it was found, it...
my mind went to that prison

and to that experience.

Right, but that isn't
necessarily dropped

-by a Templar himself.
No, but it...

Could be somebody who was
a family heirloom.

Of lead?

But that's Grandfather's cross.

He took it with him
to Jerusalem.

Well, I like to think that
it was dropped on accident

-in Smith's Cove...
-By a Templar?

Yeah, while they were doing
some work.

So a Templar's walking along,
and, and he's...

This is a hole there,
so it's worn there.

-Over the heart.
-Right.

And he said, "Oh, God,
I'm missing my cross."

They didn't used to wear bling.

They weren't wearing gold and
silver jewelry, it was lead.

-They were wearing lead.
-Artifacts like that.

Their-their laws forbid them
to adorn themselves

-with gold and silver.
-Oh, really?

There is a tie-in
to the Templars as well,

-with the stone cross.
-This cross. Nolan's Cross.

This-this cross.
Point that out again.

That cross right there.

-Which is marked by stones.
-Yeah.

It's called Nolan's Cross.

-Mm-hmm.
-It's quite enigmatic.

Why?

This represents, esoterically,

the tree of life, which is what
the Templars believed.

Each point had a meaning
to spirituality

or to the human body.

There was wisdom, there was
mercy, there was knowledge.

That was part of
the circle of life.

So, human beings laid
those stones down?

That's what I believe.

And they're giant stones.
-They're huge.

I just spent two hours with the
biggest excavator on the island

-just trying to...
-And couldn't move 'em?

Well, I managed to stand it up,
but I could not pick it up.

-Wow.
Yeah.

I mean, these artifacts
that we're finding,

we are pushing the ball forward
and they

there's a medieval cross there
and probably some friends here

as well that we've discovered
this year.

Show me that.

These

actually, this was
the first of them.

This is an hand-point chisel,

and that could date back
to the 1300s.

What's it made of?

It's iron. And look at
the condition of that.

That is really old. That's an
hand-forged, hand-point chisel.

And then we got these two
things, which I can't pass you

'cause they're a little bit
on the heavy side.

These are swages.

What is a swage?

A swage is used for sharpening
those chisels.

Hard rock.
-Hard rock.

Hard rock chiseling.

What's the hole
in the middle for?

A piece of wood.

Yeah, probably a shaft,
a piece of wood.

-I see. They put the chisel
in between... Yeah.

...and grind, and turn it.

And then the things we're
discovering this year,

the paved area in the swamp.

I mean, we're still trying
to find answers to that.

Where did the paved area go?

Where did it begin,
and where did it end?

-Exactly.
-Okay.

You know, those massive
structures in Smith's Cove

last year, one dated to 1769.

-Oh, really?
Yes.

Oh, how interesting.

And this year,
one dated to 1741.

1741, almost nobody was here.

Turn to the archaeologist.
Who was here

-to build a massive dock?
-Yeah, nobody.

-There. There.
I love that answer.

So, nobody was here to build the
docks, but the docks were built.

-Exactly!
-So some-somebody was here.

Yeah, but that's the point,
isn't it?

History, history,
the historic record,

the archaeologists say
nobody was here.

And no disrespect to the native
people who were living here.

I'm talking about Europeans.
Europeans were not here.

Uh, so but somebody was,

and somebody did something
on a massive scale.

This is a wooden
structure that's 65 feet long

that's buried below high tide,
buried in the ocean.

Like, w-we-we couldn't even
do it with today's equipment

without a, you know,
a 500-foot-long steel dam

that's buried 40 feet
in the ground.

-Yeah.
-And yet somebody went to

all the trouble to do that
in 1741.

So something did happen.
I can't argue

I can't look at
the lack of evidence

and say, "Geez,
nothing happened,"

and then, when the evidence
shows up, ignore it.

No. You-you go with the,
with the evidence.

I'm trying to go with the facts.

-You have to.
-You have to.

So it's a mystery
that really has no explanation.

So this is unexplained?

-Yes.
-Right?

-Yeah.

Something resides here.
It was meant to be found.

Then why was it booby-trapped?

Shakespeare's papers.

Could that be?

Well, that's a mystery
wrapped in an enigma.

Surrounded by a riddle.

So the history
and the mystery is there.

But a lot of people come here

with the intention of finding
something material.

Yes.

-Tell me about that.
-I'll tell you why.

I have to go back and
bear with me

give you the-the sort of
really quick primer

on the lore of the Money Pit.

You know,
that's a terrible term.

It should have
some romantic name,

like-like, uh...

"Hallway to the Gods"
or something, you know...

The Money Pit is the worst,
is the worst term

for that thing.

No, it's not.
It's the exact truth.

We keep throwing money into it.

So, anyway, when it was
originally found,

the story is that there was
a pulley in the tree.

-I don't know whether
you know this. -Yeah. Yeah.

There's a pulley in the tree,
depression in the ground.

Ah, treasure.
They start digging.

A very old oak tree, a clearing
with some younger oak trees.

Okay, then-then they go down
and they dig and they find

these platforms every ten feet,

and a 90-foot stone that says,
uh, "40 feet below,

two million pounds are buried."

Everything is shrouded
in mystery,

and almost nothing can be
perfectly verified.

-Right.
This is a unique mystery.

I would challenge anyone
to render me a time and a place

where a temporal wealth
was buried and protected

to the extent to...

Explain what you mean
by "temporal."

Earthly treasure.

-Okay.
-Gold, silver, jewels.

But nowhere, again,
in my humble opinion,

was temporal wealth
buried and protected

like it was here.

The booby trap system,
the flood drains.

The-the depths into the bowels
of the earth

to deposit something
that needed to be

possibly protected
for generations.

Because if it was meant to be
lost in perpetuity...

-Okay. -...the greatest vault
in the world

is the depths of the ocean.

So it was meant to be recovered.

That is my,
the core of my belief,

that whatever transpired here...

-Was meant to be found.
-Was meant to be found.

Then why was it booby-trapped?

Only those worthy would find it.

-Or entitled.
-Perhaps.

Well, that's quite a leap.

Well, I believe
that's what he thinks.

Well, I mean, if you're
gonna look for something

and use the movies
as an example

and a big boulder
rolls over you...

-You weren't worthy.
-...you're not worthy.

-"I'm not worthy!"

Boom. Right?

Belief or faith runs

almost counter
to hard science and fact.

But I do believe that something

resides here still.

Whether it be just the story

or-or some thing, some...

I don't believe it's treasure,

as defined
by the Treasure Trove License.

I don't believe
it's gold, silver or jewels

in its nonnatural state.

I believe
there's a component of that.

But that is not the reason
for this having been done.

People came to some

-purposeful end...
-Right.

and did all of this work.

-Did something.
-Yes.

For me, this is every bit
a search for the truth,

no matter where it goes,

as it is a search for treasure.

Well, what is treasure?

Has somebody got a thought
of what is

what would they have treasured

-500 years ago that we don't...
Religious artifacts.

-Religious artifacts.
Or man or manuscripts. -Artifacts, yeah.

-Could be...
-Information.

And information.

-Ah.
Knowledge.

-The-the value of...
-Information.

-Knowledge.
-The mystery

that intrigues me

is the possibility
that Shakespeare's papers,

if he was written
by Sir Francis Bacon...

-Mm-hmm.
-...might reside,

might be buried somewhere here.

Wh-What's your take
on that on that mystery?

I think the theorists that
and more than one theorist

has presented it
I find it elegant

and intriguing and,

well, romantic, right?

Was Shakespeare Shakespeare?

Was it Sir Francis Bacon
who authored the folio?

I don't know that.

I mean, that's a
that's almost unanswerable.

-That's a...
-Yeah, well, the striking thing...

...mystery wrapped in an enigma.

Surrounded by a riddle.

-Winston Churchill.

-What do you think about that?
-Here's what I think.

I am shocked,

shocked by how many things
are plausible.

You know, you can
you read these things

and you sit and you listen
to these theorists.

And, you know,
Rick is nicer than me,

and I, you know,
am a bit more of an eye-roller.

But you listen to these people,
and they're passionate

and they've thought it out.

And the thing is,
generally speaking,

they're plausible.

I mean, some aren't, okay?

-So... -And a lot of 'em add
a lot of stuff

and eliminate a lot of stuff

-that points that they're wrong.
-Well, you know...

Yeah. You know what? Yes,
exactly right. What you see here

a lot is somebody reaches
a theory with plausibility,

and then everything they find
from then on...

-fits it.
-They discard it.

Well, if it doesn't
if it doesn't fit,

-they get rid of it.
If it does... -Doesn't fit, throw it away.

Or the things they find
might, uh, sustain it.

Yes, but they tend
to focus on those.

-That's my point.
-Right, right.

And this is where Rick and I

always part,

over faith versus cold reason.

You know, I mean, he's

Rick believes that it's super

that these people did some
of this stuff on faith.

And I'll turn to him, say,
"Well, yeah, but faith

isn't necessarily the end-all,
get-all." So...

-So... -So, let's now answer
your question.

-Yes.
-Shakespeare.

Plausible? Plausible as in,

"Yeah, could that be?"

Yeah, it could, because...

because you can't find
a specific fact

that says it can't be.

Right? I mean,
I-I was drawn here by gold bars.

-I'll agree. Yep.
Like-like David.

But, I mean, the original
manuscripts of Shakespeare?

That'd-that'd do.
That would do. You know?

About 1897,
this piece of parchment

-came up out of the gr-ground
on the drill core. -Mm-hmm.

Yeah.
- This is the genesis

-of-of the thought that, uh...
-Deep, deep in the ground.

...Bacon's manuscripts,
Shakespeare's manuscripts

-are here. -Ah.
And then we,

we brought up parchment
ourselves.

And we brought up book binding

and purple wood.

And there just is a bunch

of clues that allude to,

"Of course
there's something there."

-That's fascinating.
Anybody else with a...?
Yeah.

And Bacon was famous
for experimenting

with preserving documents

-with mercury.
-Oh, really?

And this year, we found that,
in the swamp,

there's an high content
of mercury.

-Okay.
-And it would be really cool

for us to say
we brought home the Bacon.

What is the curse of Oak Island?

People have seen ghosts.

The island is on fire.

Six have died
in search of treasure.

There is one more to remain.

- People believe
wholeheartedly

in the curse of Oak Island.

So, what is the curse
of Oak Island, gentlemen?

That seven must die.
-That seven must die

before the treasure
will be revealed.

Well, the area in Chester

around Oak Island,

people here
were very superstitious.

So, it started up in Chester

and spread
that seven people must die

before the treasure is revealed.

Well, how would you know
whether a curse really exists

or doesn't exist
except if the steps

of the curse are being met
and step-by-step

and suddenly you're looking
at an escalation

and is it going
in the right direction?

Six have died
in search of treasure.

-Really?
-Yes.

There are six people
that have died on the island.

There is, supposedly,
one more to remain.

So, it plays into the story
that there is an actual curse.

When was it, Charles? August...?

August 17, '65.
-17th.

What happened?

Four.
Four lost their lives.

Who knows the circumstances?

Charles would know it.
-Charles. -Charles.

Uh, tell us the history

of the four people
who lost their lives

as part of, some people believe,
the curse.

On the 17th of August, '65,
Robert Restall had

been doing drilling
and excavations and exploration

at the shore pit,
which was 10 by 30.

It was 27 feet deep,
had four feet of water

and they had a pump running,
keeping the water down.

So he went down to check that,

and then he was observed
either stepping

onto the ladder or falling in.

So, Bobby Restall
and a bunch of young guys

were working
not far from there,

heard the commotion,
they came over.

Bobby, he's 24

-at the time.
-That was his father in there?

Yeah, his father was 54.
Bobby's younger. He's fitter.

And he sees his father
down there

and he starts to go
down the ladder

and he gets almost to
the bottom when he passes out.

And there's just a succession,
one right after the other.

-Gas.
-Yeah.

People said
there was a green mist.

It was swirling at the bottom.

That could be chlorine.

And we know methane
is produced on Oak Island.

-Right. -Right? And then you have
the carbon monoxide

coming off the pump,

and it was like a perfect storm.

-Wow.
-And four men

not even four men.
Some of them were just boys.

-Oh, my goodness.
-So, four people at the bottom.

Two more tried to go down,
were overcome by the fumes.

And did they ever get
the bodies out?

Yes, they did eventually, yeah.

My goodness. What a tragedy.

-Yeah, they were gonna fish them
out with a hook. Meat hook.

-Yeah, a gaffer hook.
-'Cause no one would go down there.

And the man
who recovered the bodies...

-What did he do?
-He said, "Tie a rope around me

and I'll go down there
and grab 'em." And he did.

-One after another.
It was Jimmy Kaiser,

-actually, who went down.
-Jimmy Kaiser, yeah.

Jimmy Kaiser.

He was supposed
to be working that day,

and he was a little older
than Bobby.

He was 31.
And when we spoke to his sons

and his sons related this story
to us that day:

every time Jimmy went
to get in his truck

to go to his boat
to come to Oak Island,

his wife would come out
and say, "There's no water."

'Cause he just had
a well, right?

So he'd get the pump running
so they she'd have water.

He'd go get in his truck, no
water. Have to go back again.

-Something was preventing him
from coming. -Yeah. I-I like to think

there was a guardian angel
on his shoulder.

Somebody else visited him

-elsewise, though, right?
-Yeah, that's true.

-Much later on, yeah.
-What do you mean? -He'll tell you.

Later on, after the tragedy,

when Robert Dunfield
was working here,

they hired Jimmy
as a night watchman.

And at one point
during the night, um,

Jimmy was held down
this is what he described

he was held down
and he couldn't get up.

-Held down by forces
he couldn't see. -By forces he couldn't see.

He was bruised
all over his upper body,

and something had,
you know, done this to him.

Now, it wasn't an individual
that did this to him,

it was some type of presence.

Oh, people have seen
ghosts and spirits,

uh, glowing red eyes.

There is a story
of a, of a dog with red eyes

that used to roam
around the island.

A lot of unusual things
that play into the mythology

of the island,
and the mystery of the island.

David actually has
a personal experience.

-Why don't you relate that?
-Uh, tell us about

-what that...
Well, back, years ago,

one of their partners

was over at the inn,
eating-eating dinner,

and he called my dad up and
said, "The island is on fire."

So Dad called me
and I lived on the mainland

I went over to the-the inn,

and seen this fireball
that was moving onto shore.

Describe the fireball. It's
one thing to say "fireball,"

but give me an idea
of the flames.

Well, you could see the flames
and everything

-flickering out over there.
-How big was the fireball?

I want to know. You, sir.

-Okay?

Give me as much detail
as you can about what you saw.

Don't hurry it.

Just tell me what the fireball,
what it was doing...

It was just hovering
over the water,

and it was, I'd say at least
ten to 15 feet in diameter.

And it hovered
and it was starting to move

-onto the island.
-Yeah.

And, well, it only took
three or four minutes

to get from over there to here.

When I went out back,
there was nothing.

-And wh no signs of...
-Nothing being burnt.

-Was there a smell?
-Nope. There was nothing.

Just as if nothing
had been there.

-But yet I had seen it and Bill Parkin had seen it.
-So there's two choices.

One, it was magic,
and it disappeared magically,

or you were mistaken and you saw
a reflection of something.

-Of what?
-Sun?

10:00 at night?

-Bull.

That's more details.
-I don't think you,

I don't think you can say
"bull" on television.

Do, uh, do you all
accept that, by the way?

-Do you all...
- Well, it

there is a story
of the Young Teazer, that was

-right off the coast...
-Of a young teaser?

-It's a ship.
-American privateer ship.

American privateer.
Is there a difference

between a privateer
and a pirate?

A privateer is legalized piracy.

I see. Sent out
by the government.

Right, and they would get
to share in the profits

-along with the government.
-Right. So, go ahead.

Okay, so during the War of 1812,
the HMS Young Teazer

was off the coast
of Mason's Island,

which is close to Smith's Cove
on Oak Island.

So the privateer of
the Young Teazer, he was caught

for plundering
in the waters over here.

He did not want to face walking
the plank, so he lit a firebrand

in the powder keg on the ship
and the ship exploded instantly.

So...

-With him and everybody
on it dead? -Yes.

But that plays into the story
that Dave is telling here,

that once a year in June,
on the waters around Oak Island,

you can see this fireball,

and that's what people
attribute it to.

And the name of the ship

-was the Young Teazer?
-Yes.

That's a weird name
for a pirate ship.

I'm not so sure
if it was flying a black flag

and a skull bones
that I'd be afraid of the-the...

-Oh, here comes the Teazer.
-Here comes the Teazer.

Oh, wow.

You're digging,
you're still avidly looking.

What are you looking for?

-Yeah, I want to hear that one.
-That's a good question.

Do you think
something happened here?

Why do you think

that you can solve the mystery
of Oak Island,

whereas so many people
before you haven't?

-Why not?
-I'd like to turn-turn that

-over to... to Dave.
Why not? Why not?

Why shouldn't we find it?

Well, because there have been
a lot of learned men

with, uh, lots of ideas
who have come before you.

Hundreds of years of that.

Craig should answer this.

Craig, we thought by application
of modern technology, right?

-Yup.
-What happened?

-It don't work.

-No. -Yeah, well, if you read
history on this, too,

most everybody that came along
thought, "It's been ten years.

"It's been 15 years.
There's new technology.

We'll apply it.
We'll solve it."

And, uh, and so they do, um,

and-and we were very similar
at thinking that, you know,

we'll-we'll apply
modern physics,

modern ground-penetrating
radar, modern

whatever
and-and come up with results.

If you look at anything
that's been discovered,

somebody was trying
to discover it

before that person and didn't.

People fail all the time.

So, coming here, uh,

knowing that people have failed,
it doesn't bother me

-for a second, no.
-Doesn't bother you.

-What about you guys?
-When I look around the table,

you know, I don't...

Everybody in the history
has made a lot of...

of great effort, but

we have an archaeologist,
we have an engineer,

we have dedicated leadership.

We have people who are driven
to work harder than

mostly anybody
that you'll ever know.

We got a metal detector,
we have a surveyor

that brings technology
that you wouldn't believe.

And you can see the Money Pit
in 3-D.

Nobody could ever
see that before.

And we have historians
that tell us,

if we don't know where
we've been, we don't know where

we're going,
so we have their leadership.

So I-I think
we have a better chance.

You shorted yourself, Billy.

And we have a guy who knows,
who's dug

a lot of holes around here.

So it's safe

to say that everybody
sitting around this table

has the same impulse.

A-Am I correct in...
from the nods...?

-But...
-I think we're all obsessed.

-All obsessed is a good word.
-Curiosity is a human condition.

But, but, but many of you
are locals brought up

from childhood
with that mystique.

-Mm-hmm.
-So the mystique is part of you like

any youngster being

-involved in any way of life.
-Yes. Yup.

Their parents did it, and now
it's-it's part of your being.

Well, I can say,
I-I was introduced by Oak Island

when I was age 11

with my dad showing me the film
of actually

being here, working in 1965,
talking about

this mysterious place.

I had no knowledge of it
prior to then,

but afterward, it was the
scrapbook he had left behind.

He died within a year
of showing this film.

So it started a quest
to want to come here.

But it's far more
than a local obsession.

You know, when-when you're
local, you're brought up on it,

sure, and we've seen... we've
seen a lot of the things, but

we look at history,
we look at scientific data,

we look at archaeology, so,

the biggest value on Oak Island

-is the story to me.
-Right.

So, what do you think, Marty?
What-what about the evolution

of people
who come to dig for gold?

Do you have still
the same magical response

to the romance of-of Oak Island?

I don't know. I mean,
I-I waffle all over the place

with this thing.
I-I... You know, I mean,

we switch roles sometimes even.

We-we...
we switch around so much.

I'll find my... He'll say,
"Well, it just can't be there."

And I'll say, "What do you mean
it can't be there?

Yes, it could." Even though I am
clearly the designated cynic.

But wait a minute.
You're a cynic

over the possibility
that there's gold there.

But you're a believer
that it has a profound effect

on-on everybody here
and people who come.

Eh, you know what?
If you... if you stand out there

every time that scoop comes out,

everybody around you
you're gonna get nods all

the way around the table
every time that scoop comes out,

everybody runs over and looks to
see... what might be in there.

-Yeah.
-So, it still is intriguing,

and Craig, of all people,
will back me up on this.

-I get bored easy, don't I?
-Mm-hmm.

-See?

I get bored easy, so I look...
looking for a new challenge,

and this is a good one.
This is a damn good one.

-Yeah.
-I am, by the way,

a recent convert to the theory

that anything significant
happened here.

For the longest time,
I thought, "No."

I thought
this was collective madness.

You know, I did it
because you did it,

and you did it
because he did it,

and he searched
because he searched.

And-and-and you look back
and you think,

how could all these people
have been following all this?

-Right.
-It still has

got to be
the most interesting study

of human nature in reality

-that's ever occurred.
-Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It's 230 years
of people giving their life

-and on and on on. Intrigue.
-Blood, sweat.

And-and it's an amazing story.

I mean, it ought to be
in every psychiatry book

in every college

e... whether
there's treasure here or not.

But, so hold on a second.
That's a... That...

Are we onto the... the center

of this whole
island mystery theory

that... that it's a search
for more than gold?

Oh, boy,
that is such a good question.

Yes. What is your thought
about that?

Talk to me about

how people come here
to find gold,

or its equivalent,

and end up in a search
for themselves, essentially.

Would you put it that way?

All right, let me put it
as a formal question.

That was actually put very well.

The reason I didn't answer is
'cause I was thinking about it.

Let me, let me, let me place it
even more succinctly.

A lot of people come here

with the intention
of finding something material.

-Yes. -Right.
-Yes.

And evolve into looking into
something that's immaterial,

-that is of...
Esoteric.

-Beyond material.
-Beyond material.

-Yes.
-Is that a good way of placing?

-Yes.
-That's perfect.

Rick, in your devotion

to what you're... you're doing
that's the word

I'll use rather than obsession

you're digging,
you're still avidly looking.

-What are you looking for?

-Yeah, I want to hear that one.
-That's a good question, um...

I'm looking for a resolution
to the mystery,

and partly to pay homage
and respect

to the people
that have come before us.

So many people have dedicated
so much of their lives

in pursuit of this witness
the people around this table

that I feel
it's important to understand it.

What I'm finding here...

I got a chill
just thinking about it.

Whew.

The island is part of history,

part of memory,
part of tradition.

What you have here in the guise

of... of looking for treasure
is-is family,

is community, is people
gathered around a table

with-with the same object
in mind to resurrect the past.

And although,
ostensibly it's gold, it's more.

It's spiritual. It's-it's
brought you around this table.

All you wonderful guys

united in the guise

of, uh, being, uh, gold hunters.

You're all here
for a more spiritual reason,

and I'm beginning
to understand it.

Marty named it aptly.

-I did? -Yeah, at the beginning
of the very first...

-What was the...? What was...?
-What did you call us?

The Fellowship of the Dig.
That's us.

-We're the Fellowship
of the Dig. -Wow.

And we have the world behind us.

-Right.
That, too.

There's so many people
that are so happy and excited...

-Right.
-that they get to take part

-in this treasure hunt with us.
-So it keeps you going?

Yeah. -They motivate us
every day.

-They motivate you to continue.
-Yeah. Right.

-Yup. It's marvelous,
the effect that

-the search has on
so many people across the globe. -Yeah.

And we treasure that,
no pun intended.

No. Pun accepted, actually.

Because families come and say,

"Because of this enterprise,
you know,

"my daughter, who thought
she couldn't be an engineer,

"now believes she can

because of Vanessa's
involvement with ROC."

On a much more
intensely personal level,

one day I was here on a Saturday
and we...

I see a-a young man
with crutches, and he comes up

and we start
talking about the island

and he's fascinated and I said,

"Well, I'll open the museum for
you and, you know, let you in."

And he's very grateful
and-and then his mom comes up

and she says, "You..."
And she meant all of us, not me.

"You have no idea
what you have done."

He had a spinal tumor,

and the doctors told him
he couldn't walk ever again.

And she said he,
the son, told her,

"If they won't give up,
I won't either."

Those are intensely personal
moments that you realize

just the little troubles
we have,

it puts in perspective
our lives, you know,

the-the little toils and
tribulations that we all suffer.

Beautiful.

And what matters is you guys
around the table

talking to each other,
exp-exploration,

it's an exploration
of all kinds, as we've said.

It brings people
from all over the world.

-And so you're the...
-Stewards of a great mystery,

-that's the way I see it.
-Perfect.

Stewards of a great mystery.

Rick, that is so good.

That's perfect.

So, with that,
I want to ask you,

do you think
something happened here?

I don't know.

-Well, fair point.
That's not an answer.

-Fair enough.
-Yes, it is. -Right, that's what, uh...

we're-we're all wrestling with.

I'm less of the opinion
"I don't know"

than I was when I came here.

-That's fair. I can accept that.

So, I don't know,

but I am willing and anxious
to continue my exploration.

-I think that's good enough.
Works for me. -Yeah...

We, for our part,
would issue you

-a carte blanche to please come back.
-Yeah.

I have to come back
several times,

and I have to find
a lot of gold.

Great, great, now add...

-Who else?
-The drillers. Hey.

-Drillers.
-Drillers.

Who else?

Just a little right there,
great.

Archer.

Archer!

Hey, Archer.

Where are you going, Archer?

Everybody look at Jason.

Say "Star Trek."

Star Trek.

That's it.

You were all wonderful.