The Curse of Oak Island (2014) s03e07 Episode Script

1
Tonight on the curse of Oak Island a
deal with Nolan how does that strike it
with mixed emotions it's time to quit
the fighting I don't want to be an
obstacle anymore welcome to the team
ready to put it in the ground Fred right
on your spot
that looks like you it's definitely
man-made
there's a cavity in this slate and that
would be the most important discovery
monocot right there
that's definitely Madame
there is an island in the North Atlantic
where people have been looking for an
incredible treasure for more than 200
years so far they have found bits of
gold chain a stone slab with strange
symbols carved into it
even a 17th century Spanish coin to date
six men have died trying to solve the
mystery
and according to legend one more will
have to die before the treasure
can be found
on the mainland a short distance from
the causeway that leads to Oak Island an
important meeting is about to take place
between Rick and Marty lagina and a man
who has so far been shy to aid them in
their search for treasure good come on
in okay got everybody lined up here
everybody's here yep okay I got you the
best seat in the house oh there you go
I can't complain for the laginas and
their partners the meeting offers the
possibility of both an end and a
beginning an end to a decades-old feud
with their Oak Island partner and fellow
treasure hunter dan Blankenship and the
beginning of a new era of cooperation
and collaboration one which they hope
will lead to solving a 220 year old
mystery
well I just want to say Fred thanks for
you know coming on board we're eager to
work with you because we know you have
some sights over the years and you're
talking many years 40 almost 50 years
were two competing individuals and that
was a competition in my mind's eye and
I'm not saying I'm correct in that
analysis but they were competing to
solve the Oak Island mystery
a land surveyor by trade Fred Nolan
first visited Oak Island in 1958 after
reading a book entitled B Oak Island
mystery by Reginald Harris in 1961
landowner Mr Chappell invited Nolan to
come and survey the 140 acre Island
while conducting his work he became
convinced that the stories of buried
treasure were true especially after
observing and measuring several
mysterious stone carvings and other
markers that seemed to be hundreds of
years old after buying land on the
island in 1963 Fred spent the next
several years actively engaged in the
treasure hunt
he even cooperated with rival treasure
hunters dan Blankenship and David Tobias
that is until further disputes over land
caused the relationship to deteriorate
into a series of bitter feuds and near
violent confrontations I had learned
over the years of a very rancorous and
fractious relationship between mr.
Blankenship and mr. Nolan and so my
desire was I think it was our desire to
heal the island to try to get a working
relationship between ourselves because
Dan is our partner and mr. Nolan so it's
time to quit the fighting and cooperate
right well
it hasn't accomplished much no
infighting yeah I don't want to be an
obstacle anymore you know I'm yeah I'm
too old for that now just a few days
earlier Rick Marty and Craig tester met
with dan Blankenship and his son day in
order to get Dan's blessing on a deal to
work with Fred so a deal with Nolan how
does that strike you with mixed emotions
to be quite honest with you because
after all I've had dealings with Nolan
than the past and the fact that you're
even neighbors of didn't like him to
sign something is very impressive to say
the least we're really happy about this
because it allows us to explore the
whole island now the main thing on Oak
Island far as I'm concerned is making a
breakthrough right right you've got
several sites you want to drill right
we're gonna drill them together yeah
yeah okay and you document it at all you
got it all on a map we got a bat super
we surveyed the whole island all right
one evident and regretted it pops back
and forth you know
so anything that was around we picked up
look I've known trust for eight years
and I have asked him pointedly many
times Fred what's your theory and he's
always either politely or indelicately
refused when the American Revolution
starts the British general Astana and
all this treasure done in Boston and
they said well we're not gonna leave
this treasure here so they sailed it all
off to Halifax they knew it was safe
there because Halifax was strongly
British there's the 14th colony yet yeah
in the late 1700s as political unrest
was beginning to take place in the
American colonies
King George the third ordered his
military generals to gather up as much
gold silver and jewels as they could and
send them back to England after loading
four ships the British military sailed
to Halifax in Nova Scotia and were
ordered to keep the treasure under guard
for the winter
but according to Fred Nolan's theory a
large portion of the precious cargo
never made it back to the king a small
group of officers conspired to hide it
under by Oak Island and keep it both as
compensation and an insurance policy
especially if the colonists succeeded in
gaining their independence and the
ousted military might be forced to fend
for themselves so where did it go nobody
knows is the treasure still there on the
island
sure
it's still there but sometimes you
wonder if the place is full of treasure
good let's find it
yeah I think it's great that we're
working together I really do I mean this
is too big a puzzle yeah yeah an
entirely different Fred Nolan walked in
that door I think it finally makes sense
to him to to look forward rather than
backwards and that was extremely
refreshing welcome to the team all right
well let's quit talking let's go out in
the field and start doing something yeah
perfect
Fred first of all I just want to say
thanks for coming to the war room this
is this is where all the magic happens
Craig is here by high-tech high-tech yep
okay you know we're very grateful that
you brought your map and we'd love to
get an understanding at least of where
we're gonna go from here and the whys of
it sure
with his brother Marty away on business
Rick lagina has invited Island resident
and veteran treasure hunter Fred Nolan
to join him and several members of the
team for an important meeting because
now that they've agreed to work together
fred has finally offered to share many
of his maps and artifacts along with
much of his most closely guarded
information it's Fred Nolan the man who
spent 50 years of his life pursuing this
sharing with us his 50 years of
discovery that's amazing how many years
work is this map represents 40 50 years
Wow
fred has data that we do not have and we
cannot recreate fred was here in I don't
know the earliest days but surely by 58
he was here and he brought his skill set
unlike anyone else in the 220-year
search Fred Nolan first began actively
trying to solve the Oak Island mystery
back in 1961 but unlike many of the
treasure hunters before him friend
believed the way to solve the mystery
was to examine the numerous strange
clues and carvings that could be found
on the surface rather than focusing only
on the money pit
he surveyed the entire island and made
detailed maps such as this one that
marked the location of dozens of
mysterious stone markers there are a lot
of marks like these ones here there
boulders I think we know what they mean
but we're not sure because here's the
big boys here it is if there's anything
down there
there's got to be something here this
point is one of the places where we
intend to drill right yeah that's a hot
spot okay you know I've been at it for
so long now mm-hmm
and if I didn't relate this kind of
stuff who would put it together again
exactly we're very grateful for your
work I mean it's it's an incredible
commitment of time energy resources
money you're staring at it right here
it's immaculate and this is only one of
what 104 mmm
104 yep but you're convinced that this
point is where we should look next yep
then let's head off get a good night's
sleep and get back at it tomorrow what
do you say I gotta ask my wife
shortly after Marty's return the Oak
Island team arrives at an area on Fred's
property located near the center of the
island
okay here comes a rig you wanted to back
down or forward
today this is all about mr. Nolan you
know the fact that we have been able to
engage in a working relationship it kind
of is momentous order bought to actually
engage in a discovery process I think
we're all amped up
while drilling in this area several
years ago Fred Nolan believed he had
found an underground cave or cavern some
ten feet beneath the surface it had
always been the 87 year old treasure
hunters wish to revisit the area with a
more powerful drill rig and try to
replicate his findings now with the help
of the laginas and their partners
Fred's wish has come true that's quite a
ways up there we could probably get set
up as far as this all goes trees will be
another another scenario although the
area around the marked drill site is
clear on the ground the canopy of trees
overhead poses a real obstacle for the
drill rig a number of branches will need
to be cleared to bring the excavator
down here knock those off
you know that was just an easy way to do
it to knock those branches off with the
excavator
can you get that
all right yeah if I had taken off in
that direction I would have gotten hit
you shouldn't have been there to start
with and I should have known where the
boom was and not hit it
it was a double mistake all's well that
ends well yeah fine exactly 22 - lets go
time's a-wasting
now that the drilling rig has the room
it needs to set up the operation can
finally begin
that's that right there right that
statute here your honor
but will the team really find evidence
of a man-made chamber or treasure tunnel
lying deep underground
what we've heard about this spot is that
it's in Slate and I don't know of any
way a cavity can develop and slate
naturally so if we do hit such a thing
the odds of being man-made are very high
in my opinion and that would be very
exciting perfect
couldn't get any closer one of the many
interesting geological characteristics
of Oak Island is the fact that each of
its two halves are composed of two very
different kinds of bedrock the eastern
side where the money pit and 10x are
located is composed of anhydride
limestone a hard calcium based substance
that is usually formed over a long
period of time by the evaporation of
salt water the western side however is
made up of finely layered but highly
compacted slate a low grade metamorphic
rock that is created over time when clay
or volcanic ash is subjected to enormous
pressure
unlike an hide right which can crumble
and separate if exposed to groundwater
slate is more highly layered and
compacted if the team drills through
slate and into a void it could mean they
have located a man-made tunnel or
chamber
don't quote me on the verbage but this
is a very important site fred's instead
I've been sitting on this far too long I
want to get this done
oh you don't look just about ready to
put it in the ground thread right on
your spot
the bedrock should be right caliber 12
it'll be interesting
Rick Marty and the Oak Island team have
just begun their first joint drilling
operation
with Fred Nolan the man who'd like his
rival dan Blankenship has spent the past
five decades and much of his fortune
trying to solve the Oak Island mystery
according to Fred's detailed records the
drill bit should hit a mysterious void
after reaching a depth of approximately
10 feet there's a cavity in this slate
that would be the most important
discovery
Anoka to date
oh six more
you can't imagine how many hours I've
spent hoping that a drill strain will
drop rapidly watching the top drive come
down the derrick you know hoping it'll
start going like that and that would be
as it enters a cavity
metal could the drillbit have found
something related to the underground
chamber Fred Nolan believes he found on
this site years ago in 1897 after
finding what he believed to be a 7-foot
tall wooden vault buried at a depth of
153 feet inside the money pit drill
operator William Chappell hid an
impenetrable iron obstruction at 171
feet both Chappell and his employer
Frederick Blair believed that the iron
plate could likely have been placed
there to protect the original treasure
vault although several efforts were made
to excavate the area and reach both the
wooden vault and the mysterious iron
object repeated flooding posed an
insurmountable problem and after two
more years of trying the entire
operation was abandoned in 1899
but 10 feet or so they he thinks he
might have hidden metal so we're gonna
run the camera down see if you can see
what's blocking the way in an attempt to
determine what the drill bit is struck
Jordan Rogers is putting a small
high-definition camera down the hole
which the team can monitor from the
surface come on share share and share
alike
I can't tell Peter down
that's definitely met
the first hole we drilled the Fred
Jordan got his rig down and at about
eleven feet he was drilling on metal
okay so that became promising how deep
are you
do you think you can pound pipe past it
Jordan will now attempt to avoid the
metal obstruction by drilling further
into the slate bedrock
we had Jordan run some casing and we
think we got by this metal and then we
drilled down to 30 feet and we did not
hit any cavity so that was disappointing
after drilling to a depth far beyond
where Fred Nolan believes he found a
cavity line underneath a slate layer
Rick Marty and the team decide to change
their entire method
yeah I mean I think I could do it
yesterday they're worth digging well we
might as well put this to bed for sure
put it for sure I I agree quick and
we're only looking at 12 feet yeah I can
dig that pretty quick
I'd say this is where I want to be just
a ball right
we'll go ahead and start here
my older swing achillea
you were a surgeon
I was sure that excavator would have no
trouble getting down to 11 12 13 feet
and initially it didn't I mean it's a
very powerful machine
we'll find that deal boys so far Marty
has been unable to find either a slate
covered cavern or the mysterious metal
object that stops their drill that frog
baby frustrated he now begins to dig on
the other side of Jordans drill casing
of the pipe went off that way
shouldn't I be looking over here
gray pants late on that side now too
so we didn't find the metal now Oh deep
is it okay follow that 10 12 feet I
should be there
so first hole we went in and to see if
we could find this offending piece of
metal and what didn't find it so I we
don't know what that's all about
that looks like you
that look like - you wanna walk on down
yeah
while excavating the site on Fred
Nolan's property near the middle of Oak
Island the team has just found what
could very well be an important clue was
obviously not a piece of shale it's not
a piece of bedrock not a stone can you
bring it out yeah I don't know that
means anything
pointing thank you
yeah definitely pointed look good bond
Craig take a look at this very strange
would Rick
I mean look how nice and shaped it is
most definitely man-made a sharpened
piece of wood buried approximately 10
feet underground
it's very apparent that it was unusual
item and then I saw where it had been
carved into a point and it was apparent
that you know at that depth it shouldn't
be there
it looks pretty well-preserved what if
it marks something originally was cut
off it's all we got
okay but let's call it a night I agree
although the team's first operation with
Fred Nolan may not event it with a major
breakthrough finding the piece of carved
wood is a promising sign that their new
cooperative agreement with him could
soon lead to more and even greater
discoveries
all right Rick let's get our prize
today's prize okay you got it
worker they did hey now you're doing
did you see yeah Craig you have a
present for you interesting phone that
about six feet down in the hole we just
drilled I'll be done what we did over at
Nolan's was we drilled first we hit some
metal you found this and the metal in
the same hole yes yes well when we dug
with the excavator we could never find
the metal again seesaw marks in it you
think that means it's a real reason not
necessarily they use songs for a long
time Paris I mean all the wooden ship
that they built they had the Behaim song
near what's the chances of having
something like that they're obviously
shaped to be in the ground and buried
four or five or six feet under a wooden
post caught in such a way as to be
driven like a stake into the ground
could it have been some sort of marker
put there centuries ago by the same
people who placed nine layers of
similarly cut wooden posts in the
original money pit
we don't want to find something without
telling you I appreciate all right let
you get back to we locket okay
Oak Island did its usual tease you a
little bit make you come back kind of
like getting a really nice golf shot you
know when you're a hacker it makes you
come back and oak island is good at that
here's your exercise for the day thank
you I really appreciate that
after a week of new investigations and
possible breakthroughs Rick lagina is
bringing a special guest to Oak Island
someone who has not been there in more
than 50 years I have so many questions
they're gonna come not in chronological
order I'll have to take it as it is
David McDonald is the author of the
January 1965 Reader's Digest article oak
islands mysterious money pit
the same article that not only fueled
the childhood imaginations of Rick and
Marty lagina but also inspired a 42 year
old contractor from Florida named dan
blankenship the way your article
presented the story it was like a puzzle
it wasn't so much a treasure hunt as a
puzzle I would hope that that one moved
you or would have been the general
content of it yes what does it add up to
exactly it still adds up to a mystery
because of the things you don't know yes
you mentioned that your father had
gotten you interested in the story long
ago well by the time I was five or six
years old everybody in all that age
hears about Oak Island have always known
that there was a place where they kept
digging for money somebody's gonna find
it yes
born and raised in nearby Halifax David
MacDonald was a freelance writer when in
1964 he was hired to do a piece on the
search for treasure on Oak Island after
spending several days talking with
treasure hunter Robert Restall and his
family he came away convinced that many
of the various stories concerning the
fabled treasure hunt
were true and that the rest dolls were
within weeks of actually solving the
mystery here we are everyone is actually
gathered in what we call the War Room
you've had quite an impact on this place
oh my that article captivated the modern
community local enthusiasts they all
rallied from that story that article
changed Oak Island history here we go
gentlemen here we go gentlemen
I have a special guest indeed this is
David MacDonald caused all this trouble
see right there thank you
after 50 years author David McDonough's
the man who wrote the influential
article about Oak Island in The Reader's
Digest has returned to share his
memories with Rick Marty and the team oh
my stop all right well welcome to Oak
Island thank you very much well
there it is Wow a bomb that's the one I
remember like yesterday reading this and
I was fascinated as young boys growing
up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula Rick
and Marty lagina loved to read stories
of mystery and adventure even though
David MacDonald's article ran for only
five pages the combination of the story
coupled with vivid graphics showing a
mysterious money pit became indelibly
etched in rick lagina's imagination
what's a bigger mystery than Oak Island
220 years of search incredible
possibilities in terms of the solution
mystery wonderment questioning I mean
that's what grabbed me when I read that
article and here was the guy who
actually wrote The Reader's Digest
article the one that so enamored him
when he was a young man and dragged his
younger brother along meaning me I'm
saying I had to force-feed you that yes
that's what I'm saying it's your fault
suppose that article had never been
written do you think you wouldn't be
here
besides Saturday morning I read the
article and I handed it back to my wife
and I said read this in so many words
you said so why you know I said number
one I said there's treasure on Oak
Island number two I said I'm gonna be
instrumental in getting it beginning
your story but not the end
no the ends not written yet yeah so what
led you to write that story
I've always wondered that had you been
writing for The Reader's Digest I had
done a couple of pieces for them and
they wanted me to do a piece on Oak
Island
so I researched Oak Island I do know
that you met the restaurant and they're
the first ones I met oh yes I'm at the
Rex halls
what were your impressions of the rest
all's well I think he was he was very
careful about what he said I think and I
understand that you're digging for a
treasure and somebody's asking you
questions you probably want to be
careful
when David McDonald visited Oak Island
in 1964 Robert Russell and his family
had been trying to solve the mystery for
nearly five years living in harsh
conditions the rest dolls worked
tirelessly mostly focusing their work on
Smith's Cove where they found additional
evidence of the five box trains that
were first discovered in 18-49 Robert
and his son Bobby jr. believed they were
very close to discovering something not
only of great monetary value but also of
extraordinary historical significance
but on August 17th 1965 just eight
months following the publication of
David MacDonald's article Robert rest
all his son and two members of their
team died after being exposed to deadly
h2s gas in one of oak islands many mine
shafts
we've played a small role in this but
the people who have committed their
lives passions energies monies the
restaurants who paid the ultimate price
I think they've not gotten their due
well David you didn't change the history
of the world probably but you certainly
changed the history of Oak Island yeah
there's no question about that things
would be a lot different had this not
been written I guess yes well you're
directly responsible for these two
characters being here for sure at the
minimum yeah and I want to say thank you
very much
I never shake his hand
we're thinking over here Marty on the
inside
right about here
we're here because this is a historic
place it's a storied place and we're
here to not only respect the past but to
respect the future in to that extent
we're gonna put a time capsule in the
ground at the Bicentennial memorial to
mark the 50th anniversary of the
Reader's Digest article that changed
their lives as well as the two hundred
and twentieth year of the oak island
treasure hunt Rick and Marty lagina
along with their partners have decided
to gather near the causeway at the
islands entrance I think first of all we
all my opinion a collective thank you to
David for writing that article because
he's the reason why we are all here I
think then let's thank Daniel for paving
the way yes I agree it's appealing
leaving a signature if you will for
someone else to read fifty years from
now it's appealing using a piece of
drill casing that dave blankenship has
fabricated into a time capsule each
member of the Oak Island team makes a
contribution they hope a future
generation might find
well I'm always always waiting for crown
time so I'm giving somebody some crowns
okay here's mine this says from Martin G
lagina to the future I have made several
predictions about what the world will
look like and I'm asking whoever finds
it to send this to my kids and I've
enclosed $10 Canadian for postage and
handling I will insert it well this is a
copy of the digest with the article in
this my goodness
and it's the American cop but it still
got a few true words yeah I guess now
it's my turn but I'm gonna kind of I've
thought about it for a long time and I'm
gonna kind of break tradition because I
kind of wrote a little letter it's it's
to the people that will open this and
it's it's to all of us it says dear Oak
Island searchers we have met so many
gracious and wonderful people it is
impossible to acknowledge and thank
everyone though I would try especially
wish to say to
my brother and friend that I and I do
not use the term lightly I treasure this
time we have spent together to Darrin
blowing could ship by fuel
if y'all have known in my whole life and
thank you for allowing me into your
special world to david blankenship i can
say many things not all good however it
is most important to me that i call you
my friend and I hope you considered me
yours I conclude by wishing you and
yours meaning the people who open this
the best of luck and good wishes as the
Ojai story continues to evolve take care
of one another as that is the real
treasure in life
ciao if we don't succeed and somebody
looks at those items fifty years from
now I I would hope they realize that
there is an emotional component to this
this isn't just a treasure hunt it's not
just about recovering wealth there's an
emotional component to this and I would
hope that by looking at those items they
would connect in that way
now that everyone has placed an item
into the time capsule dave blankenship
welds it closed
keeping it airtight for what could be
its next several decades underground
okay Rick don't know see young guys do
it all right I like that
I thought it was a very appropriate
putting it by the Bicentennial Memorial
I mean what more appropriate place could
there be
you know people come when they come on
these tours they go to that Manya and
they realize just how much time I mean
the world's longest-running treasure
hunt you know why not put it there
okay I think our work here is done
gentlemen at Lisa well done let's have a
round of applause for us shall we Rick -
fifty years from now
done done I think ultimately the old
kind of mystery will be solved every
time you put shovel the earth every time
the drill bites soil you think okay this
could be it it's taken a lot longer than
I thought and it's harder than I thought
this nut is hard to crack but so what
and I say we are gonna get this that's
my buddy all right fine I'll go with
that it's that simple there we're not
giving up
for Rick Marty and their partners today
marks the end of a very productive week
not only have they forged an alliance
with Dan Blankenship's longtime rival
Fred Nolan they've also made a
potentially important discovery with
them but now that virtually every acre
of the island is available for them to
explore what will they find more
evidence of booby-trapped flood tunnels
a man-made cavern in which lies a
mysterious metal chest one thing is
certain the baton of Oak Island history
has been passed and Rick and Marty
lagina have now inherited 220 years of
history and myth triumph and tragedy but
whether the search will end with
discovery or will remain a mystery is
something only time and the island can
tell
next time on the curse of Oak Island
there's a structure in the swamp fred
said it's somewhere between here and on
there let's find it what do you make of
that right there
oh yeah we did find something
boom convinced it's a wreck look at all
the targets in your head and a line
there's a triangle on top of the
triangle what was the point it's
actually pointing to the stone triangle
on the island