The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-08-04
| level fat stone 3 feet long and IL inches
wide was unearthed. On the stone. in AL
most undeciphcrabc hand print, was in
S,.rhn1.
LION POUNDS ARE BURIED
: TEN FEET BELOW TWO MIL

LION POUNDS ARE BURIED.
'''''''''''..... .............'
Under tho stone a wooden platform
had been built The diggers cried. "Eu-
rcka. At last the labor of the diligpnt
was to bear fruit. The veracity of the
sailor. who had bequeathed the chart.
was to be established The hu1,, Of yenrs
was to be fulfilled The dream Of on,-
lcnce was to be reaiize,i Inc sun had
long set. and they waited only for the
dawn of the next day to possess their
treasure. In the imagininss of that
nights sleep they built marble palaces
with other mems hands and foresworc
toll forever. In the morning they hur.
ried to the pit. 1t was filled to the brim
with water. Thus ended their second
quest. Perhaps the outcome taught them
something.
Half a century sped by and Il new
generation WAS i'll the island before a
third attempt was made to secure the
treasure In 1910 new company was
formed in Truro, and excavation was be-
gun on the old shaft. Mining augerS
We're used, and at the depth of ninety
eight feet. an augur pierced six inch
log. and then sank few inches and re.
manned imhedded in oak timber. The
workmCn withdrew the augur and dis
covered clinging to it some wiSpS of grass
peculiar to the Southern seas. Then were
unearthed the fragments of a hardwood
cask. bearing the marks Of Il cooper's
knife. and three silver links.
1t was observed that the water in the
pit rose and fell with the tide. Thence
the treasure seekers inferred that there
must be a Subterranean channel to the
sea. \ search along the shore revealed
five well-detined drains few hundred
feet away on Smiths cove. The stones
of which the drains were built had been
carefully laid and trimmed with ham,
mer. a layer of blue sand and one 1T
tropical grass were also discovered The
main drain ran straight toward the hit.
During many months the men en,l:'lv-
ored to dam the inflow of the tide with
the machinery at their disposal Their
efforts were so utterly unavailing hat
the work was ultimately abandoned.
Another company took uD the quest
after twelve years. Five hundred
pounds were raised. in shares of Is. The
money might ats we'll have been dropped
into the sea for aught of dividends that
It returned. Various attempts of like
failure were made during the ensuing
thirty-tive years: but it was not until
1886 that an elaborate and systematic
attack OH the mystery of the treasure pit
was engineered. In this year of enter
prise the Oak Island Treasure company
was csta blished. with Il capital of $780,
900. Since that time the company. en-
ploying modern machinery and skilled
Workmen, has been prosecuting the
search for pirate gold unremittingly
Today the Oak Island Treasure COM
pany has plant of two boilers. seven
steam pumps. one hoiSting engine. one
steam drill and force of fourteen men,
The latter work in two shifts, known as
the day gang and the night gang. Sev-
cral new shafts had been sunk. and
coffer-dam has been built at Smiths
Cove to shut off the tide. 1t is this ele
ment which has constantly broken the
progress of the work. The superinten-
dent believes that this obstacle will soon
be quite surmounted and then the way
to wealth will be clear. The last find of
importance was unearthed in November.
1897. From a depth of 1876 feet the au-
gers brought up a wet scrap of parch
ment. The scrap measured three-eighthS
of an inch i'll length. and one-half an
inch in width, and bore the inscription
You may go and see the treasure-secls-
ers for yourself OH the green little island.
and a farmhouse and outbuildings at the
other extremity There are about 200
acres i'll all, owned by three men, Magin-
mis-, Sellers and Butler. At the highest
point on the island, probably 100 yards
above tidewater, are the works OF the
treasure company. he superintendent
is an affable man, willing to show the
visitor around. and to tell him about thu:
search, generally hopeful about the out
come, but never much concerned if the
visitor does not share his sanguine views
He will show you the shaft. the money
pit the abandoned pits, the boiler house
and everything else of interest You will
hear the rumble of the heavy machinery.
YOU will see the workmen hauling away
loads of earth and rock, and it will proba
bly, impress you as an everyday, busy
scene such as you would expect to en-
counter ut coal or iron mine. There is
nothing particularly mysterious or ro-
mantle about it-from the outside. But
when you realize that deep down in that
pit, probably POO feet below where you
stand, they are delving night and day.
rain or shine. for vast amount of gold
and precious stones secreted there at
least two centuries ago by black-bearled.
iierce-viSaged pirates, then you rub your
eyes and wonder if YOU have been dream
ing. 1t is possible that the humble sailor.
who. OH his deathbed. divulged the Oak
Island chart and the story of the buried
treasure, was !, moralist, and did he have
4 precept to inculcate on mans hunger
for the impossible ?-Ainsley' Magazine.