prove satisfactory to the party undertaking the recovery work, I will be willing to negotiate further in this connection. But the main point, and what must be decided first, is a definite knowledge that whoever undertakes the work will carry it through.
Dad must have been over the moon when he received that letter. Here is his reply:
March 1st, 1957
Dear Mr. Chappell:
Thank-you for your most interesting letter of Jan. 28th, which so clearly sets out your position.
At that time my backers were scattered and have only just returned to Ontario. It is good news that you are now ready to enter into an agreement to recover the treasure buried on Oak Island. I completely understand that (because of past experience) you must be sure that there will be no delay in getting on with the job.
My position is this, while having no assurance of ever concluding an agreement with you, I arranged as best I could to interest several people in this venture. These people are sound and would stand any financial investigation, just as my knowledge and experience will stand any investigation.
I can now contract to do all the recovery work, including all material, labour, tools, equipment, and know-how. This at my expense. I will further undertake to work in an intelligent workman-like manner and proceed with all the speed consistent with safety, endeavouring to recover all the treasure to the best of my ability. That I agree not to damage the site in any manner with explosives.
You to provide the license and the site including all material on the site and all work done to the present. You also to provide all information in your possession. All of which I must return after a reasonable time for study.
In the event that I fail to seal the sea off from the shafts in six months you will have the right to terminate the agreement at that time.
He then listed terms that matched Greene’s contract. Dad concluded with, “If I am to have the chance at recovery, an early start is to my advantage, to be there set up, and catch some early good weather before the water temperature rises much.” It seemed as if it was time to get out the pens for signatures. But then Dad received the following letter from Chappell:
April 8th, 1957
Dear Mr. Restall:
I have been delayed in replying to your letter of March 1st, due partly to my being away from Sydney considerable of that time, and otherwise due to being extremely busy.
While I was in New York during March, I contacted an old friend of mine who has been interested in Oak Island for many years. He is an Engineer of high standing and has a number of friends who have decided to throw in their lot with him, and do work at Oak Island with a view to solving the mystery and recovering the treasure. He proposes to commence work as soon as the weather permits in the Spring.
We have had a very backward season and just how soon he will be able to get to work I do not know but anticipate it will be early in June. The party to whom I refer has spent some time on Oak Island and has investigated matters from the beginning and is thoroughly familiar with the situation there and what has been done in past years, the conditions he is up against, etc.
I am looking forward to him solving the mystery, but if anything should happen, through unforeseen circumstances such as sickness, or other cause beyond his control, and I am open to make further negotiations, will be glad to communicate with you.
Yours very truly
M.R. Chappell
It had slipped from Dad’s grasp. But, as Mom always said, Dad had the persistence of a bloodhound. He kept on writing. On October 4, 1957, while responding to a letter from Dad, Chappell made no mention of those New York friends and cohorts, but this letter referred to two Ontario mining men finalizing their arrangements with him and proceeding with the search.
In a letter dated August 22, 1958, Chappell described difficulties with the work now in progress and indicated that he would be in touch with Dad if the present crew abandoned their work.
In February 1959 Dad wrote to Chappell again. He referred to a six-month interval between letters and mentioned that it was time for him to begin planning his season of travelling with the Globe of Death. In his letter Dad stated, “I would very much like to make the next attempt when the present agreement ends or if the brothers abandon it. There would be no running around for financing, I can guarantee to start within thirty days and give it my undivided attention.”
What happened next is not among the papers I inherited (perhaps Chappell and Dad used the telephone, rather than writing), but suddenly Dad had his opportunity to search for treasure on Oak Island. His contract came not in spring, as he’d hoped, but in October 1959.
Just heading into winter, it was the worst possible time to undertake such an enterprise. But in his letters to Chappell, Dad had always declared he would be able to start immediately and had implied that winter was not a problem, so now he could scarcely suggest a delay. It had taken him four years of correspondence to get this opportunity, and he could be sure that if he failed to take action at once, Chappell would never give him another chance.
Mom, Dad, and Bobby, now eighteen years old, moved to Oak Island. Rick, just nine years old, stayed with me in Hamilton to continue school; the rest of the family would get settled before sending for him. They had no idea what hardships they might face through winter on the island, but Dad knew it was necessary to demonstrate to Chappell that they were prepared to work in all seasons and conditions. They arrived on the island on October 15, 1959, with all the equipment and savings that they could muster, a total value of $8, 000.
Their Oak Island adventure had begun.
Facing Reality
CHAPTER 4
Earlier, I said that my parents were the ideal candidates for the adventure of Oak Island. They were already accustomed to unusual activities. They weren’t tied into any one job or source of income. Mom and the boys were devoted to Dad and cheerfully followed whatever path he chose, accustomed to making sacrifices for his projects. The family was quite insular, not needing outsiders for companionship or approval. Dad was knowledgeable, a great innovator, could be relied upon to make something from nothing, could fix anything mechanical or structural, and always persisted until he completed whatever he set out to do.
Dad believed that once the treasure was raised, Oak Island, with its shafts, tunnels, and unique method of safeguarding the treasure, would take its rightful place alongside the Seven Wonders of the World. And he was the man who could make that happen.
On the island, Dad was in his element. It was as if his previous life had been no more than a warm-up for this great challenge. Bobby made an enthusiastic and dedicated co-worker. Yet living conditions were harsh beyond belief. Mom, who had always been 100 percent behind Dad, was a city girl. Their primitive existence on Oak Island was a difficult adjustment.
Their initial contract with Chappell granted them only three months on the island. Chappell promised that an extension would be forthcoming as long as there was progress, so Dad and Bobby set right to work. They began to dig a shaft on the beach at Smith’s Cove, intending to intercept the inlet tunnel that brings sea water to the Money Pit, while Mom set about housekeeping in the minimalist fashion dictated by their circumstances: no electricity, no running water.
Luckily, right from the start she began to record her impressions of life on the island,
