The Mystery of Oak Island
Do you believe in pirates and buried treasure? A lot of people in
Canada seem to believe. In fact, there is an island off Nova Scotia that is
sometimes called the money pit. The legend is that a pirate (perhaps
Blackbeard or Captain Kid) hid a lot of gold on Oak Island. Let me introduce
myself. My name is Dorothy, and I live on Tancook Island with my husband,
George. Tancook Island is in the Mahone Bay off the coast of Nova Scotia,
Canada. There are about 300 other small isles in this bay. The most famous
island is Oak Island. George works for a boat builder here in Mahone Bay, so
he hears all of the stories. Many years ago (1795), a man named Daniel McGinnis
was walking on Oak Island when he saw a clearing with no trees. In the middle of
the clearing, was a pit.
Daniel went and got his two friends, and they started digging.
After two feet, they found slate barrier. Below the barrier, they found a deep
shaft. It looked like the shaft was made by men.
They kept digging, Ten feet further down, they hit something
made from wood. "Yippee" they shouted, "We've found a treasure chest!"
However, when they pulled it up, it was only wood logs. They
started digging again, and got down to 25 feet. At that depth, they decided they
needed more help. They figured that whatever was buried that deep must be very
valuable!
In 1802, Daniel returned with more men and equipment to try again. They dug
deeper and found new barriers about every 10 feet. Finally, at 93 feet, they
found a stone with strange letters on it. Once again, they celebrated, thinking
they found the treasure. But, once again, they were disappointed. The deep shaft
was full of water, and there was no way to get the water out. For the next 200
years, people from around the world spent millions of dollars trying
to get the treasure at the bottom of the "money pit." They brought
in fancy equipment, but none of it worked. Instead of finding gold,
they found booby traps and channels that fill the shaft with water.
Six treasure hunters have died trying to get the treasure. George
and I laugh at all the treasure hunters who spend their money
looking for gold. If they only took the time to look around, they
would realize that the treasure of Nova Scotia is its beauty. The
open sea, wonderful fishing, beautiful birds, and lovely sunsets are
all the treasure we need! Map of Nova Scotia.
Halifax is the capital.
M ap
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