Nothing they tried worked and the non-stop pouring of water made their mission impossible to carry out. The Onslow company realized that they could not push their search any further.
The pit was designed with a 500-foot waterway that connects to Smith’s Cove. This means water can get in freely from the sea, and any time there’s an attempt to empty it, it quickly fills up again from the endless oceanic supply.
Digging Deeper
Almost a decade later, the Onslow Company arrived and dug in the same part as the three boys had in the past. With their equipment, they were able to delve down further, and after reaching 60 feet, they saw more oak logs, this time with coconut fiber and charcoal in thick layers.
Interested to find out what lay beneath, the team kept digging until they came across the stone tablet.
A Flooded Pit?
Thrilled with the discovery and imagining the rich fruits of their labor were about to be uncovered, they pulled out another layer of oak logs. All of a sudden, water started flooding into the pit. Could this mean that all of their work was for nothing?
Could this be just another decoy, meant to distract them from finding gold? The only way they could stop the flooding was to make a tunnel to let the water out.
A 45-Year Delay
This conundrum had a massive impact on the discovery of the mysterious treasure. Trying to figure out a way around it caused a delay of almost half a century in the exploration. However, even such seemingly insurmountable obstacles cannot deter explorers.
Unfazed by the challenges of the Oak Island treasure, in 1849, a new team of explorers called The Truro Company, set foot on the island. They found an efficient way to drill samples of the pit without the water being an issue.
A New Group of Explorers
After putting in the work, day in and day out, their lucky break finally came: as they were drilling, they hit the jackpot. Tada! They successfully drilled through two chests filled with coins.
They thought this was the first sign of the massive hidden treasure that was promised by the stone. There was a claim that three gold links from a chain were also discovered, but these gold links went missing and no one had an inkling of what actually happened.