02x02 - Riverboat Riches

[bunniefuu]

They found this steamship.

On Beyond Oak Island...

You're used to digging
for treasures on islands.

We find ours in the
middle of cornfields.

How do you find a
steamboat in a cornfield?

I didn't understand the
magnitude of what he had done

until I stepped
foot in the museum.

You're pretty sure it's here?

We're absolutely sure it's here.

How can you say that?

You got to go down into the boat

and bring something
to the surface.

Holy moly! Oh, look at this!

- Oh, my.
- No way!

- There it is!
- All right, we got us a genuine Missouri steamboat!

Yeah!

All the while we
were growing up,

my brother and I were
fascinated with finding treasure.

Pirate treasure,

cursed treasure.

Civil w*r gold.

Since then,
our work on Oak Island

has shown us there's
a world of mysteries...

- Whoa.
- Waiting to be explored.

So, we like to reach
out to other treasure hunters.

X marks the spot,
right there. Brilliant.

- We want to hear their stories...
- That's right.

- And share our insights.
- "Ill-gotten gains."

- And who knows...
- I got it.

Maybe we can help
them with their search.

Not only in America.

Wow. That is gold.

- But all over the world.
- Yeah!

Beyond Oak Island.

Matty Blake! Off on
another adventure.

- I love it, Marty. On the road again with my pal.
- Yeah.

In Kansas City,
Missouri, Marty Lagina and Matty Blake

are on their way to meet

with a treasure hunter
named David Hawley,

who has made a
career out of recovering

the wrecks of 19th
century steamboats.

David's museum, it's got
the artifacts from the Arabia,

the steamship that he
found and recovered.

I mean, this guy is
fascinating, Marty.

You know, the whole
history of steamboats in general

is kind of an underreported
part of history...

You know, American history...
Industrial Revolution stuff.

Yeah. I remember one historian
say, you know, manifest destiny

as we think about it,

the expansion into the West
would not have happened

as it did when it did if it
wasn't for these steamships,

so it's a huge part
of American history.

When the United
States made the Louisiana Purchase

from France for an
estimated $15 million in 1803,

the nation was
nearly doubled in size.

Between military
fortifications and a rush

of pioneering settlers into
the new American frontier,

the need to ship goods
and services up and down

the Mississippi River
and beyond gave rise to

a new method of mass
distribution and transportation:

the steamboat.

A steamboat had its
own method of propulsion,

and was able to move
up the river without,

without the assistance
of having someone pull it

or pole it or
anything like that.

The engine was
powerful enough to carry

substantial amounts of cargo

and large numbers of passengers.

The steamboat was part of
a transportation revolution.

The ability to move
people and goods

far more quickly than
ever before, and shrink

people's perception and
experience of the world.

It connects folks
across vast distances.

And so it is because
of the steamboat

that this vast country
which we inhabit today

begins to feel
more like a nation.

Steamboat
travel could be dangerous.

A boat that struck a snag
could sink in as little as a minute.

The next most common
cause of disasters was fire.

Boats were wooden, they
had open fires in the fire box.

The average life
span of the steamboats

on the Mississippi River
was around five or six years.

On the Missouri River,
it was about three years.

By the 1870s,
when the expansion of railroads

would replace riverboats for
commerce and transportation

in the U.S.,

more than 400
shipwrecks had occurred

between the Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers.

And many of their precious
cargoes were lost to history.

Oh, and there it is.

Treasures of the
Steamboat Arabia Museum,

- right there, Marty.
- It's pretty impressive.

Sure is.

Matty and Marty have arrived

at the Arabia Steamboat Museum

to meet with its owner David
Hawley and his son Matt.

Welcome to Kansas
City. I'm Dave.

- Thank you. - Matty Blake.
- Nice to meet you, Matty.

The Laginas have agreed

to offer both help
and resources to David

and his team as
they attempt to locate

two historic steamboat wrecks,

both of which were known
to have been carrying

millions in valuable cargo.

Well, see, you're used
to digging for treasures

on islands and such.

We find ours in the
middle of cornfields.

Which is the, which is the
first amazing thing to me.

I just got to say this, I mean,

when Matty first
told us about this,

I said, "Wait, how would he
find a steamboat in a cornfield?"

- You know what I mean? It's not intuitive, all right?
- Yeah. No, no.

It's not where you go first
to look for treasure, right?

I know.

Born and
raised in Kansas City, Missouri,

David Hawley grew up in a
family that shared a fascination

for both riverboats and their
impact on American history.

I was born into a
family of heating

and air conditioning repairmen.

On a service call, years
and years ago, I met a fellow

that looked for flying saucers
and Bigfoot and steamboats.

And I wasn't much interested
in the Bigfoot or the flying

saucers, but the steamboats
interested me, and so,

in researching steamboats,
there was a lot to choose from.

Hundreds of these boats sank.

But the Arabia was one that
sank close to Kansas City.

On September 5, 1856,

the steamboat Arabia was making
its way up the Missouri River,

loaded with 222 tons of cargo.

Six miles west of Kansas City,

it hit a tree snag
that tore open its hull.

It sank in minutes.

Its cargo went
down with the ship,

and by the next
morning was buried under

layers of the
Missouri's mud and silt.

The river changes
course over time.

I got old river maps to find out

where the river had
once been in 1856.

And what a surprise, it was
now in the middle of a cornfield.

I then, with the
farmer's permission,

went into the field in 1988
and began the search.

Walking back and forth
in a cornfield with a tool,

with a metal detector
called a magnetometer.

We found it with
the metal detector,

and then brought out a drill
rig and began to test-drill.

To see how deep it was
and exactly where it lay.

It took us probably
a week of drilling

to find the sides, the
front and the back.

Then we could chalk
it with white chalk

all the way around the boat.

And for the first
time, there it was.

The Arabia was 171 feet long.

At that point, down we went.

For the excavation of the
Arabia to be successful,

we had to dig it in the winter.

There was big surprises, like
food products that survived.

Pickles and pie fillings
that you could still eat.

Barrels of butter
that still smelled fresh.

There was clothing
of all types, and shoes.

We found 4,000 boots and shoes.

We found cooking utensils
and beautiful sets of dishware.

g*ns and knives, and by
the time we'd finished it four

months later, no one was
talking about selling the collection.

We began the excavation
November the 13th of 1988.

The museum opened up
November the 13th of 1991,

three years to the day.

- That is very cool.
- It is.

This... just this is impressive.

Yeah, yeah, so what
you see here is rebuilt.

What you see
there is the real deal.

- That is incredible.
- The pitman arm,

the structure and the engine.

No kidding. Very cool.

You know, Dave, what is
your mission going forward?

Momentarily, when we
go into the collection,

you'll see a collection unlike
anything you've ever seen.

And that's one
boat, that's one story.

Eventually, the goal
would be to have six boats,

one from each
decade of river travel,

from the '20s through the '70s.

The Arabia tells a
story of the 1850s

and the settlers coming west.

The boat that we're
going to work on later

is one called the
Malta. Sank in 1841.

Bringing Indian trade
goods to the frontier.

The Radnor, that
we'll look for, another

huge story carrying military
supplies to Fort Leavenworth.

It's not a story of
just steamboats.

It's a story about the
development of the whole West.

And you're gonna learn
some things, aren't you?

You will learn things

like you have never
learned before.

Lead on.

- Show us where to go.
- After you. - Okay.

What David has
been able to do with his son Matt

and his team is nothing
short of incredible.

And I didn't understand
the magnitude

of what he had done until I
stepped foot in the museum.

In fact, I literally thought

the upstairs gift shop
part was the museum

until he walked us underground.

We couldn't bring up the
whole boat, so this wood floor

that you're on is the boat.

- This?
- The barrel up there is the front,

this is the back of the boat.

The boilers are where they
were. The wheel is where it was.

- Oh, so we're standing...
- You're standing on the model.

- Wow! So cool!
- Wow, man, did you guys do a great job.

And then, as a river traveler,
that's what Kansas City would

have looked like as you
paddled your way upstream.

I mean, I'm very impressed
that you guys built this.

- Well, you get a real good idea of scale right here, right?
- Yes.

- I mean, this is the boat.
- Yeah, it is.

Let's stroll the deck,
shall we, gentlemen?

You walk about a
football field length

of artifacts that are
perfectly preserved.

It's stunning. It's
like nothing I've

ever seen in my
life. And, you know,

it gives a whole
new definition to

the term treasure, really.

Where are we going next?

We're going into a room

that we call our General Store.

Wow.

Matt, uh, is it fair to say

a lot of the things we've seen

and we've walked by would
have ended up in a store

just like this for sale? Is
that what was happening?

Absolutely. Yeah,
most of the stuff

was going up for general
stores just for resale.

So that's why you see
so many of the same thing.

- That's what I was wondering.
- It was going up for folks for the winter.

They were the 18-wheelers of
the day, just sending stuff up.

And the quality of this stuff,
I mean, we're talking about

the frontier
right at this point.

But people still want
quality, and they're

- still willing to pay for it.
- People were people.

- Yeah.
- They wanted nice things.

And they would import them,

if not from the
States, from Europe.

Yeah, like those plates,
where are those from?

Exactly. They came from England.

From England? Yeah,
that would make sense.

They had to be carrying alcohol.

Did you find anything like that?

In the boat, downstairs
in the cargo hold, trapped,

filled with mud and water,
were cases of champagnes

- and cognac and gin, like you see over there.
- Wow!

Well, I'll tell you what, guys.
I have, I have treasure envy.

Coming from you,

- that's a compliment.
- Yeah, well...

- That is awesome.
- It's spectacular.

You had to resist the urge
to sell some of this stuff.

- You know, we've never had that.
- You never had it?

No, we've never had the
thought, "Let's sell a boot!"

Well, those plates up there!

We're all kind of
attached to this stuff.

It's like our little
children, you know?

I absolutely applaud you for it.

But have you ever
had it evaluated?

- Has anybody came up with a number and said...?
- Oh, sure.

It's worth millions
and millions of dollars.

- The collection itself.
- It has to be. Yeah.

- Yeah.
- Well, you got real treasure and you got real history here.

But there's the Malta.
You mentioned the Malta,

- and the Malta is on dry land.
- Is on dry land.

Tell us about that.
What's on the agenda?

So basically, we found
the boat once already,

but the Missouri is
known for flooding.

It happened several times.

All of our markers are gone.

- Ah.
- The outline is gone.

So, we know where the boiler is.

We know where that hot
spot is, but before you can dig,

you've got to get an outline,
you have to know where...

How the boat is
sitting in the field.

So that's what we've
got to go do today.

So you've got a little
rig, little drill rig, and we're

gonna do... Just
do core sampling?

We're just gonna go
down and tap on that boat.

That sounds like fun.
That's right up my alley.

- All right.
- Let's go do that.

- Let's do it.
- Let's drill.

Well, we're gonna put a drill
in the ground today, Marty.

Well, we're drilling
on something we're

pretty dang sure is there,
so it's gonna be great.

Later that afternoon,

Marty Lagina and Matty Blake
have traveled some 70 miles east

of Kansas City to Malta Bend,
Missouri, where David Hawley

and his team believe they've
found the location of the Malta,

a steamboat carrying
goods and valuables

that sank in the Missouri
River in August of 1841.

Let's do it.

However, today,

because the course
of the river has shifted

more than 900 feet to the north,

the wreck lies buried
beneath a cornfield.

- Hey, guys.
- How are you?

Today, Marty has
arranged for local drillers Jared Sisk

and Wade Johnson
to help pinpoint

the Malta's orientation.

You can feel the boat just
rumbling under your feet, right?

Uh, here's the thing.

Here's the thing, Dave. I
can't even see the river.

Yeah, it's hard to
imagine a river...

A riverboat running upriver

- right here.
- Right here.

You know, 'cause
now we're in a cornfield.

- Yeah, crazy.
- I know, that is absolutely amazing.

- That's part of the magic of all this.
- Yes.

Because not far from here,
somewhere, is that boat.

Built in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1839,

the Malta was a 141-foot-long-

by-22-foot-wide paddle steamer.

In 1841, it left St. Louis
loaded with 115 tons

of supplies that included
r*fles, saddles and gold.

But some 200 miles into
its journey, the Malta collided

with a submerged tree
limb that ripped open its hull.

It quickly sank, taking
all of its precious cargo

to the bottom of
the Missouri River.

How did you find this spot

and start to triangulate
this particular...

- Spot?
- Yeah.

This is what they
called Malta Bend.

- This whole thing?
- Yeah.

And what happens is,
when the boats would sink,

the next generation of
mapmakers, as they created

the next map of the river,

they would call "this"

- in the honor of the boat that sank here.
- Makes sense.

So this then became
Malta Bend on the map.

David is
hopeful that today's search

for the Malta will be a success,

because he's found evidence
of its location once before

and then lost it.

I started the search
for the Malta in 2015

with as much maps
as I had and as much

information from the
newspaper as I could gather,

which really wasn't much.

And at home on my
computer, I would draw a grid,

and I'd import that grid
into my handheld GPS,

and I'd go out and walk the grid

with the metal detector,
the magnetometer.

And there was nothing there
that first day, nor the second,

nor the third or the fourth,
and so on and so forth.

It took two years to
find it. It was remarkable.

Although David
made great progress marking

the location of the
Malta, unfortunately,

severe storms caused
the Missouri River

to flood the area, and
washed away all of his markers.

Now, before he can
begin excavating the Malta,

David must reestablish
its exact orientation.

The boat sinks in '41.

This is an 1879 map.
Close as I could find.

The tan line was
that old river channel.

And look how
windy and wiggly it is.

- Mm-hmm.
- That's how it was. That's the natural river.

The blue line is more or
less where we're at today.

- So, we're here?
- Mm-hmm.

- We're right... we're right in here.
- Oh, okay, yeah.

So the boat came up and came
along the bottom of this island.

Didn't quite make
it, sank about here.

- Right through there.
- And this is the Malta Bend.

This is the Malta
Bend. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is us right
here. That red dot?

Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

Yeah, we are standing
here, we're probably...

900 feet from the river.

So, before this all flooded out,

you managed to do a little
work here, though, didn't you?

- We did, yeah.
- And that's why you're pretty sure it's here?

- We're absolutely sure it's here.
- How can you say that?

Part of what you do before
you dig a boat, because

it's so very expensive, you've
got to go down into the boat

and bring something
to the surface.

- You got to see something.
- And you have?

We did. Really cool stuff.

- Oh, you have it here?
- We do.

- Ooh!
- Yeah. This is it.

I like, I like what it's in.

Oh, yeah.

- I like how it sounds.
- Uh-huh.

- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.

- Sounds good, right?
- Oh, yeah, that's all good.

- Oh, my. - No way.
- Oh, yeah.

- You got that in one single core?
- One time.

- 150 gold buttons.
- A bunch of stuff.

Ceramics, fabric, chunks
of lard, window glass.

- Can I pick one of these up? You okay with it?
- Absolutely.

- Go for it, here.
- May I? That's incredible.

When he pours
out that bag of gilded buttons,

I was very impressed.

It does show without any
doubt that he has found

a steamboat, and highly
likely to be the Malta.

So these buttons here
on this boat in that sample

were some... just a tiny little
piece... of what was going west

to the Native Americans
to be traded for furs.

Unbelievable.

Will you please
come to Oak Island?

'Cause I think you're
lucky, too, okay?

- You're obviously a hard worker, but that's...
- I'm telling you.

- That's good stuff.
- You're either incredibly lucky,

or there's an incredible
amount of stuff down there.

- There is. - Yeah, there is.
- Or maybe both.

- Yeah, maybe both.
- Maybe a little of both.

- I mean, that's what keeps you going.
- Exactly.

Well, let's find more
of this. Let's fire it up!

- All right, that sounds great. Let's go get it.
- All right.

Before David can move
forward with plans to excavate the Malta

steamboat and recover
its valuable cargo,

the team must reestablish its
exact orientation underground,

starting with what David
hopes is its western edge.

Today, the plan is
to use a rotary drill,

put an exploratory
hole down there,

and see what
comes to the surface.

What David is looking for

is wood from the Malta.

And if that starts coming up,

he knows he's in the right spot,

and then he can
measure it from there.

Based on David's
magnetometer readings from 2015,

he's located what he
believes to be the Malta's

iron boiler in the
center of the ship.

Using that as the
starting coordinate,

the team's first objective
will be to drill down

in an attempt to find
one side of the wreck.

So, right here this
is the magnetometer center?

- Yep.
- Yeah, it should be right there.

Exactly where the engine's at.

We know the magnetics
from the magnetometer.

The engines, the boilers
are just generally in this area.

We had it all marked
out at one point.

The rivers took it away.

I say we kind of
come in this direction.

We might miss, we might hit,

- but that's what we're here to figure out.
- Right.

David has already done 95%
of the work to find the Malta.

He knows where the boiler is.

All we're doing is to help
him with sort of the final

stage of what can be
done on the surface.

So, when you get
at your target depth

or around the target depth,

you use this to catch
what's coming out?

Yeah. I'll visually be
able to see the change.

- Feel it through a little bit.
- Yeah, and feel it.

And then I'll be able
to tell him, hey, we need

to start catching these cuttings

'cause I'm feeling
something out of the ordinary.

Okay.

- All righty, you guys ready?
- Proceed.

Let's see if we can get
some water circulating.

From our notes, we should hit
the deck of the boat at 37 feet.

And as we get closer and
closer to that 37-foot level,

we're going to be
watching for pine.

That'll be the blond wood
that comes out of the hole first.

That's the deck wood.

We're getting into
the money zone!

And that will be
conclusive evidence that

we are in fact right
on top of the boat.

- Uh-oh. He just gave him the cut sign.
- Yeah, I saw it.

This is either good or bad news.

Yeah, I think we're beyond
the boat on this hole.

Okay.

Well, you know, but
it's here, right? It's here.

Well, it was the last
time we were here.

In the town
of Malta Bend, Missouri,

Marty Lagina and
Matty Blake are helping

treasure hunter David
Hawley and his team

locate the wreck of a historic
riverboat known as the Malta,

which today is buried
some 40 feet beneath

a cornfield near
the Missouri River.

So, Jared, you think
we're past target depth,

and you're getting nothing?

Yeah, we're past target depth,

and we're not
getting anything, so...

It's okay, it's what we do.
We'll move over this way.

Okay. I'll follow your lead.

- Yeah, it's-it's... yeah.
- Okay. Let's dig another one.

Okay. Sounds good.

If you think about the mission

to delineate the edges of this,

if you never miss, you haven't
accomplished the mission.

If you never miss, you don't
know where the edges are.

So you have to miss.

You have to find it, and
you also have to miss.

And then, in between,
that's where the edge is.

This is basic trial
and error at this point.

We miss here, we
know it's over there,

so we just move
a little bit closer.

We're at about
29 feet right now!

- We're getting close, guys.
- Yep.

David knows the
boat is somewhere down there.

"We're gonna hit this."
That's what he keeps telling us.

"We're gonna hit
this." And I believe him.

Dave, you know what's
funny is, like, I'm nervous now.

- I can only imagine how you feel. How do you feel?
- Oh, I do.

I always get nervous.

- Really?
- Yeah, because...

I know we're gonna
touch something

that's almost sacred,
so I don't want to break it.

- I
- don't want to miss it.

Right.

You can't make an
omelet without cracking eggs.

No, exactly. You're
right, you're right.

You've heard that
before, I'm sure.

Whew! All right, come on, baby.

- Is that it?
- You're seeing stuff?

Where? Show me.

- Can you grab it?
- Yeah.

- Like this?
- Yeah.

- Oh, my gosh.
- Yep.

Holy moly! Oh, look at this!

We're getting little
pieces of deck.

- Hey! Yeah!
- What do you say about that?

Wow! Look at that.

When I started to
see that blond wood come out,

I was in shock at
how pristine it was,

how clean it was.
It literally looked like

brand-new boat
decking that just got wet.

Now we know we've got a boat.

What you see
there, the blond wood is pine.

But you'll hit the pine
first 'cause that's the deck.

And just think, someone's
foot walked right on that

last time it saw air.

- Isn't that crazy? Might have been Mark Twain.
- Yeah.

Man, I got the chills.

Here's another
very interesting piece

we just pulled out of the pile.

Oh, that's a finished edge.

That's a finished
edge right there.

- So, could that be, like, a railing or...
- Yeah.

- Wow.
- That's a really nice piece.

That is the best piece
of wood I've seen.

There's no doubt that
that's a piece of the deck

off of the Malta.

It's just beautiful.

The preservation, the
natural preservation,

it's just breathtaking.

It's just amazing how nature
naturally preserved that.

Being socked into the
silt and the mud and no air.

- That makes all the difference.
- Mm-hmm.

The frustrating thing
is, on Oak Island

we get this all the
time, but we don't know

what the hell we're looking at.

- Here we do. - We do.
- Yeah, here we do.

- Yeah. - Here we do.
- We can visualize.

This is a, this is an
unqualified success.

So this is
what we've established.

We know that that's a miss.

- It's a good thing to know that's a miss.
- It is a good thing.

And we know this is a hit.

This gets us close enough

to establish the west side.

What we need to do now
is find the front of the boat.

Then what we're
gonna do is lay it out,

put a chalk on it,
and there's your boat.

So we can actually
kind of see the boat.

Before the sun sets,
we'll see the boat.

All right.
Let's get after it!

Now that the team has located

the western edge of the Malta,

they will move the
drill rig 50 feet north,

the known distance between
the boiler and the bow,

or front of the riverboat.

That's our
spot, right there, Jared.

- All righty.
- Make a hole.

If they can
successfully locate the bow,

then Dave Hawley will
be able to determine

the exact orientation
of the Malta.

- I think we're here.
- Okay.

- That's it.
- Whoo!

- That's it.
- Let's go!

Now that they've
determined where the bow,

the western edge and the
boiler of the ship are located,

some 40 feet underground,

the team has the
data points they need

to draw a chalk
outline of the Malta

on the surface of the cornfield.

We know
historically the boat's 140 feet,

and we know it's 22 feet wide,

so we're gonna go that way
22, we're gonna go that way 140.

- Draw us a boat.
- There's your boat.

Excellent. Fantastic!

Before he
gets to dig that thing out,

a fairly accurate outline of
the boat is absolutely crucial

if you're gonna do this right.

If you're off by a lot,
you're either gonna...

mess it up and have sides
that aren't gonna be safe,

because you had it too
far one way or the other,

or you're gonna move way
more material than you need to.

So you need to
be fairly accurate,

because this is costly
and time-consuming.

And you could mess it up.

All right, we're
gonna toast. Ready?

Here we go.

There it is! Lime toast!

- Lime toast!
- Yeah!

- All right, guys, well done, well done.
- That's awesome. Yes.

Got us a boat!

A genuine Missouri steamboat.

Talk about bringing
something to life... on Oak Island,

we always talk about,
imagine if there was a boat,

imagine this, imagine
that... To see it like this...

And it really is under there.

Yeah.

Yeah, you've held parts
of it, which is a cool thing.

- You've seen it come to earth.
- We know it's there.

- Yeah, you know it's there.
- It's down there, it's down there.

Ah, it looks beautiful.
It looks really cool.

Well, this is the first step.
This is where you start.

- Yeah.
- Okay?

Similar to how Dave unearthed

the Arabia in 1988,

in order to dry the
earth around the Malta

so that it can be
retrieved intact,

nearly 20,000 gallons of water

will need to be
pumped every minute

some 900 feet north
to the Missouri River

over a period of four months.

How confident are you, Dave,

that you will be able
to pull it out intact?

No one's done that, you know?

But then again, no one's dug

a steamboat quite
like that, either.

Well, I don't know anyone else

that has a steamboat
museum either,

- so my money's on you.
- That's true. It's a short list.

- If there's a will there's a way.
- So I say

we call it a day,
gentlemen, and tomorrow

- we go after another one, right?
- It's a new adventure.

We find the Radnor tomorrow.

All right, let's go have
that... let's go have that drink.

I'll even buy. What the hell.

Congratulations.

You promised a boat,
you delivered a boat.

Well, there you
go. It'd have been bad

not to have done that.

One day after helping
to locate a riverboat known as the Malta

beneath a cornfield...

- There they are.
- Marty Lagina

and Matty Blake travel 45
miles to Boonville, Missouri,

to assist David and Matt Hawley

in their quest to find another
lost 19th century ship...

A ship known as the Radnor...

Which sank in the
Missouri River in 1846.

All we got to do is get
you guys loaded up,

and we'll go ahead and get
this thing dropped in the water.

- So it's easy as that.
- Okay. If it's that easy, let's go.

- Just like that.
- Just like that.

- David's a remarkable guy.
- Away we go.

He wants to find the
Radnor as well to advance his goal.

Very admirable. So
we're gonna go look for it.

This one, he thinks,
is sunk in the river.

And by the way, the reason
he thinks that is because,

God bless him, he's
already worked the shoreline

and he didn't find it.

That's why he
thinks it's in the river.

So he's already
narrowed the search.

What we know about the Radnor,

built in 1843,

sank in 1846.

Three years old.

But it was on its way to
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Really the first military
post west of the Mississippi.

Sure.

The steamboat
Radnor was transporting

60 tons of supplies
for the U.S. Army

280 miles from St. Louis
to Leavenworth, Kansas.

Although the exact
records have been lost,

the Radnor's cargo is
believed to have included g*ns,

provisions, military uniforms,

cannons, ammunition
and gold coins...

Meant to pay the
wages of soldiers.

You know, when these boats
were coming up and down the river,

three-quarters of
all of these hundreds

and hundreds of boats
sank because of these trees.

Have you targeted an area

that you want to hit in terms
of what we're gonna do today?

Well, generally, but...

You want to look at these maps?

Let's take a look
at that really quick.

Okay, these are
our historic maps.

We're gonna come
up, we're gonna turn.

Now, the tan line
is the old channel.

We're gonna just
walk along the bank

- and work our way out.
- Right.

We'll go up,
we're gonna come back.

But what we're gonna
work with the captain to do is,

instead of turning the boat
all the way around each time,

we're gonna let the
river push us backwards.

The current of the river
is always fighting you,

pushing you backwards,
pushing you sideways.

You're watching

for trees and debris
washing into the boat

and into the
propellers of the boat.

So it's... it's a far
more dangerous search

and a far more
challenging search.

But it's there.

The next thing we got to do
is get this metal detector out...

The magnetometer... And
we're gonna start scanning

this water slowly as we go.

- Okay?
- Sounds good.

- All right? Here we go. This is it.
- Let's do it.

In order to find the Radnor,

Marty has arranged for the
team to use a magnetometer:

a device typically
used by wreck salvagers

to identify underwater
metal objects.

Although the Radnor was
mostly constructed of wood,

David is hopeful
that its massive boiler

will prove to be
the perfect target.

The magnetic signal
from a steamboat...

Because of the
size of the boilers...

Extends out for
quite some distance.

And if it gradually grows

from 125 gammas to 150 gammas

to 200 gammas or beyond,

then that's an indication that
there's something very large

and something
significant underneath you.

Bring it down.

Perfect.

Matt, we're gonna keep
that cable above the door.

Okay.

- So it's ready to measure.
- It's ready to go. - Let's start looking.

Okay, Captain,
let's bring us into the bank,

- 50 feet off...
- Sounds good.

And we'll start our search.

Our GPS is keeping
track of where we're at.

We're gonna take
our first reading.

- Good.
- All right.

We're gonna
establish a baseline.

What is that sh...
where no metal is?

52-1-1-7.

Okay, 52-1-1-7 gammas.

That's your base?

- That's baseline.
- Got it.

What's gonna
get your juices going?

Give me a number.

- Give me a 200 number.
- Okay.

- I'm happy.
- Ooh, all right. Okay.

Give me above... north
of 200, I'm even happier.

- Okay.
- What's your...

KC, what's your
speed going forward?

We are going...

we're going .9 right now.

- So go a little faster?
- Nope, you're good.

We're at 155.

- 155? That's a big move.
- 155. It's a big move.

- Hey! All right!
- We have not been this high before.

Let's take another. Go slow,
KC. Let's bring it down to a creep.

All right. I can pin
here, too, if you want to.

Yeah, pin it
there, pin it there.

We're above something
that has made that jump

- from 113 to...
- Yeah. Yeah.

These magnetic signals,
they go out a long ways.

And so you'll see it coming,
just like you're seeing it.

It'll get bigger
and it'll get bigger.

You were not
lying about this current, guys,

'cause when you
have the perspective

of something still on
the boat, it is flying.

- It's flying by you. Yeah. Yeah.
- Wow.

Oh, there's a big
old log under us.

157.
We're still going up.

And we're still traveling, okay?

Now, if these signals come
up and they disappear...

you forget them.

But if they continue up and
step up, step up, step up,

you got to take record of that.

We're going
backwards now, though.

We probably just floated
back about 20 feet, being in neutral,

trying to dodge some
of these logs over here.

We had a log come right up

and touch our front toon, so
we went neutral to make sure

we didn't do any damage
to the engine and prop.

- It's all right.
- You got one port here.

Oh, yeah, we got a nice one
floating downstream over there.

Yeah, KC, you are
right, we are drifting back south.

So we're gonna bump
up forward speed.

- All right.
- We've got to make up some distance.

We're back. I bet you...
In fact, if I took a reading,

we're gonna be
back in the 115s-ish.

I can bring us directly
back to our waypoint.

- I did ping it.
- Yeah, do that and then creep forward, right?

I can go right back
to where we were.

Yeah, so if he
goes to his waypoint

and then creeps forward,
that's what you want, yeah.

Then we'll be back
where we were.

- And if you see, like, a really good reading...
- 175.

- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah!
- Okay, here we go.

Pin it, pin it right there. 175.

That's the highest
we've been today.

- Yes, you said 200 gets your juices.
- 200, then we're...

we are within seeing distance.

So you think you're
finding it right now?

Oh, I think we're finding it.

Wow.

While searching
for a sunken steamboat in the Mis

Matty Blake and Marty Lagina,

along with treasure hunters
Matt and David Hawley,

have just made what could
be an important discovery.

Just so I'm clear, we
are above something

that is making that
rise dramatically.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, absolutely.

253.

- You got it, baby.
- 253. Okay, can you mark this spot?

Can we hold it at this location?

All right.

- Ooh, baby.
- Oh, baby. You're right.

255.

- Let's mark this place right here.
- All right.

Okay, guys, let's
have a little powwow here.

What I'm thinking, guys, if we
all agree here, you probably...

What do you figure
your GPS accuracy is,

or your waypoint, actually?

- It's pretty... very, uh...
- Within a few feet.

It's pretty dang close.

There is an anomaly out
here, a powerful anomaly.

An iron anomaly
similar to what you found,

based on the relative
sizes of these...

- Totally accurate.
- Yeah.

I think, from
everything I've seen,

from all I can determine,

from the metal
readings we've seen,

we are on top of the Radnor.

This might be

the first time it's been
brought back to life.

Absolutely. First time
anybody's discovered it.

What happens next?

What the hell are you
gonna do with a boat

out here in the middle
of this powerful current?

These things are stairsteps.
They're baby steps forward.

You don't say, this is it,
you know, let's celebrate.

You celebrate the next step.

And the next step is
to define what this is.

If it's a boat, you drill it,
you mark it, you measure it,

and you say, "Based on
historical records, this is it."

What we did today,
in determining

exactly the location of
the Radnor, was historic.

It's the first step. It's
what you've got to do.

But it takes this giant river,

This is the spot to find it.

This is the location
of where she lays.

Is there more work
to do? Sure, there is.

There's next steps to take.

But we've taken a big one today.

But this is the first step.

Finding the metal
is the first step.

As I look up

and I look at how far
out on the river we are,

and I look at that
swirling current,

and I look at the trees coming
down the river, and I think,

"David, this one is
not gonna be easy."

I mean, not that the
others were easy,

but this one's gonna
be exceptionally difficult.

Well, I think we've done what
we came to do today, guys,

- I really do.
- This was successful. This was a good day.

- Great day.
- You got any wine on board?

- Good job, partner.
- Good job, Matt.

I can't help
it, I have treasure envy.

You look at what
Dave Hawley has done,

and, I mean, here's
a classic example

of a treasure
hunter doing it right.

- I mean, look at the museum he created.
- And what a great trip.

- That was...
- That was one of the coolest things

I've ever experienced.
I mean, um, you know,

I don't know where to start.

I'll start with this.

- This is the Arabia.
- Look at this.

It's like an open-pit mine.

It is. I mean, the
scale of the work.

The engineering involved

to figure out how
to accomplish it.

But after you get
over the sort of shock

that this riverboat can
be under a cornfield,

and then you look at what
Dave Hawley has found...

- I'm jealous.
- Yeah. I imagine you would be.

Because this is what we
envision here on Oak Island.

I'm just jealous of
what you experienced.

- Oh, yeah.
- On two levels I'm jealous, I guess.

But in a good way.

Well, Rick, you might
as well meet the guy.

Dave Hawley is standing by,

and I-I'm curious
to talk with him, too,

because I'd like an update.

I mean, I'd like to know
if he's made any progress

in getting those next
two riverboats, so...

- Put him on the screen, Matty Blake.
- All right, stand by.

- Hey, Dave!
- Good morning. How are y'all?

Real fine, sir. You
got Marty and Matty

and my brother Rick here.

Good morning, sir. How are you?

Got the whole g*ng.

Well, it's nice to
see you all again.

And, Rick, it's nice to
make your acquaintance.

Nice to make
yours, sir, I have...

Just from the photographs,

and from what Matty
and my brother have said,

I have immense respect for
what you've accomplished.

- Thank you. That's very kind.
- Yeah.

You know what it's like
to dig in the mud, so...

- We do.
- From one mud digger to the next,

- thank you.
- I-I appreciate that.

It's a sign of respect.

Hey, Dave, all three of us now

are keenly following
what you're doing.

Tell us, any developments
on the Radnor?

Yes, sir, there are
major developments.

It's going to be tricky,

and it'll be a little dangerous.

Eh, maybe a lot dangerous.

All right, then, tell us about
the Radnor. What's going on?

The Radnor's gonna be

an awesome, awesome
boat to recover.

As you know, having
been out there...

- Yes.
- On that very fast water,

it's going to be tricky.

My thought would be to
bring two barges with cranes

on the barge, left and right...

dredge off the mud to
get down to the boat.

Then you strap underneath
it with wide, heavy straps,

and the cranes lift,
they'll lift it out of the mud.

Bring in the third barge,
push it underneath the Radnor,

then refill with air.

And between the two
barges, left and right,

that are lifting and the one
underneath that's pushing it up,

I think the three will do it.

That's gonna be a tough one.

Difficult, absolutely.

That is gonna let you

scratch your head a little bit

- when you go after that Radnor.
- Oh, yeah.

We gained a hell of a respect

for the Missouri River, having
been out there, you know.

The Missouri River always wins.

- Yep.
- Sounds like you picked

- a difficult one with the Radnor.
- Yes.

All right, then,

tell us, any developments
on the Malta?

The Malta will be
the next boat to dig.

That's the goal right now
is a dig perhaps next year.

Now, we won't know for
sure until we get down there,

but if the Malta is intact,
as it feels like it might be,

we would like to bring
in a team of craftsmen

and take that boat
apart, number it,

and then rebuild it
inside of a building.

So you'll have the
actual whole structure

of an 1840s
steamboat on display.

That's amazing.

You start doing that, you become

a world-class exhibit
right away quick.

You're going to need a
bigger museum, buddy.

Well, I know, that's kind of
what we're working on now, too.

But I still have to say, sir,

I would have sold
some of it, okay?

- I would have. I mean...
- Well, I don't know.

- I'm not faulting you.
- No, I don't think you would.

All of these pieces are kind of
like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle,

and if you lose
one or two of them,

the puzzle's not
the same anymore.

- Are you sure you're not our third brother?
- They're kindred spirits.

You know, the
Arabia's one collection,

the Malta will be
another collection.

I mean, the things that
will come off of that Malta

will be... they'll
be jaw-dropping.

They'll be things that no
one's ever seen before.

I think that's right.

Well, I think everything
you've accomplished so far

has been jaw-dropping, and
I know I can speak for Marty

when I say... Because
we discussed it...

Uh, this was mind-blowing.

And, if you don't mind,
anything you need from them,

I can make sure you get,
and we want to stay in touch

with you as you do that
year plan to make that dig.

Oh, absolutely.

All right, Dave,
well, thank you very much.

Pleasure, as always.

- Thank you.
- If we can help you in any way, let us know.

- Oh, we'll stay in touch. I promise.
- All right, sir.

- Bye, Dave. Thank you. Appreciate it.
- Bye, Dave, thank you.

- Thanks, Dave.
- Nice to meet you.

- Great guy. Very impressive.
- Yep.

I mean, it's amazing
to see people

so dedicated, so passionate.

Yeah, he's great. You know,
he's found these things in...

in cornfields, in what
used to be part of the river.

I just wonder if he can
find them in swamps.

Wouldn't that be handy?

Yeah, I'd like to
bring him on board.

- He's clearly got the right touch, doesn't he?
- Yeah, he does.

All right, well,
stay tuned, right?

- Absolutely.
- In the meantime,

we still do have
a swamp out there

that has at least
parts of a ship in it.

- So let's get back after it, shall we?
- All right, fellas.

Let's go.