In this day and age, how can a small business not only stay afloat, but remain competitive as well?  One might suggest that the small business person must offer a special niche that could only be filled by utilization of their particular business.  We have seen many small and unique businesses falter here, even under the umbrella of a compelling public market.  We have witnessed smaller food stores gobbled "whole" by larger chains and deeper pockets.  What holds a small business together and makes it viable?  Certainly the determination and grit of the people behind the entity can be labeled as one of the factors.  It is difficult to quantify a business as small when it has such un-daunting enthusiasm driving it forward.  Another aspect of small business is that the product and/or services offered by the business are as individual as the owners themselves.

   These statements definitely apply to the local Portland, Maine business of Sub Sea Research, LLC, which has been not only in the local scene for the last fifteen years, but has been in the international scene as well.  What does Sub Sea offer in the way of that special niche?  Sub Sea equals excitement!  Where else can excitement of this magnitude be found in Maine?  Perhaps some may say in the amusement parks or Hollywood Slots but do they offer intrigue as well?  Sub Sea offers all of that and more.  The lure of the sea is something that most Mainers can understand.  After all, we have one of the most extensive and beautiful coastlines in the world.  Even celebrities, such as John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Martha Stewart (to name a few) flock here to experience that undeniable natural beauty and the "way life should be" which stands as Maine's motto.

   One Mainer, Greg Brooks, can attest to all of this and to the call of the sea.  Born in the sign of water, this Maine man built swimming pools for nineteen years here.  He established not only a solid reputation but the incredible water features built by him around this fair state stand as a testament and legacy to his talent.  Now how did he get from building swimming pools to researching and recovering old shipwrecks?  The story becomes as interesting as the man himself.  In 1984, during a dive vacation with his wife and friends, Brooks came across a seventy pound silver bar.  At that time, Haiti was ruled by a dictator, and as men with machetes walked the shoreline, Brooks hid the bar on a reef with the intention of coming back.  Research done in Maine upon return, revealed that the bar was actually comprised of silver.  He did go back in 1988, and that theory was confirmed.

   By the year 1993, Greg Brooks was ready to devote his full attention to this new career and formed operation Silver Bars with its newly acquired vessel of nearly 100', named the Silver Seas, equipped to deploy.  A coup kept them out of Haiti for a bit, but they gained experience in knowledge and as a team in the Bahamas, off the Carolinas and in the Florida Keys.  Many expeditions were to follow in the coming years, in Haiti as well, where shipwrecks and artifacts were discovered and friendships were forged.  To follow the story and view some amazing footage of these times, go to subsearesearch.com.  It is truly transforming and the web site gives you a glimpse into the world of someone who actually does this for a living.

   Most of us who are in the "shipwreck business" have heard of a man named Mel Fisher, who recovered "The Atocha", a valuable wreck found in the Florida Keys.  Some of us have even been fortunate enough to view the fabulous treasures housed in his museum there.  And what of that man?  The man was a chicken farmer who developed interesting aspirations.  What qualities does it take to endure in a sometimes harsh yet rewarding business such as the one these have chosen to follow?  Certainly endurance.  He weathered not only stormy seas but the loss of his son and daughter-in-law.  He managed to press on and remain faithful to his mantra of "Today's the day!"  Greg Brooks is such a man.  Endurance, grit and determination are definitely qualities which can be applied to his character.  He too is motivated by a belief in himself and in the remarkable team of researchers and crew that have been put together.  He is buoyed by the indomitable support from his wife and family, his admirable business partners, and the unwavering support of those who also hold an interest in his continued success.

   There is a new project in the works, an operation known only as "Blue Baron".  Keep your ears and eyes open for up-coming news on this new venture and on "the local boy who does good" and makes a small business in Maine look big.

   To contact Greg Brooks, you may reach him by e-mail at:  greg@subsearesearch.com

Written by: Kathryn Brooks

************************************************************************

There is an unusual treasure that is probably still where it was stored, about ten miles southwest of Portland, Maine, waiting to be found.

To some people the idea of searching for Egyptian mummies might seem sacrilegious, but remember that the mummies have already been taken from their original graves, transported to the United States, and are worth, on today's collectors' market, in excess of $12,000 each.  Here is the story.

In 1857, and thereafter for several years, newspaper publishers in this country faced a severe shortage of rags, which were necessary to add strength and body to wood fibers used in paper sheets.  As the shortage of rags increased, large numbers of small newspapers went out of business.

Augustus Stanwood, a printer in Portland, Maine, was greatly affected by this rag shortage.  Realizing that he would go broke, Stanwood looked around for a much-needed source of this ever-increasing shortage of fiber.  One night, while drinking with a sea captain, Stanwood told him of his troubles.  The sailing captain suggested using the cloth wrappings of mummies. (At this time the Egyptian grave sites were being exploited, and artifacts, coffins, and mummies were being sold by the thousands throughout the world.)

Augustus made a deal with the ship's captain to obtain several dozen of these cloth-wrapped bodies.  When the shipment arrived, Stanwood stored them on his property, in pits to preserve them, about ten miles southwest of Portland.  During the next three to seven years, he used about half of the mummies, putting their linen and cotton wrappings into his paper grinders.  The pulp made a very good grade of paper stock.

About this time the rag shortage let up because of the Civil War and the capture of huge stores of cotton by Union forces throughout the South.  Thus, Stanwood did not need to use the rest of his mummies.  After he tried to sell them and couldn't, Stanwood left the mummies in the pits he had dug on his property.

After Stanwood died, few people even remembered the mummies, and they are, as far as can be determined, still buried on the old Stanwood property, about ten miles southwest of Portland, Maine.  If you aren't afraid of ghosts, this unusual treasure could be worth thousands of dollars today.

************************************************************************

The stories of a treasure that was supposedly buried by Captain William Kidd are so numerous that it would be a waste of time to try to investigate them all.  I will give the sites, near the state of Maine, where Kidd is rumored to have left part of his ill-gotten gains.  I make no attempt to estimate the value of each treasure, but I will give the names of various islands Kidd is supposed to have visited.  You will have to do the local research on these different locations.

            The islands are: Orrs, Outer Heron, Squirrel, Monhegan, Hollowell, Pittston, Isle of Haute, Twobush, Oak Island, Deer, and Bailey.

************************************************************************

These two instances of treasure being found in Maine lend credence to the fact that more is probably there.

Jewell Island, in Casco Bay, is supposed to be one of the places where Captain Kidd buried his treasure.  Whether Kidd ever visited the island is unknown, but there is a story, backed up by considerable evidence, that a Captain Jonathan Chase found a large treasure on the island, killing his helper and burying him during the recovery.  No record of what happened to Chase or the money can be found.

On Bailey Island, also in Casco Bay, there is a well-authenticated story of pirate treasure actually having been found in the 1850s.  A farmer named John Wilson was duck hunting on the island when, in an attempt to retrieve a fallen bird, he slipped into a crevice between two ledges.  In his scramble to climb out, he uncovered an iron pot filled with pieces of Spanish gold.  He exchanged these for $12,000 in coin of the realm, a comfortable fortune at that time.

************************************************************************

A story of possible treasure on the Allagash River, which could be worthwhile to check out, is that of Anse Hanley.  During the early days of timber-cutting, the lumber companies were constantly in trouble with squatters.  These people would carve out a small homestead on company land, then hint to the owners that if they were forced to move, a forest fire might start that would destroy millions of dollars worth of timber.  In most cases, the squatters stayed on the property.

One such land parasite was Anse Hanley.  Around 1900, Hanley came to Fort Kent, accompanied by his wife and two children.  After obtaining supplies, he moved up the Allagash River in Arrostook County, where he squatted.  During the next few years, Hanley engaged in making whiskey for sale to the loggers.

It was said of his homemade product, "If a man can drink it and come back for more, he will live forever."  Hanley also sold farm products and engaged in smuggling whiskey, guns, and cigarettes from Canada, which he sold to American sportsmen and hunters.  When Hanley died, he left a rumored $60,000, some of which he had hidden before his death, and it could never be found.  Local research could help on this.

************************************************************************

This information can be helpful to the Maine rock hound interested in searching for rocks and gems.  In Maine are found ores of most metals, as well as useful non-metallic minerals such as quartz, feldspar, mica, graphite, and the gemstones such as tourmalines, beryl, amethyst, garnet, and topaz.  At least one mineral, beryllonite, has been found nowhere outside Maine, and this state has yielded the finest emerald beryl ever found in the United States.  In mineral production, Maine stands about midway among the states, with the annual yield being valued at about $6,000,000.  One-third of the state is still unexplored in respect to mineral resources, and only limited areas have received adequate investigation.

Of other metals, platinum and iridium are reported, although the possibility of obtaining them for commercial use is not yet clear.  Gold is present in small quantities in a number of places.  Silver is found in most of the lead and zinc localities, and the copper ores at Bluehill.  That there are considerable bodies of lead and zinc of definite value has been known since they were first mined in 1860.  Some pure silver has been mined at Sullivan and elsewhere.

The locations of different mineral sites can probably be obtained from the State Geology Department at Augusta, Maine.

************************************************************************

Maine rates highly as a treasure-hunting state with a large number and variety of treasure sites.  There is hardly a beach along its coastline that has not at some time been connected with tales of buried treasure.  The following locations and stories could be worthwhile to investigate.

Cliff Island was once the home of a tough, old salvager called Captain Keiff.  He lived alone in a log hut on the island.  His favorite way to wreck ships was to tie a lantern to his horse's neck, then ride up and down the shoreline.  Ships at sea would be misguided by this light and be wrecked on the reefs and ledges that surrounded the island.  Keiff would kill any survivors of the wrecks, and then salvage the cargo.  In those days, while it wasn't encouraged, illegal salvaging was condoned, and no questions were asked when someone sold salvaged goods.

Keiff is supposed to have made a fortune in his nefarious occupation.  There is a place on the island still known as Keiff's Gardens.  Local stories say that somewhere on the island a large part of Keiff's money is still buried.  This is quite possible, since he had no family and lived alone with very few ways to spend money, as the wrecked ships supplied him with most of his needs.

************************************************************************

Great Chebeague Island, reached by ferry from Falmouth to Portland, is the second-largest island in Casco Bay.

In the 1860s, an old sailor said that in his pirate days he had been one of a pirate crew which many years before had buried a great treasure here.  He began digging in a secluded part of the island.  One day, a young islander offered to assist him.  When the offer was curtly refused, the islander leaped over the rope with which the old man had enclosed the spot were he was digging; whereupon the treasure seeker, in a voice quaking with anger, cried, "I call on God and you people to witness that within a year this young fool will be tied in knots, even as I could tie this rope."

No one remembers now whether any treasure was found, but a short time later, the young man was soaked while fishing.  He was confined to his bed with an agonizing malady which drew up his arms and legs as if tied in knots, and when he died, soon afterward, it was necessary to break the bones of his limbs in order to get his body into the casket.

************************************************************************

The story of the two pirates Samuel Bellamy and Paulsgrave Williams, circa 1716-1717, has been written before, but my version comes from a book dating to before 1900 and contains information which I have not found in any other publication.

It was not at the mouth of the Machias River where the two pirates had their stronghold, but further upriver.  They did dig a subterranean treasure house, but it was not inside the fort.  There is little doubt but that the vault holds a large hoard of what we call treasure today.  The story of Bellamy and Williams started out as what could have been just another instance of illegal salvaging in the West Indies.  After several years of wrecking ships from the shore, the two men decided to try it at sea by becoming pirates.

Now, for piracy, they needed a ship, which they did not have.  But the problem was shortly solved with the appearance of the British merchant vessel Whidah near their headquarters.  The Whidah, her holds bulging with precious metals, ivory, and gems, took shelter in a small West Indian cove.  Here the British proceeded to replenish their water supply before starting the long voyage to England.  A few hours later, the land-bound pirates were rowing toward the unsuspecting ship.  In a matter of minutes, every member of the crew was dead.  Bellamy and Williams immediately commissioned the Whidah as a pirate ship and headed north.

After looting a number of ships along the way, the pirates arrived at a destination selected by Captain Bellamy, the only navigator on board.  The spot was near the mouth of the Machias River, far from any civilized community at that time.  It was here that the two leaders put into action a plan they had had for some time.  They reasoned that the cargo which their ship carried should be hidden before they sailed again.

The two decided to build a permanent headquarters, which took the form of a large log fort with defensive fences and earthworks.  Close by, a large vault was excavated to serve as a treasure house.  Here the spoils of their pirating were secreted.

When all of this was done, and the Whidah had been overhauled, Bellamy and Williams set sail again.  For several months their piratical deeds were the byword from New England to the Carolinas.  After several forays, the treasure house was filled.  So extensive was the wealth that Bellamy and Williams decided they could afford to quit pirating.

However, the temptation to make one more trip was too much, and on the last trip out, near-disaster occurred in the vicinity of Fortune Bay.  The pirates spotted a wealthy-looking vessel, which, when they came within range, was a French corvette with 36 guns.  In the battle that followed, most of the crew of Bellamy and Williams were killed, although the battered Whidah did manage to elude the French vessel and sailed back to their pirate headquarters.  When the Whidah was repaired, they again set sail on one last trip.

Near Nantucket Shoals, Massachusetts, the pirates captured the Mary Jane, an outbound whaler from New Bedford.  It carried nothing of value.  Bellamy appointed the Mary Jane's captain to lead the Whidah through the unfamiliar shoals until the tip of Cape Cod was passed, and then Bellamy himself would navigate.

The captain of the Mary Jane, threading his way through the reefs, led the Whidah around, and both vessels were torn apart.  All the men onboard both ships were drowned except the captain of the Mary Jane, who finally made it to shore.  Seven pirates who were following the two vessels in a small sloop also reached the shore, but they were swiftly captured and hanged by the angry townspeople of Eastham, Mass.

The headquarters of Bellamy and Williams, near the mouth of the Machias River, has just about disappeared.  But somewhere nearby is hidden one of the richest pirate caches in North America, one that has never been reported found.

************************************************************************

This short story has a mystery concerning a treasure location that has never been reported solved.  Outer Heron Island, Maine, lies a few miles offshore from Boothbay Harbor.

Around 1900, two young men came to Outer Heron Island from New York.  They had a map of the island showing where a chest of pirate gold was supposedly buried.  The two never revealed how this map came into their possession.  With a specially constructed auger that could be lengthened indefinitely by adding sections of iron rod, they started boring near a lone, grotesquely-shaped spruce tree on the highest point of the island.

After a month of constant work, and at a depth of 30 feet, the auger brought up oaken chips.  They penetrated this, and the bit came up with particles of what seemed to be gold.  The two then hired two Italian laborers and excavated a 30-foot shaft.  At this depth, a 6-foot oak plank was found, and that was all.  The gold had come from a copper spike which the auger point had rapped.

The mystery is how did a copper spike and a six-foot plank get 30 feet underground, unless some kind of excavating had been done years before?  No report of any treasure's being found in the area can be located.

************************************************************************

One of the few instances of counterfeiting in Maine was done on Ragged Island in Cumberland County.  This gang operated for several years until they were finally routed by Federal agents.  The island, because of its isolated position, was also a rendezvous for different lawbreakers for several years.  This little-known location could pay off, because it is almost certain that something was hidden by some of these outlaws.

************************************************************************

This little-known treasure was found by accident and then lost again and has never been rediscovered.  Manana Island is off the middle coast of Maine.  Around 1900, several fishermen stopped their boat at this island to relax.  They decided to play a game of soccer.  When a wild kick was made by one of the crew-members, the captain of the group ran to retrieve the ball.   As he picked up the ball, he noticed rusty metal sticking out of the sand.  He dug the sand from around the object, and saw that it was an old iron pot filled with coins.  Since he was out of sight of his crew, he stuck the pot into a nearby rock crevice, intending to come back for it later.

After playing for a while longer, the crew went back to their fishing boat.  The captain made an excuse to stay behind for a short time.  Returning to what he thought was the crevice where he had put the pot of coins, he was amazed that he could not find the right one.  Deciding that part of the coins would be better than none, the captain called his crew and told them what he had done.

The entire company spent several hours in search of the coins, but were never able to find them.  As far as is known, somewhere on Manana Island, stuck in a rock crevice, there is a cache of coins waiting for a lucky treasure hunter.

************************************************************************

Crawford, in Washington County, once the center of extensive lumbering operations, was the scene of many stagecoach robberies.  Favorite yarns of early stagecoach travel tell of how, when deep snow impeded the progress of the coach, packs of wolves would follow the wheel tracks and were warded off only by the alertness of the drivers and the quick cocking and firing of hand-loaded and primed guns.

Other exciting tales abound in this region.  One concerns three brothers, living near Bangor, who became highwaymen and terrorized this district, stopping coaches several times a week and extracting all valuables from the passengers and their luggage.  It is said that a passenger who had been robbed while traveling through the area, several months later in Boston recognized a man lounging in a tavern as one of the three bandits.  Accused, the man shouted his innocence, but a gold nugget, hanging from his watch chain, was found to bear the initials of the coach passenger.