1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 A peculiar schoolhouse linked to a legendary outlaw. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Some say it held salvation for this very wicked man. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,000 An elegant statue of an unlikely hero. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,000 He was petrified and wondered, 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,000 could this be the moment where his life is over? 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,000 And a majestic lake at the center of a chilling crime. 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:27,000 It was almost as though the lake preserved this evidence 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 that convicted a killer. 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Sometimes the greatest secrets lie in plain sight. 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,000 These are monumental mysteries. 11 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,000 In southern Vermont, nestled in a lush and verdant valley, 12 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,000 is the peaceful New England enclave of Brookline. 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,000 While this rural community treasures its tranquility, 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 in the center of town is an unusual building 15 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,000 that is rumored to harbor a sinister secret. 16 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000 As it made a brick, it's about 22 feet in diameter, 17 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,000 it's completely circular and it has windows in all sides. 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,000 It really is the only one of its kind in America. 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000 This is the Round Schoolhouse. 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,000 As historian Robert Dugranier explains, 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,000 this place of learning is linked to a bizarre 22 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,000 and shocking tale of deceit. 23 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000 It might seem like it's just a small schoolhouse, 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:35,000 but some say it held salvation for this very wicked man for many years. 25 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,000 So why is this cylindrical structure 26 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,000 known as the layer of a nefarious felon? 27 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,000 1821, Brookline, Vermont. 28 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 This flourishing farming community is searching for a teacher 29 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,000 to educate its children. 30 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,000 Fortunately, there is a newcomer to town 31 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,000 who seems to be a perfect fit. 32 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,000 37-year-old Dr. John Wilson. 33 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Dr. Wilson was a very learned gentleman. 34 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,000 He had a great Scottish accent 35 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,000 and he said he studied medicine in Edinburgh 36 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 and he thought he'd be a great candidate to teach their children. 37 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 Dr. Wilson is eager to accept the job, 38 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000 but he has one condition. 39 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000 He wants to build a schoolhouse that is round. 40 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,000 This was a little bit odd for the community, 41 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,000 but he told them that it's better to keep the room equally heated. 42 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,000 He also required that there were windows in every access of the building 43 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,000 to bring in an even amount of light. 44 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000 And Dr. Wilson's strange taste in architecture 45 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,000 isn't the only idiosyncrasy the townsfolk notice. 46 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,000 He wouldn't talk about his past 47 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 and he always wore a muffler covering his neck, 48 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,000 even in the heat of July, which seemed very odd to his friends. 49 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,000 Yet in spite of these quirks, 50 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,000 when the school term begins, 51 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 the new instructor proves to be a formidable force in the classroom. 52 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,000 The community loved Dr. Wilson 53 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,000 and the round schoolhouse was a huge success. 54 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,000 But on March 22, 1847, 55 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Dr. Wilson dies of an acute infection. 56 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000 The community is grief-stricken over the loss of their beloved teacher 57 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,000 and ready themselves to mourn. 58 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,000 However, as the coroner prepares the body for the funeral, 59 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,000 he makes a surprising discovery. 60 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,000 He took off his muffler and found these very strange scars on his neck 61 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,000 that almost looked like they could have been caused by a chain. 62 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,000 And when they removed his pants, 63 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,000 there on the back of his calf was a bullet wound 64 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 that had obviously been dug out by a knife. 65 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Although these faded scars are clearly not the cause of death, 66 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,000 they suggest there is more to Dr. Wilson's story than meets the eye. 67 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,000 The news gets out, so the sheriff gets involved, 68 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,000 and they start to search his house. 69 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,000 While scouring the schoolmaster's home, 70 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,000 deputies make an even more disturbing find. 71 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,000 They discovered a cache of jewels and treasures 72 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000 and an arsenal of weapons, 73 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,000 swords, many shotguns, dueling pistols, 74 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,000 and a lot of these firearms were ready to be engaged. 75 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:41,000 Determined to get to the truth, investigators turn to those who knew Dr. Wilson best. 76 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,000 And an intriguing clue quickly surfaces. 77 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 His friends stated that on his deathbed, raging in fever, 78 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,000 he kept mentioning this character. 79 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:52,000 Lightfoot. 80 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Captain Lightfoot. 81 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,000 Lightfoot. 82 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,000 The name is well known across New England. 83 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Captain Lightfoot was one half of a notorious duo of highway bandits. 84 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,000 His partner was a legendary outlaw and master of disguise 85 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,000 known as Captain Thunderbolt. 86 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 Captain Thunderbolt apparently would take clothes from his victims 87 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,000 and he'd become a clergyman, he'd become a washerwoman. 88 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,000 He could change in a second and be a chameleon in a crowd. 89 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:29,000 Together, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot robbed and pilfered 90 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,000 and left people in terror. 91 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,000 But after stealing a fortune in jewelry, cash, and watches, 92 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:43,000 the two criminals parted ways and Lightfoot was eventually arrested in Massachusetts. 93 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:48,000 Captain Lightfoot was caught robbing a stagecoach and finally they hung him. 94 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,000 Yet Thunderbolt disappeared and has never been found. 95 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,000 But investigators now think they have a lead. 96 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,000 Just before Lightfoot was executed, 97 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:09,000 he gave a local newspaper a detailed account of his history with his former partner in crime. 98 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:15,000 And when the Brookline Sheriff reads Lightfoot's testimony, a few crucial details emerge. 99 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,000 It said that Captain Thunderbolt was shot in the calf and he had to dig out the bullet. 100 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:29,000 And he was once put into jail and supposedly put in chains around his neck. 101 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:37,000 The scars on Dr. Wilson's body, the cache of treasure, and the arsenal of weapons 102 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,000 leave the sheriff with little doubt. 103 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,000 Dr. Wilson must have been Captain Thunderbolt. 104 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:53,000 It seemed that Dr. Wilson was another of his disguises and he fooled the community. 105 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:59,000 And if their theory is true, then it might also explain why the teacher had insisted 106 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,000 on having a round schoolhouse with windows on every side. 107 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:11,000 Some people thought it was so that you could see the law coming from any direction and escape yet again. 108 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:16,000 Today, the round schoolhouse remains a prized historic structure, 109 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,000 not only for the education it provided, but also for its founder's mysterious double life. 110 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:33,000 In the shadow of New York's Freedom Tower and at the northern edge of the city's financial district, 111 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:40,000 is a small marker that acts as a reminder that this area was once dominated by a different industry. 112 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:49,000 It's bronze with raised wetters, mounted on granite, the stands four to six inches off the ground. 113 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,000 This unobtrusive plaque sits on what was formerly known as Newspaper Row, 114 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:01,000 and honors one of the most successful publications of the 19th century, the New York World. 115 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,000 But as historical tour guide Seth Campbell can attest, 116 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:15,000 this very spot also saw a grassroots uprising that transformed American publishing forever. 117 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:24,000 The plaque is a reminder of a moment in time when two great titans of industry almost saw their empires brought to the knees. 118 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:30,000 So what incredible and unexpected revolt was born at this site? 119 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:36,000 1898, New York City. 120 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:44,000 It is the golden age for newspapers, and the two most powerful publishers are Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World, 121 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:49,000 and William Randolph Hearst, owner of the New York Journal. 122 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:57,000 However, their profits are built on the backs of children, the news boys who sell papers on street corners. 123 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:10,000 Most of them were to the ages of 10 and 15, completely poverty stricken, malnourished, many of them were homeless, disregarded by New York society. 124 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:20,000 The young vendors barely make a living as they must pay publishers 50 cents for a bundle of 100 newspapers, which sell for a penny each. 125 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:27,000 So at best, the news boys can make a slim profit of just 50 cents per day. 126 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:34,000 Making matters worse, the news boys must absorb the cost of any unsold newspapers they have purchased. 127 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:42,000 There are so many ways that a news boy could lose money, wet newspapers, torn newspapers, stolen newspapers. 128 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 The publishers didn't care. They had their 50 cents up front. 129 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:52,000 And soon the opportunity presents itself for the publishers to make even more money. 130 00:09:53,000 --> 00:10:03,000 In the summer of 1898, the Spanish-American war breaks out, and every day the public is desperate to read about the latest developments. 131 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:11,000 Newspapers circulation doubled, and the majority of the profit went directly into the pockets of the owners of the newspapers. 132 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:19,000 To capitalize on the spike, Pulitzer and Hearst raised the price on the news boys' bundle from 50 to 60 cents. 133 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,000 Further cutting into the news boys' profits. 134 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:33,000 These media titans argued that news boys were making so much money selling extra newspapers that they wouldn't even notice the difference. 135 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,000 You gotta pay it, or you don't get the papers. 136 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:43,000 But the news boys immediately realized that this meager 10 cents was significant. 137 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:54,000 After the Spanish-American war ends, newspaper sales drop, but the bundle price for the news boys stays at the elevated price of 60 cents. 138 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 As a result, the desperate children are no longer able to make a living. 139 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:09,000 And so, on July 19th, 1899, a group of disgruntled news boys gathers outside the offices of the world and the journal. 140 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 Among them is a one-eyed 13-year-old, nicknamed Kid Blink. 141 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:24,000 It said, what does 10 cents matter to these millionaires, these titans of industry, compared to us, the poor ragged news boys? 142 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,000 Kid Blink said, we're away from movement, let's strike now. 143 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:36,000 Under Blink's leadership, the angry news boys attack the delivery wagons, coming out of the publishers' offices. 144 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:44,000 They throw rocks and sticks at the horse drivers. They try to stop the delivery of newspapers outside of those buildings. 145 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:51,000 Can these children force the media moguls Pulitzer and Hearst to cut them a fair deal? 146 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,000 It's 1899, New York. 147 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:06,000 The city's impoverished news boys are on strike against their paymasters, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. 148 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:13,000 The news boys need more pay to survive, but the money-hungry Pulitzer and Hearst flatly refuse. 149 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,000 So who will win? The news boys or the media moguls? 150 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:25,000 Despite the attack on the delivery wagons, Pulitzer and Hearst dig in their heels. 151 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:33,000 These media titans knew that the news boys either had to go to work or basically starve. 152 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,000 They estimated a matter of days before they would give up. 153 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:48,000 What these media titans didn't know is that when you're already poor and have nothing, it's hard to take anything away from you. 154 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:57,000 On July 24, just five days into the strike, 5,000 news boys gather for a rally. 155 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,000 Their leader, Kid Blink, takes the stage. 156 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:07,000 He jumped off and he demanded that the news boys stick together like glue until the strike was won. 157 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000 And the news boys roared in agreement. 158 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:25,000 The rally catches the attention of other newspapers, whose owners compete against Pulitzer and Hearst, and they publish articles supporting the children. 159 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:33,000 The other newspapers took the opportunity to really make the news boys seem like horribly poor victims and they need to be saved and helped. 160 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,000 And Joseph Pulitzer is just a terrible person. 161 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,000 The public, in solidarity with the strikers, stop buying Pulitzer and Hearst newspapers. 162 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:52,000 In a single week, the New York world went from 360,000 papers a day to 125,000. 163 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:00,000 And finally, under intense financial pressure, Pulitzer and Hearst concede defeat. 164 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:06,000 While they refused to lower the price on each bundle of newspapers, they proposed a compromise. 165 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Any newspapers unsold at the end of the day would be purchased by the publisher at no cost to the children selling them. 166 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:20,000 Less than two weeks after the protest began, the victorious strike leaders accept the bargain. 167 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:28,000 And this new arrangement, where publishers buy back unsold newspapers, continues to this day. 168 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,000 The newspaper delivery person of today is the news boy of a hundred years ago. 169 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,000 And they would not be able to survive if these news boys hadn't stood up for their rights. 170 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:48,000 Today, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical celebrates the news boys' daring triumph. 171 00:14:50,000 --> 00:15:00,000 And this unobtrusive plaque marks the spot where a group of children face down two of New York's most formidable businessmen and one. 172 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Located a hundred miles to the west of Seattle, Washington, is Olympic National Park, 173 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,000 a verdant wonderland that attracts more than three million visitors a year. 174 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:23,000 And in the center of this spectacular expanse is a stunning body of water that was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago. 175 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:34,000 It's very, very cold. It's very, very deep. It's about 12 miles long and it's so clean and so pure. 176 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:40,000 This is Lake Crescent, celebrated for its remarkably pristine waters. 177 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:53,000 But according to author and historian Mavis Amundsen, this unsullied pool once held a twisted tale of blood betrayal and murder. 178 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:59,000 The legend of Lake Crescent is that it conspired to bring a killer to justice. 179 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:08,000 What notorious crime was committed near these shores. And how did this majestic landmark help crack the case? 180 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:15,000 July 6, 1940, Lake Crescent, Washington. 181 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:26,000 The tranquility of this quiet resort town is shattered when police arrive to investigate a mysterious bundle that has been spotted floating in the frigid water. 182 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,000 Upon hauling the object ashore, they make a grisly discovery. 183 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,000 Hog tied between layers of blankets is a human corpse. 184 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:47,000 Here is this woman that is essentially fully clothed. She had a barbren hair. She was about 5'5", 5'6". 185 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,000 Weight about 130 pounds. 186 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,000 Then they notice something very unusual about the body. 187 00:16:55,000 --> 00:17:01,000 Her flesh is basically very waxy, like ivory soap. 188 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:12,000 When the coroner examines the corpse, he realizes the strange state of the body is the result of a chemical process called suponification. 189 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:21,000 He could run his fingers down the side of her arm and make indentations on her skin. 190 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:33,000 As the near freezing temperatures of the lake staved off decomposition, minerals in the water slowly transformed her body into a giant bar of soap. 191 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:42,000 The coroner said that she had been in the water for 6 months. But basically the lake refrigerated her body and preserved it. 192 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:50,000 And because of this remarkably well preserved state, authorities are able to clearly discern the cause of death. 193 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,000 It seems the woman has been strangled. 194 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:01,000 When investigators compare the victim's teeth to dental records throughout the country, they eventually get a match. 195 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:10,000 The town is stunned to learn that the lady of the lake was a local waitress named Hallie Illingworth. 196 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Hallie had a job. She was a doctor. She was a nurse. 197 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,000 She was a local waitress named Hallie Illingworth. 198 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:28,000 Hallie had a job at Lake Crescent Tavern. She was very beautiful, very personable. People liked her. 199 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:45,000 Police interview Hallie's family and coworkers. They learn that though she was married to a local truck driver, just prior to her disappearance, she had supposedly been having an affair with a naval officer with whom she'd run off. 200 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000 And no one has heard from her since. 201 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:55,000 Yet when a detective eventually tracks down the naval officer, he learns the story doesn't hold up. 202 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:01,000 He finds this naval officer and discovers no, she didn't run off with him. 203 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:12,000 So what is the truth behind Hallie Illingworth's disappearance? And how did she end up floating in Lake Crescent? 204 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:26,000 1941, Washington State. The body of missing waitress Hallie Illingworth has been pulled from the chilly waters of Lake Crescent. 205 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,000 According to her husband, the victim left him to have an affair with another man. 206 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:40,000 But when detectives discover that the affair never took place, they start to wonder, what really happened to Hallie Illingworth? 207 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:47,000 In their search for evidence, police turned their attention to the rope that was wrapped around the corpse. 208 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:54,000 And while interviewing hardware vendors in the area, they get a major break in the case. 209 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:01,000 A local merchant remembers having carried the same type of cord in his store. 210 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:09,000 And they're surprised that the shopkeeper still had a remnant of that same piece of rope. 211 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:18,000 Lab results reveal that the fibers from the sample are an exact match to the rope that was found on the corpse. 212 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:28,000 Not only that, but the store owner recalls that years ago, he lent several feet of the cord to a local truck driver. 213 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,000 None other than the victim's husband, Monkey Illingworth. 214 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:39,000 In October of 1941, Illingworth is arrested and charged with murder. 215 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:47,000 In the ensuing trial, witnesses report Hallie's relationship with Monty was fraught with violence. 216 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:54,000 Had we at one point said that if this relationship keeps up, one of us is going to kill each other. 217 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:03,000 In February of 1942, Monty Illingworth is found guilty and sentenced to life behind bars. 218 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:12,000 And it was this body of water where his wife was found that played a crucial role in helping investigators crack the case. 219 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:19,000 It was almost as though the lake preserved this evidence that convicted a killer. 220 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:34,000 And today, visitors to Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park can still marvel at how these crystalline waters were the key to bringing a cold-blooded killer to justice. 221 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:45,000 The densely populated island of Manhattan includes the diverse neighborhood of Harlem, 222 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,000 which in the 1920s became renowned as the African American artistic mecca. 223 00:21:54,000 --> 00:22:03,000 And situated on its southern edge, overlooking Central Park, is a depiction of a man with 19th century clothing and a pensive stare. 224 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:10,000 It is a bronze statue standing eight feet high. It is extraordinarily lifelike. 225 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,000 What it communicates is not so much physical details as inner strength. 226 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:21,000 This is Frederick Douglass, one of the greatest African American heroes of all time. 227 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:32,000 But according to author Mitch Horowitz, some believe that the secret of Douglass' success came from the unlikeliest of places. 228 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:40,000 As a teenager, Douglass came upon a plant that had an enormous influence on the course of his life. 229 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:46,000 So how did a simple vegetable help Douglass become an inspiring leader? 230 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000 1833, St. Michael's, Maryland. 231 00:22:54,000 --> 00:23:00,000 A 15-year-old slave named Frederick Bailey has secretly taught himself to read and write. 232 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:09,000 Newspapers, political pamphlets, product labels, anything he could find, he used to teach himself to become fully literate. 233 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:17,000 But Bailey is constantly under the tyrannical eye of his slave master, a man named Edward Covey. 234 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Covey was known as a breaker of slaves. 235 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:30,000 It's objected Bailey to routine beatings, humiliations. He never gave him a moment's peace. 236 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:39,000 The torment becomes so severe that one night, Bailey runs away from the farm and into the nearby valley. 237 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:45,000 He didn't know what to do. He felt if he went back to Covey, he would receive his worst beating ever. 238 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 And he just hit Petrified in the woods that night. 239 00:23:49,000 --> 00:24:00,000 After a couple of hours on the land, Bailey is discovered by an older slave named Sandy Jenkins, who has special privileges to travel between plantations. 240 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:06,000 Jenkins is a practitioner of a specific type of magic called Houdou. 241 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:17,000 Many slaves believed that Houdou was a connection to the old religious beliefs of West and Central Africa. 242 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:25,000 It was a magical religious system that used various household objects to work spells. 243 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:32,000 Bailey confesses to Jenkins that he is too scared to return to Covey's farm. 244 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:41,000 Jenkins advised him that he had no choice but to return to Covey, but he said there was an object of protection that could help him when he did. 245 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:47,000 Jenkins hands Bailey a plant from the ground that he calls the magic Houdou root. 246 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,000 It is a hard, spherical nub with a flesh-like exterior. 247 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,000 It probably would have been about the size of a large acorn. 248 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,000 It is very likely the root was John the Conqueror. 249 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:11,000 A relative of the sweet potato, John the Conqueror root is rarely eaten, but is prized in African American folk traditions for its powerful magic. 250 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,000 Jenkins then gives Bailey a set of instructions. 251 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,000 He said he must carry it on his right hand side at all times and no harm could come to him. 252 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:31,000 Bailey returns to his master's plantation with the special root in his right hand pocket just as Jenkins had instructed. 253 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:37,000 He was petrified and wondered, could this be the moment where his life is over? 254 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:44,000 It's 1833 in St. Michael's, Maryland. 255 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:51,000 A runaway slave named Frederick Bailey is on his way back to the plantation to face his master's wrath. 256 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,000 But in his hand is something that he's been told will protect him from all harm. 257 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,000 A supposedly enchanted root. 258 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,000 So can this desperate man really be saved by a magic plant? 259 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:11,000 Bailey enters the property and soon comes across his master. 260 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:17,000 He was shocked to find that Covey was downright polite. 261 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:27,000 He behaved in an almost friendly fashion and Bailey thought, could the magical properties of the root actually be working? 262 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:34,000 But Bailey is also aware that it's a Sunday and Covey's good nature could simply be because he's on his way to church. 263 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:40,000 And so the following day the true power of the root is put to the test. 264 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,000 Bailey, get over here! 265 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000 On Monday the devil in him returned. 266 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,000 Covey cornered Bailey in the barn so that he could subject him to a beating. 267 00:26:52,000 --> 00:27:00,000 But for the first time in his years as a slave, Bailey, with the root still in his pocket, does something extraordinary. 268 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,000 At that moment Bailey resolved to stand up in his own defense. 269 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:15,000 It was a kind of inner revolution that he might be a slave in physical fact, but he would no longer be a slave in spirit. 270 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,000 For two exhausting hours the men struggled. 271 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,000 But Covey could not get the better of him. He couldn't physically hurt him. 272 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,000 This was the first time that this had ever happened on Covey's farm. 273 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:34,000 Covey is ashamed that he has been beaten and never mentions the incident again. 274 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,000 And after that the days of continual beatings were gone. 275 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,000 So was this magic root responsible for Bailey's victory? 276 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:51,000 Looking back Bailey wondered where the confidence had come from to stand up to this cruel man. 277 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:57,000 And it did cross his mind that maybe there was something in this root that Sandy had given to him. 278 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:06,000 Whatever physical or psychological effect the root may have had for Bailey, this triumph is a major turning point in his life. 279 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:14,000 In 1838 Bailey escapes to New York where slavery was abolished over a decade earlier. 280 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,000 And he chose a new name by which he became known in history. 281 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Frederick Douglass. 282 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:32,000 Douglass goes on to write a famously inspiring autobiography and also becomes an influential figure in the abolition movement. 283 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:42,000 And this statue in Harlem erected in 2010 stands as a symbol of one man's determination and courage, 284 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,000 which helped the righteous struggle for racial equality to take root. 285 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:57,000 Roswell, New Mexico has become synonymous with the alleged UFO incident of 1947. 286 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:09,000 But in the center of town is a dedication to a former resident who arguably holds a more tangible claim to the city's place in history. 287 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:17,000 It's a life-sized statue of a man and he has a determined gaze on his face that's looking to the horizon. 288 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:22,000 And his left hand is reaching out to something that looks like a control panel. 289 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:30,000 According to physicist Deborah Berebeshez, the gentleman depicted here helped shatter the boundaries of human exploration. 290 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:36,000 Thanks to this man's singular determination, our world was changed forever. 291 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:45,000 How did this steadfast pioneer become a pivotal figure in taking one giant leap for mankind? 292 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:53,000 It's the early 1900s. The age of aviation is ushered in by the Wright brothers, 293 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,000 who make history by flying the first engine-powered plane. 294 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:07,000 But in Worcester, Massachusetts, a physics professor named Robert Goddard is determined to go even higher. 295 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:18,000 He knew at a very young age that he wanted to dedicate his entire life to building a device that would carry man one day into space. 296 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:29,000 And by 1914, after exploring the problem for years, Goddard believes the key to achieving this dream lies in a very different airborne device. 297 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,000 The rocket. 298 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,000 But to the public, the idea is preposterous. 299 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:42,000 At the time, rockets are primarily used as fireworks or weapons and are unable to travel very far at all. 300 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:49,000 Yet the scientist declares he's found the secret to launching one into space. 301 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:55,000 He will change the way the projectile is powered, switching from solid to liquid fuel. 302 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,000 This is a game-changing idea. A liquid fuel rocket. 303 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:06,000 Because up until then, they were only using gunpowder to propel rockets. 304 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:12,000 While more complex to produce, fluid fuel provides more thrust than powder. 305 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,000 This allows the rocket to travel further. 306 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:25,000 Over the next several years, Goddard dedicates himself to his mission, presenting his theories in numerous publications. 307 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000 But his unconventional work is ridiculed by the press. 308 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:35,000 They call this idea of the possibility of traveling to outer space outlandish. 309 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,000 Yet Goddard is undeterred. 310 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:50,000 And in 1926, on his aunt's cabbage patch, the physicist and his team are ready to test one of his first liquid-fueled rockets, which he calls NEL. 311 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:55,000 They gather to put this colossal project to the test. 312 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,000 They nervously ignite the diminutive rocket. 313 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,000 And wait. 314 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,000 It's 1926, Worcester, Massachusetts. 315 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:15,000 Physicist Robert Goddard is convinced that one day, rockets will reach the moon. 316 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,000 But he's ridiculed by the press, who claim he's nothing but a dreamer. 317 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:26,000 So can Goddard prove his ambitious ideas on more than just pie in the sky? 318 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:33,000 Goddard has just ignited NEL, his revolutionary liquid-fueled rocket. 319 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,000 He watches. 320 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:43,000 And to his great delight, the rocket takes off. 321 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,000 It climbs 41 feet. 322 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,000 And then it falls down to the ground. 323 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:58,000 Despite not traveling very high, the projectile has made history. 324 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:04,000 It's the world's first successful launch of a liquid-fueled rocket. 325 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:14,000 In 1930, Goddard moves his team to Roswell, New Mexico, where he continues to build bigger and better rockets. 326 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:20,000 Some climb almost two miles above the Earth's surface. 327 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:26,000 But despite these achievements, the press continues to mock him. 328 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:35,000 Goddard received an incredible amount of criticism, and yet he believed in his goal, and he remained determined to make it happen. 329 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,000 However, in August 1945, tragedy strikes. 330 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000 Goddard is diagnosed with cancer and passes away. 331 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,000 And it looks like his dream has died with him. 332 00:33:53,000 --> 00:34:00,000 But then, in 1957, three decades after Goddard launched his first rocket from his aunt's cabbage patch, 333 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:06,000 President Eisenhower establishes NASA, with the eventual goal of sending a man to the moon. 334 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:13,000 And when NASA started researching how to achieve this, they realized that there's no way to do this, 335 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,000 unless they take into account all of Goddard's research. 336 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:23,000 And in 1969, having been transported into space by a liquid-fueled rocket, 337 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000 Neil Armstrong takes man's first steps on the moon. 338 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:36,000 The historic event vindicates the pioneer, who was once so mercilessly mocked by the press. 339 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:41,000 If Goddard had been alive, he would have said, I told you so. 340 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:50,000 And today, this statue in Roswell, New Mexico, shows a determined Goddard gazing into the distance at one of his rockets. 341 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:57,000 A visceral reminder of how a childhood dream to reach for the skies became reality. 342 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:11,000 Colorado's stunningly beautiful San Luis Valley is actually a high altitude basin located 7,000 feet above sea level. 343 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:17,000 On two sides, there are mountain ranges, there are streams, strange plant life, dense forest. 344 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:21,000 However, in the middle of it all, there's this 30-squared-mile surprise. 345 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,000 This is Great Sand Dunes National Park. 346 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,000 These strange formations are the tallest dunes in North America 347 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000 and attract 300,000 tourists a year from all over the world. 348 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:45,000 But as filmmakers Scott Marcus can attest, this rugged landscape may also have had visitors from even farther away. 349 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:53,000 In this valley, a strange, scary, and really horrific incident happened that science is still trying to understand. 350 00:35:54,000 --> 00:36:01,000 What bizarre phenomenon led to tales of death, conspiracy, and visitors from other worlds? 351 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,000 September 7, 1967, midnight. 352 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:15,000 Dr. John Alt Shuler, a well-known pathologist, is exploring Great Sand Dunes National Park. 353 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:20,000 Dr. John Alt Shuler is a very respected professor at the Colorado University, 354 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:25,000 but he's doing something very unusual at this park. He's hunting UFOs. 355 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:34,000 Dr. Alt Shuler is investigating the many reports of other worldly lights seen from this desert plateau. 356 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:41,000 As a doctor, as a scientist doing his due diligence, he wanted to find out what's going on around Great Sand Dunes National Park. 357 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:49,000 As he scans the blackness of the night sky, Dr. Alt Shuler encounters something he can hardly believe. 358 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:57,000 He sees three lights flying below the mountaintop level, and they're coming towards him. 359 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:06,000 He knows they're not stars, he knows they're not airplanes. These lights linger for a long time, before shooting up into the sky and disappearing. 360 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:19,000 Dr. Alt Shuler returns home shaken by what he has witnessed. But little does he know, things are about to get even more bizarre. 361 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:27,000 The following day, he learns that a local rancher has found one of his horses brutally and inexplicably slaughtered. 362 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:33,000 A curious Alt Shuler visits the ranch and is shown the horse's body. 363 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,000 Alt Shuler is shocked. This is not something he's ever seen before. 364 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:47,000 As he examines the animal's corpse, Dr. Alt Shuler makes a number of baffling observations. 365 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:54,000 The wounds all seem to be cauterized. Nothing that science had at that time could make these types of incisions. 366 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:56,000 I've never seen anything like this before. 367 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,000 You'd need a laser scalpel, which at that time was science fiction. 368 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,000 It doesn't look like it was done by an animal. 369 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:08,000 The pathologist also notes the horses' lungs, heart, and thyroid are missing. 370 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:14,000 But incredibly, there's no blood anywhere on or around the body. 371 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:24,000 The idea that somebody could cut into an animal, remove its heart, and not leave any blood behind is just not possible. 372 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:32,000 The third unexpected finding is that the nearest human or animal footprint is about a hundred feet away. 373 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,000 So it appears as if something picked up this animal and then placed it here. 374 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:46,000 Alt Shuler then remembers the strange lights he saw the previous night and wonders if the two events are connected. 375 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:52,000 He comes up with a theory that this horse was experimented on by instrumentation more advanced than anything we have on Earth. 376 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:54,000 Probably not something from this world at all. 377 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:00,000 He's starting to wonder, did aliens kill this horse? 378 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:07,000 Could Alt Shuler's extraterrestrial theory be right, or is there a more down-to-earth explanation? 379 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,000 It's 1967 in Colorado. 380 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:25,000 On a ranch in the San Luis Valley, pathologist John Alt Shuler is examining the dead remains of a horse when he makes a series of extraordinary discoveries. 381 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:35,000 Not only are the animals' internal organs surgically removed, but there are absolutely no footprints or animal tracks anywhere around the corpse. 382 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,000 So who or what killed this horse and why? 383 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:49,000 Taking in all of this evidence, Alt Shuler comes up with a theory that the lights are connected to what happened here. 384 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,000 He believes that aliens experimented on this horse. 385 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,000 Word of the pathologist's radical conclusion spreads. 386 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:04,000 And before long, the Associated Press picks up the story. 387 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,000 People all over the country now want to find out, did aliens kill this horse? 388 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:18,000 With public interest mounting, the U.S. Air Force sends in its own pathologist, who rejects Alt Shuler's theory of alien involvement. 389 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:24,000 The government pathologist finds that the horse had a very serious leg infection at the time of his death, 390 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:30,000 and postulates that maybe somebody found this horse and took pity by slitting his throat putting him out of his misery. 391 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:37,000 He also arrives at an alternative explanation for the absence of blood. 392 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:46,000 He explains that the very dry prairie air caused the evaporation of all fluids within the body, so all the blood evaporated. 393 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:58,000 But what this pathologist seems unable to explain is how the horse came to be in the middle of a field without any footprints around it. 394 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:05,000 Many people think that this Air Force employee is just covering up the truth. 395 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:12,000 Beautiful community believes that these guys are paid by the government to provide disinformation and throw people off the trail. 396 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,000 And this isn't the only case of its kind. 397 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:25,000 In 1975, a Colorado senator goes on record saying that there's at least 130 similar cases in Colorado. 398 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:31,000 In all of these cases, these animals seem to be killed by something that is not a predator. It's not anything natural. 399 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:42,000 The occurrence of so many bizarre and inexplicable mutilations has led some to believe that aliens really did experiment on the animals. 400 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:52,000 And with cattle mutilations continuing to occur worldwide, scientists have been unable to prove otherwise. 401 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:59,000 It's almost 50 years since this first incident and we still don't really quite know what happened here. 402 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:10,000 And today, Great Sand Dunes National Park continues to be a haven for UFO hunters hoping to glimpse extraterrestrial visitors. 403 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:21,000 From a circular schoolhouse to a starry-eyed scientist striking news boys to a magical route. 404 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:26,000 I'm Don Wildman and these are Monumental Mysteries.