Captain Keiff was considered an old salvager that lived on Cliff Island, Maine. He was a bit of a loner and lived in a log hut close to the ocean. He did not have a job as most people; he would rummage through old shipwrecks to find valuable items to sell. During this time, any shipwreck was fair game and you could sell anything found without any questions asked as to where they were found. Since there were not many shipwrecks occurring and Captain Keiff needed shipwrecks in order to survive, he devised a way to cause the ships to wreck. He would tie a lantern around the neck of his horse and ride up and down the shoreline when he noticed ships on the horizon.