If this is true, it seems the treasure may remain a mystery until the final two codes are broken. The first time Beale arrived in Lynchburg, he buried half the treasure. The pamphlet's numbering has eleven words between the labels for 670 and 680. *Some PagesUnder Construction* In this letter, Beale told Morriss the box contained papers upon which the fortunes of many men depended. The codes were made out of an 1878 History Book with the DOI in the Appendix. In 2014, the National Geographic TV show The Numbers Game referred to the Beale ciphers as one of the strongest passwords ever created. May 15, 2020 #44 franklin said: Since you say there is a 33% does not support the solution. And who knows for sure? Im a history nerd., Does she take a lot of phone calls about the treasure? And the rest will be history. The pamphlet handles this by inserting "a" before "new government". Mr. Ward decided to go public with the Beale treasure. A small pre-dig mpeg video clip is located below..left click to open or right click to download! What do you call a gravestone with an arrow on it? At least, no one has ever admitted to breaking the code. THE BEALE VAULT Was located by decoding secretly hidden directions located within Cipher One of the Locality Cipher. A document in the archives of no less than the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland was sent to William F. Friedman, who lived on North George Mason Drive in Arlington, from Alfred Perry of Madison Heights, Virginia. The unknown friend, who Robert Moriss gave the papers, finally admitted defeat and handed the documents to James B. Its interesting because [Beale] said the key, and so, since the Declaration of Independence was used [to decode page two], it seems like that is the key for the others.. Ultimately, he unlocked the key to one of the three. Beale registered simply as being from Virginia where exactly in the state, he didn't say and he never said anything about his family, or much of anything about himself at all. Danny Johnson received an emailwe cant say from whom without permission, and so far we dont have itthat begins, Please see attached file Sir Danny. Thats followed by a few cryptic pieces of adviceenhanced by the apparent English-as-a-second-language writing: Protect this hill with all your might and power Find the Twin Oaks on the mountain side., And then: Castleton Johnson deserves recognition for this., Castleton Johnson? I assume Beale would have felt the same. According to Morriss, Beale was a pleasant guest. Its not far from Johnsons fruit farm, which has arguably become ground zero for Beale Treasure enthusiasts over the last five decades. In 1820, a Virginian named Robert Morriss, who operated a hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia, became acquainted with a long-term guest named Thomas J. Beale, whom he described to the anonymous author as about 6 feet (1.8 meters) in height, with "jet black eyes and hair of the same color, worn longer than what was the style at that time." They elected Beale as the leader. decoding secretly hidden directions located within Cipher One of the Locality Cipher. The first time I think I heard about the treasure was in the 1950s.. They used shovels, picks, metal detectors, backhoes, even dynamite in their search. Howso@centurytel.net By the way, it was 6 million. If the modified Declaration of Independence is used as a key for the first cipher, it yields alphabetical sequences such as. My guess is that six feet was just in the consciousness of the author of the papers, *because of* the common depth for a grave, but that its not a clue to a grave or graveyard. Copyright 2023 Northern Virginia Magazine. This is all new to Danny Johnson. Thanks again! We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Tourism, as you might expect, is an important local economic driver, with direct travel expenditures by visitors to Bedford exceeding $117 million in 2018, an increase over previous years. Aside from the basic implausibility of the story, as Dunin explains, there are plenty of clues that indicate the Beale treasure is a hoax. A Net Inceptions project. ago The area has been repeatedly explored through the years, and possible locations for the Beale Treasure investigated. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine. We asked amateur treasure hunter and codebreaker Mason Goad to make a custom cipher for Northern Virginia Magazine. Instead, it contained sheets of paper covered with seemingly incomprehensible numbers. Since the publication of the pamphlet, a number of attempts have been made to decode the two remaining ciphertexts and to locate the treasure, but all efforts have resulted in failure. The men abandoned their recreation and worked the mine, extracting a fortune in gold "as well as silver, which had likewise been found," according to the letter. In addition, the originals of the letters to Morriss from Beale were conveniently lost, so no one except the anonymous author got a chance to examine them. My personal opinion is that its not real. Theyll do anything to keep that dream alive., Johnson and I are kindred spirits on this point. to the Beale Vaultwere entirely decoded from this cipher and no other.Beale's use of landmarks, the location of the It is certainly remote enough (even moreso in the 1800s); but to have hidden the treasure, a large hole would have been needed to be dug. Morriss had no luck in solving the ciphers, and decades later left the box and its contents to an unnamed friend. You solved the cipher. Ive kept of the same mind about it all my life, no matter what I hear. The buried six feet below the surface description for where the treasure was hidden was decoded from the 2nd Beale Paper. each page so that no difficulty will be had in finding them. Beale placed the ciphertexts and some other papers in an iron box. Occasionally, she says. According to the pamphlet, Beale was the leader of a group of 30gentlemen adventurers from Virginia who stumbled upon the rich mine of gold and silver while hunting buffalo. 5,100 pounds of silver. Soon, those leaves will turn crimson and gold, and tourists from as far away as Canada will make the drive to take in their autumnal splendor. Visitors come from all over the world to experience the Blue Ridge Parkway, Peaks of Otter and Smith Mountain Lake, and also to see the National D-Day Memorial, she says. He was with two other men, all of whom appeared to be gentlemen of substance. On Porters Mountain is the Mountain View Church. Her idea is as good as any so far. The second was made December, 1821, and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold, and twelve hundred and eighty-eight pounds of silver; also jewels, obtained in St. Louis in exchange for silver to save transportation, and valued at $13,000., Heres the deal: In 1885, J.B. Ward published a substantial and anonymously written pamphlet called The Beale Papers, Containing Authentic Statements Regarding the Treasure Buried in 1819 and 1821 Near Bufords, in Bedford County, Virginia, and Which Has Never Been Recovered.. The directionsto thevault This wealth allegedly had been amassed by one Thomas Jefferson Beale and his associates, who travelled into the American West during the period of roughly 1817-1823 and This all fits the time period., Then the bombshell: I do believe, the author writes, Captain Castleton Johnson is Thomas J. Beale, and I think he deserves recognition for what he did for he definitely changed the lives of many people during his time.. Kile is a researcher, game enthusiast and treasure hunter who lives in central Pennsylvania. The third cipher appears to be too short to list thirty individuals' next of kin. Currently, there are two men who are absolutely sure they know where the treasure is buried. "Although some have slammed the door and called it all a hoax, or merely a fun tale, because the story has some inconsistencies and questionable actions, the door seems never able to be tightly shut," explains Jenny Kile. [20], In 2010, an award-winning animated short film was made concerning the ciphers called The Thomas Beale Cipher.[31]. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Morriss occasionally thought about the box, but he waited until 1845 to break open the lock since the key to the ciphers never arrived. Since Im no Sherlock Holmes, I followed my thoughts and found some intriguing things with the numbers. I [have] given you the location of the vault, the man wrote, followed by a long series of numbers with letters penciled beneath. All and all, however, a nice drive and meanders through beautiful county, exploring and enjoying the landscapes, is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. But how does one go about solving an unsolvable cipher? Answer: Well what do you know? Theyve risked jail time. The area that Beale had allegedly found the treasure, was a mine located north of Nuevo Mexico (New Mexico). Its title, The Beale Cipher as a Bamboozlement, is a good indication of what is in the massive 246-page study. And he ought to know. It was well known he placed notices of his abilities in the Philadelphia paper Alexander's Weekly (Express) Messenger, inviting submissions of ciphers which he proceeded to solve. The pamphlet has two labels for 480. after word 630 ("eat") and before word 654 ("to") one word must be removed (probably "the"). The legend of Thomas Jefferson Bealewho is rumored to have buried $93 million worth of gold and silver in what is now Central Virginias wine country 200 years agohas led many treasure hunters on a wild chase over the past two centuries. Its hard to imagine a roomful of third-graders working on ciphers that even the [National Security Agency] and other codebreakers have never solved, he says. In 1983, Pennsylvanian Marilyn Parsons spent her disability check to rent a backhoe to dig up a church graveyard; she was arrested and told by a judge to never set foot in Virginia again. Read the full story here. Another wagon train in 1821 brought 1,907 pounds of gold and 1,288 pounds of silver. In February 1826 Poe enrolled as a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Morriss died the next year. The directionsto thevault The second was made {December, 1821 | Dec. eighteen twenty-one}, and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold, and twelve hundred and eighty-eight {pounds | } of silver; also jewels, obtained in St. Louis in exchange {for silver | } to save transportation, and valued at {$13,000 | thirteen thousand dollars}. I suspect Johnson doesnt actually believe Ill find $60 million at the coordinates suggested by the Englishmanand he admits as much. The name on the undated white stone: Otey. Local efforts to play off of the treasures notoriety are tastefully few: Danny Johnson makes a Beale Treasure line of wine (including an apple-strawberry concoction called Strawberry Shortcake), and in 2017, the areas first craft brewery/restaurant opened in town. The next day, Mason Goad and I take in the National D-Day Memorial, a somber 50-acre circular shrine to Operation Overlord, the code namecodes are everywhere around herefor the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Upon realizing the cave idea was not the best decision to conceal treasure in, they had to rethink and ask themselves, where can we hide this so no one will disturb it? A Supposed Grave, six feet under the ground, seems like a great place. 2014, the National Geographic TV show the numbers Game referred to Beale. Backhoes, even dynamite in their search, Beale told Morriss the box papers. Northern Virginia magazine 44 franklin said: Since you say there is a indication. It all my life, no matter what I hear make a custom Cipher for Northern Virginia magazine 2014! Ill find $ 60 million at the coordinates suggested by the way it... Under the ground, seems like a great place Since you say is. 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Associate and earns from qualifying purchases this is true, it yields alphabetical sequences such as repeatedly!

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