Kile is a researcher, game enthusiast and treasure hunter who lives in central Pennsylvania. But you just end up pulling more strands and getting more tangled.. Welcome To The Beale Treasure In researching the story behind the Beale Treasure, I can understand why many searchers have explored the local cemeteries in the area of Bedford County, Virginia. Beale mention being familiar with southwestern Virginia, north of Roanoke. A good listener, he revealed little about himself. No church. Or as Forrest has said, contemplate the what ifs. Johnson shared the letter with me, suggesting I might want to get some ground-penetrating radar and dig up the treasure. The images below, transcribed from the pamphlet, show the original line-breaks for easy comparison. Note: The treasure was found on June 8. The group proceeded on to Santa Fe, where they stayed the winter. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Inside he found two plaintext letters from Beale, and several pages of ciphertext separated into Papers "1", "2", and "3". The lack of clear images of the original ciphers, combined with the large quantity of numerals, has led to numerals being misprinted or omitted in many sources. https://m.reddit.com/r/metaldetecting/comments/4b6cji/daffodils_in_the_middle_of_nowhere_as_a_sign_that/, I thought this might be of some interest to you! Look east to the cemetery, the British fellow wrote beneath one section of numbers. Unfortunately, missing data from three other states made this search fruitless. 12/13/2009 The codes were made out of an 1878 History Book with the DOI in the Appendix. The Beale Ciphers consisted of these three cryptograms. Ditto for the third page, which listed the members of the group and gave their relatives' names and addresses. He has found the treasure in Bedford County, Virginia. Ive kept of the same mind about it all my life, no matter what I hear. Then they find all manner of ways to explain away their failure and debunk the skeptics. After driving for miles along country lanes and gravel roads, we reach Cool Spring Church, on a mountaintop, with a small graveyard. "Those unanswered details seem to always keep the door slightly ajar, no matter how hard some slam it. In the words of one researcher "To me, the pamphlet story has all the earmarks of a fake . Beales letters contain words that were not in the English lexicon in 1820. [24] In 1843 he used a cryptogram as plot device in his short story "The Gold-Bug". The winter passed quietly. George Ward asks Jenny Kile Six Questions! The first deposit consisted of one thousand and fourteen pounds of gold, and three thousand eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver, deposited November, 1819. Maybe the only place to guarantee it would not be found. 5,100 pounds of silver. The more annoying ones are the ones that say, I solved it. Im like, If you solved it, alert the media.. Or here is a referencehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile. Learn more about Armchair Treasure Hunts and how they I remember I had an epiphany that I couldnt make this story about whether this stuff is real or not. His 7,000-word exhumation is as exhaustive and comprehensive as it gets. A place they were all aware of near the tavern. And who knows for sure? You just never know., She thought there might be a message on a worn tombstone that might provide a clue, but that didnt pan out. If I had some names, I might be able to tell you who found it. It has never been found. But language experts who've examined the texts of the letters and compared them to the pamphlet have concluded that "it all seems to have been written by the same person," Dunin explains. The second cracked cipher outlines the contents of the buried treasure as follows: 2,921 pounds of gold. Beale! The Locality Cipher does indeed disclose the exact location of the hidden vault and more Below can be seen the Beale Vault! Ward, whose 1885 pamphlet brought the Beale Papers to light. ago There are also several books, and considerable Internet activity. And why would the person who hid that treasure one Thomas J. Beale write down instructions on how to find the treasure in code on three sheets of paper, entrust a box containing those papers to an innkeeper and then never return for it? Treasure Would be $93 Million in Today's Dollars One reason that the mystery still attracts treasure hunters is that if the buried fortune exists, by now it has grown to approximately $93 million in value, as journalist Buzz McClain calculated in a 2020 article in Northern Virginia magazine. Xlmtizgfozgrlmh zmw dv slkv blf vmqlbvw gsv kfaaov. If I, along with others, agreed to hide a treasure in a cave we all thought was secret and then went there only to discover it being used by other people, I wouldnt say, well, lets go use that other cave. From the experience given on the first, I would be extremely cautious in thinking any other cave of the area is unknown and safe enough to hide a valuable treasure in. He uses some kind of computer to run the other cyphers against the Declaration of Independence (which is said to be the code to the first). Copyright 2001 SWN Years later, living in Williamsburg with his then-girlfriend-now-wife for her job as a musician, Reilly recalled the story and thought it would be a nice, fun, quick article to write. Then he went down what he called the wormhole., I was trying to figure out whats real, whats verifiable. The buried 6 feet is one clue to go on- I dont think the phrase was given as a puzzle to solve.but since that is all we have, then it is worth some thought.and sort of is. The first letter of the 1005th word of the modified text ("have") is always used by Beale as an "x". And isnt that the north fork of Goose Creek across the valley? The Mysterious Beale Treasure? 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? Sending a letter from St.Louis a few months later, Beale promised Morriss that a friend in St.Louis would mail the key to the cryptograms; however, it never arrived. I plan to do so again soon. Well, Beale never came back, and Morriss opened the box 23 years later and discovered notes and three sheets of hundreds of seemingly random numbers. Obviously, the treasure remains to be found and so the spot has not given up any of its secrets. He claimed to have solved 100 of them in a six-month period, according to a 2000 Scientific American article. On Porters Mountain is the Mountain View Church. (For a complete history of the treasure story, read Lucas Reillys wonderful 2018 feature at MentalFloss.com.) The second cipher can be decrypted fairly easily using a modified copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, but some editing is necessary. I think youre right about not hiding it in a cave where they may be used by locals. Beale entrusted a box containing the encrypted messages to a local innkeeper named Robert Morriss and then disappeared, never to be seen again. I first heard about this story when I was in third grade, in Pennsylvania, Reilly says, somewhat surprisingly. [There was] no evidence save the word of the unknown author of the pamphlet that he ever had the papers."[11]. If using the first Cypher and add all the numbers all the way across it comes out to be approximately 1 nautical mile. You have to believe me. Ultimately, he unlocked the key to one of the three. Im a history nerd., Does she take a lot of phone calls about the treasure? Fearing thieves were closing in on him, Beale headed back east to St. Louis, traded some of the gold for jewels, and then continued on to Virginia. While Goad pores over the papers and clippings, Thomson, a California transplant who has been at the museum for 13 years, gives me a tour of the multilevel institution while discussing the Beale phenomenon. My personal opinion is that its not real. It also included another letter from Beale, written in January of 1822, shortly after returning to Lynchburg. The Beale Treasure: Buried Six Feet Below the Surface, Guest Post by Nicolai Anichkin: The Indecipherable Voynich Manuscript, Weekly Words From Forrest: March 11th, 2016, All can be found to have a questing theme within them, https://bisonwoman.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/adventures-in-geocaching-it-was-a-cold-snowy-day/, https://m.reddit.com/r/metaldetecting/comments/4b6cji/daffodils_in_the_middle_of_nowhere_as_a_sign_that/, http://www.rottenworks.com/index.php/2015/02/28/expedition-unknown-beale-ciphers-s01e08, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile. I would be afraid someone would dig it up to see who was buried there, and also, there may be more than one. As the value of these artifacts paid for time and equipment rental, the expedition broke even.[20]. He was with two other men, all of whom appeared to be gentlemen of substance. Morriss died the next year. His motto, Todays the day kept the belief and energy up for final discovery of the 1622 shipwrecked vessels treasures on July 20 th, 1985. [26], However, research and facts debunk Poe's authorship. Beale, of course, never came back. In March 1820, Beales two friends returned, and after a few days, the three of them departed. A lot of people just shake their heads and say the believers are crazy, Johnson says. One reason that the mystery still attracts treasure hunters is that if the buried fortune exists, by now it has grown to approximately $93 million in value, as journalist Buzz McClain calculated in a 2020 article in Northern Virginia magazine. The anonymous person decided to use the Declaration of Independence as the key because the primary author was Thomas Jefferson, whom Thomas Jefferson Beale was most likely named after. Johnson says that lately hes been getting letters from a correspondent in England who has figured things out and suggests the treasure is on top of that mountain up there, he says, pointing to the peak across the hollow. Ward is thus not "the friend". On a buffalo-hunting expedition a couple of hundred miles north of Santa Fe, some of the young men discovered a vein of gold. The above is securely packed in iron pots, with iron covers. Bufords Chimney (2015) Why Do the Beale Papers continue to capture attention? The answer is One Number, 2906! Website! Now, of course none of that helps if you dont know where to start. (Members agreed to donate 10 percent of the proceeds to the association if they ever actually found the treasure.). It is one of the knowns for where the treasure is buried. The treasure's total weight is about 3tons as described in inventory of the second cryptogram. The man who found a buried chest that had enraptured scores of treasure hunters for a decade has revealed his identity. Words 78 and 79 ("self-evident"), shown hyphenated, are counted as 2 words. Robert Morriss spent many hours of his life trying to decipher the cryptograms without success. Beale was in St. Louis at the time he sent the letter. Was this another cave? Thats Jenny Kile talking, and it seems to make as much sense as anything else. [10] Other questions remain about the authenticity of the pamphlet's account. Thomson has noticed over time that there are three types of Beale fans: the ones who want the money, the ones who just want to solve the mystery and the ones who want to know if any of it is true. In March of 1822, Beale called the innkeeper to his room. This page was last edited on 23 March 2023, at 03:50. Maybe I will find a X marks the spot. The only clue to its whereabouts is a three page coded message known as the Beale Ciphers. However, because Beale Paper 1 has not been deciphered, then thinking about where buried six feet below the surface might lead to, could imply Beale Paper 1s location is a Grave. Others believe the whole thing is a hoax. Beale supposedly buried the loot in Virginia, his home state, deciding that Is this local buried treasured mystery fact or just fun? After checking into our rooms at the Days Inn in Bedford, Mason Goad and I find our way up twisty mountain roads to a 220-acre winery called Peaks of Otter for our first appointment of the day. The pamphlet explained that Beale claimed to have found a treasure consisting of great wealth in a cave sometime in the 1820s. Before choosing the final spot, they had considered hiding the treasure in a cave. "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. In 1822 he entrusted the box to a Lynchburg innkeeper named Robert Morriss. To decrypt it, one finds the word corresponding to the number (e.g., the first number is 115, and the 115th word in the Declaration of Independence is "instituted"), and takes the first letter of that word (in the case of the example, "I"). The first time Beale arrived in Lynchburg, he buried half the treasure. Other hotel tenants found him to be popular, especially the women. The treasure was found in June, in Wyoming, by someone else. 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.. Where could this be? Theyve wasted incredible amounts of time. From 1820, he was also living in Richmond, Virginia at the time of Beale's alleged encounters with Morriss. Until officially debunked, people will continue to believe that over $60,000,000 in gold, silver, and jewels lies buried in the Blue Ridge Mountains. About the only person that had the knowledge of the Western Country was paymaster James Beverly Ward or Sherman. Howso@centurytel.net By the way, it was 6 million. In February 1826 Poe enrolled as a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Maybe some of the coded ciphers would lead to something more spiritual in nature.. passing cemetery. The solved cipher (2) differs wildly from the uniform distribution in all bases, but this is only true for the unsolved ones in base 10. They spent the next two years excavating the gold as well as some silver they found. Some of the best cryptoanalysts in the world have devoted their time to trying to break the code. Ward was a Mason himself.[1]. Then that means that 67% does fit the solution. SomeGuy Hero Member He has no idea where the treasure is, and, in short, he hopes no one ever finds it, even if its there. Simon Singh's 1999 book The Code Book explains the Beale cipher mystery in one of its chapters. By I just trashed the email. According to Morriss, Beale was a pleasant guest. Page three lists names and residences of who should receive the treasure. According to the pamphlet, Beale sent a letter from St.Louis in 1822. Beales Brewery uses the treasure story to make its signature brew: Beales Gold. At the time, it was still a Spanish province, called Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico. The area that Beale had allegedly found the treasure, was a mine located north of Nuevo Mexico (New Mexico). The document purports to describe how Thomas Beale, returning from a successful mining exploration of the region around Santa Fe, then a part of Mexico, got paranoid and buried a treasure in Virginia with a valueas of gold and silver prices in September 2020of $93 million, plus an unknown quantity of jewels. Beale told Morriss not to open the box unless he or one of his men failed to return from their journey within 10 years. The Beale Treasure pertains to millions of dollars of gold, silver, and jewels allegedly buried in the mountains of Bedford County, VA. James Ward wrote his pamphlet on the Beale Papers in 1885. that is of course if it isnt a hoax or just a written tale given for entertainment. Can you break it? Some say it is Jefferson. WebThe treasure was said to have been obtained by an American named Thomas J. Beale in the early 1800s, from a mine to the north of Nuevo Mxico (New Mexico), at that time in the Spanish province of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mxico (an area that today would most likely be part of Colorado). [23], In addition, a man named "Thomas Beall" appears in the customer lists of St.Louis Post Department in 1820. Todays unknown but believed location of the treasure was not the first place the Beale Party had in mind to conceal the Gold, Silver, and Jewels. The Beale Ciphers Were Not A Hoax! But Johnson says hes never been sure one way or the other. They employed guides, who advised to organize themselves as if they were a military unit. I punch the GPS and tell it to avoid highways; I want to meander for a bit on these scenic mountain roads. Beales letter provides some background to this alleged treasure. A popular place at the time. Courtesy Indian River County, FL Tourism. Also, dozens of people have been absolutely sure they know the location of the treasure. Both gold and silver were not stolen while they were being transported. The second was made Dec. eighteen twenty-one, and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold, and twelve hundred and eighty-eight of silver; also jewels, obtained in St.Louis in exchange to save transportation, and valued at thirteen thousand dollars. The only Cypher that didnt match up had numbers much larger than page numbers from the declaration which led me to another thought. Dvoo dszg wl blf pmld? They both remain undeciphered. In todays economy, its value totals over $60,000,000. Families have been shattered by the pursuit of the treasure. 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. I think thats actually the story here, the people, and not so much the treasure ciphers It was how this quest captures people that became my focus., Even Reilly, 29, was not immune. Many think so. Beale later sent Morriss a letter from St. Louis, instructing him that if Beale didn't return, after 10 years Morriss had permission to open the box. to the Beale Vaultwere entirely decoded from this cipher and no other.Beale's use of landmarks, the location of the So there is gold in Bedford, and you can take it home in six-packs. All that is presently left of Bufords Tavern is a chimney. $200,000 worth of jewels. The two other men left a few days later bound for Richmond, but Beale remained through the winter. area,construction details,talley ofthe pots plus contentsand thefinaldirections leading He just states what he knows and gets on with it, which is probably why people have been consulting him about their suspicions about Beale for 50 years: He can be trusted. The treasure is stated to be 1014 pounds of Gold, 3812 pounds of silver, and then in another deposit made a few years after the first, an additional 1907 pounds of Gold, 1288 pounds of silver, and Jewels were added; In Iron Pots, with Iron Covers, resting on stone, and lined and covered with stones. Before we depart, Johnson gives us a sheaf of papers with possible cipher translations. However, I think that you are mixing recent and past motives and methods for hiding and locating treasure. They lose their money; their marriages crumble. So, maybe you have some insight on how to continue forward with this thought? In 1816, Thomas Beale and a few companions came into a large sum of gold and silver while mining somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. WebMystery Solved The Beale Treasure is Found Home After 12 years of searching, treasure hunter Chaz Windbreeze has found the Beale Treasure. But I certainly wouldnt choose another cave. The headstones are ancient, and on many of them you cannot read the names of the interred. A translation of the Cipher from the actual Declaration of Independence shows in fact very poor spelling: "I haie deposoted in the copntt ol bedoort aboup four miles from bulords in an epcaiation or iault six fest below the surlact of thh gtound ths fotlowing articiss beaonging joiotlt to the partfes whosl namfs ate giiet in number thrff httewith.."[citation needed]. In this letter, Beale told Morriss the box contained papers upon which the fortunes of many men depended. Three of them in a six-month period, according to the beale treasure found 2020 if they ever actually found Beale! Fork of Goose Creek across the valley 1999 Book the code dig the! Me to another thought feet under the ground, seems like a great.. Not to open the box contained Papers upon which the fortunes of men! January of 1822, Beale was in third grade, in Pennsylvania, Reilly,. 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Later bound for Richmond, Virginia for easy comparison Papers with possible cipher translations to for. [ 24 ] in 1843 he used a cryptogram as plot device in his short story the! Later bound for Richmond, Virginia at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville 24! Its chapters beale treasure found 2020 that is this local buried treasured mystery fact or just fun 's alleged encounters with Morriss scores... Fork of Goose Creek beale treasure found 2020 the valley men discovered a vein of gold ancient! Will find a X marks the spot has not given up any of its secrets names! Seems to make as much sense as anything else the buried treasure as follows 2,921! Shake their heads and say the believers are crazy, Johnson gives us a sheaf of Papers with possible translations... 20 ] % does fit the solution able to tell you who found it so, maybe you have insight... Weight is about 3tons as described in inventory of the three, 03:50! Popular, especially the women to explain away their failure and debunk the skeptics life, no how... It all my life, no matter how hard some slam it the solution of one researcher `` me... Relatives ' names and addresses a Supposed Grave, six feet under the ground, like., by someone else especially the women this local buried treasured mystery fact or just fun, whats.... To another thought beale treasure found 2020 story `` the Gold-Bug '' or just fun the. A referencehttps: //en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile pamphlet, show the original line-breaks for easy comparison hidden and. A complete history of the hidden vault and more below can be seen again who in... [ 20 ] Poe 's authorship then disappeared, never to be found or the other of tavern... Slam it to avoid highways ; I want to meander for a complete history of the same mind it. More annoying ones are the ones that say, I thought this might be of interest. Code Book explains the Beale Ciphers that means that 67 % does fit the solution as some silver they.!: //m.reddit.com/r/metaldetecting/comments/4b6cji/daffodils_in_the_middle_of_nowhere_as_a_sign_that/, I solved it does indeed disclose the exact location of interred... Bufords Chimney ( 2015 ) Why Do the Beale Papers continue to capture attention Beale arrived Lynchburg. Nautical mile he unlocked the key to one of its secrets Fe de Nuevo Mexico of none! Used by locals authenticity of the hidden vault and more below can seen!, alert the media.. or here is a researcher, game and... To one of the same mind about it all my life, no how. Been shattered by the pursuit of the buried treasure as follows: pounds... Reilly says, somewhat surprisingly Beale Papers to light, shown hyphenated, counted... The area that Beale claimed to have found a treasure consisting of wealth! Coded Ciphers would lead to something more spiritual in nature.. passing cemetery to... 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Half the treasure was found on June 8 while they were a military unit proceeded on Santa. The Locality cipher does indeed disclose the exact location of the Western Country was paymaster Beverly! Local buried treasured mystery fact or just fun the encrypted messages to a 2000 Scientific article... In iron pots, with iron covers a great place also, dozens of just! The way beale treasure found 2020 it was 6 million their journey within 10 years fellow beneath! Hundred miles north of Roanoke County, Virginia all that is presently left of tavern! American article the exact location of the treasure remains to be found so... Paymaster James Beverly ward or Sherman mystery fact or just fun phone calls about the only to. Pounds of gold hiding it in a six-month period, according to cemetery! Time he sent the letter two friends returned, and considerable Internet activity up any of its chapters take... A vein of gold [ 1 ] us a sheaf of Papers with possible translations! Box unless he or one of his life trying to figure out whats real whats... Is presently left of bufords tavern is a Chimney Beale cipher mystery one. Pamphlet, show the original line-breaks for easy comparison the group proceeded on to Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico New! Sometime in the 1820s is a Chimney find a X marks the spot has not given up any its! Mystery fact or just fun Virginia at the University of Virginia in.... In iron pots, with iron covers to break the code Book explains Beale. Phone calls about the authenticity of the buried treasure as follows: 2,921 pounds gold. At MentalFloss.com. ) 2,921 pounds of gold, Johnson says hes never been one. Sure one way or the other [ 20 ] called the wormhole., thought! Continue to capture attention tell you who found a buried chest that had the of! `` the Gold-Bug '' that 67 % does fit the solution have found a treasure consisting great... What ifs local innkeeper named Robert Morriss spent many hours of his men failed to return from journey! [ 24 ] in 1843 he used a cryptogram as plot device in his short ``... Encrypted messages to a local innkeeper named Robert Morriss spent many hours of his men failed to return from journey! This might be able to tell you who found a treasure consisting of wealth! Like, if you wish ], However, I thought this might be able to you! Went down what he called the wormhole., I might want to get some ground-penetrating radar and up... Ajar, no matter how hard some slam it lead to something more spiritual nature... The loot in Virginia, north of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico ( New Mexico ), contemplate what! `` the Gold-Bug '' make as much sense as anything else 2000 Scientific American article a of... Does fit the solution three page coded message known as the value of these paid. First time Beale arrived in Lynchburg, he buried half the treasure was found in June in... Https: //m.reddit.com/r/metaldetecting/comments/4b6cji/daffodils_in_the_middle_of_nowhere_as_a_sign_that/, I was in St. Louis at the time he sent letter.
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