The Beale Papers (1885 pamphlet)

The Beale Papers

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
Publisher	Virginian Book and Job Print
Location	Lynchburg
Pub. date	1885
Language	English
Subject	Buried Treasure Cipher

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 is book of ciphers, apparently published in 1885 by James B. Ward (per the copyright notice) with letters and ciphers attributed to one Thomas Jefferson Beale, which contains a set of three codes that, according to the author, relate the location and content of a treasure hoard buried near a Buford's Tavern in Bedford County, Virginia between 1819 and 1821. The pamphlet itself contains the solution to the second of the three codes, but, to date, neither the first nor third of the codes have been publicly solved by cryptographers, and as yet no treasure has been reported recovered; and, according to some skeptical observers, the entire project is likely a hoax.

The Story

By way of introduction to the mysterious Beale codes, the author of the pamphlet relates briefly: an account of the life of Robert Morriss, who received the papers from Thomas J. Beale in the spring of 1822; the circumstances that led to the author being granted the Beale Papers by Morriss; and transcriptions of letters purportedly sent by Beale to Morriss, detailing a treasure that was, it was alleged, buried near Buford's Tavern in Bedford County, Virginia, the provenance being a mine situated near Santa Fe de Nuevo México, where it had been mined by the group supposed to be named in the third code.

The Ciphers

I. The Locality of the Vault

71, 194, 38, 1701, 89, 76, 11, 83, 1629, 48, 94, 63, 132, 16, 111, 95, 84, 341, 975, 14, 40, 64, 27, 81, 139, 213, 63, 90, 1120, 8, 15, 3, 126, 2018, 40, 74, 758, 485, 604, 230, 436, 664, 582, 150, 251, 284, 308, 231, 124, 211, 486, 225, 401, 370, 11, 101, 305, 139, 189, 17, 33, 88, 208, 193, 145, 1, 94, 73, 416, 918, 263, 28, 500, 538, 356, 117, 136, 219, 27, 176, 130, 10, 460, 25, 485, 18, 436, 65, 84, 200, 283, 118, 320, 138, 36, 416, 280, 15, 71, 224, 961, 44, 16, 401, 39, 88, 61, 304, 12, 21, 24, 283, 134, 92, 63, 246, 486, 682, 7, 219, 184, 360, 780, 18, 64, 463, 474, 131, 160, 79, 73, 440, 95, 18, 64, 581, 34, 69, 128, 367, 460, 17, 81, 12, 103, 820, 62, 116, 97, 103, 862, 70, 60, 1317, 471, 540, 208, 121, 890, 346, 36, 150, 59, 568, 614, 13, 120, 63, 219, 812, 2160, 1780, 99, 35, 18, 21, 136, 872, 15, 28, 170, 88, 4, 30, 44, 112, 18, 147, 436, 195, 320, 37, 122, 113, 6, 140, 8, 120, 305, 42, 58, 461, 44, 106, 301, 13, 408, 680, 93, 86, 116, 530, 82, 568, 9, 102, 38, 416, 89, 71, 216, 728, 965, 818, 2, 38, 121, 195, 14, 326, 148, 234, 18, 55, 131, 234, 361, 824, 5, 81, 623, 48, 961, 19, 26, 33, 10, 1101, 365, 92, 88, 181, 275, 346, 201, 206, 86, 36, 219, 324, 829, 840, 64, 326, 19, 48, 122, 85, 216, 284, 919, 861, 326, 985, 233, 64, 68, 232, 431, 960, 50, 29, 81, 216, 321, 603, 14, 612, 81, 360, 36, 51, 62, 194, 78, 60, 200, 314, 676, 112, 4, 28, 18, 61, 136, 247, 819, 921, 1060, 464, 895, 10, 6, 66, 119, 38, 41, 49, 602, 423, 962, 302, 294, 875, 78, 14, 23, 111, 109, 62, 31, 501, 823, 216, 280, 34, 24, 150, 1000, 162, 286, 19, 21, 17, 340, 19, 242, 31, 86, 234, 140, 607, 115, 33, 191, 67, 104, 86, 52, 88, 16, 80, 121, 67, 95, 122, 216, 548, 96, 11, 201, 77, 364, 218, 65, 667, 890, 236, 154, 211, 10, 98, 34, 119, 56, 216, 119, 71, 218, 1164, 1496, 1817, 51, 39, 210, 36, 3, 19, 540, 232, 22, 141, 617, 84, 290, 80, 46, 207, 411, 150, 29, 38, 46, 172, 85, 194, 39, 261, 543, 897, 624, 18, 212, 416, 127, 931, 19, 4, 63, 96, 12, 101, 418, 16, 140, 230, 460, 538, 19, 27, 88, 612, 1431, 90, 716, 275, 74, 83, 11, 426, 89, 72, 84, 1300, 1706, 814, 221, 132, 40, 102, 34, 868, 975, 1101, 84, 16, 79, 23, 16, 81, 122, 324, 403, 912, 227, 936, 447, 55, 86, 34, 43, 212, 107, 96, 314, 264, 1065, 323, 428, 601, 203, 124, 95, 216, 814, 2906, 654, 820, 2, 301, 112, 176, 213, 71, 87, 96, 202, 35, 10, 2, 41, 17, 84, 221, 736, 820, 214, 11, 60, 760.

II. Description of the Treasure

115, 73, 24, 807, 37, 52, 49, 17, 31, 62, 647, 22, 7, 15, 140, 47, 29, 107, 79, 84, 56, 239, 10, 26, 811, 5, 196, 308, 85, 52, 160, 136, 59, 211, 36, 9, 46, 316, 554, 122, 106, 95, 53, 58, 2, 42, 7, 35, 122, 53, 31, 82, 77, 250, 196, 56, 96, 118, 71, 140, 287, 28, 353, 37, 1005, 65, 147, 807, 24, 3, 8, 12, 47, 43, 59, 807, 45, 316, 101, 41, 78, 154, 1005, 122, 138, 191, 16, 77, 49, 102, 57, 72, 34, 73, 85, 35, 371, 59, 196, 81, 92, 191, 106, 273, 60, 394, 620, 270, 220, 106, 388, 287, 63, 3, 6, 191, 122, 43, 234, 400, 106, 290, 314, 47, 48, 81, 96, 26, 115, 92, 158, 191, 110, 77, 85, 197, 46, 10, 113, 140, 353, 48, 120, 106, 2, 607, 61, 420, 811, 29, 125, 14, 20, 37, 105, 28, 248, 16, 159, 7, 35, 19, 301, 125, 110, 486, 287, 98, 117, 511, 62, 51, 220, 37, 113, 140, 807, 138, 540, 8, 44, 287, 388, 117, 18, 79, 344, 34, 20, 59, 511, 548, 107, 603, 220, 7, 66, 154, 41, 20, 50, 6, 575, 122, 154, 248, 110, 61, 52, 33, 30, 5, 38, 8, 14, 84, 57, 540, 217, 115, 71, 29, 84, 63, 43, 131, 29, 138, 47, 73, 239, 540, 52, 53, 79, 118, 51, 44, 63, 196, 12, 239, 112, 3, 49, 79, 353, 105, 56, 371, 557, 211, 505, 125, 360, 133, 143, 101, 15, 284, 540, 252, 14, 205, 140, 344, 26, 811, 138, 115, 48, 73, 34, 205, 316, 607, 63, 220, 7, 52, 150, 44, 52, 16, 40, 37, 158, 807, 37, 121, 12, 95, 10, 15, 35, 12, 131, 62, 115, 102, 807, 49, 53, 135, 138, 30, 31, 62, 67, 41, 85, 63, 10, 106, 807, 138, 8, 113, 20, 32, 33, 37, 353, 287, 140, 47, 85, 50, 37, 49, 47, 64, 6, 7, 71, 33, 4, 43, 47, 63, 1, 27, 600, 208, 230, 15, 191, 246, 85, 94, 511, 2, 270, 20, 39, 7, 33, 44, 22, 40, 7, 10, 3, 811, 106, 44, 486, 230, 353, 211, 200, 31, 10, 38, 140, 297, 61, 603, 320, 302, 666, 287, 2, 44, 33, 32, 511, 548, 10, 6, 250, 557, 246, 53, 37, 52, 83, 47, 320, 38, 33, 807, 7, 44, 30, 31, 250, 10, 15, 35, 106, 160, 113, 31, 102, 406, 230, 540, 320, 29, 66, 33, 101, 807, 138, 301, 316, 353, 320, 220, 37, 52, 28, 540, 320, 33, 8, 48, 107, 50, 811, 7, 2, 113, 73, 16, 125, 11, 110, 67, 102, 807, 33, 59, 81, 158, 38, 43, 581, 138, 19, 85, 400, 38, 43, 77, 14, 27, 8, 47, 138, 63, 140, 44, 35, 22, 177, 106, 250, 314, 217, 2, 10, 7, 1005, 4, 20, 25, 44, 48, 7, 26, 46, 110, 230, 807, 191, 34, 112, 147, 44, 110, 121, 125, 96, 41, 51, 50, 140, 56, 47, 152, 540, 63, 807, 28, 42, 250, 138, 582, 98, 643, 32, 107, 140, 112, 26, 85, 138, 540, 53, 20, 125, 371, 38, 36, 10, 52, 118, 136, 102, 420, 150, 112, 71, 14, 20, 7, 24, 18, 12, 807, 37, 67, 110, 62, 33, 21, 95, 220, 511, 102, 811, 30, 83, 84, 305, 620, 15, 2, 10, 8, 220, 106, 353, 105, 106, 60, 275, 72, 8, 50, 205, 185, 112, 125, 540, 65, 106, 807, 138, 96, 110, 16, 73, 33, 807, 150, 409, 400, 50, 154, 285, 96, 106, 316, 270, 205, 101, 811, 400, 8, 44, 37, 52, 40, 241, 34, 205, 38, 16, 46, 47, 85, 24, 44, 15, 64, 73, 138, 807, 85, 78, 110, 33, 420, 505, 53, 37, 38, 22, 31, 10, 110, 106, 101, 140, 15, 38, 3, 5, 44, 7, 98, 287, 135, 150, 96, 33, 84, 125, 807, 191, 96, 511, 118, 40, 370, 643, 466, 106, 41, 107, 603, 220, 275, 30, 150, 105, 49, 53, 287, 250, 208, 134, 7, 53, 12, 47, 85, 63, 138, 110, 21, 112, 140, 485, 486, 505, 14, 73, 84, 575, 1005, 150, 200, 16, 42, 5, 4, 25, 42, 8, 16, 811, 125, 160, 32, 205, 603, 807, 81, 96, 405, 41, 600, 136, 14, 20, 28, 26, 353, 302, 246, 8, 131, 160, 140, 84, 440, 42, 16, 811, 40, 67, 101, 102, 194, 138, 205, 51, 63, 241, 540, 122, 8, 10, 63, 140, 47, 48, 140, 288.

Deciphered (by the Author)

I have deposited in the county of Bedford, about four miles from Buford's, in an excavation or vault, six feet below the surface of the ground, the following articles, belonging jointly to the parties whose names are given in number three, herewith: The first deposit consisted of ten hundred and fourteen pounds of gold, and thirty-eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver, deposited Nov. eighteen nineteen. 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 above is securely packed in iron pots, with iron covers. The vault is roughly lined with stone, and the vessels rest on solid stone, and are covered with others. Paper number one describes the exact locality of the vault, so that no difficulty will be had in finding it.

According to the author, this cipher was a substitution, using the first letter of each numbered word, based on a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, which was provided and roughly numbered in the pamphlet. His copy and numbering of the Declaration included the following peculiarities: the addition of the word a as 155 (producing "institute a new Government"); the removal of the word a as 246 (hence, design is 246: "same Object evinces design," not "same Object evinces a design"); the double-counting of 480, resulting in the words "He has refused for a long time after such dissolutions" being excised; the removal of the word our as 639 (hence, legislature is 639: "Consent of legislature," not "Consent of our legislature"); and word 680 counts the two words Acts of as one. Two further modifications are notable in the author's decoding: 811 becomes y, not f (from "fundamentally"); and 1005 becomes x, not h (from "have").

i¹¹⁵ h⁷³ a²⁴ v⁸⁰⁷ e³⁷ d⁵² e⁴⁹ p¹⁷ o³¹ s⁶² i⁶⁴⁷ t²² e⁷ d¹⁵ i¹⁴⁰ N⁴⁷ t²⁹ H¹⁰⁷ e⁷⁹ c⁸⁴ o⁵⁶ u²³⁹ n¹⁰ t²⁶ y⁸¹¹ o⁵ f¹⁹⁶ B³⁰⁸ e⁸⁵ d⁵² f¹⁶⁰ o¹³⁶ r⁵⁹ d²¹¹ a³⁶ b⁹ o⁴⁶ u³¹⁶ t⁵⁵⁴ f¹²² o¹⁰⁶ u⁹⁵ r⁵³ m⁵⁸ i² L⁴² e⁷ s³⁵ f¹²² r⁵³ o³¹ m⁸² b⁷⁷ u²⁵⁰ f¹⁹⁶ o⁵⁶ R⁹⁶ d¹¹⁸ s⁷¹ i¹⁴⁰ n²⁸⁷ a²⁸ n³⁵³ e³⁷ x¹⁰⁰⁵ c⁶⁵ a¹⁴⁷ v⁸⁰⁷ a²⁴ t³ i⁸ o¹² N⁴⁷ o⁴³ r⁵⁹ v⁸⁰⁷ a⁴⁵ u³¹⁶ L¹⁰¹ t⁴¹ s⁷⁸ i¹⁵⁴ x¹⁰⁰⁵ f¹²² e¹³⁸ e¹⁹¹ t¹⁶ b⁷⁷ e⁴⁹ L¹⁰² o⁵⁷ W⁷² t³⁴ h⁷³ e⁸⁵ s³⁵ u³⁷¹ r⁵⁹ f¹⁹⁶ a⁸¹ C⁹² e¹⁹¹ o¹⁰⁶ f²⁷³ t⁶⁰ H³⁹⁴ e⁶²⁰ G²⁷⁰ r²²⁰ o¹⁰⁶ u³⁸⁸ n²⁸⁷ d⁶³ t³ h⁶ e¹⁹¹ f¹²² o⁴³ l²³⁴ L⁴⁰⁰ o¹⁰⁶ w²⁹⁰ i³¹⁴ N⁴⁷ G⁴⁸ a⁸¹ R⁹⁶ t²⁶ i¹¹⁵ C⁹² l¹⁵⁸ e¹⁹¹ s¹¹⁰ b⁷⁷ e⁸⁵ l¹⁹⁷ o⁴⁶ n¹⁰ G¹¹³ i¹⁴⁰ n³⁵³ G⁴⁸ j¹²⁰ o¹⁰⁶ i² N⁶⁰⁷ t⁶¹ L⁴²⁰ y⁸¹¹ t²⁹ o¹²⁵ t¹⁴ h²⁰ e³⁷ p¹⁰⁵ a²⁸ r²⁴⁸ t¹⁶ i¹⁵⁹ e⁷ s³⁵ w¹⁹ h³⁰¹ o¹²⁵ s¹¹⁰ e⁴⁸⁶ n²⁸⁷ a⁹⁸ M¹¹⁷ e⁵¹¹ s⁶² a⁵¹ r²²⁰ e³⁷ G¹¹³ i¹⁴⁰ v⁸⁰⁷ e¹³⁸ N⁵⁴⁰ i⁸ N⁴⁴ n²⁸⁷ u³⁸⁸ M¹¹⁷ b¹⁸ e⁷⁹ r³⁴⁴ t³⁴ h²⁰ r⁵⁹ e⁵¹¹ e⁵⁴⁸ H¹⁰⁷ e⁶⁰³ r²²⁰ e⁷ w⁶⁶ i¹⁵⁴ t⁴¹ h²⁰ t⁵⁰ h⁶ e⁵⁷⁵ f¹²² i¹⁵⁴ r²⁴⁸ s¹¹⁰ t⁶¹ d⁵² e³³ p³⁰ o⁵ s³⁸ i⁸ t¹⁴ c⁸⁴ o⁵⁷ N⁵⁴⁰ s²¹⁷ i¹¹⁵ s⁷¹ t²⁹ c⁸⁴ d⁶³ o⁴³ F¹³¹ t²⁹ e¹³⁸ N⁴⁷ h⁷³ u²³⁹ N⁵⁴⁰ d⁵² r⁵³ e⁷⁹ d¹¹⁸ a⁵¹ N⁴⁴ d⁶³ f¹⁹⁶ o¹² u²³⁹ r¹¹² t³ e⁴⁹ e⁷⁹ n³⁵³ p¹⁰⁵ o⁵⁶ u³⁷¹ n⁵⁵⁷ d²¹¹ S⁵⁰⁵ o¹²⁵ f³⁶⁰ G¹³³ o¹⁴³ L¹⁰¹ d¹⁵ a²⁸⁴ N⁵⁴⁰ D²⁵² t¹⁴ h²⁰⁵ i¹⁴⁰ r³⁴⁴ t²⁶ y⁸¹¹ e¹³⁸ i¹¹⁵ G⁴⁸ h⁷³ t³⁴ h²⁰⁵ u³¹⁶ N⁶⁰⁷ d⁶³ r²²⁰ e⁷ d⁵² a¹⁵⁰ N⁴⁴ d⁵² t¹⁶ w⁴⁰ e³⁷ l¹⁵⁸ v⁸⁰⁷ e³⁷ p¹²¹ o¹² u⁹⁵ n¹⁰ d¹⁵ s³⁵ o¹² F¹³¹ s⁶² i¹¹⁵ L¹⁰² v⁸⁰⁷ e⁴⁹ r⁵³ d¹³⁵ e¹³⁸ p³⁰ o³¹ s⁶² i⁶⁷ t⁴¹ e⁸⁵ d⁶³ n¹⁰ o¹⁰⁶ v⁸⁰⁷ e¹³⁸ i⁸ G¹¹³ h²⁰ t³² e³³ e³⁷ n³⁵³ n²⁸⁷ i¹⁴⁰ N⁴⁷ e⁸⁵ t⁵⁰ e³⁷ e⁴⁹ N⁴⁷ t⁶⁴ h⁶ e⁷ s⁷¹ e³³ C⁴ o⁴³ N⁴⁷ d⁶³ W¹ a²⁷ s⁶⁰⁰ m²⁰⁸ a²³⁰ d¹⁵ e¹⁹¹ d²⁴⁶ e⁸⁵ c⁹⁴ e⁵¹¹ i² G²⁷⁰ h²⁰ t³⁹ e⁷ e³³ N⁴⁴ t²² w⁴⁰ e⁷ n¹⁰ t³ y⁸¹¹ o¹⁰⁶ N⁴⁴ e⁴⁸⁶ a²³⁰ n³⁵³ d²¹¹ c²⁰⁰ o³¹ n¹⁰ s³⁸ i¹⁴⁰ S²⁹⁷ t⁶¹ e⁶⁰³ d³²⁰ o³⁰² f⁶⁶⁶ n²⁸⁷ i² N⁴⁴ e³³ t³² e⁵¹¹ e⁵⁴⁸ n¹⁰ h⁶ u²⁵⁰ n⁵⁵⁷ d²⁴⁶ r⁵³ e³⁷ d⁵² a⁸³ N⁴⁷ d³²⁰ s³⁸ e³³ v⁸⁰⁷ e⁷ N⁴⁴ p³⁰ o³¹ u²⁵⁰ n¹⁰ d¹⁵ s³⁵ o¹⁰⁶ f¹⁶⁰ G¹¹³ o³¹ L¹⁰² d⁴⁰⁶ a²³⁰ N⁵⁴⁰ d³²⁰ t²⁹ w⁶⁶ e³³ L¹⁰¹ v⁸⁰⁷ e¹³⁸ h³⁰¹ u³¹⁶ n³⁵³ d³²⁰ r²²⁰ e³⁷ d⁵² a²⁸ N⁵⁴⁰ d³²⁰ e³³ i⁸ G⁴⁸ H¹⁰⁷ t⁵⁰ y⁸¹¹ e⁷ i² G¹¹³ h⁷³ t¹⁶ o¹²⁵ f¹¹ s¹¹⁰ i⁶⁷ L¹⁰² v⁸⁰⁷ e³³ r⁵⁹ a⁸¹ l¹⁵⁸ s³⁸ o⁴³ J⁵⁸¹ e¹³⁸ w¹⁹ e⁸⁵ L⁴⁰⁰ s³⁸ o⁴³ b⁷⁷ t¹⁴ a²⁷ i⁸ N⁴⁷ e¹³⁸ d⁶³ i¹⁴⁰ N⁴⁴ s³⁵ t²² l¹⁷⁷ o¹⁰⁶ u²⁵⁰ i³¹⁴ s²¹⁷ i² n¹⁰ e⁷ x¹⁰⁰⁵ C⁴ h²⁰ a²⁵ N⁴⁴ G⁴⁸ e⁷ t²⁶ o⁴⁶ s¹¹⁰ a²³⁰ v⁸⁰⁷ e¹⁹¹ t³⁴ r¹¹² a¹⁴⁷ N⁴⁴ s¹¹⁰ p¹²¹ o¹²⁵ R⁹⁶ t⁴¹ a⁵¹ t⁵⁰ i¹⁴⁰ o⁵⁶ N⁴⁷ a¹⁵² N⁵⁴⁰ d⁶³ v⁸⁰⁷ a²⁸ L⁴² u²⁵⁰ e¹³⁸ d⁵⁸² a⁹⁸ t⁶⁴³ t³² H¹⁰⁷ i¹⁴⁰ r¹¹² t²⁶ e⁸⁵ e¹³⁸ N⁵⁴⁰ r⁵³ h²⁰ o¹²⁵ u³⁷¹ s³⁸ a³⁶ n¹⁰ d⁵² d¹¹⁸ o¹³⁶ L¹⁰² L⁴²⁰ a¹⁵⁰ r¹¹² s⁷¹ t¹⁴ h²⁰ e⁷ a²⁴ b¹⁸ o¹² v⁸⁰⁷ e³⁷ i⁶⁷ s¹¹⁰ s⁶² e³³ c²¹ u⁹⁵ r²²⁰ e⁵¹¹ L¹⁰² y⁸¹¹ p³⁰ a⁸³ c⁸⁴ K³⁰⁵ e⁶²⁰ d¹⁵ i² n¹⁰ i⁸ r²²⁰ o¹⁰⁶ n³⁵³ p¹⁰⁵ o¹⁰⁶ t⁶⁰ S²⁷⁵ W⁷² i⁸ t⁵⁰ h²⁰⁵ i¹⁸⁵ r¹¹² o¹²⁵ N⁵⁴⁰ c⁶⁵ o¹⁰⁶ v⁸⁰⁷ e¹³⁸ R⁹⁶ s¹¹⁰ t¹⁶ h⁷³ e³³ v⁸⁰⁷ a¹⁵⁰ u⁴⁰⁹ L⁴⁰⁰ t⁵⁰ i¹⁵⁴ s²⁸⁵ R⁹⁶ o¹⁰⁶ u³¹⁶ G²⁷⁰ h²⁰⁵ L¹⁰¹ y⁸¹¹ L⁴⁰⁰ i⁸ N⁴⁴ e³⁷ d⁵² w⁴⁰ i²⁴¹ t³⁴ h²⁰⁵ s³⁸ t¹⁶ o⁴⁶ N⁴⁷ e⁸⁵ a²⁴ N⁴⁴ d¹⁵ t⁶⁴ h⁷³ e¹³⁸ v⁸⁰⁷ e⁸⁵ s⁷⁸ s¹¹⁰ e³³ L⁴²⁰ S⁵⁰⁵ r⁵³ e³⁷ s³⁸ t²² o³¹ n¹⁰ s¹¹⁰ o¹⁰⁶ L¹⁰¹ i¹⁴⁰ d¹⁵ s³⁸ t³ o⁵ N⁴⁴ e⁷ a⁹⁸ n²⁸⁷ d¹³⁵ a¹⁵⁰ R⁹⁶ e³³ c⁸⁴ o¹²⁵ v⁸⁰⁷ e¹⁹¹ R⁹⁶ e⁵¹¹ d¹¹⁸ w⁴⁰ i³⁷⁰ t⁶⁴³ H⁴⁶⁶ o¹⁰⁶ t⁴¹ H¹⁰⁷ e⁶⁰³ r²²⁰ S²⁷⁵ p³⁰ a¹⁵⁰ p¹⁰⁵ e⁴⁹ r⁵³ n²⁸⁷ u²⁵⁰ m²⁰⁸ b¹³⁴ e⁷ r⁵³ o¹² N⁴⁷ e⁸⁵ d⁶³ e¹³⁸ s¹¹⁰ c²¹ r¹¹² i¹⁴⁰ b⁴⁸⁵ e⁴⁸⁶ S⁵⁰⁵ t¹⁴ h⁷³ c⁸⁴ e⁵⁷⁵ x¹⁰⁰⁵ a¹⁵⁰ c²⁰⁰ t¹⁶ L⁴² o⁵ C⁴ a²⁵ L⁴² i⁸ t¹⁶ y⁸¹¹ o¹²⁵ f¹⁶⁰ t³² h²⁰⁵ e⁶⁰³ v⁸⁰⁷ a⁸¹ R⁹⁶ l⁴⁰⁵ t⁴¹ s⁶⁰⁰ o¹³⁶ t¹⁴ h²⁰ a²⁸ t²⁶ n³⁵³ o³⁰² d²⁴⁶ i⁸ F¹³¹ f¹⁶⁰ i¹⁴⁰ c⁸⁴ u⁴⁴⁰ L⁴² t¹⁶ y⁸¹¹ w⁴⁰ i⁶⁷ L¹⁰¹ L¹⁰² b¹⁹⁴ e¹³⁸ h²⁰⁵ a⁵¹ d⁶³ i²⁴¹ N⁵⁴⁰ f¹²² i⁸ n¹⁰ d⁶³ i¹⁴⁰ N⁴⁷ G⁴⁸ i¹⁴⁰ t²⁸⁸

i have deposited iN tHe county of Bedford about four miLes from bufoRds in an excavatioN or vauLt six feet beLoW the surfaCe of tHe Ground the folLowiNG aRtiCles belonGinG joiNtLy to the parties whose naMes are GiveN iN nuMber three Herewith the first deposit coNsistcd oF teN huNdred aNd fourteen poundS of GoLd aND thirty eiGht huNdred aNd twelve pounds oF siLver deposited nov eiGhteen niNeteeN 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 rhousand doLLars the above is secureLy pacKed in iron potS With iroN coveRs the vauLt is RouGhLy LiNed with stoNe aNd the vesseLS rest on soLid stoNe and aRe coveRed witH otHerS paper number oNe describeS thc exact LoCaLity of the vaRlt so that no diFficuLty wiLL be had iN findiNG it

There are four spelling errors in the deciphered code, as follows:

• consistcd (84 57 540 217 115 71 29 84 63), rather than consisted (84 57 540 217 115 71 29 85 63);
• rhousand (53 20 125 371 38 36 10 52), rather than thousand (54 20 125 371 38 36 10 52);
• thc (14 73 84), rather than the (14 73 85);
• vaRlt (807 81 96 405 41), rather than vault (807 81 95 405 41; where 95 is unalienable, not inalienable).

(For your consideration, a simple spreadsheet showing the work: https://hatch.kookscience.com/cipher/Beale_Cipher.ods; see also the discussion page for additional notes and asides.)

III. Names and Residences

317, 8, 92, 73, 112, 89, 67, 318, 28, 96,107, 41, 631, 78, 146, 397, 118, 98, 114, 246, 348, 116, 74, 88, 12, 65, 32, 14, 81, 19, 76, 121, 216, 85, 33, 66, 15, 108, 68, 77, 43, 24, 122, 96, 117, 36, 211, 301, 15, 44, 11, 46, 89, 18, 136, 68, 317, 28, 90, 82, 304, 71, 43, 221, 198, 176, 310, 319, 81, 99, 264, 380, 56, 37, 319, 2, 44, 53, 28, 44, 75, 98, 102, 37, 85, 107, 117, 64, 88, 136, 48, 151, 99, 175, 89, 315, 326, 78, 96, 214, 218, 311, 43, 89, 51, 90, 75, 128, 96, 33, 28, 103, 84, 65, 26, 41, 246, 84, 270, 98, 116, 32, 59, 74, 66, 69, 240, 15, 8, 121, 20, 77, 89, 31, 11, 106, 81, 191, 224, 328, 18, 75, 52, 82, 117, 201, 39, 23, 217, 27, 21, 84, 35, 54, 109, 128, 49, 77, 88, 1, 81, 217, 64, 55, 83, 116, 251, 269, 311, 96, 54, 32, 120, 18, 132, 102, 219, 211, 84, 150, 219, 275, 312, 64, 10, 106, 87, 75, 47, 21, 29, 37, 81, 44, 18, 126, 115, 132, 160, 181, 203, 76, 81, 299, 314, 337, 351, 96, 11, 28, 97, 318, 238, 106, 24, 93, 3, 19, 17, 26, 60, 73, 88, 14, 126, 138, 234, 286, 297, 321, 365, 264, 19, 22, 84, 56, 107, 98, 123, 111, 214, 136, 7, 33, 45, 40, 13, 28, 46, 42, 107, 196, 227, 344, 198, 203, 247, 116, 19, 8, 212, 230, 31, 6, 328, 65, 48, 52, 59, 41, 122, 33, 117, 11, 18, 25, 71, 36, 45, 83, 76, 89, 92, 31, 65, 70, 83, 96, 27, 33, 44, 50, 61, 24, 112, 136, 149, 176, 180, 194, 143, 171, 205, 296, 87, 12, 44, 51, 89, 98, 34, 41, 208, 173, 66, 9, 35, 16, 95, 8, 113, 175, 90, 56, 203, 19, 177, 183, 206, 157, 200, 218, 260, 291, 305, 618, 951, 320, 18, 124, 78, 65, 19, 32, 124, 48, 53, 57, 84, 96, 207, 244, 66, 82, 119, 71, 11, 86, 77, 213, 54, 82, 316, 245, 303, 86, 97, 106, 212, 18, 37, 15, 81, 89, 16, 7, 81, 39, 96, 14, 43, 216, 118, 29, 55, 109, 136, 172, 213, 64, 8, 227, 304, 611, 221, 364, 819, 375, 128, 296, 1, 18, 53, 76, 10, 15, 23, 19, 71, 84, 120, 134, 66, 73, 89, 96, 230, 48, 77, 26, 101, 127, 936, 218, 439, 178, 171, 61, 226, 313, 215, 102, 18, 167, 262, 114, 218, 66, 59, 48, 27, 19, 13, 82, 48, 162, 119, 34, 127, 139, 34, 128, 129, 74, 63, 120, 11, 54, 61, 73, 92, 180, 66, 75, 101, 124, 265, 89, 96, 126, 274, 896, 917, 434, 461, 235, 890, 312, 413, 328, 381, 96, 105, 217, 66, 118, 22, 77, 64, 42, 12, 7, 55, 24, 83, 67, 97, 109, 121, 135, 181, 203, 219, 228, 256, 21, 34, 77, 319, 374, 382, 675, 684, 717, 864, 203, 4, 18, 92, 16, 63, 82, 22, 46, 55, 69, 74, 112, 134, 186, 175, 119, 213, 416, 312, 343, 264, 119, 186, 218, 343, 417, 845, 951, 124, 209, 49, 617, 856, 924, 936, 72, 19, 28, 11, 35, 42, 40, 66, 85, 94, 112, 65, 82, 115, 119, 236, 244, 186, 172, 112, 85, 6, 56, 38, 44, 85, 72, 32, 47, 63, 96, 124, 217, 314, 319, 221, 644, 817, 821, 934, 922, 416, 975, 10, 22, 18, 46, 137, 181, 101, 39, 86, 103, 116, 138, 164, 212, 218, 296, 815, 380, 412, 460, 495, 675, 820, 952.

Claimants to the Solution

Several people have claimed to have deciphered the Beale Codes, including:

• http://www.finderskeepersusa.com/site.php?site=7, where it is claimed the ciphers were cracked, but that they are useless;
• http://bealesolved.tripod.com/, where it is claimed the vault was empty;
• http://bealecipherdecoded.com/, where it is claimed the ciphers are cracked;
• http://lost-beale-treasure.blogspot.com/, where it is claimed the treasure is in Missouri, not Virginia.

Resources

• http://www.angelfire.com/pro/bealeciphers/, where it is proposed John William Sherman, then editor of the Lynchburg Virginian, wrote the Beale Papers.
• https://www.nsa.gov/news-features/declassified-documents/beale-papers/, where the U.S. National Security Agency posts scans of declassified files on the Beale Ciphers