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This is an article by Boyd M. Jolley published in the TREASURE magazine edition of July 1983.

The second story, until this article, was well known only to a very few. It tells of the Beale treasure having been acquired in Europe, shipped to America on pirate ships, and hauled up the old Natchez trail from New Orleans to the burial vault site in Virginia.

Both stories tell of fabulous wealth being deposited. The first story mentions only gold, silver, and jewels amounting to around thirty million dollars by present standards. The second story also mentions gold, silver, and jewels (amounting to somewhat less in value), but also mentions historical documents and artifacts, the value of which could be significantly great.

The second story comes as a result of a claim by one Mark Green ( the name is a pseudonym used to protect confidentiality). Mr. Green claims that he has found the Beale treasure, now has it in his possession, and that the first story was concocted to hide the true nature of the source of the treasure and the facts of its concealment and purpose.

By simple mathematical computations with the transposed "weight numbers", the necessary "additional numbers" are derived.

The newcomer should also understand that (NB repeat of the Beale story and of previous articles are skipped).

Because of the peculiarities of the number 9, the transpositions of numbers always fall into corresponding columns, creating a complicated ciphering system.

Beale's Master Cipher Chart! The Letters Of The Original Declaration Of Independence Fit Exactly Into A 99 X 66 Grid

To duplicate Beale's chart, you must number all 6,534 letters of the original Declaration of Independence and place each letter and corresponding number in a master grid, as on this abbreviated form which shows the upper left and lower right corners of the master

Mason's marks, known to have been used throughout the ages, can be found in Beale's Master Cipher Chart

Now we have LeMarr Cross, spokesman for Mark Green, who professes to have the treasure, stepping forward with claims about a most unusual version of the Declaration of Independence, which he says is a duplicate of the one used by Thomas Jefferson Beale to encipher the waybill to the secret vault. Mr. Cross did not exactly present this version to the author, but encouraged me to reconstruct it from a series of clues that he furnished. Once I was certain that I had the proper format, Mr. Cross examined it, suggested a few minor changes, and then verified it to be accurate. This process was time consuming for the author, but taught me details about the claim of authenticity that could not have been learned in any other way. I will not be so difficult with my readers. I am presenting all of the information to you in one great big "shotgun blast". There is a purpose for this. According to the documents found with the treasure that Mr. Green uncovered, the original version, or chart, is being preserved somewhere. Perhaps this article will alert someone who is in a position to put their hands on this chart and directly help our national historians refocus the spotlight on our founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence.

Mr. Cross further tells us that according to the treasure papers the original Thomas Jefferson was given the task of drafting up the Declaration of Independence. We all know that -- it is a matter of historical record. We also know that Jefferson struggled over many rewrites until he had that document "just right". We assume that to mean that it read exactly the way he and the Congress wanted it to, and said exactly what he and his associates wanted the King of England and the world to know. Well, that may be only partially true. The rest of the matter Green tells us is that the scribe had to make the Declaration fit into a master grid 99 squares long and 66 squares deep! The originators wanted to be able to use the much circulated document as an enciphering and deciphering device, and it therefore had to be altered until it met the cryptographic format exactly.

Green's papers intimate that Jefferson knew of these plans and accepted them to the extent that some of the spelling was altered from the rough drafts to the finished manuscript. As evidence of this, I refer you to the book entitled The Declaration of Independence by the late Professor of History at Cornell University, Carl L. Becker, published in New York by Random House. Professor Becker was meticulously thorough in copying various rough drafts prepared by Jefferson and comparing them with the final manuscript. I note two uncommon variant spellings in the final public copy that did not appear as such in the rough draft copies. Witness the spelling of the word "British" in the rough draft as shown on page 148, matched against the final copy "Brittish" on page 191. Why was this archaic spelling used? To poke fun at the British and their conservative ideas about government? Or was there an ulterior motive, as Green suggests? Also witness the text from the "corrected" Journal copy on page 12 spelling of the word "harass", as opposed to some other draft copies and the final "misspelling" "harrass".

More importantly, or curiously, the final public manuscript which is on display for all mankind to see has 6,534 letters in it, minus the ampersand (&). This final version of the Declaration of Independence, minus the ampersand, does happen to come out even and fist exactly into a 99 by 66 grid, with each square containing a letter.

Now, whether you accept Mr. Green's explanation of the above or not, you will see that we have a cryptographic tool constructed using the Declaration of Independence as the key. This key works as a result of the peculiarities of the positioning of the number 9. A chart that is 99 squares across inherently lines up numbers in columns that contain transpositions of the numbers. For example, the numbers 1238, 1832, 3218, and 3812 all line up in the same column. Furthermore, if you subdivide this chart into sections of 9 squares across, then ALL of the transposed numbers appearing anywhere on the chart will line up in their respective columns. For example, 3812 and its transpositions will ALWAYS line up in column 5. Column 5 appears eleven times across the chart, as do the other numerical columns. This will become apparent as you study the chart.

Now you must understand that Thomas Jefferson Beale knew all about the mathematical Declaration of Independence format, and merely adapted it to his own use, after he concealed the treasure. There are many secret ciphers that can be worked out on this master chart. Unfortunately, Mr. Beale chose the most difficult in which to hide his waybill. This is one of the basic reasons our computer experts have repeatedly failed in trying to crack the Beale ciphers. They could determine that the numbers were apparently part of a true cipher system, but not knowing the complete format, they floundered and subsequently failed.

Draw up a blank grid for yourself similar to the one illustrating this article. Divide your grid vertically in half. As you number the squares you will find that the number 3812 which Beale used to describe the first deposit of silver, rests on this vertical division line (top line square #50) six squares below the horizontal center line. Call it coincidence for now if you like.

Next locate the number 1907, which Beale used to describe the second deposit of gold. You will find that it rests halfway between the top horizontal line and the horizontal line upon which the number 3812 rests. You may call this another coincidence if you like.

Now locate the number 1288, which Beale used to describe the first load of gold. It rests on the 11th square down, which is one-sixth of the way down, or put another way, six times eleven is sixty-six. The chart is sixty-six squares deep. Another natural key point on the chart.

At this time I will say that I presented a preliminary copy of this chart to Dr. Carl Hammer and Mr. Per Holst, chief officers in the Beale Cypher Association and men of computer science. Dr. Hammer's observation was "These four numbers appearing at these (natural key) places (on the grid) is totally unlikely from a random viewpoint".

Per Holst said "It is apparent that Cipher Number Two (the cipher containing the four numbers which Beale said were the weights of the gold and silver) was methodically drafted up, utilizing these four numbers, in an unhurried and deliberate manner". Both Hammer and Holst agreed that these four numbers could be the basic numbers for deciphering Ciphers Number One and Three.

The above reasoning leads us, as we study the chart and the placement of numbers, to arrive at the possibility that Mr. Cross's chart is legitimate, since Mr. James B. Ward released the numbers to the public in 1885, and their placement on the grid is mathematically fixed, and not an arbitrary present-day decision. The numbers were obviously chosen because of their fixed positions on the grid and thus could date the chart to at least Mr. Ward's time. If this is so, simple logic tells us that either Ward or Beale devised the master grid, and that the numbers were not the weights of the gold and silver contained in the treasure shipments.

This conclusion further leads us unavoidably to examine once again the apparent relationship of Beale's "Master Plan" to the Masons. This Masonic tie-in has been examined in previous writings by the author and others. It is interesting to note that author Joe Nickell, writing for THE VIRGINIA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY, July 1982, contends that an "Inquiry to the Masonic Grand Lodge of Virginia revealed that James B. Ward had himself been a Free-mason," entering as an apprentice in 1862 and becoming "suspended" in 1867.

In light of this, we can "play" with the transposed numbers and the master grid and find it to contain configurations of several Masonic marks. Whether this has significance, and what this significance is, I leave to the reader's individual judgement. I will state that because of the claim by Mr. Green that the treasure has been found, I do not believe that Ward invented the Beale story and thus perpetrated a hoax. Rather, I feel, as does Mr. Cross, that the legend of Mr. Beale proposed by Ward is fundamentally true, although much is allegorical.

As further clues and insights to the master chart, and for those readers who are interested in deciphering the plaintext (plain English) of Ciphers Number One and Three, Mr. Cross allows the following:

There is a basic geometric design that traces the order and sequence of the numbers that must be used, as explained in the August and December 1982 issues of TREASURE, hidden on the chart. If you can find this design, and utilize it properly, you will be able to translate Ciphers Number One and Three into plain English. Mr. Green refuses to give out the plaintext as this knowledge will undoubtedly bring thousands of the curious to see the vault that contained the famous treasure. The property owner would be at a loss to regulate a large host of people. (Note: The author has found a diamond-shaped design and was told by Mr. Cross that the real design was not as complicated, but that the diamond shape was probably known to the originators of the grid, but not used by Mr. Beale.)

Also, the "tic-tac-toe" grid mentionned in the August and December 1982 issues of TREASURE is essential to the workings of the numbers. The four numbers 3812, 1907, 1288, and 1014 and their transpositions should be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided against each other. This process gives you the correct additional numbers, which will produce the plaintext when used in the correct sequence with the tic-tac-toe system.

Mr. Cross states, that although the clues in this article will bring you closer to the plaintext, you should realize that the information in the previous articles was sufficient, if properly utilized, to give you the plaintext. Some of the readers informed us they felt that the previous clues were insufficient, but they failed to recognize the "double numbering" system that was not spelled out by Mr. Cross, but now is apparent. One man, who wishes to be known as Bob, recognized the system, and is the only one that I know of who has claimed to come up with the plaintext. Perhaps other will, now that it is spelled out for them.

(NB The article concludes with some notes on other historical grid codes and the Jefferson cipher wheel)