Page 17-2

This is an article by Boyd M. Jolley published in the TREASURE magazine edition of December 1982.

(NB A preface to this article summarizes the previous article - only the end is included here)

The recovery project was treated as a family endeavour and not as a means of enriching any single person. As soon as the TREASURE article was circulated, it was immediately attacked as a hoax, even though Mr. Cross gave numerous clues to the readers for validating the story for themselves. Thus far, somewhat superficial attempts at following the clues have been reported back to the author. One personal friend of the author, a computer expert from Colorado who wished to be known as George, said that his initial attempts show that considerable time must be spent in order to reconstruct the decoding process, even with a computer as an aid. Speaking for Mr. Green, LeMarr Cross has said that it is better for now that the general public not know the details of the decoding method, but that he would release the following information. The author has included material presented by other readers to enhance understanding and broaden the source beyond Mr. Cross. As much of the material is dependent on prior understanding, the novice should acquaint himself with the material presented in the above mentionned articles.

Various Researchers Believe Beale Was A Mason And That Only A Person Well Versed In Masonic Lore Can Decipher The Codes

Based on Cross's descriptions, this cut-away representation of Beale's vault Shows how each chamber was surrounded by water; If Mark Green had properly "pulled the plug" and released the water, his job of entering the vault would have been easier, according to Cross.

Both Chambers Of The Vault Were Surrounded by Water And Were Constructed Of Rock And Some Kind Of Pitch

According to the orginal legend Thomas Jefferson Beale was placed in full command of the common fortunes of thirty other men. Human nature being as it is, one wonders how such an arrangement could be satisfactorily worked out. Long before LeMarr Cross and Mark Green made their public appearance, various Beale researchers have brought forth the idea that Beale was a Mason and that only another Mason, well-versed in traditional Masonic lore, could decipher the baffling codes. The idea, along with the brotherhood that is known to exist among Masons, gave credence to the theory that Beale was a "Captain" or "Worshipful Master", among that order. A Mason, now living in Texas, and who wished to be known as John, reports that he has studied the Beale story for a period of twenty years and has determined the following.

According to the Grand Archives of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson Beale was affiliated with Masonic activities in Virginia during the period 1818-1822. There is also evidence that he was a Master in the state of Missouri. John goes on to say that the three letters purportedly written by Beale to innkeeper Robert Morriss contain numerous Masonic words and phrases, such as punctillio, cupidity, perusal, and in a cleft of the rocks. He also points out that the highest number used in Beale's codes was 2906, the exact number of pilasters used in the construction of Solomon's Temple. Masonic history traces its origins back to the time of Solomon and his great temple. As John is a conscientious member of his order, he declined to talk at great length about these things, but he firmly believes that Beale left numerous clues as to his Masonic ties.

LeMarr Cross sheds further light on the letters by stating, "We have yet to find any evidence that Beale ever went to Santa Fe, as the story goes. In actual fact, we are led to conclude that there was no excursion out West that resulted in the acquisition of gold, silver, and jewels".

This shocking statement leads the reader to ask if Beale lied in the rehearsal of the great and fortuitous grizzly hunt. Please remember that Beale was not writing his story for the general public, but very probably as a cover for Masonic information that was to be recognized by Robert Morriss, another Mason who was entrusted with Beale's long-range business of concealing valuable artifacts and wealth. Only Morriss' neglect led to the puzzling letters and ciphers eventually falling into the hands of the public, which according to Mark Green has no inherent right to the story, codes, or the contents of the much sought-after vault.

Mr. Cross goes on to tell us that, according to what has been learned, there were numerous caches left in the Bedford area by Beale and his associates. Some of these caches have been recovered, a few quite by accident, such as the one reported in the Roanoke Times of April, 1906: "There was found in the chimney several thousand dollars in gold, silver, and jewellery wrapped in a Masonic Apron, placed in an iron pot, then cached in the chimney".

LeMarr Cross says, "Everything in Beale's coding is verified by combinations of threes" (the number three being a special Masonic number). For instance, there are 3 codes, 30 men in Beale's party, three letters to Morriss, and a three-format in the tic-tac-toe grid (shown in the August TREASURE). In addition, there are 522 numbers in Code One and 618 numbers in Code Three. If you divide these two numbers by three you get 174 and 206. In the August issue it is pointed out that there are 174 and 206 additional numbers that must be combined with the original code numbers that make up the Beale ciphers.

Assuming that the foregoing theory is correct and that T. J. Beale was more of a Mason than a frontiersman, we must look for further verification and study Cross's claims from an established viewpoint. In the January 1982 issue of TREASURE, the author discussed the discovery and subsequent acceptance, by recognized experts, of the Gillogly alphabet strings. At the present time all serious students of the Beale ciphers agree that these alphabet strings "prove" that the Declaration of Independence was the key document used by Beale in setting up his codes. Code Number Two was solved by using the first letter of each word from the Declaration of Independence. By using the same method and applying to Codes Numbers One and Three, we find, not a rational message, but apparent gibberish that conceal the Gillogly alphabet strings. It has been estimated mathematically that arriving at an alphabetic sequence (such as A, B, C, D, and so on) by accident multiplies itself so rapidly that, by the time you arrive at the letter "P", you have reduced the chance to one in ten-trillion! Few experts care to dispute those odds.

LeMarr says some people can solve Codes One and Three with these additional numbers, but it involves placing them in the correct sequence, finding the alphabet strings, and combining them with the original code numbers.

Mr. Cross explains, "The original code numbers from Codes One and Three produced the alphabet strings now accepted by experts. When I introduced the possibility of additional numbers, these same experts scoffed. Will they still scoff when I say that the verification of additional numbers is in the fact that, not only do they produce a coherent message when combined with the original code numbers, BUT BY THEMSELVES THE ADDITIONAL NUMBERS ALSO PRODUCE ALPHABET STRINGS?!"

The author concurs that, when this claim is demonstrated, it will be the most powerful evidence of Mr. Cross's claim, short of seeing Mark Green standing amidst the artifacts from Beale's vault.

(NB At this point the article shows a picture of a grid with the C1 codes, the DOI plaintext, and the Gillogly strings. This is not reproduced here but can be seen in the example TREASURE page shown on the previous webpage)

We have received word from a lady who lives near the Virginia treasure area that the inherited family Bible story is probably true. This lady said that she has seen a similar Bible, which tends to confirm Green's statements about the one containing the code information. The one she saw contained a handwritten letter dated May 15, 1822, by Thomas Jefferson Beall and signed by the same. The spelling of B-E-A-L-L and the size of the very small signature were the same in both Bibles. There were other similarities in the contents and general appearance of both bibles, such as size, age, decor, and handwritten messages, although hers contained no obvious reference to coding.

Mark Green has no interest in proving anything. As stated before, he does not include the general public in his scope of obligations. This places LeMarr Cross in the unenviable position of walking the proverbial tightrope. He must keep his promises to Green, but he seems to sense the feeling that the Beale treasure has become a national, if not world, interest. The author also suspects that Mr. Cross is human enough to want to see the whole thing come out of the closet and be exposed in its entire truth to be included in our verifiable national history. It must be for these or similar reasons that he has consented to discuss the following in interview form:

TREASURE: Mr. Cross, why is Mr. Green keeping the complete method of deciphering Codes One and Three a secret?

MR. CROSS: There are certain things mentionned in the plaintext of Code Three that would cause a lot of excitement. As Mr. Green wished to keep these things private, he chooses not to reveal them. If, however, anyone uses my clues correctly and deciphers these Codes, so be it.

MR. CROSS: Yes. The vault was located under a six-foot ledge of solid rock. The floor to the upper chamber, however, was perhaps twenty feet below the surface of the ground. When Green entered the vault, he found the upper and lower chambers marked "CH. I" and "CH. II". Both chambers were surrounded by water, and were constructed of rock and some kind of pitch. The water was drained off by Green and his men before entering the chambers.

TREASURE: Mr. Cross, there have been several THers who have told us that they have found Beale's vault, according to their own decodings, but that the vault was empty. You have said that Green found something in these chambers. Would you elaborate?

MR. CROSS: Yes. There was gold, silver and jewelry. The value of this antique jewelry was greater than the combined value of the gold and silver. There were also some artifacts of antique, possibly historical, value.

TREASURE: Beale indicated in Code Two that the gold and silver would be of the greater value.

MR. CROSS: Don't take those values in Code Two seriously. Remember, those numbers were given as aids in deciphering Codes One and Three.

MR. CROSS: Gold coins of various values. Some not of U.S. origin. Gold bullion, mostly in nugget form. Silver bars.

MR. CROSS: I will mention a hand mirror and a brush, each embellished with jewels.

TREASURE: In the August issue of TREASURE you stated that there were supposed to be the names of the other members of Beale's party, in the form of sworn wills, within the vault. Were these sworn wills there?

TREASURE: Many people have surmised that Beale's men would have returned and reclaimed at least their portion of the treasure. Did this seem to have happened?

MR. CROSS: No. Everything appears to have been untouched and left as it was deposited. It would have been extremely difficult to remove anything because of the water surrounding the chambers.

TREASURE: Is Green going to surface and make a public disclosure of the treasure?

MR. CROSS: Mr. green is a man who makes his own decisions. You must realize that there are other people involved. I might say, however, that Mr. Green appears to have taken care of every needful and necessary thing. I say this because I understand that some readers are assuming he is not aware of the possibility of resultant theft and other complications.

TREASURE: If Green does make a public disclosure, is it possible that the "treasure" he shows will have been "salted" or otherwise faked, even if the contents are real?

MR. CROSS: This is unlikely, in that the historical items would be impossible to fake, both in content and volume. And there is one outstanding item, at least, that will verify the authenticity of the claims. You might also consider the cost to stage such a hoax, especially the value of the antique jewels. Also, what would be his reasons for such expenditure, since he seems not eager to make the solution, or the treasure, known generally.

The Treasure, Green Reports, Is Composed Of Gold Coins, Gold Bullion, Silver Bars And Artifacts

TREASURE: Why did Beale put the mystery ciphers, the additional numbers, and the keys to their solution all on the last few pages of the family Bible? This seems to be the same as handing the plaintext to anyone lucky enough to discover the Bible?

MR. CROSS: The keys were separate sheets and tucked in the back of the Bible. They, therefore, did not necessarily remain with the Bible at all times. They were all together, however, when Mark Green found them.

TREASURE: It has been obvious to many of our readers that, with the use of additional numbers, you could make the ciphers into any message you chose. Isn't this evidence of a phony solution?

MR. CROSS: By now your readers can see the prerequisites they would have to meet in order to match Green's format. His format is not just additional numbers, but they are stacked vertically and read horizontally. Also, they verify themselves with the alphabet strings, and have spelled a message that led Green to a vault that contained the items that were promised in the message.

TREASURE: We noticed that if you divide one of the location numbers, 5328, in the Declaration of Independence by three, you get the date number 1776. Is that coincidence?

MR. CROSS: That number is fixed in the Declaration of Independence, but I hardly think it coincidence that Beale used it as the abbreviation for the name "Jefferson", which is synonymous with 1776 in American History. This is one verification of Green's format. There are others throughout the numbers, if your readers care to play with them. Not being a Mason, I can only hazard a guess that someone well versed in Masonic lore may well establish the exact logic that put the entire process together. For instance, you get varying impressions of patterns or layers of patterns; specifically, if the numbers composing what appears to be the first pattern are lifted, the remaining numbers from yet another pattern, and as that pattern is removed, another pattern is revealed. I would speculate that there is some logical way that one can develop the patterns by themselves.

TREASURE: Why does the real situation vary from what was revealed by Ward's decipherment of Code Two?

MR. CROSS: As I mentionned before, Code Number Two was apparently prepared primarily to give information that would help decipher Codes One and Three. It is my opinion that the helpful numbers contained therein were Beale's insurance against loss of the key, most likely by not being delivered. Probably Morriss was expected to immediately solve Code Two from previous knowledge and then quickly recognize how to further solve Codes One and Three. Procrastination until he was senile, or whatever, prevented solution then. But he probably remembered enough to clue Ward to the Declaration of Independence and help him solve the codes, albeit, incompletely. In this we may assume Ward did have an initial solution as he always dug and searched in the same area, namely at the creek end opposite to the correct creek ending. This could be expected, if, after arriving at the initial solution, he accepted it at face value and went no further in deciphering, since the initial solution would lead one to follow the west creek.

In further answer to your question, in a situation of great importance, such as this was to Beale, some variance is to be expected. The basic situation is similar to that described, although there is some elaboration, or distortion, as you suggest, in the real conditions.

TREASURE: We understand you do not feel that the actual source of the treasure was out West. May we assume from this that perhaps there is more of a national historical connection than just the secreting of some personal fortunes?

MR. CROSS: You may assume what you like. My answers speak for themselves. I will tell you that further light should not depend on Mark Green coming forth. Those who want to know the entire story are going to have to work for it. Study the clues I've given in the previous article. Along with the transposed numbers you should look for additional numbers by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing the transposed numbers by threes. The final clue is the number 6534. Cryptographers, cryptanalysts, historians, genealogists all will have a "field day" when this is finally resolved. The honest ones will admit they have learned something new, and the other will merely "cover up".

TREASURE: One last question. Treasure hunters who have visited the area say that people doubt Green did what was claimed concerning the vault and its contents. Shouldn't someone in the area be able to verify the physical actions that took place?

MR. CROSS: Just because folks aren't talking doesn't mean there aren't those who know. Let's not be so naive as to assume something didn't happen just because there are those who wish it hadn't. Incidentally, Green had the vault filled and sealed off naturally, so it is doubtful that hunters in the future will come across what they may be looking for. Fortunately, if he ever decides to release the entire story, a most complete series of photos was taken during the operation, from the discovery of the marker rock to final removal and cataloguing of the contents.

Well readers, there you have it. Does the public have the right to know, or not? Whatever you feel, write to us and let us know (P.O. Box 231, American Fork, Utah 84003). We will forward the letters and opinions to Mark Green through LeMarr Cross. Any other insights or breakthroughs will be given full credit in these pages. Those who wish to remain anonymous will also be honored with their wish.