Usenet Newsgroups : rec.puzzles Hall of FameThe rec.puzzles Hall of Fame is a compilation of over 500 of the most popular puzzles that have been posted and discussed in the rec.puzzles newsgroup. In most cases a detailed solution has been provided. Many of these puzzles also appear in Braingle's own collection. |
| |||||||||||||||
What are the Beale ciphers?
Solution
The Beale ciphers are one of the greatest unsolved puzzles of all
time. In 1819 amd 1821, a fellow by the name of Thomas J. Beale
supposedly buried two wagons-full of gold and silver filled pots in
Bedford County, near Roanoke. There are local rumors about the
treasure being buried near Bedford Lake.
He wrote three encoded letters telling what was buried, where it was
buried, and who it belonged to. He entrusted these three letters to a
friend and went west. He was never heard from again.
Several years later, someone examined the letters and was able to break
the code used in the second letter. The code used the text from the
Declaration of Independence. A number in the letter indicated which
word in the document was to be used. The first letter of that word
replaced the number. For example, if the first four words of the
document were "We hold these truths", the number 3 in the letter would
represent the letter t.
One of the remaining letters supposedly contains directions on how to
find the treasure. To date, no one has solved the code. It is
believed that both of the remaining letters are encoded using either
the same document in a different way, or another very public document.
For those interested, write to:
The Beale Cypher Association
P.O. Box 975
Beaver Falls, PA 15010
or check out the Beale home page at:
http://www.ruhr.de/home/zaphod/beale.html
Item #904 is the 1885 pamphlet version ($5.00). #152 is the
Cryptologia article by Gillogly that argues the hoax side ($2.00).
A year's membership is $25, and includes 4 newsletters.
Evidence in favor of a hoax-
. Too many players.
. Inflated quantities of treasure.
. Many discrepancies exist in all documents.
. The Declaration of Independence is too hokey a key.
. Part 3 (list of 30 names) considered too little text.
. W.F. Friedman couldn't crack it.
. Why even encrypt parts 1 & 3?
. Why use multi-part text, and why different keys for each part?
. Difficult to keep treasure in ground if 30 men know where it was buried.
. Who'd leave it with other than your own family?
. The Inn Keeper waited an extra 10 years before opening box with
ciphers in it? Who would do this, curiousity runs too deep in
humans?
. Why did anybody waste time deciphering paper 2, which had no title?
1 & 3 had titles! These should have been deciphered first?
. Why not just one single letter?
. Statistical analysis show 1&3 similar in very obscure ways, that
2 differs. Did somebody else encipher it? And why?
Check length of keytexts, and forward/backward next word
displacement selections.
. Who could cross the entire country with that much gold and only
10 men and survive back then?
. Practically everybody who visited New Mexico before 1821, left
by way of the Pearly Gates, as the Spanish got almost every
tourist:-)
. A stylometric analysis by William Poundstone indicates that
the author of "The Beale Papers" and the author of the Thomas
Beale letters are one and the same, which is pretty conclusive
evidence that the whole thing is a hoax.
References:
"The Beale Treasure: New History of a Mystery", by Peter Viemeister,
Bedord, VA: Hamilton's, 1997. ISBN: 1-883912-04-0. 211 pages.
"The Codebreakers", by David Kahn, pg 771, CCN 63-16109.
1967.
"Gold in the Blue Ridge, The True Story of the Beale Treasure",
by P.B. Innis & Walter Dean Innis, Devon Publ. Co., Wash, D.C.
1973.
"Signature Simulation and Certain Cryptographic Codes", Hammer,
Communications of the ACM, 14 (1), January 1971, pp. 3-14.
"How did TJB Encode B2?", Hammer, Cryptologia, 3 (1), Jan. 1979, pp. 9-15.
"Second Order Homophonic Ciphers", Hammer, Cryptologia, 12 (1) Jan. 1988,
pp 11-20.
"Biggest Secrets", William Poundstone, William Morrow, 1993, ch. 13
TEXT for part 1
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
81,12,103,820,62,110,97,103,862,70,60,1317,471,540,208,121,890
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
TEXT for part 2
(no title exists for this part)
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
37,67,110,62,33,21,95,220,511,102,811,30,83,84,305,620,15,2,108,220
106,353,105,106,60,275,72,8,50,205,185,112,125,540,65,106,807,188,96,110
16,73,32,807,150,409,400,50,154,285,96,106,316,270,205,101,811,400,8
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
135,150,96,33,84,125,807,191,96,511,118,440,370,643,466,106,41,107
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
CLEAR for part 2, made human readable.
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 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 [t]housand dollars. The above
is securely packed i[n] [i]ron pots with iron cov[e]rs. Th[e] vault
is roughly lined with stone and the vessels rest on solid stone
and are covered [w]ith others. Paper number one describes th[e]
exact locality of the va[u]lt so that no difficulty will be had
in finding it.
CLEAR for part 2, using only the first 480 words of the
Declaration of Independence, then blanks filled in by
inspection. ALL mistakes shown were caused by sloppy
encryption.
0----5----10---15---20---25---30---35---40---45---
0 ihavedepositedinthecountyofbedfordaboutfourmilesfr
50 ombufordsinanexcavationorvaultsixfeetbelowthesurfa
100 ceofthegroundthefollowingarticlesbelongingjointlyt
150 othepartieswhosenamesaregiveninnumberthreeherewith
200 thefirstdepositconsistcdoftenhundredandfourteenpou
250 ndsofgoldandthirtyeighthundredandtwelvepoundsofsil
300 verdepositednoveighteennineteenthesecondwasmadedec
350 eighteentwentyoneandconsistedofnineteenhundredands
400 evenpoundsofgoldandtwelvehundredandeightyeightofsi
450 lveralsojewelsobtainedinstlouisinexchangetosavetra
500 nsportationandvaluedatthirteenrhousanddollarstheab
550 oveissecurelypackeditronpotswithironcovtrsthtvault
600 isroughlylinedwithstoneandthevesselsrestonsolidsto
650 neandarecovereduithotherspapernumberonedescribesth
700 cexactlocalityofthevarltsothatnodifficultywillbeha
750 dinfindingit
TEXT for part 3
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
319,2,44,53,28,44,75,98,102,37,85,107,117,64,88,136,48,154,99,175
89,315,326,78,96,214,218,311,43,89,51,90,75,128,96,33,28,103,84
65,26,41,246,84,270,98,116,32,59,74,66,69,240,15,8,121,20,77,80
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
115,119,233,244,186,172,112,85,6,56,38,44,85,72,32,47,63,96,124
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