WHAT IF I TOLD YOU
THAT THE ORIGINAL COPY OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
IS ACTUALLY MISSING
AND THAT IT MAY HOLD THE SECRET
TO A CENTURIES-OLD TREASURE
THAT'S JUST WAITING TO BE FOUND.
WRITTEN IN 1776,
THE DECLARATION IS THE PIVOTAL
BEGINNING OF OUR DEMOCRACY.
BUT THERE'S SO MUCH
THAT'S NOT KNOWN ABOUT IT.
MANY HISTORIANS INSIST
THAT CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF,
THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR COUNTRY
WAS ACTUALLY SIGNED ON AUGUST 2,
AND NOT ON JULY 4.
AND SOME ALSO SAY
THAT THOMAS JEFFERSON
WAS NOT ITS MAIN AUTHOR.
IT'S TIME TO DECODE
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
I'M BRAD MELTZER.
I'VE SPENT MY LIFE
COLLECTING STORIES --
SIGNS, SYMBOLS, AND CODES
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
SOME HAVE BECOME THE BASIS
FOR MY NOVELS,
BUT I'VE ONLY SCRATCHED
THE SURFACE.
AND NOW HISTORY
HAS GIVEN ME THE RESOURCES
TO INVESTIGATE THE REST.
THIS IS "DECODED."
Levy:
SO, HOW ARE YOU?
I am smiling, because today
we're investigating
the Declaration of Independence.
WHAT DO WE NOT KNOW ABOUT
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE?
You tell me.
Did you know there's an actual
secret handprint
on the back of it?
REALLY?
ON THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE?
A HANDPRINT?
This is not a movie.
I didn't make this up.
This is real life.
COME ON!
MELTZER: You guys are going
to the National Archives
for a close-up look
at the actual
Declaration of Independence.
FANTASTIC!
WOW!
OH, THAT IS
REALLY AWESOME.
I'VE NEVER SEEN IT.
THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT.
MELTZER: Make sure you ask
all the hard questions.
Can't wait to hear
what you find.
OKAY.
EXCELLENT.
HEY, THANKS FOR THIS ONE.
THIS SOUNDS GREAT.
HAVE YOU EVER
BEEN HERE, SCOTT?
ACTUALLY,
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.
I CAME HERE IN 8th GRADE
ON A FIELD TRIP,
AND WE HAD TO WAIT
ABOUT 3 HOURS TO GET IN, SO...
WE WILL NOT HAVE TO
WAIT 3 HOURS.
I KNOW.
WOW.
Rolle:
KIND OF FEELS LIKE BEING IN A
CHURCH OR SOMETHING, DOESN'T IT?
OH, MY GOD. LOOK.
WOW.
GREAT MEN HUDDLED
AROUND THIS THING
IN TAKING SUCH CARE
ABOUT THE WORDING ITSELF.
IT MAKES YOUR REALIZE
JUST HOW HUMAN THIS THING WAS --
THAT THEY SAT DOWN
AND WROTE OUT WHAT THEY BELIEVED
AND ALL SIGNED IT.
SIGNING THIS THING,
YOU COULD END UP
BEING HUNG.
I MEAN, SIGNING THIS THING
WAS TREASONOUS.
OH, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IT WAS
THEIR MOTHER COUNTRY.
WELL, THAT JUST SHOWS HOW DEEP
THE BELIEFS MUST HAVE RUN,
I MEAN, TO REALLY BE WILLING
TO GIVE IT ALL UP FOR IT.
IT'S EASY TO FORGET
WHAT A DANGEROUS PIECE OF PAPER
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WAS IN 1776.
ENGLAND WAS THE GREATEST
SUPERPOWER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD,
AND AMERICA WAS JUST A RAGTAG
GROUP OF 13 TINY COLONIES.
BUT THE FOUNDING FATHERS
WANTED TO MAKE THE BIGGEST,
BOLDEST STATEMENT POSSIBLE.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WASN'T A SIMPLE ACT OF DEFIANCE.
IT WAS A STATEMENT OF WAR.
SIGNING IT LITERALLY AMOUNTED TO
TAKING YOUR LIFE IN YOUR HANDS.
WE'RE DECODING
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
AND WANT TO SORT THROUGH
FACT AND FICTION, IF WE CAN.
HOW COME WE SOMETIMES
HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE
FINDING THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
AT A YARD SALE
OR IN THEIR ATTIC?
THE ONE THAT PEOPLE
ARE FINDING AND TURNING UP
AT YARD SALES AND THRIFT STORES,
LIKE YOU MENTIONED,
ARE THE DUNLAP BROADSIDES.
THOSE ARE
THE PRINTED VERSION
THAT WAS DONE
THE NIGHT OF JULY 4.
WE THINK THERE WAS
POSSIBLY ABOUT 200
THAT WERE PRINTED
THAT NIGHT.
AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE
THAT THEY SIGNED ON THAT DAY,
OR DID THEY SIGN
MULTIPLE COPIES?
ACTUALLY,
THIS WASN'T SIGNED --
A KIND OF POPULAR BELIEF
IS THAT THIS WAS ACTUALLY SIGNED
ON JULY 4.
UH-HUH.
THIS WAS NOT SIGNED
ON JULY 4.
THIS IS WHY I LOVE
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.
TREVOR JUST PUT A WHOLE NEW SPIN
ON THE IDEA OF INDEPENDENCE DAY.
DESPITE WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK,
JULY 4 WASN'T THE DAY
WE DECLARED OUR INDEPENDENCE
OR THE DAY WE SIGNED
THE DECLARATION.
JULY 2 WAS THE DAY WE DECLARED
INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN,
AND AUGUST 2,
THE DAY WE SIGNED THE DOCUMENT.
WE CELEBRATE ON JULY 4
SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT'S THE DAY
THAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS
WENT PUBLIC.
JULY 4 WOULD LATER BECOME
SIGNIFICANT FOR ANOTHER REASON.
THE ONLY TWO PRESIDENTS
TO SIGN THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE --
JOHN ADAMS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON,
COMPETITIVE TO THE VERY END --
BOTH DIED ON JULY 4, 1826,
50 YEARS AFTER THEY HELPED
WRITE THIS GREAT DOCUMENT.
OKAY, SO, SOMEONE TOOK
THIS WRITING,
TYPESET IT,
AND PRINTED IT.
AND THEN PRINTED IT.
AND THEN THAT WAS SENT OUT
TO THE VARIOUS COLONIES AND
TO SOME GENERALS IN THE ARMY.
THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE
OF WHAT WE THINK TO BE TRUE
AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY TRUE
ARE NOT THE SAME.
RIGHT.
ONE COMMON MISCONCEPTION
ABOUT THE DECLARATION
IS THAT ALL OF
OUR FOUNDING FATHERS SIGNED IT.
BUT IN FACT,
AMONG THOSE WHO DIDN'T
IS ARGUABLY THE MOST FAMOUS --
THE BIG MAN HIMSELF --
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
THE GREAT GENERAL WAS ACTUALLY
IN NEW YORK CITY AT THE TIME,
PREPARING THE CONTINENTAL ARMY
FOR AN ATTACK BY THE BRITISH.
WHEN HE RECEIVED HIS COPY OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
HE HAD IT READ TO HIS TROOPS
TO RALLY AND INSPIRE THEM.
TO GET PEOPLE PUMPED,
HE READ THEM THE DECLARATION.
WHAT ABOUT THE STORY
THAT THOMAS JEFFERSON
WASN'T, IN FACT,
THE PRIMARY AUTHOR?
HE DID A FIRST DRAFT.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND JOHN ADAMS
BOTH HAD INPUT INTO IT,
SO IT HAS SOME OF THEIR
EDITORIAL ADDITIONS ON IT.
AND THEN THAT'S WHAT BECAME
THE DECLARATION.
LET ME BE CLEAR.
THOMAS JEFFERSON
IS ONE OF MY HEROES.
AND HE'S MY HERO
'CAUSE HE NEVER TOOK CREDIT
FOR WRITING
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
IN FACT, THE AVERAGE AMERICAN
DIDN'T FIND OUT
HE WAS THE AUTHOR
UNTIL IT WAS IN HIS OBITUARY.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A GUY
WHO HAD SO MUCH HUMILITY,
IT DIDN'T EVEN SAY THE WORD
"PRESIDENT" ON HIS HEADSTONE.
BUT SOME EXPERTS BELIEVE
JEFFERSON MERELY EDITED
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
AND THAT ITS UNIQUE STYLE,
SPELLING, AND CAPITALIZATION
POINT TO THOMAS PAINE
AS THE PRIMARY AUTHOR.
PAINE WROTE "COMMON SENSE,"
WHICH MANY POINT TO
AS THE INSPIRATION
FOR THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
BUT HE WAS A CONTROVERSIAL
FIGURE WHO DRANK TOO MUCH
AND HAD IDEAS
THAT WERE TOO RADICAL
EVEN FOR THE FOUNDING FATHERS.
WHAT ABOUT THOMAS PAINE?
THAT IS A POSSIBILITY.
I THINK MOST HISTORIANS
WOULD AGREE
THAT WHEN "COMMON SENSE"
CAME OUT IN JANUARY 1776,
HE OPENED UP
A LOT OF THE IDEAS,
AND SO HE KIND OF LAID
THE GROUNDWORK
TO HAVE PEOPLE OPEN TO WHAT
THE DECLARATION WAS SAYING.
TREVOR, WE'VE ALSO HEARD
SOME INTERESTING RUMORS
ABOUT THE DECLARATION.
I HEARD THAT THERE WAS SOME SORT
OF HANDPRINT ON THE BACK OF IT.
IS THAT TRUE?
YES, THAT IS TRUE.
THERE IS A HANDPRINT
ON THE BACK.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE
GREAT UNKNOWNS.
WE DON'T KNOW
WHOSE HANDPRINT IT IS.
WE DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WAS DONE,
BUT WE DO KNOW IT'S THERE.
WAS IT INTENTIONAL?
WE HAVE NO WAY
OF KNOWING.
IT WAS IN THE HANDS
OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT
FOR MOST OF THE 19th CENTURY,
AND IT WAS ON DISPLAY
FOR MUCH OF THAT TIME.
IT WAS ACTUALLY ROLLED UP,
AND SO THEY'D HAVE TO ROLL IT
AND UNROLL IT SEVERAL TIMES,
SO IT WAS ALMOST LOVED
TOO MUCH.
WHEN YOU GO
TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,
YOU KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER-ONE
QUESTION THE GUARDS ARE ASKED?
IS THERE A MAP ON THE BACK OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
LIKE IN THE MOVIE
"NATIONAL TREASURE"?
THERE ISN'T A MAP,
BUT THERE IS THAT HANDPRINT.
OF COURSE, THERE'S BEEN A TON
OF SPECULATION
AS TO WHO LEFT THE HANDPRINT,
BUT MY FAVORITE THEORY IS THAT
THOMAS PAINE PUT HIS HANDPRINT
ON THE BACK OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
TO PROTEST NOT BEING ALLOWED TO
SIGN THE DOCUMENT THAT HE WROTE.
THE TRUE ORIGINAL
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THAT WAS PASSED
ON JULY 4, 1776, IS LOST.
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS.
IT'S GONE.
WHAT YOU SAW IS THE ONE
THAT WAS ACTUALLY ENGROSSED
AFTER NEW YORK
APPROVED THE DECLARATION.
OKAY, NOBODY ADVERTISES
THAT IT'S LOST.
I DON'T KNOW WHY.
BUT WHEN THEY PASSED
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
ON JULY 4, 1776,
ONLY TWO PEOPLE SIGNED IT.
IT WAS JOHN HANCOCK,
WHO WAS THE PRESIDENT,
AND CHARLES THOMSON,
WHO WAS THE SECRETARY
OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
AND IT DOESN'T SAY "UNANIMOUS"
BECAUSE NEW YORK HAD
NOT APPROVED IT YET.
SO, I'M HAVING TROUBLE
WITH THINKING THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE IS LOST.
I MEAN,
WHERE MIGHT IT POP UP?
WELL, ONE OF THE DUNLAPS --
WHICH, OF THE 200 BROADSIDES,
ONLY 26 ARE KNOWN --
THEY WERE PRINTED
ON JULY 4 --
ACTUALLY TURNED UP
AT A FLEA MARKET
BEHIND A PAINTING
SOMEBODY BOUGHT.
THEY TORE THE PAINTING APART
TO TAKE THE FRAME --
THEY WERE GOING TO USE
THE FRAME --
AND THERE WAS THE DUNLAP
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
THE PAINTING
WAS PURCHASED FOR 4 BUCKS.
THE COPY OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
SOLD FOR OVER $8 MILLION.
THAT IS WHY MY MOTHER,
GOD BLESS HER,
LOVED FLEA MARKETS.
YOU CAN GET CHEAP,
IRREGULAR SOCKS
AND A COPY OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
AND THAT'S A BROADSIDE?
A BROADSIDE.
THAT'S NOT THE ORIGINAL.
AND NORMAN LEAR HAS IT.
HE OWNS IT.
SO, IT'S NOT FARFETCHED THAT
SOMEONE WOULD UNCOVER THE --
WELL, THERE'S ONLY ONE.
THERE'S 200 DUNLAP BROADSIDES
OUT THERE,
AND WE ONLY KNOW OF 26.
BUT THERE'S ONLY ONE
THAT WAS PASSED
ON JULY 4, 1776,
THAT WAS RUSHED DOWN
TO THE PRINTER.
WOW.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE MY DREAM
TO FIND IT
OR BE CONTACTED
WHEN IT IS FOUND
SO I GET A CHANCE
TO HOLD IT AND SEE IT.
OKAY, HERE'S MY FAVORITE PART.
WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT
IS CALLED THE FAIR COPY OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
THE TRUE FIRST COPY
OF THE DECLARATION.
BUT AFTER SUBMITTING IT
TO CONGRESS,
THIS FAIR COPY DISAPPEARED.
TO THIS DAY,
IT IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF MISSING
HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS --
JEFFERSON'S FIRST COMPLETE DRAFT
OF THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE AS WE KNOW IT.
ONE OF THE THINGS
I'M INTERESTED IN
IS THE QUESTION OF AUTHORSHIP OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
SOME PEOPLE SAY,
"WELL, YOU KNOW,
"IT MIGHT WELL HAVE BEEN
THOMAS PAINE
WHO WROTE THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE."
THOMAS PAINE.
YOU GOT TO FIGURE WHEN HE WROTE
"COMMON SENSE,"
WASHINGTON WAS AT WAR,
AND ONLY ONE-THIRD OF THE PEOPLE
WERE BEHIND THEM.
AND THEN IN JANUARY 1776,
OUT COMES THIS "COMMON SENSE,"
AND NOW ANOTHER THIRD
OF THE COUNTRY COMES BEHIND.
AND IN "COMMON SENSE," WHAT HE
DID WAS HE SAID, YOU KNOW,
"WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY WE'RE
GONNA DECLARE OUR INDEPENDENCE,"
WHICH IS REALLY WHAT THE
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IS.
WE ALSO HEARD THAT WE MIGHT BE
CELEBRATING ON THE WRONG DAY.
OH, ABSOLUTELY.
YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CELEBRATING
ON THE WRONG DAY.
INDEPENDENCE
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WAS DECLARED
ON JULY 2, 1776.
THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
IS THE INSTRUMENT
THAT EXPLAINS
 WHY WE DECLARED
OUR INDEPENDENCE.
EVERYBODY SIGNED THAT
ON AUGUST 2, 1776.
DO YOU HAVE
ANY OTHER FAVORITE STORIES?
THOMAS JEFFERSON BEALE
"PAPERS."
VERY, VERY EXCITING.
OKAY, THE BEALE TREASURE
ISN'T JUST ASSOCIATED WITH
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING
AND LEGENDARY TREASURE-HUNTING
MYSTERIES OF ALL TIME.
ACCORDING TO THE STORY,
OVER 100 YEARS AGO,
A WEALTHY VIRGINIAN
NAMED THOMAS JEFFERSON BEALE --
AND THAT'S A FAKE I.D. NAME
IF A I EVER HEARD ONE --
BURIED $65 MILLION OF GOLD
AND THEN USED A CODE BASED ON
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
TO SHIELD ITS HIDING PLACE.
IF THIS STORY SOUNDS FAMILIAR
TO YOU, THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS.
THE MOVIE "NATIONAL TREASURE"
TOOK ITS PREMISE
THAT THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
IS, IN FACT, A SORT OF TREASURE
MAP FROM "THE BEALE PAPERS."
BEALE SUPPOSEDLY HID
THE LOCATION
IN THREE SEPARATE CODES,
AND HE USED ONE OF THE HARDEST
CODES IN EXISTENCE TO HIDE IT --
A CODE THAT REQUIRES
A PARTICULAR WRITING
TO DECIPHER IT --
IN THIS CASE,
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
BEALE'S ON A HUNTING EXPEDITION
FROM NEW MEXICO INTO COLORADO,
AND THERE THEY DISCOVERED
A VEIN OF GOLD WITH 30 OTHERS,
AND IT WAS EXTRACTED
AND BROUGHT EAST.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF
PEOPLE LOOKING FOR THIS THING.
YES. OVER 100 YEARS,
AND THEY'RE STILL DIGGING.
DO YOU THINK "THE BEALE PAPERS"
ARE LEGITIMATE?
YOU DON'T KNOW,
BUT IT'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW,
WE REALLY
SHOULD NOT EXHAUST,
BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT,
THE CIPHER IS VERY CLEAR.
ONE OF THE THREE LETTERS
OF THE BEALE TREASURE
HAS BEEN DECODED USING
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
BUT WHAT IF THE OTHER TWO
CAN ONLY BE UNLOCKED
USING THAT ORIGINAL COPY?
BUDDY, McKINLEY, AND SCOTT ARE
ABOUT TO FIND OUT THE SECRET.
BUT IMAGINE FINDING
THAT ORIGINAL FAIR COPY.
Meltzer: THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE HAD 56 SIGNERS.
WE ALL REMEMBER JEFFERSON,
ADAMS, FRANKLIN, AND HANCOCK.
BUT 52 OTHER MEN
ALSO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE
FOR SOMETHING THEY BELIEVED IN.
THEY MIGHT NOT BE FAMOUS, BUT
THEY'RE ALL FOUNDING FATHERS.
IN DECODING THE DECLARATION,
BUDDY, MAC, AND SCOTT
HAVE STUMBLED ON TO THE STORY
OF THE BEALE TREASURE,
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS
UNCRACKED CODES OF ALL TIME.
Ward: "THE BEALE PAPERS"
STARTS IN 1817.
NOT FAR FROM HERE,
A RICH VIRGINIAN ORGANIZES
A PARTY OF 30 ADVENTUROUS MEN
TO GO ON A HUNTING EXPEDITION
TO THE GREAT SOUTHWEST,
THE WILDERNESS, SANTA FE.
ONE OF THE GUYS
GOES INTO A CLEFT --
THIS MOUNTAINOUS TERRITORY.
A LITTLE FLASH, AND THEN
HE GOES A LITTLE FURTHER.
"WHAT IS THIS?
WHAT IS THIS?
COULD BE GOLD."
AND IT IS GOLD.
THEY DISCOVER GOLD.
AND THAT PLEASURABLE
HUNTING TRIP -- PSHEW.
MERCENARY, RIGHT?
WHAT DOES GOLD
TO DO YOU?
[ LAUGHS ]
MAKES YOU GREEDY
AND CRAZY.
HERE'S HOW THE STORY GOES.
THOMAS J. BEALE HID THE GOLD
NEAR LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA,
AND THEN WROTE
THREE CIPHERED LETTERS.
THE FIRST DETAIL
WHERE THE TREASURE WAS...
THE SECOND,
HOW MUCH WAS THERE...
AND THE THIRD,
WHO WAS INTENDED TO INHERIT IT.
BEALE LEFT HE CIPHERS WITH AN
INNKEEPER NAMED ROBERT MORRISS,
AND THIS IS WHERE THE STORY
REALLY GETS INSANE.
WE'RE NOT EVEN SURE
THERE WAS AN INNKEEPER
NAMED MORRISS NEAR LYNCHBURG.
BUT WE ARE SURE
THERE WAS A FOUNDING FATHER
NAMED ROBERT MORRIS --
ONE OF THE SIGNERS OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
COINCIDENCE? MAYBE.
BUT YOU BETTER BELIEVE
IT MAKES ME WANT TO FIND
THAT ORIGINAL FAIR COPY
OF THE DECLARATION.
HOW DID THE PUBLIC FIRST BECOME
AWARE OF "THE BEALE PAPERS"?
IN 1885,
JAMES BEVERLY WARD,
A LYNCHBURG ATTORNEY,
COPYRIGHTED THE STORY
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
HE MAY HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED
WITH JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN,
WHO WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
 LYNCHBURG VIRGINIAN NEWSPAPER.
BUT MY RESEARCH TAKES
A DIFFERENT TACK.
MY THEORY IS POE
WROTE THIS STORY.
EDGAR ALLAN POE?
EDGAR ALLAN POE?
HE WROTE THE STORY
IN THE 1840s.
HE ALSO WROTE WHAT I BELIEVE
AND MANY BELIEVE
IS THE GREATEST
TREASURE-HUNTING STORY EVER,
CALLED "THE GOLD-BUG."
Meltzer:
AS A MYSTERY WRITER,
OF COURSE I'M A FAN
OF EDGAR ALLAN POE.
POE WAS FAMOUS
FOR WRITING HORROR CLASSICS
LIKE "THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM"
AND "THE RAVEN."
BUT HE WAS ALSO OBSESSED
WITH CODES
AND WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR POPULARIZING CRYPTOGRAPHY
IN AMERICA.
HE EVEN USED TO RUN CONTESTS
IN THE NEWSPAPER
WHERE HE CHALLENGED READERS
TO BREAK HIS CODES,
SO CREATING A CODE BASED ON
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
A DOCUMENT THAT EVERYONE IN
AMERICA WOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH,
THAT'S JUST THE KIND OF THING
POE WOULD HAVE LOVED.
HERE'S THE STORY
OF "THE GOLD-BUG."
IT'S ABOUT A MAN
WHO DECODES A CIPHER
AND FINDS A BURIED TREASURE.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
ONE OF THE PLOTS
OF THE STORY
IS THAT YOU HAVE TO SOLVE
THE CIPHER.
AND IT'S
A SUBSTITUTION CIPHER
THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE
GET A KICK OUT OF.
YOU KNOW, IT'S SIMPLE ENOUGH
THAT YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT,
AND POE EXPLAINS IT
IN THE STORY.
IT WAS THE FIRST GREAT
TREASURE HUNT COMBINED
CRYPTOGRAPHY STORY,
AND THIS IS
THE SAME KIND OF STORY.
SO, POE DEFINITELY WROTE IT
AS A WORK OF FICTION?
THERE'S NO GOLD OUT THERE?
POE WROTE IT?
IF HE WROTE IT,
IT WAS TO LAUGH AT THE MOB.
HE LOVED TO FOOL PEOPLE.
AND HE'S STILL GETTING
THE LAST LAUGH, THEN,
BECAUSE HE'S STILL
FOOLING PEOPLE.
THAT'S WHY I THINK
THAT, YOU KNOW,
THIS IS REALLY
A LITERARY TREASURE.
HERE'S HOW BEALE'S CIPHER
REALLY WORKED.
FIRST, HE CAME UP
WITH THIS PLAINTEXT
OF WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SAY.
IN THE CASE OF THE ONE BEALE
LETTER THAT WE HAVE CRACKED,
IT WAS THE QUANTITY OF GOLD
STORED IN THE VAULT.
THEN HE CHOSE A KEY.
IN THIS CASE, THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE --
A DOCUMENT THAT HE KNEW
WOULD ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE.
NUMBERING THE WORDS OF
THE DECLARATION CHRONOLOGICALLY
FROM ONE TO 1,322,
BEALE USED THE FIRST LETTER
OF EACH WORD.
SO EVERY TIME HE FOUND
A LETTER HE WANTED,
HE MARKED THE CORRESPONDING
NUMBER IN THE CIPHERTEXT.
SOUND COMPLICATED?
IT'S NOT...
UNLESS YOU DON'T HAVE THE EXACT
DOCUMENT THAT BEALE WAS USING,
WHICH IS WHY CODE BREAKERS
HAVE BEEN BANGING THEIR HEADS
AGAINST THE WALL
TO BREAK THE OTHER 2 CIPHERS
FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS.
Levy: IF WE UNDERSTAND IT
CORRECTLY,
YOU ARE A DESCENDENT
OF EDGAR ALLAN POE.
I'M DESCENDED
FROM HIS COUSIN WILLIAM.
OKAY.
YOU KNOW THE WORK
OF EDGAR ALLAN POE.
YES.
I'M ASSUMING YOU HAVE
LOOKED IN A LITTLE BIT
TO "THE BEALE PAPERS."
I HAVE.
OKAY.
WELL, AS WE LOOK AT THE STORY
OF "THE BEALE PAPERS,"
THEY KEEP COMING BACK
TO THOMAS JEFFERSON
AND THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE.
DID EDGAR ALLAN POE HAVE
ANY CONNECTION TO JEFFERSON
AND THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE?
HE DID.
POE WAS A STUDENT
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
THE SECOND SESSION
THAT IT WAS OPEN.
THE UNIVERSITY WAS
THOMAS JEFFERSON'S PET PROJECT.
AND JEFFERSON INVITED
ALL OF THE STUDENTS
TO SUPPER AT MONTICELLO.
SO, POE WOULD HAVE MET
JEFFERSON,
WOULD HAVE DINED WITH HIM,
AND JEFFERSON HAD A COPY OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THERE IN HIS ENTRYWAY.
YOU CAN SEE IT THERE TODAY.
IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY
THAT THAT ONE
IS ACTUALLY WHAT THEY CALL
THE FAIR COPY
OR THE ORIGINAL DRAFT
OF THE DECLARATION?
NO. JEFFERSON HAD
A LIMITED-EDITION COPY,
A PRINTED COPY WITH
ORNAMENTATION AROUND THE EDGES.
IT'S VERY RARE, VERY EXPENSIVE,
BUT THAT'S WHAT HE HAD.
NOW, HIS WORKING DRAFTS
I SAW IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
SOME YEARS AGO.
HE DID NOT RETAIN THOSE BECAUSE
THAT BELONGED TO THE NATION.
HAL, IN YOUR
PROFESSORIAL OPINION,
LOOKING AT LITERARY STYLE
AND CONTEXT,
COULD EDGAR ALLAN POE HAVE
WRITTEN "THE BEALE PAPERS"?
JUST THINK ABOUT THE IDEA
THAT IT CONTAINS MANY ELEMENTS
SIMILAR TO POE.
EVERY MYSTERY STORY IS
IN THE STYLE OF EDGAR ALLAN POE,
BECAUSE POE INVENTED
THE MYSTERY STORY.
OKAY, READY FOR SOMETHING COOL?
NEARLY EVERY MYSTERY CAN FIT
INTO ONE OF FIVE CATEGORIES,
ALL OF WHICH CAN BE CREDITED
TO EDGAR ALLAN POE.
THERE'S THE TREASURE-MAP STORY,
WHERE YOU HAVE TO SOLVE
A MYSTERY TO GET TO THE MYSTERY.
THERE'S THE INNOCENT MAN
FALSELY ACCUSED.
THERE'S THE MYSTERY WHERE
THE DETECTIVE KNOWS THE VILLAIN,
BUT MUST TRICK HIM
INTO CONFESSING.
AND, OF COURSE,
THE CLASSIC WHODUNIT.
BUT MY FAVORITE KIND
IS THE FIFTH,
AS IN POE'S STORY
"THE PURLOINED LETTER."
WHERE'S THE ANSWER?
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
BUT POE DIED IN 1849,
AND "THE BEALE PAPERS"
WERE WRITTEN WAY LATER.
IT MAKES REFERENCE TO WHAT
IN SOME SECTIONS OF VIRGINIA
IS STILL REFERRED TO
AS THE LATE UNPLEASANTNESS.
THE CIVIL WAR IS REFERENCED
IN "THE BEALE PAPERS."
SO, HAL, BASED ON
WHAT YOU'VE TOLD US,
WE CAN RULE OUT
EDGAR ALLAN POE
AS THE AUTHOR
OF "THE BEALE PAPERS."
I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
WHOEVER WROTE IT WAS WRITING
IN THE TRADITION OF POE
THAT CONTINUES
TO THIS DAY,
BUT YOU WOULD NEED TO LOOK
SOMEWHERE ELSE
FOR THE ONE WHO CREATED
THIS STORY.
Rolle: IT WAS
AN INCREDIBLE THEORY.
THE PROBLEM IS
THAT EDGAR ALLAN POE, YOU KNOW,
DIED BEFORE THIS ALL
CAME ABOUT.
YEAH.
A POE COPYCAT, MAYBE.
THAT'S TRUE.
POSSIBLY.
BUT HERE'S THE BIG KEY --
IT'S "THE BEALE PAPERS."
SO, IF THOMAS BEALE NEVER
EXISTED, THEN IT IS A HOAX.
SO, HOW DO WE FIND OUT IF
THOMAS BEALE EVER TRULY EXISTED?
WELL, THERE'S GOT TO BE
SOME SORT OF RECORDS OUT THERE.
BIRTH CERTIFICATES WEREN'T
NECESSARILY KEPT BACK THEN --
DEATH CERTIFICATES --
BUT THEY WERE IN SOME INSTANCES.
THERE COULD EVEN BE
MILITARY RECORDS.
SURE, OR LAND OWNERSHIP --
SOMETHING.
ABSOLUTELY.
SOMETHING IN THE NEWSPAPERS.
SO, IF THIS GUY EXISTED,
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME WRITTEN
DOCUMENTATION OF IT SOMEWHERE.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
SO, MOST OF MY STUFF
SHOULD BE ONLINE
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
DATABASE.
WE'RE GONNA HIT
THE CARD-CATALOG ROOM
AND CHECK TO SEE
WHAT WE CAN FIND THERE.
WHAT DID YOU FIND?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
I MEAN,
I COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING
THAT SAYS THAT THOMAS BEALE
ACTUALLY EXISTED.
THERE'S NO RECORDS.
WELL, "THE BEALE PAPERS"
EXIST, OBVIOUSLY,
AND ARE COPYRIGHTED.
I SEARCHED BY TITLE
TO FIND "THE BEALE PAPERS."
HERE THEY ARE.
Rolle: OH, YEAH, LOOK.
"'THE BEALE PAPERS,'
CONTAINING AUTHENTIC STATEMENTS
REGARDING THE TREASURE BURIED
IN 1819 AND 1821, VIRGINIA."
OKAY, THAT'S LEGITIMATE.
I MEAN, THIS IS LEGITIMATE,
COPYRIGHTED.
SO, JAMES BEVERLY WARD --
AND THE FIRST PLACE
THAT THIS WAS PUBLISHED
IS IN
THE LYNCHBURG VIRGINIAN,
WHICH BELONGS
TO JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN.
WE KNOW THAT GUY EXISTS.
RIGHT.
AND THE AUTHOR HERE
IS JAMES B. WARD.
HERE'S THE QUESTION
I WOULD HAVE.
CAN WE ASSUME HE EXISTED
BECAUSE HE "COPYWROTE"
THESE PAPERS?
IS JAMES B. WARD FAKE?
WE FOUND EVIDENCE
OF "THE BEALE PAPERS,"
BUT THE STRANGE THING IS,
THOMAS JEFFERSON BEALE
DID NOT OWN THE COPYRIGHT.
THE OWNERS WERE TWO GUYS
NAMED JAMES WARD
AND JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN.
Meltzer:
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
IS ARGUABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
DOCUMENT IN OUR HISTORY,
YET THE ORIGINAL COPY
IS MISSING,
LOST SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA.
SOME BELIEVE THAT
NOT ONLY IS IT LOST,
BUT THAT IT MAY BE HOLDING
THE KEY
TO A $65 MILLION GOLD TREASURE.
SO, BUDDY, McKINLEY, AND SCOTT
HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
IN HOPES OF TRACKING DOWN
THOMAS J. BEALE'S TREASURE.
SO FAR, THEY'VE BEEN FOCUSED
SOLELY ON BEALE HIMSELF,
BUT THEIR INVESTIGATION HAS JUST
TURNED UP TWO NEW SUSPECTS --
JAMES BEVERLY WARD
AND JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN.
Levy: HEY, BRAD.
What we have to remember
is history is a centuries-old
game of telephone.
And what do we do
in the game of telephone?
We have to find
who made the first whisper.
We have to go back to the same
question we always ask --
the most vital question
of all -- who benefits?
The first whisper is usually
the person who profited.
McKinley:
WHO MADE THE FIRST WHISPER?
I THINK ROBERT WARD
SAID SOMETHING
ABOUT THE FIRST PLACE
"THE BEALE PAPERS" APPEARED.
"THE BEALE PAPERS" CLAIM
TO CONTAIN AUTHENTIC STATEMENTS
CONCERNING TREASURE BURIED
IN 1819 AND 1821.
BUT THEY WEREN'T ACTUALLY
PUBLISHED UNTIL 1885.
THAT GAVE THE INNKEEPER,
ROBERT MORRIS,
PLENTY OF TIME
TO DECODE THE SECOND CIPHER.
THE AUTHOR OF "THE BEALE PAPERS"
WAS KEPT ANONYMOUS,
BUT THE PUBLISHER
AND COPYRIGHTER WERE NOT.
THE COPYRIGHT BELONGED
TO JAMES BEVERLY WARD,
AND IT WAS PUBLISHED
BY THE LYNCHBURG VIRGINIAN.
THE NEWSPAPER.
OH, WHOEVER ADVERTISED THEM.
EXACTLY.
THERE YOU GO.
WHAT'S THE GUY
WHO PUBLISHED THEM
ON THE COPYRIGHT?
Levy: WARD.
WHO IS WARD?
YEAH, AND IS WARD IN ANY WAY
CONNECTED TO THE NEWSPAPER?
THAT'S THE QUESTION.
MELTZER: You smell that?
That was decoding just now.
I just heard it.
DO YOU THINK THAT THOMAS BEALE
EVEN ACTUALLY EXISTED?
YES, THERE ARE RECORDS OF HIM
IN NEW ORLEANS.
I HAVE AT LEAST ONE PICTURE
OF A COURT DOCUMENT,
AND HIS NAME
APPEARS THERE.
AND IT FIT THE DATE
AND TIME?
YES. YES.
WE'VE COME ACROSS
JAMES BEVERLY WARD.
YES.
WELL, HE WAS A KEY PLAYER,
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
HE APPLIED FOR A COPYRIGHT
TO THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS
AS AGENT FOR THE AUTHOR.
WHO'S THAT MAN?
IS HE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE LYNCHBURG VIRGINIAN?
ABSOLUTELY.
JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN?
JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN.
JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN WAS
THE EDITOR OF THE NEWSPAPER.
IN NOVEMBER OF '85,
JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN BOUGHT THE
NEWSPAPER FROM CHARLES BUTTON.
HE PAID $5,000 DOWN
AND A $10,000 I.O.U.
WELL, WITHIN SIX MONTHS,
THE PAPER RAN
INTO FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.
AND THAT IS WHEN
THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN STARTED
TO SELL "THE BEALE PAPERS"
FOR 10 CENTS, A DIME.
HE HATCHED THE IDEA,
BUT HE COULDN'T HAVE HIS NAME ON
IT BECAUSE EVERYBODY KNEW HIM.
SO THAT'S WHY HE WENT TO
JAMES WARD, WHO WAS HIS COUSIN,
AND ASKED HIM TO APPLY
FOR COPYRIGHT ON HIS BEHALF.
AND THEY RAN THE ADS FOR
"THE BEALE PAPERS" IN THE PAPER?
IN THE LYNCHBURG VIRGINIAN --
NOWHERE ELSE.
SO, THESE ADS
APPEARED 84 TIMES
FROM THE SPRING OF '86
TO THE END OF AUGUST OF '86.
THAT'S ALMOST
EVERY SECOND DAY OR SO.
WHO ELSE COULD AFFORD
TO RUN THIS MANY ADS?
EXACTLY.
FOLLOW THE MONEY, RIGHT?
THAT'S ALWAYS THE KEY PART
OF THE STORY.
AND WHEN YOU FOLLOW IT HERE,
IT LEADS RIGHT BACK
TO THE PROFITS OF A NEWSPAPER --
A NEWSPAPER THAT BENEFITED
FROM PEOPLE BELIEVING THE STORY.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME,
I'M STARTING TO WONDER
IF THE GREAT BEALE TREASURE IS
NOTHING MORE THAN A GREAT HOAX.
SO, THERE IS NO CODE.
YOU CAN'T CRACK
ONE AND THREE
BECAUSE THERE'S
NOTHING THERE TO CRACK.
NO, THERE'S
NOTHING THERE TO CRACK.
Levy: IT'S ONE THING TO BE
AN EDITOR OF A NEWSPAPER,
BUT DID JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN
HAVE THE SKILLS,
THE CAPABILITY TO WRITE A STORY
OF THIS MAGNITUDE?
HE WAS
A VERY TALENTED WRITER.
NOT ONLY DID HE WRITE
VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE NEWSPAPER,
BUT IN HIS NIGHTTIME,
HE WAS A DIME NOVELIST.
AND IN SHERMAN'S
DIME NOVELS,
HE MIXES REAL PEOPLE
FROM THE PAST
WITH FICTIONAL EVENTS
TODAY.
A GREAT MANY ARE ALSO ON
THE THEMES OF GOLD AND TREASURE.
WHY IS IT THAT YOU HAVEN'T
PUT THIS THING TO REST?
THERE ARE PEOPLE
STILL LOOKING, RIGHT?
OH, TREASURE HUNTERS
WILL NEVER GIVE UP.
WE'VE NOW HEARD
SOME PRETTY COMPELLING EVIDENCE
TO SUGGEST THAT THE LOCATION
OF THE BEALE TREASURE
MIGHT NOT BE UNLOCKED WITH
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
FOR OVER 125 YEARS,
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CHASING
THIS BEALE TREASURE.
THEY'VE USED THE DECLARATION
TO CRACK ONE
OF ITS THREE CODED LETTERS,
BUT THE OTHER TWO -- NOTHING.
AS A RESULT, MANY SCREAM THAT
IT'S SIMPLY A 19th-CENTURY HOAX.
BUT WE JUST FOUND TWO PEOPLE
WHO INSIST THAT EVERYONE'S BEEN
LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE.
THE SEARCH FOR
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
HAS LED US
TO THE BEALE TREASURE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN CHASING
FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY.
WE'VE UNCOVERED
A FEW INACCURACIES,
AND WE'RE UNCERTAIN WHETHER
THE TREASURE'S REPUTED OWNER,
THOMAS J. BEALE,
WAS A REAL PERSON OR AN ALIAS
BASED ON THE NAME
OF THE DECLARATION'S ARCHITECT,
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Levy: IF THERE IS $65 MILLION
STILL OUT THERE,
THERE'S PROBABLY
A PAPER TRAIL STILL.
THERE'S GOT TO BE DOCUMENTARY
EVIDENCE OF THIS HUNT.
McKinley: I'M CURIOUS MORE
ABOUT THE CRYPTOGRAPHY --
HOW SPECIFICALLY
IT WORKS,
HOW THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
UNLOCKED
THAT SECOND MESSAGE
AND HOW YOU GET
TO THE FIRST AND THIRD.
EVERYONE DREAMS
OF DISCOVERING TREASURE, RIGHT?
AND IT HAPPENS
MORE OFTEN THAN YOU THINK.
IN THE 1980s, SILVER AND GOLD
FROM A SUNKEN PIRATE SHIP
WERE FOUND OF THE COAST
OF NEW ENGLAND.
IN 2009, 1,500 PIECES OF GOLD,
SILVER, AND PRECIOUS STONES
WERE UNEARTHED IN A FIELD
IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINAL
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
HAS LED BUDDY, SCOTT, AND
McKINLEY TO THE BEALE TREASURE.
SCOTT AND McKINLEY ARE NOW
MEETING WITH A CODE BREAKER
WHO INSISTS THAT HE'S MADE A
BREAKTHROUGH IN THE BEALE CASE.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO US
HOW TWO WAS DECODED
USING THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE?
THEY TOOK THE WORDS OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
AND NUMBERED THEM.
OKAY.
AND AS THEY WENT THROUGH,
THEY TOOK THE FIRST LETTER
OF THOSE WORDS
TO CREATE THE CIPHER.
SO, THE FIRST NUMBER
IN THE CIPHER IS 115.
SO I SHOULD GO
TO THE 115th WORD...
AND USE THE FIRST LETTER.
...WHICH IS "INSTITUTED."
"I."
I JUST TAKE THE "I."
SECOND ONE IS 73 --
"HOLD."
SO IT'S "H."
"H."
21, 22, 23, 24.
"A."
800 -- AND SO,
IS THAT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7?
"VALUABLE."
OH, IT'S A "V."
Rolle: YEP.
"I HAVE."
IT'S STARTING TO LOOK
LIKE "I HAVE," YEAH.
37.
SHOULD BE AN "E."
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
IT'S AN "E."
"EQUAL."
"I HAVE."
SO, IS THAT WRITTEN
SOMEWHERE IN HERE?
YEAH, ACTUALLY THE PLAINTEXT
IS BELOW THE CIPHER.
OH, LOOK!
"I HAVE DEPOSITED
IN THE COUNTY OF BEDFORD
ABOUT FOUR MILES
FROM BUFORDS IN A..."
"EXCAVATION OR VAULT..."
"OR VAULT..."
"6 FEET..."
"BELOW THE SURFACE
OF THE GROUND."
SO, THIS WORKS PERFECTLY
FOR THE SECOND CIPHER,
BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM
TO WORK FOR THE FIRST.
RIGHT.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WAS NOT USED FOR ONE AND THREE.
OKAY.
NOW, IT'S BEEN TRIED.
IT'S BEEN DONE THAT WAY, AND IT
COMES OUT MOSTLY AS GIBBERISH.
WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS
A DOCUMENT THAT THEY USED
IS YET TO BE FOUND.
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS
FOR 175 YEARS
AND HAVE NOT HAD
THE ABILITY TO CRACK IT.
DAVID LEARNED TO CRACK CODES
FROM AN NSA CRYPTOLOGIST --
THE BEST CODE CRACKERS
IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
DAVID'S MENTOR
IS NOT THE FIRST NSA MAN
TO BECOME OBSESSED
WITH THE BEALE CIPHERS.
IN FACT, THE BEALE CODES
CAPTURED THE ATTENTION
OF WILLIAM FRIEDMAN,
WHO WAS THE NSA's
FIRST CHIEF CRYPTOLOGIST.
FRIEDMAN HELPED THE U.S.
WIN WORLD WAR II
BY BREAKING JAPAN'S PURPLE CODE.
HE ALSO MADE THE BEALE CIPHERS
PART OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM
FOR INCOMING CODE BREAKERS.
HE SPOKE OF THE DIABOLICAL
INGENUITY OF THE CIPHERS,
AND HE DEVOTED MANY YEARS
TO TRYING TO BREAK THEM HIMSELF.
SO IF THE BEALE CIPHERS
ARE A SCAM,
THEN OVER THE YEARS, THEY'VE
SCAMMED SOME OF OUR VERY BEST.
BUT A FRIEND OF MINE, WHO
HAPPENED TO WORK FOR THE NSA,
DECIPHERED THE LOCALITY
OF THE VAULT
USING
THE FREQUENCY METHOD --
HOW FREQUENTLY THE LETTER OCCURS
IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
BY COUNTING THE NUMBERS, YOU
FIND THE MOST FREQUENT NUMBER,
AND THAT WOULD BE
THE MOST FREQUENT LETTER.
SO, SAY, 71 APPEARS
OVER AND OVER AND OVER,
YOU KNOW 71
IS GONNA BE --
PROBABLY AN "E"
OR AN "S."
OKAY.
IT'S JUST LIKE SOLVING
THOSE PUZZLES
WHERE LETTERS STAND
FOR OTHER LETTERS.
IF YOU SEE AN "X,"
A LOT OF TIMES YOU CAN GUESS
THAT IT'S AN "S" OR AN "E."
EXACTLY. EXACTLY.
THAT IS EXACTLY
THE FREQUENCY METHOD.
THIS SAYS, "THE VAULT LOCATION
BURIED NEW ORLEANS.
TREASURE RESTS NEAR STONE
IN LOCATION
AT CREOLE TOSHONE NATION."
SO, DO YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS,
READING THIS?
'CAUSE I DON'T.
I HAVE FOUND A LOCATION
THAT I THINK
IS WHERE THE TREASURE RESTS.
I WAS GONNA SAY, YOU DO HAVE
A TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS PLANNED?
DAVID, THERE HAVE BEEN
SOME INCREDIBLY SMART PEOPLE
LOOKING AT THIS
FOR A LONG TIME.
I MEAN,
WHY IN THE WORLD
HASN'T ANYBODY BEEN
ABLE TO FIND IT YET?
PEOPLE ARE LOOKING
IN VIRGINIA.
THEY'RE DIGGING HOLES
IN VIRGINIA, NOT IN NEW ORLEANS.
AND WHY AREN'T YOU THERE
WITH A SHOVEL?
WELL,
IT'S CURRENTLY FLOODED.
OH.
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
OVERFLOWED,
SO I EXPECT
THAT THE VAULT'S
PROBABLY FILLED IN
WITH SEDIMENT ANYWAY.
THAT WON'T BE THE CASE
FOREVER, THOUGH.
NO. NO. IT'LL DRY OUT.
SO THEN WE'LL GO.
WHATEVER YOU THINK
ABOUT THE BEALE TREASURE,
THE FREQUENCY METHOD
POTENTIALLY JUST UNLOCKED
WHAT THOUSANDS
OF TREASURE HUNTERS
HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR --
THE LOCATION OF THE TREASURE
IN THE VERY FIRST BEALE LETTER.
SO, IS IT THERE?
WE WON'T KNOW THE ANSWER
UNTIL THE AREA DRIES OUT.
BUT MEANWHILE, BUDDY IS MEETING
WITH ANOTHER TREASURE HUNTER
WHO BELIEVES THAT THE KEY
TO UNLOCKING THE CODE
AND UNLOCKING BEALE
LIES WITHIN THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE ITSELF.
I UNDERSTAND YOU MIGHT HAVE
AN INTERESTING THEORY
ABOUT "THE BEALE PAPERS."
I PICKED UP A BOOK,
"THE MEMOIRS OF JEAN LAFITTE,"
AND AS I WAS GOING
THROUGH THERE,
I WAS JUST CONSTANTLY GETTING
THUMPED IN THE HEAD.
YOU KNOW, THIS WORKS
WITH THE BEALE THING.
I JUST STARTED RUNNING SOME
CORRELATION BETWEEN THE DATES,
THE PERIODS, THE INFORMATION
IN BOTH BOOKS.
THIS IS EXACTLY
THE SAME LANGUAGE.
THIS IS EXACTLY
THE SAME DATES.
IT JUST KEPT GOING.
THE COINCIDENCES
WERE STACKING UP SO FAST,
IT WAS LIKE, AT WHAT POINT
DO COINCIDENCES
NO LONGER MEAN COINCIDENCES?
AND WHAT WERE
SOME OF THOSE COINCIDENCES?
THE DATES THAT JEAN LAFITTE
HAS MONEY OUT THERE.
IN BOTH BOOKS,
ALL OF THESE DATES
ARE COMING TOGETHER
IN THE SAME POINT IN TIME.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
"THE MEMOIRS OF JEAN LAFITTE"
AND THEN "THE BEALE PAPERS"?
EXACTLY.
JEAN LAFITTE IS A NAME
THAT COMES UP VERY OFTEN
IN THE STUDY
OF "THE BEALE PAPERS."
SOME SAY THAT THE BEALE TREASURE
ACTUALLY BELONGED
TO PIRATE LAFITTE.
LAFITTE WAS A PIRATE
AND A SMUGGLER
WHO OPERATED
AROUND THE GULF OF MEXICO
60 YEARS BEFORE THE BEALE
CIPHERS EVER CAME TO LIGHT.
HIS SUCCESS AS A PIRATE
MADE HIM RICH ENOUGH
TO ACCOUNT FOR MUCH MORE
THAN THE $65 MILLION TREASURE
THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR,
AND IT MADE HIM A WANTED MAN
IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
AND LET'S BE CLEAR --
IT ALSO MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE
THE GUY WHO PARKED CAMERON'S CAR
IN "FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF."
BUT LAFITTE APPEARS
TO HAVE DEVELOPED
A STRONG SENSE
OF AMERICAN PATRIOTISM,
AND HE OFFERED HIS SERVICES
TO ANDREW JACKSON
TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE HIM
DURING THE WAR OF 1812.
LAFITTE AND HIS MEN SUCCESSFULLY
HELPED BEAT UP THE BRITISH NAVY
IN THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS,
AND IN TURN,
JACKSON PRAISED HIS COURAGE
AND FIDELITY
BEFORE GRANTING HIM
A FULL PARDON.
HOW DID YOU GET FROM
"THE MEMOIRS OF JEAN LAFITTE"
ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THOMAS BEALE?
IT'S AN ARREST WARRANT
THAT CONNECTS THOMAS BEALE
WITH LAFITTE.
CAN I SEE IT?
YEAH, SURE.
THIS IS AN ARREST WARRANT
FOR LAFITTE.
IT IS SIGNED
AND ISSUED BY...
NONE OTHER THAN
THOMAS BEALE.
WHO IS A WARD
OF THE COURT.
SO, THAT WOULD MAKE HIM
EITHER A LAWYER OR --
BASICALLY, HE'S DOING THE SAME
THING SHERIFFS DO TODAY
WHEN THEY SERVE WARRANTS.
THERE YOU GO.
AFTER ALL THIS TIME,
PROOF THAT THOMAS J. BEALE
DID EXIST.
AND NOW WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY.
WHEN BEALE CAPTURED LAFITTE,
HE COULD HAVE EASILY CAPTURED
HIS TREASURE.
THE CONNECTION TO BEALE
IS STARTLING.
IF THAT'S TRUE,
THEN THE PROBABILITY
THAT THIS IS STILL OUT THERE --
IT'S PRETTY GOOD.
LAFITTE'S VERY CLEAR
IN HIS MEMOIRS.
HE WAS FOCUSED
ON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOR ALL THE PRINCIPLES
TO THAT MOST SACRED DOCUMENT,
THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE.
ALL THE ELEMENTS
ARE HERE.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
IS INTERWOVEN
INTO ALMOST EVERY DETAIL
OF "THE BEALE PAPERS."
THE TREASURE WAS REPORTEDLY
BURIED IN BEDFORD, VIRGINIA,
FORMER HOME OF OUR THIRD
PRESIDENT, THOMAS JEFFERSON.
SO, WHY PICK THAT TOWN?
WHAT'S ITS RELATION
TO THE DECLARATION?
THAT'S THE KICKER.
BACK THEN, BEDFORD, VIRGINIA,
WENT BY A VERY DIFFERENT NAME.
IT WAS CALLED "LIBERTY."
SO, YOU TELL ME
WHAT BETTER LOCATION THERE IS
FOR A MYSTERY THAT'S BASED ON
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
EVERYTHING COMES BACK
TO THE CORE PRINCIPLES
IN THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE -- EVERYTHING.
Rolle:
I THINK DAVID OXFORD'S THEORY
OF THE TREASURE BEING
IN NEW ORLEANS
MAKES A LOT MORE SENSE.
I MEAN, THE CIPHER
WAS DECIPHERED
BY A PERSON
WHO WORKS FOR THE NSA,
WHICH GIVES IT
SOME CREDIBILITY.
AND IT WAS STRAIGHT
FROM THE CIPHER
RATHER THAN THE CIPHER
LEADING YOU TO EDGAR ALLAN POE.
IT WAS
MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD.
BUT HERE'S THE THING.
THEY FOUND THAT THEY TREASURE
IS IN NEW ORLEANS,
BUT IT'S UNDERWATER.
IT'S A PLACE
WHERE WE CAN'T DIG.
SO, IT GETS YOU TO A PLACE
THAT CAN'T BE UNEARTHED,
SO WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
McKinley:
AND THEY DIDN'T USE THE
DECLARATION ON THE FIRST CIPHER.
THEY USED
A DIFFERENT SYSTEM.
BRAD ANDREWS,
THE MAN I TALKED TO,
BELIEVES THAT -- I MEAN,
HE SHOWED ME A COURT DOCUMENT
THAT CONNECTS
THOMAS J. BEALE
TO THE PIRATE JEAN LAFITTE
OF NEW ORLEANS,
AND THIS THING IS LEGIT.
McKinley: YOU KNOW
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THAT, TOO?
THE STORY OF, LIKE,
THE HUNTERS GOING
AND JUST RUNNING ACROSS THIS
GOLD MINE AND THEN MINING IT ---
UNH-UNH.
BUT A PIRATE?
THOSE GUYS HAVE TREASURE.
THEY JUST STEAL IT.
YEAH. AND, LISTEN,
JEAN LAFITTE AND HIS BROTHER --
THE PIRATES LAFITTE -- WERE
NOTORIOUS CORSAIRS OF THE GULF.
THEY DEFINITELY PLUNDERED
SPANISH SHIPS,
AND THEY HAD MONEY,
THEY HAD TREASURE.
RIGHT.
THAT MAKES MORE SENSE TO ME.
Rolle: WELL, THIS SEEMED
PRETTY SPECIFIC, TOO.
A LOT OF THE THINGS
REALLY PINPOINT
ALMOST AN EXACT LOCATION.
WOW.
DO YOU BUY IT?
I DON'T KNOW
IF I BUY IT.
WHY WOULD YOU GIVE OUT CLUES
TO A TREASURE YOU KNOW EXISTED?
IF $65 MILLION
IS OUT THERE,
THE LAST THING YOU'RE GONNA DO
IS PRINT INFORMATION
WHERE SOMEONE ELSE
CAN GO FIND IT.
RIGHT. SO, IS IT
A BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT STORY
AND A BRILLIANT PLAN,
OR IT'S AN ELABORATE HOAX?
INVESTIGATING
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
HAS PUT US ON THE TRAIL
OF THOMAS J. BEALE
AND A REPORTED
$65 MILLION IN TREASURE.
WE'VE JUST LEARNED
THAT THOMAS BEALE WAS REAL,
AND WE NOW KNOW HE HAD ACCESS
TO A VERY REAL TREASURE.
BUT WILL
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
SOME DAY LEAD A TREASURE HUNTER
TO REAL RICHES?
BUDDY, McKINLEY, AND SCOTT ARE
STILL SEARCHING FOR THAT ANSWER.
BY DECODING
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
WE LEARNED THE ORIGINAL
FAIR COPY IS STILL MISSING,
AND THE DECLARATION ITSELF
COULD LEAD TO $65 MILLION
HIDDEN BY THE MYSTERIOUS
VIRGINIAN
KNOWN AS THOMAS J. BEALE.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
IS THE KEY TO OUR DEMOCRACY,
BUT HERE'S THE BEST PART.
IS IT ALSO THE KEY
TO A NATIONAL TREASURE
THAT'S STILL OUT THERE RIGHT NOW
AND STILL UP FOR GRABS?
McKinley:
THIS IS REALLY GOOD.
A LITTLE MORE INTENSE
THAN A WEST COAST SLURPEE.
THIS AND CHEESESTEAKS.
WHAT COULD BE BETTER?
VERY PHILLY.
EXACTLY.
SO, IT'S SORT OF FITTING
THAT THIS JOURNEY WE'VE BEEN ON
THE LAST FEW DAYS
HAS LED US RIGHT HERE
TO THE SIGNING SPOT
OF THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE, ISN'T IT?
YEAH, IT IS.
THESE GUYS WHO SIGNED
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WERE MEN
OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT.
THEY WERE REALLY BIG FANS
OF LOGIC, REASON,
AND THEY WANTED US
TO BE EDUCATED.
AND YOU KNOW,
BEING OUT HERE REMINDS ME
OF WHAT WAS AT STAKE
AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
THESE GUYS HAD LAND
AND THEY HAD MONEY
AND THEY HAD
WEALTH AND COMFORT,
AND THEY WERE WILLING
TO GIVE IT ALL UP
TO DRAFT
THAT TREASONOUS DOCUMENT,
THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE.
I MEAN, HOW INCREDIBLE
THAT THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE
COMING OUT OF IT.
SO, DO YOU THINK THE ORIGINAL
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
IS STILL OUT THERE
SOMEWHERE?
TO ME, THERE WAS A BIT
OF AUTHENTICITY THERE.
YEAH, I AGREE.
I'M SURE THERE WAS
A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE.
BUT AREN'T YOU AMAZED
AT THE ROADS WE WENT DOWN?
OH, YEAH. ABSOLUTELY.
THE ARROWS WERE POINTING
EVERYWHERE IN THIS STORY.
I MEAN,
EDGAR ALLAN POE...
JEAN LAFITTE.
AND THAT'S THE THING.
THERE'S ENOUGH IN THE STORY
THAT'S BELIEVABLE.
THERE'S ENOUGH
THAT'S FACT-BASED
AND THAT IS VERIFIABLE
THROUGH HISTORICAL RECORDS
THAT YOU GET TANTALIZED BY IT,
AND YOU'RE DRAWN IN.
I DID GET A LITTLE BIT DRAWN IN
AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
WHEN I SAW THAT
SOMEONE HAD GONE IN
AND COPYRIGHTED PAPERS ABOUT
THE EXISTENCE OF A TREASURE.
THIS IS
THE KIND OF STORY
A WRITER DREAMS
ABOUT HAVING WRITTEN --
ONE THAT NOBODY CAN
QUITE FIGURE OUT.
IT'S A WHODUNIT.
IT'S A TREASURE TALE.
IT IS
A POLITICAL THRILLER.
YOU'VE GOT ALL THE STUFF THAT
MAKES FOR ONE HELL OF A STORY.
AND THERE'S ENOUGH THERE
THAT PEOPLE CAN'T DEFINITIVELY,
OVER 126 YEARS,
JUST RULE IT OUT.
I FEEL BAD
FOR JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN,
THE WRITER WHO NEVER REALLY GETS
THE ACCOLADES THAT HE DESERVES
FOR HAVING CREATED THIS
REMARKABLE, REMARKABLE TALE.
I MEAN, THIS STORY --
LOOK, IT TOOK US
BACK THROUGH
A HISTORY LESSON
ON THE WRITING OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
SO, DID THOMAS BEALE EXIST?
JURY'S STILL OUT
FOR ME
ON WHETHER
THOMAS JEFFERSON BEALE EXISTED,
BECAUSE THERE WERE REFERENCES
TO BEALE STREET IN NEW ORLEANS.
BEALES WERE A PROMINENT
VIRGINIA FAMILY.
SO, I BELIEVE
THAT THOMAS J. BEALE EXISTED.
YEAH, I THINK THERE WAS
A THOMAS BEALE.
NOT SPECIFICALLY THAT WENT
ON A HUNTING TRIP
AND DID ALL THOSE THINGS,
BUT I'M SURE THERE
WAS A THOMAS BEALE
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE.
I DON'T BELIEVE
THOMAS JEFFERSON BEALE EXISTED
OR NEEDED TO EXIST.
HE'S JUST A FICTIONAL CHARACTER.
HE'S A NAME.
I BELIEVE HE WAS PENNED
BY JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN.
BRAD WAS EXACTLY RIGHT
WHEN HE SAID THIS IS
A GAME OF TELEPHONE,
AND WE NEEDED TO FIND
THE FIRST WHISPER,
AND THAT FIRST WHISPER CAME
FROM JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN.
REALLY, TOWARDS THE END,
IT JUST STARTED TO MAKE SENSE
WHEN YOU SAW THAT THEY WERE
SELLING THE PAMPHLETS.
IT WAS THE GUY
THAT PRINTED IT.
THEY PUT IT
IN THEIR OWN NEWSPAPER.
NO OTHER NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
PICKED IT UP.
THE STORY GOT DISMANTLED.
IT WAS A MASTERFUL DEFENSE
KNOCKING DOWN
THE PROSECUTION'S THEORY.
SO, ARE YOU ALL COMFORTABLE
MAKING THIS CONCLUSION
THAT THE WRITER
OF "THE BEALE PAPERS"
WAS JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN?
I BELIEVE THAT.
100%.
I BELIEVE THAT.
I AM, TOO.
AS A MYSTERY WRITER,
I SO WANT TO BELIEVE
THAT THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
HOLDS THE SECRET KEY
TO $65 MILLION OF PIRATE'S GOLD.
BUDDY, McKINLEY, AND SCOTT
ARE ALL CONVINCED
THAT JOHN WILLIAM SHERMAN
IS THE ONE WHO WROTE
THE BEALE CIPHERS
AND WROTE "THE BEALE PAPERS" AND
THAT THE ENTIRE THING IS A HOAX.
BUT I'M NOT SO SURE.
JUST BECAUSE A STORY
SELLS NEWSPAPERS
DOESN'T MEAN IT'S A FAKE.
YES, SHERMAN WAS A NOVELIST,
BUT MAYBE THAT JUST PROVES
HE KNEW A GREAT STORY
WHEN HE SAW IT.
ONE FACT REMAINS INARGUABLE.
THERE ARE TWO CODES,
TWO BEALE LETTERS,
THAT HAVEN'T YET BEEN CRACKED.
IF DAVID OXFORD'S
FREQUENCY METHOD IS CORRECT,
WE COULD HAVE PROOF
THAT BEALE IS REAL
AS SOON AS THE WATER LEVELS
COME DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS.
AS FOR THAT VERY FIRST REAL COPY
OF THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE,
AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES HISTORY,
I'D LOVE TO GET MY HANDS ON IT.
AND I KNOW WHERE IT IS.
IT'S IN THE SAME PLACE
THAT THE LAST FEW COPIES
OF THE DECLARATION HAVE BEEN.
IT'S IN YOUR ATTIC,
IT'S IN YOUR BASEMENT,
AND IT'S HIDDEN
BEHIND THE PAINTING
YOU JUST BOUGHT
AT THE FLEA MARKET.
SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS IT.
GO AND LOOK.
THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO FIND IT.
AND WHEN WE DO,
THAT PIECE OF HISTORY WILL BE
THE GREATEST TREASURE OF ALL.
