bigscoop
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For Beale Newbies: Taking on the Beale Problem
The Beale story isn’t a mystery, in truth, it’s a problem. I say this because no matter what avenue you choose to follow you can find just enough coincidence and possible evidence to speculate upon. Privateers, Confederate Treasury, Edgar Allen Poe, the Lincoln Assassination, a scheming publisher, a secret adventure out west that ends in death, and the list goes on and on. So the Beale story is actually a problem instead of a mystery because, when allowed enough speculation, there are so many avenues that can appear to be connected to the tale. Thomas Beale can become Thomas Beall, or Thomas Beal, or even an entirely different name and identity all together. Genealogy is a tool that has been frequently used to try to track possible connections, but as my mother has said many times in her 84 years, “Heck, I was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, and we had relatives all over those mountains and in several different counties that we never even met.” It’s just another example of the problem that surrounds the Beale story, because in the Beale problem you’ll discover if they were related then there also had to be a meaningful connection if we allow ourselves to be fooled or lured in by such speculation. Just because we are related to someone, or knew them, doesn’t mean we had anything to do with their daily activities or that we even knew about those activities. When we step back and take good hard look at the number of avenues the Beale Papers has followed it’s absolutely amazing, and all of it has been pursued by way of the same far-reaching problem that the Beale Papers present, “the evolution speculation”. Truth is, after 126 years of research and chasing (from the pamphlet’s publication date) there is still very little fact to work with. And this even holds true with the works of Innis and the Hart brothers, if you dare look deep enough, if you dare acknowledge the total lack of fact and hard evidence?
To be sure, the Beale Papers have given birth to some fascinating theories and tales over the years, and not to be excluded from this pack, I’m just as guilty as the next guy. But for those of you just leaping into this little treasure tale, it would serve you well to remember that just about everything you read in regards to this story has been built upon speculation, because for the most part, after 126 years of chasing this story a lot of speculation is still all we have. Do the remaining ciphers hold a true clear text? Who knows. Is there a buried treasure in Bedford Co., Virginia? Who knows. Will you have better luck solving this problem then the rest of us have had? Who knows. Do the Beale Papers hold any measure of truth at all…well....truth is…nobody really knows for sure. And this is just about the only truth surrounding the Beale Papers. Just something you’ll want to keep lodged in the back of your mind as you proceed with your adventure and investigation into this unknown. Hope you have better luck then the rest of us have had.
The Beale story isn’t a mystery, in truth, it’s a problem. I say this because no matter what avenue you choose to follow you can find just enough coincidence and possible evidence to speculate upon. Privateers, Confederate Treasury, Edgar Allen Poe, the Lincoln Assassination, a scheming publisher, a secret adventure out west that ends in death, and the list goes on and on. So the Beale story is actually a problem instead of a mystery because, when allowed enough speculation, there are so many avenues that can appear to be connected to the tale. Thomas Beale can become Thomas Beall, or Thomas Beal, or even an entirely different name and identity all together. Genealogy is a tool that has been frequently used to try to track possible connections, but as my mother has said many times in her 84 years, “Heck, I was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, and we had relatives all over those mountains and in several different counties that we never even met.” It’s just another example of the problem that surrounds the Beale story, because in the Beale problem you’ll discover if they were related then there also had to be a meaningful connection if we allow ourselves to be fooled or lured in by such speculation. Just because we are related to someone, or knew them, doesn’t mean we had anything to do with their daily activities or that we even knew about those activities. When we step back and take good hard look at the number of avenues the Beale Papers has followed it’s absolutely amazing, and all of it has been pursued by way of the same far-reaching problem that the Beale Papers present, “the evolution speculation”. Truth is, after 126 years of research and chasing (from the pamphlet’s publication date) there is still very little fact to work with. And this even holds true with the works of Innis and the Hart brothers, if you dare look deep enough, if you dare acknowledge the total lack of fact and hard evidence?
To be sure, the Beale Papers have given birth to some fascinating theories and tales over the years, and not to be excluded from this pack, I’m just as guilty as the next guy. But for those of you just leaping into this little treasure tale, it would serve you well to remember that just about everything you read in regards to this story has been built upon speculation, because for the most part, after 126 years of chasing this story a lot of speculation is still all we have. Do the remaining ciphers hold a true clear text? Who knows. Is there a buried treasure in Bedford Co., Virginia? Who knows. Will you have better luck solving this problem then the rest of us have had? Who knows. Do the Beale Papers hold any measure of truth at all…well....truth is…nobody really knows for sure. And this is just about the only truth surrounding the Beale Papers. Just something you’ll want to keep lodged in the back of your mind as you proceed with your adventure and investigation into this unknown. Hope you have better luck then the rest of us have had.
