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Legend has it that Thomas Beale brought back four tons of gold, silver and jewels from an expedition out west in the early 19th Century. Tonight we have a new explanation for what's supposedly buried in Bedford County. Peter Viemeister has spent 20 years researching the legend. Now he's come up with a new theory. The Beale Papers- -published in 1885- -could have been an elaborate cover story. In his new book, Viemeister wonders whether a small circle of Confederate officers could have concocted the Beale Papers as a means of accounting for the Confederate Treasury. ((AND THEY MAKE UP CIPHERS THAT NOBODY CAN SOLVE, AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY NOBODY HAS REALLY SOLVED IT, BECAUSE MAYBE THOSE CYPHERS WERE NEVER INTENDED TO BE SOLVED.)) We know the Confederate Treasury left Richmond late on the night of April 2, 1865- -headed for Danville. ((THE THEORY IN THIS NEW BOOK IS WELL, NO, IT WAS DIVERTED BEFORE THEY GOT TO DANVILLE.)) Either way, the train would have passed through Burkeville. In 1865 it was a convenient stopping point... a source of water. Just as they do today, the tracks came to a crossroads in Burkeville. Six weeks earlier Robert E. Lee had written the Confederate secretary of War, urging that "everything of value be removed from Richmond to Lynchburg or some point west." One week before General Lee's surrender at Appomattox, the treasure could have been taken to Bufordville- -now Montvale- -for safe keeping. ((THE GUYS WHO WERE DOING THIS REALLY WERE PRETTY HONORABLE GUYS. THEY WERE PUTTING THIS STUFF IN THE GROUND FOR HONORABLE PURPOSE, FOR THEIR LOYALTY TO THE SOUTH.)) Viemeister doesn't name names in his book, but he suspects Confederate paymaster Ferdinand Hutter could have written the Beale papers to explain the eventual recovery of such a sizable fortune. Lieutenant Hutter lived in Lynchburg. His home still stands in the Sandusky area. ((THE CURRENT OCCUPANT OF THAT HOUSE IS REVEREND JERRY FALWELL.)) ((I WONDER IF THEY REALLY LOOKED THROUGH ALL THE CLOSETS CAREFULLY.)) ((THERE IS AN ATTIC THAT WE'VE NEVER BEEN IN, SO, I DON'T KNOW.)) ((Could there be something in the attic that could shed some light on this? I DON'T KNOW, BUT I COULD TELL YOU IN MORNING. HA HA.)) It's unlikely the treasure is buried on Falwell's seven-acre estate; The evangelist would still like to know more about it. (AND IF WE FIND IT, WE'LL DOUBLE THE SIZE OF LIBERTY
UNIVERSITY WITHIN 12 MONTHS AND THANK JEFFERSON DAVIS IN THE PROCESS.)) On News 7 at 11 tonight,
we'll consider whether the Beale Treasure is buried MORE than four miles from
Montvale.
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