Letters of Biel
A little inspired by the article about Kryptos , I decided to tell you about another unresolved encryption task today.
So - America, 1885. A brochure appears on sale, on 23 pages of which an unknown author publishes the history of Biel and how to find his treasures.
In January 1820, Thomas Jefferson Beale settled in a hotel in the city of Lynchburg, Virginia, which was owned by Robert Morriss (Robert Morriss).
These two are known to us participants in this story.
Three months later, Biel leaves the hotel, but in January 1822 he returns and also leaves in March.
However, this time Biel leaves Morris for a locked metal box. After some time, he receives a letter asking him to give it to the person who comes after her with a power of attorney from Beel, if Beale himself does not do it earlier. If this does not happen after ten years, Morris should open the box and read the letter addressed to him, as well as the paper, for which you need a key. Bill leaves the key of his friend, who was supposed to send it to Morris, not earlier than June 1832.
Robert honestly fulfilled his obligations to store the box, but after ten years did not begin to open it, because he never received a letter with the key, and he decided that it was pointless to open the box.
The key never came, and Morriss opened the box without it in 1845.
Inside, he discovers a letter telling the story of Biel and his friends, as well as three sheets of ciphertext.
The letter says that Biel and his 29 friends in 1817 embark on a journey through America. Once during a buffalo hunt, they find a small ravine about 300 miles from Santa Fe, where they discover gold and begin its prey.
After two years, the question of shipping the mined gold closer to home in Virginia arises, and all the partners agree that the gold should be hidden.
In order to hide the gold Biel and appears for the first time in Lynchburg.
His second arrival was marked by the replenishment of the cache.
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Companions are also concerned that in the event of their death, gold will never be found, and it will not go to their families.
It is with the purpose of conveying the location of the treasures Biel and gives the box with the encrypted text to Morris, because he considers him an honest person.
The letter talked about the meaning of sheets with ciphertext - in the first sheet it was indicated where the treasure was hidden, in the second sheet the list was hidden, and in the third it was said about who this treasure should go to.
Having spent twenty years deciphering, Morriss didn’t come close to a clue, and feeling that he would die, without solving this riddle, he passed the letter and the sheets to his friend.
Who is this friend remains unknown, but it is he who, twenty years later, publishes a letter and ciphertext in a brochure. In addition, he publishes more and decoding the second sheet.
I will write the text of the sheets first, and then I will tell you how I managed to do the decryption.
The first page is a description of the place where the treasures are hidden:
The second sheet is a description of the treasure:
The third sheet - the names of the owners of the treasure and those to whom they can pass:
After studying these sheets, a friend of Morrisss realized that the text could not be encrypted using the usual replacement cipher, because the numbers used in the ciphertext are larger than the letters of the alphabet. And then he suggested that the so-called book code was used here.
The meaning of the book cipher is that the key, which encrypts and decrypts the message, is the book, or part of it.
To do this, we take the book and enumerate all the words in order. Then there are two options - the number will correspond to the whole word, or just the initial letter.
(There is another option when the word is encrypted with three numbers denoting the page, the line, the place of the word in the line in the key book.)
The advantage of such encryption is that without having a key, you cannot read the message, and the message is not subject to frequency analysis.
The downside is that the key books must be absolutely identical, and that the books must somehow be delivered to both parties.
So, a friend Morrissa suggested that he was dealing with a book code and tried to pick up a book.
The key book was the “Declaration of Independence”:
The decrypted message reads:
For 124 years, no one can decipher the remaining two pages, because the “Declaration of Independence” is not suitable for the role of a key for them.
The reason may also be that the letters of Biel - a fake.
There are a number of signs that give reason to doubt the authenticity, namely:
In contrast, there is a possibility that ciphers are indeed true:
Nevertheless, the message about the treasure pushed many people to use “bruteforce” to search for treasures, because the decryption of the second part tells you where to find the cache - about 4 miles from Baford and many were arrested during illegal excavations in those regions.
If in the case of Kryptos there is a chance to decipher the fourth part, then it is not here - many amateurs and scholars rechecked many books of that time for the fact that they could be keys to a cipher, but none of them came up.
Bill could write his own letter, which is the key, and if it is lost, then decoding is impossible - many eminent cryptanalysts of different generations tried to solve this problem, but they did not succeed.
If the letters are fake, then this is, if not a grandiose deception, then very fascinating.
So - America, 1885. A brochure appears on sale, on 23 pages of which an unknown author publishes the history of Biel and how to find his treasures.
In January 1820, Thomas Jefferson Beale settled in a hotel in the city of Lynchburg, Virginia, which was owned by Robert Morriss (Robert Morriss).
These two are known to us participants in this story.
Three months later, Biel leaves the hotel, but in January 1822 he returns and also leaves in March.
However, this time Biel leaves Morris for a locked metal box. After some time, he receives a letter asking him to give it to the person who comes after her with a power of attorney from Beel, if Beale himself does not do it earlier. If this does not happen after ten years, Morris should open the box and read the letter addressed to him, as well as the paper, for which you need a key. Bill leaves the key of his friend, who was supposed to send it to Morris, not earlier than June 1832.
Robert honestly fulfilled his obligations to store the box, but after ten years did not begin to open it, because he never received a letter with the key, and he decided that it was pointless to open the box.
The key never came, and Morriss opened the box without it in 1845.
Inside, he discovers a letter telling the story of Biel and his friends, as well as three sheets of ciphertext.
The letter says that Biel and his 29 friends in 1817 embark on a journey through America. Once during a buffalo hunt, they find a small ravine about 300 miles from Santa Fe, where they discover gold and begin its prey.
After two years, the question of shipping the mined gold closer to home in Virginia arises, and all the partners agree that the gold should be hidden.
In order to hide the gold Biel and appears for the first time in Lynchburg.
His second arrival was marked by the replenishment of the cache.
')
Companions are also concerned that in the event of their death, gold will never be found, and it will not go to their families.
It is with the purpose of conveying the location of the treasures Biel and gives the box with the encrypted text to Morris, because he considers him an honest person.
The letter talked about the meaning of sheets with ciphertext - in the first sheet it was indicated where the treasure was hidden, in the second sheet the list was hidden, and in the third it was said about who this treasure should go to.
Having spent twenty years deciphering, Morriss didn’t come close to a clue, and feeling that he would die, without solving this riddle, he passed the letter and the sheets to his friend.
Who is this friend remains unknown, but it is he who, twenty years later, publishes a letter and ciphertext in a brochure. In addition, he publishes more and decoding the second sheet.
I will write the text of the sheets first, and then I will tell you how I managed to do the decryption.
The first page is a description of the place where the treasures are hidden:
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, 116, 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
The second sheet is a description of the treasure:
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, 3 8, 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, 10, 8, 220, 106, 353, 105, 106, 60, 275, 72, 8 50, 205, 185, 112, 125, 540, 65, 106, 807, 138, 96, 110, 16, 73, 33, 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, 40, 370, 643, 466, 106, 41, 107, 603, 220, 275, 30, 150, 105, 49, 53, 287, 25 0, 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
The third sheet - the names of the owners of the treasure and those to whom they can pass:
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, 151, 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, 89, 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, 1 1, 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, 236, 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
After studying these sheets, a friend of Morrisss realized that the text could not be encrypted using the usual replacement cipher, because the numbers used in the ciphertext are larger than the letters of the alphabet. And then he suggested that the so-called book code was used here.
The meaning of the book cipher is that the key, which encrypts and decrypts the message, is the book, or part of it.
To do this, we take the book and enumerate all the words in order. Then there are two options - the number will correspond to the whole word, or just the initial letter.
(There is another option when the word is encrypted with three numbers denoting the page, the line, the place of the word in the line in the key book.)
The advantage of such encryption is that without having a key, you cannot read the message, and the message is not subject to frequency analysis.
The downside is that the key books must be absolutely identical, and that the books must somehow be delivered to both parties.
So, a friend Morrissa suggested that he was dealing with a book code and tried to pick up a book.
The key book was the “Declaration of Independence”:
When (1) in (2) the (3) course (4) of (5) human (6) events (7) it (8) becomes (9) necessary (10) for (11) one (12) people ( 13) to (14) dissolve (15) the (16) political (17) bands (18) which (19) have (20) connected (21) them (22) with (23) another (24) and (25) to (26) assume (27) among (28) the (29) powers (30) of (31) the (32) earth (33) the (34) separate (35) and (36) equal (37) station ( 38) to (39) which (40) the (41) laws (42) of (43) nature (44) and (45) of (46) nature's (47) god (48) entitle (49) them (50) a (51) decent (52) ...
The decrypted message reads:
In Bedford County, about four miles from Baford, I placed the following items jointly owned by the parties, whose names appear on the sheet number “3,” excavated at a depth of six feet, with:
The first contribution consisted of one thousand fourteen pounds of gold and three thousand eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver; introduced in November 1819. The second contribution was made in December 1821 and consisted of one thousand nine hundred and seven pounds of gold and one thousand two hundred and eighty eight pounds of silver, as well as precious stones obtained in St. Louis in exchange for silver, in order to save on transportation, and valued at $ 13,000 .
The above is securely packed in iron pots with iron lids. The store is roughly finished with stone, the pots stand on one large stone and are covered with other stones. The paper under the number "1" describes the exact location of the repository, so that it will not be difficult to find it.
For 124 years, no one can decipher the remaining two pages, because the “Declaration of Independence” is not suitable for the role of a key for them.
The reason may also be that the letters of Biel - a fake.
There are a number of signs that give reason to doubt the authenticity, namely:
- Why should Bilu make three ciphertexts with different keys, if it was entirely possible to do with one?
- Linguistic analysis of the brochure indicates that one person may be the author of the brochure and “letters”.
- In his letters, Bill uses the English words "stampede" and "improvise", unregistered earlier than 1840, i.e. after 20 years from the specified time of compilation.
- The second message was decrypted, and the other two were not, which could be done to increase interest in the cipher.
- The third message is too short to indicate at least 30 people.
In contrast, there is a possibility that ciphers are indeed true:
- In 1810, there were at least two people named Thomas Beale - one in Connecticut, the other in New Hampshire, but in many states there was no census.
- Someone Thomas Beall in 1820 was a client of the Post Office in St. Louis, and according to the pamphlet the letter of 1822 was sent from there.
- There is also a note in the local newspaper about the death of Robert Morris.
Nevertheless, the message about the treasure pushed many people to use “bruteforce” to search for treasures, because the decryption of the second part tells you where to find the cache - about 4 miles from Baford and many were arrested during illegal excavations in those regions.
If in the case of Kryptos there is a chance to decipher the fourth part, then it is not here - many amateurs and scholars rechecked many books of that time for the fact that they could be keys to a cipher, but none of them came up.
Bill could write his own letter, which is the key, and if it is lost, then decoding is impossible - many eminent cryptanalysts of different generations tried to solve this problem, but they did not succeed.
If the letters are fake, then this is, if not a grandiose deception, then very fascinating.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/66079/
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