O
Old Silver
Guest
I think it's almost certain that a man calling himself Thomas Beale did visit Robert Morriss at the times given in the Beale story. I think this is pretty well established by the fact that there were people alive at the time of the story's publishing that would have known if this was fabricated. An intelligent writer would not have attempted such a thing, and an unintelligent writer would not have gotten away with doing it. So the parts of the story that would have been known to the public (characters) (events in Lynchburg) is, at least for me, believable. There is, however, other parts of the Beale story, things that the general public would not have known about. Let's call these the secret parts of the story.
Did this visitor to Morriss' hotel engage in a hunting trip out west with 30+ men? Did they find gold and silver and transprt it to Virginia? Did Beale then leave coded papers in an iron box with Morriss so that the treasure could be recovered in the event none of them returned? These are the parts of the story that were not made known to the general public, and therefore gives reason to think that the treasure might be a fabrication. It wouldn't be the first time a writer used real people and events to weave a fictional tale. In fact, most, if not all, fiction has a grain of truth in it.
For the sake of argument, let's consider the treasure to be a hoax. My question is, why would Thomas Beale, whether or not that was his real name, have visited Robert Morriss in Lynchburg, Virginia? Why would he stay for months while two other's who were with him left for Richmond, which was their home? Why Lynchburg? Why Robert Morriss? You have to think it was something important. A man doesn't just show up out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, and stay for months, and not just once, but twice. If not treasure, then what was the reason for such a man, and his two friends from Richmond, visiting Lynchburg? Why did Beale not go on to Richmond with his friends? Why did Beale stay so long in Lynchburg? Why did he visit twice? Remember, these events almost certainly happened. So in this scenario we have the WHO (Thomas Beale and two friends); WHEN (1820 and 1822); WHAT (a fabricated treasure tale) and WHERE (Lynchburg, Virginia). So, on the visits to Lynchburg, the one unanswered question is WHY (?).
Did this visitor to Morriss' hotel engage in a hunting trip out west with 30+ men? Did they find gold and silver and transprt it to Virginia? Did Beale then leave coded papers in an iron box with Morriss so that the treasure could be recovered in the event none of them returned? These are the parts of the story that were not made known to the general public, and therefore gives reason to think that the treasure might be a fabrication. It wouldn't be the first time a writer used real people and events to weave a fictional tale. In fact, most, if not all, fiction has a grain of truth in it.
For the sake of argument, let's consider the treasure to be a hoax. My question is, why would Thomas Beale, whether or not that was his real name, have visited Robert Morriss in Lynchburg, Virginia? Why would he stay for months while two other's who were with him left for Richmond, which was their home? Why Lynchburg? Why Robert Morriss? You have to think it was something important. A man doesn't just show up out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, and stay for months, and not just once, but twice. If not treasure, then what was the reason for such a man, and his two friends from Richmond, visiting Lynchburg? Why did Beale not go on to Richmond with his friends? Why did Beale stay so long in Lynchburg? Why did he visit twice? Remember, these events almost certainly happened. So in this scenario we have the WHO (Thomas Beale and two friends); WHEN (1820 and 1822); WHAT (a fabricated treasure tale) and WHERE (Lynchburg, Virginia). So, on the visits to Lynchburg, the one unanswered question is WHY (?).
