The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1844-12-21
IlS0LaIhIhANIGUU
From the Dollar Newspaper.
THE GOLD CHAIN
A PASSAGE IN THE LIFE OF LAFITTE
BY JAMES REEs.
CHAPTER 1.-THE PIRATES HOME.

CHAPTER 1.-THE PIRATES HOME.
The island of Bars,sria is associated
IN history with The name Of L'fre. /
" ,s the scene of many of his murders,
IN the rendeZvnus for his desperate
crew sod their wuudt rlul chpt. 1t was
also The mat for the sale of negroes,
whom he h sd Kidnapped from plAnla
',ons. or wresled from slave ships by lhe
strong arm Of power. lis distance from
New Orleans is abou, fifty miles, which
gave L,h le numerous facilities, no, only
tor the purposes Of 'r,de, but the me ans
"a case ol danger, of Escape" From
his point he directed his men; it wa.
1ere he issued his orders which carried
lea,h and destruction with them, and
nere he organized his plans and discip'
lined his numerous spies. Not vesse
.ver left ;he levee of New Orleans bu
was sub jact 10 the closes, scrutiny o.
MS emiss3rips, who-ever bold and tius'
wor,hy-seldom, If ever filled in their
means Of obtaining information. II !.
aid, (,nd from The writer's knowledge
luslly TOO, that there are those siIll liv.
rng who amassed lordly wealth through
The agency OF l. fi'te; they are poin,e'
pu, 10 the Stranger as hey roll through
he streets of NewO Oreans in rheir spleu
lid cQuipsges, attend d ky their liveried
slaves, c.rlna ll,lle for the way 10 which
II was obtained nor the quantity Of lone
cent blood she'd in its iesIlZition |
vii BE- rem mbered by maoy, that dur
ny the years lSlO-ll aud l2,a number
# vessels were missing, particularly
hos. which sailed rich l0dea from New
j, leans and the Yves, India Islands, ,over
whose dat k aud fea,ful fate many tai,
f blood has been told. These tale,
ave been accompanied with the reporr
f the br'gh, red banner being seen o.
ne high seas, and were no. without thei
foundation IN lIu'h.
The loss Of vessel and its cargc
would have been but lllle thought o.
w men whose active commercial put
,uis and wild Speculations have laugh
hem to bear nobly up against reverSes,
NJ, when 10 such losses was added lhs'
Jf human life, it was matter of morr
,erious consideration; nor was the go
vernment idle 10 ils attempts TO subdu'
he scourge of The sea, but, as il is wei
known, the desperate character Of La,
.it'e, his genius, tact and local advan,a
ges, kept his enemies at bay, and, o.
occasions when brought nearly into
contact, laughed al Them. To show hi,
reckIessneSs and total disregard of law
md its authority, when Governor Clsi.
borne of Louisiana offered a reward Of
five hundred dollars for The Pirate
head, that bold buckaneer in his ,uru
offered thousand for that of The Go.
yernor, and these plscards Offering such
reward were actually posted up rhro'.
ou, The ciry of New Orleans Such was
he man who was justly called the "ler-
ror Of the seas"
CHATTER 1.-THE BOARDING HOUSE
Bo arding houses in New Orleans are
conducted upon principles differing ma
,priaIy from those oC other cities in the
Union. This arises as much from the
fact of the Ianlady's assuming the char
lcler of a mother to her boarders.a as iha'
# Ourse, and in many cases physician; /;
O such kindness and attention has many
A Stranger been indebted for hislife wher
he ieal iul scourge which annually visits
hal city makes lis appearance. Hence
i; is that in large boarding houses there
exists a sympathy Of feeling which il
every way calculated 10 make one al
home, though he be among strangers.-
They seem. as it were, united in ont
vasl family, and the various amusement
in which The boarders indulge, the good
landlsdy and The children are not over
looked balls, parties, soirees, and The
theatre, in all of which The relative posi-
lion of each in The great scale of cieiy
is sunk, and all are considered equal, =
Many keepers of boarding houses are i,
however, of The most respectable char
scter, and Of course 1t is of such we