The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1858-11-11

dragged towards his ship, struggling and roar
ing like mad bull, when by sudden exertion
he freed his arms, plunged dagger to the heart
of one of those who were endeavoring to secure
him, and before Laftte, who was giving some
orders about clearing the vessels was aware of
his approach he received blow upon his head,
which dropped him stunned and senseess to the
deck. Lafttes sabre few from his hand and
fell at my feet, and ere Laborde could reach me,
[ was ready to receive him, as he rushed upon
his devoted prey with the fury of tiger.
Now, cursed wretch, thou shalt die - La
ftte himself cannot save thee y cried Laborde
his eyes flashing fire, his features distorted with
rage, and yelling like maniac His ungov-
ernabe rage threw him off his guard, and as he
made desperate plunge at my breast, par
ried the blow; his heart received the point of
my weapon, and he fell ifeless upon the blood
covered deck. What would have been my fate
from the rest of these Wretches, had not La6tte
at that moment recovered his feet and stilled
the commotion which was rising, is unknown.
Brave fellows" said he, lin Laborde you be-
hold the fate of him who dares to disobey my
orders shun his example,: Let these vessels
be taken to Barataria, and in them we shall
find treasure equal to our utmost expectations,
and which shall be equally shared by ALL A
shout of appreciation, and "long live Laftte !"
rent the air The decks were cleared of the
dead, who, as well as the badly wouded, were
committed to the waves; and when the setting
sun threw his last rays on the topmasts of the.
Cleopatra, we were in full sail for the island of
Barataria which I found was the rendezvous of
the pirates who frequented the Gulf, and Of
whom Laftte was the acknowledged chief
The island of Barataria, at which we arrived
on the day after the capture Of the Cleopatra,
is one of those low sunken islands, or rather
clusters of sand-bars, which are so numerous in
the Gulf of Mexico hardly elevated above the
reach Of the equinoctial tornado, and owing to
drought and heat, scarcely habitable for con-
siderable part of the year. Here, after consid-
cradle difficulty from intrcacies of navigation,
or unskilfulness of the pilot, we found ourselves
at anchor, and Laftte, accompanied by myself,
Immediately went on shore A few groves of
orange trees, scattered peach trees, aud luxuri-
ant vines were to be seen, which contrasted
strongly with the few miserable huts which
formed the establishment of these outlaws Of
civilization this congregated mass of refuse
from every nation under heaven. Plumber, as
sassination, and murder, were here legazed.
Power formed the only law and every species
of iniquity was here carried to an extent, Of
which no person who had not witnessed a sim
liar den of pullution could form the most distant
idea In this place. which, as one of the pirates
himself observed, "was hell on earth and well
stocked with devils of all ranks and degrees, =
were to be seen a few women, who We'd with
the men in tranpling on all decency and deco
rum, and whose language and manners, were a
compound of all the vileness and profanity,
which could be collected from the wretches with
were unfavorable, subsequent observations did
nothing to remove them The crews of the
piratical vessels were landed = and when a di-
vision had been made of the plumber, commenced
a scene of intoxication, gambling quarrelling,
and murder, which still chills my blood to re-
member and which the sabre of LATTE was
required sometimes to subdue. He alone seemed
to possess any command over his passions, and
his voice was never heard among them in vain
while he shared the danger equally with the
meanest sailor, whatever plumber was acquired,
was divided among them with the most scrupu-
lous eXactness. His influence over them was
great, and their confidence in him was I'M
bounded
Nearly three weeks passed away, and although
| suffered at no time any contumelv or insults
from the pirates, and Laftte always treated me
in the most respectful manner, frequently re-
questing me to give myself no uneasiness, as for
whatever loss in property might have sustained
on board the Cleopatra I should receive ample
compensation: still felt my situation irksome
in the extreme My anxiety was observed by
Lafitte
I" / see,n said he you are anxious to leave
us = do not wish to detan you, for such COM
pany cannot be agreeable. Be patient few
days longer, and will enable you to depart in
safety - would to heaven / could accompany
you! . And why can you not?o / asked
"what should make you hesitate Such life
as this 81 one unvarying round Of danger, fa-
tigue, and crime, surely can possess no charms
to man whose very actions prove that he was
born to a nobler, better fate"
"How,n said be, can the notorious Lafitte,
the chief of pirates the commander of outlaws,
the companion of murderers, the man whose
very name carries terror from Carthagena to
HAVANA mix in the society ofcivilized mem? e
Would the laws be silent !? Would not the
sword of Justice leap from its scabbard at the
very mention of my name - And these men,
these presidential hunors in the body polite, is
there not quite as much hope that justice will
be done them, when collected in one mass, as