The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-07-30
LOST TREASURE
Of THE PIRATE
Legend of lean Lafitte Revived
in Connection With James
town Exposition.
STORY ALMOST FORGOTTEN
INCIDENT OF ONE HUNDRED
YEARS AGO.

Norfolk, Va. July 29.-Not least
among the many historical associations
OF Jamestown Ter-Centennial exposi-
ton TO be held on the southern shores
OF Hampton roads, near Norfolk, In
1907, is the legend OF Jean Lafitte, most
dreaded Of all the terrible corsairs who
ravaged the Caribbean sea i'm the early
part of the last century. His story is
almost forgotten now, yet there are still
living in Norfolk people who remem-
Der the man and his odd personality.
They recall the time when his home
stood where now rises the stately pi-
lastered eastern wall of the manufac-
lures building Of the exposition. They
remember, too, the vast excitement
which prevailed i'll 1885, when his treas
ure chest was dug up from the shore
or an adjacent inlet. Some of those
who remember Laf1tte recall him as an
oid man, grim, gaunt, and gray, who
used to prowl along the wharves Of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, making bold
men shrink before his baleful, wither-
ing gaze, telling strange tales of the
Indian ocean, of slave traders, pirate
crews and fights, and how he had
fought Spain and Great Britain. Ii
was not until long after his death, how
ing Jewels and gold TO the value of sew
eral hundred thousand dollars, was dug
up, that they knew hmi to be Jean La
fltte, the pirate.
Romance of Jean Laftte.
Jean Laf1tte was born in Bordeaux,
France, in 1856. He Voyaged to the ISL
and of Mauritius. in the Indian ocean.
in 1903. and there fell in love with a
beautiful girl, Lizette Fondac, because
Of whom he became involved in a duel.
His sweetheart received the bullet in
tended for him. and died almost imme-
Giately. This was the turning point In
his life. Mad with grief, he seized the
vessel which carried him to Maurtius
and TUNED pirate. With varying for
tunes he followed piracy for several
years. and was finally captured by a
British man-of-War He was impris-
Cned on his own vessel and treated with
the utmost cruelty. His brother, Pierre,
one of the crew Of the war vessel. final
" released him, and with the aid Of
other captives they succeeded in recap
turing their ship from the prize crew.
The brothers again turned TO piracy
to make living. In 1907, with several
vessels, they made war on Spain in be-
half of CaTtagena, from which state
lntE Hdu a COAilitliSSlCii w Ili
this to give semblance of legality to
their operations, they established
shipping business in New Orleans. In
the meantime the coTsair trade of the
two was carried on with ever increas-
ing success and widening scope. AT the
outbreak of the war of 1872 the Lafittes
had i'm commission a fleet of large well
armed ships manned by the despera-
does of all nations, with headquarters
on the island of Grande Terre, forty
miles west of the mouth Of the Mis-
slssippi. The pirates we're several times
prosecuted III the Unit I'd States courts,
hut always aged 10 escape convic-
tion. Commodore Patterson captured
and burned the pirate village. but most
OF the pirates escaped and returned as
soon as the government vessels had
withdrawn. Soon after the British be-
gan operations against New Orleans,
Commodore Percy sent Captain Lock-