Evening star., 1909-08-29

blacksmith and a horseshoer. He and
two elder brothers came from France to
New Orleans in 1907 or 1905 and opened
a blacksmith shop in st. Philip street, be-
tween Bourbon and Dauphine. While
they worked at the forge or put shoes on
horses men gathered about and chatted
with them. Jean was singularly at
tractive. He could speak Italian, French,
Spanish, English and Portuguese and had
facility in turning phrase happily and
well. He did not have much education.
but he was a great reader and was am
bilious to become rich man and a
grand gentleman.
New Orleans at that time was the most
cosmopolitan city in the western world.
It was full of adventurers, and there was
more of luxury and license than anywhere
else in America. 1t was just the sort OF
atmosphere to develop a Lafitte, and be-
fore he had been in the city year he
began to show signs of prosperity. He
had slaves and fine raiment, and spent
more time sporting about town or giving
entertainments in his private apartments
at st. Philip and Bourbon streets than he
did in the shop nearby, and Blackboard
ed. fierce-featured men with the roll of the
sea in the way they walked were among
his most welcome callers. What did 1t
matter If persons limited that young La
fitte was turning an honest penny by
smuggling? There always had been not
only lot. of smuggling. but bit OF
piracy, in the neighborhood of New Or
leans.
x X
In fact, in the early days Of the colony,
when communication with France had
been irregular, and when British cruisers
preyed upon the vessels of France, it
would have gone hard with the colonists
but for what came to them through the
privateers who secured the gulf. What
ffxrf 10 a q w of
French control became almost a virtue
while Spain ruled Louisiana, for the tariff
duties levied by Spain were frightfully
high. And then nature did so much to
make the neighborhood Of New orleans
glorious refuge for the rovers of the sea.
All the gulf country between the Missis-
sippi and Bayou La Fourche and called
Barataria, was ideal for the smuggler,
the priyateer or the pirate. There were
entrances to the Bay of Barataria not
only from the gulf but a multitude of
bayous offered concealment and easy COM
munication with the Mississippi.
What was more natural than that the
clever blacksmith who spoke SO many
languages and who had such pleasing adj
dress should after mending the cutlasses
and the dirks of the buccaneers be
asked to dispose of some portions of the
cargoes they had brought into some Sc
cret -harbor? The profit was big and
there was nothing immoral in the under
taking, for New Orleans at that time had
not settled down to a ready acquiescence
in American control. Within short time
Lafitte the blacksmith was a subordi-
nate figure to Lafitte the banker-mer-
chant, and people began TO look up to
him as a man of substance. But Jean
Lafitte was not content with the modest
returns from handling the goods of just
a portion of the Baratarians. He was
monopolist by nature and had the true
trust instinct. There was a lot of waste
in the piracy and smuggling business as
conducted by the gentlemen engaged in
those callings. and he, as a man of sys-
tenn and order, could not tolerate waste.
So, while Pierre Lafitte looked after the
slaves who worked in the blacksmith
shop and paid due attention to the ac-
counts in Lafitte's private bank. Jean
Lafitte went over to Barataria and set
to work TO merge into one big organiZa-
ton the rival bands of freebooters who
hitherto had known none of the blessings
of good business methods. The advan-
tages he offered to them were such as
they could not fail to see. Previously