The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-06-24

blacksmiths Prob. ~ 4yJ
ably Jean-a JtzK IzfT7E
splendid, handsome giant, the hero OF
this story--never welded hammer or
shod horse in all his career. In
stead, he made negro slaves do the
rough work while he strolled about
the city and planned bigger enter
prises.
Jean Lafitte was blackguard. But
he was a manly. likeable blackguard.
And, once at least, he did our country
valiant service. He was . pirate. Yet
some historians say he went to sea
but twice In his life--once when he
came from France to New Orleans as
youth and once when he sailed
away from America in 1920, never
again to be heard Of. Others say 1t
was Pierre who set sail In 1920 and
who perished somewhere in the ocean.
while Jean went to Yucatan and lived
elk years longer in ill-earned luxury.
The fact remains that there is NO alb
solute knowledge as to whence Jean
IAfltte came or whittier he vanished.
He was q man Of mystery.
Louisiana In those days consisted
largely OF rich, unsettled land. Into
these waste spaces the pioneers be-
gan to come Huge plantations sprang
up. To work the plantations there
was need for thousands Of negro
slaves. And the slave trade between
Africa and America throve tremen-
dously. A negro that cost $40 in bis
African Jungle could often be sold for
q, 900 In tho New Orleans market.
Then the United States declared the
horrible African slave trade illegal.
This stopped the imports. The plant
ers clamored for more slaves. Gangs
Of smugglers met the demand by
secretly buying slaves intended for
Spain's Cuban and South American
plantations and landing them by night
in the Louisiana bayous. There was
money in this sort Of business. More
than in blacksmithing. So. the La
fitte brothers became slave snug
glers.
Then Jeans fertile brain still furth-
or improved his business in rather
original way. What was the use OF
buying negroes from the Spanish
slave ships off the Cuban coast when,
by seizing those ships, he could get
the negroes for nothing? It was
clever idea and he at once put II into
practice. He also seized vessels laden
with other valuables, and altogether
he prospered exceedingly.
Lafitte himself did not 60 In search
Of such prey. He was business man,
not cheap sea rover. By this time
he had a number of good ships and
nearly one thousand men to send on
his piratical errands. He had forti-
fed town and harbor Of his own at
Barataria and made that place his
headquarters. Jean had marvellous
control oHer his men. and. though he
seldom troubled himself to fight, he
was unconQuerable. One night band
Of mutineers attacked him In his
cabin. LATTE, single handed. slew SIX
Of them and beat OF the rest.
The pirates called Laftte, behind
his back, The Old Man" To bis face
they called him "Bosee" (meaning lit
orally "prominence"). And thus the
word BOSS" came into our. own Ian
guage. He seldom spoke to his men
except when he had to and held aloof
from them.
BY judicious bribes to the right au-
thortties he managed to steer clear OF
active prosecution. though countless
governmental threats were hurled at
him.
When the British planned their at
tack on New Orleans in the War Of
1919 they offered Jean LATTE a cap
tain's commission and 100000 to Join
them with his men. Instead Of ac-
cepting. he sent word Of the offer
land Of the British plot against New
Orleans) to the American government.
volunteering his services in exchange
for a pardon. The British. in revenge,
destroyed his Barataria stronghold
and seized his ships. But the Ameri-:
can general, Andrew Jackson (after.
cursing him for "hellish bandit") &C
cepted Laftte's OFFER. And the pirate
fought bravely for America in the bat
tie of New Orleans, receiving q par
don for oil past crimes.
After the war LATTE went blithely
back to his old ways. With his men,
he settled on an abandoned island,
where now stands the city OF Calves
ton. and made that place his new.
headquarters. Thus he was In O.
sense the real founder OF Galveston.
He hit on an odd way to sell his
smuggled slaves. He would arrange
for Colonel Bowie Inventor of the.
bowie knife) to seize them from him
and to take them to New Orleans.
There. as confiscated goods. they were
placed on sale. and LATTE and Bowie
each reaped a goodly profit.
A visitor to the pirate lair wrote:
Gold pieces are as plentiful here a.
biscuits"