. A history of Louisiana . asures, andthey have remained forever hidden in the former abode ofthe Baratarian chief. Very often in his childhood did thewriter hear wonderful stories about Lafitte and his of fabulous wealth passed through the minds ofmany a penniless wretch, and the woods and waters ofBarataria were often searched for the pirates vain did adventurers dig in the ground or plunge in thewater: the treasure was no more to be obtained than thegold in John Laws mines. No more gold has ever beenfound under the roots of the mighty oak-trees at GrandeTerre or under
. A history of Louisiana . asures, andthey have remained forever hidden in the former abode ofthe Baratarian chief. Very often in his childhood did thewriter hear wonderful stories about Lafitte and his of fabulous wealth passed through the minds ofmany a penniless wretch, and the woods and waters ofBarataria were often searched for the pirates vain did adventurers dig in the ground or plunge in thewater: the treasure was no more to be obtained than thegold in John Laws mines. No more gold has ever beenfound under the roots of the mighty oak-trees at GrandeTerre or under the blue waves of Barataria Bay than onthe coast of the Mississippi or at the bottom of the mightyriver. The treasure in Louisiana, both at Barataria andaround New Orleans, is the wonderful fertility of thesoil formed from the fruitful sediment which the Fatherof Waters spreads on all sides, in his tumultuous coursetoward the Gulf. The wealth of Louisiana is also com-merce with the world by means of the Mississippi,—not. 1813] THE LAFITTES 87 the smuggling of the Baratarians, but legitimate tradewith all civilized countries. The treasure of Lafitte is amyth, but it has added to the element of romance in thehistory of Louisiana, and it has inspired the novelis andthe poet. It is good sometimes to abandon the reaj andgive ones self up to ones fancy. It is happineS toimagine for a moment that, unlike the treasure of Cap-tain Kidd, Lafittes gold and jewels will not always behidden. Following Claibornes proclamation about the Bara-tarians, legal prosecutions were begun on April 7, 1813,against Jean and Pierre Lafitte, in the United StatesDistrict The charge against them was not piracy,but violation of the revenue and neutrality laws of theUnited States. The Lafittes and some of their com-panions were captured, but the proceedings amounted tonothing. On September 17, 1813, several citizens of New Or-leans agreed to be responsible in solido with Major-Gen-eral Villere for t
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