Jean Lafitte

:See also Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, United States.

Folklore

Lafitte claimed never to have plundered an American vessel, and though he engaged in the contraband slave trade, he is accounted a great romantic figure in Cajun Louisiana. The mystery surrounding Lafitte has only increased the legends surrounding his name. Lafitte was said to be a master mariner. According to one legend he was once caught in a tropical storm off the coast of Galveston and steered his ship to safety by riding the storm surge over Galveston island and into the harbor. Lafitte's lost treasure has acquired a lore of its own as it, along with his death, was never accounted for. He reportedly maintained several stashes of plundered gold and jewelry in the vast system of marshes, swamps, and bayous located around Galveston bay. Other rumors suggest that Lafitte's treasure is sunken with his ship, the Pride, either near Galveston or in the Gulf of Mexico where some believe it went down during an 1826 hurricane.

Related Topics:
Romantic - Cajun

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His legend was perpetuated in Cecil B. DeMille’s classic, The Buccaneer and even by a poem of Byron:

Related Topics:
Cecil B. DeMille - The Buccaneer - Byron

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:He left a corsair's name to other times,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Linked one virtue to a thousand crimes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~