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Jean Laffite's Favorite Hangout An excerpt from the book "JEAN LAFFITE, THE LOUISIANA BUCCANEER" by Nola Mae Ross Jean
Laffite spent a great deal of time in Southwest Louisiana.
Between 1805 and 1816 while he and his pirates were living in Barataria
south of New Orleans, Laffite made many trips up the rivers and bayous of
Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. Later
from 1817 through 1819, when Laffite moved his commune to Galveston, then called
“The Isle of Snakes”, he also made many visits up the Calcasieu River,
through Contraband Bayou, over to “Charles’ Lake” and up to English Bayou. Lacassine
Bayou was also the sight of many of the buccaneer’s visits.
In his journal, Laffite mentions trips to Lacassine and a “Mr. Lacciassinier” who helped him find sites for French-Canadian colonists. Pecan
Island was another frequent visiting spot of Jean Laffite and his men.
But one of those visits brought a great tragedy to this island!
One of Jean Laffite’s vessels captured and boarded a Spanish ship in
the Gulf of Mexico and then headed to Pecan Island. As the pirates made their way through Rollover Bayou to the
island, a smallpox epidemic broke out. It
not only killed most of the pirates, but also wiped out a large Indian tribe
living there. When Laffite got old
he wrote in his journal, “There remains some Spanish silver and gold coins
buried on the Island of Pecan. I do
not know exactly where.” Secluded
areas along Contraband Bayou were also favorite hangouts for Jean Laffite. He supposedly buried gold there, but after years of digging
by treasure hunters, none was found. It
was on a small island just off the Hooky Hill area of Contraband Bayou, that
Laffite was supposed to have held slave auctions. He also had his men dig a small slip through Contraband
Bayou to make it easier for his ships to get to the lake, especially if they
were running from Federal gunboats. The lakefront area near the old Charles Sallier cabin was the most popular place of Jean Laffite's visits to Lake Charles. Here he visited his friends, Catherine (LeBleu) and Charles Sallier. A famous legend goes with these frequent visits. The story says that during a jealous fit Charles accused his wife Catherine, who by now had six children, of having a love affair with Laffite. In a rage he picked up his trusty pistol and shot her! After she fell to the floor he thought she was dead so he rushed out the door, jumped on his horse and disappeared, never to be heard from again! According to the story, Catherine was not dead. She was not even badly injured because a large family broach that she was wearing deflected the bullet. She lived out her life in the little lakefront cabin raising the six Sallier children. Another
favorite hangout of Laffite's was with his friend and former “Captain”,
Arsene LeBleu, on English Bayou near Chloe.
After running with Laffite for a number of years as his captain, LeBleu
recognized the end of “the Golden
Age of Piracy”. So he quit
pirating settled down on a large acreage three miles east of Lake Charles on the
Old Spanish Trail and became a cattleman and farmer.
There on the bayou by his home, LeBleu built a small log cabin for Jean
Laffite, so that the buccaneer would have a safe place to rest when he came into
the area. Later
Arsene LeBleu became a leader in the settlement of Lake Charles.
In 1840 he organized the first Police Jury in the parish, then called
Imperial Calcasieu. The first
meeting was held in Arsene LeBleu’s home.
Arsene’s sister, Catherine LeBleu, married Charles Sallier with whom
Laffite visited a lot. Laffite
also stopped to see another friend, Michel de Riviere Pithon, who lived on the
lakefront near Pithon Coulee where he acquired 32 acres of land. A native of France, Pithon was a courier for Napoleon
Boneparte in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, the Battle of Moscow in 1812 and
the Battle of Paris in 1814. He
also served with the Texas Army in its Battle for Independence in 1836.
In his later years he spent many hours recounting his experiences with
Jean Laffite. Pithon was also a
member of the first Imperial Calcasieu Police Jury. Want
to read more ? Why not purchase a copy of the book?
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