er at sea but twice in his life: once when he
came from France, and once when he left this country, and on neither
occasion did he sail under the "Jolly Roger," as the pirate flag was
sometimes called. For these reasons it seems scarcely right to call
Lafitte a pirate, but as he has been so generally considered in that
light, we will admit him into the bad company, the stories of whose
lives we are now telling.

The energy and business abilities of Jean Lafitte soon made themselves
felt not only in Barrataria, but in New Orleans. The privateers found
that he managed their affairs with much discretion and considerable
fairness, and, while they were willing to depend upon him, they were
obliged to obey him.

On the other hand, the trade of New Orleans was very much influenced by
the great quantities of goods which under Lafitte's directions were
smuggled into the city. Many merchants and shopkeepers who possessed no
consciences to speak of were glad to buy these smuggled goods for very
little money and to sell them at low prices and large profits, but the
respectable business men, who were obliged to pay market prices for
their goods, were greatly disturbed by the large quantities of
merchandise which were continually smuggled into New Orleans and sold at
rates with which they could not compete.

It was toward the end of our war with England, which began in 1812, that
the government of the United States, urged to speedy action by the
increasing complaints of the law-abiding merchants of New Orleans,
determined to send out a small naval force and entirely break up the
illegitimate rendezvous at Barrataria.

Lafitte's two brothers were in New Orleans acting as his agents, and one
of them, Dominique, was arrested and thrown into prison, and Commodore
Patterson, who was commanding at that station, was ordered to fit out an
expedition as quickly as possible to sail down to Barrataria to destroy
the ships found in the bay, to capture the town, and to confiscate and
seize upon all goods which might be found in the place.

When Jean Lafitte heard of the vigorous methods which were about to be
taken against him, his prospects must have been very gloomy ones, for
of course he could not defend his little colony against a regular naval
force, which, although its large vessels could not sail into the shallow
bay, could send out boats with armed crews against which it would be
foolish for him to contend. But just about this time a