amage had been done. But Lafitte
quieted the angry feelings of his followers, conducted the officers to
his own house, and treated them with great hospitality, which he was
able to do in fine style, for his men brought into Barrataria luxuries
from all parts of the world.

When Lafitte opened the package of papers which Captain Lockyer handed
to him, he was very much surprised. Some of them were general
proclamations announcing the intention of Great Britain if the people of
Louisiana did not submit to her demands; but the most important document
was one in which Colonel Nichols, commander-in-chief of the British
forces in the Gulf, made an offer to Lafitte and his followers to become
a part of the British navy, promising to give amnesty to all the
inhabitants of Barrataria, to make their leader a captain in the navy,
and to do a great many other good things, provided they would join his
forces, and help him to attack the American seaports. In case, however,
this offer should be refused, the Barratarians were assured that their
place would speedily be attacked, their vessels destroyed, and all their
possessions confiscated.

Lafitte was now in a state of great perplexity. He did not wish to
become a British captain, for his knowledge of horseshoeing would be of
no service to him in such a capacity; moreover, he had no love for the
British, and his sympathies were all on the side of the United States in
this war. But here he was with the British commander asking him to
become an ally, and to take up arms against the United States,
threatening at the same time to destroy him and his colony in case of
refusal. On the other hand, there was the United States at that moment
preparing an expedition for the purpose of breaking up the settlement at
Barrataria, and to do everything which the British threatened to do, in
case Lafitte did not agree to their proposals.

The chief of Barrataria might have made a poor show with a cutlass and a
brace of pistols, but he was a long-headed and sagacious man, with a
strong tendency to practical diplomacy. He was in a bad scrape, and he
must act with decision and promptness, if he wanted to get out of it.

The first thing he did was to gain time by delaying his answer to the
proposition brought by Captain Lockyer. He assured that officer that he
must consult with his people and see what they would do, and that he
must also get rid of some truculent members of the colony, who would
never