Pirate Gold...Cat Island

Voice of Reason

Jr. Member
Sep 20, 2011
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Them Thar Hills
From an archived newspaper article dated Friday, September 15, 1933

"SHIFT IN SEARCH FOR PIRATE GOLD
Ancient Map and Letter Indicate New Island.

Now Orleans, La.—The century old quest for buried pirate gold around the mouth of the Mississippi river will shift to Cat Island, Just off the Louisiana coast In the Gulf of Mexico, as the result of recent discoveries by two engineers. Search for the pirate booty of the early part of the Nineteenth century previously had centered about Grand Isle, 15 miles to the east of Bayou La Fourche. Cat Island, which is not indicated by any modern map, is 15 miles to the west of the bayou. New light was shed on the pirates when Prank C. Waddlll, New Orleans engineer and member of the Louisiana Historical society, found an old map while doing some research work in a New Iberia lawsuit. The map indicated Cat Island as the "position of the pirates." On its face also was written, near Grand Isle, "the former position of the pirates."

Waddlll's discovery was substantiated by another made by Walter Y. Kemper, Franklln, La„ engineer, who worked with Waddlll on the New Iberia case. Kemper, while in the United States land office in Washington, discovered a letter dated March 17, 1814, written to a Louisiana landowner by an employee of the land office. "I had contemplated the Immediate survey of valuable public land and Islands of the west coast from the Mississippi," the letter read, "but unsafe because of an overgrown piratical banditti. They have fortified themselves on one of the Islands and suffer none to approach them. The party of pirates amount to upwards of 500 men. They are fortified on Cat Island and have five or six armed vessels carrying 12 to 14 guns and 60 to 90 men each."

Perhaps someone may find this of interest.

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Scar

Full Member
Dec 25, 2010
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Pirates were there but I doubt they buried any treasure. Cat Island would be completely washed over by hurricanes. Ships were ran aground there to offload goods to sell from the island along with slaves. The Lafitte's did some of their biz from the island. This island was just high ground in the gulf to work from.
 

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