onemississipp
Jr. Member
Jean Laffite (c1780 - 1826) was a gulf coast pirate and smuggler - and he is one of the legendary figures of Louisiana. He established a colony of followers on Galveston Island after the War of 1812. The colony lasted until 1820. During that period Laffite sometimes traveled the Sabine River mostly doing business in the Neutral Strip evidently with some of the nefarious types who lived there. There is no mention of him setting foot in Beauregard Parish, but it is conceivable that he might have. He is said to have had close connections to Lake Charles history. For a long time there were rumors that Laffite left buried booty in this general area. In 1930 a pot containing in excess of 3,000 silver coins was found near Bunkie, LA. Some of the coins were made as late as 1805. Bunkie is about 70 miles east of DeRidder.
http://library.beau.org/history/BPHistry/
http://library.beau.org/history/BPHistry/
