WebLaffite's Treasure Jean Laffite, the French pirate with an aristocratic air, and his confederates took millions in loot from ships in the Gulf of Mexico back in the early The chest was filled with gold, jewelry and other valuables, worth an estimated $1 million. Fort Worth Daily Gazette, October 3, 1884. "I think he came up through this cut to find cypress trees to repair his boats and sometimes would stash ships here to hide them, taking them into the shallowest waters that he could get," he says. Check them out: Love Texas? Cush Reeves. Not a bad location to camp, near the river. Adams was a Rusk County backwoodsman who wears an old slouch felt hat, bib overalls, and a denim jacket, buttoned at the throat even in hot weather, and a favorite character of columnist Frank X. Tolbert for many of his Tolberts Texas articles over the years. They got away with three thousand freshly-minted 1877 $20 gold pieces. and the fear of being captured, Lafitte allegedly buried his treasure with the History suggests there is a possibility that hidden treasuresgold coins, doubloons, precious jewelryare somewhere beneath the surface just waiting to be found! The Rosa was carrying a treasure cargo of silver bars and gold nuggets. But a giant storm hit the area, destroying the raft and washing away all the evidence. They say this inspired them to reach out to other treasure hunters and hear their stories. The Lagina Brothers, famous for their search for the lost treasure on Oak Island and featured in the show The Curse of Oak Island, now hosts a new show called, Mysterious Writings: Featured Contributor Segment and Update, Forgotten History Hunts: Featured Contributor Segment, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure. In Texas, the Laffites founded a pirate colony named Campeche. A few of the Cherokees were accompanied by agents of the Mexican government who had promised a lot of money to the tribe if they were able to drive out the Texans. Packsaddle Mountain in eastern Llano County is another alleged Bass treasure location. The crescent-shaped lake is less than a mile long, thirty to fifty yards wide, and twelve to forty feet deep. A.C. SoRelle, Jr., and his brother, Henry, were oilmen who brought detection equipment, draglines, and other heavy machinery to dig into the gumbo mud on the bottom of the lake. Two oilmen from Texas actually brought a giant crane to the lake after getting some interesting readings from the bottom of Hendricks Lake. Alternate versions of that story have been documented since the 1880s, with variations including that the silver was from Santa Anna and the battle of San Jacinto and that the treasure was in a different location nearby. Christian knows his pirate history! Well, according to a story by Mary Rogers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there is evidence that in the early 1800s the theft did happen and that Jean Lafittes men, afraid that they were about to be ambushed, pushed several wagons loaded with silver ingots into the muddy waters. Jean Laffite (sometimes spelled Lafitte) was a pirate and the subject of many stories of romance and adventure across the Gulf of Mexico during the early 19th So, where could George Ward asks Jenny Kile Six Questions! A lookout for alligators and venomous snakes is The four-mile trek into the backwaters off the Trinity River becomes strenuous as he pushes his boat over cypress stumps and cuts through debris. There are Since then, several parties have approached D.L. One such story, according to multiple sources, says Bass stashed loot in an old hollow tree around 2 miles west of Round Rock. Here are six of the supposedly greatest Texas treasures still out there. most well-known buried treasure mystery still to this day is the unfound 6. I have a file 2 in thick on Hendricks lake treasure. Most who plied that area back then kept what they found close to the vest, and today that area is all open water, though many locals can still point out to you exactly where the Temple was. Discover New Orleans rich cultural mix. Daniel sought permission from the land commissioner to salvage the sunken ship and "exhibit whatever findings to the public," newspapers reported. The ones found their range from the late 1770;s to 1814 or so. Other sites considered to contain Lafitte treasure are islands south of New Orleans and Galveston Island in Texas. May the odds be ever in your favor. Here ya go Bum, Passed by it again on Tuesday. I'm a descendant of his first mate and so while as a general rule I love history/archeology/treasure hunting, naturally this is the treasure that interests me the most. In 1965 a professional syndicate of treasure hunters, men who worked together at a packaging company in LeClaire, Iowa, and led by Clarence A. There are many accounts that say Lafitte settled in No treasure chests, hooks or parrot skeletons have been reported as of yet. Charles Fitzhugh Grice had the technology needed to find Spanish silver if the treasure was there. Most of the people were locals, from Lafourche Parish, the southern part, mainly Cut Off and Larose and the Gheens area, and also from the Des Allemands location. I have a metal detector. On 4 February 1823, Laffite was onboard the General Santander off the town of Omoa in Honduras. A family in Baytown, Texas tell their story as they believe they found one of Lafittes sunken ships. What about you? 1. Eventually, his skiff carves a path through a tangle of grass that sprouts from the water and is higher than his head. Then I did a litlle research and found this. Markers are dropped, and divers are sent down. According to legend, Bass used Longhorn Caverns in Burnet County as a hideout after some of his robberies although treasure seekers have yet to find any loot in the caverns. Gary Pinkerton, True Believers: Treasure Hunters at Hendricks Lake, East Texas Historical Journal 47 (2009). Yet because of his claim and the team's loss of salvage rights after failing to pay money owed on the state lease, that project also was abandoned, records indicate. In Texas they still search for a great deposit of silver and gold that Lafitte is reputed to have abandoned there. in south Louisianas bayous for so long, Lafitte had also become an expert with Leave them blank to get signed up. Even the location and date of his birth varies on the document or biography at hand. 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Roach once lived on Lake Miller -- which earlier was called Lake De La Roche after him -- and had boats there that he used for pillaging. because Lafittes treasure was thought to be underwater there. Theres quite a bit of back story on this one which can be read on Texas Monthly. Many from the area have taken artifacts from there, including coin. Im ready to break out my metal detector! 5. WebAt the age of 25, Jean Laffite was living in New Orleans, operating a warehouse essential to dispersing the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre. James Bowie went on an expedition to find it. are why the mystery is still such an interesting topic todaymore than 200 Mary Claire Patton has been a journalist with KSAT 12 since 2015. The lake is located in the extreme northeastern part of the county along the boundary between Rusk and Panola. ", As for the shipwreck in Lake Miller, Vogel says, "There is something actually down there. Before we dive He could have stashed some treasure somewhere along the Eastern shore. This warrants some underwater metal detectors to be taken Most people wrote it off as another myth until a magazine . Get more stories delivered right to your email. While such tales abound in historical accounts about Chambers County, Steve Hoyt, the Texas Historical Commission's marine archaeologist in Austin, says, "At this point, we can't say for sure what is down there. that the treasure was on board one of Lafittes vessels and sank to the ocean Some believe it belonged to the pirate Jean Lafitte. More than once the crane almost toppled into the water. In 1909 members of the United States Geological Survey visited the site, which they described as being unproductive. Jean Lafitte, a one-time resident of Louisiana and privateer, is believed by some to have buried a large cache of treasure somewhere in the bayous of Louisiana. Other variations of the mystery say Lafitte buried the treasure in multiple locations along the Gulf Coast. The Handbook of Texas devotes two pages to Lafitte's establishment of a base in Galveston around 1816. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. No matter where you are in the state, youre bound to be able to search for some tempting hidden loot. Handbook of Texas Online, consisted of the currency he would receive in exchange for his foreign goods as Here are seven stories of supposed buried lost treasure in Texas. Just about every book written about Texas in that era mentioned it. They send a probe down and it hit metal just before a giant storm hit, destroying the raft and any other evidence. Even though any treasure would most likely have been stripped from the vessel after it foundered, information on the ship's construction and artifacts such as tools and cannons could prove valuable, he said. Is there anything better than the tale of someone discovering a hidden clue, figuring out an obscure reference, finding the final piece of the puzzle, and then discovering a fantastic stash of gold or silver? though. MW Questions: Are Keywords for the Null Cipher Used in The Great US Treasure Hunt? It may not display this or other websites correctly. March 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? In 1940, a new search team was formed. My husband even traveled to Austin to talk to historian J. Frank Dobie about it.". help him in his search. but what is clear is that he settled in the New Orleans area with his mother As a former channel of the Sabine, Hendricks Lake is fed intermittently by Black Slough and by seasonal overflow from both Cherokee Bayou and the Sabine River. Theres "Lafitte provided the perfect subject for the first American Gothic romance novel that came out in 1836, entitled 'Lafitte, the Pirate,' " said Robert Vogel, an archaeologist from St. Paul, Minn. Vogel has studied Lafitte for 25 years and has written many articles about him in academic journals. The Indians in the Mandeville area helped him escape to the Pearl River. As background, the Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico; they consisted of several independent seasonal nomadic groups who shared the same language and much of the same culture.Lafitte named his island Campeche, after a Mexican outpost further south along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Christian and the treasure hunting team are looking forward to using new technology to scan the bottom of the lake for possible anomalies, and hope to find a treasure which was missed in past searchers. It is my sincere belief that the Hendricks Lake treasure was silver taken by Lafitte from capturing of the Spanish ship Santa Rosa in Matagorda Bay in 1820. Louisianas If anyone has heared or knows any more info please let me know. What books would you recommend about this pirate? The stolen bounty was part of the Mexican payroll in 1836 and its allegedly buried 5 feet deep near the oak tree. The Cherokees started getting their butts kicked. In the early 1820s, Great Colombia under the government of Simon Bolivar had begun commissioning former privateers as officers in their newly formed navy. He fled New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain. Some accounts say Later, someone else who got high metal readings tried to dynamite the bottom of the lake. They send a probe down and it hit metal just before a giant storm hit, destroying the raft and any other evidence, according to OnlyInYourState.com. Its off 435 about 12 miles from where he fled imprisonment to the Pearl River. goal to once again evade U.S. seizure and to come back to it later. In 1884 treasure hunters were all over the Sabine and a nearby lake that had been fed by the Sabine. Although the lake was searched in the 50s and 60s, nothing was found at that time. His main focus is on Jean Lafittes treasure, Lafitte was later that the treasure is in a different location now than where it was buried? During this time in New Orleans, Lafitte became a very rich man, acquiring extraordinary amounts of money, ships, and weapons. This catch rendered a lot of attention and by 1884, the Sabine River was riddled with silver hunters. The Treasure of Jean Lafitte. scrambling to find answers. Every dollar helps. When you cross Bayou Des Allemands on Hwy 90, looking down the bayou to the south its a short ride to where the primary temple location was. Small but made like a brick. In 1969 an MIT graduate with a degree in electrical engineering and a patent for an underwater device for locating metals motored along the surface of Hendricks Lake in an eight-foot fiberglass boat towing his electronics. Have you ever heard of Money Hill near the southern tip of South Padre Island? 3. Soldiers approach, wagons sunk in Hendricks Lake, an oxbow lake just south of the Sabine River in northeastern Rusk County. Clarksville Standard, August 29, 1884. Another good book that has some good info on Lafitte is Coronado's Children, by J. Frank Dobie. To this day, There are many stories about famed pirate Jean Lafitte, but one places his lost buried treasure at the bottom of a lake right here in East Texas. Jean Laffite was a French pirate and privateer born circa 1780. By 1829, the mythical lost silver mine of San Saba began appearing on Austins maps of Texas. Exactly where he was from remains a bit clouded, treasure to speak of. http://community.webshots.com/user/famleeroots, http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,109722.0.html, THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7, Metal Detectorists Ordered To Repay 1.2 Million Between Them 'Immediately'. I was living in high island Texas .mostly driving the beach further east to sea rim. Read More about Jean Laffites treasure in the Sabine River, USS Hatteras (formerly St. Mary) was a 1,126-ton steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the early part of the American Civil War. This article provides images of newspapers from 1921, and one column in particular that talks about Lafittes treasure. The fortune is said to have been stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte. The Lost Padre Mine Somewhere in the Franklin Mountains overlooking the Rio Grande River in El Paso County is the Lost Padre Mine. Also join us in the Facebook Group: Beyond Oak Island Treasures for more discussions. Do you think you could find them? They are convinced that booty galore is waiting to be found, J. Barto Arnold, the former marine archaeologist for the Texas Historical Commission, told me. He landed ships at Grand Terre and Cheniere, and then brought the merchandise to The Temple to be auctioned. years later! Other potential treasure troves require a longer drive but if youre willing to camp out or find a hotel, AirBnb, etc., you could be in for a big payday. Peter Walker Adams lived in one of the houses on the hill near the lake and figured prominently in many of the newspaper stories. This story was told to me several years ago by a man in his 80 s Back in 1940 or 41 two men hired to clean up around what is said to be Lafittes red house disapeared after a few days. My favorite part of the legend is that the Guadalupe Mission in El Paso was built in way so that the shadows of the mission point to the Lost Padre Mine. It is widely believed that Lafitte buried his treasure on Galveston before he left - and this video is about my search at three likely treasure sites. Those looking for Gold, Diamonds, Jewelry etc wont find it. wrong move on Lafittes mason rouge. And where? Tensions were high during this time between the United States and Great Britain, creating the War of 1812 and forcing the United States to be on edge about who they could and could not trust. When one of the recent landowners near the lake sold their property to the mining company, they inserted a treasure clause that reserves the rights to one-half of any treasure trove found on the Property by Purchaser. There will always be true believers in the treasure legend of Hendricks Lake. which is said to contain many records and may hold the key to Frisbys buried treasure. Lafitte lived on Galveston island in the state of Texas, USA - from 1817 to 1821. I know this thread is quite old now, but I'm wondering if any other information has been discovered about this? Singer Treasure on Padre Island In the mid-nineteenth century, a man named Isaac Merritt Singer made significant improvements to the sewing machine. 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In 1935, his son, Edward Haven Sherman, joined with Herbert Interests of Houston in a plan to excavate the wreck, which they believed was loaded with gold, but for unknown reasons it was never accomplished, The Progress newspaper reported. Between 1821 and 1828, Mexico issued many laws restricting or outlawing slavery. Bass allegedly marked the spot with a rock in the fork of a tree, according to Lone Star Treasure. Krigar and Leo Behme, two World War II veterans who had advertised in the Houston Chronicle that they wanted to use surplus mine detectors to locate buried treasure. She was then forgotten for nearly 300 years. During the Mexican War of Independence, the Laffites served as spies for the Spanish, after moving to Galveston Island, Texas. In 1821, the US government drove Lafitte from the island. You must log in or register to reply here. His treasure More information can be found in Guide to Treasure in Texas into these uncharted waters, we need to know more about who Lafitte was. When the Embargo Act of 1807 The Sam Bass Loot In perhaps his greatest venture, Texass legendary stagecoach and bank robber Sam Bass traveled to Big Springs, Nebraska, with his sidekick Joel Collins and held up the Union Pacific Railroad. Fearing an ambush by Native Americans, they then decided to hide the treasure by pushing it into the muddy waters of the Sabine River. The silver has yet to be discovered, according to Lone Star Treasure, which says the story is based on a Spanish document from the conquistador era. While his fleet took a hit, Lafitte himself managed to evade capture. The first recorded mention of the wreck came from Jacob Haven Sherman Jr., a cotton gin operator, who told his nine children about discovering the site in the 1850s. According to legend, the infamous robber Sam Bass stole 3,000 gold bars worth $20 each from the Union Pacific Railroad. It is now thought that the money is on the southernmost tip of Padre Island. He told me there is an old, very old oak tree. All in all, several wagons loaded with silver ingots went into the river. If the rumors are true, Cove Hollow, near Denton is another Bass treasure location. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hendricks-lake. On the edge of this little-known Chambers County lake off the Trinity about 35 miles east of Houston, Jack wants to show where a ship sank in the 1800s. They used 10-foot poles to outline the vessel, which measured roughly 75 feet by 35 feet, news reports stated. Despite intense efforts at dredging, detecting, diving, and dynamiting for Hendricks Lake treasure, the only thing that was reportedly found in the lake was the rim of an old wagon wheel. accepts, and the show continues at Hendricks Lake in East Texas. She had his only known son, Jean Pierre Lafitte. Oil workers actually picked up readings that metal was to be found at the bottom of the lake. Jean Lafittes treasure Photo of Hendricks Lake, courtesy of Gary L. Pinkerton One particularly famous legend is that of Jean Lafittes treasure. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. However, she says her husband remained certain that Lafitte's ship was buried in that mud. Just another myth? Maybe they can help them in their search from the insights learned from their own pursuit of the Money Pit. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. I grant you that in this case the O.P. They also had a raft built from which large pipes were sunk into the lake bottom, and used a metal detector to search the sediment. But if you dont like that version of the legend there are others. i will try and take a picture of the location. Official Blog of Pelican State Credit Union. It reads that a cache of ancient gold coins was found near Jefferson island. Look it up. a must to have. Sherman, who died in 1879, said he was able to walk on its deck. Maybe well be writing about you and your discoveries in the future. One legend says the ship was laden with bearskins full of gold doubloons and silver pieces when it was run aground by Lafitte while attempting to evade a U. S. revenue cutter. But the treasure is in my best belief to be in Galveston. Could it be that there were multiple burial locations They just might inspire you to become a treasure hunter and find some real adventure out there! But I am humored by the following observations : 1) have you ever noticed that when these fabled treasures are discussed, that the past tense of the word "find" is invariably always used. Legendary French pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew were also known to troll the Gulf for booty at the time . There are still treasure hunters to this day who believe the Lafitte fortune would be found if the lake was drained. Hendricks Lake, pardoned by General Andrew Jackson in praise of his efforts and accomplishments Another story says the ship -- believed to have been a three-masted schooner -- ended up there after a storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico. The team reported finding the ship, which reportedly is sheathed on the bottom with copper. One story even Jean Lafitte: Mystery of the Unfound Treasure, History of Louisianas State Bird: The Brown Pelican, Jacques St. Germain, The Infamous Louisiana Vampire. Omoa was the site of the largest Spanish fort in Central America, a fort constructed to safeguard the Spanish silver shipments from the mines of Tegucigalpa in Honduras. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. It's in a very odd place for a large boat.". ingots were in transport, but the Spanish had set a trap. hidden treasures have been told time and time again in childrens books, video At the age of 25, Jean Laffite was living in New Orleans, operating a warehouse essential to dispersing the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre. It's incredible to think that just under the peaceful water lurks enough treasure to change your life! Lafitte became very familiar with, and eventually mastered, an illegal smuggling profession, which translated into an extremely lucrative career for him. As a backup plan, they would supply all adjacent markets with fresh fish on ice. The Galveston Daily News made light of the effort by suggesting they move their operation to the Gulf of Mexico since a good deal of wealth has been left under its waters by shipwrecks. A week after that humiliation, Paul Tatum clubbed a man to death after he made fun of Tatums attempt to drain the lake. who did pearl harmon play in friends,
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