2001-11-18 04:00:00 PDT Wallisville, Texas -- Using a machete, Anahuac Jack hacks through branches blocking his small boat's path down a narrow channel through a marsh lined with cypress trees. Lafitte's large fleet and multinational band of pirates, privateers, and smugglers caused havoc in the Gulf of Mexico for a decade. "I had someone come talk to me about it just a few months ago. Join the adventures in Beyond Oak Island- Tuesdays at 10PM and summaries and more in depth looks into the many stories of treasure, here at MW! We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. ", This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, A family in Baytown, Texas tell their story. the naval operations and common routes of port ships in the Mississippi River Jean Laffite He wants to use equipment and divers to map the spot, try to identify the date and type of vessel, and assess whether it warrants further exploration. As they retreated, they headed into what is now known as Upshur County. NOWHERE BUT TEXAS: SEARCHING FOR JEAN . Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). ships as a last-ditch effort to gain an advantage in the pivotal Battle of New That set off a huge treasure hunting stampede. Ho-hum, right? The search is called off for the time being. though. We are a community-supported, non-profit organization and we humbly ask for your support because the careful and accurate recording of our history has never been more important. I think I found Lafitte's treasure After pinpointing the wreck, he plans to have divers dig up to 9 feet deep for artifacts that might date or identify the ship. More information can be found in Guide to Treasure in Texas A minimum of five treasure ships are said to have sunk at or near the mouth of the Rio Grande. Sherman, who died in 1879, said he was able to walk on its deck. One story even During 1957 and 1958 the most significant attempts to locate the treasure took place at the lake. Check out some of these lesser-known places throughout the state: Natural wonders in Texas are perfect for those with an affinity for the great outdoors: Where are the most beautiful lakes in Texas? Every penny counts! in south Louisianas bayous for so long, Lafitte had also become an expert with Spanish soldiers in pursuit overtook the transport at Hendricks Lake and rather than give up the silver, the transport leader cut six wagonloads of silver loose and pushed them into Hendricks Lake. The one I am thinking of was found. The oilmen then built a raft with a hole in the center and sank large pipes into the goop on the lake bottom. Lafitte eventually returned to smuggling at Galveston Island in Spanish Texas until he was forced out by the U.S. Navy in 1820. His body was buried at sea in the Gulf of Honduras. He frequently returned to Galveston or the barrier islands near New Orleans to unload booty or take on supplies procured by Pierre. He stated while talking to someone on the radio, who was a Jean L researcher, the guy described the markings Lafitte would leave pointing to treasure. Calvin Wilcher is in charge of the scans..he is on watch for something not of Mother nature. The Lost San Saba Silver Mine This lost mine, with its rich vein of silver, has been what one treasure hunter writer has called the Holy Grail of Texas treasure seekers. In 1756 a Mexican official traveling through Texas learned from Indians of an exposed strain of pure silver that ran through a certain hill in Central Texas. Copyright 2023 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. But obviously, it would be worth going out and taking a look. One of the men was found living in east Texas where he had bought a farm. WebJean Lafitte is thought to have sunk a treasure ship containing $500,000 to $1,000,000 off south Padre Island. Meanwhile, his younger brother John was exploring the coast of Texas. Please note that some historians believe Lafitte had no significant treasure as he left Galveston or that he took his treasure with him to Louisiana. It featured Pirate Treasures. A man claiming to be Lafitte's grandson, John A. Lafitte of St. Joseph, Mo.. claimed an interest in the ship but would years later be proved a fake, Epperson said. 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. Lafitte utilized Galveston Island as his private smuggling base. He declared himself governor or "master" until he fled to the Yucatan Peninsula after the U.S. government forced him to leave in 1820, records show. So, where could 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. Maybe they can help them in their search from the insights learned from their own pursuit of the Money Pit. Jean Lafitte: History & Mystery - National Park Service 2. Lafitte fought many bloody battles with these Karankawas. What is the latest news? The chest was filled with gold, jewelry and other valuables, worth an estimated $1 million. times as a smuggler and privateer, he became very wealthy. It was also the location that US Forces attacked, causing his band to make a hasty retreat. Rumor has it the money is somewhere underneath Little, A man named Nathan Smith thinks he's found the remnants of a sunken ship from an 1822 hurricane north of. parties, as the Mystery of Jean Lafittes Unfound Treasure seems to be a voyage 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. 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. The story died down but regained momentum when treasure hunting became popular again in the fifties and when True West magazine printed an article about the long-forgotten silver prompting treasure hunters to flock to Carthage and Tatum. The fortune is said to have been stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte. 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. Not one of them found any of the reported treasure, but that never prevented the next person from trying. Lafitte became very familiar with, and eventually mastered, an illegal smuggling profession, which translated into an extremely lucrative career for him. So read this, get up, and go after your pot of gold. Jean Laffite's treasure in the Sabine River - Lone star . Official Blog of Pelican State Credit Union. These questions In Colombian newspapers, his death was lamented and his obituary described him as a brave naval officer. Since then, several parties have approached D.L. Legendary outlaw Sam Bass is said to have buried his bounty from stagecoach, train and bank robberies in several areas around the Texas Hill County. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. The Rosa was carrying a treasure cargo of silver bars and gold nuggets. And where? Christian is not discouraged. Beyond Oak Island: The search for stolen pirate silver in While challenging, the trip also exposes an otherworldly beauty and abundant wildlife, such as alligators sunning on rocks, great blue herons roosting on stumps and white egrets winging across the water. any leads as to where Lafittes treasure might be? Packsaddle Mountain in eastern Llano County is another alleged Bass treasure location. We use cookies to provide you with the best possible browsing experience. Get more stories delivered right to your email. He had to take a pirogoe which is a wood boat that would have sank if all the treasure would have been on board. Legendary French pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew were also known to troll the Gulf for booty at the time . Retired Avenger, current NFL free agent. . did use the words "think" before that. that the treasure is in a different location now than where it was buried? Bass reportedly stole 3,000 gold bars from Union Pacific Railroad, some of which have been recovered, but there are gold bars that have still not been found, according to OnlyInYourState.com. They know its there. WebPerhaps not coincidentally, this was the same area where his former slave trading colleague Jean Lafitte had once had his headquarters. 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'. Daniel sought permission from the land commissioner to salvage the sunken ship and "exhibit whatever findings to the public," newspapers reported. A family in Baytown, Texas tell their story as they believe they found one of Lafittes sunken ships. The family thinks this could be a clue as to where the actual treasure is. There is even an event in La Porte, Texas centered around the treasure called the Annual Search for Lafittes Gold. I have a file 2 in thick on Hendricks lake treasure. Most people wrote it off as another myth until a magazine According to a story by Mary Roger of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the silver was indeed robbed from a galleon by Laffite and his mean in the early 19th century. Two oilmen from Texas actually brought a giant crane to the lake after getting some interesting readings from the bottom of Hendricks Lake. The family thinks this could be a clue as to where the actual treasure is. (All you English teachers out there, stop making fun of me for using the what is now known as phrase two sentences in a row.) In the 1950s, the Sabine River and the nearby lake (Hendricks Lake) experienced a new onslaught of treasure seekers when the story of Laffites silver was published by the True West magazine. Rumor has it that some of the money is hidden in Cove Hollow, near Denton. The Temple was located just North of what is today Little Lake, in Lafittes time it was Little Lake Barataria, where Bayou Perot and Bayou Rigolets meet. He sent soldiers to look for it, but they found nothing. below! They lowered another contraption through the pipe to the lake floor. The Treasure of Jean Lafitte. Check them out: Love Texas? In 1909 members of the United States Geological Survey visited the site, which they described as being unproductive. Mysterious Writings: Featured Contributor Segment and Update, Forgotten History Hunts: Featured Contributor Segment, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure. Other sites considered to contain Lafitte treasure are islands south of New Orleans and Galveston Island in Texas. Im ready to break out my metal detector! 5. well as the fortunes left on the merchant ships that he captured. Singer Treasure on Padre Island In the mid-nineteenth century, a man named Isaac Merritt Singer made significant improvements to the sewing machine. For decades the site has intrigued historians and treasure hunters. True West Magazine article on Jean Lafitte. Much to the While at my favorite used book store some months ago I stumbled across a copy of a book that I read as a kid. By 1810, their successful smuggling operation had been supplemented with piracy. JavaScript is disabled. Barnie Waldrop, a Carthage television repairman, had used his own electronics to search the lake for years. scrambling to find answers. He was now legally authorized by Great Colombia to take Spanish ships. It seems like a plausible place for a notorious bandit to hide his loot, so we are inclined to believe it! Gary L. Pinkerton, Trammels Trace: The First Road to Texas from the North (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2016). More information can be found in Guide to Treasure in Texas accepts, and the show continues at Hendricks Lake in East Texas. In the early 1820s, Great Colombia under the government of Simon Bolivar had begun commissioning former privateers as officers in their newly formed navy. Did the infamous privateer Jean Laffite steal a $2 million fortune in silver from a Spanish galleon and bury it in the Sabine River near the East Texas town Sabine? These goods were at a high demand and otherwise illegal due to the Embargo Act of 1807. His main focus is on Jean Lafittes treasure, Jean "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. She was then forgotten for nearly 300 years. Is the image on this article what the actual chest looked like? I studied it very well and found a hidden marking on a wall beside the stairs and a solid wall pit with a hole in the top. I don't know about that if the government wanted to dig, they would. Many treasure hunters are convinced the money continues to lie beneath the mud of Little Cypress Creek in Upshur County. The northwest tip of Padre Island has for years been known as Treasure Dunes. A lookout for alligators and venomous snakes is Okay, that was a really bad joke. The other went north later over seas where he was killed during WW2. Small but made like a brick. Another good book that has some good info on Lafitte is Coronado's Children, by J. Frank Dobie. If information about one of the last searchers had been documented and publicized it would likely have discouraged further similar attempts in the future. Many from the area have taken artifacts from there, including coin. Mysterious shipwreck off Galveston is full Laffite approached them and was granted a commission and given command over a 43-ton schooner named General Santander. They did their research and, with dredging equipment and electronics gear, made multiple trips to Hendricks Lake but had no success. Ever seen an oak tree with a carving of two eagle wings on it? The Lost Padre Mine Somewhere in the Franklin Mountains overlooking the Rio Grande River in El Paso County is the Lost Padre Mine. And if so is the treasure still there? When they returned after the war, Singer could no longer find Money Hill because the sands had shifted and erased all the landmarks that he once knew.
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