[The pirate legends of Texas are all so bound up with the name of
Lafitte that they may well be prefaced by a sketch of that remarkable
personage. Perhaps there is as much legend about the man as about his
treasure. Even his name seems to be in dispute, for, whereas he is
generally known in this country as Jean Lafitte, the Nouveau Larousse
Illustré Dictionnaire Encyclopédique denominates him, the “corsaire
français,” Nicolas Lafitte. A historian can hardly write of him without
arousing controversy. Dr. J. O. Dyer, of Galveston, in a letter to the
editor says: “Lafitte was no pirate, but the head of two noted
buccaneer or privateer camps.... He never went to sea; he was a poor
sailor because he suffered from sea-sickness; he never was in any fight
on the sea.”—Editor.]
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