Barataria Bay

And Hinman notes the blurring of history and atmosphere.

Was it actually a blacksmith shop acting as a front for the smuggling operations of the pirate Jean Lafitte and his brother in Barataria Bay?

The historical ambiguity is exactly what gives the space its power.

In New Orleans, legend and fact are often completely indistinguishable.

But the children must stand at the door, where he himself gives them meat and drink.

The Phantom Merry-Go-Round Among the pirate islands at the outer edge of Barataria Bay, the westernmost is Ile Dernier, now generally known as Last Island.

For a little while, it was the capital of the illegitimate empire of Jean Lafitte, the famous buccaneer who later moved to Grand Terre and became a picturesque hero at the Battle of New Orleans.

Not long after the pirates had scattered, Last Island became a summer resort.

Many were never found.

But here and there on the wet sands lay corpses in odd, stiff attitudes.

Almost a century has passed since this great tragedy, But the fishermen of Barataria Bay say that even today, when chugging past Last Island in their little boats, sometimes on blowy nights, they see on its shores a vast hotel, its windows gleaming with light, and they hear dance music above the whistle of the wind.

Sometimes, too, a boat crew reports that they have beheld by the light of the windows Dark shadows moving slowly in circular parade like human bodies riding a gruesome merry-go-round.

When they had loaded their ships with booty, they must sail to some place where it would be safe to dispose of it.

So in course of time, the Bay of Barataria, about forty miles south of New Orleans and very well situated for an illegal settlement, was chosen as a privateer's port, and a large and flourishing colony soon grew up at the head of the bay, to which came privateers of every nationality to dispose of their cargoes.

Of course, there was no one in the comparatively desolate country around Barataria who could buy the valuable goods which were brought into that port, but the great object of the owners of this merchandise was to smuggle it up to New Orleans and dispose of it.

But there could be no legitimate traffic of this sort, for the United States, at the very beginning of the century, was at peace with England, France, and Spain, and therefore could not receive into any of her ports goods which had been captured from the ships of these nations.

Consequently, the plunder of the privateering pirates of Barataria was brought up to New Orleans in all sorts of secret and underhand fashions and sold to merchants in that city without the custom house having anything to do with the importations.

Now, this was great business.

Jean Lafitte had a great business mind, and therefore it was not long after his arrival at Barataria before he was the head man in the colony and director-in-chief of all its operations.

Thus, by becoming a prominent figure in a piratical circle, he came to be considered a pirate, and as such came down to us in the pages of history.

We're, I guess, probably due west of like Myrtle Grove.

Like if you headed down towards Venice, we're on that north side of Barataria Bay.

Okay, cool.

And so, Ryan, how's the fishing been lately? Like, I know we kind of got out of, like, a little bit of a break from the scorching heat, like the upper 90s, like some lower 90s, which has been kind of a break.

So, yeah, it's been – you know, it's one of those things I'm just letting them rest.

You know, they took a hammering two years ago, so we're not really trying to beat them up too much and let them recover.

But, yeah, so normally this time of year they're starting to move in closer into the closer bays, you know, where you ain't got to run all the way to Barataria Bay.

Usually Little Lake, which, you know, that's a 15-minute boat ride from the launch.