412 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



erman's hut filled up the comers. It was no hard- 

 ship to be obliged to pass the afternoon among these 

 fishermen, for their hardy, independent occupation 

 gave manliness to their character, and freedom to 

 their speech and manners. 



The island was famed among the fishermen as 

 the rendezvous of Lafitte the pirate, and the patron 

 told us that our host had been his prisoner two 

 years. This man was about fifty-five, tall and thin, 

 and his face was so darkened by the sun that it was 

 hard to say whether he was white or of mixed 

 blood. We remarked that he was not fond of talk- 

 ing of his captivity ; he said he did n^t know how 

 long he was a prisoner nor where he was taken ; and 

 as the business of piracy was rather complicated in 

 these parts, we conceived a suspicion that he had 

 not been a prisoner entirely against his will. His 

 fellow-fishermen had no narrow feelings on the 

 subject, and perhaps gave a preference to piracy as 

 a larger business, and one that brought more ounces, 

 than catching turtles. They seemed, however, to 

 have an idea that los Ingleses entertained differ- 

 ent views, and the prisoner, el pobre, as our patron 

 called him, said those things were all over, and it 

 was best not to disturb them. He could not, how- 

 ever, help dropping a few words in behalf of La- 

 fitte, or Monsieur Lafitta ; he did not know wheth- 

 er it was true what people said of him, but he nev- 

 er hurt the poor fishermen, and, led on by degrees 

 he told us that Lafitte died in his arms, and that his 



