Long Lost Treasure of the Pirate Jean LaFitte

Jean LaFitte was a famous freebooter who created a thriving trade community on a sandbar in the gulf of Mexico that is now known as Galveston. Jean and Pierre LaFitte came to the island in 1817 and set up headquarters. They named the place Campeachy and their pirating and privateering was overlooked by the US govt. Jean LaFitte had aided Jackson's win in the war of 1812 by providing troops and money. He was also a bit of a folk hero due to his gallant leadership in the Battle of New Orleans. In 1821 the US Navy had enough of LaFitte and feared his growing power and influence. He was ordered out of Campeachy. LaFitte evacuated his city, burned it to the ground and sailed for South America. There is a legend that what LaFitte couldn't take with him, he buried "in a grove of 3 trees". The search has continued every since.

I am happy to announce that LaFitte's treasure has been found in spirit if not in actual cold hard cash. The idea behind this box was that anyone who visited could add a "piratey" type stamp to the box. You don't have to leave a stamp, but if you do please email me and I will give you credit for it on this page. I'm hoping this box will be like a siren song to all those young pirate fan letterboxers and those old texas history letterboxers and hopefully we will get some really cool stamps added.
Here's what I have so far:
-Pieces of 8 - currency of the day (looks cool if you have some silver ink)
-Lost Rosary - from explorer Cabeza de Vaca who was stranded in this same spot in 1542
-Buccaneers pistol - used during a one-one sided battle between LaFitte's men and the local Karankawa indian tribe, who had rescued and cared for Cabeza de Vaca all those years before.
All these stamps were carved by hoppers of seabrook.

Additional Stamps:
By Bailey's Bunch
-Sword- and a swashbuckling one at that
-Telescope - for spotting land and ships loaded with booty
-Jeweled ring - carved by a young'un of admirable talent

By Pastry Princess and Monkey Biz
-Great Parrot- a pirates only true friend
-Treasure Map- keep it well hidden, Matey.
-2 Crossed Swords- pirate speak for Beware!

By 4anglers
-Goblet- for me rum!

By Travelin T's
-Jolly Roger- fly it high!

To get to LaFitte's grove, you need to head south on I-45, after you've crossed the big bridge to Galveston exit and turn right onto 61st street and continue South until you reach Seawall blvd. Turn right (west) on Seawall. You are going to travel for a little while until you come to a street sign for 11 mile rd. Turn right on 11 mile rd., follow it until you reach Stewart rd and take a left. You are very close to LaFitte's Grove (not Cove). Look for a brown UTC-069 sign on the right side of Stewart rd. and turn right onto the concrete parking area just past the UTC sign, turn left in the parking area and pull all the way to the end of the concrete. You are now ready to leave your car and hunt for the treasure.

To find the letterbox:
From the concrete parking area, look back towards the road. You should see a "Y" shaped tree, next to it on the ground is a green electrical box. Behind the electrical box is a sawed off stump. Behind that stump is the treasure. Take the box across the road, you can sit on a concrete bench and read the historical marker.

So are you up for the challenge? Can you part with a jolly roger, can you carve a ring worthy of a pirate king? I hope so! Get your sails in the wind and I hope to see you out on the trails this summer.
Cheers,
hoppers

P.S. There are lots of good boxes on the island, "puddy tat" is just up Stewart rd. from this box and "watering can" is just a little further down in galveston st. park. If you make it to Harborside rd. you can find the "state tall ship" box. Right down the street from there, at 1417 Harborside stood LaFitte's house, Maison Rouge. He burnt it down before leaving and the present building stands on its foundations.

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