To Jean Lafitte, the pirate, the Sabine River with the protection of the Neutral Strip, became the back door to the United States. Slaves for wagon loads of food were commonly exchanged, according to the statements of a Mr. Tulley at Los Adais and Mr. Gunlineau at Natchitoches. Lafitte needed food for his pirate operations. Up the Sabine River the boats were pulled, poled or paddled by the slaves to be sold. From the Los Adais and Natchitoches areas came wagon loads of food, smoked hams, kegs of salted bacon, cornmeal, kegs of molasses, wine, corn whiskey, dried beans, peppers, tobacco, sweet potatoes and gourds of honey, with spiced cake sent by hopeful wives to the pirates so that their husbands might make more profitable deals. Back on the same wagons came the slaves, bolts of cloth, jewelry and perfume (Lafitte’s storehouses was filled with goods from every Spanish and British ship that he could capture). Everything was legal as far as the bills of sale went. A certain honest merchant in New Orleans, with a good reputation and scruples, signed blank bills of sale, to be filled in by Tulley and Gunlineau. This may seem rather crude to the average reader—the smuggling of slaves and the ladies sending spiced goods to the pirates on the Sabine River. At this very time the United States was confiscating where it could slaves that had been smuggled in, selling them and giving the informers half of the proceeds of the sales. Nothing was said about putting the slaves on a boat and returning them to their homeland. (Question: Are there very many people today who try to beat the Income Tax?) There was some good to come out of all this. Lafitte assisted the United States in the defense of New Orleans in the war of 1812, furnishing men, ammunition and food. Where did he obtain the food? From the Los Adais and Natchitoches area. Lafitte, Tulley and Gunlineau were merely supplying the demand for a necessary merchandise and certainly the slaves were better off because of it. Noah Smithwick, who had visited the Strip, wrote of the murders, robberies and numerous violations of law there. He gives us one tale that falls in line with the demand and supply of the times. Because the man he wrote about was still alive he calls this character, John Doe. Doe was a counterfeiter of money, especially the Mexican silver dollar. The people at that time had no “jingling” money for their pockets and Doe supplied this demand, with a silver-coated copper coin. Because of a slight flaw in the press the coins were easily identified and called Doe’s dollars. An Indian approached Doe one day and handed him one of the counterfeit dollars requesting that Doe put a new skin on it. Doe obliged by giving the Indian a new counterfeit dollar for the old one, explaining to the Indian that dollars were like snakes, they always shed their skins. Doe’s dollars, although not recognized outside the Strip, were regarded as legal tender therein.