{"id":1767,"date":"2014-08-08T12:03:23","date_gmt":"2014-08-08T17:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=1767"},"modified":"2014-08-08T12:03:39","modified_gmt":"2014-08-08T17:03:39","slug":"story-arsene-lebleu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2014\/08\/08\/story-arsene-lebleu\/","title":{"rendered":"THE STORY OF ARSENE LEBLEU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deep in the southwest corner of Louisiana lies a region famed in American history as the \u201cNeutral Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n

This 40-mile-wide stretch of wilderness and marsh land, located principally on land that is in present-day Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, became a geographic entity in 1806 when the boundary between Spanish Texas and the United States was in dispute.<\/p>\n

In that year, the \u201cNeutral Ground Agreement\u201d established the \u201cNeutral Strip,\u201d which was left unoccupied by troops and law enforcement officials of either nation. The agreement remained in effect until 1821.<\/p>\n

Although a few legitimate land hunters settled, the strip soon became notorious for harboring the lawless elements and social outcasts of two nations.<\/p>\n

Bounded on the west by the Sabine River and on the east by the Calcasieu, the region is noted for its many deep, cypress-lined and moss-draped bayous; its marshy lowlands; live oak-studded cheniers in the coastal, or southern, sector; and its pine forests and hardwood bottomlands in the northern sector.<\/p>\n

By 1820, only a sprinkling of white settlers and slaves were living there. Residents included small bands of the fast-vanishing Attakapas tribe, led by Chief Calcasieu (Quelqueshue meaning Crying Eagle).<\/p>\n

Bartheleme Blaise LeBleu was the first white settler to build a permanent residence in the Calcasieu region. The LeBleus are considered the premier pioneer family of Southwest Louisiana.<\/p>\n

LeBleu and his family found a way to prosper from the resources they found in the area.<\/p>\n

His parents, Louis LeBleu and Marie Gentils, were immigrants from Bordeaux, France. Bartheleme was born in 1722 at Arkansas Post along the upper Mississippi River. During his years on the Mississippi, he learned the river and coastal areas and became a pilot.<\/p>\n

He lived in New Orleans for a time, then headed west after his marriage to Marie Josette de la Mirande in 1769. He started westward in a two-wheeled bullock cart, and crossed the Calcasieu River several months later.<\/p>\n

Arriving at the shore of Lake Charles and finding it impossible to ford, he turned back, settling about six miles east of the lake along what is now called English Bayou.<\/p>\n

Bartheleme and Marie settled and had six children. The two eldest, Arsene and Catherine, became deeply embedded in the lore about the early history of Lake Charles.<\/p>\n

On October 30, 1789, Arsene LeBleu became the first white man born in the Calcasieu area. In his younger years, LeBleu was a buccaneer, sailing against the Spanish as one of Jean Lafitte’s captains.<\/p>\n

\"LeBleuhomstead\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By 1815, he had built his home at a point where the Calcasieu River intersected the Opelousas Trail and Old Spanish Trail in the area now known as LeBleu Settlement.<\/p>\n

He was among the largest land holders in southwest Louisiana. His home was a spacious cypress house, covered with plaster and attractive painted murals on the smooth walls.<\/p>\n

LeBleu\u2019s stock, numbering in the thousands, grazed the Calcasieu prairie southward. He drove his herds from Texas to New Orleans. His home became a well-known way station, or \u201cstand,\u201d for the Texas cattle drivers on the Opelousas Trail. Cattle stands in Louisiana gave the drovers access to cattle pens, lodging at night, and warm food.<\/p>\n

Life at a cattle stand gave LeBleu the opportunity to meet many people; his friends included James and Resin Bowie. They were such good friends that Resin was named \u201cParain,\u201d or godfather, of LeBleu\u2019s son Arsene Jr. While James (Jim) is most famous for killing a man with the bowie knife, most people don\u2019t realize it was his brother Resin that designed the famous blade.<\/p>\n

Catherine LeBleu married Charles Sallier in 1805. Sallier was a political exile until Bartheleme LeBleu and Jean Lafitte brought him to settle in Louisiana in 1781.<\/p>\n

Sallier remained in Opelousas, La., until 1797, then travelled westward until he reached the Arsene LeBleu home, east of the lake that now bears Sallier\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Sallier fell in love with Catherine and settled with her in a cabin on the southeast shore of the lake, which was later called Charles\u2019 Lake. The village that grew around this lake was called Charlestown, and eventually became Lake Charles.<\/p>\n

From 1815-1821, when Jean Lafitte was headquartered in Galveston, he spent many hours slipping up through the Calcasieu River and Contraband Bayou into Lake Charles. Here he visited his friends Charles and Catherine Sallier often, docking directly in front of the shell mounds before the house. Their children were loved by Lafitte.<\/p>\n

One day, Jean Lafitte told their little girl, Sydalise, \u201cSee this bag of gold? If you can pick it up, you can have it.\u201d Needless to say, the weight of the bag was too much for the child. But she remembered the story and told it often to her grandchildren.<\/p>\n

From the lakeside home, Sydalise often listened to songs sung by the pirates on their ship. \u201cThey accompanied themselves on little accordions,\u201d she told her grandchildren, \u201cand I got in trouble when I sang the songs and my mother heard the words!\u201d<\/p>\n

The early inhabitants of the Neutral Strip held Lafitte in high esteem; he reciprocated by showering them with luxuries rarely seen on the frontier.<\/p>\n

Lafitte was considered a war hero rather than an outlaw due to his help in defending New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans. In his journal, he made many references to the Neutral Strip and its residents.<\/p>\n

The LeBleu family furnished his crews with beef and vegetables when their ships were in the Calcasieu River. It was their descendants who have perpetuated the story of Jean Lafitte in Calcasieu Parish.<\/p>\n

\"Sallierhomstead\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lafitte made his Louisiana headquarters with his good friend LeBleu, spending many days at his home with the family. Arsene, whom Lafitte called \u201cmy captain,\u201d always welcomed Lafitte and his men into the LeBleu home on English Bayou.<\/p>\n

LeBleu built a \u201cdouble-pen\u201d log house for storage of Lafitte\u2019s silks, spices, teas, liquor, jewels and other contraband. This building withstood the wear and tear of many years, but was finally destroyed by the hurricane of August, 1918. It was rumored that Lafitte hid some of his treasure there. \u201cPart of my merchandise was unloaded at the mouth of the Calcasieu, in the care of Mr. Arsene LeBleu,\u201d Lafitte once wrote.<\/p>\n

Once, when LeBleu admired a diamond stud Lafitte was wearing in his silk shirt, Lafitte unscrewed the gem and tossed it to LeBleu, remarking that he\u2019d better keep it as it was much too beautiful for a rough pirate privateer.<\/p>\n

Legend says Lafitte spent a lifetime in love with a woman who couldn\u2019t be his \u2014 the sister of his best friend Arsene.<\/p>\n

Matters were complicated further when Charles became jealous of Lafitte, accusing Catherine of being too friendly with the handsome buccaneer. One day, shortly after the birth of their sixth child, Charles returned from a business trip to find Catherine wearing a brooch given to her by Lafitte. Raging at Catherine, he drew a pistol and shot her. When she fell to the floor, Charles assumed she was dead and hastily left the home.<\/p>\n

The story goes that news of the shooting was sent to Arsene and Lafitte and they gave chase to Sallier.<\/p>\n

But Sallier was never heard from again.<\/p>\n

Catherine survived. When she recovered somewhat, she found that the bullet had hit her hand and then the brooch she was wearing. The brooch kept the bullet from penetrating her body and saved her life.<\/p>\n

Catherine lived on at Shell Beach until she died at the age of 75. She never remarried, and most people believe that she was innocent of Charles\u2019 accusation.<\/p>\n

\"AGED<\/a><\/p>\n

Handed down from generation to generation, this amethyst brooch\u00a0 is still in possession of the family. There are creases where it was struck by the bullet.<\/p>\n

Arsene was instrumental in organizing and establishing government in Calcasieu. In 1840, the state legislature created \u201cImperial Calcasieu Parish\u201d out of 5,000 square miles of wilderness. Formerly part of St. Landry parish, its population barely exceeded 2,000.<\/p>\n

Arsene organized the first police jury elected in Imperial Calcasieu Parish; it held the first meeting in his home on Aug. 24, 1840.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the census of 1850, Arsene LeBleu left his home in Louisiana to join in the Gold Rush. He made his way to California and was never heard from again until his friends and relatives back in Louisiana learned of his death. He died in Sacramento on Oct. 17, 1850, leaving behind him a lasting legacy in Louisiana lore.<\/p>\n

Arsene\u2019s story is provided courtesy of LeBleu\u2019s Landing and The Sausage Link. For more info, visit lebleuslanding.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deep in the southwest corner of Louisiana lies a region famed in American history as the \u201cNeutral Strip.\u201d This 40-mile-wide stretch of wilderness and marsh land, located principally on land that is in present-day Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, became a geographic entity in 1806 when the boundary between Spanish Texas and the United States was [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,396],"yoast_head":"\nTHE STORY OF ARSENE LEBLEU - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2014\/08\/08\/story-arsene-lebleu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE STORY OF ARSENE LEBLEU - 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