Bones: A New Orleans Legend

February 21, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release


Bones was originally born Jacques-Henri Lafitte in the early 1790's around the small town of Pauillac, France. Bones was the youngest brother of Jean and Pierre Lafitte, whose legend in New Orleans folklore and place in American history live on vibrantly still today. Jacques-Henri made the voyage to the new world with his mother, Marguerite Desteil, after their father's death, and the family took residence in New Orleans to try and make a new life. Older brothers Pierre and Jean, struggled to find work in the new world, thus leading to pirating the gulf coast from as far as what is now Galveston, Texas to the then French-owned Saint-Domingue island, which is now Haiti. This was nothing new to the Lafitte's, having spent the majority of their lives at sea on their father's vessels in the trade business

However, Jacques-Henri wasn't fortunate to live the life of adventure on the high-seas of the Gulf of Mexico as he stayed behind in New Orleans to tend to their ailing mother, while his two brothers ravaged ship after ship. As a teenager and after his mother had passed on, he tended to the family's warehouse on Royal Street where the Lafitte's made a handsome profit on all the items and goods brought in by his brothers when they returned to the province which was under Spanish rule at the time. Jacques-Henri proved to be a valuable asset to the family business, not only being very good at building and repairing ships, but because he was fluent in French, English and Spanish - all of which at that time in history had converged in New Orleans at some point or another.

Unfortunately, Jacques-Henri was a victim of piracy himself in his mid-to-late 20's when a deal for Caribbean rum and silver went terribly wrong outside of his bother Jean's blacksmith shop, ultimately ending in a showdown on the murky, rain-filled streets of summer in New Orleans. He was out-numbered, and although he gave his best to protect the profitable family business, Jacques-Henri perished that June night in what some historians believe to have taken place around 1810 - some six years after the Louisiana Purchase.

Pierre and Jean did not learn of this news until they arrived back from their summer vessel-harvest in August. Seeking revenge and justice for their brother's life, Jean and Pierre sought after the truth, questioning all in the surrounding areas on who had committed this horrible act. They got one answer: "Les Britanniques," directly translating to the British. This proved to be an underlying tone to joining forces with America in the War of 1812 to defeat the British Navy. Following their success in defending the coastal region, both brothers were granted a full pardon from General Andrew Jackson for previous pirate acts against the United States.

As for Jacques-Henri, he was buried along Bayou St. John in an unmarked grave. His body was laid to rest, however, his soul laid stuck between this life and the next until the summer of 1873 when Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau was performing her annual St. John's Eve celebration on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, and found Jacques-Henri's lost soul at the crossroads - a meeting ground in the spiritual world between this life and the next in voodoo practice.

After a few voodoo rituals, Jacques-Henri was given a second chance at life and made whole again... sort of. He was a walking, talking, fully-functional, friendly human being, but lacked 'skin' leading to what most know him today as: Bones.

Bones didn't let his appearance hold him back, and although he found it hard to find a day job, the night life fit him well - especially during carnival time in New Orleans where most simply took his appearance as a Mardi Gras costume.

However, Bones found out quickly that he couldn't make it alone just on carnival season. He tried working jobs as a musician, waiter, bellhop, etc., but all were short-lived and had the same result of him being let-go due to scaring customers. It wasn't until around 1919 when he got a night job at a lumber yard, frightening away would-be thieves attempting to steal precious cypress wood from the Higgins' Lumber and Export Company, owned and operated by Andrew Higgins.

Upon the world's declining economy and the onset of the great depression, Higgins shifted gears, shutdown the lumberyard and went into the shipbuilding business in 1930, establishing Higgins Industries. Higgins had heard his crews talk about Bones' vast knowledge of ships and maneuverability in shallow water, while also being able to withstand rough seas. Most thought he was loony, a society castaway, but Higgins - intrigued by this odd story - listened to Bones.

Thus, Bones' true genius was brought to light, inventing the Eureka Boat - a shallow draft craft - and the 'spoonbill' bow for ships which allowed a vessel to run up on shore and back off with relative ease. This was a prototype of the LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) or the "Higgins Boat." This vessel was the primary ship of choice for the United States Army in World War II, storming the beaches of Normandy.

This invention made Higgins a war hero, as Dwight Eisenhower was quoted: "Andrew Higgins is the man who won the war for us," and the brain behind closed doors at Higgins Industries was indeed Bones. This made Bones a wealthy man, which turned him into a savvy investor, and when he retired in 1946, Bones disappeared - literally.

Historians have tried to track his whereabouts from 1946 until the early 2000's - some 54 years of no known record. Speculation of where he was still continues today, engaging many researchers. Did he return to his native land of France' Did he use his wealth to travel the world' No one knows, and Bones isn't one to share. However, most all will agree that he spent a large amount of that time period in various mascot training schools and universities, studying entertainment techniques in India and tribal dance moves from the indigenous people of the Congo before returning to the United States.

It wasn't until a paper trail showed up, consisting of W-2's mainly, that proved Bones was indeed back in New Orleans during Halloween and Mardi Gras time. It remained only a matter of time before Bones truly resurfaced in 2004 for all to see as the official New Orleans VooDoo mascot - a role he was born, or "re-born" to play. He served in that capacity for four years from 2004-to-2008 until the team closed its doors.

When putting together this biography of Bones, he declined an interview, but released a statement: "After 2008 when I was given my pink slip, I struggled to find meaning in life - a true place for myself in this world. I am well-traveled, cultured and over 200 years old; however I truly hadn't lived until 2004 when I became a part of the VooDoo family. I was on top the world for four years, and then my world came crashing down. I wandered the streets in deep depression, expecting - sometimes hoping - to go with the night. That was until September 14, 2010 when the VooDoo announced they were back. I can say with ease I now have my life back, entertaining fans and being the life of the party in The Graveyard. We're back, I'm back! Let's go VooDoo



Arena Football League Stories from February 21, 2011


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