He set up a court of admiralty, and before this court he brought and condemned such vessels as his "allied fleet" could capture. To dispose of the property thus obtained he adopted the smuggling tactics of the Baratarians, and he found plenty of men in New Orleans ready to assist him.
On April 5, 1817, Aury removed his establishment down to Matagorda, and thence to Amelia Island, Fla., where the smuggling operations became so bold and extensive as to attract the attention of the whole nation.
In fact the business became so profitable that Governor David B. Mitchell, of Georgia, resigned his honorable office and became the United States agent of the Creek Indians in order that he might, as he supposed, safely participate in the smuggling traffic. The Creek agency was in the midst of the wilderness then lying between the Georgia settlements and the new plantations of the Louisiana purchase. Mitchell had the slaves taken by obscure trails to his headquarters at the agency, and he intended to distribute them thence to the Louisiana plantations. He supposed that the routes to be followed, the location of the agency, and his personal influence combined would enable him to do a wholesale smuggling business in perfect safety. But he was detected, and lost money as well as his honor. The facts in this matter can be found in the "American State Papers" — Miscellaneous — Vol. II., p. 957. It seems necessary to give the authority for this story lest it seem wholly incredible.
The documents in this case (p. 962) show that "prime fellows were offered at Amelia at $250; ordinary from $175 to $200." Therefore the net profit in smuggling
