4. James and Rezin Bowie speculated in Louisiana land fraudulently
Over the next several years, James and Rezin concentrated on purchasing large areas of land in Lafourche Parish and elsewhere. Land records in Louisiana were, to put it simply, a mess. The United States purchased Louisiana in 1803, promising to honor all land claims in place at the time. Much of Louisiana was unclaimed. The rush to the territory which followed the War of 1812 led to falsified claims, predated before the purchase. Surveys of many tracts were inaccurate. Conflicting claims abounded in the parishes. Both Bowie brothers were fluent in Spanish, and became adept at creating claims which were later found to be fraudulent in American courts.
James, Rezin, and Stephen Bowie, another brother, purchased a large plantation near Thibidoux, and named it Acadia Plantation. It was a stop for a time on the route they used to smuggle slaves overland after purchasing them from the accommodating Lafitte. They erected a steam-powered mill on the plantation to grind sugar cane, the first such structure in Louisiana. The mill did not function well, destroying too much of the cane in the process of grinding it, and it was soon abandoned. The brothers also built houses for themselves and another for their mother on the plantation. Around 1828, James and Rezin sold their interests in the plantation and moved to Arkansas when they were confronted with several fraudulent documents registering land they had sold which they did not own.
Read More: 10 Remarkable Fraudulent Discoveries and Inventions.