| Show marine sergeant who was king of natives on voodoo isle yank was believed reincarnation 0 of faustin 1 I by ROBERT H MYERS nele aed by western newspaper union through courtesy of THE leatherneck the magazine of the V S marines 0 ONE NE dark gloomy night in the year 1848 on the tiny tropical voodoo isle of la bonave black king F faustin austin I 1 suddenly and dyste mysteriously di disappeared isa feared I 1 pe ared years crept by and mg king faustin I 1 was never heard from again but a legend was born that some day a descendant of misname his name would return to rule this west indies island some three score and ten years later in 1920 a creaky sailboat lurched across the choppy waters ot of the channel from port su au prince and scraped up on the sands efla olla gon ave bounding out was wai a strange collection of occupants chattering black natives bawling cattle and gunnery sergeant of the united states marines whose first name was faustin thus was forged a link th in one of the strangest stories that ever came out of this storied superstition bound island for faustin E kus a V kue e eyed square chinned yankee from the state of pennsylvania who had never heard of king faustin I 1 or about his mysterious disappearance from la bonave and most certainly was no descendant of the ebony emperor eventually was crowned king faustin II 11 and reigned virtually over the natives for nearly five years between 1921 and 1925 hes asked about queen he became famous as the white king of la bonave and as he goes about more commonplace duties in the marine corps today he still gets numerous inquiries about his years in haiti about the broad and beaming native woman queen tl ti Me menne who had chosen him to rule the island queen tl ti Me menne of course was not really a queen nor was truly a king because la bonave was merely a province of haiti and under the administration of the haitian republic and its president but the stormy little country had been the scene of a bloody uprising a few years kears before starting in 1915 marines had been sent in to settle it and a picked number had remained to train and run the native gendarmerie Gendar merie merle gunnery sergeant was one of these men and by congressional permission was on detached duty with the gendarmerie Gendar merie merle and held the rank of lieutenant in the force assigned r to la bonave he was officially a commander today Is a warrant officer in charge of the marine aviation detachment tach ment at the navys preflight pre flight r school chool at chapel hill N C but to go back to those years of yester day soon after enlisting he landed in haiti with the first outfits of marines that went down to settle the trouble in his was the old twenty second company led by capt alexander S williams and his battalion commander was a man later destined lor for world lame fame gen smedley butler five years of off and on for five years the marines were busy bush lighting the treacherous cacos knife wielding natives whose tactics were bloody bloode if 11 not successful engaged in many 7 scraps be killed seven cacos in one bitter engagement and gradually gained recognition as an efficient and straight shooting noncom non com once in port au prince he took a handful of native gendarmerie gendar merie merle and broke up a secret voodoo ceremony and captured the ringleaders ring leaders this he accomplished with not a man injured voodoo meetings were often hotbeds liot beds of trouble during these years kept hearing bearing tales about the island of la bonave at miles north of port au prince and about square miles in area was rampant on the island and fearsome were some of the tales A white man so it was whispered was not sale safe on la bonave no one wanted that outpost duty ghosts and spooks shooks they said haunted the place but u a made one visit to the island and decided he wanted it as a sub lie he scoffed at voodoo scare tales and still does and figured it would be a good place sal as a rne one man lob job hunting and 11 fishing ing were good the climate was no barrier and was ambitious to make a name tor for himself as the key man in running the it was his responsibility to regulate travel and traffic prevent smuggling exercise control over the prison enforce harbor and docking regulations sanitation requirements quire ments and see that lands were properly allotted and taxes paid natives suspicious when arrived on brooding lit la bonave he found the natives suspicious of all white men which was hardly surprising for years they had been exploited and cheated their lot was a poor one to say the least set out to correct these conditions and behind his success was a genuine affection tor for the native population As sequester quester te or administrator he not only handled his official duties but went out gut of his way to help the people he showed them better ways to till thel their lands for the main industry was agriculture ri he repaired their antique equipment and modernized it where possible mothers were astonished but grateful when he came to their aid in bringing up their offspring they know it but he bought a book the care and feeding of children to help him with such problems he surveyed the lands and divided eliminating bitter disputes and he reduced taxes for some and boosted it for others many of whom had enjoyed favoritism from corrupt local representatives of the haitian 1 government it took a full year tor for to gain the trust and friendship of the islanders and particularly queen ti Me menne the queen was the leading figure in a group of matri archal societies which dominated dimina dominated ted affairs of business and society on la bonave during his early months there had made it a point to humor the tat fat and friendly queen and she soon began to accept his advice and help I 1 summons from queen one day received a summons at his newly built home on the coast messengers from the queen delivered it they were very solemn the message asked that hasten wand inland and up into the back mountain country to the queens village of whitewashed mud huts buts the queen very urgently wanted to see the yo ung american who was then not quite 25 wondering what it could be about accepted and started off on on horseback the trails up the mountain were crowded with natives all heading tor for the queens village when he be finally reached the village he be was ushered still somewhat mys L 0 X V J I 1 iz w warrant officer bauslin Faust ln kus as he looks today into a dwelling especially reserved for him it was bras late afternoon and the queens emissaries informed him that his presence would not be wanted before queen tl until late that night nigh t already drums were slowly beating in the village center cen ter still wondering what W bat it was all about he calmly undressed and went to sleep khaki clad monarch later the marine sergeant dressed in his usual khaki and put tees entered the queens house stepping into a tiny room squatting in close array on the floor were members of the inner court ta Me menne barefoot and dressed in a gaily colored robe sat fat at the front in regal fashion her black face shadowy in the sputtering vague rays of candles queen ti must have been in her forties or more and while a friendly woman she had a way of commanding and getting respect the ne marine found out why he had bad been summoned before the queen quee IL he was to be crowned king faustin II 11 at first I 1 thought it was just a way they had of telling me they liked me but later it developed that tl TI and her people were in earnest about the matter the they y had discussed the thing for days day 13 and had agreed to name me as their white king the ceremony weird in many ways lasted nearly three hours outside the drums rolled and pounded ku all but drowning out the bleating of a young goat scared to the tip of his bis tall tail which was brought into the ale royal chamber and offered up as a blood blod sacrifice was seated on a 8 small short legged chair and at the queens com command mind an attendant came from the next room bearing a heavy ornate crown 1 I now crown you king faustin II 11 1 proclaimed queen tl TI mem enne and she placed the crown the same crown so it was said that once had adorned the head bead of king faustin I 1 on two huge blacks then picked me up and carried me outside As is soon con as I 1 appeared the drums beat 0 out u t the kings salute four ruffles an and d three taps I 1 knew that this was no empty abnor they were paying me white king ot of la bonave thus mius was crowned the white king of la bonave a title that was to bring the marine fame in many countries william B seabrook made him the featured romantic character of his book magic isle and later mr himself wro wrote t e a book which he called the me white king of la bonave with the fame however also came envy and jealousy from certain quarters baitis president a few years later louis bomo bamo hardly relished bed the popularity ol of la gon aves commander or the thought piat chat a king official or unofficial was in charge of one of his bis provinces so eventually was transferred to another west indies station before that happened though the adventure loving leatherneck proved himself a good and kindly administrator the natives greeted him with bon coir rol or good evening king and he was forever amused at the intense interest the natives took in his everyday affairs often they stood around his home just to watch him dress As king of course he had no more authority than lie he had before in the eyes of his marine associates in the gendarmerie Gendar merie he was still merely commander he received no pay for his kingly title and his bis stay on the island was as routine as before to him it was just a high compliment la in 1925 was transferred to another station in the west indies etwas it was a sad occasion when the white king of la bonave gona e bade his people goodby the natives lined the shores and cheered as queen ti meme Men aenne e gravely prophesied some day you will come back and rule the island of la bonave |
