| Show marine sergeant who was king of na natives tives on voodoo isle yank was believed reincarnation of faustin L I 1 by ROBERT H MYERS released by western newspaper union throna through nh courtesy of THE leatherneck the magazine of the U S marines NE dark gloomy night in 0 ONE the year 1848 1843 on the tiny tropical voodoo isle of la go nave black king faustin I 1 suddenly and mysteriously disappeared years crept by and king faustin I 1 was never heard from again but a legend was born that some day a descend ant of 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 of the channel from port au prince and scraped up on the sands of la gon ave bounding out was a strange collect collection iod 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 in one of the strangest stories that ever came out of this storied superstition bound island for faustin E a blue 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 na 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 ti Me menne who had chosen him to rule the island I 1 queen 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 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 gunnery sergeant was one of these men and by congressional permission was on detached duty with the gendarmerie Gendar merie and held the rank of lieutenant in the force assigned 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 school at chapel HM hill N C but to go back to those years of yesterday soon after enlisting he landed in haiti with the first outfits of marines that went down to settle the trouble in that country his was the old awen twenty ty second company led by capt alexander S williams and his battalion commander was a man later destined for world fame gen smedley butler five years of off and on for five years the marines were busy the treacherous cacos knife wielding natives whose tactics were bloody ij if not successful engaged in many scraps he 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 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 hotbed hot becil of trouble during these years kept hearing tales about the island of la bonave 40 miles north of port au prince and about sq square aar e miles in area was rampant on the island and fearlo fearsome me were some of the tales A white man so it was whispered was not safe on la bonave no one wanted that outpost duty ghosts and spooks shooks they said haunted the place but made one visit to the island and decided he wanted it as a sub district command he scoffed at voodoo scare tales and still does and figured it would be a good place as a one man job hunting and fishing were good the climate was no barrier and was ambitious to make a name 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 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 for the native population As sequester or administrator he not only handled his official duties but went out of his way to help the people he showed them better ways to till 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 government it took a full year for to gain ain the trust and friendship of the islanders anders and particularly queen ti Me menne the queen was the leading figure in a group of matriarchal societies which dominated affairs of business and society on la bonave during liis his early months there had made it a point to humor the fat and friendly queen and she soon began to accept his advice and help 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 inland and up into the back mountain country to the queens village of whitewashed mud huts the queen very urgently wanted to see the young american who was then not quite 25 wondering what it could be about accepted and started off on horseback the trails up the mountain were crowded with natives es all heading for the queens village when he finally reached the village he was ushered still somewhat mys z A 11 11 mke 1 k 1 0 1 11 4 1 t ma N 7 N I 1 if w k A r d 4 e A 2 lo 10 warrant officer faus faustin a IV akus as he looks today tediously into a dwelling especially reserved for him it was late after noon and the queens emissaries informed him that his presence would not be wanted before queen ti until late that night already drums were slowly beating in the village center still wondering what 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 ti Me menne barefoot and dressed in a gaily colored robe sat at the front in 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 marine found out why he had ha d been summoned before the queen he was to be crowned king faustin il II at first I 1 thought it was just a way they had of telling me they liked me but later it developed that ti and her people were in earnest about the matter they had discussed the thing for days 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 all but drowning out the bleating of a young goat scared to the tip of his tail which was brought into the royal chamber and offered up as a blood sacrifice was seated on a small short legged chair and at the the queens command an attendant came from the next room bearing a heavy ornate crown 1 I now crown you king faustin II 11 proclaimed queen ti mem enne and she placed the crown the same crown so it was said that once had adorned the head ol of king faustin I 1 on two huge blacks then picked me up and carried me outside As soon as I 1 appeared the drums beat out the kings salute four ruffles and three taps I 1 knew that this was no empty honor they were paying me white kin king of la bonave f thus 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 wrote a book which he called the white king of la bonave with the fame however also came envy and jealousy from certain quarters baitis president a flew few years later louis borno hardly relished the popularity of la gon aves commander or the thought that a king official or unofficial was in charge of one of his 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 with bon coir roi or good evening g 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 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 stay on the island was as aa routine as before to him it was just a high compliment in 1925 was transferred to another station in the west indies it was a sad occasion when the white king of la bonave bade his people r goodby iby the natives lined the shores and cheered as queen T ti gravely prophesied some day you will come back and rule the island of la bonave |
