The Square Pegs (7 page)

To carry out this scheme, Harden-Hickey produced a four-page prospectus of his kingdom, written in French. He began by stating that, having married the only daughter of an American millionaire, he had become a person of unlimited means this to prove his seriousness and solvency. He had stumbled upon and taken possession of Trinidad, he went on to explain, and on it he had decided to establish a new state. The government would be a military dictatorship. The officers would all sport mustaches “
a la Louis Napoleon
.” The first white colonists who settled on Trinidad would form the aristocracy. To become eligible as colonists, they must give evidence that their social standing in the United States was high, and that they could afford to buy twenty 1,000-franc government bonds. This investment assured each colonist of free passage from San Francisco to Trinidad on Harden-Hickey’s newly acquired schooner, and free passage back to the States after one year, if desired.

Harden-Hickey carefully described the wonders of his empire in the prospectus. “In spite of its rugged and uninviting appearance, the inland plateaus are rich with luxuriant vegetation. Prominent among these is a peculiar species of bean, which is not only edible, but extremely palatable. The surrounding sea swarms with fish, which as yet are wholly unsuspicious of the hook. Dolphins, rock-cod, pigfish, and blackfish may be caught as quickly as they can be hauled out.

“I look to the sea birds and the turtles to afford our principal source of revenue. Trinidad is the breeding place of almost the entire feathery population of the South Atlantic Ocean. The exportation of guano alone should make my little country prosperous. Turtles visit the island to deposit eggs and at certain seasons the beach is literally alive with them. The only drawback to my projected kingdom is the fact that it has no good harbor and can be approached only when the sea is calm.”

Harden-Hickey went on to explain that, while the state would retain a monopoly on guano and turtle, the buried pirate treasure would be divided between those who discovered it and the government. All other delights were free the “
vegetation luxuriante de fougères, d’acacias et de haricots sauvages, propres a la nourriture de l’homme
,” and the “
vie d’un genre tout nouveau, et la recherche de sensations nouvelles
.”

Harden-Hickey elaborated on certain points in his prospectus with a series of official royal proclamations. One of the earliest read:

We, James, Prince of Trinidad, have resolved to commemorate our accession to the throne of Trinidad by the institution of an Order of Chivalry, destined to reward literature, industry, science, and the human virtues, and by these presents have established and do institute, with cross and crown, the Order of the Insignia of the Cross of Trinidad, of which we and our heirs and successors shall be the sovereigns.

Given in our Chancellery the 8th of the month of December, 1893, and of our reign, the First Year
.

^JAMES.

All through 1894 the chancellery on Thirty-sixth Street hummed with activity. Sometimes King James I himself was there to greet the press or the curious.
The Saturday Review
found him “a big, handsome, overdressed fellow, apparently an Irishman by birth.” The
Tribune
described him as “a tall man, with a decided French manner. He wears a moustache and imperial, and has light brown hair. He speaks excellent English, emphasizing his remarks frequently with French gestures.” Often Harden-Hickey was out of town, and then the jovial Count de la Boissière, working for a salary, fenced with the press. The
Tribune
in an unkindly mood reported him as “a stout Frenchman of thirty in a loosely fitting summer suit of light straw color, flannel shirt and tan shoes … so much like an ordinary man that he could go anywhere without attracting suspicion.”
The New York Times
, on the other hand, was charmed by “his incandescent eyes under glasses, his hair, which is cut in the French military fashion, short and pointed at the forehead, his ample gestures and the optimisms evident in the enthusiastic, loving colors of his dress engrave.”

By 1895 It appeared that King James’s Trinidad was here to stay. Harden-Hickey spoke of sending the first shipload of colonists to the island in the spring or early summer. There was every reason for optimism. The great powers were aware of his existence. “Several Central American Republics, for reasons known only to themselves, did recognize him,” admitted
The Saturday Review
, “and allowed their representatives in Europe, notably in Austria and at the Vatican, to inscribe Trinidad on their official cards.” As to colonists, it was never officially known how many agreed to settle on Trinidad. Harden-Hickey once remarked that he had a colony of 50 whites, and 300 of his 500 Chinese coolies, ready to leave in May 1895, though when that date came there was no such departure. De la Boissière intimated there were forty persons working for Harden-Hickey on Trinidad, presumably doing preliminary labor in laying out the lighthouse, wharves, and coaling station (for ships headed toward Cape Horn).

Though Harden-Hickey left no accounting of sales of his 1,000-franc bonds, he did indicate that he was obtaining a small amount of revenue from sales of postage stamps to philatelists throughout the world. In November 1894 he offered the public seven varieties of postage stamps ranging in price from five centimes to five francs each. All of these stamps, in imitation of a North Borneo stamp issued the same year, showed a view of Trinidad from the south, with a sailing vessel in the foreground, and the inscription: “
Principauté de Trinidad—Timbre Poste et Fiscal
.” These stamps, explained de la Boissière, “have not been introduced to satisfy the curiosity of collectors, but for use… .” Few of these survived Harden-Hickey’s time. Recently H. E. Harris and Company of Boston, one of the world’s largest stamp firms, informed me that they did not “have any of the stamps available or know where they could be obtained.” These stamps were not Harden-Hickey’s only means of income.

Several Crosses of Trinidad, the medal for chivalry and artistic accomplishment, were also sold. This was the highwater mark in the reign of King James I. He was everywhere, traveling constantly, too busy to see his wife, too busy to argue with his father-in-law. The homemade crown sat firmly on his head. He was a happy man.

On January 3, 1895, a British warship,
Barracouta
, cast anchor off Trinidad, and proceeded to disembark troops and engineers. The British quietly garrisoned the island and began construction of a cable station for a new line stretching from Great Britain to Brazil. When word of this seizure reached South America there was “excitement” in Rio de Janeiro and angry crowds stoned the British Consulate in Baía. Brazil formally demanded that Britain withdraw its troops from Trinidad. Britain refused. The Latin press muttered about security and provocation. The British Foreign Office coolly suggested arbitration; the Brazilian Foreign Office heatedly refused. No one consulted James I. It was not until July that Harden-Hickey learned that he was a king without a country.

There is no record of the thoughts that passed through his mind in those first moments of crisis. We know only that he dictated, and Count de la Boissière transcribed and signed, a stern and detailed protest to the United States Department of State:

New York, July 30, 1895

Excellency
:

I have the honor to recall to your memory
:

First, That in the course of the month of September, 1893, Baron Harden-Hickey has officially notified all the powers of his taking of possession of the uninhabited island of Trinidad; and
,

Second, That in the course of January, 1894, he has renewed to all these powers the official notification of the said taking of possession, and has informed them at the same time from that date the land would be known as Principality of Trinidad; that he took the title of Prince of Trinidad, and would reign under the name of James I
.

In consequence of these official notifications, several powers have recognized the new Principality and its Prince, and at all events none has thought it necessary at that epoch to raise objections or formulate opposition
.

The press of the entire world has, on the other hand, often acquainted readers with these facts, thus giving to them all possible publicity. In consequence of the accomplishment of these formalities, and as the law of nations prescribes that “derelict” territories belong to whoever will take possession of them, and as the Island of Trinidad, which has been abandoned for years, certainly belongs to the aforesaid category, his Serene Highness Prince James I was authorized to regard his rights on the said island as perfectly valid and indisputable
.

Nevertheless, your Excellency knows that recently, in spite of all the legitimate rights of my august sovereign,, an English warship has disembarked at Trinidad a detachment of armed troops and taken possession of the island in the name of England
.

Following this assumption of territory, the Brazilian Government, invoking a right of ancient Portuguese occupation, (long ago outlawed), has notified the English Government to surrender the island to Brazil
.

I beg of your Excellency to ask of the Government of the United States of North America to recognize the Principality of Trinidad as an independent State, and to come to an understanding with the other American powers in order to guarantee its neutrality
.

Thus, the Government of the United States of North America will once more accord its powerful assistance to the cause of right and of justice, misunderstood by England and Brazil, put an end to a situation which threatens to disturb the peace, reestablish concord between two great States ready to appeal to arms, and affirm itself, moreover, as the faithful interpreter of the Monroe Doctrine
.

In the expectation of your reply, please accept, Excellency, the expression of my elevated consideration. The Grand Chancellor, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
,

^{COMTE DE LA BOISSIÈRE.}

When Secretary of State Richard Olney received the document, he complained to the Washington correspondents that he could not read the handwriting. He was able to make out, he said, only that it was a formal protest, “signed by somebody, whose name could not be deciphered, as Chancellor,” on behalf of somebody else called “James I.” Since he could not read it, the Secretary of State could not act upon it. Cruelly, either he or his Second Assistant gave the document to the press.

The chancellery was never more crowded than the next morning. Baron Harden-Hickey, stunned by the annexation, had already left for California, but Count de la Boissière was cheerfully on hand to meet the reporters. Most teased him unmercifully. The
Tribune
, which gave the story a full column, including cuts of both Harden-Hickey and de la Boissière, set the tone:

“The Grand Chancellor said yesterday that he intended to go to Washington today and make an official call upon the Secretary of State. It was understood that the English wanted the island as a coaling station and as a place for landing a cable, he said, and there would be no objections to the cable and shipping wharves if only the rights of the principality were recognized.

“‘In fact,’ said the Grand Chancellor, in broken English, ‘we would be glad to have them lay a cable to the island, because just now the island is not a good place in which to hear the news of the world.’”

The
Tribune
concluded on a note that would have provoked de la Boissière, or his sovereign, in more fiery days, to suggest a rendezvous in the Bois. Said the
Tribune
:

“The Grand Chancellor seemed to be disinclined to talk about himself. He was a wine agent some time ago, but his only job at present is that of Grand Chancellor… . The expenses of the Grand Chancellery have to be kept down to the lowest possible notch, while the Powers are considering whether they will recognize James I as an independent sovereign. If their decision should be adverse to the principality, it is harrowing to think what might happen to the Grand Chancellor. He might have to go back to the wine business.”