1915, February 12–22: (Politicians Queue for American Auspices, and Théodore Departs in a Plug Hat): On February 12, reporting to Washington, Admiral Caperto…

1915, February 12–22: (Politicians Queue for American Auspices, and Théodore Departs in a Plug Hat): On February 12, reporting to Washington, Admiral Caperton told of being approached by a succession of politicians anxious to enter the National Palace under American auspices — Delly promised that if allowed to head the prospective Committee of Public Safety he would declare himself unable to maintain order and then ask Caperton to land troops; Momplaisir attempted to approach with plans to join with Guillaume and jointly ask the United States to intervene; a combination of ten senators proposed to prevent Guillaume from entering Port-au-Prince so they might have a free election with U.S. support; and the better class of Haitians, while they expressed such views privately, were very careful to avoid publishing such ideas among their own people for fear of execution. It was Momplaisir’s last hurrah: on February 17, when Guillaume Sam’s Cacos neared St. Marc, he was stabbed by his own men in a wild scramble to get aboard the Nord Alexis as she raised steam for Port-au-Prince. Incapable though he was of opposing Guillaume Sam, the feeble old president could not bring himself to step down — as always in the final throes, the regime was gathering volunteers with clubs and sending them to the North tied together with ropes. On the 18th, while Guillaume Sam — now fortified with $50,000 more from T. A. Simon Sam — was advancing into the fertile plain of Arcahaie, Hannibal Hilaire of Jacmel announced his own revolution and marched north on the capital. By February 21, Port-au-Prince was surrounded: Hilaire held Bizoton, Charlemagne Péralte — the Zamor brother-in-law — had materialized with 1,500 men in the heights of Pétionville and cut the water supply, and Guillaume Sam was at Sibert. Inside the city, General Delly for the third time in two years tried vainly to snatch power, while the warships Pacifique and Nord Alexis, forsaken by their crews, were boarded, looted, and stripped by Cacos of the town. Next morning Davilmar Théodore mounted his horse, galloped about the streets of Port-au-Prince, and upon returning to the palace resigned the presidency. Fifteen minutes short of noon on the 22nd, the guns of Fort National told Port-au-Prince that another president was boarding a Dutch steamer for exile — Caperton described the event to the Senate: they made quite an imposing march down the street and wharf with their long frock coats and silk hats, and the old man Davilmar Théodore had hardly a sufficient amount of money to buy his ticket out of the country, only making it as far as Santo Domingo.