J. Markowe with a plan in 1895 to make him the King of Hawai'i (per Richard Harding Davis, but any such plans as may have existed never came to fruition.) Later years Over the next two years, Harden-Hickey fell into deep depression. His vision for his island was easily realizable, and it had become the core of his existence, but, despite the validity of his claim on Trinidad and his seriousness at realizing his dream, he received little real support, only receiving such from his family and friends; and after all of his attempts at restoring his claim had failed, the world laughed at him for even trying. In truth, his only public support came from the New York Times, which gave him some praise and compassion. He gave the managing editor and a reporter for the Times the Order of Trinidad for their understanding of his passion. James Harden-Hickey had written a book titled Euthanasia: The Aesthetics of Suicide, showing that suicide was a powerful art form and "a privilege." He wrote that life wasn't so important or even worth living if one was to suffer, and stated clearly that "it is of greater moment to live well than to live long, and that often it is living well not to live long." Destitute and depressed, he lived up to his ideology by living and dying as a strong proponent of suicide: Harden-Hickey took an overdose of morphine on February 9, 1898, in an El Paso, Texas hotel when he could not sell his Mexican ranch that he acquired while living with the Flaglers. Found among his effects were a suicide note to his wife and his memorabilia from his glory days with him, including his hand-made crown. References External links , by Richard Harding Davis from Project Gutenberg. A biographical sketch of Harden-Hickey published in 1906. Writers from San Francisco Micronational leaders 1858 births 1898 deaths Heads of state of former countries Heads of state of states with limited recognition American people of French descent École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni 19th-century monarchs in South America Drug-related suicides in Texas American expatriates in France American writers in French 19th-century American writers 1890s suicides Self-proclaimed monarchy