The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-01-11
Like q Romance.
From the Chicago Mail. 5s

Like q Romance. ..1 n
From the Chicago Mail =s. -. 4 q
} tae night just after the big fire
three young men sat down: in the
runs 11dlls and talked about: what would
pIrnbably be. their fate These three
..l1'sl men were H. 6. Prout,4a Mr.. Board
mon, and a newspaper man. Prout
was ~ a quiet, determined sort of fell
sl1ooEHsFWhose home was in Riverside.
Ills 7I ccupation was that of civil
enssineer. His proposition Was that
tlley should leave the city and the
co1'ulntry and cast their fortunes with
the the K hedive in Egypt. He made a
glowing glf y picture Of the land OF the
Nile !, le and predicted fortune and fame.
pllasqere 'lsst was no outlook here. They
,-deApided to go. In the midst OF their
arl12sangemenIs Boardman received q
ddIa1tering offer to go to New York,
7P9q W9fql1ch he accepted and the newspaper
man man received one to go elsewhere,
/ which he accepted. Prout accepted
ms late and started alone for a world
heshad never seen and of which he
k'I|ew knew comparatively little. Of his
Jorrney there and his first experience
there is not much to say. In time
lhereported to Gen. (Chinese) Gordon
and and became one of his most faithful
and trusted aids y. After a
short service. he was promoted
and and had the title of gov.
ern rnor-general Of the provinces of the.
interior. His capital was Lado,. a
point i, 900 miles south of anyWhite
lsaItlement. Here the young Chica-
saNan SO an ruled and reigned in a sort of
lNalfental lal magnifcence-for that
country = which makes his life one of
Romance. He had his courtiers and
couriers, who did him the homage
due a potentate. Many of the man.
ners and customs OF !. the people ,.of
that land were retained by him. He.
had lslt M his troops, and with them made
myaslons my and conquests, and now
and ald then discovered. a race of beings
ofiWhich history and explorations
had had made no mention. In the fast
1lesses OF one Of the mountains he
found a tribe of blacks who were
giants la in physique and more than
the average uncivilized tribes in in
tehect. He gave dress parades before
tfem. and made such ostentatious
display that they enlisted under his
ba5nnMer. az q He found their perceptions
quick. Tex. They. learned the evolutions
81 llls tactics in emarkably short.
and ever he taught they
grasped with eagerness, and made
good soldiers.
He was restless and in CONSEQUENCE
he pushed his invasions and came
back loaded with the ri ,hes of some
remote tribe. He had enough of the
romantic in his makeup to adapt
himself to the religious forms of the
country, and his capital at times
presented a strange appearance.
Having spent much of his time in
the service of the Khedive in the
manner stated, the government at
length concluded to negotiate with
England for the purchase of gun
boats for it's service. Gen. Gorden
sent Prout to London for that pur-
pose. He had a leave of absence in
order to do this work. Having
made his purchases in London, he
asked for an extension of his leave
/ OF absence, which was granted. He
turned his face toward his native
country .Hereached New York, tarried
there one day, and came west. He
reached st. Louis and saw his friend,
whom he had left in Chicago, and
tried to go with him to Texas, where
he had a railroad scheme. He left
ST. Louis on the day of his arrival
and went to Fort Leavenworth,
where he married a young lady
whose acquaintance he had formed
before he had left the United States.
They went to Chicago on their
bridal trip. The life in Egypt, had
made inroads on the constitution of
Prout. He placed himself under the
care OF a noted physician, who told
him that a return to Egypt meant
certain death. He resigned his po-
sition in the service of the Khedive
and, having made an extended tour
Of the Continent, he returned to the
United States. To-day he is at the
head of a big printing concern in
New York City, and his close associa-
tlons with his old friend Boardman.
The other friend is in Chicago in the
newspaper business. =
Prout's Egyptian romance and ex-
perience netted him small fortune
IN cash, and gave him an insight of
life that has made him a contented
man.