The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-01-21
AN AMBITIOUS REPORTER.
Tires of Night Work, Leaves Chicago
and Becomes King.
(Washington Cor. Chicago Record-H
add


At the postage stamp exhibition at
Royal Agricultural hail, London. last
summer. ] heard some interesting sto-
ries about forgeries and fakes. One Of
them involves an old friend who served
as reporter foT a short time in Chi
cago many years ago. and will be re-
membered as a reckless, generous, COM
Panionable, versatile fellow, an Irish
man named James Harden Hickey
There was always a mystery about him,
which he encouraged and an audacious
spirit of adventure that seemed ca
pable of any risk. He. never gave any
account of himself. He never even told
where he came from. but could talk
French like native and was familiar
With every nook and corner Of Paris.
But he knew London, Dublin and other
cities just as we'll and WAS a typical
Bohemian adventuTeT. At one time he
was the editor Of i newspaper in Paris.
think il was during the Commune,
and the paper was called the Tricolor,
or something like that
Jim" Hickey vanished from Chicago
as mysteriously as he came, and few
years after old friends identified him
IN the person of Baron Hickey the
husband Of the daughter of a Standard
Oh plutocrat living on an income Of
100000 year i'm a broNnstone mansion
on Fifth avenue. He hoated around
among the -four hundred" with as
much ease and popularity as attended
his brief but brilliant career among the
all-night saloons and restaurants OF
Chicago, and he told me that he had
finally come into me own" When |
asked him abou, the title of Baron"
he winked slyly and remarked that he
had picked il up somewhere in Europe,
either in Paris or Rome, he had forgot
ten which and he showed me daz-
cling insignia of the order of st. james
of Trinidad, or something like that,
which he said he was comforting upon
his loyal friends.
In some way or other ! never knew
how Jim Mickey became stranded on
the little island of Trinidad. about fifty
miles off the coast Of Brazil. where
there are 300 or 400 negroes and half
caste Portuguese fishermen. Having
nothing else TO do he amused himself
by organizing miniature monarchy.
He set up throne among the sea gulls
on the rocks and proclaimed himself
king James I OF Trinidad" While he
was perfectly harmless. and was only
having little innocent amusement, the
Brazilian government became alarmed
and Jim Hickey suddeny assumed the
proportions Of an international issue.
IL appears that many years ago Great
Britain claimed the island of Tr.nidad
and relnquished it reluctantly. Brazil
supposed that the fantastic perform
anee of an Irish adventurer were a Sc
riOus attempt on the part of Great
Britain to recover the island. There
was some sharp diplomatic correspond
ence and an appeal 10 the government
Of the United States before Jim was re-
leased and the Brazilians were salts
fed.
IN the meantime Baron" Hickey had
been separated from his wife His ha-
bits and behavior We're intolerable and
tine Standard Oil magnate declined to
furnish a disTeputable son-in-law
money to waste in the wine rooms and
gambling houses of the tenderloin. So
Jim went over to Paris, which is an
asylum of dethroned and discredited
monarchs, and, amazing as it may
seem. attracted considerable sympathy
by asserting his claims to the throne of
Trinidad. To sustain his pretentlons he
produced, among other evidence, many
sheets Of postage stamps which he
claimed had been issued during his
reign. They were handsomely engraved
and of artistic design mountainous
island. with a yacht under full sail in
the foreground. At first the collectors
went wild over them. and the fraud
was not exposed until Hickey had sold
many thousands of dollars worth. Then
critical dealers discovered that the
stamps had never been used for post
age, and had not even been printed IN
til several years after Hickey's expuI-
sion from his Kingdom" which. of
course. made them worthless. You can
find them in many collections, however,
and because of his romantic story they
have a special interest to collectors of
counterfeits.
Having exhausted the designations of
Paris and the credulity of his acquaint-
ences. Baron" Hickey returned 10 the
United states and attempted TO resume
relations With his Standard oil wife
But she would not recognize him, and
he went To Texas, where he was con-
nected with two or three newspapers
for a while. and finally committed sui
eide in FL Paso.