Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-03-12
By WALTER ED TAYLOR


the newspapers Of the world ar
filled TO overlooking with the do
ingS Of dictat0rs I'm Europe, Asia
and South America, the column,
Of Montana newspapers of the 1880
which tell Of a time when a formei
Montana miner became dictator d
Egypt, make interesting reading. Tit
story Of this predecessors Of the HitIers
Muss0linis, and Kai-ShekS reads like
the fiction of q Dumas or Hervey Alien
but II the old Helena Independent and
other Montana papers Of 3 half century
ago are TO be believed, there was q
Montana miner who became dictator
Of Egypt and his name was Patrick
Foley, alias Arab Pasha- No novelist
ever created q character who had more
incredible adventures than did this
romantic Irish soldier OF fortune who
mined In Alder GuIch i'm 1863, went TO
Australia TO plot against the British
government, and finally appeared In
North Africa as leader OF the Egyptian
masses In their somewhat hopeless
struggle against British domination.
In comparison with Patrick Foley,
Michael Strogoff was a piker. Unfor-
tunately, little Is known Of F'oley's
life and adventures after he left Mon
tana, for press services OF the era were
In the hands Of the English and be-
cause the gallant Irishman was thorn
In Britains side he was given little and
always unfavorable publicity.
It was in 1881 that the mysterious
Arab Pasha first appeared in the news
columns; dispatches from Egypt carried
word Of this desert messiah who was
rousing the Egyptian nationalist to
fight for their liberty under the slogan,
Egypt for the Egyptians" Egypt was
stin supposedly under the rule Of the
Khedive, but that lethargic gentleman
was merely a pawn Of the British for
eign office. Britain had demanded
eVer-increasing concessions in the land /
Of the pharoahs and the Khedive I
found himself between two evils-the |
British on one side, demanding an I
"open-door" policy for British capital, I
and the Egyptian nationalist on the /
other, demanding that foreigners be
driven from the country.
war Declared
In the summer Of 1882 England de-
clared war on Egypt and the Egyptians
went into the war under the leadership
of Arab Pasha. Telegraph and cable
carried news Of this fighting Egyptian
to all the world but the war was still
young when 1t was revealed that Arab
was not an Egyptian-he was an Irish
man. handsome and six feet two. Mon
tana newspapers brought their readers
news Of the Egyptian war and on
Aug Is, 1882, the Helena Independent
carried a story announcing that Arab
Pasha was really Patrick Foley. Then
many of Montana's old-timers, vet
Grams Of the first gold rushes, recalled
that there had been a Patrick Foley
IN Virginia City and other Montana
camps in the early sixties. The Helena !
Independent said there was little doubt
but that Arab Pasha and the Patrick
Foley of the Montana mining camps
were one and the same. Other Mon
Jana papers picked up the story and :
rom that time on Montanans read
Of the doingS Of the dashing Arab ,
with great interest. The Montana Irish
we're definitely in favor Of the Egyp- !
tian revolution after they found out
that one of their own cOuntrymen was
leading it. In telling the story, the
editor Of the Independent said: "Arabi
Pasha, who now figures so conspicu-
0usly In the war in Egypt, was a res
and was a well-known figure in Alder
yulch in 1853"
Many Montanans who had been in !
The territory in the sixties recalled the !
strange, well-bred young Irishman who z
mad always been leader in the gayer 7
festivities of Virginia City honky- tonks, l
md those were the days, says Duncan
AlkuldIlt WLl6n IlOLlAy-JO1lk O4Q liOJ =
mean dancehall. Foley had learned the 1
newest dance the polka, in New York y
md he was the favored dancing part 9
ler of Virginia City ladies.
Taught to Hate English Z
Born in Ireland in 1887, Patrick .
Foley was from boyhood patriot sup
PORTING revolution against England.
from the time he was first able to {
understand anything he had been 2
aught to hate the English in general :,
md King George w in particular. Ire !
and was in a continual state Of siege :,
n those bitter years as the Irish strug- \
lied to throw off the yoke of British !
OPPRESSION English troops occupied the =
Stand almost continually and the Irish =
ebels, led By Thomas Francis Meagher, y
7ere hunted like wild animals. Patrick !.
roley was member Of the same fac y
lon as Meagher and it is quite probable y
hat they fought side by side in the
treet fighting In Dublin which LED to u
Fea0her's exile Little did these two n