re: 18-year-old guy from Maine places an ad looking for a wife in 1865.

quote:

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This dude owned a house, land, with multiple animals, all at only 18. Yet today's 18 year olds could hardly even be considered adults.

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I read Peter Hopkirks The Great Game, dealing with a hundred years of competition between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia. Early on they both were sending adventurers out just to map the land and terrain.

Two men set out from NW India, took separate arcs through the Khans of of Central Asia, and ended in the safety of Persia, which was Great Britain’s ally. One of the men travelled 2,500 miles through dangerous tribal areas, in which capture by slavers was a constant danger. He had to know several unusual languages, had to pose as a holy man at times, and at other times a merchant.

It took him four months. He met with powerful chieftains and negotiated treaties on Britain’s behalf. When he returned to Great Britain he was a hero and was inducted into the British Royal Society. He was 20 years old.