Little is known about his formative years. Some say he had a normal upbringing that we simply don't know about and which he simply will not divulge for his own reasons. Some, however, say he arrived on these shore early one stormy morning in the autumn of 1878 from a dark corner of Eastern Europe. Although his passage was by boat, he did not travel amongst the other passengers and was said to have made his own arrangements in the ship's hold.