My favorite tale of Proteus though, occurred in 1890. Due to financial hardship, Comus had been unable to stage a parade for a few years. In this interruption in Comus’s parading, Proteus and his krewe had claimed Carnival night as their own. When Comus return to parading in the 1890 season, Proteus refused to yield the night back to Comus.
Both Krewes set out on their routes that evening, doomed to cross paths. The location where the two Captains, each leading his krewe on horseback, met in opposition, could not have been more conspicuous; they met at the intersection of Bourbon and Canal. Each Captain refused to yield, cursing the other to stand aside. When the argument reached such a heated point where it seem violence was inevitable a man from the crowd (rumored to be a member of both organization, abstaining from both parades as he saw such an incident inevitable) grabbed each of the horses by the bridle and told the captains something. No one is entirely sure what exactly he said, but the Captain of Proteus stood aside, allowed Comus to pass, and solidified Comus’s place as the senior krewe for the rest of Carnival history
Both Krewes set out on their routes that evening, doomed to cross paths. The location where the two Captains, each leading his krewe on horseback, met in opposition, could not have been more conspicuous; they met at the intersection of Bourbon and Canal. Each Captain refused to yield, cursing the other to stand aside. When the argument reached such a heated point where it seem violence was inevitable a man from the crowd (rumored to be a member of both organization, abstaining from both parades as he saw such an incident inevitable) grabbed each of the horses by the bridle and told the captains something. No one is entirely sure what exactly he said, but the Captain of Proteus stood aside, allowed Comus to pass, and solidified Comus’s place as the senior krewe for the rest of Carnival history
