Keane claims to have run away to sea, but the evidence suggests that at the age of twelve he was put onto a collier brig by his father, to cool his temper and curb his bad behaviour.
Following his brief stint on the collier brig, Keane's next trip to sea was at the age of 18 as a "premium apprentice" on a barque travelling between India and England.
He spent time in England in the Royal Naval Reserve and journeyed to Demerara in British Guyana where he worked on a sugar plantation for six months.
In Jeddah he was able to render some small service to an Indian Emir, who permitted him to join his party who were making pilgrimage to Mecca.
He appears to have mastered Islamic ritual and prayer by copying what he saw; although he claims to have made earlier preparation for this adventure by closely observing the various Muslim crews with whom he previously served.
F. J. Gillen who helped him obtain the Davidson position notes that after Keane left the expedition, he was engaged at Wire Creek Bore near Oodnadatta from where he wrote highly colourful articles about his experiences on the Davidson expedition for "The Port Augusta Dispatch" becoming editor of that newspaper for a short time.
He also claimed he worked as a sugarcane cane cutter to ascertain the ability of Europeans to perform hard manual labour in the Tropics.
In his entry in "Who was Who" he claimed to have invented a form of fence wiring for the Queensland Government and noted his later life was spent residing on and improving his land to establish ownership and in agricultural experiment and criminal investigation, rod fishing and horse training.