He was educated at Columbia University and later at the Roblot Institution in Paris. Saltus was the leader of a group of bohemians in New York, including his brother Edgar and the young James Huneker, which met at Billy Moulds' bar in Manhattan's University Place; they were fond of absinthe and had "a taste for anything exotic".
Saltus was an influential figure among artists and intellectuals in New York City, including his brother Edgar and James Huneker, who met at Billy Moulds' bar in Manhattan's University Place; they shared a fondness for absinthe and were drawn to anything unusual or exotic.