DATE: September 1, 1907
EVENT: Jack and Akut, the ape disguised as the boy's invalid grandmother, boarded a steamer at Dover, England.
SOURCE: "The day following the death of Alexis Paulvitch a youth accompanying his invalid grandmother, boarded a steamer at Dover." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. September 1 is a working date only and is not provided by ERB.
CHAT: ERB plainly informs us of Jack's destination. "He (Condon) learned, easily that the boy was traveling alone with his invalid grandmother, and that their destination was a small port on the west coast of Africa, a little below the equator; that their name was Billings, and that they had no friends in the little settlement for which they were bound." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
An interesting point to ponder is the traveling name Jack used while he was traveling, "Billings". Was it just a random name Jack drew out of the hat, or was it a tie-in with one of ERB's other "Billings" characters? The first ERB presented "Billings" was the Captain of the barkentine "Fuwalda" who was killed in the ship's mutiny in Tarzan Of The Apes. This event occurred in the ape-man's father's time. ERB never implies that Tarzan ever knew the Captain's name. It is of course possible the Captain's name came up in later investigations.
Regardless, Jane always went out of her way to keep Tarzan's wild upbringing from her son Jack. I just can't see the kept-in-the-dark Jack at this age, knowing anything about Captain Billings. It is possible, however, that Jack could have overheard his father and mother discussing the event without their knowledge. Or perhaps Jack happened upon investigative documents concerning the event without his parent's knowledge.
The second set of ERB's "Billings" was, Jefferson Billings, an Arizona rancher and father of, Wichita Billings, heroine of the Apache novels, Jefferson is shot in the back and scalped, to make it appear to be the work of Apache renegades. Witchita falls in love with Shoz-Dijiji the Be-don-ko-he Apache war chief. I don't see how Jack would know anything about these Arizona Billings in 1907 London.
The third ERB" Billings" was, Thomas Billings. He was the Secretary to the late Bowen J. Tyler Sr.; a classmate of Bowen, Jr., and organizer of the search party for the Caprona survivors. Thomas was the hero of the second part of the Caspak trilogy who married "Ajor" the Galu maden. I do not see a tie-in between these Billings and Jack. Jack's adventures occurred in 1907 before The Land That Time Forgot.
Maybe Jack's use of Billings was not human-based. "Billings" was the proper name of one of the gates of London where the fish markets were located. This area's foul and abusive language became known as "Billingsgate" early in the seventeenth century.
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| The Son Of Tarzan |
DATE: September 2, 1907, through September 5, 1907
EVENT: The story of the ape killing its master ran in the papers for a few days.
SOURCE: "The killing of the friendless old Russian, Michael Sabrov, by his great trained ape, was a matter for newspaper comment for a few days." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. September 2 through September 5 are working dates only and are not provided by ERB.
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| Newspaper Serial |
DATE: Friday, September 13, 1907
EVENT: Tarzan and Jane discover Jack is not at school.
SOURCE: "Or at least this was true until he learned, several days subsequent to the tragedy, that his son Jack had not reported at the public school en route for which they had seen him safely ensconced in a railway carriage." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. Friday, September 13 is a working date only and is not provided by ERB.
CHAT: I envision that Jack was discovered missing when he did not return home Friday from school.
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| The Son Of Tarzan |
DATE: September 18, 1907
EVENT: Jack and Akut arrive in Africa and check into Herr Skopfr's Hotel.
SOURCE: "At last came the day," ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
CHAT: The steam voyage from Dover, England to Luanda, Portuguese Angola takes approximately seventeen days of sailing time. Then one has to consider many none sailing events that could occur and add days or even weeks.
- The most likely mode of transportation would have been steamship. These vessels were significantly faster and more reliable than sailing ships, but the journey still took weeks.
- The Atlantic Ocean could be unpredictable, especially in certain seasons. Storms, rough seas, and mechanical issues could delay the journey.
Given the distances involved and the transportation methods of the time, a reasonable estimate for the journey from Luanda, Portuguese Angola, to Dover, England in 1907 would be between four weeks. This timeframe could vary depending on weather conditions, the specific route taken, port stops, and any unforeseen delays.
For a working date, I used eighteen days. This is based on the theory that the steamer made a direct route with no unnecessary port stops and no bad weather delays.
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| Jack Clayton |
DATE: dark September 18, 1907
EVENT: While waiting on the steamer "Emanuel" to return to Dover an American crook named Condon, attempted to rob Jack. Akut killed him. Jack and Akut escaped into the jungle.
SOURCE: "It was quite dark before he ventured to enter and arrange for accommodations." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
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| J. Allen St. John |
DATE: September 18, 1907
EVENT: Jack Clayton spent a long guiltful but safe first night in the jungle.
SOURCE: "His first night in the jungle was one which the son of Tarzan held longest in his memory." ERB-The Sun Of Tarzan.
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| Jack Clayton |
DATE: sunrise September 19, 1907
EVENT: Jack woke Akut at sunrise to hunt. Immediately Akut began teaching Jack jungle lore.
SOURCE: With the rising sun rose new hope within his breast." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
CHAT: "There was nothing but dead twigs and branches at hand, but these he flung at the upturned, snarling face of Sabor just as his father had before him twenty, years ago, when as a boy he two had taunted and tauntalized the great cats of the jungle." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
Using this presented ERB information we can test our 1872 chronology to see if we are still in agreement with the author's storyline. Twenty years before the events occurring on September 19, 1907, is September 19, 1887. On this date, the jungle lord was fifteen and the events of Tarzan Of The Apes are occurring. At this age, the ape boy certainly taunted and tantalized the great cats. Therefore our 1872 chronology, up to this point, is in exact agreement with the author's presented storyline.
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| The Son Of Tarzan |
DATE: late morning September 19, 1907
EVENT: The native houseman found Condon's body.
SOURCE: "It was late the following morning that a native houseman knocked upon the door of the room that had been assigned to Mrs. Billings and her grandson." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
CHAT: In this passage, the narrator makes an interesting remark concerning Herr Skopf. "He had never heard of Sherlock Holmes or he would have lost no time in invoking the aid of that celebrated sleuth, for here was a real mystery:," ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
"At last came the day that the steamer dropped anchor in the lee of a wooded promontory where a score or more of sheet-iron shacks making an unsightly blot upon their face of nature proclaimed the fact that civilization had set its heel. Straggling upon the outskirts were the thatched huts of natives picturesque in their primeval savagery, harmonizing with the background of tropical jungle and accentuating the squalid hideousness of the white man's pioneer architecture." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
"Nearby one of the ship's officers was shouting orders to a flotilla of native boats that was approaching to lighten the consignment of the steamer's cargo destined for this tiny post." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
"Once on shore, he kept out of sight of the two-story atrocity that bore the legend "Hotel" to lure unsuspecting wayfarers to its multitudinous discomforts." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
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| The Son Of Tarzan |
DATE: September 19, 1907
EVENT: Jack's second night in the jungle was very cold.
SOURCE: "That night the son of Tarzan was colder than he ever had been in all his life." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
CHAT: Here is a second chance to test the 1872 chronology with the information provided by ERB. Portuguese Angola has its own specific climate with two distinct seasons. The warmer rainy season is from October to April. The mist or "Cacimbo" is from May to September and is a much dryer season with lower temperatures. Jack spending a cold night on September 19 is consistent with the weather in Portuguese Angola for that time of the year.
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| The Son Of Tarzan |
DATE: September 20, 1907
EVENT: Jack roasted in the hot sun.
SOURCE: "And the next day he roasted in the hot sun, for again their way led much across wide and treeless plains." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan,
.jpeg "Jack/Korak") |
| Jack/Korak |
DATE: September 20, 1907, through October 20, 1907
EVENT: Jack and Akut roamed the jungle. Akut continued to teach him the ways of the jungle.
SOURCE: "For a month the two wandered on, the boy learning rapidly the laws of the jungle; his muscles adapting themselves to the new mode of life that had been thrust upon them." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.
.jpeg "J. Allen St John") |
| J. Allen St John |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Michael Moody is a lifelong fan and collector of Edger Rice Burroughs. Over the past forty-five years, Moody has contributed over two hundred articles to various ERB-related fanzines. He also manages an unauthorized Tarzan blog titled Greystoke Chronologist: James Michael Moody. There, the researcher chronologies the Tarzan books starting in May 1872 (known as the pushback theory) instead of the more accepted date, May 1888.
.jpeg "Jack Clayton/Korak")
.jpeg "Jack Clayton/Korak")
.jpeg "Jack/Korak")
.jpeg "J. Allen St John")