In Chapter One, of Tarzan Of The Apes, we are introduced to Tarzan’s father,
John Clayton I. Edgar Rice Burroughs, the narrator, (John Carter’s great-nephew)
describes him in great detail after the war.
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| Fred J. Arting |
From the records of the Colonial Office and from the dead man’s diary we learn that a certain young English nobleman, whom we shall call John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was commissioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation of conditions in a British West Coast African Colony from whose simple native inhabitants another European power was known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which it used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory from the savage tribes along the Congo and the Aruwimi. The natives of the British Colony complained that many of their young men were enticed away through the medium of fair and glowing promises, but that few if any ever returned to their families.
The Englishmen in Africa went even further, saying that these poor blacks were held in virtual slavery, since after their terms of enlistment expired their ignorance was imposed upon by their white officers, and they were told that they had yet several years to serve.
And so the Colonial Office appointed John Clayton to a new post in British West Africa, but his confidential instructions centered on a thorough investigation of the unfair treatment of black British subjects by the officers of a friendly European power. Why he was sent, is, however, of little moment to this story, for he never made an investigation, nor, in fact, did he ever reach his destination.
Clayton was the type of Englishman that one likes best to associate with the noblest monuments of historic achievement upon a thousand victorious battlefields—a strong, virile man—mentally, morally, and physically.
In stature he was above the average height; his eyes were gray, his features regular and strong; his carriage that of perfect, robust health influenced by his years of army training. Political ambition had caused him to seek transference from the army to the Colonial Office and so we find him, still young, entrusted with a delicate and important commission in the service of the Queen. When he received this appointment he was both elated and appalled. The preferment seemed to him in the nature of a well-merited reward for painstaking and intelligent service, and as a stepping stone to posts of greater importance and responsibility; but, on the other hand, he had been married to the Hon. Alice Rutherford for scarce a three months, and it was the thought of taking this fair young girl into the dangers and isolation of tropical Africa that appalled him.
For her sake he would have refused the appointment, but she would not have it so. Instead she insisted that he accept, and, indeed, take her with him.
There were mothers and brothers and sisters, and aunts and cousins to express various opinions on the subject, but as to what they severally advised history is silent.
We know only that on a bright May morning in 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice sailed from Dover on their way to Africa. ERB, Tarzan Of The Apes.
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| 1872 Africa |
In Chapter Two of Tarzan Of The Apes, ERB: the narrator continues his description of John Clayton I, as he travels from Freetown, Sierra Leone, North Africa to his intended destination in Southern Africa.
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| J. Allen St. John |
And even should they escape that fate was it not but to be faced with far graver
dangers? Alone, he might hope to survive for years; for he was a strong, athletic man.
ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
There was a great quantity and variety of stuff, as the Claytons had expected a possible five to eight years’ residence in their new home. Thus, in addition to the many necessities they had brought, there were also many luxuries. ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
“There is but one thing to do, Alice,” and he spoke as quietly as though they were sitting in their snug living room at home, “and that is work. Work must be our salvation. We must not give ourselves time to think, for in that direction lies madness. ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
In Chapter Three of Tarzan Of The Apes, ERB: the narrator provides information about John Clayton I, during his and Alice's abandonment on the coast of Portuguese Angola.
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| J. Alan St. John |
In his leisure Clayton read, often aloud to his wife, from the store of books he
had brought for their new home. Among these were many for little children—picture
books, primers, readers—for they had known that their little child would be old
enough for such before they might hope to return to England. ERB-Tarzan Of The
Apes.
At other times Clayton wrote in his diary, which he had always been accustomed to keep in French, and in which he recorded the details of their strange life. This book he kept locked in a little metal box. ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
In Chapter Four of Tarzan Of The Apes, ERB: the narrator provides information about the long-dead John Clayton I, on the day of his death by Kerchak, King of the Mangan.
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| Ronald William Kirby |
Inside the den they saw the strange white ape lying half across a table, his head
buried in his arms; and on the bed lay a figure covered by a sailcloth, while from a tiny
rustic cradle came the plaintive wailing of a babe.
Noiselessly Kerchak entered, crouching for the charge; and then John Clayton
rose with a sudden start and faced them.
The sight that met his eyes must have frozen him with horror, for there, within the
door, stood three great bull apes, while behind them crowded many more; how many he
never knew, for his revolvers were hanging on the far wall beside his rifle, and Kerchak
was charging.
When the king ape released the limp form which had been John Clayton, Lord
Greystoke, he turned his attention toward the little cradle; but Kala was there before
him,and when he would have grasped the child she snatched it herself, and before he
could intercept her she had bolted through the door and taken refuge in a high tree.
ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
In Chapter Eleven of Tarzan Of The Apes, ERB: the narrator describes the long-dead
John Clayton I, for the last time in a picture the ape boy found in the cabin.
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| Artist Unknown . |
When Tarzan is eighteen years old his foster mother, Kala the great ape, is killed by
Kulonga the son of Chief Mbonga. Mbonga’s cannibal tribe fled the Belgian Congo after
killing a white Belgian soldier and his native unit. Fleeing for their lives Mbonga’s tribe
fled the Belgian Congo, southwest to the coastal area of Portuguese Angola, before
stopping to construct a new village. These were the first humans Tarzan had ever come
into contact with.
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| Don Marquez |
While seeking revenge on his foster mother’s killer the eightteen-year-old was introduced
to the spear and bow and arrows. The ape-man craved these new weapons, so that night
he stole them from the sleeping native. The following morning the jungle lord followed
Kulonga to the newly constructed village. Within sight of the cannibal village, the
vengeful tracker killed the Chief’s son and robbed him of his desired belongings.
Afterward, the jungle man entered the village, stole arrows, and played his first jungle
joke on the newly arrived natives.
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| Burne Hogarth |
Returning to the tribe the ape-man displayed his man treasures to his fellows. They nor
Kerchek were impressed. Despite their no interest, Tarzan practiced every day with his
newly confiscated weapons. Occasionally the jungle lord would pay a visit to the cabin
by the sea, to spend a day with his coveted books.
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| Joe Kubert |
It was during this period that the young English lord found hidden in the back of one
of the cupboards in the cabin a small metal box. The key was in the lock, and a few
moments of investigation and experimentation were rewarded with the successful
opening of the receptacle.
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| Joe Kubert |
The photograph he liked most of all, for the eyes were smiling, and the face was open
and frank. It was his father. ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
Many researchers have translated ERB's description of John Clayton I, as being
smooth-faced, into meaning clean-shaven, or beardless. Is that ERB’s intention? No, it
is not. To prove this we must leave Tarzan Of The Apes for the moment, and research
the real-life history of the mustache
.
Around 1585 the French were introduced to the mustache by the Turks. In this
During the Napoleonic Wars in the 1800s, the British were introduced to the
On the other hand, when Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, celebrated his
In 1831, the 16th Lancers of the Queen’s Army were officially permitted to wear
By the 1850s, respected journals such as The Westminster Review,
In 1853, a beard proclamation was published in Charles Dickens' popular
This article promoted the benefits of facial hair so well that by 1854 Lord
The Crimean War began in October 1853 and British soldiers were once more
When the war ended three years later, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal dated
men……They all had their long beards and were heavily laden with large
Not only in the military but after the mid-1850s, mustaches also stormed into
By 1860 facial hair had become so accepted that mustaches had become
Under English law between 1860 and 1916, every soldier in the British Army was
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| British Military Styled Mustouche |
According to Etiquette for Every Day, a perfect mustache is one “that actively
Cecil B. Hartley, in The Gentlemen’s Book of Etiquette and Manual of
In 1870 the British Army Enlistment Act made the normal period of service
By the end of the 1880s, the popularity of mustaches started to decline.
By 1860 facial hair had become so accepted that mustaches had become
By descriptions of the time, a neatly trimmed mustache was considered to be
We know John Clayton I, pulled at least six years, could be more, in the military
In 1872 (1888) John Clayton I was described as the type of Englishman whom
In stature he was above the average height; his eyes were gray, his features
Since John Clayton I, had at least six years in service and was the perfect soldier, there is no doubt he dressed and groomed in the proper fashion of his time. As shown above, that would include a well-trimmed and groomed military-style mustache. Although he had upper lip hair on his face the descriptions of his time considered it clean-shaven.
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| Burne Hogarth |
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