In their 1893 West African exit, D'Arnot and Tarzan would be looking for steamers like the Ville de Maceio or the Canarias. These ships were the lifeline for French colonists.
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| Volle de Maceio |
Because there were no deep-water docks, passangers were carried from the beach at Landana into a wooden surfboat. Native paddlers would time the Atlantic swells to row you out to the steamer anchored in the "Roadstead."
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| Landana |
A first-class passage to Bordeaux would cost roughly 1,000 to 1,200 Francs—a fortune in 1893, equivalent to many months' salary for a colonial official.
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| Landana |
Stepping onto a Chargeurs Réunis steamer like the Ville de Maceio in 1893 was like entering a floating piece of Parisian society, albeit one smelling faintly of salt spray and industrial coal smoke.
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| Chargeurs Reunis |
This is a speculative description of what D'Arnot and Tarzan's 30-day journey from the West African coast to France would have been like:
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| Tarzan Goes To America |
D'Arnot and Tarzan would have traveled First Class. The French naval officer was extremely rich and money was never an issue. The two would each have a small wood-paneled cabin with a washbasin and a narrow berth. Electric lighting was still a luxury so the two most probably relied on oil lamps secured in gimbals to keep them level as the ship rolled.
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| D'Arnot & Tarzan |
The Saloon was the heart of the ship—a grand dining hall with velvet upholstery and long tables bolted to the floor. This is where passengers would take their meals and socialize with colonial officers and merchants.
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| Ship Saloon |
The long voyage was a test of patience, broken up by the ship’s bells and a very strict social schedule:
- Morning: Coffee and rolls served on deck as you watched the coastline of Gabon or Sierra Leone slide by.
- Afternoon: This was spent reading, writing in journals, or playing deck games like shuffleboard. The heat was stifling until you cleared the Gulf of Guinea; passengers spent most of their time under canvas awnings.
- Evening: Dinner was a formal affair. Even in the tropics, gentlemen were expected to wear jackets. You would be served French cuisine—soups, roasted meats, and wine—though the quality of the "fresh" produce diminished the further you got from the last port.
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| D'Arnot &Tarzan |
- Libreville (Gabon): To load rubber and timber.
- Dakar (Senegal): The final African stop. Here, the ship would take on massive amounts of coal, covering everything in a fine black dust for a day.
- The Canary Islands: A chance to stretch your legs and buy fresh fruit and Spanish lace.
- The Bay of Biscay: As you neared France, the weather would turn cold and the sea notoriously rough. This was the "final test" where most passengers succumbed to severe seasickness.
- If there was an outbreak of yellow fever or cholera at any of your stops, the ship would be forced into Quarantine upon arrival. You would have to stay on the ship (or at a "Lazaretto" on shore) for several days before being allowed to set foot on French soil.
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| D'Arnot &Tarzan |
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| D'Arnot & Tarzan |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Michael Moody is a lifelong fan and collector of Edger Rice Burroughs. Moody has contributed over two hundred articles to various ERB-related fanzines over forty-five years. 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.
James Michael Moody is also the author of the action-packed Sci-Fi fantasy adventure Unium series. Pioneers On Unium, published December 31, 2019, Exiled On Unium, published August 25, 2022, and Swordsman On Unium published on July 15, 2024.
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