The Greystoke Cabin

John Clayton's cabin is one of the most misdrawn objects in the Tarzan book series. I do not know any artist, past or present, that draws the cabin by the sea like Edgar Rice Burroughs describes. The one-room cabin is completely covered in a layer of mud, yet artists draw it as a log cabin with a thatched roof. Always! There are tons of interesting information tidbits ERB provides about this structure throughout Tarzan Of The Apes, Jungle Tales Of Tarzan, and The Return Of Tarzan. Let us take a look at a few.

Burne Hogarth

 

Using my 1872 chronology dates, (generally known as the push-back theory) the Greystoke's were put ashore in Portuguese Angola on the morning of June 26, 1872. ERB never actually mentions Portuguese Angola by name throughout the Tarzan series but instead describes the Fuwalda's landing site as 10 degrees South Latitude West Coast of Africa in numerous passages.

Fuwalda

In Chapter One of Tarzan Of The Apes, we learn John Clayton (Tarzan's father), was commissioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation of conditions in a British west coast African colony. From this colony of simple native inhabitants, another European power was known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which is used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory from the savage tribes along the Congo and Aruwimi Rivers.

Joe Kubert

Burroughs does not openly state who that European power was, but from history we learn it was the Belgian Congo. In 'A Jungle Joke', a short story in Jungle Tales Of Tarzan, the author gives us an implication. "Formerly they (the tribe of Mbonga) had dwelt in the Belgian Congo until the cruelties of their heartless oppressors had driven them to seek the safety of unexplored solitudes beyond the boundaries of Leopold's domain." Once one exits Tarzan Of The Apes and checks African history, it will be discovered that King Leopold II of Belgium, did indeed put together a native army that forced natives to collect rubber and ivory around this period.

King Leopold II

The West African coastal colony, Clayton was assigned to, was not mentioned by name either. By using Burroughs' provided information it can be easily deduced, however. Twenty years later [n Jane's letter to Hazel Strong, in Chapter Eighteen of Tarzan Of The Apes, the jungle lord's cousin, William Cecil, has estimated their marooned position to be about ten degrees South Latitude. This would be in Portuguese Angola, at a point north of the town of Lobito and south of the point of Luanda.

Africa

Since there is nothing to indicate the Arrow was off course at the time, there is no reason to doubt William Cecil's judgment. Also, when Professor Porter and Samuel T. Philander became lost, Chapter Thirteen stated they were headed for Cape Town, which lay fifteen hundred miles to the south.

Portuguese Angola

From these passages, we know John and Alice's rendezvous lay beyond Portuguese Angola. The only British possession that far south with west coastal shores is in Cape Colony (South Africa) and its annex, Walvis Bay.

Russ Manning

We have a desperate man with a seven-month-pregnant wife facing a very merciless jungle. We are informed that Clayton built a temporary shelter using "four trees" which formed a rectangle about eight feet square. Cutting long branches from other trees he constructed a framework around them, about ten feet from the ground. He fastened the ends of the branches securely to the trees by means of a rope. Across this framework, Clayton placed other smaller branches quite close together. This platform he paved with huge fronds of elephant's ear, and over that, a covering of mud.

Hal Foster

"Seven feet higher he constructed a similar, though lighter platform to serve as a roof, and from the sides of this he suspended the balance of his sailcloth for walls." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. This, plus a rude ladder is all that made up the Claytons' first dwelling.

Joe Kubert

As darkness approached, both saw a huge silhouetted manly image that filled them with terror. When darkness fully ascended a panther visited them and "for an hour or more they heard it sniffing and clawing at the trees which supported their platform. During that first night they caught but fitful snatches of sleep, for the night noises of a great jungle teeming with myriad animal life kept their overwrought nerves on edge, so a hundred times they were startled to wakefulness by piercing screams or the stealthy moving of great bodies beneath them." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.

Joe Kubert

One can imagine how the Greystokes must have felt by morning. You can bet Clayton's thoughts were on his little tree shelter, which amounts to not much more than a tent in a tree, and his rifle and revolvers. That friend has very little protection against the predators of Tarzan's jungle.

John Buscema

On June 27, 1872, "as soon as they had made their meager breakfast of salt pork, coffee, and biscuit, Clayton commenced work upon their house, for he realized that they could hope for no safety and no peace of mind at night until four strong walls effectually barred the jungle from them." ERB- Tarzan Of The Apes.

Burne Hogarth

The description provided shows that Clayton fully realizes their pearl. Therefore, he is going to go all out to get some kind of protection formed. I just can not imagine Clayton and Alice living in the tent-like tree structure for one month. Would you be under the same circumstances?

Burne Hogarth

The way I envision it, Edgar Rice Burroughs stops the flow of action at this point. The author then goes on a fling to describe Clayton's building operations, which span nearly a month.

Roberto Castro

I know that if I were in Clayton's position, the first thing I would attempt to do is to cut logs and form the cabin's floor and walls. Once this is done, a limited amount of protection has been provided. In my personal opinion, one hundred percent more than their sailcloth-sided tree structure. Clayton would have been provided with the best English-issue equipment of the times. I foresee no big obstacles in all probabilities, for a recent military man in cutting the small six-inch diameter logs.

Russ Manning

At this time the two newlyweds ate from their provided rations, and Clayton had little trouble killing the abundant game who strayed too close to the building site. Thus, the Englishman lost little work time because of providing food. I theorized Clayton could have completed the walls and roof in five full days of work. This would put us on July 1, 1872.

Tarzan Of The Apes

After providing protection from immediate danger, simple logic dictates that Clayton would want to provide protection from the weather. His wife is seven months with child, is delicate from city life, and is now in the tropical heat. To me, it seems Clayton's next sensible construction project would have been to thatch the A-shaped roof. Using small branches laid close together, Clayton covered the six-inch diameter log beams. He then covered this work with long jungle grass and palm fronds. The covering of mud comes later. I judged this to be one good hard day's work.

Burne Hogarth

Now the Clayton's had the potential to sleep nights safer than ever before. If you were in Clayton's position, would you continue to stay in the flimsily described tree structure with all the described dangers lurking about for another two to three weeks? Or, would you like anybody with any sense, to move into the security of the log structure? I for one would be putting my loveables in that log structure.

Tarzan Of The Apes

Clayton's next task was to fill the chinks with clay. Not the four-inch covering which will be done when the cabin is fully built. Since the clay was no problem to obtain I theorized this task to cover two days.

Fred J. Arting

During this operation, I do not see how Clayton could help but get a start on collecting stones for the fireplace, although the majority had to be carried from the beach. My reasoning dictates that the chimney and fireplace would be the most time-consuming task of the whole project. Therefore, I allowed eight days, but you can still borrow time from one of the other work days. We are now on July 12, 1872.

Burne Hogarth

On July 13, 1872, Clayton formed a substantial grating out of one-inch thick branches to fit into the window opening. This task within reason is no full day's work, but we can safely assume any spare time would be spent doing chores ERB has not mentioned. One of those is hunting.

 Russ Manning

Again, simple logic dictates that Clayton had been working so hard on immediate protection that he had no time for hunting. The British couple had been mainly living on ship provisions and what he had shot while cutting logs. After sixteen days of this kind of hunting, you can bet the animals had gotten the word out not to go near the strange lair from whence issued the terrifying thunder death,

Zdenek Burian

On July 14, 1872, Clayton built a door made from pieces of shipping crates. When finished the solid body was some three inches thick. I again doubt this task consumed a whole day, but there were so many little odd chores ERB does not bother to mention that need to be done that it can safely be said Clayton's entire day was a busy one,

Joe Kubert

On July 15-16, 1872, Clayton fashioned two massive hardwood hinges and hung his massive door. ERB wrote two days so there is little to debate here.

Burne Hogarth

On July 17-21, 1872, Clayton spent his time applying a coating of clay to the entire cabin's outer surface, The four-inch thickness was even applied to the outer thatched roof. Now the cabin is complete.

Burne Hogarth

We are informed that "the stuccoing and other final touches were added after they moved into the house, which they had done as soon as the roof was on, piling their boxes before the door at night and thus having a comparatively safe and comfortable habitation." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.

Burne Hogarth

The way my logic dictates the Claytons actually move into the cabin on July 1, 1872, which is much sooner than the first section's completion date. Above we were informed, "they moved into the house, which they had done as soon as the roof was on." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. So, if the Claytons moved into the cabin on July 1, 1872, and the Mangani bull attacked on September 1, 1872, that is a difference of two months.

Joe Kubert

From September 1, 1872, through September 1, 1873, the three Claytons lived in relative safety.

Pablo Marcos & Oscar Gonzalez

September 1, 1873, Alice Clayton died.

Burne Hogarth

September 2, 1873, John Clayton I is killed by Kerchak.

Burne Hogarth

Sometime between September 1, 1882, through September 1, 1883, Tarzan at the age of ten discovered his father's cabin by the sea.

Joe Kubert

Sometime between September 1, 1882, through September 1, 1883, Tarzan at the age of ten began to realize he was different than the Mangani. The ape boy becomes the greatest trickster in the tribe. Tarzan managed to enter his father's cabin for the first time. The jungle boy finds his mother's locket, his father's diary, and his hunting knife. He killed Bolgani, the gorilla, after being attacked, while leaving the cabin. His first recorded gorilla kill.

Joe Kubert

Sometime between September 1, 1882, through September 1, 1883, Tarzan at the age of ten discovered his father's cabin by the sea. While exiting the cabin the ten-year-old was attacked by a gorilla. Although he managed to kill Bolgani,  the jungle boy was severely wounded. One of those wounds to the forehead turned into a scare that flamed red when he was angered. The Englishman still sported that scare while serving in WW II.

Joe Kubert

Sometime between September 1, 1884,  through  September 1, 1885, Tarzan, at age twelve finds pencils in his father's cabin and learns to produce letters.

Zdenek Burian

Sometime between September 1, 1887, through  September 1, 1888, Tarzan at age fifteen learned various combinations of letters which stood for the pictured figures in his books.

Cynthia Shepherd

Sometime between September 1, 1889, through  September 1, 1890, at the age of seventeen  Tarzan learned to read the child's primer and fully realized the purpose of letters.  He also realized he was a man and not a Mangani.

Burne Hogarth-

September 1, 1890, at the age of eighteen Tarzan could speak no English yet he could read and write it. He had never seen a human being other than himself.

Roy G. Krenkel

On October 2, 1892, Toog kidnaps Teeka. Edgar Rice Burroughs informs us, "many weeks had passed since the tribe had been attacked by a foe." ERB-Jungle Tales Of Tarzan. During these events a rain storm is mentioned which means Angola's rainy season, October through May, is setting in. Because of the full moon on October 6th, we know these events occur in the early days of October.
     Also, take note of ERB's descriptions of Gazan. "Young balu", "little Gazan", and "young ape".  According to Dian Fossey, author of Gorilla's In The Mist, "Only when the newborn was nine months old had it developed into an active and socially inclined baby." In this last description of Teeka's balu, notice that no event in Jungle Tales Of Tarzan has ever hinted that Gazan has reached the weaning age. According to Dian Fossey, "Weaning periods become the most traumatic for gorilla infants around the age of two and one-half years."
     We also know this event has to occur after September 1, 1892, because two clues in chapter ten state that Tarzan is twenty years old. It is at this point that ERB starts using the Greystoke cabin to establish Tarzan's age while coming into contact with whites for the first time. "On the floor lay the skeleton of a man - all that remained of the former Lord Greystoke - lay as it had fallen some twenty years before when Kerchak, the great ape, had thrown it, lifeless, there," ERB-Jungle Tales. Of Tarzan. "He did not know that the dead father of Tarzan of the Apes, reaching back out of the past across a span of twenty years, had saved his son's life," ERB-Jungle Tales Of Tarzan.

John Buscema & Klaus Janson

From the short story, Tarzan Rescues The Moon,  which occurs November 4, 1892, a true-life lunar eclipse, we learn that the ape-man had abandoned the tribe of Kerchak. For a month the jungle lord had been staying at the Greystoke's cabin. Up until this point, the Greystoke cabin had always been a hideaway where the jungle boy went to read, store weapons stolen from Mbonga's village, and play dress-up. He had never used the cabin as a place to live.     

    A lunar eclipse occurs and the Mangani, fearing that the stars are eating the moon, rush to get their outcast Tarmangani brother to save them. Tarzan rushes back to the tribe with a full quiver of arrows. He climbs to the highest branch in the tallest tree and shoots arrow after arrow into the sky until the moon is rescued. At this moment Jungle Tales Of Tarzan ends. 

Thomas Yeates

On January 2, 1893, a Monday on a full moon  Tarzan visits Mbonga's village which was his normalty. Upon his return some of the the older apes approached their new king about his often absence. Making an effort to keep harmony the new King for a month thereafter abandoned the Greystoke cabin and remained constantly with the tribe.

Burne Hogarth

Terkoz, the son of Tublat, and Tarzan battle each other for the first time seriously as adults on January 23, 1893. The new ape King defeats his foster brother with the half-Nelson in his first and only kingship defense. This event occurs ten days before Tarzan kills Mirando, which is one day before the writing of Jane's letter, which is February 3, 1893.

Franc Cho

Just before dark on the evening of January 23, 1893, on the same day Tarzan defeated Terkoz,  the Mangani gathered as was their way. At that meeting, the new ape King gives up his newly acquired leadership.

  

Mark Stoddard

The following morning of January 24, 1893, the dethroned Mangani King leaves the tribe and sets out for the Greystoke cabin he recently abandoned. Because of his recent battle wounds, the ape-man traveled very slowly and ended up sleeping in the jungle that night.

Joe Kubert

Late morning on January 25, 1893, the still hurting and stiff ape-man arrives at his father's cabin by the sea. For several days he moved about but little, only enough to gather what fruit and nuts he required to satisfy the demands of hunger.

Burne Hogarth

Tarzan remains at the Greystoke cabin for nine days to recover from his battle wounds. Under normal circumstances, the wounded ape-man would have visited Mbonga's village on Wednesday, February 1, 1893, for that was the full moon and the night the natives danced. Still too stiff to travel the distance to the cannibal village the jungle lord postponed the visit by a day.

Tarzan Of The Apes

On the tenth day after his battle with Terkoz, February 2, 1893, the jungle man was quite sound again. Take note that while recovering at the cabin Tarzan makes a second attempt to form a loincloth out of animal skin but again fails. That morning on the way to Mbonga's village the mostly recovered ape-man happens upon Mirando. Tarzan dispatched his prisoner quickly and silently; removed the weapons and ornaments, and - oh, the greatest joy of all - a handsome doeskin breechcloth, which he quickly transferred to his person.  Tarzan returns to Mbonga's village and discards Mirando's body. Tarzan returns to his cabin and sees a ship in the harbor and white men on the beach.

Tarzan Of The Apes

On the afternoon of February 2, 1893, Professor Archimedes Q. Porter and his assistant, Samuel T. Philander are lost. It is during the two's lost wonderings that Edgar Rice Burroughs provides two more passages that indicate the Greystoke cabin is located in Portuguese Angola. "It was by the merest caprice of fortune that they headed toward the west coast of Africa, instead of toward Zanzibar on the opposite side of the dark continent." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. On the map of Africa, Zanzibar lies opposite the boundary areas of Portuguese Angola.

     "Instead, with all the assurance that deductive reasoning from a wrong premise induces in one, Mr. Samuel T. Philander grasped Professor Archimedes Q. Porter firmly by the arm and hurried the weakly protesting old gentleman off in the direction of Cape Town, fifteen hundred miles to the south." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. By the direction of Cape Town, fifteen hundred miles to the south." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. By air, the shortest distance between two points, 1500 miles from Cape Town would bring us north to the coastal town of Benguela, which is smack in the middle of the coastline of Angola at about 12 degrees South Latitude. If you think of 1500 miles walking along the beach, then it would have to be measured from or to a point even further south (closer to Cape Town) than Benguela. These events occur one day before the writing of Jane's letter, which is February 3, 1893.

Zdenek Burian

Just turned night on February 2, 1893, Tarzan rescues Jane and Esmeralda from Sabor, the lioness. It is at this point that Edgar Rice Burroughs once again uses the Greystoke cabin as a tool to date the jungle lord's current age. "Little did John Clayton imagine when he fashioned that crude but mighty portal that one day, twenty years later, it would shield a fair American girl, then unborn, from the teeth and talons of a man-eater." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. From this statement, we know that Tarzan is twenty at this occurrence and Jane is less than twenty.
     The following morning when the Porter party buries the bones of John and Alice Clayton the statement is made. "When the grave had been filled with earth the little party turned back to the cabin, and Esmeralda, still weeping copiously for the two she had never heard of before today, and who had been dead twenty years, chanced to glance toward the harbor." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.
     That night Jane writes a letter to Hazel Strong and the statement is made, "Within the little building a light was burning, for Clayton had found an unopened tin of oil which had stood intact for twenty years, a part of the supplies left with the Clayton's by Black Michael." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. These events occur one day before the writing of Jane's letter, which is February 3.

Zdenek Burian

On February 3 (?), 1893, Tarzan digs up and reburied Professor Archimedes Q.Porter's treasure and Jane writes Hazel Strong a letter. Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author's, penned account implies these events occur the day following Jane and Esmeralda's rescue. February 3, is the date Jane believes It to be when writing Hazel Strong a letter. 

Joe Kubert

On February 4, 1893, Tarzan reads Jane's letter. Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author's penned account implies these events occur the day following Jane's letter writing. ERB, the author, once again provides a passage that the Greystoke cabin is located in Portuguese Angola. In Jane's letter, she writes, "West Coast of Africa, about 10 Degrees South of Latitude. (So, Mr. Clayton says.) ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.

    Nothing to do with Tarzan's cabin, but it is interesting to note from Jane's letter to Hazel Strong we learn the Baltimore native is left-handed. "And now to be baffled by strange, uncouth characters the like of which he had never seen before! Why, they even tipped in the opposite direction from all that he had ever examined either in printed books or the difficult script of the few letters he had found." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. 

Russ Manning

On the morning of February 5, 1893, Jane finds her missing letter from two nights before with Tarzan's note.

Joe Kubert

On Thursday, March  2, 1893, Tarzan makes an unrecorded visit to Mbonga's village to watch the natives dance and steal arrows. ERB does not write about this event, but as I have shown many times it is Tarzan's habit to go to Mbonga's village on a full moon to watch the natives dance and steal arrows. The full moon date is supplied by the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department's Phases Of The Moon.
www.rodurago.net/en/index.php?link=calendar&site=details

Roy G. Krenkel

Early afternoon on March 5, 1893, a month after being dethroned by the Mangani, Terkoz, abducts Jane. Three miles were covered before the jungle lord overtook them. Tarzan kills Terkoz, his foster brother, and rescues Jane. 

Zdenek Burian

Mid-afternoon on March 5, 1893, the ape-man takes Jane to the amphitheater where the Mangani Dum-Dum is held.

Joe Kubert

At sundown March 5, 1893, the French warship, with the captured Arrow in toll, anchored at the beach in front of Tarzan's cabin.

Joe Kubert

Sunrise on March 6, 1893, Tarzan and Jane eat breakfast.

Zdenek Burian

Early morning on March 6, 1893, the French steamer fires a cannon to signal the marooned Porter party at the Greystoke cabin. After making contact and learning about the missing American girl Captain Dufranne selected twenty men and two officers, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot and Lieutenant Charpentier, to accompany Professor Archimedes Q. Porter and William Cecil Clayton in their search for Jane.

Joe Kubert

At noon on  March 6, 1893, while leisurely taking Jane back to the cabin the two stopped for an hour at a small brook to drink and eat.

ERBANIA #75

At noon on March 6, 1893, the French expedition of searching sailors stopped a few miles inland for a rest.

Thomas Yeates

It was near sunset on March 6, 1893, when Tarzan and Jane arrived at the Greystoke's cabin.

Thomas Yeates

It was dusk on March 6, 1893, and Jane was trying to persuade the ape-man to come and meet her people. Suddenly, the sound of many guns could be heard in the far distance. Without hesitation, the wild man raced off to investigate.

Joe Kubert

At dusk on March 6, 1893, the French sailors were attacked by Mbonga's warriors. Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot is captured by the cannibals and taken to their village.

Artist Unknown

At last light on March 6, 1893, Lieutenant Charpentier ordered his ambushed sailors to make camp.

Joe Kubert

During the night of March 6, 1893, Tarzan raced to Mbonga's village and rescued Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot. He took the French sailor to the amphitheater where the Mangani Dum-Dums were held.

Zdenek Burian

At first light on March 7, 1893, Lieutenant Charpentier and his sailors return to the Greystoke cabin on the beach.

Tarzan Of The Apes

Early morning on March 8, 1893, Lieutenant Charpentier and crew, with William Cecil Clayton, search for Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot.

Barclay Shaw

Shortly after noon on March 8, 1893, the sailors reached the sight of the previous skirmish. By two o'clock p.m., they reached Mbonga's village. At two-thirty p.m., the French sailors attack and conquer. No Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot, however.

Joe Kubert

On the night of March 8, 1893, the French sailors camp in Mbonga's captured village.

Artist Unknown

On the morning of March 9, 1893, the destroyers of Mbonga's village set out upon the return march.to the Greystoke cabin. The downhearted French sailors reached their destination later that evening. "When the expedition returned, following their fruitless endeavor to succor D'Arnot, Captain Dufranne was anxious to steam away as quickly as possible, and all save Jane had acquired." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes

    Jane persuades Captain Dufranne to wait for a full week for Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot. "And so it was arranged that on the next day, Lieutenant Charpentier was to take a detail of ten men, and one of the mutineers of the  Arrow as a guide, and unearth the treasure; and that the cruiser would remain for a full week in the little harbor." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.

Frank Frazetta

On the morning of March 10, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot awakens for the first time. Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, does not provide this data directly, but it can be deducted by the amount of time that is covered from Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot's capture on March 6, and the Arrow's sailing date on March 17, which is a total of twelve days. These daily events are provided by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author. When Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot regains consciousness until he and Tarzan return to the Greystoke cabin to discover the Arrow gone is a passage of eight days, which is again plainly outlined by ERB, the author. Thus, we can conclude that Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot lay unconscious for four days.

Zdenek Burian

On the morning of March 10, 1893, William Cecil Clayton and the French sailors attempted to dig up Professor Archimedes Q. Porter's buried treasure.

Tarzan Of The Apes

Toward noon on March 10, 1893, the French sailors return without Professor Porter's treasure.

 Ronald William Kirby

Afternoon on March 10, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot wakes for the second time.

Tarzan Of The Apes

On March 11, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot developed a fever and the Frenchman thought he was going to die.

Neal Adams

During the night of March 11, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot lost consciousness.

Tarzan Of The Apes

March 11, 1893, through  March 13, 1893,  Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot remains in delirium.

Joe Jusko

On March 14, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot's fever broke on the fourth day and he was left very weak.

Tarzan Of The Apes

On March 16, 1893, Captain Dufranne announced the Arrow would sail early the following day.

Arrow

On March 16, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot began to walk with Tarzan's aid. The recovering sailor began teaching the wild man simple French words.

Arrow

Early morning on March 17, 1893, the Arrow set sail with the French warship.

Arrow

On March 17, 1893, Tarzan began speaking little sentences in French.

Arrow

On March 17, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot set out for the Greystoke cabin by the sea.

J. Alen St. John

Mid-afternoon on March 17, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot arrive at the  Greystoke cabin to discover everyone gone. 

Tarzan Of The Apes

At dusk on March 17, 1893, Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot accidentally shoots the ape-man thinking he is an intruder.

Tarzan Of The Apes

 

On March 17, 1893, through March 24, 1893,  Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot spent a week resting at the Greystoke cabin. D'Arnot continued teaching the jungle man French.

Tarzan Of The Apes

On March 25, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot leave the Greystoke cabin and follow the coast north in search of whites.

Portuguese Angola

Three weeks later on April 8, 1893, Tarzan mentions to Lietunent Paul d'Arnot about finding and moving the Porter treasure chest, and about discovering his father's diary. Like the cabin, Edgar Rice Burroughs uses John Clayton's diary to show Tarzan is twenty years old at the time the events occur. "Then he proceeded to read the diary that had been written over twenty years before." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.

Joe Kubert

For a month Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot walk the coastline in search of whites. A week later on April 15, 1893, the two happened upon a French mission.

Zdenek Burian

April 15, 1893, through April 22, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot spent a week resting at the mission. Edgar Rice Burroughs does not tell us when the ape-man's name transformed from Tarzan to Monsieur Jean C. Tarzan. Most likely at this point. When Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot introduced the wild man to the mission priest what name did he use? "This is my traveling companion White-Skin of the Mangani." How do you think that went over?

    Somewhere around this time, D'Arnot realized his jungle friend needed a civilized name. Although D'Arnot suspected his new friend to be English in nationality, they had no proof. The French sailor was committed to taking care of his life savior no matter what. Since Tarzan could already speak a certain amount of French and no English, it was much less complicated to temporarily portray him as a Frenchman than an Englishman until the truth was sorted out.

     We know the jungle lord was going by that name when he arrived in northern Wisconsin. The reason I say this is because in chapter thirteen of The Return Of Tarzan while Jane and Hazel are going through pictures the two discover John Caldwell and Tarzan are the same person. Jane says, "Tarzan of the Apes took the name Jean C. Tarzan." Jane had not seen the ape-man since the train station in northern Wisconsin, so therefore, he had to be using the name while visiting America for her to know it.

Tarzan Of The Apes

A month later on May 22, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot reach a small river town. While there, "he gradually became accustomed to the strange noises and the odd ways of civilization, so that none might know that two short months before, this handsome Frenchman in immaculate white ducks, who laughed and chatted with the gayest of them, had been swinging naked through primeval forests to pounce upon some unwary victim, which, raw was to fill his savage belly." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes.

Artist Unknown

May 22, 1893, through June 22, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot spend a month at the river town waiting for funds.

Don Marquez

On the morning of June 23, 1893, Tarzan and Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot rented an ancient tub and returned to the Greystoke cabin for the Porter treasure.

Tugboat

On the morning of June 24, 1893, the rented tub dropped anchor at the Greystoke cabin's harbor.

Tugboat

Late in the evening on June 25, 1893, Tarzan returns with the Porter treasure.

Tugboat

At sunrise on June 26, 1893, the rented tub exits the harbor's mouth that shielded the Greystoke cabin and returns to the river town. This is the last mention of the cabin in Tarzan Of The Apes.

Tugboat

The first appearance of the Greystoke cabin in The Return Of Tarzan was on February 17, 1895. Here Monsuerior Jean C. Tarzan is working in an intelligence position for the French government under the name of John Caldwell. His former rivals  Nickolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitch, robbed him of his secret papers from Bou Saada and shoved him overboard. After swimming all night the jungle lord made shore late afternoon on February 18, 1895. The ape-man once again found himself at his birthplace.

    Once again Edgar Rice Burroughs uses the opportunity to use the cabin to inform us of Tarzan's age. "Nothing had been disturbed; there were the table, the bed, and the little crib built by his father - the shelves and cupboards just as they had stood for over twenty-three years - just as he had left them nearly two years before." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

Russ Manning

The following forenoon of February 19, 1895,  Tarzan swam in the sea, ate, and then went in search of weapons. Edgar Rice Burroughs once again informs us a passage of two years have passed since the ape-man's last appearance at the Greystoke cabin. "Tarzan slept late into the following forenoon, for he had been very tired from the labors and extortion of the long night and day upon the ocean, and the jungle jaunt that had brought into play muscles that he had scarcely used for nearly two years." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. This is the second passage in The Return Of Tarzan that informs us Tarzan has been gone from Portuguese Angola for nearly two years. 

Russ Manning

On the night of February 19, 1895, Tarzan discovered that Mbonga's village was no longer. That night he slept in the jungle nearby. Edgar Rice Burroughs the author, never mentions the fate of Tibo, or his mother Momaya. All we know is that the two never again appear in the Tarzan series.

Artist Unknown

Early the next morning February 20, 1895, Tarzan continued inland following the course of the stream in search of another village to supply himself with weapons.

1872 Map 10 Degrees South Latitude

On March 4, 1895, the Lady Alice sunk and Jane, William Cecil Clayton, Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff), and three sailors ended up in a lifeboat together.

N.C. Wyeth

On the morning of March 5, 1895, Jane and her boat find they have been separated from the others.

N.C. Wyeth

On March 8, 1895, the occupants of the other three boats from the Lady Alice make land a few miles north of the Greystoke cabin. "Over a smooth sea, they had rowed to the mainland in less than three days." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

N.C. Wyeth

On March 20, 1895, the night Tarzan became chief of the Waziri Jane and company were floating in the Atlantic. "The very night that Tarzan of the Apes became chief of the Waziri the woman he loved lay dying in a tiny boat two hundred miles west of him upon the Atlantic." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. From this author-provided description, we now know that the Waziri village is located approximately two hundred miles east of the Greystoke cabin.

N.C. Wyeth

On March 21, 1895, William Cecil Clayton and Jane are awakened by a torrent of rain, and land is sighted. If you will notice ERB, the author tells us William Cecil Clayton and Jane are awakened by rain. The rainy season in Portuguese Angola is between October through May. Since Jane and William Cecil Clayton's lifeboat events occurred in March of 1895, the Greystoke timeline passes ERB, the author's, provided weather test. 

The Return Of Tarzan

From March 21, 1895, through April 21, 1895, for a month Jane, William Cecil Clayton, and Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff) lived on the beach unknowingly also near the Greystoke cabin.

The Return Of Tarzan

On the morning of May 29, 1895, Tarzan led the Waziri and the stolen gold to a sight very close to the Mangani's dum-dum sight. "Here, instead of continuing toward the northwest and their village, Tarzan guided them almost directly west, until on the mourning of the thirty-third day he bade them break camp and return to their village, leaving the gold where they had stacked it the previous night." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

The Return Of Tarzan

On May 30, 1895, Tarzan sent the Waziri home. The ape-man then buried the gold at the Mangani's dum-dum sight. The jungle lord spends the night at the amphitheater.

The Return Of Tarzan

Early the next morning on May 31, 1895, Tarzan returns to the Greystoke cabin by the sea. "and early the next morning set out to revisit his cabin before returning to the Waziri." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. "Finding things as he had left them, he went forth into the jungle to hunt," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

The Return Of Tarzan

On May 31, 1895, Tarzan spears a lion from hiding and saves William Cecil Clayton and Jane's life. Jane tells William she can never marry him. Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff) develops a fever. Tarzan changes his mind about going to the village and instead spends a second night at the amphitheater of the Mangani.

Zdenek Burian

From May 31, 1895, through June 15, 1895,  Tarzan hunted and slept at the amphitheater.

C. Edmund Monroe

On the morning of June 1, 1895, Monsuire Thuran's (Nickolas Rokoff) fever became worse. William Cecil Clayton goes hunting. Jane is captured by the men of Opar.

 Joe Kubert

On the afternoon of June 1, 1895, The tribe of Kerchak comes to the amphitheater and discovers Tarzan. Again, Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, informs us Tarzan has been gone from the jungle for two years. "There were no greetings such as would have taken place among men after a separation of two years." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

Sanjulian

On June 1, 1895, William Cecil Clayton returns from hunting and finds Jane gone. The Englishman searched for the missing girl until dark. Tarzan's cousin is treed by a lion and spends the night in a tree.

Don Marquez

 

The following morning on June 2, 1895, William Cecil Clayton returned to camp.

The Return Of Tarzan 

June 2, 1895, through June 9, 1895, William Cecil Clayton hunted and tended to Monsieur Thran (Nickolas Rockoff).

Thomas Yeates

Late afternoon on June 7, 1895, the Oparians and Jane arrive at Opar.

Joe 

From June 7, 1895, through June 14, 1895, Jane is held captive in Opar. "For a week she saw only some of the women whose duty it was to bring her food and water." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

Thomas Yeates

June 9, 1895, through  June 14, 1895, William Cecil Clayton was tossed with delirium but Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff)  would not care for him. "For days," is not enough information to provide an exact date for this event. Therefore, any non-Edgar Rice Burroughs provided date is merely speculation. My theory is since Rokoff's fever lasted a week that is approximately how long Clayton's would last. Since the description says "For days" that means less than a week. I used five days in the belief the described events are occurring rapidly back-to-back.

Richard Hescox

On June 15, 1895,  A returning Mangani tells the ape-man about Jane's capture. "Half a moon since." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. The moon's cycle is twenty-nine and one-half days. Approximately two weeks.

Joe Jusko

On June 15, 1895, Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rockoff) abandons William Cecil Clayton. The Russian finds the Greystoke cabin. "That same day," is not enough information to provide an exact date for this event. Therefore, any non-Edgar Rice Burroughs provided date is merely speculation. My theory is that these undatable events are happening in back-to-back time sequences with little time passage occurring between each. 

 Dave Hoover

June 16, 1895, through June 19, 1895, Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff) remains at the Greystoke cabin for a few days. These dates are not provided by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author. Many dates work and all are acceptable as long as they do not disagree with Burroughs' description. As (working dates only) I used three days for Rokoff's stay at the Greystoke cabin.

Joe Jusko

On June 17, 1895, Tarzan and Jane set out from Opar for the Greystoke cabin on the coast. Other passages indicate a better part of a week. We know Tarzan and Jane did not linger on their journey. "Had it not been for their anxiety to reach and secure Clayton they would have drawn out the sweet pleasure of that wonderful journey indefinitely." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

Artist Unknown

On June 19, 1895, Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff) leaves the Greystoke cabin and travels north. Lord Tennington realizes he loves Hazel Strong. Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rockoff) finds the Porter party scarcely a day's march north. 

    Although this passage again gives nothing for establishing an exact date, Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, finally offers a dating clue. "He started lamely a couple of times, cleared his throat, became red in the face, and finally ended by remarking that he hoped the cabins would be finished before the rainy season commenced." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
    This passage informs us that the rainy season has not yet set in, but is quickly approaching. The rainy season in Portuguese Angola is September through April. From this info, we can conclude the described undatable events occurred sometime between June 12, 1895, through early August 1895.

Tarzan Of The Apes

On June 22, 1895, the returning Tarzan and Jane ran into the Waziri. 

Thomas Yeates

Toward the evening of July 23, 1895, Tarzan, Jane, and the Waziri arrive at William Cecil Clayton's rude shelter in time to watch him die. Just before Clayton dies; he utters a statement that hints the incidents in northern Wisconsin occurred a little over a year ago. "I only wish to do now the thing I should have done over a year ago." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. In this timeline, it is a year and a day which agrees with William Cecil Clayton's dying statement.

Joe Kubert

The following morning on July 24, 1895, Tarzan and company set out for the Greystoke cabin taking William Cecil Clayton's body to be buried beside John and Alice. They had proceeded some three miles of the five that had separated them from the ape-man's former residence they came upon Jane's father,  Professor Archimedes Q. Porter. When the group reached the Greystoke cabin they discovered Lieutenant Paul D'Arnot and the others, Monsieur Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff) and Lord Tennington were out hunting.
    We are once again informed the jungle lord is twenty-two at The Return Of Tarzan's end. When the French discover the Porter's it is stated, "D'Arnot's ship had been cruising along the coast, on patrol duty, when at the lieutenants' suggestion they had anchored off the little landlocked harbor to have another look at the cabin and the jungle in which many of the officers and men had taken part in exciting adventures two years before." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. 

 

 Russ Manning

 A half-hour later on July 24, 1895, Monsieur  Thuran (Nickolas Rokoff) and Lord Tennington return and Nickolas Roloff is arrested by Captain Dufranne. Tarzan recaptures Lieutenant Gernois' secret papers. This is the second time French sailors have been on Portuguese Angolan soil to rescue the Porters. "D'Arnot's ship had been cruising along the coast, on patrol duty, when at the lieutenant's suggestion they had anchored off the little landlocked harbor to have another look at the cabin and the jungle in which many of the officers and men had taken part in exciting adventures two years before." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. This is also another passage that clearly informs us The Return Of Tarzan covers a span of two years.

 Russ Manning

At sunset on July 24, 1895, the jungle lord's cousin William Cecil Clayton is buried. Notice that Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, specifically points out that William Cecil Clayton is buried on Alice's graveside and not John's. Ever wonder if that is a hint Tarzan is buried beside his father in the far distant future?

 Joe Kubert

On July 26, 1895, Tarzan returned with the second load of gold taken from Opar.

Russ Manning

On July 27, 1895, Tarzan and Jane, Lord Tennington, and Hazel Strong were married in a double wedding by Jane's father Professor Archimedes Q. Porter who was an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Russ Manning

On July 28, 1895, the French steam cruiser sailed for civilization.

Russ Manning

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 a span of 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 excepted 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, and Exiled On Unium, published August 25, 2022. Swordsman On Unium is going through the publishing process.