Event: Tarzan sailed from New York City.
Source: The exact date that Tarzan sailed from New York to France is untold by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, so therefore it will never be known. Although we will never know the exact sailing date a sound logical figuring date can be deduced. We have already concluded in earlier writings that Tarzan was born September 1, 1872. Therefore, if the ape-man meets Countess Olga de Coude at age twenty-two the meeting had to occur after September 1, 1894.
One must keep in mind that the events of The Return Of Tarzan occur over a span of one year. at The Return Of Tarzan's end, the jungle lord is still twenty-two when he marries Jane. To have enough time for all the events in The Return Of Tarzan to occur the ape-man would have to leave New York City as soon as possible after his twenty-second birthday.
I revealed in Tarzine #62 Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, had a habitual knack of inserting true life dates, names, and events into his fictional stories. Keeping in that spirit and following his habit I have also tried to follow that lead. For a working date, I have deducted Tarzan would have sailed from New York City on September 1, 1894, which is the ape-man's and Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author's birthday. Theoretically speaking, Tarzan, now twenty-two, met the Countess Olga de Coude on September 3, 1894. Although this working date may not be the exact date it does agree with Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author's, descriptions and it provides us with a figuring point.
J. Allan St. John
Date: the morning of September 4, 1894
Event: The twenty-year-old Countess Olga de Coude sees Tarzan for the first time.
Source: "Her husband again buried himself in his book, but not without a mild wonderment that three days out from New York his countess should suddenly have realized an admiration for the very buildings she had but recently characterized as horrid." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
Chat: On this day Countess Olga de Coude makes the statement. "Oh, nothing at all my dear. I was but recalling with admiration those stupendous skyscrapers, as they call them, of New York." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. The oldest skyscraper in New York City is the twenty-one story Flatiron Building on 23rd Street where Broadway crosses 5th Avenue. Completed in 1902, it is built in the shape of a triangle.
In an 1872 chronology we would have to say that Countess Olga de Coude saw large and wondrous buildings, but no skyscrapers. Does this prove that the 1872 chronology is wrong? Of course not. As I have pointed out many times in my writings the Tarzan series was actually written by two men. John Carter's great-nephew, the narrator from Virginia, obtained the information to chronicle Tarzan's early to midlife while in England. John Carter's great-nephew was in an old monastery gathering the information that eventually became The Outlaw Of Torn when the Greystoke's story was discovered and confirmed.
After John Carter's great-nephew returned to America he somehow or another met Edgar Rice Burroughs from Chicago, Il. Since Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author began writing Tarzan Of The Apes on December 1, 1911, we know that meeting occurs before that date. Also, in December 1907 there are records that show Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, obtained four books, or so, from local book dealers and the public libraries that could have been a reference for Tarzan Of The Apes. Therefore, the two's meeting probably occurred just prior to that event, in Chicago.
John Carter's great-nephew and Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, somehow or another teamed up to write magazine articles for All-Story Magazine. When they wrote these stories they did it in such a way as to protect those involved. The team first produced Under The Moons Of Mars which was about the narrator's uncle John Carter and his adventures off earth. The second magazine story was. The Outlaw Of Torn. which occurred between 1243 and 1264. The third magazine article was Tarzan Of The Apes. This story was much different than the first two.
John Carter's adventures mostly took place off the earth, and the average person wouldn't believe the events anyway. So. protecting John Carter's identity was only minimal. The Outlaw Of Torn occurred in the middle 1200's so protecting their identities was no problem at all thanks to history. Tarzan Of The Apes was big problems, however. The events were not all that old, so how could the two tell the story without exposing the Greystokes true identies?
When John Carter's great-nephew, the narrator, agreed to let Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, pin Tarzan Of The Apes, The Return Of Tarzan, The Beasts Of Tarzan, Jungle Tales Of Tarzan and Tarzan And The Jewels Of Opar it was agreed that Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, would take steps to protect the true Greystoke's identity. Keeping his part of the bargain Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, modernized the story by sixteen years, added obvious contradictions, added his true life experiences, etc. Thus, you have the false sailing date of 1888, the false 1908 date on Jane's letter, the false description of automobiles, and the purposeful mentioning of "skyscrapers" and "limousine."
1890 New York City
Date: the evening of September 4, 1894
Event: Tarzan meets Count Raoul de Coude, Nickolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitch for the first time. The ape-man is going by the name Jean C. Tarzan and prevents Rockoff and Paulvitch from setting up Count Raoul de Coude as a card cheat.
Source: "Tarzan's thoughts drifted from the past to the future. He tried to look forward with pleasurable sensations to his return to the jungle of his birth and boyhood: the cruel, fierce jungle in which he had spent twenty of his twenty-two years." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 April Anarchist Attack Restaurant Foyot
Date: Tuesday afternoon September 5, 1894
Event: Tarzan rescues Countess Olga de Coude from Nikolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitch.
Source: "It was not until late the following afternoon that Tarzan saw anything more of the fellow passengers into the midst of whose affairs his love of fair play had thrust him." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 Le Petit Journal
Event: Tarzan spends time with the second officer.
Source: "After dinner that evening Tarzan strolled forward, where he remained until after dark, in conversation with the second officer," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
Date: after dark, Tuesday, September 5, 1894
Event: Tarzan rescues Countess Olga de Coude from Nikolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitich a second time.
Source: "But they will think it a fine story, and so will all your friends when they read of it at breakfast on-let me see, this is Tuesday-yes, when they read of it at breakfast next Friday morning." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
Chat: When Tarzan rescued Countess Olga de Coude the statement is made. "Without hesitating to question those within, the ape-man threw his giant shoulder against the frail pannel, and in a shower of splintered wood he entered the cabin, dragging Rokoff after him." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. If you will note Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, says nothing about how that splintered door gets fixed before the Count de Coude comes home that night. Although left unsaid it is most likely that Tarzan persuaded his friend, the ship's second officer, to quickly and quietly replace the door for an undisclosed sum, or favor.
1894 July 1 President Carnot Funeral Paris
Date: late in the afternoon Thursday, September 7, 1894
Event: Tarzan happens upon Countess Olga de Coude while taking a stroll.
Source: "Tarzan saw nothing further of any of the actors in the little drama that he had caught a fleeting glimpse of until late in the afternoon of the last day of the voyage," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. "She greeted him with a pleasant smile, speaking almost immediately of the affair he had witnessed in her cabin two nights before," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. "I trust monsieur has not judged me," she said, "by the unfortunate occurrence of Tuesday evening." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894-July22 1st Auto Race Paris to Rouen
Date: Friday morning September 8, 1894
Event: The French ocean liner arrives at France and Tarzan makes his way to Paris.
Source: "He did not see her again that day, and in the rush of landing on the following morning he missed her entirely," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 Paris, France
Date: Friday, September 8, 1894
Event: Tarzan goes to the apartments of Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot.
Source: "On his arrival in Paris, Tarzan had gone directly to the apartments of his old friend, D'Arnot," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 Halles Centrales, Paris, France
Date: September 8 through September 22, 1894
Event: Tarzan renews his former brief acquaintance with Paris.
Source: "Tarzan spent the two following weeks renewing his former brief acquaintance with Paris." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 Eiffel Tower
Event: Tarzan's fight at the Rule Maule, third-floor room twenty-seven.
Source: "He was sitting in a music hall one evening, sipping his absinthe and admiring the art of a certain famous Russian dancer, when he caught a passing glimpse of a pair of evil black eyes upon him." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. "With shrieks of pain the men escaped into the hallway as quickly as they could: but even before the first one staggered, bleeding and broken, from the room, Rokoff had seen enough to convince him that Tarzan would not be the one to lie dead in that house this night, and so the Russian had hastened to a nearby den and telephoned the police that a man was committing murder on the third floor of Rue Maule, 27." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, provides us with very little information for dating the fight at the Rue Maule. The author from Chicago simply says, "one evening." That don't sound like much to work with but let's do some deducting.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, is telling us about events occurring in an orderly quick sequence.
- From reading the events as they happen it is clear the fight at the Rue Maule occurs very shortly after Tarzan reaches Paris.
- Since the ape-man had been at the music hall it was most likely a Friday or Saturday. Therefore, I theoretically choice September 22, 1893, as a working date for the fight at the Rue Mule.
J. Allan St. John
Date: the morning of September 23, 1894
Event: Tarzan narrated to Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot the events of the Rue Maule.
Source: "Your Paris is more dangerous than my savage jungles, Paul," concluded Tarzan, after narrating his adventures to his friend the morning following his encounter with the Apaches and police in the Rue Maule." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan,
1894 July 22 1st Auto Race Paris to Rouen
Date: the morning of September 23, 1894
Event: Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot takes Tarzan to turn himself in to authorities.
Source: "Together they entered the office of the police official a half hour later." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. The policeman remembered Tarzan from the visit the two had made him several months prior in the matter of fingerprints.
1894 July 22 Mercedes-Benz-Daimler 1st Race Winner
Date: the afternoon of September 23, 1894
Event: Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot received a letter from William Cecil Clayton. It stated he and Jane would be married in London in about two months.
Source: "On their return to Paul D'Arnot's apartments the lieutenant found a letter awaiting him from an English friend, William Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. "They are to be married in London in about two months," said D'Arnot, as he completed his perusal of the letter." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 Peugeot Paris to Rouen
Date: the evening of September 23, 1894
Event: Lieutenant Paul d'Arnot and Tarzan attended the opera. While there the ape-man runs into the Countess Olga de Coude and she invites him to her home the following day at five.
Source: "That evening they attended the opera." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
1894 Theatre de Lopera
Date: five o'clock September 24, 1894
Event: Tarzan pays the Countess Olga de Coude a visit.
Source: "I can not tell you here, but tomorrow I shall be at home to Monsieur Tarzan at five," ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
 |
| 1894 Madane Sans Gene Opera, Paris, France |
Event: For a month Tarzan becomes a regular visitor of Countess Olga de Coude.
Source: "For a month Tarzan was a regular and very welcome devotee at the shrine of the beautiful Countess de Coude." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan. Here Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, tells us again that the jungle lord is twenty-two years old. "Twenty is shy in exchanging confidences with forty. Tarzan was but two years her senior." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.
George du Miller
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.
James Michael Moody also authorizes 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.
