1911 August The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:   August 1, 1911, through August 7, 1911

EVENT:  The wounded Jack/Meriem lay helpless for days with a fever.

SOURCE:  "For days he lay helpless with fever, while Akut and the apes hunted close by that they might protect him from such birds and beasts as might reach his lofty retreat." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.  

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:   August 1, 1911, through August 7, 1911

EVENT:  The wounded Jack/Korak lay helpless for days with a fever.

SOURCE:  "For days he lay helpless with fever, while Akut and the apes hunted close by that they might protect him from such birds and beasts as might reach his lofty retreat." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. August 1 through 7, is a working date only and is not provided by ERB.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:   August 1, 1911

EVENT:   Carl Jenssen and Sven Malbihn came to the territory of Kovudoo in search of baboons for a European zoological garden. 

SOURCE:   "Every year had they come into the jungle to trade with the natives, or to rob them; to hunt and trap; or to guide other white men in the land they knew so well." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. August 1, is a working date only and is not provided by ERB.

Newspaper Serial

DATE:  August 8, 1911

EVEN:  While searching for Jeanne/Meriem, Jack/Korak came upon the Swedes. He rescued a king baboon from their trap.

SOURCE:  "Korak slunk noiselessly around them to a point where he might get their scent as well as a better view of them they were the men who had fired upon him years before." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  afternoon August 8, 1911

EVENT:  Jack/Korak travels to Kovudoo's village in search of Jeanne/Meriem.

SOURCE:  "The afternoon was almost spent when Korak arrived at the village of Kovudoo." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Russ Manning

DATE:  night August 8, 1911

EVENT:  Jack/Korak searches Kovudoo's village and attempts to free Jeanne/Meriem.

SOURCE: "But which one he could not know without closer investigation, and so he waited, with the dogged patience of a beast of prey, until night had fallen." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Neal Adams

DATE:   August 8, 1911

EVENT:  Once out of the village, Jack/Korak followed the trail of the baboons.

SOURCE:  "And out in the jungle, far away, Korak, covered with wounds, stiff with clotted blood, burning with rage and sorrow, swung back upon the trail of the great baboons." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Gold Key

DATE:  following day August 9, 1911

EVENT:  The willy old Chief Kovudoo dispatched a runner to the Shiek Amor ben Khatour's village but the runner happened upon the Swedes. The runner told them about Jeanne/Meriem and then Malbihn killed him. 

SOURCE:  "Meriem, again bound and under heavy guard in Kovudoo's own hut, saw the night pass and a new day come without bringing the momentarily looked-for return of Korak." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan..

CHAT:  ERB again informs us that Jack/Korak and Jeanne/Meriem had a brother-and-sister relationship and not a sexual relationship. "But she loved him as a little sister might love a big brother who was very good to her." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  the next day August 10, 1911

EVENT:  The Swedes traveled to Kovudoo's village and traded or Jeanne/Meriem.

SOURCE:  "The next day the Swedes set out for Kovudoo's village bent on securing possession of the person of the white girl whom Kovudoo's runner had told them lay captive in the chief's village." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Newspaper Serial

DATE:   August 10, 1911 

EVENT:   For two days the king Baboon traveled to the hills to round up another tribe of kinsmen to help Jack/Korak. 

SOURCE:  "For two days the party raced through the savage country, passing out of the dense jungle into an open plain, and across this to timbered mountain slopes." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

J. Allen St. John

DATE:  the next morning August 11, 1911

EVENT:  The Swedes left Kovudoo's village with Jeanne/Meriem.

SOURCE:  "Kovudoo stipulated but a single condition and that was that the Europeans were to leave his village and take the girl with them as early the next morning as they could get started." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "Yet morning came, the morning meal was eaten, the camp broken and the disreputable safari of the Swedes was on the move northward with still no sign of the rescue the girl momentarily expected." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

J. Allen St. John

DATE:   August 11, 1911, through August 13, 1911

EVENT:  The Swedes marched north all day.

SOURCE:  "All that day they marched, and the next and the next, nor did Korak even so much as show himself to the patient little waiter moving, silently and stately, beside her hard captors." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

All Story Weekly

DATE:  mid-afternoon August 12, 1911

EVENT:  Jack/Korak and an army of three thousand baboons arrived at Kovudoo's village.

SOURCE:  And so they came, upon the second day, to the village of Kovudoo. ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

    It was mid-afternoon. ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  ERB again informs us that Ljack/Korak and Jeanne/Meriem had a brother-and-sister relationship and not a sexual relationship. "But she loved him as a little sister might love a big brother who was very good to her." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan Movie

DATE:  following morning August 13, 1911 

Event:  Jack/Korak bid farewell to the baboons.

SOURCE:  "It was a sour and savage Korak who bade farewell to his baboon allies upon the following morning." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan Movie

DATE:  August 13, 1912. through September 17, 1912

EVENT: Thinking Kovudoo's people had killed and eaten Jeanne/Meriem, Jack/Meriem roamed the jungle for a year.

SOURCE:  "For a long year he led his solitary, roaming life." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:   During that period Jack spent most of his time with Tantor, the elephant in between visits to the tribe of Akut and the baboons of the hill country. "Occasionally he fell in with Akut and his tribe, hunting with them for a day or two; or he might travel to the hill country where the baboons had come to accept him as a matter of course; but most of all was he with Tantor, the elephant - the great grey battle ship of the jungle - the super-dread-naught of his savage world." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

The Son Of Tarzan Movie

DATE:   August 14, 1911

EVENT:  On the fourth day out of Kovudoo's village the Swedes stopped to rest.

SOURCE:  "It was on the fourth day that Meriem began definitely to give up hope." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Newspaper Serial

DATE:  August 14, 1911

Event:  Jenssen tried to stop Malbhn from raping Jeanne/Meriem. Malbihn shot Jenssen dead. Tarzan rescued Jeanne/Meriem from Malbihn.

SOURCE:  "Deliberately Malbhn put two more bullets into his friend's body at close range." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "Again he seized her, and at the same instant the flaps of the tent opened silently and a tall white man stood in the aperture." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  It is here we learn law has come to Tarzan's Kenyan home. "You deserve death, but I am not the law." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    I shall let you go this time; but should you ever return I shall take the law into my own hands." ERB-The Son Of Taran.

    "I wish that I might, but a new law is come into this part of the jungle. It is not as it was in the old days, Muviri," replied the master. ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Newspaper Serial

DATE:  August 19, 1911

EVENT:  On the fifth day after rescuing Jeanne, Tarzan, and the group reached the Greystoke African farm.

SOURCE:  "On the fifth day they came suddenly upon a great plain and from the edge of the forest the girl saw in the distance fenced fields and many buildings." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

    When Jeanne turned sixteen ERB tells us she has been at the Greystoke farm for one year. "She had ridden much during her year with Bwana and My Dear." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  At this time, Jane is around thirty-eight years old, but Jeanne described her as being beautiful. "Meriem saw that the woman was beautiful." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Newspaper Serial

DATE:  August 19, 1911, through September 19, 1912

EVENT:  Jeanne identified herself to the Greystoke's by the only name she knew, Meriem. The rescued girl spent months at the Greystoke farm.

SOURCE:  "He would go himself, he assured her, as soon as he could find the time, and at last Meriem consented to abide by his wishes; but it was months before she ceased to mourn almost hourly for her Korak." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Robert Abbett

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.

1911 July The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  July 31, 1911                                                                                                            EVENT:  Jack/Korak raids Kovudoo's village.                                                                              SOURCE:  "After Jack/Korak had left the village of the blacks following his last thieving expedition, the screams of his victim and those of the other women and children had brought the warriors in from the forest and the river." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.                      

   "A  distant village of blacks had furnished her with a mantle of fur and feathers, with copper ornaments, and weapons, for Korak would not permit her to go unarmed, or unversed in the use of weapons he stole for her." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.                                                 

    "Great was the excitement and hot was the rage of the men when they learned that the white devil had again entered their homes, frightened their women and stolen arrows and ornaments and food." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

 

DATE:  July 31, 1911

EVENT:  Jeanne/Meriem is captured by a Mangani king but Jack/Korak rescues her and kills her captor.

SOURCE: "Then he stooped and lifting the girl to his shoulder waddled off through the jungle." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  It is here that ERB informs us that for the first time, Jack/Korak realized he was in love with Jeanne/Meriem. "He knew then that little Meriem was his world - his sun, his moon, his stars - with her going had gone all light and warmth and happiness." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "Now, indeed, was he looking upon her through new eyes - the eyes of a man looking upon a maid." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  July 31, 1911

EVENT:  Jack/Korak defeats a Mangani challenger and becomes king. Jack/Korak gives the kingship to Akut.

SOURCE:  "There is your king." he said. ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  July 31, 1911

EVENT:  Akut goes to live with the Mangani. Jack/Korak and Jeanne/Meriem plan to live away from the tribe, but close by.

SOURCE:  "We will live near you," he said, at last. ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "When you change your hunting ground we will change ours, Meriem and I, and so remain near you; but we shall not dwell among you." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  July 31, 1911

EVENT:  For hours Kovudoo and his warriors trailed Jack/Korak. They witnessed the second battle the white savage had with the Mangani.

SOURCE:  "Kovudoo and his men came upon Korak, Akut,  and Meriem after the killing of the king ape, the noise of the combat having led them at last straight to their quarry." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  July 31, 1911

EVENT:  Kovudoo and his warriors kidnap Jeanne/Meriem.

SOURCE:  "Kovudoo, realizing the danger of coming to close quarters with these mighty ape-men, seized Meriem and called upon his warriors to retreat." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

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.

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.

1908 November The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  November 8, 1908                                                                                                            EVENT:  Jack/Korak and Akut came upon a tribe of apes but were not taken in.                SOURCE:  "Tonight they did not box." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.                                                        "Then the two took up their journey toward the sound of the Dum-Dum." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.                                                                                                                                        CHAT:  Here is a third chance to test the 1872 chronology. All throughout Tarzan Of The Apes and JUNGLE TALES Of Tarzan, we are informed repeatedly that both the natives and apes dance on the full moon. November 8, 1908, is a full moon and the only one of the month. Therefore, this date is a historical factual date.

Korak

DATE:  November 9, 1908

EVENT:  Jack/Korak and Akut happened upon the Shiek Amor ben Khatour's village and discovered Jeanne/Meriem. 

SOURCE:  "It was an unhappy Korak who wandered aimlessly through the jungle the day following his inhospitable reception by the great apes." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Tarzan's Africa

DATE:  November 9, 1908

EVENT:  Jack/Korak and Akut rescue Jeanne/Meriem.

SOURCE:  "A year had passed since the two Swedes had been driven in terror from the savage country where the Sheik held sway." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "A year had passed since the white men had fired upon the lad and driven him back into the jungle to take up his search for the only remaining creatures to whom he might look for companionship - the great apes." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

    "For months the two had wandered eastward, deeper, and deeper into the jungle." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  By this time Jack/Korak had developed marvelous physical powers and mental cunning. He was now a match for Akut in a mimic battle. "He had become at last a creature of marvelous physical powers and mental cunning. He was still a boy, yet so great was his strength that the powerful anthropoid with which he often engaged in mimic battle was no match for him." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  night of November 9, 1908

EVENT:  Jeanne/Meriem slept in Jack/Korak's arms in a tree.

SOURCE:  "Meriem spent an evening and a night of unmitigated terror." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Joe Jusko

DATE:  November 10, 1908

EVENT:  Sheeta, the leopard attacked Akut. The great ape and Jack/Korak killed it.

SOURCE:  "When she opened her eyes the sun was well up." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  November 10, 1908, through July 31, 1911 

EVENT:  The three live in the jungle together.

SOURCE:  "For many months the strange life of the three went on unmarked by any unusual occurrences." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  It is here that ERB clearly tells us that although Jack/Korak and Jeanne/Meriem live together, they do not have sex. Good thing, because if she was born August 18, 1896, she is only twelve years old. "In his friendship for her there was appreciable no trace of sex influence of which he was cognizant. They were friends - companions - that was all." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

DeviantArt

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.

1907 November The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  November 6, 1907                                                                                                          EVENT:  Jack/Korak has his first fight with a lion.

SOURCE:  "And so the days passed, and with the traveling and the hunting and  the climbing the boy's muscles developed and his agility increased until even phlegmatic Akut marveled at the progress of his pupil." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Dan Spiegel

DATE:  November 6, 1907,  through November 13, 1907

EVENT:  Jack/Korak and Akut lay up for several days so the Englishman could recoup from thorn wounds.

SOURCE:  "For several days the boy and the ape lay up while the former recovered from the painful wounds inflicted by the sharp thorns." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Jack Clayton/Korak

DATE:  midnight November 13, 1907

EVENT:  Jenssen and Malbihn bribe Mbeeda, the Shiek's traitorous headman, to steal Jeanne/Meriem. Instead of the girl, it is the dead Mbeeda who is brought to the Swedes.

SOURCE:  "By midnight all was prepared." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "At sight of what lay beneath both men stepped back - involuntary oaths upon their lips - for there before them lay the dead body of Mbeeda, the faithless head man." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Jack/Korak

DATE:  November 15, 1907

EVENT: After recovering, Jack/Korak, and Akut traveled toward the coast. They came upon a European boot print that was a couple of days old. Within hours, Jack/Korak, and Akut overtook the slow-moving safari.

SOURCE:  "When the lad felt fit again the two continued their journey toward the coast, and once more the boy's mind was filled with pleasurable anticipation." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "The spoor was but a couple of days old when the two discovered it, which meant that the slow-moving caravan was but a few hours distant from them whose trained and agile muscles could carry their bodies swiftly through the branches above the tangled undergrowth which had impeded the progress of the laden carriers of the white men." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  Jack/Korak and Akut came upon the safari of Jenssen and Malbihn as they fled from Shiek Amor ben Khatour's village. "Every now and then the rear guard and the white men cast apprehensive glances reward as though momentarily expecting the materialization of some long expected danger from that quarter," ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Jack Clayton/Korak

DATE:  hours later November 15, 1907

EVENT:  Jack/Korak tried to make contact with the Swed's party but they shot at him.

SOURCE:  "Days of panic ridden flight through the jungle had filled Carl Jenssen and Sven Malbihn with jangling nerves and their native boys with unreasoning terror." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

Jack Clayton/Korak

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.

1907 October The Son Of Tarzan

DATE:  October 20, 1907

EVENT: Jack and Akut happened upon a native village. They chased Jack away and he killed a pursuer and took his long spear, shield, knife, loincloth, ankle, and armbands.

SOURCE: "One day as they were moving slowly along beside a river they came unexpectedly upon a native village." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan. 

    "The boy's heart leaped within his breast at the sight of them - for over a month he had seen no human being." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

CHAT:  I have read articles where some ERB researchers have described this kill as a murder. Call it whatever you want in the safety of your home. ERB is quite clear that Jack did not think of it as murder and never felt guilty over his first human kill. "There were no after-qualms of conscience." ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

    Akut gave Jack a Mangani name, Korak, which translates to Killer. "Come, Kotak, son of Tarzan, let us go to our people." Months before Akut had given the boy a name of his own choosing, since he could not master  the man given name of Jack. Korak is as it may be interpreted unto human speech. In the language of the apes it means Killer. ERB-The Son Of Tarzan.

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.

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.

1907 September The Son Of Tarzan

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.